Dear reader, The sanctions offensive against Russia ran out of steam this week. One unscientific proof was that Chanel instructed its shop assistants to withhold fancy handbags from would-be purchasers who planned to use them in Russia. Had it occurred to the French fashion house that Russian customers might simply fib to counter staff in
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Adelphi Capital, one of London’s oldest hedge funds, is to convert into a family office following a recent run of poor performance, in the latest sign that equity managers are struggling to navigate a sharp sell-off in markets. Adelphi, which was set up in 1997 and had been managing more than $4.5bn in assets as
Japan will ban Russian coal imports, joining EU and G7 allies to target the country’s energy sector for the first time following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I am banning imports of Russian coal. By gradually reducing the imports we will lower our energy dependence on Russia,” prime minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday, adding that
Hello from New York. Reports are starting to show it was a punishing start to the year for the environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment sector. Cash into ESG funds fell to $75bn, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2020, according to a report published by the Institute of International Finance on Thursday.
Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC), a conglomerate spanning fisheries to healthcare, is investing $2bn in companies belonging to Gautam Adani’s infrastructure empire, as India pursues ambitious green energy targets. IHC’s investment comes less than eight weeks after India and the UAE signed a trade deal and as Adani seeks to fund his sprawling ports-to-power
Ashmore and other emerging market fund managers face further hits to earnings and worsening outflows, as investors retreat over concerns about higher interest rates, the war in Ukraine and exposure to China. This year will be tougher for most investment managers across Europe as markets become more uncertain, say analysts at Bank of America. The
Two years ago, Sue and Phil Purver, both 63, realised they needed a new kind of rural living. The UK’s first lockdown had just started. Immediately, their quiet local woodland footpath became a thoroughfare for surrounding townies seeking the countryside for their hour of permitted daily exercise. The path was strewn with rubbish and the
When we started renting our converted 16th-century dovecote in 2019, I knew little of the ancient practice of dove rearing and how it has shaped pockets of the UK landscape over the past millennium. Although a small house, our cottage would have been a substantial dovecote. It is a perfect cube, with metre-thick walls made
With her latest role in this HBO-produced series, the English actress Sarah Lancashire is faced with the doubly daunting task of having to play one American national treasure, Julia Child, and follow in the footsteps of another, Meryl Streep, who played the original celebrity chef in 2009’s Julie & Julia. Despite this pressure, she rises
Julie Otsuka’s third novel The Swimmers is a slender but poignant portrait of a mind losing its grip. In an unnamed American city, a “little old lady” is drifting away from her family through the slow tragedy of cognitive decline — a passing into chaos foreshadowed by trivial domestic errors: “The jar of Pond’s Cold
The FT this week ran a brace of big reads on the sanctions slapped on Russia, how they happened and what the longer-term impact will be. It’s an important subject, and both pieces are worth reading at leisure. (Editor: that means after you’ve finished with this one.) However, FT Alphaville had some follow-up thoughts on
TalkTalk has asked investment bank Lazard to review its options after several groups, including Vodafone, approached the UK broadband company about potential deals, according to people briefed on the matter. British telecoms executives have long called for greater consolidation in the domestic broadband market, claiming that the array of companies supplying mobile and internet contracts
Bailey’s Parade: Photographs by David Bailey A compilation of three key bodies of work, Bailey’s Parade covers the illustrious photographer’s 60-year career in 30 pieces. It will include some of his most acclaimed images from the 1960s, including “pin-up” portraits of Mick Jagger, Jean Shrimpton and Andy Warhol, as well as a series of colour
Volvo Trucks, the Swedish truck and bus manufacturer, is putting aside SKr4bn ($423mn) in provisions for the first quarter after suspending all operations in Russia. The move, announced on Friday, marked the latest sign of the corporate impact of the heavy international sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The
Ukrainian miner Ferrexpo managed to find buyers for the majority of its iron ore during the first quarter of the year, using rail and barges to transport material to the country’s western border. The London-listed company said it had sold 2.6mn tonnes of pellets, small balls of the steelmaking ingredient, in the three months to
Maison François, London Until 17 April, fans of François O’Neill’s French-style St James’s brasserie can celebrate spring with a playful “Cochon de Pâques” – a limited-edition Easter egg in the shape of a pig (£30). Head pastry chef Jérémy Prakhin has hand-crafted the creature – which is filled with hazelnut gianduja – from chocolate supplied
Most coffee shops have customers who drop in occasionally and Starbucks has a boss who does the same. Howard Schultz started his third stint in 35 years as chief executive this week with a pledge to restore the heart of a global chain that grew from one café in Seattle. “We are longing for love,
If the tech movement known as Web3 represents the internet’s next big gold mine, then why aren’t we hearing more about the truly useful applications that will be built on this new platform? And why aren’t more developers flocking to it to make their fortune? Those questions hang uncomfortably over Web3 as the boom in
Goldman Sachs is offering its network of former partners, who range from tech executives to prime ministers, exclusive access to a new investment vehicle that will put money into the Wall Street firm’s private market funds. The so-called 1869 fund, which takes its name from the year Goldman was founded, invests across multiple private funds
Investors withdrew close to €14bn from European corporate debt funds in the first three months of the year, the worst quarter since the start of the pandemic, as the war in Ukraine fired up already rapid inflation and stirred market volatility. So-called investment grade debt — at the safer end of the spectrum — lost