Economy

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldUS stocks rallied after President Donald Trump indicated that trade talks with the EU were progressing in a “positive” direction, a day after agreeing to delay his threatened 50 per cent levies on the bloc.The S&P 500 closed 2.1 per cent higher on Tuesday, with economically sensitive consumer cyclicals and technology companies among the biggest winners. All 11 of the benchmark index’s sectors ended the session in positive territory.The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 2.5 per cent. In currency markets, the dollar index rose 0.4 per cent.The moves came as data released after the market open showed US consumer confidence rebounded in May after five consecutive months of declines, and hours after Trump said on social media that he had been informed “that the EU has called to quickly establish meeting dates” with the US.“This is a positive event, and I hope that they will, FINALLY, like my same demand to China, open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America,” the president said in a post on Truth Social.Trump over the weekend agreed to delay his proposed 50 per cent tariffs on the EU and extend trade negotiations until July 9 following a conversation with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. On Friday he had attacked the EU for what he alleged were unfair trade practices. “It’s put a rocket on the negotiations and got the Europeans to respond in a much more proactive way,” said Caroline Shaw, portfolio manager at Fidelity International. “The pace of the deal seems important to the markets.”Europe’s region-wide Stoxx Europe 600 has risen 1.3 per cent this week, more than wiping out its decline on Friday after Trump’s first suggestion of the 50 per cent tariff.Germany’s Dax closed 0.8 per cent higher on Tuesday to hit a record high.“Everyone has become convinced that Trump’s tariff talk is all sound and fury that signifies nothing,” said Peter Tchir, head of macro strategy at Academy Securities.“There will be tariffs, but we’re not going to set up these massive tariffs that are going to be disastrous to the economy. We are not going to see 50 per cent levels.”A flurry of US tariff announcements beginning in early April had weighed on consumer and business sentiment across the world’s biggest economy, roiling American equity markets and dragging the dollar lower against other major currencies.But May’s consumer confidence survey, which was published on Tuesday, showed a sharp recovery in sentiment. “The rebound was already visible before the May 12 US-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at The Conference Board. “The monthly improvement was largely driven by consumer expectations as all three components of the Expectations Index — business conditions, employment prospects and future income — rose from their April lows.”Yields on US Treasuries were lower, indicating higher prices, across the spectrum of maturities. The yield on the 30-year Treasury, which has risen sharply over the past month amid fears about a ballooning US deficit, fell by 0.09 percentage points to 4.94 per cent on Tuesday.The Treasury moves followed a broader recovery in government bond prices on Tuesday after Japan said it was considering curbing its bond issuance. More

