Globalisation’s lost generation, land of the rising yen and why English wins the battle of global tongues

David Cameron has bowed to a week of political pressure and disclosed that he had made money from an offshore fund.

After days of semi-denials and artfully crafted statements, the prime minister on Thursday night admitted that he and his wife sold shares for more than £30,000 in a fund set up in Panama by his father, who died in 2010. (FT)

In the news

Obama’s buzzkill US companies have abandoned $370bn of large deals since President Barack Obama came to power in 2009, after regulators in his administration blocked an unprecedented number of transactions to protect competition, jobs and the US tax base. (FT)

Malaysia parliament calls for 1MDB probe The board of Malaysia’s 1MDB has offered to resign following the release of a scathing report by a parliamentary committee investigating the state investment fund. In the report released on Thursday, the public accounts committee said billions of dollars in transactions had not been accounted for. (FT)

Land of the rising yen The yen touched new highs on Thursday, defying Tokyo’s efforts to weaken the Japanese currency in the latest sign that policymakers in leading economies are running out of tools to jump-start sagging growth and battle the threat of deflation. (FT)

Argentina’s long-awaited bond sale The country is laying the groundwork for its long-awaited multibillion-dollar bond sale next week, as it prepares for a return to global debt markets after its 2001 default. (FT)

Jakarta enters the tax wars Indonesia’s tax office has announced investigations into Google, Facebook and Twitter to recover what it believes to be unpaid taxes. It is the first Asian country to crack down on US tech giants and comes amid a transatlantic tussle on the issue that has pitted US Treasury officials against the EU’s competition enforcer Margrethe Vestager. (NAR, FT)

It's a big day for

Italy-Egypt ties Italian prosecutors are set to meet officials in Cairo over the murder of an Italian researcher outside the Egyptian capital in January. The issue has become one of the thorniest diplomatic dilemmas of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s time in office. (FT)

Food for thought

Russia: Putin’s balance sheet In the grip of its longest recession in 20 years, Russians seem resigned to the loss of the growth and prosperity they had come to see as the hallmark of President Vladimir Putin’s rule. Many now fear a return of an era they had hoped to have left behind: the decade of recession, economic shocks and poverty that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. (FT)

Active body, active brain Some encouraging news for those who worry about the increasing global incidence of dementia: a medical study has found that regular walking, cycling, swimming, dancing and even gardening can substantially reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. (NYT)

The unravelling of a Wall Street scion Hailing from a wealthy family of pristine pedigree, Andrew Caspersen was easily able to raise tens of millions of dollars for his latest deal, including substantial funds from a charity backed by billionaire Louis Bacon. Then the money vanished and Mr Caspersen was charged with fraud, with alleged victims including his friends, brothers and even his mother. (WSJ)

Globalisation’s lost generation Donald Trump wants to slap punitive tariffs on China. Hillary Clinton opposes the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership she once hailed as a gold standard for a new generation of free trade deals. Republicans are embracing Democrats’ demands for “fair” trade. The US, the architect of the open global system, is turning inwards and without it, the basic momentum towards liberalisation will be lost, writes Philip Stephens. The danger then will be of a gradual slide backwards into outright protectionism. (FT)

Why English wins the battle of global tongues Jeremy Paxman ponders the question: what is the point of learning French? “English is the language of science, technology, travel, entertainment and sport. To be a citizen of the world it is the one language that you must have.” (FT)

Video of the day

The constraints on cheap money John Authers explains a sharp sell-off in bank stocks and one-sided foreign exchange trading as the Japanese yen rises. (FT)