Connect with us

News

Week Ahead: a run of elections while the WTO gathers in Abu Dhabi

Published

on

Week Ahead: a run of elections while the WTO gathers in Abu Dhabi

This article is an on-site version of our The Week Ahead newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every Sunday

Hello and welcome to the working week.

2024 is the year of elections and the next seven days offer us a rich crop of voting, with varying degrees of legitimacy.

On Tuesday, Israelis go to the polls for local elections. The US presidential election primary roadshow has pitched up in Michigan and later that day the voting begins. You can read more about this and other twists and turns in the Republican and Democrat campaigns from the Financial Times’s Washington reporter Steff Chávez in the US Election Countdown newsletter.

Iranians will also elect new representatives in their parliament on Friday.

Advertisement

The day before that brings another British by-election in a seat previously held by a Conservative. This one is different, however. The campaign to be the new representative of the north-west English mill town of Rochdale has become one of the most toxic in modern British political history. The all-male list from which voters will choose features two candidates ditched by their respective parties because of comments about Israel and Palestine, one sacked previously by Labour for sending sexually explicit photos to a teenager, and the firebrand George Galloway. Our UK news team will have full coverage as the result arrives.

Another evolving UK news story has been the Post Office IT scandal, and this Tuesday MPs will take evidence from former Post Office chair Henry Staunton, current chief executive Nick Read and former sub-postmasters, including campaigner Alan Bates.

This is also the week of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi. My colleague Alan Beattie will be providing insights in his latest Trade Secrets newsletter (for premium subscribers), out tomorrow. The death of global trade owing to the rise of populism and geopolitical shifts has been greatly exaggerated, but some roadblocks will definitely not get fixed this week, according to Alan. Sign up here to get Trade Secrets in your inbox each Monday.

We are approaching the end of the corporate reporting season, but you can expect a trickle of results with construction and food as the biggest themes, plus multiple central banker speeches. Another theme for this week is industry conferences with the annual mobile telecoms industry gathering at MWC in Barcelona and the Geneva International Motor Show.

One more thing . . . 

Some good news for at least the top half of the planet this week: meteorological spring is coming. And we will be getting an extra day to do something with given it’s a leap year.

Advertisement

This could be an ideal time to book a spring break — mine is going to be a long weekend in the delightful English county of Suffolk. But don’t just take my word for it, read the HTSI holiday guide.

What are your plans for the next seven days, and what do you think is worth highlighting? Email me at jonathan.moules@ft.com or, if you are reading this in your inbox, hit reply.

Key economic and company reports

Here is a more complete list of what to expect in terms of company reports and economic data this week.

Monday

  • Bank of England deputy governor Sarah Breeden opens the Bank of England Agenda for Research (BEAR) conference in London. Keynote speakers include Bo Becker, a professor at the Stockholm School of Economics, and Juliane Begenau, associate professor of finance at Stanford University.

  • Israel: interest rate announcement

  • Spain: MWC Barcelona, the world’s largest event for the mobile telecommunications industry, begins. Speakers include Vodafone chief executive Margherita Della Valle and Dell Technologies chair and CEO Michael Dell.

  • Switzerland: the 2024 Geneva International Motor Show opens, running until the weekend.

  • US: new home sales figures

  • Results: Bank of Ireland FY, Bunzl FY, Domino’s Pizza Q4, Fidelity National Information Q4, SBA Communications Q4, Zoom Q4

Tuesday

  • Bank of England deputy governor David Ramsden speaks at AFME Bond Trading, Innovation and Evolution Forum in London.

  • Germany: GfK Consumer Climate survey

  • Israel: local elections. Public holiday and financial markets closed.

  • Japan: February consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate data

  • UK: British Retail Consortium’s February Shop Price Index

  • US: January durable goods orders data

  • Results: Abrdn FY, AES Corp Q4, Agilent Technologies Q1, ASM International Q4, Bouygues FY, Coface FY, eBay Q4, Lowe’s Cos Q4, Smith & Nephew FY, Unite Group FY, Woodside Energy FY

Wednesday

  • Bank of England monetary policy committee member Catherine Mann speaks at the FT’s Future Forum online event.

