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Jeffries: Start Betting on Big Brands to Beat the Smaller Rivals | Walmartization Goes Big?
The word from Jeffries strategists Steven DeSanctis and Sean Darby suggest that this year will be the year that bigger companies get aggressive about taking market share away from their small and medium-sized business ( SMB) counterparts.
Specifically, the move will be part of continuing development in consumer-focused efforts: those companies that have been putting a lot of weight—especially resources—behind technological development are likely to put that newly-minted technology to work and bolster their market share by improving customer experience. This includes developments in consumer data gathering, digital engagement, analytics, and several other key technologies that some SMBs have never even heard of, let alone use with any regularity.
Who In Particular Is Set to Benefit?
The note came with a laundry list of firms poised to see benefits as a result of this move to greater technological prowess. Ulta ( NASDAQ: ULTA) is set to see some gains in the beauty products segment, while Constellation Brands ( NYSE: STZ) will get ahead in the liquor market with brands like Corona, Modelo Especial, Svedka Vodka and others under its belt.
document.write ( ' < a style= '' text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal; color: # 696969; '' target= '' blank '' rel= '' nofollow '' href= '' https: //www.ame ' + 'ricanconsumernews.net/scripts/click.aspx? NativeDisplayAdID=499 & ImpressionID=0 & UserID=0 & Placement=PlaceOnArticlePage '' > '); Eric Fry, one of America’ s top Investment Strategists, provides his latest report 5 Tech Stocks Set for 1,000% Gains after the Coronavirus Sell off. You can’ t afford to miss out on the once in a decade chance to buy after the recent 25% dip in the markets.
Further expected to gain are convenience store brand Casey's General Stores ( NASDAQ: CASY), restaurant brands McDonald's ( NYSE: MCD) and familiar-winner Starbucks ( NASDAQ: SBUX). The company that named the trope of Walmartization, Walmart ( NYSE: WMT) is also set to gain, along with big-box retail classics Lowe's ( NYSE: LOW), Home Depot ( NYSE: HD) and Best Buy ( NYSE: BBY)
A Familiar Theme Taken to New Heights With Potential Drawbacks
It's been said for some time now that the only way to get ahead in retail is to offer a highly-personalized—and thus highly satisfactory—customer experience. That's not without reason; after all, people like to feel like they matter when they shop with a business, and a highly-personalized experience is a great way to get to that point. When the business at least appears to know who you are, has some kind of knowledge of what you like, and is willing to help you find those items—or close approximations thereof—there's a semblance of caring that comes with that.
Think of it as being like the “ Cheers ” effect. Sometimes you want to go, as the eighties, classic's theme song opined, where everybody knows your name. It does beat being Customer Number Fill in the Blank, or only slightly better, Rewards Benefit Member Whatever Number It Is.
To think of this as another form of Walmartization isn't out of line, but it's also not completely accurate. After all, we're not talking about a price war here that sees the little guy go smack out of business, but rather, a refinement of customer service so apparently deep that the customer just gravitates naturally to the bigger business that seems to care more. Sure, the small business can do something similar; just ask anyone who's a regular at a coffee shop. But the larger business has, again, the resources to do this job on a wider scale, resources its smaller counterpart doesn't have. Instead of Walmartization working to take out competitors on price, it takes them out on service.
Yes, that's going to give some people the creeps and send them packing to the smaller and slightly more anonymous business. A lot of people, however, will prefer this brand of deeply personalized service and surprisingly accurate recommendations, and stick with the larger business. If this keeps going long enough, the smaller businesses will simply have to fold with too little market share.
A deeply personal customer experience could be the secret to giving big business an edge, but then, it could open up a new market too. Consider how many SMBs would love access to such tools, on a smaller scale, and the kind of business that could be done from a company willing to offer access to those tools. Big business may have the edge in 2020, but that edge may not be as sustainable as they hope.
5 Oil Stocks That May Not Survive the Current Crisis
What would you think of the long-term prospects of a business that paid you to buy their products? That’ s an oversimplification of what occurred to the May futures contract for oil on April 20. The price for that contract sold for a negative price for the first time in history. The crisis befalling the oil companies at this time can best be described as “ only the strongest survive. ” There’ s just no way the oil companies can possibly handle month after month of rock-bottom oil prices. The problem is almost comically simple to understand. There is a massively reduced demand for oil as millions of Americans are following mitigation orders ranging from social distancing guidelines to more restrictive shelter in place orders. At the same time, the market is trying to absorb the oversupply of oil that came from Russia and Saudi Arabia. However, when the year started, things looked like it might be business as usual for oil producers. The U.S. economy was humming along and there was talk that the second half of the year might finally bring the boost to oil prices that many companies badly needed. However, since the middle of February, the bottom has dropped out of the market in general, and oil prices have been one of the main sectors to feel the impact. Initially, investors tried to remain optimistic. A month ago, investors thought that the economy might be reopening sooner rather than later. However, the exact timing of the reopening is about as fluid as a barrel of oil. And with it looking more likely that there will be more demand destruction at least through May, there’ s very little to prop up the stock of any oil companies. And that means that, in all likelihood, there will not be room left for some oil companies. We’ ve highlighted five oil stocks that have a strong probability of not surviving the chaos surrounding the coronavirus and our nation’ s response.
View the `` 5 Oil Stocks That May Not Survive the Current Crisis ''.
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Nesquik debuts chocolate oat milk GoodNes | While oat milk and better-for-you treats are trendy, traditional dairy has been struggling. But Nesquik, with its 70-year history, has adapted to the times, and it is once again proving its drive to remain relevant with this latest offering.
Plant-based has been growing in popularity as yogurts, hamburgers, milks and countless other products have entered the space. To be sure, Nesquik's GoodNes is not the only brand to step into the area with a plant-based option for consumers who are looking to curb their consumption of animal products. U.S. sales of plant-based milk products alone grew by almost 6% between 2018 and 2019, according to investment firm UBS.
Oat milk in particular is increasingly popular. Last year, Danone launched a line of oat milk yogurts under its So Delicious brand as well as Oat Yeah, a range of oat milks that's part of its Silk brand. Chobani also has gotten into the oat milk space with its oat milk yogurt and beverage introduced in 2019. With many other companies entering the oat beverages realm, including Elmhurst, Sweden's Oatly and Campbell Soup’ s Pacific Foods, GoodNes will face heavy competition.
The growing number of products in the space underscores the demand for more plant-based options from consumers across the dairy category. Nesquik, however, is merging two trends with its GoodNes line: plant-based and nostalgic treats. The nostalgia appeal that the classic Nesquik brand brings could help attract consumers and enable it to stand out on shelves.
Although Nesquik has traditionally been marketed to children, brand owner Nestlé has reassessed its target audience and landed on millennials as a viable segment of avid flavored milk drinkers. In 2016, the Swiss company released Nesquik's Protein Plus, a line of high-protein flavored milk. The product was specifically targeted at `` casual athletes, '' or `` average, not-necessarily-buff guys who get a kick out of acting like teens in their leisure time. ''
To make its other, less targeted products appealing to the same demographic, Nesquik in 2015 reduced the sugar and artificial flavors and colors in its products. After reformulation, the new Nesquik powders cut the added sugar in the chocolate variety by 15% and in the strawberry flavor by 27%.
Last year, the company further innovated based on added-value initiatives with the European release of Nesquik All Natural in a new paper packaging material that is plastic-free and fully recyclable. This innovation helped the brand to land on Morning Consult's Fastest Growing Brands list for 2019.
Nesquik is keeping a pulse on the top trends to help it stand out as traditional dairy struggles. The incorporation of plant-based products into its portfolio through GoodNes could serve as a wake up call for other companies that are resistant to the changing tide of consumer taste.
With such a large, established brand that does not market itself as a better-for-you product entering the space, it may be time to acknowledge that plant-based has moved beyond just a way to premiumize a product into something that is now more of an expectation by consumers. With the reality of what constitutes a dairy product changing, consumers should expect to see even more plant-based dairy options appearing on shelves in 2020.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach. | general |
Impossible Foods to sell pork and sausage made from plants | As plant-based meats have increased in popularity, the fast-growing segment has predominately focused on beef-like substitutes from companies such as Impossible, Beyond Meat and most recently Nestlé's Awesome Burger, which hit the market last fall. Now, Impossible is shaking up the meat space again with a new pork product touted as `` a plant-based upgrade to the world’ s most ubiquitous meat. ''
Pork is the most widely consumed meat globally, controlling 40% of consumption in 2018, according to the Pork Checkoff, citing data from the USDA. Chicken was second at 33% followed by beef at 21%.
Plant-based pork products could be particularly attractive as it would be immune to diseases that have impacted swine around the world in recent years, including the United States and most recently in China, the world's largest consumer and importer of the meat. African swine fever killed nearly five million pigs across six Asian countries over a 12-month period, the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO) of the United Nations said in August. In China alone, roughly half of its pig population has been lost to swine fever.
“ Impossible Foods cracked meat’ s molecular code — starting with ground beef, which is intrinsic to the American market. Now we’ re accelerating the expansion of our product portfolio to more of the world’ s favorite foods, ” Pat Brown, Impossible Foods ' CEO, said in a statement. “ We won’ t stop until we eliminate the need for animals in the food chain and make the global food system sustainable. ”
Newer versions of plant-based meats have worked to replicate the real thing as much as possible in order to attract more carnivores to the space — a key factor to help sustain growth and drive additional revenue. Plant-based hamburgers were the primary focus before producers branched out into other areas such as tuna, shrimp and chicken.
As Impossible and other makers of plant-based products improve technology and amass research and knowledge, it makes sense for them to move into other areas. Expanding into other forms of meat, seafood or poultry presumably draws more consumers to the space while wooing those who already eat the products — attracting, for example, a person who has enjoyed plant-based beef and is willing to sample a faux version of pork as well.
In addition to pork, Impossible is introducing its own sausage variety that will pit it against fellow upstart Beyond Meat. The Beyond Meat sausage, which was introduced in December 2017, has been sold in restaurants, including Tim Hortons and Dunkin '.
For Impossible, the company is testing out its own sausage at 139 Burger King restaurants. It's a logical move for Impossible, which has a close working relationship already with Burger King. The fast food giant tried out Impossible's burger at nearly 60 locations in its Impossible Whopper before rolling it out to all of its 7,200 stores. The Impossible Whopper was a huge success, becoming one of the most successful rollouts in Burger King's history. Impossible has introduced its products first in restaurants; while the company's faux beef it debuted in 2016 only moved into retail outlets last September.
While Impossible will likely have a valuable early advantage with its pork offering, plant-based sausages are more widely available. The reason, most likely, is the spices enable manufacturers to mask some of the plant-based flavor that may give it a different taste compared to traditional animal-based varieties. Ultimately, for plant-based companies to succeed it boils down to taste and if more consumers will be willing to eat their product compared to a competitors — regardless of whether its made with plants or comes from animals.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation. | general |
Coca-Cola acquires full ownership of dairy brand Fairlife | Under the tenure of Coca-Cola's CEO James Quincey, the beverage giant has been moving aggressively to diversify the company's portfolio beyond its iconic sodas. It's decision to fully acquire Fairlife is the latest step in that ongoing process. Despite facing challenges with the brand's reputation in 2019, value-added dairy has been a growing sector in the U.S. and one that could help Coca-Cola going forward.
Fairlife's ultra-filtered milk, a higher-protein and lactose-free product, debuted in 2014. Sales have grown by double digits each year, including 42% in the first quarter of 2019. Fairlife reached more than $ 500 million in retail sales last year, according to Nielsen AMC figures provided by Coca-Cola, so it makes sense that Coke would want to wholly own this brand.
The dairy industry has been struggling with two major dairy processors — Dean Foods and Borden Dairy — filing for bankruptcy. But one bright spot has been innovation, with value-added options and their high margins attractive to companies. Organic Valley debuted an ultra-filtered milk last year and Horizon Organic offers its own high protein milk line to compete with Fairlife. Other products such as New Zealand's a2 Milk, whose product lacks a protein that can cause stomach discomfort, also challenge Fairlife.
Coca-Cola has faced challenges with the high-protein brand in the past. Most recently, undercover videos of animal abuse taken at a Fairlife supplier dairy in Indiana were released by an animal welfare group. As a result, Coca-Cola and Fairlife faced a flurry of lawsuits accusing the companies of consumer fraud and deceptive marketing. Although Dinkins said in the Q & A that Coke was impressed by the quick action Fairlife took to address the situation, this incident could have influenced the soda giant's decision to buy out the company all together in order to ensure nothing similar happens again.
`` Everyone at Coca-Cola was shocked and heartbroken to hear of the incident last summer. That’ s why it was important to our team that we be highly involved..., '' Dinkins said. `` Since then, we’ ve been working with Fairlife to ensure their supply chain has the strongest possible policies and practices to assure animal welfare and worker care. ''
Fairlife has expanded its offerings in recent years, growing from its filtered milks to high-protein recovery and nutrition shakes and drinkable snacks. Fairlife has already benefited from Coca-Cola's reach, with its products distributed through the Minute Maid distribution system and Coca-Cola bottlers across the U.S.
Growth will likely continue to be a major goal of the brand when the acquisition closes. In 2018, Fairlife launched in Canada and the company is continuing to expand its production in the U.S. Fairlife already has production facilities in Michigan and Texas, and it is working to build a new facility in Arizona. Although the brand will still operate as a standalone business, building another facility expands its reach and its potential to grow.
This purchase makes sense for Coca-Cola because the company is working to become a `` total beverage company '' through acquisitions. Coca-Cola has acquired brands in a variety of growing, trendy categories, such as Honest Tea, Topo Chico sparking mineral water, Suja Juice, Zico coconut water and Costa Coffee. Coca-Cola's growth strategy, fueled in part by a move toward better-for-you beverages, is unlikely to end anytime soon.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
Subscribe to Food Dive to get the must-read news & insights in your inbox.
Topics covered: manufacturing, packaging, new products, R & D, and much more.
Discover announcements from companies in your industry.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach. | general |
Getting to the Bottom of Whistleblower Complaints | Whistleblowing is on the rise and may gain further traction from recent stories in the news, increasing the burden on the investigators. H5’ s Jeffrey Grobart discusses tools and methods to accelerate the vetting process.
From Edward Snowden to the as-yet-anonymous White House whistleblower ( s), actions taken by individuals to expose suspected wrongdoing are making headlines, casting the whistleblower process into the spotlight.
These more notorious cases are just the tip of the iceberg.
According to the 2019 SEC Annual Report to Congress on the Whistleblower Program, which provides incentives and protection to whistleblowers under Section 21F of Dodd-Frank, the Commission received its second-largest number of whistleblower tips — more than 5,200, which represents a 74 percent increase since the whistleblower data began being collected in 2012. But whistleblower complaints go well beyond Wall Street.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA), the government agency responsible for protecting workers in a wide range of industries, reports a 29 percent increase in whistleblower complaints filed over the last five years, up to 9,566 in 2018, creating a significant backlog in light of a reduction in the number of investigators. More than 3,000 of those complaints resulted in a full investigation.
For any whistleblower complaints that do result in an investigation, the nature of the allegations will usually determine what steps will be taken to gather information required to pursue the claim. Today, almost any corporate investigation will involve scrutiny of an abundance of electronic information, triggering a review workflow not unlike a discovery effort for a litigation.
But investigations are different from litigation. Instead of looking for all of the relevant documents that relate to a known set of facts, the quest may be to find the key documents that can identify or establish a fact pattern in the first place, or — more difficult — to show there is no evidence that any fact pattern exists to support the claim. A small number of documents may actually tell the story — if only they can be found. That is where advanced tools, coupled with the right expertise, can play an important role.
The use of more advanced analytics and AI tools to target information is quickly gaining ground for both litigation and investigation efforts, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Rather, a combination of tools and methods should be considered, depending on the situation.
Like all investigations, speed is key in vetting whistleblower complaints. The challenge is to move quickly to determine if a broader investigation is warranted; dragging out an inquiry response just raises red flags and can be misconstrued as culpability.
Intelligently prioritizing high-value personnel sources and data stores enables a quick start, allowing an investigation to expand in an incremental and controlled way, branching out in various directions only as more information comes to light. A sound methodology involving data sampling and advanced search technologies to identify critical documents from a defined subset of targeted data can provide important information to guide further actions.
Data sampling ( provided it is done correctly) is useful to provide insight into the larger data population, enabling development of a targeted effort to locate relevant information without wasting time on false leads. As relevant facts are exposed, the data pool may need to expand, but informed decisions based on strategic, measured assessments help contain data volumes under scrutiny and make the inquiry more efficient and cost-effective. This requires methods and expertise that go beyond the usual keyword search tactics to develop an iterative process that pays attention to the indexing and search capabilities of the search platform being used.
If relevant information can not be found, well, good news! However, this will likely require scrupulous and convincing documentation of all steps taken to locate relevant evidence in order to demonstrate a level of thoroughness that will satisfy regulators. On the other hand, if compelling evidence is found to support the allegations, forensic analyses may be necessary to confirm legitimacy of certain data and ensure, for example, that material was not falsely created to support a claim or that incriminating data has not been deleted by bad actors.
Today’ s advanced search, data analytics and artificial intelligence tools can help to quickly pinpoint meaningful documents, assuming there are any. The multidimensional character of electronic data can be leveraged to provide a variety of investigatory clues — from timing to geography — in addition to the exploration of textual content. For example:
There are various tools and methods that can be deployed to find critical information, and it is important to know which are most effective in a given circumstance. Certain technology-assisted review ( TAR) tools require a robust data collection to be most effective, which is more useful in a litigation review effort than an investigation where a quick start and a targeted outcome is important.
Leveraging cluster analysis can be an effective first step in understanding target data sets. Looking at how documents group together based on their content can make discarding uninteresting content a simple exercise. Likewise, if particularly relevant clusters are found, the underlying documents can then be prioritized for further scrutiny.
When looking to review document sets too large to be reasonably assessed in their entirety in a reasonable amount of time, continuous active learning tools ( CAL) can be very effective. This is especially true when data volumes and responsive content are moving targets. As an investigator reviews and categorizes documents, the CAL algorithm re-prioritizes the remaining population, enabling documents that are most likely to be of interest to be promoted to the top of the queue. Introducing new data to the investigation is not problematic since the algorithm will find and prioritize new documents of interest as they are added to the model.
In addition to analytics and AI tools, human expertise is a prime component of any investigatory process. As mentioned earlier, linguistic search expertise paired with advanced analytics and search tools is a powerful combination. Based on topical information about the nature of the investigation, linguists can factor in expert knowledge of the ways in which human beings actually express themselves to create sophisticated search queries. After all, it could be not the presence, but the absence of certain language that may be revelatory, or the unusual recurrence of certain analogies ( why are x and y always talking about weather reports?). Linguists can provide the groundwork for the most robust analytics.
The best way to contain whistleblower complaints is to prevent reasons for them, but the ability to assess risk proactively is the next best thing. Identifying potential areas of risk is an important element.
If whistleblower activity or a certain type of bad behavior is becoming more common in an organization’ s industry sector, for example, that particular subject matter could be targeted for routine monitoring using AI and linguistic and analytics tools trained to flag worrisome language or sentiment in data stores. Health care insurance investigations, for example, are frequently on the front lines of whistleblowing activity and face challenging barriers in targeting massive and complex data stores that may require interrogation for any number of types of fraud.
Much like AI systems used to monitor and flag unusual financial transactions, custom classifiers can be deployed to proactively monitor unstructured data, such as email or document repositories, to identify correspondence or other information that contains content that should be scrutinized by in-house counsel or compliance officers. This approach goes beyond typical rudimentary email filtering options that are often used to flag questionable communications.
Early self-reporting of inappropriate actions generally leads to reduced penalties and should act as an incentive that counterbalances those that a whistleblower may find compelling. Overall, the best intelligence to apply in whistleblower actions comes not from artificial means, but from humans who provide standards, policies and ongoing scrutiny of corporate data and behavior that leave whistleblowers with no tune to sing.
Jeffrey Grobart is Associate Director of the Professional Services Group at H5, where he leads expert teams in pairing innovative technology with accumulated expertise to provide best-in-class service to corporate and law firm clients. Jeffrey is an expert in the use of litigation technology across the EDRM and has provided consulting services in a wide variety of practice areas during his 20-year career, with an emphasis on anti-trust, pharmaceutical, commercial real estate and intellectual property engagements. He has led cross-functional teams in addressing a wide variety of e-discovery issues and has been a pioneer in helping deploy the use of predictive technologies in e-discovery and investigations efforts.
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DHS warns of retaliation from Iran, potential cyberattacks | U.S. agencies are urging proactive measures without knowing when or if an attack will occur.
If companies have sufficient security protocols, `` admins aren't in a state of emergency right now, '' said Rosa Smothers, senior VP of Cyber Operations at KnowBe4 and former CIA technical intelligence officer, in an emailed statement to CIO Dive.
However, Iranian threat actors could already be `` lying dormant '' in U.S. computer networks. Cybersecurity experts believe a domestic cyberattack is the most likely retaliation from Iran, reports CIO Dive's sister publication Utility Dive.
Disruptive and destructive cyber operations, including finance, energy and telecommunications organizations.
Espionage and intellectual property theft obtained using cyber measures to understand `` strategic direction and policy making, '' according to the advisory.
`` Critical infrastructure must remain vigilant and utilize security solutions such as air gaping, '' said Smothers.
Iran has increased its cyber capabilities over the years, in an effort to centralize attacks while targeting sectors. However, Iran is likely to execute a cautionary response because its cyber abilities have yet met those of the U.S. or Russia, according to Utility Dive.
`` We know [ advanced persistent threat groups ] 33 and 34 are associated with Iranian state sponsored hackers, '' said Smothers. APT33 and APT34 are known Iranian hacking groups with a penchant for wiper-style cyberattacks.
`` Every company in the [ supervisory control and data acquisition ] and [ integrated system control ] space should already be proactive in safeguarding against these, '' she said.
Iranian cyberattacks have occurred globally. In 2012, Iran launched a major cyberattack on oil and gas company Saudi Aramaco. The attacks moved stateside, when in 2014 a Las Vegas Sands casino was hit by an Iranian cyberattack. A dam in New York was targeted in 2016.
Responsibilities and titles are shifting as businesses rearchitect what role technology plays in core operations.
With IT spend under scrutiny, don't fall for these budget missteps impacting businesses ' bottom lines.
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The COVID-19 pandemic, and ensuing recession, turned security strategies upside down.
The next step for H & M is deploying machine learning component libraries as retail dives deeper into digital. | tech |
Randstad North America CEO, Karen Fichuk Exemplifies Positive Ways to Receive Feedback | DiversityInc CEO Carolynn Johnson and Randstad North America CEO Karen Fichuk discuss ways to receive and understand challenging feedback. Fichuk gives an example of how, with a particular situation, she decided to ask more questions rather than reject the feedback. Instead of reacting negatively, professionals can seek to gain deeper understandings of others’ feedback to further build relationships in the workplace and be more effective colleagues and leaders.
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By Jenny Eagle contact
07-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 07-Jan-2020 at 13:31 GMT
Related tags: Ardagh glass, Bottles, Glass, acquisition function sanitize gpt value2 ( gptValue) { var vOut= '' ''; var aTags = gptValue.split ( ', '); var reg = new RegExp ( '\\W+ ', `` g ''); for ( var i=0; i < aTags.length; i++) { vOut += aTags [ i ].trim ().replace ( reg, '- ').substring ( 0,40); if ( i! = ( aTags.length-1)) vOut += ', '; } vOut = vOut.toLowerCase (); return vOut; } $ ( document).ready ( function () { dataLayerNews = { }; dataLayerNews.related tags = sanitize gpt value2 ( `` Ardagh glass, Bottles, Glass, acquisition ''); dataLayer.push ( dataLayerNews); });
Ardagh announced it was closing its glass bottle production plant in February 2019, axing 150 jobs and redirecting customers to its other North American glass facilities.
At the time the company said the closure was ‘ a footprint adjustment’, combined with ‘ ongoing cost reduction, to enhance its competitiveness.
Ardagh Group sold its Milford, Massachusetts facility to New Mill Capital in December 2018. Since then it has spent millions turning the 322,000-square-foot facility into a distribution center due to increased demand for similar facilities in the Boston area.
New Mill Capital now plans to hold an online auction for over 500 items from the Ardagh Group Glass Bottle Production Plant from January 15-22.
Items include glass cool down ovens, Munson mixers, bottle inspection, bead blast equipment, air compressors and dryers, strapping, pallet wrappers, spray booths and additional plant support.
Interested parties will be able to inspect the equipment prior to auction by scheduling an appointment. Additional information regarding the online-only equipment auction can be found at www.newmillcapital.com
New Mill Capital also plans to repurpose the 300,000 square foot building in the coming year.
Ardagh Group’ s Q4 2017 earnings report saw its North American glass packaging revenue decline by 14% to €337m in Q4 compared to the same period the previous year.
“ On a constant currency basis revenue was 8% lower, due mainly to lower volumes, in particular in the beer and wine end markets, ” it said.
“ Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 28% to €61m in Q4, compared with the same period in 2016. ”
A review of its Glass North America division at that time led to closure of its Milford, Massachusetts facility; pursuing growth opportunities in stronger performing end markets such as food, wine and spirits; reduction in the mass beer category and revision of its freight and logistics structure.
“ There has been a great level of interest in the Milford, MA property and while Lincoln, IL is a different market, we certainly see potential for the property going forward. ” said Eric Weiler, principal, New Mill Capital.
“ Once we have completed the equipment disposition process we’ ll determine the best fit use for the real estate going forward. ”
Ardagh Group said in its Q2 2018 earnings report in October last year: “ We have continued to focus on a broad range of internal initiatives to improve our competitive position. These involve adapting our footprint to best match current and projected market conditions, whilst seeking to target benefits from increased automation, continuous training and greater labour flexibility.
“ Much activity has been under way in the quarter and we have now decided: the furnace at our Ruston, Louisiana, plant, which we suspended in July 2018, will now be permanently closed. Ruston will continue to serve a predominantly local and regional customer base, with a more cost-effective freight configuration.
“ Secondly, our investment to re-deploy beer capacity to serve better-performing end markets such as wine and spirits, enables us to avoid the scheduled rebuilding of one furnace at our Seattle, Washington, plant. This furnace will now be permanently closed around the end of this year. ”
It said in a statement: “ These footprint adjustments are intended to underpin the medium and long-term prospects of our North American Glass business.
“ We have previously highlighted how the North American glass industry, including Ardagh, needs to address its labour costs if it is to sustain long-term competitiveness and justify continued investment. This reflects the striking differential in all-in labour costs between North America and other markets, including Europe. We want to work with our colleagues in the coming quarters to secure a competitive and sustainable footprint, from which we can move forward.
“ In the past decade in our European Glass business we have seen the benefits of capacity rightsizing and enhanced flexibility, backed by investment in our asset base. Improved competitiveness has supported a stable footprint and high-quality, skilled jobs, despite considerable economic volatility in the region over the past decade.
“ We are now seeking to do the same in Glass North America and, whilst it has had a challenging year, we will continue to identify and implement additional measures to restore it to appropriate levels of profitability. ”
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Related topics: Processing & Packaging, Beer, Wine, Spirits, Cider, Packaging & Packing Materials, Containers
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SpaceX launch will test new coating for Starlink satellites | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The launch took off from Launch Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral at 9:19:21 p.m. EST Monday ( 0219:21 GMT Tuesday), aboard a Falcon 9 booster that had been used three times previously, including two in 2019, one of which was the first bulk Starlink mission in May 2019.
Notably, the SpaceX mission was a first for Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the 45th Space Wing. It was the first mission conducted as part of the US Space Force, reports CNet.com.
The booster’ s fourth touchdown, on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, was picture-perfect, occurring eight minutes and 23 seconds after launch. Catching the rocket’ s fairing half was not successful. This was confirmed during SpaceX’ s live feed.
Falcon 9 first stage has landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship – SpaceX’ s 48th successful landing of an orbital class rocket booster wLal1xfsjO
— SpaceX ( @ SpaceX) January 7, 2020
The satellites were delivered to a low-Earth orbit 290 kilometers ( around 180 miles), where the satellites will perform diagnostics to ensure they’ re in proper working order before moving to their final target orbits at an altitude of 341 miles ( 550 kilometers).
Test of non-reflective coating on satellites SpaceX also addressed the concerns of scientists and researchers who note how the glare from the tiny spacecraft can interfere with their ability to observe the night sky. The satellites are particularly visible shortly after they are offloaded from the rocket – as they tend to congregate in a mass before going off to their particular orbits.
SpaceX is testing a less-reflective coating on one of the satellites. One side of the satellite has the special coating. SpaceX wants to be sure the coating will not affect the working of the spacecraft. If this test goes well, future versions of the satellites could be coated in the same material.
Jeff Hall, director of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., says the Starlinks have been just an occasional problem—so far—but notes the risk to stargazing will grow as more the fleet expands and other companies launch their own versions. “ Anything that darkens the satellites is a step in the right direction, ” he says.
Karen Graham is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for environmental news. Karen's view of what is happening in our world is colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in man's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, `` Journalism is merely history's first draft. '' Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.
There is no stated power in the US Constitution to regulate human reproduction.
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Lenovo announces world’ s first foldable PC | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The new product offering from Lenovo has been designed for highly mobile, tech-savvy professionals who are seeking the best tools. The foldable design concept is intended to appeal to those who like to use phone, tablet and laptop and would design elements of all three to be rolled into one.
The ThinkPad X1 Fold has been fabricated to offer good productivity, durability and reliability. The materials of construction are a combination of lightweight alloys and carbon fiber.
The new device is said to be the first fully functional personal computer that comes equipped with a folding organic light-emitting diode ( OLED) display. The flexible screen allows users to morph through multiple modes, from a small device into a fully flat 13.3-inch display.
In addition, Lenovo state that the screen offers a new form factor that will reimagine mobile computing, where the operation can be undertake by touchscreen or via a Bluetooth Mini Fold Keyboard. The computer is powered by Intel® Core™ Processors together with Intel® Hybrid Technology. The ThinkPad will initially be available with Windows 10, from around mid-2020.
According to Christian Teismann, President, Commercial PC and Smart Device Business, Lenovo: “ Creating the world’ s first foldable PC is a major engineering challenge, but Lenovo is more than up to the task. Our legendary ThinkPad heritage has given us the foundation for progressive design over the years to now build an engineering masterpiece with X1 Fold, a new category of device that comes along once in a decade. ”
The company also launched the Lenovo Yoga 5G, which is the world’ s first 5G PC1. The device can work with both millimeter wave full-band and sub-6GHz 5G networks, providing ultra-fast connectivity, reduced latency, and wider bandwidth.
ThinkPad X1 Fold with Windows 10 is expected to be available mid-2020 with prices expected to start at $ 2499. The Windows 10X version is expected to be available at a later date.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Molson Coors to close brewery, cut 470 jobs | The last several months have been full of bad news at Molson Coors.
As sales and net income continued to tumble at the brewing company, former President and CEO Mark Hunter abruptly announced his retirement alongside a disappointing earnings report in July. He passed the baton to Gavin Hattersley, who had been head of the company's U.S. business unit, MillerCoors, since 2015. After Hunter's departure, the company stayed on the downward path. According to its most recent earnings report in late October, U.S. sales, which accounted for 67% of its $ 2.8 billion in revenue during the period, fell 2.3% compared to the same time in the previous year.
The major reorganization Hattersley announced in October entailed all kinds of cuts. These included closing its Denver office and moving its corporate headquarters to Chicago, closing satellite functional support offices to base them all in Milwaukee and streamlining its corporate structure into two business units — North America and Europe — from four previously. His announcement detailed the number of job losses, but was not specific about job functions or locations.
The California plant that is being closed was not included in those numbers, meaning that up to 970 people may lose their jobs this year. According to the press release, the Irwindale brewery made 4.8 million barrels last year, producing several signature brews: Miller Lite, Coors Light, Miller High Life, MGD, Steel Reserve and Miller 64. The release states the closure will not impact production. Beers made there will be transitioned to other breweries in Golden, Colorado and Fort Worth, Texas.
According to the press release Molson Coors put out on Monday, the Irwindale brewery's closing also won't impact the cost savings guidance announced in October. And the reason may be tied up in why the closure news comes with an option to sell the brewery to Pabst.
Although Pabst is a storied American brewery, consolidations and M & A deals have left it without major brewing facilities of its own. Pabst opened a craft brewery in Milwaukee in 2016, but since 1998, relied on Molson Coors ' breweries to produce much of its product. In 2015, MillerCoors chose not to extend this agreement, saying it would not have the capacity to continue brewing Pabst's beers. It raised its price to continue brewing there from $ 17 a barrel to $ 42 a barrel. This led to civil litigation, with a trial that started in November 2018 and abruptly ended in a secret settlement weeks later.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Pabst's attorney argued at trial that MillerCoors made $ 70 million to $ 80 million from this deal. That's revenue the brewer isn't going to be getting anymore. In November, Pabst signed a long-term deal to brew the majority of its beers at beverage co-packer City Brewing Company by the end of 2024.
Molson Coors ' offer to sell the Irwindale brewery to Pabst may also be an olive branch to try to bury bad blood between the companies. When the dispute between the two was raging, MillerCoors closed a brewery in Eden, North Carolina. During the trial, the Pabst CEO said his company offered to buy it for $ 100 million, and Miller Coors countered with an offer of $ 750 million. The former brewery ended up being sold to a corporation that shares the same address with a Greensboro, North Carolina-based demolition and site development specialist for $ 2.75 million.
The closure is another sure sign of Molson Coors ' attempts to do whatever it takes to get back to steady growth. As consumers move away from traditional beer, traditional brewing companies are scrambling to develop and invest in the types of drinks that they're more likely to enjoy.
Weeks after Hattersley took the helm of Molson Coors, the company took a stake in nonalcoholic beverage incubator L.A. Libations, which produces better-for-you beverages including aloe vera water and turmeric seltzer. According to The Wall Street Journal, sources said the brewer has a 49% stake.
Last month, Molson Coors also started testing La Colombe Hard Cold Brew Coffee, with an ABV of 4.2%. Inn addition, MillerCoors is launching vitamin C-enhanced hard seltzer brand Vizzy in March. And in Canada, through a joint venture with cannabis producer Hexo Corp called Truss Beverage Co., Molson Coors is working to produce and distribute cannabis beverage brands. The first, Flow Glow CBD-infused spring water, became available last month.
As major beer companies struggle to find their footing, it will be interesting to see how Molson Coors weathers the storm — especially given that some analysts think the company may be preparing to put itself up for sale. With so many big changes in such a short period of time, its financial outlook in a year may be distinctly different than what it was just a few months ago.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach. | general |
Trial opens in Japan for grisly murder of 19 at disabled home | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The man accused of the 2016 murder of 19 disabled people at a Japanese care home goes on trial Wednesday in a case that ranks among the country's worst mass killings.
Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the care centre outside Tokyo, has admitted carrying out the stabbing rampage, but his lawyer is expected to enter a plea of not guilty on grounds of diminished capacity.
Uematsu reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people in the horrifying July 26 attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en centre in the town of Sagamihara outside Tokyo.
The 29-year-old is accused of breaking into the facility and moving room to room, searching for victims. Nineteen people were killed and 26 injured -- half of them seriously.
He turned himself in at a police station, carrying bloodied knives and admitting the attack to officers.
It emerged later that Uematsu had left his job at the home just months before the attack, and had been forcibly hospitalised after telling colleagues he intended to kill disabled people at the centre.
But he was discharged after 12 days when a doctor deemed him not a threat.
He faces six charges, including murder, and faces the death penalty if convicted on some of the counts.
- ' I had to do it ' -
Since his arrest, Uematsu has shown no remorse and continued to espouse the views that apparently motivated the attack.
In interviews with Japan's Mainichi Shimbun daily he said those with mental disabilities `` have no heart '', claiming `` there's no point in living '' for them.
`` I had to do it for the sake of society, '' he said of the attack.
`` I don't think I 'm innocent but it wasn't something punishable by death. ''
Despite his statements, his lawyers reportedly plan to enter a plea of not guilty on Uematsu's behalf, arguing he was unable to tell right from wrong at the time of the attack because he was on drugs.
A test following his arrest reportedly showed traces of marijuana in his system.
In a recent interview with the Jiji Press agency, Uematsu said he would not deny in court having carried out the attack.
`` It's depressing, '' he said. `` It's like going there to get insulted. ''
And he appeared to take pride in the devastating rampage
`` I did my best '', he told Jiji.
- Killer warned of attack -
Uematsu's self-styled mission to rid the country of people with disabilities shocked Japan, with experts and activists raising questions about whether others in the country might hold similar views.
Japan has been making efforts to increase accessibility -- particularly in Tokyo ahead of this year's Paralympic Games -- and activists hailed last year's election of two disabled lawmakers.
But some critics feel the country still falls short at fully integrating people with disabilities, and the government last year was forced to admit data on hiring people with disabilities had been padded to meet quotas.
Uematsu appeared to have been open about his prejudices well before the attack, even delivering a letter to the speaker of the lower house of parliament in which he threatened to kill hundreds of disabled people.
The letter reportedly clearly outlined a plan for night-time attacks against Tsukui Yamayuri-en and another facility.
In the rambling letter, he presented a vision of a society in which those with serious disabilities could be euthanised with the approval of family members since `` handicapped people only create unhappiness ''.
Japan has one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the developed world, and the attack ranks among the worst ever in the country.
At the time it was the deadliest since 1938, when a man armed with an axe, sword and rifle went on a rampage that left 30 people dead.
In 2019 an arson attack at a building belonging to the Kyoto Animation studio killed at least 36 people.
The court is expected to hand down a verdict against Uematsu on March 16.
The man accused of the 2016 murder of 19 disabled people at a Japanese care home goes on trial Wednesday in a case that ranks among the country’ s worst mass killings.
Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the care centre outside Tokyo, has admitted carrying out the stabbing rampage, but his lawyer is expected to enter a plea of not guilty on grounds of diminished capacity.
Uematsu reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people in the horrifying July 26 attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en centre in the town of Sagamihara outside Tokyo.
The 29-year-old is accused of breaking into the facility and moving room to room, searching for victims. Nineteen people were killed and 26 injured — half of them seriously.
He turned himself in at a police station, carrying bloodied knives and admitting the attack to officers.
It emerged later that Uematsu had left his job at the home just months before the attack, and had been forcibly hospitalised after telling colleagues he intended to kill disabled people at the centre.
But he was discharged after 12 days when a doctor deemed him not a threat.
He faces six charges, including murder, and faces the death penalty if convicted on some of the counts.
– ‘ I had to do it’ –
Since his arrest, Uematsu has shown no remorse and continued to espouse the views that apparently motivated the attack.
In interviews with Japan’ s Mainichi Shimbun daily he said those with mental disabilities “ have no heart ”, claiming “ there’ s no point in living ” for them.
“ I had to do it for the sake of society, ” he said of the attack.
“ I don’ t think I’ m innocent but it wasn’ t something punishable by death. ”
Despite his statements, his lawyers reportedly plan to enter a plea of not guilty on Uematsu’ s behalf, arguing he was unable to tell right from wrong at the time of the attack because he was on drugs.
A test following his arrest reportedly showed traces of marijuana in his system.
In a recent interview with the Jiji Press agency, Uematsu said he would not deny in court having carried out the attack.
“ It’ s depressing, ” he said. “ It’ s like going there to get insulted. ”
And he appeared to take pride in the devastating rampage
“ I did my best ”, he told Jiji.
– Killer warned of attack –
Uematsu’ s self-styled mission to rid the country of people with disabilities shocked Japan, with experts and activists raising questions about whether others in the country might hold similar views.
Japan has been making efforts to increase accessibility — particularly in Tokyo ahead of this year’ s Paralympic Games — and activists hailed last year’ s election of two disabled lawmakers.
But some critics feel the country still falls short at fully integrating people with disabilities, and the government last year was forced to admit data on hiring people with disabilities had been padded to meet quotas.
Uematsu appeared to have been open about his prejudices well before the attack, even delivering a letter to the speaker of the lower house of parliament in which he threatened to kill hundreds of disabled people.
The letter reportedly clearly outlined a plan for night-time attacks against Tsukui Yamayuri-en and another facility.
In the rambling letter, he presented a vision of a society in which those with serious disabilities could be euthanised with the approval of family members since “ handicapped people only create unhappiness ”.
Japan has one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the developed world, and the attack ranks among the worst ever in the country.
At the time it was the deadliest since 1938, when a man armed with an axe, sword and rifle went on a rampage that left 30 people dead.
In 2019 an arson attack at a building belonging to the Kyoto Animation studio killed at least 36 people.
The court is expected to hand down a verdict against Uematsu on March 16.
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Bayer Exercises Right to Enter into Follow-on Research and Collaboration Option Agreement with Atomwise | Bayer and Atomwise, the leader in artificial intelligence ( AI) for drug discovery, today announced the companies will continue the development of two crop protection programs. Farmers across the world are facing an increase in weed, insect and fungal resistance to current products on the market, and new mechanisms of action are needed to bolster integrated pest management systems. Based on previous and future successes, Bayer will advance the resulting compounds to field trials and further development.
“ Crop protection research is enhanced by data science, which can transform established methods into an integrated system focused on accelerated hypothesis-driven discovery, ” said Axel Trautwein, Head of Small Molecules, Crop Science Division of Bayer. “ We’ re encouraged by what we have seen in the early stages of discovery and look forward to what this extended collaboration will bring. ”
“ The development of chemical compounds for agriculture is as challenging as it is for drug development, ” said Dr. Abraham Heifets, CEO of Atomwise. “ Most of the exciting targets have stymied previous development efforts. We’ ve been able to deliver because of our unique technological breakthroughs, which let us screen billions of new chemical scaffolds against proteins that lack structural information or already-known drug series. We have shown repeatedly that our technology is effective using homology models and predicting binding to proteins across species, which is critical to selectivity and broad-spectrum activity. Bayer has been a great partner and we are excited that the compounds we helped to discover are moving forward, ” he added.
Under the terms of the agreement, Atomwise will receive upfront payments for the research activities, as well as developmental milestones and royalty payments when products are commercialized.
About Bayer Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2018, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of 39.6 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.6 billion euros, R & D expenses to 5.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.
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Op-Ed: Australia is now the 'Poster Child ' for the climate crisis | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Call it what you will – Climate change scenario, global warming tipping point, or just go on believing that everything is normal and arsonists are causing all the fires that have burned over 10 million hectares ( 24.711 million acres). But many people see Australia as the “ poster child ” for the climate crisis.
To put it in perspective, the area burned so far is almost the size of England, which is 13 million hectares. And if you think the 2018 California fires were huge, coming in at 800,000 hectares ( 1.978 million acres), guess again. The bottom line is this: Scientists say that many of those forests won’ t recover in today’ s warmer climate.
They are not just talking about Australia. They include parts of the American west, the Mediterranean Basin and even the Amazon Rainforest region in South America. Some of these post-fire landscapes will shift to brush or grasslands.
And after losing close to one billion animals, birds and reptiles in the fires, those remaining will have drastically changed habitats. Water and food sources will be different or even absent for some species, and carbon emissions will rise because there are fewer trees to absorb CO2 out of the air and store it. Further Reading: The human ‘ fingerprint’ is now detectable in everyday weather Australia’ s fire history Emeritus Professor Stephen J Pyne of Arizona State University is an expert on the history of fire as well as a former firefighter in the U.S. and has written a book about Australia called Burning Bush: A Fire History of Australia.
He notes that most of Australia’ s great or notable fires are usually designated by the day they occurred, such as the 2009 Black Saturday fires that claimed the lives of nearly 173 people. Interestingly, the most destructive fires happened in 1974 and burned 117 million hectares in central Australia.
But because they didn’ t impact on any communities, they were not given a name. “ The 1974/75 fires had almost no impact and much of the damage was found by satellite after the fact, ” Professor Pyne told news.com.au.
While it is true that Australia has always experienced fire seasons, just as California and Canada have fire seasons, They have been occurring more frequently and have been more destructive in the last 20 years.
“ Undoubtedly climate change is real and my sense is that it’ s acting as a performance enhancer, ” Professor Pyne said. “ Fires are becoming more and more savage, and they are more frequent. They used to happen every 30 or 50 years, now they seem to be happening by the decade. ” Further Reading: The climate crisis has pushed Earth to a critical ‘ tipping point’
The climate change link is evident The link between global warming, forests, and wildfires is multifaceted but very clear, said Nerilie Abram, a climate researcher at Australian National University. This combination of factors creates an unending cycle of events.
“ Increasing temperatures dry out fuel and lead to more days of extreme fire weather, ” she said. “ The poleward shift of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds is drawing winter rainfall away from southern Australia, causing a long-term drying trend that makes the landscape more vulnerable to burning. ”
Digital Journal has written about this link and the cycle that’ s created when drought and loss of forests cause higher temperatures over the land and lower humidity, which, in turn, worsens wildfire conditions. This is what may happen in Australia’ s Alps.
Australian National University climate scientist Christopher Brack explains: “ These fires burning through the Southern Alps ( in Australia) at the moment are re-burning alpine and mountain ash trees that were regenerating from fires less than 20 years ago, ” Brack said. In the warming climate, the current forests are likely to be replaced by brush and other shorter-lived and more flammable species that will intensify the fire cycle, he said.
In a recent Australian television interview, according to Inside Climate News, Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said the heartbreaking loss of irreplaceable forests in Australia is a clear sign of a climate tipping point playing out before our eyes. Similar scenarios are apparent in forests around the world, he said.
Arsonists and the “ disinformation campaign ” Yes, it is true that 24 people have been charged with arson for starting some of the fires in Australia. However, bot and troll accounts are involved in a “ disinformation campaign ” aimed at exaggerating the arsonist claims and downplaying climate change as being a factor in the bushfires, according to social media analysts.
Queensland University of Technology senior lecturer on social network analysis Dr. Timothy Graham examined content published on the # arsonemergency hashtag on Twitter. Out of a total of 1,340 tweets, he found that 1,203 were unique – all coming from 315 accounts.
Using a Twitter bot detection tool, he assessed a random sample for bot-like characteristics. The analysis showed a “ current disinformation campaign ” on Twitter’ s # arsonemergency hashtag due to the “ suspiciously high number of bot-like and troll-like accounts. ”
He also found suspicious accounts under the hashtags # australiafire and # bushfireaustralia. “ Australia suddenly appears to be getting swamped by mis/disinformation as a result of this environmental catastrophe, and we are suffering the consequences in terms of hyped-up polarisation and an increased difficulty and inability for citizens to discern truth, ” Graham told the Guardian.
Karen Graham is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for environmental news. Karen's view of what is happening in our world is colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in man's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, `` Journalism is merely history's first draft. '' Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.
A century after Ernest Shackleton’ s ship Endurance sank in the waters of Antarctica, resulting in one of the greatest survival stories.
Protesters again poured into Canada's capital early Saturday to join a convoy of truckers to denounce Covid vaccine mandates.
t was only a matter of time before everyone realized that America's biggest criminal and his cohorts would invade our neighbor.
Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday said she wanted Camilla, the wife of her heir Prince Charles, to ultimately be known as Queen Consort.
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AMLO Backs Tuxpan-Tula Pipeline Change, Public-Private Energy Investment Plan | Sign in to get the best natural gas news and data. Follow the topics you want and receive the daily emails.
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NGI Mexico GPI
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Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador touched on multiple issues relevant to the hydrocarbons sector during his daily morning press conference on Wednesday, including the Tuxpan-Tula natural gas pipeline, oil and gas bid rounds and a pending public-private energy investment plan.
In response to questions from the media, López Obrador repeated his assertion from last Saturday that he will ask TC Energy Corp. to seek an alternative route for the 56-mile middle section of the 178-mile, 886 MMcf/d Tuxpan-Tula natural gas pipeline, saying that work has not begun on the section’ s originally planned route “ because the people won’ t allow it and in this case, the people are right. ”
Progress on the middle stretch has been delayed, pending the completion of an indigenous consultation by energy ministry Sener.
López Obrador on Saturday pledged that the pipeline in central Mexico would be rerouted so as not to pass through sacred indigenous hills.
However, he told reporters on Wednesday, “ we need in this zone, as in the rest of the country, electric energy, ” adding that power plants in the area “ require gas to produce electric energy. ”
He added that Tuxpan-Tula is the only gas pipeline under construction that the government will seek to reroute, saying that for the others, “ there is no problem. ”
Asked whether oil and gas bid rounds might resume this year, the president said they will not, calling the 2013-2014 energy reform that made the rounds possible “ a complete failure, ” a line familiar to anyone who has followed López Obrador’ s energy rhetoric since he took office in December 2018.
The president said that winners of oil and gas contracts awarded through the reform are not fulfilling their investment commitments, although private oil and gas trade group Amexhi published a report last month demonstrating the opposite.
Amexhi said it expects oil and natural gas production from the private sector to reach 280,000 b/d and 450 MMcf/d, respectively, by the end of 2024.
Excluding the Ek-Balam contract, which pertains solely to state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos ( Pemex), upstream contracts awarded under the energy reform were producing 47,000 b/d of oil and 229.3 MMcf/d of gas as of November 2019, representing year-over-year increases of 62% and 43%, respectively.
Although the future of bid rounds remains unknown, López Obrador did say that the government will unveil, by mid-February at the latest, “ a joint investment plan ” comprising “ public-private investment in the energy sector, that includes Pemex and the Comisión Federal de Electricidad ( CFE), ” Mexico’ s 100% state-owned power utility.
Through the plan, he said, authorities will define which oil and gas fields can be developed by the private sector.
Other pipelines under construction that have faced delays in Mexico include Fermaca’ s Aguascalientes-Guadalajara-Villa de Reyes, Grupo Carso’ s Samalayuca-Sásabe and TC Energy’ s Tula-Villa de Reyes.
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Natural gas futures faltered again Tuesday despite a huge day/day decline in production. The losses reflected changes in the latest weather outlook, which had been colder over the weekend but then warmed in the last couple of runs. The January Nymex gas futures contract fell 4.7 cents to $ 3.747/MMBtu. Spot gas prices, meanwhile, came crashing…
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Tofurky launches new burger in crowded plant-based space | Tofurky seems to be betting that its reputation as a legacy plant-based protein producer will help its latest innovation stand out on shelves despite increased competition.
