Today In The Markets

Big Tech’s capital spending is on track to surpass $200bn this year and rise even further in 2025, as anxiety grows on Wall Street about the returns on soaring investment in artificial intelligence. The four biggest US internet groups — Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Google’s parent Alphabet — this week offered investors brief glimpses into

Chancellor Rachel Reeves was standing her ground. In the week she dropped a £40bn tax bombshell on Britain and unsettled markets with plans for £28bn of extra annual borrowing, she declared: “What alternative was there?” On the street outside the Treasury the mood was equally resolute. On Wednesday night some 200 of Reeves’ officials toasted

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. GPs, health and social care charities and universities have warned that Labour’s decision to raise employers’ national insurance contributions will lead to job losses and reduced services, as the extent of Budget tax rises became

“I definitely do see a lot fewer Trump signs here than I did in 2020,” said Brandon DiMarco, a life-long resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, on a parkway overlooking the blue expanse of Lake Erie. DiMarco, who works two jobs and is studying to become a financial adviser, voted for Donald Trump in 2020, and had

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. UK chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plan to borrow more after rewriting the UK’s fiscal rules poses an “additional challenge” to repairing the public finances, rating agency Moody’s warned on Friday. In an assessment of the Labour

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While some went gaga this week over the Budget bus fare cap and whether the word “supporters” included an apostrophe, the Lancet published a new Countdown report on health and climate change. It couldn’t be seriouser. Ten of 15 indicators of hazards, exposures or impacts hit record levels last year. For example, global data show

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€69 per month Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders. Pay a year upfront and save 20%. What’s included Global news & analysis Expert opinion FT App on Android & iOS FT Edit app FirstFT: the day’s biggest stories 20+ curated newsletters Follow topics & set alerts with myFT

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German business executives have warned that high levels of sick leave are damaging the competitiveness of Europe’s largest economy and compounding its economic woes.  Workers missed an average of 19.4 days because of illness in 2023, according to Techniker Krankenkasse, the country’s largest public health insurance provider. Preliminary figures suggest the trend is on course

US stocks chalked up their biggest daily drop in nearly two months as tech stocks tumbled, wiping out the market’s gains for October in the process. The S&P 500 closed 1.9 per cent lower on Thursday and the Nasdaq Composite sank 2.7 per cent. The small cap-focused Russell 2000 dropped 1.6 per cent. All the

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Amazon reported a double-digit rise in quarterly revenues as it began to see gains from the “once in a lifetime opportunity” of generative artificial intelligence and strong advertising demand, sending shares higher in after-hours trading

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Apple reported solid revenue growth in the past quarter as the tech group offered a bullish outlook on how new artificial intelligence features would drive an uptick in hardware sales into the holiday season. The

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US equities myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. US stocks gave up all of their gains for October as a sell-off in tech heavyweights on Thursday produced Wall Street’s worst daily drop in almost two months. In the final trading session of the

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Barclays’ chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan has defended Rachel Reeves’ tax-raising Budget, arguing the UK chancellor had done an “admirable job” of balancing spending, borrowing and taxation despite a backlash from company bosses about the increased

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Global Economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Carlsberg, Estée Lauder and AB InBev have warned of a sales slump in China, underscoring the difficulty for Beijing of reviving the fortunes of the world’s second-largest economy. Chinese political leaders and the central bank

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Parents who employ nannies could see their annual childcare bills jump by more than £1,000 from April under measures announced in this week’s Budget. The chancellor’s key tax-raising policy will see employers’ national insurance contributions