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Jacopo Prisco, CNN

2021-07-15 02:46:59

news

world

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/14/world/tusimple-autonomous-truck-spc-intl/index.html

There's a shortage of truckers, but TuSimple thinks it has a solution: no driver needed - CNN

The e-commerce boom has exacerbated a global truck driver shortage, but could autonomous trucks help fix the problem?

world, There's a shortage of truckers, but TuSimple thinks it has a solution: no driver needed - CNN

There's a shortage of truckers, but TuSimple thinks it has a solution: no driver needed

(CNN)Right now, there's a shortage of truck drivers in the US and worldwide, exacerbated by the e-commerce boom brought on by the pandemic. One solution to the problem is autonomous trucks, and several companies are in a race to be the first to launch one. Among them is San Diego-based TuSimple.Founded in 2015, TuSimple has completed about 2 million miles of road tests with its 70 prototype trucks across the US, China and Europe. Although these are simply commercially available trucks retrofitted with its technology, TuSimple has deals in place with two of the world's largest truck manufacturers -- Navistar in the US and Traton, Volkswagen's trucking business, in Europe -- to design and build fully autonomous models, which it hopes to launch by 2024. Photos: The Yara Birkeland is what its builders call the world's first zero-emission, autonomous cargo ship. The ship is scheduled to make its first journey between two Norwegian towns before the end of the year. Click through to see more forms of transport set to transform the future.Hide Caption 1 of 13 Photos: Pictured here as a rendering, Oceanbird is a wind-powered transatlantic car carrier that cuts carbon emissions by 90%, compared to a standard car carrier.Hide Caption 2 of 13 Photos: It's not just maritime ships that are going green. Cities around the world are adopting electric ferries. Norwegian startup Zeabuz hopes its self-driving electric ferry (pictured here as a rendering) will help revive urban waterways.Hide Caption 3 of 13 Photos: In China, a new Maglev high-speed train rolls off the production line in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, on July 20. It has a top speed of 600 km per hour -- currently the fastest ground vehicle available globally. Hide Caption 4 of 13 Photos: Reaching speeds of up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) per hour, Hyperloop could be a sustainable replacement to short-haul flights. Dutch company Hardt (shown here as a rendering) started work on its Hyperloop test facility in Europe, anticipated to open in 2022.Hide Caption 5 of 13 Photos: Hyperloop is like a bullet train, without tracks and rails. Floating pods are propelled through a low-pressure steel tube using magnetic levitation. Virgin has been running tests with passengers on its XP-2 vehicle, pictured here.Hide Caption 6 of 13 Photos: Low carbon travel isn't just about switching to sustainable fuel sources -- it's also about redesigning the transport itself. A "Flying-V" plane designed by Delft's University of Technology in the Netherlands and Dutch airline KLM can cut fuel consumption by 20%. Ultimately, researchers hope to switch out the kerosene with a sustainable fuel source, like liquid hydrogen.Hide Caption 7 of 13 Photos: Hydrogen aviation could provide a sustainable solution for short and medium-haul flights. In September, Airbus unveiled plans for three hydrogen-powered, zero-emission aircraft which can carry 100 to 200 passengers. It hopes to launch the first ZEROe aircraft in 2035.Hide Caption 8 of 13 Photos: In December 2019, Canadian airline Harbour Air flew the world's first all-electric, zero-emission commercial aircraft. The six-seater seaplane was retrofitted with magniX's magni500 all-electric motor. Harbour Air -- which carries half a million passengers annually -- hopes to become the world's first all-electric airline. Hide Caption 9 of 13 Photos: In the case of electric bikes, the future is now: one retailer reported the sale of e-bikes and e-scooters had increased 230% this year. E-bikes give the user a boost to their pedaling, allowing them to go further with less effort. E-bikes are now even available on ride-share apps, like Uber.Hide Caption 10 of 13 Photos: While sleeper trains or buses might be the way most of us get some shut-eye on overnight travel, this rendering of a self-driving hotel suite from Toronto-based designer Steve Lee of Aprilli Design Studio might offer a plush alternative in the future.Hide Caption 11 of 13 Photos: In the UAE, these futuristic-looking pods are undergoing testing on a 400-meter line in Sharjah, which borders Dubai. Belarus-based uSky Transport says its pods can help cities solve traffic problems.Hide Caption 12 of 13 Photos: The Coradia iLint by French rail transport company Alstom is the world's first hydrogen-powered passenger train. It began testing in Germany in 2018, and in September 2020 entered regular service in Austria.Hide Caption 13 of 13No sleepTuSimple's latest road test involved hauling fresh produce 951 miles, from Nogales, Arizona to Oklahoma City. The pickup and the dropoff were handled by a human driver, but for the bulk of the route -- from Tucson to Dallas -- the truck drove itself. Read More"Today, because the system is not fully ready, we have a safety driver and a safety engineer on board at all times when we're testing, but we drove in full autonomy: the driver wasn't touching the wheel," said Cheng Lu, TuSimple's president and CEO. The journey was completed in 14 hours versus the usual 24 with a human driver, mostly because a truck doesn't need to sleep. "In the US, a driver can only work 11 hours a day. We simply had a handoff when our first pair of drivers had to stop because they reached their 11 hours of operation," said Lu. That, of course, negates the advantage of an autonomous system, so the idea is that once TuSimple's trucks hit the market, there will be no need to have anyone onboard. Picking up the watermelons still required the human touch.Unlike self-driving cars, which are a still a way from being commercially available, TuSimple trucks won't be required to operate in bustling city traffic, but only on stretches of highway that have been thoroughly mapped via the company's own software. "We collect data from the roads, and we create this very detailed, high definition map of each route. That adds another layer of safety