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Evidence of a wave of Covid-19 deaths is beginning to emerge in Beijing despite official tallies showing no fatalities since an uncontrolled outbreak began sweeping through China’s capital this week. Staff at one crematorium in Beijing said they cremated the bodies of at least 30 Covid victims on Wednesday and Financial Times reporters saw two

The UK’s heath minister has said that the government had no realistic way of meeting nurses’ pay demands as the first day of historic strikes gets under way. Maria Caulfield expressed “huge regret” over the walkouts, the latest in a wave of industrial action sweeping the UK and the first time the Royal College of

UK inflation dipped to 10.7 per cent in November as an easing in the rise in petrol prices helped to lower the rate from a 41-year high of 11.1 per cent last month. The figure was better than an expected 10.9 per cent and economists said the annual inflation rate had now probably passed its

Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested in the Bahamas at the request of US government prosecutors who have filed criminal charges against the disgraced crypto entrepreneur. Bahamian attorney-general Ryan Pinder said the country’s police force had taken Bankman-Fried into custody after receiving “formal notification” from the US government that it had filed criminal charges and was

The UK electricity grid operator has instructed two emergency-use coal generators to start warming up as the network faces its first big test of the energy crisis, with demand across the country soaring as temperatures dip below zero. The National Grid Electricity System Operator said on Monday morning that it had asked the “contingency” plants

The White House’s chief energy adviser has described as “un-American” the refusal of US shale investors to ramp up drilling, even as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine causes havoc on global oil and gas markets. US oil groups have been under pressure from Wall Street to funnel record profits back to investors this year, despite repeated

Jeremy Hunt has warned trade unions not to jeopardise Britain’s recovery, saying that high pay demands will hit the fight against inflation and harm the workers they are trying to protect. In an interview with the Financial Times, the UK chancellor did not deny that ministers had blocked a potential 10 per cent pay offer

UK ministers blocked a possible deal to call off this month’s rail strikes by preventing the industry from offering unions higher pay deals and adding tough new conditions at the last minute. Employers had planned to offer a 10 per cent pay rise over two years to the RMT union, but were blocked by the

The gulf between short- and long-term US borrowing costs has reached its widest point since 1981, in a sign investors expect the Federal Reserve to stay the course in its battle to tame inflation, even as recession worries mount. The two-year Treasury yield traded on Wednesday at 4.2 per cent, while the 10-year yield stood

Donald Trump’s businesses have been found guilty of running a 13-year tax fraud scheme, in a significant victory for Manhattan prosecutors who pursued the only criminal case against the former US president’s empire even as he launched a third bid for the White House. A New York jury on Tuesday convicted The Trump Organization —

The Treasury is finalising plans for a package of sweeping rules to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, including limits on foreign companies selling into the UK, provisions for how to deal with the collapse of companies and restrictions on the advertising of products. Ministers will shortly launch a consultation on the new regulatory regime, after the

EU countries cut gas demand by a quarter in November even as temperatures fell, in the latest evidence that the bloc is succeeding in reducing its reliance on Russian energy since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Provisional data from commodity analytics company ICIS showed gas demand in the EU was 24 per cent below the five-year

Investors predict the Federal Reserve will cut rates when faced with a slowing economy next year, betting the US central bank is far closer to ending its historic monetary tightening campaign than it has signalled. Traders in the US government bond market are wagering that the Fed will be forced to cut interest rates twice

Russia has quietly amassed a fleet of more than 100 ageing tankers to help circumvent western restrictions on Russian oil sales following its invasion of Ukraine, according to shipping brokers and analysts. Shipping broker Braemar estimates Moscow, which relies heavily on foreign tankers to transport its crude, has added more than 100 ships this year,

Blackstone has limited withdrawals from its $125bn real estate investment fund following a surge in redemption requests, as investors clamour to get their hands on cash and concerns grow about the long-term health of the commercial property market. The private equity group approved only 43 per cent of redemption requests in its Blackstone Real Estate

Sam Bankman-Fried said he “never tried to commit fraud” while admitting he made “a lot of mistakes” ahead of the collapse of his $32bn cryptocurrency empire, which threatens to inflict significant financial losses on users of his popular FTX trading platform. The founder of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX denied “knowingly” commingling customer funds with

Britain is poised to relax one of the biggest restrictions on the banking sector as part of “Big Bang 2.0”, the long promised liberalisation of post-Brexit financial services rules. The “ringfencing” of banks with retail and investment arms was introduced after the 2008 financial crash with the aim of reducing risk and preventing banking collapses.

The US is pushing European allies to take a harder stance towards Beijing as it tries to leverage its leadership on Ukraine to gain more support from Nato countries for its efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific. According to people briefed on conversations between the US and its Nato allies, Washington has in recent

Xi Jinping faces one of his greatest challenges as president of China after tens of thousands of people took to the streets over Beijing’s strict coronavirus controls and suppression of freedom of speech. At least 10 cities, including Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu, were shaken by rare political protests over the weekend, triggering clashes with police

Elon Musk’s tumultuous reign at Twitter has led to a damaging rift with top brands and marketers, with the social media company’s $5bn-a-year advertising business hit by tensions over content moderation and resources. Multiple top advertising agencies and media buyers told the Financial Times that nearly all of the big brands they represent have paused