Right this moment’s agenda: Bitcoin hits $100,000; South Korea’s political disaster; UnitedHealth government shot useless; Syria’s dronemaking rebels; and HTSI’s information on the world’s greatest meals markets

Good morning. France has been plunged into political turmoil — once more. Michel Barnier has been ousted after simply three months as prime minister, the shortest French premiership because the Fifth Republic was based in 1958. President Emmanuel Macron will handle the nation later right this moment. Right here’s what to know.

How did this occur? Barnier’s fall comes right down to a contentious 2025 price range, which included €60bn in tax will increase and spending cuts to cut back France’s deficit. In a bid to push via a part of these plans, Barnier used a constitutional article that enables the federal government to cross legal guidelines with out parliamentary approval, however provided that it will possibly survive a no-confidence vote. Yesterday, Marine Le Pen’s far-right occasion teamed up with a leftist bloc to approve a movement of no confidence, toppling Barnier’s minority authorities.

What’s subsequent? Macron now has to pick one other prime minister, a activity made troublesome by a raucous parliament divided into three blocs, none of which is near having a governing majority. A year-end deadline to cross subsequent 12 months’s price range is looming, placing strain on him to maneuver rapidly. A protracted impasse might unnerve monetary markets — French borrowing prices soared final week over fears that Barnier’s price range gambit would fail. Right here’s extra on Macron’s troublesome decisions.

Aside from the French president’s televised speech this night, right here’s what else we’re retaining tabs on right this moment:

• Financial knowledge: The EU, France, Germany, Italy, UK have their development buying managers’ indices, whereas Germany additionally has knowledge on industrial orders. The US stories its commerce stability.

• Opec: The oil cartel is anticipated to lengthen manufacturing cuts when it meets right this moment.

• UK politics: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will set out a “plan for change” to reform Whitehall and persuade disgruntled voters he’s making progress.

• OSCE: The 2-day Group for Safety and Co-operation in Europe ministerial council assembly begins in Ta’ Qali, Malta.

5 extra high tales

1. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has surged above $100,000 for the primary time as buyers guess on larger political and regulatory help from Donald Trump. The president-elect has beforehand vowed to make the US “the bitcoin superpower of the world”, nominating a number of crypto fans to high roles. Since his November election victory, the value of bitcoin has climbed greater than 40 per cent.

2. South Korea’s ruling occasion has stated it can attempt to cease the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol as opposition lawmakers begin to probe the navy’s position in his try to impose martial regulation. Earlier, Yoon accepted the resignation of defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, who has been accused by members of his personal occasion of being behind the failed plot. We’ve got the newest from Seoul.

3. A senior government at UnitedHealth Group was fatally shot in Manhattan forward of the corporate’s investor occasion yesterday. A manhunt is underneath means for the person suspected of killing Brian Thompson, who had been the chief government of the group’s insurance coverage division since 2021. Right here’s extra on what officers have known as a “brazen, focused assault”.

4. Donald Trump has mentioned changing Pete Hegseth, his controversial nominee for US defence secretary, with candidates together with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in keeping with folks near the talks. Help for the Fox Information host’s affirmation amongst Senate Republicans has ebbed away in latest days with the emergence of more and more damning sexual misconduct allegations.

• Trump’s UK envoy: Warren Stephens, Trump’s decide for the Courtroom of St James’s, is a billionaire historical past buff and former Clinton backer.

5. Elon Musk’s synthetic intelligence start-up xAI has pledged to broaden its Colossus supercomputer tenfold to include greater than 1mn graphics processing models. In-built simply three months this 12 months, Colossus is believed to be the world’s largest supercomputer and is used to coach Musk’s chatbot Grok, which is much less superior and has fewer customers than ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. Learn the total story.

Be a part of our webinar subsequent Tuesday, the place trade leaders and FT consultants focus on the position of AI within the transition to web zero. Register right here totally free.

Information in-depth

Simply 5 years in the past, Syria’s jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was preventing to outlive after years of assaults by the Russian-backed Assad regime. Now, in its stronghold of Idlib province, HTS boasts a navy academy, centralised command, quickly deployable specialist models and even a neighborhood weapons manufacturing trade. Right here’s how the Islamist insurgent group grew to become a disciplined power making drones and guided missiles.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Issues of effectivity: These prizing effectivity in authorities above all else ought to do not forget that some inefficiencies are important to democracy, writes writer Guru Madhavan.

• Inexperienced management: Previous a long time have proven the US shouldn’t be a dependable companion in world local weather coverage. Now, solely China can lead on the difficulty, writes Adam Tooze.

• Tit-for-tat rivalry: With its instant retaliation to Washington’s newest tech sanctions, China has signalled a brand new willingness to confront the US.

• Ørsted’s woes: Right this moment’s Large Learn explores how the Danish group, as soon as seen as a mannequin for the way oil and fuel giants might go inexperienced, has been blown off target.

Chart of the day

Traders and advisers are getting ready for a new period of consolidation amongst smaller US lenders that might assist them fend off Wall Avenue giants. Offers had slowed to a trickle underneath Joe Biden, stymied by regulators that took a crucial view to company tie-ups. As of late September, 507 financial institution mergers had been accomplished throughout his presidency, down 44 per cent from Donald Trump’s first time period.

Take a break from the information

From Copenhagen’s glass-walled Torvehallerne to Madrid’s century-old Mercado de San Miguel, FT writers and editors have chosen the world’s greatest meals markets on this HTSI information.