In the weeks since a parliamentary by-election was triggered in Rochdale, the campaign to win the northern English mill town has become one of the most divisive in modern British political history. The all-male list from which voters will choose on Thursday features two candidates abandoned by their respective parties, Labour and the Greens, because
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The new chief executive of Rolls-Royce has made a paper profit of close to £22mn on his holdings in the British engineer following a powerful rally in its share price. Tufan Erginbilgiç, who took the
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. European investors have been piling into the region’s risky corporate bonds to scoop up the chunky yields on offer, as they grow more confident in companies’ ability to refinance their debt. A record $1.2bn has
Ukrainians enter the third year of war with a bleaker outlook than at any point since the early days of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion on February 24 2022. A year ago they were brimming with optimism over their chances of pushing Moscow’s troops back and breaking the so-called land bridge between the occupied
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Ursula von der Leyen insisted that the EU remained committed to supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia as she arrived in Kyiv on the second anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion. “More than ever,
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Paris and Berlin brought to a standstill; Polish farmers hurling eggs at EU buildings; Bulgarians calling for the agriculture minister to resign. The modern farmers’ uprising travels by tractor, not ox cart. But its message
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The number of people informing the UK tax office they have moved out of the country has dropped sharply, with tax experts pointing to “stealth” relocations as a factor behind the change. The fall comes
I did not plan to spend the most romantic night of the year having dinner with strangers. But then a friend sent me a link to Timeleft. The app, which algorithmically matches six people to go for a meal together, seemed a better option than staying in. So, on Valentine’s Day, I arrive at Americana,
A relatively unknown 92-year-old Belgian company is climbing up the global snackmaker rankings, outshining rivals and captivating Gen Z on social media as it seeks to transform itself into a global brand. Lotus Bakeries, the company behind the Biscoff caramelised biscuit and spread, has experienced a revival in the past decade after years of sleepy
Sir Lynton Crosby’s CT Group has been accused of supplying forged banking records to claimants in two unrelated legal battles, raising questions about the consultancy’s methods as it tries to promote its corporate intelligence practice. The latest accusation against the former Tory election adviser’s firm was made this week by relatives of a deceased Russian
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Stephen Schwarzman’s income from Blackstone Group fell below $1bn in 2023, a decline of more than 30 per cent from the previous year, as a slowdown in dealmaking made it harder for the world’s largest
A US state’s court ruling that frozen embryos should be considered children has thrust reproductive rights back to the forefront of the 2024 presidential election, prompting Donald Trump to insist that he supports access to in vitro fertilisation. In a decision last week, the Alabama Supreme Court said that “unborn children are ‘children’ . . . without exception based
Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon is facing a new wave of unrest inside the Wall Street bank, threatening a fragile peace among its partners. Solomon’s decision to accept a 24 per cent pay rise last week despite presiding over the bank’s worst annual earnings for four years has proved controversial, as has the staffing
The story stays the same and that is munis remain rich but an uptick in supply will bring some pressure to the asset class. The steadiness of the muni market, despite the swings in USTs, shows both the trepidation of investor commitment at these levels and the underlying strength of the credit quality of the
Yulia Navalnaya had said she always wanted to be a politician’s wife, not a politician herself. But in the days since her husband Alexei Navalny died in a remote Arctic penal colony, she has seized the stage like a world leader. Hours after Russia announced the death of Navalny last Friday, she vowed to hold
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Eleven companies dubbed the “Granolas” propelled European stocks to a record high this week, with their outsized contribution echoing the better-known “Magnificent Seven” in the US. The crunchy acronym was coined by Goldman Sachs for
Not-for-profit healthcare finances should improve this year, rating agencies said, and many healthcare issuers plan to test the bond market. The sector reached a “turning point” in calendar year 2023, Fitch Ratings said in a report released Wednesday. The latest perspective offers a shift from challenges and expectations analysts predicted as recently as January. Analysts
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Rishi Sunak said on Friday that voters were starting to see “the green shoots of recovery”, ahead of a Budget next month that he hopes will help to improve the Conservative party’s dire poll ratings.
Two years ago, Nvidia made most of its money selling graphics cards. It was a household name only to the most dedicated PC gamers. Today, the chip designer is one of the world’s most valuable companies, the chief beneficiary of an artificial intelligence boom that has transfixed Silicon Valley and Wall Street, and an avatar
Louisiana is set to float $1.34 billion of private activity bonds in April as part of its largest public-private partnership to date, which will replace an aging bridge over Interstate 10 near St. Charles. The Louisiana Public Facilities Authority released details of the financing after the State Bond Commission last week signed off on the
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is elected mayor of the West Midlands region When Ozzy Osbourne wowed the Alexander Stadium two years ago and closed with his immortal cry of “Birmingham forever!” it was a fitting finale to