for the vehicles," said Lu. As a result, TuSimple's trucks will only be able to self-drive along these pre-mapped trade corridors, which Lu calls "virtual railroads," and nowhere else. This swarm of robots gets smarter the more it worksAccording to the company, in the US 80% of goods travel through just 10% of the nation's trade corridors, so even selective mapping allows for capturing a large portion of the business. TuSimple is currently mapping routes between Arizona and Texas, and plans to have mapped routes across the nation by 2024. Its plans are dependent on state legislation, however, because currently some states do not allow for testing of autonomous trucks on public roads. Happier drivers?The technology will add about $50,000 to the cost of a truck, making the final price roughly $200,000. According to Lu, that's still cheaper than paying for a human driver. "If you take $50,000 and divide it by 1 million miles, the average lifespan of a truck, that means you're adding five cents per mile. But you're saving the cost of a human driver, which based on average US wages is about $80,000 to $120,000 per year -- or 80 cents to $1.20 per mile. Today, the direct labor cost is about 50% of the cost of operating a truck," he said. Read: A robotic 'Ironhand' could protect factory workers from injuriesThat doesn't mean driverless trucks will take away jobs, according to Lu. By focusing on the "middle mile," rather than on the pickup and delivery of the goods, TuSimple believes it can create new freight capacity without creating new demand for drivers, while at the same time protecting existing jobs. "A UPS driver is dropping off 200 packages a day -- that's not what autonomy is meant for. We believe that every driver will be able to retire as a driver, even if they enter the workforce today," said Lu. TuSimple's autonomous fleet.Instead, TuSimple aims to take over the routes between terminals and distribution centers, which involve long stretches of monotonous driving. "Take Phoenix to El Paso: that's a six-hour drive. A person cannot make the round trip, because it's more than 11 hours. But the truck can go back and forth all day, the most mundane job that drivers don't want to do. That means you free up that human driver to do the first and the last mile (pickup and delivery).They get to work a full day, which is a more efficient use of their time, and they get to go home at night to their family," said Lu.No distractions Although Lu says that the reliability of both the software and the hardware still needs to be increased, TuSimple is planning its first fully autonomous tests, without a human safety driver in the cabin at all, before the end of the year. The results of such tests will indicate whether the company can meet its goal to launch its own trucks by 2024. Lu says that 7,000 have been reserved in the US alone. Photos: The robots running our warehouses Photos: The robots running our warehousesRobots are an increasingly familiar presence in warehouses. At the south-east London warehouse run by British online supermarket Ocado, 3,000 robots fulfill shopping orders. When an order is sent to the warehouse, the bots spring to life and head towards the container they require. Scroll through to see more robots that are revolutionizing warehouses.Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesIn response to the coronavirus pandemic, MIT collaborated with Ava Robotics and the Greater Boston Food Bank to design a robot that can use UV light to sanitize the floor of a 4,000-square foot warehouse in just 30 minutes. Hide Caption 2 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesSeven-foot "Model-T" robots produced by Japanese startup Telexistence have been stacking shelves in two of Tokyo's largest convenience store franchises. Featuring cameras, microphones and sensors, the Model-T uses three "fingers" to stock items such as bottled drinks, cans and rice bowls. The robot is controlled by shop staff remotely.Hide Caption 3 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesUS company Boston Dynamics has become known for its advanced work robots. "Handle" is made for the warehouse and equipped with an on-board vision system. It can lift boxes weighing over 30 pounds. Hide Caption 4 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesStretch is the latest robot from Boston Dynamics and can work in warehouses and distribution centers. Designed to keep human workers out of harm's way, Stretch's tentacle-like grippers mean it can manipulate boxes. Hide Caption 5 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesAlthough not specifically designed for warehouses, Boston Dynamics' dog-like robot "Spot" can lift objects, pick itself up after a fall, open and walk through doors, and even remind people to practice social distancing. Hide Caption 6 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesThis robot is used to plant seeds and check plants at the "Nordic Harvest" vertical farm based in Taastrup, Denmark. The indoor farm is one of the biggest in Europe.Hide Caption 7 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesRobots sort packages at a warehouse run by JD.com -- one of China's largest e-commerce firms, in Wuhan, China, ahead of the annual Singles Day online shopping bonanza, in 2019.Hide Caption 8 of 8 TuSimple has prominent competitors, such as Google spinoff Waymo and Uber-backed Aurora, but those are working on a wider range of self-driving vehicles, including passenger cars. TuSimple is working exclusively on driverless trucks, like US companies Plus and Embark. Grayson Brulte, an autonomy expert at consulting firm Brulte & Co., believes TuSimple is on the right track. "The biggest competitive advantage that TuSimple has over its competitors is that their technology was purpose-built for trucking. They're not trying to port an autonomy system built for passenger vehicles in dense urban environments to trucking or to build a virtual driver which can both drive passenger vehicles and class-8 trucks. These are different skills and different systems altogether," he said. Removing the human element on long trucking routes has other benefits. The company says its trucks react 15 times faster than human drivers, and can see farther down the road, even at night. "In the US every year there are about 5,000 fatalities involving trucks, and most are due to human error," said Lu. "The truck doesn't get tired, doesn't watch a movie or look at a phone. It doesn't get distracted."

