China’s universities offer Mao and Xi courses to help students nail top jobs
‘Party building’ study seen as part of efforts by Xi Jinping to bolster political education
US government to release UFO files
Has telecoms group Vi turned a corner?
Also in this newsletter: Marco Rubio is coming to India
Alberta to hold vote on referendum to separate from Canada
Province’s move bypasses legal block preventing independence poll and poses challenge to Prime Minister Mark Carney
Letter: Why retired professionals still crave skin in the game
From Jane Maitland, Executive Coach, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK
Letter: Switzerland’s banks — a ringside seat
From Xenia Tao, Zürich, Switzerland
Letter: Drones, like the longbow, you ignore at your peril
From Tobias Billström, Former Swedish Foreign Minister and Director of Strategy and Government Affairs at Nordic Air Defence (NAD), Stockholm, Sweden
Letter: UK investors should get ready for early elections
From Malcolm Gooderham, London W1, UK
Letter: Markets brace for the fiscal and monetary ‘puts’
From Andrés Núñez-Lagos, Madrid, Spain
Letter: Indigenous peoples need a say in the climate debate
From Richard G Little, Industry Advisory Council, Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Williamsburg, VA, US
Letter: There’s more than one form of PR voting system
From Paul Tighe, Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland
Letter: Who put the hoi in hoi polloi?
From Richard Gordon, Bethany, CT, US
SpaceX scrubs high-stakes test launch of latest Starship spacecraft
Elon Musk’s conglomerate warned in IPO filing that its strategy was ‘highly dependent’ on the massive rocket
Global buyout funds to exit China’s data centres with final $1bn deal
Princeton Digital Group’s sale process caps foreign retreat from the country’s sensitive digital infrastructure
UK consumer confidence rises despite political turmoil
Labour’s election results piled pressure on Starmer but failed to dent households’ mood in May
FT Crossword: Number 18,379
Republicans push back on Trump’s ‘anti-weaponisation’ fund
Senators postpone vote on bill because of ‘concern’ over the $1.8bn earmarked for alleged victims of ‘lawfare’
Estée Lauder and Puig end merger talks to create beauty powerhouse
Shares in US cosmetics giant jump 11.5% in post-market trading as investors welcome end of discussions
FirstFT: A ‘golden window’ for China’s renminbi
Also in today’s newsletter: Samsung reaches deal to avert strike and trio of blockbuster IPOs set to ignite trading frenzy
Walmart says customers are rationing petrol as Iran war hits wallets
US retail giant’s shares plunge after saying it absorbed higher fuel expenses to hold down prices for consumers
The oil reserves dwindle
What happens when there are no more stockpiles?
Stellantis to launch 60 new models under €60bn plan to revive carmaker
European group will partner with Chinese rivals and keep all of its factories under strategy laid out by chief executive
DNC autopsy says Biden White House to blame for Harris loss
The party’s lack of unity caused party to haemorrhage voter confidence, according to the report’s author
Trump abruptly postpones AI order after White House infighting
President refuses to approve order hours before planned signing due to fears US innovators will lose out to China