The Conservatives secure the biggest majority in parliament since Margaret Thatcher with Labour's 'red wall' crumbling; stocks in London surge while the pound has soared more than 2 per cent in its sharpest rally in nearly three years

A live blog from FT.com

Sterling has taken a beating in the currency markets, falling to a fresh two-year low against the US dollar on Tuesday. Michael Hunter discusses why this has happened and who will be affected with Katie Martin, the FT's capital markets editor.

Contributors: Michael Hunter, markets reporter, and Katie Martin, capital markets editor. Producer: Fiona Symon

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US allegations that China is manipulating its currency burst into the open again this week when the renminbi was allowed to fall below seven to the dollar for the first time since 2008. Josh Noble discusses this latest front in the US-China trade dispute and its implications for investors and the global economy with Don Weinland, Beijing financial correspondent, and Michael MacKenzie, senior investment commentator.

Contributors: Josh Noble, weekend news editor, Don Weinland, Beijing financial correspondent, and Michael MacKenzie, senior investment correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Iranian military leader and commander of the Quds Forces, Qassem Soleimani, was killed on the 3rd of January in a targeted US air strike at Baghdad airport, Iraq. What did Soleimani mean to Iranians and why did the US order the airstrike that killed him? Najmeh Bozorgmehr discusses the story with Andrew England.

Contributors: Andrew England, Middle East editor and Najmeh Bozorgmehr, Tehran correspondent. Producer: Persis Love

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Consumers seeking quick cash unload designer bags, jewellery and luxury watches

A live blog from FT.com

Italy to lay out strategy this week on its plans to ease Covid-19 restrictions. Global stocks under pressure as oil tumbles again. England and Wales record 75 per cent more weekly overall deaths than normal.

Number of global cases of Covid-19 nears 2.5m, international oil prices tumble to lowest levels since the 1990s, Heineken hit as pandemic cuts into beer drinking globally.

US job gains since financial crisis wiped out. Switzerland faces sharpest economic contraction since 1974. UK and eurozone business activity hit by historic collapse this month as lockdowns choked Europe’s biggest economies.

The number of US deaths attributed to Covid-19 surpassed 45,000 on Friday, while the rate of new cases remained flat

British fatalities rise by 813 with almost 150,000 infected; Spain prepares to ease restrictions slightly as daily deaths remain below 400

In today’s news: UK warns it would be ‘irresponsible’ to discuss easing lockdown. Spain sets out plan to lift its own tough measures. Donald Trump signals a halt to his daily media briefings as US death toll accelerates.

New daily cases of Covid-19 around the globe rose by the lowest amount in 12 days as 73,858 diagnoses were confirmed on Sunday, bringing the total to 2.93m

Deaths in England and Wales are highest on record in mid-April while cases in the US surpass 1m

The worldwide Covid-19 death toll rose by 6,365 on Tuesday, pushing the total through 200,000

Eurozone GDP in historic fall, millions more Americans file for unemployment, Shell cuts dividend for first time since second world war and UK's AstraZeneca combines with Oxford on a potential vaccine

A live blog from FT.com

Spain allows outside exercise for the first time in weeks while Russia’s daily case count rises by a fifth

The FT's live blog on the Covid-19 pandemic

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez says no other option remains but to maintain the state of alert

Russia's coronavirus outbreak worsens and Federal Reserve research finds a correlation between deaths from the influenza pandemic in 1918-1920 and extremist voting in Germany in 1932 and 1933

The US private sector shed a record 20m jobs in April as coronavirus lockdowns and the resulting closure of non-essential businesses led to historic joblessness

BT halts dividend for first time since dot com bubble two decades ago, BA parent IAG warns of further cuts as recovery set to take three years and shoemaker Puma warns worse to come as profits halve in first quarter

Germany's dominant export sector in record decline, South Korea may be forced to close bars and nightclubs after partygoer is found to have infected at least 14 people

Under lockdown, vulnerable families are imprisoned in a cage of terror, stress and abuse

Carlos Ghosn takes the stage

Traditionally dominated by big players like Adobe and Autodesk, the world of design has been flush with a newer wave of startups that are creating collaboration spaces and new cloud-based tools designed to address the needs of creatives. Today, two of those players are combining. Dribbble, an online community for designers that lets them post […]

Investors seek better-quality government bonds

Copper is well poised to make new all-time highs

I use an online stock broker to purchase shares in quoted companies 

You might not like the thought of paying tax on your pension contributions — but it’s coming 

Government clarifies report that 400,000 garments were unusable

“Capitalists both in the Old World and the States, even now, have but little faith in California. They regard this country and everything relating to it as one grand bubble, liable to burst at any moment…. This is how it should be. The wealth of California is thereby passing into the hands of young, active, […]

We knew it was going to be bad — but not necessarily “lowest level since 2013” bad. As Apple was busy reporting its earnings, Canalys just dropped some of its own figures — and they’re not pretty. After two quarters of much-needed growing, the global smartphone market just took a big hit. And you no […]

Few investors went into this crisis with a portfolio they were entirely happy with

Puppet, the Portland-based infrastructure automation company, today announced that it has named former Cloud Foundry Foundation executive director Abby Kearns as its new CTO. Current Puppet CTO Deepak Giridharagopal will remain in his role and focus on R&D and leading new projects, while Kearns will focus on expanding the company’s product portfolio and communicating with […]

1. Dhoni turns up in video with daughter, his appearance inspires memes on social media  The Indian Express
2. ‘Please do not use it’: Matthew Hayden reveals MS Dhoni’s reaction on his ‘mongoose bat’  India Gone Viral
3. Watch: MS Dhoni's New Look Sends Twitter Into A Frenzy  NDTV Tamil
4. WATCH: A grey-bearded MS Dhoni enjoys playtime with Ziva Dhoni inside his Ranchi farmhouse  DNA India
5. MS Dhoni makes fun of Suresh Raina in this priceless video posted by CSK; watch - Republic World  Republic World
6. View Full coverage on Google News

The actress, 32, looked nothing short of sensational as she attended the red carpet premiere of Downton Abbey in Leicester Square on Monday.

On Tuesday Michelle Dockery was far from the walls of the Abbey, as she promoted the new film on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She looked super chic in an all black pantsuit.

RICHARD EDEN: I can reveal the 32-year-old British actress Tuppence Middleton (pictured) has split up with her long-term boyfriend, the artist Robert Fry.

BRIAN VINER: Jesse is on the run, needing money to fund a new identity, the instinct to stay alive and ahead of the law just about overcoming the travails of post-traumatic stress disorder. It sounds grim.

JAN MOIR: Like Downton, Belgravia starts with a tragedy - only this one develops into a secret that threatens to engulf two families in scandal and could start or end a dynasty.

The Olympic champion, 70, ensured all eyes were on her in a plunging silver gown which highlighted her athletic physique on the red carpet.

Presenting the award for New Drama, which saw Chernobyl take out the win, the Friends star delighted fans with his presence, but left many surprised to see him there at all.

It appears Alison King may have indulged in one glass too many at this year's event, as she was seemingly escorted out of the ceremony at 9pm Tuesday evening.