Warnings of disruptions heighten focus on China’s outsized role in global sourcing

Appointment comes as tension rises over government decision to restrict 5G rollout

Vintage is best — chipped, stained and covered with lichen and moss

Warmly burnished and gently cryptic, this is easy listening at its most enjoyable

The singer’s sandblasted baritone relates his dark autobiography with irresistible swagger

French high-speed rail maker looks to bulk up in face of Chinese competition

Tory manifesto pledge aimed at ‘levelling up’ the regions of Britain faces uphill struggle

Political sensitivities could be outweighed by workers’ construction expertise

First time in five years that rail groups have not paid into state coffers

Termination of Northern contract signals wider problems with privatised system

Naturalist and broadcaster says £106bn rail scheme will destroy 700 wildlife sites

The ripples from slowing Chinese production are felt down the supply chain

London mayor wants to renegotiate £2bn of existing loans with government to ease cash flow

Operators warn they will struggle to meet franchise agreements as passenger numbers plunge

Move will last for at least six months as coronavirus disruption takes toll

Awarding of franchises allows skeleton services to continue on Southeastern and Great Western lines

London Underground and other locally run services were excluded from previous coronavirus aid packages

Transport group also expects its Greyhound bus service to receive US financial support

Support for five networks around England follows coronavirus rescue packages for bus and train sectors

The new chair of the association that runs men’s tennis wants to share out wealth more evenly

Denmark and the Netherlands lead surge in bookings but company still cuts 25% of workforce

Taipei says foreign visitors will be allowed to enter once a vaccine is discovered

Bizarre lyrics, atonal melodies and a ‘koala synth’; Nic Fildes enters the world of algorithm-inspired Europop

Boris Johnson’s government was focused on Budget and Brexit — until disease took a grip

Tyson chairman flags shortages as slaughterhouses and processing plants are forced to shut

Patrick Jenkins and guests discuss a surprise candidate to succeed Ross McEwan as head of Royal Bank of Scotland, Goldman Sachs's nascent Marcus brand and Igor Kolomoisky's bid to reverse the nationalisation of Ukraine's PrivatBank. With special guest Harit Talwar of Goldman Sachs.

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, David Crow, banking editor, and Max Seddon, Moscow correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Patrick Jenkins and guests discuss HSBC's cost-cutting drive, what to expect from next week's US bank results, and the departure of Vernon Hill from Metro Bank. With special guest Jordi Gual, chairman of Spain's CaixaBank

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, David Crow, banking editor, Laura Noonan, US banking editor, and Nicholas Megaw, retail banking correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Matthew Vincent and guests discuss revelations about the UK's opening gambit in seeking a deal on 'equivalence' with the EU, Tidjane Thiam's ouster from Credit Suisse, HSBC's delay in choosing a permanent chief executive, and challenger bank Starling's fund raising. With special guest Ann Boden, chief executive of Starling Bank.

Contributors: Matthew Vincent, regulation correspondent, David Crow, banking editor, Stephen Morris, European banking correspondent, and Nicholas Megaw, retail banking correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Struggling parents demand help as work dries up due to coronavirus crisis

Rami Makhlouf’s complaints against his cousin show strains in power structure

Demand for tech services expected partly to counter pandemic downturn

Too many big brands have been coasting for too long

‘The Impossible Collection’ offers a 9.5kg overview of the designer’s whole career

Elite university comes under fire for taking $9m in assistance while having a huge endowment

Our predicament is that wealth has become the only apparent source of safety

US students and institutions of higher learning are facing uncertain futures

Over decades the Republican party has reconfigured itself into the party of the white and the South

In America, lawsuits are the way we make up new rules in a crisis

The music scene is currently awash with aging rockers and pop groups re-united. Take That, complete with Robbie Williams, will tour next year; space rockers Hawkwind, formed in 1969, tour the UK next month; while Lemmy, born 1945, is currently taking the stage with Motorhead. Whatever happened to “hope I die before I get old”? Aren’t they old enough to know better? Neville Hawcock, deputy arts editor, talks to Peter Aspden, the FT’s arts writer, and Richard Clayton, who regularly reviews pop for the paper.  

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There are a lot of musicals moving into London's West End right now – including "Shoes", "Million Dollar Quartet", "Betty Blue Eyes" and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" - and rumbling in the background is the hoo-ha in New York over "Spiderman". What is the enduring appeal of the musical? Is it more diverse than its critics imagine? And, are musicals a good thing for the theatrical landscape? Jan Dalley talks to Jamie Lloyd, director of the Donmar's "Spelling Bee", and FT theatre critics Ian Shuttleworth and Sarah Hemming. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

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From Dickens’ London to Wordsworth’s Lakes via the painter George Shaw’s suburban “edgelands”, the British landscape has long permeated writing and visual art. On the opening of the British Library’s exhibition Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands, Jan Dalley talks to the poet Owen Sheers; the exhibition’s curator Jamie Andrews; and FT art critic Jackie Wullschlager. The travel writer Robert Macfarlane is on the line. Plus, Faber's 1998 recording of Harold Pinter reading his poem “Joseph Brearley 1909-1977” © Faber & Faber Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

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The late choreographer and high priestess of Tanztheater Pina Bausch once said she was not interested in how people move but in what moves them. As part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the Barbican Centre and Sadler’s Wells will stage Bausch's 10 Cities. Peter Aspden talks to Alistair Spalding, artistic director of Sadler’s Wells and a friend of Bausch, and to FT dance critic Clement Crisp, who “owns to a mistrust of Tanztheater, or dance-theatre, or Euro-tedium – call it what you will.” Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

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London will host seven international art fairs during October, including Frieze London and Frieze Masters, and there will be three more in European cities. FT Arts editor Jan Dalley, dealer and gallerist Thomas Dane, FT Collecting columnist Georgina Adam and Stephanie Dieckvoss, director of Art 13, a new event launching in March 2013, discuss the global appetite for this kind of showcase and the dangers of “fairtigue”  

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As Miami’s sparkling new Perez Art Museum hosts a big retrospective of the Chinese artist’s work, the FT’s arts writer reflects on culture’s role in challenging oppression  

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Matthew McConaughey’s career revival provides a neat case study of how an actor can wrest back control of his image. It also tells a broader story about our weakness for a certain kind of Acting.  

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As St Paul’s Cathedral prepares to unveil a Bill Viola installation, the FT’s arts writer considers the potentially enriching relationship between sacred settings and contemporary art  

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Courtauld Institute student and arts writer Aindrea Emelife reflects on the current neglect of Surrealism in the art world – and considers what significance the movement might still hold for today’s young rebels  

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Peter Aspden tells the story of Burt Bacharach’s feelgood anthem ‘Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head’  

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David Honigmann explores one of the handful of songs recorded by the blues singer Robert Johnson, in which he is pursued by the Devil, society or his own demons. Credits: UMG Recordings, Inc., Blue Note Records, Universal Island Records Ltd., Not Now Music Ltd  

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Podcasts have existed for more than 10 years but have recently seen a surge of interest, spurred by the success of the true crime drama Serial, which has been downloaded more than 70m times. What is driving the so-called “podcast renaissance”? How are they different from radio shows? And do they pose a threat to traditional broadcasting? FT technology editor Ravi Mattu is joined by literature professor Sarah Churchwell, veteran podcaster Helen Zaltzman and Mark Friend, who is responsible for BBC Radio online. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown and Lily Le Brun  

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