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The US’s S&P 500 index has risen more than 20 per cent for the second year in a row, as investor excitement about artificial intelligence fuels strong gains in megacap technology stocks. Despite a sell-off in December, the basket of blue-chip stocks has ended 2024 up 23.3 per cent, following a 24.2 per cent gain

€69 per month Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders. Pay a year upfront and save 20%. What’s included Global news & analysis Expert opinion FT App on Android & iOS FT Edit app FirstFT: the day’s biggest stories 20+ curated newsletters Follow topics & set alerts with myFT

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Defaults on US credit card loans have hit the highest level since the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, in a sign that lower-income consumers’ financial health is waning after years of high inflation. Credit

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Poland aims to complete a border wall and seal off its border with Belarus by next summer, in order to stop an influx of migrants Warsaw describes as Russia’s hybrid war. The additional infrastructure works

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Vladimir Putin has apologised to Azerbaijan for what he described as a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijani aircraft in Russian airspace on Christmas Day. Moscow phoned Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and the Russian president expressed

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. US tech stocks slid lower on Friday as investors pivoted away from companies that had led markets higher for much of this year. The S&P 500, Wall Street’s main equity benchmark, dropped 1.6 per cent

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The national airlines of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have suspended some flights to Russia after evidence suggested an Azerbaijani plane had been downed by Russian air defence systems. The Kazakh airline, Qazaq Air, said on Friday

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Russian anti-aircraft fire may have caused a plane to crash in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, according to defence experts and officials in the region. The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Finnish authorities are investigating an oil tanker that is part of Russia’s shadow fleet over whether it cut an electricity cable between Finland and Estonia. The Eagle S was stopped by Finnish authorities after the

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China has stepped up a nationwide campaign to convince single people to date, marry and have children as Beijing grapples with an increasingly severe demographic crisis. Local governments are cold-calling married women to ask about

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Russia has carried out a Christmas Day attack on Ukraine’s energy system, leaving more than half a million consumers without heating, water and electricity.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack, the 13th large-scale

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Syria’s rebel factions have agreed to disband and become part of the interim government’s defence ministry as the new administration rushes to consolidate power within revamped institutions. The new government’s commander-in-chief Ahmed al-Sharaa — former

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world Joe Biden has stamped his legacy on the federal bench after Senate Democrats raced to confirm more than 200 nominees to lifetime appointments in courts across the US, outpacing Donald Trump’s tally during

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While the holiday spirit will dominate the news agenda, there are notable developments to watch across the world, as the three defining themes of 2024 — elections, war and inflation — continue to hum in the background. On Tuesday, Moldova’s pro-EU president-elect Maia Sandu will attend her inauguration. Her narrow election victory in October, despite

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Senior Spotify executives and board members have sold $1.25bn worth of the company’s stock in 2024 — including $900mn in payouts for its two co-founders — as they capitalise on the music streamer’s soaring share price. 

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world Who is currently in charge in the US? Jill Biden? Kamala Harris? President-on-paper Joe Biden? Or is it in fact president-elect Donald Trump? Many signs point to the latter, not least the undeniable

€69 per month Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders. Pay a year upfront and save 20%. What’s included Global news & analysis Expert opinion FT App on Android & iOS FT Edit app FirstFT: the day’s biggest stories 20+ curated newsletters Follow topics & set alerts with myFT

€69 per month Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders. Pay a year upfront and save 20%. What’s included Global news & analysis Expert opinion FT App on Android & iOS FT Edit app FirstFT: the day’s biggest stories 20+ curated newsletters Follow topics & set alerts with myFT