Political instability jolts Japan

The French government is on the brink of another collapse, and Japan’s prime minister quits after just a year in office. Plus, China may open its domestic bond market to Russian companies for the first time since 2022, and US economic data is complicating the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision on interest rates.Mentioned in this podcast:French PM François Bayrou on the brink in crucial confidence voteJapan’s prime minister quits to make way for new leaderChina paves way for renminbi fundraising by Russian energy giants US adds just 22,000 jobs in August as labour market sputtersClick here to access virtual sessions from the FT Weekend Festival Today’s FT News Briefing was produced by Ethan Plotkin, Victoria Craig, Katya Kumkova, Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Peter Barber and Alex Higgins. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.