Aurelia Butler

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Two-thirds of Republican voters say they trust Donald Trump more than any other GOP presidential candidate to manage the US economy, according to an FT-Michigan Ross survey that underscores his dominance on bread-and-butter issues a week before primary season gets under way.The findings are particularly problematic for Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who has surged in the polls to become the biggest threat to the former president.Only 8 per cent of Republican voters said she would be their choice to handle the US economy, while 67 per cent picked Trump. Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor whose floundering campaign has been overtaken by Haley in some early voting states, was the choice of 9 per cent of respondents.The Iowa caucuses on January 15 will fire the starting gun on the primary process in which Republican voters will select their party’s nominee for the White House in 2024. New Hampshire’s primary will follow a week later. The Financial Times’s polling on the economy reflects Trump’s commanding lead among Republicans in early primary race states, where he enjoys the support of about half of Iowa’s caucus-goers and 44 per cent of GOP voters in New Hampshire. DeSantis is polling in second in Iowa with 18.4 per cent, while Haley is second in New Hampshire on 25.7 per cent.On the campaign trail, Trump has touted the strength of the US economy when he was in the White House and insisted that the “next economic boom” would start the “instant” he is elected as president in November.Haley, a former ambassador to the UN who has leaned heavily on her foreign policy credentials, has sold herself as a fiscal conservative and blamed inflation on billions of dollars in federal spending by the Trump and Biden administrations. DeSantis has vowed to slash taxes if elected and proposed a single flat federal income tax for all Americans.But their pitches appear to be falling short given Trump’s overwhelming lead in the polls.You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.Haley has focused much of her campaigning efforts in New Hampshire, where independent voters make up a significant share of the Republican primary electorate. But more than a third of independents surveyed in the FT-Michigan poll said they trusted Trump the most to handle the economy, followed by Haley with just 10 per cent. Roughly a quarter of independents said they did not trust any of the Republican contenders on the economy.Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, said the findings partly reflected respondents’ greater familiarity with Trump’s economic policies than those of Haley or DeSantis.“Many Republicans and more than a few Democrats remember the economy as being better under Trump than it is now, whether or not it really was,” he added.You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.Trump has also been buoyed in recent weeks by several national polls that show him beating President Joe Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head race. Biden has staked his re-election bid in part on “Bidenomics”, an agenda rooted in billions of dollars of public investments, a focus on middle-income workers and an effort to rejuvenate parts of the rustbelt and spur investment in new manufacturing capacity.The White House has touted record numbers of jobs created under Biden, and on Friday hailed a bumper labour market report for December, saying it “confirms that 2023 was a great year for American workers”.But the president has battled persistently low approval ratings and an electorate that remains downbeat on his handling of the economy.The latest FT-Michigan Ross survey found just 38 per cent of voters said they approved of Biden’s handling of the economy compared with 60 per cent who disapproved.Eighty-five per cent of respondents named price increases as among their biggest sources of stress, followed by just over half who cited their income level, while about a quarter pointed to either rent or credit card costs. Trump has criticised Bidenomics in his stump speeches and recently blamed his likely general election opponent for an “inflation catastrophe” that was “demolishing your savings and ravaging your dreams”.“Just ask yourself, were you better off five years ago? Or are you better off today with the inflation with bacon that costs you four times higher than you would have had to pay a little while ago?” Trump asked at a recent campaign rally in Waterloo, Iowa. “Nobody has ever seen anything like it.” Inflation has more than halved in the past year, to about 3.1 per cent in November 2023, although more than 50 per cent of survey respondents thought prices had increased by more than that rate, based on their own experience.The FT-Michigan Ross poll was conducted online by Democratic strategists Global Strategy Group and Republican polling firm North Star Opinion Research between December 28, 2023 and January 2, 2024. It reflects the opinions of 1,000 registered voters nationwide and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. More

The housing market continues to grapple with high housing costs and a scarcity of inventory, factors that are likely to persist even if the Federal Reserve reduces rates. Despite these challenges, projections suggest that the rate of new home construction, or home starts, is expected to remain steady. This could provide a measure of stability in the market, even as potential homebuyers face higher borrowing costs.The Federal Reserve’s hints at future rate cuts are based on their ongoing assessments of economic conditions. If such reductions occur, they could help ease mortgage rates from their current levels. However, the timing and impact of any such policy changes remain uncertain.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

“The law will modernize and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of tax administration and strengthen taxpayer rights and allow the government to capture as many taxpayers as possible into the tax net,” his office said in a statement.Called the “Ease of Paying Taxes Act”, the new law simplifies procedures by allowing taxpayers to electronically or manually file tax returns with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), any authorised agent bank or authorised tax software provider. The new law also allows non-residents to register for these facilities, in a bid attract foreign investors and make it easier for them to do business in the Philippines. Under the law, the tax authority is mandated to act on claims to refund taxes erroneously or illegally collected within 180-days. The threshold for mandatory issuance of receipts was raised to 500 pesos ($8.99) from 100 pesos, the law added. The number of income tax return pages was also cut to two from four previously. To speed up the process, the BIR must also craft a digitalisation roadmap to ease tax compliance especially for micro and small taxpayers, the law stated. Marcos, who was elected president in June 2022, has outlined an ambitious plan for his six-year term in office that focuses on fiscal management and infrastructure upgrades. His government wants to raise its tax effort, which is the share of tax collections to gross domestic product, to above 17% by 2028 from more than 14% currently, and sustain infrastructure spending at 5% to 6% of gross domestic product. ($1 = 55.6100 Philippine pesos) More

The investigation follows a recent press release from Mobileye on January 4, 2024, revealing preliminary financial results for FY2023 and an initial outlook for 2024. In the release, Mobileye projected a significant decrease in revenue for Q1 2024, expecting a drop of about 50% compared to Q1 2023’s revenue of $458 million. This forecast led to a sharp decline in Mobileye’s stock price, which fell by $9.75 per share, or 24%, closing at $29.97 on the same day, accompanied by unusually high trading volume.Shareholders of Mobileye who have incurred losses may be eligible for compensation through a class action lawsuit being prepared by The Rosen Law Firm. The firm is actively seeking participants for the prospective class action and has not disclosed any out-of-pocket fees or costs for joining the lawsuit, as it operates on a contingency fee basis.The Rosen Law Firm has a history of engaging in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation and has achieved significant settlements for investors, including the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. The firm’s track record and peer recognition, including a number one ranking by ISS Securities Class Action Services for the number of settlements in 2017, positions it as a notable player in the field of investor rights law.Investors in Mobileye securities who wish to learn more about the class action or join the lawsuit are encouraged to contact The Rosen Law Firm for further information. This announcement is based on a press release statement and does not serve as an endorsement of the firm’s services or a prediction of the lawsuit’s outcome.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

The company’s role in advancing AI technologies has been a major factor in its success, and it is anticipated to maintain its growth trajectory as the AI hardware market continues to expand. Nvidia’s standout performance has been a key contributor to the strong recovery of the Nasdaq Composite, which has witnessed a 43% rise following a previous downturn.The current economic climate appears to be favorable for technology investments, particularly for companies like Nvidia that are positioned for sustained growth in various high-growth sectors. This optimism is supported by controlled inflation levels and the prospect of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, creating an encouraging environment for technology stocks.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More