Ft Big Read

Lab-grown stones are set to disrupt the big miners. Henry Sanderson reports.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

China's President Xi Jinping has been confirmed in power until at least 2022 with a mandate to spread Beijing's influence globally  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The midterm elections are seen as a referendum on President Mauricio Macri's efforts to pull Argentina from the shadow of populism, says Benedict Mander. Investors broadly welcome his plan but there are risks and resistance, Will the country follow his call to face reality?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Russia's use of the social network to interfere in the US election has raised serious questions over Facebook's model, say Hannah Kuchler and Barney Jopson. Action to try to control fake news and political ads has done little to ease pressure on the company  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The ride-sharing group has lurched from one management crisis to another this year. But now it faces its biggest challenge: keeping its drivers, says Leslie Hook  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The referendum has provoked a constitutional crisis — and forging a new deal will be difficult. Michael Stothard reports from Barcelona  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Angela Merkel's asylum policy allowed more than 1m refugees into the country but trying to absorb so many has caused friction and immigration has been a big issue in the poll campaign, says Guy Chazan. Image: Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

More than $1.8bn has been raised this year by initial coin offerings by developers who want to create a generation of internet platforms that give power to the users not the tech giants, says Richard Waters. But regulators are eyeing the cryptocurrency markets and sceptics see another bubble  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The country believes it is leading the world in the field, but scientists feel constrained by regulation and fear government interference, say Leo Lewis and Clive Cookson. Does Japan risk being overtaken by the US or another rival? Image by Dreamstime  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Now our mechanical creations can act independently, what happens when AI goes wrong? Where does moral, ethical and legal responsibility for robots lie — with the manufacturers, the programmers, the users or the robots themselves, asks John Thornhill. And who owns their rights?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The jihadis may be in retreat in Syria and Iraq but there is another front in their war: the battle to make as many US dollars as fast as they can, say Erika Solomon and Ahmad Mhidi. And imposing their own currency helps them transfer the funds  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

By many measures, stock markets today are overvalued. But calling the peak of the equities bull run is fraught with peril, says Ben McCrum  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The anti-corruption campaigner has built up a surprisingly large popular movement ahead of presidential elections next March, says Kathrin Hille. But he is short on policies and numbers and can appear out of his depth. Does he offer a genuine alternative, asks Kathrin  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

America is building up a genetic database but there are concerns about the risk of the information leaving the country, says David J Lynch. Genomics is one of the most exciting fields of medical research but it is also the latest area where Chinese investment is raising security fears in the US  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Californian company's CEO is hoping the car being launched this week will be the world's first mass market electric vehicle and stem the marque's losses, says Richard Waters. But there will soon be stiff competition  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Beijing hopes that sharing its high speed rail technology will win allies and open markets as it pushes forward with the One Belt, One Road project. But cancelled schemes and poorer countries' struggles with the debt they can bring are hindering China's ambitions. This report by James Kynge, Michael Peel and Ben Bland is narrated by James  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Millions of Americans could lose insurance cover if the bill passes but if it fails the uncertainty will undermine the system, says Edward Luce. Even Donald Trump doesn't want to lend his brand to the new measure  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The UK prime minister's grip on power is fragile, says George Parker. Weakened by the election, vulnerable to rebellion at home and diminished in Europe, can she survive long enough to negotiate the withdrawal from the EU?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Twenty years on the former British colony is deeply divided over its relations with China  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To buy or build the next boss? The changes of regime at General Electric and Uber highlight the shifts we are seeing in how companies choose their senior executives, says Andrew Hill. GE has always meticulously groomed its leaders in house and had John Flannery primed ready to take over when Jeff Immelt stood down. But that model is becoming rare  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.