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Britain’s only two bioethanol production plants are facing closure after the UK agreed to remove tariffs on US ethanol imports under its recent trade pact with America, the industry has warned.The so-called “prosperity deal” signed with US President Donald Trump on May 8 offered US ethanol producers a 1.4bn litre tariff-free quota, equivalent to the UK’s entire annual demand for the product, which is used to make petrol greener.UK producers have been locked in talks with Sir Keir Starmer’s government over a support package to save the industry from being swamped by US imports when the current 19 per cent tariff wall is removed. Three major trade bodies reliant on UK bioethanol industry have written to business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, warning that unless ministers offer financial support the domestic industry will not survive.“If the government does not step in and provide the support that is needed by the end of June it will be too late, and the plants will inevitably close,” they said in a letter seen by the Financial Times. The industry intervention comes nearly two weeks after the Department for Business and Trade announced it was “open to discussion” over support for the plants, recognising the need for “urgent next steps”.Industry figures said the US-UK deal, which was the first to be signed with any trade partner by the Trump administration, had blindsided the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In the deal, the UK won a partial reprieve on auto tariffs when a 25 per cent tariff on imported cars was cut to 10 per cent for the first 100,000 vehicles exported, but conceded tariff-free quotas on both ethanol and 13,000 tonnes of beef. The letter from the Renewable Transport Fuel Association was also signed by the Food and Drink Federation and the Agricultural Industries Confederation, which both rely on byproducts from the plants, including carbon dioxide gas and animal feed. Bioethanol is used in the E10 blend of petrol commonly used in Britain, high-protein animal food and CO₂, which is used in the soft drinks and meatpacking industries.The trade groups warned that allowing the plants to close would leave the UK vulnerable to CO₂ shortages of the kind seen in 2018, 2021 and 2022, and send a negative signal to investors about its plans to develop a sustainable aviation fuel industry.“We’re on the verge of losing critical UK infrastructure unless the government acts swiftly. These plants need to know there will be support and very soon,” added Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of the Renewable Transport Fuel Association.“The impacts will be felt in the supermarket and at the pub because of the CO₂, by farmers in the North East whose feed wheat price will fall, by motorists and the environment, and certainly by the government in terms of its lost credibility,” she added.Bioethanol is produced primarily from local wheat, providing the country’s arable farmers with an important market, using about 1.2mn tonnes annually. The letter warned shutting the plants could cost farmers up to £200mn a year as a result of a feared price slump.The bosses of the two plants — Ensus in Wilton on Teesside, and Vivergo in Saltend, near Hull — have warned the deal posed an “existential threat” to their future. Grocery conglomerate Associated British Foods, which owns the larger Vivergo plant in East Yorkshire, cautioned on Tuesday that it would have to shut down production if the government did not intervene. “The removal of tariffs on US ethanol, combined with ongoing regulatory obstacles, has left us unable to compete on a level playing field,” said Vivergo Fuels managing director Ben Hackett in a statement. Prior to the deal, the UK’s industry was already struggling to compete against cheaper US bioethanol, which is produced primarily from maize in the corn belt states of the Midwest.The industry said it had requested both short-term financial support and regulatory changes from the government that would increase demand for bioethanol. “So far, nothing has been forthcoming,” Hackett added.The business department said it was “working closely” to understand the impact of the UK-US trade deal on the UK’s two bioethanol companies and was discussing options for support.“The business secretary has met members of the bioethanol sector and senior officials continue to consider what options may be available to support the impacted companies,” a spokesperson added. More

“I have just been informed that the E.U. has called to quickly establish meeting dates,” President Donald Trump wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform.
Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 index slightly extended gains after Trump’s comments, while U.S. markets opened broadly higher.
The U.S. president last week agreed to delay a 50% tariff imposition on the bloc until July 9.

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures at the annual National Memorial Day Observance in the Memorial Amphitheater, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., May 26, 2025.
Ken Cedeno | Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was monitoring “positive” steps in trade talks with the European Union, after he agreed to delay a 50% tariff on goods from the bloc until July 9.
“I have just been informed that the E.U. has called to quickly establish meeting dates,” Trump wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform.

“This is a positive event, and I hope that they will, FINALLY, like my same demand to China, open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America.”
Trump also said Tuesday that the EU had been “slow walking” in negotiations with the White House over a trade deal.
The sudden prospect of even greater tariffs on one of the U.S.’ biggest trade partners rattled markets when it was threatened by Trump last Friday. In a post last week, Trump said discussions with the EU were “going nowhere.”
However, sentiment turned positive on Tuesday amid hopes of a breakthrough. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X over the weekend that the EU was “ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” while European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said Monday that he had “good calls” with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 index slightly extended gains after Trump’s comments on Tuesday, last trading up 0.55% on the previous session, while U.S. markets opened broadly higher.

The 27-member alliance was hit with a 20% tariff on April 2 as part of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff strategy, which was then cut for almost all trading partners to 10% for 90 days. Concurrent U.S. duties on autos, steel and aluminum are also impacting the bloc’s exporters.
EU officials have repeatedly stressed that they want to reach a deal with the White House, but that this will not come at any cost. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, earlier this month launched a consultation on tariff countermeasures targeting U.S. imports worth 95 billion euros ($107.4 billion) if a deal is not reached.
CNBC has contacted the European Commission for comment.
On May 8, the U.S. unveiled the outline of a trade deal with the U.K., the first such agreement under the latest Trump administration, although businesses say they are awaiting further details. The deal maintains a 10% baseline tariff on U.K. imports to the U.S., suggesting other countries will face a similar rate at a minimum.
Trump has generally struck a favorable tone toward the U.K. due to its more balanced trade relationship in goods with the U.S. He has accused the EU, however — with which it has a deficit in goods — of treating the U.S. unfairly. EU-U.S. trade is roughly balanced when accounting for both goods and services, according to EU figures. More

Consumer optimism got a much-needed boost in May on hopes for trade peace between the U.S. and China, according to a survey Tuesday.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index leaped to 98.0, a 12.3-point increase from April and much better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 86.0.

