Trump floats US security guarantees for Ukraine

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:

• Ukraine war talks in Washington

• Qantas hit with record fine

• Does HR still need humans?

• FT Business Book of the Year longlist

We start in Washington, where Donald Trump hosted Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a delegation of European leaders for crunch talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Here’s the latest news.

Trump floats security guarantees: “There’ll be a lot of help when it comes to security,” the US president said, referring to plans to bolster Ukraine’s defences in the event that the conflict with Russia is resolved. Trump also suggested he hoped to arrange a three-way meeting with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents — and said he would call Vladimir Putin following the White House summit. Here are more updates on the talks.

Ukraine’s pitch to Trump: Kyiv will promise to buy $100bn of American weapons financed by Europe as part of a deal to obtain US guarantees for its security after a peace settlement with Russia, according to a document seen by the Financial Times. Ukraine shared the proposals for new security deals with the US, which have not been previously reported, in a list of talking points with European allies ahead of the White House gathering.

A warm meeting: From the moment Trump greeted Zelenskyy yesterday, there seemed to be less personal tension between the men compared with their Oval Office bust-up in late February. The FT’s Washington bureau chief James Politi writes that the Ukrainian leader charmed Trump — with a suit and a letter to the US first lady.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Hong Kong reports July jobs figures and Malaysia publishes trade data for the month.

• China-India relations: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi is in New Delhi for talks on trade and the two countries’ disputed border in the Himalayas. (Reuters)

• Results: Woodside Energy and BHP Group report earnings.

Five more top stories

1. Qantas has been ordered to pay the largest industrial relations penalty in Australian corporate history over the illegal sacking of 1,820 workers during the coronavirus pandemic. Justice Michael Lee criticised the airline’s lack of genuine contrition over the affair, saying its apology was the “wrong kind of sorry”. 

2. Citigroup’s banking chief Vis Raghavan has accelerated a hiring spree of former JPMorgan Chase colleagues, with at least 10 senior investment bankers having now agreed to join the rival US bank. Raghavan started at Citi in June last year, and the bank’s recruitment effort has gone into overdrive since his non-solicit agreement with JPMorgan expired.

3. Israel cancelled the visas of Australian diplomats who maintain ties with the Palestinian Authority, in an escalating spat between the allies after Canberra said it would recognise a Palestinian state. The move came in response to Australia denying a visa to Simcha Rothman, a far-right ultranationalist who serves in the Israeli parliament.

4. Novo Nordisk has halved the US price of Ozempic for people who cannot access it with health insurance and offered it for home delivery as the Trump administration pushes for lower drug prices and more direct sales. The price cut comes as Novo and its main weight loss drug rival, Eli Lilly of the US, have lost $252bn in market value this year.

5. Soho House, the London club that turned exclusivity into a global business, has agreed a $2.7bn deal to be taken private by one of the biggest US hotel owners. The deal values the company’s equity at roughly $1.8bn, excluding debt, said people familiar with the matter.

The Big Read

More US companies are using artificial intelligence, with human resources departments enjoying the most savings from AI use. But as the technology transforms the nature of work, executives must resolve the tension between the need to comply with top-down corporate productivity goals and the risk that AI could hollow out vital operations.

We’re also reading . . . 

• India-Russia oil trade: India’s oil lobby is funding Putin’s war machine. That has to stop, writes Peter Navarro, White House counsellor for trade and manufacturing.

• The boss is back: As AI bites and job cuts surge, employees are losing ground, writes Brooke Masters. Will it last?

• Chinese economy: Morgan Stanley’s Chetan Ahya presents a cure for China’s deflation challenge.

Chart of the day

Investors lost billions of dollars in July betting on a handful of small US-listed Chinese stocks — such as Ostin Technology — that plunged in value shortly after being heavily promoted on social media. Analysts said the moves bore many of the hallmarks of pump and dump scams.

Take a break from the news . . . 

FT journalists have narrowed down more than 500 entries to a longlist of 16 for the best business book of the year. Among those vying for the prize are tales of geoeconomics and growth — plus a rare novel.