Author: Press Room

Few tales in corporate finance are as audacious, bewildering, or downright entertaining as that of the company formerly known as MicroStrategy. This once-humdrum business-software vendor has transformed into a high-octane bitcoin investment vehicle under the flamboyant leadership of Michael Saylor, its co-founder and executive chair. The company, now called Strategy, holds nearly 500,000 bitcoins, equivalent to 2.38 per cent of the total supply, acquired at an average price of around $66,000.What captivates markets isn’t just the scale of Strategy’s bitcoin accumulation but the relentless financial engineering underpinning it. The latest manoeuvre is the announcement last week of a $21bn “at-the-market”…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Why do banks even exist in a world of burgeoning private credit? Theoretically because cheap customer deposits allow traditional institutions to lend profitably. As the old joke goes: banking is as easy as 1-2-3. Pay depositors 1 per cent, lend at 2, hit the golf course by 3.Maybe, though, that textbook understanding is wrong. The Bank for International Settlements recently examined how the “weighted average cost of capital of banks” has evolved between the pre-financial crisis era and today. It found they’re…

HANOI: Vietnam is reviewing import duties on goods from the United States, the government said, as anxiety mounts in Hanoi over potential tariffs under President Donald Trump’s administration. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told US ambassador Marc Knapper that the review would look to encourage increased imports of liquified natural gas, as well as agricultural and high-tech products, a report on the government’s website said on Thursday (Mar 13). Vietnam represents the United States’s third-highest trade deficit, behind China and Mexico. There is increasing worry that Hanoi could be the next target of Trump’s tariffs, which have sent shockwaves through global…

Emily Soriano was doing laundry this week when a friend rushed into her house with news about their yearslong quest for justice.In December 2016, gunmen stormed into a house in their poor neighborhood north of Manila and started shooting. They killed seven people, including three children and a pregnant woman. Ms. Soriano and her friend, Isabelita Espinosa, each lost a son, both teenagers.To the victims’ families, the massacre seemed senseless, like thousands of other extrajudicial killings carried out during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called war on drugs. Ms. Soriano and Ms. Espinosa have long held him responsible for the deaths…

Federal agencies will begin to vacate hundreds of offices across the country this summer under a frenetic and error-riddled push by Elon Musk’s budget-cutting advisers to terminate leases that they say waste money.The White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk heads, maintains a list of canceled real estate leases on its website, but internal documents obtained by The Associated Press contain a crucial detail: when those cancellations are expected to take effect. The documents from inside the General Services Administration, the U.S. government’s real estate manager, list dozens of federal office and building leases expected to end by June…

The price of gold set a record high on Friday, breaking above $3,000 per troy ounce for the first time as investors reckon with President Trump’s seesawing tariff policy, fears of an economic slowdown and a sinking stock market.Gold is often sought out by investors as a safe haven during times of turmoil, and the price has risen by about 14 percent this year. By contrast, the S&P 500 index tumbled into a correction on Thursday, falling more than 10 percent over the past month as investors fret about Mr. Trump’s economic agenda. Market watchers have upgraded their forecasts, predicting…

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Canada will have a new prime minister on Friday as Liberal Leader Mark Carney is set to be sworn in. Carney, a former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor, will officially take over from outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Canada’s 24th prime minister at a swearing-in ceremony at 11 a.m. eastern at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will preside over the ceremony, which will also see Carney reveal his cabinet, which sources have told Global News is expected to be a much smaller group than Trudeau’s cabinet.Current…

A powerful teachers’ union has warned a Dutton government “is the biggest risk to the future of this nation” as a $4.8bn education deal hangs in the balance.

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Rubrik — The data management stock popped 18.5%. Rubrik beat Wall Street’s expectations, posting an adjusted loss of 18 cents per share for its fourth quarter, which was narrower than the 39 cent loss expected from analysts polled by LSEG. The company also reported $258 million in revenue, above the consensus estimate of $233 million. Chipotle Mexican Grill — The stock rose about 2% after receiving an upgrade to buy from hold at Loop Capital. The firm believes its recent pullback has created an attractive buying opportunity for investors and said…

PORTLAND, Ore. — When the Portland Trail Blazers were in Utah on Feb. 24, there was a special meeting after the game. Danny Berger, a 34-year-old former basketball player at Utah State, reconnected with former NBA player and now Blazers assistant coach Ryan Gomes.They met years before in Connecticut at a charity golf tournament held by Gomes, but this meeting before the Jazz game carried some added perspective. In tow with Berger was his wife, Taylor, and two kids, 2 1/2-year-old son Logan and 3-month-old daughter Avery.If it wasn’t for Gomes, Danny Berger likely wouldn’t be here today. No reunion.…