New bank chief, ECB budget rules and the Alibaba leadership shuffle

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Tidjane Thiam, chief executive of Britain’s Prudential insurance group, is lined up to replace Brady Dougan as the head of Credit Suisse.

Mr Thiam has not worked in banking before but FT’s Lex thinks the change will be good for the bank. “With global central banks engaged in some sort of monetary race to the bottom, finding a decent return is as tough for the Pru’s life insurance customers as it is for Credit Suisse’s private bank clients. If Mr Thiam has been brought in to Credit Suisse to boost the private banking and asset management sides of the business, then so much the better.” (FT)

In the news

Apple Time Tim Cook tried to use the benefits of third-party apps to sell its new watch, previewing tools that will help users unlock doors and view photos. Tim Bradshaw runs through what we didn’t already know about the it. HBO also announced that it will launch its standalone streaming service on Apple devices next month when the latest season of Game of Thronespremiers. (FT)

US Republicans take aim at Iran deal A letter from 47 Republican senators to the Iranian leadership warns that the next US president could undo any agreement with the “stroke of a pen”. The letter was signed by the majority of Republican senators and is the latest attempt to influence nuclear negotiations with Iran, after Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to speak at Congress last week. (FT)

ECB call to respect budget rules Benoit Coeure, a member of the ECB’s executive board, revealed in an interview with the FT the central bank’s frustration that the strict budget rules adopted at the height of the eurozone debt crisis are at risk of unravelling.

Alibaba leadership shuffle The e-commerce group dismissed Wang Yulei, the head of its Tmall shopping platform. Jeff Zhang, former head of the Taobao marketplace, will lead a business unit that brings together all the Alibaba retail platforms, which will still operate independently. (WSJ$)

The $18m outflow from Gross’s new fund Any hopes that Bill Gross would draw in billions of dollars for Janus Capital were dispelled when it turned out investors had pulled money from the “bond king’s” new fund. It is the first monthly outflow since he arrived and comes after Janus admitted that about half the money in the fund is Mr Gross’s own. (FT)

Brazilian real hits 11-year low The currency plunged after a tumultuous weekend during which Dilma Rousseff’s speech on the need for fiscal austerity provoked protests in major citiesand prosecutors launched investigations into 54 senior figures over the Petrobras scandal. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Prudential The British insurer reports full-year results today and is expected to report a strong performance. This will allow Tidjane Thiam to leave on a high but his departure will be a blow – the company’s share price tripled under his leadership. Mike Wells, head of the Pru’s American operations, is expected to be named as Thiam’s replacement. (Sky News)

Food for thought

Theories abound on Nemtsov’s murder When Ramzan Kadyrov, the former warlord who runs the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, called one of the men charged with Nemtsov’s murder a “true patriot”, he raised new questions about the killing. Some suspect that he organised the murder as a “present” to Putin or that the killing was a plot aimed at toppling Kadyrov. Leonid Bershidsky at Bloomberg View explains why he thinks the murder was pinned on the Chechens. (FT, Bloomberg)

The big drop Saudi Arabia acted as a safety net in the oil market for decades but as prices fell the game changed. Anjli Raval looks at whether the Saudis were trying to undermine Russia and Iran or whether they misread the market. (FT)

China’s factory girls grow up They were seen as docile and easy to manage, and still only make about 75 per cent of what their male counterparts earn. But they are starting to fight back and lead strikes. (Quartz)

Video of the day

Disunited Kingdom Murad Ahmed visits the growing cluster of tech companies in Bristol, which could point to a new future for British industry. (FT)

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: The Euro currency sign is seen next to the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner.