It’s hard out there for a bank, division in the Fed and London’s drive to be a smart city

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Walmart lost nearly a tenth of its $200bn market value after issuing a dire warning that investment in ecommerce and wages would hit profits over the next few years.

The world’s largest retailer is struggling to catch up with Amazon in ecommerce while navigating a political environment in which low-wage employers are under attack. (FT)

In the news

It’s hard out there for a bank The three biggest US institutions reported year-on-year drops in core quarterly revenues. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan are feeling the squeeze, caught between a dithering Fed and tepid demand. (FT)

Speaking of that dithering Fed Divisions at the top of the central bank about when to lift rates are worrying investors, who have been left wondering whether an increase will come this year. The US economy is continuing a “ modest expansion”, according to the Fed’s latest Beige Book, but policymakers find themselves in something of a Catch-22. (FT, WSJ)

Shaking up the story of humankind Fossil finds from southern China have shaken up the traditional narrative of humankind’s dispersal from Africa. Teeth found in Daoxian date to at least 80,000 years ago – 20,000 years earlier than the widely accepted “Out of Africa” migration that led to humans populating the globe. (BBC)

Queensway tycoon held Sam Pa, the frontman of a secretive Hong Kong-based business network at the heart of China’s advance into Africa, has been detained in a Communist party investigation. The jet-setting tycoon uses seven names and has ties to the intelligence services. (FT)

Tesla rolls out autopilot software The future got here much quicker than anticipated. The electric carmaker is this week pushing out its “Autopilot” software which will allow 60,000 of its Model S vehicles to automatically steer within highway lanes, change lanes and parallel park. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Greece The country’s parliament must vote to approve the July 12 agreement that recently re-elected Prime Minister Alex Tsipras’ prior government made to secure further debt relief. (FT)

Read more about upcoming events this week.

Food for thought

Putin v Obama: the battle for best ally Russia’s muscular intervention in Syria has cast a pale over US efforts in the region and raised a question among many Middle Eastern states: Who would be the better ally? “It is not so much because Mr Putin has natural appeal in a region fascinated by strongmen. It is above all the result of bitter disappointment with President Barack Obama”, says the FT’s Roula Khalaf. (FT)

London’s drive to be a smart city The implementation of Oyster travel cards on the city’s Underground is a prime example of a “smart city” policy – a means to make cities more livable through use of digital technologies. The concept has become a central plank of mayor Boris Johnson’s plans for the city, although the results thus far have been mixed. (FT)

In Russia’s backyard In the third part of a new FT series on China’s Great Game, Jack Farchy looks at how Beijing’s hopes of reshaping the former Soviet States of central Asia are at odds with Moscow’s ambitions. (FT)

How oil fuels Isis In the swath of territory controlled by the terrorist group, a line of trucks stretches 6km, with some drivers waiting for a month to fill up with crude. The coalition fighting the group has declared the oil trade a key target. And yet it goes on, undisturbed. (FT)

Is crossing your legs bad for you? Spending too much time with one knee crossed over the other has been linked to a series of ailments, including higher blood pressure, varicose veins and nerve damage. But a deeper examination of the issue shows you are unlikely to do yourself any long-term damage, provided you uncross your legs from time to time. (BBC)

Video of the day

Flows from China After more than a decade of accumulation, foreign exchange reserves have started to decline. Michala Marcussen, chief economist at Société Générale Commercial and Investment Bank, tells John Authers how this reflects the rebalancing of the Chinese economy. (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: The United States Federal Reserve Board building is shown behind security barriers. REUTERS/Gary Cameron.