Good morning and welcome back. In today’s newsletter:
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Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy hold crucial talks
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Europe’s largest defence groups set for bumper returns
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Arnault family splurges on a trio of Parisian properties
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Accounting body scraps remote exams to combat cheating
We begin in Florida, where talks between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy failed to advance on a peace deal.
The latest: Trump said a breakthrough to end the war in Ukraine was “getting a lot closer”, even as his meeting with Zelenskyy yielded little tangible progress on a peace agreement.
Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Trump said he had an “excellent” discussion with Zelenskyy, adding that the duo had “made a lot of progress” towards ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The meetings marked the culmination of intense diplomacy to halt the war. While the two leaders praised each other at a press conference following the talks, they offered few specifics.
Unresolved issues: Zelenskyy said he and Trump discussed “all aspects” of a 20-point peace plan, and that they were “90 per cent” of the way towards reaching a deal. The Ukrainian president added that the military aspects of the proposal were “100 per cent agreed”, but did not provide details.
Trump cautioned that there were still “thorny” issues remaining, citing disagreements over “land”, an allusion to the deep schism between Moscow and Kyiv over possible territorial concessions. Read more on how yesterday’s talks unfolded.
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:
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Five more top stories
1. Europe’s largest defence groups are set to return close to $5bn to shareholders this year as the sector rewards investors and increases investment after a surge in global military spending following the war in Ukraine. Here are the companies with bumper returns.
2. The billionaire Arnault family has splurged almost €200mn on a trio of Parisian properties in little over a year. The transactions, which were among the top prices paid in the French capital this year, provided a boost to the city’s sluggish luxury housing market.
3. Exclusive: The world’s largest accounting body has decided to scrap remote exams to combat a rise in students cheating. From March, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants will require candidates to sit assessments in person.
4. Silicon Valley’s hottest start-ups have raised $150bn this year as their financial backers advise them to build “fortress balance sheets” to protect them in case the artificial intelligence investment boom turns to bust in 2026. George Hammond has more from San Francisco.
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Not a bubble: AI valuations may be spectacular, and a bust could come. But while there’s exuberance, there is no mania, writes Robin Harding.
5. Exclusive: A US-listed crypto venture backed by the Trump family has an auditor whose licence to practise lapsed earlier this year, as it wrestles with a crisis after failing to produce financial results. Read the full story.
The Big Read
Synthetic diamonds are powering a new quantum revolution. By inserting tiny imperfections, the precious stones can be turned into extraordinarily sensitive detectors that can be used in computing, encryption and sensors. Read more on their potential applications, from navigation to medicine.
We’re also reading . . .
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Overlooked consumers: Over 55s account for a rising share of spending but only a fraction of advertising budgets is aimed at the age group, writes Anjli Raval.
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‘Hospital at Home’: Caring for patients in the community can cut costs and lead to quicker recoveries, says the team behind the NHS scheme.
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Year in a word — Taco: The Trump administration displayed a pattern of accommodating certain countries when they pushed back on tariffs.
Chart of the day
Abu Dhabi has some of the highest levels of sovereign wealth in the world, having channelled its petrodollars into international investment and domestic development. Here are the people, funds and institutions behind the emirate’s staggering rise to riches.
Take a break from the news . . .
Economists might be underestimating the impact of side hustles. Jobs such as “social media influencer” don’t appear in labour force surveys, while how to tax gig work is a growing problem for fiscal agencies. Yet the trend is set to endure.
Read the full article here