This text is an on-site model of our FirstFT e-newsletter. Subscribers can signal as much as our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas version to obtain the e-newsletter each weekday. Discover all of our newsletters here
In right this moment’s e-newsletter:
-
What to look at as US election outcomes are available
-
China and Saudi Arabia’s deepening monetary ties
-
Indicators of life in China’s property market?
Good morning. Ultimate votes are being forged within the tightest US presidential election race in trendy historical past, with the primary polls closing in about an hour. Who voters elect — Kamala Harris or Donald Trump — might mark their nation, and the world, for many years. Right here’s what to look at as outcomes roll in.
The seven swing states: The election is prone to be determined within the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which have a mixed 93 electoral school votes. The Financial Times poll tracker exhibits the candidates in a statistical tie in all seven.
Gender divide: From race to schooling and sophistication, the US’s nice divisions can be laid naked. However the largest division might be over gender — and it may decide the election. Polls present girls have been flocking to Harris on the again of her vow to guard abortion rights. However males have more and more turned to Trump, who has tapped into their anxieties and grievances.
Timing of the vote depend: Polls will begin closing from 6pm ET (7am HKT), with the ultimate ones shutting the doorways at midnight ET. Outcomes for some states will begin to are available quickly after. However we could not have a transparent outcome for a number of days. Razor-thin margins might result in recounts, and authorized challenges might drag out the method.
Trump’s response: After refusing to simply accept that he misplaced the 2020 election, the previous president has spent a lot of his marketing campaign planting seeds of doubt concerning the integrity of the voting course of. Here is what Trump could do this time round, ought to Kamala Harris win.
Follow the FT’s live coverage here — our correspondents will report from throughout the nation as results stream in.
Our free-to-read US Election Countdown e-newsletter is popping into White Home Watch, the place we’ll unpack what the US election outcome means for Washington and the world. Sign up here to get the e-newsletter in your inbox each Tuesday and Thursday. Plus, we’ll have a particular version this Wednesday.
Right here’s what else I’m retaining tabs on right this moment:
-
International markets: The US election can have sweeping implications for global markets. Wall Avenue is making ready for “an extended evening for volatility” as investor temper stays febrile.
-
Financial information: October inflation information is due in Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand.
-
Financial coverage: Malaysia’s central financial institution declares its rate of interest resolution.
-
Outcomes: Toyota, Honda and Tata Metal report earnings.
5 extra high tales
1. China has picked Saudi Arabia because the venue for its first sale of US greenback sovereign bonds in three years, underlining its backing for the oil-rich kingdom’s bid to turn out to be an funding hub. Beijing has historically issued US greenback bonds in Hong Kong. The selection of Saudi Arabia for this new issuance is symbolic of the deepening financial ties between the two countries.
2. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defence minister Yoav Gallant, saying that “significant gaps” had emerged between them over the administration of the conflict. Netanyahu mentioned that Gallant would get replaced as defence minister by the overseas minister, Israel Katz.
3. AstraZeneca shares fell 8.4 per cent yesterday amid an intensifying corruption purge involving its China chief. Chinese language publication Yicai reported yesterday that dozens of executives have been implicated in an investigation of medical insurance fraud. The report got here after AstraZeneca disclosed final week that its China president Leon Wang was co-operating with “an ongoing investigation by Chinese language authorities”.
4. Apple has warned buyers that future merchandise could by no means be as worthwhile as its iPhone enterprise, because it pushes into unproven new markets reminiscent of synthetic intelligence and digital actuality headsets. The iPhone maker added the brand new warning on progress and revenue margins to its newest annual report, within the list of “risk factors” facing the tech group’s business.
5. French and Dutch monetary authorities raided the workplaces of Netflix in Paris and Amsterdam yesterday. The searches had been a part of a long-running investigation into potential tax fraud and breaches to labour regulation.
Information in-depth

After a greater than three-year slowdown, there are some signs of life in China’s actual property market. However interviews in six cities present there are lingering doubts about its longer-term prospects.
We’re additionally studying . . .
-
‘Containeristan’: Transport containers used to cease political demonstrations are an eyesore within the verdant metropolis of Islamabad, writes our Pakistan correspondent Humza Jilani.
-
Israel unbound: Buoyed by navy features, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now desires to dismantle Iran’s forces throughout the Center East and reshape the region.
-
Chinese language automobiles in Norway: Manufacturers reminiscent of MG, BYD and Xpeng are widespread sights on Norwegian streets, in an indication of how far China has advanced in cars.
Chart of the day
Taiwan’s hovering vitality costs and rising outages are affecting TSMC, the world’s largest chipmaker. Following a collection of value will increase, the corporate now expects to pay extra for energy in its house nation than anyplace else. Here’s how Taiwan’s shaky energy transition is straining its industry.

Take a break from the information
In tribute to Quincy Jones, the legendary US musician and producer whose loss of life was introduced yesterday, we’re sharing an interview from 2012. Jones talked about his work with a few of the hottest artists of the twentieth century, together with Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra, and revealed how he learnt cockney rhyming slang from the actor Michael Caine.
