Good morning. In today’s newsletter:

• Saudi Arabia prepares to abandon its oil price target

• China’s accelerating green transition

• How a Chinese billionaire’s Silicon Valley splurge caught the FBI’s eye

But first, China’s leaders have vowed to intensify fiscal support for the world’s second-largest economy, raising market expectations for more intervention just days after the central bank announced the biggest monetary stimulus since the pandemic.

The politburo, led by President Xi Jinping, pledged yesterday to “issue and use” government bonds to better implement “the driving role of government investment”. The comments come as analysts warn that China is in danger of missing its official economic growth target this year.

The politburo usually does not hold economic sessions in September, suggesting “an increased sense of urgency” about growing deflationary pressures, Morgan Stanley analysts said.

But they said China’s government did not yet appear to have reached a “whatever it takes” moment on the economy. Here’s more on the politburo’s statement and how markets reacted.

And here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Japan publishes August trade statistics and China reports industrial profit for the same month. On Sunday, Vietnam reports September inflation data and third-quarter GDP.

• Japan leadership vote: The Liberal Democratic party holds a leadership vote, in effect deciding the new prime minister. Here’s the crowded field to succeed current premier Fumio Kishida, who said last month he would not seek re-election.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. Exclusive: Saudi Arabia is ready to abandon its unofficial price target of $100 a barrel for crude as it prepares to increase output. The prospect of Riyadh ditching its target is a sign that the kingdom is resigned to a period of lower oil prices, according to people familiar with the country’s thinking.

2. A company backed by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Hellman & Friedman, BlackRock and Singapore’s GIC is preparing one of the largest debt-fuelled dividend payouts in private equity history. Belron, the world’s biggest windscreen repair company, is in talks with lenders to raise €8.1bn through new bonds and loans to finance the €4.4bn dividend.

3. New York City mayor Eric Adams has been charged with fraud and bribery over an alleged long-running scheme to solicit cash and luxury travel from Turkish government officials and other wealthy foreign donors. The explosive charges mark the first criminal case in modern history against a sitting New York mayor.

4. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed yesterday that Israel would press on with its offensive against Hizbollah in Lebanon, casting doubts on a US-led diplomatic push for a ceasefire to prevent a full-blown war. Netanyahu spoke in New York, where he is due to address the UN General Assembly today.

5. Global companies have stepped off the sidelines in recent months to pursue blockbuster takeovers of rivals, with high-profile transactions such as Mars’s purchase of Kellanova and Verizon’s takeover of Frontier Communications spurring hopes of a dealmaking revival. While the overall number of deals sank to a nine-year low, bankers said boardroom sentiment had become more optimistic.

The Big Read

The scale and pace of China’s transition from fossil fuels has smashed international forecasts, exceeded Beijing’s own targets and put the rest of the world on notice. But to wean the country off coal, Chinese authorities need to push through a politically toxic shake-up of the electricity system, a long and thorny process that has already dragged on for decades.

We’re also reading . . . 

Graphic of the day

Could this radically shaped plane change the future of commercial flying by 2030? Inspired by the US Air Force’s B-2 stealth bomber, JetZero’s new aircraft promises to be both less noisy and more fuel-efficient.

Take a break from the news

We’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of our iconic Lunch with the FT with a free, pop-up newsletter. Receive our favourite Lunches from the archives in your inbox, featuring fresh insights from the interviewer. Join us for a weekly serving of Lunch starting this Sunday, until November.

Additional contributions from Gordon Smith and Tee Zhuo

PLANS for a £300 million history-themed attraction spanning 400 acres of land have been unveiled – but there aren’t any rides.

The famous French theme park, Puy du Fou, revealed its interest in building a UK version of the resort last year.

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Spread across hundreds of acres, the Cherwell site is expected to be situated near Oxford but after speculation the local council has made a statement.

Cherwell District Council have got involved, stressing that the plans which have brought about excitement, are still in the unofficial stage and have not been submitted to them.

A spokesperson from the council told MailOnline: “On Puy Du Fou from our side, we’ve not received an application from them.”

Despite this discovery, a public consultation was held in July with residents voicing their thoughts on the possible attraction near Bicester.

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During that time, a Cherwell District Council spokesperson said: “We are aware that Puy du Fou is consulting with local communities as they prepare their plans.

“We wait with interest to see what proposals emerge. They will of course need to be submitted to us for consideration through the planning process.

“We encourage residents to take the opportunity to engage with the promoters to hear more and provide their input.”

