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Twitter has issued a lawsuit alleging Elon Musk breached the terms of his $44bn agreement to buy the social media company, just days after the billionaire chief executive of Tesla said he planned to terminate the deal.
In the strongly worded complaint, Twitter’s lawyers said Musk’s claims that its client had not shared sufficient information about fake accounts were “pretexts and lack any merit”. They argued Musk was trying to back out of the deal rather than “bear the cost” of the rout in tech stocks.
Musk, who owns 9.1 per cent of Twitter, tweeted in response to the legal filing last night “oh the irony lol”.
The Delaware court filing sets the stage for a high-stakes legal battle between Twitter and one of its most prolific users. Its lawyers have asked the court to fast-track a trial for September.
“We already knew Musk’s claims were weak. Twitter’s complaint hammers that home,” said Ann Lipton, a corporate law professor at Tulane University.
Who do you think has the stronger legal case? Email me at firstft@ft.com. Here is the rest of today’s news — Gordon
Five more stories in the news
1. Sri Lanka president flees for Maldives President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled Sri Lanka on a military aircraft for the Maldives, according to the country’s air force, leaving behind a deepening economic and political crisis. Ranil Wickremesinghe, prime minister, who becomes acting president under the country’s constitution, has declared a state of emergency.
2. Donald Trump ‘electrified’ mob ahead of January 6 riot The committee investigating the Capitol riot yesterday displayed emails, text messages and a draft tweet all showing the former president had planned for days to use a speech near the White House to urge his supporters to march on Congress.
3. UBS appoints new head of wealth management division Iqbal Khan has been appointed the sole head of UBS’s flagship wealth management division in a reshuffle that strengthens his chances of taking over as chief executive of the Swiss bank in the future. Tom Naratil, who was previously co-head of the division alongside Khan and led the bank’s Americas unit, will leave UBS after 39 years.
4. Nato and EU alarm over risk of Ukraine weapons smuggling The two blocs are pushing for better tracking of weapons supplied to Kyiv in response to fears that criminal groups are smuggling them out of the country and on to Europe’s black market. Meanwhile, fears are growing among Ukraine’s international partners about the mounting pressure on Kyiv’s public finances.
5. Google slows hiring citing ‘uncertain’ outlook Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Google parent Alphabet, told employees in an internal email yesterday that the company would be “slowing the pace of hiring for the rest of the year”, without giving details. Google is the latest big technology company to take a more cautious stance as the threat of an economic recession increases.
The day ahead
Economic data Economists predict annual inflation in the US will hit 8.8 per cent when figures are released later today. That is up from an annual increase of 8.6 per cent in May which was the fastest rise since December 1981. Yesterday the Bureau of Labor Statistics was forced to publicly discredit a fake inflation report that was sent out ahead of today’s announcement.
Monetary policy Canada’s central bank is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate 0.75 percentage points to 2.25 per cent to combat inflation. The Bank of Korea today raised its benchmark rate by half a percentage point for the first time in its history. New Zealand’s central bank also raised rates by 50 basis points as the trend of tightening monetary policy among the world’s central banks accelerated. Later, the Federal Reserve will release its report compiling anecdotal information on the current economic conditions of its 12 central bank districts, known as the “Beige Book”.
Company earnings Delta Air Lines is forecast to report that revenues in its second quarter increased to $13.57bn, up 90 per cent from a year ago when carriers were still struggling with low airline traffic because of the Delta variant of Covid-19.
Regulation The Securities and Exchange Commission will decide whether to rescind a Trump-era rule that proxy advisers inform companies of their voting recommendations when they are sent to shareholders. Asset managers and pension funds complained that the requirement, which was adopted in 2020 but never enforced, limited the advisers’ independence and did little to protect investors.
Biden begins Middle East trip The US president begins his trip to the Middle East with a three-day visit to Israel. He will be pushing Yair Lapid’s government to improve relations with the world’s largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia and for closer intelligence sharing between the two countries against their shared foe Iran.
Conservative party leadership campaign Conservative MPs vote in the first round of the leadership election after eight contenders made it on to the ballot to replace Boris Johnson. Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor is the bookmakers’ favourite. You can follow the contest’s progress by using the FT’s Tory leadership election tracker.
What else we’re reading
Euro’s slide towards dollar parity reflects hit from Ukraine war The currency is now worth a fraction more than a single dollar for the first time since 2002, reviving memories of its difficult early years when it fell so low traders dubbed it the “toilet currency”.
Inside Celsius: how one of crypto’s biggest lenders ground to a halt The decline of Celsius has been labelled the crypto community’s “Lehman Brothers moment”. It loaned deposits from retail investors to large crypto companies and promised exceptionally high interest rates. But it now has a hole in its balance sheet of as much as $2bn and is facing collapse. This week the FT is launching a cryptocurrency newsletter to help guide you through the crash. Premium subscribers can sign up here.
Webb telescope images reveal dance of ancient galaxies Space scientists have revealed a series of stunning images from the first observing run of the James Webb Space Telescope, including five galaxies engaged in a brilliant cosmic dance and a nebula exploding around a pair of dying stars.
Shinzo Abe’s death gives PM chance to make his mark The assassination of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister has left a profound void in the governing Liberal Democratic party — and created an extraordinary opportunity for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to stamp his own mark on Japanese politics.
France’s great Dijon mustard crisis From surgical masks to Ukrainian sunflower oil, household items have been in short supply at times since the start of the pandemic. But now — for French food lovers — it’s getting serious: the country is running out of mustard. Victor Mallet explores.
Books
The Work & Careers team select what to read this month, including the lessons for business from Alabama’s American football coach Nick Saban and a guide on how to succeed in a changing world by Seamus Gillen.
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