Financial Times announces three appointments in the US

The Financial Times says that Jennifer Hughes will be rejoining the FT as US markets editor in New York to lead the team covering the world’s largest capital markets. In this role, Hughes will direct coverage of daily fluctuations in equities and bonds on Wall Street, and provide analysis on how those moves are connected to the global economy. In addition, she will tackle the big trends affecting public markets in the US, including the continued rise of algorithmic trading, battles with the SEC over investing rules and the impact of rising interest rates.

Hughes succeeds Eric Platt, added the publisher, who will take up the newly created role of senior corporate finance correspondent in New York. Platt’s move continues the US expansion of the FT's Due Diligence team, which covers all aspects of dealmaking, including takeover battles, activist insurgencies and bankruptcy restructurings. Platt will lead coverage of the shadow banking sector, including the increasing role private capital plays in debt financing for companies and individual investors. He will also expand the FT’s coverage into endowments and family offices in the US, with a particular focus on how they are playing a bigger deal-making role in corporate America.

The Financial Times also announced that Tabby Kinder has been appointed to the newly created role of West Coast financial editor to lead the FT’s coverage of San Francisco as a financial centre and innovation hub, including the transformation of venture capital firms into major financial players. Kinder will focus on the intersection of technology and finance, from Big Tech to emerging startups, and serve at the forefront of the burgeoning crypto sector in Silicon Valley.

“Tabby and Eric are two of the FT’s biggest stars, and I’m incredibly excited about them tackling the biggest financial stories in America,” said US managing editor Peter Spiegel. “Bringing Jenn back into the FT fold makes this a true trifecta – three world-class journalists on three of the most important beats we have in our network – and is a sign of how seriously the FT is taking its coverage of finance in America.”

According to the Financial Times, these appointments mark a milestone in the FT’s expansion in the US, and particularly its coverage into the changing face of finance, including the rise of private capital as a force on Wall Street and the emergence of digital assets and crypto. The FT say that they recently launched Cryptofinance, a new digital hub and weekly newsletter that shines a light on the digital asset industry and how these innovations are rippling into mainstream finance.