Trump meets first foreign leader, heads roll at Rio Tinto and lessons from the 1930s

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Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe will be the first foreign leader to meet Donald Trump following his shock election victory last week. Mr Abe is seizing the chance to lobby the president-elect while key US policies are in flux and is expected to underscore the importance of the Japan-US alliance after Mr Trump raised the prospect of a US retreat from Asia during his election campaign.

The surprise Trump victory has left many in Asia wondering whether the new US leader will rehabilitate the region’s two most controversial leaders, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump has again denied claims infighting is hampering the critical process of putting in place his cabinet. The president-elect took to Twitter, saying reports of chaos were “totally wrong” and everything was going “so smoothly”. Mr Trump also dumped his press pool again, raising flags about access and transparency in the incoming administration.

In the Democratic camp, deep divisions have opened in the wake of the election result. The solution? An agenda to align with many of Mr Trump’s proposals that put him at odds with his own party — such as paid maternity leave — is being constructed. (FT, NAR, WaPo, NYT)

In the news

JPMorgan settles The bank will pay more than $200m to settle allegations by the US government that it had hired “princelings” — the children of Chinese decision makers — to win business. (FT, Reuters)

Russia blocks LinkedIn Russia’s communications regulator ordered public access to LinkedIn’s website to be blocked after a court ruling found the social networking firm guilty of violating data storage laws. LinkedIn has more than 6m registered users in Russia and is the first major social network to be blocked by Russian authorities. (Reuters)

Scalps at Rio Tinto The FTSE 100 mining company has fired Alan Davies, chief executive of its energy and minerals division, and Debra Valentine, the head of legal affairs, after reviewing a $10.5m payment made for advisory services on a giant iron ore project in Guinea. These are waters of open conflict uncharted for an organisation unfortunately well practised in the art of crisis management. (FT, AFR)

£100bn Brexit hole Chancellor Philip Hammond will admit to the largest deterioration in British public finances since 2011 in next week’s Autumn Statement when the official forecast will show the UK faces a £100bn bill for Brexit within five years. Meanwhile, Martin Lewis argues in the FT that the economic statement gives Mr Hammond the chance to put things right on student loans. (FT)

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Egypt’s elite protests Egypt’s poor may have borne the brunt of austerity measures that have seen the country’s currency decrease in value but the country’s rich are hurting too. Students at the private American University in Cairo have been protesting for days at a possible 40 per cent rise in their tuition fees. The university has provided government and business leaders for generations. (NYT)

It's a big day for

Tesla and SolarCity Shareholders of the two companies will vote on their proposed merger on Thursday. Elon Musk, who serves as both Tesla’s chief executive and SolarCity’s chairman, has advocated the combination and outlined a master plan to make Tesla a powerhouse for batteries and solar power. (Inc)

The Fed Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will probably be asked about how Donald Trump’s fiscal policies could affect the US’s economic outlook when she gives testimony to Congress later today. (Bloomberg)

Keep up with the important business, economic and political stories in the coming days with the FT’s WeekAhead.

Food for thought

New age for fascism? Many commentators dismiss comparisons between the current wave of far right populism and the rise of fascism in the 1930s. But the two periods share many traits, chiefly that the centre right dangerously underestimates the potential for populist anger to spiral into tyranny. (the Conversation)

Love, war and exile In a revealing interview, Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o describes the terror of English colonialism, the pain of the independence struggle and the tragedy of despotism in a free Africa, and how he has coped with the displacements of exile and the demands of literary fame. (FT)

Dig deep In Arizona miners can travel 1.4bn years back in time in 15 minutes. A dark, two-storey cage lift takes its passengers on a 2km journey straight down. Inside America’s deepest mine that was once viewed as uneconomical, and is now essential. (FT)

Recession + volcano = success Two very unlikely events have made Iceland a red-hot travel destination: The currency collapse after the 2008 recession made it cheap, and a volcanic explosion two years later put it on the map. In fact so many tourists are visiting that they are expected to outnumber locals seven to one next year. (NYT)

Just can’t get you out of my head About 90 per cent of us get songs stuck in our head at least once a week. The first large-scale study of its kind explores why certain songs stick — and gives advice for how to get them unstuck. (Time)

Video of the day

Cash crisis for Delhi traders The FT’s Amy Kazmin talks to traders at Delhi’s Azadpur vegetable market about the impact of Narendra Modi’s currency change on their lives. (FT)