The Fed holds fire, the price of London life and the six-hour workday

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

The Fed held interest rates at record lows as concerns over an increasingly brittle global economy overshadowed evidence of a resilient US recovery. In maintaining its 0-0.25 per cent target range of the federal funds rate, the bank warned that recent turmoil in the global economy may “restrain economic activity somewhat” as well as push down inflation in the near term.

That line was among the biggest changes from July’s policy statement, and seems key to the decision. But Lex argues that this is a “discontinuous market in search of a trend”, rather than one subject to the whims of the Fed. (FT)

In the news

Germany’s migration chief quits The head of Germany’s migration office, Manfred Schmidt, has resigned “for personal reasons”, just days after he admitted he had severely underestimated this year’s refugee surge, which has led to a backlog of 250,000 asylum applications. (FT)

Fifa secretary-general suspended Jerome Valcke, right-hand man to president Sepp Blatter, has been suspended indefinitely from world football’s governing body. Mr Valcke’s suspension – the highest profile among Fifa officials to date – comes after the organisation was made aware of a “series of allegations” about him. (FT)

The battle for the living room Amazon has taken fresh aim at Apple and Google, with the unveiling of a slew of new gadgets. The updated slate of devices, which includes a 7-inch tablet priced at $50, signalled that the ecommerce company is not giving up on making its own products, despite abandoning the slow-selling Fire smartphone earlier this month. (FT)

A hazy shade of Pluto Images from Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft have captured a low-lying haze on the dwarf planet, which scientists say provides further evidence of the equivalent of Earth’s water cycle. (BBC)

Cameron ‘living on borrowed time’ One year after the Scottish independence vote, David Cameron looks set to clash with Scottish Nationalist party leader Nicola Sturgeon about the possibility of a new plebiscite. In speeches to mark the anniversary, the UK prime minister is expected to say “time to move on,” while Ms Sturgeon will warn about the possibility of another vote. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Rugby fans The World Cup kicks off in London with England facing Fiji. Brush up on the leading teams and important issues surrounding the odd-ball game with the FT’s special report.

Food for thought

The price of London life A new study has confirmed what many Londoners have long believed: the English capital is a painfully pricey place to live and work. The research from UBS found that London is the fifth most expensive city in the world, while its workers are not among the top 10 average earners globally. (FT)

Works for us Last year, the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, introduced a six-hour day for city workers in an experiment to improve work-life balance, boost productivity and cut costs. So far,it’s worked. (Quartz)

The NHS: On life support As British hospitals face a cash crisis, how long can the funding model survive as other services are cut? (FT)

Competitive job market Authorities in India say they have been overwhelmed after receiving 2.3m applicants for 368 low-level government jobs. An official said it would take four years to interview the candidates for the positions, which require having primary school qualifications and being able to ride a bicycle. (BBC)

Covering up the gut Science to the rescue once more. Researchers in California have devised an “invisibility cloak” that can make beer bellies look like six-packs by reflecting light. (The Guardian)

Video of the day

The wait continues The Fed has passed on raising interest rates, as expected, but investors were surprised that it did little to stoke the possibility of rate rise later in the year. John Authers examines how markets reacted. (FT)