California has become the focus of a battle over how companies should address the lack of diversity on their boards: Should they actively seek out directors who aren’t White males, or should they simply seek to treat all candidates equally? A Superior Court judge has ruled in favour of the latter approach, declaring unconstitutional a law requiring publicly traded companies ...

  W Somerset Maugham’s 1925 novel “The Painted Veil” features a harrowing description of a cholera outbreak in a provincial Chinese city. “The great city lay in terror; and death, sudden and ruthless, hurried through its tortuous streets … The people were dying at the rate of a hundred a day, and hardly any of those who were attacked by ...

  Life isn’t getting easier for the Federal Reserve. US inflation remains way above target, supply blockages show no sign of easing, the labour market is stretched — and the pressure on prices continues to build. Many investors are expecting a faster pace of tightening from the Fed; but overdoing it risks pushing the economy into recession. Striking the right ...