Much of the positive sentiment, according to board officials, came from developments in the U.S.-China trade impasse, most notably President Donald Trump’s halting of the most severe tariffs on May 12.
“The rebound was already visible before the May 12 US-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards,” said Stephanie Guichard, the Conference Board’s senior economist for global indicators.
May’s rebound followed five straight months of declines. Consumers and investors had grown sour on economic prospects amid the intensifying trade war that Trump has launched against U.S. global trading partners, with China a particular target.
However, the two sides reached a truce in early May, marking the second major walk-back of Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs since he levied them in his April 2 “liberation day” announcement.
Other board sentiment indicators also increased.

The present situation index increased to 135.9, up 4.8 points, and the expectations index posted a major surge to 72.8, a 17.4-point gain. Investors also showed more optimism, with 44% now expecting stocks to be higher over the next 12 months, up 6.4 percentage points from April.
Views on the labor market also improved, with 19.2% of respondents expecting more jobs to be available in the next six months, compared with 13.9% in April. At the same time, 26.6% expect fewer jobs, down from 32.4%. However, the level of respondents saying jobs were “plentiful” edged higher to just 31.8%, while those saying employment was “hard to get” increased to 18.6%, up 1.1 percentage points.
Survey officials said sentiment improved across age, income and political affiliation, though noting that the “strongest improvements” came from Republicans.

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Bulgaria says it is back on track to join the Eurozone in 2026, after repeated delays because of political turmoil and failing to meet inflation targets.Sofia’s adoption of the euro was postponed last year when inflation exceeded the threshold required for membership. Now that inflation has slowed to 3.5 per cent in April, Bulgaria expects the European Commission to confirm next week that the country has met the criteria required to join the euro.“We expect a positive convergence report,” said Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov last week. All new EU members who have not yet adopted the single currency have to show that they have converged with other European economies in order to join the Eurozone. They must show that inflation is under control and within 1.5 percentage points of the three Eurozone states that have the lowest inflation and meet other benchmarks, including on the stability of their currencies and economy.The commission said on Tuesday that it was concluding its assessment of Bulgaria’s convergence and it intended to adopt its report in early June. While Bulgaria did contain inflation at low levels for many years, it shot up in 2021 when Russia severed gas links to the country, and then in 2022 when Moscow conducted its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Sofia managed to bring inflation down close to the EU target of 3 per cent only early last year.Bulgaria’s accession has also been delayed by a series of caretaker and shortlived governments. It has had seven elections in less than four years since the administration of centre-right premier Boyko Borisov was ousted amid protests against endemic graft. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov: ‘The state will guarantee the security of Bulgarian consumers even after the introduction of the euro’ More

