How is the crisis changing our reading habits and accelerating the industry’s digital revolution?

Matthew Engel tours Middle England in search of the root of voter disillusionment

Train travel in the UK now combines the worst features of capitalism and socialism

A pledge to roll back the Beeching cuts has rekindled a strange national obsession

Brussels sets out tariffs proposals aimed at reducing risk of smuggling into bloc

Facebook has revealed plans for a new global digital currency, claiming it will enable billions of people around the world without a bank account to make money transfers. Patrick Jenkins discusses the initiative and what it means for the banks with Nick Megaw, Caroline Binham and Elaine Moore.

Contributors: Suzanne Blumsom, executive editor, Patrick Jenkins, financial editor, Nick Megaw, retail banking correspondent, Caroline Binham, financial regulation correspondent and Elaine Moore, deputy head of Lex. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Many of those who voted to leave the European Union live in deprived towns and cities of the UK and were disillusioned with politics. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation teamed up with a think-tank, UK in a Changing Europe, to find out what policies they would like to see to improve their lives. Andy Bounds discusses the findings with Anand Menon, one of the report's authors. Read Andy's article here

Contributors: Andy Bounds, Enterprise Editor and North of England correspondent, and Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King's College London and director of the UK in a Changing Europe. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Italy's prime minister Guiseppe Conte lives to fight another day after a bid by the populist leader Matteo Salvini to unseat him and win power by holding snap elections failed. Katie Martin discusses whether the new alliance between the Five Star Movement and its former enemy, the Democratic Party, can last with Ben Hall and Miles Johnson.

Contributors: Katie Martin, capital markets editor, Ben Hall, Europe editor, and Miles Johnson, Rome correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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The FT News Briefing is a rundown of the global business stories you need to know for the coming day, from the newsroom of the Financial Times. If you enjoy it, subscribe to the FT News Briefing wherever you get your podcasts, or listen at FT.com/newsbriefing.

Tuesday, March 17

Governments in all large western economies took drastic measures to limit public movement on Monday in an urgent effort to arrest the spreading coronavirus pandemic while US stocks plunged despite a set of emergency measures laid out by the Federal Reserve on Sunday. Plus, an analysis by the Financial Times finds that the UK and the US have key weaknesses in their healthcare systems which could trigger a collapse if put to the test by the outbreak. 

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Decline leads to a drop in wholesale prices as businesses close

Trump ally Tom Barrack’s investment group in talks with lenders over hotel and nursing home debt

The government needs to address concerns over the return to normal life

Potential adversaries could seek to exploit vulnerabilities triggered by pandemic, warn analysts

Christian Noyer believes projects available to consumers are a way off yet

Tie-up aims to allow people with mobile wallets to pay for international online services

Former chancellor urges lenders to keep credit flowing and not just weather the storm

Billionaire investor hits winning bets in global macro after closing to external money

Failed outsourcer’s work on Liverpool and Birmingham hospitals running years behind schedule

Chief Jon Lewis admits outsourcer has ‘more to do and requires more investment’ than expected

Activist investor sought to take control of strategy at French group led by Arnaud Lagardère

Private equity firms in separate discussions to back coronavirus-hit Serie A

Coveted top-quality rating hanging by a thread as Moody’s decision looms

Whether we like it or not, spending on arms and security will rise in the next few years 

SoftBank-funded fintech challenger Ualá expands rapidly amid the pandemic

VC fund Runa Capital was launched with $135 million in 2010, and is perhaps best known for its investment into NGINX, which powers many web sites today. In more recent years it has participated or led investments into startups such as Zipdrug ($10.8 million); Rollbar this year ($11 million); and Monedo (for €20 million). HQ’d […]

Once the UK accepted trade friction, everything changed

It is hard to overstate the turn to Euroscepticism. It will not go away when lockdown ends

Earth day struggles for global attention

M&A activity has generally slowed down in the weeks since the novel coronavirus took a grip on the world, but there have been some pockets of activity in the tech industry when the price is right or when the divestment/acquisition just makes sense. The world of messaging brings us the latest development in that theme: SAP, […]

