Author: Lily Harper

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.When activist investor Oasis Management called for change at Japanese consumer goods giant Kao — proposing boardroom reform through the election of outside directors and long term incentives — the response was clear and decisive. Shareholders rejected every one of Oasis’s proposals at its latest annual general meeting, siding with management. It was a sobering reminder that even the strongest activist pushes often fail to overcome Japan’s corporate traditions.Yet while resistance remains strong, the momentum behind activist investing has been accelerating. The…

Lebanon’s cabinet is set to select a new central bank governor following a messy battle that has divided the country’s fledgling government and tested its commitment to reforming the crisis-laden economy.After a weeks-long race marred by mudslinging and accusations of foreign interference, wealth manager Karim Souaid has emerged as the frontrunner, according to several people familiar with the matter. The seasoned asset manager is the candidate of choice of Lebanon’s banking elite, they say, which has long opposed reforms to the country’s financial sector.Other potential contenders include the IMF’s Middle East director Jihad Azour, economist Jamil Baz and former labour…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UBS has proposed capping the size of its investment bank as it seeks a compromise with Swiss regulators who are considering increasing the bank’s capital requirements after its takeover of Credit Suisse. The lender has suggested to lawmakers that it could permanently limit the size of the division to reduce risk, according to a person familiar with the matter. The investment bank already has a self-imposed limit of 25 per cent of UBS’s risk-weighted assets. The proposal comes as UBS seeks to…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Dragging out bad news rarely makes it better. The same applies to China’s slow-motion property-market crisis. Housing developer Sunac this week said it would try to restructure its debts for the second time in 18 months. Nearly five years since Beijing tried to rein in overstretched builders, the sector’s debt doom loop is edging only slowly towards resolution. Sunac, whose portfolio includes everything from grand neo-mansions to indoor ski slopes, said on Tuesday that it would rejig its overseas liabilities based on “actual…

This article is an on-site version of our Moral Money newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered three times a week. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters.Visit our Moral Money hub for all the latest ESG news, opinion and analysis from around the FT You can’t please all the people all the time. That old adage is uncomfortably relevant for some top asset managers, who’ve been trying to craft sustainability policies to please clients ranging from oil-loving Texan officials to green-hearted Scandinavian pension managers. This balancing act is looking…

Institutional investors are increasing volatility in the corporate bond market by aggressively trading exchange traded funds, according to analysis from the IMF.This heightened volatility is particularly stark at times of market stress, when instability is most likely to bleed into real-world effects for corporate borrowers and the investors in their debt.The research feeds into a mounting debate among academics and researchers on the impact of ETFs on financial markets. The debate has become ever more urgent especially as ETFs have ballooned to $15tn in assets, a fivefold increase in a decade and far ahead of the $4.5tn held in hedge…

One thing to start: Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting Jenner & Block, a law firm with ties to a former prosecutor who investigated allegations of collusion between Russia and his first presidential campaign, in the government’s latest broadside against the legal industry.And another thing: Delaware is set to adopt sweeping changes to its governance laws making it more hospitable to billionaire-led companies as it faces growing competition from other states for corporate domiciles.Welcome to Due Diligence, your briefing on dealmaking, private equity and corporate finance. This article is an on-site version of the newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldFidelity Investments is planning to launch its own stablecoin, deepening the $5tn asset manager’s push into digital assets as the US prepares its first regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.The Boston-based fund firm is in the advanced stages of testing its token, which is designed to act as cash in cryptocurrency markets and will be managed through its digital assets arm, according to two people with knowledge of the plans.Fidelity’s launch is part of its expansion into the nascent market for tokenised…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.PwC has delayed payouts to recently retired partners in Hong Kong and mainland China as it navigates the financial fallout from its role auditing failed Chinese property developer Evergrande.Several equity partners who retired in recent months have yet to be repaid any of the capital they contributed when they joined the partnership, said four people with knowledge of the matter.The Big Four firm has in the past repaid partners about half of the sum within months of retiring, with the rest following…

In his 16 years in charge of Singapore’s biggest bank, DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta has had to steer through technological disruption, the aftermath of the global financial crisis and the overhaul of a stodgy institution.But as Gupta — one of the few global bank heads whose tenure can rival Jamie Dimon’s two decades at JPMorgan — finally steps down, he says life will be no easier for his successor.Donald Trump’s tariff wars threaten to disrupt DBS’s mainly Asian client base. Falling interest rates threaten to undermine profits at the bank, which generated an 18 per cent return on equity…