Author: Lily Harper

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Japanese business & finance myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Japan is currently emitting an epochal noise: the pained rip of a tenacious plaster finally parting company with a nearly-healed wound. Global markets, along with Japan’s own financial industry, have perhaps not yet fully grasped the implications of Japan’s Great Financial Unsticking, but they may soon have no choice. Japanese interest rates turned positive last year after a protracted stint of virtual non-existence; inflation expectations now look entrenched, so money, as well as looking more portable than before, has to work…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Private equity myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The European insurance affiliate of Apollo Global Management is nearing a £6bn takeover of UK retirement savings group Pension Insurance Corporation, a deal that would further push the US alternative assets giant into the UK insurance market.Athora, a European-based subsidiary of Apollo, is close to acquiring full ownership of PIC from a consortium of investors, including CVC Capital and Reinet Investments, a vehicle backed by South African billionaire Johann Rupert, according to three people briefed on the matter. A deal could be…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Goldman Sachs stood to lose just $300mn in an economic shock under the Federal Reserve’s stress test scenario this year, vastly less than the $18bn forecast a year earlier — and a big reason for the bank’s outsized shareholder payouts. The sharp drop is a reflection of Goldman’s effort in recent years to reduce risk-taking, which requires the bank to set aside more capital to guard against volatility. But it also reflects technical changes to the Fed’s test that made it easier…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.After years of being a UK banking also-ran, TSB is suddenly the most popular lender at the party. The British high street bank, carved out of Lloyds Banking Group more than a decade ago, has taken on a crucial role in two separate multibillion-pound takeover battles.In one, TSB is the target. Santander agreed to buy the bank from parent Sabadell for £2.7bn on Tuesday, seeing off competition from Barclays. But Sabadell is also a target of a hostile bid from Spanish rival…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldShares of healthcare provider Centene plunged nearly 40 per cent to their lowest level since 2017 after the company said ballooning costs skewed its forecasts and forced it to withdraw its guidance.In a regulatory filing late Tuesday, Centene said its healthcare patient spending related to the Obamacare insurance marketplaces and Medicaid were higher than estimated so far this year. Analysts expected the higher spending would cut into the company’s near-term profits.The company said it was hit by higher Medicaid costs…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK financial regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Tens of thousands of UK financial services companies will have to report serious bullying and harassment by senior employees to regulators and future employers, under proposals announced on Wednesday.The Financial Conduct Authority said it would extend rules on non-financial misconduct beyond banks to 37,000 other financial services groups from September 2026. It aims to tackle the “rolling bad apples” problem of people moving between companies to avoid the repercussions of their behaviour.The watchdog said: “Serious, substantiated cases of poor personal behaviour…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the US financial regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.In July 2007, the FT interviewed Citigroup’s then-CEO Chuck Prince in Tokyo, and asked him about the buyout boom. The answer was a banger, given the debacle that would soon unfold:When the music stops, in terms of liquidity, things will be complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. We’re still dancing.Some have defended the quote as being narrowly about acquisition finance, which was indeed still humming along (albeit increasingly out of tune).…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.EY breached independence rules for its audits of Shell in the US and in the UK, the energy major has revealed, putting the Big Four firm in regulators’ crosshairs again. Shell said on Wednesday that the EY partner who led the audit of its 2023 and 2024 financial results had exceeded the period allowed under strict rotation rules set by American regulators, meaning the individual was not eligible to perform that role. EY also told Shell that it had breached UK rotation…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Shares of New World Development, the heavily indebted Hong Kong property group, jumped as investors welcomed the end of its refinancing talks with banks and the resignation of the founder’s grandson from his remaining board roles.Shares rose as much as 11 per cent on Wednesday to above HK$6 after the company announced on Monday evening it had secured support from banks to refinance loans of HK$88bn (US$11bn) following marathon negotiations. Hong Kong’s markets were closed on Tuesday for a public holiday.The refinancing…

The UK’s largest wealth manager St James’s Place is poised to introduce sweeping new fees next month as it seeks to rebuild a reputation that has been savaged by complaints about poor service and opaque charges.Mark FitzPatrick, who was parachuted in as chief executive at the end of 2023 to turn the group round, told the FT that the clearer charges should help customers “compare and contrast” their products with competitors. CAN WE GET A STRONGER FITZPATRICK QUOTEThe new model includes separating charges from a “bundled” cost so that customers can more clearly see individual fees for product wrappers, funds…