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ByteDance raked in a record underlying profit last year, overtaking China’s long-reigning tech giants Tencent and Alibaba for the first time even as losses mounted for its fast-growing TikTok business unit. The world’s most valuable private company posted a 79 per cent surge in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, its preferred metric for

A British business registered to a terraced house in a north London suburb appears to have arranged the sale of about $1.2bn of electronics into Russia since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine at the start of 2022. Mykines Corporation LLP, a company based in the London borough of Enfield, is listed in Russian records

Jes Staley’s lawyer has described “slanderous” allegations that he aided and abetted Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes as “baseless but serious”, after the executive was sued by his former employer JPMorgan Chase. Brendan Sullivan, who is representing Staley, asked a federal judge in New York for more time to review tens of thousands of documents relating to

Kyiv is willing to discuss the future of Crimea with Moscow if its forces reach the border of the Russian-occupied peninsula, a top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the Financial Times. The comments by Andriy Sybiha, deputy head of Zelenskyy’s office, are the most explicit statement of Ukraine’s interest in negotiations since it

Donald Trump has arrived at a Manhattan courthouse to be formally charged in connection with payments made to buy the silence of a porn actress ahead of his 2016 campaign for the White House. The arraignment of Trump marks the first criminal case against a former or sitting US president and will fire the starting

Russia’s security services are confiscating the passports of senior officials and state company executives to prevent overseas travel, as paranoia over leaks and defections spreads through Vladimir Putin’s regime. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine still raging, security officers have tightened up travel requirements within the state sector, demanding the surrender of travel documents from some

The chief executive of one of the world’s biggest shipping insurers has warned of the growing risk of a disastrous oil spill after the knock-on effects of sanctions on Russia left thousands more ships without third-party liability cover from “well-tested” insurers. “Nobody will be there to help clear up the mess [without sufficient liability cover],”

Donald Trump will turn himself in to New York prosecutors on Tuesday, his lawyer said, insisting the former president would “not be put in handcuffs”. Joe Tacopina added he expected the charges — the first criminal indictment in history of an ex-US president — to relate to payments to buy the silence of porn actress

Donald Trump has been indicted following a years-long investigation by Manhattan prosecutors that has led to the first criminal charges against a former US president in the country’s history, according to his lawyers. “President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court,” his lawyers

Spain’s inflation almost halved in a month to 3.1 per cent in March as energy costs dropped, in a possible early sign of a sharp fall in European headline inflation this year. The year-on-year rise in Spanish consumer prices compared with the previous month’s rate of 6 per cent and was lower than the 4

UBS has brought Sergio Ermotti back as chief executive to steer its takeover of Credit Suisse. Ermotti, who was chief executive for nine years before stepping down in 2020, will replace Ralph Hamers, UBS said on Wednesday. Hamers will remain as an adviser during a transition period, the Swiss bank said. UBS said it acted

China has significantly expanded its bailout lending as its Belt and Road Initiative blows up following a series of debt write-offs, scandal-ridden projects and allegations of corruption. A study published on Tuesday shows China granted $104bn worth of rescue loans to developing countries between 2019 and the end of 2021. The figure for these years

Israel’s president Isaac Herzog has implored the government to halt a bitterly contested judicial overhaul, warning that the polarisation it had caused had put “our security, economy, society” under threat. Mass protests erupted across the country overnight with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his defence

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

Executive pay at Silicon Valley Bank soared after the bank embarked on a strategy to boost profitability by buying riskier assets exposed to rising interest rates, according to a Financial Times analysis of securities filings and people familiar with the matter. The jump in pay for chief executive Greg Becker and chief financial officer Daniel

Swiss financial regulator Finma has defended its decision to wipe out the value of risky additional tier 1 bonds as part of the Credit Suisse rescue deal. The move enraged some bondholders because Credit Suisse shareholders will receive a payout. In a statement on Thursday, Finma said the AT1s “contractually provide that they will be

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

UBS’s rescue of Credit Suisse is expected to result in tens of thousands of job cuts, with Switzerland’s financial sector already bracing for a heavy hit from the contentious takeover. Credit Suisse’s domestic business and its investment bank, which collectively employ more than 30,000 staff, are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts, according

Asian bank debt and shares fell on Monday after the wipeout of $17bn of Credit Suisse bonds in a takeover by UBS, sparking concern about similar debt and heralding further turmoil in European markets. HSBC shares fell 6 per cent in Hong Kong, while Standard Chartered fell 5 per cent and Bank of East Asia