Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The US economy grew less than expected in the first quarter of 2024, at an annualised rate of 1.6 per cent, hit by higher inflation data that spooked investors. The growth figure from the Bureau
In a first-of-its-kind transaction, the city of Quincy, Massachusetts, issued $10 million of tax-exempt bonds using blockchain technology, taking the first step in what those involved in the transaction say could be a transformation of the municipal bond market. “The city of Quincy has invested in its innovation economy over the past number of years
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. BHP has turned its pickaxe to the equity markets to find the metal it desires: copper. Anglo American, one of the few miners to build a copper mine in recent years, offers growth in the
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Few dissent from the view that a Labour government would soon be overwhelmed by economic forces. A stagnating UK economy, feeble government finances, stressed public services and a volatile electorate certainly make for a challenging
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. South Africa’s minerals resources minister has voiced his opposition to BHP’s £31bn proposal to take over Anglo American, fuelling doubts over a deal that would combine two global mining companies. Gwede Mantashe told the Financial
The recent slew of prepaid energy bond issues in the Southeast continues to revive interest in the sector as demand remains strong for the tax-exempt paper. In a prepaid natural gas deal, public utilities secure a long-term supply of natural gas at a discounted rate. A conduit issuer, typically a special-purpose entity, sells these bonds.
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Electric vehicles myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Britain’s electric vehicle policy is “terrible” and threatens to bankrupt carmakers, the head of Vauxhall owner Stellantis warned on Thursday. Carlos Tavares said the UK’s quota regime, which requires manufacturers to meet EV sales targets
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Artificial intelligence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. It may be rash to extrapolate from a sample size of one (me). But I confess that my memory is not perfect: I forget some things, confuse others and occasionally “remember” events that never happened.
Why are miners always trying to buy each other? Mining capex collapsed with commodity prices nearly a decade ago and has never really recovered, with free cash used to fund share buybacks instead. Buybacks were a way to improve production per share without actually improving production. The charts below, from Jefferies, are a little old
TikTok’s Beijing-based owner has increasingly taken a grip over its operations, according to company insiders who said there was a growing culture clash between its Chinese leaders and US staff. The US government passed legislation this week aimed at forcing TikTok to divest from China’s ByteDance or face a countrywide ban, but prising the viral
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Ukraine is set to increase long-range attacks inside Russia as an influx of western military aid aims to help Kyiv shape the war “in much stronger ways”, the head of the UK military has
Facing one of the worst stock slumps in Tesla’s 14-year history, Elon Musk was under pressure this week to deliver a reassuring message to investors about its next generation of electric vehicles and a persuasive vision for an AI-driven, automated future. Instead, what the chief executive offered — alongside even worse than expected first-quarter profits
Rishi Sunak last week declared it a “moral mission” to reform welfare in the UK, to cut the benefits bill and bring people with health conditions back to work. A post-pandemic rise of 850,000 in the number of people not working due to long-term sickness was economically unsustainable, unaffordable and unfair on taxpayers, the prime
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. BHP has proposed a takeover of Anglo American, in a deal that would bring together two global mining giants and rank as one of the industry’s largest transactions in years. BHP has made a proposal
Chipotle’s chief executive said he is focused on winning the battle for labour” in a tight job market where workers have “a lot of options.” Brian Niccol, Chipotle’s chief executive, told the Financial Times that he is thinking about how to make jobs at the company more attractive by providing unique benefits like English lessons,
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The Labour party has pledged to fully renationalise the passenger rail network within a first term if it wins the UK general election, as it promised sweeping reforms of fares to draw people back on
The California Supreme Court has granted review of a case challenging retirement reforms state lawmakers approved 11 years ago, marking a return of pension spiking questions to the high court for the first time since a 2020 ruling on an Alameda County case. The new case — Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association v. Criminal Justice
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Europe is less hard-working, less ambitious, more regulated and more risk-averse than the US, according to the boss of Norway’s giant oil fund, with the gap between the two continents only getting wider. Nicolai Tangen,
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Meta’s revenues jumped by more than a quarter in the first three months of the year, beating expectations, but its forecasts left Wall Street underwhelmed and the shares fell 10 per cent in after-hours trading
On a bright Tuesday afternoon, a masked young woman calling herself W stood beside the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” in the centre of Columbia University’s campus and decried the genocide being committed in Gaza by “the violent, Zionist settler entity”. “Today, in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, we are in high spirits. We are united in our
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The US secretly agreed to send a long-range missile system to Ukraine in February, reversing a decision to withhold the weapons that some in the White House feared could dangerously escalate the war with