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Binance hid substantial links to China for several years, contradicting executives’ claims that the crypto exchange left the country after a clampdown on the industry in late 2017, according to internal company documents seen by the Financial Times. Chief executive Changpeng Zhao and others holding senior positions repeatedly instructed Binance employees to hide the company’s

Jeremy Hunt, UK chancellor, is to pump more money into the NHS to fund a new pay deal for heath workers, in a surprise move that comes despite the Treasury’s previous focus on efficiency savings to fund the offer. Steve Barclay, health secretary, said on Tuesday that the pay deal would be fully funded. “I

Humza Yousaf has won the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National party, paving the way for him to become Scotland’s first minister. The 37-year old health secretary won 52.1 per cent of the vote of SNP members in the second round of voting, beating Kate Forbes, the finance secretary, who

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has warned of increased risks to financial stability and the need for vigilance following the recent banking sector turmoil in advanced economies. Speaking at a conference in Beijing, the IMF head said uncertainties in the world economy remained “exceptionally high”, with global economic growth expected to slow below 3 per

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has raised concerns over Rokos Capital Management after the hedge fund was forced to hand over large amounts of cash to its banks as collateral when an outsized bet on US government bonds backfired earlier this month. SEC chair Gary Gensler brought up the hedge fund during calls with

Equity markets were mixed on Friday as concerns over the health of the global banking system dragged down shares in US lenders down more than 14 per cent this week. The FTSE All-World stock index was down 0.1 per cent on Friday during Asian trading but up 1.6 per cent for the week. Technology stocks

The Bank of England has increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25 per cent, despite the turmoil that has engulfed banking in recent weeks. The rise, which was in line with economists’ forecasts, comes a day after data showed that the annual rate of inflation jumped from 10.1 per cent

UK inflation unexpectedly accelerated in February, adding to pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates again at its meeting on Thursday. The annual rate of consumer price inflation rose to 10.4 per cent in February, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. That was up from 10.1 per cent in January

Janet Yellen will signal further US government backing for deposits at smaller American banks if needed, a shift that seeks to protect parts of the country’s banking system struggling in the recent financial turmoil. Amid mounting evidence that panicked depositors are pulling savings out of regional banks, the US Treasury secretary will say guarantees offered

A unit of New York Community Bancorp has agreed to buy “substantially all” deposits and some loan portfolios of the collapsed Signature Bank, the US federal deposit agency announced on Sunday. From Monday, Flagstar Bank will acquire 40 former Signature branches, which will be rebranded under its name, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said. The

UBS has offered to buy Credit Suisse for up to $1bn, with Swiss authorities planning to change the country’s laws to bypass a shareholder vote on the transaction as they rush to finalise a deal before Monday. The all-share deal between Switzerland’s two biggest banks is set to be signed as soon as Sunday evening

BlackRock drew up a rival bid for Credit Suisse that would trump a plan blessed by the Swiss central bank for UBS to acquire its struggling rival, five people with knowledge of the matter told the Financial Times. The US investment giant evaluated a number of options and talked to other potential investors, said people

The OECD has urged central banks to “stay the course” and continue raising interest rates despite turmoil in financial markets, warning that inflation was still the main threat to the world economy. In an update to its November economic forecasts, completed as tensions mounted this week in the banking sector, the Paris-based international organisation upgraded

Credit Suisse shares rebounded sharply on Thursday after the lender revealed plans to borrow up to SFr50bn ($54bn) from the Swiss central bank and buy back about SFr3bn of its debt in an attempt to boost liquidity and calm investors. The Swiss National Bank had said on Wednesday it was willing to provide a liquidity

Credit Suisse shares tumbled more than 20 per cent to an all-time low following comments from its largest shareholder that it would not provide the bank with any more capital. Trading in Credit Suisse shares was halted on Wednesday after they sank as low as SFr1.73. The declines came after the chair of the Saudi

Shares of Japan’s biggest banks dropped sharply on Tuesday as global markets reacted to a US banking sector sell-off and uncertainty over interest rates in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Traders in Tokyo said they were expecting a second day of massive equity market support from the Bank of Japan to

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank has torn into global markets, with investors ripping up their forecasts for further rises in interest rates and dumping bank stocks around the world. Government bond prices soared, posting some of the biggest rallies since the crisis of 2008, as fund managers ramped up bets that the US Federal

The UK chancellor is preparing a dramatic intervention to provide a cash lifeline to scores of tech businesses next week as he seeks to contain the damage caused by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Jeremy Hunt was looking to “avoid or minimise damage to some our most promising companies in the UK”, the Treasury

Silicon Valley Bank was shuttered by US regulators on Friday after customers raced to withdraw $42bn — a quarter of its total deposits — in one day and a failed effort to raise new capital called into question the future of the tech-focused lender. With about $209bn in assets, SVB has become the second-largest bank

European and Asian equities tumbled in morning trade on Friday as fears over the health of banks’ bond portfolios rattled nervous investors around the world. The region-wide Stoxx 600 fell 1.4 per cent, hit by declines in bank stocks such as Deutsche Bank and Société Générale, which fell 7.7 per cent and 4.6 per cent

JPMorgan Chase is suing Jes Staley, a former top executive, in an attempt to make him liable for any penalties the US bank might have to pay if it is found to have facilitated Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes in two high-profile lawsuits. Staley, who is alleged in the lawsuits to have “personally observed” Epstein

Volkswagen is putting on hold a planned battery plant in eastern Europe and prioritising a similar facility in North America after estimating it could receive €10bn in US incentives. The decision is the latest fallout from Joe Biden’s $369bn package of subsidies and tax incentives for green technology that is luring European companies to the

Private credit groups including Apollo, Ares and Blackstone are poised to write the largest direct loan on record as they continue to muscle in on a lucrative business traditionally dominated by Wall Street banks. The lenders are increasingly confident they can edge out investment banks including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on a deal to fund

One of Credit Suisse’s longest-standing shareholders has sold its entire stake in the scandal-hit Swiss bank after losing patience with its strategy amid persistent losses and a client exodus. US investment manager Harris Associates, whose deputy chair and chief investment officer David Herro was for years among the Swiss bank’s most prominent supporters, owned as

China will target an economic expansion of “around 5 per cent” for 2023 as President Xi Jinping seeks to restore pre-pandemic levels of growth and prepares to centralise power further in his own hands. Announcing the target, which was below last year’s goal of 5.5 per cent, China’s outgoing premier Li Keqiang told its rubber-stamp

The Financial Conduct Authority has been blamed by some UK officials and SoftBank staff for London losing out to New York on the blockbuster stock market listing of chip designer Arm. SoftBank, the Japanese owner of the Cambridge-based semiconductor company, this week dashed Rishi Sunak’s hopes of retaining the homegrown tech giant, rejecting entreaties from

Rishi Sunak is refusing to rush Britain back into the EU’s €95.5bn Horizon science programme despite his recent breakthrough in relations with Brussels, raising the prospect of a tough negotiation on rejoining the scheme. Senior colleagues said the UK prime minister was “sceptical” about the value of the research programme — the world’s biggest —

The world’s largest building materials company CRH is planning to move its listing from London to New York in a fresh blow to the UK’s capital market. The company, which has a market capitalisation of close to £30bn, is the latest UK-listed company to embark on a move to New York. Last year, Ferguson, the

Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors is demanding more than £500mn of government aid for a new battery factory in Britain, in a decision set to be “pivotal” for the future of the UK car industry. People briefed on discussions say the Indian group is close to choosing between Spain and south-west England for its

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has arrived in Belfast for meetings with business leaders to sell his post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland after a guarded response from the region’s main unionist party. Sunak unveiled the so-called Windsor framework with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, hailing it as a “new chapter”