In the late 1960s the New York socialite Isabel Leib was vexed. Her grandson Gordon was causing the family grief with his drinking and pot-smoking, so she decided that her nice caddie might be just the person to straighten him out. She paid the young Raymond Dallolio to befriend her grandson, inviting him to family
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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Jeremy Hunt has been warned by senior Conservative MPs not to create space for tax cuts by announcing “perverse” real-terms reductions to the benefits paid to the poorest in society. The UK chancellor is under
For two years, Menachem Gida wrestled with a dark sense of foreboding. The communications hobbyist was part of a team of volunteers who, using a “satellite farm” in southern Israel, compulsively monitored Gaza’s communications networks and Arab media, passing on nuggets of information to the Israeli military. It was a semi-formal relationship. But when they
Russia’s army and its weapons factories are sucking in a growing number of workers as Moscow braces for a long war in Ukraine, leaving civilian sectors with painful labour shortages and destabilising the broader economy. “The labour market is extremely tight,” the head of a big Russian mining company told the Financial Times. “It is
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The UK’s annual haul of scrap steel would cover Hyde Park to a depth of six metres. As more metal reaches the end of its useful life, that will grow. The country should make better
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is chief executive of Ofcom When Tim Berners Lee, the web’s feted inventor, was asked to assess the greatest impact of being online, he replied “I hope we will use the net to
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Israel claimed to have helped foil an attack on Jewish targets allegedly planned by Hizbollah in Brazil, where authorities arrested two people on terror charges. Police in Brasília on Wednesday said the arrests in São
Electric-car maker Polestar needs to raise an additional $1.3bn and cut costs further in order to break even by 2025, it said on Wednesday. As it raised $450mn from owners Volvo Cars and Geely, the Nasdaq-listed group said it aims to make gross margins in the “high teens” in 2025, while selling 155,000 to 165,000
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the UK tax myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The UK’s tax authority has warned that it faces additional costs this year as 1.2mn extra people are pulled into the tax net because of higher earnings and savings rates. Jim Harra, chief executive of
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The EU said it was in “complete disagreement” with Turkey’s stance on Hamas after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referred to the Palestinian militant group behind the October 7 attack on Israel as a “liberation” movement.
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Joseph Schumpeter shocked many with his forthright views about the power of free markets. The early 20th century Austrian economist once told his students at Harvard University: “Gentlemen, a depression is for capitalism like a
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Sanjeev Gupta’s Australian steel business InfraBuild is offering to pay high interest rates to regain access to the bond market, in a deal that could help unlock funds to repay some of the metal magnate’s
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The US’s top diplomat has provided Washington’s most detailed plan for the postwar future of Gaza, saying the enclave should be politically unified with the West Bank under the administration of the Palestinian Authority. Antony
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Thousands of Palestinians fled northern Gaza on foot as Israeli troops battling Hamas militants moved into Gaza City, the main population centre of the beleaguered enclave. The UN said 15,000 people left the area on
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is an FT contributing editor and writes the Chartbook newsletter The ideal war of international law — if one can speak of such a thing — is fought between states. But what is
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The UK government has imposed sanctions on Dubai-based oil trader Paramount Energy & Commodities DMCC as part of a swath of actions against companies and individuals accused of supporting Russia’s gold, oil and finance
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the EU economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Mario Draghi has delivered a downbeat view of EU economic growth, forecasting a recession by the end of this year, as he warned that the European project’s long-term survival depends on urgent political integration. “It
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Having given the country three prime ministers in the space of four months, the Conservatives are now set for three election strategies in a year. In fairness, the current plan to promote Rishi Sunak as
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Hedge funds myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The rise of multi-manager hedge funds has led to a “merry-go-round” of portfolio managers being offered “silly” amounts of money, according to the co-founder of Europe’s largest hedge fund. Sir Paul Marshall, co-founder of Marshall
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. SoftBank was forced to wire $1.5bn to Goldman Sachs and other lenders days before WeWork filed for bankruptcy, as the cost of one of the worst venture capital investments in history has continued to mount
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the UK interest rates myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has insisted it is too early to talk about interest rate cuts even as speculation builds in financial markets that it will be in a position to