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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. The US has slapped sanctions on groups in Turkey and Yemen allegedly responsible for funnelling money to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in a crackdown driven by their attacks on commercial vessels passing through the Red Sea.

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Aerospace & Defence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The order books of the world’s biggest defence companies are near record highs after growing by more than 10 per cent in just two years because of rising geopolitical tension, including the conflict in

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The EU is preparing a back-up plan worth up to €20bn for Ukraine, using a debt structure that sidesteps the objections of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán about funding the war-torn country. After EU leaders failed

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China’s five biggest state-run banks cut deposit rates on Friday as Beijing strengthened efforts to protect lenders’ profitability and provide a buffer against further economic headwinds amid flagging growth. Chinese banks including the Industrial and

The influence of China’s once-powerful central bank has diminished as Beijing steps up a drive to centralise Communist party control over financial regulation. Some of the powers formerly held by the People’s Bank of China have been taken over by a party oversight body and a revamped financial regulator as Beijing resets its growth model.

Crypto companies have sharply increased donations to US politicians as sentiment in Washington hardens against the digital assets market. Companies including Coinbase, the Nasdaq-listed exchange, stablecoin operator Circle and a16z, the crypto investing arm of venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, are directing more funds towards electing pro-crypto legislators and influencing stalled bills in Congress ahead of

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US inflation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The measure of inflation preferred by US rate setters fell by more than expected in November, bolstering investor expectations of rate cuts next year. The core personal consumption expenditures price index showed prices rose by

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The UK economy shrank slightly in the third quarter, according to revised figures that highlight the country’s struggle to shake off its low-growth performance. The Office for National Statistics said on Friday that gross domestic

A global rally in government debt has already driven yields past many Wall Street targets for the end of 2024, highlighting how recent market moves have taken analysts by surprise. When banks began sending out their annual forecasts to clients a month ago, they were broadly united in the view that government bonds would rally

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the UK inflation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. UK inflation slowed much more sharply than expected in November to 3.9 per cent, down from 4.6 per cent in October, according to official data that will add to pressure on the Bank of England

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Activist investor Cevian Capital has taken a €1.2bn stake in UBS, betting that the Swiss bank can double its valuation over the next three to five years. Cevian, Europe’s largest dedicated activist, has invested just

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Global Economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Corporate bankruptcies are increasing at double-digit rates in most advanced economies as borrowing costs rise and governments unwind pandemic-era worth trillions of dollars support for struggling businesses. Following a decade of decline the number of

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. This week’s rally in global bond markets has shattered investors’ months-long assumption that interest rates in the US and elsewhere will remain higher for longer. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield, seen as a proxy

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy began this week hopeful that his two biggest allies in the face of Russia’s invasion would finally approve financial aid packages worth a total of $115bn. He ended it with little to show for it. Fraying support for Kyiv in Washington and Brussels coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin vowing to attack

Chinese spies had run a far-right Belgian politician as an intelligence asset for more than three years in a case that shows how Beijing has conducted influence operations in an effort to shape politics in its favour. Daniel Woo, an officer in China’s Ministry of State Security spy agency, pushed Frank Creyelman, a former Belgian

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US interest rates myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates at a 22-year high, but most officials forecast that the US central bank would implement 75 basis points worth of cuts next year. The unanimous decision

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The UK economy unexpectedly contracted in October, driven by falls in every sector and fuelling concerns that high interest rates could push the country into a downturn. Gross domestic product fell 0.3 per cent between

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. German insurers including Munich Re and Allianz have amassed more than €3bn of exposure to the struggling property empire owned by real estate billionaire René Benko. The network of firms in Benko’s Signa group not

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Monetary policy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Leading central banks are preparing to push back at investor predictions of how quickly interest rates will fall, as they meet for the final time this year amid strong employment numbers. Investors have been betting

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China’s state health insurance system has lost tens of millions of subscribers, as higher costs have put one of the world’s largest healthcare schemes out of reach for many people already struggling in a post-pandemic