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AstraZeneca has signed its first for-profit deals for its Covid-19 vaccine, moving away from the completely non-profit model that it used during the pandemic. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker is now expecting to transition the vaccine to “modest profitability” as new orders are received. The shot, developed with the University of Oxford, will remain non-profit for developing

General Electric has paid more than $7bn in investment banking fees since 2000, as Wall Street lenders reaped rewards from a frenzied period of dealmaking that culminated in a sinking share price and the eventual break-up of the best-known US conglomerate. GE spent $2.3bn on mergers and acquisition advice alone, according to figures from Refinitiv,

The US Department of Justice is preparing to launch a crackdown on wrongdoing by companies with the first cases expected within weeks, a top official has warned, after the Biden administration pledged to take a tougher stance on corporate crime. In an interview with the Financial Times, John Carlin, a senior official working on the

Global holdings of Chinese stocks and bonds have jumped by about $120bn in 2021 as foreign investors chase returns in the country’s markets despite recent volatility and regulatory crackdowns by Beijing. International investors held Rmb7.5tn ($1.1tn) of equity and fixed income securities priced in renminbi as of the end of September, up about Rmb760bn from

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has promised a ¥1tn ($8.8bn) share buyback programme over the next 12 months, yielding to investor pressure after the company’s Vision Fund unit disclosed a record quarterly loss of ¥825.1bn. Market expectations of a new round of share repurchases had been rising with some of the company’s largest shareholders, including activist

Investors propelled US stocks to a record high last week, buoyed by declining unemployment and advancements in the treatment of Covid-19 giving hope to a resurgent economy. The S&P 500 index of blue-chip US stocks, seen as a benchmark for the health of corporate America, rose 2 per cent for the week to Friday, its

Nancy Pelosi stared down progressives in her own party on Friday, vowing to press ahead with a vote on a $1.2tn bipartisan infrastructure bill while delaying consideration of a separate, larger social spending package popular with the leftwing of the Democratic party. The move breaks a longstanding promise to move the two bills through Congress

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is facing pressure to unveil a new stock buyback programme next week, as the Japanese technology group’s slumping share price has created “deep frustration” among shareholders, people with knowledge of the matter said. The pressure underscores a view by some SoftBank investors including activist hedge fund Elliott Management, which has a

Credit Suisse plans to all but exit the prime brokerage business that left the Swiss bank with $5.1bn of losses earlier this year, as new chair António Horta-Osório unveiled a restructuring of the troubled lender. In a new strategy outlined on Thursday, Credit Suisse will consolidate its wealth management division and streamline its investment bank,

The Mark Carney-led coalition of international financial companies signed up to tackle climate change has up to $130tn of private capital committed to hitting net zero emissions targets by 2050. The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (Gfanz) — which is made up of more than 450 banks, insurers and asset managers across 45 countries

More than 100 global leaders will make a commitment on Tuesday to halt deforestation by 2030, while 30 financial institutions are set to promise to eliminate the harmful practice from their portfolios by 2025. In what is being billed as one of the first significant steps of the COP26 summit in Glasgow, leaders from countries

Jes Staley is to step down as Barclays chief executive following a regulatory investigation into the way he described his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. In a statement on Monday, Barclays said that it was made aware of the results of the investigation from the FCA and PRA on Friday and that: “In view of those

Manufacturing activity in China shrank for a second-straight month in October, as the fallout from the country’s property sector downturn and energy shortages spreads through the world’s second-biggest economy. China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was 49.2 in October, below the 50-point threshold that indicates expansion rather than contraction, official data showed on Sunday. The PMI

US allies are lobbying Joe Biden not to change American policy on the use of nuclear weapons amid concern the president is considering a “no first use” declaration that could undermine long-established deterrence strategies aimed at Russia and China. The lobbying — by treaty allies including Britain, France and Germany in Europe, and Japan and

Apple revenues were slightly below forecasts but the technology giant achieved higher net profits than anticipated despite a components shortage that cost it $6bn in the quarter. The $2.5tn company reported $83.4bn of revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter ending in September, up 29 per cent from a year ago but missing expectations of $84.3bn.

Royal Dutch Shell is under pressure to break itself up after the activist hedge fund Third Point built a large stake and accused the oil supermajor of being bogged down by an incoherent strategy. Third Point, which is led by Daniel Loeb, urged Shell to split itself into “multiple standalone companies”, including a “legacy” arm

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and Microsoft both posted strong revenue growth in the third quarter, while Twitter swung to a loss, as the three tech companies released results late on Tuesday. Alphabet Alphabet smashed Wall Street’s profit expectations in the third quarter, thanks to stronger-than-expected ad sales, though the Google parent fell short of expectations

Tesla has become the first carmaker to be valued at $1tn after rental group Hertz said it had ordered 100,000 Tesla Model 3 sedans to electrify its fleet. Tesla shares rose 9.84 per cent in mid-day trading on Monday to $998.74, bringing year-to-date gains above 40 per cent and lifting the company’s market cap to

Poland’s prime minister has accused the EU of making demands of Warsaw with a “gun to our head”, urging Brussels to withdraw threats of legal and financial sanctions if it wanted to resolve the country’s rule of law crisis. In a move to ease tensions in the long-running dispute, which has raised fears of a

Saudi Arabia has pledged to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2060, while also maintaining its role as a leading producer of oil and gas, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a speech on Saturday. The announcement comes just days before the opening of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow and the G20

Internal documents have revealed Facebook’s bungled attempt to curb an explosion of hate speech and misinformation ahead of and during the January 6 Capitol riots, causing distress among its employees. The revelations come even as in mid-January, Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, downplayed the notion that the social media network played a big part