Roula Khalaf talks to Alec Russell about her meeting with Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who is now campaigning for his killers to be brought to justice. 

Contributors: Alec Russell, editor of FT Weekend, and Roula Khalaf, deputy editor.  Producer: Fiona Symon

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In a country that features prominently in international corruption league tables, it is surprising to find a futuristic tax system that has significantly narrowed the gap between revenue due and revenue collected. Chris Giles, the FT's economics editor, visited Russia's Federal Tax Service to find out how the system works. He discusses whether the model could be applied elsewhere with Suzanne Blumsom.

Contributors: Suzanne Blumsom, executive editor, and Chris Giles, economics editor. Producer: Fiona Symon

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A new book about Koch Industries has shed light on the way this company, led by Charles Koch, shaped modern America. Frederick Studemann, literary editor, discusses Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America with Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, US business editor. Read Andrew’s review here.

Contributors: Frederick Studemann, literary editor, and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, US business editor. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Naspers, a publisher once condemned as a mouthpiece of the apartheid regime in South Africa, has quietly become one of the world’s biggest internet investors thanks to a stake in China’s Tencent. On 11 September it will list its global internet assets on the Amsterdam bourse, becoming Europe's biggest consumer internet company overnight. Arash Massoudi discusses how it got there with Joseph Cotterill in Johannesburg.

Contributors: Arash Massoudi, corporate finance and deals editor, and Joseph Cotterill, Southern Africa correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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A Chicago start-up has found a way of turning microbes into edible protein, part of a growing trend towards a microbial revolution in food. Leslie Hook discusses why investors are increasingly interested in this area with Emiko Terazono, commodities correspondent, and Clive Cookson, science editor.

Contributors: Leslie Hook, environment correspondent, Emiko Terazono, commodities correspondent, and Clive Cookson, science editor. Producers: Fiona Symon and Persis Love

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Start-ups and consumer giants are trying to find a solution to the deluge of plastic packaging that ends up in landfill or polluting our oceans. Finding a solution will be far more complex than just recycling more, Leila Abboud and Leslie Hook tell Pilita Clark. Read Leila's article here or listen to Ellen MacArthur talk about the plastics in our oceans here.

Contributors: Pilita Clark, business columnist, Leila Abboud, consumer industries correspondent, and Leslie Hook, environmental correspondent. Producers: Fiona Symon and Persis Love.

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Hundreds of millions of people turn to the web each day to seek answers to medical concerns. But the information they share is far from secret. Madhumita Murgia, the FT's European technology correspondent, has been looking into what happens to the personal health information we share with these websites, and she tells India Ross what she discovered..

Contributors: India Ross, tech creative producer, and Madhumita Murgia, European technology correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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India has gone from being known as the world’s fastest growing large-economy to a country in the midst of a sharp economic slowdown. Jyotsna Singh discusses what’s gone wrong and what can be done to revive growth with Amy Kazmin, the FT’s South Asia bureau chief.

Contributors: Jyotsna Singh, Delhi reporter, and Amy Kazmin, South Asia bureau chief. Producers: Jyotsna Singh and Fiona Symon

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This selection of economics must-reads from the last six months take on capitalism, inequality, trade, AI, the law and more. Martin Wolf tells Frederick Studemann about the books we should all be reading this winter.

Watch a video of the conversation here.

Contributors: Frederick Studemann, literary editor and Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator. Producer: Persis Love



Photo credits: Viking, Penguin Books, The Centre for International Governance Innovation, John Murray Press, Harvard University Press,Harvard University Asia Center, Transworld Publishers Ltd, Princeton University Press 

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Alexei Navalny has been a thorn in the side of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for a decade, braving persecution and imprisonment and remaining apparently undaunted. Max Seddon met him for lunch in a food court in southeast Moscow and he tells Alec Russell, editor of FT Weekend about the encounter.

Contributors: Alec Russell, editor of FT Weekend, and Max Seddon, Moscow correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Taylor Swift’s anger over the sale of her back catalogue shines a light on the role of investment in today’s music industry. Anna Nicolaou and Jamie Powell tell Alex Barker about Swift’s dispute with her former record label and how investments are changing in the streaming era of music.