Stephanie Bailey, CNN

2021-05-12 07:52:09

news

world

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/12/world/ironhand-exoskeleton-glove-spc-intl/index.html

Bioservo's robotic 'Ironhand' could protect factory workers from injuries - CNN

Working in a factory can mean doing the same task over and over, which could lead to chronic injury. A battery-powered glove from Swedish company Bioservo could help workers by taking some of the strain.

world, Bioservo's robotic 'Ironhand' could protect factory workers from injuries - CNN

A robotic 'Ironhand' could protect factory workers from injuries

(CNN)Working in a factory or warehouse can mean doing the same task over and over, and that repetition can lead to chronic injury. Now, a battery-powered glove could help workers by taking some of the strain.The "Ironhand" glove strengthens the wearer's grip, meaning they don't have to use as much force to perform repetitive manual tasks. Its developer, Bioservo, says it can increase the wearer's hand strength by 20%. The Swedish company describes the system as a "soft exoskeleton." Exoskeletons are an external device that supports and protects the body, typically increasing strength and endurance. Most have a rigid structure, but the Ironhand is soft, like a regular glove. Photos: The robots running our warehousesRobots are an increasingly familiar presence in warehouses. At the south-east London warehouse run by British online supermarket Ocado, 3,000 robots fulfill shopping orders. When an order is sent to the warehouse, the bots spring to life and head towards the container they require. Scroll through to see more robots that are revolutionizing warehouses.Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesIn response to the coronavirus pandemic, MIT collaborated with Ava Robotics and the Greater Boston Food Bank to design a robot that can use UV light to sanitize the floor of a 4,000-square foot warehouse in just 30 minutes. Hide Caption 2 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesSeven-foot "Model-T" robots produced by Japanese startup Telexistence have been stacking shelves in two of Tokyo's largest convenience store franchises. Featuring cameras, microphones and sensors, the Model-T uses three "fingers" to stock items such as bottled drinks, cans and rice bowls. The robot is controlled by shop staff remotely.Hide Caption 3 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesUS company Boston Dynamics has become known for its advanced work robots. "Handle" is made for the warehouse and equipped with an on-board vision system. It can lift boxes weighing over 30 pounds. Hide Caption 4 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesStretch is the latest robot from Boston Dynamics and can work in warehouses and distribution centers. Designed to keep human workers out of harm's way, Stretch's tentacle-like grippers mean it can manipulate boxes. Hide Caption 5 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesAlthough not specifically designed for warehouses, Boston Dynamics' dog-like robot "Spot" can lift objects, pick itself up after a fall, open and walk through doors, and even remind people to practice social distancing. Hide Caption 6 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesThis robot is used to plant seeds and check plants at the "Nordic Harvest" vertical farm based in Taastrup, Denmark. The indoor farm is one of the biggest in Europe.Hide Caption 7 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesRobots sort packages at a warehouse run by JD.com -- one of China's largest e-commerce firms, in Wuhan, China, ahead of the annual Singles Day online shopping bonanza, in 2019.Hide Caption 8 of 8Reducing fatigue"When you have the glove on, it provides strength and reduces the effort needed when lifting objects," says Mikael Wester, Bioservo's marketing director. "It's all in order to reduce fatigue and prevent strain injuries in the long run."The Ironhand system was developed with General Motors as a partner.Read MoreThe system consists of a backpack, which houses the power pack, and artificial tendons that connect to the glove. There are sensors on each fingertip which switch on the motor when a user grabs an object. A remote control or app can be used to adjust the strength and sensitivity of the grip.Wester says applications include assembly on the production line in the automotive industry, using tools in construction and lifting heavy objects in warehouses.Each Ironhand system costs around €6,000 ($7,275). The device also collects data that allows the company to assess the wearer's risk of developing strain injuries. According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, work-related neck and upper limb disorders are the most common occupational disease in Europe, costing national economies up to 2% of their gross national product.From NASA to General Motors The glove was originally intended for workers in a very different setting to the factory floor. NASA developed an early version of the technology, called "Robo-Glove," to help astronauts grasp objects and carry out work in space. The Ironhand system being used for assembling parts in the automobile industry. Bioservo licensed the design in 2016 and then partnered with auto manufacturer General Motors (GM) to develop the glove for its workers. Why online supermarket Ocado wants to take the human touch out of groceries"Ergonomics is really the field of trying to fit the jobs to the workers, instead of the workers having to conform and adapt to the job," says Stephen Krajcarski, a senior manager with GM's ergonomics team."By using tools such as the Ironhand we are really trying to mitigate any potential concerns or physical demands that may eventually cause a medical concern for that individual operator." Krajcarski says GM has helped Bioservo to test and improve the Ironhand by piloting it in a variety of jobs at its manufacturing plants. He says some workers have found it easy to use but adds that it's not suitable for all situations.The Ironhand is just one of the exoskeletons GM is looking into. According to market research firm ABI Research, the exoskeleton market will grow from $392 million in 2020 to $6.8 billion in 2030."If you look at exoskeletons, this is just one of the tools that are out there," says Krajcarski. "But this is an exciting technology."This story has been updated to correct the cost of the Ironhand system.

