FirstFT: France presses UK to help plug multibillion-pound hole in nuclear projects

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The French government is pressing the UK to help plug a multibillion-pound hole in the budget of nuclear power projects being built in Britain by France’s electricity operator EDF.

The call for a contribution from the UK is likely to cause tensions between Paris and London, a day after state-owned EDF admitted its construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset would suffer further costly delays, taking the bill to as much as £46bn.

The UK has said it will not put cash into the project, which counts EDF as a majority shareholder, and is already backed by a government guarantee on its revenues once it is up and running.

But Paris is pushing for a “global solution” that would also encompass funding issues at another planned UK plant, Sizewell C, said a French economy ministry official and another person close to the talks. Here are more details on the discussions.

• Related: Global nuclear power generation is set to reach an all-time high next year, according to the latest forecasts from the International Energy Agency.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Monetary policy: The European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates when it announces its decision today. For more on rate-setters’ battle against inflation, premium subscribers can sign up for our Central Banks newsletter by Chris Giles. Or, upgrade your subscription here.

• Economic data: Ifo publishes its German business climate survey, and the US releases flash fourth-quarter gross domestic product figures.

• Companies: Several carriers including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines report results after the US aviation regulator blocked Boeing from expanding production of its troubled 737 Max plane. In the UK, Dr Martens, Foxtons, Halfords and St James’s Place are among those with updates. See our Week Ahead newsletter for the full list.

• Burns Night: As Scots honour Robert Burns — whose distaste for duties imposed by London on Scotland’s national drink was the subject of one of his poems — local whisky producers say they are confident of defying a general weakening of demand for luxuries.

Join us on Tuesday at the Sofitel Brussels Europe or online to discuss a collaborative approach to AI implementation and regulations with industry leaders and experts. Sign up here.

Five more top stories

1. Exclusive: A Signa Group company transferred more than €300mn to two entities linked to its Austrian founder René Benko before the property giant’s collapse, according to financial documents reviewed by the Financial Times. Signa Development, one of the three companies that oversaw the conglomerate’s investments, last year lent €125mn to Laura Finance Holding GmbH and another €190mn to Laura Holding GmbH, entities controlled by Benko’s family. Read the full story.

2. UK billionaire Joe Lewis has pleaded guilty to three criminal counts in a US insider trading case. The charges against Lewis, whose family owns Tottenham Hotspur football club, carry an overall maximum prison sentence of 45 years, but the 86-year-old is likely to get far less time. Here are more details on the charges.

3. Exclusive: The US will work with China on the safety of artificial intelligence systems in the coming months despite heightened trade tensions, the White House’s top science adviser has said. The director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said “steps have been taken” towards that end, an explicit signal of rare co-operation between the two powers. Read the FT’s full interview with Arati Prabhakar.

4. Exclusive: The UK Post Office privately told ministers that it would have opposed appeals by nearly half of the 700 sub-postmasters convicted using data from Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon IT system. The message this month came days before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced unprecedented legislation to acquit the sub-postmasters en masse. Suzi Ring and Rafe Uddin have more details from London.

• UK politics: Sunak’s allies are braced for more Tory rebels to publicly demand his exit, as rightwingers warned that defeats in two looming by-elections would deal another hammer blow to his authority.

• UK public spending: The next government will find it harder to cut public debt than any administration since the second world war, a top think-tank has warned.

5. Tesla warned that sales growth for its electric vehicles would be “notably lower” in 2024 than last year as it braced for flagging consumer demand, intensifying competition and ongoing high interest rates that damped the effect of a series of price cuts. The company’s shares fell more than 5 per cent in after-market trading. Here’s what chief Elon Musk said in an earnings call yesterday.

The Big Read

Cranes bristling on Birmingham’s skyline speak to the beginnings of a transformation, but the reality is that Britain’s second city is racing to catch up after decades of under-investment. The same story plays out across the regions outside London and the south-east. Inhabitants of hubs such as Manchester, Leeds and Bristol typically suffer longer commute times, have less access to affordable housing, fewer hospital beds per head and weaker digital connectivity than their European counterparts. Here’s what is needed for Britain’s cities to thrive.

We’re also reading . . . 

• South African Jews: In a community with members who played prominent roles in fighting apartheid, many are looking on with unease as their government pushes a landmark genocide case against Israel.

• Wirecard: Four years on, legal protection for whistleblowers has improved, but corporate Germany still has much to learn from the scandal, writes Olaf Storbeck.

• Farmer protests: The EU is struggling to keep the agriculture sector on board with its green transition, as farmers egged on by the far right have taken to creating widespread havoc.

• Africa’s richest man: After opening a $20bn refinery that could eventually process half of Nigeria’s daily oil output, Aliko Dangote has come under pressure by the country’s anti-graft watchdog.

Chart of the day

Lithium miners are cutting costs and scaling back plans to expand production after slowing demand in China for electric vehicles crushed the price of the battery metal. The price of lithium has tumbled more than 80 per cent in the past year to $13,200 a tonne, its lowest level since 2020.

Take a break from the news

If you want to be a serious player in the bar world these days, you need a snack menu by a big-name chef, writes FT drinks expert Alice Lascelles. These cocktail bars will make you reconsider your dinner plans.

Additional contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm and Gordon Smith