The Jubilee 2000 saw $130bn of debt written off, and yet we now find ourselves in a renewed global debt crisis, says Maria Finnerty of Cafod The Guardian is right to identify the global sovereign debt crisis as one of the most critical impediments to sustainable development today (Editorial,16 April). Debt relief is urgently needed, but we must also learn the lessons of history. The historic Jubilee 2000 debt relief campaign saw $130bn of debt written off, and yet we now find ourselves in a renewed global debt crisis. This time, action must address the cyclical nature of debt crises. That coun ..read more

The prospect of home loan rates staying high for longer is not the tonic for lenders’ financial results it once was Mortgage borrowers who had been holding out for more affordable rates had their hopes dashed last week, as disappointing economic data raised the likelihood of borrowing costs staying higher for longer. A drop in the annual rate of inflation to 3.2% in March fell only just short of City expectations for a drop to 3.1%, but that was enough to prompt investors to trim their bets on an imminent cut to interest rates. Financial markets, which had until recently been pricing in a firs ..read more

Tentative offer follows four months of talks and could create new banking group with almost 5m customers Coventry Building Society has tentatively offered £780m to buy the Co-operative Bank from its hedge fund owners, in what could be the latest in a string of takeovers among UK lenders. The offer follows nearly four months of exclusive talks between the two lenders, which began in December. If a deal is completed, it would create a new high street challenger with almost 5 million customers and an £89bn balance sheet ..read more

Lloyds Bank says more than 600 of its customers have been tricked by fraudsters so far A rise in fraud cases involving Taylor Swift fans desperate to buy tickets to her sold-out UK shows has prompted Lloyds Bank to issue an “urgent warning” after more than 600 of its customers were scammed. With the superstar due to arrive in Europe next month, the high street bank said its data suggested that UK fans had lost more than £1m to fraudsters so far ..read more

Brazilian president Lula’s proposals have the backing of the World Bank. Now we need action All things considered, the world’s richest countries have emerged from the global pandemic in better shape than they could have imagined when Covid-19 first appeared just over four years ago. To be sure, the impact of lockdown and its aftermath has been painful, but the effects on poor countries have been far more severe ..read more

Kristalina Georgieva also cautions of danger of ‘tepid twenties’ – a decade of sluggish economic growth Business live – latest updates UK politics – latest updates The world’s leading central banks must resist calls from politicians for early interest rate cuts amid concerns over stubbornly high inflation on both sides of the Atlantic, the head of the International Monetary Fund has urged. Kristalina Georgieva said high inflation across advanced economies was “not fully defeated” and could require a longer wait before reducing borrowing costs ..read more

The company seems to hold me entirely responsible for the fact £40,000 was stolen I desperately need help after ­falling victim to a scam resulting in my Revolut business account being emptied of £40,000. The company is refusing a refund. It happened in February while I was staying up a mountain in Italy with no internet and a poor mobile phone signal. I declined a call from a hidden number, then took a call from my accountant asking me to pick up the phone to Revolut because there were “some suspicious attempts to access my account ..read more

In annual letter to investors, Jamie Dimon warns ‘wars in Ukraine and Middle East could become far worse’ The boss of the US bank JP Morgan has warned that the world could be facing the most dangerous moment since the second world war, putting lives and economic growth at risk. In his annual letter to investors, Jamie Dimon said the world had been “generally on a path to becoming stronger and safer” in recent years but had suffered a major reversal in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine ..read more

Governance adviser says Paul Thwaite could have been offered lower starting salary than predecessor Alison Rose NatWest has been criticised for paying its new boss a salary of £1.2m despite his “limited experience” as a chief executive, amid a wider shareholder backlash in the City of London over bumper corporate pay. As the government prepares to sell shares in the bank before the general election, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) warned that Paul Thwaite would be paid the same salary as the bank’s former chief executive, Alison Rose, despite lacking her experience as a lead executive ..read more

The fuss over an outlawed commercial threatens to obscure the fact that the industry is reaping record profits for a poorer service It’s been quite the year for Hollywood’s humanitarians. Olivia Colman took on pension funds for their role in fossil fuel expansion, Game of Thrones stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie challenged high street banks’ role in the same polluting activities, and actor Dominic West starred in a Nationwide advert calling out the banks for their sweeping branch closures. All shared the same satirical tone, but only one received so many complaints it was banned by the Adve ..read more