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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K-Pop has never been more popular. However, a recent string of high profile controversies including a rape conviction and two suicides have sullied the image of the Korean cultural export. Edward White talks to Patricia Nilsson about what makes a K-Pop star, why the singers are under so much pressure, and what the industry means to the country’s economy.

Contributors: Edward White, Seoul correspondent and Patricia Nilsson, Media reporter. Producer: Persis Love

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Investors have begun to shun companies that make their money from fossil fuels because of concerns about global warming. So what does this mean for the oil and gas companies whose future profits depend on continuing to exploit the hydrocarbon assets they have acquired around the world? Pilita Clark discusses the implications with Lex columnist Alan Livsey and energy editor David Sheppard. Read Alan's analysis here

Contributors: Pilita Clark, business columnist, Alan Livsey, Lex columnist, and David Sheppard, energy editor. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Victory for Iran's hardliners in this month’s parliamentary elections has come at the cost of a despondent population suffering under the weight of renewed US sanctions. With the future of the nuclear deal in doubt and isolationist leaders in the ascendant, Andrew England, Middle East editor, and Najmeh Bozorgmehr, Tehran correspondent, discuss what happens next.

Contributors: Andrew England, Middle East editor, and Najmeh Bozorgmehr, Tehran correspondent. Producers: Fiona Symon and Mehrnosh Khalaj.

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Introducing the FT News Briefing. It 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.

Monday, March 16

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to zero and joined forces with other central banks in a bid to prevent a severe economic downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The FT’s Gillian Tett unpacks the sweeping measures. Plus, the rapid spread of the coronavirus and the ensuing travel restrictions have led to one of the worst months on record for the airport industry, and French industrials group Air Liquide is asking would-be buyers of its hand sanitiser unit to offer a higher sum in the wake of the outbreak. 

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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. 

Western governments pledged trillions of dollars in stimulus measures to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. The FT’s global business columnist Rana Foroohar explains what it could mean for Wall Street and Main Street. Plus, Impossible Foods raises $500m in a round that will help the US-plant based burger group to see through the economic upheaval caused by the current crisis, and Joe Biden solidifies his status as the frontrunner to take on Donald Trump in November.

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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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Life in Europe's coronavirus hotspots: Foreign affairs columnist Gideon Rachman discusses how the coronavirus epidemic has been handled in Italy and Spain with the local FT correspondents, Miles Johnson in Rome and Daniel Dombey in Madrid. How are citizens reacting to the lockdown and what will be the long-term political and economic impact?

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Former deputy set to take over as country faces sharpest economic contraction in decades

Varying efforts to stem rise in homicides across Latin America have failed

Even before Covid-19 struck, the country’s debt trajectory was out of control

Jeanine Añez settles in for long haul as pandemic adds to political uncertainty

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

Venezuela’s president airs video of former US soldier accused of taking part in thwarted plot

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

Start every week on the front foot with a preview of what’s on the global agenda

Scientists co-operate on search for Covid-19 origins despite charges Beijing is withholding data

Boss of clothing retailer deserves a premium; Astra’s eyes on big prize

Gilead’s potential coronavirus treatment stirs investor hopes but evidence on effectiveness is mixed

Partnership that would prioritise UK could produce 100m doses by year-end if treatment is effective

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

Investors have bet on Gilead’s remdesivir as solution to coronavirus crisis

Sum far exceeds $8bn fundraising target at upcoming EU-led donors’ conference

Nation’s pharma industry has matured but is still a lot better at incremental innovation than major breakthroughs

Federal Trade Commission votes 3-2 to approve tie-up between makers of Botox and Humira

Group says 230 jobs will be lost at Selby site at it looks to beat 2025 fossil fuel deadline

Policy reversal follows Cameron vow to rid UK of ‘unsightly’ structures

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

Energy, water and other utility groups keep services going despite lockdowns and cuts

Decline leads to a drop in wholesale prices as businesses close

Supplier says sector should be ‘back of the queue’ for additional government support

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

Buyers who get cold feet tend to have the advantage but jilted targets can still extract value

Well-capitalised businesses will have an increased advantage for the next few years

Trump ally Tom Barrack’s investment group in talks with lenders over hotel and nursing home debt

Investors demanded too high a price to lend to US carrier reeling from coronavirus shutdown

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

Interest rate cuts and massive fiscal stimulus are expected to weigh on the greenback

First-quarter volatility deals $39bn blow to SNB as it steps up fight for Swiss franc

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

Currency softens beyond key level as investors brace themselves for more interest rate cuts

Market Questions is the FT’s guide to the week ahead

Two experts debate the long-term impact on inflation of the Covid-19 rescue packages

Rial to be changed to the toman after five decades of inflation

Sterling under pressure from US-China angst and renewed Brexit concerns

Analysts fear unintended consequences of central bank’s vast foreign-currency holdings

Stuart Levey, known for tough enforcement of sanctions on Iran, will head digital currency project

Ankara’s banking regulator acts after currency slides below level reached in 2018 crisis

Higher education should not be treated as just another business

A collapse in demand is reducing prices even as central banks print money