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China’s hackles were raised this week as it tried to censor news of the alleged hacking of a Shanghai police database, containing the personal data of more than 1bn of its citizens. Today it was angry about having to defend itself against a joint accusation by the US and UK that it too was guilty

What Is the SWIFT Banking System? Need to transfer money overseas? Today, it is easy to walk into a bank and transfer money anywhere around the globe, but how does this happen? Behind most international money and security transfers is the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) system. SWIFT is a vast messaging network

This article is an online version of our Inside Politics newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every weekday. An avalanche of junior ministerial resignations has left Boris Johnson’s government unable to fulfil the basic functions of government and forced the prime minister to accept his time in office

Boris Johnson is due to quit as UK prime minister on Thursday after a dramatic two days in which more than 50 members of his government resigned, demolishing his political authority. Two senior government officials told the Financial Times Johnson is expected to make a statement at lunchtime when he will announce plans to remain

Portfolio management means different things to different people, but generally, it is a way of balancing risks and rewards. And while the goal of any investment strategy seems straightforward—to make money—it often depends on an investor’s circumstances. For example, a young person new to the full-time workforce might reasonably expect his investment portfolio to grow

The heads of the FBI and MI5 have warned that China’s industrial espionage poses a growing threat to western groups, including through special purpose acquisition companies. In a joint appearance in London, the chiefs of the US and UK intelligence agencies called on companies to be much more vigilant about China. FBI director Christopher Wray

India’s commerce minister has said New Delhi is on track to conclude a full trade agreement with the UK by October, adding that negotiators have already finalised almost half of what will be one of Britain’s most ambitious deals since Brexit. Piyush Goyal told the Financial Times that he expected the countries would conclude the

What Is ERC-20? ERC-20 is the technical standard for fungible tokens created using the Ethereum blockchain. A fungible token is one that is interchangeable with another token—where the well-known non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are not interchangeable. ERC-20 allows different smart-contract enabled tokens a way to be exchanged. Tokens, in this regard, are a representation of an

France plans to take full control of power group EDF, a nuclear energy specialist that has been grappling with high debt, production outages and conflicting demands from its state shareholder as it gears up to try to process its biggest orders for new reactors in decades. The takeover, announced by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne on

Good evening So much for the “roaring Twenties”. We report today on how US retailers have ditched their forecasts of a post-pandemic boom as the economic outlook darkens. The strong housing market, soaring stock prices and low interest rates of last summer have been replaced by rising rates, a bear market and inflation at a

Options traders can profit by being an option buyer or an option writer. Options allow for potential profit during both volatile times, regardless of which direction the market is moving. This is possible because options can be traded in anticipation of market appreciation or depreciation. As long as the prices of assets like stocks, currencies, and commodities

Nadhim Zahawi, the UK’s new chancellor of the exchequer, has said he will review government plans to raise corporation tax from 19p to 25p as Boris Johnson seeks to rescue his floundering administration. Zahawi was appointed on Tuesday night after the shock resignation of his predecessor Rishi Sunak, health secretary Sajid Javid and 10 junior

This article is an online version of our Inside Politics newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every weekday. Chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid yesterday quit the cabinet within minutes of each other. This was followed by a series of resignations from junior and unpaid government

Thinking about becoming a real estate agent? You’re in good company. Every month, about 17,000 people in the U.S. Google “how to become a real estate agent,” as they consider joining the nation’s estimated 3 million active real estate licensees. Key Takeaways You can become a real estate agent in about four to six months,

UK authorities will be granted power to order tech companies to redesign their platforms and impose fines if they fail to police child sexual abuse material under new online safety legislation. The rules will target end-to-end encrypted platforms, where messages can only be viewed by the sender and recipient, which are under increasing political pressure

Stephen Bush muses about how easy it is to “lapse into despair about our ability to swerve really, really big catastrophes” (“Can we avoid disaster and should we even try to?”, Opinion, June 28). He mustn’t. I left my job in government to co-found a think-tank with a mission to transform global resilience to extreme

What Was the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)? One of the major features of digital currencies is that they are decentralized. This means they are not controlled by a single institution like a government or central bank, but instead are divided among a variety of computers, networks, and nodes. In many cases, virtual currencies make use

Officials in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park have revealed that the firearm used in a mass shooting at a July 4 parade in the area that left six people dead and dozens more injured was purchased legally. “I don’t know where the gun came from but I do know that it was legally obtained,”

The euro dropped to a 20-year low on Tuesday and stocks and oil prices registered steep falls, as fears intensified over the health of the global economy. In a sign of worsening sentiment about the growth outlook, Europe’s common currency lost almost 1.8 per cent against the dollar to $1.0235 — its weakest point since

Tax-loss harvesting (TLH) is a strategy to lower current taxes paid to the U.S. federal government by deliberately selling an investment at a loss—i.e., deliberately taking a capital loss—in order to use that loss to offset taxes owed on an investment sold at a profit—i.e., a capital gain—or even taxes owed on personal income. The

Sequoia Capital China is close to raising nearly $9bn to put into Chinese start-ups, defying global investor apprehension about Beijing’s zero-Covid policies, a crackdown on technology groups and heightened geopolitical risk. The fundraising haul, which two people familiar with the matter put at between $8bn to $9bn for four separate funds, will allow China’s premier

This article picked by a teacher with suggested questions is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here. Specification: Market failure, asymmetric information, allocative efficiency Click to read the article below and then answer the questions: Would carbon food labels change the way you shop? Explain what is meant by market failure Explain

Long Position vs. Short Position: What’s the Difference? When speaking of stocks and options, analysts and market makers often refer to an investor having long positions or short positions. While long and short in financial matters can refer to several things, in this context, rather than a reference to length, long positions and short positions are

Six people were killed and dozens were injured after a gunman opened fire at an Independence Day parade in an affluent suburb of Chicago on Monday, the latest mass shooting in a country reeling from attacks at schools, stores and other public spaces. The shooter aimed from a rooftop in downtown Highland Park, a town

Saudi Arabia will spend more than $5 billion on social security payouts and shoring up strategic reserves, as the oil rich kingdom feels the bite of global inflation. Saudi Arabia has fared relatively well in managing inflation, with consumer prices rising by 2.2 per cent last month, but Saudis have begun to feel the impact

For companies at every stage of development, accurately measuring profitability is crucial to the creation of effective business practices and financial management. When you know how to calculate profitability and evaluate the profit for startups, no matter the sector, you can become a successful angel investor. Businesses, accountants, and financial analysts use numerous metrics to

The European Central Bank will shift the corporate bonds it owns and accepts as collateral away from the most carbon-intensive companies, going further than most big rate-setting authorities but disappointing activists eager to see stronger measures. Announcing plans to “tilt” its €386bn portfolio of corporate bonds away from companies with “a poorer climate performance”, the

The curtain has gone up on a new variety show. This is Alcina’s Island and its star is a stage goddess from the glory years of the Italian revue. Her bewitching spell is so powerful that it turns her admirers into animals, so men in the audience at Glyndebourne should beware. The festival has done

A 401(k) and a pension are both employer-sponsored retirement plans. Each can be used by savvy investors to save for their retirement and can capitalize on contributions or benefits from their employer. So, how do these two retirement plans differ? Key Takeaways A 401(k) is a retirement plan to which employees can contribute; employers may

European stock markets started the week on an upbeat note as traders queried central banks’ resolve to keep raising interest rates amid mounting evidence of a global economic slowdown. The regional Stoxx 600 rose 1 per cent in early dealings on Monday, with London’s FTSE 100 adding 0.8 per cent and Germany’s Xetra Dax gaining