Words by Stephanie Bailey, video by Zahra Jamshed

2021-06-16 02:51:30

news

asia

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/15/asia/swarm-robots-hong-kong-warehouse-hnk-spc-intl/index.html

This swarm of robots gets smarter the more it works - CNN

In a Hong Kong warehouse, a swarm of autonomous robots works 24/7. They're not just working hard, they're working smart; as they operate, they get better at their job.

asia, This swarm of robots gets smarter the more it works - CNN

This swarm of robots gets smarter the more it works

(CNN)In a Hong Kong warehouse, a swarm of autonomous robots works 24/7. They're not just working hard, they're working smart; as they operate, they get better at their job.The Autonomous Mobile Robots were developed by Chinese startup Geek+. As they move around the warehouse they're guided by QR codes on the floor, and using AI they are able to make their own decisions, including what direction to travel and what route to take to their destination. Photos: The robots running our warehousesRobots are an increasingly familiar presence in warehouses. At the south-east London warehouse run by British online supermarket Ocado, 3,000 robots fulfill shopping orders. When an order is sent to the warehouse, the bots spring to life and head towards the container they require. Scroll through to see more robots that are revolutionizing warehouses.Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesIn response to the coronavirus pandemic, MIT collaborated with Ava Robotics and the Greater Boston Food Bank to design a robot that can use UV light to sanitize the floor of a 4,000-square foot warehouse in just 30 minutes. Hide Caption 2 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesSeven-foot "Model-T" robots produced by Japanese startup Telexistence have been stacking shelves in two of Tokyo's largest convenience store franchises. Featuring cameras, microphones and sensors, the Model-T uses three "fingers" to stock items such as bottled drinks, cans and rice bowls. The robot is controlled by shop staff remotely.Hide Caption 3 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesUS company Boston Dynamics has become known for its advanced work robots. "Handle" is made for the warehouse and equipped with an on-board vision system. It can lift boxes weighing over 30 pounds. Hide Caption 4 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesStretch is the latest robot from Boston Dynamics and can work in warehouses and distribution centers. Designed to keep human workers out of harm's way, Stretch's tentacle-like grippers mean it can manipulate boxes. Hide Caption 5 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesAlthough not specifically designed for warehouses, Boston Dynamics' dog-like robot "Spot" can lift objects, pick itself up after a fall, open and walk through doors, and even remind people to practice social distancing. Hide Caption 6 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesThis robot is used to plant seeds and check plants at the "Nordic Harvest" vertical farm based in Taastrup, Denmark. The indoor farm is one of the biggest in Europe.Hide Caption 7 of 8 Photos: The robots running our warehousesRobots sort packages at a warehouse run by JD.com -- one of China's largest e-commerce firms, in Wuhan, China, ahead of the annual Singles Day online shopping bonanza, in 2019.Hide Caption 8 of 8A team tracks these movements and uses the data to improve their algorithms, making the robots more efficient.Robots have become commonplace in warehouses worldwide and Geek+ says it has more than 15,000 robots in over 30 countries, including in Nike and Decathlon warehouses. Managing director Lit Fung says having robots that become more efficient over time helps companies meet demands for fast delivery, as well as reducing labor costs and human error. Read More"Everyone is looking for an automation solution to apply to their warehouse," he says. Watch the video for the full story.

Kathryn Vasel

2022-03-18 14:37:21

business

success

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/18/success/pandemic-work-from-home-career-changes/index.html

Two years later, remote work has changed millions of careers - CNN

Here's a look at how the pandemic reshaped people's careers in ways they never expected.

success, Two years later, remote work has changed millions of careers - CNN

Two years later, remote work has changed millions of careers

The pandemic thrust the working world into a new reality in March 2020 as offices closed and millions of people were forced to learn how to do their jobs from home.Two years later, employers and workers are still adapting to a new normal and trying to figure out what the future of work might look like.Some companies are determined to return to the way things were and get everyone back into the office. And some have embraced remote work, allowing employees to work from home full time or part of the time.But many workers are deciding to chart their own course. Some have found that they love working from home and never want to step foot in an office again. Others are itching to go back -- missing the in-person collaboration and socializing with peers. And some want a little bit of both worlds. That has prompted many workers to rethink or even switch careers and make some other big changes. Here's a look at how the pandemic reshaped people's careers in ways they never expected: Read MoreMoving cross country to start a new lifeAfter her job went fully remote, Chelsea Pruitt decided to move from California to Alabama. Chelsea Pruitt, 31, has lived in California for nearly her entire life. Now, she's headed to Alabama. Prior to the pandemic, Pruitt had thought about moving, but it wasn't until she started working remotely that the decision became a lot easier to make. "I feel like my chapter in life in San Francisco is changing," she said. "My perspective on things is changing. The things I want out of life are changing."Pruitt started working for long-term housing rental company Zeus Living in January 2020, right before the pandemic hit the US. At the time, she was going into the office five days a week. But once the pandemic began to shut things down in March, she started working remotely full time. That was just what Pruitt needed to make her decision. She had visited a co-worker in Birmingham, Alabama, a few times and decided that was the place she wanted to live."I love the vibe of the city, the change, and I loved [that] it's more leisurely, slow and less stressful and obviously a lot more affordable [than San Francisco], which I am really excited about."The high cost of living in San Francisco meant she always had to have roommates. "In San Francisco, I don't see myself being able to own a home unless I am married and have a dual income," she said. But since her pay will remain the same after the move to Birmingham and the cost of living will be significantly less, she'll be able to save more, and hopefully buy a home of her own and pay down her student loans."I am looking forward to that mental relief knowing that my cost of living is lower and I can save more," she said.Finally taking the leapCarlos Ortiz started his own consulting business during the pandemic. Carlos Ortiz had been working as an inspector with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for 19 years before the pandemic hit. He had been considering leaving his job for a few years, but was nervous about making such a big change. A lot of my friends are entrepreneurs and business people and I've never worked in the private industry ... so I decided, let me give it a shot" Carlos Ortiz"I started re-evaluating life and opportunities," Ortiz, 48, said of that time. "[But] I was very comfortable getting a paycheck every two weeks."But in April 2020, when businesses were shutting their offices down across the country, he realized he wanted more control over his life -- especially when it came to his work. So he began planning the launch of his own business."A lot of my friends are entrepreneurs and business people and I've never worked in the private industry ... so I decided, let me give it a shot," he said.At the start of 2021, he quit his full-time job and launched a consulting business to advise companies on how to comply with government regulations. To help provide some financial cushion as he launched the new venture, Ortiz had been saving up unused leave, which he got paid out for when he left his job.At first, "it was very scary," he said. Now, he's making slightly less than he was at his old job, but he's only working 20 hours a week. Ortiz said he also has more control over his schedule, and since most of his business is done over the phone and on video calls, he's been able to work from anywhere. So far, he's worked from Geneva, Switzerland, San Antonio and Anchorage, Alaska."I am getting back into my art and reading a lot more ... and exercising a lot more. And I am doing my chores as I've always done, but now I am just not exhausted."Enjoying the hybrid lifeAfter working from home for two years, John Pearson missed the collaboration and socialization that happens in the office.John Pearson used to have a hard deadline of 6:00 a.m. in order to be out of his driveway and on his way to work each morning."Otherwise, the commute goes from an hour to something much worse," said Pearson, 55, who is a senior vice president at PTC, an industrial software company in Boston. But for the past two years, his commute has been a quick walk down the hall to his home office. I can get through more complex problem solving much faster in a room with two or three people and a whiteboard than I can through Zoom" John PearsonAt first, he said he was more productive and less distracted when working from home. But now that he has periodically started going into the office, he realizes there are some advantages to in-person work. "I can get through more complex problem solving much faster in a room with two or three people and a whiteboard than I can through Zoom," he said.He also realized he missed talking to people in the office about simple things, like their kids or what they've been watching on TV. "When you are jumping from 30-minute call to 30-minute call on video, you just don't do that as much."His company plans to offer a flexible model to its employees -- something Pearson prefers. His goal is to be in the office two to three days a week. And as much as he didn't like the commute, he started to realize the role it played. "It really is a firm break in which you walk away and you close your laptop."The WFH convertRashmi Bhankhede used to prefer being in the office five days a week. Now she hopes to work remotely full-time.Rashmi Bhankhede never really liked the idea of working from home. "Before the pandemic...I definitely preferred working face-to-face in this open-office environment," she said. "I thought it was the most productive way for everyone." As a senior manager of software engineering at Capital One, she manages two teams. She used to want her teams to come into the office to collaborate, discuss projects, hold feedback sessions and interact on a more social level. But the pandemic has changed her approach. It doesn't matter where you are. If you have good processes to connect with your peers and [direct] reports, working remote can be very productive" Rashmi Bhankhede After two years of working from home, she's hoping to make remote work permanent. Capital One has said it will be on a hybrid schedule when it reopens its offices. "It doesn't matter where you are. If you have good processes to connect with your peers and [direct] reports, working remote can be very productive," said Bhankhede, 43.She added that the flexibility helps her manage her time better and that her team has become closer -- even though they haven't seen each other in person for two years. To better define the boundary between work and her personal life, Bhankhede gets dressed in her work clothes every morning and changes at the end of the day, followed by a relaxing activity like a walk. Working from home has also meant spending more time with her two sons and learning new hobbies since she no longer has to commute. "I started growing peppers and tomatoes and cucumbers ... and got back into sewing," she said. "I am still not good at it."Turning a hobby into a new career Cody Irion went back to school and switched careers during the pandemic.The pandemic hit right as Cody Irion's busy season was about to start. In 2020, he owned a horse transportation business in North Carolina. Typically, April through August were his most lucrative months, but when stay-at-home orders started sweeping the US, he quickly decided to close his business, sell the equipment and go back to school to get a degree in computer science. "I had the choice of going into a massive amount of debt to keep going or change careers," said Irion, 35. "I had started learning software development as a hobby and I really enjoyed it, so I didn't hesitate." He enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and since the majority of his classes have been virtual, he didn't have to move closer to campus until his final year, saving him a lot of money. He also believes he had more internship opportunities last summer since so many companies were still operating remotely.Irion is set to graduate this May and already has a job lined up at a financial services company. "I had never even considered software engineering before I started it as a hobby because I grew up in Southern Illinois with race horses," he said. "I knew nothing about the industry other than I liked computers and I started learning it and realized I was pretty good at it." Turning a side business into a full-time job Mabel Frias (pictured on the left with her sister) left her full-time job during the pandemic to fully commit to her side business, Luna Magic. Mabel Frias had been juggling two jobs at the beginning of the pandemic, but eventually had to make a decision: stay with the security and safety of her full-time job or pursue a riskier life as an entrepreneur. In March 2020, Frias was a little more than a year into working what she described as her "dream job" as director of digital merchandising at lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty. Meanwhile, she was also trying to grow Luna Magic, a beauty brand she launched with her sister in 2019.But as the pandemic forced many workers to do their jobs remotely, Luna Magic started gaining more traction and demanding more of her time. "Because we were in a Zoom culture, people still wanted from the face up to look good. You still wanted to have a level of presentation while you are on the screen," Frias, 35, said. While working two jobs meant long hours during the week and weekends, Frias was nervous about leaving her full-time job and the financial security it brought. So she set certain benchmarks for Luna Magic to hit, including partnerships and business opportunities, before she could feel comfortable walking away. "Part of the challenges a lot of entrepreneurs have is they jump to soon," she said. "I don't like to have economic anxiety. I am also a mother and practical about these things."Soon enough, the company was meeting her goals. In 2020, Walmart.com started selling the company's products, which includes makeup and other cosmetics. And in 2021, Walmart and Target started carrying products in some stores, as well as online. "I had to trust myself. I liked the idea of growing something from scratch," she said. In 2020, Frias applied to be on ABC's Shark Tank and was accepted. The show, which features entrepreneurs pitching their businesses to a panel of investors, aired in January 2021 -- the same day Frias quit her job. "I love the magic of creating something out of nothing. I saw our company as we get to bring even more beauty into the world at a moment when people are looking for it," Frias said.Just graduated and can't wait to work in personRachel Zipfel started her new job working fully remote, but hopes to eventually be in the office five days a week.Rachel Zipfel finished her college courses in the same place she started her first full-time job: in a room at her parents' house. Zipfel, 23, graduated from the University of Missouri, St. Louis in August 2021 with a degree in marketing. But because of the pandemic, her classes were remote for nearly her last two years of college. She's now working remotely for a digital marketing agency and has met her colleagues roughly five times in person. She feels like working from home has made it harder to get acclimated to the working world. When she first started, she found it challenging to learn the ropes. "If you are trying to ask someone a question, you don't know what they are doing on the other side of the computer, so what could be a five-minute question in person [could turn] into maybe two hours of waiting for an answer," she said.Zipfel started going into the office about once a week in January, and said she feels more productive. She hopes to eventually be there five days a week. "I've noticed a world of difference," she said. "There are none of the distractions that are at home. It's so much easier to get work done. If the person is there that I need to talk to I can get my question answered in five seconds versus two hours. I love being in the office and I cant wait for it to be back open again."Quit a job that wanted him back in the office When Ryan Bernsten found out his employer wanted him to come back into the office, he found a new job.Ryan Bernsten had only been working at his new job as a copywriter for a few weeks in March 2020 when he was sent home to work remotely.At the time, he was worried about how it would work. "Work from home? What would that even look like? I am going to miss out on all the social interaction -- I am new here," he recalled. If they aren't going to validate that I enjoy working from home, that I am better at home, and I enjoy my lifestyle at home, I need to find a job that will,"Ryan BernstenBut eventually he adapted. Now two years later, he prefers remote work. Working from home, he said, enables him to be more productive and have a better work-life balance. So when he learned he was going to be required to return to the office a few days a week, he started looking for a new job that allowed him to stay remote. "If they aren't going to validate that I enjoy working from home, that I am better at home, and I enjoy my lifestyle at home, I need to find a job that will," he said. It took him less than a month to get a new, fully remote job."I never ever have to go back to the office," Bernsten, 29, said. "You get to see people at their best. If we fly to San Francisco for a meeting, the adrenaline is there, we are excited to see people, we're going to make it count. But you don't have to see people every day ... when they have a cold, are in a bad mood or in a fight with their partner." And not only did he get added flexibility, he also got a higher salary. "I don't believe everyone needs to work from home," he said. "But some people work better from home. I never wake up dreading work because I am in the comfort of my home." Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated how long Mabel Frias worked at her previous employer.

Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business

2022-03-19 11:41:08

business

investing

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/19/investing/march-stock-market-volatility/index.html

Why March is so volatile for stocks - CNN

March Madness isn't just for college basketball fans. That phrase is also an apt description of the volatility on Wall Street, and this March is no different.

investing, Why March is so volatile for stocks - CNN

Why March is so volatile for stocks

New York (CNN Business)March Madness isn't just for college basketball fans. That phrase is also an apt description of the volatility on Wall Street, and this March is no different.Just look at what stocks have done so far this month. It began with worries about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the spike in oil and gas prices. The Dow plunged nearly 800 points on March 7 as energy prices surged.And if that weren't enough, the market was girding itself for the Federal Reserve's first rate hike since late 2018. The Dow was down nearly 4% for the month as of March 8. JUST WATCHEDPrice of oil drops below $100. That's good news for gas pricesReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHPrice of oil drops below $100. That's good news for gas prices 02:30It has since come roaring back and is now up 2.5% in March. The S&P 500 has risen 2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has gained 1%. At one point this month, the index plummeted as much as 9%.March has often been a dramatic month for stocks. The dot-com boom of the late 1990s ended in March 2000 when the Nasdaq peaked and subsequently crashed more than 10% that month. Read MoreAnd just two years ago, stocks plunged in March after the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in America ground the US economy to a halt. Hopeful signs despite awful start to the month?The Great Recession (aka the 2008 Global Financial Crisis) peaked in March 2009. Stocks bottomed that month, after a nearly 60% decline from a high in October 2007, putting an end to a brutal bear market.If you have the stomach for it, you can do reasonably well in March. According to data from Yardeni Research, which looked into returns dating back to 1928, the S&P 500 on average rises 0.5% in the month. Stocks have gone up 57 times in March during that time frame and have fallen 37 times.Covid. War. Inflation. Recession fears. The stock market can't keep upLPL Financial chief market strategist Ryan Detrick looked back at how the S&P 500 fared in the 17 times since 1957 when the market fell in January and February and found that stocks usually rebound. The S&P 500 rose by an average of 1.1% in March of those years and wound up with a nearly 4% gain over the final 10 months following the drops in January and February."Seeing the first two months of a new year in the red isn't a great feeling, but the good news is lately it hasn't been a major warning sign," Detrick said in a report. Soothing comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell about the economy after the Fed's rate hike Wednesday could also be good news for stocks for the rest of March."There has been no doubt that it has been a rocky start to the year," said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist with Edward Jones. "Powell struck a positive note about the strength of the economy and the market's ability to withstand rate hikes."

Chris Isidore, CNN Business

2022-03-20 11:36:43

business

investing

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/20/investing/stocks-week-ahead/index.html

Stocks week ahead: Big Oil rakes in billions as prices soar. Lawmakers want them to pay us back - CNN

As crude prices surge, oil companies are raking in money -- enormous profits gained from practically no extra investment.

investing, Stocks week ahead: Big Oil rakes in billions as prices soar. Lawmakers want them to pay us back - CNN

