Good morning and welcome back. In today’s newsletter:

• Top financiers warn of looser lending standards

• Sheinbaum’s first year in power

• Why Venezuelan bonds have surged

• How weight-loss drugs killed the business lunch

Top financiers have warned of an erosion in lending standards after credit markets were shaken by the collapse of the auto sector’s First Brands Group and Tricolor Holdings. Apollo Global Management chief executive Marc Rowan and Blackstone president Jonathan Gray spoke at an FT conference yesterday. Here’s what they said.

The warning: Rowan said the unravelling of First Brands and Tricolor followed years in which lenders had sought out riskier borrowers. “It does not surprise me that we are seeing late-cycle accidents,” Rowan said yesterday.

Both Rowan and Gray pointed the finger at banks for having amassed exposure to First Brands and Tricolor, but said the collapses were not signs of a systemic issue. “What’s interesting is both of those were bank-led processes,” Gray told the same conference.

Why it matters: Last month’s failure of First Brands and Tricolor has reverberated across credit markets and left investors such as Blackstone and PGIM, as well as major banks including Jefferies and JPMorgan, nursing losses. It has also prompted further scrutiny of bank loans, private debt markets and the lack of transparency around borrowers, which tend to be highly levered with debt. “In some of these more levered credits, there’s been a willingness to cut corners,” Rowan said. Here’s more from the Financial Times Private Capital Summit in London.

• Bubble warning: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup reported bumper profits even as they warned of investor exuberance.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: The US Federal Reserve releases the Beige Book of economic conditions. Peru’s statistics agency releases monthly economic growth data.

• Fed speakers: The president of the Atlanta Fed Raphael Bostic and Kansas City president Jeffrey Schmid, board governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran all participate in public events.

• Results: Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, PNC Financial Services Group and Citizens Financial are the latest banks to report third-quarter earnings. See our Week Ahead newsletter for a fuller list.

Across Europe and beyond, finance ministers are wrestling with the economic fallout of inflation, weak growth, mounting debt and ageing populations. Join Chris Giles, the FT’s economics commentator and writer, for a live Ask an Expert Q&A tomorrow at 9am ET. Submit your questions here.

Five more top stories

1. LVMH shares surged 12 per cent in Paris this morning, leading a rally across the luxury goods sector. Investors cheered the French group’s revenue growth in the third quarter after two quarters of consecutive decline. Here’s more on what is driving investor optimism.

2. OpenAI is working on new revenue lines, debt partnerships and further fundraising as part of a five-year plan to make good on the more than $1tn in spending it has pledged to create world-leading artificial intelligence. Here are details of the ambitious proposals.

3. The US labour market is showing further signs of distress, Jay Powell warned yesterday. The Federal Reserve chair signalled that he could be ready to support another interest rate cut later this month at an event in Philadelphia.

4. Donald Trump said yesterday that a $20bn US aid package for Argentina was contingent on Javier Milei’s success in upcoming elections. “If he wins, we’re staying with him. And if he doesn’t win, we’re gone,” the US president said at a White House meeting with Milei.

5. Stellantis, the struggling group behind the Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot brands, has pledged to invest a record $13bn in the US over the next four years. The announcement spurred immediate concerns about the future of the group’s plant in Ontario. Here’s how Mark Carney reacted.

Today’s lunchtime read

Claudia Sheinbaum has surprised many during her first year in office, especially in her dealings with the US president. In contrast to some world leaders, Mexico’s president has avoided public spats with Donald Trump over his threats of higher tariffs on trade, preferring private diplomacy. Michael Stott and Christine Murray look back at Sheinbaum’s achievements and forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

We’re also reading . . . 

Chart of the day

Venezuela’s dollar bonds have surged more than 50 per cent this year. Prices have rallied as the Trump administration has targeted Nicolás Maduro’s government with the biggest military build-up in the region for years. “Investors are all sick of the status quo in Venezuela,” said one bond holder.

Take a break from the news . . . 

This year has seen a glut of action-adventure video games set in feudal Japan. What’s the appeal? Tom Faber explores the interest in games such as the new Ghost of Yōtei.