Deal hunger stirs among US banks at prospect of looser regulation

US banking mergers will accelerate over the next year, executives predict, driven by a more favourable approach from regulators, intensifying competition and the need to spend more on technology. Anticipation about a surge in deals between American banks has been growing since Donald Trump won last year’s presidential election promising to cut regulation and unburden … Read more

Business school teaching case study: what’s in a label?

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Sustainability myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Christopher Marquis is Sinyi professor of Chinese management at Cambridge Judge Business School. When Dr Bronner’s recently announced it would not renew its B Corp certification, it sent ripples through the responsible business community. The decision … Read more

Wealth managers gear up to put UK savings into private assets

Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Financial services myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The UK’s largest wealth managers are preparing to sell private markets products to their retail customers, as investment groups battle to maintain their relevance with savers and the importance of public markets dwindles. Wealth managers … Read more

oil traders shrug off Mideast tumult

As Iran started firing missiles at a US air base in Qatar on Monday, oil traders responded with striking speed — not by buying, but by selling.  Within seven minutes of the first launch at about 5.30pm London time, Brent crude, the international benchmark, began to slide. It took only 20 minutes for the losses … Read more

Trump signals sanctions relief for China to buy Iran’s oil

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world President Donald Trump said China could purchase oil from Iran, in an apparent reversal of policy after his administration spent months imposing sanctions on Chinese refineries for buying Iranian crude. “China can now … Read more

The dangers of stablecoins

This article is an on-site version of our Chris Giles on Central Banks newsletter. Premium subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every Tuesday. Standard subscribers can upgrade to Premium here, or explore all FT newsletters Donald Trump said on Thursday that Jay Powell was “one of the dumbest, and most destructive, … Read more

Stablecoins ‘perform poorly’ as money, central banks warn

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world Top central bankers have delivered a scathing assessment of stablecoins, saying they “perform badly” on key requirements for being widely used as money, disavowing US President Donald Trump’s push to make them a … Read more