Hello from the FT newsroom. It’s been a tough few days for UK chancellor Rachel Reeves. On Tuesday, the government gutted its signature, cost-cutting welfare bill, with Reeves firmly in the line of fire.
UK government bonds rallied today in response to Starmer’s confirmation she would stay in the post for a “very long time”. Reeves’ job may be safe for now, but her choices are narrowing.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves shed a tear as the prime minister stopped short of giving her his full backing yesterday © House of Commons
From Norway’s Arctic region to Poland’s border with Belarus, Nato allies are working together to predict what a Russian attack might look like — and how the alliance would respond to one. Explore how Nato is fortifying its eastern frontier in this visual story.
Donald Trump promised blue-collar America lower prices and rising incomes. His “big, beautiful bill” delivers exactly the opposite, argues our US national editor Edward Luce. Should Trump’s Robin Hood budget become law, his party will pay a price at the polling booth.
Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist who won last week’s Democratic mayoral primary in New York City, thinks billionaires shouldn’t exist. A leading academic explains why he’s wrong.
China is the world’s second-biggest economy and one of two true military superpowers. And yet, as its leaders are acutely aware, the country has not been able to overcome dozens of industrial “choke points”. That leaves it vulnerable to US pressure at a crucial time.
The day Lehman Brothers went bust, heralding the start of the 2008 financial crisis, was a psyche-scarring event for those of us over 40. Now, fears are growing that the next financial crisis is on the horizon. Here’s how it could start. (Free to read)
Rats exist on every continent except Antarctica, but the rats in New York City are something else. As efforts to reduce their numbers get under way, meet New York’s first “rat tsar”. (Free to read)
