German bonds, US dollar bills and the good life

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Who saw that coming? Hillary Clinton on Sunday fired the starting gun on her second bid forthe US presidency, ending two years of speculation and opening another chapter in a rich political life that has already spanned more than two decades. In a low-key video message posted on her new campaign website, Mrs Clinton set her stall as a champion for everyday Americans, who would put tackling inequality and boosting opportunity for middle and low-income families at the heart of her agenda. (FT and BBC)

The New York times has deconstructed the announcement video. (NYT$)

Political strategists rate her chances highly given the absence of any strong Democratic rival – unlike 2008, where Mrs Clinton’s candidacy was swept aside by the phenomenal rise of Barack Obama. If she can win the female vote, as her campaign aims to do, the White House is hers to lose argues the FT’s Ed Luce – he notes that women vote in higher numbers than men. (FT)

In the news

No Turkish delight Turkey has recalled its envoy to the Vatican after Pope Francis described the mass killing of Armenians under Ottoman rule in WW1 as “genocide”. Armenia and many historians say up to 1.5m were killed by Ottoman forces in 1915. But Turkey has always disputed that figure and said the deaths were part of a civil conflict triggered by WW1. The row has continued to sour relations between Armenia and Turkey. (BBC)

Burdened bunds Germany’s benchmark 10-year government borrowing costs are on track to fall below zero for the first time. Yields on Bunds dropped to just 0.16 per cent on Friday, compared with 0.54 per cent at the start of the year. Negative yields would highlight the shortage of the highest-quality European government debt, caused in part by the ECB’s own buying programme. (FT)

Shareholders’ bounty Shareholders in the biggest US companies could receive a record $1tn in cash this year, as blue chips’ opt to return cash rather than invest into a lacklustre global economy. Shareholder returns exceeded $903bn in 2014, with $350bn in dividends and $553bn in buybacks, official data from S&P Dow Jones Indices show. It expects buybacks to rise at a double-digit rate this year. (FT)

Master of golf Jordan Spieth achieved victory by four shots at the Masters on Sunday, winning his first major. The 21-year-old American closed with a two-under-par 70 to match the tournament record low of 18-under 270 for 72 holes. (FT and Reuters)

Trade unbalanced China’s exports fell 15 per cent in March against a year earlier, halting the country’s positive trade momentum over the first two months of the year and raising concerns that first-quarter economic growth could come in weaker than expected. (FT)

The French treasury France’s current account deficit for February is expected to decrease from EUR0.3bn to EUR0.1bn, some rare good news for the French economy.

Food for thought

Show us the money After a campaign in the UK successfully convinced the Bank of England to put Jane Austen on the £10 note, there are calls in the US to put a female on the $20 bill . One campaign group conducted an online poll and asked people to choose which of 15 historical female leaders they would most like to see on the note – candidates included civil rights activist Rosa Parks, birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger and Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery and went on to lead other slaves to freedom. (BBC)

Tending his flock Three years ago Lake District shepherd James Rebanks began tweeting about his work as a farmer – describing and photographing the stark beauty and tough lifestyle. Today he has a book and his flock includes 45,000 Twitter followers. (BBC)

Bangladeshi woes A bitter power struggle between the ruling and opposition parties in Bangladesh has led to political violence. On the surface, the predominantly Muslim country looks like any other fast-developing economy. But Bangladeshis say a growing number of high-profile disappearances attest to signs the county is entering its worst period of political violence, state repression and lawlessness for 25 years or more. (FT)

The good life Several US colleges require all their resident students to have a job on-campus, making university education more affordable and guaranteeing plenty of experience. Amid rising student debt levels, could this system be a blueprint for others to follow? (New Yorker)

Video of the day

Hillary Clinton has begun another campaign to become US president. Polls indicate she is in a strong position, but according to her campaign this time she intends to focus on connecting more closely with voters. Megan Murphy reports from Washington.

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: A man walks past buildings near a business district. REUTERS/Nicky Loh.