Oil tumbles towards crisis-era lows, the titans of fintech and the ultimate first-class seat

This article is published in collaboration with FirstFT.

Crude fell to a seven-year low, close to levels hit during the financial crisis amid increased expectations of a persistent global oversupply.

Cheaper energy costs are a boon for consumers and the broader economy. But the prolonged slide in oil is hurting highly indebted US shale drillers and the banks that lend to them, with much of the junk bond energy sector currently in distress. (FT)

In the news

The Isis revenue service Syria’s oil may fill the coffers of Isis but an FT investigation indicates that even if western air strikes succeed in bringing down its crude production, the jihadi group may be able to keep itself running on its local tax revenues. Isis earns at least as much money from taxation, mafia-style extortion and confiscation as oil. (FT)

What to expect when you’re expecting a rate rise The sell-off in equities and pain in junk bonds have raised the stakes for an already hotly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday. But a rate rise is all but guaranteed — what is less certain is what kind of signalling will accompany the decision. (FT)

Don’t insult the dog Thailand’s strict laws making it a crime to insult the monarchy entered new territory on Monday when a factory worker was charged with disparaging the king’s dog. Thanakorn Siripaiboon was charged with making a “sarcastic” internet post related to the king’s pet and could face up to 37 years in prison. (NYT)

Apple’s Irish tax deal under scrutiny Brussels has extended its probe into Ireland’s alleged sweetheart deal with the tech giant, reducing the risk that a tough verdict in the case could have an impact on Irish elections early next year. (FT)

NHS swipes right The health service has teamed up with Tinder, the online dating app, to draw attention to the number of people waiting for an organ transplant and to encourage them to sign up for the donor registry. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Fed policymakers The US central bank begins its two-day meeting. There is the small matter of whether it will raise rates for the first time in seven years. (FT)

Food for thought

How to deal with ‘toxic’ employees Some workers behave so badly they will cause real harm to an organisation. They are so awful that colleagues and customers will leave to avoid working with them, and their behaviour can even be infectious, warns a Harvard Business School study. “You are better off hiring someone who is a bit less productive and confident but cares more about their colleagues.” (FT)

The titans of fintech They made their name on Wall Street. Now, they are trying to disrupt it. Some of the world’s highest-profile bankers are pouring millions of dollars into the booming fintech sector as they tap into new technology providing online financial services from payments and lending to digital currencies and cross-border transfers. (FT)

The ultimate first-class seat It is the pinnacle of luxury travel, but will it take off? An aerospace engineering group in the US has proposed perching a teardrop pod on top of private and commercial jets that would give passengers a 360-degree view of the world around them. (The Guardian)

Nationalism v internationalism Gideon Rachman on the rise of Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen’s electoral setback and the Paris climate change deal. “The climate deal and the defeat of the National Front signified a good weekend for the globalists. But the victory of internationalists over nationalists cannot be assumed. On the contrary, nationalist forces are still gaining strength in Europe, Russia, the US and east Asia.” (FT)

The moral failure of computer scientists In the 1950s, a group of scientists spoke out against the dangers of nuclear weapons. Now, should cryptographers be obliged to take on the surveillance state? (The Atlantic)

Video of the day

Emerging markets braced for rate rise With the US Federal Reserve widely expected to raise interest rates this week, the FT’s James Kynge and Jonathan Wheatley discuss the impact of a rate rise on developing markets which have enjoyed trillions of dollars of inflows in recent years. (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 worker walks past a pump jack on an oil field owned by Bashneft company near the village of Nikolo-Berezovka, northwest from Ufa, Bashkortostan. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin