In today's FT

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Friday Jan 23 2009 Financial Times - UK Homepage BofA axes Thain as Merrill deal sours Jan 23 2009 01:01 John Thain was ousted from Bank of America, just three weeks after closing the sale of Merrill Lynch to BofA, plunging the company into crisis and raising new questions about the government's efforts to save the banking industry Read more » Santander fund praised 'impeccable' Madoff Jan 22 2009 21:06 A fund controlled by Santander, one of Europe's biggest banks, heaped praise on Bernard Madoff weeks before his arrest for an alleged $50bn fraud, calling his market timing "impeccable" in a report to investors that lawyers say raises questions about the bank's risk controls Read more » £30bn equity rush to hit UK Jan 22 2009 23:53 Dozens of British companies are preparing to issue fresh equity in coming weeks with bankers expecting more than £30bn to be raised this year through share offerings Read more » Financial Times - US homepage BofA axes Thain as Merrill deal sours Jan 23 2009 01:01 John Thain was ousted from Bank of America, just three weeks after closing the sale of Merrill Lynch to BofA, plunging the company into crisis and raising new questions about the government's efforts to save the banking industry Read more » Google to rewrite stock option terms Jan 23 2009 02:03 The search group's new options plan for its employees reawakens a debate over pay practices that proved controversial during the last technology downturn Read more » Veteran Citi directors to go in board shake-up Jan 23 2009 00:05 Citigroup is to revamp its board with the departure of long-standing members Kenneth Derr and Franklin Thomas following criticism of its ability to supervise the troubled company's executives and strategy, people close to the situation have said Read more » Financial Times - Europe homepage BofA axes Thain as Merrill deal sours Jan 23 2009 01:01 John Thain was ousted from Bank of America, just three weeks after closing the sale of Merrill Lynch to BofA, plunging the company into crisis and raising new questions about the government's efforts to save the banking industry Read more » Santander fund praised 'impeccable' Madoff Jan 22 2009 21:06 A fund controlled by Santander, one of Europe's biggest banks, heaped praise on Bernard Madoff weeks before his arrest for an alleged $50bn fraud, calling his market timing "impeccable" in a report to investors that lawyers say raises questions about the bank's risk controls Read more » US says China 'manipulating' the renminbi Jan 22 2009 21:28 Tim Geithner, President Barack Obama's choice for Treasury secretary, accused China of "manipulating" its currency and pledged "aggressive" diplomatic action to drive Beijing into action Read more » Financial Times - Asia homepage Asian financial crisis deepens Jan 22 2009 19:39 China's economic slowdown deepened in the last quarter of 2008 as slumping exports combined with a weak housing market to sharply reduce the growth rate of the economy Read more » US says China 'manipulating' the renminbi Jan 22 2009 21:28 Tim Geithner, President Barack Obama's choice for Treasury secretary, accused China of "manipulating" its currency and pledged "aggressive" diplomatic action to drive Beijing into action Read more » BofA axes Thain as Merrill deal sours Jan 23 2009 01:01 John Thain was ousted from Bank of America, just three weeks after closing the sale of Merrill Lynch to BofA, plunging the company into crisis and raising new questions about the government's efforts to save the banking industry Read more » FT.com - World US says China 'manipulating' the renminbi Jan 22 2009 21:28 Tim Geithner, President Barack Obama's choice for Treasury secretary, accused China of "manipulating" its currency and pledged "aggressive" diplomatic action to drive Beijing into action Read more » Asian financial crisis deepens Jan 22 2009 19:39 China's economic slowdown deepened in the last quarter of 2008 as slumping exports combined with a weak housing market to sharply reduce the growth rate of the economy Read more » Obama urges Israel to open Gaza borders Jan 23 2009 00:04 President Barack Obama called on Israel to open its borders with Gaza, in a powerful sign of his new administration's break with Bush-era policy on the Middle East and the world as a whole Read more » Gaza injuries put focus on phosphorus Jan 22 2009 19:55 'You should tell everyone about these scandalous acts by the Israelis', says Sabah Abu Halema, lying on her bed in Gaza's Shifa hospital, her arms and legs covered in bandages Read more » Obama orders Guantánamo closure Jan 23 2009 00:53 President Barack Obama ordered