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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Novo Nordisk, one of Europe’s largest companies, lost more than a quarter of its value on Friday after its latest obesity drug missed the drugmaker’s goal for an average of 25 per cent weight loss.

CagriSema helped patients lose an average of 22.7 per cent of their body weight in a late-stage trial, Novo Nordisk said on Friday, only marginally beating the results of Mounjaro, a rival treatment from Eli Lilly.

Martin Holst Lange, executive vice-president for development at Novo Nordisk, said that only 57 per cent of patients had received the highest dose of the drug. “We are encouraged by the weight-loss profile of CagriSema,” he said.

The company’s shares were down as much as 27 per cent in mid-morning trading in Denmark.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are competing for dominance in a market that grew sevenfold in just three years to $24bn in 2023, according to data analytics firm Iqvia.

Novo Nordisk had hoped its “next generation” weight-loss drug could lead the field, after its shares had struggled to keep pace with Eli Lilly and it suffered a setback from disappointing results for an experimental weight-loss pill in September.

“CagriSema is really important for us,” chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen told the Financial Times in November. “It’s a next-generation product and it has the potential to be best in class.”

Patients receiving Mounjaro lost an average of 22.5 per cent of their weight in phase 3 trials when taken as part of a regime of improved diet and exercise. Those on Wegovy, also made by Novo Nordisk, lost an average of about 15 per cent in similar conditions.

About 40 per cent of patients in the CagriSema trial achieved 25 per cent weight loss over the 68 weeks.

CagriSema combines semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, with cagrilintide, another hormone that makes people feel fuller for longer.

The trial of 3,417 people taking a weekly injection found that the most common side effects were gastrointestinal, the vast majority of which were mild and moderate and diminished over time.

This is a developing story

A clutch of cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds has made a windfall in recent weeks as Donald Trump’s election win fuelled a powerful rally that propelled bitcoin above the $100,000 milestone.

Funds employing crypto strategies posted gains of 46 per cent in November, bringing their year-to-date returns to 76 per cent, according to data provider Hedge Fund Research. The returns have outpaced the broader industry, with the average hedge fund gaining 10 per cent in the first 11 months of this year, HFR said.

Brevan Howard Asset Management and Galaxy Digital, the cryptocurrency investment manager founded by billionaire Mike Novogratz, have been among the biggest winners from the recent surge in digital assets.

Crypto funds’ outsized gains come after Trump’s election victory in November added a fresh jolt of enthusiasm to this year’s rally in bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency, which has also sent smaller tokens soaring.

Bitcoin has risen 130 per cent this year to around $100,000, helping push the market value of major crypto tokens up by $1.8tn to $3.5tn, according to the FT Wiltshire Digital Assets Dashboard. The crypto market pulled back from recent highs this week after the Federal Reserve said it would cut rates less than expected next year, hitting risky assets.

Investors are betting that Trump’s crypto-friendly nominees for top government jobs will contrast with Joe Biden’s administration, which has generally taken a more sceptical approach.

“Trump’s election is great news for digital assets because it’s going to bring more clarity on the regulatory side,” said Damien Miller, managing partner at macro hedge fund MP Alpha Capital. “There will be an environment that is more friendly and collaborative towards bitcoin and blockchain.”

Brevan Howard’s main crypto fund gained 33 per cent in November, and is now up 51 per cent in the first 11 months of the year, according to investors. Brevan Howard, which has $35bn in assets, is one of the biggest hedge fund managers to have a devoted crypto business, which it launched in 2021.

Galaxy’s hedge fund strategy gained 43 per cent in November, and is up 90 per cent in 2024, according to investors. The New York-based group has more than doubled its assets under management in the past two years, to $4.8bn, in part by buying up assets from bankrupt crypto companies.

Galaxy and Brevan Howard declined to comment on their performance.

The recent surge in digital assets marks a staggering reversal in fortunes for a sector that was mired in a deep crisis beginning in 2022.

Bitcoin hit a low of around $15,500 when Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange collapsed in November 2022. Galaxy, which has sought to position itself as a full-service crypto financial services firm, posted a $1bn net loss that year.

The cryptocurrency industry received a fillip in January 2024 when the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 exchange traded bitcoin funds, opening the door to cryptocurrencies for new institutional and retail investors. BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, said last week it sees a “case for including bitcoin in multi-asset portfolios”.

NextGen Digital Venture, a $120mn crypto equity fund, is up 330 per cent from its launch in March 2023 to the end of November, according to investors. It has benefited from positions in some bitcoin ETFs, as well as cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase and software provider turned bitcoin investor MicroStrategy.

“After the bitcoin ETF was approved we felt that crypto stocks would become another opportunity for institutional investors because they already had access to bitcoin,” said Jason Huang, founding partner of NextGen Digital Venture.

Coinbase is up almost 60 per cent since the end of 2023, while MicroStrategy is up more than 400 per cent.

Some macro hedge funds — which trade macroeconomic trends in currencies, commodities, bonds and stocks — have also boosted exposure to digital assets in anticipation of a favourable market environment. MP Alpha Capital’s $20mn global macro hedge fund is up over 30 per cent this year, according to investors.

