BUSINESS

How cheap steel endangers Europe’s defence build-up

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and advises the technology company Disruptive Industries. European countries are ratcheting up their defence spending at extraordinary speed; they have no choice. As Washington hints … Read more

Saudi Arabia to ‘take stock’ of spending after oil price drop

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said the kingdom would “take stock” of its spending priorities as it grappled with a sharp drop in oil revenue and the global tumult triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. … Read more

Desperately coining new Mexican-flavoured market acronyms in an attempt to go viral

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world It’s Robert Armstrong’s world, and we’re just living in it. Borg: President Donald Trump bristled at suggestions that Wall Street believes he’s ultimately unwilling to follow through on extreme tariff threats, saying his … Read more

The $1tn shadow bank lending boom

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US banks are lending less and less to companies these days. But the business of lending to so-called shadow banks — such as private credit funds, insurers, asset managers and credit hedge funds — is booming. On the face of it, bank lending to “commercial and industrial” companies (C&I loans) has merely stagnated in recent … Read more

a fintech that has stuck to its knitting

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Wise, the London-listed fintech group, has taken some time to grow into its name. Since its 2021 direct listing, it has had a rollercoaster ride of interest rate shocks and regulatory mis-steps. But the company … Read more

Sukuk market at risk of unintended disruption

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is an adviser on Islamic finance, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and millennium fellow at the Atlantic Council  The global sukuk market for Islamic finance faces a pivotal moment. A new framework from the … Read more

The bond vigilantes are on the prowl

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Sovereign bonds myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The bond vigilantes are growling and baring their teeth, and authorities around the world (most of it, anyhow) are doing the right thing, and backing away. But the risk of bond wobbles spiralling in to … Read more