FirstFT: Joe Biden blames Donald Trump for sinking his Ukraine bill

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President Joe Biden blamed Donald Trump for sinking a bipartisan bill which aimed to deliver billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine along with stricter immigration policies, after Republicans signalled their opposition to the deal under pressure from the former president.

Failure to pass the bill would mean “fewer tools” for Ukraine to fight Russia’s invasion and that was “just what [Vladimir] Putin wants”, Biden said from the state dining room of the White House yesterday.

“History is watching. A failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten,” he added.

The legislation, worth $118bn and agreed on Sunday by Democratic and Republican negotiators in the Senate, could be the last chance for the Biden administration to secure new military support for Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s invasion.

A first procedural vote is expected later today in the Senate that would require the support of 60 of the chamber’s 100 senators. Here’s the latest ahead of the vote.

And here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Results: Private equity group Carlyle publishes results this morning. Media companies Walt Disney and Fox Corp also report as well as technology groups Alibaba, PayPal and Uber.

• Monetary policy: Federal Reserve board governor Adriana Kugler is at a Brookings Institution event in Washington while Michelle Bowman is scheduled to speak at a conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and St Louis, in Washington. Richmond Fed president Thomas Barkin will appear at a separate event in Washington DC.

• Economic data: Brazil’s central bank is likely to show the country’s trade balance contracted to $7.35bn in January, from $9.36bn in December. The country also releases December retail sales figures. Mexico releases consumer confidence data.

• Middle East: US secretary of state Antony Blinken is to meet Israeli leaders today, following visits to Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Qatar said yesterday it had received a “positive” response from Hamas to a proposed deal that would involve the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel

Five more top stories

1. Donald Trump cannot use presidential immunity as a shield against criminal charges over alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election, a US federal appeals court ruled yesterday. In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said he was not entitled to immunity because he was no longer president.

2. The heads of consulting giants McKinsey and BCG told US lawmakers yesterday that their employees in Saudi Arabia could face jail if the firms handed over details of their work for the country’s sovereign wealth fund without approval from the kingdom. Bob Sternfels of McKinsey and Rich Lesser of BCG had been summoned to appear before a Senate committee, along with the chief executive of smaller consultancy Teneo and the dealmaker Michael Klein. Stephen Foley and Chloe Cornish report on yesterday’s hearing.

3. A 737 Max jet left a Boeing factory missing four bolts designed to secure a door panel that blew off in mid-flight last month, according to a preliminary report by a US regulator. The National Transportation Safety Board gave the first official account yesterday of how the door plug could have fallen out of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane 16,000 feet over Oregon on January 5. Here’s more from the report.

4. Javier Milei’s libertarian party has abruptly withdrawn its sweeping reform bill from the floor of Argentina’s lower house, accusing opposition lawmakers of “betrayal” in a big setback for the president’s legislative agenda. The lower house, where Milei’s La Libertad Avanza coalition controls fewer than 15 per cent of seats, had voted to approve the base of Milei’s “omnibus bill” last Friday. But opposition lawmakers went on to reject several crucial proposals in an article-by-article vote yesterday, including an expansion of presidential powers to set some economic policies. Here’s what happens next.

5. Adam Neumann is trying to buy WeWork out of bankruptcy, claiming he has Wall Street backing to take control of the company he was ousted from after racking up billions of dollars of losses. Lawyers acting for Neumann said he was “partnering” with hedge fund Third Point. However, Third Point told the FT that it had not committed to participating in any deal.

Visual story

For two months in the spring of 2022, Mariupol was the scene of fierce fighting between Russia’s invading army and Ukraine. When Vladimir Putin’s forces finally captured the city in May, almost half of it had been destroyed. Moscow wants to show it is rebuilding and Russifying the city, but its residents suffer perilous conditions while companies profit from lucrative contracts. An FT visual investigation peels back the propaganda to show the reality of life in Russia’s new Potemkin village.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Dividends: A return to the lavish dividend days of a century ago is unlikely, writes Katie Martin, but Meta’s move to start payouts could signal an upcoming switch in investor mindset.

• ‘Meme-lord’ unveiled: The 32-year-old banker behind Litquidity, a satirical alter ego that has gained a cult-like following on Instagram, reveals his identity to the FT.

• Energy: Petrobras intends to be one of the last remaining oil producers on the planet, the Brazilian energy company’s chief executive told the Financial Times as he outlined a $100bn-plus investment plan.

Chart of the day

So-called equity long-short funds, which try to buy stocks likely to do well and bet against names set to perform poorly, have suffered nearly $150bn in client withdrawals over the past five years, underperforming the US stock market in nine out of the past 10 years. The poor performance marks a fall from grace for one of the oldest and best-known hedge fund strategies.

Take a break from the news

What do models really eat on set? Ajesh Patalay goes behind the scenes for the impressive spreads at fashion shoots, where “food is 99 per cent of the chat on set”.

Additional reporting by Tee Zhuo and Benjamin Wilhelm