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Once again my invitation to the latest Conference of the Parties was lost in the mail. Probably for the best. It’s a long journey to Brazil only to discover when you arrive that everyone is on their own journey. At least I’ve now had time to read the Action Agenda and priorities. The woke-speak is as insufferable as ever — but often amuses. Did you know that “communities in peripheries of cities” are now lumped with indigenous peoples and the poor? Those vulnerable stockbrokers of Surrey and Connecticut! In short,…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world The US government is backing a Brazilian rare earths mine to the tune of almost half a billion dollars as part of the drive to develop a supply chain outside China for the crucial materials.  The US Development Finance Corporation in August approved a $465mn loan to Serra Verde to help fund the company’s Pela Ema rare earths mine in Goias, Brazil, DFC filings show. The funds will…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world Last week’s trade truce between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping has deferred all-out trade conflict between the world’s two great geoeconomic superpowers. But the rivalry remains in lower-profile theatres of combat, including the struggle between Washington and Beijing to pull other countries into their economic orbits. A few days before the summit, the US apparently gained some valuable south-east Asian territory in that particular ground war in the…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Drinks group Diageo has lowered its forecast for sales and profit growth this year as it struggles with reduced demand from consumers in the US and China. The maker of Guinness and Johnnie Walker whisky on Thursday said it expected organic sales growth to be “flat to slightly down” in the year to July 2026, compared with previous expectations of flat sales. Diageo blamed lacklustre spirit demand in China and…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Diageo has warned that sales and profits growth will be lower than forecast as it faces reduced demand from consumers in the US and China. The maker of Guinness and Johnnie Walker whisky on Thursday said it expected organic sales growth to be “flat to slightly down” for 2026, due to lacklustre spirit sales in China and a “weaker” US consumer environment. Diageo also forecast that organic profit growth would…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China has issued dollar bonds at rates equivalent to US Treasury yields, in what bankers on the deal said was the first time Beijing’s borrowing costs have matched Washington’s. The bond offering is the latest example of countries taking advantage of being able to issue international debt cheaply, as their borrowing costs in relation to US Treasuries fall to some of the lowest levels on record. China’s issuance follows a de-escalation in trade…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Two of China’s biggest robotaxi start-ups fell as much as 15 per cent upon listing in Hong Kong on Thursday, as analysts raised concerns about profitability in an increasingly competitive sector. Pony.ai and WeRide, which compete fiercely in China and are both backed by Uber, raised HK$6.7bn ($862mn) and HK$2.4bn respectively in their secondary offerings. The two companies already trade on New York’s Nasdaq, but Chinese technology groups have considered…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Two of China’s biggest robotaxi start-ups fell as much as 15 per cent upon listing in Hong Kong on Thursday, as analysts raised concerns about profitability in an increasingly competitive sector. Pony.ai and WeRide, which compete fiercely in China and are both backed by Uber, raised HK$6.7bn ($862mn) and HK$2.4bn respectively in their secondary offerings. The two companies already trade on New York’s Nasdaq, but Chinese technology groups have considered…

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his officials to draft proposals for a possible commencement of nuclear weapons tests in response to Donald Trump’s vow to resume such activity. The US president raised fears of an American-led new global nuclear arms race when he said last week he had ordered his defence department to resume testing nuclear weapons on an “equal basis” with Russia and China. Putin told…