Contributors: Alex Barker, global media editor, Anna Nicolaou, US media correspondent and Jamie Powell, Alphaville reporter. Producer: Persis Love

Music credit: Taylor Swift, Shake It Off, Big Machine Records

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The US Federal Reserve has begun to consult the public, particularly in poorer parts of the country about monetary policy. As a result, policy wonks at the central bank have begun to reconsider the impact of their decisions on communities far from the centres of power. Brendan Greeley discusses the so-called Fed Listens sessions with Patrick Jenkins.

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, Deputy Editor and Brendan Greeley, US economics editor. Producers: Fiona Symon and Persis Love. Photo credit: Alex Wong/Getty

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Shares in Elon Musk’s pioneering electric car company Tesla have skyrocketed. Tom Braithwaite discusses whether the company will be able to maintain its current momentum and hold off competition from traditional carmakers with Jamie Powell and Richard Waters.

Contributors: Tom Braithwaite, companies news editor, Jamie Powell, Alphaville reporter, and Richard Waters, West Coast editor. Producer: Fiona Symon

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The sentencing of Trump ally and political strategist Roger Stone was mired in controversy after the US president criticised a juror and the original prosecutors in the case. The same week, Donald Trump granted clemency to seven white collar criminals. Does the president have too much power over the judicial system? Brooke Masters discusses with Edward Luce and Kadhim Shubber.

Contributors: Brooke Masters, opinion and analysis editor, Edward Luce, US national editor and columnist and Kadhim Shubber, US Legal and enforcement correspondent. Producers: Fiona Symon and Persis Love.

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The FT News Briefing is a rundown of the global business stories you need to know for the coming day, from the newsroom of the Financial Times. If you enjoy it, subscribe to the FT News Briefing wherever you get your podcasts, or listen at FT.com/newsbriefing.

Friday, March 20

Republicans in the US Senate have introduced legislation to inject more than $1tn of fiscal stimulus into the economy as it grapples with the coronavirus outbreak. Sir Paul Tucker, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England and current chair of the Systemic Risk Council, says it’s time for policymakers and bankers to prepare for a wartime setting if conditions deteriorate. Plus, the only US drugmaker that makes a potential treatment for the coronavirus raised the price nearly 100 per cent in January as the outbreak wreaked havoc in China. 

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Analysts fear government’s timid fiscal response will prolong the pain

Argentina’s Alberto Fernández signals country is in no state to contemplate new deals

Some officials are using Covid-19 to jump on the neoliberal-bashing bandwagon

Stimulant given as ‘likely’ reason for lower infections but authorities stress health risks

First country to get a vaccine could have an economic as well as a health advantage

The wide variety of Covid-19 symptoms seen by doctors is confounding the scientific community

American producers are coming under pressure on several fronts

As Beijing connects the region, the Philippines weighs ‘shutdown’ risk

Decline leads to a drop in wholesale prices as businesses close

First signs of severity of coronavirus pandemic on UK energy sector 

Shutdowns likely to shift energy use from fossil fuels towards wind and solar

If lenders maintain support, the company’s balance sheet may not need an urgent fix

Suffolk residents cry foul as French group seeks to continue process despite lockdown  

Potential cost cuts should not be used as justification for a UK telecoms tie-up

British and American consumers are unlikely to ‘spend, spend, spend’ after the lockdowns

Retail services group’s new Shop app needs a price gimmick to lure buyers in

The website this week notched up 240m unique visitors

The FT analyses the scale of outbreaks and the number of deaths around the world

Mike Mackenzie’s daily analysis of what’s moving global markets

Large foreign financing requirement and small reserves leave Erdogan facing cash crunch

Governments should borrow more to stave off secular stagnation

Pandemic combined with collapsing oil prices spells real hardship

Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro is building the case for his own impeachment

Popular funds have survived a period of intense market stress

Being ‘guided by the science’ does not mean hiding behind it

Investors are looking to the future, but should beware of over-optimism

Regulators must ensure that lenders’ defences are sufficiently robust

UK interdealer broker forecasts low single-digit revenue growth for the year

Filing opens door to potential sale of half of Virgin Group’s holding in space venture

Companies from Boeing to HSBC have discovered the danger of delaying hard choices

The biggest brand launch since the Pink Lady is changing the nature of the fruit

In a polarised time, the broadcaster has won listeners by embracing confrontation

From high-tech to hygge, our homes changed at top speed in the 2010s — what will the 2020s bring?

Rise of volatility and dispersion was supposed to bring a change of fortunes versus passive

Bullish investors and gung-ho governors are setting themselves up for a big reality check