Ongoing discussions surround a potential US government shutdown, while Donald Trump's administration faces a YouTube censorship lawsuit settlement and advances a Gaza peace plan backed by Netanyahu, alongside new global technology export controls and a controversial H-1B visa fee increase.

• YouTube pays $24.5mn to settle Trump censorship lawsuit — Financial Times -
• Tony Blair set to serve on Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza — Financial Times -
• What happens if the US government shuts down? — Financial Times -

• Vance warns US government is ‘headed to a shutdown’ — Financial Times -
• FirstFT: Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu backs Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza — Financial Times -
• Netanyahu says Israel backs Trump’s peace plan for Gaza — Financial Times -
• Cannabis stocks surge after Trump highlights senior healthcare benefits — Financial Times -
• Full text of Trump’s proposal to end the war in Gaza — Financial Times -
• Trump Expands Global Technology Net With Rules Covering Subsidiaries — The New York Times Business -
• Trump administration tightens export controls on Chinese companies — Financial Times -
• New Retail Leaders Confront Trump’s Tariffs, Policy Shifts and Weak Spending — The New York Times Business -
• Trump’s $100,000 Visa Upends Lives: ‘My Dreams Were Shattered’ — The New York Times Business -
• Trump’s H-1B ju-jitsu — Financial Times -
• Trump’s business expands in booming Gulf property market with $1bn Red Sea project — Financial Times -
• Trump goes mainstream on the Middle East — Financial Times -
• Power struggle upends US crypto watchdog as Trump embraces industry — Financial Times -
• FirstFT: Donald Trump to hold crunch talks to avoid a government shutdown — Financial Times -
• Gold punches through $3,800 an ounce as risk of US shutdown rattles markets — Financial Times -
• Trump’s Tariffs Threaten to Break Some Small Businesses — The New York Times Business -
• H-1B Visas Have Problems. Trump’s $100,000 Fee Won’t Fix Them. — The New York Times Business -
• Trump’s erratic policymaking frays nerves at multinational groups — Financial Times -
• Rule of law in the Trump era: the demoralised prosecutors of SDNY — Financial Times -
• Stephen Miller: Trump’s ‘prime minister’ executes his plan to reshape America — Financial Times -
• Washington tangos with another government shutdown — Financial Times -

Significant market activity includes **Electronic Arts' $55 billion private equity buyout and First Brands' bankruptcy filing, alongside CSX's chief executive ousting and Comcast's co-CEO appointment, with AstraZeneca considering a New York listing and hedge fund Eisler shutting down**.

• Rail Operator CSX Ousts Chief Executive After Activist Pressure — The New York Times Business -
• Why EA Is Ready to Quit Wall Street’s Game — Wall Street Journal -
• $55 Billion Deal for Electronic Arts Is Biggest Buyout Ever — The New York Times Business -

• London hedge fund Eisler to shut down after lacklustre returns — Financial Times -
• Auto Supplier First Brands Files for Bankruptcy Amid Accounting Questions — Wall Street Journal -
• Mike Cavanagh Named Co-CEO of Comcast — The New York Times Business -
• Electronic Arts Goes Private for $55 Billion in Largest LBO Ever — Wall Street Journal -
• Comcast Names President as Co-CEO to Serve With Brian Roberts — Wall Street Journal -
• Video games maker Electronic Arts strikes $55bn deal to go private — Financial Times -
• First Brands files for bankruptcy, threatening multibillion-dollar losses — Financial Times -
• AstraZeneca to elevate New York listing in blow to London — Financial Times -
• How top traders are paid more than $100mn — Financial Times -
• Chinese Retailer Miniso Jumps on Collectible-Toys Train With Spinoff — Wall Street Journal -
• Wall Street regulator vows light touch and end to quarterly reporting — Financial Times -
• Meet the man charged with fixing Citi’s investment bank — Financial Times -

UK shop prices are rising rapidly, as the Labour party prepares for potential tax increases and discusses fiscal rules with business leaders, facing challenges from a youth jobs guarantee to NHS management reforms.

