BlackRock has launched two exchange traded funds that invest in areas that the firm thinks will accelerate the economy. The iShares Blockchain and Tech ETF (IBLC), seeks to track the NYSE FactSet Global Blockchain Technologies index and is composed of companies that are involved in the “development, innovation and utilisation of blockchain and crypto technologies”,

When Zambia’s opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema secured a landslide victory over incumbent Edgar Lungu in the country’s presidential elections nearly eight months ago, he pledged economic growth of 10 per cent a year. If this ambitious promise is to be achieved, the key lies in reinvigorating Zambia’s mining industry. The last time the country saw

Two of Roman Abramovich’s longstanding associates are set to keep their jobs running Chelsea Football Club if the leading bidder, a consortium led by US financier Todd Boehly, prevails. Chelsea’s chair Bruce Buck, 76, and director Marina Granovskaia, 47, have been offered the option to stay in place under Boehly’s ownership, three people with knowledge

In the northern industrial town of Baoding, toilet paper rolls off Jinye’s industrial machinery, ready to be sent direct from the factory floor to bathrooms across China. Sales of Jinye’s absorbent tissues have exploded since it became one of the first companies to open a store on Alibaba’s Taobao Deals, a platform launched by the

JD Vance, the author and venture capitalist, has won the primary election to be the Republican candidate for the US Senate from Ohio, in a victory that underlined the continuing influence of the former president Donald Trump in the party. With more than 95 per cent of the vote counted after polls closed on Tuesday,

Shahid Astori, a 27-year-old electrical engineer, voted against Imran Khan when he was first elected as prime minister in 2018. His dislike of Khan only intensified during the former celebrity cricketer’s term, with Astori blaming Khan for painful inflation and an economic crisis. Yet all that was forgiven as Astori joined thousands of demonstrators at

When answering a survey about the FT I was asked if there was enough content written by women and whether I was more or less likely to comment on articles if I could do so anonymously. This reminded me that, while many FT articles are written by female journalists, the letters page seems to be

It was an event that signalled a striking shift in South Korea’s corporate scene: a millennial fund manager taking on senior executives of one of the country’s leading entertainment companies in a YouTube debate put on for the nation’s growing army of retail investors. Thirty-five-year-old Changhwan Lee, who left private equity group KKR last year

The article “Growth stock stars of the pandemic take a tumble” (Report, April 30) gives an interesting perspective on the volatility underpinning growth stocks. It’s true that the S&P 500 growth index is down 20 per cent or more on a year-to-date basis. This also accompanies falling gains for speculative stocks with little earnings records

China’s independent refiners have been discreetly buying Russian oil at steep discounts as western countries suspend their own purchases and explore potential embargoes because of the war in Ukraine. An official at a Shandong-based independent refinery said it had not publicly reported deals with Russian oil suppliers since the Ukraine war started in order to

In a battered market for technology stocks there may be hope: call it the “private equity put”. On Tuesday, Elliott Management disclosed a $1bn — or roughly six per cent — stake in Western Digital, the maker of hard drives and flash memory devices. Elliott urged Western to break up those two halves of its

On Monday morning, with volumes thinned by the UK’s bank holiday, Citigroup briefly crashed the European market. Nearly two trading days later, we’re still struggling to figure out how. Citi has placed the blame on one unfortunate in its London office, saying a unidentified trader “made an error when inputting a transaction”. As excuses go,

US president Joe Biden called on the Supreme Court to uphold the landmark Roe vs Wade abortion rights ruling following the leak of a draft opinion that would overturn it, which the court’s chief justice condemned as a “betrayal” and insisted was not indicative of its final decision. “I believe that a woman’s right to

BrewDog staff are in line for potential payouts of up to £120,000 after its chief executive pledged to share with them £100mn of his personal stake in the UK’s largest craft brewer. James Watt said on Tuesday that he would donate a fifth of his 24 per cent stake in the company to an employee

The writer is a science commentator It seems like a ingenious solution to an intractable problem. The world may be bungling its promise to limit global temperature rise to less than 2C above pre-industrial levels, but could solar geoengineering ride to the rescue? Methods vary but the basic idea is the same: to reflect sunlight

This is an audio transcript of the FT News Briefing podcast episode: Federal Reserve poised to raise rates a half-per cent Jess SmithGood morning from the Financial Times. Today is Tuesday, May 3rd. And this is your FT News Briefing. [MUSIC PLAYING]  US central bankers are meeting today amid expectations for a half point interest

When the UK’s furlough scheme was announced near the start of the pandemic, Paul Stephenson thought he would be eligible. He was working via a temp agency in a small manufacturing company where other staff were being furloughed. But he wasn’t employed by either the manufacturer or the agency. Instead, his employer was an “umbrella

The US Federal Reserve is expected to accelerate its monetary policy tightening this week with its first half-percentage point rise since 2000 and signal more aggressive action to come until there is clear evidence that red-hot inflation is under control. Mounting inflationary pressures stemming from a tight labour market coupled with price increases extending beyond

The slow build-up towards Simon Rattle’s departure from London seems as drawn-out as the long anticipation of his arrival in 2015. Such is the lead-time involved in the contracts of top conductors, though at least it allows plenty of scope for planning in advance. With a year to go before he steps down as music

The writer is an adjunct lecturer at William & Mary and author of an upcoming book on confidence-driven decision-making “The markets are plotting against me,” an international student told me recently. Between the dramatic rise in US used-car prices, the increase in short-term interest rates and the strength of the dollar, the monthly loan payment