This article is an on-site version of our Chris Giles on Central Banks newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every Tuesday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newslettersAt the start of the year, Fed watchers were concerned about three threats to the central bank in 2025: that Donald Trump would impose stagflationary tariffs, execute an inflationary fiscal policy and undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve. He did the lot.But last Thursday, the US Supreme Court all but removed one of the threats hanging over the Fed. In an emergency ruling, a majority on the court decided that Gwynne Wilcox — who was fired without cause by Trump from the National Labor Relations Board in January — will stay out of her former job while the case goes through the lower courts. The Supreme Court also indicated that it was minded to overturn 90 years of precedent by ruling that it was unconstitutional for Congress to create positions on similar boards in which officials are protected from being fired, barring cases of serious misconduct. It was all sounding pretty bad for the Fed’s governors, who have exactly these protections written in law by Congress. Then the Supreme Court’s majority executed a handbrake turn in its reasoning. Even though US central bankers have exactly the same protections, they are employed by “a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity”, so different rules will apply. That is bad news for Wilcox and other public officials fired by Trump, but good news for Jay Powell and other Fed governors. The ruling did not make a lot of logical sense, as the protections are identical. This is what Lev Menand at Columbia Law School told the FT, and was also the position of the three dissenting justices. But what you, me, Menand or the minority in the court might think frankly does not matter — because the majority on the Supreme Court decides. Powell is safe; other US officials are not. Powell then celebrated his new security with a ballsy rendition of the UK’s first world war recruitment poster, “Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?” Praising American universities as “a crucial national asset” at a time when the administration is attacking them, he told Princeton graduates to fight for US democracy. “When you look back in 50 years, you will want to know that you have done whatever it takes to preserve and strengthen our democracy, and bring us ever closer to the founders’ timeless ideals,” Powell said.That leaves two out of three risks Fed officials’ jobs might be safe, but their reputations still depend on their response to the tariff and budgetary threats hanging over the US economy. I will come back to the specifics of these as policy becomes clearer in the coming weeks, but it is worth documenting how markets and analysts have changed their views on likely Fed monetary policy over the past month. At the start of May, the stagflationary risks from tariffs dominated. There were fears that very steep tariff increases would slow the US economy to a crawl and force the Fed to ease monetary policy, even if inflation was rising. Despite Friday’s presidential outburst — when Trump threatened higher tariffs on imports of iPhones and goods from the EU — the emerging view is that an expansionary budget and less severe tariffs removed some of the recessionary threat that would have forced interest rates down. As the chart shows, market expectations of future US interest rates are now significantly higher along the curve by around 0.5 percentage points. Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.The market’s view is that the Fed will be slower in cutting rates, but that the projected level at the end of 2026 will be roughly the same as it was in early April. If I instead chart the market forward rates for the end of 2025 and the end of 2026, it is clear that in May, there was a growing realisation that the Fed will want to wait and see before changing interest rates. The FT’s Monetary Policy Radar has taken the view since April that a sensible central scenario would see no US rate cuts at all in 2025, with an alternative scenario containing a significant loosening of policy. We judge the risks of each to be pretty similar. Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.What is going on with UK inflation?Last week, UK inflation figures for April brought difficult headlines for the Bank of England. Annual headline inflation was up from 2.6 per cent in March to 3.5 per cent in April, with far from all the action being in energy prices. Core inflation rose from 3.4 per cent to 3.8 per cent. Everyone knew inflation would rise, because there were significant increases in gas and electricity tariffs already announced in February. There were also specific tax increases, such as vehicle excise duties, and the likelihood of higher airfares because Easter was later in 2025. But the actual figures exceeded the 3.3 per cent increase expected by analysts and the 3.4 per cent expected by the BoE itself. With the benefit of hindsight, it appears that the bigger problem lay in the forecasts rather than in a nasty surprise in the data. More than the rise in overall inflation can be accounted for by gas and electricity prices, vehicle excise duties and a 27 per cent rise in air fares. These are all one-offs, and airfares are likely to fall back in May.The BoE has a supercore services inflation which excludes indexed and volatile components, rents and foreign holidays. I calculate it fell from 4.4 per cent in March to 4.2 per cent in April. This is a good measure to use when you know there are volatile components in the data (which forced even the FT core measure of inflation higher). So, April was not quite as awful as it first seemed. That said, there is no doubt that UK disinflation has slowed, as the chart below shows, when looking at two measures that really try to get at the persistent nature of price movements. There is a balanced debate on the Monetary Policy Committee between those who worry the slowdown in disinflation highlights a deeper problem and those who think it is merely a pause.Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.The April data also illustrated the need for a common and official measure of inflation adjusted for seasonal effects such as a late Easter. Everyone — including us at the FT — is producing their own seasonally adjusted series, so inevitably there is no shared truth to guide the debate.The good news is that the Office for National Statistics recognises this is problematic, will consult on the matter over the summer and hopes to be ready to publish next March. At the excellent UK Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence conference last week (disclaimer: I am on its advisory board), Huw Dixon and Monica George Michail presented their analysis of the feasibility of seasonally adjusting UK inflation data. Read their excellent paper if you want the details. But the summary is that seasonal adjustment is clearly possible, although as the chart below shows, seasonal patterns in pricing do change over time. That means the seasonally adjusted data will get revised — and the most problematic monthly inflation numbers, unfortunately, are almost always the most recent.Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.What I’ve been reading and watchingA chart that mattersIf you are prone to worrying about persistence in inflation, the chart below provides just the shock you crave. Joseph Gagnon at the Peterson Institute and Steven Kamin of the American Enterprise Institute have discovered a cross-country relationship between historic inflation and recent price rises. Countries that suffered high inflation in the 2000s had higher pandemic-era inflation. This is not just a “proximity to Russia” relationship, and I have improved on the authors’ estimates by including the latest data below. It appears that central banks’ promises to keep inflation under control are less credible in countries that have experienced high inflation, even in the distant past. To the extent this relationship is causal and holds, future policymakers are in for a pretty rough ride. Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.Central Banks is edited by Harvey NriapiaRecommended newsletters for you Free Lunch — Your guide to the global economic policy debate. Sign up hereThe Lex Newsletter — Lex, our investment column, breaks down the week’s key themes, with analysis by award-winning writers. Sign up here More

