Greece’s plan to end the debt stand-off, Australia’s rate cut and a Monet sale

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Greece’s new government outlined its plans to win over its creditors by swapping outstanding debt for new growth-linked bonds, running a permanent budget surplus and targeting wealthy tax-evaders. (FT)

Peter Spiegel looks at whether Athens can rewrite the bailout rules and the willingness of EU leaders to play ball. (FT)

In the news

Australia cut rates to a record low The Reserve Bank of Australia became the latest central bank to loosen monetary policy in a bid to revitalise economic growth. It shifted its benchmark interest rate down to 2.25 per cent , from 2.5 per cent. All eyes were on the Indian central bank after its surprise rate cut last month, but Raghuram Rajan opted to keep its benchmark repo rate at 7.75 per cent. (FT)

Apple tapped the bond markets The world’s most valuable company took advantage of a drop in borrowing costs to fund its aggressive share buyback programme and sold $6.5bn in bonds. (FT)

China’s anti-graft campaign hit the financial sector Investigators are questioning an executive at China Minsheng Banking Corp over his political ties. A Bank of Beijing board member is also under investigation for corruption. (WSJ$)

Balancing the oil market Brent crude oil rose above $54 a barrel yesterday after drilling data raised hopes of a production slowdown in the US. Meanwhile the trend for slashing investment plans has reached Asia, with Malaysia’s Petronas, China’s Cnooc and PetroChina all warning of double-digit percentage cuts in capital spending. (FT, WSJ$)

FCC to propose net neutrality rules The US communications regulator plans to regulate high-speed internet service as a public utility, expanding its authority to regulate broadband providers. (WSJ$)

US budget backlash Barack Obama sparked protests from US business, conservative rivals and allies in labour unions after proposing a one-off tax on corporate cash piles. He also set up a showdown with Republicans over the Pentagon budget, which was well above limits agreed with Congress. The proposal shifts the blame for the squeeze in Pentagon spending on to Congress and foments tensions between the GOP’s national security wing and its fiscal conservatives. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Royal Dutch Shell, which will set out its plans to decommission one of the UK’s biggest oilfields. The energy group will begin public consultations on a disposal plan for the top part of its Brent Delta platform with the hope of avoiding a repeat of the furore over its attempt to dump the Brent Spar oil storage buoy in the Atlantic Ocean 20 years ago. (FT)

Investment in Italy Some of Italy’s largest institutional investors will call on the Italian government to strike down a provision supporting the creation of “loyalty shares”. They say these shares, which grant extra voting rights to longstanding shareholders, make Italy hostile to foreign investment and tend to favour controlling shareholders. (FT)

Santander Ana Botin presents annual results just weeks after a surprise share sale and four months after taking over from her father as executive chairman. Santander is to be the first global bank to offer cloud data storage services to corporate clients in an effort to fight competition from technology and she is likely to be questioned about her plans for further changes. (FT)

Earnings Disney, AT&T, LVMH, BP, Ocado and Chipotle are some of the companies reporting results today. You can see them as they come out at FastFT. Ahead of Chipotle’s earnings, Bloomberg has spoken to the people who built the $22bn burrito empire about the company’s meteoric rise.

Five paintings by Claude Monet with a combined estimated value of £70m will be auctioned today at Sotheby’s in London. The range of buyers for his work has broadened in recent years, pushing demand to record levels. (FT)

Food for thought

Snapping back into action Lululemon founder Chip Wilson has quit the company’s board after a tumultuous period of falling sales and boardroom turmoil. He says he plans to focus on a clothing company started by his wife and son, which sells to a slightly younger demographic than Lululemon. The clothes there are also designed for “muses”: Kit, a 29-year-old single woman who works in a creative job and loves to bike, and Ace, a 32-year-old guy who does CrossFit and drinks strong coffee. (NYT$)

How the west lost Putin Angela Merkel used to see the Russian president as a difficult partner that she could do business with but the Ukraine crisis has changed her mind. The FT examines how she has deflected his mind games and endured his long list of grievances.

Chicken tonight, sick tomorrow The New Yorker profiles Bill Marler, the lawyer who has become the most prominent food-safety attorney in the US. According to a former head of the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the money that Marler extracts from foodmakers “can be a stronger incentive or disincentive than the passing of any particular regulation.”

The Super Bowl was the most watched television programme in US history, pulling in 114.4m Sunday night viewers to watch the New England Patriots claim their first win in a decade. The halftime show featuring Katy Perry drew 118.5m viewers. (FT)

Video of the day

Syriza ripples in Spain The Spanish stock market was the worst performer of Europe’s exchanges yesterday after a weekend rally led by Podemos, the anti-establishment party. Ralph Atkins looks at how Spain would cope if those anti-austerity ripples were to become waves. (FT)

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: A man walks past buildings at the central business district of Singapore REUTERS/Nicky Loh.