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Commodity traders prospered during the pandemic using their global network of terminals, storage facilities and shipping fleets to cash in on supply disruptions and rising demand. Vitol generated record net income of more than $4bn last year, according to people who have seen the results of the world’s biggest independent oil trader, with rival Mercuria

Hobby magazines have always coaxed readers into spending money but Future, the publisher behind titles such as Homes & Gardens and PC Gamer, has turned this into more than a side hustle. The FTSE 250 group last year helped retail partners make just under £1bn in sales. Future’s commission for doing so — £216mn —

Lee Castleton recalls to the last penny the shortfall that flashed on to his post office terminal on New Year’s eve, 2003 — £1,103.68. A week later another loss appeared, this time £4,230. Then another and another. By March, the sub-postmaster was £25,000 short. “I kind of knew from the second loss that this wasn’t

In 1931, John Maynard Keynes published a short essay entitled “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren” in which he considered the feasibility of solving what he called “the economic problem”. According to Keynes, the issue of scarcity ought to have been dealt with by the early 21st century. Decades of capitalist progress would leave society with

Canada’s top banks more than doubled their financing of highly polluting tar sands oil to $16.8bn in 2021, despite signing up to the UN’s net zero banking alliance on greenhouse gas emissions.  Lenders including Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their financing to the top 30 tar

Eon has ruled out extending the life of its nuclear power plant in Germany, even as Europe’s largest economy prepares for the rationing of energy supplies and to wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons. “There is no future for nuclear in Germany, period,” said chief executive Leo Birnbaum. “It is too emotional. There will be no

This article picked by a teacher with suggested questions is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here. Specification: Growth, unemployment, inflation, labour market, living standards, real wage Click to read the article below and then answer the questions: Underlying UK wage growth lower than headline figures, think-tank warns What is meant by

The largest US banks are set to report their biggest slowdown in investment banking revenue in years next week, as the dealmaking engine that helped propel Wall Street to record profits last year sputters. Banks started the year braced for a slowdown in dealmaking activity following a blockbuster 2021 supported by markets and widespread stimulus

EU member states are at loggerheads over demands for an immediate blockade on Russian oil imports as the soaring cost of living weighs heavily on politicians considering how to punish Moscow over its war in Ukraine. Momentum is growing in the EU for fresh curbs on Russian fossil fuels as evidence mounts of atrocities against

The British meat industry has called on the government to fast track the export of perishable goods after congestion at the port of Dover left lorries carrying fresh produce waiting up to two days to cross the English Channel. The delays had been caused by the cancellation of voyages by P&O Ferries, bad weather, increased

Hello and welcome to the working week, Easter is almost upon us — although as Week Ahead readers are well aware it will take a little longer for the orthodox church. This will mean a shorter working week for the next fortnight and we will be taking a break next week. Tragically, one thing that

The UK housing secretary is set to claim an important victory in his battle to resolve England’s building safety crisis this week, having pressed developers into setting aside more than £2bn to fund critical repairs. Michael Gove’s hardball approach towards builders has paid off, with all publicly listed developers committed to a government pledge to

Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer will on Monday become the first European leader to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine began six weeks ago. Nehammer’s trip to Moscow is part of efforts to promote a “dialogue” between Russia and Ukraine, according to chancellery officials, who said he would specifically raise the issue

French voters began casting their ballots on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election in which far-right leader Marine Le Pen is mounting a strong challenge to the incumbent Emmanuel Macron. A victory for Le Pen, who is sceptical about the EU and Nato and has in the past boasted of her ties

The writer is professor of energy and climate change at University College London and was former senior adviser to energy regulator Ofgem The defining feature of the UK energy strategy is its incoherence. It doesn’t know what problem is it is trying to solve — and thus it doesn’t solve any. By failing to boost

Russia has boosted the fund that cushions its sanctions-hit economy with $3.4bn in additional oil and gas revenues thanks to rising energy prices since the start of its war with Ukraine, as it edges closer to its first debt default since 1998. Moscow said on Sunday that it would direct an additional Rbs273.4bn ($3.4bn) to

Britain’s public broadcaster wants its workforce to reflect the population it serves. By 2028 at the latest, the BBC hopes a quarter of its workforce — currently numbering 20,300 — will be from “a lower socio-economic background”. What does that mean? Brits spot class signifiers as keenly as police sniffer dogs locate loosely-bagged marijuana. Accents,

Covid cases in Shanghai hit their highest level yet as authorities in the locked-down city stepped up their battle to suppress China’s worst outbreak in two years. Shanghai, which is sealed off from the rest of the country as part of the most severe citywide measures since the virus emerged in Wuhan, reported 24,952 new

Adaptation Making changes to deal with the effects of climate change — both now and in the future. This includes building infrastructure such as flood and fire defences, developing crops that can cope with new climatic conditions, and exploring new ways of cooling buildings. Air/Atmosphere While oxygen is critical to life on earth, it is

Oleg Chaban, a Ukrainian psychiatrist, has witnessed at close quarters the emotional devastation caused by Russia’s war against his country. The head of psychology and psychotherapy services at Bogomolets National Medical University in Kyiv recalled a recent patient who just two days earlier saw her only child, a toddler daughter, die when the bus on which