I was surprised to read Jonathan Guthrie’s statement that “good governance . . . prescribes box ticking over the independence of non-executive directors and similar matters of little significance” (“ESG category errors need unbundling for ethical investors”, Opinion, April 5). Especially when the FT’s own non-executive director (NED) diploma — quoting from Sir David Walker’s “Review of Corporate Governance

“It is not contrary to reason,” wrote David Hume, the 18th century Scottish philosopher, “for me to chuse my total ruin, to prevent the least uneasiness of an Indian or person wholly unknown to me.” The US, the UK, the EU and Nato have all said they will not directly intervene militarily to prevent the

Russian missiles on Friday hit a railway station in Kramatorsk, killing “dozens” in the town in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region as Moscow strengthened its offensive in the east of the country. “Thousands of people were at the station during the missile strike, as residents of Donetsk region are being evacuated to safer regions of Ukraine,”

Mexico’s Supreme Court on Thursday denied a bid to invalidate President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s electricity market reform in a decision that puts him on a collision course with the US government and creates a headache for the private sector. The 2021 reform, which has not yet taken effect, proposed to change electricity dispatch rules

On Tuesday, Russia’s new AntiFake TV show aired on the most popular Kremlin-controlled television channel. Superimposed on the horrifying images that have emerged of Ukrainian civilians lying dead in Bucha’s streets was the word “FAKE”. As the TV hosts accused Ukraine of colluding with western media by hiring “poorly-trained actors” to play victims in the

More than half of all new cars sold in the UK must be fully electric by 2028, under detailed government proposals unveiled on Thursday to pave the way for phasing out the sale of traditional petrol and diesel vehicles by the end of the decade. Ministers want to bring in a China-style sales mandate from

Warren Buffett has made tens of billions of dollars from buying dull, industrial companies at staid prices. Despite its Silicon Valley headquarters, the Sage of Omaha’s latest target should be considered in that same genre. A securities filing disclosed Berkshire Hathaway had acquired an 11 per cent stake in HP Inc, formerly known as Hewlett-Packard,

The writer is a former state department official and senior fellow at Hudson Institute US deputy Treasury secretary Wally Adeyemo toured Europe last month on a drive to strengthen EU sanctions and bolster asset-freezing measures against Vladimir Putin and his nomenklatura. His message to Moscow’s enablers was clear: “to anyone who may be in a

The UK government has moved fast after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to draw up a strategy for energy security. If its targets can be achieved it will do much to expand homegrown and green supply sources long-term. But internal wrangling has left two large holes. By backing away from targets for the cheapest and fastest

Discovery’s chief executive David Zaslav has taken the first big step to overhaul its business after it acquires WarnerMedia, the company behind Casablanca, Friends and Game of Thrones, installing his lieutenants as senior leaders of the combined group. JB Perrette, who has led Discovery’s international and streaming businesses, is set to take on one of

German chancellor Olaf Scholz suffered a first big defeat in the Bundestag on Thursday after MPs rejected a bid to make Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory for everyone over the age of 60. A bill supported by the three parties in Scholz’s governing coalition was rejected by 378 MPs, with only 296 supporting it and nine abstaining.

In the last decade, the geopolitical club known as the Group of Twenty (G20) has seemed like an idea that is worthy — but dull. During the 2008 financial crisis, the doughty group (which represents 80 per cent of the global economy) briefly found fame and relevance by forging a collective response to quell the

With Covid-19 restrictions now lifting and clear signs that business travel is recovering after an enforced two-year hiatus, companies large and small in the UK are starting to examine what that means — post-Brexit — for UK travel to the EU. According to the British Chambers of Commerce, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement contains more

The number of Britons living with long Covid stands at its highest level since official statistics on the phenomenon were first collected a year ago. Figures from the Office for National Statistics published on Thursday showed an estimated 1.7mn people, or 2.7 per cent of the UK population, reported experiencing symptoms lasting for more than

The UK’s financial regulator plans to beef up enforcement operations, in a broad crackdown on what it calls “problem firms” across financial services. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday it will add 80 staff to pursue businesses that do not meet basic regulatory standards in all sectors, as it laid out its strategy for

Shell is counting the cost of its retreat from Russia. The tally could be as high as $5bn, it said on Thursday. That will not faze investors. Rival BP’s writedowns could be five times as big. But Shell’s exit could be more complicated. It may also have a bigger impact on Russia’s future ability to

Far-right politician Marine Le Pen has said she is open to appointing leftwingers in her government if she is elected French president later this month. Le Pen, who has already held out the prospect of a “government of national unity”, said on Thursday that while she would “probably not” work with hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon,

Right now, the dollar is the world’s most popular reserve currency by some margin. It plays a vital role in facilitating world trade and global finance, enabling the US to use it as a mightily effective weapon against those who stand against the aims of its foreign policy. Yet some think the weaponisation of the

The economic crisis in Sri Lanka is deepening. The rupee has plunged to record lows against the dollar on the back of blackouts, food shortages and sky-high prices. The country may have as little as $500mn left in foreign reserves though a $1bn bond repayment is due in a few months. With the IMF ready

The author is economics professor at Kozminski University in Warsaw and a former finance minister of Poland Russia’s invasion of Ukraine takes its toll. Most tragic are the terrible loss of life and human suffering, but the material destruction too is enormous. Before the war, the IMF forecast an increase this year in Ukraine’s gross

Is Future You funny and sharp? It could be. Instead of thinking up a witty retort 20 minutes after the event, Future You might now be able to insert this wisecrack into a past conversation courtesy of Twitter. This week, the social media app announced it was working on an edit function to enable users