Ft Big Read

China’s online services sector is red-hot as customers turn to their smartphones to order services such as taxis, massages and food deliveries. But with an estimated Rmb50BN being spent a year on subsidies as competitors race to win market share, some see parallels with Silicon Valley in 1999  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Growth and prosperity had come to be seen as the hallmark of President Vladimir Putin's reign. But after two years of recession, Kathrin Hille says the social wellbeing that replaced the hardships of the post-Soviet Union era is wearing thin. Sanctions, the falling oil price and an ageing population are all increasing pressures on the economy  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It is more than a game to the Chinese. President Xi Jinping's plan to create a 'great sports nation' is spurring a tide of investment in foreign star players and stakes in overseas clubs, say Ben Bland and Charles Clover. There are worries, though, over the financial foundations of the country's latest binge  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The $3tn debt mountain built up when the global oil and gas industry believed high prices were here to stay threatens further destabilisation, says Ed Crooks  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Surging mergers and Y10tn in outbound deals in 2015 are being cited as evidence that the once-mighty interventionist ministry of international trade — reborn as Meti — is reclaiming power, boosted by the Abenomics stimulus project and seeking to compete more effectively with China, say Leo Lewis and Kana Inagaki  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

An FT investigation by David Crow and Robin Kwong has found that, despite post-crisis anger at expensive benefits for corporate bosses and their subsequent reining in, S&P 500 company aircraft are still being used for personal trips. Additional reporting by Jennifer Bissell  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The country's huge, inefficient and indebted state-owned companies are crying out for reform as growth slows. But few believe that Beijing's approach of merging them to create even bigger giants will solve the problem, says Gabriel Wildau  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Could Europe's great postwar project fall apart? Peter Spiegel and Richard Milne say populist parties on the continent are watching as Euroscepticism becomes mainstream in British political dialogue. Contagion is seen as a risk if the country votes to leave the EU  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The German chancellor must disarm hostility among her partners at the EU summit when she seeks agreement on a deal over the refugee crisis, says Stefan Wagstyl  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

UK newspaper groups are re-evaluating their business model as they seek online revenues to replace lost print sales and new digital ways to promote content - such as Google, Facebook and Apple, says Henry Mance  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Donald’s campaign to win the Republican nomination for president has won support from conservative media. But for some in the GOP what is good for broadcasters is bad for the party, says Matthew Garrahan  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A battle of the bankers has gone public and may end up in court, drawing attention to the financial industry's hiring and retention practices. Sujeet Indap and James Fontanella-Khan investigate the dispute between Joe Perella and a former colleague who was fired amid allegations of a plot to quit and launch a rival firm  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Will computers powered by artificial intelligence become the next Warren Buffetts? Robin Wigglesworth reports on the investment groups' race to build a machine that can think, learn, trade and adapt to changing market conditions  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The swings on the country's stock exchanges have given investors around the world a tough start to 2016, underlining how central the country is to global markets and bringing calls for more transparency about Beijing's strategy, report Tom Mitchell and Gabriel Wildau  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

IBM is pinning its hopes on turning a smart machine's box of tricks into practical applications, says Richard Waters. Can it capitalise on the system's promise of bringing an AI revolution to business?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The country is only now examining the social price of children left behind by the mass movement triggered by China's transformation from agrarian backwater to digital society, says Patti Waldmeir  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As societies debate whether to encourage philanthropy or to tax wealth for redistribution by government, gestures like Mark Zuckerberg's vow to give away 99% of his Facebook riches grab the attention. So if you have a spare $1bn, how do you go about spending it for the good of others? Let Stephen Foley guide you through the task  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The German Chancellor's 'refugees welcome' message transformed her in the eyes of the world from cautious leader to a bold one with strong convictions, says Stefan Wagstyl. There may be a political price for her to pay and her gambit may fail, but Angela Merkel is reshaping Europe  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Moscow is struggling to prevent the war in Syria from fuelling its homegrown problems of Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus and the radicalisation of young Muslims, says Kathrin Hille.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Seventeen years after the Chávez revolution the oil-rich country that suffers 'permanent violation' of civil and human rights is preparing for elections in which the socialist government may lose its majority, says Andres Schipani. Additional reporting by John Paul Rathbone  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.