How Ukraine fell victim to fake arms deals

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof resigned after far-right leader Geert Wilders walked out of his coalition government, Mexico’s new supreme court is set to solely contain judges nominated by the ruling coalition, and Eurozone inflation fell below the European Central Bank’s 2 per cent target. Plus, the FT’s Akila Quinio explains how the Royal Bank of Scotland was nationalised in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and then reborn. Mentioned in this podcast:Far-right Dutch leader Geert Wilders quits governmentTiny slice of Mexicans elect supreme court closely tied to ruling partyEurozone inflation falls below target to 1.9%The RBS story: how the world’s biggest bank was nationalised and then rebornSouth Korean leftwinger Lee Jae-myung wins presidential electionToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Ethan Plotkin, Fiona Symon, Mischa Frankl-Duval, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples, Michael Lello, and Gavin Kallmann. Our intern is Michaela Seah. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elon Musk’s xAI is launching a $300mn share sale that values the group at $113bn, and China’s property sector woes are compounded by tariff worries. Plus, Poland’s new president is going to make life hard for the country’s prime minister, and the FT’s Amelia Pollard explains why US president Donald Trump wants to take mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac private. Mentioned in this podcast:EU companies more concerned about China slowdown than tariffsDonald Trump’s plans for Fannie and Freddie would mean payday for hedge fundsNationalist candidate Karol Nawrocki wins knife-edge Poland presidential electionElon Musk’s xAI seeks $113bn valuation in $300mn share saleToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Sonja Hutson, Ethan Plotkin, Kasia Broussalian, Fiona Symon, Mischa Frankl-Duval, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our intern is Michaela Seah. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Private equity dealmaking around the world slowed down in the second quarter of 2025, and South Korea holds elections on Tuesday after months of political instability. Plus, office space construction in the UK has reached a ten-year low, and Wall Street is warning that a little-publicised foreign tax provision in Donald Trump’s budget bill could upend markets. Mentioned in this podcast:Trump tariffs cut off recovery in private equity dealmakingLeftwing ‘brawler’ on verge of South Korea presidencyThe ‘quiet’ crisis brewing between the US and South KoreaForeign tax provision in Trump budget bill spooks Wall StreetUK office construction drops to 10-year lowToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Sonja Hutson, Ethan Plotkin, Kasia Broussalian, Henry Larson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Peter Barber. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Republicans are often known as the party of fiscal responsibility. This week, Swamp Notes unravels the US House of Representatives’ “big, beautiful” bill and its uncertain path forward in the Senate. Edward Luce, US national editor and columnist, and James Politi, Washington bureau chief, explain what made congressional Republicans go all in on big spending, tax cuts and more debt. Subscribe to the new Swamp Notes feed here. Mentioned in this podcast:Read Edward Luce’s column on the new ‘moron premium’ for TreasuriesUS House passes Donald Trump’s showpiece tax billSign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter hereSwamp Notes is produced by Lauren Fedor, Katya Kumkova and Henry Larson. Topher Forhecz is the acting co-head of audio. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The White House is fighting court rulings that US President Donald Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariff scheme is illegal, and a former Goldman Sachs banker was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in the 1MDB scandal. Plus, how Wall Street offloaded billions of dollars of debt from Elon Musk’s Twitter deal.Mentioned in this podcast:Court tariffs bombshell should inspire trading partners to defy TrumpTrade Secrets NewsletterFormer Goldman Sachs banker sentenced to two years in prison for 1MDB roleHow Wall Street offloaded $13bn of debt tied to Elon Musk’s Twitter dealToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Sonja Hutson, Fiona Symon, Henry Larson and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Michael Lello, and Gavin Kallmann. Blake Maples mixes our show. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A US court invalidated President Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff scheme yesterday. Nvidia reported a nearly 70 per cent surge in quarterly revenues, and the US has said it will not renew Chevron’s oil licence in Venezuela. Plus, Texas and Nevada are seeking to challenge the dominance of Delaware with company-friendly law.Mentioned in this podcast:US trade court invalidates Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffsNvidia quarterly revenue surges nearly 70% on AI boomUS government will not renew Chevron’s Venezuela oil licenceTexas vs Nevada — the battle to woo companies is heating upToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Sonja Hutson, Henry Larson and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples and Michael Lello. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US stocks jumped yesterday after President Donald Trump said trade talks with the EU were headed in a "positive" direction, and McKinsey cut 10 per cent of its staff in an effort to increase profits. Plus, Asian currencies are getting a boost from investors’ bets on US trade deals and the FT’s Leslie Hook explains what’s next for Rio Tinto after it asked its chief executive Jakob Stausholm to step down. Mentioned in this podcast:US stocks jump as Donald Trump touts ‘positive’ progress on EU trade talksAsian currencies boosted by investor bets on US trade dealsMcKinsey sheds 10% of staff in two-year profitability drive Rio ousted chief Jakob Stausholm to seek boss with more mining experienceToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples and Michael Lello. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 kicked off a massive arms procurement race for Kyiv. Officials looked just about everywhere for weapons they could ship to the frontlines. However, Ukraine has lost hundreds of millions of dollars on fraudulent arms deals in the process. The FT’s Ukraine correspondent Isobel Koshiw and investigative reporter Miles Johnson share their reporting. Mentioned in this podcast:How Ukraine lost hundreds of millions on arms deals gone wrongUkraine arms procurement feud risks eroding western trust, G7 warnsToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Ethan Plotkin, Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Sam Giovinco, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we're bringing you an episode from our fellow FT podcast, Behind the Money. Massive conglomerates used to define corporate best practice. Think about a company like General Electric, known as “the everything company”. But today, there’s a new popular model: de-conglomeration. The FT’s former US energy reporter Amanda Chu examines whether this is working for a power business that GE spun off last year – or if it’s just another Wall Street fad. Clips from BBC, Bloomberg, DW - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For further reading:Rustbelt gamble: GE Vernova rides AI power boom into uncertain futureIs the US power grid ready to meet the demands of data centres?Have America’s industrial giants forgotten what they are for?- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Follow Amanda Chu on X (@amandalanchu). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Swamp Notes goes to London for a live recording. Katie Martin, host of the Unhedged podcast, and Chris Giles, author of the FT’s Central Banks newsletter, discuss what Trump’s next few months might be like. Have markets truly recovered from the “liberation day” shock? What happens after the 90-day tariff pause is over? Our guests weigh in. Subscribe to the new Swamp Notes feed here. Mentioned in this podcast:Read the latest Chris Giles on Central Banks column hereListen to the Unhedged podcast hereSign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter hereSwamp Notes is produced by Katya Kumkova. Topher Forhecz is the acting co-head of audio. Special thanks to Mischa Frankl-Duval and Pierre Nicholson. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.