Netanyahu’s Congress speech, India’s surprise rate cut and the ‘anchor baby’ industry

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu urged the US Congress to defy the Obama administration and block a nuclear deal with Iran. The deal now on the table would begin a “countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare” in the Middle East, he said. Barack Obama retorted that Mr Netanyahu “did not offer any viable alternatives”. (FT)

Although his speech appeared to hit the mark, Edward Luce argues that his audacity may look different in hindsight: “his speech paid little heed to longer-term concerns about Israel’s waning clout in Washington DC.” (FT)

In the news

India’s unscheduled rate cut The central bank cut interest rates for the second time in two months bringing the repo rate down to 7.5 per cent. Indian stocks hit a record high after the announcement. Disinflation and deflation has pushed scores of central bankers across the globe into easing mode just as the US Federal Reserve is preparing to raise rates. (FT)

UK retreat from investment banking speeds up Royal Bank of Scotland wants to cut as many as 14,000 jobs in the unit while Barclays chief Antony Jenkins has said he has limited patience in waiting for the recovery of the investment bank. (FT)

US domestic security shutdown averted Funding for the Department of Homeland Security has been extended by nine months without jeopardising Obama’s immigration reforms. Many Republicans had wanted to make security funding dependent on legislation blocking these reforms; GOP in-fighting on the subject has raised questions about its ability to govern. (FT)

Cyber security loophole at UK bank Bronzeye, a cyber security firm, said it identified last year a critical vulnerability in the security of one of Britain’s biggest banks that would givehackers unfettered access to customer accounts. The bank refused to engage with the firm to fix them, according to correspondence with the Financial Conduct Authority. (FT)

Racial bias in Ferguson police tactics A US justice department investigation has found that the police department in Ferguson, Missouri, routinely engages in racially biased practices. The investigation came after the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown sparked national protests. (Reuters)

It’s a big day for

Alibaba’s cloud The e-commerce group is launching a cloud computing hub in Silicon Valley today – its first outside of China. It will initially cater to Chinese companies with operations in the US but hopes to extend this to US businesses – a sign of its global ambitions even in an area of entrenched competition. (Reuters).

Indian telecoms The latest spectrum auction kicks off today and fierce bidding is expected. Market leaders Bharti Airtel and Vodafone will vie with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio in a sale that is set to raise more than $13bn. (FT)

The Boston bombing trial The jury has been chosen and will hear opening statements today. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 charges related to the explosion of two bombs at the Boston marathon in 2013. (NYT$)

Food for thought

Irrationality is OK and accepting that could make a practical difference to government. By not assuming that irrational decisions are “errors”, policy makers can put their efforts into helping people understand their own mental processes. It’s nudge theory with an explanation rather than, as one psychology professor puts it, “Oh, these people are stupid, so let’s arrange things so we can use their stupidity against them“. (Nautilus)

Rebels with a lost cause Syrian opposition fighters who took up arms four years ago are struggling to navigate the war, which seems to be advancing every agenda except the one they care about – ending the Assad regime. (FT)

Data on deliciousness Scientists crunched the data on Indian food to figure out why it tastes so good. It turns out there is little or no flavour overlap in the ingredients of dishes, unlike in Western cuisine where cooks try to overlap similar flavours. (WaPo$)

The “anchor baby” industry US federal agents searched several Southern California sites connected to three multimillion-dollar birth tourism businesses , which help thousands of women to travel to the US, give birth and return home with infants born as US citizens. Clients choose from different packages offering apartments in resort-style complexes, outings to upscale eateries, a shooting range and Mandarin-speaking nannies. (WSJ$)

The fossil-fuel age If governments could agree to implement a tax on carbon, argues Martin Wolf, they would give a big push towards an energy future that is more efficient and less polluting. (FT)

Video of the day

Asia’s year of the sheep Will the sheep be gambolling merrily over hillsides or sitting around lethargically? David Pilling discusses the year ahead with David Mann, who runs macro research on Asia at Standard Chartered, and Frederic Neumann, head of Asian economics at HSBC. (FT)

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: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington. REUTERS/Gary Cameron.