Good morning. Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Vladimir Putin probably won’t be getting together after all. The S&P 500 soars to a new high. And read how Russian influencers survived censorship by moving to Telegram. Listen to the day’s top stories.
— Lily Nonomiya
Not happening. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said a gathering between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin is unlikely to materialize, even though it was touted earlier by President Donald Trump. Russia yesterday unleashed a new wave of drone and missile strikes on Kyiv, in defiance of US calls for an end to the fighting.
But Putin has a rare opportunity to meet his two most important energy partners in Tianjin, China on Sunday. Russia is seeking to maintain oil exports to India and convince China to commit to a new gas pipeline. You can read more about strains on Russia’s economy here.
France’s Francois Bayrou is clinging to a slim chance of remaining PM as parliamentary math leaves only a narrow path to survival. To avoid being forced to resign on Sept. 8, the premier must convince either the far right or an improbable series of leftist lawmakers to abstain.
Photographer: Julien de Rosa/AFP
The S&P 500 topped new highs, lifted by data underscoring economic strength ahead of the Federal Reserve’s favored price gauge due Friday. Check out our Markets Today live blog for all the latest news and analysis relevant to UK assets.
More lobbyists plan to attend Reform UK's annual conference next week in a sign corporate Britain is taking Nigel Farage’s party seriously. About 20% of 300 public affairs executives surveyed plan to attend the Sept. 5-6 gathering in Birmingham, up from 12% in 2024 and 4% in 2023.
Play Pointed, the news quiz for risk-takers: Which “gym teacher” has a new partnership with American Eagle? Test your knowledge.
Staff at Australian lender ANZ might have to take a pay cut if employees aren’t in the office at least half of the working week.
A company email to managers detailed a tool to track attendance of staff members and outlined pay brackets for people not meeting the 50% threshold.
Performance and pay consequences are based on four tiers—those attending the office less than 20% of the time won’t be eligible for an increase to their salary unless they have an exemption. Coming in between 21% and 40% of the time could result in variable pay being trimmed by up to 50%.
ANZ was in the news yesterday after it had to rush through banker layoffs after automated emails were mistakenly sent to some employees before they were notified of their termination.
ChatGPT’s drive for engagement has a dark side, Parmy Olson writes. Details of a teen’s suicide show the extent to which chatbots can subtly lead people away from family, friends and professionals.
Russian influencers have found a new home on Telegram after Instagram's ban. Read how the messaging app has helped to underpin an influencer economy that has defied sanctions and censorship to continue growing.
