Mortgage costs rise sharply on Middle East conflict— The Trump administration has tried to lower mortgage rates using the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase… www.ft.com/content/5e7f... @senojerialc.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

The Islamists battling Sudan’s ruthless paramilitaries— Three years into the civil war, which erupted when erstwhile allies from the RSF and SAF turned on each other, the country is in the midst of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. www.ft.com/content/1ee1... William Wallis @financialtimes.com

Shakira wins €55mn tax battle against Spain—Spain’s National High Court on Monday annulled a decision by the tax agency in a case about whether Shakira was a tax resident… www.ft.com/content/d447... @barneyjopson.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

EU plan to slash steel imports will hurt Ukraine, officials warn—The EU’s plan to slash steel imports by half would hurt Ukraine at a time the country struggles to finance… www.ft.com/content/501e... @paolatamma.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Germany goes from labour shortages to hiring freezes— The rise in joblessness above 3mn threatens to cause further political ructions at a time when opinion polls suggest… www.ft.com/content/2a6c... @olafstorbeck.ft.com @financialtimes.com

'We collectively won’t pay 19¢ for a single article, but plenty of us will pay $9 a month for a whole load of them. Micropayments, it turned out, failed for asking too often, rather than for asking too much.' buttondown.com/blog/why-mic...

"Decades before Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, America picked up the habit of confusing its military superiority with an ability to impose its will on faraway lands. The only novel thing about Trump’s war is the immediate obviousness of its bankruptcy." Refreshed free link. as.ft.com/r/718d0cca-8...

The disintegration of British democracy-The writer is a Labour former Home Secretary. www.ft.com/content/345d... David Blunkett @financialtimes.com

In America, wealth taxes mean wealth flight-The irony of these tax proposals — whether levied on individuals or companies — is that it will be everyday Californians who will suffer. www.ft.com/content/3423... Michael Moritz @financialtimes.com

The battle the US is winning against China-Normally after an empire gains economic might, its currency takes an increasing share of reserves held by central banks. With a 17 per cent share of global GDP, but only 2 per cent of… www.ft.com/content/6228... Ruchir Sharma @financialtimes.com

The FT View: The looming energy crunch-European countries which have prioritised supporting consumer demand through measures such as fuel tax cuts will also — as many Asian counterparts have done — have to… www.ft.com/content/0866... @financialtimes.com

Europe’s leaders must stop self-censoring—Free speech has never mattered more. It cannot be left to those who wield it as a weapon. Europe’s real censorship problem is the self-silencing among its leaders. www.ft.com/content/c4a0... @marietjeschaake.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

UBS: the bank that outgrew a country—goes to the heart of Switzerland’s economic model and the dilemma of whether a small state with 9mn people can host a financial behemoth… www.ft.com/content/19e6... @mjruehl.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Are we thinking about AI and productivity all wrong?— Over time, organisations will probably learn how to change workflows in order to cope with the volume and quality issues presented by AI. But for now… www.ft.com/content/197a... @sarahoconnorft.ft.com @jburnmurdoch.ft.com @financialtimes.com

National Lottery CEO: ‘The scale of this transformation was unbelievable’—Vidler has faced criticism over her lack of experience in the lottery sector, but says she is well equipped to run… www.ft.com/content/4de7... @stephistacey.ft.com @financialtimes.com

The graduate job coaches offering access to ‘unwritten rules’-For those who cannot or do not want to pay for additional help, experts stress the importance of university careers advisers. www.ft.com/content/cf76... @emmavj.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Bain Capital closes largest Asia fund after raising $10.5bn-Japan is increasingly considered the most important market in the region for Bain and the wider private equity community in Asia. www.ft.com/content/cf65... @davidkeo.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Chinese data centre spin-off plans dual IPO in Singapore and US-The collaboration between SGX and Nasdaq will allow companies with a market value of… www.ft.com/content/602b... @owenwalker0.ft.com @financialtimes.com

Chinese AI groups pull ahead of US rivals in video generation race-The shift marks a divergence in the AI race: while OpenAI, Google and Anthropic still dominate large language models and areas such as coding, their video tools… www.ft.com/content/9804... Eleanor Olcott @financialtimes.com

Oil majors return to Alaska as US state becomes ‘world’s hottest play’—The energy crisis sparked by the Iran war has also underlined the importance of supply diversity beyond the Middle East, further boosting the state’s appeal www.ft.com/content/269c... @jamiesmythft.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Why investors are chasing US biotechs with Chinese characteristics—“I think we just have to be agnostic to where [drugs] come from or how they are developed,” Kailera chief executive Ron Renaud added. “We benefit from the fact… www.ft.com/content/ad55... Eleanor Olcott @financialtimes.com

NextEra strikes megadeal with Dominion to create $420bn US utility—The deal will redraw the US power grid just as technology giants like Microsoft, Amazon and Google owner Alphabet… www.ft.com/content/a17f... James Fontanella–Kahn @financialtimes.com

Nato to press Europe’s arms makers to boost investment and production—Nato wants Europe’s arms makers to help meet Trump’s demands for more spending on defence as the bloc seeks to address his anger… www.ft.com/content/d6ec... @henryjfoy.ft.com @financialtimes.com

The future of America’s military industrial complex—“We’re exiting the period of ‘ordinary’ and moving into a period of ‘extraordinary’” that will lead to a revolution not just in defence, but across… www.ft.com/content/713d... @ranaforoohar.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Trump’s urge for revenge fuels expensive US primary battle in Kentucky—Thomas Massie, a renegade Republican who opposed Donald Trump’s Iran war and pushed for… www.ft.com/content/ede3... Alex Rogers @financialtimes.com

