City profiles

Maggie Brereton and Ina Kjaer

In a strike back against “macho” working practices, two “star female partners” who quit KPMG over bullying concerns are launching a rival, “named after the Greek goddess of the dawn”, said the FT. The pair – both experienced dealmakers – sent “shockwaves” through the Big Four firm when they protested its handling of allegations against former deal advisory boss Sanjay Thakkar. They said their new company, Eos Deal Advisory, would provide a counterblast to “a very old-school way of selling deals”, and bring “proper diversity to the market”. It’s certainly not a bad time to launch. The falling pound means companies “are becoming cheaper by the day”, noted Maggie Brereton, and “there’s a wall of private equity money out there”.

Tom Steyer

The American Left seems “almost as beholden to rich people as the Right”, said The Economist. The Democrats’ “most freespending” presidential candidate is a billionaire who also promises to smite the “powerful”. Tom Steyer is a climate-change warrior and Trump baiter whose mission is to destroy “the corporate stronghold” on America. But can the founder of Farallon Capital Management overcome charges of hypocrisy? A history of investing in fossil fuels is “troublesome” for his image, said the LA Times. Trickier still is an old $34m bet on Corrections Corp of America, which runs migrant detention centres on the Mexico border. Steyer has expressed “remorse”, but it could prove “toxic”.