Central banks warned to be firm, Japan recession ‘an illusion’ and sovereign funds withdraw $19bn

This article is published in collaboration with First FT.

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

France’s far-right National Front party appeared on course for an important win in the first round of regional elections, which it led with more than 30 per cent of the vote.

In the first test of public opinion since the November 13 terrorist attacks, the anti-immigration party of Marine Le Pen looked set to notch up its best result since it was founded in 1972. An early count suggested the FN was ahead in eight of the country’s 13 regions. (FT)

In the news

Central banks warned to be firm. Central banks should press ahead with plans to tighten monetary policy and not let market volatility sway their judgment, the Bank for International Settlements said ahead of the expected first rate rise by the US Federal Reserve in nine years. The warning comes amid signs of growing investor alarm at the riskier end of the US corporate bond market. (FT)

Tube attack raises fear over lone wolves. The stabbing at an Underground station in east London has heightened concerns that the UK could face more “lone actor” incidents, after police said they were treating the attack as terrorism. (FT)

Japan recession ‘an illusion’. That’s the verdict from economy minister Akira Amari, who predicted that data revisions this week will turn contraction into growth. Figures just three weeks ago showed the economy shrank at an annualised 0.8 per cent in the third quarter, meeting the technical definition of a recession. But Mr Amari said he expected a revision from 0.8 per cent to zero this week. (FT)

Sovereign funds withdraw $19bn. Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf have pulled out at least $19bn from asset managers — the fastest rate on record — as they rush to boost their economies following the collapse in the price of oil. (FT)

Palestinian Authority close to collapse. US Secretary of State John Kerry issued the warning over the weekend in a strongly worded speech that represented a rebuke to the leaders of both Israel and the Palestinians. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Bank of Jinzhou. The Chinese commercial lender begins trading in Hong Kong after raising $794m in an IPO that listed at the bottom of its price range thanks to its relationship with Hanergy, the controversial solar-equipment maker at the centre of a regulatory probe. (WSJ)

Food for thought

End the gun epidemic in America. For the first time since 1920, the New York Times has run a front-page editorial, in response to the latest US mass shooting. (NYT)

The Square Mile’s tallest building. At 309.6m, 1 Undershaft will be more than 80m taller than its neighbour, the “Cheesegrater”, and will be almost identical in height to the nearby Shard, across the Thames. The tower is to incorporate hints of the Chicago school of architecture, with distinctive X-bracing and stripped down minimalism. (FT)

You are not a ‘storyteller’. Lucy Kellaway explores the fad for presenting your career or company as a “story”. “Although I have the greatest respect for my own story, as I plunder it often enough in my columns, to see it as my most valuable asset is idiotic. It shows the storytelling craze has gone too far.” (FT)

Obama’s Achilles heel on terrorism. The US president reacted to the California shootings as a leader should: he was a paragon of calm in the face of speculation. Yet his air of detachment has fed the perception that he is indecisive — or worse, that his approach to fighting Isis has been reactive, writes the FT’s Ed Luce. (FT)

The shortcomings of billionaire philanthropy. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan made headlines with their pledge to donate 99 per cent of their shares in the company to charity. But wealthy moguls have historically thwarted efforts to eradicate poverty despite their contributions — will the Zuckerberg-Chan initiative suffer from the same pattern? (The Atlantic)

Video of the day

Lucy Kellaway’s Office Space Central Working is part of the trend in communal working, where different companies share the same office space. The FT’s Lucy Kellaway visits to see how these new business ‘communities’ get on. (FT)

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 at the central business district of Singapore February 14, 2007. REUTERS/Nicky Loh