FirstFT: Obama fires salvo at Trump, Brexit market turmoil, Bund yields

Sign up to receive FirstFT by email here

President Barack Obama accused Donald Trump of promoting ideas that “betray” American values and called on the leadership of the Republican party to denounce their presumptive nominee. A visibly angry Mr Obama used his most direct attack on the former reality TV star to say that Mr Trump's proposal to ban Muslim immigration would make it harder to defeat terrorism and play into the propaganda of jihadis. 

His comments came as the Democratic National Committee revealed that Russian hackers had broken into its network and accessed its trove of opposition research on Mr Trump. (FT, NYT)

Keep track of the race with our daily US politics newsletter. Sign up here. (FT)

In the news

Orlando gunman’s wife under investigation Noor Mateen, the 30-year-old wife of Omar Mateen, is being considered for possible criminal charges because she may have known something about the attack on the gay nightclub, according to ABC News, citing unnamed officials. Meanwhile, evidence is mounting that Mateen frequented the venue before the massacre and used gay dating apps, raising questions about his motivation. (ABC, FT)

US court backs net neutrality The Obama administration and open internet advocates — including Silicon Valley companies — won a major victory in the battle over broadband regulation, dealing a blow to US telecoms groups. (FT)

Jake Ma: fakes are better than originals The Alibaba founder said many counterfeit goods are now of better quality than the genuine articles, in comments set to infuriate luxury goods makers who accuse the Chinese ecommerce group of profiting from the sale of knock-offs. (FT)

Brexit fears trigger market rush for safety The prospect of Britons voting to leave the EU next week sparked global market upheaval on Tuesday, with investors rushing for safety and sending the UK currency and stocks to their lowest levels in months. (FT)

A full service bank An employee from Goldman Sachs “procured” the services of two prostitutes as part of concerted efforts by him to cement close ties with officials at the Libyan sovereign wealth fund, as it sought to win lucrative new business, a High Court has heard. The details came on the second day of a $1bn legal battle brought by the fund against Goldman.  (FT)

German 10-year bond yields turn negative Germany has set the pace in a historic rally in government bonds, with the yield on its 10-year bond falling into negative territory for the first time. An escalation of stimulus policies from the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank this year, low inflation and simmering anxiety over the outlook for the global economy is driving investors into the safest and most liquid sovereign bond markets despite the vanishing returns they offer. (FastFT)

US navy’s Asia strategy The US will use the combined power of its Pacific Fleet to counter rising uncertainty in Asia, Admiral Scott Swift said following China’s decision to sail a warship close to Japanese-controlled islands. (NAR)

Isis claims responsibility for Paris murders The French government has denounced “an abject terrorist act” after an attacker killed a police commander and his wife at their home outside Paris. The 42-year-old was stabbed to death as he arrived home at about 8.30pm on Monday in Magnanville, north-west of Paris. The officer’s wife, an Interior Ministry employee, was killed after the assailant barricaded himself in the couple’s home. Elite police forces then shot the knifeman and saved the couple’s three-year-old child. Amaq, the Isis news agency, said that an Isis fighter had carried out the attack. (FT)

It's a big day for

Rate watchers The Fed is set to meet and, while recent disappointing economic data makes it unlikely the central bank will raise rates, investors will be watching chairwoman Janet Yellen's tone. (FT)

Food for thought

Brexit imperils confidence of strangers Martin Wolf on what might happen if what he calls “Project Lie” wins the referendum next week. “Brexit, in sum, might be a big economic shock and not just for the UK. This is largely because of the fragility that precedes it and the many uncertainties that would follow it. The referendum itself if irresponsible. The outcome might well prove devastating. (FT)

Gun deaths as stolen years Data visualisation company Periscopic has illustrated US gun deaths in terms of years lost by those who might otherwise have lived longer based on US mortality rate data, tallying a total of more than 500,000 “stolen years” in 2013 alone. (Periscopic)

Bird brains Some can count, many make tools and others recognise themselves in the mirror. But how birds pull off such complex feats with so little brain matter has long had scientists scratching their heads. Now an answer may finally be at hand. Researchers who studied 28 bird species found that songbirds and parrots can have as many, and sometimes more, neurons packed into their brains than mammals — even monkeys and apes. (Guardian)

Video of the day

Fed goes global