Zaha Hadid dies, China to deploy longest-range nuclear missile and the weight of the world

An investor consortium led by China’s Anbang Insurance has lost the bidding war for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, after a person directly involved said it had failed to demonstrate it had the financing in place to back up its latest $14bn offer.

Starwood responded by confirming the cash and stock deal it had already agreed with Marriott International, its US rival. The Marriott offer, worth $13.3bn at Thursday’s closing price, would create the world’s largest hospitality company with 1.1m rooms in more than 5,500 hotels. (FT)

In the news

Zaha Hadid dies The most inventive and successful female architect of the modern age died in Miami of a heart attack after contracting bronchitis. She was 65. (FT)

China to deploy longest-range nuclear missile A new generation of missiles may come into service as early as this year and will herald a period of rapid nuclear build-up by China, according to experts. With a 14,500km estimated range, the DF-41 is the first Chinese missile capable of carrying multiple warheads that can strike any part of the US from anywhere in China. (FT)

‘Gherkin’ owner charged Billionaire financier Joseph Safra, who owns London’s “Gherkin” skyscraper, has been charged with corruption by prosecutors in Brazil. Said by Fortune magazine to be the world’s richest banker, Mr Safra was allegedly involved in a scheme to pay off government auditors. (FT)

Turkey’s charmless offensive Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Washington got off to a bad start when security guards from his entourage clashed with journalists at a think-tank event. The trip to the US capital had been billed in part as an attempt to repair US-Turkey relations after disagreements over the treatment of the media and policy in Syria. (FT)

The UK’s booming service sector Britain’s service industry recorded its 12th consecutive quarter of growth on Thursday and now accounts for almost 80 per cent of the economy. (FT)

It's a big day for

UK living standards A new £7.20-an-hour minimum wage for people aged 25 and over comes into effect. However, employers are shifting to more flexible work contracts while cutting overtime, bonuses and other staff perks to mitigate the cost of the so-called National Living Wage. (FT)

Food for thought

The weight of the world There are now more adults in the world classified as obese than underweight, according to a major new study, which compared body mass index among nearly 20m men and women over a 40-year period. Obesity has tripled in men and more than doubled in women. (BBC)

Trump’s man in Vegas Phil Ruffin’s life is the stuff of novels. He parlayed a fortune rooted in Kansas convenience stores into casino holdings in Las Vegas, before marrying a Ukrainian beauty queen four decades his junior and moving into a mansion previously occupied by Prince Jefri of Brunei. Now, after 81 years of derring-do, he finds himself on the political stage as a business partner and friend of Donald Trump. (FT)

A piggy bank for life How is the “welfare state” to be justified? The usual answer is that it is a way for the well-off to help the less well-off. But this is not its only role.It is also a “piggy bank”, writes the FT’s Martin Wolf. “More precisely, it is a substitute for markets that the private sector does not offer.”

The art of counterfeiting Joel Quispe is a perfectionist. From his cell inside a Peruvian prison, he crafts his art using bonded paper, watermarks and gloriously intricate typography. With help from his family on the outside, his creations turn over millions of dollars. His product:fake US$100 bills. (The Guardian)

Our eternal interest in serial killers Murderers like Charles Manson and Ted Bundy are a tiny threat to our society — yet our interest in them appears to be endless. Why? (BBC)

Polynesian sportsmen: ‘warriors’ or victims? Physically powerful young men have become Polynesia’s highest profile export. In a bittersweet trade, youngsters who dreamt of playing professional American football risk neurological damage, while international rugby prospects are blighted by allegations of exploitation. (NAR)

Video of the day

The UK’s new living wage explained On April 1 Britain will impose a new minimum wage rate, known as the “national living wage”. The FT’s Sarah O’Connor explains three things you need to know about the change and how it measures up to similar pay policies around the world. (FT)