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Thanks for Gideon Rachman’s timely article “Strongman syndrome” (Life & Arts, April 2). I take issue, however, with the term “strongman”. These men in reality are weak as water, petrified of losing power and terrified of remotely credible opponents. They cower from any scrutiny and from people’s free opinions. Their worst nightmare is a little

Both Mark Mazower (Life & Arts, March 26) and Denis MacShane refer to Kaliningrad as a Russian enclave (Letters, April 4). They are incorrect two ways. First, Kaliningrad is a city. Kaliningrad Oblast describes the territory in question. Second, Kaliningrad Oblast is not an enclave but rather a semi-exclave. Enclaves are wholly surrounded by a

Thank you to Nilanjana Roy for her beautiful and moving article about Anne Frank (“Anne Frank’s potent words”, Opinion, FT Weekend, April 2). One sentence I feel I have to question, however, is where she wrote: “As the Holocaust fades from living memory”. There are many of us who will never forget — sons, daughters,

In his article “The shadows of war” (House & Home, April 2) Robin Lane Fox clarifies that sunflowers — the symbol used to show solidarity with Ukraine — actually are not native to the besieged nation, and were in fact introduced by Russia. Therefore, he suggests that they should not be used to show support

Enuma Okoro’s commentary on the “slap” heard round the world (“Why Will Smith deserves our compassion”, Life & Arts, April 2) left me feeling disheartened. As a psychiatrist I have encountered many examples of irresponsible, occasionally violent behaviours. There is always a background that adds perspective. Okoro provides examples in her defence of Smith. But

As an anthropologist, Gillian Tett will know how easily tribal emotions can be stirred up against a common enemy. In “The world needs to come clean about dirty money” (Magazine, FT Weekend, March 26) she paints a sinister picture of a “social silence” around assets held in trust, and governments “forced to peer into the

US stocks edged higher and government debt was under pressure on Friday, as investors positioned themselves for central banks to curb inflation. The US benchmark S&P 500 share index struggled for direction but remained on track for its first weekly decline in a month, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5 per cent. The FTSE

Capital’s shares are currently sitting at around their all-time high and are up by over 60 per cent over the past year. The mining equipment provider, based in Mauritius, saw its shares briefly retreat after releasing its latest full-year results in March, but they have since spiked. Those results — for the 2021 financial year

BUY: Hilton Food (HFG) Acquisitions have expanded the company’s horizons and look set to define its growth prospects, writes Christopher Akers. It is a time of strategic progress and more diversification for Hilton Food. More than three-quarters of volumes were posted outside the UK in these results, as the food packing company made key acquisitions,

UK home secretary Priti Patel apologised on Friday for “frustrating” delays in the processing of visas for tens of thousands of Ukrainians seeking refuge in the UK since the Russian invasion of their country in February. Just over half of the 79,800 Ukrainians who have applied through the two UK schemes open to them have

A US jury has convicted former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng in connection with the multibillion-dollar 1MDB embezzlement, handing prosecutors a high-profile victory in a scandal that has reverberated from Malaysia and Singapore to Wall Street. After a trial lasting nearly two months, and four days of deliberation, jurors on Friday found Ng, 49, guilty

The number of people who admitted not paying tax on their overseas assets to the UK tax authority jumped by more than a third last year, prompted by warning letters sent by HM Revenue & Customs. A freedom of information request revealed that 4,443 people confessed to not paying enough tax on their foreign assets

Good evening Global food prices have struck a new high, rising at the fastest monthly rate in 14 years as war in Ukraine hit the supply of grains and vegetable oils, in a shift likely to do the greatest harm in the world’s poorer countries. March’s food price index from the UN Food and Agricultural

The German government has announced an aid package to support companies hit by the fallout of the Ukraine war and the sanctions against Russia, the leading energy supplier to the eurozone’s biggest economy. The measures include a new €100bn programme of short-term loans from state-owned KfW development bank for energy companies struggling to cover the

The writer is creative founder of Portas Agency and co-chair of the Better Business Act My career in business has been all about spotting trends, predicting the next big thing and helping brands to make some cash out of that. But my certainties, like everyone else’s, have been challenged lately. The pandemic brought tension and confusion,

When news broke this week that Roelof Botha was slipping into the top job at Sequoia Capital, it came with the low-key inevitability that has become a hallmark of what is considered by many to be Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firm. That the 48-year-old South African, who was already head of Sequoia’s US and

NatWest shareholders have been urged to vote against the group’s executive pay plan at this month’s annual general meeting by an influential proxy adviser, just days after the UK government reduced its stake in the bank to below 50 per cent. Glass Lewis, the consultant whose recommendations are widely followed by institutional investors and passive

Did you imagine lockdowns in Shanghai and Shenzhen would drive up the cost of transporting goods from China to Europe? If you did, then you’d be wrong. Here’s what’s happened to the price of taking a 40ft container’s-worth of goods from the Far East to Northern Europe on short notice: The data comes courtesy of

Who doesn’t like a door wreath? At Christmas, it is the announcement to one and all that we are mince-pie ready and embracing festive fun. Come Easter, we are hopeful for a happy and sunshine-filled spring. Floral displays deliver on all this optimism, so why not garnish your front door with a spring wreath too?

Hello from New York. Reports are starting to show it was a punishing start to the year for the environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment sector. Cash into ESG funds fell to $75bn, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2020, according to a report published by the Institute of International Finance on Thursday.

Japan will ban Russian coal imports, joining EU and G7 allies to target the country’s energy sector for the first time following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I am banning imports of Russian coal. By gradually reducing the imports we will lower our energy dependence on Russia,” prime minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday, adding that