• Prices in UK shops rising at fastest rate in 18 months, industry figures show — Financial Times -
• Labour must brace for decisions that are ‘not cost-free or easy’, Starmer to say — Financial Times -
• Business gives wary welcome to Reeves and Starmer at Labour conference — Financial Times -

• Labour refuses to rule out manifesto-breaking tax rises — Financial Times -
• ‘Contribution is a condition’ of staying in the UK, says home secretary — Financial Times -
• UK youth jobs guarantee may reach just 5% of those not in training or work — Financial Times -
• Andy Burnham pours cold water on leadership bid speculation — Financial Times -
• Doubts deepen around Keir Starmer — Financial Times -
• Reeves signals Budget tax rises, saying ‘world has changed’ — Financial Times -
• Labour needs to do more to build ties with business — Financial Times -
• Lack of training for NHS managers raises concerns about Streeting reforms — Financial Times -
• Advisers claim HMRC ‘smoke and mirrors’ over use of AI to assess R&D tax claims — Financial Times -

China's green race advantage is evident, while Moldova's pro-EU party defies Russian pressure in elections, Switzerland aligns with the US on currency policy, and discussions arise around a Ukraine reparations loan plan and Germany-Poland relations.

• A window to a future where China wins the green race — Financial Times -
• Meloni boosted as Brothers of Italy party re-elected in bellwether region — Financial Times -
• The creative ‘reparations’ loan plan for Ukraine — Financial Times -

• Switzerland agrees with US not to manipulate its currency — Financial Times -
• Democracy activist Nathan Law denied entry to Singapore — Financial Times -
• In the global AI boom, Russia is conspicuously absent — Financial Times -
• Germany and Poland must bury the hatchet — Financial Times -
• French Socialists threaten to topple Macron’s new prime minister — Financial Times -
• China’s self-sacrificing WTO gambit is mainly for show — Financial Times -
• Pro-EU party wins Moldova’s parliamentary election — Financial Times -
• Moldova’s pro-EU party defies wave of Russian pressure to storm election — Financial Times -
• The influence of ‘geoeconomics’ is growing — Financial Times -
• How MBS curbed Saudi Arabia’s clerics — Financial Times -
• Singapore and Hong Kong go for gold in precious-metal trade — Financial Times -

Charlie Javice received a substantial prison sentence for defrauding JPMorgan, alongside a crypto laundering mastermind pleading guilty in London, highlighting significant actions against financial misconduct.

• Startup Founder Charlie Javice Sentenced to More Than 7 Years for Defrauding JPMorgan — Wall Street Journal -
• Charlie Javice sentenced to 7 years in prison for JPMorgan fraud — Financial Times -
• Charlie Javice Sentenced to 85 Months in Prison for Fraud — The New York Times Business -

• Crypto laundering mastermind pleads guilty in London court — Financial Times -

Soaring energy bills in the US and rising electricity prices are major concerns, as Europe faces doubled extreme weather damage costs, prompting discussions on data centers' green energy use and electric vehicle market challenges.

• Energy Bills Are Soaring in America’s Coal Capital — The New York Times Business -
• Opinion | Why Your Electric Bill Keeps Rising — Wall Street Journal -
• Why Don’t Data Centers Use More Green Energy? — The New York Times Business -

• How lasers can help us see climate change — Financial Times -
• Electric Vehicles Face a ‘Pretty Dreadful Year’ in the U.S. — The New York Times Business -
• Europe’s bill for extreme weather damage more than doubles this decade — Financial Times -
• How Europe’s ‘oil capital’ glory days were ended by the global oil crash — Financial Times -

Buy-now-pay-later options for travel are gaining attention, while a major corn dog recall highlights consumer safety concerns, and New York's vacant offices are being eyed for housing conversions, alongside discussions on Chicago's reparations initiative.

• What Travelers Need to Know about Delaying Vacation Payments with B.N.P.L. — The New York Times Business -
• On Pennsylvania Ave., Michael Milken’s Curious Temple to the American Dream — The New York Times Business -
• The Low-Cost Icelandic Airline Play Suddenly Folds, Leaving Passengers Stranded — The New York Times Business -

• A liberal Chicago suburb is paying reparations — will others follow? — Financial Times -
• Still Cashing In on the ‘Field of Dreams’ — The New York Times Business -
• The Math Behind Eric Adams’s Exit — The New York Times Business -
• 58 Million Pounds of Corn Dogs Are Recalled Because of Wood in the Batter — The New York Times Business -
• Developers look to New York’s vacant offices to meet high housing demand — Financial Times -
• The ‘tradwife’ fantasy — Financial Times -
• Why Japan is sprucing up its shabby offices — Financial Times -

Debates continue on the future of the Fed funds target and the broader impact of inflation beyond tariffs, with the European Central Bank signaling it's near the bottom of its rate-cutting cycle.

• RIP the fed funds target? — Financial Times -
• Inflation is more than tariffs — Financial Times -
• Ireland must adopt and stick to fiscal rule, central bank chief warns — Financial Times -