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How long can Mexico’s president straddle populism and pragmatism?

In her first year in office, Claudia Sheinbaum has deftly managed tensions with the US and at home. But the pressure is starting to mount

wednesday 10

Financial Times

The Big Read

Gold mania spreads around the world

Professional and retail investors are swarming to buy the precious metal, raising the risk of a bubble

14.10.2025 20

Financial Times

The Big Read

How OpenAI put itself at the centre of a $1tn network of deals

The company behind ChatGPT has signed agreements with many of the largest tech groups, adding to a growing web of financial dependencies across the AI...

11.10.2025 30

Financial Times

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Japan buckles under matcha mania

Booming demand is straining a supply chain that prioritises quality and cannot expand quickly enough

10.10.2025 20

Financial Times

The Big Read

The Davos set in decline: can the World Economic Forum save itself?

Battered by scandal, the Swiss organisation behind the annual summit faces a moment of crisis. Insiders say its future may depend on the success of...

09.10.2025 3

Financial Times

The Big Read

The populist shadow hanging over central banks and QE

The massive bond purchases are being unwound at a time of fierce political criticism of the monetary authorities. The controversy could limit options...

09.10.2025 10

Financial Times

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How politicians and passengers gave up on greener air travel

A renewed push for economic growth has added to technological challenges and problems with carbon offset schemes

07.10.2025 6

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China’s charm offensive in India’s backyard

Beijing’s new diplomatic forays in south Asia have stoked New Delhi fears of being ‘encircled’

06.10.2025 10

Financial Times

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What remains of Gaza?

Israel has reduced large swaths of the territory to rubble. It will take decades and tens of billions of dollars to repair the damage

04.10.2025 5

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Are the Tories facing oblivion?

With the Conservatives at their lowest ebb ever, leader Kemi Badenoch faces a fierce struggle to maintain the party’s relevance

04.10.2025 20

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The Big Read

Why Japan resents its tourism boom

Foreign visitor numbers have grown more than fivefold, but for some the surge is a reminder of the country’s economic malaise

03.10.2025 30

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How long can Nvidia stay ahead of Chinese competition?

The country has been a critical market for the AI chipmaker but the company is entangled in geopolitical tensions and is watching the rise of new...

02.10.2025 10

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How Nvidia’s Jensen Huang became AI’s global salesman

The chipmaker’s chief executive is urging countries to establish their own ‘sovereign’ AI ecosystems — but one which relies on its technology

30.09.2025 10

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Rule of law in the Trump era: the demoralised prosecutors of SDNY

The Southern District of New York once took pride in its independence. But pressure from the administration is changing the way its lawyers operate

29.09.2025 10

Financial Times

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The never-ending Trump show

The US president is dialling up his radical agenda and escalating personal vendettas in a bid to dominate America’s attention

27.09.2025 10

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The billionaire politician making a Trump-like comeback in Europe

Former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš is seeking a second tilt at power, with potentially serious ramifications for Europe

25.09.2025 2

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The lingering wealth gap in Saudi Arabia

Vast state spending is driving development, but some regions say the fast-growing capital is getting too much of the money

25.09.2025 6

Financial Times

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Can the UN save itself from irrelevance?

As the organisation turns 80, wars are raging in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, its core ideas are in tatters and the world no longer seems to be listening

24.09.2025 20

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The shadow economy behind the international student boom

A lucrative revenue stream for universities has led to an industry of unregulated agents now under scrutiny for making lofty promises

23.09.2025 10

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The meltdown at Nestlé

The scandal at the Swiss food giant raises questions about its corporate culture and the health of its conglomerate model

20.09.2025 10

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Is America entering a new era of McCarthyism?

Since January, Donald Trump has used tactics reminiscent of the 1950s to stifle critical voices. Over the last week, the threats have intensified

19.09.2025 10

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How Israel is dismantling the dream of a Palestinian state

While attention has been focused on Gaza, Israel has undermined the delicate architecture of governance in the West Bank built up over three decades

18.09.2025 10

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The problem with taxing the rich

Fiscal systems designed around income and consumption struggle to capture wealth, and billionaires are highly mobile

18.09.2025 40

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The left’s radical plan to fix housing in Paris

Authorities are using an arsenal of interventionist tools to make city homes affordable. Critics call it an attack on property rights

17.09.2025 20

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The Gen Z revolution spreading in Asia

Nepal is just the most recent country to have seen the ruling elite toppled by frustrated young people

16.09.2025 20

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How prediction markets are shaking up sports gambling in America

Kalshi is spearheading a legal battle to expand access to online betting, with support from some in Trump’s circle

13.09.2025 6

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America’s dangerous descent into mutual loathing

The murder of Charlie Kirk is part of a new cycle of political violence with echoes of the 1960s. But this time, leading figures on the right are...