Brazilian banking scandal threatens to upend presidential election—The wide-ranging controversy has amplified the sense there is still widespread venality within the Brazilian state, more than a decade after… www.ft.com/content/8065... @michaelpooler.ft.com @financialtimes.com

Trump’s pick for Republican primary beats senator who voted to impeach him—Another critical test comes on Tuesday, when Trump and his allies hope to depose Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who… www.ft.com/content/e2ac... Lauren Fedor @financialtimes.com

Gulf freight rates jump as shipping companies turn to trucks to move cargo—Much of the increase has been driven by fuel costs and the rush to find trucking capacity to transport cargo by road. www.ft.com/content/0c2a... @alicemhancock.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Patagonia shares lessons on what it learned from hantavirus—Some scientists in Argentina have warned that future improvements in virus management may be imperilled by sweeping cuts… www.ft.com/content/e343... @mikepeeljourno.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Ukraine’s deadly drone strikes on Moscow ‘entirely justified’, says Zelenskyy—“Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and its attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified,” Zelenskyy said… www.ft.com/content/c7e9... @christopherjm.ft.com @financialtimes.com

WHO declares global health emergency on Ebola— “Once an outbreak takes hold in one of those megacities that’s going to be a nightmare — that’s my biggest concern,” he said of the fact that it had already reached three big cities… www.ft.com/content/aa55... David Pilling @financialtimes.com

Donald Trump turns up the heat on Cuba—A US official said the administration feared the Cubans were playing for time, given both the drawn-out conflict with Iran and… www.ft.com/content/fb62... @judewebber.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

EU plans to force companies to buy parts from non-Chinese suppliers—The new rules would affect businesses in a handful of key sectors such as chemicals and industrial machinery, which have complained… www.ft.com/content/57b4... @andybounds.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Donald Trump Jr’s VC firm touts ‘patriotic capitalism’ in investment push—The plans for Palm Beach, Florida-based 1789 Capital, which Abrahimzadeh described as building a “generational American financial platform”, are… www.ft.com/content/712a... @georgehammond.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

The many joys of small talk—A large amount of work consists of person A trying to get person B to do something even though both report to person C. Much is gained if A can keep up… www.ft.com/content/d71e... @pilitaclark.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Why the IPO of bike-sharing app Lime is no lemon— The occasional bike will still end up stolen, smashed or submerged in a canal. But Lime has already made it further than many of its rivals. And as urban transport goes, it even has… www.ft.com/content/78a5... Gaia Freydefont @financialtimes.com

Party time for stock markets cannot last for ever—All in all, a lot of investors, bankers and analysts are wondering not whether a markets reset is coming, but what the trigger will be. “The biggest fear… www.ft.com/content/87c5... @katie0martin.ft.com @financialtimes.com

AI boom could end the de-equitisation ‘put’—Back in the late 1990s bull market, a senior equity capital markets banker said to me: “If the ducks are quacking, feed them.” www.ft.com/content/e2a9... Robert Buckland @financialtimes.com

Elon Musk’s case against OpenAI dismissed after just two hours of jury deliberations—A California court has thrown out Elon Musk’s case against Sam Altman and OpenAI on the basis… www.ft.com/content/cfc4... @georgehammond.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Bank of England set to water down stablecoin rules after industry pressure—A cornerstone of cryptocurrency trading, the sector has divided regulators, with some fearing… www.ft.com/content/8a17... Martin Arnold @financialtimes.com

Schroders plans to exit China mutual funds business after just three years–China’s asset management industry has proved challenging for foreign businesses amid intense domestic competition on fees and… www.ft.com/content/af30... @chengleng.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Big Tech goes beyond Wall Street for huge AI borrowing—The global debt binge underscores the drive for Silicon Valley heavyweights to tap new funding sources as their debt load increases… www.ft.com/content/d137... Michelle Chan @financialtimes.com

Nigel Farage’s claim that he paid for a £1.4mn house with his fee from a reality TV show has been challenged by corporate accounts that appear to show that the income remained on his company’s balance sheet after the property purchase. www.ft.com/content/88ce...

Tipping point looms for global energy crisis— Economists and traders warn the next phase of the crisis could bring another sharp jump in energy prices, broader fuel rationing, industrial shutdowns and… www.ft.com/content/f636... @jonathanvincent.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Obscure Japanese stock measure widens on global hunt for AI winners-The sudden blowout of the NT ratio, a rarely referenced measure that tracks the correlation between the tech-heavy, price-weighted Nikkei 225 Average and… www.ft.com/content/f9bf... @urbandirt.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Europe’s few AI plays soar as US tech frenzy goes global-The gains show US and Asian AI fervour has spread to Europe, say analysts, with investors keen to… www.ft.com/content/adab... @ramshodgson.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

LVMH to sell Marc Jacobs to WHP-LVMH has agreed to sell fashion brand Marc Jacobs as the leading luxury group looks to slim down its portfolio amid a multiyear downturn in demand for high-priced indulgences. www.ft.com/content/fe04... Adrienne Klasa @financialtimes.com

Starbucks to take $400mn charge as it cuts more corporate staff-Sales have recently rebounded at Starbucks as it has renovated coffee houses, hired more baristas, introduced new menu items and taken other steps to reverse a slump… www.ft.com/content/2ae6... Gregory Meyer @financialtimes.com

SpaceX IPO set to ensure Elon Musk cannot be fired-SpaceX has proposed one of the most aggressive corporate governance regimes in US history, intending to guarantee Elon Musk cannot be fired and… www.ft.com/content/0038... @georgehammond.bsky.social @financialtimes.com

Banks line up to back hospitality billionaire Tilman Fertitta’s deal for Caesars Entertainment-Fertitta was appointed as the US ambassador to Italy and San Marino during Donald Trump’s second presidential term. www.ft.com/content/56c1... @sindap.bsky.social @financialtimes.com