Financial Times
Financial Times features visual journalism on global news, business, politics, economics, and major trends.
Lunar Settlements May Need Nuclear Power Where Sunlight Fails
Financial Times science editor Clive Cookson argues that nuclear power could be essential to a permanent lunar settlement because the moon’s most promising resource sites may receive little or no sunlight, and lunar nights can last two Earth weeks. Those same sites would expose reactors to radiation, impacts, extreme heat and abrasive dust, making reliable power a major engineering challenge. Cookson sets the case for nuclear energy against an uncertain commercial prospect: projected revenues for a lunar economy do not establish that a viable market—or a permanent outpost—will follow.
Latino Voters’ 2024 Shift Toward Trump Has Not Become a Realignment
Donald Trump’s gains among Latino voters in 2024 have not become a lasting party realignment, the Financial Times’ Guy Chazan argues in reporting from California and New Jersey. An NBC News/Telemundo poll found Latino voters favoured Democratic control of Congress by 59 per cent to 35 per cent, as frustration over prices and immigration enforcement weighs on Republicans. The shift is broad but not uniform: Republicans retain an edge on which party voters trust more on the economy.
The 2028 Election Is the Critical Test for U.S. Democracy
Political scientist Barbara F. Walter argues that the United States is becoming more vulnerable to political violence as democracy weakens and political parties increasingly align around racial and religious identity. She expects the November midterms to be relatively peaceful if Democrats win decisively, but says the deeper risk will persist: efforts to hold on to political power could make the 2028 election a more dangerous test of whether American democracy remains competitive.
A Democratic Midterm Win Would Not Restore Allied Trust in the United States
Historian Anne Applebaum argues that the US midterms will test whether voters and Congress can constrain an administration she says is weakening democratic checks at home and treating traditional allies as expendable abroad. A Democratic victory could show that Trump-aligned politics is not inevitable, she tells FT chief economics commentator Martin Wolf, but would not by itself restore the trust or reliability allies once associated with the United States.
The Midterms Could Test Whether American Democracy Can Still Transfer Power
Robert Kagan argues that the United States is moving toward dictatorship, though the transition is not complete, and that the midterms will test whether power can still change hands. In his conversation with Financial Times chief economics commentator Martin Wolf, Kagan warns that the greater danger is not simply Trump rejecting a clear defeat, but officials disrupting the count or preventing a newly elected Congress from taking office. A Democratic victory could constrain Trump, he says, but would not undo the damage to government institutions or resolve the deeper conflict over American democracy.
France Makes Furniture Sellers Pay for Disposal and Recycling
Martin Capstick of the North London Waste Authority argues that the cost of disposing of cheap furniture should not fall solely on public authorities and taxpayers. Madeleine Speed reports on France’s fees on furniture makers and retailers, which help pay for collection and treatment, and on an industrial plant that recovers material from MDF. The examples address different parts of the problem: making producers contribute to disposal costs and finding ways to reuse material that can be recycled.
Zelenskyy Warns U.S.-Russia Energy Deals Could Strengthen Moscow
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that Donald Trump’s friendliness towards Vladimir Putin was a mistake, arguing that Trump appeared to admire leaders who held power for decades and the very wealthy. Zelenskyy also warned that US-Russia energy deals could give Moscow money to sustain its war, and said Ukraine could not be expected to restrain its attacks without the means to defend itself.
Indian Mental-Health Programs Bring Treatment Into Shrines and Communities
With one psychiatrist for every 133,000 people in India, the film examines two community approaches to extending mental-health care: Dawa-Dua connects prayer at Gujarat’s Mira Datar shrine with treatment at a nearby clinic, while Parivartan trains local workers in Maharashtra to identify symptoms and connect people with care. Dawa-Dua works through a relationship families already trust without asking them to give up faith; Parivartan’s psychiatrist Hamid Dabholkar argues that community workers are essential to reaching people specialists cannot serve alone.
The Hormuz Shock Is Raising the Cost of Energy Security
The Financial Times’ analysis of the Iran war argues that the disruption to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz has exposed how quickly a regional conflict can raise prices and strain economies. Its contributors differ on whether the shock marks a new normal, but several warn that governments may need to pay more for backup supplies, diversified energy sources and greater resilience, even if the conflict ends.
Onkalo’s Safety Case Rests on Barriers, Not Guarantees
Finland’s Onkalo repository is designed to seal spent nuclear fuel 430 metres beneath the surface, using copper canisters, bentonite clay and ancient bedrock to contain waste for timescales no engineering system has demonstrated. Financial Times reporter Richard Milne presents the project as a response to an existing problem, not a guarantee of safety across deep time. Finnish officials argue it is the best available option, while acknowledging that its design depends on local geology and cannot simply be copied elsewhere.
Russia’s Port Strikes Leave Ukrainian Grain Trapped and Farms Near Insolvency
Russia’s attacks have closed Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, leaving grain piling up in barns and at risk of rotting before it can be shipped. Farmer Volodymyr Varbanets estimates his farm may last six months without a route to market, but not a year, as it struggles to cover taxes, fuel and spare parts. Strikes on power infrastructure add pressure as the region prepares for winter.
Global Trade Is Rerouting Around Geopolitical Rivalries
FT Rethink argues that geopolitical tensions are redirecting global trade rather than bringing it to an end. Governments are using tariffs, subsidies and industrial policy to pull manufacturing home and give greater weight to security, resilience and strategic autonomy. The article forecasts overlapping networks of trade, investment and influence around several centres of opportunity, and says the ability to adapt will matter in navigating that landscape.
Antibiotic Stewardship Is Undermining the Economics of Drug Development
Antibiotics are indispensable medicines, but their commercial model is breaking down, argues the Financial Times’ Aanu Adeoye: they take decades and more than $1bn to develop, yet responsible use requires that sales be kept low. As drug resistance drives more than 1mn deaths a year and large companies cut their pipelines, advocates are pushing subscription payments that reward access rather than volume, alongside greater public funding for development.
