The Glam

FirstFT: Predictions of an ‘exceptionally strong’ earnings season

Also in today’s newsletter: Iran and the US keep talking while OpenAI’s $852bn valuation comes under scrutiny from backers

Regulator urges governments to fast-track long-delayed idea to help break down merger barriers

Take part in a live Ask an Expert Q&A with food writer and FT columnist Nigella Lawson today at 1pm BST

George Robertson’s focus is on defence but highlights failings elsewhere in Keir Starmer’s government

Stegra has been striving to avoid same fate as bankrupt Northvolt

US and Israel’s war on Iran dents sales growth at world’s biggest luxury group

Energy shock unleashed by the conflict has left traders and refineries competing for available cargoes

Happiness; Hungary; wealth taxes; impersonation; theme parks; cinema; car crashes: and yet another Bloomberg killer

Changing medium of instruction would boost competitiveness, according to group chief Hui Kuok

A rise in the equity market’s fear gauge is usually a signal of a rally to come

Index choice matters, and so do valuations

Also in this newsletter: UN trade agency chief says Brussels protectionism hurts developing world

QQQ quake

Prime minister has lured MPs from rival parties in recent months as he seeks to counter Donald Trump’s threats

Donald Trump says Iran is keen to strike a deal as US blockade of Strait of Hormuz continues

Rising fuel prices and tech imports spur surge in imports

Sonja Hutson speaks to George Hammond and Raya Jalabi

Goldman Sachs’ warning that its deal pipeline has shrunk is a red flag for M&A prospects

AI is like the atomic bomb — once you invent the means to build one, you live in a different world

Vice-president returns to Washington empty-handed after twin failures on Iran talks and in Hungary

What was unusual was not just the value of the goods — it was the fact that the boy was caught

A weekend-long Berlin event showed that fan ecstasy can be harnessed to drown out controversy — and journalists

Chief executive Sam Altman refocuses AI company as Anthropic tests its early lead

The chain has turned its tennis centres into places for middle-class families to get fit and hang out