A French paratrooper in his youth, Jean-Pierre Mustier has been parachuted in to manage the kind of corporate minefield his home country seems adept at producing. The former UniCredit chief may face his biggest challenge yet as chair of IT services group and military contractor Atos following his predecessor Bertrand Meunier’s resignation last Monday. Mustier
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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The Dutch justice minister — and a frontrunner to be the next premier — has warned that the conflict between Israel and Hamas could cause civil strife in European countries. Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius said the cycle
After Hamas’s atrocities in Israel and the state’s retaliation in the Gaza Strip, executives at companies including Goldman Sachs and Google emailed staff and made public statements expressing sympathy for victims. Other business leaders chose to say nothing at all. Both responses risked a backlash. Some companies have been criticised for “picking a side”; others condemned
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the EU energy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Brussels is weighing whether to prolong an emergency gas price cap introduced in February amid fears that the conflict in the Middle East and sabotage of a Baltic pipeline could push up prices again this
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Israel’s military and security chiefs have queued up to take a share of the blame in the two weeks since Hamas militants from Gaza killed more than 1,400 people. The head of military intelligence for
“When you give roses to others, their fragrance lingers on your hand,” Xi Jinping told guests at the 10th anniversary celebration of his Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing last week. “Helping others is also helping oneself.” Even as China’s president played the exuberant host, welcoming world leaders from Russia’s Vladimir Putin to Indonesia’s Joko
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Private equity myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Private equity firms are facing the worst year in a decade for selling portfolio companies after higher interest rates and geopolitical tensions ended the buyout industry’s boom. In the first nine months of the year,
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Europe’s riskiest corporate borrowers are paying the highest premium in seven years to tap the region’s €412bn junk bond market, highlighting growing fears that a long period of high interest rates and an economic slowdown
When Volodymyr Zelenskyy strode into Nato headquarters earlier this month, he found western leaders buzzing about war — but not his war. Just four days before the Ukrainian president’s visit to Brussels, Hamas militants had launched a surprise attack on Israel, which then responded with air strikes and began mobilising for a new conflict that
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A small convoy of international aid entered Gaza on Saturday morning, hours after two American hostages were released by Hamas after mediation from Qatar. Some 20 trucks carrying medicines and canned food entered the southern
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Workplace pensions myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The UK Treasury is in line for a windfall of more than £100mn as it takes control of the pension schemes of two banks bailed out by the taxpayer during the 2008 financial crisis. Jeremy
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The writer is a historian of the modern Middle East and author of ‘A Line In The Sand’ and ‘Lords of the Desert’ “We will break Transjordan, bomb Amman and destroy its army; and then
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Scores of senior bankers and financiers plan to descend on Riyadh next week for Saudi Arabia’s high-profile investment conference despite rising instability in the region because of the Israel-Hamas conflict. JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, BlackRock’s
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Hamas has released two US hostages captured during its devastating assault on Israel almost two weeks ago, amid intense diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the Middle Eastern conflict and deliver humanitarian aid to suffering
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Global Economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Escalating geopolitical tensions pose a threat to the global financial system amid heightened risks of higher inflation and slower growth, the Federal Reserve warned on Friday. In its latest twice yearly Financial Stability Report, the
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Chinese politics & policy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. A Chinese reprint of a book about an emperor who ran his realm into the ground before committing suicide nearly 400 years ago has abruptly disappeared from book shelves in China and searches
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Two weeks after Hamas’s horrific attack on Israel, the Middle East is on the edge of an abyss. As Israeli forces prepare for an expected land assault on Gaza to crush the militant group, the
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Pensions industry myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The UK government is set to soon unveil plans for a new investment vehicle overseen by the state that is intended to turbocharge pensions funds’ investments in high-growth private companies. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US banks myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Regional US bank shares slid anew after a round of disappointing earnings reports and fresh warnings by a pair of lenders that they will face continued profit pressure at least to the end of 2023.
When Joe Biden embarked on his maiden trip to the Middle East as president last year, he lauded the fact that it was the first time since the September 11 2001 attacks that a US leader was visiting the region without American troops engaged in combat missions. He also sought to reset Washington’s ties with
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Labour’s spectacular wins in two by-elections have allowed party insiders to dare to dream they are now on track not only to win the next UK general election but to sweep to victory with a