UK private sector wage growth slows to lowest rate in five years
Slowdown will reinforce case for Bank of England to leave rates on hold
Is Tesla destined to be folded into SpaceX?
Wall Street simmers with the idea of a merger of Elon Musk’s companies
Bank of England holds interest rates at 3.75%
Deal between US and Iran has pushed oil prices down and eased inflationary risk to UK economy
US Supreme Court narrows law barring drug users from owning guns
Justices side with a casual marijuana user challenging his ban under legislation used to prosecute Hunter Biden
Zimbabwe parliament passes bill to entrench ‘Crocodile’ president
Legislation would extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term and potentially allow two more re-elections
Andy Burnham being advised by former chair of UK fiscal watchdog
Richard Hughes brought in to prepare Manchester mayor with how the markets might interpret policies should he become PM
Iran to get access to $6bn of frozen funds to buy US goods
Money held in Qatar to be released in phases under interim deal with Trump administration
Aldi takes the fight to Walmart and Costco
After 50 years of slow US expansion the German discount grocer is upping the pace. Can it win over hard-pressed consumers?
Why ‘pump anxiety’ as petrol prices soar promped surge in EV sales
Jet fuel prices tumble on prospect of renewed Gulf exports
Airlines get relief from soaring fuel costs following deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Could AI chatbots undo the harms of social media? | FT Tech
Large language models elevate moderate views, in sharp contrast to social platforms with research shows AI useage tends to be depolarising, says John Burn-Murdoch
Gatwick airport launches legal action after ministers relax runway slot rules
Regulation was intended to protect the airline industry from jet fuel shortages following the Iran crisis
Gold executives warn of smuggling ‘crisis’
Head of World Gold Council says illicit flows have risen to more than $120bn a year
US-Iran accord opens way for Hormuz charges, industry warns
Shipping executives fear language will enable Tehran to introduce fees after 60 days or a fund similar to Strait of Malacca
Effi O Blaenau — a stark Welsh drama lit up by a revelatory new star
Leisa Gwenllian nails all the moods asked of her in a story of hedonism and aggro set in a poverty-scarred ex-mining town
Trump is taking a page out of China’s sovereign AI playbook
Governments have long protected strategic industries — what is new is their willingness to become shareholders
The war is over; why aren’t bond yields lower?
Other things
Albanian PM blames Iran for protests against Kushner’s luxury resort
Edi Rama defends controversial $4bn project that has triggered weeks of angry demonstrations
Killing Anna — how catfishing exposed perpetrators of a Syrian massacre
Scalding documentary details creation of a fake persona that led members of Assad’s militia to confess their crimes
Europe should speak to Putin, says Austrian chancellor
Christian Stocker tells FT that there is ‘momentum’ around Ukraine peace talks
The best history books to read this summer
Frederick Studemann selects his best mid-year reads
Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day — feelgood proto-feminist tale reaches for the stars
Haley Bennett plays an aspiring astronomer in this idiosyncratic spin on Woolf’s second novel
The best books for children and young adults to read this summer
James Lovegrove and Suzi Feay select their best mid-year reads
Accenture shares fall to lowest since 2017 as AI threat mounts
IT consultancy hit by concerns technology will hurt its business model