Top stories
EU tech regulation
France fines Google €50m in test for EU data laws

Watchdog finds US tech giant guilty of breaking Brussels privacy regulations

FT Series The Debt Machine
Debt machine: are risks piling up in leveraged loans?
Brexit
Barnier rebuffs UK move to renegotiate backstop plan

Rejection comes as May signals her ‘plan B’ focuses on changing Irish border provisions

China Economic Slowdown
China’s economy grows at slowest annual rate since 1990

Fourth-quarter GDP figure slips to 6.4% as trade war hits consumer sentiment

Democratic Party US
Democrat Kamala Harris joins 2020 presidential race

Senator enters crowded field of contenders to challenge Donald Trump

Property sector
Billionaire hedge fund founder buys £95m London home

Ken Griffin’s purchase of No 3 Carlton Gardens comes amid high-end property market slump

Rod Rosenstein
Rosenstein leaves lighter burden on companies at DoJ
Robert Shrimsley
Corbyn is failing the Brexit test

The Labour leader’s refusal to step into the vacuum left by May’s defeat is misguided 

Standard Chartered PLC
Bill Winters still digging through ‘fertiliser’ at StanChart

Stakes are high for the bank’s boss as he prepares a strategy update for February

US government shutdown
Shutdown risks thwarting Trump’s own policies

Stand-off delays drilling expansion, deregulation and cuts to environmental rules

European Union
EU sets sanctions on Russia military intelligence chiefs

Move likely to stoke diplomatic tensions with Moscow

World Economic Forum in Davos
IMF flags trade war threat and warns of economic slowdown

Fund revises down growth forecasts to 3.5% this year and 3.6% in 2020

Siemens AG
France and Germany rally support for Siemens-Alstom merger

Calls by ministers come as Brussels prepares to block rail deal on antitrust grounds

Retail
Can technology save bricks and mortar retail?

Stores turn to augmented reality, robots and smart mirrors in battle against Amazon

US News

Electric vehicles
Buffett lithium venture promises secure US supply

Berkshire Hathaway’s geothermal wells could produce up to 90,000 tonnes a year

Global trade
Brazil risks halal exports with Israel embassy move

Bolsonaro’s decision to put ambassador in Jerusalem could lead to boycotts

Technology sector
Market delivers humiliating verdict on Dell

Languishing equity price means core computer business is valued at less than nothing

Payday lenders
Pawnshops and payday lenders surge on US shutdown

Specialist consumer-financiers help bridge earnings gap for federal workers

Opinion

Gideon Rachman
The EU is an alliance, not a union of values

Internal divisions are less powerful than the external pressures keeping members together

Video FT World video
Sark: how electricity sparked Channel island crisis

Democracy put to the test over power supplier monopoly
Video FT World video
Sark: how electricity sparked Channel island crisis
Video FT World video
China growth rate at its lowest since 1990
Video FT World video
How government shutdown affects the US economy
Video FT World video
The total lunar eclipse explained

Highlights

FTfm
Burton Malkiel on active v passive, hedge funds, ESG and Trump

‘I’m extremely sceptical that anyone can do stockpicking well,’ says Wealthfront CIO

Retail
Can technology save bricks and mortar retail?

Stores turn to augmented reality, robots and smart mirrors in battle against Amazon

Books
I can, I want to and I will, by Dunz and Quadbeck

Understanding Angela Merkel’s would-be successor as chancellor

Markets News

Global Market Overview
China concerns unsettle European stock markets

Sterling holds steady as Brexit saga rolls on; Brent oil briefly tops $63 a barrel

Sovereign bonds
Qatar offers support to battered Lebanese bonds

Doha plans to buy $500m of sovereign debt to ease one of world’s biggest burdens

FT Series The Debt Machine
Debt machine: are risks piling up in leveraged loans?

Regulators fear looser lending standards for low-rated companies could precipitate the next downturn

Technology

Digital health
NHS England’s digital chief criticised for ‘brazen’ move to start-up

Juliet Bauer extolled virtues of Kry without disclosing she had been hired by the app

Education
England to promote education exports

Education secretary says focus on attracting foreign students into UK higher education

EU tech regulation
France fines Google €50m in test for EU data laws

Watchdog finds US tech giant guilty of breaking Brussels privacy regulations

Life & Arts