The Lex Column@FTLex

Lex is the FT's agenda-setting daily column on business and finance. Premium FT subscribers can sign up to our popular twice weekly newsletter Best of Lex ⬇️

 London, New York, Hong Kong
ft.com/lex
Joined February 2009
851 Photos and videos
Private equity wrestles with its own generational wealth gap ft.trib.al/rgINrgZ

Private equity wrestles with its own generational wealth gap

Joe Baratta of Blackstone will retire a billionaire, but future up-and-comers will struggle to match his record

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BASF should take another crack at chemicals M&A ft.trib.al/1U1Svyf

BASF should take another crack at chemicals M&A

Evonik, governed by the RAG-Stiftung foundation, may find it hard to turn up its nose at a higher number

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Big dreams and tiny revenue are the new norm for AI IPOs ft.trib.al/AZ901xy

Big dreams and tiny revenue are the new norm for AI IPOs

The nature of the AI boom and the size of valuations make the contrast between ambition and income more striking

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Whitbread acts out the UK’s growth challenge in miniature ft.trib.al/u1OSJcF

Whitbread acts out the UK’s growth challenge in miniature

If the budget hotel chain owner is struggling to make its numbers stack up, other operators will be too

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Lawyers join microchips on the list of data centre must-haves ft.trib.al/o2C8rYh

Lawyers join microchips on the list of data centre must-haves

The Oracle dispute suggests there is another risk investors may have overlooked

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No product, no problem: investors place big bets on AI neolabs ft.trib.al/dczCsQ5

No product, no problem: investors place big bets on AI neolabs

It is true that these numbers can hide some sleight of hand

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Airtel Money IPO signals a route back for London’s market ft.trib.al/U88olFY

Airtel Money IPO signals a route back for London’s market

What starts as a niche investment can attract more mainstream sector analysts and investors

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How besieged billionaires are turning the tables on litigious shareholders ft.trib.al/NhfY33k

How besieged billionaires are turning the tables on litigious shareholders

Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel has accused funds of illegal anti-competitive conduct over his take-private of Endeavor

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Trump’s diesel ban would hurt America and help China ft.trib.al/rRxmoCS

Trump’s diesel ban would hurt America and help China

Suspending foreign sales of the vital fuel may look good in the short term but the US would soon suffer

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Private equity has a new kind of SaaS: swimming as a service ft.trib.al/3ZS5Xla

Private equity has a new kind of SaaS: swimming as a service

There are north of 10mn installed pools in the US and they all need regular cleaning and repair

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Paramount wins over US states — but can it win over the bond market? ft.trib.al/5LNfzux

Paramount wins over US states — but can it win over the bond market?

The Hollywood studio will emerge from the WBD acquisition with net debt of about $80bn

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Germany’s economic recovery is under way if politics doesn’t spoil it ft.trib.al/sbktbdL

Germany’s economic recovery is under way if politics doesn’t spoil it

Frugal Germany would appear to have the fiscal headroom to try and spend its way out of the impasse

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Novo’s prospects beyond weight-loss drugs look surprisingly lean ft.trib.al/k3hccui

Novo’s prospects beyond weight-loss drugs look surprisingly lean

Despite plans to broaden its business beyond obesity treatments, the Danish group’s guidance is unambitious

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There’s room in space for more than just Elon Musk ft.trib.al/Dil09fO

There’s room in space for more than just Elon Musk

Commercial chops will define the winners

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Cinema revival takes the big screen and makes it enormous ft.trib.al/EyXWolc

Cinema revival takes the big screen and makes it enormous

Film-goers are attending less often but spending more, splashing out on plush seats, elaborate cocktails and premium screens

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Housebuilders aren’t the only ones who benefit from ‘Help to Buy’ ft.trib.al/E7N9Lnz

Housebuilders aren’t the only ones who benefit from ‘Help to Buy’

A new equity loan scheme could help people get on the property ladder, though the government might struggle to afford it

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Why Scott Bessent should pay attention to Turkey’s market scandal ft.trib.al/bHRADTl

Why Scott Bessent should pay attention to Turkey’s market scandal

It does not take a fraud to cause problems when markets get overstretched

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Europe can attract more stock trading with fewer, better markets ft.trib.al/6YmQ0NN

Europe can attract more stock trading with fewer, better markets

A bigger European exchange could better woo US investors seeking to diversify from the tech-centricity of their own markets

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Rising rates throw a spanner in investment bankers’ spreadsheets ft.trib.al/UqrTrmq

Rising rates throw a spanner in investment bankers’ spreadsheets

When the cost of capital goes up, the value of a company theoretically goes down. Share prices tell a different story

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Japan has good reason to welcome arrival of driverless taxis ft.trib.al/HCvC71E

Japan has good reason to welcome arrival of driverless taxis

Shortage of taxi drivers gives country a structural reason for robotaxis to grow

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