FT News Briefing

The White House walks back expectations for Friday’s meeting between the US and Russian presidents, and Norway’s oil fund is pulling its money out of Israel. Plus, inflation stayed flat in the US in July, and storm-hit beach towns are struggling to shore up amid sand scarcity.Mentioned in this podcast:White House downplays expectations for Trump-Putin Alaska summitUS inflation holds steady at 2.7% in July despite Trump’s tariffsNorway oil fund sells out of a fifth of Israeli firms amid fierce criticismCan the world’s beaches survive a sand shortage?Crypto founder Do Kwon pleads guilty to US fraud chargesToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Fiona Symon, Katya Kumkova, Michaela Seah, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Kelly Garry, Michael Lello, and Gavin Kallmann. Our acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

EU leaders will hold a call with US President Donald Trump ahead of his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and the Mexican peso has emerged as an unlikely winner from Trump’s trade war. Plus, Trump has opened the door to Nvidia selling advanced AI chips to China, and the FT’s Kathrin Hille explains what’s next for Taiwan after the country’s failed recall vote. Mentioned in this podcast:EU leaders to hold call with Trump ahead of Putin meeting over UkrainePeso soars as ‘carry trade’ reignites after tariff delaysTrump opens door to Nvidia selling advanced AI chips to China for a feeWhy Taiwanese fear China could take over from withinToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

UK employers cut back hiring over labour and tax cost fears, and Ukraine and its European allies worry about US President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Plus, HSBC is weighed down by woes in the Hong Kong commercial property market, and India’s huge IT sector is scrambling to counter the threat of artificial intelligence. Mentioned in this podcast:UK employers cut back hiring over labour and tax cost fearsDonald Trump to meet Putin in Alaska as he signals Ukraine may need to cede landEuropean allies back Ukraine’s borders after Donald Trump floats land swap with RussiaHSBC flags 73% of Hong Kong commercial property loans as riskyIndia’s IT services giants race to reinvent themselves for the AI ageToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Ethan Plotkin, Jess Smith, Sonja Hutson, Fiona Symon, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Alex Higgins and Peter Barber. Our acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Donald Trump has nominated Stephen Miran to fill a soon-to-be vacant seat on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, and the Bank of England lowered rates by a quarter per cent in a close vote. Plus Europe’s weapons factories are expanding fast and US President Donald Trump threatens a 100 per cent tariff on chips excluding Apple. Mentioned in this podcast:https://www.ft.com/content/298bf95e-49ec-4d9f-8948-b7f72cf4ffddBoE cuts rates with a hawkish shift in its outlookEurope builds for war as arms factories expand at triple speedDonald Trump threatens 100% tariff on chips but with carve-out for AppleSign up here for the Chris Giles on Central Banks newsletter.Today’s FT News Briefing was produced by Sonja Hutson and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Sam Giovinco, Gavin Kallmann and David da Silva. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Our intern is Michaela Seah. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

European companies are falling behind US counterparts and CoreWeave’s takeover of Core Scientific is facing some pushback. Plus, Boston Consulting Group helped create plans to relocate Gazans to Somalia, and the FT found that Iranian nuclear scientists made a covert visit to Russia last year. Mentioned in this podcast:European earnings lag behind US as trade war saps market revivalCoreWeave’s $9bn takeover of Core Scientific faces revolt from top shareholdersBCG consultants modelled relocating Gazans to SomaliaThe covert trip by Iranian nuclear experts to RussiaEmail Swamp Notes your questions: marc.filippino@ft.com Today’s FT News Briefing was produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples, and Michael Lello. Our acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Our intern is Michaela Seah. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

US President Donald Trump plans on imposing new sanctions on Russia unless there is a ceasefire in Ukraine, and Palantir’s skyrocketing stock is raising concerns that it’s overvalued. Plus, OpenAI released a new “open-weight” model, and Russia’s banks are coming under scrutiny over bad loans.Mentioned in this podcast:Trump readies fresh sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleetRussia moves to contain concern over banks’ bad loan exposurePalantir’s valuation is a triumph of ‘number go up’OpenAI releases open models to compete with China’s DeepSeekToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Our intern is Michaela Seah. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

US President Donald Trump wants to raise tariffs on India and the CEO of Deutsche Bank approved a controversial trade he was later tasked with probing. Plus, Australia wants a port they sold to China back, and Tesla’s board gave chief executive Elon Musk $30bn worth of shares after threats from him to resign.  Mentioned in this podcast:Donald Trump to raise tariffs on India over Russian oil purchasesDeutsche Bank chief approved controversial trade he was later tasked with probingThe remote Australian port caught in a US-China security tussle Tesla board awards $30bn of shares to ‘energise and focus’ Elon MuskToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Our intern is Michaela Seah. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

The FT’s US financial commentator joins to discuss how investors are responding to unsettling new economic data, and Germany’s biggest sports retailer is considering relocating some manufacturing to China. Plus, US President Donald Trump is using tariffs to target Brazil’s judiciary, and consumers are cutting back on luxury brands. Mentioned in this podcast:Dollar rebound fizzles after jobs data disappointsGermany’s biggest sports retailer considers moving production into ChinaLula seizes Trump tariff threat to revive re-election pushBrazil vows to defend supreme court against Donald Trump’s onslaughtLuxury brands hit by drop in tourist spending in Europe and Japan Today’s FT News Briefing was produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Ethan Plotkin, Jess Smith, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Our intern is Michaela Seah. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

This weekend, we're sharing an episode from our fellow FT podcast, Swamp Notes. The US president is angry with the chair of the Federal Reserve over interest rates. He’s applying a lot of pressure on Jay Powell to lower them or leave his job. The FT’s Claire Jones and Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, break down what will happen if Trump succeeds in either of those goals.Subscribe to Swamp Notes on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.