  • FT Live Business of Football online conference kicks off.

  • Australia: January CPI inflation rate data

  • Germany: monthly retail sales figures

  • Hong Kong: financial secretary Paul Chan Mo-po presents the 2024-25 Budget to the Legislative Council.

  • New Zealand: RBNZ official cash rate decision

  • US: revised Q4 GDP growth figures

  • Results: Aston Martin Lagonda FY, Groupe Casino FY, Co-operative Bank FY, HP Q1, Just Eat Takeaway.com FY, Paramount Global Q4, Reckitt Benckiser FY, Salesforce Q4, St James’s Place FY, Taylor Wimpey FY, TJX Q4, Universal Health Services Q4, Universal Music Group Q4

Thursday

  • China: NBS manufacturing and non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data

  • France: Q4 GDP figures, plus February CPI and harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) inflation rate data.

  • Germany: February unemployment figures, plus CPI and HICP inflation rate data.

  • India: Q3 GDP figures

  • US: January personal spending and PCE price index data.

  • Results: Adecco FY, Air France-KLM FY, Anheuser-Busch InBev FY, CVS Group HY, Getlink FY, Haleon FY, Hammerson FY, IAG FY, London Stock Exchange Group FY, Man Group FY, Mobico FY, Ocado FY, Schroders FY, Serco FY, Weir Group FY

Friday

  • Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill speaks at Cardiff University Business School.

  • Adriana Kugler, member of Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Ford Motor Company chief executive Jim Farley, Nvidia boss Jensen Huang and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speak at Stanford University’s SIEPR Economic Summit.

  • Takeover Panel deadline for Julian Dunkerton to either announce a firm intention to bid for Superdry or say he does not intend to make an offer.

  • Brazil: Q4 GDP figures

  • Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US: S&P Global/Caixin/HCOB manufacturing PMI data

  • EU: Core February CPI and HICP inflation rate data

  • South Korea: Independence Movement Day. Financial markets closed.

  • UK: Bank of England publishes statistics for Q4 on external business of monetary financial institutions operating in the UK. Also, February Nationwide House Price Index.

  • US: University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey

  • Results: Pearson FY, Rightmove FY

World events

Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.

Monday

  • Hungary: National Assembly votes to ratify Sweden’s bid to join Nato with the vote expected to pass.

  • Kenya: sixth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) opens at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, running until Friday.

  • UAE: WTO Ministerial Conference begins in Abu Dhabi, running until Thursday.

  • Ukraine: Day of resistance to the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by Russia in 2014.

Tuesday

  • Brazil: first Brics finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in São Paulo.

  • UK: Former Post Office chair Henry Staunton, current chief executive Nick Read and former sub-postmasters, including campaigner Alan Bates, will give evidence to MPs on progress on redress to the Horizon IT scandal victims.

  • US: Michigan presidential primary elections.

Wednesday

  • Brazil: G20 finance ministers meet in São Paulo to prepare for the annual presidential summit in November.

  • UK: campaign group Liberty begins a legal challenge at London’s High Court over new police powers that broaden the definition under English Law of “serious disruption” in relation to peaceful protests.

Thursday

  • Leap Day adds an extra date to the month of February to accommodate the leap year in the Gregorian calendar.

  • UK: Rochdale by-election. Also, Keir Starmer: The Biography by Tom Baldwin is published by William Collins.

Friday

  • 70th anniversary of the first hydrogen bomb test on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

  • 40th anniversary of the UK’s National Coal Board announcing the closure of Cortonwood Colliery in South Yorkshire, triggering the 1984 miners’ strike.

  • First day of meteorological spring.

  • The UN Security Council monthly presidency rotates from Guyana to Japan.

  • Iran: parliamentary elections.

  • UK: St David’s Day, celebrating the patron saint of Wales.

  • US: latest deadline for a new funding deal to avert a partial government shutdown in Washington. Also, President Joe Biden’s son Hunter is to appear for a deposition with House Republicans for their impeachment inquiry into his father.

