Concerns about Brazil’s currency, end of the rice age and the moon is shrinking

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Russia is to deploy 2,000 military personnel to its new air base near the Syrian port city of Latakia, signalling the scale of Moscow’s involvement in the war-torn country.

The deployment, which includes fighter aircraft crews, engineers and troops to secure the facility, “forms the first phase of the mission there”, according to an adviser on Syria policy in Moscow. (FT)

In the news

VW shares plummet Volkswagen saw its share price tumble almost 20 per cent after it admitted to cheating on US emissions tests. More than €13bn was wiped off VW’s market capitalisation, spurring a wider fall in carmakers’ shares. (FT)

Malaysian leader faces US inquiry A federal grand jury in the US is examining allegations of corruption involving Prime Minister Najib Razak as a scandal surrounding a payment of nearly $700m into his personal bank account continues to grow. (NYT)

The first Republican casualty Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has called it time in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. During a short speech announcing the decision, Mr Walker called on other candidates to follow suit in an effort to narrow the field so voters would have a starker choice between Donald Trump and other hopefuls. (FT)

Real concerns Brazil’s currency moved to within a fraction of its all-time low as investors fretted about the country’s deepening recession and the gloomy outlook for China. The real was trading at R$3.9901 to the dollar on Monday, down 1.13 per cent from Friday’s close. (FT)

Apple revs up electric car work The tech group is accelerating its efforts to compete with Tesla in the automotive market, setting a target shipping date for 2019 for its first cars. Leaders of project Titan, as it is called, have been given the go-ahead to triple the 600-person team, according to people familiar with the matter. (WSJ)

It’s a big day for

US-China relations Xi Jinping begins his first presidential visit to the US as tensions mountover the alleged cyber theft of trade secrets and Chinese military actions in the South China Sea. (FT)

Food for thought

Betting on a rout The world economy is on course for an emerging markets crisis and a renewed slowdown in the US, according to one of this year’s most successful hedge fund managers. John Burbank of Passport Capital says the Fed will eventually be forced into a fourth round of quantitative easing to shore up the economy. (FT)

The moon is shrinking And the Earth is to blame. The stress generated by the planet’s tidal forces has caused part of the moon’s crust to crack into more than 3,000 ridges. (NYT)

End of the rice age As Japan’s population ages, appetites are shrinking, with the country now eating about 20 per cent less rice than it did two decades ago. Can it continue to afford the subsidies that have kept the powerful farmers in business? (FT)

The most bombed place on Earth Over four decades, the US carried out almost 1,000 nuclear tests in the Nevada desert as it vied with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Although each explosion was carefully planned to avoid the potential of civilian casualties, the legacy of the bombings and the site remains controversial. (The Guardian)

Buying Stonehenge Just over 100 years ago, British barrister Cecil Chubb went to an auction with orders from his wife to purchase a set of curtains. He returned home not with the desired goods but rather something more unconventional: the deeds to Stonehenge. Mary Chubb was not happy. (Quartz)

Video of the day

Pope preaches reconciliation in Cuba FT Latin America editor John Paul Rathbone looks at the implications of Pope Francis’s visit to Cuba in terms of thawing relations with the US and anincreased role for the Catholic Church under the country’s communist government. (FT)

This article is published in collaboration with FirstFT. 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: Rio de Janeiro’s famous “Christ the Redeemer” statue is reflected on the glass facade of a building in Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes.