FT TOP STORIES

Start your day with the top stories from the United States

Politics

‘Capitalism’s not working’: why Democrats are turning to socialism

Democratic socialist candidates are winning primary battles in the US as voters turn to progressive policies

Lindsey Graham’s sister wins South Carolina primary with Trump backing

Victory for sibling of late senator reinforces US president’s hold on the Republican Party ahead of November’s midterm elections

Deloitte to pay Trump administration $21.5mn to settle ‘discriminatory’ practices investigation

Firm one of several professional services businesses targeted by the American Alliance for Equal Rights

Trump administration pauses immigrant visa applications

State department wants consular officers to screen out people likely to need public benefits

Economy and markets

Scott Bessent’s bond intervention puts US Treasury on collision course with Fed

Increased purchases of debt threaten to undermine central bank chief Kevin Warsh’s bid to tame inflation

Foot Locker owner plunges after warning nervous consumers are cutting spending

Dick’s Sporting Goods shares slide after telling analysts that shoppers are cautious ‘due to the geopolitical environment’

Canada announces $20bn retaliatory tariffs as US trade war escalates

Hundreds of US goods will face increased levies from September 8

‘Embarrassing’: Republicans and ex-military leaders recoil at Trump officials’ Canada attacks

Deepening trade war between two long-term allies descends into insults and recrimination

Companies

Bill Gates calls for ‘human reserved’ jobs to protect labour force from AI

Tech billionaire publishes 6,000-word essay warning the technology will usher in ‘one of the most turbulent times in human history’

Insurers pile into deals allowing banks to offload default risk

Market for synthetic risk transfers has boomed in recent years, with insurers now offering banks unfunded structures

The multiplying risks of financing data centres

Wall Street players extending themselves to underwrite this colossal new asset class are looking to limit exposure

Institutional investors back Blackstone and KKR funds for wealthy individuals

Shift by private equity’s traditional backers could threaten traditional 10-year fund model

Tech

Launch date for London robotaxis slips amid TfL uncertainty

Operators play down chance of starting this year

‘It seems crazy’: SpaceX’s orbital data centre bet tests physics and finance

Elon Musk’s company faces formidable challenges in launching millions of satellites into orbit to power AI

AI to fuel global growth as investment spreads beyond US, IMF says

Managing director Kristalina Georgieva expects world economy to weather energy crisis ignited by Iran war

Boss of Trump Jr-backed start-up donated to Republicans after winning US contract

Companies connected to investment firm of US president’s son have benefited from lucrative government business deals

Opinion

Life inside an American coal mine

Operators are trying to make familiar an industry that seems consigned to another era

The end of Trumpsplaining

The pretence that America’s leader is a grand strategist will not survive the Iran fiasco

America’s economic war on Iran has a China problem

The US cannot fully isolate Tehran unless other trade partners co-operate

How First Brands’ billion-dollar rescue hit the skids

Hedge funds that funded the bankruptcy have been left with a ‘clunker’ as this was no ordinary debt-induced collapse

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