Ali Amin-Javaheri grew up in the chemicals business. His father had worked for Iran’s state-owned chemical company and when the family fled the country in the nineteen eighties during the Iran-Iraq war, they first settled in Houston where employers welcomed the senior Amin-Jahaveri’s experience. Houston in the 80s was dominated by the petrochemicals industry and […]

I am a US citizen who has lived in the UK for nearly 20 years

It’s time for unloved UK equities to take their place in investors’ portfolios

The UK is entering a new world, going its own way while superpowers dominate

After blundering, the government must admit that the lockdown will not be over in three weeks

Ali Amin-Javaheri grew up in the chemicals business. His father had worked for Iran’s state-owned chemical company and when the family fled the country in the nineteen eighties during the Iran-Iraq war, they first settled in Houston where employers welcomed the senior Amin-Jahaveri’s experience. Houston in the 80s was dominated by the petrochemicals industry and […]

When I first met Bustle Digital Group’s Jason Wagenheim, New York City was just beginning to go into lockdown. The BDG offices were empty thanks to the company’s newly instituted work-from-home policy, but it still seemed reasonable to meet in-person to learn more about BDG’s broader vision. At the time, Wagenheim — a former Fusion […]

President Lukashenko under fire from neighbouring countries for lax approach to pandemic

M&A activity has generally slowed down in the weeks since the novel coronavirus took a grip on the world, but there have been some pockets of activity in the tech industry when the price is right or when the divestment/acquisition just makes sense. The world of messaging brings us the latest development in that theme: SAP, […]

After years of working in mobile advertising, founder Niles Lichtenstein discovered a box of records from his late father. That compelled him to start putting together memories and online histories earlier, by documenting his mother’s life history and how he first met his wife. That developed into an interactive timeline where he collected songs from […]

The UK needs a hard-headed assessment of how to safeguard the national interest

Boris Johnson stood up to Washington over Huawei, but he badly needs a US trade deal

We’re not letting this pandemic disrupt Disrupt SF 2020. Like any determined early-stage startup founder, we’re adapting and moving forward. Can’t join us in person on September 14-16? No problem. Take advantage of Digital Startup Alley, a completely new way to disrupt. Place your startup in front of influential movers and shakers and keep your […]

Conflicting pressures between health and preventing economic ruin divide country as it emerges from lockdown

Early-stage companies often have trouble dealing with the amount of data that can run through the organization, especially as it grows. Large sums are spent on data software, dislocated data, dealing with data pipelines. All of which involve data warehousing, cleaning tools and a visualization platform. Count is a startup that is an attempt to […]

VC fund Runa Capital was launched with $135 million in 2010, and is perhaps best known for its investment into NGINX, which powers many web sites today. In more recent years it has participated or led investments into startups such as Zipdrug ($10.8 million); Rollbar this year ($11 million); and Monedo (for €20 million). HQ’d […]

Private equity bid for Nichii Gakkan could set a template for future management buyouts

Japanese conglomerate expects rebound in construction industry as cities end lockdowns

We’re not letting this pandemic disrupt Disrupt SF 2020. Like any determined early-stage startup founder, we’re adapting and moving forward. Can’t join us in person on September 14-16? No problem. Take advantage of Digital Startup Alley, a completely new way to disrupt. Place your startup in front of influential movers and shakers and keep your […]

Michael Ovitz didn’t invent the idea of a talent agency, but one might argue that he perfected it. He founded the CAA in 1975, and grew it into the world’s leading talent agency, serving as chairman for 20 years. Now, Ovitz is investing in a brand new type of talent agency called Human Capital. Human […]

When I first met Bustle Digital Group’s Jason Wagenheim, New York City was just beginning to go into lockdown. The BDG offices were empty thanks to the company’s newly instituted work-from-home policy, but it still seemed reasonable to meet in-person to learn more about BDG’s broader vision. At the time, Wagenheim — a former Fusion […]