Saudi Arabia puts outside consultants on notice

HSBC and UBS are expanding their wealth management arms in India, and the consulting boom in Saudi Arabia is slowing down. Plus, global gold prices have soared on fears that President Donald Trump could impose tariffs on gold imports, and US retailers are preparing for fewer sales in 2025. Mentioned in this podcast:HSBC and UBS expand India wealth management arms after IPO boomGold hits $3,000 for first time on global growth fearsFrom London to New York via Switzerland: the booming trade in gold barsEnd of ‘blank cheque’ era for outside consultants in Saudi ArabiaSouth Korea’s academic race pushes half of under-6s into ‘cram’ schoolsUS shoppers tighten their belts as economic outlook concerns mountThe FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Ethan Plotkin, Lulu Smyth, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.