The IPO of Jack Ma's Ant Group would have been the largest in history: it was expected to raise $37bn at a valuation of $316bn. But just days before the stock market listing, China called it off. The FT's Ryan McMorrow and Hudson Lockett report on what led to Beijing pulling the plug, and what it means for China's private sector. Further reading: 'The party is pushing back': why Beijing reined in Jack Ma and Ant.

Review clips: Reuters, World Economic Forum, CNA, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance.

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Tensions between Washington and Beijing are beginning to resemble a new cold war. Could the complex supply chains built up over a generation that produce Apple's iPhone and other electronics soon be untangled? In this episode Kathrin Hille, the FT’s greater China correspondent, and Richard Waters, the FT’s west coast editor, tell the story of how technology supply chains in the US and China became intertwined and the forces that are pulling them apart. 

Review Clips: CNBC, CSPAN, Washington Post, The Guardian, Reuters, Dallas Morning News, ZDF “Looking for Freedom” WMG (1989) 

Read more from Kathrin Hille

The great uncoupling: one supply chain for China, one for everywhere else

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There is no episode of Behind the Money this week. Here is a preview of what we are working on for next week. 

Review Clips: C-SPAN, CNBC, Dallas Morning News

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The pandemic docked Carnival’s cruise ships and grounded Bombardier’s planes. But when the companies were in need of cash, one went to the bond market and the other to a direct lender. Robert Smith, FT capital market correspondent and Nikou Asgari, FT corporate finance reporter, tell the story of the billion dollar private debt deals shaping who has the capital to weather the crisis. 

Review Clips: CNBC, Reuters, ABC News

Read more from Nikou, Rob and the rest of the corporate finance team

Covid-linked debt rush ignites direct lending market

Asset managers in $300bn drive to build private lending funds

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The market volatility of the past few months has been a boon for the trading divisions of many Wall Street banks, including Morgan Stanley. Laura Noonan, the FT’s US banking editor, explains how success in trading, and a focus on wealth management has positioned Morgan Stanley to make gains during the pandemic - and whether this trend is likely to last. 

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Review clips: CNBC, PBS, Federal Reserve

Read more on Laura’s Noonan reporting on Morgan Stanley - https://www.ft.com/content/22d7c870-870d-4423-bd6f-6e384961f997

Find out what the latest polls say about U.S. voter sentiment towards the economy with FT Washington correspondent Lauren Fedor, Peter Spiegel, the FT’s US managing editor and Michael Peterson of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The event takes place Monday, October 26 at 12 pm ET. Register here - https://nerpreelectioneconomy.live.ft.com/?segmentId=8f3615ce-4cbc-7122-a54d-8ed636f79675

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Bernard Arnault built a €210bn luxury empire through an unflinching acquisition strategy that earned him the “wolf in cashmere” moniker. Tiffany, famous for its robin-egg blue boxes and diamond engagement rings, was meant to be the jewel atop his LVMH luxury group. The takeover would have been the largest-ever in the luxury sector, until the pandemic hit. The FT’s Leila Abboud, Arash Massoudi and James Fontanella-Khan unwind the saga of how the $16.6bn deal has hit rocky ground and how the pandemic and the forthcoming legal battle could change the terms of M&A engagement globally.

Review clips: CNBC, PBS, Viva Technology

Read more from Leila, Arash and James - https://www.ft.com/content/72af09b4-12a4-45ad-86ca-919d38e279e8

Find the FT’s Due Diligence newsletter - https://www.ft.com/due-diligence

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While reporting on the coronavirus crisis in northern Italy this year, Rome correspondent Miles Johnson discovered an equally concerning story in the country’s south. Italy’s most powerful organised crime group, the ‘Ndrangheta, had infiltrated local hospitals and packaged millions of plundered euros into global investment funds and portfolios. In the first episode of Behind the Money’s fourth season, Miles follows the money trail in a cautionary tale for the era of ultra-low interest rates. 

Read Miles’ full investigation here: https://www.ft.com/content/8850581c-176e-4c5c-8b38-debb26b35c14.

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In September 2014, the FT’s Dan McCrum received a tip about a fast-growing German fintech group, Wirecard. Over the next couple of years Dan and his colleagues uncovered the secret behind the payment company’s meteoric growth: many of the customers listed in company documents did not exist. In this episode Dan tells the story of the whistleblowers, shoe-leather reporting, hacking, suspected surveillance and legal threats that led to Wirecard’s downfall.  

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Review clips: CNBC, Deutsche Welle 

Further reading:

The double life of Wirecard’s Jan Marsalek https://www.ft.com/content/511ecf86-ab40-486c-8f76-b8ebda4cc669

Inside Wirecard

https://www.ft.com/wirecard

Dan’s 2015 story for Alphaville

https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/04/27/2127427/the-house-of-wirecard/

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