Lord Peter Mandelson lobbied the US government on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein and Jes Staley in 2010 when he was a UK minister, using their talking points in conversations with an American official about financial-crisis reforms. Mandelson agreed with Epstein that he would urge Larry Summers, then director of Barack Obama’s National Economic Council, to … Read more
Elon Musk pulled off one of the most audacious deals of his career on Monday, merging SpaceX with xAI to create the most valuable private company in history. The $1.25tn merger combines the billionaire’s dominant rocket maker with his lossmaking AI start-up and social media network X. Musk said the move was needed to launch … Read more
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. It has been hard over the past month for Londoners travelling on the Tube to be unaware of Lucky Saint. The non-alcoholic beer brand’s posters were everywhere during Dry January, featuring a nun devoutly holding … Read more
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Automobiles myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Chinese regulators have banned hidden car door handles, making it the first country to crack down on a design popularised by Tesla, as the increasingly common feature in electric vehicles raises safety concerns. China’s industry and … Read more
Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler sought Jeffrey Epstein’s help to secure a top job at Facebook just months before the sex offender’s arrest, and advised him on how to respond to press coverage of his crimes. Epstein gave extensive coaching to Ruemmler as she sought a senior role at Facebook between June 2018 and … Read more
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Property sector myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Demand for UK rental properties was at its lowest in January for seven years, as improved affordability for first-time buyers and falling levels of immigration eased competition among tenants. Estate agents last month received an … Read more
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Private equity myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. A top dealmaker at one of London’s biggest private equity firms has quit the UK, the latest in a series of wealthy residents to depart in the wake of sweeping tax changes. Kurt Björklund, executive … Read more
OpenAI is prioritising the advancement of ChatGPT over more long-term research, prompting the departure of senior staff as the $500bn company adapts to stiff competition from rivals such as Google and Anthropic. The San Francisco-based start-up has reallocated resources for experimental work in favour of advances to the large language models that power its flagship … Read more
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Telefónica and Liberty Global, the joint owners of Virgin Media O2, are set to lead a roughly £2bn acquisition of the UK’s fourth-largest broadband network, in a deal that will narrow the gap with BT’s … Read more
Meteoric rise — and thumping sell-off — has seen the volatile precious metal compared to a ‘meme stock’