Author: Arabian Media staff

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Thames Water has agreed to pause executives’ lavish retention payments that were agreed as part of a £3bn emergency loan after a furious backlash from the Labour government. Crisis talks with regulator Ofwat, the government, the utility, and its creditors held over the weekend agreed to “pause and reconsider the retention payments”, said one person close to Thames Water. “All the parties recognise that the payments are a distraction from the major issues at hand.”Steve Reed, environment secretary, welcomed Thames Water’s decision to…

Read More

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK banks myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The Bank of England has introduced a new rule to clamp down on foreign lenders with large amounts of high-value deposits to close “a gap” identified after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm.The BoE said on Tuesday it would require international banks with more than £300mn of instant-access deposits from retail customers and small businesses to set up a UK subsidiary with its own capital and tighter supervision requirements.The new rule was challenged by two of the four banking lobby…

Read More

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Swedish private equity group EQT has offered to inject €220mn to help secure a restructuring deal at one of its two struggling French portfolio companies.EQT, which bought the nursing home group Colisée in a 2020 buyout, made the proposal on Monday as part of a package that would see holders of a €1.2bn secured loan write off around 36 per cent of their debt in exchange for a 33 per cent stake in the business, according to people familiar with the discussions.…

Read More

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A fifth of Shell’s shareholders have cast doubt on its strategy to become the world’s biggest supplier and trader of gas and LNG, questioning whether it makes sense from an economic or climate perspective. Wael Sawan, chief executive of the UK-listed energy major, told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday that “over the coming decade, we want to be the leading integrated gas and LNG player”. He added that Shell’s focus on gas would be its biggest contribution to the…

Read More

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldIs the dominance of the dollar about to fade away? Donald Trump insists that “if we lost the dollar as the world currency . . . that would be the equivalent of losing a war”. Yet he himself could be the cause of such a loss. Reliance on a foreign currency depends on trust in its own soundness and liquidity. Trust in the dollar has been slowly eroding for a while. Now, under Trump, the US has become erratic, indifferent and even hostile: why…

Read More

From a 19th-century lumber town to a 21st-century high-tech hub, Seattle has a long and rich history. Today, its thriving economy, natural beauty, and vibrant cultural scene continue to attract newcomers—including retirees—making it one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country.   However, Seattle can be a pricey place to retire. Investopedia’s recent analysis ranks it fourth costliest in the nation, exceeded only by New York City, Arlington, Va., and San Diego, Calif., largely due to high housing costs.  Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering retiring in Seattle. Key Takeaways Seattle is a vibrant city with…

Read More

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldTop Republican financial officers from 21 states have urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to determine if Chinese companies on US stock exchanges should be delisted for failing to protect American investors.The officers on Tuesday asked SEC chair Paul Atkins to investigate the companies because of Chinese policies that “create an environment of opaqueness that is antithetical” to the reporting requirements of US laws.“China’s actions create an environment ripe for fraud and abuse, increasing the likelihood that China-based US-listed companies…

Read More