Daily briefing: Trump exposé rushed out, solar's cloudy future, crypto billionaires

A final chance to test your grasp of the stories of 2017: try our news quiz of the year.

Publishers of an explosive tell-all book about the Trump White House have brought forward its release to today, after lawyers for the president sought to stop its publication. Excerpts of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House portray Donald Trump as a reluctant, volatile and ill-informed president sitting atop a chaotic White House.

The explosive book has also prompted a bitter split between the president and former adviser Steve Bannon. Mr Trump’s threats to sue Mr Bannon, author Michael Wolff and the book’s publisher are in danger of giving the title publicity rather than delivering him a win in court, a phenomenon known as the “Streisand effect”. (FT, Atlantic)

In the news

Experts revise warning on flawed chip design
Security experts have backtracked on their warning that the only way fully to protect against hackers taking advantage of a newly revealed, pervasive flaw in chip design was to completely replace their computer systems. A team at Carnegie Mellon University, backed by the Department of Homeland Security, now advises the use of software patches, or repairs, to “mitigate” the risk of attacks, once hackers learn how to take advantage of the two vulnerabilities, dubbed Meltdown and Spectre. (FT)

Global stocks continue to hit record highs
Global stocks touched record highs for a third straight day on Thursday, with the Dow passing 25,000, as the first trading week of 2018 built on last year’s gains. The rises are prompting a renowned critic of market bubbles to warn that investors should prepare for a “melt-up”. While the investment strategist, Jeremy Grantham, had signalled a sharp change of tone in his longstanding bearish views last year, his latest forecast is his strongest statement yet on a “late bubble surge” for equities. (CNN, FT)

Korea thaw accelerates
North Korea has agreed to hold high-level talks with South Korea next week as detente between the two nations picks up pace. The talks, the first inter-Korean dialogue in more than two years, will focus on the North’s potential participation in next month’s Winter Olympics, which will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The move comes after the US agreed to suspend joint military exercises with South Korea in an attempt to avoid North Korean retaliation that could disrupt the games. (FT)

US plans to expand offshore drilling
The Trump administration is overturning a longstanding tenet of US energy policy by proposing to open a huge swath of federal waters to oil and gas drilling, a move likely to spark a drawn-out battle between oil companies, environmentalists and politicians. The interior department revealed plans to make 90 per cent of federal waters available for drilling, including areas off the coasts of Florida, California and Alaska. (FT)

. . . while its solar industry has a cloudy future
Tax reform, electricity regulation and potential new duties on imported panels are looming over the industry, threatening to disrupt the conditions that have made success possible. Already, installations have slowed for the first time in more than a decade, dropping about 22 per cent to 11.8 gigawatts last year. This year is expected to be weaker again. (FT)

Asia seen leading global wage growth in 2018
Asian workers are expected to enjoy the highest real wage growth in the world in 2018, thanks to solid growth and changes in the region’s economic structure, while their counterparts in Japan and the western advanced economies will see wage stagnation amid budding inflation. (NAR)

Turkish banker’s conviction threatens US relations
Turkey has condemned as “scandalous” the conviction of a Turkish banker for violating US sanctions, as the case threatened to further strain relations between Ankara and Washington. The Turkish foreign ministry described the judgment as “an unprecedented interference in Turkey’s internal affairs”. The fallout has the potential to stretch relations between the Nato allies to breaking point. (FT)

The day and weekend ahead

US jobs report
The labour department releases its final employment report of 2017 on Friday. US employers are on pace to add about 2m jobs during 2017. Last year is likely to be the lowest year for job creation since at least 2012, but could also be the seventh straight year that job gains topped 2m, tying a streak in the 1990s. (WSJ)

Google gets smart at CES
If Amazon and Alexa won Christmas 2017, arch rival Google’s fightback begins from Sunday in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show. The Alphabet-owned internet group will have its biggest ever presence at CES this year, as it tries to push its own virtual helper, Google Assistant, into an array of speakers, televisions, cars and household appliances. (FT)

Keep up with the important business, economic and political stories in the coming days with the FT’s Week Ahead.

What we’re reading

Afraid of falling? The Dutch have a cure
An obstacle course in Leusden is teaching students aged 65 to 94 how to navigate treacherous ground without having to worry about falling, and how to fall if they did. The Dutch, like many elsewhere, are living longer than in previous generations, often alone. As they do, courses that teach them how to fall are gaining popularity. (NYT)

China softens tone in drive for Asia influence
Beijing has rushed to secure what Chinese officials call the “strategic opportunity” arising from Mr Trump’s election victory last year, by accelerating efforts to repair long-strained relations with two traditional US allies in the region: the Philippines and Japan. The Chinese charm offensive is a carefully calculated response to growing doubts in the region about the reliability of the US, as Beijing seeks to alter the balance of power in east Asia. (FT)

Five things to watch as Brent crude oil nears $70
Brent crude oil has topped $68 a barrel for the first time since 2015 and is within touching distance of levels not seen since it plummeted from above $100 a barrel. With oil at its strongest in three years, here are the key factors to watch. (FT)

Meet the new crypto billionaires
The value of cryptocurrencies skyrocketed in 2017 to more than $600bn, minting several new billionaires. They include the current and former chief executive of Ripple, whose token called XRP gave it a market capitalisation of nearly $90bn at the start of 2018. The FT’s Alphaville has some sobering thoughts on the Ripple effect. (Forbes, FT)

Largest prime number found
Mathematicians have discovered the largest prime number yet at more than 23m digits long. The number, which has been given the catchy name M77232917, belongs to a rare group of Mersenne prime numbers and was found on Boxing Day. The record breaker is the 50th Mersenne prime discovered and is almost 1m digits longer than the previous record holder found in January 2016. (Guardian)

Identity: who are we?
For photographers in this FT Weekend series, the issues of national, racial, religious and sexual identity are personal. Their work asks, “Who am I?”, and, by extension, “Who are we?” (FT)

Video of the day

Tech groups race to fix chip design flaw
An industry-wide security hole that stems from a common flaw in chip designs could expose almost all computer users to the theft of at least some sensitive data. (FT)

Let's block ads! (Why?)