Victoria Craig hosts this Financial Times news briefing featuring insights from FT journalists Robin Wigglesworth (Alphaville finance blog editor) and Stephen Foley (US accounting editor).

The episode covers three major business stories: Trump's tariff rollback plans amid affordability concerns, the acquisition of historic UK asset manager Schroders by American firm Nuveen, and private equity's strategic entry into the legal services sector through creative ownership structures.

Trump Scales Back Steel Tariffs Amid Consumer Cost Concerns

Trump administration plans to exempt items from tariff lists and launch targeted national security probes instead of broad tariffs, as officials believe tariffs hurt consumers by raising prices.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York research found 'U.S. businesses and consumers paid nearly 90% of the cost' of historic tariffs, creating affordability crisis ahead of midterm elections.

Nuveen Acquires Historic UK Wealth Manager Schroders

Schroders CEO had insisted less than a year ago that the company was 'not for sale' but the family decided to accept a good price from 100-year-old American firm Nuveen.

The deal creates strategic geographic complementarity as 'Nuveen is very American-centric and Schroders has a very tiny business in the US and is bigger in Europe and the UK' - Robin.

Combined entity still won't crack top 10 asset managers, remaining 'slightly behind the likes of Amundi and Allianz in Europe, and far behind BlackRock' - Robin.

Deal reflects industry reality that 'a trillion dollars is kind of table stakes in the asset management industry now' with more consolidation expected - Robin.

Goldman Sachs General Counsel Resigns Over Epstein Ties

Kathy Rumler will resign June 30th after DOJ documents revealed 'extensive discussions' with Jeffrey Epstein between 2014 and 2019, years after his guilty plea.

Rumler said she 'regretted ever knowing Epstein' and had 'no knowledge of any ongoing criminal conduct' but acknowledged media coverage became a distraction.

Private Equity Targets Law Firms Through Creative Structures

Private equity circumvents legal ownership restrictions by 'ring-fencing the audit business from the rest' and acquiring back-office operations, technology, and brand licensing - Stephen.

Law represents 'the last sector, basically, of the professional services that private equity has not come into' with significant money seeking entry - Stephen.

AI disruption is driving interest as 'professional services are becoming just a little bit more capital-intensive' requiring technology investments that private equity can fund - Stephen.

Concerns exist that 'commercial drive and efficiencies that private equity will want to bring could compromise the practice of law' similar to healthcare impacts - Stephen.

Resources Mentioned

showed consumers paid nearly 90% of costs Schroders

Trump plans to scale back steel and aluminum tariffs after Federal Reserve research showed consumers paid nearly 90% of costs Schroders, a historic UK wealth manager, is being

The Holiday Play A Football Romance Epilogue

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