Fragmentation Turns Security Into a Capital Spending Cycle
Lombard Odier chief economist Samy Chaar argues in an FT Rethink interview that recent shocks are symptoms of a broader shift from global interdependence to a fragmented economy organised around security. He says governments now have to secure energy, defence, technology and infrastructure for themselves, creating a costly capital-spending cycle that can feel worse for citizens while still supporting corporate demand and profits. For Europe, Chaar’s conclusion is that the old order is not coming back and autonomy has become an economic necessity.
Nashville’s Boom Is Pricing Out the Musicians Behind Music City
Claire Jones reports that Nashville’s tourism and investment boom has made the city richer and more visible while threatening the affordability and local music economy behind its Music City brand. The FT film argues that rising housing costs, higher property-tax burdens, luxury development and subsidised corporate projects are pricing out musicians, small businesses and historic venues, even as visitor spending helps fund public services.
Household Renewables Gain Appeal as Fossil-Fuel Price Shocks Hit Budgets
The FT’s Leyla Boulton argues that the latest oil and gas price surge is making household renewables look less like a climate preference and more like financial protection. Solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicles can reduce exposure to volatile fossil-fuel costs, but Boulton says adoption depends on solving practical barriers: upfront capital, uneven subsidies, installation quality and consumer trust.
Brexit’s Economic Costs Are Pushing Britain Back Toward Europe
FT journalists on Political Fix argue that, a decade on, Brexit’s costs are no longer mainly hypothetical: they cite estimates of a 4 to 8 per cent hit to GDP, weaker investment, sterling’s lasting fall and higher borrowing costs as evidence that leaving the EU reduced Britain’s economic capacity. George Parker, Katie Martin, Delphine Strauss and Stephen Bush also contend that the political damage has been to entrench grievance politics while making a return to full EU membership unlikely; the more plausible path, they say, is a slow, constrained move towards closer European ties.
Russia-Based Network Used Telegram Recruits to Target Starmer Properties
Financial Times reporter Miles Johnson traces the arson attacks on properties linked to Keir Starmer to a Russia-based online network that allegedly recruited a 21-year-old Ukrainian in London through Telegram. Johnson’s account argues that Roman Lavrynovych was moved from posting far-right propaganda to vandalism and then fire-setting without being told the political significance of the targets. The case is presented as an example of Russian-linked disruption that is cheap, deniable and designed to look like local extremism.
Porto Santo Tests Battery-Backed Renewables for Isolated Island Grids
Porto Santo is trying to raise its share of renewable electricity on a small, isolated grid whose demand rises sharply with tourism and whose weather can change within a day. Hitachi Energy’s Bruno Fonseca and Empresa de Eletricidade da Madeira’s Agostinho Figueira argue that the island’s challenge is not simply adding solar and wind, but using batteries and grid-support systems to keep power reliable as renewable supply and seasonal demand fluctuate. The project aims to move Porto Santo from about 10 per cent renewable electricity to roughly 70 per cent, with backers saying the lessons could apply to larger power systems.
Porto Santo Tests Battery-Backed Renewables on an Isolated Island Grid
The Financial Times reports on Porto Santo, a small Portuguese island being used as a test case for how isolated grids can absorb much more renewable power without becoming less reliable. Hitachi Energy Portugal’s Bruno Fonseca and Empresa de Eletricidade da Madeira’s Agostinho Figueira argue that new solar, wind and battery systems could move the island from about 10 per cent renewable electricity to roughly 70 per cent, while managing the seasonal demand swings created by tourism and fast-changing weather.
Public Imagination, Not Corporate Control, Should Shape AI’s Future
Financial Times AI editor Madhumita Murgia argues that artificial intelligence is already shaping daily life, but its future is still being imagined too narrowly by the private companies that control it. In a short FT Standpoint video, she offers three possible public-interest uses for AI — understanding fragile ecosystems, intervening earlier in disease, and recovering lost cultural history — while warning that each carries costs that should be debated beyond Silicon Valley.
Home Humanoid Robots Still Face Cost, Trust, and Dexterity Hurdles
Financial Times technology reporter Cristina Criddle examines whether humanoid robots are close to becoming consumer products, as companies including 1X, Tesla and Figure move from stage demonstrations to home-use pitches. The case is that rapid gains in mobility and AI have made household robots more plausible, but Criddle’s reporting also stresses the unresolved barriers: high prices, limited dexterity, uneven performance and doubts over whether a human-shaped machine is the most practical way to automate chores.
Suriname Bets $10.5 Billion Offshore Oil Project Can Fund a Greener Future
Suriname is tying its economic future to GranMorgu, a $10.5bn offshore oil project developed by TotalEnergies and APA Corporation. The Financial Times film argues that the bet is attractive because global energy markets still reward new low-cost, lower-emission barrels, but that its payoff depends on whether Suriname can turn oil revenue into durable development. That means reducing debt, strengthening institutions, diversifying the economy and protecting one of the world’s most forested countries without letting the boom overwhelm it.
UBS Says Swiss Capital Plan Would Put It 50% Above Peers
UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti told FT editor Roula Khalaf that Switzerland’s proposed capital reforms for the bank are disproportionate and misdiagnose Credit Suisse’s collapse. He argued that Credit Suisse failed because of management, business-model and supervisory failures, not because the Swiss framework was fundamentally deficient, and warned that forcing UBS to hold capital 50 per cent above peers would be neither targeted nor internationally aligned. Asked whether UBS could move its headquarters, Ermotti said the bank’s premise remains to stay in Switzerland, while acknowledging management has a duty to examine alternatives.