Saturday

Sunday

  • 100th anniversary of the Ottoman Empire ending.

  • El Salvador: municipal elections.

  • UK: annual rail fares increase comes into force.

Recommended newsletters for you

One Must-Read — The one piece of journalism you should read today. Sign up here

Advertisement

Working It — Discover the big ideas shaping today’s workplaces with a weekly newsletter from work & careers editor Isabel Berwick. Sign up here

News

Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links

Published

on

Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links

Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to give deposition Friday to a congressional committee investigating his links to Jeffrey Epstein, one day after Hillary Clinton testified before the committee and called the proceedings “partisan political theatre” and “an insult to the American people”.

During remarks before the House oversight committee, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, insisted on Thursday that she had never met Epstein.

The former Democratic president, however, flew on Epstein’s private jet several times in the early 2000s but said he never visited his island.

Clinton, who engaged in an extramarital affair while president and has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women, also appears in a photo from the recently released files, in a hot tub with Epstein and a woman whose identity is redacted.

Clinton has denied the sexual misconduct claims and was not charged with any crimes. He also has not been accused of any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.

Advertisement

Epstein visited the White House at least 17 times during the early years of Clinton’s presidency, according to White House visitor records cited in news reports. Clinton said he cut ties with him around 2005, before the disgraced financier, who died from suicide in 2019, pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor in Florida.

The House committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August. They initially refused to testify but agreed after Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt.

The Clintons asked for their depositions to be held publicly, with the former president stating that to do so behind closed doors would amount to a “kangaroo court”.

“Let’s stop the games + do this the right way: in a public hearing,” Clinton said on X earlier this month.

The committee’s chair, James Comer, did not grant their request, and the proceedings will be conducted behind closed doors with video to be released later.

Advertisement

On Thursday, Hillary Clinton’s proceedings were briefly halted after representative Lauren Boebert leaked an image of Clinton testifying.

During the full day deposition, Clinton said she had no information about Epstein and did not recall ever meeting him.

Before the deposition, Comer said it would be a long interview and that one with Bill Clinton would be “even longer”.

Continue Reading

News

Read Judge Schiltz’s Order

Published

on

Read Judge Schiltz’s Order

CASE 0:26-cv-00107-PJS-DLM

Doc. 12-1 Filed 02/26/26

Page 5 of 17

and to file a status update by 11:00 am on January 20. ECF No. 5. Respondents never provided a bond hearing and did not release Petitioner until January 21, ECF Nos. 10, 12, after failing to file an update, ECF No. 9. Further, Respondents released Petitioner subject to conditions despite the Court’s release order not providing for conditions. ECF Nos. 5, 12–13.

Abdi W. v. Trump, et al., Case No. 26-CV-00208 (KMM/SGE)

On January 21, 2026, the Court ordered Respondents, within 3 days, to either (a) complete Petitioner’s inspection and examination and file a notice confirming completion, or (b) release Petitioner immediately in Minnesota and confirm the date, time, and location of release. ECF No. 7. No notice was ever filed. The Court emailed counsel on January 27, 2026, at 10:39 am. No response was provided.

Adriana M.Y.M. v. David Easterwood, et al., Case No. 26-CV-213 (JWB/JFD)

On January 24, 2026, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and ordered Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release, or anticipated release, within 48 hours. ECF No. 12. Respondent was not released until January 30, and Respondents never disclosed the time of release, instead describing it as “early this morning.” ECF No. 16.

Estefany J.S. v. Bondi, Case No. 26-CV-216 (JWB/SGE)

On January 13, 2026, at 10:59 am, the Court ordered Respondents to file a letter by 4:00 pm confirming Petitioner’s current location. ECF No. 8. After receiving no response, the Court ordered Respondents, at 5:11 pm, to immediately confirm Petitioner’s location and, by noon on January 14, file a memorandum explaining their failure to comply with the initial order. ECF No. 9. Respondents did not file the memorandum, requiring the Court to issue another order. ECF No. 12. On January 15, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and required Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release within 48 hours. ECF No. 18. On January 20, having received no confirmation, the Court ordered Respondents to comply immediately. ECF No. 21. Respondents informed the Court that Petitioner was released in Minnesota on January 17, but did not specify the time. ECF No. 22.

