France’s presidential election is turning out to be a tight and unpredictable contest. The far-right Marine Le Pen is gaining ground on President Emmanuel Macron, who last month seemed assured of re-election. Financial markets are waking up to the possibility of a stupendous upset in the election’s second round on April 24. The spread between
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Hungary is prepared to meet Moscow’s demands for Russian gas to be paid for in roubles, Viktor Orban has said in a challenge to the EU’s rejection of Vladimir Putin’s attempts to shift the terms of energy contracts. The Hungarian prime minister, who won a fourth consecutive term in office in Sunday’s landslide election victory,
Good evening, Two Financial Times reports from opposite sides of the world highlight the severe stresses on global food production from the shock of coronavirus followed by the war in Ukraine. In China, strict Covid lockdowns are exacerbating shortages of fertiliser, labour and seeds just ahead of the crucial spring planting season. Particularly badly affected
The US has imposed its most severe level of sanctions on Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution, and Alfa-Bank, the country’s biggest private bank, escalating its economic punishment of Moscow in response to atrocities committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. The announcement on Wednesday of “full blocking sanctions”, which prevent the lenders from transacting with any
The head of Credit Suisse’s investment bank was under investigation over allegedly mistreating women when he was fired for his role in the collapse of family office Archegos Capital last year, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Brian Chin was one of several top executives to be ousted after Credit Suisse lost $5.5bn
Asset managers are on a shopping spree. After notching up $68bn worth of mergers and acquisitions last year — the biggest haul since 2007 on Refinitiv numbers — deals show no sign of abating. On Monday, Perpetual of Australia made a A$2.4bn ($1.8bn) bid for local rival Pendal. Last month, AllianceBernstein agreed to pay $750mn
The proportion of EU workers in the UK hospitality industry has dropped to its lowest level since 2019, leaving restaurants, hotels and pubs struggling to afford pay increases to attract domestic staff. EU employees now account for 28 per cent of the hospitality workforce, down from 42 per cent before the pandemic, while British workers
Ever turned away briefly from watching a football match only to a hear a fellow spectator loudly exclaim “ooooft”? In such an instance, you’ll probably guess that someone has been poleaxed on the field, likely from a challenge that used to be referred to as a “reducer”. That was before, you know, injuring someone stopped
It might feel like Friday after the torrent of news that has washed through this week but, sadly, it’s only Wednesday. Which means, of course, it’s time for the answers to our Friday quiz. Enjoy: 1. Vladimir Putin said this week that Europe’s energy companies must start paying for their Russian gas in roubles. Which
Brussels is proposing to levy punitive trade tariffs on countries that do not accept the return of citizens who have illegally entered Europe, as the bloc steps up efforts to toughen its migration policy. The move by the European Commission follows an increase in anti-immigrant feeling in many EU countries, which has led to rising
China’s strict Covid lockdowns are exacerbating serious shortages of fertiliser, labour and seeds, just as many of the country’s biggest agricultural provinces prepare for their crucial spring planting season. According to official data, as many as a third of farmers in northeastern Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces have insufficient agricultural inputs after authorities sealed off
Car dealer group Lookers said that motorists changing vehicles at the end of fixed-term finance deals will prevent the auto market falling off a “cliff edge”, despite the squeeze on household budgets. As the company posted record annual profits because of soaring used car prices, it forecast that prices would remain high this year because
The value of global trade fell 2.8 per cent between February and March as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to a sharp drop in container ship traffic from the two countries, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The data from the German research body are the first to indicate how much the
To Kill a Mockingbird Gielgud Theatre, London “All rise.” It’s the refrain that runs through Aaron Sorkin’s mighty stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. It starts as an instruction from an official to the courtroom, becomes an invitation to the audience at the interval and ends as a rallying cry, importuning all those present
Milestones are not always the key moment of change, but the point at which history says it can no longer be ignored. February 24 was the date Russia invaded Ukraine. It will also mark the point at which the world undeniably split into blocks. Whatever the outcome of Vladimir Putin’s war, geopolitics is now divided
The shirt worn by football superstar Diego Maradona in the 1986 “Hand of God” match against England is to go up for auction with an estimated value of up to £6mn. The late Argentina captain’s shirt, which has been on public view at the National Football Museum in Manchester for 18 years, is being sold
Breast cancer has acquired a grim new status. It has overtaken lung cancer to become the world’s most common cancer. But the pharmaceutical industry is stepping up. Breast cancer is at the cutting edge of oncology research. Researchers have made big strides in understanding the complexities of breast cancer, where tumour types are diverse. That has
The EU will on Wednesday discuss adding Herman Gref, the head of Russia’s Sberbank, and aluminium oligarch Oleg Deripaska to its sanctions list as it seeks to tighten the screw on Russian businesses following the invasion of Ukraine. Alexander Shulgin, the chief of Russian ecommerce platform Ozon, Boris Rotenberg, one of president Vladimir Putin’s closest
Top UK housebuilder Redrow has increased the amount of money it has set aside to fix fire safety issues to more than five times an original estimate, in response to tougher demands on developers laid out by housing secretary Michael Gove. Housebuilders have been trying to move on from a long-running building safety crisis that
Volodymyr Zelensky has intensified his call for the international security system to be overhauled as new evidence emerged of alleged crimes by Russian forces in areas that were recently recaptured by Ukrainian troops. The Ukrainian president intensified his criticism of the global community in a late-night video address after lambasting the UN for failing to
Sri Lanka’s rupee has plunged to a record low to become the world’s worst-performing currency, as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa struggles to contain a worsening economic and political crisis. The Sri Lankan rupee was hovering near SLRs300 per US dollar on Wednesday, down 32 per cent year to date and lagging even Russia’s rouble, after Rajapaksa