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Good morning.
Shares in Boeing are tumbling ahead of the open of trading in New York after US investigators announced they had located the door that blew out of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max in the middle of a Friday flight.
The door plug — a “key component” for investigators — was located in the backyard of a Portland resident last night, according to Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, the independent US government agency responsible for investigating civil transport accidents.
The Alaska Airlines flight was carrying 171 passengers and six crew when it suffered a mid-flight accident, with a section of the fuselage torn away. All of those on board landed back safely at Portland, Oregon.
Boeing shares fell 8 per cent to $229 in pre-market trading as investors weighed the potential financial impact of the latest blow to the manufacturer. Here’s the latest on the investigation.
Go deeper: This dangerous mid-air breach is just the latest production lapse at Boeing, raising questions about the quality of its products as it strives to churn out planes faster.
Here’s what else I’m watching today.
Antony Blinken in Middle East: The US secretary of state continues his trip to the Middle East where he will discuss plans for post-conflict Gaza with regional leaders. Today he is expected to meet Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before heading to Israel.
Joe Biden: The US president will travel to South Carolina to speak about the dangers of white supremacy at a church which was the site of a 2015 mass shooting targeting Black churchgoers.
Monetary policy: Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve’s Atlanta branch, will discuss the 2024 economic outlook in the Georgia capital.
How can liberal democracies meet the challenge of mass migration? Join FT journalists Martin Wolf and Alec Russell, as well as expert guests, on January 24 at 13:00 GMT for a webinar exclusively for FT subscribers. Put your questions to our panel here and register for free here.
Five more top stories
1. A rocket carrying US hopes of returning to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years lifted off from Cape Canaveral spaceport in Florida earlier today. The first flight of the Vulcan Centaur heavy rocket built by United Launch Alliance carried the Peregrine lunar lander developed by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology. Peregrine separated from the rocket roughly 50 minutes after launch. Here’s more on the mission which is carrying the cremated remains of Star Trek screenwriter Gene Roddenberry as well as members of the cast.
2. Republican and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill yesterday reached a $1.66tn agreement on the level of US federal spending for 2024. The agreement comes less than two weeks before a budget deadline and brings Congress closer to avoiding a costly government shutdown. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, and Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House, jointly announced the agreement.
More US politics news: Defence secretary Lloyd Austin remained in hospital yesterday as he faced criticism for concealing his medical condition, even from US President Joe Biden.
3. A pile-up of bad debt threatens to sour investors’ growing optimism about the prospects for the US’s largest banks when they report fourth-quarter earnings this week. Non-performing loans — debt tied to borrowers who have not made a payment in at least the past 90 days — are expected to have risen to a combined $24.4bn in the last three months of 2023 at the four largest US lenders. That is up nearly $6bn since the end of 2022. Here’s more on what analysts are saying about this week’s bank results.
4. UK “magic circle” law firm Linklaters has hired a global managing partner of US outfit Shearman & Sterling to lead its corporate practice, as competition heats up between Britain’s elite legal advisers to gain a better foothold in America. The Linklaters hire is the latest sign of intent from a magic circle firm to try to expand its US presence. Here’s more on the hire.
5. Israel says it has successfully destroyed Hamas as an organised fighting force in northern Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces’ chief spokesperson said the military had shifted its focus to the centre and south of the battered territory in a new stage of its war against the Palestinian militant group.
Hostage’s account: Wichian Temthong, a Thai worker who was held for seven weeks in Gaza by Hamas, speaks to the Financial Times about the ordeal he went through.
The FT View: A series of incidents in the past week has brought the region to the brink, but a diplomatic solution is still worth the effort, writes the FT’s editorial board.
Today’s big read
Critics of America’s elite universities have been quick to declare that the departure of Harvard University president Claudine Gay last week was just an early victory in a very long campaign. Gay’s interim successor Alan Garber, and the Harvard Corporation, which oversees the university, must rebuild links with faculty, students, alumni, donors and politicians at a time of intense scrutiny for the 387-year-old institution. Do you think Harvard was right to sack Gay? Vote in our latest poll.
We’re also reading . . .
Democracy: As we enter a historic year of elections, engaging non-voters is vital to sustaining a healthy political system, writes Jemima Kelly.
Content creators and AI: As artificial intelligence threatens to put them out of business, content creators are fighting back against the latest iteration of surveillance capitalism, writes Rana Foroohar.
‘Attentional control’: Channelling your mental resources fully into specific tasks is a superpower that can level up your wellbeing and turbocharge your productivity, says Grace Lordan.
Chart of the day
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Two-thirds of Republican voters say they trust Donald Trump more than any other GOP presidential candidate to manage the US economy, according to the latest FT-Michigan Ross survey. The findings underscore the former president’s dominance on bread-and-butter issues a week before primary season gets under way. Read more of the survey’s findings.
Take a break from the news
Adrian Justins rounds up the best retro-inspired residential tech, from Philips Hue smart Edison bulbs to Samsung’s The Frame TV.
Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Benjamin Wilhelm
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Source: Economy - ft.com
