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The largest western banks that remain in Russia paid the Kremlin more than €800mn of taxes last year, a fourfold increase on prewar levels, despite promises to minimise their Russian exposure after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The seven top European banks by assets in Russia — Raiffeisen Bank International, UniCredit, ING, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank,

Rishi Sunak will face a challenge to his leadership if the Conservatives suffer heavy losses and lose high-profile Tory mayors in next week’s local elections, rightwing rebels have claimed. Most Conservative MPs believe the prime minister would survive even a terrible set of results on May 2 because there is no viable alternative and a

Investors are pushing back their expectations of interest rate cuts around the world, as the US Federal Reserve’s battle with price pressures complicates other central banks’ loosening plans. As the US reported the latest in a string of poor inflation figures, markets reined in their forecasts for rate cuts by the European Central Bank and

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. This article is an on-site version of The Lex Newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every Wednesday and Friday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all

Microsoft and Google’s owner Alphabet have quashed investor scepticism around the vast sums spent on developing artificial intelligence, after being boosted by rampant corporate demand for their cloud computing services. The combined market value of the two US tech giants rose by more than $250bn on Friday, a day after each reported double-digit revenue growth

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Mining myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Anglo American has rejected BHP’s offer to break up and buy the UK-listed miner, saying the proposal “significantly undervalues” the company and its future prospects and that the deal would be “highly unattractive” to its shareholders.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Alphabet’s revenue jumped 15 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 and it announced it would pay its first dividend of 20 cents a share, buoyed by a rise in earnings across its main

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. BHP has proposed a takeover of Anglo American, in a deal that would bring together two global mining giants and rank as one of the industry’s largest transactions in years. BHP has made a proposal

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. President Joe Biden signed a highly anticipated $95bn foreign aid bill on Wednesday, triggering a move by the Pentagon to rush $1bn in new weapons to Kyiv from US stockpiles, including much-needed air defence

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Brussels has raided a Chinese security equipment supplier, deploying new anti-foreign subsidy powers in a move that will further inflame tensions between the trading superpowers ahead of a planned visit by President Xi Jinping to

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the UK financial regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Some banks are unable to quantify their exposure to private equity, the Bank of England has found, in the latest warning that the $8tn industry could threaten the wider financial system.  BoE regulator Rebecca

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US interest rates myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Traders have built up bets that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again, a once-unthinkable prospect that highlights a shift in market expectations after stronger than expected US economic data and hawkish comments

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The FTSE 100 closed at an all-time high on Monday as rising expectations for UK interest rate cuts weakened sterling and boosted corporate valuations in London. Britain’s blue-chip index rose 1.6 per cent to close

Standard Digital Weekend Print + Standard Digital 89 € per month Billed Quarterly at 265 €. Complete digital access plus the FT newspaper delivered Monday-Saturday. What’s included Everything in Standard Digital Global news & analysis Expert opinion Special features FirstFT newsletter Videos & Podcasts FT App on Android & iOS FT Edit app 10 gift

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the UK financial regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The UK’s top financial regulator is facing a fierce backlash from the government and City executives over its plan to “name and shame” companies under investigation more frequently and at a much earlier stage.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The dysfunction in the majority party in the US House of Representatives was as clear as Saturday’s final vote on $60bn in military aid for Ukraine: of the 218 Republicans in the House, most (112)

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The US House of Representatives has begun voting on a $95bn package of foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, in what could be a big breakthrough after months of inaction on Capitol Hill. The

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US foreign policy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. A $95bn US aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is set for a final vote on Saturday, after Democratic lawmakers backed the plan put forward by the House of Representatives’ Republican Speaker Mike

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Mysterious wreckages photographed in Iraq have given the clearest indication yet of how Israel might have launched its counterstrike against Iran. The pictures, scoured by military analysts and open-source intelligence enthusiasts, suggest that Israel may

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Iran has activated air defence systems across several provinces, according to official news agency IRNA, after reports that an explosion was heard near the city of Isfahan. Tasnim news agency, which is close to Iran’s