German election winner Friedrich Merz promises ‘independence from US’

Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. We begin today with the results of Germany’s federal election. Plus: 

• Ukraine’s Zelenskyy offers to quit in exchange for peace

• Proxy resignations and the crisis of corporate Japan

• What Jamie Dimon’s viral leaked recording tells us

Germany’s Friedrich Merz promised to “achieve independence” from the US after his centre-right bloc won federal elections amid a time of upheaval for Europe. 

In an election where Germany shifted to the right, Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) came first with about 29 per cent of the vote yesterday, according to projections, but still needed at least one other coalition partner to secure a working parliamentary majority.

Merz declared that Germany had to fundamentally remake its security arrangements and end a decades-long reliance on Washington, given US President Donald Trump was “largely indifferent” to Europe’s fate.

Meanwhile the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came second in the election, with its highest ever vote share of about 20 per cent.

The Trump administration has openly courted the AfD and criticised Germany’s mainstream politicians for refusing to co-operate with a party that has flirted with Nazi-era slogans, urged the end of sanctions on Russia and called for mass deportations of migrants.

Read more about the German election and its global implications.

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

• Economic data: Singapore reports inflation figures for January.  

• Ukraine war: A virtual G7 meeting will be held to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

• US-France relations: President Donald Trump hosts his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the White House.

• India-UK trade talks: UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet Indian commerce minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi to relaunch negotiations on a long-awaited trade deal.

• UN climate meeting in China: The 62nd Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change begins in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

Five more top stories

1. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said for the first time he is willing to step down as Ukraine’s president if the move secured Nato membership or lasting peace for his country. Zelenskyy’s startling offer, while improbable given the dim prospects of Nato accession, is a sign of the extreme pressure on the Ukrainian leader as the US hurries to hatch a peace deal with Moscow.

2. Fund managers are facing lengthy delays in getting approval to operate in Singapore after a surge in applications, putting a dent in the city-state’s ambitions to be Asia’s leading wealth management hub. Rising demand is partly driven by Chinese quantitative hedge funds looking to expand globally after Beijing moved to curb the sector’s growth at home.

3. Shein’s profits dropped by more than a third last year as it suffered a difficult final quarter and battled competition from rival Temu, two people with knowledge of the matter told the FT. The lower profits highlight the Singapore-based group’s challenges as it attempts to win regulatory approval for a London listing.

4. Israel’s defence minister has said tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians will not be allowed to return to their homes in the occupied West Bank, as the Israeli military expands its operations against armed militants in the territory. Separately, the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has been thrown into doubt after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners late on Saturday night.

• Hassan Nasrallah funeral: The veteran Hizbollah leader who was killed in an Israeli air strike five months ago, was buried yesterday after a ceremony in Beirut attended by huge crowds of supporters.

5. Warren Buffett has sought to reassure Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that he still wants to own businesses, despite the group’s cash pile rising to a record after it dumped stocks and failed to make any big acquisitions. The billionaire investor addressed the cash pile, which hit $334.2bn at the end of last year, in his annual letter to shareholders.

The Weekend Essay

In Japan you can pay a proxy to quit your job on your behalf. These resignation agencies, or taishoku daikou service, handle communications with the employer, the blowback, the return of company property and any paperwork or financial issues outstanding. While some suspect this murky industry is ripe for a crackdown, both the existence of resignation agencies and the demand that keeps them in business is fascinating.

We’re also reading . . . 

Chart of the day

China’s government spends less on its citizens than most other countries with similar or greater income levels, analysis by the FT shows, potentially undermining Beijing’s efforts to encourage consumption to boost its flagging economy.

Take a break from the news . . . 

Our annual survey of FT readers shows bonus payouts are on the rise. Of the more than 1,000 readers who answered the questionnaire over half said they anticipated a bigger or substantially bigger payout than last year. But there was uncertainty about the next 12 months.