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

Women’s average hourly pay 54% less than men’s in 2023, raising concerns about female representation in senior roles The gender pay gap among UK staff at Goldman Sachs has hit its highest level in six years, raising concerns about a lack of women among the bank’s most senior ranks. Data submitted to the UK government showed that the average hourly pay gap widened at its main UK entity, Goldman Sachs International (GSI), with women receiving 54% less than their male colleagues in 2023 ..read more

Lending to meat, dairy and feed corporations led to ‘significant proportion’ of banks’ emissions, Friends of the Earth found American banks are “sabotaging” their own climate commitments by financing meat, dairy and feed corporations, according to a report. The report analysed funding from 58 US banks to animal protein and feed companies in the form of loans and underwriting, such as share and bond issuance guarantees ..read more

Codes of conduct are on the rise, and have a focus on reputational risk as well as on harassment When more than 1,300 lending bosses, regulators and MPs descended on Grosvenor House hotel on Park Lane in London for a black-tie dinner in late February, they arrived informed. Invitees to the Financing & Leasing Association event had been handed an “annual dinner code of conduct” telling guests about a new policy on discrimination and sexual harassment. The trade body would “not tolerate any such behaviour and will, along with our event agency, take immediate action to stop it ..read more

It’s regularly being created and destroyed – and economic models that don’t reflect that fact are not even slightly useful Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email In the classic 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life, depositors demand their money from a small town building society. Its manager, George Bailey (in an unforgettable performance by James Stewart), explains that the money is not in the building society’s vault; it has been lent to other people in the town. “The money’s not there,” Bailey pleads. “Your money’s in Joe’s house … and in the Kennedy house, and Mrs Macklin’s house, and a ..read more