Good morning. We begin in the Middle East, where US and EU diplomats are holding urgent discussions to try to head off the threat of a full-blown regional war after Israel targeted Hizbollah and Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran.
Enrique Mora, one of the EU’s most senior diplomats, was holding critical talks with officials in Iran’s capital yesterday after the killing of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which was blamed on Israel. Brett McGurk, the White House’s top official in the Middle East, held discussions in Saudi Arabia.
The western diplomatic pressure comes as fears over a broader regional conflict soared. Iran and Hizbollah have separately vowed to avenge the attacks. Here’s what we know about how the talks are progressing.
And here’s what I’m keeping tabs on today:
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Economic data: S&P Global releases manufacturing purchasing managers’ indices for the Eurozone, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US.
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UK interest rates: Investors have beefed up bets on a cut by the Bank of England when it announces its monetary policy decision today.
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Results: ArcelorMittal, BAE Systems, Barclays, Deutsche Post, London Stock Exchange, Rolls-Royce, Schroders, Shell, Thomson Reuters, Veolia Environnement, Volkswagen and Wizz Air report.
Five more top stories
1. The Federal Reserve has said it could start lowering interest rates as soon as September after US policymakers voted to hold borrowing costs at a 23-year high for the eighth meeting in a row. “A reduction in our policy rate could be on the table as soon as the next meeting in September,” said Fed chair Jay Powell. Read more on where central bank officials stand.
2. Exclusive: The European Commission has issued a list of eight demands to “demonstrate real UK government commitment” to honouring its Brexit divorce deal with Brussels. The bloc has claimed that Britain failed to implement existing Brexit agreements on Northern Ireland and the rights of EU citizens living in the country. Here are the EU’s other demands.
3. Exclusive: Spain’s southern Valencia region is joining a growing number of governments cracking down on Airbnb-style holiday rentals in response to backlash against mass tourism. The regional government is seeking to stamp out black-market rentals by threatening rule-breaking landlords with fines of up to €600,000.
4. Gunvor has agreed to acquire half of Varo Energy’s $600mn Dutch biofuel project in the latest sign of Europe’s privately held commodity traders diversifying after two years of record profits. The Swiss group, which owns two biofuel plants, is stepping up its bet on the renewable fuel despite lower than expected growth in demand.
5. A UN scientist running to lead the global body that governs seabed mining has said no company should be granted a licence before clear safeguards are in place, staking out the most distinct pro-conservation stance in this week’s election for the post. Leticia Carvalho, head of the UN’s marine and freshwater branch, cited “mind-blowing” research suggesting ocean floor metals electrically produce life-giving “dark oxygen”. Read the full interview.
The Big Read
Athletics, which starts at the Paris Olympics today, is often the biggest draw at an event that styles itself as the “greatest show on Earth”. From Jesse Owens and Roger Bannister to Allyson Felix and Usain Bolt, its icons have produced performances that have redefined the limits of human achievement. But for many sports fans, the Games are the only time they pay attention to athletics. Can the sport win a big audience outside the Olympics?
We’re also reading and watching . . .
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Yen weakness: For better or worse, the Bank of Japan has tacitly admitted, on behalf of a nation enduring a terms of trade crisis, that currency is everything to its economy, writes Leo Lewis.
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Russian business: Unable to use courts to protect their business interests, executives are turning to figures such as Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov to fend off predators.
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FT Film: Nigeria’s oil sector has been plagued by profiteering, theft and under-investment. Can the new $20bn Dangote refinery help transform the industry and wider economy?
Chart of the day
A rising awareness of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among young women driven by TikTok has seen prescriptions for the condition typically associated with boys hit record levels in England. A Financial Times analysis of prescription data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, there were 19,400 women aged 25-34 prescribed medication for ADHD, more than five times as many patients as at the start of 2019.
Take a break from the news
For Renate Reinsve, the star of The Worst Person In The World, summer in Oslo is like “one big festival” that lasts for three months. The actor shares where to savour the Norwegian capital’s rich cultural and dining scenes and where to retreat to nature.
Additional contributions from Emily Goldberg and Georgina Quach
