Aurelia Butler

Joe Biden heaped blame on Vladimir Putin for waging a war of “choice” in Ukraine that Russia will “never” win, as the US president sought to rally the west for a long and bloody campaign to defend democracy in Kyiv. Speaking against the backdrop of Warsaw’s Royal Castle, Biden delivered a keynote speech that directly challenged claims of US belligerence made by Russia’s president earlier on Tuesday. In his own televised address, Vladimir Putin said Russia would suspend its remaining nuclear weapons treaty with the US, a move western officials said spelt the end of the post-cold war arms control regime.“The west was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today . . . this war was never a necessity, it’s a tragedy,” Biden said. “Every day the war continues is his choice.” Meanwhile, China warned western countries against “adding fuel to the fire” in Ukraine and reiterated calls for peace talks ahead of an expected visit to Moscow by Beijing’s most senior diplomat Wang Yi.The FT will hold an exclusive webinar this Thursday for subscribers to discuss the future of Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine with FT correspondents and special guests. Register here for free.Five more stories in the news1. US stocks record worst day in two months Investors were unnerved on Tuesday by economic data suggesting interest rates have further to rise after months of increases by the Federal Reserve. The blue-chip S&P 500 index ended down 2 per cent, with declines in every sector. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 2.5 per cent. Both indices had their steepest daily losses since December 15.2. HSBC boosts dividend to counter Ping An break-up pressure HSBC raised its dividend to the highest level in four years and said it might make a special payout next year, as it seeks to fend off break-up calls from its largest shareholder Ping An. The moves came as the UK and Hong Kong-listed bank reported fourth-quarter pre-tax profits almost doubled to $5.2bn.3. Vanguard chief defends pulling out of climate alliance Tim Buckley of Vanguard has defended his decision to pull the world’s second largest asset manager out of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, a coalition of 301 asset managers committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, saying the group’s “voice was being drowned out”.4. Israeli MPs vote through judicial reforms despite protests Israel’s parliament has voted to advance a bitterly contested judicial overhaul that has sparked mass protests across the country and drawn concern from US officials. Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied outside the parliament against the plans ahead of the vote, which finally took place yesterday.5. Hong Kong unveils plans to let retail investors trade crypto The territory has pushed ahead with plans to let retail investors trade cryptocurrencies as it vies with Singapore for supremacy as a digital assets hub. Under plans launched by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the industry’s two largest crypto tokens would be opened up to retail customers.Do you think Hong Kong should let retail investors trade cryptocurrencies? Tell us in our poll below.

The day aheadG20 finance summit Finance ministers of G20 countries and their central bank chiefs will begin a summit in Bengaluru today until Saturday.China foreign minister in Indonesia Qin Gang is set to hold meetings in Jakarta today for his first foreign visit since taking his post. (Jakarta Post) Federal Reserve minutes Investors will watch the release today of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its February meeting for insight into how much dissent there was over the latest decision to slow the pace of interest rate increases.Earnings Results are expected from Lloyds, Nvidia, Stellantis, Baidu, Danone, Ebay and Rio Tinto.Join us today for the Future of Business Education: Spotlight on MBA, today. Thinking about continuing your education? Sign up to MBA 101, our guide to getting into business school.What else we’re reading How long can Russia keep waging its war? To assess how long Russia can sustain its war against Ukraine, the FT examines four areas: the forces on the battlefield, Russia’s stock of munitions, the Kremlin’s economic war chest and ordinary Russians’ feelings about the war.An FT investigation has found that years of western sanctions against the Wagner group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin have failed to stop hundreds of millions of dollars flowing to the mercenary leader.

Singapore’s soaring rents dent finance hub ambitions Residential rents in the city-state have reached their highest on record, as a wave of new arrivals have pushed up prices on a limited supply of housing. The situation underscores the cost of Singapore’s campaign to replace Hong Kong as the Asian destination for money and investment.How likely is a human bird flu pandemic? Though bird flu has infected relatively few humans, its fatality rate is about 50 per cent, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Now, scientists are urging more vigorous action to reduce circulation of highly contagious H5N1 strain.China no longer viable as world’s factory, says Kyocera US curbs on China’s access to advanced technology are killing its viability as a manufacturing base for exports, according to the head of Japan’s Kyocera, as one of the world’s largest makers of chip components shifts its production elsewhere and invests heavily in facilities at home.World Bank prepares for greener mission With the departure of Donald Trump appointee David Malpass, shareholders expect the World Bank to put climate at its centre. Less wealthy nations have been pushing for better lending terms and other support to help them adapt to extreme weather. Some fear the new mission might distract from the bank’s traditional development mandate.Take a break from the newsHong Kong might not be at the forefront of environmental friendliness, but some of its leading chefs are seeking to redress that — to delicious effect. Check out five of the city’s best sustainable restaurants.

