EU nears Greece deal, Japan’s lost workers, and a pear-shaped cure

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Greece and its creditors are close to a deal on the debt-laden country’s EUR86bn rescue programme amid mounting signs of German isolation over its tough stance towards Athens.

Significant concessions by Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras have encouraged some hawkish eurozone members to break with Berlin, which continues to push for even more stringent reforms from Athens. (FT)

In the news:

Buffett close to his biggest deal

Berkshire Hathaway is closing in on a deal to buy Precision Castparts for more than $30bn in what would be Warren Buffett’s largest takeover. Here is a look back at Mr Buffett’s life of dealmaking. (WSJ, FT)

The Trump conundrum

US presidential nominee hopeful Donald Trump has once again found himself in damage control mode after a backlash following comments he made about a TV host. However, in a curious twist, his rivals for the GOP nomination have failed to denounce the statements for fear of alienating his supporters. (FT)

A game of cat and mouse

US authorities are taking fresh aim at some of Russia’s wealthiest oligarchs, adding new companies to its sanctions list. The additions have drawn attention to a dizzying series of asset sales as the billionaires seek to evade the regulations. (FT)

You gotta lock that down

Wall Street banks are rushing to secure their top interest-rates traders in anticipation of a long-promised rate rise by the Federal Reserve. Senior staff at US and European banks are on course to receive average raises of around 10 per cent this year. (FT)

Sex abuse scandal rocks Pakistan

Officials have launched an investigation into allegations that a gang of 15 men sexually abused hundreds of children and sold videos of the crime. The claims began trickling out last month and have led to clashes between residents and police, who have been accused of protecting the gang. (NYT)

Rocky waters

British diplomats lashed out at Madrid over a “clear violation of UK sovereignty” after Spanish ships entered territorial waters off the coast of Gibraltar. The row marks the latest escalation in a long-running dispute over the overseas territory, which Spanish authorities wish to reclaim. (FT)

It’s a big day for:

Journalist Jason Rezaian, who appears for a final hearing before Tehran’s Revolutionary Court today. The Washington Post reporter has been in custody in Iran for more than a year on spying charges, which he has strongly denied. (WaPo)

China’s economy

Beijing reports on new local-currency lending, aggregate financing and M2 money supply for July. The data come as China attempts to right a market that has seen $4tn in recent losses. (Bloomberg)

Food for thought:

Japan’s lost workers

You get one chance at cracking into the Japanese labour market and if you miss it you can face a lifetime of “black” – a limbo of temporary contracts and part-time work. Hundreds of thousands who missed their opportunity in the wake of the country’s 1990 crash are now out of the labour force, despite their prime working age. “It’s become a big social problem,” said one professor. (FT)

On the pain of running

Do you ever wonder what long-distance runners think about when they’re running? Or the sublime thoughts they must have to help them push through the pain? Well, according to new research, they are mostly thinking about how hard long-distance running is. (NY Mag)

The new American slum

The number of poor people living in high-poverty areas fell in the 1990s but it is now rising at a rapid clip – nearly doubling between 2000 and 2013, to 13.8m. Half a century after declaring a war on poverty, is the US witnessing the resurrection of its slums? (The Atlantic)

What if Mao still ran China?

A return to Maoist economics is probably the last thing on the minds of officials in Beijing. But perhaps it shouldn’t be: research by a group of prominent economists found that a return to the command economy would yield an average GDP growth rate of 4-5 per cent for the next 35 years – just 1 percentage point shy of its current trajectory. (FT)

A pear-shaped cure

The health benefits of pears are manifold: they can lower cholesterol, relieve constipation and reduce inflammation. Now, scientists believe they can also lower alcohol levels, which means – if consumed before a heavy night out – they could “significantly reduce” your hangover the next day. (Quartz)

Video of the day

Guessing game

As the US unemployment data leave the question of an interest rate rise wide open, John Authers examines the pressures on the Federal Reserve. (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: A man walks into a building in Tokyo. REUTERS/Toru Hanai.