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The sanctioned Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin generated revenues of more than a quarter of a billion dollars from his global natural resources empire in the four years before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according to corporate records. A Financial Times investigation has found that years of western sanctions against the Wagner mercenary group’s founder failed

If you make your living telling other people what to buy online, “de-influencing” might sound like a direct threat. The trend of glossy videos advising users not to waste their money on Dyson Airwrap hair stylers, Ugg Minis, AirPods Max earphones or Olaplex shampoo has been hailed as a challenge to over-consumption and a return

Brussels is drawing up a proposal to use the EU budget to pre-finance purchases of weapons and ammunition, in what would be an unprecedented foray into the defence industry designed to speed up arms supplies to Ukraine. The European Commission is exploring how it could leverage the bloc’s budget to provide downpayments to arms manufacturers

The chief executive of Vanguard has defended his decision to pull the world’s second largest asset manager out of an industry-wide alliance to tackle climate change, saying the group’s “voice was being drowned out”. In December, Vanguard resigned from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, a coalition of 301 asset managers committed to reducing greenhouse

The British Business Bank wants greater independence to become a UK “sovereign growth fund” that can reinvest proceeds from its venture capital investments, according to its new chief executive. In an interview with the Financial Times, Louis Taylor called on ministers to make key decisions on the future of the state-owned economic development investor, including

At a small rural farm about an hour’s drive from the Zambian capital city of Lusaka in late January, US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen stood before a gathering of farmers and told them she understood the destruction that global warming was causing. “We know that over the past decade, storms, floods, and droughts in Africa

Campaigners have called on the UK government to freeze household energy costs beyond the end of March as falling wholesale prices sharply reduce the amount of government subsidy needed to hold bills steady. The average UK household bill is set to rise to £3,000 per year between April and June under the energy price guarantee

Less than half of the financial aid pledged to Ukraine by the west has actually reached Kyiv since Russia’s invasion last year, according to analysis of international financial support. Ukraine’s finance ministry received €31bn by December 2022 of the €64bn promised by western countries after Russia launched its full-scale attack last February, research by the

Oxford university has continued to court the Sackler family over the past two years, bucking a trend for institutions to cut ties with the owners of the company at the heart of the deadly US opioid epidemic. Documents seen by the Financial Times — including letters, bank statements and event attendee lists from 2020 to

Rishi Sunak on Monday urged Eurosceptic Tory MPs to back him in his bid to end the bitter dispute with Brussels over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, but opposition to a deal was hardening. The British prime minister still hopes to finalise an agreement this week, including providing a new role for the Northern

London and Brussels could announce a deal to resolve a bitter dispute over post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland as early as this week. But with final negotiations under way, one sticking point remains: the region’s biggest pro-UK party is demanding that it should not be subject to EU laws. The Democratic Unionist Party has paralysed

Junior doctors in England have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strikes, in a further escalation of the dispute between the UK government and NHS staff over pay and working conditions. The British Medical Association on Monday said that, on a turnout of 77.49 per cent, 98 per cent of members had backed plans for a

Dutch intelligence authorities have warned of Russian attempts to sabotage its North Sea energy infrastructure and told operators to be on their guard. Russia had instigated “activities that indicate espionage as well as preparing operations for disturbance and sabotage” of underwater cables, wind farms and gas pipelines in the North Sea, said a report published

China’s top diplomat is set to discuss the war in Ukraine with senior Russian officials this week, underscoring Beijing’s deepening ties with Moscow that have caused alarm in western capitals. Wang Yi, China’s most senior foreign policy official, may meet Russian president Vladimir Putin ahead of the conflict’s first anniversary, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Hong Kong has pushed ahead with plans to let retail investors trade cryptocurrencies as it vies with Singapore for supremacy as a digital assets hub. Under plans launched on Monday by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the industry’s two largest crypto tokens — bitcoin and ether — would be opened up to retail

When does giving someone the benefit of the doubt cross the line into sticking your head in the sand? The leaders of JPMorgan Chase and Barclays need to answer that question in light of newly public allegations about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and their former colleague Jes Staley. Epstein, a JPMorgan client for more

US president Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday in a dramatic show of American commitment to Ukraine ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. His stopover, shrouded in secrecy owing to security concerns, comes at a pivotal moment in the war as Ukraine gears up for a counteroffensive and

There comes a point in many wars where the warring sides wonder what they have got themselves into. By some accounts, Vladimir Putin reached that stage in September. After a series of military setbacks, the Russian leader was showing anger — and even panic. Putin is now said to have regained his equanimity. With the

Kate Forbes, Scotland’s finance and economy secretary, on Monday announced that she would run to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National party and first minister. Forbes, who has been on maternity leave since last summer, is the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Sturgeon, who announced her resignation on Wednesday last week. Her chances

Good morning. There are decades when nothing happens. Then there are weeks when decades happen. With unerring timing, my holiday happened to coincide with one of those weeks. My apologies (and thanks!) to Jude, Jen, Miranda, Robert, Chris, Lukanyo, and George for filling in with such aplomb. Some thoughts on some of the aftershocks in

European stocks gave up early gains on Monday, as investors weighed the prospect that the world’s biggest central banks would keep interest rates higher for longer to curb inflation. The region-wide Stoxx 600 traded flat while France’s Cac 40 eased 0.2 per cent. Trading activity was more muted as US markets are closed for Presidents’