News

Meta has axed a team that used artificial intelligence to create the first database of more than 600mn protein structures, in a signal the company is abandoning purely scientific projects in favour of building moneymaking AI products. The social media giant had employed a group of about a dozen scientists on a project called ESMFold,

Europe’s biggest companies have suffered at least €100bn in direct losses from their operations in Russia since President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, according to analysis by the Financial Times. A survey of 600 European groups’ annual reports and 2023 financial statements shows that 176 companies have recorded asset impairments, foreign exchange-related charges

Berkshire Hathaway’s cash and investments in short-term Treasuries surged to $147bn at the end of the second quarter, underscoring Warren Buffett’s faith in the backbone of global financial markets despite the rocky political climate in Washington. The sprawling conglomerate — which owns the BNSF railroad and Geico insurer — increased the holdings by nearly $17bn

The US and China are opening new lines of communication to tackle contentious issues, in one of the first signs of progress towards stabilising relations since secretary of state Antony Blinken visited Beijing in June. According to three people familiar with the situation, Washington and Beijing will create two working groups to focus on Asia-Pacific

Apple proved resilient in its latest quarter as the number of paying subscribers for its array of digital services crossed 1bn users worldwide, helping to lift profits from a year ago even as total revenue declined. The world’s largest company by market value said on Thursday that total revenue fell 1 per cent to $81.8bn

UK ministers are set to announce a further delay to post-Brexit border controls on animal and plant products coming from the EU, amid fears that extra bureaucracy on imported goods will fuel inflation. The decision to delay the new import regime at Britain’s ports, which had been due to start in October, is also intended

US prosecutors have charged Donald Trump in connection with attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the second federal indictment brought against the former president in as many months. Trump was charged with four criminal counts including conspiracy to defraud the US, to obstruct an official proceeding and to threaten individual rights, according

UK mortgage approvals rose unexpectedly in June, despite further increases in interest rates. Bank of England statistics showed net mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 54,700 from 51,100 the previous month, while approvals for remortgaging rose to 39,100 from 34,100. Analysts had expected the housing market to slow in a month when stubbornly high

The UK government has made it cheaper for industry to pollute in Britain compared with the EU by watering down reforms to the carbon market, in the latest sign that the Conservative party is backsliding on its climate agenda. Whitehall recently quietly announced changes to the UK’s carbon trading scheme, including offering more allowances than

Economists and analysts are increasingly hopeful that the Federal Reserve can avoid pushing the US into a recession, as inflation slows and strong growth persists despite 11 interest rate increases. The Fed this week raised rates by another quarter percentage point to the highest level in 22 years. But a flurry of upbeat data has

Travellers determined to take to the skies despite soaring ticket prices have pushed airline profits to fresh heights, as resilient consumer spending buoys the global economy. As they reported record profits on Friday, British Airways-owner IAG said trips across the Atlantic and to leisure destinations had been particularly popular “as customers prioritise holidays”, while Air

Intel’s partial rebound in the latest quarter from an inventory-driven drop in PC chip demand has given Wall Street a rare moment of financial outperformance to celebrate as the struggling US chipmaker seeks to stabilise its business and complete a four-year turnaround plan. The company’s shares rose more than 7 per cent in after-market trading

NatWest shareholders have ramped up pressure on chair Sir Howard Davies to step down for mishandling the fallout from the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account. “He’s clearly not in charge,” said a top-20 investor on Tuesday. “Banking is about trust and confidence. That’s sacrosanct and starts with the tone from the top.” NatWest chief

NatWest’s board has criticised its chief executive Alison Rose and threatened to dock her pay after she admitted being the source of an inaccurate story about the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account. But the bank’s chair Howard Davies said that “after careful reflection” the board had decided Rose retained their “full confidence”. Rose has been

Credit Suisse has been fined $388mn by US and British regulators for “significant failures in risk management and governance” related to the collapse of Archegos Capital, which caused a $5.5bn trading loss and helped bring about the demise of the Swiss lender. The US Federal Reserve imposed a $269mn penalty on the bank for “unsafe

Powerful Republican donors and billionaires Ken Griffin and Nelson Peltz are rethinking plans to support the US presidential bid of Ron DeSantis over concerns that the Florida governor has veered too far to the right. They have been discouraged by DeSantis’s interventionist policies, people familiar with their thinking told the Financial Times. Griffin objects to

Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives have narrowly held on to the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat in an unexpected UK parliamentary by-election result but were poised to lose two other seats in a night of political drama. Sunak’s ruling party retained the London seat vacated by former premier Boris Johnson by fewer than 500 votes, but the

The message of Thursday’s three UK by-elections was muddied somewhat by the Conservatives’ success in clinging on to the seat Boris Johnson vacated in outer London. But it was clear enough: this was a disastrous night for the Tories. Striking swings to Labour and the Liberal Democrats in northern and south-west England respectively confirm that

The UK’s largest asset manager has been buying bonds and selling equities in preparation for a “significant” economic downturn, warning that the Bank of England will be forced to tip the economy into a recession despite signs of cooling inflation.  Sonja Laud, chief investment officer at Legal & General Investment Management, which manages £1.3tn of

UK inflation eased more than expected to 7.9 per cent in June, providing some relief for the Bank of England ahead of its decision on interest rates next month. Annual inflation was down from 8.7 per cent in May, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. It was lower than the 8.2 per cent