Author: Lily Harper

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…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Aviva, the UK insurance heavyweight, has agreed a preliminary takeover deal with Direct Line, after winning over its smaller rival with a sweetened bid.The deal, announced in a joint statement by the companies on Friday, will see Aviva pay 129.7p in cash, and 0.2867 of its own shares for each Direct Line share. Direct Line shareholders would also receive a 5p per share dividend before completion.The agreement values Direct Line’s equity at £3.6bn. The price is around a 10 per cent increase…

Global dividends are surging. In the third quarter of 2024, they registered a record rise, with the Janus Henderson Global Dividend index finding nine companies in 10 increased their dividends or held them flat. In the UK, however, dividends bucked the trend in the same period, declining year on year after steep cuts in the mining sector.Such a variable picture means many income-seeking investors may turn to professional fund managers to manage the risks. In this case it is hard to ignore the Association of Investment Companies’ dividend heroes. These are the 20 investment trusts listed on the London Stock…

A bit of bribery to start: McKinsey has agreed to pay $122mn to authorities in the US and South Africa over its role in a sprawling corruption scandal during the administration of former South African president Jacob Zuma.And a scoop: Thames Water has received a bid from Covalis Capital that would see France’s Suez flown in to help manage a break-up of the UK’s largest water utility before listing it on the stock market.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…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Exchange traded funds myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Latest news on ETFsVisit our ETF Hub to find out more and to explore our in-depth data and comparison toolsA flurry of new exchange traded funds are set to be added to the master-feeder scheme linking Singapore and Chinese exchanges that has seen slow take-up since its launch at the end of 2021.Fund firms in the two markets have faced difficulties in agreeing commercial partnerships and China’s slumping markets have also slowed the product pipeline for the scheme, which allows investors…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK insurance group Aviva has raised its offer to buy Direct Line in a move that would value its smaller rival at about £3.4bn, just days after its first approach was rejected.Aviva is proposing to pay about 261p a share for Direct Line, up from its first offer last week of 250p, which valued the company at £3.3bn, according to people familiar with the situation.Direct Line and Aviva declined to comment.Direct Line’s board, led by chair Danuta Gray, rejected Aviva’s first approach…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK’s pensions lifeboat has wiped £283bn off its estimates for the funding level of defined benefit pension schemes, but said their net funding position remained “strong”. The Pension Protection Fund on Thursday dramatically reduced its calculation for the value of £1.2tn of defined benefit pension assets, adjusting 2023’s funding ratio on a buyout basis from 112 per cent to 90 per cent.The change put schemes at a deficit of £133bn in 2023, from a previous estimate of a £150bn surplus. While…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Hg is considering a flotation of €19bn software company Visma, as the private equity group approaches two decades of ownership of the Norwegian business.Visma, which provides small and medium-sized businesses with accounting and payroll software, was acquired by Hg in 2006 for an estimated $500mn and employs almost 16,000 people, with an annual revenue of €2.4bn. Hg is discussing a potential initial public offering of the business as soon as 2026, with listing options to include London, Amsterdam and Oslo, according to…