Good morning. Friday was horrific for markets — US indices down 2.5 per cent or worse — but not surprising. The markets are telling an increasingly if not completely consistent story. If we’re missing something, email us: robert.armstrong@ft.com and ethan.wu@ft.com.  What happened and why Sometimes the simplest story is the best. The US stock market
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine looks increasingly likely to lead to Finland and Sweden applying to join Nato. But whereas Helsinki appears to be doing so with something resembling gusto, Stockholm is inching towards the western military alliance more reluctantly. As early as December and January, Finnish politicians started a national debate across party lines on
It is more than 30 years since Robert Maxwell’s body was found at sea, but many remain fascinated by him. A new biography, Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell, by John Preston, published last year, brings the number of books about the late publishing magnate to at least 12. A three-part BBC series, House of
We all deserve to have a day at work without having the fear of God put into us. Which is why one of the most striking recent examples of “a bad day at the office” remains alarmingly fresh in my memory, almost two months on. “Say what you mean,” snapped Vladimir Putin at Sergei Naryshkin,
Meet the most powerful iPad ever I love an iPad. For the past year, I’ve used the Air 4 (released in 2020) as a laptop lite. I enjoy the ease of slinging the Air – which sits between the Mini and basic iPads, and the Pro – into my tote and sliding it out in cramped cafés.  So the release of
We’ve been writing about the international monetary system for long enough to be somewhat dubious about oft-repeated claims of the dollar’s demise. Sure, we can see why the greenback ought to be dethroned. The US is no longer the economic power it once was, inflation’s at multi-decade highs, and now Washington has frozen hundreds of
One of China’s top government health officials has repeatedly promoted Covid-19 remedies included in Beijing’s official treatment protocol for the disease without disclosing his links with the manufacturers. Epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan was appointed to head an expert group at the National Health Commission, the body responsible for formulating China’s health policy, at the start of
Conservative party chair Oliver Dowden has insisted there is a “strong case” for Boris Johnson to remain as prime minister, despite growing backbench anger over the government’s handling of the partygate scandal and fears over upcoming local elections. Johnson now faces three probes into the allegations of rule-breaking throughout the pandemic: the House of Commons
Fiesole’s finest reborn Villa San Michele has been the stalwart on the Fiesole hill above Florence since it first opened in 1982, with painterly views, patrician gardens, and a rich historical heritage (the 15th-century villa was originally a monastery; the oak woods above it are where da Vinci is said to have first launched his
This article picked by a teacher with suggested questions is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here. Specification: AQA Component 1, Section3.1.1.2: The structure and role of Parliament; Section 3.1.1.3: the Prime Minister and Cabinet — the difference between individual and collective responsibility Edexcel Component 2, Section 3.2: The concept of ministerial