America’s risky corporate loan market has been hit by the biggest slew of downgrades since the depths of the Covid crisis in 2020, and European banks with large retail arms are expected to report big second-quarter profits. Plus, the FT’s sports editor Josh Noble explains why the commercial rollout of the Women’s World Cup has been so disappointing. Mentioned in this podcast:US junk loan market hit with flurry of credit rating downgradesUK banks share more of the benefits of interest rate hikes Commercial rollout of Women’s World Cup criticised as missed opportunityBombs, car chases and ‘free money’: Dutch gangs blow up German cash machinesThe FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Monica Lopez, Tom Stokes, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.