Without immigration, more specialist and new free schools will close
Declining birth rates mean policymakers must make choices on which pupil places to cut
Gatwick airport blames Budget as it raises drop-off charges by 40%
Chief executive says higher business rates worry investors as they prepare to sign off on £2.2bn expansion
WHSmith delays results again to give auditor PwC more time
Retailer has been hit by accounting errors that led to resignation of chief executive last month
Nationwide fined £44mn over ‘failings’ in financial crime controls
UK regulator says building society lacked effective systems in monitoring customers’ transactions
UK economy contracts by 0.1% in October
Analysts and ONS attribute slowdown to uncertainty ahead of Rachel Reeves’ tax-raising Budget
My favourite thing: the secret treasures of the V&A East Storehouse
The custodians of the British museum reveal the greatest things to view
Norden, a wilderness camp that’s as comforting as cashmere
A first look at the textile maker Norlha’s new retreat on the Tibetan steppes
Submit your questions to Jemima Kelly: Is the vibe shift for real?
Take part in a live Ask an Expert Q&A with the FT columnist on Friday 12 December at 2pm GMT
‘The darkest depths of winter still lie ahead for America’s capital markets’
Caroline Crenshaw’s epic exit speech
Transcript: Can 2026 match 2025?
Katie Martin and Robert Armstrong talk to Ian Smith
The impact of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal
What will and won’t change with a resolution to the war
FTAV’s further reading
Washington Post things; crypto; robots; Calibri; Bluerock; more robots; ‘cozy lit’; and musicals
One step forward, two steps back for the EU and its Ukraine loan scheme
Also in this newsletter: EU finance ministers crack down on cheap small packages
FirstFT: Jan Marsalek’s missing millions
Also in today’s newsletter: FT Person of the Year and HSBC shuts manager programme
Former ANZ chief sues over axed $9mn bonus
Australian bank had cut incentives after scandals under Shayne Elliott’s watch
Transcript: Disney and OpenAI team up
Victoria Craig speaks to Ciara Nugent and Christopher Grimes
The electrification of everything
Many countries are moving away from fossil fuels by turning to electricity produced from renewable sources. However, the electrification of areas such as transport, heating and industry will cost billions of dollars in new infrastructure and is technically challenging
Apollo’s 125-page manifesto on private credit
Plus, how UK oil majors attempted green transitions and then backed off
Apollo moves fast-growing lending unit out of buyout division
CEO Marc Rowan has said private equity is no longer the $900bn group’s growth driver
Rivals eye options as bidding war for Warner Bros escalates
Pressure mounts for Netflix and Paramount as hostile battle could push deal price higher than expected
Trump takes the culture wars across the Atlantic
US president’s attacks on America’s allies extend his campaign to dismantle the pillars of liberal power
The Serbian mining town where copper is everything
How one city in the Balkans has ridden boom times and economic declines thanks to its mines
EU plans special parking rights for ‘Made in Europe’ small cars
New EV class with lighter rules and subsidy arrangements aims to help European carmakers battle Chinese competition
FT Person of the Year: Jensen Huang
The Nvidia chief executive has been the driving force behind the massive AI boom which has the capacity to reshape the global economy