Author: Lily Harper

Top Wall Street dealmakers are aligning with Andrew Cuomo’s campaign for New York City mayor, hoping the disgraced former governor can defeat a slate of leftist hopefuls. Cuomo’s campaign and an independent committee supporting him have taken in millions of dollars in contributions from finance, real estate and other corporate interests that have helped him far out-raise his competitors. High-profile contributors include hedge fund billionaires Bill Ackman and Dan Loeb, financiers Steven Rattner and Anthony Scaramucci and media mogul Barry Diller. While Wall Street and business interests comprise a small fraction of New York voters, they have outsized influence in…

It is the “ticking time bomb” of financial planning. New retirees in the UK risk seriously misjudging their retirement planning because they underestimate how long they are likely to live after stopping work, a professional services firm has warned.Barnett Waddingham issued the alert based on new analysis of data on people in defined benefit pension schemes, a group that lives slightly longer than average. The study found that at age 65 women on such schemes underestimated their life expectancy — which is 89 — by seven years. Men underestimated their figure — 86 — by four years.Jack Carmichael, an actuary…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI was closing in on a $5bn debt financing package to fund new data centres and chips to power its business. Then on Thursday the world’s wealthiest man torpedoed his relationship with US President Donald Trump.Musk’s bankers at Morgan Stanley must now contend with this new complication as would-be investors try to assess the fallout from the dramatic unravelling of Musk’s ties to the president, according to people briefed on the matter. The debt could be more…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Pensions industry myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Ministers will unveil a sweeping overhaul of Britain’s pensions system on Thursday aimed at unpicking problems created by previous rules and boosting the retirement savings of millions of people. The pensions bill will cover six areas of reform and include a “reserve” power to force pension schemes to invest more in the UK if they fail to meet a voluntary commitment.One of the most notable features of the bill — announced in the King’s Speech last July and the first since 2021…

Our co-host Rob Armstrong has been talking about the “Taco trade” (Trump Always Chickens Out) for a few weeks, and on Wednesday a journalist asked the US president about it. Trump did not like the question, not one bit. But the internet did. Now traders are worried Trump might not chicken out. Did Rob just crash the US economy? And, if so, would he like to apologise? Also, Katie goes long Elon Musk returning to his day job, and Rob goes short his 15 minutes of fame. For a free 30-day trial to the Unhedged newsletter go to: https://www.ft.com/unhedgedoffer.You can…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Fraud is a “blight” on the nation that requires a “systemic” solution, warn UK industry figures, as new data reveals that scammers are still swindling millions of pounds out of UK consumers.Criminals stole £1.17bn through fraud in 2024, in line with the previous year, said UK Finance, the financial services trade body, in its annual report published on Wednesday.But as losses in authorised push payment (APP) fraud fell to £450mn in 2024 from £460mn in 2023 due to rising awareness and investment…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The government is exploring plans to relax the rules for smaller building companies bidding to develop new sites across England, as it seeks to boost supply of houses amid a growing affordability crisis.Labour’s housing secretary Angela Rayner released a set of proposals on Tuesday that would make it easier for small and medium-sized housebuilding businesses to get permission for construction from local authorities. The proposed reforms would exempt smaller housebuilders from some environmental controls as well as the safety levy introduced in the…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Graham Robinson, a top biotech and technology lawyer, is set to depart Skadden Arps for Kirkland & Ellis, as the jockeying for talent among Big Law firms continues to heat up despite a slowdown in dealmaking, according to people familiar with the matter. Robinson, a high-ranking Skadden partner advising listed biotechs and high-profile clients, including WeWork, had informed the firm of his plans to leave, the people said. Robinson, who will depart alongside senior Skadden partners Laura Knoll and Chadé Severin, would…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK financial regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Lenders that specialise in “buy now, pay later” services will have to abide by the same rules as mainstream banks under long-awaited legislation that will result in them being fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The UK government will on Monday bring forward legislation, more than four years after the previous Conservative administration announced plans to regulate the sector.Under the rules, lenders such as Klarna and Clearpay will be required to check shoppers’ affordability before offering loans, while borrowers will…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Legal & General, the British finance company that is one of Europe’s largest asset managers, has acquired a real estate investor as part of a strategic push into private markets under chief executive António Simões.L&G, which manages £1.1tn in assets, has taken a 75 per cent stake in Proprium Capital Partners, a $3.5bn global real estate private equity group, the companies have confirmed. Under the terms of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, L&G will eventually acquire 100 per cent…