Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to start negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, sweeping aside three years of US policy and blindsiding European allies who feared the more conciliatory American stance amounted to a giveaway to the Russian leader.

(2) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the latest consumer price data show that while the central bank has made substantial progress toward taming inflation, there is still more work to do.

(3) European Union trade chief Maros Sefcovic spoke with three top members of US President Donald Trump’s incoming administration on how to find a solution to the brewing transatlantic trade dispute.

(4)French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou survived another no-confidence vote Wednesday, clearing a key political hurdle toward implementing a delayed 2025 budget.

(5) Prime Minister Keir Starmer has lost the support of wealthy voters who helped his Labour Party secure a historic majority in last year’s UK general election, according to a new survey that lays bare the seven month-old government’s waning popularity.

(6) London-based Qube Research & Technologies has grown into a $23 billion trading powerhouse in just seven years, with a distinct approach that shuns star culture and emphasizes teamwork, and has achieved returns that make those of established hedge funds look mediocre.

 

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