Author: Arabian Media staff

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Kraken, named for a giant cephalopod, is the stuff of myth. Can a software platform of the same name bring forth riches from the deep? Octopus Energy, its current owner, hopes so.Octopus plans to spin off its technology arm, which powers the utility’s back-office functions, as a separate entity with a valuation of perhaps $10bn. That looks rich: Octopus itself, including Kraken, was valued at $1bn less than that in a fundraising last year. It would imply a multiple of 50-odd times…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldSo Donald Trump’s July 9 deadline to reimpose his so-called “reciprocal tariffs” turned out to be a deferral, though whether to August 1 or September 1 isn’t clear. Very possibly they get postponed indefinitely, despite the president’s all-caps insistence on Truth Social to the contrary, hence the sanguine response of the financial markets. As the New Yorker magazine’s greatest ever cartoon asked: “How about never? Is never good for you?”We’ve also had some innocent entertainment from Trump sending one of…

One scoop to start: Revolut is in talks to raise new funding from investors at a $65bn valuation in a transaction that would fuel global expansion for Europe’s most valuable start-up.And a sibling rivalry scoop: Grant Thornton’s UK and US businesses are vying to take over their German sister firm in a private equity-fuelled race to secure a greater share of the accounting group’s global network.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…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the EU business regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Indonesia has asked Brussels to further delay its landmark deforestation law, adding to mounting pressure from EU governments that have demanded policymakers cut back “onerous” requirements on producers.The controversial ban on products coming from deforested land being sold in the bloc has been heavily criticised by several of the EU’s trading partners including Brazil and the US, which argue it will damage small producers and make trade too expensive.Muhammad Takdir, Indonesia’s deputy ambassador to the EU, said the law — which…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Hedge funds myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Hunterbrook Global has been valued at $100mn after a recent fundraising, as the novel US newsroom-cum-hedge fund revealed to investors that it planned to move into litigation. The new capital, raised by the parent company that oversees the hedge fund Hunterbrook Capital and the news outlet Hunterbrook Media, has come from investors, including the Ford Foundation and venture capital firm Floating Point, according to a person familiar with the fundraise.Hunterbrook was launched in 2023 by investor Nathaniel Brooks Horwitz and writer Sam…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldBillionaire mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland welcomed US President Donald Trump’s vow to impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports, arguing that domestic production of the metal was “fundamental to America’s national security”.Analysts and other executives have questioned the logic of imposing such a high levy when the US remained so dependent on imports of the metal, but the founder of Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines said the move was needed to “wake people up” to America’s vulnerability.“There’s a new list…

Image courtesy: WAM The UAE and Azerbaijan signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), marking a new chapter in bilateral relations aimed at driving economic growth, diversification, and investment across strategic sectors. The agreement was signed during an official ceremony witnessed by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in what both sides hailed as a significant step forward in their long-standing economic and diplomatic partnership. In a report published on state news agency, WAM, Sheikh Mohamed said the CEPA reflected the UAE’s commitment to building global development partnerships that contribute to sustainable growth,…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Aerospace & Defence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Europe is just a few years away from being able to deploy fighter jets without human pilots, the continent’s most valuable defence start-up has said after completing two test flights.Helsing, the drone maker and artificial intelligence company, allowed its software to take control of a Gripen E fighter jet made by the Swedish arms maker Saab in two exercises over the Baltic Sea in May and June.Stephanie Lingemann, senior director of the company’s air division, said the experiments — during which…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Carmakers and shipowners have called on the Trump administration to rethink steep new port fees on car-carrying ships, arguing that the levies will hurt American consumers and exporters. The barrage of complaints come after Washington in April announced new port fees it said were designed to revitalise the US shipbuilding industry and combat China’s growing dominance in the sector. The World Shipping Council and major US companies including Ford and Caterpillar have warned that the levies will be costly and counter-productive, in…

Image: Getty Images/ For illustrative purposes Imagine booking your next Emirates flight using cryptocurrency. That future is now within reach, as the airline teamed up with leading digital assets platform Crypto.com to explore accepting crypto payments across its services. Under a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed this week, Emirates and Crypto.com will work together to integrate Crypto.com Pay into the airline’s payment systems — a move expected to roll out in 2025. The partnership marks a significant step for both brands, and for Dubai’s broader ambitions to become a global hub for fintech and digital innovation. The signing took…