Chef Michael Smith of Hong Kong’s Moxie restaurant  © Mike Pickles | Chef Michael Smith of Hong Kong’s Moxie restaurant More

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is close to a 10th sanctions package against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and EU governments hope to reach a deal on Wednesday if they can overcome differences about a ban on Russian rubber and diamond imports, EU diplomats said.Among those the bloc is seeking to target are Russians it says are involved in the illegal deportation of some 6,000 Ukrainian children. The package, worth 11 billion euros ($11.70 billion), is also likely to include, for the first time, a ban on all exports to seven Iranian entities believed to be making items used by Russia in the war. “We were discussing today the 10th sanctions package against Russia,” Polish ambassador to the EU Andrzej Sados said after talks by ambassadors of the EU’s 27 governments in Brussels. “We will restart the discussion tomorrow afternoon in the hope that we can find a common denominator,” he said.The EU wants to have the package, including against those accused of the deportation of children, ready in time for the anniversary of the invasion on Feb. 24. “At least 34 Russian institutions are involved in systemic stealing of Ukrainian children, including the Russian children’s ombudsman,” Sados said.The U.N. refugee agency said last month Russia was giving the children Russian passports and putting them up for adoption.A U.S.-backed report this month said Russia had held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children in sites in Russian-held Crimea and Russia whose primary purpose appeared to be political re-education. Russia’s embassy in Washington said Russia accepted children who were forced to flee Ukraine.In response to the UNHCR, Russia’s foreign ministry accused its chief of being silent when children died as a result of what she said was Ukrainian shelling in the Donbas region after pro-Moscow separatists declared independence in 2014.DIAMOND TRADESados said there was some progress on setting an embargo on imports of Russian diamonds, either polished or rough, because Belgium was easing its opposition to it even though it would hurt Europe’s biggest diamond trading centre in Antwerp.But he and other diplomats said diamonds were unlikely to be part of this package because such a measure still needed to be coordinated with G7 countries, whose leaders were likely to mention the issue in a statement on Friday.Neither would the package include sanctioning Russia’s nuclear energy sector and putting Rosatom on the sanctions list, diplomats said, because several European countries, including France, buy uranium from Russia for their reactors.But the EU was close to a compromise on banning Russian synthetic rubber, diplomats said, even though Germany and Italy opposed a complete embargo which Poland and the Baltic countries are calling for. The solution could be a quota and the talks were focusing on how much could be allowed, diplomats said.The EU will also ban sales to Russia of all dual-use and electronic components used in Russian armed systems such as drones and missiles and helicopters — basically anything that can be found in Russian weapons on Ukrainian battlefields.The EU is also likely to cut more Russian banks, including the private Alfa-Bank, the online bank Tinkoff and the commercial lender Rosbank (ROSB.MM) from the global messaging system SWIFT.The EU is likely to ban Russia Today’s Arabic service from its territory and prohibit sales to Russia of electronic circuits and components, thermal cameras, radios and heavy vehicles, as well as steel and aluminium used in construction and machinery serving industrial and construction purposes.($1 = 0.9398 euros) More

The package was more modest than the 4 billion euros introduced last September as inflation took off, and the government also outlined on Tuesday how it would unwind some supports, including cuts to excise duty on petrol and diesel.The latest round includes one-off payments for pensioners, parents and social welfare recipients. The 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector – reintroduced during the COVID-19 pandemic – will now not return to 13.5% until the end of August.Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the measures would broadly be funded within the parameters of the budget already announced for 2023, leaving more “financial firepower” to act again later this year if needed thanks to the 5 billion euro, or 2% of gross national income, budget surplus recorded last year.This year’s budget included a 1.25 billion euro business energy support scheme that has so far been largely unspent, although the government expanded the scheme on Tuesday in a bid to help more businesses with higher energy bills.($1 = 0.9383 euros) More

British business activity rebounded in February after six months of declining output, pointing to resilience in the UK economy, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday. The S&P Global/Cips flash composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which tracks monthly changes in manufacturing and services activity, rose to 53 this month, up from 48.5 in January. That is the highest level in eight months and well above analyst forecasts of 49. The reading was above the neutral 50 mark, which indicates a majority of businesses reporting an expansion in activity, for the first time since July 2022. “The sun broke through in February after six months of gloom with a swift and significant jump in output for private sector business,” said John Glen, Cips chief economist.Respondents to the survey, which ran February 10-17, highlighted rising customer demand and a more positive business outlook compared with the final months of 2022, as economic uncertainty fell and inflation eased. Daniel Mahoney, UK economist at Handelsbanken, said the “much better than anticipated PMI readings could signal that forecasters are currently being too downbeat on short-term growth prospects for the UK economy”.Service providers reported a particularly strong upturn in business activity, with the index rising to 53.3, up from 48.7 in the previous month, as demand for services remained strong despite the squeeze on consumer spending.Client demand, as well as improving supply chains, also helped to boost factory production, with the manufacturing output index rising to a nine-month high of 51.6 in February. Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said Tuesday’s data “indicate encouraging resilience of the economy in the face of headwinds”. “The stress created by last autumn’s ‘mini’ Budget is also continuing to work its way out of the financial system.” The survey follows a string of encouraging official data showing that the UK economy narrowly avoided a recession in the final quarter of 2022, while inflation declined and the labour market remained resilient despite headwinds. This trend was further boosted on Tuesday when the Office for National Statistics said the public finances had registered a surprise £30bn windfall in the fiscal year to January, much of which came from higher than expected tax receipts.Sam Cooper, director of market risk solutions at Silicon Valley Bank UK, said: “The upside surprise in UK manufacturing and services PMI data is a welcome bellwether for the UK economy, particularly after public sector net borrowing showed an improvement in government finances.”According to the PMI survey, businesses’ input costs — which affect consumer price inflation — eased for the third consecutive month in February, with manufacturers registering a particularly marked slowdown in price pressures.

Headline inflation declined to 10.1 per cent in January, down from its 41-year peak of 11.1 per cent in October, the ONS said last week, boosting expectations that the Bank of England could soon stop raising interest rates.But Williamson said: “The resilience of the economy and the stickiness of the survey’s inflation gauges add to the likelihood of the BoE tightening policy further, and potentially more aggressively.” This may dampen future growth expectations and “suggests that the possibility of recession later in the year should not be ruled out”, he added. The BoE this month increased interest rates by half a percentage point to 4 per cent, a 15-year high. More