In today's FT

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Tuesday Mar 03 2009 Financial Times - UK Homepage Terra Firma writes off half of EMI buy Mar 02 2009 23:33 Guy Hands has written off half its €2.6bn investment in the music group accepting the likelihood of losses on one of the most eye-catching deals struck during the credit bubble Read more » Stock markets tumble on bank fears Mar 03 2009 00:01 Stock markets around the world fell to their lowest levels of the economic crisis as a spate of dividend cuts and faltering financial companies shook investor confidence Read more » RBS awards chairman £1.5m in share options Mar 02 2009 21:29 Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, now majority-owned by UK taxpayers, has been awarded share options, on top of a £750,000 salary, it emerged Read more » Financial Times - US homepage BofA chief admits Merrill aid 'mistake' Mar 02 2009 18:14 Bank of America's request for $20bn of government money to prop up its acquisition of Merrill Lynch was a "tactical mistake" that made the bank appear as weak as Citigroup, Ken Lewis, BofA's chief executive told the Financial Times Read more » Stock markets tumble on bank fears Mar 03 2009 00:01 Stock markets around the world fell to their lowest levels of the economic crisis as a spate of dividend cuts and faltering financial companies shook investor confidence Read more » AIG hit by record $61.7bn shortfall Mar 02 2009 18:46 American International Group, the troubled global insurance conglomerate, announced that it would cede control of two of its largest divisions to the US government in exchange for a $30bn lifeline Read more » Financial Times - Europe homepage Poland renews pledge to join euro early Mar 02 2009 21:40 Poland reiterated its commitment to bid for accession to the eurozone amid signs the financial crisis has prompted EU leaders to consider shortening the entry process Read more » Stock markets tumble on bank fears Mar 03 2009 00:01 Stock markets around the world fell to their lowest levels of the economic crisis as a spate of dividend cuts and faltering financial companies shook investor confidence Read more » Terra Firma writes off half of EMI buy Mar 02 2009 23:33 Guy Hands has written off half its €2.6bn investment in the music group accepting the likelihood of losses on one of the most eye-catching deals struck during the credit bubble Read more » Financial Times - Asia homepage Japan taps forex reserves to ease crunch Mar 03 2009 04:23 Japan will use some of its large foreign exchange reserves to ease a squeeze in corporate financing, the finance minister said, as the annual balance date looms for many companies Read more » Sri Lanka cricket team bus attacked in Pakistan Mar 03 2009 04:28 Unidentified gunmen attacked the bus taking the Sri Lankan cricket squad and its police escort to a cricket stadium in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore Read more » BofA chief admits Merrill aid 'mistake' Mar 02 2009 18:14 Bank of America's request for $20bn of government money to prop up its acquisition of Merrill Lynch was a "tactical mistake" that made the bank appear as weak as Citigroup, Ken Lewis, BofA's chief executive told the Financial Times Read more » FT.com - World Stock markets tumble on bank fears Mar 03 2009 00:01 Stock markets around the world fell to their lowest levels of the economic crisis as a spate of dividend cuts and faltering financial companies shook investor confidence Read more » Japan taps forex reserves to ease crunch Mar 03 2009 04:23 Japan will use some of its large foreign exchange reserves to ease a squeeze in corporate financing, the finance minister said, as the annual balance date looms for many companies Read more » Sri Lanka cricket team bus attacked in Pakistan Mar 03 2009 04:28 Unidentified gunmen attacked the bus taking the Sri Lankan cricket squad and its police escort to a cricket stadium in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore Read more » Poland renews pledge to join euro early Mar 02 2009 21:40 Poland reiterated its commitment to bid for accession to the eurozone amid signs the financial crisis has prompted EU leaders to consider shortening the entry process Read more » Beijing pushed for economic disclosure Mar 02 2009 18:52 China's leaders are facing rare public pressure to reveal more details of their public spending plans ahead of this week's opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress Read more » FT.com - Companies BofA chief admits Merrill aid 'mistake' Mar 02 2009 18:14 Bank of America's request for $20bn of government money to prop up its acquisition of Merrill Lynch was a "tactical mistake" that made the bank appear as weak as Citigroup, Ken Lewis, BofA's chief executive told the Financial Times Read more » Terra Firma writes off half of EMI buy Mar 02 2009 23:33 Guy Hands has written off half its €2.6bn investment in the music group accepting the likelihood of losses on one of the most eye-catching deals struck during the credit bubble Read more » HSBC unit 'destroyed' $10bn Mar 02 2009 21:16 The UK lender revealed its consumer finance division will require further capital injections for several years and plans to close down 800 US branches in an effort to draw a line under the business Read more » BCE to buy The Source from Circuit City Mar 03 2009 01:16 The acquisition by Canada's largest telecommunications company more than doubles the number of retail locations that are either owned by BCE or have exclusive licences to sell its services Read more » RBS awards chairman £1.5m in share options Mar 02 2009 21:29 Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, now majority-owned by UK taxpayers, has been awarded share options, on top of a £750,000 salary, it emerged Read more » FT.com - Financial Markets News Overview: Stocks tumble to multi-year lows Mar 02 2009 22:17 Nervousness about the outlook for the financial sector compounds worries about a deepening worldwide recession Read more » Asian shares extend global sell-off Mar 03 2009 02:31 HSBC shares tumbled 19.2% as the Hang Seng opened for trade, dragging down the broader index following the global rout in equity markets overnight Read more » FTSE 100 closes at a six-year low Mar 02 2009 20:28 London equities tumbled through six-year lows after HSBC launched a deeply discounted rights issue and AIG confirmed plans to break itself up Read more » Dow falls below 6,800 as Wall Street tumbles Mar 02 2009 21:47 US stocks nosedived in another grim Monday as shares were hit by bad news that brought equities to historic lows Read more » European currencies tumble after summit Mar 02 2009 17:48 Central and eastern European currencies fell after hopes of a €180bn bail-out for the region were dashed Read more » FT.com - Comment and analysis Euroscepticism is yesterday's creed Mar 02 2009 19:00 Plans for a political union in Europe were always crazy. But the four freedoms already established by the EU – free movement of goods, people, services and capital – are huge and tangible achievements. It would be terrible to see them rolled back, writes Gideon Rachman Read more » Obama's chance to lead the green recovery Mar 02 2009 19:16 As the world moves to a low-carbon economy, there will be a competitive advantage for those who embrace these technologies, write Joseph Stiglitz and Nicholas Stern Read more » Paid maternity leave is a win-win formula Mar 02 2009 19:09 There are two ways of looking at it, writes Michael Skapinker. One is that it imposes extra costs on struggling companies, as Lord Mandelson says. The other is that it is perfectly suited to today Read more » The way to reset a once-special relationship Mar 02 2009 19:14 Thus far, Britain has seen the special relationship as setting it apart from the rest of Europe. The reverse should be true, writes Philip Stephens Read more » FT.com - Business Life Big blueprint for IBM Mar 02 2009 20:43 The IT services division has answered the threat posed by low-cost rivals Read more » Curtains up on staff who take to the stage Mar 02 2009 20:43 Accountants and lawyers are finding that the play's the thing for bringing teams together 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.