FirstFT: US Fed cuts rates to 3-year low
Also in today’s newsletter: postwar Ukraine talks and ‘Made in Europe’ proposals
How China racked up a $1tn trade surplus
Beijing shakes off damage caused by US President Donald Trump’s trade war
Where the Netflix vs Paramount battle stands
Plus, a deep dive into all the angles at play in the takeover of Warner Bros Discovery
Transcript: Fed cuts rates amid growing division
Sonja Hutson talks to Claire Jones Chloe Cornish
UK pledges to spend extra £1.5bn on NHS medicines as part of Trump tariff deal
Outlay over next 3 years is in return for the US exempting British pharmaceutical imports from tariffs
Beware rushing into private credit deals, warns Canadian pension giant
CPPIB chief John Graham says institutional investors should ‘know what you’re buying’
The economics of seasonal serenity
Management scholars are making a case study of Christmas
How UK real estate companies can repel private equity bargain hunters
If Reits want to stay independent, they can’t just wait around for markets to lift everybody
Ukraine’s ‘fortress belt’ that Trump wants to trade for peace
Known as the Donbas, the region has become the fulcrum of fraught US-led diplomacy to end Russia’s full-scale invasion
Britain’s focus on headroom misses the fiscal forest for the trees
The bond market’s big-picture assessment of the country’s finances offers lessons for the government
Starling eyes UK acquisition to boost corporate lending
Neobank wants to put its £12bn of deposits to more profitable use
Revolut’s kitesurfing leader is an asset to Britain
Nik Storonsky is demanding and disruptive but he is building a world-leading bank
From sheds to super-stadiums, the football ground is bigger than architecture
Amid an evolution from standing terraces to high-tech arenas, the sport’s industrial working-class legacy lives on in new designs
Boom at the inns: UK pub groups raise a glass to festive cheer
Bumper Christmas bar bookings avert bleak midwinter for sector
Prehistoric chic? An anything but typical side-return
Architect Mat Barnes’ predilection for folklore, geology and pure playfulness has transformed a London house, putting cookie-cutter extensions to shame
Inside the failed green revolutions at BP and Shell
How the energy giants tried to transform their businesses — but ended up dramatically scaling back those plans and writing off billions of dollars
Born to give – the philanthropic urge of Phoebe Gates
The youngest member of the Gates clan is following her family’s calling. But her healthcare mission comes with a uniquely Gen Z edge
Walking with bison in ‘the Yellowstone of Europe’
High in Romania’s Făgăraș Mountains, wolves, bears and even bison once again roam free
Sick of CGI? The puppet maestro of ET and Alien knew the secret to true movie magic
Three-time Oscar-winning artist Carlo Rambaldi’s beloved and nightmarish animatronics receive a centennial tribute at MoMA
Carmakers sound warning over EU’s ‘very dangerous’ local sourcing rules
Companies and industries are divided over the bloc’s ‘Made in Europe’ plans
Taiwan probes leaks of vital chip technology
Close allies among those targeted in bid to protect semiconductor sector that is backbone of economy
Fed cuts rates amid growing division
Three members of US central bank’s board oppose decision in biggest dissent since 2019
Venezuela opposition leader appears in Oslo for Nobel award
María Corina Machado emerges after more than a year in hiding but misses peace prize ceremony
Australian teen social media ban comes into force
‘My older brother gives me booze and cigarettes and he lets me look at his social media feed’