Awarding of franchises allows skeleton services to continue on Southeastern and Great Western lines

The recruitment process in the industry is slowly starting to turn more professional

The opposition leader on Covid-19, dealing with Corbyn’s legacy and holding Downing St to account

Companies must balance costs of staying shut against concerns for staff safety

Pandemic has added to pressure on companies already facing tough financial conditions

Although it suffers from lack of independence, it should be fixed rather than scrapped

Plant-based alternative sales jump 200 per cent in US amid slaughterhouse closures

Store closures and frozen spending leave gap in policymakers’ economic tracking

Tyson chairman flags shortages as slaughterhouses and processing plants are forced to shut

Fears of food shortages as coronavirus forces facilities to shut and US cases top 1m

Kellogg and Kraft Heinz see chance to win back customers who had shifted to healthier brands

Agency overseeing slaughterhouse reopenings has previously said worker safety is not its job

Tyson Foods chief warns of supply shortages that critics blame on concentrated production line

Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods spy retail opportunities as meat industry struggles with virus

Donald Trump wants to reopen meatpacking plants amid fears of food shortages but unions warn of ‘sacrificial workers’

Sales for drinking at home soar but alcohol companies say they do not offset bar closures

Even without scale, the fake meat industry is challenging the economics of its blood and guts rivals.

Patrick Jenkins and guests discuss a surprise candidate to succeed Ross McEwan as head of Royal Bank of Scotland, Goldman Sachs's nascent Marcus brand and Igor Kolomoisky's bid to reverse the nationalisation of Ukraine's PrivatBank. With special guest Harit Talwar of Goldman Sachs.

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, David Crow, banking editor, and Max Seddon, Moscow correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Patrick Jenkins and guests discuss Facebook's recent talks with the world's central bankers on its plans for a digital currency, whether the UK's challenger banks can maintain their astonishing rate of expansion, and a potential scandal at JPMorgan as three of its metals traders are charged with market manipulation. With special guest Tom Merry, managing director at Accenture Strategy.

All FT stories will be free to read on Wednesday September 18th when there will be a paywall freeze. Here are some recommendations to get you started:

ECB prepared to cut rates again, says its chief economist

Swedbank admits to money-laundering failings

https://www.ft.com/content/c65b32d8-d648-11e9-a0bd-ab8ec6435630

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, Mehreen Khan, Brussels correspondent, Nicholas Megaw, retail banking correspondent, and Henry Sanderson, commodities correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Patrick Jenkins and guests discuss HSBC's cost-cutting drive, what to expect from next week's US bank results, and the departure of Vernon Hill from Metro Bank. With special guest Jordi Gual, chairman of Spain's CaixaBank

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, David Crow, banking editor, Laura Noonan, US banking editor, and Nicholas Megaw, retail banking correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Patrick Jenkins and guests discuss push-payment fraud in the UK and who should compensate the victims, why Deutsche Bank is coming under pressure from investors to appoint a new investment banking chief, and why JPMorgan Chase in the US has been selling off loans from its balance sheet. With special guests: Stephen Jones, chief executive of the banking association UK Finance and Rushanara Ali, Labour MP and member of the UK Treasury Select Committee.

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, Caroline Binham, financial regulation correspondent, Stephen Morris, European banking correspondent, and Robert Armstrong, US financial editor. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Patrick Jenkins and guests discuss the latest from the World Economic Forum in Davos, the outlook for Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase's decision to buy a second office in Paris. With special guest Brian Moynihan, chief executive of Bank of America. 

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, David Crow, banking editor, Laura Noonan, US banking editor, and Stephen Morris, European banking correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Matthew Vincent and guests discuss the double-digit fall in the 2019 bonus pool for Barclays investment bankers, Goldman Sachs's shift in focus towards consumers, and UK subprime lender Amigo's dramatic fall in value. With special guest Dr Monica Franco-Santos, reader in governance at the Cranfield School of Management.

