Anglo ditches executive bonus plan linked to $50bn Teck merger
FTSE 100 miner has walked away from proposals to lock in share awards for top executives after shareholder objections
China’s trade surplus tops $1tn for first time
Exports soar despite tensions between Washington and Beijing
Thailand strikes Cambodia as Trump-backed truce collapses
Cross-border clashes erupt again months after south-east Asian neighbours were involved in five-day conflict
FTAV’s further reading
Persuasive AI; how to choose your nemesis; theories of inflation; Bluesky; the lord of Russian drones
Bessent’s brag
Does the administration control the Treasury market?
Why CEOs are losing appetite for investing in Europe
Also in this newsletter: EU home affairs minister to approve stricter rules on deportations
Click here if you really want to read 2026 outlook notes. We won’t judge
Research: we’ve read a few, but then again, too few to mention
Pensions dump US equities over AI fears
Plus, bond investors sound alarm, US stocks on the rise and Münter at the Guggenheim
FirstFT: France faces pressure over frozen Russian assets
Also in today’s newsletter: Starmer hosts Ukraine meeting, and UK navy strategy
The best of TV and streaming this week
Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey face off in Netflix Western ‘The Abandons’; Dr Who spin-off ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ stars Russell Tovey; Netflix’s ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’ documents allegations against the music mogul; escapist pleasures as the final season of ‘Stranger Things’ be
European allies to rally support for Ukraine as US pressure mounts
Starmer hosts Zelenskyy, Merz and Macron in London as they try to avert settlement being imposed on Kyiv
Ford CEO: Europe is risking the future of its auto industry
Setting unrealistic EV regulations only to adjust them when consumers do not show up is a recipe for turmoil
Inflation, inflation, inflation — the main risk ahead for investors
Diversification to cushion impact of rising prices is needed
Risks, realism and global realignments — the latest books on economics
Why Britain needs pragmatism not political dogma; the fallout from the US-China faultline; and how knowledge and speed shape prosperity
Airwallex plots Silicon Valley expansion after securing $8bn valuation
Payments company opens San Francisco base and reduces Tencent’s holding in US pivot
Deutsche Bank seeks 40% pay bump for highest-paid chair in Dax
Alexander Wynaendts has reduced his other board commitments after investor criticism
The UK must do more than go on muddling through
We need to look at the causes of the country’s dire economic performance
Strategy’s stock slide leaves bitcoin’s biggest booster with dwindling options
Michael Saylor’s financial engineering inspired dozens of imitators but is now close to unravelling
France shielding €18bn Russian asset pot from EU ‘reparations loan’ push
Paris guarded names of private banks holding world’s second biggest accumulation of immobilised Russian state funds
Reform UK councillor’s company fined £40,000 for hiring illegal worker
Michael Andrew Harrison, who represents Seaham in Durham, is appealing against the penalty
The power crunch threatening America’s AI ambitions
A lack of electricity for new data centres could deflate the AI ‘bubble’
The 11 fashion moments that got us talking in 2025
The rise of the Labubu, return of Lily Allen, death of Giorgio Armani and ubiquity of Lauren Sánchez Bezos all shaped the industry this year
How Milan’s listening bar scene found its groove
Marrying top sound systems with stylish, often striking interiors, these havens for vinyl devotees are giving the city’s nightlife a fresh beat
British-Palestinian artist Rosalind Nashashibi wants to talk about Gaza
This time, the world is listening