FT News Briefing

The World Health Organization has found the Covid-19 treatment remdesivir does little to prevent deaths and Boris Johnson could push Brexit talks into crisis on Friday. Plus, the FT’s Washington bureau chief Demetri Sevastopulo explains why suburban women might be the key to victory when it comes to the US presidential election.  Remdesivir has little effect on Covid-19 mortality, WHO study says https://www.ft.com/content/ee9b611f-2b4b-4572-afe1-b0b804d17a94 Summit ‘atmospherics not good’ as Brussels seen as dragging its feet on trade deal  https://www.ft.com/content/252d3ea4-0ddf-498b-b993-59c13b0de004  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

France and the Netherlands jointly issued a call for the bloc’s competition authorities to take pre-emptive measures against big tech companies, and investors have been unimpressed by recent US bank earnings despite lower loan loss provisions. Plus, the FT’s Dave Lee explains whether Amazon will be able to handle the logistical hurdles thrown its way this holiday season.  Falling interest rates drag on Bank of America and Wells Fargo profits https://www.ft.com/content/8b8a4bec-6d28-462e-a18f-73b4856e1fc7 Amazon braces for winter of demand with relentless expansion https://www.ft.com/content/9cd8038e-b38c-40d6-b2db-8f6e01cd166a? France and Netherlands join forces to back EU move against tech giants ft.com/content/4a9ed79e-c8c8-4b47-8055-1cd029541c32  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The EU has been given the green light to hit almost $4bn of US goods with punitive tariffs in retaliation for illegal state aid to Boeing, and the IMF said the coronavirus crisis will wreak “lasting damage” on people’s living standards across the world. Plus, some hedge funds are betting that the best days for the stock market’s coronavirus winners are in the past. EU given green light to hit US with tariffs in Airbus-Boeing ruling https://www.ft.com/content/3198d2ef-c3bb-44b9-a1e0-b27d9c1483de Pandemic will cause ‘lasting damage’ to living standards, IMF warns https://www.ft.com/content/8b286455-d9ed-42a9-b933-5a1d3f4f08b2 Hedge fund short sellers target pandemic winners  ft.com/content/0a14e904-5fac-41bd-a9b4-a8a588db15c5? Apple enters the 5G market with new line of iPhones https://www.ft.com/content/eac7ed4b-5fb4-4f0e-944d-f5f61300bd12  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

US stocks built on last week’s rally with investors assessing US presidential election polls that show a strong lead for former vice-president Joe Biden, and unemployment looks set to hit the UK’s youth the hardest with the country’s economy facing a sharp slowdown. Plus, the FT’s US finance editor, Rob Armstrong, explains why US banks might suddenly be hoping for a Democratic wave and what their most recent earnings could look like.  Wall Street rallies as angst over contested US election wanes https://www.ft.com/content/1dcbbed2-6d9e-4898-98bf-00e98a19eb5b Five things to watch in US bank earnings season https://www.ft.com/content/2604ab01-c562-4601-a8d6-921825a9e4ae UK’s youth count the cost of the Covid pandemic ft.com/content/1220ba66-de09-4507-8616-ef112cd2c109? Samuel Brittan, economics editor, 1933-2020 https://www.ft.com/content/b763bf06-3fc2-4e95-9fe6-a17acf3d8f3b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

