FirstFT: What to look at as US election outcomes stream in

In at this time’s publication:

• What to look at as US election outcomes are available

• China and Saudi Arabia’s deepening monetary ties

• Indicators of life in China’s property market?

Good morning. Remaining votes are being forged within the tightest US presidential election race in fashionable historical past, with the primary polls closing in about an hour. Who voters elect — Kamala Harris or Donald Trump — might mark their nation, and the world, for many years. Right here’s what to look at as outcomes roll in.

The seven swing states: The election is prone to be determined within the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which have a mixed 93 electoral school votes. The Monetary Occasions ballot tracker exhibits the candidates in a statistical tie in all seven.

Gender divide: From race to schooling and sophistication, the US’s nice divisions will probably be laid naked. However the greatest division might be over gender — and it might resolve the election. Polls present ladies have been flocking to Harris on the again of her vow to guard abortion rights. However males have more and more turned to Trump, who has tapped into their anxieties and grievances.

Timing of the vote depend: Polls will begin closing from 6pm ET (7am HKT), with the ultimate ones shutting the doorways at midnight ET. Outcomes for some states will begin to are available quickly after. However we might not have a transparent outcome for a number of days. Razor-thin margins might result in recounts, and authorized challenges might drag out the method.

Trump’s response: After refusing to simply accept that he misplaced the 2020 election, the previous president has spent a lot of his marketing campaign planting seeds of doubt concerning the integrity of the voting course of. Here’s what Trump might do this time round, ought to Kamala Harris win.

Observe the FT’s reside protection right here — our correspondents will report from throughout the nation as outcomes stream in.

Our free-to-read US Election Countdown publication is popping into White Home Watch, the place we’ll unpack what the US election outcome means for Washington and the world. Enroll right here to get the publication in your inbox each Tuesday and Thursday. Plus, we’ll have a particular version this Wednesday.

Right here’s what else I’m maintaining tabs on at this time:

• International markets: The US election can have sweeping implications for international markets. Wall Avenue is making ready for “a long night for volatility” as investor temper stays febrile.

• Financial knowledge: October inflation knowledge is due in Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand.

• Financial coverage: Malaysia’s central financial institution declares its rate of interest resolution.

• Outcomes: Toyota, Honda and Tata Metal report earnings.

5 extra prime tales

1. China has picked Saudi Arabia because the venue for its first sale of US greenback sovereign bonds in three years, underlining its backing for the oil-rich kingdom’s bid to develop into an funding hub. Beijing has historically issued US greenback bonds in Hong Kong. The selection of Saudi Arabia for this new issuance is symbolic of the deepening monetary ties between the 2 nations.

2. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defence minister Yoav Gallant, saying that “significant gaps” had emerged between them over the administration of the battle. Netanyahu mentioned that Gallant would get replaced as defence minister by the international minister, Israel Katz.

3. AstraZeneca shares fell 8.4 per cent yesterday amid an intensifying corruption purge involving its China chief. Chinese language publication Yicai reported yesterday that dozens of executives have been implicated in an investigation of medical insurance coverage fraud. The report got here after AstraZeneca disclosed final week that its China president Leon Wang was co-operating with “an ongoing investigation by Chinese authorities”.

4. Apple has warned traders that future merchandise might by no means be as worthwhile as its iPhone enterprise, because it pushes into unproven new markets akin to synthetic intelligence and digital actuality headsets. The iPhone maker added the brand new warning on development and revenue margins to its newest annual report, within the checklist of “risk factors” dealing with the tech group’s enterprise.

5. French and Dutch monetary authorities raided the workplaces of Netflix in Paris and Amsterdam yesterday. The searches have been a part of a long-running investigation into potential tax fraud and breaches to labour regulation.

Information in-depth

After a greater than three-year slowdown, there are some indicators of life in China’s actual property market. However interviews in six cities present there are lingering doubts about its longer-term prospects.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• ‘Containeristan’: Transport containers used to cease political demonstrations are an eyesore within the verdant metropolis of Islamabad, writes our Pakistan correspondent Humza Jilani.

• Israel unbound: Buoyed by navy positive factors, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now desires to dismantle Iran’s forces throughout the Center East and reshape the area.

• Chinese language vehicles in Norway: Manufacturers akin to MG, BYD and Xpeng are widespread sights on Norwegian streets, in an indication of how far China has superior in vehicles.

Chart of the day

Taiwan’s hovering vitality costs and rising outages are affecting TSMC, the world’s largest chipmaker. Following a sequence of value will increase, the corporate now expects to pay extra for energy in its residence nation than wherever else. Right here’s how Taiwan’s shaky vitality transition is straining its business.

Take a break from the information

In tribute to Quincy Jones, the legendary US musician and producer whose demise was introduced yesterday, we’re sharing an interview from 2012. Jones talked about his work with a few of the hottest artists of the twentieth century, together with Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra, and revealed how he learnt cockney rhyming slang from the actor Michael Caine.