13.09.2025 60

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The secretive corporate empire that captured a breakaway state

Sheriff dominates the economy of Transnistria and its pro-Russian government, but the war in Ukraine has thrown its future into doubt

12.09.2025 40

Financial Times

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Why is AI struggling to discover new drugs?

A generation of start-ups have failed to live up to the hype. Executives are now betting that more powerful tools will crack the complexities of human...

11.09.2025 30

Financial Times

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Hong Kong: a comeback with Chinese characteristics

After a stagnant few years, the territory’s financial sector is regaining its global standing with a push from Beijing

10.09.2025 10

Financial Times

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The hedge fund billionaire aiming to be king of Queens

Steve Cohen already owns the Mets baseball team and now wants to build one of New York’s first casinos. But that has drawn him into local politics

09.09.2025 9

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Can Belarus move out of Russia’s shadow?

With economic problems mounting as the Ukraine war continues, President Lukashenko is tentatively trying to improve ties with the west

06.09.2025 10

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Xi Jinping plots a post-American world

Led by China, a growing group of nations wants to change the global order — and they seem increasingly inclined to work together

06.09.2025 60

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Making British homes affordable again

Politicians have long blamed a housing shortage for soaring prices, but it is tax reform that can make the market less dysfunctional

05.09.2025 10

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Why memory chips are the new frontier of the AI revolution

Innovation has helped push SK Hynix ahead of Samsung — and put chipmakers in the middle of growing US-China tensions

04.09.2025 10

Financial Times

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Is there a future for the ‘Amazon of Africa’?

Six years after a high-profile listing, Jumia is still trying to prove that it can be a profitable business rather than a relic of the cheap money era

03.09.2025 7

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How Trump gutted America’s disaster relief agency

Hurricane season tests whether Fema is still fit for purpose after radical changes

02.09.2025 20

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How the world’s biggest carmakers are falling behind in software

The shift from a manufacturing model to a digital one is proving difficult and expensive for many of the industry’s traditional companies

28.08.2025 20

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After the shock of war, Iranians yearn for change

Despite an initial mood of wartime solidarity, Iranians across the political spectrum believe the conflict has exposed the vulnerabilities of the...

27.08.2025 10

Financial Times

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The unsustainable boom in India’s Silicon Valley

Over the past two decades, Bengaluru has seen explosive growth in its tech sector. But the city’s infrastructure is not keeping up with the expansion

26.08.2025 6

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Can women’s sport turn itself into big business?

Events like the Rugby World Cup are drawing more fans, but still trail far behind the men’s equivalent in financial terms

26.08.2025 3

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The twilight of the central banking elite

After several decades in which economic technocrats enjoyed a large degree of autonomy, they are under intense pressure from the Trump administration

22.08.2025 10

Financial Times

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The US tourism slump that never happened

Despite fears of a sharp downturn amid foreign visitor boycotts, the sector has had a decent summer. But some predict the problems have only been...

22.08.2025 10

Financial Times

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Why a commodities boom is not lifting Indonesia’s economy

As investment pours into mining projects, the country’s once-mighty manufacturing sector is stagnating and shedding jobs

22.08.2025 20

Financial Times

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The Iranian connection: how China is importing oil from Russia

Networks of brokers and shipowners from Panama to Switzerland are becoming expert at circumventing international sanctions

21.08.2025 20

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The inexorable rise of Latin America’s drug cartels

With the global cocaine business booming as never before, organised crime groups are diversifying into a swath of other illicit activities

20.08.2025 20

Financial Times

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Does HR still need humans?

AI can perform many of the duties of human resources staff, a symbol of how it is changing companies and the nature of work

19.08.2025 5

Financial Times

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Who should benefit from Kenya’s elephants?

The return of Amboseli National Park to local control has raised fears that efforts to protect the country’s wildlife will be set back

15.08.2025 4

Financial Times

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Is AI hitting a wall?

OpenAI’s underwhelming new GPT-5 model suggests progress is slowing — and competition in the space is changing

15.08.2025 6

Financial Times

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Zelenskyy faces his ‘moment of maximum pressure’

Weakened at home, the Ukrainian president must try to shape the Alaska talks from afar as battlefield losses mount

14.08.2025 40

Financial Times

The Big Read