Jeb Bush foreign policy, US interest rates, Snapchat valuation

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Jeb Bush, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the next US presidential election, has attacked Barack Obama and talked about a world spinning out of control, in his first major foreign policy speech. The former Florida governor said President Obama had not done enough to stand up to Iran, Russia and Cuba, while accusing him of snubbing Israel.

“Everywhere you look, you see the world slipping out of control,” Mr Bush told the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “Under this administration, we are inconsistent and indecisive. We have lost the trust and confidence of our friends. We definitely no longer inspire fear in our enemies.” (FT)

In the news

Fed still cautious on rates Many Federal Reserve members were inclined in January to keep interest rates low for longer. The minutes of their latest meeting underline the US central bank’s cautious stance towards normalising monetary policy. (FT)

ECB supports Greek banks  A Eur3.3bn increase in emergency loans was approved by the European Central Bank on Wednesday evening to support the Greek banking system. With the political and budget crisis, deposits across the country’s four systemic banks are down Eur20bn since December to Eur145bn , according to people familiar with the outflows. (FT)

Snap that! Snapchat seeks $16bn valuation The photo messaging app is talking to potential investors about raising up to $500m at a valuation of at least $16bn. The deal would make Snapchat, which launched just three and a half years ago, one of the highest valued technology start-ups. (FT)

Vice Media’s Vegas jackpot Shane Smith, the co-founder and chief executive of Vice Media,won $1m at the tables in Las Vegas and then spent $300,000 on a meal for employees and business partners, to take his place among big spending high rollers in the gambling capital of America. (FT)

It’s a big day for

BAE Systems The UK defence group and bellwether of geopolitical tensions will report annual profits at a time the US – accounting for more than a third of sales generated – may be ready to increase procurement and development spending from 2016. (FT)

Nestle The food group is expected to clarify the impact of last month’s sharp appreciation of its home currency, the Swiss franc. One analyst estimated it would have to pay out over 70 per cent of earnings to maintain last year’s dividend. (FT)

Food for thought

England’s rich furrows English fields are showing better property returns than prime real estate in London’s Mayfair. The value of the best arable land grew 277 per cent in the decade to 2014, thanks to high demand and the lowest amount of farmland for sale since records began. (FT)

Software steers car industry John Gapper has a question for you in his column on Google and Apple getting into cars. Who are Google’s partners in its self-driving venture? It’s not the big auto brands you might think. (FT)

What Isis really wants Western analysts underplay the religious underpinnings of a movement that believes it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse, inspired by a literal reading of the Koran (The Atlantic)

Fatty science Nutrition guidelines need to catch up with research that shows chronic diseases and obesity have risen as saturated fat in diets has fallen. (The Conversation)

Mars mystery clouds Enormous blob-like plumes rising 260km above the surface of Mars have baffled astronomers and scientists. A volcano erupting, ultra high clouds or ultra bright auroras are among the causes being discussed. (Quartz, New Scientist)

Video of the day

The bond market sell-off Climbing bond yields indicate rising economic optimism, matched by cyclical stocks outperforming defensives. James Mackintosh, investment editor, produces some charts from his sporran and analyses how positive we should be.

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: Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush waits to address the Detroit Economic Club. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook.