Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT. In today’s newsletter:
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Swiss lawmakers signal compromise on $22bn UBS capital plan
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Pete Hegseth’s broker looked to buy defence fund before Iran attack
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Cracks appear in US-UK security co-operation
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Who is Péter Magyar, Viktor Orbán’s nemesis?
We begin with UBS, which may get a reprieve from Switzerland’s financial reform push.
What to know: Swiss lawmakers have assured senior UBS executives that they will water down stringent new rules as Bern finalises a decision on how much capital the country’s largest bank should hold.
Senior parliamentarians have privately told UBS executives they will come up with a compromise on the proposals, which would increase the bank’s capital requirements by $22bn, according to people familiar with the situation.
Bank rules reform: The “too big to fail” reform package was unveiled last year by Swiss finance minister Karin Keller-Sutter in response to the collapse of Credit Suisse in 2023.
Regulators say the rules are necessary to protect depositors, while critics fear it will harm the country’s competitiveness as a global financial centre. Read the full story.
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:
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Economic data: The UK releases its revised GDP estimate for the fourth quarter. The EU and France publish inflation data for March. Germany issues labour market figures for February.
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Macron’s Asia trip: France’s President Emmanuel Macron begins a four-day trip to Japan and South Korea.
Five more top stories
1. Exclusive: A broker for Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, attempted to make a big investment in major defence companies in the weeks leading up to the US-Israeli attack on Iran, according to three people familiar with the matter. Read the full story.
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Oil pares gains: Prices for Brent were up slightly for the day by 0.2 per cent at $113 a barrel after trading as high as $115.60. Follow our live blog for more updates.
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Iran’s hackers go to war: Tehran’s cyber operatives have sought to sow fear and hoover up intelligence in a series of attacks in Israel and the US.
2. The first cracks in US-UK security co-operation are appearing as tensions over Iran between US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer shake working relationships between diplomats, officials and military personnel. Read the full report.
3. Israel’s parliament has passed a controversial bill that seeks to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis in acts of terror, but not on Jewish Israelis who kill Palestinians in similar circumstances. Read details of the legislation.
4. The last known shipment of jet fuel to the UK from the Middle East is expected to arrive this week, pointing to the fast-approaching impact of the Iran war on airlines and travellers. Europe gets around 40 per cent of its jet fuel via the Strait of Hormuz, which is nearly completely shut.
5. Rising fuel prices and “pump anxiety” caused by the Middle East conflict have brought a surge in consumer interest in electric vehicles, leading to more test drives, advert views and sales of used vehicles. Kana Inagaki has more.
News in-depth
Péter Magyar, once a ruling party insider who married a rising figure in Viktor Orbán’s circle, has since turned against Hungary’s prime minister. Drawing on conversations with people close to both men, this account traces Magyar’s arc from Orbán ally to nemesis — and potential successor after the April 12 election.
We’re also reading . . .
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‘Law of the jungle’: It is China and the US that prosper when power sets the terms for global commerce, writes Peter Foster. Smaller countries become casualties.
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AI optimism: Politicians’ bullish rhetoric about “unleashing” the technology is badly out of touch with the sensibilities of many voters, writes Sarah O’Connor.
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Private capital shift: City law firm Macfarlanes has transcended its roots to become one of London’s most profitable legal partnerships, writes John Gapper.
Chart of the day
Foreign central banks have slashed their holdings of Treasuries at the New York Federal Reserve to the lowest level since 2012, as countries sell the US government bonds to prop up their economies and currencies in the wake of the Iran war.
Take a break from the news . . .
Free museum entry is, for Edwin Heathcote, a marker of a civilised city and one of the best things about living in London. Is the UK government’s plan to charge foreign visitors a good idea?
