Author: Lily Harper

For almost a decade, the skyscrapers of King Abdullah Financial District defined Riyadh’s skyline. But the gleaming towers housed an uncomfortable truth — they were empty.First announced in 2006, the $10bn project faced grinding delays. But the once-silent district is coming to life as Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with ambitious plans to become a regional financial hub.The kingdom’s $940bn sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, last year began moving its workforce to a 385-metre skyscraper — the tallest in Riyadh — in KAFD, while other buildings have also started to fill up as global groups such as HSBC and…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Hedge funds and private investors muscling into reinsurance threaten to destabilise the centuries-old market for catastrophe cover, a director at Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, has warned.The growing presence of private investors such as hedge funds and family offices in the sector has intensified competition for dominant players such as Berkshire Hathaway, Munich Re and Swiss Re. But the sector’s shifting shape has introduced new risks and greater volatility into the reinsurance market, Stefan Golling, a board member of 145-year-old Munich…

One scoop to start: A former top German central banker is set to lead the supervisory board of the country’s most valuable fintech N26 as part of a leadership reshuffle that aims to resolve a conflict between investors and founders.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 get the newsletter delivered every Tuesday to Friday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters. Get in touch with us anytime: Due.Diligence@ft.comIn today’s newsletter: OpenAI’s thorny restructuringOpenAI’s position…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Investment chiefs at the world’s best performing sovereign wealth fund are betting that European stocks will outshine their transatlantic rivals over the coming decade, in a sign that some global asset owners are losing confidence in the long-term outlook for US equities. Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin, co-chief investment officers at New Zealand’s NZ$76bn ($44bn) Super Fund, told the Financial Times in an interview that the European stock market was the fund’s largest “overweight” position versus its reference portfolio, as it takes tactical…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A former top German central banker is set to lead the supervisory board of the country’s most valuable fintech N26 as part of a leadership reshuffle that aims to resolve a conflict between investors and founders.Andreas Dombret, a one-time Bundesbank executive board member, “is to be nominated by the founders and several investors” as the new chair of N26’s supervisory board, the bank told the Financial Times, adding that it would convene “an extraordinary general meeting in the near future to formalise…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UBS has ordered bankers to scale back sales of complex currency derivatives after clients suffered heavy losses linked to Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcements.The Swiss bank told advisers to stop pitching the structured FX products — known as Range Target Profit Forwards (RTPFs) — to many clients, according to three people familiar with the discussions, amid growing concerns about sales practices and whether the products were suitable.UBS has already made more than 100 “goodwill” payments to customers who lost money when…

This article is an on-site version of our Unhedged newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every weekday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newslettersGood morning. Yesterday morning it was reported that Donald Trump met congressional Republicans to discuss firing Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell. Markets freaked. In less than an hour, 2-year Treasury yields fell 6 basis points, the S&P 500 fell 0.8 per cent and the dollar dropped. The president then denied the whole thing and markets recovered. We’re not sure what game the president is playing. While…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK tax myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The chief executive of Canada’s largest bank has warned the UK government against introducing a new wealth tax, saying it would compound the exodus of rich people from the country following the abolition of the non-dom regime. Dave McKay, the boss of Royal Bank of Canada, which has a large wealth management business in the UK, said that increasing the tax burden on the wealthy would “100 per cent” result in people leaving for “a lower tax jurisdiction”. “If you put in…

Even hedge fund royalty Bobby Jain is having a hard time starting a firm to compete with the industry’s giants.The former co-chief investment officer at Millennium Management tried to pull off the world’s largest hedge fund launch last year. He had to settle for the largest launch since 2018 with $5.3bn in commitments from investors, after falling short of the initial fundraising target of $8bn-$10bn.A year on from the start of trading, high costs and a slow build-up mean Jain Global is at the bottom of the pack of so-called multi-managers that it is seeking to challenge. “This is a…

One scoop to start: Diageo chief executive Debra Crew has quit with immediate effect, confirming an earlier report by the FT that she was to be replaced. The Guinness and Johnnie Walker owner is struggling with falling alcohol sales and waning investor confidence.And another thing: Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard has withdrawn its record-breaking $46bn proposal to acquire Japan’s Seven & i Holdings, bringing an end to its year-long campaign to pull the 7-Eleven owner to the negotiating table on friendly terms.Welcome to Due Diligence, your briefing on dealmaking, private equity and corporate finance. This article is an on-site version of the…