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Today’s topic: The G20 summit begins. ECB report on capital requirements for banks. Track the German elections. Stealth dismissal. And offshore oil is back.
good morning. The week begins with news that U.S. President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to launch limited attacks on Russia using U.S.-made long-range missiles, according to two people familiar with the decision.
What caused the policy change? Biden is changing his position after sending thousands of North Korean troops to support Russia’s war effort and after Russian forces launched a barrage of attacks on Ukrainian cities over the weekend.
The move comes after months of resisting pleas from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to lift restrictions on the use of Western-made long-range weapons in Russia, around the end of Biden’s White House term in January. It took place two months ago.
Why it matters: “Even if confined to the Kursk region, ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles endanger Russia’s high-value systems, assembly areas, logistics, and command and control,” said Michael, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Foundation.・Mr. Coffman says. International peace think tank. “This could allow Ukraine to hold onto Kursk for a long time and defray the costs of North Korea’s involvement in the war.”
Bill Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, said Biden’s decision “makes Ukraine stronger and increases the likelihood that the war will come to a just end,” adding, “British and French missiles could also be unlocked. There is a gender,” he said. Maybe some Germans too. ” Read the full text.
And here’s what else we’re looking at today:
G20 Summit: Officials from the world’s wealthiest countries will gather in Rio de Janeiro today as Donald Trump’s re-election threatens to disrupt international efforts on climate change and taxation. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also expected to ask G20 leaders to “double down” on aid to Ukraine.
UK-China relations: Starmer will hold face-to-face talks with the British Prime Minister and Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since 2018.
UK arms case: London’s High Court begins hearing a case against the previous UK government’s decision to continue arms sales to Israel.
UK economic data: Rightmove releases November house price index, S&P Global releases UK consumer confidence index.
Company: Boohoo plans to announce the results of a retail offering of new ordinary shares. Big Yellow Group, Cerillion, and Sirius Real Estate are performing well.
5 more top articles
1. Iran has kept the door open for negotiations with President Donald Trump’s administration, but warned that any attempt to reimpose “maximum pressure” will not extract concessions from the Islamic Republic. Read the Financial Times’ interview with Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanshi, who said the 2015 nuclear deal, which President Trump withdrew from, “could still serve as a basis.”
2. Monopoly: The European Central Bank debates whether to publish confidential research showing capital requirements would rise by double-digit percentages if the EU’s biggest financial institutions faced the same rules as their big Wall Street rivals. are. Here’s what else we know about the ECB’s report. The report is being pushed by some senior policymakers to make public to counter intense lobbying efforts to water down the rules.
3. If reforms do not direct savings to domestic infrastructure and businesses, the UK government could force pension funds to invest more in UK assets. Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds told the FT: “We are an outlier in terms of our own pension system.” Read the full report.
4. European plastics manufacturers are closing factories as production falls sharply as EU companies struggle to compete with a global glut of cheap materials. Europe’s plastic production fell by 8.3% in 2023, compared to a global increase of 3.4% as countries including China and the United States ramped up production.
5. U.S. business leaders say Donald Trump’s plan to deport millions of undocumented workers will create massive labor shortages, close restaurants, and destroy farms and small businesses. It warns that it could cause prices to rise. One immigration lawyer said: Wait until[food producers]can’t get workers. ”
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big reading
Years after the worst spill in history in the Gulf of Mexico, oil companies are drilling deeper into the ocean floor in search of discoveries. But while the industry heralds a new era in offshore drilling, the increase in activity, which is expected to generate around $104 billion in investment this year, is raising concerns.
We also read and listen. . .
Investability gap: UK banks are bracing for competitive threats from President Donald Trump’s deregulatory policies that would benefit US banks more, writes Patrick Jenkins .
The EU challenge: Leaders across the Atlantic know they need to make Europe great again. But where will that money come from?
Stealth layoffs: Small-scale layoffs for seemingly minor violations raise questions about whether cost-cutting is being disguised.
The Economic Show 🎧: Soumaya Keynes asks UCLA professor and former Biden administration economist Kimberly Clausing: Are Trump’s tariffs really that bad?
chart of the day
The German federal election on February 23 will decide the fate of Europe’s largest economy. Voters will go to the polls seven months earlier than planned after the ruling coalition collapsed this month. Follow the FT’s live voting tracker here.
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Take a break from the news
Establishing the band’s pivotal role in the development of rock, The Who’s 1966 song ‘Substitute’ is a resourceful tale of precarious British youth coping with the decade’s rapid social changes. It’s a snapshot. The song is representative of the harder, louder “rock” genre and was later covered in multiple styles.