Contributors: Matthew Vincent, regulation correspondent, Stephen Morris, European banking correspondent, Laura Noonan, US banking editor, and Nicholas Megaw, retail banking correspondent. Producers: Fiona Symon and Persis Love

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Matthew Vincent and colleagues discuss the hunt for new chief executives among Europe's top banks and JPMorgan's plans to launch a digital bank in the UK. With special guest Sir Mike Rake, former CBI president, and former deputy chairman of Barclays.

Contributors: Matthew Vincent, regulation correspondent, David Crow, banking editor, Stephen Morris, European banking editor, and Nicholas Megaw, retail banking correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Move in response to UN call to focus on preventing Covid-19 outbreak in war-torn country

UN official warns that war-ravaged country cannot deal with an outbreak of the disease

Community is politically marginalised but makes up one-fifth of doctors and a quarter of nurses

Israeli leader returns for fifth term as prime minister as head of emergency coalition 

Islamic republic eases coronavirus restrictions in effort to boost struggling economy

Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s appointment gives country its first functioning government in 6 months

An activist who dug his own course in pursuit of reform

Too many big brands have been coasting for too long

Stylists advise on how to look professional when working remotely. Join a live discussion on Friday April 24 at noon and 5pm

Men — Resist the clippers with these eight hair savers

The suits, the soft furnishings: a revealing glimpse of our MPs’ style choices

Books that give creative inspiration and comfort during isolation

A colourful pair can elevate an outfit out of the style doldrums

Over decades the Republican party has reconfigured itself into the party of the white and the South

The US spends $3.6tn a year on health. Why does the pandemic threaten so many of its hospitals?

In America, lawsuits are the way we make up new rules in a crisis

Rising number of low-paid staff are contracting Covid-19 or leaving posts as death toll mounts

From business closures to movement restrictions, some countries’ policies show first signs of easing

Putting up barriers to travel is proving much easier than taking them down

Donald Trump’s claims that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was source of outbreak belie scientific evidence

After months of lockdown, citizens are keen to move around but not across borders

“The cultural bore of the autumn is the lover of Mad Men.” So wrote FT arts writer Peter Aspden in his weekly culture column, provoking a storm of reader responses – some grateful, others outraged. As it enters a fourth series, has Mad Men made the fatal mistake of falling in love with itself? Is the series losing its sense of time and place, and are the characters becoming stale? We look at Mad Men's plot, historical significance and, crucially, its impact on fashion – the skinny ties, hourglass figures, and excessive drink consumption. Has it influenced our own sense of style? In this week’s arts podcast, FT columnists Peter Aspden, John Lloyd and Nicola Copping are in the studio with arts editor Jan Dalley. Produced by Rob Minto and Griselda Murray Brown  

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As the ninth Art Basel Miami Beach takes place this week, Andres Schipani discusses the growing presence of Latin American collectors and galleries at the international art fair. He is joined by Mark Spiegler, director of Art Basel Miami Beach; Tim Marlow from London's White Cube gallery; Elizabeth Neilson, who heads the London-based Zabludowicz Collection; and Henrique Faría from Venezuela's Faría Fábregas gallery.  

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It's 100 years since the birth of Woody Guthrie, bard of the Great Depression, storyteller of genius, and huge influence on Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the rest. Billy Bragg, whose upcoming tour plays tribute to Guthrie; Tom Paley, veteran folk musician; and Mojo journalist Colin Irwin discuss this remarkable man and his legacy with Richard Clayton, FT pop critic. With clips from Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land” and “Pretty Boy Floyd”, Billy Bragg’s “My Flying Saucer” (set to lyrics by Guthrie), and the title track from Tom Paley’s new album Roll On, Roll On. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

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As a stage version of the classic BBC sitcom comes to London, the FT’s arts writer reflects on the series’ pioneering mix of comedy and drama  

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As a new documentary profiles the soft rock megastars, the FT’s arts writer reflects on their dramatic fall from grace – and their enduring appeal  

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