Trump administration to overhaul lottery system for H-1B visas
‘Weighted’ selection process that prioritises higher-paid and more skilled applicants will begin in February
Letter: Brexiters showed a naive understanding of how Europe works
From Erik Fossing Nielsen, Senior Adviser, Independent Economics (a London-based economics advisory firm); Former Chief Economist, UniCredit, and Former Chief European Economist, Goldman Sachs, Berlin, Germany
Merry Xmas and a happy New Year
‘No, you can’t have a rematch’
FT Crossword: Number 18,248
Letter: Is Wilson’s gold handover to Brezhnev not a precedent?
From Vaughan Thomas, Norwich, Norfolk, UK
Letter: Snoopy, the financial crisis and a shooting in Sarajevo
From Duncan Stephenson, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
Letter: Your account of Lai’s trial is ‘hoodwinking’ readers
From Chris Tang, Secretary for Security, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong
Letter: New York’s ability to reinvent itself is crucial
From Steven E Cerier, Forest Hills, NY, US
Letter: Nimbyism has been great for those who have a house
From Abigail Perez, London EC1, UK
Letter: Whovillian hallucinations
From Andrew Liu, Mahwah, NJ, US
Letter: Don’t discount a Santa rally
From Maurice Gee, Alton, Hampshire, UK
Letter: Laugh’s on Louisiana
From Serge Desprat, Prague, Czech Republic
Letter: This will surprise Istanbul
From E Charles Brummer, Davis, CA, US
Correction: US book sales
In the US, book sales reached around 3.1bn copies in 2024, not $3.1bn as wrongly stated in an article on December 20
US economy grew at 4.3% rate in third quarter
Figure surpasses expectations after growth boosted by consumer spending
FirstFT: Panama Canal ports deal hits impasse after China’s Cosco demands majority stake
Also in today’s newsletter: ByteDance plans $23bn AI spend and US third-quarter economic growth surpasses expectations
Transcript: We take some questions
Katie Martin speaks to Robert Armstrong
Modi turns his focus to reforming India’s economy
Emboldened by political victories at home and facing high US tariffs, PM is preparing to embark on ‘big bang’ overhaul
We take some questions
Our listeners write in with queries about Venezuela, prediction markets and more
What links the Trump crypto empire and Burkina Faso’s stablecoin plans?
Unsurprisingly, something
Epstein files appear to show former Prince Andrew asked Maxwell for ‘inappropriate friends’
Revelations suggest then-prince made arrangements to meet young women during a trip funded from official travel budgets
UK government forced into climbdown on inheritance tax for farmers
Ministers raise the assets threshold at which the levy will be payable to £2.5mn after backlash from rural areas
Copper price hits record high on concerns over tariffs and shortages
Industrial metal has passed $12,000 a tonne as rally continues
Trump administration accuses China of unfair chip trade practices
US trade representative holds off increasing tariffs until 2027