France’s new automotive subsidies are “paving the way” for Europe’s car industry to withstand the threat of an influx of cheaper Chinese electric vehicle imports, according to finance minister Bruno Le Maire. Under a package of measures outlined in May to support green industries, the French government will only pay subsidies for new electric vehicles
News
Blackstone’s $68bn flagship property fund has gone from being one of the world’s biggest buyers of property to a large seller, as it raises liquidity to meet redemptions and invest billions in data centres to feed the artificial intelligence boom. From the beginning of 2021 to the third quarter of last year, the Blackstone Real
The writer is chair of Rockefeller International As the artificial intelligence wave powers the tech sector higher, giants such as Microsoft and Alphabet are not only gaining dramatically, they are gaining in ways that are changing the arc of technological progress. Earlier waves of the digital age brought new names to the top of the
Drones crashed into two skyscrapers in Moscow’s premier business district on Sunday, sparking a fireball and leaving large charred holes in the side of the buildings, in the latest attack on the Russian capital. Videos taken by eyewitnesses showed a drone flying at dawn between the high rises of the Moscow City business area and
Anne Boden’s shock departure as chief executive of Starling Bank in June has left what was once called “Bank Possible” facing one of the most critical decisions in its nine-year history. Not only does the bank have to find a replacement for Boden — Starling’s founder who left it “like the Catholic Church without the
The volume of trade between the Russian rouble and the largest dollar-pegged crypto token surged during the attempted insurrection by the Wagner Group earlier this month, as Russians rushed to find an alternative to the country’s weakening currency. The militia group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin cast doubt on Vladimir Putin’s grip on Russia by attempting the
Crossing more than 700km of seabed between the Isle of Grain, south-east England, and Fedderwarden, north-west Germany, the planned NeuConnect electricity cable will enable the two G7 economies to trade electricity directly for the first time. The £2.4bn project is one of several long-distance, cross-border cables, known as interconnectors, being developed around the world as
The writer is the director of Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin “These amendments are written for a big war and general mobilisation. And the smell of this big war can already be scented,” Andrei Kartapolov, the head of the Duma’s defence committee, said this week as the Russian parliament rushed to adopt a new
At Amazon they walked off the job. At Starbucks and Walt Disney they launched petitions. At Google they demanded a rethink. This is how workers at some of the world’s best known companies responded this year to a rule that would have sounded outlandish before the pandemic: come in to the office at least three days
Western oil and gas majors are expected to face renewed scrutiny of their energy transition plans as the commodity crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine that supercharged profits for five consecutive quarters recedes. ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, Equinor and Eni each reported drops in second-quarter earnings this week of about 50 per cent compared
McKinsey chief Bob Sternfels has signalled he plans to run for a second term as managing partner as he rebuilds the consultancy after years of reputational crises and as the firm battles mounting economic and geopolitical challenges. Sternfels, 53, was elected in July 2021 after a turbulent few years when the firm was embroiled in
Sky has won a High Court order that will force internet service providers to block piracy services from being able to illegally stream its best selling football games and blockbuster TV shows. The blocking order, which was granted to the UK-based broadcaster this week, will require UK online platforms to stop people from illegally accessing
Nominees for political peerages should undergo deeper vetting of their suitability to take a seat in the House of Lords and be required to commit to active participation as a legislator, the speaker of the UK’s second chamber has urged. In an interview with the Financial Times, Lord John McFall set out a range of
Saudi Arabia has invited leading developing nations to meet in a bid to win their backing for Ukraine, as the US and other western powers seek to weaken global support for Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Senior officials from China, Brazil, South Africa and India — Russia’s partners in the BRICS grouping — have been invited to
Economists and analysts are increasingly hopeful that the Federal Reserve can avoid pushing the US into a recession, as inflation slows and strong growth persists despite 11 interest rate increases. The Fed this week raised rates by another quarter percentage point to the highest level in 22 years. But a flurry of upbeat data has
When Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s top Republican, froze mid-sentence while speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill this week, the silence was deafening. “Are you good, Mitch?” asked Iowa senator Joni Ernst, after 30 speechless seconds. Wyoming senator John Barrasso took McConnell’s arm. “Mitch? Anything else you want to say?” he said in a whisper caught
We are now less than one year away from the Paris Olympics, with the world’s best athletes grinding away in preparation for the quadrennial sporting spectacle. In athletics, Kenyan distance running phenom Faith Kipyegon has set three world records this year, and in swimming this week, Frenchman Léon Marchand just obliterated the last standing world
Washington and Canberra have bolstered their commitment to the Aukus security pact despite growing opposition from Republicans in Congress over a plan to supply nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. US secretary of state Antony Blinken, speaking on Saturday following ministerial talks in Brisbane, said there was “robust bipartisan support and commitment” for Aukus, which also includes
The writer is an FT contributing editor Asked this week why inflation was falling, Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell gave a comprehensive answer. First, the worst effects of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have eased. Prices are down for food and energy, and Americans continue to shift back towards buying services and away
“I wish,” a longstanding US Democrat and environmentalist said to me recently, “that we’d never politicised global warming.” Even as extreme heat is demonstrating that no country will be immune from climate change, the politics are becoming more treacherous. Parts of the right are mobilising to slow down the path to net zero, as inflation
The US will provide Taiwan with $345mn in weapons, marking the first time the Pentagon will send arms directly to the country to boost its defences amid rising concern about assertive Chinese military activity. The White House on Friday announced its plan to provide weapons from US stockpiles in the first tranche of an annual