The brand originally debuted its signature plant-based turkey replacement product back in 1995 and has more recently launched new products as the plant-based food and beverage segment has grown. This new plant-based burger comes after Tofurky recently accepted $ 7 million in private funding — the first debt position investment the private, family-owned business has ever taken on.
Despite its legacy reputation, it won't be easy for Tofurky to stand out in the crowded plant-based burger shelves. Other plant-based protein brands have dominated the space, including Impossible Foods, which started selling its burger in grocery stores last year, and Beyond Meat, which went public last year. But it's not just the plant-based giants. From Nestlé and Kellogg to Smithfield and Tyson, this trend has pushed big companies to launch more products in the space over the last year. Even grocery stores, like Costco and Kroger, are launching their own plant-based burger retail products.
Being a legacy veggie company in a market with new products that are gaining consumer attention is a difficult feat. Conagra's Gardein, Kellogg's MorningStar Farms and Kraft Heinz's Boca have moved aggressively to try to keep up their own portfolios as new products with a more meat-like texture and taste have come to market.
That seems to be the same case with Tofurky. The brand did previously launch a plant-based ground beef product, but it discontinued it to push out these new burgers, Forbes reported in October.
`` We had a DIY product, but we rushed to market with it, '' Athos told Forbes. `` You could shape it into a burger patty, but I think what happened with that one was we were never able to fully realize the quality we can get within our own kitchen. So, we scrapped that plan and pulled it from the market and started over. ''
Tofurky is also leaning into its sustainability efforts. Its patties will use recyclable cartons that offer 23% less paperboard material and inner packaging that has 69% less plastic film waste than others in the segment, according to the release. The company also claimed the burger's soy base is more sustainable compared to pea protein.
The new Tofurky burger will be made with soy, which is similar to the Impossible Burger and Kellogg's Incogmeato patty. Although using soy could make the taste and texture of the product more realistic, it could also face difficulty with consumers looking to avoid the ingredient, which is a top allergen. Pea protein has become an increasingly popular ingredient base in plant-based meat and for those looking to avoid soy. Beyond Meat's products use it, as well as Lightlife’ s Plant-Based Burger and Nestlé’ s Awesome Burger.
Plant-based foods are no longer just for vegans and vegetarians since consumers of all kinds are seeing them as an alternative to products like meat, milk, yogurt and cheese. Tofurky has seen that impact with its own sales, the company has sold more than 5 million holiday vegan roasts. As a result of increased interest, the company recently debuted a line of plant-based, dairy-free frozen cheesecakes and relaunched several flavors of frozen, plant-based Tofurky Pockets, which were discontinued in 2018.
Plant-based protein and meat alternative growth is projected to increase from $ 4.6 billion in 2018 to a massive $ 85 billion in 2030, according to investment firm UBS. Despite competition, that expected growth could push Tofurky and others to launch even more protein products in the space in the future.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach. | general |
Constellation Brands Star Is Rising, Revenue And Earnings Beat Consensus |
The analysts turned cautious on Constellation Brands ( STZ) in the second half of 2019 but their fears were overblown. Although the general consensus is bullish, fully half the analysts that cover the stock lowered their price targets or downgraded their rating over the past quarter. Shifting trends within the consumer market are putting pressure on sales of domestic beer labels and Constellation is not immune. Declining sales are cutting into the top and bottom-line results for Constellation and its competitors.
Constellation Brands just reported earnings for the fiscal 3rd quarter and crushed the consensus figures. Revenue was expected to fall by 1% on a YOY basis but the company was able to produce +1.5% revenue growth.
Constellation’ s strength lie in the beer business, a segment the company is well-positioned to dominate. With brands like Modello and Corona headlining the import portfolio, the company has been able to grab market share from its less-advantaged competitors. Modello and Corona both saw high-single-digit sales growth in the last year with Modelo snagging the # 4 spot for total sales in the U.S.
EPS fell slightly from the previous year but also beat consensus estimates on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. GAAP EPS of $ 1.85 beat by $ 0.26 while non-GAAP beat by $ 0.30. If not for a loss associated with Constellations’ s investment in Canopy Growth Corporation ( CGC) comparable EPS would have grown from last year. The third-quarter results are strong enough for management to increase guidance to a range well above the consensus which means the analysts will be scrambling to adjust their own targets.
document.write ( ' < a style= '' text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal; color: # 696969; '' target= '' blank '' rel= '' nofollow '' href= '' https: //www.ame ' + 'ricanconsumernews.net/scripts/click.aspx? NativeDisplayAdID=463 & ImpressionID=0 & UserID=0 & Placement=PlaceOnArticlePage '' > '); This free guide reveals 53 ways to generate income during a recession. Free: The Recession Income Bible Best-selling author reveals his simple & safe way to start trading options in this FREE GUIDE. It's 100% free until the end of the month.
The new guidance is for 2020 adjusted EPS in the range of $ 9.45 to $ 9.55. The consensus is closer to $ 8.55 which implies analysts upgrades will be robust. The current consensus price target is $ 225, about 10% above today’ s trading range.
Constellation Brands Is A Cash Flow Machine
Constellation Brands is a cash-flow machine and the flow is getting better. Fiscal year 2020 is now expected to deliver upwards of $ 2.1 billion in total cash flow, $ 1.5 billion of free-cash-flow, and the outlook for next year is positive. Free-cash-flow growth outpaced cash-flow growth by 1000 basis points. The takeaway, management’ s strategy to streamline operations and reduce debt is paying off.
Along with divestitures of underperforming and non-core businesses Constellation CEO and CFO have been paying down debt. The company has reduced debt by $ 1.3 billion this year alone and on target to achieve its goal of less than 4X leverage.
David Klein, Chief Financial Officer
“ The strong free cash flow we generated year to date reflects the powerful cash generation capability of our core business and will enable the company to return $ 4.5 billion in cash to shareholders in share repurchases and dividends through fiscal 2022. In addition, with debt reduction of almost $ 1.3 billion so far this year, we’ ve made significant progress toward achieving our leverage target of less than four times. ”
The dividend isn’ t fantastic but it will help the total returns. At today’ s prices, the yield is only 1.65% but at least in line with the broad-market average. The upshot is an ultra-low 35% payout ratio and outlook for dividend increases. The company has been increasing the distribution for four years and has plenty of free-cash-flow to support future increases regardless of growth.
The Technical Outlook
The technical outlook is mixed. Price action jumped after the earnings report was released but profit-takers and weak holders kept the stock from breaking out. The indicators are weak and bearish suggesting price action will continue to come under pressure in the near-term. The $ 185 level appears to be solid support but I would not be surprised to see price action fall beneath it. The $ 180 level is a more likely target for firm support, it has provided strong support several times over the past year, a fall to it could trigger another wave of buying. Resistance is at the $ 190 level, a move above there would be bullish and confirm reversal within the one-year trading range.
Top 8 Companies That Are Adapting to a Post-Coronavirus World
The unintended consequences of the coronavirus pandemic are being played out in homes and apartments throughout the world. More and more employees are working from home, that’ s if they have a job to go to. Entire industries are effectively shut down as the world attempts to slow the spread of the virus. At some point, however, things will return to normal. But it will be a new normal. There are many businesses that won’ t reopen, and many industries that will forever be changed. As an investor, now is the time to get out your crystal ball. Timing the market is a fool’ s errand. But looking at what industries are positioned to thrive in a world that will be changed by the coronavirus is a prudent strategy. We’ ve identified 8 companies that are adapting to what the economy will be like in a post-coronavirus world. It will undoubtedly be more digital than it already is. Supply chains may become more vertically integrated as “ Made in America ” may take on a whole new meaning. As will the idea of working from home, going to a concert, or even preparing a meal.
View the `` Top 8 Companies That Are Adapting to a Post-Coronavirus World ''.
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The world’ s best cities for freelancers to stay connected | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Analysts at Kaizen have been working with SmallBusinessPrices.co.uk to analyse cities across the globe by a series of metrics to reveal the best for being a freelancer. Looking into internet speeds and costs, to the average monthly salary and temperature, will you be relocating to be a freelancer?
In relation to this question, there are four countries of interest:
Paris ranks as the world’ s best city to be a freelancer. The city of love holds the highest number of freelance vacancies at 7,924 and has 337,875 free Wi-Fi spots. The downside with Paris is with the average rent for a one bed apartment in the city centre, which is typically $ 1,380. However, on the plus side the city has the lowest average amount of working hours per week at 35. More importantly, Paris has the highest amount of freelance jobs available.
Populations with growing freelancer economies
1.United States 2.Philippines 3.Canada 4.Singapore 5.United Arab Emirates
Singapore holds the fastest broadband speed in the world at an impressive 192Mbps. This is three times faster than London and six times faster than Delhi’ s.
New York City holds the highest number of free Wi-Fi spots with over a staggering one million to choose from. London ranks second with 686,378 spots. New York is, however, the most expensive city to live in, with a typical one-bed apartment costing $ 3,276 per month.
London is also very expensive in terms of monthly property rental ( at $ 2,193). However, the city has the second highest number of freelance positions available.
The most popular freelance sectors
1.Computers and IT 2.Accounting and Finance 3.HR and Recruiting 4.Editing, Proofing and Writing 5.Administrative These types of city based statisics are interesting, givem that over half of all millennials would consider moving abroad for work opportunities, and an increasing amount are starting their own business ventures.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
The hunt for answers - like whether the Omicron variant will trigger new waves of infection.
Crime is raging across the country, from violent attacks to brazen shoplifting to mob “ smash and grab ” attacks.
The Omicron variant that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up genetic material from another virus.
At its core, Zero Trust is all about authenticating and authorizing access policies that have been designed to provide the least privilege, for the...
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Oil markets unfazed by Iranian strikes on US targets | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Global oil prices plunged Wednesday, totally reversing a earlier needle-thin spike that followed Iranian missile attacks on US targets in Iraq.
Comments by Iranian officials and US President Donald Trump eased tension substantially and pushed crude prices lower and lower in late European trading.
The strikes, launched in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's top general last Friday, sent Brent and WTI prices to multi-month peaks before profit-taking prevailed.
Iran said it had `` concluded '' its missile attacks for now, and observers remarked that they had seemed carefully calibrated to avoid US casualties.
Trump told a press conference: `` Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world. ''
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had tweeted earlier that the country does `` not seek escalation or war ''.
Analysts pointed out that oil traders had many sources at their disposal in any event.
`` Sooner or later investors will realise that the plentiful non-OPEC supply will more than make up for any short-term disruptions in the Middle East, '' noted Forex.com market analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop added that `` not a single drop of oil supply has been lost due to the recent incidents and this is why the oil price has fallen back down again so quickly. ''
Global stock markets initially slid on investor concern of a broader conflict, but most were in positive territory as European trading wrapped up.
London stocks were the outlier, essentially unchanged on the day, while Frankfurt gained 0.7 percent and Paris was 0.3 percent higher.
Fears of escalation proved `` to be short-lived as the US administration avoided an impulsive military response in the aftermath '' of the Iranian strikes, noted analyst Bethel Loh at trading firm ThinkMarkets.
Safe haven assets had fared well initially, but after surging above $ 1,600 an ounce for the first time in six years, gold fell back to $ 1,557.80 which represented a loss of about 1.0 percent on the day.
- Key figures at 1700 GMT -
Brent Crude: DOWN 3.8 percent at $ 65.67 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.3 percent at $ 60.00
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,574.93 points ( close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 6,031.00 ( close)
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.7 percent at 13,320.18 ( close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.4 percent at 3,772.56
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.6 percent at 23.204,76 ( close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,066.89 ( close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.8 percent at 28,087.92 ( close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 28,771.89
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $ 1.3101 from $ 1.3126 at 2200 GMT
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.86 pence from 84.97 pence
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $ 1.1118 from $ 1.1153
Dollar/yen: UP at 108.98 from 108.44 yen
burs-wai/jh
Global oil prices plunged Wednesday, totally reversing a earlier needle-thin spike that followed Iranian missile attacks on US targets in Iraq.
Comments by Iranian officials and US President Donald Trump eased tension substantially and pushed crude prices lower and lower in late European trading.
The strikes, launched in retaliation for the assassination of Iran’ s top general last Friday, sent Brent and WTI prices to multi-month peaks before profit-taking prevailed.
Iran said it had “ concluded ” its missile attacks for now, and observers remarked that they had seemed carefully calibrated to avoid US casualties.
Trump told a press conference: “ Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world. ”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had tweeted earlier that the country does “ not seek escalation or war ”.
Analysts pointed out that oil traders had many sources at their disposal in any event.
“ Sooner or later investors will realise that the plentiful non-OPEC supply will more than make up for any short-term disruptions in the Middle East, ” noted Forex.com market analyst Fawad Razaqzada.
SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop added that “ not a single drop of oil supply has been lost due to the recent incidents and this is why the oil price has fallen back down again so quickly. ”
Global stock markets initially slid on investor concern of a broader conflict, but most were in positive territory as European trading wrapped up.
London stocks were the outlier, essentially unchanged on the day, while Frankfurt gained 0.7 percent and Paris was 0.3 percent higher.
Fears of escalation proved “ to be short-lived as the US administration avoided an impulsive military response in the aftermath ” of the Iranian strikes, noted analyst Bethel Loh at trading firm ThinkMarkets.
Safe haven assets had fared well initially, but after surging above $ 1,600 an ounce for the first time in six years, gold fell back to $ 1,557.80 which represented a loss of about 1.0 percent on the day.
– Key figures at 1700 GMT –
Brent Crude: DOWN 3.8 percent at $ 65.67 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 4.3 percent at $ 60.00
London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,574.93 points ( close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 6,031.00 ( close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.7 percent at 13,320.18 ( close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.4 percent at 3,772.56
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.6 percent at 23.204,76 ( close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,066.89 ( close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.8 percent at 28,087.92 ( close)
New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 28,771.89
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $ 1.3101 from $ 1.3126 at 2200 GMT
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.86 pence from 84.97 pence
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $ 1.1118 from $ 1.1153
Dollar/yen: UP at 108.98 from 108.44 yen
burs-wai/jh
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
New York's weaknesses in the face of climate change, the city is erecting a $ 1.45-billion system of walls and floodgates.
Kroger, the country’ s biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers.
Australia will push ahead with plans to ease Covid restrictions before Christmas.
Nearly 10 years after Imad al-Hisso fled the civil war in Syria, he remains trapped in Gaza, a place he calls `` a prison. ''
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As retailers continue to struggle, Macy's is closing 28 stores | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Strange as it may sound, Macy’ s stock is soaring after the company reported sales results for the critical November/December holiday period on Wednesday.
After reporting that same-store sales had declined 0.7 percent over the year, reports USA Today, CEO Jeff Gennette said in a news release, “ Macy’ s, Inc.’ s performance during the holiday season reflected a strong trend improvement from the third quarter, ” adding, “ Additionally, customers responded to our gifting assortment and marketing strategy, particularly in the 10 days before Christmas. ”
Macy’ s has had it tough this year, with stocks down 43 percent over the previous year. But stocks have risen 20 percent over the past three months as of Tuesday’ s closing price, according to Barron’ s. And the 0.7 percent November and December decline was not as bad as had been predicted.
However, despite the seeming “ turn-around ” in business, Macy’ s is still looking to close underperforming stores. Gennette said that the company’ s holiday sales benefited from strong online sales and demand for gift products, and the lower sales were “ steeper than we expected. ”
The big-name department stores are being squeezed out by discount chains, like TJ Maxx and Target, which is pressuring profits and forcing them to put products on sale. This environment has forced retailers like Sears, Forever 21, Pier 1 Imports and others into fighting for their lives.
Last year, U.S. retailers announced 9,302 store closings, a 59 percent jump from 2018 and the highest number since Coresight Research began tracking the data in 2012. As a matter of fact, Coresight lists 729 store closures to date so far in 2020.
Macy’ s says it will provide a full list of its store closures at its upcoming investor day on February 5. For now, we know the Bloomingdales in The Falls mall, which is southwest of Miami, is closing.
Neil Saunders, the managing director of GlobalData Retail, in a statement sent to USA Today, said Macy’ s decision to close its underperforming locations “ a foretaste of things to come if Macy’ s does not invest in and reinvigorate these outlets, ” adding that most of Macy’ s legacy stores “ looked shabby and lacked festive cheer. In our view, they remain unfit for purpose and there is a big question mark over their long-term future. ”
Karen Graham is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for environmental news. Karen's view of what is happening in our world is colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in man's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, `` Journalism is merely history's first draft. '' Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.
There are two confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Ottawa, the Ontario government announced Sunday.
Drug and alcohol addiction treatment experts blame treatment services closing their doors to addicts during the pandemic.
Donald Trump, pictured in his final days in office, is the first president since Herbert Hoover nearly a century ago to lose the House,...
Dubai, a former pearling town and now a brash trade and financial centre, boasts a forest of skyscrapers including the 830-metre Burj Khalifa.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
6 trends that will shape the food and beverage industry in 2020 | What will this new year bring? We see the launch of meat substitutes that go beyond the burger, the elevation of alternative dairy products and smaller M & A deals.
This story is part of a series of pieces looking at the trends in the industry. Read more about Big Beer's race to innovate as iconic beer sales languish.
If food and beverage companies want 2020 vision, then they will have to look to the past to plan for the future.
Although this year's trends will build on a lot of the growth areas the industry has already seen, innovation in these categories could dramatically shift what companies produce over the next 12 months and beyond.
The growth of alternative products will continue to accelerate in 2020, but the space will expand beyond the plant-based burgers and beef products that dominated last year with items imitating chicken, fish or pork. While faux burgers will likely still be popular, companies will experiment with ingredients outside of pea proteins — think mushrooms and chickpeas, for example — to fill out the patty. And in the dairy space, alternative products could see better innovation in texture, nutrition and ingredients, spelling out more challenges for its already troubled traditional competitors.
The industry experts and analysts Food Dive spoke to also pointed to technology and collaborations that will lead to the development of more functional foods loaded with fiber, probiotics or other beneficial ingredients. Cannabis will continue to infiltrate the food and beverage scene, but this year more companies may be honing how they talk about the substance to clearly communicate its appeal to consumers. And on the M & A front, smaller deals will dictate where Big Food is heading in the future.
Here are Food Dive's six trends expected to impact food and beverage in 2020.
Plant-based burgers became ubiquitous in 2019. In grocery stores, at restaurants nationwide and even at theme parks, consumers could easily pick up plant-based options that look and taste like something made from ground beef.
The plethora of plant-based burger options is welcome news to vegans and consumers looking to reduce their meat intake alike. However, burgers and ground beef are just one small sector of the meat options out there. As 2020 dawned, there were few options for consumers looking for other alternatives, like products imitating chicken or fish.
Plant Based Foods Association Executive Director Michele Simon told Food Dive there are good reasons the plant-based sector has been dominated by burgers so far.
“ America has had a love affair with burgers for decades, and, you know, it's sort of the quintessential item at a fast food restaurant, ” she said. “... The fact that it's ground gives companies the ability to simulate that texture and so forth with various ingredients. ''
But in this new decade, consumers will be looking for different meat alternatives to fill the centers of their plates. And several companies are getting ready to make that happen. As the year started, Impossible Foods announced its newest product, Impossible Pork. Nuggs, a plant-based chicken nugget startup, launched last year with a $ 7 million investment round led by frozen potato giant McCain Foods. Rebellyous Foods is working to bring down the cost of plant-based chicken nuggets, a product it’ s selling to some foodservice outlets in the Seattle area. Kellogg’ s MorningStar Farms is launching vegan Incogmeato Chik’ n nuggets and tenders this year. And Beyond Meat — which actually started with plant-based chicken strips in 2013 and quietly discontinued them last year — says it is working on plant-based chicken again. A trial last summer of the reformulated Beyond Fried Chicken at KFC sold out in five hours.
As these companies get more capital and products on shelves and menus, consumers will have more exposure to this category. And while it’ s important for plant-based chicken to replicate the experience of eating the real thing — plant-based burger companies make pink patties that brown when cooked and “ bleed ” with pink centers — some people in the business say there is more that the category needs to do. In an editorial in Food Dive, Rebellyous founder and CEO Christie Lagally detailed the size and economic volume of the poultry industry. Success for plant-based chicken depends on being able to financially beat that system, she wrote.
Simon said that aside from the all-American aura of the burger, what really made plant-based burgers catch on was their widespread appearance on menus.
“ I think that's probably what we're going to have to see to know that the plant-based chicken nugget has arrived, ” she said.
Another thing that will shift consumers’ perception of plant-based meat is seeing it included in other products in the grocery store. Nestlé announced it will be adding its plant-based ground beef product — Awesome Grounds — to some of its iconic products, including DiGiorno Pizza and Stouffer’ s Lasagna.
`` Plant-based protein, plant-based meats are going to be the future of meat, more and more, '' Ryan Riddle, R & D specialist of vegetarian meal solutions at Nestlé USA, told Food Dive in December 2019. `` I fully expect that this is just the beginning of incorporating plant-based meats into our prepared meals. ''
Although in 2019 cannabis started to inundate the food and beverage scene, 2020 could be the year the big players distinguish themselves from the pack.
Despite the regulatory issues, analysts predict that companies will push past that by developing a marketing strategy that tells a story about the substance and educating consumers on the different types of cannabinoids.
Kara Nielsen, an expert in food and beverage trends, told Food Dive that there's pent up demand for cannabis, but companies will need to talk about the quality of the hemp ingredients and continue to inform consumers so that when the legal landscape shifts, there will be more high-quality products.
Although the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp cultivation and an increasing number of states are making their own laws about cannabis legalization, the substance is still in a regulatory gray area. The FDA held a public hearing to determine if there could be a pathway to market last year, but the agency came out and firmly told manufacturers in December that cannabis was not Generally Recognized as Safe for use in food.
As regulation remains complicated in the U.S., many companies and regulators will be watching the cannabis space in Canada this year since the country started to allow cannabis-infused products — edibles, beverages, topicals and extracts — to be sold in stores in December. The results of that roll out could impact the future of the space in the U.S.
There's some companies gearing up to be legitimate winners in these spaces, despite regulation, but there still is not enough clinical research about what CBD really does for people, Nielsen said. Manufacturers that provide that research in the upcoming year could lead the space.
“ It's very anecdotal, ” Nielsen said. “ So that also has to catch up a little bit. ”
Rich Maturo, vice president of the cannabis practice at research firm Nielsen, told Food Dive in an email that the company predicts the U.S. hemp-based CBD market could be a $ 2.25 billion to $ 2.75 billion industry in 2020. These projections are conservative because they account for hampered FDA rulings and other possible speed bumps, he said.
“ While the regulatory roadmap remains ambiguous, one thing is clear: The next decade for the hemp-based CBD market has the potential to be a game changer for the traditional CPG and retail industry, ” Maturo said.
After large-scale purchases in 2018 — such as Conagra Brands’ $ 10.9 billion purchase of Pinnacle Foods, Campbell Soup closing its $ 5 billion purchase of snacking giant Snyder's-Lance and General Mills doling out $ 8 billion for natural pet food maker Blue Buffalo — the food industry turned last year to jettisoning underperforming brands or acquiring smaller ones.
Analysts interviewed by Food Dive predicted a similar M & A pattern this year as companies focus on adding to the fold brands that expand their reach in a particular geography or increase their presence in trends popular with consumers, such as bars and snacking.
“ CPGs are still super focused on how to grow, not how to cut costs so I think these big industry consolidations are not necessarily going to return in 2020, ” Randy Burt, a managing director at AlixPartners, told Food Dive. “ I think you are going to continue to see people shift their portfolios to kind of have more of a connection across them to get to a place where their portfolio has a better overall exposure to an attractive macrosegment. ”
For years, big food companies bulked up by acquiring other large companies and brands. But in February, Kraft Heinz slashed its dividend and wrote down the value of its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands by $ 15.4 billion — casting a further pall on similar deals, according to analysts.
Still, that hasn’ t stopped companies from adding businesses that can help their broader operations. Ferrero, which has aggressively expanded its U.S. presence in recent years, spent $ 1.3 billion for the snacks portfolio from Kellogg in July that includes brands such as Keebler and Famous Amos. For Kellogg, the sale allowed it to unload products that were dragging down growth.
Other deals in 2019 included Hershey purchasing One Brands for $ 397 million; Good Foods Company buying Quest Nutrition for $ 1 billion; and in June, Mondelez International taking a majority stake in Perfect Snacks.
“ Activity is strong, ” Jeff Cleveland, managing director of investment banking at D.A. Davidson, told Food Dive regarding M & A. “ It’ s a little bit of a tale of two markets where if you’ ve got a really high-quality asset you’ re going to have a lot of demand for it, a lot of interest in it and if an asset is viewed to be less interesting, less profitable, less protected, your reaction in the market will be very different. ''
In 2019, consumers embraced plant-based meats, ensuring this way of eating is not just a fad. But this growing movement will see a shift beyond the current “ it ” ingredient: pea protein.
While soy has been a common meat analog for decades, pea protein has been a vital building block to many plant-based meat items recently. It’ s the foundation of Beyond Meat’ s products and is also the base for Lightlife’ s Plant-Based Burger and Nestlé’ s Awesome Burger.
Pea protein has an impressive nutritional profile, is inexpensive to grow and process, and is easy to supply. Grand View Research estimated the global pea protein market would be worth $ 313.5 million by 2025, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 17.4%.
But Maria Velissariou, chief science and technology officer for the Institute of Food Technologists, told Food Dive existing producers of pea protein are getting stretched by increasing demand.
“ We're going to see other forms of protein from other sources coming into the market, so new innovation will probably rely not just on pea protein, but will rely on other similar sources, ” she said. “... We’ ll see alternatives coming into play as long as the alternatives deliver against the texture and they deliver against the flavor. And, of course, the price has to be right, though at the moment, consumers are prepared to pay a higher premium for this product. ”
Mushrooms are getting more popular, especially in meat-like snack applications. Other legumes, like chickpeas, are bound to also find themselves in the mix. Outside of the realm of meat, companies have found other diverse substitutes to simulate products from animals, like the wide varieties of nuts and grains in plant-based milk, Siggi’ s partially macadamia nut-based vegan Icelandic yogurt, and Just’ s mung bean-based Just Egg.
And while other legumes may be brought into the plant-based meat puzzle, up-and-coming offerings are from extremely diverse places. Sustainable Bioproducts is working to turn a high-protein fungus found living in a volcano into food products that could hit the market this year. Prime Roots plans to start selling its meat and seafood alternatives made from koji, a fungus commonly used in Japanese cuisine to create an umami taste, online at the beginning of the year. Ingredient company Noblegen recently achieved self GRAS status on a flour made from one-celled organism euglena, which can be used in many alternative protein products. And Air Protein is exactly what its name sounds like: A startup that uses cellular processes to turn carbon dioxide into edible, nutritious protein.
Even the bigger players in the space like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are constantly reformulating their products with the goal to improve taste, nutrition profile, appearance and slim down ingredient lists, while others are perfecting formulations for 2020 launches.
For decades, consumers picked their food based on characteristics such as how it looked, tasted or smelled. Increasingly, shoppers are picking what they buy and consume depending on the role it plays in reducing the risk of disease and promoting good health.
So-called functional foods have been sold in grocery stores and specialty outlets for years — think calcium-fortified Tropicana orange juice or Activia loaded with probiotics — but a growing push by consumers to eat healthier and watch what goes into their bodies has increased demand for items that deliver an added benefit.
“ It’ s really poised to grow significantly now because word is getting out more and more, ” Bob Bauer, president of the Association of Food Industries, told Food Dive. “ Even if the rest of what we eat perhaps isn’ t what it should be, we feel better about ourselves if we do have some things on occasion that we would consider functional foods or that would help us out. ”
Bauer said functional foods loaded with fiber, probiotics or other beneficial ingredients have grown in part because the technology has been developed to make products that contain them taste better or have a more pleasant mouth feel. With functional foods being added into portable products such as bars and yogurts, Bauer said they could make their way into more convenient channels such as vending machines.
Food companies such as Nestlé, Hormel Foods and Danone also are incorporating nutritional therapy or medical uses into some of their products. Some smaller companies have tapped into the niche space, too. Thrive, based in Florida, makes ice cream and gelato that provides nutrition such as protein, vitamins and minerals for people like the elderly, hospitalized or picky eaters.
According to a study released in March by Kerry, 65% of consumers seek functional benefits from their food and drink. The top five ingredients perceived to deliver these kinds of benefits were omega-3s, green tea, honey, coffee and probiotics.
For food companies, most notably large CPGs desperate for ways to rejuvenate sales and profits, functional foods could be a lucrative way. Zion Market Research estimated the global functional ingredients market was worth $ 64.9 million in 2018, and is expected to reach nearly $ 100 million by 2025.
Becca Hary, a spokesperson at Ingredion, said the ingredients supplier has witnessed growth in functional foods infiltrate multiple parts of its business, including plant-based proteins or clean and simple ingredients.
Functional foods are “ very on trend for consumers, ( something) that they’ re looking for, ” Hary told Food Dive. “ That is really shaping the food industry and it’ s impacting our customers. ”
The alternative dairy trend may have started out primarily to address allergen issues, but now it has “ taken on a life of its own, ” Kantha Shelke, a member expert at IFT, told Food Dive.
Today, the dairy aisle is crowded with alternative products, from oat and almond to hemp and soy, and that growth is expected to accelerate in 2020 with better innovation in texture, nutrition and ingredients.
This year, in particular, Shelke says companies will develop alternative milk and yogurt products that have better nutritional properties, like protein.
“ There's going to be new ways of making these products and also new ways of making these products deliver on the promises of the original that they are mimicking, ” Shelke said. “ I think that's the opportunity right now, and I believe everyone is getting on board for that. ”
In an Innova Market Insights report on top trends for 2020, the plant-based dairy category is expected to diversify as consumer interest grows. In a survey conducted by the group, about 32% of consumers said they bought dairy alternatives simply “ because they’ re healthier ” and 27% said they bring variety to their diet.
Consumers are not only looking for healthier-seeming products, they also want satisfying taste and texture, which could come by innovation in ingredients and technology, Shelke said.
Already, food tech startup ChickP introduced a line of chickpea isolates designed for plant-based dairy alternatives, and Swebol Biotech, a food technology firm, developed a patented quinoa milk.
“ At the moment we 've got oats and coconuts and peas, but I believe that you're going to see other seeds and nuts that are going to come into the fray, ” she said.
In terms of tech, Perfect Day uses fermentation to make milk without a cow and just closed a $ 140 million funding round in December, showcasing how lab-created dairy is of growing interest in the industry.
`` It's really bringing that pride back to dairy, '' Ryan Pandya, co-founder of Perfect Day, told Food Dive last year.
These startups join big name companies like Chobani and Danone in unveiling more products in the alternative space as traditional dairy struggles and more of those launches will likely appear in 2020.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach. | general |
Expect digital transformation projects to take longer | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The slowdown in digital transformation progress is noted in a report from Gartner, looking at 2020 and 2021, and titled “ Gartner Top Strategic Predictions for 2020 and Beyond. ”
The report assesses that big companies will struggle with various forms of digital innovation, reflecting the challenges of technology modernization. Often unaccounted for, Gartner noted, are the relatively high costs associated with simplifying operational interdependence. One of the reasons for this falls with legacy technology, which often proves far more difficult to disentangle from the corporation and be replaced with new digital technology capable of delivering the required business goals.
In contrast, while the digital transformation ambitions big organizations are likely to be hampered, space will open up for smaller, more agile organizations, including many start-ups, who will have new opportunities to bring new innovations to market far faster than larger organizations.
Commenting on this state of affairs, CMSWire contributor Lisa Loftis notes in the longer-term this might work out for the big players, by letting smaller firms take chances when innovating new products ( and living or dying by the success or failure of the outcome), and the scooping up the start-ups through acquisition or merger.
Mark Campbell, chief innovation officer at Trace3 refers to this process as ‘ outovation’ and goes as far to state that some large firms are deliberately scaling back on their internal research and development programs so that smaller companies can take the technological risks, recognizing that emergent firms have a greater dynamic and ability to get new digital products into the public domain faster.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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Man pleads not guilty to murder of 19 at Japan care home | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The man accused of murdering 19 disabled people at a Japanese care home in one of the country's worst mass killings pleaded not guilty Wednesday as his trial began.
Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the care centre outside Tokyo, did not dispute his involvement in the 2016 stabbing rampage during his first court appearance on charges including murder.
After prosecutors read out the details of the charges, the judge asked Uematsu `` is there anything in the charges that differs from the facts? ''
`` No there isn't, '' Uematsu replied, dressed in a navy suit with a white shirt and tie, his long black hair tied back in a ponytail.
But despite admitting the horrifying attack, Uematsu's lawyers entered a plea of not guilty, saying their client was suffering a `` mental disorder '' linked to his use of marijuana.
`` He abused marijuana and suffered from mental illness. He became a different person and as a result, this incident happened, '' his lawyer said.
`` He was in a condition in which either he had no capacity to take responsibility or such a capacity was significantly weakened. ''
The session was disrupted shortly after it began when court security restrained Uematsu after he reportedly attempted to put something in his mouth.
The disturbance prompted the judge to call an unscheduled recess, and Uematsu was not in court when the session briefly resumed in the afternoon.
- ' I had to do it ' -
Uematsu has reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people in the horrifying attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en centre in the town of Sagamihara outside Tokyo, which also injured 26 people.
He turned himself in to police after the attack, carrying bloodied knives, and it later emerged that he had left his job at the home just months earlier and had been forcibly hospitalised after telling colleagues he intended to kill disabled people at the centre.
He had been discharged after 12 days when a doctor decided he was not a threat. He had also written a letter outlining plans to attack the home, claiming `` disabled people only create unhappiness. ''
Prosecutors said they would prove he was capable of taking responsibility for the attack, adding the rampage was `` inhumane '' and left `` no room for leniency. ''
Uematsu faces the death penalty if convicted on some of the six charges, including murder, with a verdict expected on March 16.
Since his arrest, he has shown no remorse, telling Japan's Mainichi Shimbun daily in an interview that people with mental disabilities `` have no heart '', and `` there's no point in living '' for them.
`` I had to do it for the sake of society, '' he said of the attack.
Uematsu's beliefs shocked Japan, with experts and activists raising questions about whether others might hold similar views.
Japan has been making efforts to increase accessibility -- particularly in Tokyo ahead of this year's Paralympic Games -- and activists hailed last year's election of two disabled lawmakers.
But some critics feel the country still falls short of fully integrating people with disabilities.
The case has attracted significant attention, with hundreds of people lining up in the rain for a chance to attend the first session.
`` I want to know why he came to have such ideas about disabled people, '' Yuki Kuriyama, 41, who uses a wheelchair, told AFP.
`` I am worried not only about a man who thinks that way but also about this entire society where there are some people who apparently agree with his ideas. ''
Many of the names of those killed in the rampage have been withheld by family members fearful of similar attacks or discrimination.
The relative of a 55-year-old man killed at the home told NHK that a long-time neighbour had remarked afterwards: `` It's sad that it happened, but wasn't it good for you? ''
Among the few victims to be identified publicly was a 19-year-old woman, Miho, whose mother told Japanese media she hoped the trial would start a conversation on `` how we can build a society to prevent a recurrence of this sad incident ''.
`` I want Miho to be remembered, '' she added. `` She was a daughter we were very proud of. ''
After the hearing, Takashi Ono, whose adult son suffered severe wounds but survived Uematsu's knife attack, stressed the importance of building a society where all people can live with no prejudice.
`` In this society, people have right to live with no fear and shame regardless of whatever disabilities you may have, '' he told a press conference.
`` What he did can not be forgiven. Absolutely not, '' he said.
nf-mis-sah-hih/je
The man accused of murdering 19 disabled people at a Japanese care home in one of the country’ s worst mass killings pleaded not guilty Wednesday as his trial began.
Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the care centre outside Tokyo, did not dispute his involvement in the 2016 stabbing rampage during his first court appearance on charges including murder.
After prosecutors read out the details of the charges, the judge asked Uematsu “ is there anything in the charges that differs from the facts? ”
“ No there isn’ t, ” Uematsu replied, dressed in a navy suit with a white shirt and tie, his long black hair tied back in a ponytail.
But despite admitting the horrifying attack, Uematsu’ s lawyers entered a plea of not guilty, saying their client was suffering a “ mental disorder ” linked to his use of marijuana.
“ He abused marijuana and suffered from mental illness. He became a different person and as a result, this incident happened, ” his lawyer said.
“ He was in a condition in which either he had no capacity to take responsibility or such a capacity was significantly weakened. ”
The session was disrupted shortly after it began when court security restrained Uematsu after he reportedly attempted to put something in his mouth.
The disturbance prompted the judge to call an unscheduled recess, and Uematsu was not in court when the session briefly resumed in the afternoon.
– ‘ I had to do it’ –
Uematsu has reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people in the horrifying attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en centre in the town of Sagamihara outside Tokyo, which also injured 26 people.
He turned himself in to police after the attack, carrying bloodied knives, and it later emerged that he had left his job at the home just months earlier and had been forcibly hospitalised after telling colleagues he intended to kill disabled people at the centre.
He had been discharged after 12 days when a doctor decided he was not a threat. He had also written a letter outlining plans to attack the home, claiming “ disabled people only create unhappiness. ”
Prosecutors said they would prove he was capable of taking responsibility for the attack, adding the rampage was “ inhumane ” and left “ no room for leniency. ”
Uematsu faces the death penalty if convicted on some of the six charges, including murder, with a verdict expected on March 16.
Since his arrest, he has shown no remorse, telling Japan’ s Mainichi Shimbun daily in an interview that people with mental disabilities “ have no heart ”, and “ there’ s no point in living ” for them.
“ I had to do it for the sake of society, ” he said of the attack.
Uematsu’ s beliefs shocked Japan, with experts and activists raising questions about whether others might hold similar views.
Japan has been making efforts to increase accessibility — particularly in Tokyo ahead of this year’ s Paralympic Games — and activists hailed last year’ s election of two disabled lawmakers.
But some critics feel the country still falls short of fully integrating people with disabilities.
The case has attracted significant attention, with hundreds of people lining up in the rain for a chance to attend the first session.
“ I want to know why he came to have such ideas about disabled people, ” Yuki Kuriyama, 41, who uses a wheelchair, told AFP.
“ I am worried not only about a man who thinks that way but also about this entire society where there are some people who apparently agree with his ideas. ”
Many of the names of those killed in the rampage have been withheld by family members fearful of similar attacks or discrimination.
The relative of a 55-year-old man killed at the home told NHK that a long-time neighbour had remarked afterwards: “ It’ s sad that it happened, but wasn’ t it good for you? ”
Among the few victims to be identified publicly was a 19-year-old woman, Miho, whose mother told Japanese media she hoped the trial would start a conversation on “ how we can build a society to prevent a recurrence of this sad incident ”.
“ I want Miho to be remembered, ” she added. “ She was a daughter we were very proud of. ”
After the hearing, Takashi Ono, whose adult son suffered severe wounds but survived Uematsu’ s knife attack, stressed the importance of building a society where all people can live with no prejudice.
“ In this society, people have right to live with no fear and shame regardless of whatever disabilities you may have, ” he told a press conference.
“ What he did can not be forgiven. Absolutely not, ” he said.
nf-mis-sah-hih/je
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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Omicron, first detected by South Africa and reported to the WHO on November 24, has a large number of mutations - Copyright AFP Chandan...
The Chinese city of Xi'an, where 13 million residents are currently confined to their homes, announced tightened restrictions on Sunday.
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Top 10 operational risk losses of 2019 | The transition from LIBOR to RFR has brought challenges for structured products. There are still legacy IBOR products to consider and at the same time the pricing and risk systems need to be upgraâ¦
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By operational risk standards, 2019 was a modest year. Its $ 17.4 billion in losses look almost cursory next to the behemoth amounts of the recent past: $ 42.1 billion in 2018, $ 28.2 billion in 2017 and the astounding $ 56.9 billion of 2016.
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Carlos Ghosn: the charges against him | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn jumped bail and fled Japan last month for Lebanon to avoid trial on four charges of financial misconduct, all of which he denies.
He argues he would not have received a fair trial in Japan, and claims the allegations against him are a `` plot '' by those opposed to greater integration between Nissan and French partner Renault.
Here are the charges Japanese prosecutors levelled against him and Ghosn's responses:
- Under-reporting income -
The first and second charges against Ghosn allege that he and his right-hand man at Nissan, Greg Kelly, under-reported his compensation in financial documents for at least eight fiscal years to the tune of 9.23 billion yen ( $ 85 million).
There are two separate charges, one for the period 2010-2015 and another from 2015 to 2018. Kelly faces trial himself and is in Japan out on bail.
Authorities allege the scheme involved deferring some of Ghosn's compensation until his retirement -- possibly to avoid criticism over his hefty pay -- and that failure to declare that in official documents to shareholders constitutes financial misconduct.
Ghosn has said the payments were still in the draft stage and the proposals for post-retirement compensation were `` reviewed by internal and external lawyers, showing I had no intent to violate the law ''.
Nissan put the full amount as a charge in its accounts after the scandal emerged.
- Shifting losses to Nissan -
On January 10, 2019, Ghosn was hit with a third, more serious, charge of aggravated breach of trust.
He was accused of trying to get Nissan to cover around 1.85 billion yen in personal foreign exchange losses during the 2008 financial crisis when the value of the safe-haven yen soared and his Nissan stock plummeted.
Prosecutors allege that when Ghosn failed to get Nissan to shoulder the losses, he had a Saudi business acquaintance put up the additional collateral demanded by the bank holding the contracts.
He is then accused of having transferred $ 14.7 million in Nissan money from his `` CEO reserve '' fund to the associate to compensate him for the collateral.
Ghosn said the money transferred to the Saudi associate, whom he named as Khaled Juffali, was for work he had done for Nissan, describing him as a `` long-time supporter and partner '' of the firm.
A statement issued on behalf of Juffali's company by a PR firm also defended the money as payments for `` legitimate business purposes ''.
- Skimming off Nissan funds -
The fourth charge is for allegedly transferring millions in Nissan funds to a dealership in Oman, from which the executive supposedly skimmed off $ 5 million for his personal ends.
According to sources close to the case, part of the money was used for investments by a company controlled by his son and other funds channelled to a firm run by his wife to go towards the purchase of a luxury yacht.
Ghosn's wife Carole was questioned in relation to the charges against him in April, and on January 7, 2020, prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant alleging that she lied in that testimony. Both Carole and Carlos Ghosn are currently in Lebanon.
Renault in France has also handed documents to authorities apparently showing similar financial misconduct amounting to millions of euros.
- Internal investigations -
Nissan, which began its own internal investigation in summer 2018 after a whistleblower came forward, has made several further allegations that have not yet resulted in formal charges.
Among them are accusations that Ghosn used a subsidiary purportedly set up to help fund Nissan's tech investments to pay for personal residences in Rio de Janeiro, Beirut and Paris.
Nissan also believes Ghosn was paying his sister up to $ 110,000 a year between 2003-2016 for a fictitious role as an adviser.
Asked about these allegations by AFP, Ghosn complained there was an `` army '' of Nissan investigators against him and denied any wrongdoing.
In France, authorities are also investigating the hiring -- thought to be worth 50,000 euros -- of the sumptuous Palace of Versailles for his 2016 wedding.
Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn jumped bail and fled Japan last month for Lebanon to avoid trial on four charges of financial misconduct, all of which he denies.
He argues he would not have received a fair trial in Japan, and claims the allegations against him are a “ plot ” by those opposed to greater integration between Nissan and French partner Renault.
Here are the charges Japanese prosecutors levelled against him and Ghosn’ s responses:
– Under-reporting income –
The first and second charges against Ghosn allege that he and his right-hand man at Nissan, Greg Kelly, under-reported his compensation in financial documents for at least eight fiscal years to the tune of 9.23 billion yen ( $ 85 million).
There are two separate charges, one for the period 2010-2015 and another from 2015 to 2018. Kelly faces trial himself and is in Japan out on bail.
Authorities allege the scheme involved deferring some of Ghosn’ s compensation until his retirement — possibly to avoid criticism over his hefty pay — and that failure to declare that in official documents to shareholders constitutes financial misconduct.
Ghosn has said the payments were still in the draft stage and the proposals for post-retirement compensation were “ reviewed by internal and external lawyers, showing I had no intent to violate the law ”.
Nissan put the full amount as a charge in its accounts after the scandal emerged.
– Shifting losses to Nissan –
On January 10, 2019, Ghosn was hit with a third, more serious, charge of aggravated breach of trust.
He was accused of trying to get Nissan to cover around 1.85 billion yen in personal foreign exchange losses during the 2008 financial crisis when the value of the safe-haven yen soared and his Nissan stock plummeted.
Prosecutors allege that when Ghosn failed to get Nissan to shoulder the losses, he had a Saudi business acquaintance put up the additional collateral demanded by the bank holding the contracts.
He is then accused of having transferred $ 14.7 million in Nissan money from his “ CEO reserve ” fund to the associate to compensate him for the collateral.
Ghosn said the money transferred to the Saudi associate, whom he named as Khaled Juffali, was for work he had done for Nissan, describing him as a “ long-time supporter and partner ” of the firm.
A statement issued on behalf of Juffali’ s company by a PR firm also defended the money as payments for “ legitimate business purposes ”.
– Skimming off Nissan funds –
The fourth charge is for allegedly transferring millions in Nissan funds to a dealership in Oman, from which the executive supposedly skimmed off $ 5 million for his personal ends.
According to sources close to the case, part of the money was used for investments by a company controlled by his son and other funds channelled to a firm run by his wife to go towards the purchase of a luxury yacht.
Ghosn’ s wife Carole was questioned in relation to the charges against him in April, and on January 7, 2020, prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant alleging that she lied in that testimony. Both Carole and Carlos Ghosn are currently in Lebanon.
Renault in France has also handed documents to authorities apparently showing similar financial misconduct amounting to millions of euros.
– Internal investigations –
Nissan, which began its own internal investigation in summer 2018 after a whistleblower came forward, has made several further allegations that have not yet resulted in formal charges.
Among them are accusations that Ghosn used a subsidiary purportedly set up to help fund Nissan’ s tech investments to pay for personal residences in Rio de Janeiro, Beirut and Paris.
Nissan also believes Ghosn was paying his sister up to $ 110,000 a year between 2003-2016 for a fictitious role as an adviser.
Asked about these allegations by AFP, Ghosn complained there was an “ army ” of Nissan investigators against him and denied any wrongdoing.
In France, authorities are also investigating the hiring — thought to be worth 50,000 euros — of the sumptuous Palace of Versailles for his 2016 wedding.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
A growing number of Western nations and cybersecurity groups have issued digital surveillance warnings for next month's Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Cloud ERP leader Acumatica to host annual summit on digital transformation success.
A man gets a Covid-19 jab at a vaccination station in Vienna on August 25, 2021; from February 2022, vaccinations against the virus will...
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the US embassy in Kyiv amid a standoff with Russia - Copyright AFP/File Mladen ANTONOVShaun TANDONThe...
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New virus identified as likely cause of mystery illness in China | Passengers arriving at Hong Kong's international airport are being monitored for signs a mystery illness that emerged in central China.
Credit: Andy Wong/AP/Shutterstock
Update:
On 9 January, Chinese state media reported that scientists have identified a new coronavirus as the likely cause of a pneumonia-like illness that has sickened dozens of people. Researchers have sequenced the virus's genome, and fifteen patients have tested positive to the virus
, according to Xinhua news agency.
Chinese researchers are racing to uncover the cause of a mysterious respiratory illness that has infected almost 60 people in central China. Authorities have ruled out the highly infectious severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS), which killed hundreds of people there in 2002–03. But missteps during that disaster may explain why scientists are being cautious about releasing information on the latest outbreak, say researchers outside the country.
As of 5 January, 59 people in the east-central city of Wuhan have been infected with the mystery virus, with 7 in a critical condition, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. The health commission says that it has also ruled out Middle East respiratory syndrome, avian influenza and other influenza viruses as the cause, based on advice from infectious disease experts in China, including researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which
houses one of the country’ s premier biosafety laboratories
. Symptoms of the illness include fever and difficulty breathing, which are common to several respiratory diseases, according to the
World Health Organization, which released an emergency preparedness
report on the same day.
The municipal health commission says that it is trying to isolate the virus from patients to identify the pathogen and its potential source. Many of the people who have become ill work in a seafood and live animal market in Wuhan, which was shut down on 1 January. The health commission says there’ s no evidence that the infection is being passed between people, suggesting it is not transmitted easily in humans.
The infection is probably an emerging zoonotic virus — infections that spread from animals to humans, says Linfa Wang, a virologist at Duke–National University of Singapore. Such infections often first appear in colder months when animal pathogens can survive and spread to people, he says.
But the scientists studying the pathogen are unlikely to release their findings until they’ re confident with the result, says Wang, who works on emerging viruses with Chinese research groups but hasn’ t been involved in this outbreak. He thinks many scientists will remember how, in the early months of the SARS outbreak before it had been identified as a coronavirus, some Chinese scientists announced prematurely that cases of atypical pneumonia were caused by chlamydia, delaying measures to contain the outbreak. Wang says that this is likely why scientists are being cautious about releasing information about this latest illness.
Christian Drosten, a virologist at the Charité – University Medicine Berlin, suspects that the researchers have already identified the virus, but are waiting for government permission to announce their results, or have them confirmed in other laboratories. “ There are good reasons to not communicate results early, ” he says.
Drosten thinks the pathogen might be a coronavirus that is related to SARS, which also points to an animal source.
Although the virus currently shows no signs of being transmitted between people, it could develop that capacity over time and lead to and epidemic, says Seungtaek Kim, a virologist at the Institut Pasteur Korea in Seongnam, South Korea. “ Since we do not know the identity of this pathogen, it would be safe to treat this outbreak as SARS to prevent further spread, ” he says.
The health commission has isolated the infected people and is monitoring those in close contact with them, as well as looking for related cases that might have been missed.
Authorities in nearby Hong Kong and South Korea have also started screening travelers who have recently been to Wuhan. In Hong Kong,
30
people who had recently visited Wuhan
presented with respiratory illness. Authorities say that most had influenza or other infections, but ten of these cases are still unidentified.
The current spate of infections seem to be less serious than the 2002–03 SARS outbreak, says Wang, because there have been no deaths, or reports of medical staff becoming ill — usually a sign that an infection is spreading among people and might cause an outbreak. | science |
IBM-powered blockchain app tracks coffee bean origin | A complex business environment featuring multiple fragmented entities makes for an ideal playground for blockchain technology and its promises of unified trust.
As consumers increasingly look for more transparency about where their food and beverages come from, this app traces where the beans originated and could boost coffee sales for participating companies, Blockchain tracks products as they travel through the supply chain, so it can help enhance consumer confidence in the source and quality of what they eat and drink.
More companies have been turning to this technology in the last year. Albertsons joined the IBM Food Trust, a blockchain-based food and supply chain solution, last spring to track romaine lettuce after several foodborne illness outbreaks. Kroger, Walmart, Dole, Driscoll's, Golden State Foods, McCormick, McLane, Tyson Foods and Unilever also use the IBM Food Trust solution.
The new technology can follow an individual bag of coffee beans from delivery to the cup, according to Farmer Connect. The plan is to use farmer IDs to track growing conditions, record transactions and follow yields and sales prices.
The project foresees roasters eventually being able to digitally track the full supply chain, and importers being able to improve trading strategies. By the end of this year, they may be able to set farmer agreements, send payments and follow coffee supply trails using this technology, Farmer Connect said.
For coffee companies, these new apps could enhance traceability and sustainability credentials — qualities consumers look for when choosing from the myriad brands available in today's marketplace. According to National Coffee Association statistics referenced by Financial Times, two-thirds of consumers ages 19 to 24 want to purchase sustainability grown and responsibly sourced products.
The COVID-19 pandemic, and ensuing recession, turned security strategies upside down.
Responsibilities and titles are shifting as businesses rearchitect what role technology plays in core operations.
Subscribe to CIO Dive to get the must-read news & insights in your inbox.
Discover announcements from companies in your industry.
Tech leaders must invoke their `` inner Steve Jobs '' to attract AI talent, said Gartner's Arun Chandrasekaran.
Transformation at FedEx required a `` clear-eyed look at what we have and then creating a clear mental model and architecture for what we wanted to become, '' said CIO Rob Carter. | tech |
5 SaaS trends for 2020 | Customer demands are forcing vendors to interoperate, creating hubs for multichannel experiences.
The cloud and software as a service transformed desktop workloads.
Organizations still have SaaS reservations, including governance and security concerns, but most businesses are SaaS-happy.
Microsoft owns the largest portion of the SaaS market, followed by Salesforce, Adobe, SAP and Oracle, according to Synergy Research Group's Q1 2019 report.
While vendors are distinguished in the space, areas of expertise vary. Microsoft's presence is felt across SaaS segments, but Oracle leads ERP, Workday owns HR and Salesforce is holding tight to CRM.
With each company fighting for a place in the SaaS domain, meeting customers ' needs and helping businesses achieve a sense of flexibility is an area for vendors to create differentiation.
Adoption of low-code platforms — when done right — can enable quick tech iteration by providing business stakeholders tools to streamline workflows.
Developers, too, have embraced the technology. Half of developers say they 've either adopted or plan future adoption of low-code tools, according to Forrester. In 2020, low-code platforms will become available to more workers inside the organization, as business leaders search for ways to power innovation.
Though a number of small- to mid-size players have a strong position in the market, larger vendors such as Microsoft and Salesforce will leverage existing relationships to expand use of their low-code platforms.
`` With the increasing need to bridge silos, developing enterprise applications with faster release cycles will result in the increasing adoption of low-code platforms, '' said Vijay Pullur, CEO of low-code platform WaveMaker, in an email to CIO Dive.
Bundled cloud-based services pushed companies toward a holistic solution. Companies have landed on G Suite and Office 365 as a hub for all workloads. Communication is bleeding into a limited SaaS ecosystem.
In the last five to 10 years, companies have been looking for tools that meet them where they are.
Employees want tech to come to them, instead of having to reach for a digital asset or leave a platform to go collaborate, Jean-Marc Chanoine, global head of Strategic Accounts at Templafy, told CIO Dive.
The communication and collaboration market is shrinking. There used to be 35 to 40 vendors, according to Art Schoeller, VP, principal analyst for Forrester, but it has shrunk to mostly heavyweights including Teams, Slack, Atlassian, Google, Dropbox and Smartsheet.
There are about five more years until the market plateaus, according to Gartner. Acquisitions are helping vendors squeeze in as many customers as they can before the plateau.
Legacy providers are breaking the confines of voice-only or message-only communications, which is what Cisco did when it acquired Jabber. RingCentral's acquisition of Glip and ServiceMax's acquisition of Zinc are carving a niche market to appeal to specific industries, like frontline employees, leaving the heavyweights to compete for enterprise customers.
If acquisitions aren't feasible, APIs will become more valuable for cementing integrations.
Pure-play communication vendors have to create a solution that `` plays well with the winners that are already there, '' said Chanoine. `` You're going to end up with a lot of frenemies. ''
Digital transformation won't bring minor tweaks to how businesses operate. Instead, it will represent fundamental changes to what business do.
In order to bring about a smooth transition, most companies will need technical know-how at virtually all parts of the company. As outlined by Forrester in its 2020 predictions for software development, a `` dev diaspora '' will embed more technologists inside company divisions.
`` Business stakeholders outside the IT org feel the increasing need to ramp up their own software capabilities and not rely on IT organizations or outsourcing, '' said Chris Mines, SVP and research director at Forrester, in an interview with CIO Dive.
Providing business units with technical resources will increase the need for tech talent. One way companies will attempt to meet those needs is to embrace a larger share of workers from non-technical backgrounds, offering access to reskilling programs `` as part of their onboarding process, '' said Nancy Hornberger, EVP of healthcare at ElectrifAi, in an interview with CIO Dive.
Currently, less than 10% of rank-and-file staffers are involved with digital transformation efforts. That number is set to increase as digital transformation touches more sides of the business.
In the coming year, more industries will infuse their processes with technology. For some, that process will mean reshaped business models and renewed spending priorities.
As competition in the software market heats up, count on familiar names such as Microsoft, Google and Salesforce to lean on existing strengths to broaden their market presence.
Leveraging the presence of their most popular offerings, vendors will seek to `` land and expand '' by providing additional layers of service and increasing customer reliance on their products.
Microsoft closed out the year talking about `` tech intensity, '' a premise that calls for organization's abilities to create problem-solving tech solutions. In 2020, Microsoft will lean on that idea, and its widely used set of enterprise tools, as it tries to edge out the competition.
Players including Salesforce and Google will in turn push to raise the relevance of their tool suites. The former will rely on its `` Customer 360 '' branding to harness a more loyal enterprise following. For Google, continued growth in the cloud business and the ubiquitousness of G Suite apps signals an entry point for untapped markets.
Employees cling to the technologies they use in their personal lives, craving the same experience in their professional lives.
The line between personal and business tech continues to blur with the adopting and advancement of platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Workplace by Facebook and Zoom to the forefront of communication.
`` Multichannel chat has really taken the world by storm, '' Mike Hicks, CMO of Igloo, told CIO Dive. However, there is still misunderstanding in `` knowledge management, '' including how information is structured and stored in multichannel chats.
Vendors have to answer for `` when people are essentially having shouting matches around a water cooler on a variety of different topics, '' in a communication channel, said Hicks.
Companies craving more capabilities are forcing communication vendors to become a more general platform for services. In April, Slack introduced a slew of Microsoft Office 365 integrations so its platform can serve as a home base for enterprise tools. Google has a similar suite of Slack integrations.
In July, Slack and Zoom partnered to bring video capabilities to the chat platform. Zoom, with only about eight years in the market, sits among industry giants in Gartner's Magic Quadrant.
Slack is putting competitors ' offerings inside its platform to accommodate work styles and how people want to get into those various tools, '' said Hicks. `` How do you integrate them into a holistic destination where people can actually start your day and not feel like you're hopping all over the place to get work done? ''
Tech leaders must invoke their `` inner Steve Jobs '' to attract AI talent, said Gartner's Arun Chandrasekaran.
The COVID-19 pandemic, and ensuing recession, turned security strategies upside down.
Get tech news like this in your inbox daily. Subscribe to CIO Dive:
Subscribe to CIO Dive to get the must-read news & insights in your inbox.
Discover announcements from companies in your industry.
Transformation at FedEx required a `` clear-eyed look at what we have and then creating a clear mental model and architecture for what we wanted to become, '' said CIO Rob Carter.
Responsibilities and titles are shifting as businesses rearchitect what role technology plays in core operations. | tech |
Koenigsegg, a supercar challenging Swedish stereotypes | Hi, what are you looking for?
By
Published
For a quarter century, Koenigsegg has been making supercars for a niche market typically reserved for Italian luxury brands, while challenging perceptions of Swedish modesty.
With brands like Volvo -- which introduced the three-point seat belt -- and Saab, Sweden distinguished itself in the 20th century as a maker of reasonable priced family-friendly cars that put safety first.
But in a workshop in the southern town of Angelholm, the term `` made in Sweden '' is given a new meaning, and horsepower and torque take centre stage.
`` When I started the company (...) I said to myself why would anyone buy one of my cars: it is an unknown brand, by an unknown person from a country not famous for sports cars, '' the company's founder Christian von Koenigsegg told AFP.
`` So I said to myself, they have to really stand out and be different and hopefully better in some ways than the competitors, '' he added.
The philosophy has been that if Bugatti and Pagani go fast, the Swedish car has to go faster and really push the limits, compensating for the lack of notoriety with performance.
In 2002, a mere eight years after the company was founded, the engine of the Koenigsegg CC8S was named the world's most powerful in a production car by Guinness World Records.
Two years later, the Koenigsegg CCR was named the World's most powerful serially produced car.
The Agera RS arrived in 2010 and in 2017 it set a speed record by reaching 447.19 kilometres per hour ( 277.87 miles per hour).
That record has since been broken by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ with 490.48 kph ( 304.77 mph).
`` They did it on a closed track and we did it on a public road and we have not been dethroned as the fastest recorded speed on a public road by a production car (...) also, our record was with a production car while the Chiron was a pre series prototype, '' Christian von Koenigsegg argued.
`` But is was really impressive, '' he admitted.
- A rare sight -
While records and accolades are `` not so unimportant '' for von Koenigsegg, the most important thing is `` the overall performance of the car. ''
Hailing from a family with `` no real car interest, '' the tall Swede found his passion at an early age.
`` Since I was 6-7 years old, the only thing I read was car magazines or technical books about cars and things like that, '' he told AFP.
In 1994, he decided to pursue his dream of building `` the world's greatest super-sports car '' and started Koenigsegg.
Nearly a decade later, in March 2003, the first production car, the CC8S, was delivered at the Geneva Motor Show.
Sixteen other models have followed, but some models have been limited to as few as six units, and with a total of 250 cars in circulation a Koenigsegg remains a rare sight on the roads.
The brand also cultivates secrecy and won't confirm reports of high-profile buyers like footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic or boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The privilege of owning one of these supercars however comes at a price.
The latest model, the Jesko, will set you back about three million euros ( $ 3.3 million), but the 125 cars still sold out in two days.
It takes between seven and eight months to manually assemble the cars, and it requires a jeweller's precision.
`` It is a very different way of working than on a regular production, so of course it can be similar to jewelry, '' production manager Marian Gadau told AFP, adding that the manual assembly makes every car unique.
`` Even though all of them need to be at the same level... all of them are slightly different because it is the personal touch of working manually with every part. ''
In 2020, Koenigsegg plans to launch a new `` less expensive '' model -- at a more modest price of around one million euros -- but Christian von Koenigsegg stresses that it will still be hand made and `` in a niche where we don't see any cars today. ''
For a quarter century, Koenigsegg has been making supercars for a niche market typically reserved for Italian luxury brands, while challenging perceptions of Swedish modesty.
With brands like Volvo — which introduced the three-point seat belt — and Saab, Sweden distinguished itself in the 20th century as a maker of reasonable priced family-friendly cars that put safety first.
But in a workshop in the southern town of Angelholm, the term “ made in Sweden ” is given a new meaning, and horsepower and torque take centre stage.
“ When I started the company ( …) I said to myself why would anyone buy one of my cars: it is an unknown brand, by an unknown person from a country not famous for sports cars, ” the company’ s founder Christian von Koenigsegg told AFP.
“ So I said to myself, they have to really stand out and be different and hopefully better in some ways than the competitors, ” he added.
The philosophy has been that if Bugatti and Pagani go fast, the Swedish car has to go faster and really push the limits, compensating for the lack of notoriety with performance.
In 2002, a mere eight years after the company was founded, the engine of the Koenigsegg CC8S was named the world’ s most powerful in a production car by Guinness World Records.
Two years later, the Koenigsegg CCR was named the World’ s most powerful serially produced car.
The Agera RS arrived in 2010 and in 2017 it set a speed record by reaching 447.19 kilometres per hour ( 277.87 miles per hour).
That record has since been broken by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ with 490.48 kph ( 304.77 mph).
“ They did it on a closed track and we did it on a public road and we have not been dethroned as the fastest recorded speed on a public road by a production car ( …) also, our record was with a production car while the Chiron was a pre series prototype, ” Christian von Koenigsegg argued.
“ But is was really impressive, ” he admitted.
– A rare sight –
While records and accolades are “ not so unimportant ” for von Koenigsegg, the most important thing is “ the overall performance of the car. ”
Hailing from a family with “ no real car interest, ” the tall Swede found his passion at an early age.
“ Since I was 6-7 years old, the only thing I read was car magazines or technical books about cars and things like that, ” he told AFP.
In 1994, he decided to pursue his dream of building “ the world’ s greatest super-sports car ” and started Koenigsegg.
Nearly a decade later, in March 2003, the first production car, the CC8S, was delivered at the Geneva Motor Show.
Sixteen other models have followed, but some models have been limited to as few as six units, and with a total of 250 cars in circulation a Koenigsegg remains a rare sight on the roads.
The brand also cultivates secrecy and won’ t confirm reports of high-profile buyers like footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic or boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The privilege of owning one of these supercars however comes at a price.
The latest model, the Jesko, will set you back about three million euros ( $ 3.3 million), but the 125 cars still sold out in two days.
It takes between seven and eight months to manually assemble the cars, and it requires a jeweller’ s precision.
“ It is a very different way of working than on a regular production, so of course it can be similar to jewelry, ” production manager Marian Gadau told AFP, adding that the manual assembly makes every car unique.
“ Even though all of them need to be at the same level… all of them are slightly different because it is the personal touch of working manually with every part. ”
In 2020, Koenigsegg plans to launch a new “ less expensive ” model — at a more modest price of around one million euros — but Christian von Koenigsegg stresses that it will still be hand made and “ in a niche where we don’ t see any cars today. ”
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
There are two confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Ottawa, the Ontario government announced Sunday.
Sweden's first female prime minister Magdalena Andersson, leader of the minority Social Democrats, was reappointed on Monday.
An episode of `` The Simpsons '' in which the cartoon American family visit Tiananmen Square is missing from the Disney+ in Hong Kong.
Australia on Monday halted a plan to relax border restrictions imposed last year to fight the Covid pandemic.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
While Cities, Counties Pass Tobacco 21 Laws, Nonwhite Youth Still Disproportionately Affected by Tobacco Use | More than 500 cities and counties have worked on raising the minimum age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21 statewide through Tobacco 21 laws. Studies show nonwhite youth are more heavily impacted by tobacco use.
Last fall, Denver, Co., passed their Tobacco 21 law with the support of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids as well as an evidence-based policy from CityHealth, an initiative of the de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente ( DI Top 50 Hall of Fame).
In March 2015, a report from the National Academy of Medicine revealed Tobacco 21 regulations could prevent around 223,000 deaths among people born between 2000 and 2019, including reducing lung cancer deaths by around 50,000. That research has led to support of Tobacco 21 laws.
In December 2019, raising the minimum age to buy tobacco was included in the federal year-end legislative package and both houses of Congress passed it. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on December 20, 2019 and it took effect immediately.
But it didn’ t stop there. Nineteen states and Washington, D.C. passed Tobacco 21 laws, with support from major cities.
Denver is a major city with a population of around 717,796. Seventy-six percent are white, 9% are Black, 3% are Asian and 3% are two or more races.
“ This is one of the strongest tobacco control policies in the country, and now other Colorado cities are looking to Denver as a model and passing their own policies, ” Lynnette Namba, Kaiser Permanente senior community health specialist said in a press release.
However, research has found tobacco use does not affect every community the same.
As more cities and states pass their own Tobacco 21 ( quotes or no?) laws, including the restriction of some flavored vapes, which was announced by the Trump administration January 2, hopefully youth smoking rates will drop even lower.
“ More than 500 cities and counties — including Denver, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. — paved the way for Tobacco 21 laws at the state level and now the new federal law, ” Bechara Choucair, MD, Kaiser Permanente chief Community Health officer said in a press release. “ Kaiser Permanente partners with the de Beaumont Foundation on CityHealth because we know cities frequently lead the nation in advancing new policies to improve community health. ”
After being found guilty of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter for holding his knee on George Floyd’ s neck for nine-and-a-half minutes, Derek Chauvin may no longer be claiming innocence to additional pending charges related to the case. Janelle Griffith of NBC News reported that “ Derek Chauvin, …
Two years after her son died tragically at the hands of police officers, a mom in Louisiana is still demanding answers and justice. Jim Mustian of the Associated Press reported that “ Ronald Greene’ s mother chastised Louisiana lawmakers on Monday, Dec. 13, for not acting quickly enough to hold state troopers…
In a case that has unveiled some of the deepest and darkest parts of athletics, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee have agreed to pay a $ 380-million settlement to hundreds of survivors, all of whom were sexually abused by their former team doctor Larry Nassar. NPR’ s Joe…
A monstrous statue of former KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest that stood alongside a highway outside Nashville has finally been demolished, much to the relief of the surrounding community. Tim Fitzsimons of NBC News reported that “ a statue of an early Ku Klux Klan leader and Confederate general that long…
While the last two years have been incredibly tough for almost everyone, a few beneficial changes have arisen during that period. Among the gains made, there’ s been a dramatic increase in TV and movie roles for Black and nonbinary actors. William Earl of Variety reported that “ representation for Black and…
The family of a transgender woman in Georgia who was sent to a men’ s prison and then routinely taunted by guards until she took her own life will be receiving a $ 2.2-million wrongful-death settlement from the state’ s prison system. Trudy Ring of The Advocate reported that the settlement, which is…
While LGBTQ advocates in the U.S. have fought for years for a nationwide ban on conversion therapy — the controversial idea that medical treatments such as electric shock, starvation and hypnosis can “ turn ” a gay person straight — our neighbors to the North have beat us to it, approving legislation…
Originally published at abbott.mediaroom.com. Abbott ranked No. 4 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2021. Abbott has been intently monitoring the mutations of COVID-19 so we can ensure our tests can detect them. We have already conducted an assessment of the Omicron variant and we’ re…
Originally published at abbott.mediaroom.com. Abbott ranked No. 4 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2021. Abbott announced that its Board of Directors has elected Chief Executive Officer Robert B. Ford as Chairman of the Board, effective Dec. 10, 2021. Miles D. White, executive chairman and…
Originally published at newsroom.cox.com. Cox Communications ranked No. 32 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2021. Small businesses are the backbones of our communities and cornerstones of the economy. They provide a unique, more personal experience for shoppers and account for 64% of new jobs…
Representation for # Black and # nonbinary actors has increased significantly in TV and film since the start of the… https: //t.co/ZfyYa9gc7j 46 mins ago
A massive # statue of the First Grand Wizard of the # KKK and # Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest is finally… https: //t.co/Y2zq6zXiZD 3 hours ago
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Tetra Pak launches virtual reality platform pilot project with Hexagon | Or wait...
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By Jenny Eagle contact
08-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 14-Jan-2020 at 14:55 GMT
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The upgraded Plant Engineering Platform will use virtualization for greater transparency and smoother project implementation, from faster on-site installation to customized optimization, enabling digital twin technology over the entire plant lifecycle.
“ With Tetra Pak´s Smart Solutions Platform it will be easier for customers to do business with us, ” said Marie Sandin, VP projects, engineering & plant automation, Tetra Pak.
“ Collaboration in virtual space will make us more agile in both the projects and the lifecycle work.
`` The development will be made in a number of internal pilots in 2020, and the first wave has now started. It involves staff from both Tetra Pak and Hexagon’ s central organizations and market organizations. At the end of 2020, the plan is to apply the platform to a customer project, which will be subject to evaluation to achieve correct and smooth implementation of the technologies. ``
She added with Hexagon it can visualise the complete offer, from an engineering tool suite to Industry 4.0 applications for future growth.
“ We look forward to collaborating with Tetra Pak, a company that shares our commitment to drive digital and sustainable end to end solutions for the Food & Beverage industry, ” said Mattias Stenberg, president, Hexagon’ s PPM Division.
“ Its wealth of knowledge and expertise in food processing together with our asset information management and engineering design technologies will help customers achieve their goals. ”
The food and beverage industry has seen rapid change across the manufacturing sector to make smarter, more informed business decisions.
By using Hexagon’ s software Tetra Pak will be able to collaborate with customers, colleagues, and suppliers globally in designing a total production plant, making it easy to simulate, evaluate and answer specific customer’ s needs.
Copyright - Unless otherwise stated all contents of this web site are © 2021 - William Reed Business Media Ltd - All Rights Reserved - Full details for the use of materials on this site can be found in the Terms & Conditions
Related topics: Dairy Drinks, Processing & Packaging, Processing Equipment & Systems, Automation, Control
Grundfos Pumps Ltd | 26-Oct-2021 | Technical / White Paper
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Tesla ( TSLA) Now Bigger Than Ford ( F) in Terms of Market Cap |
Ford ( NYSE: F) is one of the biggest names in American automotive engineering and has been since there was an automobile industry in the United States, to begin with. Often required to share the stage with General Motors ( NYSE: GM) and what is now Fiat Chrysler ( NYSE: FCAU) as part of the “ Big Three ”, this iconic brand has been part of the American mystique for decades. Now, however, its status as part of the “ Big Three ” is somewhat in doubt with new reports that Tesla ( NASDAQ: TSLA) not only has a bigger market cap than Ford does right now, but a bigger market cap than Ford ever had, period.
Press F to Pay Respects
With the end of trading on Tuesday, Tesla saw shares jump 3.9%, hitting a then-record price of $ 469.06 per share. That's actually higher as of this writing, where shares reached $ 474.49 per share. Thanks to yesterday's closing price, that brings Tesla's market cap to just over $ 82 billion.
This sounds impressive on its own until you realize that Ford's maximum market cap—realized back during the massive economic boom that was 1999—has never been more than $ 80.8 billion. Those days are long past for Ford, however, whose market cap sits, at last report, at a little over $ 36 billion. By way of comparison, General Motors is up around $ 50 billion.
Tesla's Rocketsled Ride Upward
Tesla's market trajectory has been pretty well uphill for some time now. It's not only managed to beat short-sellers to the tune of $ 1.4 billion dollars in recent trading, it's also seen some bull cases that are downright staggering by just about any measure. It's actually about $ 25 off the recently-released Morgan Stanley bull case of $ 500 per share.
document.write ( ' < a style= '' text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal; color: # 696969; '' target= '' blank '' rel= '' nofollow '' href= '' https: //www.ame ' + 'ricanconsumernews.net/scripts/click.aspx? NativeDisplayAdID=513 & ImpressionID=0 & UserID=0 & Placement=PlaceOnArticlePage '' > '); Trump's 5G plan is opening the flood gates to 3 million new jobs, $ 12.3 trillion in economic growth, and a brand new 5G device. One of the world's top angel investors – a tech genius named Jeff Brown believes the company behind this device is the Number One Tech Stock of 202, and it will go from $ 0 to nearly $ 100 billion in sales – this year.
Throw in the fact that its recent fourth-quarter deliveries were up—which suggests good things about its sales trajectory since it's probably not delivering vehicles that weren't sold to somebody at some point—and Tesla is starting to look less like a “ someday stock ” and more like a “ should have bought it three years ago stock ”.
Indeed, Tesla's forward path is also looking pretty bright, sufficiently so that CEO Elon Musk broke out in dance moves just recently, using Axwell Ingrosso's “ More Than You Know ” as the basis therein. Reports of expansion, of new factories going into play in China, and new product launches are giving Tesla's collective battery that much extra charge. Price target hikes at analysts like Wedbush certainly don't hurt matters.
Perhaps best of all was the word from Credit Suisse suggesting that cars may not be Tesla's only effective market path thanks to its extensive development of new battery technology, which has been in demand for years from homeowners looking to get the most out of home solar panel arrays.
Pumping the Brakes on the Supercharged Tesla Ride
However, there are some critical points to keep in mind here, for anyone considering mortgaging the house to buy Tesla stock. First, yes, it's absolutely true that Tesla's market cap right now is higher than Ford's ever was. No one can take that achievement away.
However, a look at DollarTimes.com—a calculator of the present value of money in the past—shows that the $ 80.8 billion that Ford was worth back in 1999 would be the equivalent of just over $ 123.8 billion today. Yes, Tesla's market cap is higher right now, but that's at least partially because the dollar today is worth quite a bit less than it was in 1999. Using the same value of a dollar, the $ 82 billion that Tesla is worth today is equivalent to just $ 53.49 billion back in 1999. It's also worth looking at the numbers of shares in play; Ford's current market cap is built around a share price that's been hovering in the $ 8- $ 10 range for the last year. Tesla's is built on the almost-freakish $ 469 price point.
Tesla's market cap is still a major achievement despite this—it's worth better than half of what Ford was in 1999 terms, and that's pretty good for a company whose product line has been in play only since 2008—yet there are further issues in play. There's the issue of the Cybertruck, whose launch was pretty roundly mocked, even if there were a surprising number of pre-orders involved. There's the issue of growing competition in the field, especially as Ford itself reported that pre-orders on the upcoming electric Mustang Mach E are full.
The news is good for Tesla right now, and it's clearly on a path toward holding that position. The odds of Tesla turning out like WeWork, for example, seem pretty low; Tesla quite clearly wants to be a going concern. Tesla certainly has a lot going for it right now, but the path to future growth—especially at the rates seen so far—looks somewhat dim thanks to the explosive growth of the last year or so and the increasing market forces arrayed against.
7 Gun Stocks to Buy During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Socially conscious investors may want to stop reading. But the fact is that gun stocks were some of the best-performing stocks at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. And they continue their positive momentum. Some of that may be historical. Firearms sales tend to increase during an election year. But of course, this has not started out as a normal election year. In March, the nation was gripped by pictures of long lines outside gun stores in several U.S. states. The website Ammo.com reported that bullet sales increased by 222% in the period from February 23 through March 15 as opposed to the first three weeks in February. And according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’ s ( FBI) National Instant Criminal Background Check System ( NICS), there was a 73% year-over-year increase in background checks in February. “ The world has never seen anything like this and people want to make sure they're prepared for whatever lies ahead, whether that be food shortages, government shutdown, or worse, '' a spokesperson for Ammo.com said in an emailed statement. `` When everything around you is uncertain, having a supply of ammunition can make our customers feel safer. '' Given the likelihood of increased firearms sales, we’ ve created this presentation that highlights seven gun stocks that you should consider for your portfolio.
View the `` 7 Gun Stocks to Buy During the Coronavirus Pandemic ''.
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Oscars to go without host for second year | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Published
The Oscars will again go without a host next month, repeating a format credited with boosting ratings last year, US network ABC confirmed Wednesday.
`` Together with the Academy, we have decided there will be no traditional host, repeating for us what worked last year, '' ABC entertainment president Karey Burke told a television summit near Los Angeles, according to showbiz website Deadline Hollywood.
`` [ It will have ] huge entertainment values, big musical numbers, comedy and star power. ''
An ABC spokeswoman confirmed the report to AFP.
Last year, the Oscars decided to go without a host -- the first time in three decades -- after their original choice Kevin Hart pulled out when old homophobic tweets of his resurfaced.
In the end the event was considered a success and the show enjoyed a year-on-year increase in ratings.
The host-less format has not always been so well received, however.
The previous time the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tried it, one of the most infamous moments in Oscars history was born: an awkward song-and-dance number featuring actor Rob Lowe and... Snow White.
The Oscars are handed out on February 9.
The Oscars will again go without a host next month, repeating a format credited with boosting ratings last year, US network ABC confirmed Wednesday.
“ Together with the Academy, we have decided there will be no traditional host, repeating for us what worked last year, ” ABC entertainment president Karey Burke told a television summit near Los Angeles, according to showbiz website Deadline Hollywood.
“ [ It will have ] huge entertainment values, big musical numbers, comedy and star power. ”
An ABC spokeswoman confirmed the report to AFP.
Last year, the Oscars decided to go without a host — the first time in three decades — after their original choice Kevin Hart pulled out when old homophobic tweets of his resurfaced.
In the end the event was considered a success and the show enjoyed a year-on-year increase in ratings.
The host-less format has not always been so well received, however.
The previous time the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tried it, one of the most infamous moments in Oscars history was born: an awkward song-and-dance number featuring actor Rob Lowe and… Snow White.
The Oscars are handed out on February 9.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Hypersonic missiles could be the crystal meth of future conflicts.
Sarah Weddington, who successfully argued the landmark Roe v. Wade case that enshrined abortion as a legal right in the U.S., died aged 76.
Environment Canada says all of Alberta and most of British Columbia and Saskatchewan are under extreme cold weather warnings.
The locked-down Chinese city of Xi'an on Monday tightened Covid-19 controls to the `` strictest '' level, banning residents from driving cars.
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Diageo invests in US non-alcoholic spirits company | Or wait...
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By Rachel Arthur contact
08-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 09-Jan-2020 at 13:02 GMT
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Crafted for use in cocktails, Ritual can be swapped with traditional spirits to make non-alcoholic versions of classic recipes. The company was founded by three friends in Chicago and launched its two flagship products – a gin alternative and a whiskey alternative – in September 2019.
Diageo is making a minority investment in the company via its Distill Ventures unit, its accelerator for new and growing brands. One of Distill’ s early investments was in pioneering non-alcoholic spirits brand Seedlip in 2015; and around 25% of the unit’ s investments are in non-alcoholic beverages. Ritual, however, is the first public non-alcoholic brand from the US to join Distill’ s non-alcoholic portfolio.
Retail Zero Proof’ s products are available in local Chicago retailers, bars and Michelin-starred restaurants as well as via Amazon and its own website. When it launched in September, Ritual sold out of its projected six-month supply of product in its first five weeks.
According to a 2019 Distill Ventures data study, 58% of consumers are drinking more no-and low-abv drinks than last year, and 55% of the most influential bartenders in New York, Los Angeles and London believe the no-and low-alcohol trend will continue to grow within the next 12 months.
“ In 18 months, we predict non-alcoholic options will be on every menu and the shelves of every grocery store, ” said Marcus Sakey, founding partner and chief brand officer of Ritual Zero Proof. “ Americans want more choice, and Ritual Zero Proof is all about more – more flavor, more moments, more life, that is. It's the only American-made spirit alternative to echo the taste, smell and burn of a spirit – without the alcohol or calories. ``
The Distill investment will support the brand’ s move into retail; as well as help drive its growth across the US in its direct-to-consumer business. The founders and current investors of Ritual will retain majority ownership and continue to run the business independently. | general |
Kraft Heinz names Campbell Soup snacks chief as US business head | Abrams-Rivera's hiring is a huge win for Kraft Heinz — and a huge loss for Campbell Soup.
The role of U.S. zone president at Kraft Heinz has gone unfilled since Patricio took the helm of the company in July, and it's a role he's been filling himself as he has tried to turn the company around. With Abrams-Rivera, Kraft Heinz has found someone who's an experienced change agent, as well as someone with deep experience at Kraft Heinz.
At Campbell Soup, Abrams-Rivera started out as president of Pepperidge Farm, its long-held snacking division that makes brands including Goldfish crackers and Milano cookies. He helped innovate the iconic crackers, adding new flavors and varieties and holding the line on the brand's profitability.
Abrams-Rivera was a natural choice to be the New Jersey company's first head of its snacks division, a position created following Campbell Soup's $ 4.9 billion purchase of snacks giant Snyder's-Lance in 2017. Prior to this acquisition, snacks made up just under a third of the company's sales. Afterward, snacks were responsible for nearly half of sales. In the release from Campbell Soup announcing Abrams-Rivera's departure, the company said it is the nation's No. 3 snacks company.
`` We want to continue to rewrite the story of Campbell and now are going to know that we can do that with a real center-of-the store expertise in snacking, '' Abrams-Rivera told Food Dive a few months after the acquisition. `` It's a huge transformation when you think about Campbell's being almost a 150-year-old company, then all of a sudden it's going to pivot to where the center of this company is going. ''
Abrams-Rivera was a capable leader of that transition, bringing the company solid growth in snacks while other segments saw difficulties. In the company's most recent earnings report, sales in snacks were worth $ 1 billion with a 2% growth rate, while overall company sales declined 1%. According to a transcript of the investor call the day of the report, Campbell Soup CEO Mark Clouse said snacks consumption overall grew 4% in the quarter, while the company's `` power brands '' — Goldfish, Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse, Milano, Kettle, Cape Cod, Lance, Snyder's of Hanover, Late July and Pretzel Crisps — grew 6%.
As snacks helped stabilize Campbell Soup's balance sheet and financial prospects, perspectives on the company's long-term outlook have shifted as well. Earlier this week, activist investor Daniel Loeb's Third Point LLC sold many of its shares in the company, according to regulatory filings. In summer 2018, the investment firm took a 7% stake in the company, leaving analysts to wonder what changes Loeb and his firm would try to make. With this week's sale, Third Point's stake scales back to 4.4%.
At Kraft Heinz, Patricio is going to need a dedicated and skilled C-suite behind him if he's going to make 2020 a comeback year for the iconic company. Almost all of 2019 was full of bad business news. In February, the company had a $ 15.4 billion write down on the value of its Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands and disclosed an investigation into procurement accounting and control policies by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Kraft Heinz's stock price immediately tumbled 28%, and the company has been trying to climb out of that hole ever since.
Patricio, who was named CEO of Kraft Heinz in April, has prioritized growing the company's iconic brands through understanding consumers, improving efficiency and creating more premium value for consumers. In its most recent earnings call in October, Patricio said Kraft Heinz is getting on the right path, but it still has a way to go.
Although Kraft Heinz is known for doing most of its upper-level hiring internally, Abrams-Rivera is not a stranger to the company. He began his career at the former Kraft Foods, working from 1998 to 2012 in various roles. He led the development of brands in the cheese, enhancers, frozen pizza and Oscar Mayer businesses, the release from Kraft Heinz said. He also had executive roles, including senior vice president of marketing and strategy for developing markets, vice president of Nabisco savory snacks and vice president of global biscuits brands.
When Mondelez spun off from Kraft in 2012, Abrams-Rivera stayed with the snacking brands. Under Mondelez, where he worked until 2015, he had positions including president of gum and candy for Latin America, senior vice president for global beverages and senior vice president of marketing and strategy for developing markets.
As Kraft Heinz works toward staying relevant through research and development, launching new products under iconic brands, and optimizing its supply chain, there is a lot it needs to do in order to get back to its peak. Patricio has repeatedly promised that a comprehensive plan to right the company will be presented in the first months of this year. Improving performance in the U.S. is vital to Kraft Heinz's success, and it's apparent Abrams-Rivera is a key part of Patricio's plan.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation. | general |
Australia’ s wine sector pulls together during bushfire crisis | Or wait...
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By Rachel Arthur contact
09-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 09-Jan-2020 at 09:56 GMT
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Record-breaking temperatures and months of severe drought have fuelled a series of bushfires across the country, with the south east affected particularly badly. At least 24 people have been killed so far and more than 6.3 million hectares of bush and forest have been burned.
In the short term, wine organisations are encouraging people to support relief funds as the fire season continues. Longer term plans will be to help affected wineries recover, as well as boosting wine tourism.
In some regions of South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, individual vineyards and vineyards have suffered ‘ devastating damage’ which will take years to recover from, explained Andreas Clark, CEO, Wine Australia.
However, he says it is also important to keep the impact of the fires in context.
“ Australia is a very large country with wine regions spread across it from the eastern seaboard right across to the west. Most fires have been in heavily forested areas or National Parks.
“ While the toll on individuals can not be underestimated and should not be downplayed, a review of fire maps suggests a maximum of around 1,500 hectares of vineyards fall within the fire affected regions to date. Even if all those vineyards were fire damaged – and they are not – it would only be about 1% of Australia’ s total vineyard area. ”
Clark says the wine sector will draw together to provide support and advice to those affected by the fires.
“ Sadly, it is not the first nor the last time that Australia has dealt with bushfires. What we have seen in the past and no doubt will again in the future is an astonishing generosity where people have donated grapes and labour to assist their neighbours and friends to recover. ”
Wine Australia, Australian Grape & Wine and the Australian Wine Research Institute are co-ordinating both short-term and longer-term responses to the bushfires: backed by the Federal Government and regional wine agencies.
“ Responses must include relief for those directly impacted, including those growers who might not be able to sell smoke-affected grapes, ” said Tony Battaglene, chief executive, Australian Grape & Wine.
“ In the medium term we must look to strengthen regional tourism and bring people back to the regions.
“ Our message is that Australia is hurting from the fires, but we are open for business. We need donations to the relief funds, support for our emergency services, and consumers to buy our wine and visit our regions. It is important to note that the fire season is not over and our temporary relief may not last.
`` Donations can be made to the Australian Red Cross or the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. Donations can be made to Queensland’ s Granite Belt Drought Assist via Facebook. `` | general |
Europe, N. Africa in diplomatic flurry to avoid'second Syria ' in Libya | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Europe and North Africa have launched a diplomatic offensive to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a `` second Syria ''.
The flurry of visits across the two sides of the Mediterranean comes after Libyan strongman General Khalifa Haftar's forces captured the strategic coastal city of Sirte from the UN-recognised Government of National Accord and Turkey deployed troops in Libya to support the GNA.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at talks in Istanbul on Wednesday called for a ceasefire in Libya, although they are seen as supporting opposing sides in the country.
Last week, Turkey sent its first troops to help defend the Tripoli-based GNA, and Erdogan contends there are 2,500 Russian mercenaries supporting its opponent, Haftar -- a claim denied by Moscow.
Haftar also has the support of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, all regional rivals of Turkey.
GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj, welcomed the ceasefire call from Istanbul, while there has been no reaction from Haftar's camp.
The UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, also welcomed the Russian-Turkish initiative and urged an immediate cessation of military operations in the North African country that has been wracked by chaos since its 2011 revolt that toppled longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi.
Salame is working on preparations for an international conference on Libya expected to be held in Berlin in the coming weeks.
At the forefront of regional efforts, Algeria, which shares a 1,000-kilometre ( 600-mile) border with Libya, Monday hosted both Sarraj and Turkey's foreign minister. On Thursday, it was the turn of the top diplomats of Italy and Egypt to hold talks in Algiers.
Algeria says it rejects all foreign interference in Libya's conflict and called for all parties in its neighbouring state to turn to a `` process of inclusive national dialogue ''.
- Libya rivals in Europe visits -
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Thursday on a visit to Tunisia, another neighbour, that `` the escalation in Libya threatens to destabilise the whole '' of North Africa.
Libya's conflict was also at the centre of talks held on Wednesday in Cairo involving Le Drian and his Italian counterpart, Luigi Di Maio.
Italy, according to analysts, sees itself as a key player in Libya because of its historic links as the colonial power and opposes the increased roles of Turkey and Russia.
Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte hosted Haftar on Wednesday and called for a halt to the offensive his forces have waged since last April against the GNA-controlled capital.
Sarraj, at the same time, met EU leaders in Brussels as the bloc scrambles to contain the escalating crisis in Libya.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters: `` We want to prevent Libya from becoming the scene of a proxy war or Libya becoming a second Syria. ''
The EU pledged to `` step up efforts towards a peaceful and political solution '' and said it fully supports the UN-sponsored talks planned in the German capital.
Libyan and Italian media said Conte wanted to orchestrate a meeting between Haftar and Sarraj, but the later who was also headed for Rome backed out once he learned that his rival was in Italy's capital.
Europe and North Africa have launched a diplomatic offensive to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a “ second Syria ”.
The flurry of visits across the two sides of the Mediterranean comes after Libyan strongman General Khalifa Haftar’ s forces captured the strategic coastal city of Sirte from the UN-recognised Government of National Accord and Turkey deployed troops in Libya to support the GNA.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at talks in Istanbul on Wednesday called for a ceasefire in Libya, although they are seen as supporting opposing sides in the country.
Last week, Turkey sent its first troops to help defend the Tripoli-based GNA, and Erdogan contends there are 2,500 Russian mercenaries supporting its opponent, Haftar — a claim denied by Moscow.
Haftar also has the support of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, all regional rivals of Turkey.
GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj, welcomed the ceasefire call from Istanbul, while there has been no reaction from Haftar’ s camp.
The UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, also welcomed the Russian-Turkish initiative and urged an immediate cessation of military operations in the North African country that has been wracked by chaos since its 2011 revolt that toppled longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi.
Salame is working on preparations for an international conference on Libya expected to be held in Berlin in the coming weeks.
At the forefront of regional efforts, Algeria, which shares a 1,000-kilometre ( 600-mile) border with Libya, Monday hosted both Sarraj and Turkey’ s foreign minister. On Thursday, it was the turn of the top diplomats of Italy and Egypt to hold talks in Algiers.
Algeria says it rejects all foreign interference in Libya’ s conflict and called for all parties in its neighbouring state to turn to a “ process of inclusive national dialogue ”.
– Libya rivals in Europe visits –
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Thursday on a visit to Tunisia, another neighbour, that “ the escalation in Libya threatens to destabilise the whole ” of North Africa.
Libya’ s conflict was also at the centre of talks held on Wednesday in Cairo involving Le Drian and his Italian counterpart, Luigi Di Maio.
Italy, according to analysts, sees itself as a key player in Libya because of its historic links as the colonial power and opposes the increased roles of Turkey and Russia.
Italy’ s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte hosted Haftar on Wednesday and called for a halt to the offensive his forces have waged since last April against the GNA-controlled capital.
Sarraj, at the same time, met EU leaders in Brussels as the bloc scrambles to contain the escalating crisis in Libya.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters: “ We want to prevent Libya from becoming the scene of a proxy war or Libya becoming a second Syria. ”
The EU pledged to “ step up efforts towards a peaceful and political solution ” and said it fully supports the UN-sponsored talks planned in the German capital.
Libyan and Italian media said Conte wanted to orchestrate a meeting between Haftar and Sarraj, but the later who was also headed for Rome backed out once he learned that his rival was in Italy’ s capital.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during the telematic press conference called after the meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 17,...
An Irishman who refused to wear a Covid mask during a flight from Dublin to New York faces up to 20 years in prison.
Geneva, the neutral turf that was once host to so much Cold War bargaining, is again welcoming Russian and US officials.
Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are postponing the glittering parades that are the highlight of carnival festivities due to a surge in the...
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Pope slams leaders on 'weak ' response to climate change | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Pope Francis accused world leaders on Thursday of failing to listen to the concerns of youngsters pushing for global action against climate change.
In his annual speech to Vatican diplomats, the pontiff said climate change was a `` concern of everyone, '' despite a tepid response from the international community.
`` Many young people have become active in calling the attention of political leaders to the issue of climate change. Care for our common home ought to be a concern of everyone, '' he said.
`` Sadly, the urgency of this ecological conversion seems not to have been grasped by international politics, where the response to the problems raised by global issues such as climate change remains very weak and a source of grave concern. ''
Since his papacy began in 2013, the Argentine pontiff has often argued for better protection of the environment. In April, he met teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, who launched the Fridays for Future youth moment against climate change.
That movement has seen millions of people go on strike or spill into the streets demanding climate action.
Around the world, governments faced with a crescendo of deadly weather and dire alarms from science have failed to signal a real determination to act.
Francis said the UN conference in Madrid in December -- widely considered to have been a flop -- raised `` serious concern about the will of the international community to confront with wisdom and effectiveness the phenomenon of global warming ''.
The climate crisis threatening the planet `` demands a collective response capable of placing the common good over particular interests, '' Francis said.
He prayed for those affected by devastating fires in Australia and other areas of Oceania.
Australia's months-long bushfire disaster has killed at least 26 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched some eight million hectares ( 80,000 square kilometres) -- an area the size of Ireland.
Pope Francis accused world leaders on Thursday of failing to listen to the concerns of youngsters pushing for global action against climate change.
In his annual speech to Vatican diplomats, the pontiff said climate change was a “ concern of everyone, ” despite a tepid response from the international community.
“ Many young people have become active in calling the attention of political leaders to the issue of climate change. Care for our common home ought to be a concern of everyone, ” he said.
“ Sadly, the urgency of this ecological conversion seems not to have been grasped by international politics, where the response to the problems raised by global issues such as climate change remains very weak and a source of grave concern. ”
Since his papacy began in 2013, the Argentine pontiff has often argued for better protection of the environment. In April, he met teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, who launched the Fridays for Future youth moment against climate change.
That movement has seen millions of people go on strike or spill into the streets demanding climate action.
Around the world, governments faced with a crescendo of deadly weather and dire alarms from science have failed to signal a real determination to act.
Francis said the UN conference in Madrid in December — widely considered to have been a flop — raised “ serious concern about the will of the international community to confront with wisdom and effectiveness the phenomenon of global warming ”.
The climate crisis threatening the planet “ demands a collective response capable of placing the common good over particular interests, ” Francis said.
He prayed for those affected by devastating fires in Australia and other areas of Oceania.
Australia’ s months-long bushfire disaster has killed at least 26 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched some eight million hectares ( 80,000 square kilometres) — an area the size of Ireland.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Omicron's rise has heralded another pandemic-tinged Christmas for billions, with Santa's arrival overshadowed by Covid restrictions.
At a time when hospitals and patients are strained due to increasing COVID numbers, threat actors will continue to attack.
Millions of Americans are traveling before Christmas even as national Omicron Covid-19 infections surpass Delta's peak.
Hong Kong university students paid solemn tribute to two campus statues marking Beijing's 1989 suppression of Tiananmen Square protesters.
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Justin Bieber shares details about Lyme disease battle, health | Hi, what are you looking for?
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In an elaborate post on his Instagram page, he fights back at his trolls and naysayers that kept saying that he “ looks like s * * t ” and that he is on “ meth. ” “ I have been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, which is an infection that is caused by bacteria commonly carried in ticks. “ Not only that, but I had a serious case of chronic mono which affected my skin, brain function, energy, and overall health, ” he disclosed.
He will be explaining all of these trials and tribulations in a docu-series that he will be releasing on YouTube in the near future. Bieber shared that his fans and followers can learn about the things that he has been battling and overcoming. He acknowledged that it has been a rough couple of years but he is getting the right treatment that will help treat this “ incurable disease. ” He stated that he will be back and better than ever.
Earlier this month, Bieber released his new single “ Yummy, ” which earned a favorable review from Digital Journal. It is available on Apple Music and on Spotify.
Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 16,000 original articles over the past 15 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a five-time consecutive `` Best of Long Island '' winner, and in the past two years, he was honored as the `` Best Long Island Personality '' in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.
There is no stated power in the US Constitution to regulate human reproduction.
A small dog looking at a christmas tree which has colored lights. Source - Trogain, CC SA 4.0.If you are having trouble finding a...
The hunt for answers - like whether the Omicron variant will trigger new waves of infection.
The new Omicron coronavirus variant has a high number of mutations which the WHO believes may make it more transmissible or resistant to vaccines...
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Magnum thinks pink with ruby chocolate ice cream bar launch | U.S. chocolate lovers, it is time: Ruby chocolate is finally coming to the masses through a CPG launch.
Ruby, which is described as the fourth type of chocolate, comes from a distinct cacao bean discovered by scientists working at global chocolatier Barry Callebaut more than a generation ago. In recent years, the company discovered how to process these beans and produce dark-pink-hued ruby chocolate, which has a distinct tart taste reminiscent of berries.
The chocolate was officially unveiled in Asia in 2017, and Japanese consumers have been able to buy it for more than two years. Soon after, it also rolled out across Europe, Australia, Africa and South America, but hit a labeling stumbling block in the U.S. The FDA would not permit the confection to be labeled as `` chocolate, '' which has a strict definition in federal regulations.
About a year ago, Barry Callebaut partnered with a few high-end chocolate makers in the U.S. to produce a limited stock of the pink chocolate for the country. It was labeled `` ruby cacao '' or `` ruby couverture '' so it didn't violate regulations.
In May, the chocolate supplier announced it would make ruby widely available in the U.S. and Canada, despite not yet getting the labeling clearance it was seeking. The new Magnum bars seem to be the first big U.S. CPG product launch with ruby. And despite the FDA last month granting Barry Callebaut a temporary marketing permit allowing it to label up to 60 million pounds of the confection `` ruby chocolate, '' the press release and packaging of the Magnum product label it `` ruby cacao. ''
While Barry Callebaut is providing ruby chocolate to any confectioner that wants it, Laura Bergan, the company's director of innovation for specialties marketing, told Food Dive last year that ruby is expected to stay in the premium market. This makes Magnum a fit to take it on first. The brand defines itself as luxurious, decadent and premium, using Belgian chocolate and top-of-the-line ingredients for its ice cream.
Even though the new ruby bars are using the exclusive chocolate, their price will be in line with the company's other offerings. For a package of six Magnum Ruby Minis, the company lists a suggested retail price of $ 4.99.
While this is the first big offering of the pink confection, it is not likely to be the last. As grocery store shelves crowded with heart-shaped boxes clearly show, Valentine's Day is about a month away. And according to data from the National Retail Federation, 52% of people who celebrated the holiday last year planned to spend about $ 1.8 billion on candy. NRF stats show fewer people chose to celebrate Valentine's Day last year — yet more total money was spent — so premium pink chocolates could be a way to send hearts and wallets aflutter.
Even outside of holidays celebrated with pink hearts and chocolate, ruby is bound to be popular. Nestlé was among the first CPG manufacturers to use ruby outside of the U.S., and it's been adding it to its products in response to brisk demand. Barry Callebaut keeps a collection of pictures of uses for the chocolate around the world on its website, and as more U.S. confectioners experiment with it, more creative ideas are guaranteed to fill this page.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation. | general |
Corona Hard Seltzer to launch with $ 40m marketing push | Or wait...
