Category: FT

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The turnaround of Australian bank ANZ under former HSBC executive Nuno Matos has shown early signs of promise after strong first-quarter results sent shares soaring to a record high. ANZ on Thursday reported net profit in the quarter to the end of December rose to A$1.9bn ($1.4bn). It said the figure was 17 per cent higher than the average over the second half, when excluding charges it booked last year…

The US economy added 130,000 jobs in January, beating market expectations, and documents appear to contradict testimony Jes Staley gave about his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. Plus, Bangladesh is holding its first elections since 2024’s mass uprising. Mentioned in this podcast: Epstein trustee document contradicts Jes Staley testimony US economy far outstrips expectations to add 130,000 jobs in January After 17 years in exile, dynastic heir looks to lead Bangladesh Find the latest season of Tech Tonic here: https://www.ft.com/tech-tonic Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. “Landslide” has been used extensively to describe Sanae Takaichi’s record-breaking victory in Sunday’s election: a triumph that positions her atop a whopping supermajority in the powerful lower house of parliament. But the description misses the real geology here. Landslides happen in the topsoil; the election did something to the bedrock beneath. Much has been said about the crushing scale of Takaichi’s mandate, giving the lower house the ability to override…

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: Bangladesh goes to the polls US jobs data far outstrips expectations SK Hynix: from “zombie” firm to Nvidia ally We begin in Bangladesh, where nationwide elections will be held today for the first time since a mass uprising in 2024 toppled former leader Sheikh Hasina. What to know: While opinion polls vary, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party — led by Tarique Rahman, who only recently returned to the country after 17 years in self-imposed exile — is thought to be…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. AstraZeneca’s former head of its China business has been formally charged by the country’s authorities with illegal trading, unlawful collection of personal information and medical insurance fraud, alongside another former employee. Leon Wang, who has been in detention since 2024, was the drugmaker’s most senior executive in China for a decade until his arrest. AstraZeneca said in its results update this week that an unnamed “former [executive vice-president] and one…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The world’s largest blood plasma company is urgently seeking its own corporate transfusion after it parted company with its chief executive and wrote down the value of two important business lines. Australia’s CSL recorded an 81 per cent drop in half-year net profit on Wednesday. Chief executive Paul McKenzie had abruptly retired hours earlier, with CSL’s chair saying he did not have the skills the company needed. The turmoil at…