Russia to pull out of Syria, the unravelling of Angela Merkel and the key to happiness at work

Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s armed forces to start pulling out of Syria on Tuesday, as peace talks resumed between the Assad regime and Syrian opposition forces in Geneva. The Kremlin said the Russian military would retain a presence in Syria for conducting air force flights to continue to monitor the ceasefire and ensure its implementation. (FT)

In the news:

China mulls Tobin tax

The country’s central bank has drafted rules for a tax on foreign-exchange transactions in a bid to curb speculative trading. The imposition of such a levy could complicate China’s plans to create an international reserve currency and undermine the leadership’s pledges to increase the role of market forces. (Bloomberg)

Crude slides back below $40

The drop came after Iran said it would increase output before joining talks on a production freeze and a pipeline carrying crude from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey reopened. (FT)

Turkey launches assault on Kurdish separatists

The country launched a broad offensiveafter a car bombing in Ankara killed at least 37 people. Investigators suspect one of the bombers was a woman linked to the PKK militant group. (WSJ, FT)

Anbang’s five-star buying spree

The Chinese insurer put in a $13bn bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts the day after it agreed to purchase Strategic Hotels & Resorts for $6.5bn, in a sign of corporate China’s feverish pursuit of foreign assets. (FT)

Goldman buys robo-adviser

Goldman Sachs has made a move into the fast-growing world of “robo” investment, buying Honest Dollar, a start-up which aims to make it quicker and simpler to set up savings accounts for retirement. (FT)

It's a big day for:

Marco Rubio and John Kasich

The Florida senator and Ohio governor have staked their candidacies on winning the primaries in their respective home states. Polls show Mr Kasich beating Republican frontrunner Donald Trump but Mr Rubio is far behind the property tycoon, who both candidates have expressed reservations about supporting. (FT)

The Bank of Japan, which stood pat on monetary policy as it maintained its negative interest rate at the level introduced in January and did not expand its quantitative and qualitative easing programme. (FT)

Food for thought:

The unravelling of Angela Merkel

This time last year, the German chancellor was at the peak of her power, but her authority is now unravelling with the erosion of prestige in both Germany and Europe feeding on each other. “She gambled on the tolerance of the German public. And rather than seeking out the European middle ground, she took a position far to the left of almost all the other EU countries.” (FT)

Brazil: caught up in a scandal

Markets are betting on a new government restoring growth, but embattled President Dilma Rousseff looks up for a long fight. (FT)

Time for a universal income?

The social infrastructures of developed countries were built on the concept of a decent-paying job, something that globalisation and technology have all but destroyed. John Thornhill writes about a new book that makes a powerful argument for the US government to provide $1,000 a month to every citizen. (FT)

The key to happiness at work

In Sweden anyway, where workers are among the least stressed in the world, the secret lies in fika — a longstanding social ritual that involves taking short breaks throughout the day to unwind. (Quartz)

A civilisational clash

When a member of the Jarawa tribe of the South Andaman Island murdered a five-month-old baby, authorities were forced to reconsider how they treat the isolated group, which practises a Paleolithic hunter-gatherer culture. (NYT)

Unreliable science

Between 51 per cent and 89 per cent of published papers are estimated to have been based on experiments whose results cannot be reproduced, most notably in the field of psychology. No one is accusing the writers of manipulating their results but some may have been tripped up by aspects of academic science that inadvertently encourage bias. (Quartz)

Video of the day:

Commodities are “through the worst”

James Wilson and Neil Gregson, manager of JPMorgan’s natural resources fund, discuss current trends in the commodities market. (FT)