FT News Briefing - Financial Times

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China’s widening tech crackdown Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

KKR is expanding its operations to target more takeovers in the UK,

ransomware hackers hit more than 1,000 companies in what appears to be one of the largest supply chain attacks to date, and oil prices jumped to the highest level in three years on Monday after oil producers abandoned a decision over increasing oil production. Plus, the FT’s deputy Beijing bureau chief looks at why Chinese regulators are going after Chinese tech companies that recently listed in the US.

KKR steps up pursuit of UK companies amid buyout frenzy

https://www.ft.com/content/e5cc18cf-081d-4b68-b469-ca77935a615e?

Oil hits three-year high after Opec+ abandons meeting

https://www.ft.com/content/c9746fbc-7a90-4c9a-9a52-30b44475aa9a

Russia-linked hackers target IT supply chain with ransomware

https://www.ft.com/content/a8e7c9a2-5819-424f-b087-c6f2e8f0c7a1

China targets more tech groups after Didi crackdown

https://www.ft.com/content/771f6d40-ecd2-4855-8193-d0550f1d2e3d

Clubhouse discussion on Jeff Bezos’s departure from Amazon

https://www.clubhouse.com/event/PrDXYYvL

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Introducing Tech Tonic: Trust me, I’m a robot Jul 05, 2021

Show notes

As a News Briefing special we present Tech Tonic, our FT audio deep dive into the promises and perils of artificial intelligence.

If you enjoyed this episode, click here to subscribe to Tech Tonic.

Tech Tonic S2 E2: Trust me, I’m a robot

What does it mean for AI to augment human perception? In this episode the FT’s Madhumita Murgia takes us to a small village in rural India where AI is being used to help doctors better diagnose tuberculosis and looks at a healthcare system where it is helping patients who doctors may have overlooked.

Alice Fordham is senior producer. Josh Gabert Doyon is assistant producer. Oluwakemi Aladesuyi and Liam Nolan are the development producers. Sound design and mixing by Sean McGarrity. Cheryl Brumley is the executive producer for this series. You heard the song Down in the Coalmine by The Ian Campbell Folk Group, as well as original scoring composed by Metaphor Music.

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What the Apple Daily closure means for the free press in Hong Kong Jul 02, 2021

Show notes

The world’s leading economies have signed up to a plan that looks to force multinational companies to pay a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent, economists believe that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by the end of 20-23, and Robinhood is targeting a valuation of $40bn or more ahead of its public offering. Plus, the FT’s Nicolle Liu explains what the closure of the Apple Daily newspaper means for the media landscape in Hong Kong.

World’s leading economies agree global minimum corporate tax rate

https://www.ft.com/content/d0311794-abcf-4a2a-a8a4-bcabfc4f71fa

Robinhood targets $40bn valuation ahead of IPO

https://www.ft.com/content/7421d913-0f77-4458-9032-59ba32c846f1?

Economists predict at least two US interest rate rises by end of 2023

https://www.ft.com/content/de778e1b-3876-4999-942e-186c2a692a1a

Apple Daily’s death leaves a shadow over free press in Hong Kong

https://www.ft.com/content/c7aa2919-dce1-4196-8d4a-ad9f57c59c4e

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How English Channel ports avoided a Brexit meltdown Jul 01, 2021

Show notes

Private equity firms have broken a 40-year record with $500bn in deals that helped to propel global mergers and acquisitions activity to an all-time high, and the dominant Chinese ride-hailing company, Didi Chuxing, became the largest Chinese company since Alibaba to list in the US, and nightmarish fears of traffic jams and clogged ports after Brexit never materialised thanks to several factors.

Private equity breaks 40-year record with $500bn deals

https://www.ft.com/content/cd9571a3-726c-4995-9954-23a8dcf12b19?

Didi shares rise on New York trading debut

https://www.ft.com/content/dd7ea7fa-96c4-420c-94be-5730a284cc04

How Britain’s Channel ports avoided Brexit meltdown

https://www.ft.com/content/1001c054-0cf9-4f30-a62a-c9ac91e58223

Tim Berners-Lee’s web NFT sells for $5.4m

https://www.ft.com/content/0e45c25b-f66b-44d1-b662-0e7b095664f9

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Inside the secretive private equity firm behind the £6.8bn Asda buyout Jun 30, 2021

Show notes

Today the UK will set out a plan for a simpler, more “nimble” post-Brexit system of state subsidies, and the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi is anticipating a wave of infrastructure spending as it bets on the US market to drive its next phase of growth. Plus, the FT’s private capital correspondent, Kaye Wiggins, investigates the low-profile investors behind the £6.8bn buyout of UK supermarket chain Asda.

UK unveils post-Brexit state aid scheme to support industry

https://www.ft.com/content/4206d16f-772f-4257-bdca-ca19ca049402

Hitachi targets strong US growth under Biden’s infrastructure plan

https://www.ft.com/content/e9a43c04-7d89-4f71-a77a-060cc12930cc

Inside the secretive private equity firm behind the £6.8bn Asda buyout

https://www.ft.com/content/ce7092f9-645a-46bd-8007-611c99fd8907

Zaoui brothers join Europe’s emerging Spac movement

https://www.ft.com/content/ae2a02ae-2af7-4a61-9c40-cf41927c3b3a?

