The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has warned that the era of free trade and investment that formed the foundations of the postwar global economy has ended. In a stark message to Asia-Pacific leaders at the Apec summit in South Korea on Friday, Carney said rules-based open trade no longer worked in a global economy that was undergoing one of its most profound periods of change since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. “The old world of steady expansion of rules-based liberalised trade and investment, a world on…
Month: October 2025
The AI bubble has reached its ‘fried chicken’ phase
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Artificial intelligence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Whenever a bubble bursts, there are some stories from their peaks that morph into endlessly-recounted legends that symbolise how mad people had become. The paragon example is the listing of Pets.com in February 2000. It was far from the biggest IPO of the era, or the biggest failure. But the fact that it was able even go public so despite de minimis revenues has made it the most popular dotcom…
US does not seek conflict, Hegseth says in meeting with Chinese defence minister
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, in person for the first time on Friday, with both sides stressing a commitment to peace. The discussion took place on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus in Malaysia and came a day after a US-China summit eased tensions between the two countries. Dong and Hegseth held a conference call in September but the talks on Friday were the first face-to-face meeting between the defence ministers of China and… South China Morning Post
PLA uses robot dogs and aerial drones in simulated landing drill aimed at Taiwan
Robot dogs might not be able to survive a potential assault on Taiwan, based on the results of an amphibious landing exercise carried out by the People’s Liberation Army and broadcast in a documentary aired by state broadcaster CCTV. Advertisement The four-legged robots, loaded with explosives, were released by the first wave of landing forces in the exercise. They ran across ditches, blocks and barricades on the beachhead in an attempt to clear a passage for the penetration of the enemy defensive line. At the same time, first-person view (FPV)…
Why lingering questions remain as US-China port-fee pause buoys shipping outlook
The port-fee postponement announced by China and the United States offers a glimmer of relief to the shipping industry, but analysts warn that a one-year suspension is insufficient to eliminate persistent uncertainties, as maritime measures continue to serve as leverage in broader geopolitical tensions. Advertisement Following the highly anticipated meeting between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in South Korea on Thursday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced that the US would suspend its Section 301 investigation targeting China’s maritime and shipbuilding sectors and related measures for a year. And in…
Big Tech earnings: profits and cash still matter
This article is an on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters Good morning. Did someone say credit cockroach? The Wall Street Journal reports that BlackRock and a group of other lenders have lost $500bn to a “breathtaking” accounts receivable fraud. This just a few days after BNP Paribas reported a €190mn “credit event,” also involving fraud. Email us with the name of a good exterminator: unhedged@ft.com…
ABB’s top industrial chip and robotics expert Pang Zhibo leaves Sweden for China
Pang Zhibo, a leading expert on industrial chips and robots with high-end manufacturing giant ABB in Sweden, has returned to China and joined Peking University as a fully tenured professor. Advertisement As ABB’s senior principal scientist, Pang was second only to the company’s chief technology officer – who personally appointed him – and oversaw more than 800 developers and 80 technical products globally across all business areas. Pang Zhibo, who has joined Peking University after a distinguished career in Sweden with industrial manufacturing giant ABB. Photo: Handout The Swiss-Swedish multinational,…
Iron ore demand has ‘plateaued’, says group owned by Australia’s richest woman
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has warned that iron ore demand has “plateaued” as the mining group owned by Australia’s richest person diversifies with investments in lithium and rare earths. Hancock on Friday said its net profit fell 44 per cent to A$3.1bn (US$2bn) in the year to June as the iron ore price declined and severe storms disrupted shipments from the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Revenue fell 21 per…
Hong Kong insurance sales hit record as Chinese hunt for higher returns
Purchases of Hong Kong insurance policies, a key conduit for individuals to move capital out of mainland China, surged to a record high in the first half of the year as Chinese investors hunt for higher returns abroad amid a sluggish economy at home. The value of annualised new premiums, an industry metric for the value of new insurance business, surged 39 per cent from a year earlier to HK$99bn (US$12.7bn) in the first six months of 2025, according to provisional data from the Hong Kong Insurance Authority. A major…
Spain drafts king into China charm offensive
Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world The Spanish king will travel to China next month as part of his country’s efforts to bolster ties with Beijing, the first European monarch to embark on such a trip in seven years. The royal household is preparing to announce a state visit by King Felipe VI in November, according to people familiar with the matter, in a move that Spanish officials said underscored the “very high level”…