FirstFT: Australia pledges to review gun laws

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

• Australia to review gun laws after yesterday’s attack in Sydney

• Conservative hardliner wins Chile’s presidency

• The elite British private school that lost its way in Singapore

• And is there such a thing as an elegant CEO exit?

We begin in Australia, where authorities have pledged to toughen the country’s firearms laws and do more to combat antisemitism after gunmen killed 15 people in an attack in Sydney at a Jewish celebration for the first night of Hanukkah.

Who were the attackers? Officials said a father and son were behind the shooting, which they were treating as terrorism. The older gunman was killed by police at Bondi Beach, the scene of the attack, while the other is in custody. Australia’s home affairs minister said the country’s intelligence service had looked at the son in 2019 due to his association with others under investigation but he was assessed as presenting no threat of violence. The father legally possessed six guns, according to police, and held a licence to use firearms for a decade.

What do we know about the victims? Authorities identified some of the victims today, including a British-born rabbi, a 10-year-old girl, a retired policeman and a Holocaust survivor. A further 27 people remain in hospital and authorities said some were in critical condition. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government’s national cabinet, including state leaders, would convene today to discuss whether stricter curbs were needed, including limits on the number of guns that can be sold to an individual and whether gun licences should be reviewed rather than issued in perpetuity. Here’s the latest on Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost three decades.

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

• Economic data: The Bank of Mexico releases the results of its December poll of private sector analysts, with updated annual forecasts for Mexico’s GDP growth, inflation, exchange rate and benchmark interest rate. Peru’s official statistics agency releases monthly economic growth data and the OECD publishes its G20 GDP growth report.

• Fed speak: Federal Reserve Board governor Stephen Miran speaks on the inflation outlook before an event hosted by Columbia University in New York while Federal Reserve Bank of New York president ‍John Williams participates in an event organised by the New Jersey Bankers Association in Jersey City.

• Ukraine talks: Ceasefire negotiations between US and European representatives and members of the Ukrainian government continue in Berlin after five hours of talks yesterday.

Five more top stories

1. Hardline conservative José Antonio Kast has won Chile’s presidential election as concern over crime and immigration propel one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries to the right. Kast will be Chile’s most rightwing president in 35 years of democracy. Here’s more on his landslide victory.

2. A Hong Kong court has found media billionaire Jimmy Lai guilty on national security charges, in the most closely watched trial since Beijing’s crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement six years ago. He faces up to life in prison. The trial has been viewed as a barometer for political and media freedoms in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

3. Roomba maker iRobot has filed for bankruptcy and will be taken over by its Chinese supplier after the company that popularised the robot vacuum cleaner fell under the weight of competition from cheaper rivals. The deal comes nearly two years after a proposed $1.5bn acquisition by Amazon fell through over competition concerns from EU regulators.

4. Chinese investment declined further last month while retail sales weakened sharply, as President Xi Jinping launched an unusually blunt attack on “reckless” government spending. Xi hit out at wasteful investment, criticising outsized development zones as well as “inflated figures” and “fake construction starts”. Read more on the Chinese leader’s comments.

• US economy: Investors looking forward to long-delayed data releases this week might have to wait longer for clarity on the state of the US economy, analysts warned.

5. Rob Reiner, the Hollywood filmmaker behind hits including This is Spinal Tap and When Harry Met Sally, and his wife have been found dead at their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles. The son of comedian Carl Reiner, Rob had his breakout acting role in the 1970s in Norman Lear’s television series All in the Family. Here’s the latest on the “apparent homicide”.

FT investigation

Former staff allege bullying, misogyny and safeguarding lapses at the Singapore branch of an elite British school, saying profit was prioritised over education and welfare. Experts warn the situation shows the risks of franchising prestigious school brands without sufficient oversight.

We’re also reading . . . 

• ‘A bubble in bubble talk’: There is no standard measure of a market bubble, writes Ruchir Sharma, who outlines the four Os that predict a crash.

• Marjorie Taylor Greene: The former Maga cheerleader represents a newly sprouted and very bothersome thorn in the president’s side, writes Jemima Kelly.

• US-EU relations: European leaders are deeply divided over how to deal with the US president’s attacks.

• ‘Stablecoin supercycle’: Some technologists believe more than 100,000 such payment systems could swamp the world within five years.

Chart of the day

The share of school-age students receiving special support for their education needs has been rising. It could be argued that this points to improved identification and care, but deeper interrogation of the data lays bare systems that frequently fail those most in need.

Take a break from the news . . . 

The importance of choreographing an orderly leadership succession has been highlighted by recent turmoil at companies such as Diageo and HSBC. Is there a right way for CEOs to quit, asks Anjli Raval.