Commenting on the Co-operative movement’s problems (“Movement that lost its way”, leader, 15 March), you write, “This is refreshingly different from the standard business model, where the singular purpose of a plc is to maximise short-term shareholder value”. Absolutely not. Companies that seek to maximise profits in the short term tend to have short lives. Long-term value creation is the aim of most plcs. I’m afraid “singular” is not right either. Modern companies recognise a variety of stakeholders, not solely shareholders. Nicholas Bagshawe Rotherfield, East Sussex You failed, disappointingly, to explore the important issues raised by the Co-operative’s failure. Instead you made sweeping assertions of which I give three examples. Th