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FINANCIAL TIMES
Friday, 20 December 2024
 
 
 

World News

 
 
 
US dispatches diplomats to meet Syrian rebel leader in Damascus
 
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who remains under western sanctions, will host state department’s top Middle East official
 
 
Tore Hattrem, Norway’s ambassador to the UK: ‘We share your eccentric humour’
 
His official residence may be on Kensington’s billionaires’ row, but Oslo’s man in London insists he is not ‘elite’ — and that after weeks in transit, those Christmas trees are bound to look a bit scruffy
 
 
Europe wrapped itself in a web of new rules. Can it reverse course?
 
With Donald Trump promising more deregulation in the US and businesses upset about red tape, the EU is now searching for balance
 
 
What if DogeCoin becomes the US currency? And more of your wild proposals answered
 
What if Bitcoin got adopted as the only way of paying for coffee?
 
 
Sadiq Khan’s London housing fund may need bailout, auditors warn
 
Mayor’s property development vehicle repeatedly missed payments on £300mn debt
 
 
 

Markets

 
 
 
Inside Wall Street’s booming $1tn ‘synthetic risk transfer’ phenomenon
 
The latest three-letter acronym to excite and alarm people
 
 
Active ETFs will transform model portfolios, says BlackRock CFO
 
Martin Small said the world’s largest asset manager was on track for a record year in ETF net inflows
 
 
Shell tied new Nigeria offshore investments to approval for oil asset sale
 
Approval for exit from operation at centre of decades of criticism over environmental impact marked sharp turnaround
 
 
Trump protectionism threatens energy transition, warns BHP chief
 
Mike Henry says shifting US policies risk slowing allocation of capital to projects essential to renewables switch
 
 
Hedge funds cash in on Trump-fuelled crypto boom
 
Brevan Howard and Galaxy Digital’s crypto strategies made more than 30 per cent in November
 
 
 

Companies

 
 
 
The volunteers delivering life-saving mental health support
 
Community-based approaches provide startling results without need for expensive clinical care
 
 
Second-hand fashion creates only third-rate profit
 
Lithuanian start-up Vinted’s absence of a fee helps to expand its marketplace
 
 
Toys R Us Asia celebrates ‘kidult’ Christmas as birth rates in region fall
 
Retailer taps nostalgia to sell toys to ageing market and counter falling demand for kids’ products
 
 
The Big Question: what is driving the global mental health crisis?
 
Several factors could be contributing but experts are yet to reach a consensus on an explanation for the rapid decline
 
 
Cost of UK Christmas dinner up 20% since pre-pandemic
 
Price of mince pies and turkey jump driven by energy crisis and supply chain disruption
 
 
 

Opinion

 
 
 
Europe must decide on the banking union
 
Commerzbank and Banco BPM are test cases that ask if we, as a bloc, are serious about greater integration
 
 
Why the TikTok era spells trouble for the establishment
 
Populism is the winner in the shift from traditional to social media and from text to video and audio
 
 
Sudan’s unfolding humanitarian crisis
 
Outside powers hold the key to ending the deadly forgotten conflict
 
 
Big bets on AI point to venture capital industry’s shift
 
The strategy of focusing money on larger deals comes at time of extreme indigestion for start-up investors
 
 
England’s water wars hose just about everybody
 
Public trust in the sector is at the lowest levels since surveys began 13 years ago
 
 
 
 
 
 
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