Top headlines from across today’s paper
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FINANCIAL TIMES
Saturday, 17 May 2025
 
 
 

Top Headlines from the UK Edition

 
 
 
Moody’s strips US of top-notch triple-A credit rating
 
Agency warns of strains caused by rising government debt and a widening budget deficit
 
 
UK rich explore ‘10 years out, 9 years in’ to escape inheritance tax net
 
Expat Britons are no longer liable for death duties after spending a decade abroad under last year’s Budget changes
 
 
Putin’s peace theatre keeps Trump watching — and Kyiv waiting
 
Russia’s president slow rolled negotiators and failed to attend talks. But his gamble met little US resistance
 
 
Keir Starmer considers partial retreat on winter fuel cuts
 
UK government figures say the policy was widely blamed for Labour’s losses in this month’s local elections
 
 
Starmer sees Farage as ‘real opponent’ in new political landscape
 
UK prime minister has told allies that the Tories are heading for the ‘end of the road’
 
 
 

Top Headlines from the International Editions

 
 
 
US and EU break impasse to enable tariff talks
 
Brussels and Washington exchange negotiating documents after weeks of deadlock
 
 
Flatter or confront? How world leaders are dealing with Trump
 
Four months after Donald Trump returned to the White House, governments are still agonising over how to approach an erratic, unpredictable American president
 
 
Federal Reserve to slash staff by 10% over several years
 
Chair Jay Powell says US central bank is seeking to ensure it is a ‘responsible steward of public resources’
 
 
Trump made me a hundred grand
 
There is nothing like irrational mayhem for opportunistic investing
 
 
Joe Biden ‘redemption tour’ backfires as cognitive doubts resurface
 
Democrats unsettled by books revealing former US president’s mental decline as he battled Donald Trump in 2024
 
 
 

Markets

 
 
 
Investors brace for turbulence in Romanian markets as election looms
 
Traders fear political uncertainty will make tackling huge budget deficit more difficult
 
 
The secret of a defensible market position? Look for a moat
 
Advantages that deter competitors hold huge appeal for investors
 
 
China suspends chicken imports from Brazil due to detection of bird flu
 
South American nation had been the last big producer not affected by the outbreak
 
 
Has gold peaked?
 
Plus inflation expectations
 
 
Are American assets great again? Not so fast
 
Any trade agreement with China will not settle questions over the ongoing supremacy of US capital markets
 
 
 

Companies

 
 
 
OpenAI to join US-UAE plan to build vast data centre in Abu Dhabi
 
Deal on third leg of Trump Gulf tour hailed as ‘major milestone’ on road to American ‘dominance’ in the field
 
 
Boeing could avoid US justice department prosecution over 737 Max crashes
 
Attorneys for families of victims of two fatal crashes express outrage over potential DoJ deal with the plane maker
 
 
Thames Water on collision course with government over bonuses
 
Utility claims new legislation to block bonuses will not capture ‘retention payments’
 
 
London council acted ‘irrationally’ over approval of summer festivals, High Court rules
 
Ruling raises questions about programme of events set to start next week in Brockwell Park
 
 
Crown Estate to buy stake in long-delayed Euston station development
 
Deal with Australian developer Lendlease is part of joint venture for six projects expected to be worth £22bn
 
 
 

Opinion

 
 
 
Ofwat’s new water plan stores up a reservoir of trouble
 
Luring new backers into the s