Good morning from the Financial Times.
Today is Friday, January 9th.
And this is your FT News Briefing.
It looks like the deal frenzy of 2025 is extending to 2026.
And Iran is experiencing its biggest protest in years over its economy.
It's hard to imagine how the poorest segments of the society are managing at all.
I just cannot imagine how they managed to survive.
Plus, we'll take a look at whether there's a right way for CEOs to say goodbye.
I'm Mark Filipino and here's the news you need to start your day.
Glencore says that it's restarted preliminary merger talks with Rio Tinto to create the world's largest mining company.
It would have an enterprise value of more than $260 billion.
The discussions come as demand for copper is growing.
The material is used heavily in the booming construction of AI data centers.
But many of the world's major mines are becoming less productive as they age.
Because of that, mining companies are investing more to find new resources.
Glencore has recently rebranded itself as a copper growth company.
Rio Tinto declined to comment.
Living standards in Iran have fallen to historic lows,
and frustration with the situation has erupted onto the streets.
The protests, now in their second week, are the biggest in several years.