China signals concern over falling investment
Communist party leadership pledges to ‘stabilise’ major engine of economic growth
Trump pushes for ‘free economic zone’ in Donbas, says Zelenskyy
US proposes ‘compromise’ option of demilitarised buffer that excludes both Ukrainian and Russian forces, says Kyiv
Freedom for Venezuela coming ‘soon’, says opposition leader
María Corina Machado quietly backs US pressure on Maduro regime after emerging from hiding for Nobel Peace Prize
Football fans condemn ‘betrayal’ over ‘extortionate’ World Cup ticket prices
Supporters urge Fifa to halt sales for next summer’s event in US, Canada and Mexico until solution is found
UK asylum appeals backlog jumps 37% over a six-month period
Build-up of pending cases has reversed the progress made in reducing the number of people housed in hotels
Six films to watch this week
Kate Winslet makes her directing debut with ‘Goodbye June’, starring Helen Mirren; Scarlett Johansson makes hers with Holocaust survival comedy-drama ‘Eleanor the Great’; period farce ‘Fackham Hall’ pokes fun at stately home sagas; ‘The Tale of Silyan’ documents tough lives in North Macedonia; Jafar
US trade deficit shrinks to smallest since 2020 as gold exports jump
Figures for September raise hopes that GDP growth in third quarter was stronger than forecast
US stocks slide after Oracle results disappoint
US database company’s earnings published on Wednesday fell short of forecasts amid concerns over AI boom
The 10 best worst hostile takeover offers ever
An entirely subjective list of shareholder primacy, management hubris and value destruction
Mind the gap: what the Railways Bill doesn’t tell us
Also in this week’s newsletter: Flu cases hit record levels in England’s hospitals
The Tale of Silyan — storks, scavenging and rural striving
Honeyland’s Tamara Kotevska returns with a documentary on the hardships faced by people and wildlife in North Macedonia
The Emotions by Jean-Philippe Toussaint — the folly of futurology
The Belgian’s latest novel, set against a backdrop of recent events in Europe, ponders philosophical questions such as, Do we really want to know what is in store for us?
Charity starts with a slogan shirt
Keep your cause close with these 12 tees
Goodbye June — Helen Mirren holds together Kate Winslet’s directing debut
Timothy Spall, Andrea Riseborough and Winslet herself also feature in a comic drama about a woman’s last days
Greek finance minister chosen to chair Eurogroup
Election of Kyriakos Pierrakakis caps political and economic turnaround for Athens after traumas of Eurozone crisis
Oracle shares fall 14% on increase in data centre spending
Larry Ellison’s company raises its capital expenditure forecast as it doubles down on AI infrastructure bet
FT quiz: the week in news
Ten topical questions to test your news nous
Tax relief cut puts VCTs at risk next year, industry warns
Fund managers warn inflows to venture capital trusts could halve
Post-Brexit skilled work migrants will give £47bn fiscal boost over time
Top earners pay in more than thought, while care workers match typical UK residents, analysis shows
Natixis and Generali poised to scrap asset management tie-up
Joint venture would have brought together two of biggest European investment groups
Streeting calls for better ‘storytelling’ from ‘technocratic’ Starmer government
Health secretary’s comments are latest sign of unhappiness in cabinet
Disney to invest $1bn in OpenAI
Deal forms part of broader tie-up for media group’s intellectual property to feature within ChatGPT maker’s products
It’s time to restore the civic function of US universities
Focusing on research at the expense of teaching has left institutions vulnerable to Trumpian attack
Bulgarian PM Rosen Zhelyazkov resigns weeks ahead of entry to euro
Move follows widespread public protests against proposed tax rises