Accounting firm BDO and two former partners fined £6mn for misconduct
UK regulator finds failings allowed a senior manager’s dishonest action to go undetected for several years
UK construction activity falls at fastest pace for 5 years
Tenth consecutive monthly contraction marks longest period of continuous decline since financial crisis
JPMorgan hit with record fine from German finance watchdog
BaFin imposes its highest ever penalty of €45mn on European arm of Wall Street bank
China an ‘engine’ of trade stability to counter Trump’s tariffs, Maersk boss says
Danish group lifts financial guidance to top end of range on strength of consumer demand
Utah’s First Brands whale even leased the office furniture
A non-bank lender with the motto ‘been there, leased that’ finds out
Why Rachel Reeves won’t raise income tax
An unpopular government cannot afford to be branded dishonest by the public
Modest pay growth unlikely to shift the dial on Bank of Japan rate rises
Regular pay growth was still below 2% in September
Wood Group shares jump after five-month suspension ends
Trading resumes after engineering group publishes accounts
Diageo cuts sales and profit forecast on lower US and China demand
Guinness maker’s struggles come as company continues search for new chief executive
AI pioneers claim human-level general intelligence is already here
Tech leaders say systems now rival human intelligence in key tasks, further fuelling the superintelligence debate
FTAV’s further reading
Democracy; AI erotica; poker; inflation; men and women; tax reform
ITV blames late Budget for sharp fall in advertising
UK broadcaster says uncertain economic outlook causing widespread caution
AstraZeneca books record quarterly revenue of $15bn as cancer drugs boost sales
Pharma group confirms previous full-year guidance
The US training humans and robots making AI
The inside story on the Asia tech trends that matter, from Nikkei Asia and the Financial Times
Why the Fed’s balance sheet may grow again
Keeping up with repo demand
Singapore bank sets aside record $470mn provision for Hong Kong property loans
United Overseas Bank’s move follows HSBC warning of ‘challenging’ conditions for city’s real estate
Brussels tweaks budget overhaul in bid to stave off parliament rebellion
Also in this newsletter: EU heads to COP in a green mess
Transcript: Donald Trump and autocracy in America
Gideon Rachman talks to historian and author Anne Applebaum
China borrows as cheaply as US in dollar bond market
Beijing raises $4bn as debt costs relative to Treasuries fall to historically low levels
FirstFT: Argentina’s Javier Milei rejects free float of peso
Also in today’s newsletter: Nvidia chief says China will win AI race and ‘poison pills’ in US trade pacts
The inevitable politics of ending quantitative tightening
A large Fed balance sheet and a large budget deficit mean monetary policy and politics will stay entwined
Rival robotaxi start-ups’ shares tank after Hong Kong listing
Uber-backed groups Pony.ai and WeRide fall as much as 15% as analysts raise concerns about profitability
Diversity Leaders
800 companies make the seventh annual list; European companies walk a tightrope; GSK’s retreat on diversity targets; long-term focus delivering results for Zalando; investors stand firm against attack; US inclusion specialists face uncertain future; DEI not dead, just reincarnating
Supreme Court questions emergency Trump tariffs
Case could determine the future of the US president’s global trade agenda