FirstFT: Donald Trump’s memecoin conjures up flood of imitators

Immediately’s agenda: Baltic states go away Russia grid; EU satellite tv for pc woes; UK carbon seize doubts; Marks and Spencer’s ESG tax hit; and Altman and Son

Good morning. We start with an unique story on Donald Trump’s new cryptocurrency, which has sparked a flood of imitators and led to warnings that traders danger being duped. Right here’s what a Monetary Instances evaluation has discovered.

Copycat cash: The FT discovered 736 totally different memecoins which were deposited within the official Trump coin pockets over the previous three weeks. Amongst them, practically 200 — together with “OFFICIAL TRUMP” and “OFFICIAL MELANIA” — are named after the president or members of his household however don’t have any connection to him.

Threat publicity: Showing in a high-profile pockets such because the official Trump reserve will increase the visibility of tokens and the likelihood that merchants might confuse them for official cash. It might additionally give the phantasm of official Trump backing, which may push up the value. “For the uniformed investor it’s very difficult to separate the genuine projects” from copycat cash, stated one professor. Learn the complete report.

• Temper shift: US dealmaking has suffered its worst begin to a yr in a decade as coverage volatility and Trump’s tariffs put a sudden chill on exercise.

• US tax: Trump needs to finish the “carried interest” loophole utilized by personal fairness and hedge funds, organising a possible conflict with America’s wealthiest financiers.

• Commerce fears: The president’s newest tariff threats have sparked alarm amongst farmers in Republican breadbasket states corresponding to Iowa.

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Right here’s what else we’re maintaining tabs on right this moment and over the weekend:

• US: Donald Trump meets Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Washington right this moment. The 59th Tremendous Bowl takes place in New Orleans on Sunday, with the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs competing in opposition to the Philadelphia Eagles.

• Elections: Voters go to the polls in Kosovo, Liechtenstein and Ecuador on Sunday.

• Outcomes: Ashmore Group, Banco Sabadell, Danske Financial institution and Skanska report.

5 extra high tales

1. The Baltic states will sever the final main vitality hyperlink to Russia and turn out to be a part of the EU’s electrical energy community on Sunday. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will go away the so-called Brell system that has linked them to Moscow for the reason that finish of the second world struggle. Synchronisation with the EU grid, nonetheless, is not with out dangers, stated officers.

• EU vitality: Jens Stoltenberg has rejected accusations that Norway was a “war profiteer” for promoting document portions of fuel to Europe after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

• Satellite tv for pc woes: Buyers are rising more and more involved in regards to the funds of two of Europe’s largest satellite tv for pc operators as they face rising competitors from Elon Musk’s Starlink.

2. Huge Tech’s huge spending on synthetic intelligence is ready to proceed unchecked in 2025, after Amazon topped its rivals yesterday with a deliberate $100bn-plus funding in infrastructure this yr, dismissing considerations in regards to the huge sums being guess on the nascent expertise. Extra on the highest 4 US gamers’ AI capex plans.

3. Britain’s carbon seize and storage expertise tasks are dealing with the specter of Treasury cuts following warnings from MPs that the “high risk” coverage ought to be reassessed to verify it’s “affordable for taxpayers and consumers”. Doubts are rising within the authorities in regards to the viability of a expertise promoted as important to its regional progress technique.

4. Unique: Marks and Spencer is braced for an annual hit of £40mn from sustainability taxes. The levy, meant to scale back unsustainable packaging at UK retailers, is predicted to generate as a lot as £2bn a yr, laying naked the trade’s mounting prices past these arising from Labour’s October Funds. Learn extra in regards to the recycling tax’s impression.

5. Unique: London’s inventory market is a greater choice than New York for a flotation as firms run the chance of “disappearing” within the crowd within the US, in response to the chief government main one of many largest deliberate listings within the UK. Learn the FT interview with Evangelos Mytilineos of Metlen Vitality and Metals.

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Information in-depth

Sam Altman’s OpenAI has turn out to be one of many fastest-growing start-ups of all time however is straining to develop past its partnership with Microsoft. That has cleared a path for SoftBank to guide the largest-ever start-up funding — $40bn into the maker of ChatGPT. In return, Son will get one thing he craves: a spot on the centre of the AI world.

We’re additionally studying and listening to . . . 

• Weak outlook: The Financial institution of England’s grim snapshot of the UK financial system highlights the dimensions of the problem for chancellor Rachel Reeves to carry financial progress.

• Quantum leap? Speedy advances in synthetic intelligence have put one other probably transformative thought, quantum computing, within the shade, writes Richard Waters.

• Gold revisited: The asset’s attract is rising because the unimaginable turns into possible in a monetary Alice-in-Wonderland world, writes Gillian Tett.

• The Economics Present 🎧: Martin Sandbu asks Dani Rodrik, professor of worldwide political financial system at Harvard, if there may be an industrial coverage rationale for Trump’s tariff brinkmanship.

Graphic of the day

Hassle on the UK’s Workplace for Nationwide Statistics means policymakers can not depend on key financial numbers, together with on employment. Its knowledge assortment issues are turning right into a cautionary story for companies around the globe.

Take a break from the information . . . 

Morocco’s Macaal museum, thought of one of the intensive and necessary collections of latest African artwork, reopens after an 18-month, $1mn renovation with an expansive present that charts the sharp shifts that Marrakech has skilled previously 70 years.