FirstFT: Ford suspends building of EV battery plant in Michigan

Obtain free World updates

We’ll ship you a myFT Every day Digest electronic mail rounding up the newest World information each morning.

Good morning.

Ford has suspended building of a $3.5bn electrical battery manufacturing plant in Michigan, US, amid controversy over the plan and an auto staff’ strike.

The carmaker had supposed to construct batteries made with licensed know-how from China’s Up to date Amperex Expertise, or CATL, the world’s largest battery maker for electrical autos. The plant was scheduled to open in three years and make use of 2,500 staff.

However the undertaking, which was introduced in February, has attracted criticism from Republican lawmakers due to its hyperlinks to CATL. US senator Marco Rubio described it as bringing “America’s biggest geopolitical adversary into the heartland”.

The suspension was introduced on the eve of a visit by US president Joe Biden to Michigan. He plans to hitch placing auto staff on the picket line forward of a separate go to to the state by Donald Trump later this week. Right here’s extra on Ford’s abrupt choice.

Right here’s what else I’m holding tabs on at the moment:

• Markets: US authorities bonds might be in focus at the moment after yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury hit their highest degree since 2007 yesterday. Right here’s the newest on costs in Asia and Europe.

• Financial knowledge: The Convention Board will launch its shopper confidence index for September, whereas new US house gross sales and the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index of home costs in 20 massive metropolitan areas throughout America are additionally set to be launched.

• Fedspeak: US Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman will give the opening remarks on rental housing affordability at a Fed housing market discussion board.

Be a part of representatives from BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon Funding Administration at a convention about the way forward for investing in North America. The 2-day, in-person and on-line occasion begins tomorrow and you’ll register right here.

5 extra high tales

1. Unique: Russia has weathered western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, one in all Russia’s richest males has informed the Monetary Occasions. Oleg Deripaska, the founding father of main aluminium producer Rusal and its father or mother power firm En+, expressed “shock” at Russia’s resilience after a battle he thought would bankrupt the Kremlin. Right here’s the complete interview.

• Struggle in Ukraine newest: Russian air strikes have focused two grain-exporting ports on the river Danube, bordering Nato member Romania.

2. Fossil gasoline demand should fall by 1 / 4 by the tip of this decade if governments need to restrict the rise in world warming to 1.5C because the pre-industrial interval, the Worldwide Power Company has concluded in its annual evaluation of the world’s progress in the direction of reaching the UN’s 2050 web zero goal.  

3. Meta has paid £149mn to interrupt its lease on a big London growth close to Regent’s Park as massive tech teams pull again on workplace area in response to the rise in hybrid working. One property analyst estimated that Meta, the proprietor of Fb, Instagram and WhatsApp, was now proposing to sublet or give up near 1mn sq ft of workplace area in Europe, largely in London and Dublin. Meta’s choice is a part of a evaluate of its “whole world actual property footprint”.

4. Excessive-grade US corporations are piling into the convertible bond market — sometimes the protect of junk-rated issuers — as they attempt to minimise rising borrowing prices brought on by the Fed’s aggressive marketing campaign of rate of interest rises. Funding-grade debtors have bought $12bn of convertible bonds to this point this 12 months, in accordance with knowledge from Financial institution of America, thrice the typical. Right here’s extra on the report.

5. A drug by Merck has been linked to everlasting “transmissible” Covid-19 mutations. Researchers discovered that mutations had elevated after the US pharmaceutical group’s molnupiravir was launched, particularly in nations the place the remedy was extra extensively used, elevating issues concerning the effectiveness of antiviral medication to deal with Covid-19.

The Large Learn

International regulators are elevating alarm bells over a fast build-up in hedge fund bets within the $25tn US Treasury market. The so-called foundation commerce includes promoting futures and shopping for bonds and extracting beneficial properties from the small hole between the 2 devices utilizing borrowed cash. Right here’s how this might trigger probably critical issues.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Media: Many had thought Bob Iger was making ready to jettison Hulu, the streaming service when he returned to Disney. However three months on, the stage is ready for Disney to take full possession.

• Exchanges: The US is crushing Europe’s home exchanges, argues Philip Augar.

• Web zero: The inexperienced transition might be arduous on staff and contain trade-offs policymakers would fairly not speak about, writes Sarah O’Connor.

Chart of the day

World commerce volumes fell at their quickest annual tempo for nearly three years in July, in accordance with intently watched figures that sign rising rates of interest are starting to have an effect on world demand for items.

Take a break from the information 

This Is New York, the title of the Museum of the Metropolis of New York’s centennial exhibition, is concurrently giddy, sober, meticulous and dizzying, writes Ariella Budick. The museum has assembled every part from movie clips to graphic novels and images to seize the hectic nature of life within the metropolis.

Further contributions from Tee Zhuo and Benjamin Wilhelm