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The European Central Bank should pause further interest rate cuts until at least September, one of its most hawkish policymakers has said, warning that “we should keep our powder dry” given the simmering EU-US trade war.Austrian central bank governor Robert Holzmann told the Financial Times he saw “no reason” for the ECB to lower rates at its June and July meetings. “Moving [interest rates] further south would be more risky than staying where we are and waiting until September,” Holzmann said, arguing that a further rate cut at this stage was likely to have “no effect” on economic activity in the Eurozone. Holzmann’s hawkish comments point to disagreement among ECB rate setters, as they weigh how to approach Donald Trump’s trade war ahead of their next meeting on June 5. The US president last week threatened to impose 50 per cent tariffs on imports from the EU from June 1 but has since agreed to delay until July 9 to allow time for talks with the bloc. Fellow ECB hawk Isabel Schnabel warned earlier this month that the trade conflict could fuel inflation and limit the central bank’s room for manoeuvre. In contrast, Belgium’s central bank governor Pierre Wunsch — previously also known for his hawkish views — earlier this month called for the ECB to be ready to cut rates to “slightly below” 2 per cent this year. Both Wunsch and Schnabel spoke before Trump issued his 50 per cent tariff threat on Friday, which marked a significant escalation in the trade feud.Policymakers in Frankfurt have lowered their key deposit facility rate seven times since last June, bringing it down from 4 per cent to 2.25 per cent at their previous meeting in April. Given that Eurozone inflation is hovering close to the ECB’s medium-term target of 2 per cent while growth forecasts are bleak, investors and analysts expect another quarter-point cut at the central bank’s June meeting. Markets have also priced in at least one further cut later this year. Holzmann argued that economic activity in the currency area was being held back by “extreme uncertainty” rather than restrictive monetary policy. “Key economic decisions by market participants are delayed and not taken. [ . . . ] People want to wait.” In such a context, a reduction in interest rates would not do much — if anything, he argued.The Austrian central bank governor, whose term will expire later this year, also said that borrowing costs in the euro area have come down so much over the past year that they were no longer slowing down economic activity and were potentially even stimulating growth. He views the “neutral” rate of interest — where borrowing costs are doing neither — at somewhere between 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent. “Most if not all of the recent estimates on [the neutral rate of interest] for Europe point to quite a strong increase since the beginning of the year 2022. We are already at least at the neutral level.”Germany’s planned €1tn debt-funded spending plans were another reason for the ECB to maintain “a steady hand”, Holzmann said. If implemented by Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, they should boost economic growth in the currency area. Holzmann described Merz’s plan as “a fiscal shock to Europe, which will help us to turn the current development around”.While Holzmann acknowledged that “many” of the 25 other members of the ECB governing council were “a bit” more dovish than him, he stressed that he did not feel “isolated at all”, arguing that “a number of people” on the decision making body were also “sceptical” about additional interest rate cuts.   More