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By Rachel Arthur contact
09-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 09-Jan-2020 at 13:09 GMT
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And it’ s confident the investment is a savvy one, believing the seltzer category has ‘ real strength’.
Corona Hard Seltzer will be introduced in four flavors in the US: tropical lime, mango, cherry and blackberry lime. The 4.5% ABV beverage will contain 90 calories, zero carbs and zero sugars ( for comparison, Corona Extra contains 148 calories per 12 oz bottle).
Corona carries ‘ unbelievable strong brand equity’ as a brand among both Hispanic and total drinkers in the younger 21-54 age category. As a result, Constellation Brands has made the decision to brand its seltzer entry under Corona. In addition, it sees a strong parallel in the ‘ refreshment DNA’ of both seltzers and the Corona brand.
“ We're excited about our plans for the launch of Corona Hard Seltzer this spring, which will help to further strengthen our position as the leader in the high-end of the US beer segment, ” said Constellation Brands CEO Bill Newlands. “ Our launch strategy includes the largest-ever single brand investment for our portfolio of more than $ 40m in marketing to support this introduction.
“ We 've already started to take orders from distributors and have received incredibly positive feedback from retailers who are excited about the prospects of Corona Seltzer and have already incorporated our newest portfolio addition into their shelf set programing plans for the spring selling season. ”
A key question for Constellation Brands, however, is whether Corona seltzer can take share from other seltzer brands - or whether it risks cannabalizing its own beer brands. Newlands says the company has considered this question: and concluded Constellation’ s beer portfolio is not as vulnerable as other beer categories.
“ Our research shows that seltzer is taking share across the board from beer, wine and spirits, ” he said. “ While a significant amount of this growth is sourced from the beer category, it is primarily coming from domestic premiums, crafts and FMBs [ flavored malt beverages ] with minimal interaction of seltzer consumption with imported brands. ``
Both consumers and retailers see seltzers and beer as distinct categories, says Newlands.
“ Seltzer is, in all likelihood, not going to take space from our core beer franchise. The consumer views it as something different, the retailers view it as something different, whether it's on the shelf or in the cold box. So we think there will be a distinct differentiation of product location versus just cannibalizing existing shelf space. That's the way it's been so far, we believe that will continue. ” | general |
Brian Madden's Top Picks: Jan. 9, 2020 | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
The current bull market has been statistically long if we date it back to March 6, 2009, as most people do. But a good argument can be made that two mild bear markets punctuated the ongoing secular bull. The first occurred in 2011 from May to October, during which the S & P 500 fell 21.6 per cent. The second occurred in Q4/18 when the index fell 20.2 per cent. There’ s nothing magical about a 20-per-cent drawdown, but it’ s the standard threshold investors use to define a bear market. And while the clock has been reset twice during the last 11 years, this remains one of the most loathed and mistrusted bull markets in history. That’ s good news, because the pervasive skepticism is a healthy contrarian indicator.
There are other reasons to remain optimistic about the economy and markets heading into 2020, like robust job creation and looser monetary policy from the Fed. Strong new housing demand in the U.S. and a stabilizing market in Canada are important for the ripple effects the sector creates in the economy as well as what it says about consumer confidence. Both countries are likely to boost their economies through fiscal stimulus, in the U.S. as it heads into an election year and in Canada as the Liberal minority government looks to maintain power.
Our portfolios are emphasizing cyclicality and value themes, as we anticipate a continuation of the economic cycle through 2020. We see no reason not to expect another triple-digit return for stocks between now and 2030, as this is in fact the norm.
Brian Madden of Goodreid Investment Counsel shares his top picks: Restaurant Brands, Methanex and CN Rail.
With $ 32 billion in system-wide sales across 26,000 restaurants in over 100 countries, Restaurant Brands International is an established industry leader. Ninety-nine per cent of their stores are owned by franchisees, so the growth algorithm is very “ capital-light, ” allowing for rapid growth in store-count, sales, royalties and profits with limited need for shareholder capital. Although Tim Hortons has struggled to grow, Burger King and Popeye’ s are experiencing tremendous growth thanks to menu innovations and rapid store-count increases. The likelihood of additional acquisitions further bolstering their organic growth is very high, as major shareholder 3G Capital is the world’ s best-known leveraged buyout player in the consumer space.
METHANEX ( MX TSX) Last purchased December 2019 at $ 48.72.
Methanex is the world’ s largest producer of methanol, with a 14-per-cent share of the global market. The company operates six production facilities in Canada, the U.S., Chile, Egypt, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago. Rare among commodity producers, Methanex generates prolific free cash flow through the cycle thanks to its efficient plants situated near abundant sources of low-cost natural gas feedstocks. These cash flows have funded a 9-per-cent compound dividend growth rate as well as buybacks over the past decade, with the share count decreasing 17 per cent over that period. Methanol prices are cyclically depressed, allowing for an opportune entry point, with shares trading at two times book value versus their 10-year average of 2.5 times and yielding 3.9 per cent versus an average yield of 2.7 per cent.
CN RAIL ( CNR TSX) Last purchased December 2019 at $ 119.97.
CN owns and operates a 20,000-mile railroad network that serves as the freight backbone of the continent, connecting important ports and population centres from the Pacific to the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. As the railroad that pioneered “ scheduled railroading, ” CN’ s operating mantras include cost control, productivity, high asset utilization and, increasingly, technology enablement. The result is a return on shareholders’ equity that has risen from 16 per cent to 24 per cent over the last decade and earnings per share which have grown at a 16-per-cent compound rate over that time frame. Trading at 18.5 times earnings and yielding 1.8 per cent, CN has outperformed the TSX in 17 out of 24 years since its IPO.
Brian Madden of Goodreid Investment Counsel reviews his past picks: Scotiabank, Brookfield Asset Management and Parex Resources.
Goodreid North American Balanced Performance as of Dec. 31, 2019.
Figures include reinvested income and are net of fees. Index: Morningstar Canadian Equity Balanced Category Average.
TWITTER: @ goodreidinvest WEBSITE: http: //www.goodreid.com
Shopify announced a number of proposed changes to its governance and share structure on Monday.
An analyst who covers Canada’ s banks is warning of choppy waters ahead and is urging clients to take a more defensive approach as economic uncertainty threatens to send shares sharply lower.
Crude oil prices fell to their lowest level since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a spike of COVID-19 cases in China pulled down the energy sector and Canada's main stock index to start the trading week.
Traders are shunning technology stocks amid mounting risks from soaring Treasury yields and hawkish commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
More than 18,000 Etsy sellers have pledged to join a strike protesting a 30% increase in fees that takes effect today.
There has been a lot of debate about a stagflationary slowdown or possible recession given the inverted yield curve. If this is where we are heading, it would be helpful to know what market factors can help you weather the storm.
Average Canadians might not realize how big a stake they have in the country’ s largest banks in their retirement portfolios; either directly in their RRSPs and TFSAs, or indirectly through mutual funds, ETFs, and pension plans. | general |
New SARS related virus, Wuhan pneumonia, idenitified in China's mysterious pneumonia outbreak |
A
mysterious pneumonia outbreak
that has struck dozens of people and put China on edge is from the same family of viruses as the deadly
severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS)
, according to Chinese scientists.
They 've found a new coronavirus in 15 of 57 patients with the illness in the central city of Wuhan, Hubei province saying it has been preliminarily identified as the pathogen for the outbreak, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday.
The report said the whole genome sequence of the virus has been obtained, and a sample isolated from one of the patients showed `` typical coronavirus appearance '' under an electron microscope.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to SARS, according to the World Health Organization ( WHO). Symptoms can range from fever and coughing to kidney failure, and in some cases lead to death. Some coronaviruses transmit easily from person to person, while others do not.
SARS infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774 in a pandemic that ripped through Asia and
spread to 37 countries
in 2002 and 2003. A coronavirus is also the culprit for deadly
Middle East respiratory syndrome ( MERS)
, first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. MERS has since killed 851 people globally,
according to the WHO.
The SARS virus, a coronavirus like the common cold, is shown in pink in this electron micrograph image from the Centers for Disease Control.
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But the new coronavirus in Wuhan appears to not be as lethal as SARS or MERS. Its symptoms are mainly fever, with a number of patients having difficulty breathing. Eight patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital as of Wednesday, and no deaths have been reported, according to CCTV.
The virus was first detected in Wuhan on December 12. Since then, a total of 59 people have been struck by the illness, with seven patients in critical condition at some stage, Chinese health authorities said on Sunday.
Authorities said there has been
no obvious evidence
of human-to-human transmission, and no healthcare workers have been infected.
Some of the patients were employed at a seafood market in Wuhan. Local media reported the market also sold other live animals, including birds, rabbits and snakes -- sparking concerns that the virus might have been transmitted to humans from animals.
According to the WHO, coronaviruses can infect both humans and animals. The coronavirus that causes SARS was
traced to the civet cat
, a wild animal considered a delicacy in parts of southern China, where the epidemic began. And dromedary camels are considered a likely
source of MERS
.
Professor Leo Poon, a virologist at Hong Kong University and SARS expert, said coronaviruses can be found in many animals, including pigs, cattle, dogs, cats, bats and birds. Six coronaviruses are known to infect humans -- four of them typically cause the common cold, and the other two are SARS and MERS.
`` Many of the coronaviruses in animals are harmless to humans. The new strain of coronavirus may have been caused by humans coming into contact with animals that we did not usually have contact with before, '' he said, citing the game sold at the market.
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Like SARS and MERS, there may not be effective medication directly targeting the new coronavirus, but supportive treatments -- such as assisted respiration and fever relief -- can be provided to cure the symptoms, according to Poon.
`` No patient has died from the disease so far, and it appears that the supportive treatments are effective, '' he said.
In a statement on Thursday, the WHO said China's preliminary identification of a novel virus in a short period of time demonstrates the country's `` increased capacity to manage new outbreaks. '' In 2003, Chinese officials initially covered up the extent of the SARS outbreak, drawing criticism at home and abroad.
`` In the coming weeks, more comprehensive information is required to understand the current status and epidemiology of the outbreak, and the clinical picture. Further investigations are also required to determine the source, modes of transmission, extent of infection and countermeasures implemented, '' the WHO statement said.
The WHO will continue to monitor the situation and advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the information currently available.
But across Asia, governments have stepped up preventive measures such as airport temperature screening and notification requirements in the wake of the Wuhan outbreak.
A mysterious virus is making China ( and the rest of Asia) nervous. It's not SARS, so what is it?
On Wednesday, South Korea reported a suspected case linked to the Wuhan pneumonia, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient, a Chinese woman who had visited Wuhan in December, has been isolated and is undergoing treatment and further tests.
In Hong Kong, 38 people have been found with fever or respiratory symptoms after traveling from Wuhan, according to the city's Hospital Authority. Among them, 21 have been discharged and so far none has been linked to the cluster of pneumonia in Wuhan.
In Singapore, travelers arriving from Wuhan are also required to go through temperature screening, according to the Ministry of Health. Doctors have been alerted to look out for suspected cases of pneumonia among people who recently returned from there. | general |
Walgreens’ shares tumble by 5% on earnings posting | Hi, what are you looking for?
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After hitting rock bottom in 2019 and landing the title of worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, many industry commentators are beginning to question Walgreens ability to prosper in the new decade. Walgreens has faced intense competition from the arrival of Amazon.com Inc in the pharmacy market in the past year. Walgreens has also seen its gross margins come under pressure of late, with generic drug cost inflation being a key factor.
As reported on Investor Business Daily, Dow Jones stock Walgreens Boots Alliance reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that fell more than expected. According to Forbes, the global pharmacy chain may be taken into private ownership in a massive leveraged buyout
Despite these various challenges, Walgreens’ may be able to pull ahead as long as it can deliver on its new frictionless shopping strategy. Such a strategy involves identifying and removing any hassles and pain points that arise when customers interact with the organization
Walgreens’ recent pivot away from a brick-and-mortar based strategy toward a frictionless CX strategy — including innovations like the use of drones for delivery — is a step in the right direction to regaining its position as a leader in the industry, according to Kate Hogenson, a loyalty and CX expert at Kobie, in a message sent to Digital Journal.
With the drone technology, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. provided information about their last-mile delivery innovations, at CES 2020, as e-commerce continues to upend traditional retail and logistics business models.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
Hypersonic missiles could be the crystal meth of future conflicts.
Sarah Weddington, who successfully argued the landmark Roe v. Wade case that enshrined abortion as a legal right in the U.S., died aged 76.
Environment Canada says all of Alberta and most of British Columbia and Saskatchewan are under extreme cold weather warnings.
A jump in child COVID-19 hospitalizations in New York is a warning to get more children vaccinated in California and elsewhere
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Market versus policy Europeanisation: has an imbalance grown over time? | This Policy Contribution tests the hypothesis that an imbalance has grown in Europe over the last few decades because markets have integrated to a greater extent than European-level policymaking, potentially creating difficulties for the democratic process in managing the economy. This hypothesis has been put forward by several authors but not so far tested empirically.
To evaluate the process of European market integration – or market Europeanisation – over the last few decades, we assess intra-European trade and intra-European capital flows.
Useful comments were received from Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol, Guntram Wolff, Zsolt Darvas, Simone Tagliapietra, Grégory Claeys, Enrico Bergamini and Maria Demertzis.
Our results show that, measured by our proxies, policy Europeanisation has developed more rapidly than market Europeanisation, measured on the basis of both trade and capital flows. It is however also noted that the relative number of public employees has outpaced the relative frequency of European Union news in the media, possibly indicating a technocratic slant in policy Europeanisation. Further research could test the robustness of our results, in particular by using other measures of policy Europeanisation, such as the impact of European legislation on national laws and regulations.
Bruegel Annual Meetings, Day 2 - the World Trade Organisation has been going through trying times, a phenomenon amplified by the pandemic. Why are we headed towards a new global trade regime? And what lies ahead for the WTO?
Bruegel Annual Meetings, Day 3 - We are delighted to welcome Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice President of the European Commission for An Economy that Works for People to talk about Europe's trade strategy.
Bruegel Annual Meetings, Day 3 - Panellists will discuss different options and what they may entail while revisiting the debates on the future of Europe at national and EU-level that have been conducted thus far.
COVID-19 has reinforced traditional vaccine production patterns, but the global vaccine trade has changed considerably.
The recovery facility will boost digital transformation, but questions remain whether it will be sufficient to achieve Europe’ s digital ambitions.
Europe has already made a significant financial contribution to beating the pandemic, now it has the oppurtunity and moral responsibility to do more.
To avoid any backlash, the European Union should work with other World Trade Organisation members to define basic principles of carbon border adjustment mechanisms.
The EU needs a more targeted strategy to increase its presence in this strategic and thriving sector, building on its existing strengths, while accommodating its relatively low domestic needs. | business |
Recession ahead? 6 ways buyers can reduce risk | Buyers entering the profession in the past decade have not experienced working during an economic recession. Since coming out the deep ditch of the Great Recession in 2009, the U.S. economy has expanded and remains relatively strong as 2020 begins. This prolonged period of economic health has lulled buyers and suppliers alike into a false sense of security, making purchase and supply decisions assuming the economy will just keep growing.
In a growing economy, it is quite easy for less experienced buyers to find thrill in `` place and chase, '' sending almost endless orders to suppliers. Yet danger lurks. A terrorist attack, oil shock or other global risk could at any time plunge the domestic economy into recession, resulting in a pile of canceled orders, damaged relationships and prolonged business uncertainty.
There are some things a buyer can do to reduce risk to their business when an inevitable economic slowdown occurs.
Simple observations from the buyer’ s desk can foresee changing economic conditions. Reductions in lead times and softening of prices may be welcomed, but they also indicate slowing demand. Supplier delivery and quality performance may begin to slip, reflecting changes in staffing or cash flow issues impacting operations. Adding this market intelligence to some of the government and industry data sets can offer a more complete picture of the economy.
I worked for a technology company whose business was considered a leading economic indicator, and it didn’ t take long for savvy suppliers to catch on to these normal, but not recessionary, fluctuations in the business cycle. Customer orders would often slow for my company about six months before the general economy softened, and they would ramp up six months before the economy began to heat up. Suppliers welcomed these advanced signals, allowing them to easily adjust production schedules and plant operations.
Buyers and suppliers that have experienced working through a recession understand the tough financial and organizational decisions that are made when business slows. Veteran buyers know first-hand the impact on their suppliers, and in their own companies, in the inevitable cost cutting, layoffs and changes in the supply chain. They may become a bit more conservative in negotiating multi-year agreements and will often try to limit long term exposure, especially where the extended forecast is hazy. This protects their companies and their suppliers alike.
For organizations without access to internal historical perspective, conversations with key suppliers about their experiences in slowdowns will help to craft the necessary procurement strategies.
In a prolonged slowdown, the forecast is an important tool in allowing suppliers to make decisions around staffing, capacity and even finding new markets and customers. Work closely with sales and operations planning to develop a realistic forecast that suppliers can use as a planning tool. Don’ t paint a rosy picture when there isn’ t one. Maintain your credibility.
If a recession hits, Economic Darwinism will be in play, where stronger suppliers survive but the weaker ones may not. Some may declare bankruptcy or close their doors altogether, putting your orders and inventory at risk. Others may change their market strategy and pursue new customers and markets, leaving some customers in the lurch.
Begin resourcing activities immediately. Be open with new sources of supply about why you are contacting them and ask them to prove their long-term viability. And be prepared for the supplier to ask the same of you. The buyer seller landscape can change dramatically during a prolonged economic downturn.
Buyers needs to take a leadership position and be honest about business conditions, allowing the supplier to make the necessary adjustments to production and minimize the impact in the downstream supply chain. It is during tough times when the strength of the buyer-seller relationship is tested. Strong relationships rest on a mutual foundation of credibility and integrity. As one of my favorite suppliers would say when giving me bad news, '' say it straight so it can’ t come out crooked. '' I might not have liked the news, but I trusted it... and trusted her.
While the ERP may recommend purchase order cancellations, it is just not that simple. The buyer needs to take financial responsibility for the work in process and finished goods inventory exposure with the supplier. Work cooperatively with all partners to minimize business disruptions and be ready for better days ahead.
This story was first published in our weekly newsletter, Supply Chain Dive: Procurement. Sign up here.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
The port is encouraging shipping lines and marine terminal operators to receive as many empties as possible to make space for loaded cargo.
Brands with high exposure to Vietnam are seeing port delays, canceled orders and slow capacity recovery after months of COVID-19 related restrictions.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
The port is encouraging shipping lines and marine terminal operators to receive as many empties as possible to make space for loaded cargo.
Brands with high exposure to Vietnam are seeing port delays, canceled orders and slow capacity recovery after months of COVID-19 related restrictions.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more. | general |
China Identifies New Virus Causing Pneumonialike Illness | HONG KONG — Chinese researchers say they have identified a new virus behind an illness that has infected dozens of people across Asia, setting off fears in a region that was struck by a deadly epidemic 17 years ago.
There is no evidence that the new virus is readily spread by humans, which would make it particularly dangerous, and it has not been tied to any deaths. But health officials in China and elsewhere are watching it carefully to ensure that the outbreak does not develop into something more severe.
Researchers in China have “ initially identified ” the new virus, a coronavirus, as the pathogen behind a mysterious, pneumonialike illness that has sickened 59 people in the city of Wuhan and caused a panic in the central Chinese region, the state broadcaster, China Central Television, said on Thursday. They detected this virus in 15 of the people who fell ill, the report said.
The new coronavirus “ is different from previous human coronaviruses that were previously discovered, and more scientific research is needed for further understanding, ” the report said.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that infect animals and people. Some cause only the symptoms known as the common cold, although many other viruses also do that.
The announcement signals that researchers are making progress in containing the outbreak, but Asian officials are not likely to relax their vigilance until they learn more. The disease has evoked memories of the outbreak of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, in 2003. SARS, a respiratory disease and also a coronavirus, spread from southern China in 2003 and infected more than 3,000 people, killing 774.
[ Read: China’ s coronavirus outbreak tests the transparency of China’ s Communist Party. ]
China initially covered up the extent of the SARS outbreak and was criticized by health officials around the world for doing so. On Thursday, the World Health Organization praised the Chinese response to the new outbreak and said it did not recommend any restrictions on trade or travel to China because of the virus.
“ Preliminary identification of a novel virus in a short period of time is a notable achievement and demonstrates China’ s increased capacity to manage new outbreaks, ” Dr. Gauden Galea, the W.H.O.’ s representative to China, said in a statement.
Many questions about the new virus remain. While it appears to be transmitted to humans via animals, the Chinese government has not said which animals, nor has it disclosed other details about the outbreak, like the transmission route, the incubation period or the ages and genders of the patients.
“ So, there are still a lot of question marks, ” said David Hui, an expert in emerging infections at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The authorities in Wuhan are still closely monitoring 163 people who were in close contact with the patients, Dr. Hui said. He added that 15 days, the minimum incubation period for some viral infections, had not yet passed since the last reported instance of the disease, on Dec. 29.
“ It’ s premature to say that there’ s no human-to-human transmission, ” Dr. Hui said.
The Wuhan government confirmed on Dec. 31 that the health authorities were treating dozens of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause. Symptoms of the new illness include high fever, difficulty breathing and lung lesions, according to the Wuhan health commission. Seven people have become critically ill, the Wuhan authorities have said. On Wednesday, the local health commission said eight people had been discharged.
Researchers have been encouraged by the fact that patients’ relatives and hospital workers have not been reported to have gotten sick, signaling that the virus may not spread easily among humans.
“ We can assume that this virus transmissibility is not that high, ” said Guan Yi, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong, who was part of a team that successfully identified the coronavirus that caused SARS.
Dr. Guan said he was not surprised that the virus identified was a coronavirus, because coronaviruses can pass from animals to humans easily. But he said it would probably be a while before researchers came up with treatments for the illness.
So far, the cases in China have circulated only in Wuhan. The initial cases were linked to workers at a market that sold live fish, animals and birds. Workers disinfected and shut down the market after the city health department said many of the cases had been traced to it.
The new illness appeared just weeks before the Spring Festival, China’ s biggest holiday, when hundreds of millions of people travel. The authorities have urged the public to be on alert for pneumonialike symptoms like fevers, body aches and breathing difficulties.
Until Thursday’ s announcement, it was not clear what was causing the illnesses in Wuhan. The World Health Organization said Wednesday that it had concluded that it was most likely a coronavirus. “ More comprehensive information is required to confirm the pathogen, ” the W.H.O. said in a statement.
Early reports on ProMED, a disease-alert service, said there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
Last weekend, laboratory tests in China ruled out SARS; the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS; the flu; bird flu; adenoviruses; and other common pathogens that cause pneumonia.
Updated May 20, 2020
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
Over 38 million people have filed for unemployment since March. One in five who were working in February reported losing a job or being furloughed in March or the beginning of April, data from a Federal Reserve survey released on May 14 showed, and that pain was highly concentrated among low earners. Fully 39 percent of former workers living in a household earning $ 40,000 or less lost work, compared with 13 percent in those making more than $ 100,000, a Fed official said.
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. ( Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
There is an uptick in people reporting symptoms of chilblains, which are painful red or purple lesions that typically appear in the winter on fingers or toes. The lesions are emerging as yet another symptom of infection with the new coronavirus. Chilblains are caused by inflammation in small blood vessels in reaction to cold or damp conditions, but they are usually common in the coldest winter months. Federal health officials do not include toe lesions in the list of coronavirus symptoms, but some dermatologists are pushing for a change, saying so-called Covid toe should be sufficient grounds for testing.
Yes, but make sure you keep six feet of distance between you and people who don’ t live in your home. Even if you just hang out in a park, rather than go for a jog or a walk, getting some fresh air, and hopefully sunshine, is a good idea.
Taking one’ s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “ normal ” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’ t have a thermometer ( they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’ t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’ t replace hand washing and social distancing.
If you’ ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
If you’ re sick and you think you’ ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’ s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’ re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’ t be able to get tested.
Charity Navigator, which evaluates charities using a numbers-based system, has a running list of nonprofits working in communities affected by the outbreak. You can give blood through the American Red Cross, and World Central Kitchen has stepped in to distribute meals in major cities.
Health officials in Asia have stepped up screenings and isolated patients with flulike symptoms who had traveled to Wuhan. In Hong Kong, eight people with fever and respiratory symptoms who had recently been in Wuhan were hospitalized on Wednesday.
In South Korea, the authorities said on Wednesday that they had put a Chinese woman under isolated treatment after she was found to have pneumonia after trips to China, including Wuhan.
In Singapore, the authorities placed a Chinese girl with pneumonia in isolation because she had traveled to Wuhan. On Sunday, they said doctors had determined that the child had a common childhood viral illness.
Officials in Hong Kong have installed additional thermal imaging systems at its airport to monitor passengers coming from Wuhan, scanning for people with fevers.
SARS is believed to have jumped to humans from live-animal markets. It was eventually traced to civet cats, raccoon dogs and some other species that were raised and slaughtered for the exotic food trade. The virus normally circulates in bats, and the animals may have gotten it from them, possibly by eating food contaminated by bat droppings.
Most outbreaks of MERS, which appeared in 2012, have been traced to people who raise or sell camels, which in the Middle East are kept for meat, milk, racing, hauling cargo and as pets. Like SARS, MERS can jump from person to person, particularly in hospitals. Some MERS patients infected many others after they were put on machines to help them breathe — the mechanisms helped spew viral particles into the air as they exhaled.
Despite Thursday’ s announcement, many Chinese were still expressing fear that there could be a repeat of SARS.
“ In fact, what people are more concerned about is the transmission route and whether it can be cured, ” wrote a user on Weibo, a popular social media tool in China.
[ Like the Science Times page on Facebook. | Sign up for the Science Times newsletter. ]
Sui-Lee Wee reported from Hong Kong and Donald G. McNeil Jr. from New York. Elsie Chen contributed research from Beijing. | business |
WHO Says Mysterious Illness in China Likely Being Caused by New Virus | The World Health Organization confirmed on Wednesday that Chinese authorities believe a new coronavirus—from the family that produced SARS and MERS—may be the cause of mysterious pneumonia cases in the city of Wuhan.
The Chinese government has not yet publicly stated that a coronavirus is the cause of the illness, which has infected at least 59 people. But the Wall Street Journal reported that was the case earlier Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.
“ Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that range from the common cold to SARS. Some cause less-severe disease, some more severe. Some transmit easily from person to person, while others don’ t, ” the WHO statement said.
The virus can cause severe illness in some patients, the agency said, adding that it does not “ transmit readily ” between people. Earlier statements from the Wuhan Municipal Health Authority said there has been no person-to-person spread—a claim disease experts say is impossible to make at this stage in the exploration of a new disease.
“ I don’ t know how you know that at all, ” said Matthew Frieman, a coronavirus expert at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He noted the number of cases reported makes it seem unlikely that animal-to-human transmission is the only way this virus spread.
The WHO said that as authorities home in on the cause—and develop better detection tools — the number of cases associated with this outbreak may rise.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out an alert to health care providers — a Health Alert Network or HAN — notifying them of the outbreak and urging them to ask patients with severe respiratory infections if they had traveled recently to Wuhan, which is 700 miles south of Beijing.
The fact that a coronavirus may be responsible will come as no surprise to the infectious diseases experts who have been watching the situation unfold. The type of illness and the fact that it is emerging in China — where a number of SARS-like and other coronaviruses have been isolated from bats—has pointed in that direction.
Experts said it will now be important for China to share more information, including enough of a genetic sequence so that health facilities outside of China know what to look for when faced with a pneumonia case with a recent travel history to Wuhan.
As it currently stands, Hong Kong is isolating any such cases until they can be tested for influenza, rhinoviruses, and other viruses that cause colds and flu. Given it is flu season in the Northern Hemisphere, telling countries to be on the look out for travelers with fevers and cold-like symptoms casts a very broad net.
“ It really behooves them to at least provide enough information to allow the global community to be ready to do testing, ” said Ralph Baric, a coronavirus expert at the University of North Carolina. “ Otherwise you’ re just doing screening for fever — in the middle of respiratory disease season? Financial nightmare. ”
It will also be critical to figure out how the virus transmitted to people. The outbreak has been linked to a large seafood market that also sells live exotic animals for consumption. The market was closed and decontaminated on Jan. 1.
Baric said investigations will be underway to identify which species—singular or plural—was infected in the market.
“ Understanding the reservoir is critical for eliminating that whole aspect of animal-to-human jump, ” Frieman said.
Identifying the reservoir of the virus will also require tracing the animals suspected of being infected back to their suppliers so that it can be determined whether other markets might also have received infected animals.
During the 2003 SARS outbreak—in which more than 8,000 people were infected and nearly 800 died—the source of the virus was traced to palm civets that are eaten as a delicacy in parts of China. The Chinese government ordered a mass culling of the animals as part of its effort to stop the outbreak.
News of the pneumonia cases first emerged on Dec. 30, when the local health authority told hospitals to be on the lookout for cases. The next day Chinese authorities informed the WHO that they were dealing with what looked like an outbreak caused by an unknown virus.
In its most recent update, the Wuhan Municipal Health Authority said there had been 59 cases, seven of which were in critical condition. The statement said the first known case began showing signs of illness on Dec. 12 and the last case of illness onset was Dec. 29.
Republished with permission from STAT. This article originally appeared on January 8 2020 | science |
Mars collaborates to boost cacao yields, quality and disease resistance | Mars, Inc., is committing to a 100% sustainable supply chain to meet its future cacao needs. The family-owned company has joined with agricultural analytics company Nature Source Improved Plants to more quickly develop new cacao varieties with greater yields, better disease resistance and higher quality, according to a NSIP release.
Mars ' `` Cocoa for Generations '' strategy will help the CPG company show leadership in this effort. It also may inspire other partners to work on boosting farmer income, protecting children from hazardous labor conditions and preserving forests, the release said. This won't be easy since cacao is often competing for land with palm oil and rubber production, and better agricultural practices can't solve all of the problems, it added.
Worldwide cacao demand is projected to increase about 5% per year for the foreseeable future, NSIP said. Greater demand usually results in more acres being planted, but adding more cacao trees has also caused deforestation and environmental destruction, the company added.
Because of its well-known candy brands — including M & Ms, Snickers, Twix, Milky Way and Dove — Mars has an avid interest in maintaining a sustainable cacao supply. However, improving quality and yield through breeding takes many years and a lot of money before the investment will bear fruit, David Mackill, the company's director of genetics and breeding, noted in the release.
This is where NSIP comes in. The plant analytics firm uses new breeding technologies based on advanced genomics, which have enhanced productivity and quality in field, vegetable, perennial and orphan crops. At the same time, the company said this method limits research and development expenses. NSIP also said it develops in vitro propagation techniques to help growers producing perennial plantation crops such as cacao.
According to the European Commission, about 4 million tons of cocoa beans are needed annually to keep up with demand, which requires 500 million new plants each year. Given the rising market demand for cocoa and the production challenges — climate change, declining yields, aging farmers, volatile prices and crop diseases — better ways to produce plants are required. Consequently, micropropagation has become important to more quickly produce higher-quality plants with greater disease resistance.
This isn't Mars ' first effort to enhance its cocoa supply. The company announced in September 2018 it would spend $ 1 billion over a decade to improve sustainability of the supply chain. At the time, John Ament, the company's global vice-president of cocoa, told Reuters the traditional cocoa supply chain is `` broken '' because it often does little to help local workers and prevent environmental degradation. The company pledged to responsibly source all of its cocoa by 2025.
Such promises from Big Food are common, but the success rate is not high. According to a Greenpeace report released last year, none of more than 50 CPG firms, retailers and producers had shown meaningful efforts to rid deforestation from their supply chains.
Still, the report recognized some chocolate makers — Nestlé, Lindt, Mars, Mondelez, Cargill and Barry Callebaut — had made progress. Cargill promoted good farming practices with its Cargill Cocoa Promise, Barry Callebaut achieved 44% sustainably sourced cocoa in 2018, and Hershey pledged a $ 500 million investment in West African cocoa sustainability, Greenpeace said.
Beyond the pledges and investments, some manufacturers using chocolate as an ingredient are upcycling parts of the cacao fruit to limit waste and boost revenue. Nestle announced last summer it had developed a new chocolate-making technique using only cacao fruit pulp and no added refined sugar for sweetening. And Barry Callebaut debuted snack products in September 2019 using cacao fruit parts usually thrown out.
Tangible results of more sustainable practices could attract the increasing numbers of consumers on the lookout for these qualities, and innovative chocolate makers are liable to reap the rewards when they do.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation. | general |
Tesla Bull Says Its Time To Take Profits, Tesla Is Riding A Wave Of Positive Sentiment | Analysts at Argus think the stock could go to $ 556 over the next twelve months. They just set the Wall Street high-estimate, another 13% above today's share prices.
One reason for their optimism is an expectation 4th quarter deliveries will surpass the consensus estimate. Another is the obvious success Musk has achieved with the Shanghai Gigafactory. Built-in only ten months, the Shanghai facility is already turning out vehicles and deliveries are expected to ramp higher in the coming months.
“ We are raising our 2020 EPS estimate to $ 5.96 from $ 4.40 to reflect improved economies of scale in 2020 production and delivery results and a better than expected ramp up of vehicles produced at the Shanghai factory in China, '' Selesky says.
But The Sell-Side Sentiment Is Beginning To Shift
Others are not so sanguine. Baird, a long-time holder of Tesla, recommends now is the time to start taking profits. After a 100% rise over the last 90-days the company is reducing its exposure with a neutral rating but remains optimistic about the future of Tesla. Baird says valuation and near-term outlook played a part, those factors played a role in CFRA’ s decision to downgrade Tesla too. CFRA now rates Tesla a sell, down from neutral, as does JPMorgan while other are turning cautious.
document.write ( ' < a style= '' text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal; color: # 696969; '' target= '' blank '' rel= '' nofollow '' href= '' https: //www.ame ' + 'ricanconsumernews.net/scripts/click.aspx? NativeDisplayAdID=584 & ImpressionID=0 & UserID=0 & Placement=PlaceOnArticlePage '' > '); Buffett is notoriously “ anti technology. ” Which is why this Wall Street Legend's recent discover is so shocking: 21 of Buffett’ s 25 current favorite companies are going “ all in ” one hot new technology… To the tune of $ 1.7 billion!... After decades of being anti-tech... what is making Buffett going all in now? And what is this new technology that America's biggest companies are in a race to implement?
Bernstein analysts Toni Sacconaghi says he has become incrementally cautious after this year’ s wild ride in his letter to shareholders. Not an outright warning to sell but just about as good.
“ We have become incrementally cautious on the stock, given its huge recent surge in price, ”
With shares of Tesla up so much and trading at fresh all-time highs, it is no wonder the sell-side sentiment is shifting. Manager's looking to lock in profits will have to lighten their loads or take one offsetting positions else risk losing them.
Tesla Is Grossly Overvalued, And There Are Risks
Credit Suisse has long been a Tesla bear but recently conceded a higher price target. They lifted their target to $ 340 from $ 200 but still cite a massive overvaluation by the market. According to them, today’ s price assumes a 20% CAGR over the near five years and a 300% increase in productions, a goal Tesla is not likely to achieve.
One risk for Tesla is that global auto markets are slowing and electric carmakers are not immune to the trend. Toyota ( TM) recently announced it would make about 500,000 electric vehicles annually by 2025. This is a much lower number than all other major automakers but perhaps more realistic in light of today’ s trends.
Another risk is China. China’ s economy showed a sharp slowdown over the past two years and it is having an impact on auto sales. Sales of big automakers like GM ( GM) have been in decline for two years. GM just said it expects sales to remain weak through 2020 after falling 15% last year.
Taking Profits In Tesla, Should You Do It?
Taking profits is always the hardest thing to do with a trade as good as Tesla has been this year. The stock has gone parabolic delivering triple-digit gains and it very well could continue moving higher this year. The thing about profits in the stock market is they don’ t really count until you make the sale and close the position. All too often paper profits turn into real losses.
Today’ s downgrades may be the first in a wave of warnings and downgrades capping share prices. Tesla is expected to report earnings at the end of the month so there is plenty of time for analysts to reconsider the risk/reward profile and make their adjustments.
A good rule of thumb in a position like this is easy, if you are up more than 100% sell half, get your money back and let the rest ride. At that point, you’ re risking the house’ s money and not your own. In other cases, profits are where you find them; if you’ re happy with what you see now is never a bad time to sell.
Top 8 Companies That Are Adapting to a Post-Coronavirus World
The unintended consequences of the coronavirus pandemic are being played out in homes and apartments throughout the world. More and more employees are working from home, that’ s if they have a job to go to. Entire industries are effectively shut down as the world attempts to slow the spread of the virus. At some point, however, things will return to normal. But it will be a new normal. There are many businesses that won’ t reopen, and many industries that will forever be changed. As an investor, now is the time to get out your crystal ball. Timing the market is a fool’ s errand. But looking at what industries are positioned to thrive in a world that will be changed by the coronavirus is a prudent strategy. We’ ve identified 8 companies that are adapting to what the economy will be like in a post-coronavirus world. It will undoubtedly be more digital than it already is. Supply chains may become more vertically integrated as “ Made in America ” may take on a whole new meaning. As will the idea of working from home, going to a concert, or even preparing a meal.
View the `` Top 8 Companies That Are Adapting to a Post-Coronavirus World ''.
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Businesses Are Thriving, Societies Are Not. Time for Urgent Change | Bookmark content that interests you and it will be saved here for you to read or share later.
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Removed from Red Folder
World Economic Forum
As climate change and economic inequality rise, businesses must urgently change to support the societies they operate in.
By Orit Gadiesh and Andrew Schwedel
It’ s the end of an era for corporations. For 50 years, companies focused on delivering shareholder value above all else—but a rapidly changing world is undercutting the shareholder primacy paradigm.
Technological, demographic and macroeconomic disruptions are reshaping our economy and society—and stakeholders are demanding change. Consumers want safety, privacy and environmental responsibility. Employees require a stronger sense of purpose and rewards. Regulators assail business practices in banking, energy, healthcare and big tech.
Acknowledging an urgent need for change, the US-based Business Roundtable reversed two decades of official policy and called for a more balanced model of capitalism.
Many companies had already started down this path during the shareholder primacy era. Charles Schwab, USAA and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, for example, listened to their customers and employees and invested in loyalty. Unilever, LEGO and Patagonia made sustainability a strategic priority. Quietly, many firms developed agendas focused on good corporate citizenship without touting them.
Today, however, society’ s demands have escalated dramatically. Twenty years ago, corporate activists called for environmental protection and labor rights. Now, they demand action on a complex array of environmental, political, social and economic issues.
To address these concerns effectively, leadership teams must make corporate citizenship a core activity.
It’ s a wrenching change, but an urgent one. Firms are doing well, but host communities often aren’ t. Globalization delivered prosperity to emerging markets, lifting more than 1 billion people out of poverty—but it’ s deeply unpopular in Western countries where middle-class incomes stagnated, industries shrank and jobs disappeared. Abundant labor and cheap capital, combined with relaxed regulatory and antitrust regimes, concentrated corporate power. Nationalism is on the rise and climate change appears intractable. The rise of big data and powerful technology platform companies provoke fear of privacy abuse and fake news. Millennials in particular are far more skeptical of capitalism than previous generations and support a more expansive role for government.
Until now, political institutions in the developed world have struggled to keep pace with these changes. As big business thrives and social anxiety increases, however, battles over polarizing social and economic issues will intensify. Eventually, political leaders and society at large will look to the business sector to solve many of these problems.
That’ s a challenge few leadership teams are prepared for—even those that have worked hard to act responsibly—and few will be able to avoid. Amazon, for instance, has invested heavily in community engagement. The company took pains to address the concerns of state and city leaders in New York before selecting the New York City borough of Queens as its second headquarters. But Amazon still ran afoul of local activists who decried what they considered overly generous tax breaks for the project. The social backlash added to complaints about Amazon’ s overall corporate tax rate, labor practices, and dominant market power in e-commerce and web services.
We see six broad sets of issues likely to define corporate citizenship flashpoints in the coming decade.
The relevance and urgency of each issue will vary by company, industry and country. The demands of disparate communities are likely to clash; not all citizens or communities want the same things.
How, then, can companies respond to this new environment? Leadership teams can start by creating forward-leaning policy agendas, together with other companies in the same industries. These agendas should include concrete steps to address society’ s concerns. And firms or industries may choose to participate constructively in the debate—or to ignore it and risk government intervention, with potential outcomes much less to their liking.
Companies with forward-looking policy agendas will make community and citizen engagement a priority—as critical as investor relations. For example, retraining workers is likely to be a key issue for governments and companies in the 2020s. Amazon recently announced it will spend $ 700 million by 2025 to retrain about 100,000 employees, or roughly one-third of its American workforce. It also raised minimum wages, along with Walmart, PayPal and others.
To stay one step ahead of the debate on flashpoint issues, firms must develop new skills. Olam and Cargill named chief sustainability officers who are working closely with governments to improve food supply integrity. C-suites will need foreign policy competence to address trade frictions, technology transfer, data protection and constraints on labor sourcing, as well.
Successful leadership teams will devote the same careful attention to their citizenship agenda as they do to business strategy. In addition to understanding which communities are most important to the company, they’ ll need to determine where in the value chain they can make a difference. It will be critical to pinpoint where the firm’ s values, policies and actions are at odds with the interests of stakeholder communities. Leaders can then evaluate financial, human and reputational trade-offs in addressing citizens’ concerns.
These won’ t be easy choices, but they’ ll increasingly shape the CEO agenda over the next five years. And companies that embrace citizenship right now will be best positioned to navigate successfully the challenging times ahead.
Orit Gadiesh is the Chairman of Bain & Company. She is widely acknowledged as an expert on management and corporate strategy. Andrew Schwedel is a partner with Bain & Company and is a senior member of Bain's Financial Services practice. He also leads the firm’ s Macro Trends Group and co-chairs Bain Futures.
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Could collagen dominate food and beverage in 2020? | From popcorn and drinks to bars and snacks, this ingredient is popping up in more products as consumers increasingly reach for functional foods.
Jen Berliner remembers noticing consumers tagging her organic beverage company Medlie in Instagram posts. The images and videos showed people pouring packets of collagen into their blended vegetable drinks, mashes and shots — so she decided to make it easier for them.
In what Berliner calls a `` consumer-led decision, '' the company partnered with Whole30 to launch its Kale Avocado Protein Drink with Collagen in the summer of 2018 and on the first day it debuted, it was already a hit.
`` We, candidly, didn't know how it was going to do and that day remains one of our single biggest sales days ever, it has basically stayed as our No. 1 SKU ever since then, and we 've introduced a number of other collagen SKUs and products, '' the CEO told Food Dive. `` It's something that we really continue to lean into and respond to the consumer demand. ''
But it is not just Medlie getting in on the collagen trend. The ingredient — one of the most abundant proteins in the body — is poised for growth in 2020 as more people look for greater functional health benefits in what they consume. The global collagen market is projected to reach $ 6.6 billion by 2025 with an annual growth rate of 6.5%, according to a new report by Grand View Research.
`` Everything that we're seeing on our side is certainly no signs of slow down here. We're only seeing more and more demand for collagen products. ''
Jen Berliner
Medlie, CEO
Made popular in the U.S. in the 1980s as a pricey injectable filler to plump lips and soften lines, collagen has been finding its way into a variety of foods and beverages, from bars to salty snacks.
In more recent years, studies have shown that ingesting collagen for several months can improve skin elasticity and signs of aging as well as joint, back and knee pain. Other research, however, has said those health claims are exaggerated. So despite the increasing popularity and its reputation for health benefits, there are still many questions about its impact.
`` It’ s definitely among the top three products people ask me about, and I believe it does hold promise in some diverse areas of medicine, '' Mark Moyad, director of the complementary and alternative medicine program at the University of Michigan Medical Center told WebMD. `` It’ s also one of the most wacky and controversial. ''
But those questions haven't stopped collagen manufacturers from developing ingredients and integrating the product into more food and beverage as demand increases.
Last year, InterGanics launched a new high-purity product, called PeptPure Collagen Peptides, and a re-engineered process that they say delivers higher levels of purity, traceability, sustainability and transparency.
Felipe Chaluppe, president and CEO of InterGanics, told Food Dive collagen is still in an early stage of its lifecycle, but with more CPG companies getting into the space in the last five years, it has `` exploded. ''
“ It became very popular and... everybody understands the benefits of collagen and what it does, and I think it is just going to continue to grow because more applications are coming up, more delivery systems are being developed, ” he said.
SkinnyPop, which Hershey acquired in 2017, released a collagen popcorn last year. Chaluppe said that product caught his attention because the word collagen was so large on the package.
`` You couldn't really tell if they were selling popcorn with collagen or collagen with popcorn because of the packaging, '' he said. `` It was eye-catching. ''
He said that product is an example of the evolution of consumer awareness, as well as increased availability and more delivery technologies for collagen, which signals that this ingredient will be a big part of the industry `` for many, many years. ''
Kamal Elamri, co-founder of Zeebar, told Food Dive that his company’ s protein bars contain the highest amount of collagen per bar in the market at 14 grams each.
Elamri, who is originally from Morocco, said he noticed that bars in the U.S. had many additional and artificial ingredients so he sought to develop a bar with `` a pure list of ingredients. '' He wanted to combine argon oil, a popular ingredient in Morocco, with a protein to make his company's products.
While researching non-dairy proteins that were good for digestion, Elamri said they came across collagen and decided to use it because of its reported positive effects on skin, joints and fighting inflammation.
`` We like collagen because it is a really good way to get your protein intake and to also get health benefits from it, '' Elamri said. `` All those other protein supplements, like whey, they just have protein in it and nothing else really. ''
He said more consumers are looking to have added benefits from their food, which is a current trend across the industry. A white paper from ingredients company Kerry found that 65% of consumers seek functional benefits from their food and drink.
Medlie's Berliner said 2020 could bring more products that combine that functionality with convenience by offering more foods and drinks with collagen already infused. The ease of ready-to-drink appeals to consumers, she said, because of the convenience of not having to scoop, mix and shake collagen into products.
`` Something that people really love about our products is that we're delivering... all the protein and benefits of collagen in a bottle that they can grab from the fridge and walk out the door, '' she said. `` Everything that we're seeing on our side is certainly showing no signs of slow down here. We're only seeing more and more demand for collagen products. ''
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach. | general |
Philippine Catholics swarm Christ icon hoping for miracle | Hi, what are you looking for?
By
Published
Swarms of barefoot believers thronged a revered icon of Jesus Christ on Thursday in Manila for a lumbering and raucous procession considered one of the world's largest shows of Catholic fervour.
As the tropical sun beat down on the capital, hundreds of thousands of faithful were packed along the route for the procession of the so-called Black Nazarene, which they believe grants miracles.
Devotees clad in maroon and yellow risked injury clambering over one another to touch the life-size statue, wipe a white towel on it or lay a hand on the fat ropes used to pull its metal float.
`` We believe that if you pull the carriage, the Lord will cure all your diseases, '' 50-year-old vendor Boyet Lara told AFP. `` Nothing is impossible if we believe. ''
Local officials ' estimate put the number of participants at roughly two million, though AFP could not verify that figure.
The crush of humanity causes scores of injuries every year, and as the procession neared its final stretch authorities reported some 200 among the barefoot faithful had suffered sprains, scrapes or heat exhaustion.
`` In 2016, the rope pulling the statue wrapped around my head and I nearly choked to death. But I managed to survive, '' said devotee Crisostomo Belarmino, 52.
`` I cried that time and said 'Thank you Nazarene for giving me another life, ' '' he added.
There were no immediate reports of deaths, which have periodically plagued the event in prior years, often due to heat or pre-existing health problems.
The statue is named for its charred appearance and is accompanied by many difficult to prove stories, including that it survived a fire while en route to the Philippines in the 17th century.
Critics call the procession a mish-mash of superstition and unnecessary risk for the people who leave home barefoot and cram into the procession route each year.
However, officials in the Philippines ' powerful Catholic Church called it a demonstration of participants ' `` overflowing faith, an expression of their devotion ''.
Many devotees swear the Black Nazarene has brought them help when they needed it most.
`` When my husband suffered a stroke two years ago, even if I didn't ask for financial help, I got it, '' vendor Angeline Mara, 43, said.
`` Every time I hear the song for the Nazarene, I feel like I 'm about to cry, '' she added.
Though authorities did not report any specific threat to this year's procession, there was a typically massive presence of thousands of police on Manila's streets.
The Philippines is plagued by violent insurgencies, including Islamic State-linked militants that have carried out bombings on civilian targets.
Swarms of barefoot believers thronged a revered icon of Jesus Christ on Thursday in Manila for a lumbering and raucous procession considered one of the world’ s largest shows of Catholic fervour.
As the tropical sun beat down on the capital, hundreds of thousands of faithful were packed along the route for the procession of the so-called Black Nazarene, which they believe grants miracles.
Devotees clad in maroon and yellow risked injury clambering over one another to touch the life-size statue, wipe a white towel on it or lay a hand on the fat ropes used to pull its metal float.
“ We believe that if you pull the carriage, the Lord will cure all your diseases, ” 50-year-old vendor Boyet Lara told AFP. “ Nothing is impossible if we believe. ”
Local officials’ estimate put the number of participants at roughly two million, though AFP could not verify that figure.
The crush of humanity causes scores of injuries every year, and as the procession neared its final stretch authorities reported some 200 among the barefoot faithful had suffered sprains, scrapes or heat exhaustion.
“ In 2016, the rope pulling the statue wrapped around my head and I nearly choked to death. But I managed to survive, ” said devotee Crisostomo Belarmino, 52.
“ I cried that time and said ‘ Thank you Nazarene for giving me another life, ' ” he added.
There were no immediate reports of deaths, which have periodically plagued the event in prior years, often due to heat or pre-existing health problems.
The statue is named for its charred appearance and is accompanied by many difficult to prove stories, including that it survived a fire while en route to the Philippines in the 17th century.
Critics call the procession a mish-mash of superstition and unnecessary risk for the people who leave home barefoot and cram into the procession route each year.
