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Central bankers are rethinking their approach to economic forecasting after their high-profile failures to spot the most recent inflationary outburst, as officials argue for greater candour with the markets about the uncertainties they are confronting.  The European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and other official forecasters failed to see how the

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that the Spring Budget 2024 will be held on March 6. The fiscal event is seen by Downing Street as a crucial milestone in the run-up to a general

Global banks eliminated more than 60,000 jobs in 2023, marking one of the heaviest years for cuts since the financial crisis and reversing much of their hiring as they emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic. Investment banks suffered a second consecutive year of plummeting fees as dealmaking and public listings dried up, leaving Wall Street trying

The influence of China’s once-powerful central bank has diminished as Beijing steps up a drive to centralise Communist party control over financial regulation. Some of the powers formerly held by the People’s Bank of China have been taken over by a party oversight body and a revamped financial regulator as Beijing resets its growth model.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to fight on in the war against Hamas, despite a mounting death toll and growing international calls to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in the Palestinian enclave and halt

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Blackstone invested more in European real estate than in any other region in 2023, as the world’s largest commercial property owner picked up bargains from market turmoil and distressed sellers.  Real estate deal-making collapsed this

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The UK economy shrank slightly in the third quarter, according to revised figures that highlight the country’s struggle to shake off its low-growth performance. The Office for National Statistics said on Friday that gross domestic

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Football’s governing bodies have lost a landmark court case that threatens their hold over the sport in Europe, potentially opening a path for the biggest clubs to form new breakaway competitions. The EU’s top court

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Sovereign bonds myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The UK is at high risk of a serious economic downturn next year, one of the world’s biggest active bond fund managers has warned. Daniel Ivascyn, chief investment officer at Pimco, told the Financial Times

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Global Economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Corporate bankruptcies are increasing at double-digit rates in most advanced economies as borrowing costs rise and governments unwind pandemic-era worth trillions of dollars support for struggling businesses. Following a decade of decline the number of

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. This week’s rally in global bond markets has shattered investors’ months-long assumption that interest rates in the US and elsewhere will remain higher for longer. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield, seen as a proxy

This article is an onsite version of our Europe Express newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every weekday and Saturday morning A “remarkable strategic own goal by us” — that’s how Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, this week described the risk of a lapse in

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. EU leaders gathering in Brussels have vowed to find a way to support Ukraine after Hungary’s Viktor Orbán vetoed a €50bn lifeline for the war-torn country. Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that “Ukraine will

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the UK interest rates myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The Bank of England kept rates steady at 5.25 per cent on Thursday as governor Andrew Bailey warned there was “still some way to go” before inflation hit its target. The BoE’s Monetary Policy

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The UK economy unexpectedly contracted in October, driven by falls in every sector and fuelling concerns that high interest rates could push the country into a downturn. Gross domestic product fell 0.3 per cent between

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Thames Water is facing more than £1bn in debt repayments next year just as MPs heighten their scrutiny of the utility’s financial health. About £1.17bn worth of loans, private placement and bonds are expiring in

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Monetary policy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Leading central banks are preparing to push back at investor predictions of how quickly interest rates will fall, as they meet for the final time this year amid strong employment numbers. Investors have been betting

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China’s state health insurance system has lost tens of millions of subscribers, as higher costs have put one of the world’s largest healthcare schemes out of reach for many people already struggling in a post-pandemic

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. China’s consumer prices fell 0.5 per cent year on year in November, the sharpest decline in three years as the world’s second-largest economy grapples with worsening deflation. Consumer prices dropped by more than the 0.2

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The UK’s competition regulator has taken the first steps of an investigation into Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI, one of the tech industry’s most lucrative tie-ups. The Competition and Markets Authority on Friday said it