This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters hereGood morning and welcome to FirstFT. Here’s what is on today’s agenda:Greenland says it will turn to China if the US and EU shun its mining sectorEuropean companies hail Japan’s embrace of non-US defence dealsToyota mounts software challenge to Tesla and Chinese rivalsThe rise of robot dogs We begin with an exclusive story on EU regulators planning their first stress test to look for vulnerabilities in the financial system outside banks. The move reflects fears about the rapid growth of less regulated groups such as hedge funds and private equity.What are regulators proposing? European authorities plan to examine the impact on the wider financial system of a potential market crisis, including pension funds and insurers. Officials at the EU’s main financial watchdogs are still discussing the details of such a system-wide stress test of non-bank institutions, but they are optimistic that it could be launched next year, according to two people involved in the talks. The plans follow a similar exercise by the Bank of England last year.Why does it matter? Since the 2008 financial crisis, the provision of loans has shifted from banks’ balance sheets towards other firms that behave like traditional lenders but are more lightly regulated. Supervisors are growing increasingly concerned about the opacity and potential risks these firms could present. The plans for a stress test would probably raise serious concerns among hedge funds, private credit groups and money market funds that they could be subjected to greater scrutiny and restrictions by European regulators in the future. Read the full story.Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:EU: The General Affairs Council meets in Brussels. The agenda includes Spain’s request to recognise Catalan, Basque and Galician as official languages of the bloc.Canada: King Charles addresses the state opening of parliament in Ottawa, the first time a reigning monarch has conducted this duty in person in 50 years.Economic data: The Conference Board releases its US consumer confidence index.Results: US car parts retailer AutoZone reports results.Join Financial Times experts tomorrow to get clear-sighted analysis of the most consequential geopolitical rivalry of our time: the US-China showdown. Register for the webinar now and put questions to our panel.Five more top stories1. US and European mining companies need to hurry up and invest in Greenland, otherwise it will have to look elsewhere for help exploiting its minerals, including from China, the Arctic territory’s business minister has warned. Nuuk would prefer to work with “allies and like-minded partners”, but Greenland was “having a difficult time finding our footing” in the changing nature of the western alliance, the minister added.2. European defence companies say Japan has accelerated its opening to non-American suppliers of military equipment since the election of US President Donald Trump. Tokyo’s increasing willingness to look beyond its traditional defence partner for procurement comes after Trump rattled US allies by raising questions about Washington’s commitment to joint defence.3. Toyota has promised to install a homegrown operating system within its best-selling RAV4 sport utility vehicle by next March, in a bid by the world’s largest carmaker to catch up with Tesla and Chinese rivals’ software lead.4. Several EU governments have signalled they want a quick deal with the US to head off Donald Trump’s threat of 50 per cent tariffs on the bloc, urging the European Commission to keep talking to Washington rather than taking the path of confrontation.5. Police said a 53-year-old man has been arrested after a car collided with crowds at Liverpool Football Club’s Premier League victory parade. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the scenes emerging from the incident as “appalling”. Here are more details.News in-depth© FT montage/Getty ImagesGermany’s efforts to swell the ranks of its armed forces have hit a snag as the country has lost contact with almost 1mn potential reservists due to strict data protection laws, its reservists’ association has said. The setback comes as Berlin seeks a stronger role in European defence and security. We’re also reading . . . ‘Task discretion’ decline: Digital productivity tools may sap employees’ sense of control of their work and reduce scope for trying new ways of doing things, writes Sarah O’Connor.US-South Korea: Trade tensions are building, the military alliance is under pressure and Korean domestic politics are fraught. Can Seoul negotiate a way out?Eurozone bonds? The EU now has a unique chance to capitalise on investor doubts about the US and promote the euro as a reserve currency, writes Marieke Blom, chief economist at ING.Nick Candy, the treasurer of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, has racked up more than £100mn of financial losses after the property developer’s Luxembourg-based investment portfolio backed a number of failed ventures, including an augmented reality start-up and a high fashion house, an FT analysis found.Chart of the dayFour of Europe’s oldest industrial groups, Schneider Electric, Siemens AG, ABB and Legrand, have added more than €150bn to their market caps on the back of soaring demand for data centres driven by the boom in artificial intelligence since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.Take a break from the newsRobot dogs are multiplying fast around the world, metamorphosing from amusing playthings to trusted companions deployed in a wide range of terrains from production plants to battlefields. Michael Peel takes a look at the growing use of caninoids as part of the FT’s special report on robotics.© Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty ImagesAdditional contributions from Irwin Cruz and Benjamin Wilhelm More