FirstFT: US oil groups seek guarantees for Venezuela investment
Also in today’s newsletter: EU companies rule book, and private equity funds
Trump’s Venezuela action raises threat for China’s oil supplies
Chinese producers fear similar US intervention in Iran would disrupt access to discounted crude supplies
Huge copper shortage to pose ‘systemic risk’ to global economies, warns S&P
Data group forecasts deficit of 10mn tonnes by 2040, equivalent to nearly one-third of current global demand
Apollo co-founder Josh Harris leads $1bn fundraising at Bruin Capital
Harris’s investment firm 26North is a lead backer of a new vehicle targeting service providers to the sports industry
Is Chris Hohn the real heir to Warren Buffett?
Plus, Wells Fargo’s investment banking ambitions and hedge funds race for Venezuela’s esoteric debt
Investors ditch proxy advisers at their own risk
The firms are fallible, but they at least come with accountability
How Trump could take control of Greenland
The US president wants to take the vast arctic territory from Denmark. What could he really do?
Obesity drug users will regain weight two years after ending medication, review finds
Experts say health authorities need plans to deal with people coming off medicines such as Ozempic and Wegovy
Donald Trump’s imperial Venezuela folly will leave America no richer
Like the Spanish conquistadors, the president’s search for mineral wealth in South America will weaken the US
The next Fed chair shouldn’t party like it’s 1999
It is premature to assume the AI era will lead to non-inflationary growth like the ’90s computing boom
Which films hit big in 2025 — and what comes next
From the Avengers to the Minions, Hollywood is counting on reliable franchises in 2026 — but are there enough to keep audiences in cinemas?
The gangs, goons and guerrillas running swaths of Venezuela
From street paramilitaries to Colombian insurgents, Venezuela is teeming with men with guns
Stanley Wong: ‘I’m a Buddhist; moving from Hong Kong to Kyoto felt right’
The artist-designer swapped city bustle for a hilltop home in Higashiyama — it mirrors his Zen approach to life
Stablecoins could shake up global payments — but not with technology
Fintechs have touted stablecoins as a way to revolutionise international transfers
Bonhams loss almost doubled to £213mn as art market slumped
UK-based auction house took hefty impairment charges and posted lower revenues for 2024
Ask a stylist: How can I style what I already have to make it feel current?
Price: zero. Effort: minimal. Result? Incredibly 2026. Happy new year
British business faces a rude activist awakening
Boaz Weinstein’s campaign against investment trusts is encouraging wider intervention by US funds
Berlin in the dark: a power outage shakes Germany
Arson that left parts of German capital without electricity for days highlights poor energy infrastructure
Trump cuts to academia risks ceding AI lead, warns Microsoft scientist
Veteran executive Eric Horvitz argues talent and ideas will move abroad without US support for universities
Bayer’s ambitions boosted by relaxation of EU gene-edited crop rules
German life sciences giant says looser regulations could reshape Europe’s €6bn seed market
Wells Fargo wants to be taken seriously as an investment bank. Will it succeed?
Freed from a punitive asset cap, Jamie Dimon-protégé Charlie Scharf has big ambitions for the US Main Street lender
Climate insurance legal action surges as property damage costs rise
Extreme weather events drive business disruption litigation
Departure(s) — Julian Barnes’s ‘last book’ is a triumphant meditation on memory and endings
In a moving mix of fiction and non-fiction, the Booker winner examines the struggle to find happiness and face life’s losses
Self-employed and landlords not ready for new tax rules, warn experts
April’s digital tax rollout will affect more than 800,000 people