UK calls for “emergency brake” for non-Euro countries, US third-quarter growth slows and sibling rivalry to grow in China

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Britain is pressing for a so-called emergency brake to safeguard the economic interests of non-euro countries, according to European ministers and officials privately sounded out about the reform wishlist of David Cameron.

The British prime minister is hoping to negotiate a new settlement between Britain and the 27 other members of the European Union before a promised referendum by the end of 2017 on whether it will remain in the political-economic bloc. The brake mechanism would toughen up the right of non-euro countries on the verge of being overruled to delay a vote if it potentially threatened the integrity of the single market. (FT)

In the news

US third-quarter growth slows Real gross domestic product rose at a 1.5 per cent annual pace, well below the 3.9 per cent recorded for the previous period but roughly in line with Wall Street estimates. (FT)

Sibling rivalry to grow in China Beijing is to scrap its one-child policy, one of the most draconian social experiments in modern history. Henceforth all couples will be allowed to have two children, ending a three-decade rule that has courted criticism overseas and resentment at home. (FT)

South China Sea tensions rise China has lost the first round of a major legal fight with the Philippines after an international tribunal agreed to hear a case about contested islands in the resource-rich South China Sea. Manila brought the case to a court in The Hague after concluding that efforts to address assertive Chinese behaviour in the region had run their course without any resolution. (FT)

Saudi blogger wins human rights prize Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been awarded theSakharov human rights prize. Mr Badawi, author of website Free Saudi Liberals, was convicted of insulting Islam in 2012 and fined GBP175,000. He received the first 50 lashes of his sentence in January. Subsequent floggings have been postponed but in June his sentence was upheld, foreign outcry notwithstanding. (BBC)

Sepp Blatter against the world Forget about the latest corruption scandal and disregard the arrests of senior officials: there is nothing wrong with Fifa, argues the former head of the football governing body. Mr Blatter told the FT he was forced to give up power because he did not succeed in a secret plan to award the World Cup to the US. (FT)

Paul Ryan elected US Speaker The Wisconsin congressman became the 62nd leader of the US House of Representatives. He must now prove he can manage the small group of hardline conservatives whose intransigence has brought business in the House to a standstill and thrown the Republican party into chaos. (NYT)

It’s a big day for

Syria Ministers from the main outside powers involved in the civil war are set to meet in Vienna in the first major international effort to forge a diplomatic solution to the conflict since the start of 2014. Here are six key points to watch. (FT)

Food for thought

If Angela Merkel is ousted, Europe will unravel Many wonder whether the German chancellor can survive the refugee crisis. But she has been the rock of certainty for the EU, argues Philip Stephens. Without her the fractures would multiply. (FT)

Location, location, location Perhaps this is not all that matters when it comes to real estate, writes Gideon Rachman. When it comes to a geopolitical play on property, opportunity knocks in places where the fundamentals are good, even if the times are bad. (FT)

Looking through walls A team at MIT has designed a system that uses a wireless radio array to identify people through walls and react to their presence. The team says it could be used by virtual-reality video games to detect motion or to identify which rooms are occupied and adjust heating and lighting accordingly. (Ars Technica)

Scrap dealer seeks cash for lunar rover A US scrap dealer says he has a Nasa lunar rover which had been thought lost. It came to his scrap yard after its original owner bought it in aNasa auction a year earlier. (Motherboard)

Making a meal of it Restaurant owners in Paris are furious with chefs who have started catering for diners in their own homes — traditional eateries say they could be put out of business as websites put customers directly in touch with cooks. (BBC)

Video of the day

The new co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank John Cryan is restructuring the bank — Oliver Ralph and Jonathan Eley discuss the plan.

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

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Image: The Euro currency sign is seen next to the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner.