Author: Blake Anderson

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK government has said it wants to boost trade with China despite warning that Beijing has been increasing efforts to spy on Britain and to undermine its democracy and economic security. As part of a wider National Security Strategy that warned mainland Britain risked “coming under direct threat” from military opponents, ministers published a long-awaited study into the risks posed by China to the UK. Foreign secretary David Lammy said that China represented the UK’s “most complex bilateral relationship” — but…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldThe writer served on the Council of Economic Advisers in the Biden administration and is a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy SchoolWatching Labour announce its industrial strategy this week was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. It is a joy to see Labour run with ideas that we tested during the Biden years, ones that delivered a historic investment boom and new jobs across the US. Those successes give me hope that they will also foster competitive industries and good jobs…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Retail & Consumer industry myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The Co-op will stop selling carrots from Israel and vodka from Russia as the UK food retailer cuts ties with suppliers in countries with “internationally recognised” human rights abuses and violations of international law. The member-owned group, which operates more than 2,300 convenience stores in Britain, said on Tuesday that it will remove an array of products from shelves starting this month, after its members demanded that the Co-op do all it can to “advocate and build peace.” The move…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Jacquemus gives Monte-Carlo Beach a makeoverAn outside terrace at Monte-Carlo Beach decorated for summer by Jacquemus © Yoann and MarcoWhere: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, Pl. du Casino, 98000 MonacoWhen: Until 7 October Click: jacquemus.comThe French fashion house Jacquemus is renowned for its beach club takeovers: this year, the brand has taken up residence at Monte-Carlo Beach. Borrow something to read from the pop-up library of vintage books; lie on one of its banana-yellow sun loungers; play padel on the resort’s freshly…

This article is an on-site version of our Inside Politics newsletter. Subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. If you’re not a subscriber, you can still receive the newsletter free for 30 daysGood morning. The rebellion against Labour’s planned welfare cuts continues to grow. How much trouble is the government in? Quite a bit, I’d say. Some thoughts on that below. Inside Politics is edited by Georgina Quach. Follow Stephen on Bluesky and X, and Georgina on Bluesky. Read the previous edition of the newsletter here. Please send gossip, thoughts and feedback to insidepolitics@ft.comDeath by…

This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to LondonIt is said that the easiest way to get into the All England Lawn Tennis Club is to win the Wimbledon Championships. Truth be told, it’s not so much easier to get into any of London’s private tennis clubs, where lengthy waiting lists and eye-watering joining fees are the norm. But Londoners — and racket-toting visitors to London — are lucky. For the capital, according to the LTA, is home to some 3,000 tennis courts, about 60 per cent of which are located in its famous parks, gardens, commons and green…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A former Conservative donor is set to plead guilty to a misdemeanour charge relating to US political contributions to resolve a criminal case involving the former governor of Puerto Rico.Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan-Italian banker whose company donated more than £500,000 to the Tories, has agreed to make the plea as part of a deal to dismiss more serious charges related to alleged bribery.The deal, revealed in US court filings, comes nearly three years after Herrera Velutini was first charged in August…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Mother, the London advertising agency founded nearly 30 years ago, is a strange beast. In an industry where founders usually sell successful ventures to holding groups such as Publicis or WPP, it remains independent. A neon sign reading “Not for Sale” hangs in its Shoreditch head office.Mother’s employees now feel even weirder. “We talk about being a safe haven in a zombie apocalypse,” says Katie Mackay-Sinclair, a global partner. The industry is being transformed by technology, with Google and Meta dominating digital…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A proposed £250mn investment in a green fuels “superhub” will be put on hold unless the government intervenes to shield the UK’s bioethanol industry from risks posed by its trade pact with the US, executives have warned.The ultimatum was issued as the owners of the UK’s largest bioethanol plant, ABF Sugar, were locked in eleventh hour negotiations with the government over the future of their Vivergo plant in Saltend, Hull.Vivergo has set a deadline of this Wednesday before it opens redundancy consultations…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Dozens of Labour MPs opposed to Sir Keir Starmer’s legislation that would cut welfare benefits are seeking to block its passage through parliament, in what would be a major blow to the prime minister’s reform programme.Up to 100 Labour MPs including 11 senior parliamentarians are supporting a so-called reasoned amendment to the welfare bill that seeks to stop the legislation undergoing its first major vote in the House of Commons next week, according to rebels.The large number of Labour MPs willing to…