Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:

(1) President Vladimir Putin refused to give Donald Trump the 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine he and his team had demanded on the path toward ending the three-year conflict. It was still good enough for the US president.

(2) Morgan Stanley is planning to cut about 2,000 employees later this month in the first major workforce reduction under Chief Executive Officer Ted Pick.

(3)  German lawmakers passed a landmark spending package, taking a major step toward unlocking hundreds of billions of euros in debt financing for defense and infrastructure and heralding the end of decades of budget austerity.

(4) The Bank of Japan signaled growing unease over the potential impact on the global economy from escalating trade tensions, while keeping its key policy rate unchanged.

(5) UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s move to cut disability benefits sets the scene for a showdown with the left of his governing Labour party as he seeks to prioritize fiscal prudence over social policy.

(6) Two NASA astronauts stuck in orbit for nine months finally returned to Earth in a SpaceX craft, capping a saga that captured international attention and deepened America’s reliance on the Elon Musk-led company.

(7) In France, rising taxes and political turmoil are having a chilling effect on the financial sector. Since last summer, international banks in Paris have quietly shelved expansion plans, after years of building its role as Europe's post-Brexit financial center.

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