The Financial Times (FT) is an English-language international daily newspaper owned by Japanese company Nikkei, Inc., headquartered in London, with a special emphasis on business and economic news. The paper was founded in 1888 by James Sheridan and Horatio Bottomley, and merged in 1945 with its closest rival, the Financial News (which had been founded in 1884). The Financial Times has a record paying readership of one million, three-quarters of which are digital subscriptions. According to the Global Capital Markets Survey, which measures readership habits amongst most senior financial decision makers in the world's largest financial institutions, the Financial Times is considered the most important business read, reaching 36% of the sample population, 11% more than The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), its main rival. The Economist, which was once 50% owned by FT, reaches 32%. FT's The Banker also proved vital reading, reaching 24%. In addition FT was regarded as the most credible publication in reporting financial and economic issues among the Worldwide Professional Investment Community audience. The Economist was also rated the third most credible title by most influential professional investors (those who personally managed asset funds worth $5 billion or more), while the WSJ was second.
FT in numbers: - 89% FT readers agree that “The FT offers me something I cannot get from other News sources” - 88% FT readers agree that “I can trust what is published in the FT to be unbiased, accurate and important” - 79% FT readers agree that “The FT is my most trusted news source” - 95% FT readers agree that by reading the FT they “Learn about or discover something interesting”