Central banks take centre stage this week, Benjamin Netanyahu defies western allies over his strategy in Gaza, and the US National Labor Relations Board is facing challenges from some major companies. Plus, after years of negative news surrounding South Africa, there are grounds for medium-term optimism.Mentioned in this podcast:US labour watchdog attracts enemies from Amazon to SpaceXThe bullish case for South AfricaBenjamin Netanyahu defies western allies over Gaza strategyCentral bankers take centre stageGet 40% off a digital FT subscription: ft.com/briefingsaleThe FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help by Sam Giovinco, Zach St. Louis, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. 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.