FirstFT: Netanyahu bows to public pressure following mass protests

Good morning.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government bowed to public pressure on Monday, delaying bitterly contested plans to overhaul Israel’s judiciary.

The backtrack comes after the largest protests in more than a decade erupted in Israel Sunday evening, plunging the country into its worst political crisis in years. Public dissent rippled throughout the economy, with ports, shopping mall chains, and the medical association announcing strikes.

The massive unrest began after news surfaced that Netanyahu had sacked his defence minister Yoav Gallant, who had called for the judicial overhaul to be suspended.

The overhaul would give Netanyahu’s government and its allies more control over the appointment of judges and limit the top court’s ability to strike down laws. Supporters say the changes are needed to rein in an activist leftwing judiciary, while critics see the overhaul as a fundamental threat to Israel’s checks and balances.

The key battleground is over judicial reform, but many say it is a fight over the nature of Israel itself and choosing between a secular state versus a more conservative one.

Here are some of the other events you should know about today:

• Boao Forum for Asia: The annual international Boao Forum kicks off in the Chinese island of Hainan today. The forum is modelled on the World Economic Forum in Davos and draws hundreds of foreign investors and leaders to China.

• Bank turmoil: US congressional committees will grill financial regulators today and Wednesday over their role in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Across the Atlantic, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey will face questions from MPs on the Treasury Committee about the purchase by HSBC of Silicon Valley Bank UK.

• Corporate earnings: China’s electric vehicle maker BYD will publish annual results today. Investment bank Jefferies and US chipmaker Micron will publish quarterly results.

What did you think of today’s FirstFT? Let us know at firstft@ft.com. Thanks for reading.

Five more top stories

1. Top Fed official blasts SVB collapse as “textbook case of mismanagement,” saying the US central bank had been briefed on the troubles at Silicon Valley Bank in mid-February. Michael Barr, the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, proposed a tightening of banking rules and said US regulators were ready to intervene again if necessary.

2. Saudi Aramco strengthens China ties with two refinery deals, increasing the state oil company’s contracts with Beijing by up to 690,000 b/d. The deals come as Russia eats into Saudi Arabia’s share of the largest oil import market.

3. Hungary approved Finland’s Nato membership on Monday in the latest sign of prime minister Viktor Orbán slowly turning away from Russia as the economic benefits of their relationships fades.

4. Alibaba billionaire Jack Ma has made a rare public visit to mainland China after spending the majority of the past few years living outside the country. Ma spent less time in China following a government crackdown on the tech sector in 2020. The visit could be a sign that efforts by local government officials to extend an olive branch to Ma’s companies are paying off.

• Capital flight: While Jack Ma may be warming to China again, the recent disappearance of entrepreneur Bao Fan shows worries still remain about the state’s attitude towards the businesses, writes Henny Sender.

5. Harita Nickel raises $660mn in Indonesia’s biggest IPO this year in a major test of international investor confidence as the country attempts to develop an electric vehicle supply chain. Indonesia is the second-biggest listing market in Asia and holds the world’s largest nickel reserves, a vital metal for the energy transition.

The Big Read

Outwardly, Iran’s Islamic regime is projecting confidence that it has navigated the country’s recent tumult. But beneath the surface, the anger that inspired nationwide protests is still bubbling away. The question is whether the ideological hardliners in power will allow the changes that analysts believe are their best hope of staving off more unrest.

We’re also reading . . .

• Lessons for Deloitte: China told Deloitte to “learn a lesson” after issuing a record fine against the accounting firm as the country steps up scrutiny of auditors and tries to stamp out risks in its financial system.

• Iraq’s dollar shortage: Attempts to control Iraq’s currency crisis has cut dollar supply, worsened inflation, and exacerbated hardships for Iraqis who don’t trust the country’s currency nor institutions. The crisis underlines the fragility of Iraq’s oil dependent economy 20 years on from the US-led invasion.

• Opinion: The “shadow boxing” between China and Japan over Ukraine underlies a broader trend, writes Gideon Rachman. The merging of geopolitical rivalries in Asia and Europe has disturbing echoes of the 1930s.

Chart of the day

The pay transparency movement is gaining momentum in the US and upsetting the labour market as employees find out how much their colleagues are earning. For businesses, the laws could exacerbate an already tight labour market which has pushed up salaries.

Take a break from the news

From a bean-to-bar chocolate factory to Taiwanese casual dining, Gregory Marchand, chef-owner of Frenchie, shares with FT Globetrotter his favourite places to eat and drink in Sentier, a bustling pocket of Paris’s 2nd arrondissement.

Additional contributions by David Hindley and Tee Zhuo