5

Continue Reading

News

Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

Published

on

Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

James Hickman holds a photo montage of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP


hide caption

toggle caption

Advertisement

Nam Y. Huh/AP

CHICAGO — A line of mourners streamed through a Chicago auditorium Thursday to pay final respects to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. as cross-country memorial services began in the city the late civil rights leader called home.

The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate will lie in repose for two days at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition before events in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, where he was born.

Family members wiped away tears as the casket was brought into the stately brick building. Flowers lined the sidewalks where people waiting to enter watched a large screen playing video excerpts of Jackson’s notable speeches. Some raised their fists in solidarity.

Advertisement
The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP


hide caption

toggle caption

Nam Y. Huh/AP

Advertisement

Inside, Jackson’s children, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Rev. Al Sharpton were among those who stood by the open casket to shake hands and hug those coming to view the body of Jackson, dressed in a suit and blue shirt and tie.

“The challenge for us is that we’ve got to make sure that all he lived for was not in vain,” Sharpton told reporters. “Dr. King’s dream and Jesse Jackson’s mission now falls on our shoulders. We’ve got to stand up and keep it going.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks as Jesse Jackson Jr. listens after the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks as Jesse Jackson Jr. listens after the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP


hide caption

Advertisement

toggle caption

Nam Y. Huh/AP

Jackson died last week at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak in his later years.

Advertisement

Remembrances have already poured in from around the globe, and several U.S. states, including Minnesota, Iowa and North Carolina, are flying flags at half-staff in his honor.

But perhaps nowhere has his death been felt as strongly as in the nation’s third-largest city, where Jackson lived for decades and raised his six children, including a son who is a congressman.

Bouquets have been left outside the family’s Tudor-style home on the city’s South Side for days. Public schools have offered condolences, and city trains have used digital screens to display Jackson’s portrait and his well-known mantra, “I am Somebody!”

People wait to enter the security checkpoint for the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

People wait to enter the security checkpoint for the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP


hide caption

Advertisement

toggle caption

Nam Y. Huh/AP

His causes, both in the United States and abroad, were countless: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, job opportunities, education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

Advertisement

“We honor him, and his hard-earned legacy as a freedom fighter, philosopher, and faithful shepherd of his family and community here in Chicago,” the mayor said in a statement.

Next week, Jackson will lie in honor at the South Carolina Statehouse, followed by public services. According to Rainbow PUSH’s agenda, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to deliver remarks; however, the governor’s office said Thursday that his participation wasn’t yet confirmed. Jackson spent his childhood and started his activism in South Carolina.

Details on services in Washington have not yet been made public. However, he will not lie in honor at the United States Capitol rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.

The two weeks of events will wrap up next week with a large celebration of life gathering at a Chicago megachurch and finally, homegoing services at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Family members said the services will be open to all.

Advertisement

“Our family is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the amazing amount of support being offered by common, ordinary people who our father’s life has come into contact with,” his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said before the services began. “This is a unique opportunity to lay down some of the political rhetoric and to lay down some of the division that deeply divides our country and to reflect upon a man who brought people together.”

The family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives as Yusep Jackson wipes his eyes before public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

The family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives as Yusep Jackson wipes his eyes before public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP


hide caption

toggle caption

Advertisement

Nam Y. Huh/AP

The services included prayers from some of the city’s most well-known religious leaders, including Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich. Mourners of all ages — from toddlers in strollers to elderly people in wheelchairs — came to pay respects.

Video clips of his appearances at news conferences, the campaign trail and even “Sesame Street” also played inside the auditorium.

Claudette Redic, a retiree who lives in Chicago, said her family has respected Jackson, from backing his presidential ambitions to her son getting a scholarship from a program Jackson championed.

Advertisement

“We have generations of support,” she said. “I’m hoping we continue.”

Continue Reading

Trending