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The frontrunner to replace Angela Merkel talks the CDU and Germany’s economy Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

A US judge has dismissed two antitrust lawsuits against Facebook, investors are reassessing their conviction in the reflation trade that has captivated Wall Street this year after a hawkish tilt by the US central bank inflicted losses on some fund managers, Binance customers have lost the ability to withdraw and deposit pounds using one of the main UK payments systems. Plus, the FT’s Berlin bureau chief, Guy Chazan, spoke with Armin Laschet, leader of the CDU and frontrunner to replace Angela Merkel, about his plans for Germany’s economy and relations with China.

US judge dismisses antitrust lawsuits against Facebook

https://www.ft.com/content/bedb65dd-53c9-4e31-b3d7-c85a40fdb104

Reflation trade unwind wrongfoots several big-name hedge funds

https://www.ft.com/content/4fc62da9-da68-4d1f-a2aa-c8a575d11920?

Binance customers frozen out of withdrawals through key UK payments network

https://www.ft.com/content/2d427ed7-f9e4-46cf-a4c4-46429b19df5d?

FT interview: Armin Laschet on Merkel, the Greens and fiscal rules

https://www.ft.com/content/e3c3e517-2c5b-49d6-a566-0f6bd896f8fe

Olaf Scholz treads fine line on German thrift versus pandemic spending

https://www.ft.com/content/1d6d8876-2b21-4550-ba85-443d5c20919b?

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The Amazon wage effect Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

The UK’s financial watchdog has ordered crypto exchange Binance to stop all regulated activities in Britain, and Denmark’s media industry is pioneering a new bargaining tactic to try and make Google and Facebook pay for news. Plus, the FT’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson reports that some US companies blame Amazon’s aggressive hiring practices for the current labor shortage.

Financial watchdog bans crypto exchange Binance from UK

https://www.ft.com/content/8bc0e5e0-2705-496d-a265-acccaffaee87

Danish media club together to make US tech giants pay for news

https://www.ft.com/content/c83d6b7f-ed19-4a90-a719-3bf4aedccdff?

Amazon effect’ sets the tone for US workers’ remuneration

https://www.ft.com/content/9e8b9727-7955-44c4-955a-73375a7a20ef

UBS to let most staff mix working from home and office permanently

https://www.ft.com/content/1601e314-6d6d-4014-94df-f2858ee64e8e?

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Biden strikes infrastructure deal, Bitcoin’s plunge Jun 25, 2021

Show notes

US President Joe Biden has secured a deal on an infrastructure package worth about $1tn to spend on upgrading roads, bridges and broadband networks over the next eight years, and the US Federal Reserve loosened restrictions on dividends and buybacks by America’s biggest banks as it released an analysis showing the lenders could suffer almost $500bn in losses and still easily meet capital requirements, and the price of bitcoin briefly dropped below $30,000 in volatile trading after a sweeping regulatory crackdown.

Biden agrees slimmed-down $1tn infrastructure deal with senators

https://www.ft.com/content/b262ed46-152d-42bd-9a6d-b70d679bb282?

Fed gives passing grade to biggest US banks in stress tests

https://wwwk.ft.com/content/78f53986-fefa-4208-b4ea-674052a9ca3f

Bitcoin sinks below $30,000 for first time since January:

https://www.ft.com/content/a53a6342-f1e3-4cfe-aab0-642434da428c

Andreessen Horowitz increases crypto bets with new $2.2bn fund

https://www.ft.com/content/36413e3e-7915-45c7-b4ce-ccbeac972c94?

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Meme ‘stonks’ and the market Jun 24, 2021

Show notes

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

https://www.ft.com/content/eb36b605-47d9-465a-91f8-d47a4af45fae

Tech groups in Taiwan are accused of locking up migrant workers as coronavirus hits the sector, and the rapid rise in prices for raw materials has reversed a decades-long decline in the cost of solar energy. Plus, our global finance correspondent, Robin Wigglesworth, explains how financial memefication is evolving from a niche corner to grow deep roots in stock markets

Tech groups in Taiwan accused of locking up migrant workers

https://www.ft.com/content/4269650e-7660-4b80-b294-f81b4368784c

Solar power investors burnt by rise in raw materials costs

https://www.ft.com/content/2f8dd951-a1b1-410a-89dd-14728c56235d

How meme lords fuelled a boom in the ‘stonk market’

https://www.ft.com/content/e3304649-7348-424e-b354-e8da1c819364

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Why Instagram is getting filtered out Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

House prices have set records in the US and parts of Europe, and the artificial intelligence-based drug-discovery platform Insilico has raised more than $255m from investors. Plus, the deputy head of the FT’s Lex column, Elaine Moore, explains why Instagram is struggling to stay relevant in today's social media landscape.

House prices climb to record levels in US and Europe

https://www.ft.com/content/3082fe00-cdb7-4eb9-ab2d-2309b9848114

AI drug discovery start-up Insilico raises more than $255m

https://www.ft.com/content/704ced9a-dffd-49a1-a58f-46fc6dca0cd2

Too many influencers, not enough eyeballs: will boredom kill Instagram?

https://www.ft.com/content/9c00219a-229a-4b82-a7c3-63000b558053

More than 5m people become millionaires despite pandemic

https://www.ft.com/content/86b99144-ba71-441d-b297-ddcdc94ea7f2?

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