However, officials in the Philippines’ powerful Catholic Church called it a demonstration of participants’ “ overflowing faith, an expression of their devotion ”.
Many devotees swear the Black Nazarene has brought them help when they needed it most.
“ When my husband suffered a stroke two years ago, even if I didn’ t ask for financial help, I got it, ” vendor Angeline Mara, 43, said.
“ Every time I hear the song for the Nazarene, I feel like I’ m about to cry, ” she added.
Though authorities did not report any specific threat to this year’ s procession, there was a typically massive presence of thousands of police on Manila’ s streets.
The Philippines is plagued by violent insurgencies, including Islamic State-linked militants that have carried out bombings on civilian targets.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
The startlingly rapid spread of Covid-19's Omicron variant has raised grave concern across the US.
Gas will soon be a thing of the past in New York City, thanks to a bill passed on Wednesday by the City Council.
At face value, Russia’ s demands on NATO are tension-raisers in the name of reducing tension.
The Netherlands announced a Christmas lockdown and London declared a `` major incident '' as Europe tries to rein in rising Covid-19 cases.
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Facebook bans deepfake videos ahead of the U.S. elections ( Includes interview) | Hi, what are you looking for?
By
Published
Facebook has announced it will ban deepfake videos ahead of the U.S. elections. However, the social media firm’ s revised policy will continue allow heavily edited clips so long as they fall under the definition of parody or satire.
“ Deepfake ” videos have been appearing on social media in increasing numbers. The terms is a truncation of “ deep learning ” and “ fake ”, and it relates to images and videos set out to deliberately manipulate the viewer.
Most users of social media have misgiving s about deepfake videos. An example is with the video put to together by the U.K. Conservative Party about a Labour Party opponent and posted onto Facebook, which received widespread condemnation during the general election campaign.
To gain an insight into Facebook’ s move, Robert Prigge, CEO of Jumio explains why regulation is important: “ There’ s no doubt that deepfakes need to be regulated — it’ s far too easy to use artificial intelligence to create these deceptive videos in order to perpetuate fraud and damage reputations. ”
He adds that: “ Facebook’ s decision to ban deepfakes is a step in the right direction, but there’ s a lot of work to be done. ”
However, the task that Facebook has set itsefl will not be easy: “ With each deepfake flagged and reviewed, Facebook’ s data set will grow, making it easier to train its machine learning models to determine if media has been manipulated and needs to be removed. ”
Facebook’ s decision has not been followed by other social media platforms like Snapchat and TikTok, who will continue to allow deepfake videos to be shown.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
The hunt for answers - like whether the Omicron variant will trigger new waves of infection.
Crime is raging across the country, from violent attacks to brazen shoplifting to mob “ smash and grab ” attacks.
The Omicron variant that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up genetic material from another virus.
At its core, Zero Trust is all about authenticating and authorizing access policies that have been designed to provide the least privilege, for the...
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
China's Sars-like illness worries health experts | The finding that the outbreak of viral pneumonia in China that has struck 59 people may be caused by a coronavirus, the family of viruses behind Sars, which spread to 37 countries in 2003, causing global panic and killing more than 750 people, means that health authorities will be watching closely.
China says the illness is not Sars ( severe acute respiratory syndrome), nor Mers ( Middle East respiratory syndrome), both of which are caused by coronaviruses, and so far it appears milder than both. Unlike Sars, it does not appear to spread easily between humans and unlike Mers, which has a mortality rate of about 35%, nobody has died.
But the identification in preliminary laboratory tests by the Chinese of a novel coronavirus emerging once more from animals to infect humans is worrying for global health experts. When Sars appeared in China in 2002, it was not swiftly identified and contained. It spread around the world – particularly to Canada – via travellers.
Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome and an expert in tropical diseases, said: “ Epidemics of diseases known and unknown are one of our greatest global health threats – threats that are with us constantly.
“ A cluster of patients with an unusual respiratory infection is, and should always be, a worry. The level of concern raises again when the illness is linked to an animal food source. This is how new viruses jump across the species barrier – as was the case with Sars, Mers, avian flu and Ebola. ”
The source of the virus is not yet known but investigations have centred on a market in Wuhan selling live animals and seafood. The origin of Sars was eventually traced to bats in a cave in Yunnan province in China. Dromedary camels are the source of Mers, although it is thought they may also have originally been infected by bats. The World Health Organization said in a statement that the Chinese authorities believed the disease “ does not transmit readily between people ”, but that it could cause severe illness in some patients. Seven people were known to be critically ill at the weekend. The Chinese authorities have not updated the figures since Sunday. State television said eight people taken to hospital with respiratory problems had been sent home.
“ More comprehensive information is required to confirm the pathogen, as well as to better understand the epidemiology of the outbreak, the clinical picture, the investigations to determine the source, modes of transmission, extent of infection and the countermeasures implemented, ” the WHO said.
The memory of Sars has already triggered precautionary behaviour in Hong Kong, where people arriving from Wuhan are being screened for the flu-like symptoms of respiratory disease. Some people have been hospitalised, but none has proved to have viral pneumonia of the type found in China.
Farrar said one of the key concerns was whether the infection was passing from one person to another. “ Are doctors and nurses treating patients, or family members, who have not had the same exposure to the source, also getting sick? ” he asked.
“ If the infection is not passing person to person, then the level of concern is somewhat reduced – although it can always happen later and infections can change. ”
It appeared that there had not been any newly confirmed cases in Wuhan for about a fortnight, he said, which was reassuring.
“ The health authorities in China are right, therefore, to take the time necessary to carry out thorough tests and to ensure correct diagnosis. When public health responses are rushed, problems follow – as we saw with early responses to the Nipah outbreak in 1999, ” he said.
“ While early identification of this new virus is testimony to vastly improved monitoring, the global health community still has much to do to address global epidemic preparedness. We are still without a vaccine or treatment for Sars or Mers, which we have long known to be epidemic threats. ” | general |
ACP Loses Virginia Permit in Latest Setback | Sign in to get the best natural gas news and data. Follow the topics you want and receive the daily emails.
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A federal court has vacated yet another regulatory approval for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline ( ACP) project, this time invalidating an air permit for a compressor station in Virginia.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board did not properly consider how the project might impact a minority community in Buckingham County. The court also found that regulators failed to adequately consider alternatives for the compressor station that could better mitigate environmental impacts.
“ What matters is whether the board has performed its statutory duty to determine whether this facility is suitable for this site, ” because of environmental justice “ and potential health risks for the people of Union Hill. It has not, ” the court wrote in its decision.
Environmental and community advocacy groups Friends of Buckingham and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation challenged the permit to site the project in historic Union Hill, which has a high population of African Americans whose ancestors established the community after the Civil War.
The Fourth Circuit determined that the air control board leaned too heavily on an incomplete record and did not make adequate findings about the population or the potential environmental impacts. Environmental justice reviews are typically conducted to determine whether a project will have a disproportionate impact on minority or low-income communities. The court also questioned why electric turbines were not considered for the compressor station instead of gas-fired turbines.
Under state law, regulators are required to consider environmental justice factors in approving a project. The court also noted that Gov. Ralph Northam’ s administration in 2018 recommended suspending the permitting decision “ pending further review of the station’ s impacts on the health and the lives of those living in close proximity. ”
The court vacated the permit and remanded it to the board.
The latest setback for ACP follows a series of regulatory and legal delays, a number of which have come at the Fourth Circuit. The project can’ t move ahead until the court’ s December 2018 ruling is resolved, which tossed approval to cross the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. That ruling could impact other natural gas infrastructure projects in the future.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear ACP’ s appeal of the decision in the coming months.
The 600-mile ACP would carry 1.5 Bcf/d of Appalachian gas through mountainous terrain from West Virginia to Virginia and North Carolina.
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Natural gas futures faltered again Tuesday despite a huge day/day decline in production. The losses reflected changes in the latest weather outlook, which had been colder over the weekend but then warmed in the last couple of runs. The January Nymex gas futures contract fell 4.7 cents to $ 3.747/MMBtu. Spot gas prices, meanwhile, came crashing…
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E & P | general |
Air cargo continues slump, down for 13th straight month | An impending trade deal between the U.S. and China signals good news for the air cargo industry. `` But trading conditions at present remain very challenging, '' de Juniac said in his statement.
In its second-quarter 2020 earnings call last month, FedEx addressed falling demand in air freight and expanded on its plans to retire aircraft originally announced in September.
`` This quarter has seen significant effects on the industrial economy due to continuing trade disputes, including reductions in international air freight and tepid, at best, B2B domestic parcel and freight shipping, '' FedEx CEO Fred Smith said on the call.
In response, FedEx said it will cut its flight hours by 68% by Q4 `` to better match capacity with demand, '' FedEx CFO Alan Graf said.
Gil West, the COO for Delta Air Lines, said at the company's investor day last month that the it had `` seen headwinds this year '' on the cargo front as a result of tariffs. But West said cargo would remain an important part of the airline's strategy, especially considering the speed offered by an air network the size of Delta's.
`` It's not next day, '' West said. `` It's actually within a few hours. We can get anything anywhere. ''
There was a glimmer of hope in the most recent IATA numbers: International air freight volumes for European airlines increased 2.6% YoY. And the Africa market continues to show strength, growing by 20% YoY in November.
But the cargo route between North America and Asia is by far the largest and the trade war continues to impact numbers from the regions. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and President Donald Trump are expected to sign the first phase of a trade deal next week. Many of the tariffs from the trade war will remain in place, but the air cargo industry is hopeful the deal will uplift international trade.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Businesses have stockpiled product, used fewer materials and bolstered internal manufacturing to cope in a tight market.
Brands with high exposure to Vietnam are seeing port delays, canceled orders and slow capacity recovery after months of COVID-19 related restrictions.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Businesses have stockpiled product, used fewer materials and bolstered internal manufacturing to cope in a tight market.
Brands with high exposure to Vietnam are seeing port delays, canceled orders and slow capacity recovery after months of COVID-19 related restrictions.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more. | general |
There’ s Almost No Chance of a Recession This Year, Experts Say. Here’ s Why. | When
Barron’ s
gathers some of Wall Street’ s best minds—as we do every January for our annual Roundtable—we expect some consensus, some disagreement, and one or two off-the-wall notions that sometimes turn out to be surprisingly prescient. This year did not disappoint.
Investors entered 2020 with the financial markets heading higher and a lot of optimism about the economy. Then the latest flare-up in the long conflict with Iran reminded everyone of the many geopolitical risks lurking under the seemingly placid surface of the market.
But the 10 veteran investors and economists who convened in New York on Jan. 6 at the
Barron’ s
offices agree that there’ s almost no chance of a recession this year, and their view of stocks is decidedly, albeit cautiously, optimistic.
They all spoke of high valuations and noted a lack of catalysts to drive stocks higher. That led to some bemoaning that it’ s becoming increasingly hard to find good value in today’ s market—so perhaps it’ s no surprise that there were a few overlapping stock picks and a handful of familiar ideas. Where was the dissent? It centered on what the Federal Reserve’ s next move would be. The biggest surprises were in the discussion around this year’ s presidential election.
Our panelists raise different concerns about China, agree on the need for increased immigration, and see an almost certain win by Donald Trump.
Two new people joined the fray this year. Sonal Desai is an economist and chief investment officer of the $ 154 billion fixed-income group at Franklin Templeton; James Anderson is a veteran international money manager with Scotland’ s Baillie Gifford, which, among other things, subadvises the Vanguard International Growth fund.
This week, we present the panelists’ views on the global economy and financial markets. Over the next two weeks, each will make the case for their best picks for 2020.
Barron’ s:
Let’ s keep it simple. What do you expect for the economy and the market in 2020?
Abby Joseph Cohen:
In the U.S. and a handful of other nations, including Japan and in Europe, 90% of stock market gains in 2019 were due to multiple expansion [ investors’ willingness to pay more for the same set of corporate financials ]. But 2020 will likely be a year of much more modest gains, and they will be closely linked to corporate profit increases—which, in most of these countries, will be in the mid-single digits. In early 2019, equity markets were undervalued, following the sharp price declines in late 2018. The S & P 500 index price/earnings ratio rose from 14 times to 19 times during 2019. At current prices, the S & P is within a whisker of fair value, and there’ s not much margin for error. Looking for potential sources of error, there are the usual economic factors, which in 2020 may include some inflation and a steepening of the yield curve. Baked into the cake is the assumption that Fed policy will be unchanged and that interest rates won’ t rise.
Valuations of bonds and other fixed-income instruments seem extreme in many countries; there are still negative interest rates in several developed economies. They seem overpriced. Other worries include geopolitics, with the U.S. election at the top of the list, accompanied by impeachment.
What isn’ t baked in the valuation cake are possible foreign-policy developments. Clearly, there’ s a lot of discussion about the U.S., with respect to Iran and North Korea, and whether there is a consistent policy. These are sources of potential volatility for U.S. equities.
Where else is there potential for error?
Cohen:
The phase-one tariff agreement [ with China ] that we expect will be signed on Jan. 15 will be only a partial deal and will not get us back to tariff levels prior to recent months. But the real, consequential economic issues with China haven’ t been tariffs: the issues are protection of intellectual property, forced joint ventures, limited access to Chinese markets, and so on. The phase-one deal is incomplete.
Read More Roundtable
Read the picks—and pans—from these panelists
Abby Joseph Cohen: Buy L3Harris Stock Because Its Dividend Could Grow Double-Digits
Todd Ahlsten: Deere Is a Titan and Its Stock Is a Bargain
Mario Gabelli: Time to Invest in Stocks That Will Save the World. Here are Two.
Sonal Desai: Buy the Yen and Gold. Both Will Beat Oil
Scott Black: Buy Royal Caribbean Stock Even Though Coronavirus Fears Are Slamming It
Tesla and 25 Other Stock Picks & Pans from the Barron’ s Roundtable
Almost No Chance of a Recession
2019 Midyear Roundtable: Where to Find Value
The Trump Administration has made economic policy blunders with regard to the international arena. Among these were the withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which occurred during the first days of this administration. The TPP, a broad trade alliance, was designed to serve as a buffer for nations around the Pacific Rim against Chinese trade practices. We all know the TPP wasn’ t perfect, and was criticized by politicians in both U.S. parties. However, it was one source of protection for the U.S. and our trade partners in East Asia, South Asia, and the Americas. The U.S. has also failed to participate in the new iteration of the Asian Development Bank, ceding more ground to China.
I view the withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement as a blunder, as well. For the first time, all the nations on the planet, including China, signed to a climate accord. By not participating, the U.S. has given China more range to do what it wishes. U.S.-based multinationals are moving ahead with Paris compliance, in any case. But the elimination of some environmental regulations in the U.S. are ultimately damaging to the economy. You might get a short-term burst of activity in some selected industries, but the overall consequences are negative. The auto industry now has multiple sets of regulations, adding to its expenses. Companies that have been leaders in renewable energy, recyclables, and new materials could have been enormous areas of growth within the U.S. and in worldwide markets. Instead, we may fall back.
Henry Ellenbogen |
Photograph by Jeff Brown
“
China is the north star for what’ s going on in the change in financial payments globally.
”
Todd, you look for companies that do the right thing with regard to environmental policy and have excellent corporate governance. Do you consider the market too pricey?
Todd Ahlsten:
Yes, from the first top-down view, the market looks fully priced; it is a year to be more defensive. We expect more volatility, and tepid economic growth. The Fed being on hold is a bet I would be careful to take.
Sonal, you’ ve said that the economy is stronger than most people think.
Sonal Desai:
I find myself out of sync with most people on the issue of trade. This administration has changed direction on trade policy 140 characters at a time. That was disruptive. But the idea that the U.S. can go back to a pre-Trump world in terms of trade is highly unlikely, regardless of the outcome of the November election. Some level of trade tensions are here to stay. Trade has been this massive negative, from the perspective of sentiment and markets. The real U.S. economy isn’ t as influenced by trade as its markets are. I would be far more focused on the elections as a source of volatility and potential policy action, postelection.
Last year, the Fed blinked when the market sold off. [ The Fed cut interest rates, starting in July, after raising them four times in 2018. ] When the Fed did its famous pivot, the economy was growing pretty much as it is growing right now. The Fed boosted asset prices; its mandate is full employment and controlling inflation. I am not coming into this year expecting something dramatically negative on the underlying economy, which is pretty darn strong and we need to keep that in perspective.
If the Fed’ s raising rates causes the stock market to fall, and if that causes the Fed to cut rates, that’ s an endless feedback cycle. How do we break out of that? Or do we have low rates forever?
Desai: Excellent point. When you have a year with flat earnings and a stock market that goes up 28%, that can not be a comfortable place for a central bank to be. The Fed has to have recognized that, and I don’ t think it is going to jump in there cutting rates. This is a robust economy, so I don’ t think it is an endless loop.
Do you expect inflation to rise?
Desai:
Pre–global financial crisis, we all talked about the great moderation—great growth, low inflation, low volatility. It was all fantastic and going to go on forever, until it didn’ t. Then we were going to have a series of Minsky moments [ a sudden, major collapse of an asset class, marking the end of a growth phase ], until we didn’ t. Now, everybody is talking about “ secular stagnation, ” and assuming that means you can build up debt, have low interest rates, and inflation is gone forever. These are heroic assumptions. You have to look out longer than five or 10 years, and you can’ t assume massive expansion of monetary balances by central banks is going to have no impact on inflation.
Rupal J. Bhansali:
Inflation is what breaks this feedback loop. We are so used to hearing that inflation is below the 2% target. It isn’ t. It’ s over 2% in the U.S., and wage inflation is running well north of that. Part of the reason the markets went up is because they always go up when you have real [ inflation adjusted ] negative interest rates, and that is what we are experiencing. That is the real canary in the coal mine. Higher-than-expected inflation will put an end to this party like nothing else would.
The reasons for being both bullish and bearish on the economy are that the consumer is very strong, but the manufacturing sector is not. So, it is a two-speed economy. The consumer is very strong, partly because employment is at record lows and partly because wage inflation is very strong, much higher than the consumer price index. It is running at 3.2%, compared with the headline CPI of 2%, and that’ s a very healthy increase. Consumer credit is running at a 4% growth rate, while lending to small and medium-size enterprises is flat. If you look at manufacturing globally, it is in a tailspin. [ The ISM Manufacturing index is at a 10-year low. ] The auto industry is at the vortex, but aerospace is following suit because production cuts are about to happen in 2020. Surveys show consumer confidence is strong, but CEO confidence is at its lowest since 2009.
Will the industrial side get bad enough to have an impact on consumers?
Bhansali:
It inevitably does, because the two are linked. Though manufacturing accounts for only 11% to 13% of gross domestic product, when it contracted in the first and second quarters of 2019, the Fed lowered rates despite inflation hovering at or above its stated target of 2%. If inflation rises well above 2%, it may force the Fed to raise rates. This may eventually end up hurting the consumer and the economy. In short, the economy may do fine, but the stock market won’ t. Given how richly valued the markets are, if you have any hiccups in the credit markets, it will have a disproportionate effect on the equity markets because of the amount of corporate leverage and underfunded pension liabilities. It would not surprise me if we go into bear market territory because of those two starting points.
William Priest:
Three things drive the market—earnings, dividends, and price/earnings multiples. Dividend yields are a little less than 2%; that’ s going to continue. Earnings gains will be fairly modest—3% to 5% are the consensus. So we are talking 5% to 7% growth, until you come to the P/E problem.
What is the P/E problem?
Priest:
We will see very little upside from multiple expansion, but the downside could be substantial. I agree with Rupal; we are going to hear more about inflation this year, and it is unclear what the central banks are going to do about it. Inflation is never a problem until it gets into wages, but once it is in wages, it becomes a big problem. We know from history that inflation can be hard to control.
However, technology is incredibly deflationary. If a business can hold its revenues constant and substitute technology for labor, its margins go up. If it can substitute technology for fixed assets, its sales per dollar of assets rise. Everyone is trying to build a “ capital light ” model. But one of the things the market has overlooked is that payout ratios will continue to rise, as this model is deployed. Dividend growth will be surprisingly good.
Roundtable Panelists’ 2019 Picks
The S & P 500 Gained Almost 28% in 2019. Here’ s How Stock Picks From Our Experts Did.
Policy uncertainty is also a huge issue. We have entered a new Cold War, and that is negative for global growth. We’ ve had more than 20 years of the benefits of globalization, which is being unwound. Comparative advantage is now going in reverse, which will limit economic growth. As a result, there is more downside than upside to the market. If the president is re-elected, Trump unchained will be a lot more unpredictable than the Trump we have today, and the uncertainty surrounding that will exacerbate volatility.
Cohen:
[ The risks of deglobalization ] are not just about the flow of goods. We also need to talk about the flow of people. We know from economic history that nations with growth in their labor force have the fastest economic growth. One of the reasons the U.S. has done so well, relative to other developed economies, is because the growth rates in our population and labor force have been higher, and much of that growth over the past 10 years has come from immigrants. Our domestic growth rate is lower because the birth rate is lower for the current household-formation generations. Also, baby boomers are aging, and the death rate is rising. We’ ve made up the difference with immigration.
The fastest growth in job creation is at either end of the skills spectrum—high-level health care, information technology, and so on, and low-end health care and hospitality. Those broad areas are largely filled by immigrants. Over the last handful of years, the immigration rate is down. Visas for people who have special skills or visas for students are down 20% to 40% since 2015.
James Anderson:
It is amazing to have seen America throw away its biggest comparative advantage in the way it has, particularly with regard to highly skilled, inventive people. The percentage of your great companies founded by immigrant families is staggering. It is not talked about enough.
Cohen:
More than a third [ 14 ] of the [ 37 ]
Nobel Prizes awarded to the U.S.
in the past 10 years in the natural-sciences categories have gone to foreign-born Americans.
Henry, what’ s your outlook for 2020?
Henry Ellenbogen:
I look at 2019 as a year the Fed really pivoted, and focused on driving inflation to be consistently above 2%, more than its other mandates. The real question: What is going on in the world structurally that is narrowing the Fed’ s focus?
It’ s interesting to look at what has happened from a technological standpoint among the large platform companies over the past 10 years, allowing for lower unemployment without the wage pressure to link it to inflation. These forces have changed not only our central bank’ s policies, but also the policies of central banks in Europe and Japan. And if you look at the demographics Abby alluded to, Japan’ s labor force peaked in the’ 90s, and Europe’ s peaked 10 years ago. And, unless we get immigration started, ours peaked last year. The number of working-age people in the U.S. declined in 2019.
Meryl Witmer:
What are the legal immigration numbers?
Ellenbogen:
I don’ t know the absolute numbers, but immigration has gone down by close to 50%. Our population growth is 90% driven by immigration.
Cohen:
We’ ve looked at the economic impact of immigrants, and first-generation immigrants are the people who tend to fall at the two ends of the skill spectrum I mentioned. Some do quite well economically, others not so well, and this includes those who come in an unauthorized manner. When you look at the second generation, individuals with at least one parent who was an immigrant do dramatically better than their parents. They become significant taxpayers.
Desai:
I’ m a little puzzled why everyone assumes that current immigration policy is permanent. It can change as quickly as November, or four years from then. It is premature to assume that the medium term is going to look the way the short term does. The same is true for productivity [ concerns ]. It is the height of arrogance to believe that since we’ ve seen low productivity growth in the past five years, we are never going to see strong productivity again. Twelve years ago, there wasn’ t an iPhone, and presumably none of us could have predicted back then that we would have computers in our pockets.
James Anderson |
Photograph by Jeff Brown
“
The percentage of your great companies founded by immigrant families is staggering. It is not talked about enough.
”
Let’ s talk about technology and its role in the economy and dominance in the equity markets.
Ellenbogen:
It’ s important to look at how technology disruption has really changed the world. In 2010, Amazon.com [ ticker: AMZN ] had only $ 24 billion of gross merchandise value, or GMV, globally, and they sold a billion units. At the end of 2019, those numbers were up 10 times: They have $ 240 billion in GMV and will sell close to 11 billion global units. Amazon is deflationary for consumer prices; e-commerce has about a five times spillover into prices in the offline world.
Two of the panelists’ stock picks last year included Walt Disney [ DIS ], and [ CEO ] Bob Iger was chosen to be Time’ s business person of the year. What did he do with [ new online streaming service ] Disney+? He priced it at $ 6.99 a month. Now, U.S. consumers can get Netflix [ NFLX ] and Disney for under $ 20 a month, instead of spending $ 80 to $ 90 on a cable bundle.
These platforms are cutting out the middleman. The surplus of disruption is going to the tech companies—seven of the top 10 companies around the globe by market cap are in tech—or going back to the consumer. This is why we have 3.5% unemployment, and how we have wage growth, but not the spillover into inflation. We estimate that 30% of S & P companies are under threat of disruption; this disruption will continue, and will benefit the consumer. That will allow the Fed and other central banks to stay accommodative, which creates a reasonable environment for investors. But you’ ll have to be very selective. Find companies like Disney that can transition to the way the world works now, or find new platforms.
Bhansali:
I’ m going to challenge that. Service-cost inflation in this country is running at close to 4%. It is goods inflation that is at 0%. We are exaggerating the effect of technology. If you look at what a family spends on services versus goods, service inflation is what you should really be measuring.
Uber Technologies
[ UBER ] and Netflix are revolutionary, but we have had these sorts of revolutions all along—they just weren’ t tweeted about, and they weren’ t as consumer-oriented. But if they are really that disruptive and deflationary, why are we seeing this level of services inflation?
Ellenbogen:
If you are a high-cost retailer with a lot of middlemen and distribution and high-cost real estate, you basically are going bankrupt or you are massively losing share. Online commerce accounted for more than half of the growth of all commerce in the U.S. That’ s why there is no goods inflation. Walmart [ WMT ] responded to Amazon a couple of years ago by acquiring [ online retailer ] Jet.com, and there has not been inflation in that basket of goods. Media is not a huge part of GDP, but it is representative. And now you can get content for $ 20 a month, instead of $ 80.
Bhansali:
Your cost of rent has gone up, your cost of health-care services has gone up. These are the bigger expenditures.
There seems to be a greater push from investors for these disruptive companies to become profitable. Will that change technology as a deflationary force?
Ellenbogen:
The real question is government regulation. If the Europeans lead, that could lower the deflationary force of technology.
Todd Ahlsten |
Photograph by Jeff Brown
Because of Europe’ s efforts to protect people’ s privacy?
Ellenbogen:
Yes. It is the large consumer platform companies—Alphabet’ s [ GOOGL ] Google, Facebook [ FB ], Amazon, Netflix—that are providing transparency of information, which is putting pressure on the price of goods and forcing companies to cut out middlemen to get goods more efficiently to the consumer. And the consumer is getting that surplus.
Ahlsten:
Another aspect of inflation: At some point, climate change will be a big deal. We’ ve been underpricing the cost of energy for a long, long time, and we all know that energy is the lifeblood [ of the economy ]. Climate change, at some point, sparks inflation. We have a legacy economy, but at the same time we have to invest in the new economy—the cost of stranded assets and new investments will cause a lot of volatility and inflation.
Anderson:
I’ m absolutely with you on that fundamental point about climate. But, ultimately, alternative energy is likely to be extremely deflationary.
Mario Gabelli:
You have to take the power from the wind and solar, and couple it with battery storage. We all agree that the cost per megawatt is declining sharply. But you have to distribute it. Ideally, the distribution would go underground, but the cost of a mile of underground transmission versus overhead wires is two or three times greater.
Cohen:
There are huge structural changes in the economy, be it in technology, climate, or pricing of various goods and services. It is important to note that the official data which are reported at these critical economic inflection points are often wrong, because the underlying sampling techniques are woefully out of date. For example, much data from the Commerce Department’ s Bureau of Economic Analysis, or BEA, relies on a previous census of manufacturers and other companies that may have been completed five or seven years earlier. The companies that were important then have their activities overweighted in the current statistics. And which are underweighted? The official data may be underweighting all the new, exciting stuff in the economy. The mismeasurements can include production, pricing, and also the labor markets because the growing categories are under-represented in the surveys. Sonal raised the notion of productivity; the same is true there. It looked terrible when reported in the 1990s and early 2000s. What we found out several years later, when the Commerce Department finally revised the data, is that GDP growth was almost a percentage point higher than originally estimated, which meant that productivity was a percentage point higher. I doubt that today’ s mismeasurement is as large as that, but there is some mismeasurement.
Rupal J. Bhansali |
Photograph by Jeff Brown
“
We focus so much on Silicon Valley and all the innovation we see as consumers, but the health-care industry has undergone enormous innovation.
”
Are we mismeasuring stock data, too?
Cohen:
Some of our stock market data are skewed, as well. We focus on a very small number of companies that are performing extremely well. There is a huge difference between the mean and the median performance. This can be seen not only in share prices, but also in the performance of the underlying companies.
Ellenbogen:
There is something broader going on in the market. It is also shrinking in terms of names. However, the private market is getting larger, though that will have a little bit of a pause. The narrowing in the market is not just driven by the dominance of the tech companies, but also by investors’ belief that a smaller part of the market has a positive terminal value because of the secular changes we’ ve talked about.
Does a top-heavy market make it harder to pick stocks? Apple is 5% of the S & P.
Scott Black:
It’ s 4.55%, actually, but who’ s counting? To your point, the top five stocks—Apple [ AAPL ], Microsoft [ MSFT ], Alphabet, Amazon, and Facebook, are 16.7% of the total weighting. The performance of Microsoft and Apple alone accounted for half of the increase last year in the information-technology sector. It was up 48%, and the two of them accounted for 24% of that. Some of this is heavily skewed because of exchange-traded funds—in 1980, there were 11,500 publicly traded U.S. companies; there are 3,600 today, and almost all of them are in various indexes. It makes it more difficult to find inefficiencies than it did in 1980 or 1990. Not impossible, but much more difficult.
Anderson:
There are always a small number of companies that dominate the stock market. We looked at the research of Hendrik Bessembinder at Arizona State University. Since 1990, the entire added value of equity over U.S. Treasury bills globally has come from just 1.3% of the companies.
Cohen:
One reason the U.S. has outperformed is that is has a heavier tech weighting than any other market. Other markets, [ such as emerging ones ] have a heavier energy/commodity component. That was the worst-performing sector last year.
OK, it’ s time put you all on the spot. What’ s your prediction for U.S. GDP and the market at the end of 2020? Mario, you first.
Gabelli:
We have a $ 90 trillion global economy. The U.S. is around 24%, reflecting the strength of U.S. economy and the dollar. Europe is about 22%; Japan, 6%. Europe is going to get a little stronger in 2020; Japan will be up a little bit. I’ ll give developed countries 2% real growth, with the U.S. in that area, assuming we don’ t have oil going to $ 100 a barrel. China will grow over 6% real. Overall, I see 3.2% real growth for global GDP.
The markets will be up in the first half of 2020 and turn down in the last 90 days of 2020, because there will be a lot more uncertainty for 2021. A major agreement between the Democrats and Republicans on an infrastructure bill could change that outcome. That is a missing ingredient in the U.S. economic outlook for 2021.
Ahlsten:
It’ s going to be quite a volatile year. Multiple expansion will be tough to come by, so with earnings growth in the mid-single digits, a starting framework is a mid-single digit year [ for stock returns ].
Desai:
For 2020, I’ m looking at 2.5% to 2.75% [ real gross domestic product growth ], and agree that the VIX [ the Cboe Volatility Index ] will go up for a variety of reasons, political and otherwise. It takes very little to topple from a steep valuation; I would have to agree, based on where your market appreciation comes from, that mid-single digit returns on stocks sound right.
Cohen:
With GDP at that level, what sort of interest rates do you expect?
Desai:
The Fed is going to keep short-term rates anchored where they are, and I continue to believe that this is a mistake, as monetary policy is too accommodative for the state of the economy. I expect the long end [ of the U.S. Treasury market ] to sell off a bit, on the back of inflation, despite the deflationary or disinflationary consequences of technology. The strength of labor markets argues for that. Finally, while goods price inflation has remained muted, that certainly is not the case for asset price inflation.
The R-word came up quite a bit in our discussion last year, but no one has mentioned recession today.
Priest:
A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative real GDP. The sum of the growth in the workforce and growth in productivity has to be a minus sign. It’ s almost impossible to get that in the U.S. right now. I think U.S. real GDP growth will be around 1.5%, with overall global real GDP growth at 3% or a bit less.
Witmer:
The consumer is in good shape; consumers will continue to spend, and the Fed looks like it will be very cooperative. We usually say slow growth is nirvana for the market, but with valuations this high, I would not expect a robust year for the market. Everything I look at is trading where it should trade in 1½ or 2 years from now, which means valuations are 15% to 20% too high. We could have a really sideways-to-down market; if something happens to cause fear, it could really topple. Then, maybe we’ d get some good valuations again. It’ s good to have some cash around. Cash levels for retail investors are still kind of high, but down from last year.
Ellenbogen:
I see modest real GDP growth in the 1.5% to 2% range. I agree with Meryl that the consumer is strong and the markets are relatively full. I am the opposite of Mario—I think the markets are going to be weak until we have some certainty, not only on the presidential election, but also on whether the Democrats take the Senate. The three swing factors for the year are the Fed, China, and the election. The Fed will remain accommodative. I don’ t think China has forgotten what’ s happened over the last couple of years. And there will be clarity around the election and whether there is a change in fiscal policy and taxes.
Scott, what’ s your view?
Black:
I see three overriding themes. First is the resolution of trade problems with China. The second is the accommodative behavior of the Fed. The final one is the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Let’ s start with the China piece. Notwithstanding all of the tariffs, our current account trade deficit went down only $ 8.3 billion, to $ 724.2 billion. It did drop about $ 50 billion with China, but it went way back up with Mexico. Vietnam was the big beneficiary. Most economists knock 100 basis points off real GDP because of disruptions, especially in supply chains from technology, manufacturing, or just consumer products that are made in China.
The second theme is the Federal Reserve. They’ ve rewound the balance sheet for $ 448 billion. People haven’ t paid attention to it, but they’ ve been producing massive amounts of liquidity with QE4.
[ Fed Chairman ] Jay Powell politicized the Fed this year. Inflation is under 2%, and unemployment is at record lows, unseen since the Johnson Administration. I know he wanted to stave off recession, but Powell went overboard to get [ the federal-funds rate ] down to 1.5% to 1.75%. That reflated assets and the stock market rallied big time from August to Dec. 31.
But he’ s out of bullets. God forbid we have a major recession—it’ s not like the days when you had a 5% or 5.5% rate that could be dropped to push up the economy. I think Powell will be accommodative until the 2020 presidential election outcome is clear.
Scott Black |
Photograph by Jeff Brown
“
Unless we get a left-wing Democrat as president, the stock market could rally 5% or 6%. You’ ve got a 1.9% yield, so that’ s about a 7% total return.
”
What if Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders wins?
Witmer:
What do you think? Would the market drop 25%? 30%?
Black:
I don’ t know. I’ m not [ hedge fund manager ] Leon Cooperman; he predicted the markets wouldn’ t open the next day if Warren won.
Getting back to my outlook, the S & P year-end [ earnings ] estimate for 2019 is $ 158.13, which represents a 4.3% gain; these are bottoms-up operating earnings. The 2020 estimate from S & P is ridiculous— $ 175.52, which would be up 11%. That isn’ t going to happen in an economy of 2% growth, and 2% inflation, for 4% nominal growth. I am trying to be more realistic. I have earnings up 5%, which should take it to $ 166. A swing in energy stocks at this price would add another $ 4 in earnings.
If you take [ the recent ] close of 3234.85 on $ 166, you’ ve got a 19.5 P/E. It’ s expensive. And small- and mid-cap stocks are more expensive. The Russell 2000 and 2500 are both at 21 times this year’ s earnings. It is increasingly difficult to find good values out there.
But unless we get a left-wing Democrat as president, the stock market could rally 5% or 6%. You’ ve got a 1.9% yield, so that’ s about a 7% total return. You can be slightly optimistic that corporate profits will grow. People will continue to invest. Interest rates are so low, they have to find a haven for their money, and that is the U.S. equity market. Growth rates in the euro zone are negligible.
Desai:
For the euro zone, I would say 1.1%, which is essentially growth at potential. In the euro zone, the anomaly was the high growth we saw a few years ago. Absent structural reform, it’ s difficult to see a sustainably higher growth rate there.
Black:
A resolution of the China issue would inject a lot of confidence. If you read some of these chief financial officer consensus reports, they just haven’ t felt confident in investing in capital equipment without seeing a resolution.
Cohen:
Some of the weakness in business investment is attributable to the reversal in energy capital expenditures over the past three years. However, much of the overall decline is related to managements determining that potential returns on new investments were not impressive.
Bhansali
: Isn’ t it ironic that all chief financial officers feel uncertain about the economy, but they feel very certain about buying back their stock? We had record levels of share buybacks last year, around $ 960 billion.
Cohen:
Buybacks are decelerating.
Bhansali:
Decelerating from a growth-rate standpoint, perhaps, but absolutely still growing. This was the first year in a long time, if not ever, that total buybacks plus dividends exceeded the free cash flow generated by the corporate sector. The difference was made up by borrowing. So it seems that CFOs certainly feel very confident in investing in the stock market.
Cohen:
So why are many companies borrowing, if they have a surfeit of corporate cash? It is linked to the opportunity of borrowing at decades-low interest rates.
Let’ s get back to your forecasts. James, what do you see for 2020?
Anderson:
One of the main reasons, if not
the
main reason, that active managers have struggled is because they ask these types of questions, with unknowable answers, where they have a very low probability of being right, and a low connection to the stock markets. It would be much better for us all to concentrate on the underlying structural changes in the economy.
Are you feeling good or bad about the markets?
Anderson:
I’ m feeling great. The type of disruptive activity that Henry has eloquently talked about will accelerate and affect the next 10 years. Therefore, we will have great opportunities in stocks.
What optimism. Bill, your thoughts?
Priest:
The problem for me is P/E expectations and the level of policy uncertainty. Bloomberg has a policy uncertainty index; it’ s never been higher. That speaks to lots of possible outcomes that are really not great. One is this Cold War II; we have entered a cold war that is going to last a generation. The players are the U.S. and China; the platform, trade and technology. The stakes are our values versus their values: market capitalism versus state capitalism, our Bill of Rights and an independent judiciary, or a model with neither.
Abby Joseph Cohen |
Photograph by Jeff Brown
“
I spend my time looking at what could go right and what could go wrong, and there are a lot more things on my ‘ what could go wrong’ list. ”
”
Should we rethink what global scale looks like in a world bifurcated by the U.S and China?
Ellenbogen:
Well, there already are two internets. China has a separate internet and different internet titans:
Tencent Holding
s [ 700.Hong Kong ] and
Alibaba Group Holding
[ BABA ] are two of the top 10 market-cap companies in the world. This [ dual internet ] has real ramifications, such as the U.S. discussion around whether we should pull TikTok because of national-security implications. Meanwhile, when you look at the dominant U.S. global and internet companies, their valuations are basically ex-China, because they do not make money in China.
Gabelli:
If I’ m running China and the U.S. just cut me out of selling or buying equipment, I am going to become self-sufficient in 10 years; that will be priority No. 1.
Ellenbogen:
There was a Sputnik moment for the Chinese, where they made a decision that, while trade tariffs and tactics will go up or down, long term we need to be self-sufficient; we can’ t rely on the U.S. supply chain.
Gabelli:
On the bright side, as the leader of China, 40% of my GDP is consumer. The U.S. is 70% consumer, so if the Chinese consumer grows 10% a year, this is terrific. The rest of the economy is not going to grow as fast as in the past. If you are running that country, you’ ve got to stimulate consumption, so that you can become more internally independent. And then you will be better able to deal with the U.S.
Mario, your investment firm recently expanded into China. Did you have problems doing that?
Gabelli:
No. They’ ll let you come in. I just opened an office in Hong Kong 12 weeks ago, because I see great opportunities. The Chinese are extraordinary—300 million people, or about 20% of the population, are going to be smarter and more focused on work than 90% of Americans. We are outnumbered. Learn to eat with chopsticks.
Cohen:
This year will probably see U.S. GDP growth come in a little bit over 2%, and China, a little under 6%, so we are talking about real global growth around 3.2% to 3.3%. Earnings growth for equities is modest—not surprising, given the age of the cycle. In Europe, it’ s something like 2% or 3%; the S & P, 5% or 6%; somewhat faster for Japan and the rest of Asia.
But I am concerned that the risks are asymmetric. The likelihood of getting returns dramatically better than that is less than that of getting negative returns. I just want to remind everyone who has been crowing about [ U.S. stocks’ ] 31% total return in 2019 that there was a 20% decline in the last quarter of 2018. So, on a net basis, it was a 10% return.
The
Goldman Sachs
forecast for the S & P 500 at year end is 3400. We are within spitting distance of that now; by most measures, the S & P is fully valued. I spend my time looking at what could go right and what could go wrong, and there are a lot more things on my “ what could go wrong ” list.
Bhansali:
We’ ve gone this entire morning without talking about the twin deficits in the U.S. At the peak of the GDP cycle and with record-low unemployment, we are still running deficits [ on the budget and trade ]. Despite that, the dollar has been strong. A lot of things are quite upside-down, yet the market has been very dismissive or blissfully ignorant. Sadly, when the market starts focusing on bad news, it comes out of the woodwork.
Cohen:
I was getting to that as one of the potential catalysts for why interest rates could start to move up—and move up more than people expect. Now, rates may not rise enough to have a notable impact on economic activity—because we are talking about interest rates that are currently very, very, very low, and if they go up, then they will be just very, very low—but the impact on bond investors could be considerable. The only equity-valuation metrics which currently look OK are those tied to interest rates, and rising rates could therefore have a dislocating impact on stocks, as well.
Our economists estimate that the U.S. federal budget deficit, now over $ 1 trillion, will continue to increase—as will the deficit as a percentage of GDP—which is unprecedented for an economy that is growing. There has also been a very large increase in government spending at the federal level over the past two to three years. This deterioration in the budget balance can be attributed to a couple of things.
One, of course, was the 2018 tax cut. Most economists agreed that we needed some sort of corporate tax reform—Democrats agreed, Republicans agreed—but this wasn’ t a true reform; it was a cut. We lowered our high statutory tax rate down to more global levels, but we didn’ t get rid of all of the extra credits and loopholes. And so, the effective tax rate, which was already at global levels, has moved much lower in some industries. Revenues into federal coffers have gone down, and we haven’ t seen that money being used to stimulate a great deal of business. The positive impacts of the tax changes lasted roughly four-to-six quarters but have now dissipated. It’ s been disappointing.
Gabelli:
In response, let me give you some numbers. In 2017, the cash flow from corporate taxes was $ 297 billion; these are Congressional Budget Office numbers. In 2018, it was $ 243 billion; in 2020, it is going to be over $ 307 billion. More important, the U.S. tax code went from global to territorial. There’ s still more to do. A U.S. public company can’ t deduct more than $ 1 million in compensation for a named executive officer. The tax bill failed to eliminate the carried interest [ loophole for hedge funds ]. Giving tax credits to rich people who are buying a Tesla—that’ s crazy. There are details that can happen at the corporate level that can level the playing field.
Cohen:
Goldman Sachs has looked at this, company by company, industry by industry. There are industries where effective tax rates have gone down dramatically, yet we have not seen a commensurate rise in long-term investment or in employment growth.
William Priest |
Photograph by Jeff Brown
“
You do have modern monetary theory, or MMT. My personal name for that is magic money tree.
”
Can anyone paint a benign scenario in which debt-to-GDP in the U.S. comes back to more normal levels, or are we past the point where there is a credible, happy ending?
Cohen:
There are two elements as to why the budget deficit is rising. One has to do with the cyclical forces and the tax changes and so on; the other, structural change, has to do with the aging population. As the baby boomers mature, two things happen: They earn less and therefore pay less in taxes, and they start taking entitlements. The peak of the baby boom was 1957; add 65 to 67 years to that, and early 2022 or 2024 brings a further increase in retirements—so the deficit-to-GDP would have been rising anyway. What’ s unusual about the last couple of years is that without this significant demographic change and with ongoing economic growth, the deficit has gotten worse, due to the tax cuts and spending increases.
Now here’ s the interesting thing that often doesn’ t get discussed: You can figure out the coming impact of Social Security, but Medicare expenditures aren’ t capped, and we have a very high rate of medical-care inflation. One positive is that with the implementation of Obamacare, medical inflation has come down. Not in all categories; pharmaceutical costs are high. The single most expensive year when a person is on Medicare is the last year of life.
Witmer:
But you don’ t know what year that is.
Cohen:
True. Also, everybody assumed that the second most expensive year would be the year before that. It isn’ t. It’ s the first year of coverage, because many people who lacked adequate medical insurance were deferring medical care, for procedures such as joint replacement, diabetes treatment, ongoing care for cardiac issues. Following the implementation of Obamacare, we aren’ t seeing that kind of surge when people go on Medicare, and the medical inflation number is actually down somewhat. That may be helpful in terms of the deficit.
Bhansali:
Actually, that is the unsung technology hero across the U.S. economy. We focus so much on Silicon Valley and all the innovation we see as consumers, but the health-care industry has undergone enormous innovation—breakthrough, paradigm-shifting therapies, cures instead of chronic treatment for ailments.
Technology has also helped shift the cost burden from just acute care to chronic care; about $ 90 of the $ 100 you spend is on hospitalization and acute care, versus consuming a pill that keeps you at home, instead of the hospital. This is part of the reason inflation can be kept under control. In recent years, an amazing partnership has emerged in this country between the private sector and the government sector. The government has co-opted companies like UnitedHealth Group [ UNH ] into developing insurance programs like Medicare Advantage. They’ ve been quite revolutionary in that they don’ t even charge a top-up premium to Medicare recipients, yet give them very cost-effective benefits by negotiating better and by improving patient care via prevention, instead of cure. We don’ t talk enough about this win-win development, but it is a very, very important undercurrent because it let’ s us keep a lid on a huge expenditure by simply improving efficiency.
Desai:
Can I go back briefly to your question on the deficit and debt, and whether inflation is the only way out? We underestimate the extent to which the U.S. has been doing exactly that in the post–global financial crisis world. It is the critical difference between the U.S. and Japan. Despite all the histrionics about deflation, we haven’ t actually had any. Only one country has had a sustained period of deflation, and that was Japan. And, in consequence, its debt exploded. In the U.S., ongoing inflation has prevented debt-to-GDP from increasing more [ than it has ]. Inflation will pick up a bit. Long-term yields will go up a bit. We’ ve had a massive increase in the deficit in the past year, and I am gobsmacked when I look at the policy proposals from some Democratic candidates.
You’ re referring to ideas such as universal health care and free higher education, which no one has adequately explained how to pay for.
Priest:
You do have modern monetary theory, or MMT. My personal name for that is magic money tree.
Desai:
Modern magical thinking. What it comes down to is that a country that prints its debt in its own currency has no limit on how much debt it can print. The government, unlike all of us, doesn’ t die, therefore, there’ s no end point. The only constraint is inflation; but that’ s a big one.
Priest:
The theory is that deficits don’ t matter. It sounds too good to be true. Look, when money is free, imagination is real. Some stocks have performed well, but their issuers make no money. In the Russell 2000, 600 companies aren’ t profitable. Another observation: If you and your spouse are each 65, the chances of one of you living to be 90 is almost 100%. How you are going to finance age 65 to 90 with no earned income? That is a big worry. Income replacement is the biggest need and opportunity in the investment industry.
Desai:
People always point to Japan over the past several decades to justify the case for low and even negative yields forever. The key difference with the U.S. is that Japan had deflation for a large part of that time, and real rates in Japan were actually higher than real rates in the U.S. currently, which are negative. Real rates in Japan were strongly positive for much of the two decades post-1990. To take the leap from Japan’ s experience to assume that the Fed can keep printing money forever is a problem. It is very seductive to populist politicians, and that’ s one of the reasons it gets me really nervous. I debated Stephanie Kelton, who has become the face of modern monetary theory. She feels the choice between universal health care, forgiveness of student loans, and increased spending on infrastructure is a false one, because, in fact, you can have them all. It’ s a problem to assume that the U.S. has no budget constraints; it does.
Sonal Desai |
Photograph by Jeff Brown
“
We should not underestimate the magnitude of regulatory changes that can take place, even with a split Congress.
”
Isn’ t the flip side of MMT the idea that you can keep cutting taxes, and everything will be fine?
Black:
One of the things that has changed over the past few years is that the Republicans are no longer deficit hawks. Cutting taxes has never expanded the receipts. Ironically, the lowest debt-to-GDP in the modern era, at 37%, was when Jimmy Carter left office. The next time was late in Bill Clinton’ s second term, 55%. Today, it’ s 107%. There doesn’ t seem to be any fear on either side, or impetus to do anything about it. I don’ t think we can ever work our way out from that.
Let’ s talk about the election. Abby, you made a pretty good case for
Michael Bloomberg as a candidate last year
, although you doubted his electability. Now that he’ s actually in the race, what are your thoughts?
Cohen:
I’ m not a political analyst. But the two candidates I like from a policy perspective and who could have appeal in the middle—that’ s where the game is played—would be Mike Bloomberg and Amy Klobuchar. The game is also played in terms of a very small number of states. As a voter in the state of New York, my vote doesn’ t matter as much. Perhaps I should move.
Gabelli:
Don’ t go to Florida; the New York Republicans need that vote.
Cohen:
Current surveys suggest that the House will remain in Democratic control, and the Senate in the hands of the Republicans. It is pretty much a toss-up in terms of a Democrat versus Republican win in the White House. Trump remains very popular among Republican voters, but many independents have now moved away, and it is not clear where they will go until we have a Democratic nominee. The other thing that throws this up in the air is the impeachment; we are hearing that there may be other impeachment counts waiting in the wings, such as the president’ s use of war powers. That could further muddy these waters.
Do the rest of you agree? Who do you think will—or should—be on the Democratic ticket, who wins the election, and which party takes the Senate? Bill, you’ re up.
Priest:
The most formidable Democratic ticket would be Joe Biden, with Klobuchar for vice president. They probably lose to Trump because of the electoral college effect.
Black:
It would take a moderate like Biden. I like Amy, but I don’ t think she is a realistic nominee. Otherwise, unfortunately, Trump gets re-elected. Among the states that are in play are Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Virginia, and Nevada; those are the battleground states. As Abby alluded to, there has been a big shift, and the people who might have voted for Trump last time are moving in the other direction. But I’ m afraid Trump wins.
