Another day, another Abraaj takedown: Yesterday, it was the FT’s turn to publish a long take on the rise and fall of Abraaj and its founder Arif Naqvi. What we found interesting in this one is just how much of the firm’s recent misfortune hinged on the USD 1.8 bn sale of a majority stake in Pakistan’s K-Electric to a Chinese group in 2017.

Speaking of Actis and Abraaj, we have a tiny correction to make: Actis’ offer to acquire some of Abraaj’s assets was actually for USD 1, and not USD 1 bn as we wrote yesterday. The story has since been corrected on our website. Thanks to the many readers who wrote in to point us toward the correction.

Kuwait is new “darling” of investors in regional equities, outshining neighbors Saudi Arabia and the UAE as it slowly but surely delivers a story rooted in policy liberalization, Bloomberg says. The oil-rich country’s expected entry to the MSCI Emerging Markets equity index has also propelled a rally in its stocks while other EM equities have been heading in the opposite direction. “Kuwait’s market offers a refuge for investors spooked by the roll-back of crisis-era stimulus policies and new global trade skirmishes. It has the ‘best financial position of any Middle East oil exporter,’ with the lowest crude-price break-even point for the state budget,” one portfolio manager tells the news information service.

But it’s could be a volatile fall for oil, the Wall Street Journal argues in a solid analysis piece, noting that the “rapid rise and fall in oil prices [in the past month or so] is a sign that investors are weighing conflicting signals,” leaving the market “at a crossroads … as many investors reassess whether global growth will continue stoking demand for fuel.”

Strangest EM-related story we heard these past few days? A failed assassination attempt against Brazil’s far right and poll-leading presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro appears to be recovering from the attack, Reuters reports.

A little closer to home, Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir is hoping the old tactic of dissolving the government will somehow fix the country’s battered economy (or at least demonstrate some action), according to Reuters.

Europe looks set to tighten AML procedures. The European Union’s banking regulator could get “greater enforcement powers and more resources to investigate the activities of banks involved in illicit financing” as part of a crackdown on money laundering and funding for terrorists, the Financial Times reports. Look for this, alongside new powers for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, to feature today in European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker’s annual “State of the Union” speech. The salmon-color paper expects the twin initiatives to be formally unveiled next week.

Jack Ma is retiring: Jack Ma, co-founder of (arguably) the second largest ecommerce site in the world will announce a succession plan next as he prepares to hand over the title of executive chairman next year to CEO Daniel Zhang, CNBC reports. Ma will stay on as executive chair for 12 months to ease the transition, the broadcaster says.