EU regulators are drawing up a “hit list” of up to 20 large internet companies that will be subject to new and far more stringent rules, and government ministers of poor and indebted nations plead for more ambitious debt relief programmes. Plus, FT’s Brexit editor David Bond speaks with Sam Fleming and Victor Mallet about how European countries are viewing the progress of Brexit talks.  EU targets Big Tech with ‘hit list’ facing tougher rules ft.com/content/c8c5d5dc-cb99-4b1f-a8dd-5957b57a7783? Emerging economies plead for more ambitious debt relief programmes ft.com/content/edb18d34-844b-43b5-a78a-fec73f1d0583?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing reflect a shift in how America views Asia’s superpower. We'll look at how both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are handling China in the presidential campaign. Plus, why a Silicon Valley start-up has decided to disrupt whiskey.  How the US elite became hawks on Xi’s China https://www.ft.com/content/75ce186e-41f7-4a9c-bff9-0f502c81e456 Silicon Valley start-up launches ‘Nespresso machine’ for whisky https://www.ft.com/content/3926e3bf-352b-4c47-8acb-d9b47dfa11cb  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Eli Lilly, a US drugmaker, has applied for an emergency authorisation of its Covid-19 antibody in the US. According to documents seen by the Financial Times, the Vatican invested donations for the needy in derivatives that bet on the creditworthiness of Hertz. And the FBI picks up the case of two men found dead in a hotel room in Missouri; British prosecutors had seen the men as potential witnesses in a corruption probe into the multibillion-dollar mining house, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation.  Lilly seeks emergency approval for Covid drug https://www.ft.com/content/dc7d2abf-1cd2-40db-b040-27b3d9031e8b Vatican used charity funds to buy Hertz credit derivatives https://www.ft.com/content/f966e8b4-945a-45d0-8391-a305b3d8f7f5 Silent witnesses: what do three corpses have to do with a corruption case? https://www.ft.com/content/7dc13ec9-721c-41a7-8423-daeb9a743e9a  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald Trump abruptly broke off talks with congressional Democrats on a new fiscal stimulus package until after next month’s presidential election, and economists estimate the coronavirus pandemic has put millions more workers across the developed world out of jobs than official unemployment statistics suggest. Plus, why US department store chain Macy’s is set to take a stake in Europe’s highest valued private fintech.  Trump calls off stimulus talks https://www.ft.com/content/9f130c9c-fb1e-4d05-8864-1c8ac08c54bb Hidden joblessness threatens economic recovery in US and Europe https://www.ft.com/content/ec3d88dc-0dc1-4f6e-adf7-37e8f4316a22 Macy’s takes stake in Klarna as part of payment partnership https://www.ft.com/content/c2a26072-8c45-4ce3-9249-bd5b856bbe1c  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald Trump returned to the White House on Monday evening after three days of hospital treatment for coronavirus, although his doctor warned that the president was not yet “out of the woods”. Plus, the IMF is instructing rich countries to spend on infrastructure, and a court case over trade secrets between two South Korean companies could affect the future of electric cars in the United States.  Donald Trump returns to White House after three days in hospital https://www.ft.com/content/4909a63c-8f7d-4621-9fba-73b5dac2ee5c IMF calls on rich nations to boost public investment https://www.ft.com/content/fc7ad858-0fdd-401e-bce5-796a8353ba30 Stakes are high in bitter battle over battery secrets https://www.ft.com/content/98678ea4-7eba-4873-8815-47b0efe7c9df  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald Trump’s doctors said the president could be discharged from hospital today, after a weekend of mixed messages from the White House concerning Mr Trump’s health. Plus, the FT’s Brexit editor, David Bond, talks with the FT trading room editor Philip Stafford about what financial services will look like after Brexit.   Trump’s doctor says he could be out of hospital on Monday https://www.ft.com/content/f331c9b9-6f2b-4cd5-831c-00cc10929940 Brexit and the City: Brussels’ new battle to rival London in finance https://www.ft.com/content/dd7e6828-f603-47bf-bdd7-61e9dcb5f9ac Brussels’ next financial policy chief warns of Brexit frictions https://www.ft.com/content/d80ccc42-9156-4f9f-a103-6a8faa33014b  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for Covid-19 and will start quarantine barely a month before the US presidential election, US personal income dropped by 2.7 per cent in August after the lapse of emergency unemployment benefits, and Brussels is suing the UK over plans to violate last year’s Brexit withdrawal agreement. Plus, the FT’s Washington bureau chief Demetri Sevastopulo explains why Ohio might be the key to the US presidential election.  US personal income falls after lapse of Covid benefits  https://www.ft.com/content/314c74e3-984c-4bde-bb03-8a05622be305 Brussels launches legal action against UK over Brexit deal breach https://www.ft.com/content/8389cc9c-3ced-47f1-a85e-710ad20468a2 The battle for Ohio: Trump tries to retain edge with working class https://www.ft.com/content/8d3e2e6f-3f40-4d1c-905f-b2dd416d055d Biden vs Trump: who is leading the 2020 US election polls? https://ig.ft.com/us-election-2020/ Playboy returns to public markets through Spac deal https://www.ft.com/content/d79065d3-b6d4-4991-9033-d48dcc383c68  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Moderna Therapeutics’s chief executive told the Financial Times that the company would not have a vaccine ready before the US election, and Japan adjusts for a digital economy. Plus, the FT’s metals and mining correspondent, Henry Sanderson, explains how western investors’ interest in gold is driving up its price.  Moderna chief says its vaccine won’t be ready before US election https://www.ft.com/content/9b242ecc-3dce-4534-9171-cdf624468a2a Japan’s digital leap forward — and about time too https://www.ft.com/content/5b8c7ee3-2981-4446-92af-6a8499302210 The new gold rush: western investors offset soft eastern demand https://www.ft.com/content/8a53dbaf-8210-4c60-8753-e3018fa1b1e1  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The first presidential debate quickly turned chaotic, and JPMorgan Chase will have to pay $920m in the largest ever spoofing settlement. Plus, the FT’s Olaf Storbeck uncovers that EY was made aware of potential wrongdoing at Wirecard as far back as 2016.  Joe Biden and Donald Trump clash in ill-mannered presidential debate https://www.ft.com/content/c77fa4ff-3278-4258-9033-8b62adcdbba5 EY whistleblower warned of Wirecard fraud four years before collapse ft.com/content/3b9afceb-eaeb-4dc6-8a5e-b9bc0b16959d? JPMorgan to pay $920m in largest-ever spoofing settlement https://www.ft.com/content/f2c918c2-2659-4513-8851-cc40379d4840  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

European stocks lead a global rally on Monday driven by investors scooping up shares in beaten-down sectors, and Donald Trump is beating back allegations of tax avoidance and voter suppression ahead of tonight’s US presidential debate. Plus, the FT’s Michael MacKenzie will explain why investors are rethinking the traditional 60/40 portfolio.  Financials lead global equity market rebound https://www.ft.com/content/f189b5b1-1e08-4ff1-9994-f1c89d9c1a79 Biden portrays Trump as tax dodger after new revelations https://www.ft.com/content/68c6f5a0-2080-4f60-8dec-9043a590c838 Investors wonder if the 60/40 portfolio has a future https://www.ft.com/content/fdb793a4-712e-477f-9a81-7f67aefda21a  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Argentina’s newly restructured dollar bonds have slumped in value less than a month after a deal was finalised to postpone debt payments, and Swiss voters have defeated a nationalist initiative to tear up their free-movement agreement with Brussels. Plus, the FT’s Mure Dickie explains how Scotland’s push for independence is influencing Brexit talks.  Argentina bonds ‘back in hot water’ just weeks after restructuring deal ft.com/content/fd786d9b-18b4-4ed3-a531-6af3d2eb5c24? Nicola Sturgeon revives plans for second Scottish independence vote https://www.ft.com/content/0f0ecf40-f30a-482e-9902-d74276bdc43f Swiss voters reject nationalist proposal to curb immigration ft.com/content/5a642ce6-1a76-460c-9857-b880b0fb7bc0  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.