Witmer:
It’ s interesting you say that, because I hear many people say, “ Oh, I didn’ t vote for Trump last time, but I will this time. ” But I live in a red state.
Ellenbogen:
Warren’ s numbers started to fall precipitously when she put some definition around universal health care—people realized it was a tax that they weren’ t willing to pay. The markets will become nervous if the nominee is either Warren or Sanders. Warren would be worse than Sanders [ for the markets ].
Why? Because she could actually get things done?
Ellenbogen:
She actually taught me in law school. Yes, she would be a more effective executive, whereas Sanders would be viewed as someone who would be largely ineffective as president. I’ m not predicting that either of them will be the nominee. The nominee is likely to be Biden or perhaps Bloomberg, if his strategy of skipping early primaries works.
Witmer:
If Biden drops out, Bloomberg has a shot.
Ellenbogen:
Right, or some would say Bloomberg has shifted the conversation and may actually be helping Biden. Either scenario is positive.
Can either one beat Trump?
Ellenbogen:
Trump wins if the panel is correct about the U.S. economy—unemployment is low, wage growth is high. The other thing I find is that the U.S. tends to be politically aligned with the trends in the United Kingdom. We saw Boris Johnson win in a landslide. Trump is not going to win in a landslide because of his personality issues; he doesn’ t represent a lot of U.S. values to the electorate. If a Democrat wins. and the Democrats take the Senate, that would basically reverse a lot of the policies that have been viewed as pro-market over the past four years.
If the Democrats don’ t win the Senate, how much would really change? Wouldn’ t the markets assume gridlock?
Desai:
One element that has been really under-remarked is what this administration has achieved via executive order on the regulatory front, which has had an important impact. We should not underestimate the magnitude of regulatory changes that can take place, even with a split Congress.
Ahlsten:
Three years ago, we all said that if Trump were elected, the market would crash. It ended up being a really strong market, and, for the most part, the economy has been good for most people.
This whole market problem [ of what happens if ] extreme left or Trump [ gets elected ] starts to solve itself, because the polls almost straight-jacket how far a policy can go. When Warren got traction with Medicare for All, people started to pump the brakes and move in a more centrist way.
[ The election ] will be contentious; it will be emotional; there will be some volatility—but at the end of the day, there will not be a big market event. If the economy is strong, and the markets hold up globally and we haven’ t started another conflict that’ s too extreme in the Middle East, Trump has a better than 50% chance of winning. I know most of my ESG [ environmental, social, and corporate governance ] investors probably don’ t want to hear that.
Cohen:
We keep talking about Iran and the Middle East. No one, except me, has mentioned North Korea. It could potentially be a disaster for East Asia and nuclear weapons controls in general. We need to keep that in mind.
Gabelli:
It really comes down to the next 90 days, with regard to how we react to how the Iranians react to the elimination of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. It could have an impact on the economy. If the economy stays the way it is, Trump is going to win again. The Iranians have to do something for political reasons. So what would they do? If I were them, I would do a cybersecurity attack on American infrastructure, particularly on the utility grid, and let’ s see how they react. The American utility power structure grid is highly vulnerable to a cyberattack.
Mario Gabelli |
Photograph by Jeff Brown
“
If the economy stays the way it is, Trump is going to win again.
”
Since you invest in such long-run themes, James, which of these geopolitical factors matter the most to you?
Anderson:
The issues surrounding the rise of China are so much more important. Anything else is a distraction.
Desai:
The idea that the U.S. is somehow going to move back to a pre-Trump world in terms of trade is highly unlikely. Based on what various Democratic candidates have said, they are going to have more intransigence on trade. Trade is something we should be careful about—either running a victory lap or not.
What are some of the opportunities investors could miss because of the increased U.S.-China tensions?
Anderson:
One of the things that has intrigued me the past 12 to 18 months is that some business models that are not working in America are working elsewhere—including China, because of the scale there.
There’ s been all this publicity about food-delivery services—like Grubhub
[ GRUB ] with its disastrous stock performance—not working in America. Last quarter, Grubhub
delivered 457,000 meals a day. The equivalent figure from China’ s Meituan Dianping [ 3690.Hong Kong ] is just under 28 million.
China’ s urban population is approaching one billion people. Based on this trend, the eventual size of that market is about one trillion meals a year. What these superapps in China are doing is effectively providing a way to navigate a society of enormous scale and complexity that has a large number of cities with over a million people.
So a big risk for you is missing out on these platform companies in China?
Anderson:
The scale and pace of what’ s happening in China are beyond anything in America. We can not dismiss China and say that this is a nasty communist-driven society. It’ s a country—a system—that has pulled 600 million people out of poverty, and where life expectancy and education levels are still rising. We may all like the idea that you need a liberal democracy to get economic development, but I’ m not sure it’ s true. Both America and China are deeply capitalist societies; theirs is a different model of capitalism. Now in China, you may become a politician first and then make money. In America, it tends to be the other way around, but I don’ t think having this tone of moral superiority to China is very sensible.
Will some Chinese business models gain ground in the U.S.?
Ellenbogen:
To over-generalize, Europeans are slow to innovate for a bunch of reasons. There is a mentality similar to what you see for the German automobile, where the consumer wants a really elevated, refined experience, and is less willing to try new things. The U.S. is willing to deal with some mistakes and products that aren’ t perfectly tuned. The Chinese consumer is the extreme, looking for the new way to do things. The mentality to embrace innovation quickly is unique to China.
Roundtable Panelists’ 2019 Picks
The S & P 500 Gained Almost 28% in 2019. Here’ s How Stock Picks From Our Experts Did.
Look at what’ s going on in payments in China, with [
Tencent Holding
’ s
] Tenpay and Alipay. You basically do not use cash or credit cards in China. In 2018, Tenpay had over 900 million active users, and Alipay had 600 million. China is the north star for what’ s going on in the change in financial payments globally. If you look at the potential next platforms in technology, whether they are going to be driven by artificial intelligence or quantum computing, most people would say it is very much a competition [ between the U.S. and China ].
China has two advantages: First, the state is deeply funding [ technological development ], while we are relying on companies to do it. If we over-regulate Microsoft and Google, it will limit their abilities to fund these areas, which is important for us to be competitive. Second, the Chinese are able to analyze much bigger data sets much faster, because they don’ t have to deal with the [ privacy, regulatory, and other ] issues we have. It is vital to understand what’ s going on in China if you want to invest in a global industry.
Write to
Beverly Goodman at
beverly.goodman @ barrons.com | business |
Bellamy Brothers launch 'Honky Tonk Ranch ' on the Circle Network | Hi, what are you looking for?
By
Published
Honky Tonk Ranch airs on Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. EST. Most impressive about the Circle Network programming is that it is broadcast in markets that cover more than 50 percent of television households.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, it chronicles their “ unusual lives ” and it blends music stardom, vigorous road tours, and cattle ranching.
chronicles their “ unusual lives, blending music stardom, vigorous road tours and cattle ranching ” ( Tampa Bay Times)
David Bellamy remarked that they are “ thrilled ” to be a part of the Circle Networks’ launch in 2020. “ Howard and I love welcoming viewers into our home on our ranch and behind the scenes on the road with us, ” he said.
Some of their special musical guests on Honky Tonk Ranch include such veteran country acts as Tanya Tucker, Mickey Gilley, and Joe Diffie, among others.
The Bellamy Brothers will be on tour again with country megastar Blake Shelton as part of his “ Friends and Heroes 2020 ” Tour, which kicks off on Thursday, February 13 in Portland, Oregon. Comprised of 16 tour dates, this tour will hit major cities in the Midwest and the West Coast.
To learn more about The Bellamy Brothers, check out their official website and their Facebook page.
Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 16,000 original articles over the past 15 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a five-time consecutive `` Best of Long Island '' winner, and in the past two years, he was honored as the `` Best Long Island Personality '' in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.
New York's weaknesses in the face of climate change, the city is erecting a $ 1.45-billion system of walls and floodgates.
Kroger, the country’ s biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers.
Australia will push ahead with plans to ease Covid restrictions before Christmas.
Nearly 10 years after Imad al-Hisso fled the civil war in Syria, he remains trapped in Gaza, a place he calls `` a prison. ''
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Coronavirus: How companies can handle employee travel in wake of deadly virus | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines medium risk as being seated within six feet of a traveler with symptomatic laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection.
As confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus hit 40,000, tech companies are revising travel policies and offering help to employees who may have been exposed to the virus.
Martin Ferguson, vice president of public affairs at American Express Global Business Travel, said the company is seeing an increase in clients stopping all nonessential business travel to, from and within Wuhan and mainland China. He said some clients are also limiting travel to the areas surrounding mainland China.
`` Companies are understandably concerned and keen to protect the well-being of their traveling workforce, and we are seeing clients ask employees who have recently visited mainland China to work from home for two weeks as a precaution, '' he said.
SEE: Coronavirus having major effect on tech industry beyond supply chain delays ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has defined the risk of exposure for travelers on a plane with an individual who has contracted the coronavirus.
The CDC says a person in the same row as an infected traveler as well as people two rows ahead and two rows behind are considered at medium risk for developing the infection. Other travelers sitting more than six feet away have no risk of contracting the illness.
Some companies are requiring such employees to work remotely during the suspected incubation and transmission period of 14 days.
A spokeswoman from SAP said the company does not foresee any significant impact to the business in the near term.
`` Because we are a technology company, we can abide by local policies and continue to operate virtually with colleagues and customers, if needed, '' said Samantha Yerks. `` The health and safety of our employees is our primary concern. ''
Yerks said the company has made contingency plans, including working from home after a business trip to any affected area. SAP's regional offices also are providing sanitizers, masks, and thermometers at reception.
SEE: Working remotely: A professional's guide to the essential tools ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
Jonathan Bernstein, chairman and founder of Bernstein Crisis Management, said he has clients with employees currently in China. He said the top priority should be to communicate with compassion.
`` We have advised them to follow the excellent guidelines offered by WHO, CDC, the US State Department and Chinese Health Authorities, '' he said.
Bernstein added that companies shouldn't make decisions about quarantine or isolation.
`` That direction would come from a health authority and hence the onus would be on that authority, not on the company, '' he said.
KPMG China has 23 offices across 21 cities—including Wuhan—with around 12,000 partners and staff.
A KPMG spokesperson said that the company has been working with internal security and medical experts, and monitoring advice from WHO and the CDC. KPMG has revised travel policies based on this advice.
SEE: Coronavirus affecting tech firms as outbreak spreads ( CNET)
`` These include avoiding travel to affected areas, and self-quarantining for individuals travelling back from those areas, '' the spokesperson said. `` We are also working closely with our colleagues in China to provide whatever support they need. ''
Emma Follansbee, an associate at The National Law Review, recommended three steps employers should take and three actions to avoid when addressing employee travel and the coronavirus outbreak.
Follansbee also wrote that the Occupational Safety and Health Act allows employees to refuse to work when there is a `` reasonable belief that there is a risk of death or serious injury. ''
Here is Follansbee's short list of what not to do when communicating with employees about the virus and revising travel policies.
Don't offer medical opinions and misinformation: Take a `` less is more '' approach.
Don't institute employee medical examinations and quarantines: Employers that isolate or quarantine employees when public health agencies have not yet done could be violating protections under the Americans with Disability Act, medical privacy laws, and state wage and hour laws.
Don't use selective enforcement of travel opt-outs: This policy must be applied equally across all employees. For example, employers can not require pregnant or disabled employees to opt out of travel, while requiring other employees to continue traveling to a region.
Our editors highlight the TechRepublic articles, downloads, and galleries that you can not miss to stay current on the latest IT news, innovations, and tips. Fridays | tech |
Global shipping industry attacked by coronavirus-themed malware | Cybercriminals have spent the last month using concerns about the spread of the coronavirus as cover for a variety of damaging attacks while the real-life death toll from the illness continues to rise.
Now criminals are using coronavirus-themed malware to target the global shipping community with malicious Microsoft Word documents.
SEE: Coronavirus having major effect on tech industry beyond supply chain delays ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
Hackers used emails about ways to prevent coronavirus contraction in Japan as a way to spread Emotet malware to unsuspecting victims while others sent out fake emails from the World Health Organization or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to trick people into giving away their email account passwords.
Sherrod DeGrippo, senior director threat research at Proofpoint, said researchers have now found emails using the topic of coronavirus to attack companies in the manufacturing, industrial, finance, and transportation industries.
The attacks involve emails sent to these companies with Microsoft Word documents attached that install an information-stealing malware called AZORult.
The industry has been particularly affected by global worry around coronavirus, with shipping rates cratering in recent weeks and global container shipping lines rerouting cargo and reducing calls to Chinese ports.
SEE: Phishing attacks: A guide for IT pros ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic Premium)
According to Proofpoint researchers, the malicious emails are coming from groups in Russia or Eastern Europe and some include the subject line, `` Coronavirus - Brief note for the shipping industry. ''
`` While they aren't part of an APT group, they clearly understand the economic concerns surrounding the coronavirus. All emails with coronavirus-themes and attachments should be treated with caution, even if they don't appear to be directly health related, '' DeGrippo said in the blog post.
`` A coronavirus-related shipping supply disruption would negatively impact each of the company types listed above and it's clear these attackers are aware that a major event like coronavirus can have secondary impacts on industries. This awareness demonstrates not just technical sophistication, but economic sophistication as well. In addition to the health concerns around coronavirus, there are increased concerns globally about coronavirus ' potential economic and international supply chain impact. ''
From the emails discovered, the campaign is attempting to exploit a more than two-year-old vulnerability with AZORult, which is installed when the malicious Microsoft Word documents are downloaded. AZORult is leveraging the widely used Equation Editor and Proofpoint researchers have found it in a variety of attacks over nearly three years.
According to DeGrippo, the cybercriminals behind the emails are hoping shipping industry companies have been slow to deploy patches for AZORult, a proven and effective mode of stealing information from enterprises.
AZORult was used to download ransomware programs, particularly for criminals engaging in sextortion scams as recently as 2018.
The blog post says every organization involved in the global shipping industry should be wary of coronavirus-related emails and every enterprise should proceed with caution when opening any email related to the illness.
`` These latest attacks show that attackers aren't just technically sophisticated: they also can be economically sophisticated. These attacks take coronavirus-themed attacks in a direction people might not expect away from health-related concerns and towards secondary, economic-related concerns, in this case the possible impact of coronavirus on global shipping, '' DeGrippo added.
`` This underscores that the threat potential around coronavirus remains broad and everyone should exercise extra caution when dealing with coronavirus-themed emails, links and attachments, '' DeGrippo said.
Strengthen your organization's IT security defenses by keeping abreast of the latest cybersecurity news, solutions, and best practices. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays
| tech |
Mystery virus found in Wuhan resembles bat viruses but not SARS, Chinese scientist says | “ Plenty of people are working on the outbreak, ” says Xu Jianguo, head of an evaluation committee advising the Chinese government.
By Dennis NormileJan. 10, 2020, 12:30 PM
SHANGHAI—A new coronavirus identified by Chinese scientists is the putative cause of an outbreak of unusual pneumonia in the central city of Wuhan, according to Chinese news reports yesterday. In an interview today with Science, Xu Jianguo, head of an evaluation committee advising the Chinese government, confirmed that scientists have a complete sequence of the novel virus’ s genome.
The World Health Organization on 9 January requested sequence data, a spokesperson in Geneva says, and many scientists urge the country to make the sequence public quickly, but the decision is up to the top leadership of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, says Xu, who is director of the Beijing-based State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, part of China CDC. ( The center’ s head, George Gao, did not respond to emails from Science seeking comment.)
Xu says the investigation is being led by China CDC but numerous groups in other government agencies are involved. “ Plenty of people are working on the outbreak, ” he says. The role of the evaluation committee Xu leads is to review all the findings and make recommendations to the National Health Commission. Xu also said the novel coronavirus resembles known bat viruses, but not the coronaviruses that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome ( MERS).
The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: The virus has been isolated from one patient, is that correct?
A: Correct. Two groups isolated the virus from samples from one patient. The viruses are nearly identical in morphology under electron microscopy. Researchers did laboratory investigations of 34 patients. A total of 15 were positive for the novel virus, [ based on ] sequencing samples of [ fluid injected into the lung and collected for examination ]. The teams got complete genome sequence data from about 10 patients. They are now attempting to isolate the virus from those samples as well. There are 19 cases with no evidence of the virus. There is no information available for the results of the remaining 25 cases.
Q: How close is this new virus to the SARS coronavirus?
A: The virus is similar to some of the published viruses collected from bats. But it is not close to SARS and not close to MERS.
Q: Are close contacts of patients and market workers being tested for antibodies to the new virus?
A: [ Investigators ] have just gotten the virus, they now need the chance to prepare reagents for antibody tests, but there are no data yet.
Q: The 5 January report from the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, the latest available, says a total of 59 pneumonia patients have been identified as possibly carrying the virus. Have more patients been found?
A: It should be mentioned that the 59 reported pneumonia patients in Wuhan were clinically diagnosed; of those, 15 were confirmed to be infected by the new coronavirus. No new patients have appeared, as far as I understand. It’ s good news. People fear something like SARS in 2003, but this is a different case. The outbreak is limited, but we should test patients one by one [ to identify ] pneumonia caused by other pathogens.
Q: Are researchers trying to replicate the disease in lab animals to prove that it is really the cause of the outbreak?
A: People have recommended that [ investigators ] do tests to see if the virus can cause the infection in animals, but they need time.
Q: Is there any progress in tracing the original source of the virus?
A: I have no information. Personally, I’ m interested, too. The virus looks like viruses isolated from bats, but how it was transmitted from bats to people is still a question. Several groups in China have been working on bat coronaviruses for years. I imagine they’ re working on this but so far there is no information.
Q: Are other live animal markets being checked?
A: The Wuhan market has been closed. I have no information about other [ markets ]. Wild animals carry the risk of exposing people to new viruses. I think we should have more strict regulations and inspections of markets that sell wild animals, especially since the source of the new coronavirus has not been identified and eliminated.
With reporting by Jon Cohen. | science |
PepsiCo unveils Mtn Dew Zero Sugar | As volume sales of soft drinks have declined annually for more than a decade, soda giants like PepsiCo have been looking elsewhere for a jolt to their businesses. Rather than focusing solely on beverages, PepsiCo has been adding healthier snack options to its portfolio, which includes both Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods.
But soda is still big business for PepsiCo, and one that it needs to pay attention to in order to maintain its bottom line. While Mtn Dew is in many ways a regional beverage, it is also one that has been a big moneymaker for the soda conglomerate. The Motley Fool ranked the brand No. 4 on its list of best-selling sodas of 2018, since it commanded 7% of the soda market share for the past decade.
Although it is a recognizable brand for PepsiCo, it is also one that has gone flat in the last year. In the company's earnings call in October, CEO Ramon Laguarta said Mtn Dew `` is improving, but it's not to the levels that we would like to see. '' To work on that, he said the company would allocate additional resources to find the right innovative ideas, since revitalizing the brand `` is a focus of the organization. ''
The company's first big step toward that appears to be this reformulation. Mtn Dew Zero Sugar is for consumers wanting to consume less sugar but still indulging in their preferred beverages. This could be a good move for the brand since a 2018 survey found 70% of U.S. adults are concerned about sugar consumption.
The branding for this launch echos Coca-Cola's Zero Sugar beverage, which came out in 2017 to replace Coke Zero. When Coke chose to change its label to `` Zero Sugar '' and bring consumers’ attention to that word, it was more successful. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey told The Wall Street Journal in October Coca-Cola Zero Sugar has grown 14% by volume globally in the first 10 months of 2019, while unit sales of the company's 7.5-ounce mini cans in the U.S. had increased 15%.
There is little risk for the soda giant in releasing a sugar-free version of Mtn Dew. The success of competitors shows that zero sugar options are in demand, and Mtn Dew Zero Sugar is not replacing any current SKUs. However, its late appearance to the market may be indicative of PepsiCo’ s lingering hesitation surrounding sugar-free reformulations given earlier lackluster performance in the category.
Gatorade went through a similar transition. The sports drink comprises about 20% of PepsiCo's North American drink volume and is the No. 1 sports drink in the U.S, according to Statista data. It has been losing ground to upstarts, including BodyArmor. To try and innovate its way into lasting dominance, PepsiCo released Gatorade Zero, a sugar-free version of the original, and G2, a reduced-sugar version with half the calories and carbs. While both reformulations perform well, there is still a lot of competition in the segment.
With its high caffeine level, Mtn Dew has the advantage of straddling the soda and the energy drink market. This may appeal to those looking for drinks that provide functional benefits. In recent months, PepsiCo has looked toward the energy market and introduced an energized Gatorade beverage under its Bolt24 line and Mtn Dew AMP Game Fuel, an energy drink line designed for gamers. Perhaps highlighting that the company’ s highly caffeinated soda is now sugar-free will also appeal to even more consumers.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation. | general |
Leftovers: Cheetos Popcorn explodes into stores, oat milk chocolate bars are cow-free candy | Frito-Lay's new launch not only gives consumers a brightly colored popped snack but also officially names the orange dust that accompanies it, and Dean Foods smooths out the lumps in cottage cheese.
Leftovers is our look at a few of the product ideas popping up everywhere — some are intriguing, some sound amazing and some are the kinds of ideas we would never dream of. We can't write about everything that we get pitched, so here are the leftovers pulled from our inboxes.
It’ s getting more easy to be cheesy.
Cheetos has exploded into another category: popcorn. The Frito-Lay brand launched two bagged varieties of ready-to-eat Cheetos Popcorn: Cheddar, covered in the snack’ s iconic bright orange dust, and a fluorescent red Flamin ' Hot variety.
With this launch, the brand has also officially named the flavor-filled dust that makes snackers’ fingertips orange or red. It's now called Cheetle, which Frito-Lay trademarked last month ( but apparently previously trademarked back in 2009).
`` We 've seen the way Cheetos lovers don their red- and orange-dusted fingers like a badge of honor, and we're always looking for ways to help them step up their snacking game, '' Brandi Ray, senior director of marketing for Frito-Lay North America, said in the press release announcing the launch. `` The only way to truly take popcorn to the next level is to add the iconic Cheetle, the cheesy dust that will entice Cheetos fans to snack on this popcorn all year long. ''
Cheetos have been a popular snack since they were first developed in 1948. In the more than 70 years since, the signature orange cheese dust ( rather, Cheetle) has found its way onto snacks including traditional cheese curls, cheese balls called Asteroids Flavor Shots and paw shapes in honor of the brand’ s mascot Chester Cheetah.
So why bring the flavor to popcorn? After all, cheddar cheese corn has been on the market for years. The answer could lie in the crunchy, popped snack itself, which is seen as more natural and healthier than extruded and fried salty munchies. According to Mintel research, U.S. retail popcorn sales grew 32% from 2012 to 2017, reaching a total of $ 2.5 billion in retail sales. Ready-to-eat popcorn grew 118% in that five-year period, with sales reaching $ 1.1 billion. And almost half of consumers said cheese was their favorite popcorn flavor.
Big Food is taking notice of popcorn’ s popularity and snapping up successful brands. Conagra Brands, which owns legacy popcorn giant Orville Redenbacher, bought Angie’ s Boomchickapop for $ 250 million in 2017. That same year, Hershey bought Amplify Brands, which owns SkinnyPop, for $ 1.6 billion. And last month, PepsiCo — which is also Frito-Lay's parent company — acquired popcorn chip PopCorners maker BFY Brands.
Judging from the lasting popularity of all snacks containing Cheetle, Cheetos Popcorn is likely to find its way into many popcorn-lovers’ shopping carts. And unlike most of its competitors, this snack is designed to physically leave its mark on those consumers.
— Megan Poinski
Trendy oat milk is making its way into the chocolate aisle.
Endangered Species Chocolate is replacing dairy milk with oat milk in its new chocolate bar product line. The 3-ounce oat milk chocolate bar will be sold exclusively at Whole Foods Market this month before launching at other retailers in April, according to a release sent to Food Dive.
The new plant-based bar line comes in three flavors: Oat Milk + Dark Chocolate; Oat Milk, Sea Salt & Almonds + Dark Chocolate; and Oat Milk, Rice Crisp + Dark Chocolate.
Whitney Bembenick, ESC’ s director of innovation, said in the release the company explored other dairy-free options from almond to coconut milk, but “ nothing compared ” to the taste and health benefits of oat milk.
All three bars contain 55% cocoa, and each is vegan and gluten-free. Compared to dairy, oat milk is lower in cholesterol and provides heart health benefits, the company said.
“ Our consumers really dictate where we take our new product lines, ” Bembenick said in the release. “ We saw the growing trend of milk alternative products available and we knew we needed to respond to market demand. ”
Alternative milk products have become increasingly popular in recent years as consumers turn away from traditional dairy. U.S. sales of plant-based milk products grew by almost 6% between 2018 and 2019, according to investment firm UBS.
Oat milk has been especially trendy in the last year. Many big companies are introducing yogurts, drinks, coffee and ice cream featuring the oat beverage, including Nesquik, Chobani and Danone. But the chocolate space doesn’ t have as many competitors when it comes to this category.
Although ESC does face competition on shelves from some other small oat milk chocolate bars, including Goodio and Raaka, there aren’ t many big name brands in the space yet, so they could have an early mover advantage.
— Lillianna Byington
Beleaguered Dean Foods is no stranger to cottage cheese, which is one of many products in its sweeping portfolio.
But the Texas dairy giant is trying a new way for consumers to experience cottage cheese. The Smooth Cottage Cheese product, which mirrors yogurt in its consistency, is available in three flavors: Original, Raspberry and S’ mores. The cottage cheese offering taps into a number of trends popular with today’ s consumer, including a high protein content, real and non-GMO ingredients and a portable container ideal for people on the go.
Dean Foods found an opportunity to drive growth in the single-serve cottage cheese segment by changing the texture so it would be attractive to more people, SmartBrief said. While the dairy product has many attributes shoppers look for in a snack, the chunky texture and tangy flavor of traditional cottage cheese can be off-putting to some people, it reported.
“ We... saw the cottage cheese category in particular has suffered from a lack of innovation, something that younger generations are craving in their food decision making, ” Sindhura Polasanapalli, senior director of marketing at Dean Foods, said last year to The Shelby Report. “ It was the perfect ‘ white space’ to take a classic snack, add a twist to make it fun, and create a product that is a first within the market that consumers could truly indulge in. ”
Cottage cheese has long struggled to gain traction in a dairy space that has seen yogurt garner much of the attention during the last 20 years through innovations such as Greek styles, flip tops, nut butter mix-ins and trendy new flavors.
According to Statista, per capita consumption for cottage cheese has been gradually trending downward since the turn of the century. In 2018, the average U.S. consumer ate 2.1 pounds of cottage cheese annually, a decline of half a pound from 2000.
But food companies desperate for growth have started spending more money to innovate in a product known for its heyday generations ago as a diet food. Cottage cheese consumption peaked in the early 1970s, when the average person ate about 5 pounds of it per year, according to the NPR, citing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Last year, cottage cheese brand Good Culture closed an $ 8 million funding round led by CAVU Venture Partners, with a significant investment from General Mills ' 301 INC. And in 2017, Muuna started selling Israeli-style cottage cheese in U.S. stores.
It wasn’ t all that long ago when yogurt received a jolt after Chobani came on the scene. Since then, the industry has seen more plant-based, low-sugar and new varieties like Icelandic enter the market. Maybe the new Dean Foods cottage cheese will spark a renewed level of interest and bring more people back to the once-loved category.
— Christopher Doering
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation. | general |
Alcohol companies may miss out on billions in e-commerce sales, report finds | As more legacy alcohol brands have fallen out of fashion, e-commerce could help bring sales and demand back up. This new report said the annual value of missed sales opportunities needs to be considered when it comes to the online alcohol market, and it suggests beverage firms consider that when determining how much money to put into their digital efforts.
But companies shouldn't look only at today's online sales when deciding how much to invest in e-commerce. Other factors impacting sales include a brand's online presence, which the report said plays a crucial part in attracting sales in other channels. More of an investment in online channels and marketing could help boost these brands.
The four channels for alcohol e-commerce are online grocery, alcohol marketplaces such as Drizly and Minibar, direct-to-consumer online wine, and online liquor stores. The latter posted the highest annual sales in 2019 at $ 1.1 billion. Direct-to-consumer came next with $ 950 million, followed by online grocery at $ 295 million, and alcohol marketplaces with $ 265 million. Online grocery showed the highest growth rate, increasing 115% last year compared to 2018, the report said.
Alcohol makers who don't create seamless online buying experiences and provide enough content and product information are in danger of losing a big chunk of revenue as consumers shift to more food and beverage spending online. Although booze is a fast-growing grocery category, the report said its share of online sales is almost 90% lower than in-store sales — so manufacturers and retailers looking for growth need to make sure they're part of this process instead of allowing e-commerce to come between brands and consumers.
Sean Dunn, head of digital at Astound Commerce, wrote in an opinion piece for Food Dive that wine and spirits brands have lagged behind in e-commerce due to a patchwork of state laws restricting direct shipping to consumers. Along with verifying customer IDs, other challenges include shipping high-value liquid items, controlling temperature and needing specialized couriers. Dunn suggests brands take a page from the online wine community Vivino, which uses two-way communication to connect with consumers and gather data, and to also engage in behavioral marketing and personalized services.
Alcohol manufacturers such as Molson Coors have recently launched e-commerce platforms for their products and are partnering with delivery firms for online ordering, delivery and pickup. Amazon was an early mover in the alcohol delivery game in 2015, and last year Instacart expanded same-day delivery to 14 states and the District of Columbia.
Meanwhile, more states have relaxed their alcohol shipping policies or are considering doing so, especially for wine. According to Spirited Magazine, this past July Connecticut became the 15th state to allow consumers to receive wine shipments from retailers, wine stores, clubs and auction houses.
With those kinds of policy changes increasingly coming into play, more alcohol companies may get behind DTC online sales and start reaping the rewards the Rabobank report says are waiting for them.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
Subscribe to Food Dive to get the must-read news & insights in your inbox.
Topics covered: manufacturing, packaging, new products, R & D, and much more.
Discover announcements from companies in your industry.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach. | general |
UK microalgae startup secures £1m in funding | Or wait...
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By Jane Byrne contact
10-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 10-Jan-2020 at 11:44 GMT
Related tags: whisky, fermentation, Algae, Aquaculture, pet food function sanitize gpt value2 ( gptValue) { var vOut= '' ''; var aTags = gptValue.split ( ', '); var reg = new RegExp ( '\\W+ ', `` g ''); for ( var i=0; i < aTags.length; i++) { vOut += aTags [ i ].trim ().replace ( reg, '- ').substring ( 0,40); if ( i! = ( aTags.length-1)) vOut += ', '; } vOut = vOut.toLowerCase (); return vOut; } $ ( document).ready ( function () { dataLayerNews = { }; dataLayerNews.related tags = sanitize gpt value2 ( `` whisky, fermentation, Algae, Aquaculture, pet food ''); dataLayer.push ( dataLayerNews); });
The biotech business uses co-products from the whisky distillation process to produce microalgae, which is high in omega-3 and other nutrients.
MiAlgae said it will use the investment to double the size of its business premises, commission a demonstrator plant in East Lothian and make five new appointments in the next 12 months.
The funding was raised from previous investors in MiAlgae including Equity Gap, Scottish Investment Bank and Old College Capital, alongside Hillhouse Group, a new investor in the business.
Fraser Lusty, investment director at Equity Gap: “ Since our last investment in MiAlgae 18 months ago, the business has achieved a great deal, designing and building its pilot plant, making its first sales to a premium dog food company, and beginning production with its first large scale tank. The business now turns its focus to commercialization and scaling up. The global pet food market is worth $ 100bn and is growing at around 5%. MiAlgae plans to supply customers in both the pet food market and the aquaculture industry in the next 12 months. ”
MiAlgae estimates that one ton of its algae saves up to 30 tons of wild fish.
MiAlgae was founded by Douglas Martin in 2016 while studying biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh. He is supported by Edinburgh Innovations, the University’ s commercialization service, which also manages Old College Capital, the University’ s venture fund.
The production model is based on cultivating nutrient rich microalgae in giant stainless steel tanks using wastewater from the local whisky industry.
Martin told this publication previously that the interest in the project has stemmed from the fact it offers a cost optimized microalgae production model.
“ The reason that we can make it low cost is that we use nitrates and phosphates from whisky co-products to offset the nutrient costs associated with microalgal production. ''
The developer said back then that an idea would be to also capture the excess heat from whisky production and use it in the MiAlgae fermentation process.
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Malta PM Muscat exits under journalist murder cloud | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Malta's outgoing Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Friday said he was `` paying the highest political price '' for failing to solve a journalist's killing, the investigation into which he has been accused of hampering.
`` I am sorry for the ( Daphne) Caruana Galizia murder, '' Muscat said in his farewell speech to Labour party supporters ahead of a party vote on his successor.
`` She hurt me too but I paid the highest price for this case to be solved under my watch, '' an emotional Muscat said.
Muscat, 45, said in December he would quit following widespread anger over his perceived efforts to protect friends and allies from an investigation into the brutal 2017 slaying of investigative blogger Caruana Galizia.
Muscat said he would remain an MP and involve himself in civil rights and promoting sport for youths.
`` You won't see much of me, '' said Muscat, who once bathed in the glow of the country's booming economy and was re-elected by a landslide to serve a second term in 2017.
Muscat's fall from power followed daily protests led by supporters of the Caruana Galizia family, who accuse him among other things of shielding his chief of staff and childhood friend Keith Schembri, who has been implicated in the murder.
Dubbed the `` one woman WikiLeaks '', Caruana Galizia exposed corruption at the highest levels on the Mediterranean island.
She was killed in a car bomb explosion on October 16, 2017 in an attack that made headlines around the world.
Less than an hour before her death, Caruana Galizia wrote on her blog: `` There are crooks everywhere you look. The situation is desperate. ''
- 'Save Malta's reputation ' -
The journalist's family had called for Muscat to step down immediately, but support from his party and his own popularity -- linked to Malta's growth which shot up 6.6 percent in 2018 -- bought him wiggle room until the election for a new party head.
His final weeks saw him travel to Rome to meet Pope Francis, to Bethlehem for Christmas Mass, to Dubai on a family holiday and to London, where Maltese media said he met with a high-flying lawyer, possibly over the Caruana Galizia case.
Two candidates are vying to take over from Muscat as Labour leader and prime minister: deputy prime minister and health minister Chris Fearne, a 56-year old surgeon, and 42-year-old lawyer Robert Abela.
Neither has criticised Muscat or referred to the Caruana Galizia murder in the run-up to the election. Both have insisted they represent continuity, highlighting their determination to keep the economy on its stellar trajectory.
Some 17,500 Labour voters are expected to go to the ballots on Saturday to elect the party's first mid-term prime minister in history.
`` If the new prime minister really wants stability within the country, and if he wants to save Malta's reputation, he needs to work to change the sick mentality of 'everything goes ', '' activist Martina Farrugia said at a protest this week.
Three men are on trial for allegedly planting and detonating the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia, while a fourth -- prominent businessman Jorgen Fenech -- was charged as an accomplice after being arrested in November as he tried to leave the country on his yacht.
Fenech's arrest sparked the resignation of tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, who formerly served as energy minister, and Schembri.
- 'Complicit? ' -
Caruana Galizia had reported on a mysterious Dubai-based company named 17 Black, which she alleged was connected to Maltese politicians.
Malta's anti-money laundering watchdog later identified Fenech as its owner and discovered emails showing Panama companies owned by Mizzi and Schembri stood to receive two million euros from 17 Black for unspecified services.
Fenech was co-owner of a group that won a large energy concession from the Maltese state.
The businessman has accused Schembri of being the `` real mastermind '' behind Daphne's murder.
The former chief of staff was briefly arrested but released without charge in November, fuelling allegations of police corruption or incompetence, and further meddling by the government in the murder investigation.
Journalist consortium the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project named Muscat its Person of the Year in 2019 for allegedly allowing criminality and corruption to flourish, and in many cases go unpunished, under his leadership.
Malta’ s outgoing Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Friday said he was “ paying the highest political price ” for failing to solve a journalist’ s killing, the investigation into which he has been accused of hampering.
“ I am sorry for the ( Daphne) Caruana Galizia murder, ” Muscat said in his farewell speech to Labour party supporters ahead of a party vote on his successor.
“ She hurt me too but I paid the highest price for this case to be solved under my watch, ” an emotional Muscat said.
Muscat, 45, said in December he would quit following widespread anger over his perceived efforts to protect friends and allies from an investigation into the brutal 2017 slaying of investigative blogger Caruana Galizia.
Muscat said he would remain an MP and involve himself in civil rights and promoting sport for youths.
“ You won’ t see much of me, ” said Muscat, who once bathed in the glow of the country’ s booming economy and was re-elected by a landslide to serve a second term in 2017.
Muscat’ s fall from power followed daily protests led by supporters of the Caruana Galizia family, who accuse him among other things of shielding his chief of staff and childhood friend Keith Schembri, who has been implicated in the murder.
Dubbed the “ one woman WikiLeaks ”, Caruana Galizia exposed corruption at the highest levels on the Mediterranean island.
She was killed in a car bomb explosion on October 16, 2017 in an attack that made headlines around the world.
Less than an hour before her death, Caruana Galizia wrote on her blog: “ There are crooks everywhere you look. The situation is desperate. ”
– ‘ Save Malta’ s reputation’ –
The journalist’ s family had called for Muscat to step down immediately, but support from his party and his own popularity — linked to Malta’ s growth which shot up 6.6 percent in 2018 — bought him wiggle room until the election for a new party head.
His final weeks saw him travel to Rome to meet Pope Francis, to Bethlehem for Christmas Mass, to Dubai on a family holiday and to London, where Maltese media said he met with a high-flying lawyer, possibly over the Caruana Galizia case.
Two candidates are vying to take over from Muscat as Labour leader and prime minister: deputy prime minister and health minister Chris Fearne, a 56-year old surgeon, and 42-year-old lawyer Robert Abela.
Neither has criticised Muscat or referred to the Caruana Galizia murder in the run-up to the election. Both have insisted they represent continuity, highlighting their determination to keep the economy on its stellar trajectory.
Some 17,500 Labour voters are expected to go to the ballots on Saturday to elect the party’ s first mid-term prime minister in history.
“ If the new prime minister really wants stability within the country, and if he wants to save Malta’ s reputation, he needs to work to change the sick mentality of ‘ everything goes’, ” activist Martina Farrugia said at a protest this week.
Three men are on trial for allegedly planting and detonating the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia, while a fourth — prominent businessman Jorgen Fenech — was charged as an accomplice after being arrested in November as he tried to leave the country on his yacht.
Fenech’ s arrest sparked the resignation of tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, who formerly served as energy minister, and Schembri.
– ‘ Complicit?’ –
Caruana Galizia had reported on a mysterious Dubai-based company named 17 Black, which she alleged was connected to Maltese politicians.
Malta’ s anti-money laundering watchdog later identified Fenech as its owner and discovered emails showing Panama companies owned by Mizzi and Schembri stood to receive two million euros from 17 Black for unspecified services.
Fenech was co-owner of a group that won a large energy concession from the Maltese state.
The businessman has accused Schembri of being the “ real mastermind ” behind Daphne’ s murder.
The former chief of staff was briefly arrested but released without charge in November, fuelling allegations of police corruption or incompetence, and further meddling by the government in the murder investigation.
Journalist consortium the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project named Muscat its Person of the Year in 2019 for allegedly allowing criminality and corruption to flourish, and in many cases go unpunished, under his leadership.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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WHO States Outbreak of Mysterious Illness in China Is Linked to a New Virus | There have been 59 reported cases so far in the city of Wuhan.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization ( WHO) issued a statement saying that Chinese authorities think that a new coronavirus is the cause behind the mysterious pneumonia cases in Wuhan, a city in Hubei Province.
There have been 59 reported cases so far, seven of which are in serious condition.
The coronavirus is linked to SARS and MERS.
`` Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that range from the common cold to SARS. Some cause less-severe disease, some more severe. Some transmit easily from person to person, while others don’ t, '' said the WHO statement.
According to Chinese authorities, the virus can cause severe illness in some patients but does not appear to pass easily from person to person. https: //t.co/iygrAN9033
The agency also said that the virus does not `` transmit readily '' from person to person, and can be the cause of critical illness in some people.
Previously, the Wuhan Municipal Health Authority had said that the disease had not spread from person to person, although experts say that this is an impossible claim to make at this early stage.
Symptoms of the coronavirus differ depending on its severity. In some people, it comes up as a common cold while in others it can lead to deadly results like were seen during the SARS outbreak in 2003.
The first cases of pneumonia linked to the illness were recorded on December 30, 2019. Most of the cases in Wuhan are linked to one specific seafood market, with dealers and vendors being the primary patients.
In its preliminary statement on January 5, the WHO said that `` The reported link to a wholesale fish and live animal market could indicate an exposure link to animals. ''
Protect yourself & reduce risk from # coronavirus infection: 👏🏽Hand hygiene🤧Cover mouth & nose when coughing & sneezing🥩Thoroughly cook meat & eggs 🌡Avoid close contact with anyone with respiratory illness❌ Avoid close contact with wild or live farm animals pic.twitter.com/PVvMsPSMnU
Investigators are still currently tracking the source of the illness.
The WHO also praised the Chinese response time and efficiency as they wrote: `` Preliminary identification of a novel virus in a short period of time is a notable achievement and demonstrates China's increased capacity to manage new outbreaks. ''
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By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. | tech |
Child dead after killing one in Mexico school shooting: police | Hi, what are you looking for?
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A student at an elementary school in the northern Mexican city of Torreon shot and killed a teacher Friday and wounded five other pupils, and then apparently killed himself, authorities said.
Police are still investigating but believe the boy was between eight and 10 years old, said Lieutenant Adelaido Flores, as panicked parents gathered outside the Cervantes elementary school and officials evacuated the building.
The student was in his final year of elementary school, Torreon Mayor Jorge Zermeno told TV network Televisa.
`` The boy lived with his grandmother. He almost certainly had some kind of ( psychological) problem, although he had very good grades, '' Zermeno said.
The wounded were being treated at a local hospital, two of them in serious condition, he added.
Mexico is more used to seeing school shootings from afar -- often in the neighboring United States -- than up close, though in 2017 a 15-year-old shot and wounded four classmates at a high school in the northern city of Monterrey.
A student at an elementary school in the northern Mexican city of Torreon shot and killed a teacher Friday and wounded five other pupils, and then apparently killed himself, authorities said.
Police are still investigating but believe the boy was between eight and 10 years old, said Lieutenant Adelaido Flores, as panicked parents gathered outside the Cervantes elementary school and officials evacuated the building.
The student was in his final year of elementary school, Torreon Mayor Jorge Zermeno told TV network Televisa.
“ The boy lived with his grandmother. He almost certainly had some kind of ( psychological) problem, although he had very good grades, ” Zermeno said.
The wounded were being treated at a local hospital, two of them in serious condition, he added.
Mexico is more used to seeing school shootings from afar — often in the neighboring United States — than up close, though in 2017 a 15-year-old shot and wounded four classmates at a high school in the northern city of Monterrey.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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Portugal investigating billionaire daughter of Angola ex-president | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Portuguese is investigating embezzlement claims against Isabel dos Santos, the billionaire daughter Angola's former president, the prosecutor general's office told AFP Friday.
The investigation comes after judicial authorities confirmed receipt of a complaint from Ana Gomes, a former Socialist lawmaker in the European parliament against Dos Santos.
Financial daily Jornal Economico reported last Friday that Gomes had passed to the Portuguese authorities `` elements '' she says cast doubt on the nature of funds which Dos Santos, nicknamed Africa's wealthiest woman, invested in former colonial power Portugal.
Last month, an Angolan court said it was freezing the assets of Dos Santos as part of an anti-graft campaign amid allegations of nepotism under the 38-year rule of rule of her father Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who left office in 2017.
According to the Angolan prosecutor general, Isabel dos Santos and her Congolese husband Sindika Dokolo are suspected of laundering a billion dollars worth of foreign currency during Dos Santos senior's 38-year rule, which ended in 2017.
Isabel dos Santos was appointed head of Angola's national oil company Sonangol in 2016, but was forced out by her father's successor President Joao Lourenco shortly after he came to power.
The corruption probe -- targeting several members of the former ruling family -- is looking at alleged irregularities involving Sonangol and also Sodiam, a national diamond-marketing firm.
Dos Santos, whom Forbes magazine named Africa's first woman billionaire in 2013, holds multimillion investments in Portugal's telecoms and financial sectors.
Last year, the Bank of Portugal revealed it would seek to follow up and `` new facts '' brought to light by the Angolan judicial authorities which could bring into question her eligibility to remain as a shareholder with Portuguese bank EuroBic.
Portuguese is investigating embezzlement claims against Isabel dos Santos, the billionaire daughter Angola’ s former president, the prosecutor general’ s office told AFP Friday.
The investigation comes after judicial authorities confirmed receipt of a complaint from Ana Gomes, a former Socialist lawmaker in the European parliament against Dos Santos.
Financial daily Jornal Economico reported last Friday that Gomes had passed to the Portuguese authorities “ elements ” she says cast doubt on the nature of funds which Dos Santos, nicknamed Africa’ s wealthiest woman, invested in former colonial power Portugal.
Last month, an Angolan court said it was freezing the assets of Dos Santos as part of an anti-graft campaign amid allegations of nepotism under the 38-year rule of rule of her father Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who left office in 2017.
According to the Angolan prosecutor general, Isabel dos Santos and her Congolese husband Sindika Dokolo are suspected of laundering a billion dollars worth of foreign currency during Dos Santos senior’ s 38-year rule, which ended in 2017.
Isabel dos Santos was appointed head of Angola’ s national oil company Sonangol in 2016, but was forced out by her father’ s successor President Joao Lourenco shortly after he came to power.
The corruption probe — targeting several members of the former ruling family — is looking at alleged irregularities involving Sonangol and also Sodiam, a national diamond-marketing firm.
Dos Santos, whom Forbes magazine named Africa’ s first woman billionaire in 2013, holds multimillion investments in Portugal’ s telecoms and financial sectors.
Last year, the Bank of Portugal revealed it would seek to follow up and “ new facts ” brought to light by the Angolan judicial authorities which could bring into question her eligibility to remain as a shareholder with Portuguese bank EuroBic.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
A growing number of Western nations and cybersecurity groups have issued digital surveillance warnings for next month's Winter Olympics in Beijing.
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A man gets a Covid-19 jab at a vaccination station in Vienna on August 25, 2021; from February 2022, vaccinations against the virus will...
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the US embassy in Kyiv amid a standoff with Russia - Copyright AFP/File Mladen ANTONOVShaun TANDONThe...
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French court orders 52mn euro payout in 'Mona Lisa ' Ferrari battle | Hi, what are you looking for?
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A French appeals court has ordered the son of a renowned Ferrari collector to pay his siblings millions of euros over the disputed sale of a coveted racer considered the storied Italian automaker's `` Mona Lisa ''.
Patrick Bardinon was sued for breach of trust after auctioning off the rare 1964 Ferrari 250 GTO to a Taiwanese buyer in 2014 for 38 million euros ( $ 42 million at current rates) -- a record at the time.
He says it was a gift from his father Pierre Bardinon, a descendent of the family behind luxury fur and leather house Chapal, after Patrick was in an horrendous racing accident.
`` My father thought I had died that day, '' he said last March when the lawsuit first came to court.
But Anne and Jean-Francois Bardinon claim their brother secretly removed the car from their father's collection and unlawfully sold the crown jewel of their shared inheritance.
The pair lost their initial challenge, but the appeals court in Limoges ruled Wednesday in the siblings ' favour, Anne Bardinon's lawyer said Friday.
It ordered Patrick to return the sale proceeds plus interest as well as the auction commission -- a total of 52.3 million euros -- to the common inheritance fund.
`` Anne Bardinon welcomes a decision that conforms with the truth, the law and the fairness that her father always sought to maintain with regard to his three children, '' her lawyer Julien Dami Le Coz said.
Pierre Bardinon, who died in 2012, had amassed an unrivalled collection of more than 60 Ferraris at his Mas du Clos estate, which had its own race track, in central France.
Most of the cars were bought in rough shape, cheaply, and were painstakingly restored -- the 1964 GTO was purchased in 1978 for just $ 700, or about $ 2,800 in today's money. Pierre spent another $ 1,500 fixing it up.
Only 39 GTOs were built from 1962 to 1964, and they have since become some of the most fabled Ferraris in the world, deemed the `` hottest car of all time '' by the magazine Popular Mechanics in 2017.
`` A stunning shape and incredible 3.0-litre V-12 makes this the definitive exotic. And it couldn't be more gorgeous, '' the magazine gushed.
A French appeals court has ordered the son of a renowned Ferrari collector to pay his siblings millions of euros over the disputed sale of a coveted racer considered the storied Italian automaker’ s “ Mona Lisa ”.
Patrick Bardinon was sued for breach of trust after auctioning off the rare 1964 Ferrari 250 GTO to a Taiwanese buyer in 2014 for 38 million euros ( $ 42 million at current rates) — a record at the time.
He says it was a gift from his father Pierre Bardinon, a descendent of the family behind luxury fur and leather house Chapal, after Patrick was in an horrendous racing accident.
“ My father thought I had died that day, ” he said last March when the lawsuit first came to court.
But Anne and Jean-Francois Bardinon claim their brother secretly removed the car from their father’ s collection and unlawfully sold the crown jewel of their shared inheritance.
The pair lost their initial challenge, but the appeals court in Limoges ruled Wednesday in the siblings’ favour, Anne Bardinon’ s lawyer said Friday.
It ordered Patrick to return the sale proceeds plus interest as well as the auction commission — a total of 52.3 million euros — to the common inheritance fund.
“ Anne Bardinon welcomes a decision that conforms with the truth, the law and the fairness that her father always sought to maintain with regard to his three children, ” her lawyer Julien Dami Le Coz said.
Pierre Bardinon, who died in 2012, had amassed an unrivalled collection of more than 60 Ferraris at his Mas du Clos estate, which had its own race track, in central France.
