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The Financial Times | Briefing | August 14
Argentine peso takes another tumble
The currency has dropped for a second day as investors remained nervous over the potential return of populist policies. The country’s dollar-denominated debt was also hit.
US consumer prices spur rates debate
The costs of airline tickets and vegetables have edged July’s US consumer price index higher, fuelling the debate over how vigorously the Federal Reserve should loosen monetary policy.
Israeli tycoon Steinmetz denies bribery
Diamond mogul Beny Steinmetz has denied charges made by Swiss prosecutors in Geneva that he bribed Guinean officials to win lucrative mining licences in the west African country.
Salvini sends Gere back to Hollywood
Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has told actors Richard Gere, Antonio Banderas and Javier Bardem to take migrants “back to Hollywood” after they backed a rescue effort.
SoftBank turns to experienced hands
The tech investor has quietly assembled a team of 30 veteran executives within its Vision Fund that aims to form alliances between its start-ups and prepare them to go public.
Digital challenger banks stockpile cash
Deep-pocketed investors placing multiple bets on the sector’s growth have spurred the upstart lenders to stockpile cash at record rates in their efforts to unseat traditional deposit-taking groups.
German powerhouse awaits GDP blow
The Bundesbank has braced itself for figures expected to show a shrinking of 0.1 per cent in the second quarter, as a decade of near-uninterrupted economic growth goes into reverse.
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