the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and Central Intelligence Agency secret prisons, closing the book on the controversial Bush administration 'war on terror' policies Read more » FT.com - Companies BofA axes Thain as Merrill deal sours Jan 23 2009 01:01 John Thain was ousted from Bank of America, just three weeks after closing the sale of Merrill Lynch to BofA, plunging the company into crisis and raising new questions about the government's efforts to save the banking industry Read more » Samsung suffers its first-ever quarterly loss Jan 23 2009 02:27 Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chipmaker, reported its first quarterly loss as the global economic slump saps demand for its key products such as chips, mobile phones and flat panel displays Read more » Google to rewrite stock option terms Jan 23 2009 02:03 The search group's new options plan for its employees reawakens a debate over pay practices that proved controversial during the last technology downturn Read more » Veteran Citi directors to go in board shake-up Jan 23 2009 00:05 Citigroup is to revamp its board with the departure of long-standing members Kenneth Derr and Franklin Thomas following criticism of its ability to supervise the troubled company's executives and strategy, people close to the situation have said Read more » Santander fund praised 'impeccable' Madoff Jan 22 2009 21:06 A fund controlled by Santander, one of Europe's biggest banks, heaped praise on Bernard Madoff weeks before his arrest for an alleged $50bn fraud, calling his market timing "impeccable" in a report to investors that lawyers say raises questions about the bank's risk controls Read more » FT.com - Financial Markets News Overview: Equities and bonds hurt by grim economics Jan 22 2009 19:19 A grim tide of economic news across the globe keeps financial markets on the defensive, with Wall Street leading equity market declines Read more » Asian shares led lower by weak tech sector Jan 23 2009 03:14 Asian stocks fell to a 1-1/2-month low, weighed by poor corporate results in the technology sector, while the U.S. dollar drifted higher as investors sought refuge from the deteriorating global economy Read more » Bank deposits at ECB drop sharply Jan 22 2009 13:43 The amount of cash eurozone banks park at the European Central Bank dropped dramatically and overnight market rates moved sharply lower as the full force of last week's interest rate decision came into effect Read more » Manufacturing slump knocks sterling Jan 22 2009 18:08 Sterling falls but rebounds sharply on talk that sterling weakness would be on the agenda at next month's G7 meeting Read more » Energy losses drag Europe to 2-month low Jan 22 2009 20:47 European equities hit a two-month low on Thursday as losses in the energy sector overshadowed a late afternoon banking rally Read more » FT.com - Comment and analysis Changes that will shape a leader promising change Jan 22 2009 20:46 At the heart of Barack Obama's oration on Tuesday was a rare, if oblique, admission of the limitations of US power: "The world has changed, and we must change with it." Philip Stephens looks at how the new presidency closes a number of chapters in American history Read more » The right and wrong way to bail out the banks Jan 22 2009 20:06 The new team in Washington should avoid repeating the mistakes of the previous one and announcing a programme before it has been thoroughly thought out, writes George Soros Read more » Saudi patience is running out Jan 22 2009 20:15 If the US wants to continue playing a leadership role in the Middle East and keep its strategic alliances intact, it will have to drastically revise its policies on Israel and Palestine, writes Turki al-Faisal Read more » Warning: rating agencies can do you harm Jan 22 2009 20:22 In the past, they gave incentives to take too much risk – today they give incentives to take too little, writes Paul De Grauwe Read more » Are UK banks too big to rescue? Jan 22 2009 19:55 By offering guarantees, the government could be subsidising the recreation of a market in lemons, writes Martin Wolf Read more » FT.com - Business Life Outsourcing clients on the lookout for red flags Jan 22 2009 20:05 India's Satyam scandal has prompted a new vigilance at overseas companies looking to contract out work Read more » ABOUT THIS EMAIL You have received this email because you have signed up for this briefing on FT.com Manage subscriptions | Unsubscribe | Change your email address Change whether you receive this email as HTML or plain text | Forward this email to a friend Privacy policy | Advertise | Contact © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.