Most of the cars were bought in rough shape, cheaply, and were painstakingly restored — the 1964 GTO was purchased in 1978 for just $ 700, or about $ 2,800 in today’ s money. Pierre spent another $ 1,500 fixing it up.
Only 39 GTOs were built from 1962 to 1964, and they have since become some of the most fabled Ferraris in the world, deemed the “ hottest car of all time ” by the magazine Popular Mechanics in 2017.
“ A stunning shape and incredible 3.0-litre V-12 makes this the definitive exotic. And it couldn’ t be more gorgeous, ” the magazine gushed.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
A growing number of Western nations and cybersecurity groups have issued digital surveillance warnings for next month's Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Cloud ERP leader Acumatica to host annual summit on digital transformation success.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the US embassy in Kyiv amid a standoff with Russia - Copyright AFP/File Mladen ANTONOVShaun TANDONThe...
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Navy brings emergency beer to fire-hit Aussie town | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Australia's navy tasked with rescuing bushfire-trapped residents on the southeast coast received a new mission Friday -- delivering beer to a country pub on the verge of running dry.
More than a thousand people have been evacuated from the town of Mallacoota, with the military sending landing craft to collect families trapped there since New Year's Eve.
But after several shuttle runs and with the immediate emergency ebbing the navy will deliver much-needed supplies, including a precious cargo of tinnies to thirsty survivors, a department of defense spokesperson confirmed to AFP.
`` The beer is not occupying unnecessary space on HMAS Choules and essential supplies were not offloaded to accommodate the beer, '' the spokesperson added.
Carlton and United Breweries said Friday it had dropped the alcohol at the Cerberus naval base to be delivered to the Mallacoota Hotel, after it was on the verge of running out.
The delivery includes 20 kegs and four pallets of beer and cider for a town that usually has a population of around 1,000.
`` A pub with no beer is bad enough at the best of times, '' said Carlton and United Breweries CEO Peter Filipovic.
`` After what Mallacoota residents and firies have been through the least we could do is make sure they could enjoy a beer. ''
`` We're not sure if the Navy has ever shipped beer to civilians before but these fires are an extraordinary disaster, '' said Filipovic.
The 16,000-tonne relief ship HMAS Choules was due to return to Mallacoota with the beer on Friday, according to the department of defense.
Australia’ s navy tasked with rescuing bushfire-trapped residents on the southeast coast received a new mission Friday — delivering beer to a country pub on the verge of running dry.
More than a thousand people have been evacuated from the town of Mallacoota, with the military sending landing craft to collect families trapped there since New Year’ s Eve.
But after several shuttle runs and with the immediate emergency ebbing the navy will deliver much-needed supplies, including a precious cargo of tinnies to thirsty survivors, a department of defense spokesperson confirmed to AFP.
“ The beer is not occupying unnecessary space on HMAS Choules and essential supplies were not offloaded to accommodate the beer, ” the spokesperson added.
Carlton and United Breweries said Friday it had dropped the alcohol at the Cerberus naval base to be delivered to the Mallacoota Hotel, after it was on the verge of running out.
The delivery includes 20 kegs and four pallets of beer and cider for a town that usually has a population of around 1,000.
“ A pub with no beer is bad enough at the best of times, ” said Carlton and United Breweries CEO Peter Filipovic.
“ After what Mallacoota residents and firies have been through the least we could do is make sure they could enjoy a beer. ”
“ We’ re not sure if the Navy has ever shipped beer to civilians before but these fires are an extraordinary disaster, ” said Filipovic.
The 16,000-tonne relief ship HMAS Choules was due to return to Mallacoota with the beer on Friday, according to the department of defense.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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Automating KYC Compliance with Smart ID & V | As customers increasingly prefer to do their banking via smart devices, it’ s time for banks to modernize their approach to customer due diligence. Financial crimes compliance expert Sujata Dasgupta provides a deep dive on smart ID & V solutions for KYC compliance.
Know your customer ( KYC) forms one of the strongest pillars of financial crimes compliance, from customer identification and acceptance to monitoring customers’ transactions against their recorded profile, expected behavior and peer group behavior.
So, understandably, detailed due diligence of a prospect for onboarding him as customer becomes the starting point of banking compliance. By preventing bad actors from entering the financial system, the first step of preventing-detecting-reporting a financial crime is accomplished!
KYC is now an integral function of compliance in all financial institutions, with customer data and profiles forming extremely important components in this function. Banks have been aggressively driving sophistication in KYC to strengthen their means of eliciting, storing, maintaining and enriching customer data for effective compliance.
Over the last couple of decades, KYC has undergone quite a metamorphosis in terms of regulations, processes, systems and technologies, as well as its overall significance in the financial crimes compliance landscape. From being perceived as an entry point for onboarding a new customer in a bank, KYC has evolved into a primary and indispensable function in the fight against financial crimes. While banks have recognized the importance of KYC, some challenges continue to plague the industry that impede fast and seamless KYC:
The millennial generation, who form the bulk of customer population in retail banks today, rarely visit bank branches, instead preferring to do banking through the click of a button on their smartphones, tablets or computers. The digital channel, therefore, assumes immense importance in a bank’ s operational strategy when it comes to designing new products or services. KYC also looks set to witness a digital transformation around the customer identification and verification function, as niche solutions are emerging that enable the smartphone-savvy generation to initiate KYC by tapping an app on their gadget!
These solutions are generally smartphone ( or any other camera-enabled smart device) -based applications prospects can use to submit their identity documents by simply scanning them through the app. They can also click their own photos and selfie videos for liveliness check and capture any other biometric as required by their bank. Once all these are uploaded, the app validates whether all mandatory information and documents have been provided, and the next steps of KYC are initiated.
Mobile image processing with deep-convolution biometric face-matching technology is used to verify that the photos/videos of the prospect match with those in the identification documents. Documents are run through forensic screening built into the app to weed out forged or counterfeit documents. The identification documents ( e.g., passport, driver’ s license, any other national ID), are classified and authenticated against the relevant digital records databases. The details from the documents are extracted using OCR ( optical character recognition) technology and populated in the bank’ s KYC system for onboarding the prospect as a customer. This entire process is completed in just a few minutes – something that takes days in a manual world!
This digital customer identification and verification process is enabling automation of KYC function in several banks, making it seamless and frictionless for both the prospect/customer and the bank.
Digital solutions are empowering banks to transition customer identification and verification processes from manual to automated, thereby expediting and streamlining an extremely important component of the KYC compliance obligation. Automation also makes the KYC process uniform, as the same rules are applied across the enterprise.
Advanced technology and artificial intelligence embedded in the solutions ensure authenticity of documents through auto detection of forged and counterfeit documents. Hence, criminals can not use stolen or forged documents to enter the financial network.
ID-based fraud can be prevented by deep-learning-enabled sophisticated ID matching, as liveliness checks prevent impersonators from using other persons’ static images to fraudulently onboard in a bank.
Conversion rate and customer growth has shown improvement for banks using automated ID & V, as prospects can initiate their own onboarding from anywhere, anytime and at the tap of an app.
Banks and financial institutions have long been exploring ideas for automating the heavily manual customer identification and verification piece of KYC. Then emerged the digital ID & V solutions for seamless customer and document verification. Now this is being taken further by innovations, which are leveraging mobile network operators’ ( MNOs’) customer data for identification and verification of not just the prospects, but also their devices and geographic locations.
Almost everyone today has a registered, internet-enabled mobile phone connection obtained from their MNO after proper identification and document submission. This network is now being explored as an additional layer of ID & V, as prospects are moving toward mobile-based apps for onboarding in banks. The additional details of device and geographic locations captured using MNO data can ensure enhanced fraud prevention. MNO data is understood to be more comprehensive in coverage compared to credit bureaus and other third-party databases, as several parts of the world that are not served by financial institutions are still covered by MNOs.
Digital innovations have been disrupting every aspect of our lives and the functioning of every industry. The innumerable ways in which advanced technology is being used seems mind boggling, as there is a new idea, a new innovation almost every day that seems to challenge the as-is!
Sujata Dasgupta is the Global Head of the Financial Crimes Compliance Advisory Services at Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and is based out of Stockholm, Sweden. She is an experienced industry consultant in banking risk and compliance ( R & C), with a demonstrated history of working in banking, IT services and consulting, having worked for global banking clients in all major financial hubs, viz. New York, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Frankfurt and now Stockholm. She also authors articles on risk and compliance in international banking R & C journals. Sujata can be reached on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/sujata-dasgupta-69473a20/.
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New-found cannabis compound 30 times more potent than THC | Hi, what are you looking for?
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While Cannabis sativa has over 400 known compounds, only one, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC is known to produce a high in humans. At least that has been the case – until recently when a group of Italian researchers announced on December 30th the discovery of two new cannabinoids found in C. sativa.
One of the compounds is a THC-lookalike, so much so that they named it tetrahydrocannabiphorol ( THCP). It appears to interact with the same receptor as THC, the receptor known as CB1, according to the new study published on December 30, 2019, in the journal Scientific Reports.
The CB1 receptors Interestingly, the key differences between THC and the new-found chemical THCP lie in the chain of atoms jutting off the new compound. Research done in 2016 suggests that this side-chain of atoms, called an alkyl side chain, is what allows THC to “ plug-in ” to its preferred receptor in the body.
A cannabinoid must have at least three carbon rings in its side-chain in order to hook up to the CB1 receptor. THC compounds contain five carbon rings. Calculations on paper suggested that a compound with more than five carbon rings would fit even more tightly to the CB1 receptor.
Further calculations determined that if the compound had eight carbon rings, it would fit perfectly into the CB1 receptor, thereby eliciting the strongest biological response. However, the authors say there is no known compound with those perfect attributes in nature.
Along comes THCP The researchers found that THCP has not five – but seven carbon rings in its alkyl side chain. Tested in a Petri dish using a concocted receptor, the THCP compound tended to bind the substance 30 times more reliably than THC did.
The THCP compound was then tested on lab mice, although in relatively low doses. The mice behaved as though they were on THC, with slower movement, lower body temperatures and reaction times slowed. The study said it would have taken twice the dose of THC to induce the same effects.
Whether or not the new compound would have the same effects in humans as it did in the lab mice is unknown. But as Vice.com suggests, this could explain why smoking different marijuana blends can give notably different effects. And while THC offers some medicinal effects, including pain and nausea relief, no one knows if THCP has these qualities
CBD lookalike also found The research team also found a CBD lookalike with seven carbon rings, calling it cannabidiphorol ( CBDP). This compound doesn’ t bind strongly with the CB1 or its related receptor, CB2. While CBD has been tied to anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-seizure effects, investigating these effects in CBDP “ does not appear to be a high priority, ” the authors wrote.
Karen Graham is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for environmental news. Karen's view of what is happening in our world is colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in man's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, `` Journalism is merely history's first draft. '' Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.
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Boy kills teacher, self in Mexico school shooting | Hi, what are you looking for?
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An 11-year-old boy shot and killed his teacher Friday at a school in northern Mexico and wounded six other people before killing himself, authorities said.
As shocked Mexicans searched for explanations for the school shooting -- a rare event for the country -- officials said they were investigating a possible link to the Columbine High School massacre in the US in 1999.
Panicked parents rushed to the private elementary school, the Colegio Cervantes, in Torreon as officials evacuated the trim brick building and police and soldiers put it on lockdown.
`` We deeply regret this incident... which is shocking for us all, '' Governor Miguel Angel Riquelme of the state of Coahuila, which borders the United States, told a news conference.
`` I want to reiterate that this sort of thing is not the norm in our schools. ''
He said his own daughters had attended the school, one of the oldest and most prestigious in Torreon, a city of 600,000 people.
- Columbine link? -
The shooter wore a T-shirt with `` Natural Selection '' written on it -- the same words seen on the shirt of one of the Columbine attackers two decades ago in Colorado.
But authorities said the phrase may also have been a reference to a first-person shooter video game called `` Natural Selection '' -- first released in 2002 and not directly related to Columbine.
The boy had talked to classmates about the game, said Riquelme.
`` I believe he was trying to recreate '' the video game in real life, said Riquelme.
The boy changed into the shirt in the bathroom at school, he added.
Addressing the question of a possible link with Columbine, state prosecutor Gerardo Marquez said: `` We have to follow every possible line of investigation, and that is one of them. ''
When the boy's teacher, a 50-year-old woman, went to check on him because he had been gone unusually long, he opened fire in the hallway with two handguns, killing her, wounding five other students and a 40-year-old physical education teacher, and then killing himself.
The wounded were taken to a local hospital, where they were in stable condition, Riquelme said.
- Search for answers -
Mexico is more used to seeing school shootings in the neighboring United States than up close.
However, the incident was not without precedent.
In 2014, a 15-year-old shot and killed a schoolmate in central Mexico state, and in 2017, another 15-year-old shot and wounded four classmates at a high school in the northern city of Monterrey.
The Torreon student, who was in his final year of elementary school, lived with his grandparents and got good grades, officials said.
Riquelme said the boy had not shown behavioral problems, but had told classmates that `` today was the day. ''
Whether intentional or not, the words `` Natural Selection '' carried haunting echoes of the Columbine shooting, when two students killed 13 schoolmates and then themselves.
One of the shooters wore a T-shirt with that phrase printed on it -- an apparent reference to Charles Darwin and his theory on how species evolve.
- Endemic gun violence -
Although school shootings are uncommon in Mexico, the country is all too familiar with gun violence, often linked to brutally violent drug cartels.
Mexico has registered nearly 275,000 murders since 2006, the year the government launched a controversial military offensive against cartels.
Authorities said they were investigating how the boy obtained his guns.
An 11-year-old boy shot and killed his teacher Friday at a school in northern Mexico and wounded six other people before killing himself, authorities said.
As shocked Mexicans searched for explanations for the school shooting — a rare event for the country — officials said they were investigating a possible link to the Columbine High School massacre in the US in 1999.
Panicked parents rushed to the private elementary school, the Colegio Cervantes, in Torreon as officials evacuated the trim brick building and police and soldiers put it on lockdown.
“ We deeply regret this incident… which is shocking for us all, ” Governor Miguel Angel Riquelme of the state of Coahuila, which borders the United States, told a news conference.
“ I want to reiterate that this sort of thing is not the norm in our schools. ”
He said his own daughters had attended the school, one of the oldest and most prestigious in Torreon, a city of 600,000 people.
– Columbine link? –
The shooter wore a T-shirt with “ Natural Selection ” written on it — the same words seen on the shirt of one of the Columbine attackers two decades ago in Colorado.
But authorities said the phrase may also have been a reference to a first-person shooter video game called “ Natural Selection ” — first released in 2002 and not directly related to Columbine.
The boy had talked to classmates about the game, said Riquelme.
“ I believe he was trying to recreate ” the video game in real life, said Riquelme.
The boy changed into the shirt in the bathroom at school, he added.
Addressing the question of a possible link with Columbine, state prosecutor Gerardo Marquez said: “ We have to follow every possible line of investigation, and that is one of them. ”
When the boy’ s teacher, a 50-year-old woman, went to check on him because he had been gone unusually long, he opened fire in the hallway with two handguns, killing her, wounding five other students and a 40-year-old physical education teacher, and then killing himself.
The wounded were taken to a local hospital, where they were in stable condition, Riquelme said.
– Search for answers –
Mexico is more used to seeing school shootings in the neighboring United States than up close.
However, the incident was not without precedent.
In 2014, a 15-year-old shot and killed a schoolmate in central Mexico state, and in 2017, another 15-year-old shot and wounded four classmates at a high school in the northern city of Monterrey.
The Torreon student, who was in his final year of elementary school, lived with his grandparents and got good grades, officials said.
Riquelme said the boy had not shown behavioral problems, but had told classmates that “ today was the day. ”
Whether intentional or not, the words “ Natural Selection ” carried haunting echoes of the Columbine shooting, when two students killed 13 schoolmates and then themselves.
One of the shooters wore a T-shirt with that phrase printed on it — an apparent reference to Charles Darwin and his theory on how species evolve.
– Endemic gun violence –
Although school shootings are uncommon in Mexico, the country is all too familiar with gun violence, often linked to brutally violent drug cartels.
Mexico has registered nearly 275,000 murders since 2006, the year the government launched a controversial military offensive against cartels.
Authorities said they were investigating how the boy obtained his guns.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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From Thor to Fleabag, stars dig deep for Australian bushfire relief | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Social media stars and sporting champions are splashing the cash for Australian bushfire relief efforts and urging fans to do the same.
Twenty-six people have died since the start of the disaster in September, more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed, and some eight million hectares ( 80,000 square kilometres) has burned -- an area roughly the size of Ireland or South Carolina.
- Aussie A-listers donate -
Australian Marvel actor Chris Hemsworth said he would donate AUS $ 1 million, singers Kylie and Danni Minogue pledged AUS $ 500,000 to the country's rural firefighters, a donation matched by Nicole Kidman and her husband Keith Urban.
Compatriots including Russell Crowe -- who used his Golden Globe win to speak about the tragedy -- and Rebel Wilson have pledged donations, with singer Dami Im also donating.
- Serena plays for charity -
Athletes like Lewis Hamilton, tennis players Ashleigh Barty, Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic, and cricketers -- including Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell -- offered to donate their winnings.
On Wednesday, organisers of the Australian Open said Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal will headline a charity match ahead of the tournament.
- $ 1m for 'baggy green ' -
Many celebrities will auction clothes: Williams is donating a signed dress, while British actor and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge announced her Golden Globes suit would be auctioned off, and Shane Warne sold his baggy green cap to an anonymous bidder for AUS $ 1 million.
- Kylie contributes -
American stars -- including Kylie Jenner, singers Pink, Lizzo, and Shawn Mendes, talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres, and actor Patricia Arquette -- all pledged to contribute to relief efforts.
Leonardo DiCaprio's environmental group, Earth Alliance, also said it was giving US $ 3 million.
- Rocket Man -
Elton John announced during a performance on Tuesday he would donate $ 1 million, and Metallica said they would give $ 500,000 to the county's fire service.
Celebrities such as Margot Robbie, Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman, and Selena Gomez also announced they had donated but declined to state how much.
burs-rbu/je
Social media stars and sporting champions are splashing the cash for Australian bushfire relief efforts and urging fans to do the same.
Twenty-six people have died since the start of the disaster in September, more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed, and some eight million hectares ( 80,000 square kilometres) has burned — an area roughly the size of Ireland or South Carolina.
– Aussie A-listers donate –
Australian Marvel actor Chris Hemsworth said he would donate AUS $ 1 million, singers Kylie and Danni Minogue pledged AUS $ 500,000 to the country’ s rural firefighters, a donation matched by Nicole Kidman and her husband Keith Urban.
Compatriots including Russell Crowe — who used his Golden Globe win to speak about the tragedy — and Rebel Wilson have pledged donations, with singer Dami Im also donating.
– Serena plays for charity –
Athletes like Lewis Hamilton, tennis players Ashleigh Barty, Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic, and cricketers — including Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell — offered to donate their winnings.
On Wednesday, organisers of the Australian Open said Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal will headline a charity match ahead of the tournament.
– $ 1m for ‘ baggy green’ –
Many celebrities will auction clothes: Williams is donating a signed dress, while British actor and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge announced her Golden Globes suit would be auctioned off, and Shane Warne sold his baggy green cap to an anonymous bidder for AUS $ 1 million.
– Kylie contributes –
American stars — including Kylie Jenner, singers Pink, Lizzo, and Shawn Mendes, talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres, and actor Patricia Arquette — all pledged to contribute to relief efforts.
Leonardo DiCaprio’ s environmental group, Earth Alliance, also said it was giving US $ 3 million.
– Rocket Man –
Elton John announced during a performance on Tuesday he would donate $ 1 million, and Metallica said they would give $ 500,000 to the county’ s fire service.
Celebrities such as Margot Robbie, Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman, and Selena Gomez also announced they had donated but declined to state how much.
burs-rbu/je
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At Acumatica Summit 2022, the cloud ERP leader announced updates to its future-proof platform and new paths toward success.
Several thousand people chanted “ no more mandates ” while marching in Washington D.C. Sunday afternoon in protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and vaccine passports.
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Irish drink exports up 8% thanks to whiskey growth | Or wait...
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10-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 10-Jan-2020 at 14:01 GMT
Related tags: Ireland, Irish whiskey function sanitize gpt value2 ( gptValue) { var vOut= '' ''; var aTags = gptValue.split ( ', '); var reg = new RegExp ( '\\W+ ', `` g ''); for ( var i=0; i < aTags.length; i++) { vOut += aTags [ i ].trim ().replace ( reg, '- ').substring ( 0,40); if ( i! = ( aTags.length-1)) vOut += ', '; } vOut = vOut.toLowerCase (); return vOut; } $ ( document).ready ( function () { dataLayerNews = { }; dataLayerNews.related tags = sanitize gpt value2 ( `` Ireland, Irish whiskey ''); dataLayer.push ( dataLayerNews); });
Around 55% of the growth in exports in 2019 came from the Irish whiskey category, which now accounts for around half of drinks exports ( a total of €727m), according to the latest figures from Bord Bia, Ireland’ s food board.
The US is the key market for Irish beverage exports: accounting for 40% of exports in 2019 to a value of €676m ( $ 750m). Whiskey dominates exports to the US, with premium products driving growth.
However, Bord Bia warns that the trade war between the EU and US could result in further expansion of tariffs, which could affect Irish whiskey.
Tariffs are already challenging the Irish cream liqueur sector: dairy-related tariffs imposed by US authorities on EU products have impacted Irish cream liqueur exports.
“ Notwithstanding the issues of tariffs that now present a genuine impediment to growth for Ireland’ s cream liqueur sector in the US, America’ s strong performance and central role in the success of Irish beverages is likely to continue in 2020. Whiskey will continue to be the mainstay of that growth.
“ The development of new distilleries and whiskey offering in Ireland speaks to the general positivity in the sector, which can reasonably be said to have been transformed in the space of a decade.
“ However, the dependence for much of this growth on the US market brings its own risks, particularly in light of the potential for the sector to be inadvertently caught up in global trade disputes.
“ For Irish cream liqueur producers, the challenges currently presented by the North American market undoubtedly represent a setback. The industry will redouble its efforts to remain competitive and recalibrate its marketing strategy accordingly. Assistance for the cream liqueurs category will be a priority for Bord Bia’ s spirits strategy in 2020, which will commit to protecting existing business while developing new opportunities. ”
GIs and Brexit
Gin has been a strong export performer for Ireland in recent years, albeit starting from a low base. Exports in 2019 rose 17% growth to €9m.
“ While the continued popularity of gin among UK consumers, and its central role in the pervading cocktail culture, means growth can be expected to continue through to 2020. The US is a market with growing possibility for some manufacturers. Although a niche offering in the Irish export context, it has a part to play in the overall diversity of the sector. ”
Although the UK is less important for Irish beverages than other export industries, Brexit remains a ‘ significant concern’ - particularly given the good performance of whiskey, cider and gin in 2019.
Leaving the EU will also mean removing participation in the EU’ s protected geographical indication designation scheme, which covers Irish whiskey among other beverages.
The US accounted for 40% of Irish drinks exports in 2019 to a value of €676m.
Irish exports to EU markets increased by 10% to €418m. Exports to France rose 45% to €86m; and exports to Germany also increased 20% to €84m; and exports to The Netherlands rose 51% to €34m ( although the country’ s role as a global trading hub means a substantial amount was for onward export).
Latvia remained an important market, although declined 13% in value to €48m.
Canada, an important market for cream liqueur and an increasing one for whiskey, saw a 2% increase in exports to €72m. | general |
China Reports First Death From New Virus | HONG KONG — Chinese state media on Saturday reported the first known death from a new virus that has infected dozens of people in China and set off worries across Asia.
The Xinhua news agency cited the health commission in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the illness first appeared, in reporting the death. The health commission said the patient, a 61-year-old man, died on Thursday night.
Forty-one people have been found to have the new virus, a coronavirus, and seven patients are still in severe condition, the health commission said, according to the Xinhua report. Two patients have been discharged, it said.
There is no evidence that the virus can be spread between humans, according to the commission. The initial cases were linked to workers at a market that sold live fish, birds and other animals. More than 700 people who had close contact with patients, including 419 medical workers, have been put under observation, the commission said, adding that no additional cases have been found.
Reports of the virus — a mysterious, pneumonialike illness — first appeared last month and have since aroused fears around the region, where memories of the SARS epidemic 17 years ago, which began in China and killed more than 800 people worldwide, still linger.
[ Read: China’ s coronavirus outbreak tests the transparency of China’ s Communist Party. ]
The man who died was a regular customer at the market in Wuhan and had previously been diagnosed with abdominal tumors and chronic liver disease, said the city’ s health commission.
While no new cases have been detected since Jan. 3, questions remain. Experts have said the minimum incubation period for some viral infections is 15 days, suggesting that it may be another week before authorities can determine the full extent of the illness.
Reports of the man’ s death came just before the Spring Festival, China’ s biggest holiday, which begins Jan. 25, and a time when hundreds of millions people travel across the country. That mass migration raises the potential of spreading and worsening any outbreak. According to government estimates, Chinese passengers will take three billion trips in the next five weeks for family reunions and tourism.
In recent days, authorities have stationed personnel at airports and train stations across the region to scrutinize people who have visited Wuhan. The market linked to the virus is less than one mile away from a train station. Precautions include checking passengers for fever.
[ Read: What we know about the Wuhan coronavirus. ]
Authorities in the Chinese city of Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia have also stepped up scrutiny.
The Hong Kong Hospital Authority said on Saturday that seven new patients between the ages of 3 and 50 who visited Wuhan in the last two weeks and presented with fever, respiratory or pneumonia symptoms had been admitted to local hospitals in the past 24 hours for monitoring, bringing the total number of patient cases in the city to 60 since Dec. 31.
Forty-six of those patients have already been discharged and the rest are in stable condition, the authority added.
Also on Saturday, South Korean officials said the illness of a Chinese woman they had placed under isolation earlier in the week was unrelated to the coronavirus, according to the country’ s Yonhap news agency. The woman had visited Wuhan and suffered from coughing the throat irritation.
Updated May 20, 2020
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
Over 38 million people have filed for unemployment since March. One in five who were working in February reported losing a job or being furloughed in March or the beginning of April, data from a Federal Reserve survey released on May 14 showed, and that pain was highly concentrated among low earners. Fully 39 percent of former workers living in a household earning $ 40,000 or less lost work, compared with 13 percent in those making more than $ 100,000, a Fed official said.
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. ( Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
There is an uptick in people reporting symptoms of chilblains, which are painful red or purple lesions that typically appear in the winter on fingers or toes. The lesions are emerging as yet another symptom of infection with the new coronavirus. Chilblains are caused by inflammation in small blood vessels in reaction to cold or damp conditions, but they are usually common in the coldest winter months. Federal health officials do not include toe lesions in the list of coronavirus symptoms, but some dermatologists are pushing for a change, saying so-called Covid toe should be sufficient grounds for testing.
Yes, but make sure you keep six feet of distance between you and people who don’ t live in your home. Even if you just hang out in a park, rather than go for a jog or a walk, getting some fresh air, and hopefully sunshine, is a good idea.
Taking one’ s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “ normal ” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’ t have a thermometer ( they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’ t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’ t replace hand washing and social distancing.
If you’ ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
If you’ re sick and you think you’ ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’ s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’ re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’ t be able to get tested.
Charity Navigator, which evaluates charities using a numbers-based system, has a running list of nonprofits working in communities affected by the outbreak. You can give blood through the American Red Cross, and World Central Kitchen has stepped in to distribute meals in major cities.
The Chinese government has faced pressure to release more information about the virus. In 2002, after SARS, a dangerous respiratory disease, first broke out, the Chinese government tried to cover up the extent of the epidemic, severely undermining public trust. Some experts have argued that China should disclose more details about the recent outbreak, such as the transmission route, the incubation period and the ages and genders of the patients.
Chinese health officials have cautioned that more research is necessary to fully understand the new virus. The World Health Organization has praised Chinese health officials’ response to the latest outbreak.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that infect animals and people, and some cause only the symptoms associated with the common cold. Health officials in China have said that symptoms of the new illness include high fever, difficulty breathing and lung lesions.
Amy Qin reported from Hong Kong, and Javier C. Hernández from Guangzhou, China. Elsie Chen contributed research. | business |
UPS CEO Tomé Calls on Logisticians to Take “ Totally Different Perspective ” Post-COVID | Supply chain experts need a “ totally different perspective on inventory management ” in the wake of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and its aftershocks.
That means moving from “ Just-in-Time ” inventory distribution programs to “ Just-in-Case ” worldwide distribution strategies.
That would mean more industrial production in or near North America or closer to where customers exist.
That’ s the word from UPS CEO Carol Tomé, who discussed issues that will shape 2022 and beyond during the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’ s State of American Business video conference on January 11. Issues she covered included economic trends and global competition to policy challenges and opportunities.
“ There’ s been a few wake-up calls throughout the year, ” Tomé said.
UPS is one of the stars of the COVID-19 era. Its 540,000 worldwide employees have delivered more than 1 billion COVID vaccines around the globe with a stunning 99.9% on-time rate to some of the most remote places on earth, she said.
In delivering those doses “ It’ s not just the number, it’ s how we did it, ” Tomé said.
Using sensors on every package, UPS tracked every dose and delivered vaccines with 99.9 on-time records. “ We’ re proud of that, ” she said.
“ It’ s been an incredible journey, ” she said. “ We were a 112-year-old company, and we weren’ t ready for the pandemic. ”
Tomé assumed the top post at UPS in March of 2020. The company was immediately hit by a global pandemic followed by a supply chain crisis and a labor shortage. How has that affected the world’ s largest transportation company?
Her first act was to order enough personal protective gear for UPS employees. To help distribute the gear, she said, UPS hired 40,000 additional workers.
Moving our world forward to deliver what matters is her mantra. “ We don’ t just move goods. We do good, ” she said.
UPS made serious investments in both services and its employees, including raises for workers.
“ In these unprecedented times, UPS just didn’ t survive. We thrived, ” Tomé said,
In addition, the UPS Foundation, its charitable arm, delivered another 20 million doses to the underdeveloped world. Those deliveries included some via drone in Rwanda.
“ Innovation-driven is part of our strategic platform, ” she said. “ Technology is leading the world. But digital learning will give way to digital fluency. ”
UPS has declared a goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050. UPS is looking into battery-powered aircraft, taking first deliveries of that type of plane in 2024. Drones “ have lots of issues, ” Tomé said. But she did predict they would have a utility in world transportation soon.
As for the labor shortage, Tomé said the Teamsters-covered company looks at its workers as “ the secret sauce ” of the $ 84.6 billion company. It hired more than 100,000 seasonal workers during Christmas, and Tomé said about a third will stay on with the company.
“ We have career opportunities, not just job opportunities, ” she said. “ We’ ve been able to manage through it pretty well. ”
UPS Teamsters pay nothing for full health care coverage. To which Tomé said, “ How cool is that? ”
Risk, Resiliency, and Supply Chain Modeling This paper first examines why existing supply chain management practices do not naturally develop resilient supply chains and why some of the existing supply chain processes are not suitable for addressing such risks and required responses. Download Now!
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Driving Supply Chain Agility with Real-Time Visibility In this Supply Chain Leader’ s Playbook, we detail how, through a constant emphasis on efficient processes and empowered employees, the agile supply chain benefits the greater organization by allowing it to act quickly and decisively in the face of disruption including tips from Walmart Canada, Meijer, and Cardinal Health. Download Now!
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ConverSight.ai’ s comprehensive platform empowers supply chain organizations… | general |
Op-Ed: Trump has given Americans a crash-course on propaganda | Hi, what are you looking for?
By
Published
For the past six days, Twitter has been in a frenzy, with talk of World War 111, accusations of elaborate foreign psychological warfare, coordinated disinformation campaigns, and manipulation from unknown sites, presumable bots, according to Buzzfeed News.
“ Be aware that we are experiencing a stunning volume of troll & disinformation activity on Twitter, ” Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio tweeted Tuesday night as Iran fired a dozen ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq that house US troops. “ We are witnessing coordinated informational warfare regarding # IranAttack spreading false information designed to create confusion and division. ”
And during those same six days, the public heard, via Twitter, numerous accounts of what was supposed to be the truth – from President Donald J. Trump himself. However, I don’ t think Senator Rubio was referring to Trump’ s tweets in his warning.
And all this is true, being some of the same tactics used by Russia in recent years to increase polarization in the country, destabilize society, and undermine faith in democratic institutions. But sadly, with the continuing rise of social media, there is no end in sight to the volume of misinformation or propaganda that will be dumped on the public.
And Trump and his campaign officials have become very adept at using social media. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter are the most direct way to target and reach any voter, thereby creating a new form of “ smart ” politics. And for the millions of faithful Trump followers, it is a way to keep the faith.
The Twitter-based presidency Trump has carefully developed a novel political relationship with his followers. Social media has made possible a unique interaction between a political figure and his base that is the beginning of a new, arguably more “ democratic ” model of political dissemination, according to Diggit Magazine.
January 9, 2020
While Diggit Magazine says this new model of political discourse is “ Democratic ” because it is largely made up by the citizens themselves who determine what political figures and ideologies are deemed worthy of popularity based on likes or dislikes, it bothers me that while this may be a fair way to judge an issue or political figure, it does not address the truthfulness of what is being posted.
And this is where Trump’ s go-fers and followers have succeeded in creating a strong, online influence. Not only do they post piles of content praising Trump for whatever he says he has done on his latest tweet, regardless of it being a lie, but they have select groups of political operatives using social media to create ugly content that plays to partisan bias and goes viral online.
Trump’ s campaign has used online advertising data and tools to find traumatized people and target them with intentionally provocative fear-based messages and ads on Facebook. As of this week, the Trump campaign has spent $ 2.3 million on more than 33,000 ads over the past 30 days, according to the Facebook ad library report.
You can either defend hR8SE4M4dH
— Stop Trump ( @ StopTrump2020) January 10, 2020
A new era of dirty politics and disinformation I don’ t claim to be the brightest bulb in the box, but I certainly am smart enough to think outside that box – and after mulling over Trump’ s strong hold over his supporters, I have come to the conclusion that it is a well-orchestrated campaign.
With his overly-large ego, Trump has highlighted his importance and that of his message by constantly remaining online. “ By posting multiple times daily, Trump and his opinions are constantly ‘ trending,’ continuously reinforcing his strong online influence., ” writes Diggit Magazine.
Trump’ s followers read and retweet everything he puts on social media. I read recently that when a person is this taken in by a candidate – they refuse to look objectively at any issue and dismiss misinformation put out by that candidate. It’ s like they close their mind to actual facts. I can see where this is possible after perusing Trump’ s tweets.
Karen Graham is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for environmental news. Karen's view of what is happening in our world is colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in man's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, `` Journalism is merely history's first draft. '' Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.
The Omicron variant that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up genetic material from another virus.
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The world's biggest weapons manufacturers largely avoided the economic downturn caused by Covid-19 and recorded a growth in profits.
This week’ s releases include revisiting a horror legend; a slasher version of a classic tale; a body switch movie from the vault and more.
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Anxiety: Overview, symptoms, causes, and treatments | Anxiety is a normal and often healthy emotion. However, when a person regularly feels disproportionate levels of anxiety, it might become a medical disorder.
These disorders alter how a person processes emotions and behave, also causing physical symptoms. Mild anxiety might be vague and unsettling, while severe anxiety may seriously affect day-to-day living.
Anxiety disorders affect 40 million people in the United States. It is the most common group of mental illnesses in the country. However, only
36.9 percent
of people with an anxiety disorder receive treatment.
Disproportionate reactions of tension and worry characterize anxiety.
. ”
Knowing the difference between normal feelings of anxiety and an anxiety disorder requiring medical attention can help a person identify and treat the condition.
In this article, we look at the differences between anxiety and anxiety disorder, the different types of anxiety, and the available treatment options.
While anxiety can cause distress, it is not always a medical condition.
When an individual faces potentially harmful or worrying triggers, feelings of anxiety are not only normal but necessary for survival.
Since the earliest days of humanity, the approach of predators and incoming danger sets off alarms in the body and allows evasive action. These alarms become noticeable in the form of a raised heartbeat, sweating, and increased sensitivity to surroundings.
The danger causes a rush of adrenalin, a hormone and chemical messenger in the brain, which in turn triggers these anxious reactions in a process called the “ fight-or-flight’ response. This prepares humans to physically confront or flee any potential threats to safety.
For many people, running from larger animals and imminent danger is a less pressing concern than it would have been for early humans. Anxieties now revolve around work, money, family life, health, and other crucial issues that demand a person’ s attention without necessarily requiring the ‘ fight-or-flight’ reaction.
The nervous feeling before an important life event or during a difficult situation is a natural echo of the original ‘ fight-or-flight’ reaction. It can still be essential to survival – anxiety about being hit by a car when crossing the street, for example, means that a person will instinctively look both ways to avoid danger.
The duration or severity of an anxious feeling can sometimes be out of proportion to the original trigger, or stressor. Physical symptoms, such as increased blood pressure and nausea, may also develop. These responses move beyond anxiety into an anxiety disorder.
The APA describes a person with anxiety disorder as “ having recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. ” Once anxiety reaches the stage of a disorder, it can interfere with daily function.
While these symptoms might be normal to experience in daily life, people with GAD will experience them to persistent or extreme levels. GAD may present as vague, unsettling worry or a more severe anxiety that disrupts day-to-day living.
For information on the symptoms of other diagnoses under the umbrella of anxiety disorders, follow the links in the “ Types ” section below.
Panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders: Fifth Edition ( DSM-V) classifies anxiety disorders into several main types.
disorder. However, the manual now
these mental health difficulties under anxiety.
.
This is a chronic disorder involving excessive, long-lasting anxiety and worries about nonspecific life events, objects, and situations. GAD is the most common anxiety disorder, and people with the disorder are not always able to identify the cause of their anxiety.
Brief or sudden attacks of intense terror and apprehension characterize panic disorder. These attacks can lead to shaking, confusion, dizziness, nausea, and breathing difficulties.
tend to occur and escalate rapidly, peaking after 10 minutes. However, a panic attack might last for hours.
Panic disorders usually occur after frightening experiences or prolonged stress but may also occur without a trigger. An individual experiencing a panic attack may misinterpret it as a life-threatening illness, and may make drastic changes in behavior to avoid future attacks.
to learn more about panic disorder and panic attacks.
This is an irrational fear and avoidance of a particular object or situation.
are not like other anxiety disorders, as they relate to a specific cause.
A person with a phobia might acknowledge a fear as illogical or extreme but remain unable to control feelings anxiety around the trigger. Triggers for a phobia range from situations and animals to everyday objects.
to learn more about phobias and how they develop.
This is a fear and avoidance of places, events, or situations from which it may be difficult to escape or in which help would not be available if a person becomes trapped. People often misunderstand this condition as a phobia of open spaces and the outdoors, but it is not so simple. A person with
may have a fear of leaving home or using elevators and public transport.
to learn about agoraphobia, an often-misunderstood psychological disorder.
in certain places or contexts, such as school, even though they may have excellent verbal communication skills around familiar people. It may be an extreme form of social phobia.
This is a fear of negative judgment from others in social situations or of public embarrassment.
includes a range of feelings, such as stage fright, a fear of intimacy, and anxiety around humiliation and rejection.
This disorder can cause people to avoid public situations and human contact to the point that everyday living is rendered extremely difficult.
to learn all you need to know about social anxiety disorder.
High levels of anxiety after separation from a person or place that provides feelings of security or safety characterize separation anxiety disorder. Separation might sometimes result in panic symptoms.
.
The causes of anxiety disorders are complicated. Many might occur at once, some may lead to others, and some might not lead to an anxiety disorder unless another is present.
.
Treatments will consist of a combination of psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, and medication.
, or other conditions can sometimes have such a strong effect on mental well-being that treating an anxiety disorder must wait until any underlying conditions are brought under control.
Yoga can reduce the effects of an anxiety disorder.
In some cases, a person can treat an anxiety disorder at home without clinical supervision. However, this may not be effective for severe or long-term anxiety disorders.
Learning to manage stress can help limit potential triggers. Organize any upcoming pressures and deadlines, compile lists to make daunting tasks more manageable, and commit to taking time off from study or work.
Simple activities can help soothe the mental and physical signs of anxiety. These techniques include meditation, deep breathing exercises, long baths, resting in the dark, and
.
Make a list of the negative thoughts that might be cycling as a result of anxiety, and write down another list next to it containing positive, believable thoughts to replace them. Creating a mental image of successfully facing and conquering a specific fear can also provide benefits if anxiety symptoms relate to a specific cause, such as in a phobia.
Talk with familiar people who are supportive, such as a family member or friend. Support group services may also be available in the local area and online.
Physical exertion can improve self-image and release chemicals in the brain that trigger positive feelings.
A standard way of treating anxiety is psychological counseling. This can include cognitive-behavioral therapy (
), psychotherapy, or a combination of therapies.
This type of psychotherapy aims to recognize and change harmful thought patterns that form the foundation of anxious and troublesome feelings. In the process, practitioners of CBT hope to limit distorted thinking and change the way people react to objects or situations that trigger anxiety.
. Exposure to fears and triggers can be a part of CBT. This encourages people to confront their fears and helps reduce sensitivity to their usual triggers of anxiety.
A person can support anxiety management with several types of medication.
.
A doctor may prescribe these for certain people with anxiety, but they can be highly addictive. These drugs tend to have few side effects except for drowsiness and possible dependence. Diazepam, or Valium, is an example of a commonly prescribed benzodiazepine.
These commonly help with anxiety, even though they also target depression. People often use
reuptake inhibitors ( SSRI), which have fewer side effects than older antidepressants but are likely to cause jitters, nausea, and sexual dysfunction when treatment begins.
Other antidepressants include fluoxetine, or Prozac, and citalopram, or Celexa.
This is a class of drugs older than SSRIs that provide benefits for most anxiety disorders other than OCD. These drugs might cause side effects, including dizziness, drowsiness,
, and weight gain. Imipramine and clomipramine are two examples of tricyclics.
Seek medical advice if the adverse effects of any prescribed medications become severe.
There are ways to reduce the risk of anxiety disorders. Remember that anxious feelings are a natural factor of daily life, and experiencing them does not always indicate the presence of a mental health disorder.
Reduce intake of caffeine, tea, cola, and chocolate.
Before using over-the-counter ( OTC) or herbal remedies, check with a doctor or pharmacist for any chemicals that may make anxiety symptoms worse.
Maintain a healthy diet.
Keep a regular sleep pattern.
Avoid alcohol, cannabis, and other recreational drugs.
Anxiety itself is not a medical condition but a natural emotion that is vital for survival when an individual finds themselves facing danger.
An anxiety disorder develops when this reaction becomes exaggerated or out-of-proportion to the trigger that causes it. There are several types of anxiety disorder, including panic disorder, phobias, and social anxiety.
Treatment involves a combination of different types of therapy, medication, and counseling, alongside self-help measures.
An active lifestyle with a balanced diet can help keep anxious emotions within healthy limits.
The clearest indication that anxiety is becoming problematic may be finding it increasingly difficult to do things that the person used to do relatively easily.
This may mean talking in front of a group of people, going to the grocery, separating from a loved one or caregiver, or riding in an elevator. If anxiety starts to get in the way, it is definitely time to reach out.
Answers represent the opinions of our medical experts. All content is strictly informational and should not be considered medical advice.
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Curtain falls on Chinese film festival as censorship intensifies | Hi, what are you looking for?
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One of China's longest-running independent film festivals has decided to shut down against the backdrop of mounting government censorship, saying it was no longer possible to run a `` purely independent '' festival in the country.
The China International Film Festival ( CIFF) made the announcement in a post Thursday on its official WeChat social media account.
`` We believe that under current local organisational conditions it is impossible to organise an effective film festival that has a pure, independent spirit, '' it said.
The statement gave no other details on the reasons, but the shutdown comes amid a dramatic tightening of censorship on Chinese media and entertainment under the government of President Xi Jinping.
The CIFF was founded in the eastern city of Nanjing in 2003 and was staged 14 times, its announcement said.
The festival was known to have screened films on sensitive subjects such as homosexuality and controversies surrounding the massive Three Gorges Dam project in central China.
China has long operated what is widely considered the most sophisticated online censorship apparatus, which blocks Chinese internet users from accessing a wide range of content that the government considers politically objectionable.
But under Xi -- the most powerful Chinese leader in decades -- Beijing has ramped up censorship while pushing a nationwide drive for more media that glorifies the ruling Communist Party.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post quoted Zhang Xianmin, a Beijing Film Academy professor and the festival's key organiser, as saying the shutdown takes China back to a more restricted era for film.
`` We just went back to 20 years ago, when there was no room and opportunity for independent films, '' Zhang was quoted as saying.
A range of other annual film festivals continue to operate in China.
One of China’ s longest-running independent film festivals has decided to shut down against the backdrop of mounting government censorship, saying it was no longer possible to run a “ purely independent ” festival in the country.
The China International Film Festival ( CIFF) made the announcement in a post Thursday on its official WeChat social media account.
“ We believe that under current local organisational conditions it is impossible to organise an effective film festival that has a pure, independent spirit, ” it said.
The statement gave no other details on the reasons, but the shutdown comes amid a dramatic tightening of censorship on Chinese media and entertainment under the government of President Xi Jinping.
The CIFF was founded in the eastern city of Nanjing in 2003 and was staged 14 times, its announcement said.
The festival was known to have screened films on sensitive subjects such as homosexuality and controversies surrounding the massive Three Gorges Dam project in central China.
China has long operated what is widely considered the most sophisticated online censorship apparatus, which blocks Chinese internet users from accessing a wide range of content that the government considers politically objectionable.
But under Xi — the most powerful Chinese leader in decades — Beijing has ramped up censorship while pushing a nationwide drive for more media that glorifies the ruling Communist Party.
Hong Kong’ s South China Morning Post quoted Zhang Xianmin, a Beijing Film Academy professor and the festival’ s key organiser, as saying the shutdown takes China back to a more restricted era for film.
“ We just went back to 20 years ago, when there was no room and opportunity for independent films, ” Zhang was quoted as saying.
A range of other annual film festivals continue to operate in China.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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Chinese researchers reveal draft genome of virus implicated in Wuhan pneumonia outbreak | A seafoofd market in Wuhan, China has been considered the likely source of an outbreak of a novel virus but it may have first infected people elsewhere.
By Jon CohenJan. 11, 2020, 3:00 PM
Scientists worried about China’ s lack of transparency about a month-old outbreak of pneumonia in the city of Wuhan breathed a sigh of relief today, after a consortium of researchers published a draft genome of the newly discovered coronavirus suspected of causing the outbreak.
“ Potentially really important moment in global public health-must be celebrated, everyone involved in Wuhan, in China & beyond acknowledged, thanked & get all the credit, ” Jeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome Trust in London, wrote in a tweet. “ Sharing of data good for public health, great for those who did the work. Just needs those incentives & trust. ”
Also this morning, Wuhan health authorities reported the first death from the new disease. The patient was a 61-year-old man who frequently visited the live market in Wuhan that most cases have been linked to. He also suffered from abdominal tumors and chronic liver disease and died on Thursday. The Wuhan Health Commission said 41 people so far have been confirmed to have been infected with the new virus; no new patients have been identified since 3 January.
News about the sequence came from Edward Holmes, a virologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Sydney, who tweeted the first notice about the availability of what he referred to as an “ initial ” sequence of the virus early this morning. Holmes is a member of a consortium led by Yong-Zhen Zhang of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center & School of Public Health that posted the sequence on an open-access site, virological.org. The consortium said it had also deposited the sequence in GenBank. In a brief note, the group said researchers were free to analyze and share the data, but asked that groups “ communicate with us if you wish to publish results that use these data in a journal. ”
The analyzing began immediately. Evolutionary biologist Andrew Rambaut at the University of Edinburgh calculated that the virus has a 89% similarity to a severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS) -related member of the Sarbecoviruses, a subgenus within the Betacoronavirus genus.
Potentially really important moment in global public health-must be celebrated …
Kevin Olival, vice-president for research of the EcoHealth Alliance, published a phylogenetic tree on Twitter and concurred that the new virus “ definitely clusters ” with the SARS-related coronaviruses. ( Later in the day, Rambaut criticized the fact that Olival did not credit the researchers who isolated the virus and sequenced it. “ This is one of the reasons why people are reticent to share data, ” Rambaut wrote on Twitter. “ No acknowledgement of where the data comes from or who generated it. The [ phylogenetic tree ] is even branded with a logo. ”)
Ralph Baric, a coronavirus researcher at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, notes that of the four known SARS-related bat viruses capable of infecting humans, this one is the most distant from SARS itself. After downloading the sequence last night, his lab immediately began to try to reverse-engineer a live virus from the sequence, which can be helpful to develop antibody tests and to start experiments in animal models. “ If you want to have a strong public health response, you have to do this quickly, ” says Baric, who leads one of the few labs in the world that can re-create coronaviruses just from their sequences. ( Bureaucratic hurdles would make it difficult for China to ship the actual virus quickly to other countries, he says.)
Baric hopes this virus’ s discovery and the response to it illustrate the speed at which scientists can move by working together. “ One of the things that’ s sad is that the public doesn’ t realize how incredibly competent the public health and the basic science community are at going from a newly discovered virus to a tremendous amount of capacity to trace and try to control its spread, ” Baric says.
With reporting by Martin Enserink. | science |
Is Betelgeuse about to go supernova? | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Located within the Orion constellation, Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star. At one point in astronomical history it was one of the largest stars ever discovered, although this status has since been surpassed. Nevertheless, Betelgeuse is one of the few names of astronomical objects that has crossed into public consciousness ( not least because the star is one of the brightest stars in the night sky).
The star is a distinctly reddish, semiregular variable star whose apparent magnitude varies between +0.0 and +1.3, the widest range of any known first-magnitude star. The star is located an estimated 642 light-years away from Earth.
Of concern to astronomers is the dimming of the star with Betelgeuse reportedly having faded by up to one full magnitude. Less is known about red supergiants and how long they burn for. Such stars do not last as long as stars like our Sun, because they burn their nuclear fuel much faster.
However, the star is known for going through strange and somewhat unpredictable cycles of varying light intensity.
