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Western leaders used a gathering of global elites in Munich to make the case that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine posed a threat not just to Europe but to the whole world. There was little evidence their message got through. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, a clutch of senior US and European officials sought to

Ireland’s central bank governor has defended the country’s world-beating economic growth against accusations that it is an artificial product of big US companies taking advantage of Dublin’s low taxes. Gabriel Makhlouf told the Financial Times that much of Ireland’s growth — forecast to be 12.2 per cent last year, more than treble growth in the

Europe’s top banking regulators have informed Deutsche Bank that they are “not satisfied” with its probe into the mis-selling of risky foreign exchange derivatives in Spain, people briefed on the matter told the Financial Times. Both the European Central Bank as well as Germany’s watchdog BaFin have expressed frustration with the probe — code-named “Project

The UK invests too little. This is now widely agreed. Naturally, this has led to a discussion of how to induce more investment. Yet how would the extra investment be funded by a country that is even more strikingly short of savings than it is of investment? According to IMF data, gross investment averaged a

Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt has said that any deal on post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland must be supported by the Democratic Unionist Party, as negotiations on the longstanding dispute continue. Her comments came as former prime minister Boris Johnson warned Rishi Sunak that it would be a “great mistake” to ditch the so-called Northern

Ash Regan, Scotland’s former community safety minister, and health secretary Humza Yousaf, have announced they are standing in the contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the Scottish National Party and first minister. The two have set off the race to replace Sturgeon, who shocked her party on Wednesday by announcing that she was

The prime minister of Sweden has warned against delinking his country’s Nato membership bid from Finland’s, after the alliance acknowledged for the first time that the two might have to join separately owing to Turkey’s obstruction. Ulf Kristersson said in an interview that for strategic reasons, the two membership applications should be ratified at the

Brazil’s justice minister has vowed there will be no amnesty for radical supporters of rightwing former president Jair Bolsonaro who last month stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential palace in Brasília. Pledging to crack down on far-right extremism, Flávio Dino said in an interview: “This is so serious for Brazilian democracy that the response

Investors are piling into high-quality corporate bonds this year at a record rate, reflecting their enthusiasm for an asset class that is typically seen as relatively low risk but now offers the best returns in years. A total of $19bn has poured into funds which buy investment grade corporate debt around the world since the

When Nestlé subsidiary Nespresso was awarded “B Corp” status in May 2022, the founders of tiny Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters could scarcely believe it. Their initial reaction was “dismay”, the Scottish firm said in a post on its website last summer. It had only just attained the same certification, which demonstrates enhanced commitments to environmental

Last week, Sally Mapstone was exposed for breaking a big unwritten rule on how a modern boss should behave. The principal of Scotland’s University of St Andrews has made it clear her team should never write an email that starts with “I hope this finds you well”, or ends with “I hope this helps”. Nor

There is a scene in Tár, the Oscar-nominated film about a charismatic but abusive conductor of a major orchestra in Berlin, in which the character played by Cate Blanchett whispers along to an old programme. It shows Leonard Bernstein, the maestro of the New York Philharmonic, charming his audience in one of its Emmy award-winning

International funding for Chinese start-ups dried up last year, pushing many fledgling technology companies to raise capital and list at home instead of on Wall Street. Dollar investments in the country’s new companies fell by nearly three-quarters last year, declining to 19 per cent of the total capital put into start-ups from 39 per cent

Last year, Japan’s crime rate rose for the first time in 20 years, and did so quite sharply. Alarming, perhaps, and surely nothing to celebrate. Especially since, without that bump, the country was on course to become the world’s first major society to be totally crime-free. Well, sort of.  Japan’s crime figures, say the criminologists,

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US is “very concerned” China is considering supplying Russia with weapons and ammunition in Ukraine. Blinken said he told Wang Yi, China’s top foreign policy official, that such support would have “serious consequences” for the US relationship with Beijing during a meeting on the sidelines of the

Revolut expects to sign off on its financial accounts next week after months of delays in finalising the figures as auditors put pressure on the fintech group to improve its internal controls. The UK-based company’s audit committee will meet on Thursday to approve the 2021 financial accounts, which are then expected to be signed off

The dollar has rebounded from a 10-month low as investors push up their forecasts for US interest rates after signs of stubborn inflation and unexpectedly strong economic activity. The world’s most important reserve currency rose to a 20-year high in September but tumbled 11.2 per cent over the following four months as US inflation declined

China’s top diplomat has lashed out at the US, calling Washington’s decision to shoot down a balloon in American airspace “hysterical and absurd”. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Wang Yi, who holds the top foreign policy position in China’s communist party, said the shooting down “ignored basic facts” and was evidence that

Washington harbours “deep concern” that Russia is working to destabilise Moldova, the US’s top diplomat has said, adding his voice to warnings that Moscow is seeking to overthrow the government of the eastern European nation. Speaking after a meeting with Moldovan president Maia Sandu on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, US secretary of

Welcome back. Maia Sandu, the pro-western president of Moldova, accused Russia this week of plotting to overthrow her country’s democratic institutions. It’s time to pay more attention to Moldova — and to recognise that not every problem in this precarious, politically splintered state on Ukraine’s south-western border is connected directly to Russia’s war next door.

The White House will next week hold secret talks with Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu and national security adviser Wellington Koo as part of a special diplomatic dialogue intended to remain private to avoid sparking an angry reaction from China. Five people familiar with the secret talks — known as the “special channel” — said