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On today's podcast:

(1) Germany’s conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz said he’ll move quickly to form a new government after he won Sunday’s federal election with a result that will require him to form a coalition.

(2) The far-right Alternative for Germany vaulted into second place on Sunday after about a fifth of voters cast their ballot for a party that’s called for a halt to migration and assailed the country’s political establishment.

(3) Germany’s highest-stakes election in years is paving the way for a pivot to increased spending, with markets predicting the end of an era for constrained fiscal policy.

(4) Two of President Donald Trump’s top advisers declined to describe Russia as the aggressor in the war in Ukraine, as the administration seeks Vladimir Putin’s support for a peace deal.

(5) UK families are tapping the equity locked up in their homes and taking out other lines of credit to meet the escalating costs of private education.

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