Author: Lily Harper

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A man suspected of killing a top UnitedHealth executive in Midtown Manhattan earlier this week is thought to have left the city, as investigators’ rush to find him continues into its third day. The manhunt comes after Brian Thompson, who led UnitedHealth’s vast insurance unit, was fatally shot outside a hotel in one of Manhattan’s busiest districts by a masked culprit who fled on an e-bike.The killing of the executive at dawn on his way to an investor event has set off…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.France’s Crédit Agricole has said it will boost its stake in Banco BPM in a move that will complicate UniCredit’s approach for the Italian lender. Crédit Agricole, which is already Banco BPM’s largest shareholder, said on Friday that it had entered into financial contracts that would boost its stake in the lender from 9.9 per cent to 15.1 per cent. It added that it would seek approval from Italian regulators to own up to 19.99 per cent of Banco BPM. The move by the…

Aviva and Direct Line began this week as two rival UK insurers. They end it as prospective marriage partners.After three offers from Aviva, the first of which was only made public last week, Direct Line’s board agreed late on Thursday to a £3.6bn takeover with its larger rival. If the offer is approved by shareholders, the acquisition will create a £16bn insurance company that will dominate the motor and home markets in the UK, with shares of more than 20 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.The takeover is a coup for Aviva, led by chief executive Dame Amanda Blanc.…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Mining myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.A prominent British commodities dealmaker is suing Barrick Gold over claims he engineered its $6bn tie-up with Randgold Resources only to be “pushed out” of the deal at the last minute.Ian Hannam, who earned a reputation as the “king of mining M&A” for his role in a raft of big-name deals, told the High Court in London that he found it “very upsetting” that his H&P Advisory boutique was not paid for its “extensive” work on arranging the 2018 merger.H&P is demanding up…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Hedge funds myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Trading titans Jane Street and Millennium Management have settled a trade secrets lawsuit over allegations of a stolen trading strategy. The parties said in a court filing on Thursday that the case had been dismissed. Millennium confirmed a settlement had been reached but declined to comment on the details. A Jane Street spokesperson said the case had been “resolved on mutually agreeable terms”.The case, brought by Jane Street in April, was a rare instance of a public spat between two highly private…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Trafigura used dozens of “high risk” middlemen to smooth business deals in developing countries, the Swiss court trying the company for bribery heard on Friday. The company reached a “tipping point” in 2019 when concerns over corruption outweighed the commercial benefits of such “intermediaries”, Michael Firth, Trafigura’s deputy head of compliance who has been in the department since 2010, told Swiss judges.Many were set up by former Trafigura employees and were used to help the company unlock valuable trading opportunities in politically troubled…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A private credit land grab is under way. Providers of non-bank loans are getting hoovered up by traditional asset managers and private equity houses keen to avoid missing out on this fast-growing segment. The willingness of sellers to sell out is a function of high valuations — but it also suggests that private credit’s golden moment may be drawing to a close. The latest example of this trend is BlackRock’s $12bn deal to buy HPS this week. It follows on from private equity…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The World Bank has met a target to raise $100bn in finance for the world’s poorest countries in the next three years, despite the strong US dollar and fiscal pressures hitting developed countries. However, it faces the prospect of a Trump presidency threatening future fundraising from its largest shareholder.The International Development Association arm of the bank, the world’s biggest lender to poor countries and its biggest source of concessional climate finance, unveiled the largest fundraising in its history on Friday even as…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The killing on Wednesday of a top UnitedHealth Group executive unleashed a wave of commiseration, but also revelry, underscoring the frustration among Americans who view the healthcare system as broken.The most popular posts on social media site X referring to UnitedHealth following the slaying of Brian Thompson “either expressed explicit or implicit support for the killing or denigrated the victim”, according to research by New Jersey’s Rutgers University. Many users of other social media apps such as TikTok posted similar messages. The…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Berkeley Group, one of the UK’s largest housebuilders, has bought its first new sites in more than two years as it bets on a market recovery after a brutal period for big developers.The FTSE 100 group, which builds 10 per cent of London’s new homes, said it had bought land for 220 units in Berkshire, as well as a second site this week, its first purchases since early 2022. Chief executive Rob Perrins said the market was nearing a “point of inflection” thanks…