Author: Lily Harper

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Bank of America notched up better than expected profits in the second quarter as the US lender expanded its deposit base and loan book and benefited from robust Wall Street trading activity. The group’s net income rose about 3 per cent to $7.1bn in the second quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $6.8bn. Revenues rose 4 per cent to $26.5bn, slightly missing forecasts of $26.7bn. Revenues at the retail bank rose 6 per cent to $10.8bn as the group grew its deposit base…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The boss of insurer Allianz has warned that Germany risks becoming the “sick man of Europe” and predicted its social security system could collapse within a decade unless the government cuts spending.At Allianz’s annual media briefing on Wednesday, Oliver Bäte said: “We’re back to where we were in 1997 . . . when Germany was called the sick man of Europe.” He added that while unemployment remained well below the 5mn mark of the time, the country faces mounting risks mainly from unsustainable growth in healthcare…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.It has been a trying few weeks for Britain’s chancellor Rachel Reeves. The UK government reversed over £6bn of her planned savings on welfare payments. A teary appearance in parliament then added to speculation about her job. Now she faces daunting questions over how she will balance the books ahead of the autumn Budget. Reeves did, however, manage to provide a brief but positive distraction on Tuesday night by unveiling a number of promising reforms to boost the UK’s financial sector at…

US President Donald Trump sealed a trade deal with Indonesia and the UK had a secret plan to immigrate Afghans to Britain after a data leak. Plus, tariffs have finally hit US inflation, and climate change is driving the sale of catastrophe bonds. Mentioned in this podcast:Donald Trump announces trade deal with Indonesia Catastrophe bond sales hit record as insurers offload climate risksUK set up secret Afghan immigration scheme after data leak and gagged mediaUS inflation reaches 2.7% as Trump tariffs hitToday’s FT News Briefing was produced by Sonja Hutson, Katya Kumkova, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Blake Maples,…

When €19bn software group Visma last month chose London as the venue for its future initial public offering, it signalled a success for the UK capital in more ways than one. The decision was an obvious boost for the UK’s beleaguered capital markets, where IPOs have become vanishingly rare — let alone ones of multibillion-pound tech companies. However, it was also a milestone for Visma’s British backer, Hg: the London-headquartered private equity firm that has quietly built itself into a specialist software investor and is on track to surpass $100bn in assets under management this month. That is bigger than…

Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing has become embroiled in a €152mn lawsuit that alleges he was involved in a decade-old cover-up of financial crisis-era transactions.A new civil case in Germany brought against Deutsche by Dario Schiraldi, a former senior banker, claims that Sewing presided over a flawed internal audit which formed an important part of the evidence used to convict Schiraldi in Italy in 2019.Schiraldi’s conviction was overturned in 2022 and he is seeking damages for alleged harm to his career caused by the criminal proceedings and outcome. Five other Deutsche bankers convicted and then acquitted in Italy are…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Consumers involved in landmark “no-win, no-fee” legal claims against Britain’s biggest banks over mis-sold car loans may be charged as much as £175 an hour if they withdraw from the lawsuits.Claimants in cases against Lloyds, Barclays, Close Brothers, Santander UK and other lenders could be hit with significant “exit fees” by law firms and claims management companies (CMCs) if they pull out of their case more than two weeks after joining. While “no-win, no-fee” promises — where a claimant only pays a…

One scoop to start: Brandon Lutnick, son of US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, is nearing a roughly $4bn deal with an early bitcoin supporter to buy billions of dollars in the digital tokens using a vehicle backed by Cantor Fitzgerald.And another thing: Securities and Exchange Commission head Paul Atkins has pushed out the chief US audit regulator, who came under fire for imposing tougher sanctions on big accounting firms during her tenure.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 up here to…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The writer is chancellor of the exchequer Today I announced the Leeds reforms. The widest ranging set of changes to financial regulation in over a decade, they form a prospectus for driving growth for the UK in an increasingly uncertain and competitive global market.  Our vision for each of the eight high-potential sectors identified in the modern Industrial Strategy, including financial services, can be summed up as follows: a laser-like focus on the global strengths that we possess and a determination to double down…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the US financial regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, has pushed out the chief US audit regulator, who came under fire for imposing tougher sanctions on big accounting firms during her tenure.Erica Williams told staff at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on Tuesday that Atkins had asked her to resign and that she would be leaving the agency she has led since 2022.This is a developing story Source link