US car rental group backed by billionaire Carl Icahn extends crucial payment deadline

Municipal authorities encourage cycling amid fears networks cannot cope with social distancing

Look behind the doors of a medieval Swiss castle that’s piquing much curiosity

It offers a way to avoid mortgage debt and landlord enrichment — and live a scaled-back life

How discarded laughing-gas cylinders were used to create glitter from litter

This cornucopia of vegetation in ceramic and bronze is the apotheosis of the style

Style options distilled from a confluence of African, Arab and Mediterranean cultures

Political sensitivities could be outweighed by workers’ construction expertise

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

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

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

Optimism of large chains belies scepticism that film goers will flock back

Britain failed to take advantage of island status, warns panel, as it calls for more transparency

Hope is not lost. An army of organisations, private hospitals and industries could be mobilised

Pandemic has added to pressure on companies already facing tough financial conditions

Donald Trump wants to reopen meatpacking plants amid fears of food shortages but unions warn of ‘sacrificial workers’

Patrick Jenkins discusses the Financial Conduct Authority's latest insider trading case and what it tells us about how market abuses are being tackled, why HSBC is on the defensive in China, and why Credit Suisse is suing the UK tax authorities.With special guest Mark Steward, Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight for the Financial Conduct Authority.

Contributors: Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, Caroline Binham, financial regulation correspondent, David Crow, banking editor, and James Kynge, global China editor. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Worsening conditions in the capital increase threat posed by the virus

Community is politically marginalised but makes up one-fifth of doctors and a quarter of nurses

Pandemic stopped protests in Iraq, Algeria and Lebanon, but crisis likely to fuel fresh wave of unrest

Nightlife, resilient to war and terrorism, has been paralysed by coronavirus

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

An activist who dug his own course in pursuit of reform

Demand for tech services expected partly to counter pandemic downturn

Men — Resist the clippers with these eight hair savers

Why one of the biggest names in fashion also designs furniture textiles

Republicans continue to give the US president high marks for his handling of coronavirus

Funeral homes are full in working class section of Queens where immigrants pursue American dream

Addiction experts say Covid-19 could tip heavy drinkers into full-blown alcoholism

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

Find any country in the customisable version of the Covid-19 trajectory charts

After months of lockdown, citizens are keen to move around but not across borders

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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Thinking differently is what makes Bowie stand out in the noisy world that killed off HMV. And it will be the key skill in the disembodied cultural universe of the future, says FT arts writer Peter Aspden.  

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Author Mohsin Hamid reads his short story 'Alien invasion in the G.L.A.C.', commissioned by the Financial Times for the new year.  

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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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The UK’s culture secretary is a ‘Star Trek’ fan who wants the arts to be ‘accessible to everyone’ - while the filmmakers of the defiantly highbrow ‘Life May Be’ remind us that there are merits in other ambitions.  

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Film screenings are becoming ever more inventive, with fine dining, unusual venues and even hot tubs thrown in to lure audiences. But for Antonia Quirke, nothing can match the downbeat charm of a black-box cinema on a weekday afternoon  

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Art may be essentially egalitarian as it illuminates the human condition – but that hasn't stopped members of the Porsche Travel Club getting special access to the Sistine Chapel. Should we worry if the wealthy corner the finest cultural experiences?  

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'Ambition', by the award-winning author Helen Simpson, is read by Christopher Villiers.  

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Politicians love to keep things simple, at least in their public pronouncements. Artists, by contrast, embrace complication, nuance and imagination – so who better to tackle slippery questions of national identity as the UK prepares for a general election?  

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David Cheal explores how Lou Reed got prostitution, transvestism, oral sex and drugs past the BBC commisariat with a group of white English 'coloured girls'. Credits: RCA/Legacy, Spectralite, Sony BMG Music Entertainment  

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David Cheal discovers how this hymn to friendship eventually came to divide its creators Simon and Garfunkel, but went on to inspire more than 200 cover versions. Credit: Columbia, RCA, Legacy, Atlantic Records.  

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Sue Norris on how Cissy Houston and Gladys Knight respectively transformed the sound, and meaning, of Jim Weatherly's country number. Credits: X5 Music Group, Jim Weatherly, Carinco AG, Capitol Records LLC.  

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What makes a good Christmas song? Should it be cheesy or serious? And why do millennials love them? 

FT pop writers discuss festive classics old and new - from carols to Mariah Carey, Greg Lake to Phil Spector, Sufjan Stevens to Run-DMC. Plus, which 2017's best Christmas song: Gwen Stefani's 'You Make it Feel Like Christmas' or Sia's 'Santa's Coming for Us'?

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Macron also backs calls for debt relief as he seeks to be seen as champion of continent’s interests

Africans in Guangzhou evicted from hotels and had passports confiscated, officials say

Do you find yourself stumped by questions about how much to put towards your mortgage payment versus your investments? It may be time for a midlife financial MOT. Presenter James Pickford talks to FT reporter Lucy Warwick-Ching about why advisers are targeting people in their forties and fifties. Next, we speak to a woman who cleared credit card debt to the tune of £16,000. And finally, we discuss what's behind Britain's growing tax gap. 

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If ever there was a word that needed to be retired it's 'retirement'. The kind of images this word conjures up is sunny beaches and no longer having to set an alarm clock, or a stressful feeling about how much longer you will need to work to afford such a lifestyle. This week author Don Ezra talks to FT Money editor Claer Barrett about how best to get to and enjoy what used to be called retirement. Next up, if you're heading off on holiday soon then listen to our top tips on how to get the best deal on your holiday money. 

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