BUSINES

How Joel Kaplan became Mark Zuckerberg’s most trusted political fixer

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When Mark Zuckerberg announced his “free speech” overhaul to Meta’s content moderation in January, the unexpected pivot was the culmination of months of planning with a tight-knit inner circle driven by one key adviser: Republican lobbyist Joel Kaplan.  According to interviews with multiple current and former Meta employees, Kaplan has risen over the past decade … Read more

D-Wave claims to have reached ‘quantum supremacy’ after costly 25-year pursuit

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. D-Wave said it had crossed a critical threshold that would lead to the first practical uses of quantum computing, potentially bringing a pay-off for the controversial technical path it has followed for 25 years at … Read more

New Intel chief cheered by investors after board sought alternatives

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Intel’s decision to hire a little-known semiconductor dealmaker as its chief executive has cheered investors who want an outsider to turn around the troubled chipmaker.  The US group announced on Wednesday that Lip-Bu Tan, who joined Intel’s board in 2022 but resigned last year, had been chosen to replace Pat Gelsinger. Wall Street welcomed the … Read more

Spotify cranks up the profit dial

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Spotify has found its groove. News this week that the Swedish music streaming service had paid more than $10bn in royalties last year highlight just how big it has become — and how much more … Read more

Will AI save the UK government £45bn a year?

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Artificial intelligence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Sir Keir Starmer declared this week that the digitisation of government services could achieve up to £45bn in savings and productivity benefits annually across the public sector. The UK prime minister arrived at that total … Read more

US multinationals purge website references to climate change

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Big companies and non-profit groups have begun purging or rewriting references to climate change on their websites, mirroring similar action by US government departments in response to the policies of Donald Trump. Financial Times analysis shows that statements on climate change from leading corporations including Walmart and Kraft Heinz have been deleted or rewritten over … Read more

Trump tariffs are proving ‘big headache’ for tech giants, says Foxconn

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Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world The US government’s tariff announcements have become a “big headache” for technology companies such as iPhone maker Apple and cloud service provider Amazon, their manufacturing partner Foxconn said on Friday, in a rare … Read more

Banks’ climate climbdowns show limits of stakeholder capitalism

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The backlash against corporate environmentalism may have its roots in the US, but its tendrils have started creeping across the Atlantic. As a result, some financial companies that previously seemed keen to tackle social problems … Read more