The custody industry fought the EU’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive tooth and claw. It argued there was no market-driven need for rule changes. The European Parliament agreed the 133-page final document last week. Financial News charts two of the industry’s biggest fears and the rule change reality.

The AIFM directive: separating fact from fiction

Elizabeth Pfeuti

Investment banks’ headcount holds steady after years of cuts

RBC traders post 37% gain in volatile markets

Citigroup hires JPMorgan banker Cascarino in debt capital markets reshuffle

Citi veteran Selim Elgen joins JPMorgan’s private bank in Dubai

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Senior private banker heads to new employer after three decades

Jain Global hires ex-Millennium portfolio manager Gregoire Thomas

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Thomas has joined the Hong Kong office of Bobby Jain’s new hedge fund

Ex-Brevan Howard portfolio manager’s hedge fund opens Sydney office

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Carl Radford’s White Elk Partners will have six people in the Australian city by the end of 2025

The asset class has shifted to late-stage lending as companies remain private for longer.

Venture Debt Firms Tilt Toward Mature Companies

Markets haven’t yet grappled with the implications of the president having control over the central bank.

Get Ready for the End of Fed Independence

The bank is growing its card business fast, tapping its unique advantages.

JPMorgan, Already No. 1 in Card Spending, Wants Even More

The tech company is weighing disciplinary measures for employees who occupied President Brad Smith’s office in protest of Microsoft’s relationship with the Israeli government during its war in Gaza.

Microsoft Investigating Employees After Gaza Protest Locks Down Building

The insurance-and-investment company logged a higher profit in the first half of the year, beating consensus projections across its financial results.

Prudential PLC’s First-Half Results Beat Consensus Estimates

The first Black woman to serve as a Federal Reserve Board governor is at the center of an unprecedented power struggle pitting the independence of the bank against the authority of the president.

Lisa Cook, the Fed Governor at the Center of a Firestorm

The agreement settles claims that the lender facilitated $800 million of payments related to the looting of the Malaysian sovereign-wealth fund.

JPMorgan to Pay $330 Million Over 1MDB Transactions

European business activity continues to prove resilient into the second half of the year, surveys showed, despite the American trade tariffs that have weighed on some companies.

European Business Takes Trump Tariffs in Stride

The Dutch insurer and asset manager has focused on making the U.S. its primary market and a key pillar of its growth strategy in recent years.

Dutch Insurer Aegon Evaluates Relocation to U.S.

The president and his allies accuse Powell of dragging his feet on interest-rate cuts, in a caustic and unprecedented pressure campaign.

Trump Turns Up the Heat. Fed Chair Jerome Powell Tries to Keep His Cool.

With a new tech leader taking the reins, the bank is looking to double down on high-value AI use cases and iterate quickly when things aren’t working.

The Man Behind Bank of America’s $13 Billion Tech Agenda

Alpha School, which has locations in Texas, Florida and California, is launching in New York in September.

Bill Ackman’s New Pet Project Is a School That Embraces AI and Rejects DEI

The city’s exchange operator reported record profit and revenue as bullish market sentiment boosted trading.

Hong Kong Regains IPO Crown as Exchange Operator Posts Record Earnings

“Recent trade deals have alleviated, but certainly not eliminated, global uncertainty, which persists on account of the unpredictable policy environment,” Lagarde told a panel on Wednesday.

Europe Should Deepen Ties With Non-U.S. Trade Partners, Lagarde Says

U.S. stock futures started Wednesday lower after a tech-led selloff caused by a report saying the majority of companies investing in generative AI have yet to see returns.

Global Markets Slip Following Tech Selloff

Bill Derrough’s move follows recent leadership changes at Moelis.

Moelis Restructuring Banker Derrough Moves to Jefferies

Dominari was new to the finance game when it took office space in Trump Tower. Now it’s a key adviser on the first family’s ventures, from crypto to manufacturing.

By David Uberti | Photographs by Shuran Huang for WSJ 

How an Obscure Firm Bet on the Trumps and Became Their Go-To Dealmaker

Fears of slow sales and tight pricing are weighing on PE stocks.

Private Equity Firms’ Stocks Are Struggling, Despite Getting Into 401(k)s

The group is focused on acquiring businesses operating mainly in the U.K. online pharmacy market.

Vulcan Two Group Seeks AIM Stock Market IPO

The bank said it also received authorization from the Bank of Italy to acquire indirect control of Banca Generali subsidiaries and indirect shareholdings in affiliates.

Mediobanca Gets ECB Approval for Banca Generali Bid

S&P Global Ratings expects robust revenues from the Trump administration’s newly instituted tariff regime to help offset the expected fiscal deterioration resulting from recent legislative changes.

S&P Affirms U.S. Credit Rating as Tariff Revenue Expected to Plug Fiscal Leaks

The bank is preparing to move thousands of employees into its new, 2.5-million-square-foot Midtown headquarters.

NYC Offices Are Back. Nothing Shows This More Than JPMorgan’s $3 Billion Tower. 

NYC Offices Are Back. Nothing Proves It More Than JPMorgan’s $3 Billion Tower.

Corporate profits are on track for a double-digit climb, led by the tech sector.

Strong Crop of Earnings Eases Investors’ Economic Concerns

Some firm leaders have shrugged off deals as unenforceable, while at least one has taken on trade work for the administration with no fanfare.

By Erin Mulvaney, C. Ryan Barber and Jess Bravin

Pro Bono or Pro Nono? Law Firms Split on Fulfilling Deals With Trump

The “Taylor Swift tax,” among other levies, targets the rich. Will they be driven away?

Blue States Hunt for Ways to Wring More Taxes From the Wealthy

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite both hit closing highs for a second straight session.

U.S. Stocks Amble to Fresh Records on Optimism for a September Rate Cut

The vice president is the most high-profile recent American visitor to the Cotswolds, an idyll that locals say is being disrupted by too many Yanks.

JD Vance’s English Countryside Vacation: Rolling Hills, Armored SUVs and Cranky Locals

Tricks of the trade gain new importance as 401(k) accounts open up to alternative investments.

How One Big Private-Equity Fund Makes Its Numbers Incomprehensible

The bank’s economists had predicted tariffs could cause inflation and slow economic growth.

Trump Calls on Goldman to Replace Economist Over Tariff Stance

A 23-year-old former OpenAI researcher quickly amassed more than $1.5 billion for a firm he called a “brain trust on AI.” 

Billions Flow to New Hedge Funds Focused on AI-Related Bets

Top executives at JPMorgan Chase traveled through states including Mississippi and Alabama, where the bank is expanding its reach.

By Alexander Saeedy | Photographs by Emily Kask for WSJ 

Jamie Dimon Took a Bus Tour Down South. We Rode Along.

A pair of executive orders President Trump signed Thursday show how he is beginning to reshape the world of banking and finance.

Trump Shakes Up Wall Street With Orders on 401(k)s, ‘Debanking’

The private-equity firm’s profit rose amid what its executives called the best environment for selling assets in years.

Exits Lift Carlyle in Second Quarter as Firm Sees Better Market Conditions

A weekly call turned into a celebration of heroes as staffers comfort one another through lingering trauma.

Blackstone Begins ‘Climb Back to Normalcy,’ Returns to Office After Shooting

The president is expected to sign an executive order as soon as this week that targets what is called debanking of businesses including crypto companies.

White House Preps Order to Punish Banks That Discriminate Against Conservatives

Some fear a decline in the world-leading economic statistics underpinning U.S. markets.

By Alexander Saeedy, Jack Pitcher and Peter Rudegeair

Trump’s BLS Firing Tests Wall Street’s Reliance on Government Data

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