The S&P 500 hit a record high, Europe’s biggest hope for dominance in EV batteries is struggling to hang on and the Bank of England held interest rates steady. Plus, the FT’s Brooke Masters explains why customers are getting fed up with airline loyalty programmes.

Mentioned in this podcast:

S&P 500 hits new record after Fed makes jumbo cut to US interest rates

Europe’s great battery hope Northvolt fights for survival

Bank of England holds rates at 5%

The fury of the frequent flyer

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 Monica Lopez. 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

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The Federal Reserve’s interest rate easing began with a half-point cut, and the UK’s financial watchdog has stepped up pressure on banks to offer more attractive interest rates on deposits. The FT’s Mehul Srivastava unravels the supply chain behind the pagers that exploded in Lebanon this week.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Federal Reserve cuts rates by half a point and signals era of easing has begun

UK regulator pushes banks to give savers better value even as rates fall

From Taipei to Budapest: the mysterious trail of exploding pagers

London and New York cocoa prices in rare divergence as shortages bite

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 Monica Lopez. 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BlackRock and Microsoft are launching a $30bn data centre fund to meet the growing demands of artificial intelligence, and BP puts its onshore US wind business up for sale. Meta is making teenagers’ Instagram accounts private by default and EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager speaks to the FT about her efforts to regulate in Big Tech.

Mentioned in this podcast:

BlackRock and Microsoft plan $30bn fund to invest in AI infrastructure

BP puts $2bn US onshore wind business up for sale

Instagram to make teenagers’ profiles private by default

Vestager warns EU against weakening merger rules

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Mischa Frankl-Duval, Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The EU is preparing to provide up to €40bn in new loans for Ukraine by the end of the year, and Boeing is considering temporary furloughs as its machinists continue to strike. The company behind ChatGPT is launching a new product it claims can solve complex mathematical and scientific problems. Plus, former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi launches a master plan to boost EU competitiveness.

Mentioned in this podcast:

EU plans to raise up to €40bn in loans for Ukraine without US

Boeing considers furloughs amid machinist strike

OpenAI launches AI models it says are capable of reasoning

Will Mario Draghi’s masterplan get the momentum it needs?

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Mischa Frankl-Duval, Persis Love, Michela Tindera, Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are set to announce interest rate decisions this week. In China, venture capital finance has dried up amid political and economic pressures. Plus, Indonesian palm oil producers warn of global supply chain disruption if the EU bans imported commodities linked to deforestation.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Jay Powell’s big week

How China has ‘throttled’ its private sector

Indonesia warns of ‘chaos’ from EU deforestation law

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Persis Love, Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week’s special episode of Swamp Notes, four FT journalists discuss the historic first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, and answer all your most-pressing questions about the US presidential race. The FT’s US managing editor, Peter Spiegel, moderates the discussion alongside deputy Washington bureau chief, Lauren Fedor, global business columnist, Rana Foroohar, and chief foreign affairs columnist, Gideon Rachman.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Kamala Harris has passed a big test

Kamala Harris needles Donald Trump in fiery presidential debate

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

Swamp 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 and the FT Live team.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Investors snapped up consumer staples such as Coca-Cola and Colgate-Palmolive amid concerns over a potential slowdown in the US economy. Abu Dhabi’s oil company Adnoc could offer €14.4bn for German chemical group Covestro, and the European Central Bank cut interest rates to 3.5 per cent. Plus, people in Los Angeles are encouraged to park their car obsession ahead of the 2028 Olympics, and amateur astronauts completed the first private spacewalk.

Investors pile into Coca-Cola and Colgate as recession fears grow

Abu Dhabi closes in on German group that helped ‘invent chemistry’

ECB cuts interest rates to 3.5%

Can LA end its love affair with cars?

Astronauts complete first private spacewalk

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Peter Wells, Persis Love, Michela Tindera, Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Italian lender UniCredit has amassed a 9 per cent stake in Commerzbank, and US inflation fell to 2.5 per cent in August. Plus, Argentines are declaring hundreds of millions of dollars of previously hidden savings in a tax amnesty and Mexico’s Senate approved a radical plan to have voters elect all its judges.

Mentioned in this podcast:

US inflation falls to 2.5% in August

UniCredit’s push for European bank consolidation looks on target

Javier Milei’s tax amnesty lures Argentines to declare hidden millions

Mexico’s Senate approves radical plan to elect all judges

The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Mischa Frankl-Duval, Michela Tindera, Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. 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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.