India slows progress on climate deal, Uber not ‘genuinely disruptive’ and China’s expat experiment

This article is published in collaboration with First FT.

François Hollande demanded sweeping new powers for the French state to take on Isis — including constitutional changes — in response to Friday’s attacks in Paris, declaring France to be at war with the extremists and calling on the US and Russia to join a global coalition to destroy them.

The move comes as the US stepped up air strikes on Isis oil assets — though President Barack Obama ruled out sending ground troops — and French jets began bombing the Islamic terror group’s stronghold of Raqqa. Isis warned in a video on Monday that countries taking part in air strikes in Syria would suffer the same fate as Paris, and threatened to attack Washington.

France is not alone in declaring war on Isis: Anonymous, the loose-knit international network of activist hackers, said it was preparing to unleash waves of cyber attacks on the terrorist group. (FT, Reuters, WSJ)

In the news

US states say no to Syrians More than a dozen states in the US, including Michigan, Alabama and Texas, have said Syrian refugees are no longer welcome due to security fears after the Paris attacks. The State Department said the legality of the action was unclear, while President Barack Obama said: “Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values.” (BBC)

The presidential suite of hotel deals Marriott said it would buy Starwood Hotel & Resorts for $12.2bn to create the world’s largest hotel chain as it seeks to better compete with apartment-sharing start-ups like Airbnb. (FT)

India slows progress on climate change accord Delhi has blocked G20 efforts towards the deal just two weeks before delegates from almost 200 nations are set to meet in Paris. At issue was a “review mechanism” that the EU and many economies say must be a central feature of the accord. (FT)

Louis Vuitton stung by China woes Louis Vuitton has closed three of its stores in China, including what was its first outlet in the southern city of Guangzhou, and is expected to shut several more across the country in coming months. The closures by the most recognised high-end brand in China are just the latest sign of woes in the country’s luxury sector, which has been hit by a slowing economy and a three-year-long anti-corruption campaign. (FT)

Apple and Amazon in audiobooks probe German antitrust authorities are investigating the tech groups for an agreement about selling audiobooks, targeting companies that usually find themselves on opposing sides of competition battles. Amazon, through its subsidiary Audible, is the exclusive provider of audiobooks to Apple’s iTunes store in Germany. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Apec Leaders from Pacific nations congregate in Manila for the second day of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The meeting is typically aimed at bolstering trade and growth across the region, although concerns over Islamist terrorism following the Paris attacks are likely to hang over proceedings.

Food for thought

Uber not ‘genuinely disruptive’ That’s the verdict of Harvard business guru and “disruptive innovation” theorist Clayton Christensen. The ride-hailing app, often touted as an example of disruption, fails because it does not come from the low end of a market, which incumbents have neglected, or created a market where none existed, Christensen argues in the latest edition of the Harvard Business Review. (FT)

EM: deeper into the red The US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing programme turbocharged borrowing around the emerging world. Now, a year after the programme was reined in, companies in markets from Brazil to China are finding it increasingly hard to repay their debts. (FT)

A $718k crystal ball Niall Rice was a successful, well-travelled professional with close to seven figures in the bank. Then he gave it all away, over the course of 20 months, to two Manhattan psychics who vowed to reunite him with the woman he loved. Even after it was discovered that she was dead. (NYT)

China’s expat experiment A city in the country’s southern Guangdong province is trying out some unusual tactics as it attempts to boost fortunes amid slowing growth and a renewed government focus on innovation. Foshan, a prosperous metropolis of 7m, has hired four expat college graduates as advisers — and the young cadres are keen to stress they are more thanjust a gimmick. (FT)

The world’s longest half-marathon Runners in Thailand have expressed outrage after discovering that a half-marathon in the country’s capital on Saturday was four miles longer than it should have been. Organisers had reportedly given the athletes wrong directions. (BBC)

Video of the day

Gold retains its sheen Gold has outperformed sinking commodities. Lex’s Jonathan Eley and Alan Livsey discuss what is supporting the yellow metal. (FT)

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 boy holds his nephew while posing under overhead power cables in an alley in the old quarters of Delhi, India, September 2015. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi.