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Today’s Agenda: French push of the euro as a global reserve currency. Zuckerberg’s Macho-Man Makeover; Bitcoin stockpile. Mozambique National Park Update
Good morning, I’m back to Firstft. Donald Trump said there could be new talks with Iran in the “near future” and that he would decide whether Israel will take part in the attack on the country “in the next two weeks.”
What we know: Trump seemed to show that he was slowing down his decision on entering the war, despite the US military assets being sent to the region. Yesterday, a statement from the US president said “there is a considerable potential for negotiations that may or may not be done with Iran in the near future.” The White House also confirmed that the US had opened negotiations with Tehran during the days of missile exchange between Iran and Israel.
What happens next: The possibility of more US-Iran negotiations comes as the UK, France and Germany prepare to hold talks with today’s Iranian foreign minister in Geneva as part of their push to prevent conflict escalation. The conference, a revival of the “E3” format in which the trio attempted to resolve standoffs with Iran’s western side, will be the first high-level in-person diplomacy with Tehran since Israel launched an attack on Iran a week ago. Here’s the details of our coverage:
Similarities to the Iraq War: The shadow of intelligence of mass destruction 20 years ago rests on Trump to consider whether to bomb Iran.
Military Briefing: hubrism and miscalculation blew Tehran’s decades of “no war, no peace” doctrine as Israel’s desire for risk increased.
Here are other things that keep tabs today and weekends:
Economic Data: The European Central Bank publishes economic bulletins, while the UK reports on public sector finances. The US Congress Committee has published key indicators.
Luxembourg: The Council on Economic and Financial Affairs will meet to discuss the expansion of the Euro region and the EU’s response to the Ukrainian conflict.
France: The Paris Air Show runs until Sunday and opens today.
UK: Climate Action Week will start tomorrow in London.
Results: Accenture and Berkeley Group Report.
How well did you get with this news this week? Take the quiz.
Five more top stories
1. Exclusive: France is lobbying EU countries to pledge additional measures to raise the euro profile as the global reserve currency as part of the Paris campaign for more joint borrowings. The push was spurred by Trump’s volatile policies that weakened the dollar’s dominance, opening up space for the bloc’s currency to become more attractive to international trade.
2. China and Russia are “equal in terms of cyber threats” posed to Europe regarding state-sponsored hacking and espionage, according to the Czech president, which was recently targeted by a hacker group associated with Beijing’s security services. Read Petr Pavel’s interview.
3. Exclusive: Inditex’s CEO says that more than two years after Zara’s owner sold his local business after the invasion of Ukraine, the conditions for his return to Russia are “certainly not.” Despite Moscow’s claim that Western companies will return by June this year, comments from Óscar García Maceiras are the latest indication that multinationals are not in a hurry to re-enter Russia.
4. Exclusive: The BBC is threatening legal action against the perplexity of artificial intelligence search engines in its first effort to defeat a technology group that cuts down a vast majority of content to develop cutting-edge technology. The broadcaster also told US startups to delete stored materials used for AI training and sought compensation for alleged IP breach.
5. Record prices promote a surge in gold mining in Sudan, unlocking important sources of income for the nation’s fighting parties, allowing them to fund conflicts. Its mining last year produced about 80 tons of gold, the highest production in six years, and Sudan became one of Africa’s top four gold producers.
FT Magazine
Mark Zuckerberg’s redhead transformation into “Maga Mark” shocked the liberals in the meta, but his closest allies say this is who he was. Hannah Murphy delves into the truth about Big Technology Chief Macho Man’s transformation.
We’re reading too. . .
SEC: New Chair Paul Atkins depicts a new path for U.S. securities regulators to scrap the market rules proposed by his predecessor.
Trump Tax Bill: There are two positions between former Republican security guards and budget fairyland, Orencath says.
Undercover Economist: Our own mental algorithms, in addition to high-tech ones, distort the way we see the world, writes Tim Harford.
The chart of the day
Companies around the world are buying Bitcoin as executives who mimic stockpiling strategies that have often been unrelated to cryptocurrency. FT analysis reveals the world’s biggest hoarding.
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Take a break from the news
The David Pilling Tour looks at Gorongoza National Park in Mozambique. This is bounced back from the devastation of civil war through one of the most ambitious conservation projects in the world.