“We’ve had a good run on digital assets: bitcoin, ethereum and bitcoin miners,” said Miller, referring to firms that complete complex calculations in exchange for tokens. “Over the past 18 months, our whole thesis was around the institutional adoption of digital assets and the macro backdrop of looser monetary policy, a weaker dollar and a liquidity-rich environment.”

Trump has signalled that crypto regulation is among his most pressing priorities, and has named venture capitalist and Elon Musk confidant David Sacks as the White House’s cryptocurrency tsar.

A change in leadership at the SEC, the top American securities regulator, has also been welcomed by crypto enthusiasts.

Gary Gensler, the current chair who branded crypto a “wild west” rife with unlawfulness and investor risk, will step down when Trump takes office. He had refused to craft rules catered to digital assets, arguing that many tokens are securities and that existing securities law is enough guidance.

Gensler will be replaced by cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins.

Still, several managers warned that the surge in bitcoin should cause investors to pause and take stock. Huang at NextGen Digital Venture said that, while he is long-term bullish on bitcoin and crypto, “no asset rises in a straight line without volatility.”

BALTIMORE — Luigi Mangione, heir to a prominent Baltimore family, was reported missing by his mother weeks before United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot.

On Thursday, he faced judges in both New York and Pennsylvania where his lawyers said they would fight the murder charges. 

Mother’s efforts to locate

In the months before the shooting, Mangione disappeared from family and friends. He did speak to a British-based journalist.

“He did allude to his frustrations with the U.S. health care system. There was a brief exchange we had where he said the U.S. healthcare system was really expensive,” Gurwinder Bhogal told CNN. 

Bhogal also said, “He did talk about corporate greed. He didn’t like corporate greed.”

Last month from Baltimore, Mangione’s mother reportedly alerted San Francisco police on November 18 her son was missing. San Francisco authorities then recognized Mangione after the shooting and told the FBI days before he was captured. 

Prominent Baltimore family

Mangione’s family has deep ties to the Baltimore area.

They own Lorien Health Services, a chain of nursing homes, as well as the Turf Valley and Hayfields Country Clubs and conservative news-talk radio station WCBM. 

The family has only made one statement since Mangione’s arrest.

His cousin Nino Mangione, a Republican state delegate representing Baltimore County, wrote, “Unfortunately, we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Mangione. We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved. We are devastated by this news.”

The FBI reportedly relayed the tip to NYPD 

“The question becomes was there some sort of communication breakdown along the way? Did the NYPD take this seriously? What action did they take once they got this tip? So there are a lot of open questions,” Michael Barba, a reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle, said. 

An NYPD official said after the first photos of the suspect were released, Mangione’s mother told authorities she did not believe it was him. Authorities said his mother spoke to them the day before her son was arrested. She did not identify him in the surveillance photos that were being circulated, but she did tell them it might be something she could see him doing.

Baltimore acquaintances shocked 

Mangione was the valedictorian of the Class of 2016 at Baltimore’s elite Gilman School.

Classmate James Sandberg told WJZ he knew Mangione “somewhat well” and “he was a nice kid.” Mangione was the valedictorian of their class. A video of the 119th Gilman School Founder’s Day Ceremony shows Mangione’s speech.

Sandberg said he was “shocked” after someone shared an article about Luigi as a person of interest.

“Thought it was maybe a different Luigi Mangione,” Sandberg said.

The Gilman School said in a statement. “This is a deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected.”

Mangione in court

Thursday morning, officers led Mangione into a courtroom in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. The hearing lasted 90 minutes. 

Mangione spoke to his attorney and agreed to extradition as a row of officers with the NYPD waited to take him back to Manhattan to face charges in Thompson’s killing.

Reporters swarmed Mangione’s lawyer following the hearing. 

“Everything we did today was in his best interest. We’re ready now to move forward and start defending these charges in New York and Pennsylvania,” his Pennsylvania-based attorney Thomas Dickey said.

A clean-shaven Mangione looked briefly at the cameras before officers placed him in a black SUV.

A caravan of police vehicles then took him to the airport, where Mangione was escorted onto a plane, headed for New York. 

When he got to New York, Mangione was escorted to court by numerous, heavily armed officers.

He said little during his arraignment but calmly answered the judge’s questions that he was aware of his rights. 

At a news conference, District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Mangione intended to cause terror.

The NYPD said Mangione targeted Thompson and criticized the healthcare industry in handwritten notes recovered during his arrest. 

This week, prosecutors increased the charges to include first-degree murder and terrorism. 

WJZ has learned federal prosecutors have charged Mangione with four counts—including murder, stalking and firearms offenses. The federal complaint includes surveillance images detailing Mangione’s whereabouts the day of the murder. 

Mangione’s lawyer, former prosecutor Karen Friedman Agnifilo, declined to comment. 

She wrote in a prior statement, “The federal government’s reported decision to pile on top of an already overcharged first-degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns. We are ready to fight these charges in whatever court they are brought.”

The prosecutor in Pennsylvania said he will not be dropping charges there. 

“They are allegations at this point, but we are not in the practice of just dismissing charges simply because someone has more serious charges somewhere,” Blair County District Attorney Peter Weeks said Thursday. 

Mangione has a preliminary hearing on January 18.