Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Boiling water hitting a cool ceramic mug; gently rising steam; the first deep gulp. The simple ritual of making tea, and the act of drinking it, is one of life’s great pleasures. But is it … Read more
China’s food delivery platforms are competing to roll out social security benefits, as the government presses for improved conditions in an industry criticised in the past for harsh treatment of its bike riders and drivers. China’s largest players — Meituan and Alibaba-owned Ele.me — have both said they will expand social insurance benefits for their … Read more
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. US ports have become increasingly clogged as American consumers order record numbers of products from abroad. The port operators say only one thing can help — robots. Much of the work of unloading and processing … Read more
Supply chain visibility is a growing priority for chief executives dealing with increasingly complex and brittle logistics networks. The value of intermediate goods — those used to make other goods — traded internationally has tripled since 2000 as companies have expanded across borders, according to a McKinsey study. The Covid pandemic demonstrated how fragile some … Read more
In a vast Amazon warehouse on the outskirts of Tracy, central California, flat rectangular robots wait to be handed packages by robotic arms. The robots then scuttle away to hurl the parcels down chutes, for human workers to load into delivery trucks. “Each one is their own beast,” says Jonathan Ramey, of the robots he … Read more
Nvidia’s challengers are seizing a new opportunity to crack its dominance of artificial intelligence chips after Chinese start-up DeepSeek accelerated a shift in AI’s computing requirements. DeepSeek’s R1 and other so-called “reasoning” models, such as OpenAI’s o3 and Anthropic’s Claude 3.7, consume more computing resources than previous AI systems at the point when a user … Read more
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. For many years, the most promising potential use for self-driving technology was ride-hailing services in big cities. Tesla and Waymo are locked in fierce competition with Chinese rivals such as BYD and Baidu for the … Read more
For the residents of some of Scotland’s Orkney Islands, one of the UK’s most remote areas, receiving mail is a logistical feat. In the past two years, newcomers have joined Royal Mail’s fleet of distinctive red vans and lorries on the archipelago: aerial drones. In partnership with Royal Mail, Skyports has operated a delivery service … Read more
For Fred, a 30-year-old strategy consultant, one of the first challenges of moving to New York from London was getting used to his new Chase banking app. “Wiring people cash is clunky and you have to pay fees,” he says. “It’s a bit of a nightmare.” Revolut and Monzo, the two leading UK digital banks, … Read more
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Renewable energy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Big businesses are stepping up to buy power from new wind and solar farms in a boost to the renewables industry as cash-strapped governments come under pressure to cut subsidies. The amount of renewable electricity … Read more