"Your comments about ethics in the financial sector being at their lowest is a sign of the times and makes me worry about the safety of the innocence of our children. Ethics are conspicuous by their absence in most commercial or professional activities in India, according to my personal experience.

"It was particularly shocking at not being able to find the net weight of the contents of a packet of potato chips manufactured in India by...PEPSI. If companies of this stature abuse the consumer so blatantly.....I wonder if it is possible to trust anything even remotely connected to the human race."

David Fuller's view As adults we all know how difficult it is to maintain ethical standards to which we hopefully aspire. This can be particularly true for needy or impressionable people who perceive that others are apparently prospering while ignoring acceptable ethical standards. Individual temptation is often greater during boom times when the disparity between so-called 'haves' and 'have nots' is most apparent. And the powerful sometimes flout ethical standards because they feel that they can get away with it.

Nevertheless, many people have high ethical standards which they also pass down to their children. Schools and communitarian services can and often do help by emphasising good citizenship and 'the golden rule' from nursery years onwards. I maintain that ethics should be a required course during higher education, not least at business schools and law schools. High ethical standards make good business sense.