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At present’s agenda: Nato summit; Monte dei Paschi share sale scrutiny; EU single market, Russia’s unjammable drones and an interview with Delphine Arnault
Good morning. We start within the Center East which is waking as much as Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Right here’s the newest.
What occurred: The US president final evening mentioned that Israel and Iran have agreed “a whole and complete ceasefire”. He additionally mentioned the truce could be applied in levels, by Iran then Israel, over 24 hours.
Iran’s international minister later posted on X that there was no settlement, including that Tehran had “no intention to proceed our response” if Israel stopped its “aggression”.
Israel has not but given a response concerning the ceasefire.
Israeli paramedics in the meantime mentioned this morning that three individuals had been killed in an Iranian missile strike within the south of the nation.
Market impression: Fairness markets opened increased in Asia following the ceasefire announcement. The greenback weakened 0.3 per cent towards a basket of its key buying and selling companions. Oil costs extended declines as merchants responded with reduction. Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark, fell 4.1 per cent to $67.61 a barrel.
Comply with our live blog for the newest updates if de-escalation of hostilities materialises and holds. And right here’s extra protection of the battle:
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Trump’s Iran coverage: The head-spinning course changes on Tehran revealed as soon as once more how the US president alternates between blustery threats, efforts to chop offers, excessive measures and sudden victory laps.
Be a part of FT journalists and company for a webinar tomorrow unique to FT subscribers to assist unpack the strategic, diplomatic and financial stakes of the Israel-Iran struggle. Register here.
Right here’s what else we’re holding tabs on right this moment:
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Central banks: Financial institution of England governor Andrew Bailey offers proof in Westminster to the Lords financial affairs committee whereas Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell delivers his semi-annual financial coverage report earlier than the Home monetary companies committee.
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Financial knowledge: Germany releases the Ifo enterprise local weather index for June whereas the US reviews on Might state employment and unemployment figures.
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Nato summit: Leaders from member states meet in The Hague for a summit geared toward placating Trump over defence spending. The gathering is susceptible to descending into acrimony.
5 extra high tales
1. Unique: Germany will increase defence spending by greater than two-thirds by 2029, outpacing France and the UK as Chancellor Friedrich Merz drives rearmament of Europe’s largest financial system within the face of an aggressive Russia and a unstable America. Anne-Sylvaine Chassany has more on the plans.
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Macron and Merz: As norms erode and outdated certainties are challenged, Europe should act accordingly and arm itself for an unstable world, writes the president of France and chancellor of Germany.
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Nato spending: Sir Keir Starmer will pledge to the alliance that the UK will increase defence funding to 5 per cent of GDP inside a decade.
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Transatlantic tie-ups: US defence firms are wooing European rivals as they aim the area’s military spending spree.
2. Unique: The European Fee is analyzing the Italian authorities’s sale of shares in Monte dei Paschi di Siena final 12 months, following claims that enormous traders corresponding to UniCredit, Norway’s oil fund and BlackRock have been shut out of the bidding course of. Read the full report.
3. Currencies, shares and bonds in creating international locations are defying Trump’s commerce struggle and the battle within the Center East to outperform international markets in 2025 as traders search to diversify away from greenback belongings amid considerations over erratic US policymaking.
4. Unique: The chief govt of Deutsche Financial institution’s asset administration arm has urged European policymakers to undertake a extra pragmatic stance in the direction of investments from China and the Gulf, as Berlin prepares to spend a whole lot of billions overhauling its creaking infrastructure. Learn the interview with DWS chief Stefan Hoops.
5. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and TV anchor Lauren Sánchez’s marriage ceremony in Venice this week has change into a lightning rod for protest, as locals disgruntled with overtourism be part of local weather activists to rage towards a spectacle that to them epitomises many of the world’s ills.
The Large Learn
Greater than three many years after it was launched, a whole lot of boundaries persist throughout the EU’s single market. In an period of commerce wars, Brussels believes it may increase competitiveness by bettering the circulate of products, companies and capital. However earlier makes an attempt to unite the bloc have floundered on nationwide sensitivities. Translating a newly discovered political momentum into the mandatory reforms proposed can be the toughest challenge.
We’re additionally studying . . .
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Navy briefing: Russia’s summer time offensive is beginning to achieve floor in Ukraine, with Moscow’s forces aided by drones that cannot be jammed.
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‘Chains of thought’: The world’s main synthetic intelligence teams are struggling to pressure AI fashions to show how they operate.
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‘Verification drawback’: As know-how turns into higher, a return to face-to-face encounters seems to be extra doubtless, writes Stephen Bush.
Chart of the day
The primary cause to fret about international commerce imbalances isn’t the impression on manufacturing, which, for a rustic just like the US, is a second order challenge, however quite on monetary stability. That is additionally why fiscal adjustment needs to be a co-operative venture when the individuals are such massive economies, writes Martin Wolf.
Take a break from the information
Final month, Dior chief govt Delphine Arnault appointed Jonathan Anderson as inventive director to supervise each the lads’s and ladies’s collections. Her determination to herald the Northern Eire-born designer is her greatest guess since she took the helm of the division in 2023. Learn extra on her plans to open a brand new chapter at LVMH’s second biggest brand.
