Press Digest: Financial Times - May 18

Publicis Groupe

18/05/2026 01:13

May 18 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

- UK closes in on trade deal with Gulf states

- Publicis to buy US data company in $2.2bn deal as it deepens AI marketing push

- WHO declares global health emergency on Ebola

Overview

- The UK and oil-rich Gulf states are close to finalising a long-awaited free trade agreement, offering some rare good news for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government after his Labour party's disastrous performance in the local elections.

- Publicis PUBP.PA has agreed to buy U.S. data company LiveRamp RAMP.N in a $2.2 billion deal, as the French advertising group accelerates its push into AI marketing.

- The World Health Organization has declared a "public health emergency of international concern" after an outbreak of a rare strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to the capital Kinshasa and to neighbouring Uganda.

 (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

 ((globalnewsmonitoring@thomsonreuters.com))