It has already been predicted that the unveiling of such a park could offer up to 2,000 new jobs in the area as a result with the site potentially employing 700 people directly.

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The UK has been a top pick of the French theme park giant after it revealed its intention to open two new sites before 2030.

Likely to be located just off the M40, the yet to be confirmed plans, would reflect the two locations in existence with the first being in western France and another in Toledo, Spain.

‘World’s most depressing theme park’ refuses to close despite rusting rides

The latter only joined its predecessor in 2021, with the original park being open since 1978.

Previous proposals suggest that a UK version would celebrate British history and culture rather than being a carbon-copy to the French location which sees a multitude of themes.

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From the Roman Empire, the Musketeers, the Vikings, Joan of Arc, the First World War and the pioneers of cinema, it seems the French counterpart would remain unique in its own right.

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Chief executive of Puy du Fou, Olivier Strebelle, told Oxford Mail: “We are not an attraction like you have ever experienced before.

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“We do not have any rides or rollercoasters; there are no neon flashing lights.

“Instead, we create an authentic, natural and historical environment set within beautiful gardens, which become the setting for world-class shows and immersive cultural and historical experiences for the whole family to enjoy.

“With Britain’s rich history, and with so many British people already visiting us in France and Spain, we have been looking for a site in the country for many years, and we have now identified the perfect location near Bicester in Oxfordshire.”

The Sun has approached Cherwell District Council for comment.

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Use these tips on your next theme park trip

Next time you visit a theme park, you may want to use our top tips to make the most of your adrenaline-inducing day out.

1. Go to the back of the theme park first. Rides at the front will have the longest queues as soon as it opens.
2. Go on water rides in the middle of the day in the summer – this will cool you off when the sun is at its hottest.
3. Download the park’s app to track which rides have the shortest queues.
4. Visit on your birthday, as some parks give out “birthday badges” that can get you freebies.
5. If it rains, contact the park. Depending on how much it rained, you may get a free ticket to return.

US money market funds hit a new record of $6.4tn in the wake of last week’s Federal Reserve rate cut.

Inflows from institutional investors topped $113bn in the week to Wednesday, the largest weekly inflow since the height of the 2023 regional banking crisis, according to the Investment Company Institute.

Shelly Antoniewicz, deputy chief economist, said pension funds, endowments and other large investors were taking advantage of the fact that yields on money market funds react more slowly to rate cuts than those on short-term bonds and loans.

“On the institutional side, inflows to money market funds tend to ramp up during the easing cycle,” she said. 

A judg­ment on the Leg­acy Act was issued by the North­ern Ire­land Court of Appeal, not the NI High Court as wrongly stated in an art­icle on Septem­ber 21. The appeal court cri­ti­cised pro­vi­sions that would give the NI sec­ret­ary of state dis­cre­tion over inform­a­tion to be released by the Inde­pend­ent Com­mis­sion for Recon­cili­ation and Inform­a­tion Recov­ery, not to the ICRIR as ori­gin­ally stated.

The renters’ rights bill 2024, which had its first reading in the House of Commons earlier this month, is proposing the most significant changes to the private rental sector in decades, including the ending of “no fault” evictions (Report, September 12).

Fixed-term tenancies will be a thing of the past and the only way for landlords to regain possession of their properties will be to rely upon one or more of an expanded number of grounds for claims of possession. The grounds include that the landlord wants to occupy the property itself, wants to sell it or the tenant is in rental arrears.

One of the main concerns within the legal industry is how the court system will cope with the reform as noted by the British Property Federation.

The average timeline for obtaining possession has increased to 25 weeks. Our experience at Addleshaw Goddard is one of massive regional disparity. Recently a claim in Manchester has been dealt with in three months, whereas near identical claims in central London are taking eight months. And these claims have been under the current rules where no court hearing has been required.

Going forward, a hearing will be required for every possession claim. Without massive investment in the court system, we fear that these timescales will dramatically increase. This will have a knock-on impact for all claims (not just possession claims) going through the county court system and will further disincentivise private renting, particularly landlords with small portfolios who need to remove tenants that are disruptive or fail to pay rent.

The government hopes that the bill will level the playing field between landlords and tenants. The bill certainly gives tenants more rights, and this is important, but it must also strike a balance to ensure landlords are not discouraged from participating in the rental market.

Greg Simms
Real Estate Disputes Partner, Addleshaw Goddard
London EC1, UK