KKR has submitted a preliminary bid to take a majority stake in Thames Water, and HSBC set out its cost cuts in its annual earnings report yesterday. UK inflation hit a 10-month high. Plus, Germany has lost half a million manufacturing jobs since 2020. Mentioned in this podcast:German manufacturing job losses deepen fears over industrial declineUK inflation rises to 10-month high of 3% in JanuaryHSBC sets out scale of cost cuts under chief executive’s restructuring planKKR submits £4bn bid to take majority stake in Thames WaterSubscription promo: ft.com/briefingsaleThe FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Ethan Plotkin, Lulu Smyth, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. 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.