China’s most powerful weapon, the battle against Isis and the warmest year ever

This article is published in collaboration with FirstFT.

Brazil’s Petrobras scandal engulfed one of the country’s highest-profile business figures on Wednesday when André Esteves, the billionaire banker, was arrested as part of the sweeping investigation into corruption at the state-owned oil company.

The arrest of Mr Esteves, the chief executive of BTG, for allegedly attempting to obstruct the Petrobras investigation is the first time the probe has implicated a key figure in Brazil’s financial sector. (FT)

In the news

US accuses Syria of buying Isis oil Washington on Wednesday accused Damascus of buying oil from the Islamist militants and imposed sanctions on a Syrian businessman it claimed is at the centre of the trade. The announcement represents the most direct accusation yet by the US administration about the links between the Syrian regime and Isis. (FT)

A lesson for marketers Amazon has come under fire after plastering Nazi-type imagery over a subway train in New York as part of a marketing campaign for its new big budget drama, The Man in the High Castle. The badly received publicity moves are a lesson to marketers and magazine designers. But they also illustrate the intense battle for audience eyeballs in the television industry. (FT)

Private equity investors eye the Premier League English football clubs have long had a reputation as glorified money pits — playthings of Russian billionaires and vanity projects for Arab sheikhs. But in the past few weeks, a new pattern of ownership has emerged, with private equity investors taking a renewed interest in top-tier teams. (FT)

Russia continues Syrian strikes Moscow said it would keep bombing targets near the Turkish border while insisting it had no intention of escalating hostilities with Turkey following the downing of a Russian fighter jet. “We would prefer the terrorists and militants to keep further away from the Turkish border, but unfortunately they tend to be located on Syrian territory close to the Turkish border,” said a spokesperson. (FT)

The warmest year ever Global average temperatures in 2015 are likely to be the warmest ever. Data from the World Meteorological Organisation until the end of October showed this year’s temperatures running “well above” any previous 12-month period. (BBC)

It’s a big day for

The battle against Isis French President François Hollande travels to Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as he seeks to form a global coalition to take out the jihadi group. (Reuters)

Food for thought

China’s most powerful weapon Although scraps over territorial disputes and artificial islands in the South China Sea grab the headlines, it is the soft commercial tussles over trade and infrastructure projects that may prove more significant, writes the FT’s David Pilling. “The battle is on for the hearts and minds of Asia. It will be won as much by engineers as by military strategists.” (FT)

Big Walmart is watching When a group of employees at the world’s largest retailer attempted to unionise, the company sprung into action, hiring a Lockheed Martin investigation service, contacting the FBI and tracking employees prominent in the group, with even the briefest conversations reported back to headquarters. (Bloomberg)

Boots on the ground in Syria For many officials and military experts, an exercise in “more of the same” with air strikes will not be enough to weaken Isis seriously. If military planners really want to destroy Isis, they need to think about what that will require on land, they say. (FT)

Is Donald Trump a fascist? With his calls to register Muslims and shut down mosques, people across the political spectrum — from Jeb Bush advisers to liberal activists — havebegun using the word to describe the Republican frontrunner. (Slate)

Where to work if you’re priced out of London Many talented young people face an impossible dilemma: In order to thrive in their chosen career, they often need to live in London, yet their chances of being able to buy a house there are between slim and hopeless. The solution may lie in the country’s “regional hubs”. (The Guardian)

Video of the day

Osborne’s tax credit climbdown George Osborne has scrapped planned cuts to tax credits in his Autumn Statement. The FT’s political editor George Parker, CBI director of economics Rain Newton-Smith, and Seema Malhotra, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, talk to Daniel Garrahan about the implications of the statement. (FT)

Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

To keep up with the Agenda subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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: Traffic lights are seen at the Pudong financial district in Shanghai August 11, 2014. REUTERS/Carlos Barria.