FirstFT: Today’s top stories | Financial Times

Merck will manufacture Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine under an unusual deal brokered by the White House to boost production of the single-shot jab, which has been bedevilled by manufacturing delays.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, on Tuesday said the Big Pharma rivals would work together to increase supplies of the vaccine, ahead of remarks from President Joe Biden later in the afternoon on the pact.

The Biden administration helped to engineer the deal between the competitors after J&J, which was granted an emergency use authorisation for its vaccine at the weekend, experienced production hold-ups.

“These obviously, are two companies that [have] historically been competitors. The fact that they are coming together speaks to the ability of this administration . . . to bring them to the table and work together to address the pandemic,” Psaki told reporters.

The co-operation between Merck and Johnson & Johnson will allow the United States to have enough vaccine doses for “every adult in America” who wants one, Biden said on Tuesday. (FT, Washington Post)

Coronavirus digest

In the news

German regulator steps in at Greensill Germany’s financial watchdog has taken direct oversight of day-to-day operations at Greensill Bank, as the lender’s ailing parent company warned that its loss of $4.6bn of credit insurance could cause a wave of defaults and 50,000 job losses. (FT)

Hong Kong pro-democracy activists’ bail hearings Hong Kong’s mass prosecution of opposition figures under the national security law stretched on for the second day on Tuesday. Over the course of the eight hour-session, in which defence lawyers said their clients were being subjected to “sheer torment” and exhaustion, bail applications were heard for 39 of the 47 defendants. (SCMP)

Gensler pledges market structure review Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the US stock market regulator, Gary Gensler, has promised a review of fees paid by large Wall Street firms to retail brokerages in the wake of chaotic trading in companies such as GameStop. (FT)

US and EU sanction Russian officials over Navalny The co-ordinated measures announced on Tuesday came in the wake of an assessment from the US intelligence community that Russian security services used a Soviet-developed nerve agent called novichok to poison opposition politician Alexei Navalny in August, according to a senior Biden administration official. (FT)

US hands over alleged Ghosn accomplices The father-and-son duo accused of orchestrating former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn’s daring escape from Japan have reportedly been handed over by the US to face charges. (FT)

China’s top bank regulator warns of bubble risks in foreign markets Guo Shuqing, chairman of China’s banking and insurance regulatory commission, warned on Tuesday of ‘a bubble problem’ in international markets and within his country’s own real estate sector. (FT)

Ant Group under personal data pressure Ant Group has shared just a fraction of its consumer data with China’s central bank, defying intense pressure from authorities after the government forced the group to pull its record $37bn initial public offering last year. The Communist party needs entrepreneurs such as Jack Ma, writes Jamil Anderlini, but it curtails anyone who becomes too powerful. (FT)

FT 1000: Europe’s fastest-growing companies Green power group Bulb Energy has been named Europe’s fastest-growing company in 2021, topping the fifth annual FT-Statista ranking with compound annual revenue growth of 1,159 per cent and knocking bank OakNorth out of the number one spot. Read the full in-depth report. (FT)

The Future Workforce Live on March 9

Employees across the globe experienced profound changes to the way they work in 2020. As the crisis progresses from a social to an economic challenge, HR leaders and their teams will continue to be central to defining business strategy. Join us for a full day of conversations on how to build better workplaces in 2021 and beyond. Sign up here.

The day ahead

UK budget Rishi Sunak is to announce a £5bn “restart” grant scheme in his Budget on Wednesday to help shops, pubs, hotels and other businesses most affected by Covid-19, taking total spending on such grants to £25bn. Sunak is also expected to reveal that other support schemes for businesses and individuals — including the furlough scheme — will be extended until the end of June. (FT)

What else we’re reading

Why Japan switched from TV to online While the transition has already happened in other countries, Japanese TV seems uniquely stunned by an era when YouTube and other platforms give audiences and talent direct control over who does and does not disappear from the public sphere. (FT)

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: WTO must intensify co-operation “On Monday I became the first woman and the first African to lead the World Trade Organization. Now we must roll up our sleeves and get to work,” write Okonjo-Iweala in the FT as she calls for WTO members to minimise or remove export restrictions to allow for equitable and affordable vaccine access. (FT)

China’s trade hand remains strong post-Trump Beijing believed that as soon as Joe Biden replaced Trump in the Oval Office, Washington, Brussels and others would form a “united front” focused on containing some of the more central elements to China’s economic success. Instead, China’s luck is continuing, more in the latest Trade Secrets newsletter. Sign up here. (FT)

The era of central bank convergence is over The idea of central banks as independent institutions — an idea that arose alongside inflation targeting — was always a chimera in that it neglected independence was bestowed by governments, writes Claire Jones. Martin Wolf points out what he thinks central banks should target. (FT)

It’s not up to consumers to police modern slavery You don’t have to look far to see people gobbling up cheap goods and services without asking questions, writes Sarah O’Connor. But the average consumer is not in a position to understand the role of labour costs in clothing. Businesses and governments should lead in rooting out abuses. (FT)

Podcast of the day

Money Clinic special edition: Claer meets Gina Miller The anti-Brexit campaigner has made her front-page news — but what’s less well known is the personal story behind her own financial journey. As one of the highest profile women working in the City of London, Miller has raised awareness of unfair investment charges, the impact of the gender pay gap and the need for women to embrace investing.