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This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Good morning and welcome to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: We start in the US, where the Pentagon has launched a review of the 2021 Aukus nuclear submarine deal with the UK and Australia. The US will determine whether it should scrap the project, throwing the security pact into doubt at a time of heightened…

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The EU is preparing sanctions against two Chinese banks that allegedly enabled banned trade with Russia, the first attempt by Brussels to target a third-country lender for supporting Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The curbs were included in the European Commission’s latest package of measures, four officials with knowledge of the plans told the Financial Times. They require the unanimous support of EU member states to be adopted. Such…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. In the cult film The Princess Bride, the hero Westley tricks a villain, Vizzini, into killing himself in a battle of wits. Vizzini has to choose between two cups of wine, one of which Westley says is poisoned. In fact, Westley’s cup is also poisoned, but he survives: he had spent years building up immunity to the toxin. Through long and careful preparation, Westley won the battle of wits long…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Donald Trump has said the US and China’s deal to restore their trade war truce is “done” after two days of marathon negotiations in London. In a post on his Truth Social network on Wednesday the US president hailed a breakthrough reached in bilateral talks in London late the night before. The deal revived a trade truce agreed in Geneva last month that subsequently faltered because of differences over Chinese…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The US and China have agreed to a framework that restores a truce in their trade war after two days of marathon negotiations in London. The breakthrough late on Tuesday followed an agreement in Geneva last month aimed at easing trade tensions between the world’s two economic superpowers, which had faltered over differences regarding Chinese rare earth exports and US export controls. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that…

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Automobiles myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. BYD and other Chinese automakers have vowed to make timely payments to suppliers after Beijing signalled concern at some industry practices amid a cut-throat price war. Around a dozen domestic carmakers, including Geely, Xiaomi and state-backed GAC and FAW, have in the past day all committed to a 60-day bill payment period for their suppliers with the aim of “promoting high-quality development” and “ensuring supply chain stability”. The auto groups’ pledges…

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Automobiles myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. BYD and other Chinese carmakers have vowed to make timely payments to suppliers after Beijing signalled concern at some industry practices amid a cut-throat price war. Around a dozen domestic carmakers, including Geely, Xiaomi and state-backed GAC and FAW, have in the past day all committed to a 60-day bill payment period for their suppliers with the aim of “promoting high-quality development” and “ensuring supply chain stability”. The auto groups’ pledges…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Starbucks has received “a lot of interest” in the sale of a stake in its China business as the US coffee chain explores a partnership with an outside investor to restore growth there, its chief executive has said. Brian Niccol said in an interview with the Financial Times that Starbucks was exploring the sale of a minority stake in its China unit, which operated 7,758 stores as of the end…

A decade ago, Indonesia produced only 6% of the world’s supply of refined nickel. Now, it has a de facto monopoly on the market. How did it happen? The FT’s Jakarta correspondent A. Anantha Lakshmi and FT’s commodities correspondent Camilla Hodgson examine what propelled this explosive growth and how China helped it happen. – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – For further reading: ‘The Opec of nickel’: Indonesia’s control of a…