A 'new deal' for Britain, engineering addictiveness, luxury's digital laggards

David Cameron will put the finishing touches to his cabinet and address newly elected Conservative MPs today. Campaigning over, he returns to a bulging in-tray: specifically, renegotiating the terms of Britain's EU membership and of Scotland within the union.

He will this week sit down with Nicola Sturgeon to thrash out the vexed question of how much more autonomy to hand Scotland after the SNP won 56 of Scotland's 59 parliamentary seats. She has already warned him that it "can't be business as usual".

And there's another flashpoint in Cameron's pursuit of a "new deal" for Britain. Poland, Hungary and Slovakia are all ready to battle to defend the free movement of migrant workers - and have already warned Cameron against any "meddling". (FT, NYT)

In the news

China rate cut spurs Asian stocks Markets rallied across the region after China loosened monetary policy. It cut interest rates for the third time in six months in a bid to shore up economic growth. Despite lagging growth, China's demand for oil has continued to grow and it has overtaken the US as the world's biggest crude importer. (FT)

Saudi Arabia snubs US meetings King Salman will not attend meetings at the White House this week or the summit at Camp David - an apparent signal of disappointment at US relations with Iran, its regional adversary. The FT looks at the tricky task facing Obama when he hosts leaders from the Gulf this week. (NYT, FT)

Russian soldiers quit over Ukraine Members of the armed forces are leaving to avoid serving in Ukraine. Reuters speaks to soldiers whose accounts call into question Russia's assertions that no Russian soldiers have been sent to Ukraine. One tank soldier says he would not fight voluntarily in Ukraine: "No, what for? That's not our war."

US boardrooms hoard $1tn Fifty companies hold more than $1tn of cash with Apple, Microsoft, Google, Pfizer and Cisco collectively sitting on more than $400bn. A tepid global economy and the US tax rules are putting them off spending their overseas cash piles. (FT)

Banks plot retreat from UK HSBC and Standard Chartered aren't the only banks looking at a shift overseas. Foreign banks are subject to a levy on their UK balance sheets so Citigroup, JPMorgan and UBS are looking at ways to "de-emphasise" operations in the City of London. (FT)

It's a big day for

Greece and its creditors It's crunch time. Today's eurogroup meeting could be a make or break moment ahead of Greece's deadline to repay the IMF EUR750m. With negotiations tense, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is coming under pressure from within her own party to give up on Greece. Here's what you need to know before tomorrow's repayment deadline. (Bloomberg, FT)

Poland's president Bronislaw Komorowski faces a run-off after failing to win re-election yesterday. "You have to read these results as a warning for the people in power," he said. "Tomorrow morning I will present to you the plan which will be based on the lessons we learnt during the first round of campaigning." His adversary is Andrzej Duda of the main opposition party. (FT)

Food for thought

Fizzy drinks go flat Water is set to become the world's best -selling soft drink. (FT)

Engineering addiction Modern slot machines have perfected addictive gaming, controlling the momentum of play so that there are just enough rewards to keep people playing but not so much that they will walk away with their pockets full. Now the makers of mobile games and dating apps want in on their techniques. (The Verge)

The war at home Sebastian Junger explores the post-traumatic stress disorder afflicting a new generation of veterans at the highest rate in US military history. (Vanity Fair)

Labour should blame Keynes Niall Ferguson takes on Paul Krugman and the Keynesian economists who have been "ignominiously humbled" by the Conservative victory in the UK. He argues that the real architect of this victory was the chancellor, George Osborne. For his part, Mr Krugman seems less than humbled. (FT, NYT)

Geopolitics is back With signs that the global economy is integrating more slowly than before, Ed Luce wonders whether Thomas Friedman's "Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention" - wherein no two countries with a McDonald's would go to war - may no longer apply. (FT)

Texas war games Conspiracy theories about Jade Helm 15, a long-planned military exercise, have prompted State Guard monitoring of the operation and highlighted the debate over the relationship between the federal government and the states. (FT)

Video of the day

Luxury's digital laggards Jo Ellison examines the conflict between the craftsmanship of the luxury sector and the click-to-buy culture. She talks to management consultant Mimma Viglezio about why the sector has been slow to adapt to digital advances, its fear of becoming "too democratic" and how it could make a proper effort to harness the power of the internet. (FT)

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