Philip Tinari on growing China’s museum audience: ‘It’s about bringing things in from the outside’

Philip Tinari is learning Cantonese. After 20 years in China, his Mandarin is, according to his CV, “near-native fluency”. But in early February, he moved to Hong Kong to take up the post of deputy director and head of art at Tai Kwun Culture and Arts Company Limited. “It’s useful to be able to understand what’s going on in meetings before they are called to order and everyone switches to English,” he says. Until this January, the slightly reserved, besuited American was the director of Beijing’s Ullens Centre for Contemporary…

Who ate all the Chinese stock market returns?

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Emerging markets myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Long-term nominal GDP is the stuff earnings are made of. And emerging-market economies grow faster than developed ones. Put these two facts together and the case for long-term allocations to EM equities has looked compelling. But no matter how compelling, it hasn’t really worked for a long time. And it has singularly failed to work for investors in Chinese stocks over the past 25 years. While the biggest global economic…

Hundreds feared dead in strike on Kabul hospital

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Hundreds of people are feared dead following an air strike on a hospital in Afghanistan that the Taliban government blamed on Pakistan, as conflict between the neighbours threatens to escalate into outright war. Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, said in a post on X early on Tuesday that the Pakistani military “carried out an air strike” on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul, a 2,000-bed facility dedicated to treating…

Australia raises interest rates in big week for global central banks

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Australia’s central bank has raised interest rates for the second time in as many months, pointing to the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on its inflation expectations. Five of the nine members of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy board voted in favour of a 25 basis point rise in interest rates to 4.1 per cent, reacting to a sharp rise in fuel prices due to…

An around-the-world guide to second-hand shopping

Fashion Unknown Archive, London, UK Unknown Archive sells past collections from cult Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake . . .   . . . along with clothes from the sibling labels those brands have created since they first appeared in the 1970s Address: 85 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QLWebsite Past collections by cult Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake, along with clothes from the myriad sibling labels those brands have created since they first appeared in the 1970s, attract devotees who won’t wear anything else. They see…

Iran war tests China’s oil stockpile

The FT’s Gideon Rachman explains what the Strait of Hormuz’s closure means strategically for Iran, Italy’s UniCredit has launched a €35bn takeover offer for Commerzbank and China’s oil stockpile is put to the test as the strait remains closed. Plus, scientists have identified a potential new type of planet. Mentioned in this podcast: Why Hormuz will haunt us long after this war ends Biggest Nato allies reject Trump’s Hormuz armada demand UniCredit launches €35bn Commerzbank takeover offer Iran war tests Xi Jinping’s plan to build China’s stockpiles Hellish new planet…

Trump seeks to delay China summit as Vance denies ‘wedge’ over Iran war

Donald Trump revealed that he had asked China to delay his forthcoming visit to Beijing while the war with Iran was continuing, as he attempted to strike a united front on Monday with his vice-president JD Vance, who is believed to have been skeptical over attacking Tehran’s regime. Appearing together with Vance for the first time in two weeks, Trump said he did not think the conflict – which started on 28 February after the US and Israel opened hostilities – would be over this week but predicted victory would…