FirstFT: Asia’s wealthy shift assets to Switzerland
Also in today’s newsletter: China steps up Taiwan military drills, and Japanese stocks surge to year-end record
Federal Reserve minutes highlight deep fissures at US central bank
Policymakers sparred over decision to cut interest rates earlier in December
Warner Bros plans to reject Paramount’s latest hostile bid
Personal guarantee from Oracle’s Larry Ellison insufficient to persuade Hollywood studio’s board
Quiz show!
In which we test the brains of our hosts
Ukraine seeks to contain diplomatic fallout over Putin’s attack claim
India, Pakistan and UAE join Trump in condemning what Kyiv says are false allegations of assault on Russian leader’s residence
Eurostar services partially resume after Channel Tunnel power supply fault
Train operator is still advising passengers to rebook services for another day
UAE pulls troops from Yemen after rift with Saudi Arabia escalates
Withdrawal comes after Riyadh said it bombed Emirati weapons shipment
Turkey detains hundreds of Isis suspects after deadly shootout
Raids against alleged jihadi cells came amid widespread warnings of a possible New Year attack
Foreign Office under pressure over activist’s ‘abhorrent’ social media posts
Official inquiry ordered into ‘serious information failures’ following historic comments by Alaa Abdel Fattah
How the AI ‘bubble’ compares to history
US stock valuations are higher than before 1929 Wall Street crash but the dominance of a single sector has precedents
Kosovo ruling party wins fresh mandate and EU sanctions relief
Prime Minister Albin Kurti set for new four-year term after boosting vote share in snap election
Dollar on track for steepest annual drop for almost a decade
Analysts say Federal Reserve rate cuts will push the US currency lower in 2026
Creativity thrives with constraints
Even the most successful of directors benefit from strong editors and margin-cutting suits
US non-profits slash jobs as government and donor funding dries up
Charities become concerned for their future as thousands of positions are cut
Italy approves 2026 budget after infighting within Meloni’s coalition
Lawmakers squabbled over how to allocate limited additional resources
Politicians and the romance novel: a love affair
The world of romantic fiction is a strange one — that of political erotica even more so
Octopus Energy swings to a loss as it hits 10mn customers globally
Energy start-up sees margin slide as its costs rise sharply
Best of Banx 2025
The 12 most notable cartoons of the year
Why big online retailers are setting up shop in the real world
It remains to be seen who will best juggle the concrete with the digital
A year of fragile resilience in charts
Stock market performance, strong activity and normalising labour markets show a volatile, but ultimately benign, 2025
Reasons for youthful cheer
Despite the gloom, there are many advantages to being young in the 2020s
Israel’s Horn of Africa gamble raises tension with Arab and Muslim rivals
Surprise recognition of breakaway Somaliland draws widespread backlash from regional powers
Hot property: five homes for sale in Somerset
From a modernist, zero-carbon ‘tractor shed’ to a terraced former bakery and a 17th-century thatched house
FTSE 100 loses the last of its industrial conglomerates
Buyout groups targeting unloved assets and technology accelerated the pace of group break-ups