Italian and French bonds meet in the middle
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 19 August 2025
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
US President Donald Trump floated the prospect of US security guarantees for Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking for options after India got hit by extremely high US tariffs, Soho House has agreed to a take-private deal, and Softbank is buying $2bn worth of Intel shares. Plus, the FT’s Leila Abboud explains why more Italian bonds are starting to look a little more like French bonds.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Trump floats US security guarantees for Ukraine in meeting with Zelenskyy
French borrowing costs close in on Italy’s as investors fret over debts
Donald Trump tariffs threaten Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ drive
Soho House agrees $2.7bn take-private deal
SoftBank to buy $2bn in Intel shares as it grows US investments
Today’s FT News Briefing was produced by Ethan Plotkin, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Kelly Garry and Gavin Kallmann. Our acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | For over 40 years, Equinoor has been an energy partner to the UK. |
| 0:04.1 | During that time, we've played our part in the switch from coal to gas, |
| 0:07.1 | and we're working hard to help the UK's energy transition. |
| 0:10.2 | We may not have all the answers yet, but we're determined to find them. |
| 0:13.5 | Equinor, an energy company, searching for better. |
| 0:16.9 | 99.6% of Equinor's energy output is oil and gas. |
| 0:20.5 | Our investment in renewables and low-carbon |
| 0:22.4 | solutions has increased from 4% in 2020 to 27% in 2024. Find out more at equinor.com. |
| 0:31.1 | Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Tuesday, August 19th, and this is your FT News briefing. |
| 0:39.0 | Donald Trump is floating security guarantees for Ukraine, and U.S. tariffs are pushing India closer to China. |
| 0:48.0 | Plus, French bonds are slipping down to Italy's level. |
| 0:52.2 | The market basically telling you that they're starting to see these two countries as of similar |
| 0:55.8 | risk profiles is just a real moment to take stock of. |
| 0:59.7 | I'm Sonia Hudson, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 1:16.3 | U.S. President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday. |
| 1:21.8 | Well, thank you very much. It's an honor to have the president of Ukraine with us. |
| 1:29.3 | Trump also met with officials from several European countries. He suggested that U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine are on the table as part of a potential peace agreement. They are first line of defense |
| 1:36.1 | because they're there. They're Europe. But we're going to help them out also. There's going to be a lot of |
| 1:40.5 | help. The Financial Times has also learned that as part of a security guarantee |
| 1:45.0 | deal, Ukraine will offer to buy $100 billion of American weapons. They would be financed by Europe. |
| 1:53.0 | When asked what kind of security guarantees Zelensky would need to make a deal, he said, |
| 1:58.6 | Everything. Really, it includes two parts. First, strong Ukrainian army. And it's a lot |
... |
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