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At equinore. UK. Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Monday, April 29th, and this is your

F.T. News briefing. European Banks still in Russia are helping keep the Kremlin afloat and after a

wild week in tech earnings investors are wondering when AI will make money

plus the new US ban on non-compete agreements

has sent Wall Street scrambling.

Going forward from August, if the rule goes into effect

as planned, it affects everybody. I'm Kasha Boussallian and here's the news you need

to start your day. The biggest Western banks still in Russia paid the Kremlin over 800 million euros in taxes last year.

That's four times the amount of money they paid before the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The lenders include Rifison Bank International, Unicredit, and I-N-G, among others.

And the windfall for the Kremlin came despite promises to limit their

Russian exposure. Now it's not easy for these banks to leave the country.

For one they need approval from President Vladimir Putin, but they've also benefited from staying.

The taxes they've paid is an example of how foreign companies still inside Russia

are helping the country maintain financial stability, even in the face of Western sanctions.

All the hype around artificial intelligence this year has been a huge boon for U.S.

tech stocks.

But there's a big question lingering over companies like Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet.

When will their multi-billion dollar investment into AI actually translate into a meaningful boost to profits.

Here to talk to me about that is the FT's Richard Waters.

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