Ft News

The UK is among six EU member states referred to Europe’s highest court this month over a failure to clean up “significant and persistent” air pollution. So how bad is the problem and what impact is it having on our health? FT Science editor Clive Cookson put these questions to a panel of experts at a recent FT event in London. He spoke to Laurie Laybourn-Langton of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, Ian Mudway, air toxicity specialist at King's College London and Darran Messem of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Investment group JAB has agreed to buy UK sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger as part of its bid to take on Nestlé - the world’s biggest food company. Elaine Moore talks to the FT's Arash Massoudi and Javier Espinoza about the company behind the acquisition and where its global ambitions lie.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Financial markets have reacted with alarm to news that Italy will have to hold fresh elections after the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right League, failed to form a coalition government. Martin Arnold discusses what this means for Italy, its banks and the wider eurozone economy with Miles Johnson, FT capital markets editor.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

India is facing severe water shortages, with rivers drying up and water disputes erupting across the country. Yet there is little action from the government or public awareness about the need for conservation. Jyotsna Singh talks to the FT’s Amy Kazmin about how things got so bad and what can be done.Read Amy Kazmin's column here  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Giuseppe Conte, a relatively unknown academic, is to become the next prime minister of Italy after months of negotiations that followed an inconclusive election. But the new coalition has alarmed investors nervous that it will flout eurozone fiscal rules and lead Italy on a path to economic ruin. So, how worrying is the situation? Elaine Moore puts the question to the FT’s James Politi, and Miles Johnson.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Philip Roth, one of America’s greatest novelists, has died aged 85. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author rose to fame with Portnoy’s Complaint but was perhaps best known for his 1997 historical novel American Pastoral, set in his birth place of Newark, New Jersey. Jonathan Derbyshire discusses his life and times with FT arts editor Jan Dalley.Read the FT's obituary here  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

New European Union rules come into force this week, promising to give consumers in Europe and beyond more control over how their data is used. But are people ready to exercise this new power and how prepared are companies for the change? Ravi Mattu puts these questions to the FT’s Aliya Ram and to GDPR expert Julian Saunders. Read our FT analysis here  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The decision is a setback for the Serious Fraud Office after years of investigation into the fundraising deal. However four former executives at the British bank, including its ex-chief executive John Varley, still face criminal charges over the cash injections the bank arranged from Qatari investors to survive the financial crisis. Patrick Jenkins discusses what the ruling means for Barlcays and the SFO with the FT's Jane Croft and Martin Arnold  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

America’s housing wealth has staged a complete recovery since the financial crisis, but the holdings are increasingly skewed towards older borrowers and away from the young, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The FT's US economics editor Sam Fleming explains.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A big rise in the number of people registering to pay tax in India has allowed the government to begin to build a stable tax base for the first time in its post-independence history. Jyotsna Singh asks the FT's Kiran Stacey how prime minister Narendra Modi achieved this.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Iraq’s parliamentary election threw up a surprise result after Muqtada al-Sadr, a populist cleric once seen as the face of Shia resistance against the US occupation, looked like being the leader of the bloc with the most seats. Daniel Dombey discusses what this means for Iraq and the region with the FT’s Andrew England  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mahathir Mohamad has vowed to shed his previous strongman image and undertake widespread political and economic reforms as he returns to power after a stunning election victory. Victor Mallet discusses whether he will keep his promises with the FT's Ben Bland  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wu Xiaohui, one of China’s best known tycoon’s, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for financial fraud, cementing the downfall of the one-time car salesman who catapulted himself to the pinnacle of global high finance over the past decade. Arash Massoudi talks to the FT’s Henny Sender and Don Weinland about what led to the former Anbang chairman’s fall from grace and what will become of the business empire he controlled - including New York’s Waldorf Astoria.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The White House laid out measures to tackle high list prices for drugs last week, hitting out at "freeloading" foreign countries that benefit from US pharmaceutical research. The FT's David Crow explains.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Facebook is expanding into online dating - a move some consider surprising so soon after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. So what exactly is the social media company planning and will its data hoard give it an unfair advantage over competitors? Andreas Paleit puts these questions to the FT’s Hannah KuchlerRead Hannah's article here  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 2001, economic policies backed by the IMF brought Argentina to its knees and many Argentines associate the fund with the social and economic chaos that followed.  But this week, a run on the currency forced President Mauricio Macri to return to the international lender. Jonathan Wheatley asks the FT's Benedict Mander what happens next   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Comcast has held talks with US banks to secure up to $60bn in financing to gatecrash Walt Disney’s tie-up with 21st Century Fox. The FT's James Fontanella-Khan explains why the cable company is reattempting a bid for Fox, and what has spurred a wave of media deals in recent years. Sign up for the FT's Due Diligence email briefing.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

France, Germany and the UK, which played a key role in drawing up the Iran nuclear agreement, are braced for a decision by Donald Trump that could effectively scupper the deal. Alex Barker discusses Europe's likely response to the US decision with the FT's Michael Peel  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

China is now selling the kind of high-end weapons systems in which the US once specialised to Pakistan’s military, and is co-developing many others. Jyotsna Singh talks to the FT's Kiran Stacey about how this may tip the strategic balance in the region.    Read Kiran's article here  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A portrait of Clara Serena, daughter of Peter Paul Rubens, was sold as an unexceptional work by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art five years ago, but has now been re-appraised as the work of the Flemish master himself and not one of his followers as originally thought. James Pickford discusses the Met’s costly mistake with art historian Bendor Grosvenor.Read James’s article here  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.