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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. Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of hedge fund firm Bridgewater Associates, warned that the UK could be heading for a “debt death spiral”, in which it has to borrow more and more money to service

It was the moment Israelis had been yearning for. On Sunday afternoon, 471 long days after they were seized by Hamas in the blackest hour of Israel’s history, three young hostages made the painstaking journey from imprisonment in Gaza to freedom in their homeland. The release of the three women — Romi Gonen, Emily Damari

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A truce between Israel and Hamas due to come into effect on Sunday morning has been delayed after Hamas failed to provide the names of hostages to be freed later in the day for what

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Santander is reconsidering its presence in the UK two decades after its acquisition of Abbey National made it a major player on Britain’s high street, according to people familiar with the matter. The bank is

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the European banks myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Commerzbank is exploring cutting thousands of jobs as it seeks to fend off unwanted advances from Italy’s UniCredit, according to people familiar with the matter. The plans, which have not yet been formalised, were expected

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Travel & leisure industry myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The price of travel permits needed by EU and US citizens to enter the UK is to rise from £10 to £16, the government said, triggering warnings that the cost will damage tourism.

Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister, said he could strike a trade deal with Donald Trump and avoid punitive tariffs on the UK as he dismissed as “noises off” Elon Musk’s strident criticism of his leadership. Starmer, speaking to the Financial Times on a visit to Kyiv, insisted Trump’s inauguration on Monday would not add

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The UK economy grew 0.1 per cent in November, undershooting analysts’ expectations, as chancellor Rachel Reeves comes under increasing pressure to rebuild confidence in the government’s fiscal plans. The monthly figure was below the 0.2

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world Donald Trump was facing “sufficient” evidence to have been convicted at trial for seeking to overturn the 2020 US presidential election, according to the special counsel who led the case against the president-elect.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Asian stocks fell across the board on Monday as investors updated their projections for “higher for longer” interest rates after strong US economic data last week. Equities in Australia, Hong Kong, mainland China, India and

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world The California wildfires could be the costliest disaster in US history, the state’s governor said, as forecasts of heavy winds raised fears that the catastrophic fires would spread further. In remarks to NBC’s

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” is the important question posed by the Roman poet Juvenal, translated by the English author Alan Moore as “Who watches the watchmen?”. But it is perhaps a question with a complacent implicit assumption. It presupposes that it is possible to watch the watchmen — and all that one needs to do

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world The IMF has warned that jitters surrounding Donald Trump’s threat to impose trade tariffs were driving up longer-term borrowing costs and would add to pressures facing the global economy in 2025. Speaking to

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Climate change myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The world breached 1.5C of warming last year for the first time, top international agencies said, as an “extraordinary” spike in the global average temperature sparked fears that climate change is accelerating faster than expected.

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the German politics myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Elon Musk heaped praise on the “very reasonable” co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany as she joined the technology billionaire for a discussion about Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump and the existence of aliens. In

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world Elon Musk has privately discussed with allies how Sir Keir Starmer could be removed as UK prime minister before the next general election, according to people briefed on the matter. Musk, the world’s

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The yield on the 10-year gilt on Wednesday rose to its highest level since the height of the global financial crisis as a UK bond sell-off gathered pace. The 10-year gilt yield climbed as much

China’s currency has weakened to a 16-month low as the potential of sharp tariff increases from the incoming Trump administration fuels selling pressure on the renminbi. The onshore renminbi weakened 0.1 per cent to Rmb7.34 against the dollar on Wednesday, its weakest since September 2023, in spite of the People’s Bank of China maintaining a

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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. US corporate bankruptcies have hit their highest level since the aftermath of the global financial crisis as elevated interest rates and weakened consumer demand punish struggling groups. At least 686 US companies filed for bankruptcy