Author: Arabian Media staff

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…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Agriculture myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Brussels will propose that fruit, vegetable and milk in schools should be “Made in Europe” as part of a wider push to favour domestic industries from defence to agriculture.The European Commission will say on Wednesday that milk, fruit and vegetables bought through its schools scheme should be produced in Europe, in a signal to schools to buy more locally, according to a draft proposal seen by Financial Times. The scheme funds about €220mn worth of produce per year.The “Made in Europe” clause reflects…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A dispute between the government of Vietnam and renewable energy developers over subsidies is threatening to disrupt power supplies, a move that could hit manufacturers that have moved to the country in droves from China.Vietnam has become a critical link in global supply chains in recent years as manufacturers, including Apple, Samsung and Intel, relocated as part of a “China plus one” strategy to hedge their operations against geopolitical risk. But the country’s electricity supply has struggled to keep pace with 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…

General Motors is under pressure to clarify its plans for the future of a key manufacturing hub in South Korea, as the country’s trade talks with the Trump administration to mitigate steep car tariffs remain unresolved. GM Korea’s two carmaking plants produce affordable compact vehicles, principally for the North American market, accounting for nearly 17 per cent of the group’s US vehicle sales. That puts the Detroit auto company at the heart of Donald Trump’s trade war, with executives counting on Washington to strike a deal with Seoul that would lower a 25 per cent tariff imposed in April. If…

Image: Supplied In a major step toward revolutionising digital customer service, Aramex recently expanded its strategic partnership with Sprinklr, the Unified-CXM platform for modern enterprises. The collaboration is designed to deliver AI-powered, seamless customer interactions across more than 65 countries, using advanced tools like Sprinklr’s Case Management, Sprinklr Voice, and Conversational AI. Since 2022, Aramex has modernised its customer service framework with AI-driven automation and WhatsApp integration, automating 90 per centof cases and saving over a million agent hours annually. Here, Françoise Russo, chief digital and technology officer at Aramex, and Amjad Al Sabbah, group VP for the Middle East…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK energy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Almost one in four British households are late paying their energy bills, according to new figures that shows how families are struggling to pay despite global prices falling over the past two years. Some 24 per cent of households are currently past their energy bill payment due date, figures compiled by consultancy Baringa show. This has risen from 18 per cent in December 2024, though is lower than the rate of 29 per cent who were behind in May 2022, after wholesale…

America’s trading partners have largely failed to retaliate against Donald Trump’s tariff war, allowing a president taunted for “always chickening out” to raise nearly $50bn in extra customs revenues at little cost. Four months since Trump fired the opening salvo of his trade war, only China and Canada have dared to hit back at Washington imposing a minimum 10 per cent global tariff, 50 per cent levies on steel and aluminium, and 25 per cent on autos.At the same time US revenues from customs duties hit a record high of $64bn in the second quarter — $47bn more than over…

Image: Supplied From pioneering CAR T-cell therapy access to supporting frontline HIV education, Gilead is aligning its global R&D pipeline with local public health priorities in the Middle East. Here, we speak to Vítor Papão, GM of Middle East, Russia and Türkiye at Gilead Sciences, about the company’s latest partnerships in the UAE, the evolving role of public-private collaboration in healthcare, and how emerging technologies and policy innovation are reshaping patient care across the region. Tell us about the recent MoUs signed between Gilead Sciences and the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. What is the strategic vision behind these…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Technology sector myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Nobody loves a good bandwagon like a venture capitalist. Among European start-up investors, “resilience” and “sovereign” tech are giving even artificial intelligence a run for its money as the hottest new buzzwords. Led by Germany’s Helsing, which pulled in another €600mn in a fundraising led by Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek’s investment group last month, defence tech companies making drones, submarines and other battlefield systems have taken the place once occupied by e-scooters, grocery apps and the metaverse in investors’ hearts. Many European…