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The title of my note today is taken from a new book by former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, which has become ever more timely since it was published a couple of months ago. I had the chance to hear Rudd — who speaks fluent Mandarin and is, for my money, one of the smartest

Forget all the fancy talk about neutral interest rates and output gaps. The two basic questions facing the Federal Reserve are simple to state and complex to answer: is the world’s most powerful central bank finally committed to return monetary policy to serving the real economy rather than financial markets; and can it do so

Within the plush splendour of Dior’s new boutique on Avenue Montaigne in Paris, with its haute couture salon and pâtisserie, is a not so hidden gem. Nestled in a display cabinet sits a fancy yellow cushion-shaped diamond named “Le Montaigne”. It has been cut to weigh precisely 88.88 carats to reference the founding of Dior

Lying on my large bed in a light and tranquil room overlooking storm-strewn daffodil lawns, I wondered if I had arrived at the future of work. I was alone at Birch, a hotel occupying a Georgian manor in 55 acres of land on London’s northern fringe, desperate to replenish my energy after my family and

Mindbody, the fitness and wellbeing tech platform that owns exercise subscription service ClassPass, plans to go public as demand for in-person workouts grows following pandemic shutdowns. A flotation would mark a return to the public markets after just four years away from the Nasdaq for California-based Mindbody, which was taken private by Vista Equity Partners in

Battery manufacturers are confronting a severe lithium shortage, highlighting the need to challenge China’s dominance of raw material supply chains, an Australian lithium producer has warned. Stuart Crow, chair of Lake Resources, said western companies and governments had failed to build adequate supply chains for lithium, making the sudden boom in electric vehicle manufacturing unsustainable.

This is an audio transcript of the Tech Tonic podcast episode: Chips with everything [CHINESE AUDIO CLIP PLAYING]  Chad DuffyI’m based in Taipei, yeah, I’m based in Taipei. The security community here is really, you know, really deeply technical, is a really vibrant security community full of lots of just really talented software developers. James

Your browser does not support playing this file but you can still download the MP3 file to play locally. Incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen will advance to the final round of voting after yesterday’s first round of the French presidential election, and Stefania Palma explains the big themes that have emerged

Your browser does not support playing this file but you can still download the MP3 file to play locally. Our latest season of Tech Tonic continues, with a deep dive into the semiconductor industry and Taiwan’s unique position as a bastion of computer-chip talent. James Kynge, the FT’s global China editor, looks into the unintended

Oksana Belaya refused to leave her home through eight years of Russian occupation in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas territories. But with Moscow’s forces regrouping for an offensive there that will define the next phase of the war, she has finally had enough. “We had hoped up until the last minute that everything would be fine,” the

Lawyers are anticipating a new wave of litigation related to the Covid-19 pandemic over the next two years, a new survey has found. The London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA), which represents the capital’s main litigation practices and law firms, found that 78 per cent of lawyers questioned expected a rise in Covid-related claims. The study

After almost two years of working at home with my family, it’s good to finally spend quality time with my office relatives. Does that mark me out as a Pollyanna? Anyone who has read a novel, been in therapy, or just been alive knows families can be supportive but also dysfunctional. You can pick your

Israel’s NSO Group has been deemed worthless to its private equity backers, just three years after they bought the maker of the notorious Pegasus spyware at a $1bn valuation. It has become “abundantly clear” that the equity in NSO is “valueless”, the consultancy firm brought in to manage the fund that owns the blacklisted cyber

Danish green energy company Orsted is building its coal stockpile in anticipation of burning more of the fuel next winter, just as the EU approved a ban on Russian coal imports as part of a fifth round of sanctions. Chief executive Mads Nipper said a global shortage of wood pellets, which fuel Orsted’s biomass power

Commodity traders prospered during the pandemic using their global network of terminals, storage facilities and shipping fleets to cash in on supply disruptions and rising demand. Vitol generated record net income of more than $4bn last year, according to people who have seen the results of the world’s biggest independent oil trader, with rival Mercuria

Hobby magazines have always coaxed readers into spending money but Future, the publisher behind titles such as Homes & Gardens and PC Gamer, has turned this into more than a side hustle. The FTSE 250 group last year helped retail partners make just under £1bn in sales. Future’s commission for doing so — £216mn —

Lee Castleton recalls to the last penny the shortfall that flashed on to his post office terminal on New Year’s eve, 2003 — £1,103.68. A week later another loss appeared, this time £4,230. Then another and another. By March, the sub-postmaster was £25,000 short. “I kind of knew from the second loss that this wasn’t

In 1931, John Maynard Keynes published a short essay entitled “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren” in which he considered the feasibility of solving what he called “the economic problem”. According to Keynes, the issue of scarcity ought to have been dealt with by the early 21st century. Decades of capitalist progress would leave society with

Canada’s top banks more than doubled their financing of highly polluting tar sands oil to $16.8bn in 2021, despite signing up to the UN’s net zero banking alliance on greenhouse gas emissions.  Lenders including Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their financing to the top 30 tar

Eon has ruled out extending the life of its nuclear power plant in Germany, even as Europe’s largest economy prepares for the rationing of energy supplies and to wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons. “There is no future for nuclear in Germany, period,” said chief executive Leo Birnbaum. “It is too emotional. There will be no