Discussed by Phys.org, there are two schools of thought in relation to the future of the star. The first is that Betelgeuse is simply part way through a variable cycle of brightness and it will become brighter again. Some astronomers speculate that the change in brightness could be due to some sort of eruption of gas or dust, or changes in the star’ s surface brightness.
The second line of reasoning is that Betelgeuse is dying, and the end result will be a supernova. The general media have picked up on this point, indicating that the star could soon explode. However, while red supergiants generally end up exploding this cosmic event is less likely to happen any time soon – perhaps within another few hundred thousand years ( although this is relatively soon in astronomical terms).
With a supernova, according to Popular Science: “ Once they run out of helium and hydrogen as fuel, they start to build up heavier elements in their cores, causing them to implode and grow increasingly hot and dense. Ultimately, the reaction forces the star to split its outer layers out into space. ”
The research has been published on the website Astronomer’ s Telegram as a white paper. The paper is titled “ The Fainting of the Nearby Supergiant Betelgeuse ”.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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Using microorganisms to address microplastic pollution | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The extent of plastic pollution in the oceans is considerable, and it could be that up to 70 percent of the waste in the world’ s oceans is made of plastic. Such is the extent of plastic pollution, that microplastic has now entered the human food chain. In addition, the chemicals leached out from plastic are having an adverse effect on marine life.
One mechanism to address plastic pollution in the oceans could be from aquatic microbial life, according to new research.
To assess the possibility of microbial conversion of plastics, microbiologists used particles of polyethylene which were marked with a radioactive isotope. This enabled the researchers to track the path and conversion of the plastic by the microbes.
READ MORE: Mealworms can effectively degrade toxic additives in plastics
The tracking process showed that the chemicals that formed the plastic were broken down and transformed into beneficial fatty acids, such as omega-3 and omega-6. This was shown by the application of a technique called stable isotope mass spectrometry.
Commenting on the research, lead scientist Dr. Sami Taipale states: “ We wanted to study whether microbes that have the ability to decompose complex humic compounds would also use recalcitrant microplastic polymers, and indeed, microplastic degradation was more pronounced by microbes originating from the humic lakes than from the clear water lakes. ”
Humic lakes have been found to contain high amounts of organic acids. Here the types of microorganisms found to be most effective at degrading the plastic were Mixotrophic algae ( Cryptomonas sp.) and herbivorous zooplankton ( Daphnia magna).
ALSO READ: Omnipresence of microplastics in European rivers revealed
Humic substances are organic compounds which are important components of humus, the major organic fraction of soil and also with dystrophic lakes and ocean water.
The benefit of the process is that fatty acids can be absorbed by animals positioned higher up in the food chain, without any adverse effects ( there may even be some benefits from these compounds to marine life).
The researchers suggest that altering the microbial population of an aquatic environment in favour of the microbes that have plastic degrading properties could help to address some of the concerns linked to microplastic pollutants.
The research findings have been published in the journal Scientific Reports. The research paper is titled “ Tracing the fate of microplastic carbon in the aquatic food web by compound-specific isotope analysis. ”
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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Malta gets new PM after reporter murder outcry | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Outsider Robert Abela is set to become Malta's new premier on Sunday after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's downfall over the murder of an investigative journalist.
Abela, who is seen as representing continuity, was elected leader of the Labour Party, meaning he automatically takes the role of prime minister.
In the election run-up, Abela did not criticise Muscat, who announced in December he would quit following widespread anger over his perceived efforts to protect friends and allies from a probe into the 2017 slaying of blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Muscat, 45, was set to resign Sunday.
Prior to the election result, activist groups cast doubt on whether his successor would bring about real change in the Mediterranean country, which they say has been taken over by `` criminals ''.
Dubbed the `` one woman WikiLeaks '', Caruana Galizia exposed corruption at the highest levels. She was killed by a car bomb on October 16, 2017 in an attack that made world headlines.
Less than an hour before her death, she wrote on her blog: `` There are crooks everywhere you look. The situation is desperate. ''
It was expected that some 17,500 Labour voters would vote for the party's first mid-term prime minister in history.
Two candidates were vying to take over as Labour leader and prime minister: deputy prime minister and health minister Chris Fearne, a 56-year old surgeon, and 42-year-old lawyer Abela.
Fearne had the backing of most cabinet members but Abela had been closing the gap in the polls in the final week of the campaign, the Times of Malta said.
Neither referred to the Galizia killing in the run-up to the election. Both have insisted they represent continuity, highlighting their determination to keep the economy on its stellar trajectory.
- 'Reputation as pirates ' -
`` We have the reputation ( in Malta) of being pirates. The reason is that a group of criminals have taken over our government, '' Manuel Delia, a member of the activist group Repubblika, told AFP.
`` We need change. ''
Martina Darmanin, a 24-year old academic, said the reporter's killing had been `` a shock '', and she had taken part in the regular demonstrations denouncing `` the mafia in power ''.
`` As a member of the EU we want and we deserve better than this: good governance, rule of law, '' she said, adding that she was `` fed up of hearing that I 'm from a tax haven country ''.
Repubblika plans to deliver a manifesto to the new prime minister calling for a clean up of politics and the economy as well as a revamp of the constitution to guarantee a genuine separation of powers.
In an emotional farewell address Friday, Muscat said he was `` sorry '' about the killing, the investigation into which he has been accused of hampering.
`` I paid the highest price for this case to be solved under my watch, '' he said.
The opposition Nationalist Party slammed Muscat's `` surreal '' speech, pointing out that it was Caruana Galiza who had paid that price.
- 'Indelible stain ' -
Muscat's fall from power followed daily protests led by supporters of the Caruana Galizia family, who accuse him among other things of shielding his chief of staff and childhood friend Keith Schembri, who has been implicated in the murder.
The journalist's family had called for Muscat to step down immediately, but support from his party and his own popularity -- linked to Malta's booming economy -- bought him time until the party election.
Three men are on trial for allegedly detonating the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia, while a fourth -- powerful businessman Jorgen Fenech -- was charged as an accomplice after being detained as he tried to leave the country on his yacht.
Fenech's arrest in November sparked the resignation of tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, who formerly served as energy minister, and Schembri.
The murder and probe, Malta Today wrote on Saturday, `` cast an indelible stain on Muscat and his administration ''.
Outsider Robert Abela is set to become Malta’ s new premier on Sunday after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’ s downfall over the murder of an investigative journalist.
Abela, who is seen as representing continuity, was elected leader of the Labour Party, meaning he automatically takes the role of prime minister.
In the election run-up, Abela did not criticise Muscat, who announced in December he would quit following widespread anger over his perceived efforts to protect friends and allies from a probe into the 2017 slaying of blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Muscat, 45, was set to resign Sunday.
Prior to the election result, activist groups cast doubt on whether his successor would bring about real change in the Mediterranean country, which they say has been taken over by “ criminals ”.
Dubbed the “ one woman WikiLeaks ”, Caruana Galizia exposed corruption at the highest levels. She was killed by a car bomb on October 16, 2017 in an attack that made world headlines.
Less than an hour before her death, she wrote on her blog: “ There are crooks everywhere you look. The situation is desperate. ”
It was expected that some 17,500 Labour voters would vote for the party’ s first mid-term prime minister in history.
Two candidates were vying to take over as Labour leader and prime minister: deputy prime minister and health minister Chris Fearne, a 56-year old surgeon, and 42-year-old lawyer Abela.
Fearne had the backing of most cabinet members but Abela had been closing the gap in the polls in the final week of the campaign, the Times of Malta said.
Neither referred to the Galizia killing in the run-up to the election. Both have insisted they represent continuity, highlighting their determination to keep the economy on its stellar trajectory.
– ‘ Reputation as pirates’ –
“ We have the reputation ( in Malta) of being pirates. The reason is that a group of criminals have taken over our government, ” Manuel Delia, a member of the activist group Repubblika, told AFP.
“ We need change. ”
Martina Darmanin, a 24-year old academic, said the reporter’ s killing had been “ a shock ”, and she had taken part in the regular demonstrations denouncing “ the mafia in power ”.
“ As a member of the EU we want and we deserve better than this: good governance, rule of law, ” she said, adding that she was “ fed up of hearing that I’ m from a tax haven country ”.
Repubblika plans to deliver a manifesto to the new prime minister calling for a clean up of politics and the economy as well as a revamp of the constitution to guarantee a genuine separation of powers.
In an emotional farewell address Friday, Muscat said he was “ sorry ” about the killing, the investigation into which he has been accused of hampering.
“ I paid the highest price for this case to be solved under my watch, ” he said.
The opposition Nationalist Party slammed Muscat’ s “ surreal ” speech, pointing out that it was Caruana Galiza who had paid that price.
– ‘ Indelible stain’ –
Muscat’ s fall from power followed daily protests led by supporters of the Caruana Galizia family, who accuse him among other things of shielding his chief of staff and childhood friend Keith Schembri, who has been implicated in the murder.
The journalist’ s family had called for Muscat to step down immediately, but support from his party and his own popularity — linked to Malta’ s booming economy — bought him time until the party election.
Three men are on trial for allegedly detonating the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia, while a fourth — powerful businessman Jorgen Fenech — was charged as an accomplice after being detained as he tried to leave the country on his yacht.
Fenech’ s arrest in November sparked the resignation of tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, who formerly served as energy minister, and Schembri.
The murder and probe, Malta Today wrote on Saturday, “ cast an indelible stain on Muscat and his administration ”.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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US World Cup star Rapinoe slams IOC 'no protest ' policy | Hi, what are you looking for?
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United States World Cup icon Megan Rapinoe Friday vowed that athletes `` will not be silenced '' after the International Olympic Committee warned against political protests at the Tokyo Games.
`` So much being done about the protests, '' Rapinoe said in an Instagram post. `` So little being done about what we are protesting about.
`` We will not be silenced. ''
Rapinoe's comments were accompanied by a graphic showing fists raised through the interlocking rings -- under the crossed out words `` kneeling, hand gestures, signs. ''
The post comes after IOC chief Thomas Bach reiterated that athletes, coaches, trainers and officials are banned from political protests on the field of play, at the Olympic Village, during the opening and closing ceremonies and on the medal podium.
`` If this political neutrality is not respected, then the Olympic Games will divide, and not unite, the world, '' Bach insisted.
The guidelines issued Thursday by the IOC on specific actions that are banned and will draw sanctions, come after two US athletes were reprimanded by the US Olympic Committee for medal podium protests at the Pan American Games in Lima.
Fencer Race Imboden kneeled and hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised a fist in protest. Both received 12 months probation.
Rapinoe has been outspoken on political issues during her career, speaking out about issues including gender equality and racism.
In 2016 she joined former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial inequality in America.
United States World Cup icon Megan Rapinoe Friday vowed that athletes “ will not be silenced ” after the International Olympic Committee warned against political protests at the Tokyo Games.
“ So much being done about the protests, ” Rapinoe said in an Instagram post. “ So little being done about what we are protesting about.
“ We will not be silenced. ”
Rapinoe’ s comments were accompanied by a graphic showing fists raised through the interlocking rings — under the crossed out words “ kneeling, hand gestures, signs. ”
The post comes after IOC chief Thomas Bach reiterated that athletes, coaches, trainers and officials are banned from political protests on the field of play, at the Olympic Village, during the opening and closing ceremonies and on the medal podium.
“ If this political neutrality is not respected, then the Olympic Games will divide, and not unite, the world, ” Bach insisted.
The guidelines issued Thursday by the IOC on specific actions that are banned and will draw sanctions, come after two US athletes were reprimanded by the US Olympic Committee for medal podium protests at the Pan American Games in Lima.
Fencer Race Imboden kneeled and hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised a fist in protest. Both received 12 months probation.
Rapinoe has been outspoken on political issues during her career, speaking out about issues including gender equality and racism.
In 2016 she joined former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial inequality in America.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
A man undergoes a rapid Covid-19 test at a medical van in New York on December 17, 2021. — © AFPThe single remaining monoclonal...
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Coronavirus fears spur dozens of companies to bail on MWC Barcelona | The front entrance of Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona.
Amazon and Intel are the latest companies to pull out of Mobile World Congress ( MWC) in Barcelona because of concerns over the coronavirus. The world's largest mobile trade show takes place Feb. 24-27 and draws more than 100,000 visitors. Amazon joins other powerhouse companies Sony, LG Electronics, US chipmaker Nvidia, ZTE and Ericsson, which also announced they will not attend. SEE: Coronavirus having major effect on tech industry beyond supply chain delays ( free TechRepublic PDF)
More than 42,000 people have been infected with the pneumonia-like illness, which has also claimed over 1,000 lives, CNET reported. In a statement announcing its decision not to attend MWC, Amazon said, `` Due to the outbreak and continued concerns about the novel coronavirus, Amazon will withdraw from exhibiting and participating in Mobile World Congress 2020. '' Intel confirmed today it will not attend MWC either `` out of an abundance of caution, '' CNET reported. Meanwhile, the event's organizer and mobile operator lobbying group, GSMA, released a statement saying it is moving forward with plans to host the conference. `` While the GSMA confirms some large exhibitors have decided not to come to the show this year with others still contemplating next steps, we remain more than 2,800 exhibitors strong, '' the statement said.
However, Reuters cited an industry source and has reported that GSMA is holding a board meeting on Friday, February 14, to discuss possible cancellation of MWC.
SEE: 3D map shows how the coronavirus is spreading worldwide ( TechRepublic)
In addition to `` all of the health and safety measures put in place, '' other steps the GSMA has taken include prohibiting access to all travelers from China's Hubei province; implementing temperature screening; requiring proof from all travelers who have been in China that they have not been in the country for two weeks before the event; and self-certification from attendees that they have not been in contact with anyone infected with the coronavirus. In a statement last week announcing its decision not to attend MWC, Ericsson said `` the health and safety of employees, customers and other stakeholders is the company's top priority. '' Other companies that have canceled include: Nvidia, NTT DoCoMo, CommScope, Accedian, Amdocs, Viavi Solutions, Umidigi, Coosea Group, Panorama Software, Ulefone, Dali Wireless, Ciena, InterDigital, LG and Vivo, according to published reports. Samsung has reportedly scaled back plans for the event, but it hasn't made its intentions public to date. Many other companies with major presences at the show are still contemplating their plans. The list of potential no-shows includes major operators and software vendors, chipmakers, and cloud providers. Large US-based companies like AT & T, Microsoft, Verizon, Cisco, IBM, and VMware have not provided any updates so far. Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE have said they still plan to exhibit and hold meetings at MWC Barcelona but ZTE has canceled its press conference. Both companies have ordered China-based staff to self-isolate ahead of the event to ensure they are free of the illness, according to Reuters. The two companies have also reportedly drafted European staff to cover for those who are stranded. The coronavirus has spread to at least 27 countries and territories, according to a Reuters count based on official reports, infecting more than 330 people outside China. Two deaths have been reported outside mainland China, both of Chinese nationals.
This article was updated and republished with additional information on Feb. 11, 2020.
5G networks and devices, mobile security, remote support, and the latest about phones, tablets, and apps are some of the topics we 'll cover. Delivered Tuesdays and Fridays | tech |
How to manage employees working from home during the coronavirus scare | As the deadly coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, organizations are looking to keep employees healthy and businesses running. With China at the forefront of the outbreak, many Chinese businesses are mandating employees either not work or work from home.
SEE: Managing remote workers: A business leader's guide ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
However, the coronavirus isn't limited to China. Confirmed cases of the disease have been identified in Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, the US, the UK, and more, leading businesses around the world to institute travel restrictions and special working conditions of their own.
The CDC's interim guidance for business response recommended companies encourage employees at risk of exposure to take sick days; perform routine environmental office cleaning; and institute more flexible work arrangements.
One of the most popular options tech companies in particular are using is remote work.
`` We're definitely seeing people go to remote work as a way to hopefully keep their employees safe and healthy, stop the spread of this virus, and maintain business continuity at the same time, '' said Brie Reynolds, career development manager and coach at FlexJobs.
While this option is both viable and valuable on the health front, it can be difficult for managers unfamiliar with managing remote workers.
The lack of face time in the office matters, especially for individuals who have only worked in office settings, said Brian Kropp, chief of research in Gartner's HR practice.
`` When you're in the same physical space as someone, the amount of knowledge that's shared over the water cooler with people you happen to bump into goes away, '' Kropp said. `` There's no virtual office cooler. ''
`` We don't realize how much emphasis we place on people being physically present as evidence that they're working, '' Reynolds said. `` So when you're managing a team that's working from home, you can't actually see people at their desks, presumably working. ''
Working from home does not equate to not working, but it does cause people to work differently. This difference is something managers need to recognize and adjust for, Reynolds added.
1. Communicate
From the beginning, managers must communicate their expectations for remote workers or employees working from home, Reynolds said.
`` You have to be proactive about your communication and, as a manager, really set the stage for people to be able to communicate openly so that people don't shut down and assume that they shouldn't bother other people, '' Reynolds said.
The manager should begin by establishing how they want to communicate, if there are organized times they want to communicate, and what they expect each day.
Managers must intentionally design ways to communicate to all of their employees, but especially the employees they don't normally see every day, before working from home was ever in place, Kropp said.
SEE: Working remotely: A professional's guide to the essential tools ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
`` There's a second group of employees who you manage but you don't interact with every day, '' Kropp said. `` When you're in the same office, you 'll naturally bump into them and chat with them while you're getting coffee or while you're leaving, whatever it might be. ''
But if those individuals work from home and you stop bumping into them, you might let them slip through the cracks. It's up to the manager to create set times to speak with those individuals and catch up, Kropp added.
2. Trust
Building upon the misconception that working from home means you aren't working, managers must trust that their employees are doing their jobs, even if they can't see them, Kropp said.
`` One of the things that often happens when you're managing employees who are working remotely for the first time, is that your assumption is if I can't see them working, then they're probably not working, '' Kropp said.
If an employee takes a little longer to respond to an email, the manager shouldn't automatically assume it's because they aren't working. They need to think the best of their employees and consider that they could be working on other tasks, Kropp noted.
3. Include
Just because a part of your workforce might work from home, that doesn't mean they aren't a part of the team. Managers should make an effort to include remote workers, Kropp said.
With this unexpected virus outbreak, the employees asked to work from home probably never expected to be remote workers. While remote work has its benefits, it can be lonely.
Reynolds suggested including remote workers on in-office meetings via video call. Managers could even make a point to schedule weekly meetings that include a video call with people in-office and people at home, she said.
If managers decide to allow video calling on normal in-office meetings, Kropp said to be sure and give those on the phone a chance to speak. This inclusiveness makes the employees working from home feel like they are still involved.
`` The overarching theme for all of this is that if you're a manager and you're starting to manage remote employees, either because there's a pandemic or your work is changing, you can't rely on chance to build a relationship, '' Kropp said.
`` You have to be intentional about building a relationship and you have to dedicate the time and space to make sure the relationship is occurring, '' he added.
For more, check out Coronavirus: How companies can handle employee travel in wake of deadly virus on TechRepublic.
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Indian police battle anti-Modi protesters over disputed law | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Indian police baton-charged protesters Sunday to stop them reaching Prime Minister Narendra Modi's car as nationwide protests against a bitterly disputed citizenship law entered a second month.
Tens of thousands staged protests through the night in the eastern city of Kolkata to denounce Modi's weekend visit to the capital of West Bengal state, whose local rulers have strongly opposed the legislation.
Police said they were forced to act after protesters tried to storm past barricades to stop Modi's vehicle outside a stadium, where the leader again defended the law and insisted the demonstrators were `` misguided ''.
Nearly 2,000 protesters gathered outside chanting `` Fascist Modi, Go Back '' before the showdown between demonstrators and police. More than 100 protesters were detained, a police official said.
Protesters have burned effigies of the prime minister during his visit and brandished black flags -- considered an insulting gesture in Indian society.
`` The government can't suppress our voice. We are not afraid. We are determined to fight for our rights, '' Samit Nandi, one of the protesters, told AFP. `` We will continue our protests until Modi leaves our city. ''
West Bengal has become a political battlefield between Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) and regional powerhouse Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress party leads the state.
Banerjee is among state leaders nationwide who have said they will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, which excludes Muslims from a list of ethnic minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who are allowed to seek Indian nationality.
Opponents say the government has created a religious test for citizenship in the secular country.
Many among India's 200 million Muslims fear the law is a precursor to a national register of citizens that could leave them stateless in the country of 1.3 billion. Many poor Indians do not have documents to prove their nationality.
`` CAA is not about taking away citizenship, it is about giving citizenship, '' Modi told supporters.
He has accused political opponents of `` misleading '' and `` inciting '' people against his government.
Widespread demonstrations have rocked the Hindu-majority nation since the law was approved by parliament last month.
At least 27 people, mostly Muslims, have been killed with police accused of using disproportionate force in several states.
Home Minister Amit Shah, the government number two, also held a rally in Jabalpur on Sunday to build support for the law and several hundred supporters of the measure marched in New Delhi.
But in a new sign of international unease over the law, a third Bangladesh minister cancelled a visit to Delhi in apparent protest. Deputy foreign minister Shahriar Alam was to have attended a diplomatic syposium in the Indian capital this week.
Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan called off separate visits in December. The government has denied any link to the new law, however.
The United Nations and a US government religious freedom commission have also expressed concern.
Indian police baton-charged protesters Sunday to stop them reaching Prime Minister Narendra Modi’ s car as nationwide protests against a bitterly disputed citizenship law entered a second month.
Tens of thousands staged protests through the night in the eastern city of Kolkata to denounce Modi’ s weekend visit to the capital of West Bengal state, whose local rulers have strongly opposed the legislation.
Police said they were forced to act after protesters tried to storm past barricades to stop Modi’ s vehicle outside a stadium, where the leader again defended the law and insisted the demonstrators were “ misguided ”.
Nearly 2,000 protesters gathered outside chanting “ Fascist Modi, Go Back ” before the showdown between demonstrators and police. More than 100 protesters were detained, a police official said.
Protesters have burned effigies of the prime minister during his visit and brandished black flags — considered an insulting gesture in Indian society.
“ The government can’ t suppress our voice. We are not afraid. We are determined to fight for our rights, ” Samit Nandi, one of the protesters, told AFP. “ We will continue our protests until Modi leaves our city. ”
West Bengal has become a political battlefield between Modi’ s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) and regional powerhouse Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress party leads the state.
Banerjee is among state leaders nationwide who have said they will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, which excludes Muslims from a list of ethnic minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who are allowed to seek Indian nationality.
Opponents say the government has created a religious test for citizenship in the secular country.
Many among India’ s 200 million Muslims fear the law is a precursor to a national register of citizens that could leave them stateless in the country of 1.3 billion. Many poor Indians do not have documents to prove their nationality.
“ CAA is not about taking away citizenship, it is about giving citizenship, ” Modi told supporters.
He has accused political opponents of “ misleading ” and “ inciting ” people against his government.
Widespread demonstrations have rocked the Hindu-majority nation since the law was approved by parliament last month.
At least 27 people, mostly Muslims, have been killed with police accused of using disproportionate force in several states.
Home Minister Amit Shah, the government number two, also held a rally in Jabalpur on Sunday to build support for the law and several hundred supporters of the measure marched in New Delhi.
But in a new sign of international unease over the law, a third Bangladesh minister cancelled a visit to Delhi in apparent protest. Deputy foreign minister Shahriar Alam was to have attended a diplomatic syposium in the Indian capital this week.
Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan called off separate visits in December. The government has denied any link to the new law, however.
The United Nations and a US government religious freedom commission have also expressed concern.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
The U.S. sees many flight cancellations on Christmas Day, with numbers swelling to triple digits.
It's a moment that has been decades in the making. The James Webb Space Telescope successfully launched on Christmas morning.
The drivers of change in cyberspace are many and varied and this creates security challenges.
US President Joe Biden on Saturday commended Americans for their strength and resilience in the face of the raging Covid-19 pandemic.
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Dada Nexus Ltd Ads Stock Quote: DADA Stock News, Quotes, Analysis | Dada Nexus Ltd Ads ( DADA) - CHINA BASED COMPANY THAT PROVIDES ON-DEMAND DELIVERY AND RETAIL PLATFORMS.
The Relative Strength ( RS) Rating for XPO Logistics ( XPO) climbed into a new percentile Tuesday, with a rise from 80...
Alibaba stock, Pinduoduo ( PDD), Tencent ( TCEHY), JD.com ( JD) and Dada Nexus ( DADA) are top stocks to buy or watch this...
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Logistics and transportation stocks have been on the rise as e-commerce booms and the real economy recovers from coronavirus shutdowns....
Retail giant Walmart ( WMT) has taken a $ 2 billion stake in Chinese IPO stock Dada Nexus ( DADA). Walmart stock edged...
Go beyond breakouts and learn about 4 buy signals for early entries and adding on. | business |
CES 2020: Porch pirates stopped with IoTLock | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Global e-commerce is growing exponentially, with the value expected to hit $ 4.5 trillion in 2021. Millions of packages are delivered each day, and this has led to an increase in package theft by “ porch pirates ” targeting homes without secured delivery boxes. In addition, third-party security systems have shown themselves to be susceptible to hacks and guilty of storing consumers’ personal data.
A new product called IoTLock, from the company It’ s Here Inc., aims to put an end to this by allowing anyone to create their own blockchain-secured keypad devices for the home or office.
A blockchain is an expanding list of digital records, referred to as blocks. These blocks are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data ( what’ s called a Merkle tree).
READ MORE: 2020 trends on enterprise automation revealed
IoTLock is a software system and mobile decentralized application that can turn any keypad-enabled device into a blockchain-secured container with just a few pieces of hardware. With this technology, users can manage their locked devices, monitor multiple devices, and share or revoke access — all without third-party providers collecting any data.
The solution works with mailboxes, delivery boxes, and safes, into blockchain-secured smart devices.
According to Kevin Barnes, Founder of It’ s Here Inc.: “ Not only is this a simple and secure way to build a DIY-secured box, it’ s also a robust and frictionless system suitable for commercial use. ”
To develop the technology, It’ s Here Inc. worked with StreamIoT™, which is a blockchain-powered platform where IoT devices store and protect data, device authentication and privacy.
Through the technology, companies can build other types of locking products, to secure deliveries and keep other items safe.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
The hunt for answers - like whether the Omicron variant will trigger new waves of infection.
Crime is raging across the country, from violent attacks to brazen shoplifting to mob “ smash and grab ” attacks.
The Omicron variant that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up genetic material from another virus.
At its core, Zero Trust is all about authenticating and authorizing access policies that have been designed to provide the least privilege, for the...
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The Texas Tenors talk New York show, new book, CD, future plans ( Includes interview) | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Marcus Collins is affectionately known as “ The Contemporary Tenor, ” while JC Fisher is “ The Romantic Tenor ” and John Hagen is “ The Tenor ” respectively.
The Texas Tenors are the most successful music group and the third highest-selling artist in the history of America’ s Got Talent.
On January 13, they will be playing The Green Room 42, which is located on the fourth floor of the Yotel Hotel in Manhattan. “ We are excited, ” he said. “ We were just celebrating our 10th-anniversary tour. This is a much more intimate room and it’ s exciting for us to play this venue. We will be doing a lot of the songs that people will expect from us and a few new songs as well. ”
For more information on this show, check out The Green Room 42’ s official website. “ I hope everybody comes out that is in the area. It is going to be a show like they never seen, ” he said. “ We are really looking forward to it. What a great space. ”
Marcus revealed that their new book, Moon’ s on Fire accompanied by a CD, will be released later this month. “ It is the sequel to our first book, Ruckus on the Ranch, and it’ s about the harvest moon and it’ s a cute story with beautiful illustrations. We have a new song with that called ‘ The Cowboy Lullaby,’ which is really fun, ” he said. “ The CD comes with the new song and a page by page reading of the book. It’ s a really cute book. ”
He shared that his experience on America’ s Got Talent: Champions was “ awesome. ” “ Simon Cowell really liked us and we never performed in front of him before. It was really cool that he responded to us so well, ” he said. “ It was great to see everybody. It was almost like a reunion. ”
Regarding their plans for 2020, he said, “ We have over 120 shows on the calendar. We are working on a new record that will come out in the fall. We are also working on new songs for our new show in 2021, so we are staying busy as always. We are always on the go. ”
On being artists in the digital age, Collins said, “ We know how hard it is, and having a presence online and having everything digitally for people to stream is great since we are reaching all of the demographics. That is something that we never imagined, even in 2009, how important it would be now. It’ s a challenge but we try to stay relevant online and on social media. ”
To learn more about The Texas Tenors and their music, check out their official website and their Facebook page.
Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 16,000 original articles over the past 15 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a five-time consecutive `` Best of Long Island '' winner, and in the past two years, he was honored as the `` Best Long Island Personality '' in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.
New York's weaknesses in the face of climate change, the city is erecting a $ 1.45-billion system of walls and floodgates.
Kroger, the country’ s biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers.
Australia will push ahead with plans to ease Covid restrictions before Christmas.
Nearly 10 years after Imad al-Hisso fled the civil war in Syria, he remains trapped in Gaza, a place he calls `` a prison. ''
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Ex-pope Benedict rejects opening up priesthood to married men | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Former pope Benedict XVI has publicly urged his successor Pope Francis not to open the Catholic priesthood up to married men, in a plea that Sunday stunned Vatican experts.
The ex-pontiff, who retired in 2013, issued the defence of clerical celibacy in a book written with arch-conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah, extracts of which were published in exclusive by France's Le Figaro.
`` I can not keep silent! '' Benedict wrote in the book, which follows an extraordinary meeting of bishops from the Amazonian at the Vatican last year that recommended the ordination of married men in certain circumstances.
The pope emeritus, 92, and Sarah from Guinea weighed in on the controversial question of whether or not to allow `` viri probati '' -- married `` men of proven virtue '' -- to join the priesthood.
Francis is currently considering allowing it in remote locations, such as the Amazon, where communities seldom have Mass due to a lack of priests, and is expected to publish his decision in the coming weeks.
The pair asked the whole Church not to be `` swayed '' by `` bad pleas, theatrics, diabolical lies, fashionable errors that want to devalue priestly celibacy ''.
`` It is urgent, necessary, that everyone, bishops, priests and laity, let themselves be guided once more by faith as they look upon the Church and on priestly celibacy that protects her mystery, '' they wrote.
They warned of priests `` confused by the incessant questioning of their consecrated celibacy ''.
`` The conjugal state concerns man in his totality, and since the service of the Lord also requires the total gift of man, it does not seem possible to realise the two vocations simultaneously, '' Benedict wrote.
Sarah insisted that while celibacy can be `` a trial '' it is also `` a liberation ''.
- 'Serious breach ' -
Benedict, who was the first pontiff to resign in almost 600 years, at first withdrew to a life of quiet contemplation in the Vatican, but has increasingly begun to speak out on key Catholic issues.
He and Sarah insisted their plea was not a `` political manoeuvre '' or `` power game ''.
But Vatican experts expressed astonishment that the retired pope would speak out on such a sensitive topic.
`` Benedict XVI is really not breaking his silence because he ( and his entourage) never felt bound to that promise. But this is a serious breach, '' Massimo Faggioli, who writes for La Croix, said on Twitter.
Joshua McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter, tweeted that `` a former pope speaking in public about something his successor is currently in the process of considering '' was `` incredible ''.
While Vatican expert Iacopo Scaramuzzi pointed out that `` cohabitation ( in the Vatican) is difficult if the emeritus pope does not respect his own promise to hide away and obey ''.
The idea of filling empty pulpits in remote locations by allowing married men to become priests is a divisive once, with critics warning the emotive issue could fracture the Catholic Church.
Supporters say it would not be necessary to rewrite Church law; Francis could simply make an exemption to the rules -- like the one already granted to married Anglican pastors who later converted to Catholicism.
But the ultra-conservative wing of the Church -- particularly in Europe and North America -- has spoken out strongly against the idea, warning that making exceptions could pave the way to the abolition of celibacy globally.
Former pope Benedict XVI has publicly urged his successor Pope Francis not to open the Catholic priesthood up to married men, in a plea that Sunday stunned Vatican experts.
The ex-pontiff, who retired in 2013, issued the defence of clerical celibacy in a book written with arch-conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah, extracts of which were published in exclusive by France’ s Le Figaro.
“ I can not keep silent! ” Benedict wrote in the book, which follows an extraordinary meeting of bishops from the Amazonian at the Vatican last year that recommended the ordination of married men in certain circumstances.
The pope emeritus, 92, and Sarah from Guinea weighed in on the controversial question of whether or not to allow “ viri probati ” — married “ men of proven virtue ” — to join the priesthood.
Francis is currently considering allowing it in remote locations, such as the Amazon, where communities seldom have Mass due to a lack of priests, and is expected to publish his decision in the coming weeks.
The pair asked the whole Church not to be “ swayed ” by “ bad pleas, theatrics, diabolical lies, fashionable errors that want to devalue priestly celibacy ”.
“ It is urgent, necessary, that everyone, bishops, priests and laity, let themselves be guided once more by faith as they look upon the Church and on priestly celibacy that protects her mystery, ” they wrote.
They warned of priests “ confused by the incessant questioning of their consecrated celibacy ”.
“ The conjugal state concerns man in his totality, and since the service of the Lord also requires the total gift of man, it does not seem possible to realise the two vocations simultaneously, ” Benedict wrote.
Sarah insisted that while celibacy can be “ a trial ” it is also “ a liberation ”.
– ‘ Serious breach’ –
Benedict, who was the first pontiff to resign in almost 600 years, at first withdrew to a life of quiet contemplation in the Vatican, but has increasingly begun to speak out on key Catholic issues.
He and Sarah insisted their plea was not a “ political manoeuvre ” or “ power game ”.
But Vatican experts expressed astonishment that the retired pope would speak out on such a sensitive topic.
“ Benedict XVI is really not breaking his silence because he ( and his entourage) never felt bound to that promise. But this is a serious breach, ” Massimo Faggioli, who writes for La Croix, said on Twitter.
Joshua McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter, tweeted that “ a former pope speaking in public about something his successor is currently in the process of considering ” was “ incredible ”.
While Vatican expert Iacopo Scaramuzzi pointed out that “ cohabitation ( in the Vatican) is difficult if the emeritus pope does not respect his own promise to hide away and obey ”.
The idea of filling empty pulpits in remote locations by allowing married men to become priests is a divisive once, with critics warning the emotive issue could fracture the Catholic Church.
Supporters say it would not be necessary to rewrite Church law; Francis could simply make an exemption to the rules — like the one already granted to married Anglican pastors who later converted to Catholicism.
But the ultra-conservative wing of the Church — particularly in Europe and North America — has spoken out strongly against the idea, warning that making exceptions could pave the way to the abolition of celibacy globally.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Omicron's rise has heralded another pandemic-tinged Christmas for billions, with Santa's arrival overshadowed by Covid restrictions.
At a time when hospitals and patients are strained due to increasing COVID numbers, threat actors will continue to attack.
Millions of Americans are traveling before Christmas even as national Omicron Covid-19 infections surpass Delta's peak.
Hong Kong university students paid solemn tribute to two campus statues marking Beijing's 1989 suppression of Tiananmen Square protesters.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
New Malta PM pledges rule of law after journalist murder'storm ' | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Malta's incoming prime minister promised Sunday to strengthen the rule of law after the `` storm '' caused by the probe into the murder of a journalist that toppled his predecessor.
Outsider Robert Abela, 42, elected leader of the Labour party on Saturday and set to become the Mediterranean country's new prime minister after Joseph Muscat's fall from grace, admitted that `` mistakes '' had been made.
Muscat, 45, who was set to resign on Monday, has been forced to step down over accusations he interfered in the investigation of the brutal 2017 slaying of blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia in a car bomb explosion.
`` I am determined to keep what is good and change what is bad, '' Abela told supporters at a victory rally.
`` I promise to work with this parliament to continue to strengthen the rule of law and good governance, '' he said.
Beyond that, his plan was largely to ensure `` continuity '', particularly in terms of the economy, which flourished under Muscat's tenure and earned him bumper popularity ratings despite the shadow of the murder probe.
`` The ship is now back on an even keel after the storm. We need to move forward, '' he said.
Abela made no reference to the Caruana Galizia killing in the run-up to the election, and those calling for justice for the blogger said they had little hope he would clean up a government dogged by corruption allegations.
`` The king is dead, long live the king, '' tweeted Caruana Galizia's son Paul.
Muscat's fall from power followed daily protests by demonstrators who accuse him among other things of shielding his chief of staff and childhood friend Keith Schembri, who has been implicated in the murder.
- 'Held to account ' -
Three men are on trial for allegedly detonating the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia, while a fourth -- powerful businessman Jorgen Fenech -- was charged as an accomplice after being detained as he tried to leave the country on his yacht.
Fenech's arrest in November sparked the resignation of tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, who formerly served as energy minister, and Schembri.
Caruana Galizia, described as a `` one-woman WikiLeaks '', had accused Mezzi and Schembri of corruption.
The activist movements Repubblika and Occupy Justice have called for the new prime minister to `` clean up '' the country, which is home to gambling companies and 70,000 offshore companies.
Lawyer Abela, who is married and has a seven-year-old daughter, is relatively new to politics, becoming a member of parliament for the first time in 2017.
But he has experience of the halls of power, having worked as a legal consultant to the outgoing government.
Critics said his speech showed he was a `` carbon-copy '' of Muscat.
David Casa, an MEP and member of the opposition Nationalist Party, tweeted that Abela's `` first move since being chosen as PM is literally to take to the stage holding and hugging Konrad Mizzi ''.
`` This is not going to end well, '' he said.
The head of Reporters Without Borders UK, Rebecca Vincent, said Abela `` has his work cut out for him '' and promised she and other human rights campaigners would `` hold this administration to account in ensuring full justice for Daphne ''.
Malta’ s incoming prime minister promised Sunday to strengthen the rule of law after the “ storm ” caused by the probe into the murder of a journalist that toppled his predecessor.
Outsider Robert Abela, 42, elected leader of the Labour party on Saturday and set to become the Mediterranean country’ s new prime minister after Joseph Muscat’ s fall from grace, admitted that “ mistakes ” had been made.
Muscat, 45, who was set to resign on Monday, has been forced to step down over accusations he interfered in the investigation of the brutal 2017 slaying of blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia in a car bomb explosion.
“ I am determined to keep what is good and change what is bad, ” Abela told supporters at a victory rally.
“ I promise to work with this parliament to continue to strengthen the rule of law and good governance, ” he said.
Beyond that, his plan was largely to ensure “ continuity ”, particularly in terms of the economy, which flourished under Muscat’ s tenure and earned him bumper popularity ratings despite the shadow of the murder probe.
“ The ship is now back on an even keel after the storm. We need to move forward, ” he said.
Abela made no reference to the Caruana Galizia killing in the run-up to the election, and those calling for justice for the blogger said they had little hope he would clean up a government dogged by corruption allegations.
“ The king is dead, long live the king, ” tweeted Caruana Galizia’ s son Paul.
Muscat’ s fall from power followed daily protests by demonstrators who accuse him among other things of shielding his chief of staff and childhood friend Keith Schembri, who has been implicated in the murder.
– ‘ Held to account’ –
Three men are on trial for allegedly detonating the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia, while a fourth — powerful businessman Jorgen Fenech — was charged as an accomplice after being detained as he tried to leave the country on his yacht.
Fenech’ s arrest in November sparked the resignation of tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, who formerly served as energy minister, and Schembri.
Caruana Galizia, described as a “ one-woman WikiLeaks ”, had accused Mezzi and Schembri of corruption.
The activist movements Repubblika and Occupy Justice have called for the new prime minister to “ clean up ” the country, which is home to gambling companies and 70,000 offshore companies.
Lawyer Abela, who is married and has a seven-year-old daughter, is relatively new to politics, becoming a member of parliament for the first time in 2017.
But he has experience of the halls of power, having worked as a legal consultant to the outgoing government.
Critics said his speech showed he was a “ carbon-copy ” of Muscat.
David Casa, an MEP and member of the opposition Nationalist Party, tweeted that Abela’ s “ first move since being chosen as PM is literally to take to the stage holding and hugging Konrad Mizzi ”.
“ This is not going to end well, ” he said.
The head of Reporters Without Borders UK, Rebecca Vincent, said Abela “ has his work cut out for him ” and promised she and other human rights campaigners would “ hold this administration to account in ensuring full justice for Daphne ”.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
New York's weaknesses in the face of climate change, the city is erecting a $ 1.45-billion system of walls and floodgates.
Kroger, the country’ s biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers.
Australia will push ahead with plans to ease Covid restrictions before Christmas.
Nearly 10 years after Imad al-Hisso fled the civil war in Syria, he remains trapped in Gaza, a place he calls `` a prison. ''
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Jo Weil is headed to Bremen for 'Bodyguard — The Musical ' tour | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Weil just wrapped up a successful run of “ Bodyguard – The Musical ” in Frankfurt, Germany, which ironically enough, is the city of his birth. He will be playing the role of Frank Farmer, which Kevin Costner had made famous in the actual 1992 film, opposite Aisata Blackman ( who is playing Whitney Houston’ s character Rachel Marron).
He shared on his social media pages that he is really looking forward to performing in Bremen.
This musical will feature such classic songs as “ I Will Always Love You, ” “ I Wan na Dance with Somebody ”, “ I’ m Every Woman, ” as well as “ All the Man That I Need, ” among others.
For more information on the “ Bodyguard — The Musical ” Tour, check out its official homepage and its Facebook page.
To learn more about Jo Weil, check out him out on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Read More: Digital Journal’ s Markos Papadatos chatted with Jo Weil about his experience on this musical back in September of 2019.
Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 16,000 original articles over the past 15 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a five-time consecutive `` Best of Long Island '' winner, and in the past two years, he was honored as the `` Best Long Island Personality '' in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.
The push for Canadians to get their vaccine booster shots is ramping up as the COVID-19 Omicron variant spreads across the country.
As the Omicron variant gains momentum in Europe and the U.S., the variant is now considered the “ biggest threat to global public health. ”
British PM Boris Johnson faced questions about his leadership after weeks of controversy culminated in a crushing by-election defeat.
An FDA laboratory worker injects an influenza virus into an egg, where it will grow before being harvested—one of the many complex steps involved...
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
TCL SOCL 500TWS wireless earbuds hands-on: High end specifications and decent performance for $ 80 | Wireless earbuds are becoming the standard for enjoying audio content from your smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch. TCL released an affordable option that may not have the sleekest design, yet performs well.
It's often said you get what you pay for so I didn't have high expectations for the new TCL SOCL 500TWS fully wireless earbuds when they were offered up for review. After a couple of weeks of wearing them during my commute, while running, and while working I am impressed by these earbuds that are available for less than half the cost of most competitors.
While I have been running with the new Jabra Elite Active 75t for the past couple of weeks and I have yet to hear another fully wireless headset that can match its audio quality, those also have a MSRP of $ 199 so you have to be pretty serious about your audio quality, style, and functionality.
Given that 3.5mm audio jacks are becoming a rarity on mobile devices, wireless Bluetooth headsets are becoming the norm. Millions are not willing to pay hundreds for the latest in wireless audio so it's nice to see TCL offer up something more affordable that still performs well.
The retail package includes the two wireless earbuds, a charging case with integrated battery, a short USB-A to USB-C cable, and small/medium/large silicone gel earbud tips. I tested the Phantom Black model, but TCL offers three other colorful options for these earbuds.
The charging case is about the size of an Apple AirPods charging case, but has more curves so it comfortably slips into your pocket. The top flap opens up to reveal the earbuds and this material is thin plastic, giving it a bit of a cheap feel. I haven't seen this material impact the usability or functionality at all though so it's understandable some areas had to be compromised for the $ 80 price.
There is a battery status indicator button on the back so you can check how much battery is remaining in the case. Each LED indicates a 25% charge level. The case is thankfully charged up via a modern USB-C port on the bottom. This was unexpected, but very much appreciated, as lower priced accessories still tend to use microUSB.
The earbuds are secured in place magnetically so even if the top flap is open the earbuds stay securely in the case. A small LED on each earbud lights up when each earbud is charging and turns off when the earbuds are fully charged.
After pairing to a device, always take out the right earbud first to initiate the connection to your device and then when the left earbud is removed the two will connect and switch you into stereo mode. The right earbud can be used as a separate earbud, but the left earbud is a slave to the right earbud and can not be used alone.
The earbuds are fairly small, nearly the same size and look as the Samsung Galaxy Buds, with a share part that holds a silicone tip that fits into your ear. Each earbud is very lightweight and can be worn comfortably for hours.
On the outside of each earbud is the TCL brand name and this area also serves as a button that is easy to activate. While listening to music, you can press the button on either side to play/pause music, twice on the right side to increase volume, twice on the left bud to decrease volume, press/hold on the right to go to the next track, and press/hold on the left to go to the previous track. Less functionality is available in mono mode when you have just the right earbud inserted.
Call controls are limited and include a single press to answer or end a call and a press and hold to reject an incoming call. The right and left earbuds perform the same functions for calls.
You can also use the TCL earbuds for your selected voice assistant. Press the button on either earbud three times to initiate Google Assistant or Siri.
The design and silicone tips allowed me to find a comfortable setup for the TCL SOCL500TWS earbuds for commuting and running. They stayed in my ears when running, unlike the new AirPods Pro.
These TCL earbuds don't have the best audio performance when listening to music, but the volume is good and the sound is decent. The clarity present on higher end earbuds isn't there, but it is honestly better than I expected for an inexpensive wireless headset.
Callers said I sounded like I was on a wireless headset, but again they were not terrible or outstanding.
The button takes a bit of pressure to activate so you end up pressing the earbuds into your ear canal a bit to control the audio. This might not be a major issue for most, but can be annoying when running and bouncing around on the road.
Overall, I found the earbuds acceptable and if I needed to save money and buy something under $ 100 I would consider them. However, I experienced some finicky behavior that was quite frustrating. The right earbud would connect to the mobile device without a problem and perform as expected. However, the left earbud often would not connect to the right earbud so I was often inserting and removing the earbuds to try to get the connection setup.
While the manual states the left earbud acts as a slave to the right earbud, I had both connected individually and independently to the Note 10 Plus. The problem was that these were completely separate pairings so I could only use one earbud to listen in mono mode. I had to start the pairing up again after resetting the earbuds to try to get the mode I wanted, and expected, to work.
While $ 80 is a decent price for a pair of fully wireless earbuds, I personally would rather pick up older model headsets that offer better consistency in pairing and higher quality audio. For example, you can find Amazon renewed Jabra Elite 65t models for $ 70 to $ 75.
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Stimulating activities are necessary to avoid cognitive decline | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The research finds that people who participate in two or more mentally stimulating activities have a lower association with mild cognitive impairment. The types of activities include book reading, working on a computer, and different types of interactive social activities.
Mild cognitive impairment is a medical term for the stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal aging and the more serious decline of dementia.
The data was based on a study of 2,000 people who were aged 70 over at the start of the study. Each participant was followed over a five year period and assessed for clinical progression of mild cognitive impairment. The following mentally stimulating activities were assessed: reading books, using a computer, engaging in social activities, playing games and engaging in craft activities.
During the course of the study period, 532 people developed mild cognitive impairment. An analysis of the findings showed that risk of developing mild cognitive impairment was significantly lower for those who engaged in more stimulating activities than those who did not.
According to lead researcher Dr. Janina Krell-Roesch: “ There are currently no drugs that effectively treat mild cognitive impairment, dementia, or Alzheimer’ s disease, so there is growing interest in lifestyle factors that may help slow brain aging believed to contribute to thinking and memory problems — factors that are low cost and available to anyone. ”
The findings support other studies. For example, a meta-analysis including 19 studies reveals that participation in certain activities is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.
The research into the different risks connected with mild cognitive impairment have been published in the journal Neurology. The research paper is titled “ Quantity and quality of mental activities and the risk of incident mild cognitive impairment. ”
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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What will it be like to live on Mars? ( Includes first-hand account) | Hi, what are you looking for?
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After the first Mars missions it is likely that humanity will establish a Mars colony, perhaps leading to a future city. What might this structure look like? How will people interact? What clothes will be suitable? Could plant based food be grown? These are some of the questions posed at an exciting new exhibition at London’ s Design Museum.
The exhibition is titled “ Moving to Mars ” and it looks at multiple aspects of humanity’ s interest with Mars, beginning with early astronomical observations.
To speculative fiction, and science fiction movies.
Before dealing with the design concepts of what life on Mars might be like. How survival on Mars might become possible is explored through more than 200 exhibits. These make for a compelling exhibition, where design meets science, considering the topic of living on Mars in a thoughtful and intelligent way.
The objects include space suits, which need to be more robust than those used for Moon landings of space walks, in order to protect astronauts from radiation and to help maintain bone density.
The exhibition also considers what types of clothes might be worn inside a Mars base. Inspired the idea of recycling the materials taken on the mission, some ideas from designer Anna Talvi are presented.
This is presented as both objects to observe and interact as with, as well as specially commissioned films which provide a multi-sensory experience ( the audience sit on knobbly surface that imitates that of Mars, and there are smells too that are intended to represent the planet). The most interesting of these is a sound-and-image experience of the Martian day, projected onto three vast screens.
Other films feature astronaut Tim Peake, Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, scientist Professor Sanjeev Gupta from Imperial College London.
Other videos present future design concepts for a Mars base:
The exhibition also features ecological considerations. If we establish a Mars colony, can we ensure that we do not damage the planet in the same way that Earth has been harmed? Here there is a conversation to be had about working with limited resources and what this approach could teach us about designing more sustainably on Earth. This extends to the use of a model of a functioning hydroponic farm, for growing plants as food.
In terms of living quarters, Xavier De Kestelier and Hassell Studios have created a full-scale model of the interior of what one of these would look like, in the form of interconnected pods.
The furniture inside such a pod is most likely to be produced by 3D printing, once the first colonists arrive. the exhibition includes some potential designs ( which proved to be surprisingly comfortable to sit on):
In terms of constructing a Mars base, it is likely that robots will play a major role:
As to what the end result might be?
The exhibition also focuses on upcoming missions to Mars, including a model of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover. This is a planned robotic Mars rover, part of the international ExoMars programme led by the European Space Agency and the Russian Roscosmos State Corporation.
The rover will be supported by other vehicles, utilizing solar power technology.
‘ Moving to Mars’ is currently on show at the Design Museum, London.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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