FT News Briefing

The UK’s financial watchdog has failed to remove illegal crypto adverts, and in Japan, shareholder activists are waking companies up from decades of slumber. Plus, the number of active US venture capital firms has dropped by more than a quarter since 2021, and the FT’s Martin Wolf interviews European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde on the bloc’s economic recovery from Covid-19.Mentioned in this podcast:FCA fails to hit firms after half of banned crypto adverts remain online  Activists push Japan Inc to its ‘great tipping point’, says Suntory headNumber of US venture capital firms falls as cash flows to tech’s top investors Martin Wolf interviews Christine Lagarde: Whither Europe? The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

US stocks dropped for the second straight trading session, the Biden administration said it will unleash almost $6bn in additional aid to Ukraine, and South Korea plans to inspect all B737-800 Boeing aircraft operated by domestic airlines after a passenger jet crashed. Plus, US asset managers are gobbling up business from their European rivals and the nightclub business is in decline. Mentioned in this podcast:US stocks slip in broad pullback as investors cash in on 2024 gainsUS to send Ukraine $6bn in fresh military and budget assistanceSouth Korea to inspect all Boeing B737-800 aircraft after crashThe relentless advance of American asset managers in EuropeWho killed the rave? Late-night dancing falls into global declineThe FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Defaults on US credit card loans have hit the highest level since the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and as payment fraud rises, banks and tech companies disagree on who should cover consumer losses. Syria’s caretaker government has said it could take up to four years for the country to hold elections. Plus, how Hitachi’s plan to monetize industrial data has revived its fortunes. Mentioned in this podcast:US credit card defaults jump to highest level since 2010 Who should foot the bill for cyber scams?Syrian elections may not be held for 4 years, says de facto leader ‘Monetising data’: how Hitachi has soared with bets on AI futureThe FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Persis Love, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Are the Democrats doomed? Which world leaders are happiest to see Trump back in the White House? And why are investors flooding into American stocks? The FT’s US managing editor Peter Spiegel and global business columnist Rana Foroohar answer all of your questions after a wild year in US politics. Mentioned in this podcast:Trump team aims to bankrupt Iran with new ‘maximum pressure’ planHow ‘the mother of all bubbles’ will popSign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter hereSwamp Notes is produced by Ethan Plotkin, Sonja Hutson, Lauren Fedor and Marc Filippino. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

A number of cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds are outpacing their rivals, the Bank of England holds interest rates at 4.75 per cent, and Microsoft has partnered with a utility company to restart a controversial reactor at Three Mile Island.Mentioned in this podcast:Hedge funds cash in on Trump-fuelled crypto boom Bank of England holds interest rates at 4.75%Behind the Money: How the AI boom is reviving Three Mile IslandThe FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by a quarter-point but signals a slower pace of easing, and we look back at what central banks learned in 2024. The US Supreme Court says it will hear TikTok’s appeal against a divest-or-ban law, and Honda-Nissan talks aim to rescue Japan’s fragmented automotive industry.Mentioned in this podcast:Fed cuts rates by a quarter-point but signals slower pace of easing Five central banking lessons for 2024US Supreme Court to hear arguments challenging law that could ban TikTok Honda-Nissan merger talks mark Japan Inc’s new consolidate-to-survive moodThe FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Marine Saint, Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Argentina emerged from a severe recession in the third quarter, Microsoft buys twice as many of Nvidia’s chips as any of its largest rivals, KPMG narrows the gap with the other Big Four firms, and Huawei sets sights on becoming a big supplier to the electric car industry. Plus, pub chains express frustration over shortages of Guinness in the run-up to Christmas.Mentioned in this podcast:Microsoft acquires twice as many Nvidia AI chips as tech rivals Argentina’s economy exits recession in milestone for Javier MileiKPMG outpaces Big Four rivals as audit and tax units shine ‘A different animal’: inside Huawei’s nascent EV business Diageo ‘better get brewing’, says Wetherspoons head amid Guinness shortage  The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Japan’s SoftBank unveils $100bn US investment plans, fervour around Nvidia cools as investors look to AI’s next winners, and Europe launches its most ambitious space programme in a decade. Plus, in Syria, Kurdish groups fear they may be worse off under a rebel-led government.Mentioned in this podcast: Japan’s SoftBank pledges $100bn investment in US After Nvidia’s boom, what’s next for AI-related stocks?  Europe signs €10.6bn Iris² satellite deal in bid to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink Syria’s Kurds fear US betrayal under Donald Trump Credit: APSend us your questions for Swamp Notes! Write to ethan.plotkin@ft.com.The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Marine Saint, Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Germany’s Olaf Scholz is expected to lose a confidence vote in parliament on Monday, and Arm and Qualcomm’s bitter legal feud over chip design licensing is heading to trial. The London Stock Exchange is on course for its worst year for departures since the financial crisis. Plus, investors’ appetite for juicy returns has triggered a big boom on Wall Street in complex financial products. Mentioned in this podcast:Olaf Scholz faces confidence vote — and hopes to lose itWall Street’s complex debt bonanza hits fastest pace since 2007London Stock Exchange suffers biggest exodus since financial crisisChip groups Arm and Qualcomm square off in high-stakes US trial ‘No political authority’: South Korea’s interim leader faces daunting taskSend us your questions for Swamp Notes! Write to ethan.plotkin@ft.com.The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com