Greek drama, rising rents and a frozen dwarf planet

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Greece’s parliament on Thursday backed a slew of fresh austerity measures demanded by the country’s creditors, clearing the way for talks to begin on a EUR86bn bailout package. But a rebellion inside the ruling coalition that saw 38 government MPs oppose the measures raises fears that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may struggle to retain control of the government and his ruling Syriza party. Ahead of the vote radical leftist demonstrators hurled petrol bombs outside parliament.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is coming under intense pressure to defend her handling of the crisis and answer the serious questions it raises for the eurozone. (FT)

In the news:

Economy oracle

Fed chair Janet Yellen made the argument for tightening monetary policy sooner rather than later on Wednesday, citing a strengthening labour market as she testifiedbefore the Senate banking committee. (FT)

Deal defender

Barack Obama forcefully defended his Iranian nuclear deal on Wednesday by saying it blocked all paths for Tehran to develop an atomic weapon and challenging critics in Congress to justify their assertions that the accord would damage US national security. (FT)

Deutsche Bank Moscow probe widens

The UK financial watchdog is in the early stages of an investigation into whether Deutsche Bank breached anti money-laundering laws for its Moscow clients. At least two other bodies around the world are also probing so-called mirror trades executed in London and Moscow by the bank. (FT)

China detains tourists

Chinese police have detained 20 tourists from South Africa, the UK and India who were passing through the northern region of Inner Mongolia on a sightseeing tour. (FT)

It’s a big day for:

The Liberal Democrats, who will announce the result of their leadership contest on Thursday. The winner must help the party recover from its worst general election result, at which it won 8 per cent of the vote and just eight seats. (FT)

Dixons Carphone, which will report results for its first full year of trading since the merger of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse. The electronic goods retailer is set to report pre-tax profit slightly above the top end of its guided range at GBP376m.

Food for thought:

Revving up

After world powers reached a historic deal with Iran to limit nuclear activity in return for lifting sanctions, many multinational companies, especially carmakers, are eyeing opportunities in the country. (FT)

World of worry

A revealing map shows what concerns people most around the world . Worry about climate change is most pronounced in Latin America, Africa, and Asia while fear of ISIS is most evident in north America, western Europe and Australia. (The Atlantic)

Frozen dwarf planet

This photo essay shows pictures of Pluto’s surface – and the images show dramatic mountain ranges as big as the Alps made from solid water ice. (Guardian)

Dynasty v shareholders

Some executives at Samsung are trying to ensure a third generation of family control at South Korea’s biggest business group. But that process has come under attack from one of the world’s most aggressive activist funds, Elliott Associates. (FT)

Rising rents

At what point and in which US cities is rent no longer affordable for young professionals? It has actually only been in the past decade that they have begun to be priced out in many areas, due to stagnant wages and rising demand. (Bloomberg)

Video of the day:

Janet Yellen signalled increasing confidence in the US economy following a “painfully slow” recovery from the financial crisis, as she made the argument to Congress for tightening policy sooner rather than later, says the FT’s US economic editor Sam Fleming.

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 rides an escalator at Tokyo’s business district. REUTERS/Yuya Shino.