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Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Tuesday, March 5th, and this is your

F.T. news briefing. Gold is looking pretty shiny these days and the European Union is

starting to really ramp up its battle against big tech.

Plus UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to cut taxes this week and the political message behind the move is clear.

I think the Conservatives would like to be able to tell a story that having dealt with

double-dition inflation they can now turn their attention to growth and that this will

be a budget which would enable them to do so.

I'm Mark Filipino and here's the news you need to start your day. The price of gold is getting close to an all-time high. It hit nearly $2,100 per Troy ounce yesterday and has been on an absolute tear for more than a year

Now gold is considered a safe haven asset

Investors turn to it during times of high volatility, so you saw it rise after

the Israel-Hamas war broke out and Chinese investors have turned to gold to avoid the local

property and stock market issues. Now just to throw a kink in all of this,

on the complete opposite end of the safety spectrum, Bitcoin is also on the cusp of hitting its all-time high.

So gold or crypto, take your pick. The European Union find Apple nearly 2 billion euros yesterday for promoting its music services over others.

Now Apple plans to appeal the decision,

but the penalty sets the stage for an expanded fight

between the block and big tech at a crucial moment.

Tech companies have until Thursday to meet a comprehensive set of rules

called the Digital Markets Act. Here to talk to me about it is Javier Espinoza who covers the

EU's digital policy. Hey Javier.

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