Big Oil rakes in billions as prices soar. Lawmakers want them to pay us back

A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business' Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. New York (CNN Business)As crude prices surge, oil companies are raking in money -- enormous profits gained from practically no extra investment.ExxonMobil (XOM) made a $23 billion profit in 2021, its largest in seven years. And as oil prices rise, it's expected to make nearly $33 billion this year. BP (BP), meanwhile, earned $12.8 billion in 2021 and is forecast to earn $15.6 billion in 2022.This level of enormous earnings growth has driven talk on both sides of the Atlantic about the need for a windfall profit tax on Big Oil. Those taxes could provide direct financial assistance to consumers struggling with high energy costs. Both the United States and United Kingdom have imposed windfall profit taxes in the past in with broad political support. But this time around, support has been mostly limited to liberal parties in both nations.Oil 'emergency': Work from home and drive slower, IEA saysPrime Minister Boris Johnson has opposed the idea. His finance minister, Rishi Sunak, is expected to lay out the British government's plans to help citizens deal with rising energy costs Wednesday. Read MoreIn Washington, Democratic supporters of a windfall profit tax argue it's the only fair way to help people who can't afford to drive or heat their homes."We need to curb profiteering by Big Oil and provide relief to Americans at the gas pump — that starts with ensuring these corporations pay a price when they price gouge," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of the 12 co-sponsors of the measure in the Senate. The UK opposition Labour Party is calling for taxes on profits made by North Sea oil and gas companies to be raised for a year to help pay for a variety of financial relief measures. The US bill would tax the profits Big Oil companies make on crude prices above recent historical levels. It would pay hundreds of dollars annually to low- and middle-income taxpayers.But that assumes average oil prices of $120 a barrel — and prices surged past that level two weeks ago. Though prices have since fallen back, it highlights the challenge of writing legislation around a volatile commodities market. Brent oil closed Friday at just under $108. Retail gasoline prices have ticked down slightly, though at a much slower pace than oil prices have fallen.The US bill taxes the profits big oil companies get on crude prices above recent historical levels. But that assumes average oil prices of $120 a barrel. Prices surged past that level two weeks ago but have since fallen back.Russia could lose 30% of its oil output within weeks, IEA warns But the Biden administration has yet to voice any support for the windfall profit tax proposal, and the Senate lacks sufficient votes to pass it, argued Greg Valliere, chief US policy strategist for AGF Investments.Trade groups for both the American and British oil industries argue the windfall profit tax proposals would work against calls to increase domestic production in those countries as a way of making up for the loss of Russian crude oil."Lawmakers should focus on policies that increase US supply to help mitigate the situation rather than political grandstanding that does nothing but discourage investment at a time when it's needed the most," said Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs for the American Petroleum Institute.Deirdre Michie, CEO of Offshore Energies UK, argues that a windfall profit would result in oil companies further cutting their investment in oil production, "just when we most need our own oil and gas supplies," Michie said.But oil companies haven't been particularly eager to invest in more US or UK production. "Oil and gas companies do not want to drill more," Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James, said recently. "They are under pressure from the financial community to pay more dividends, to do more share buybacks instead of the proverbial 'drill baby drill,' which is the way they would have done things 10 years ago. Corporate strategy has fundamentally changed."Still, Molchanov said proposals for a windfall profit tax are "political posturing, plain and simple, at a time when consumers are unhappy about high fuel prices," adding that "micromanaging tax rates based on short-term price swings, whether up or down, is counterproductive." he argued. Putin's moneyThe sprawling billion-dollar palace that sits on a hilltop overlooking the Black Sea is seen by some Kremlin critics as the ultimate emblem of Russian President Vladimir Putin's legacy of corruption.Dubbed "Putin's Palace," the 190,000 square-foot mega-mansion was purportedly built for his personal use with funds from billionaire oligarchs, whom he allegedly allowed to flourish in Russia's notoriously corrupt economy so long as they shared the wealth -- with him.The property has its own amphitheater, underground hockey rink and private seaport, according to a documentary produced by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny's anti-corruption group. There is a no-fly zone in the skies above and a no-boating zone in the surrounding waters.The magnificent fortress stands in stark contrast to the tiny 800-square-foot apartment Putin claims in his official 2020 financial disclosure.Yet, despite the opulence of the hilltop retreat, "I would be very surprised if Putin ever sets foot in there again," Nate Sibley, an expert on Russian corruption who advises members of Congress, told CNN.Sibley said the palace symbolizes what he sees as a bygone era of Putin pursuing, through the wealth of oligarchs, a luxurious lifestyle that he could never afford on his government salary. While Putin is believed to have amassed a hidden fortune by such means earlier in his career, Sibley said, he has since become less reliant on his wealthy benefactors over the years and has surrounded himself instead with government and military loyalists who share his hardline nationalist views.That shift, some Russia experts told CNN, may make it more difficult to make Putin personally feel the sting of economic sanctions the US and its European allies have imposed to punish him for invading Ukraine.Putin has positioned himself, as Sibley put it, "above the fray."For more on the Russian leader's wealth, check out the full story from CNN's Curt Devine, Casey Tolan and Majlie de Puy Kamp. Up nextMonday: Earnings from Nike and Tencent Music; Russia bond payment dueTuesday: Earnings from Carnival and AdobeWednesday: US new home sales; EIA crude oil inventories; Earnings from General Mills and KB HomeThursday: US unemployment claims; Earnings from Darden Restaurants and NIO; IEA meeting in Paris with US energy secretary

Matt Egan, CNN Business

2022-03-18 14:26:26

business

energy

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/18/energy/oil-russia-emergency-plan/index.html

Oil 'emergency': Work from home and drive slower, IEA says - CNN

Governments around the world must consider drastic steps to slash oil demand in the face of an emerging global energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the International Energy Agency warned on Friday.

energy, Oil 'emergency': Work from home and drive slower, IEA says - CNN

Oil 'emergency': Work from home and drive slower, IEA says

New York (CNN Business)Governments around the world must consider drastic steps to slash oil demand in the face of an emerging global energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the International Energy Agency warned on Friday.The energy watchdog detailed a 10-point emergency plan that includes reducing speed limits on highways by at least 6 miles per hour, working from home up to three days a week where possible and car-free Sundays in cities.The recommendations for advanced economies like the United States and European Union would aim to offset the feared loss of nearly one-third of Russia's oil production due to sanctions leveled on Moscow. Other steps in the emergency plan include increasing car sharing, using high-speed and night trains instead of planes, avoiding business air travel when possible and incentivizing walking, cycling and public transportation.Oil spikes back above $100 as Russia fears growIf fully implemented, the moves would lower world oil demand by 2.7 million barrels per day within four months -- equal to the oil consumed by all the cars in China, the IEA said. And the impact would be greater if emerging economies like India and China adopted them in part or in full.Read MoreHowever, the emergency steps would disrupt or even slow down a world economy that remains largely addicted to fossil fuels, especially for transportation. The IEA is suggesting the headaches would be better than the alternative."As a result of Russia's appalling aggression against Ukraine, the world may well be facing its biggest oil supply shock in decades, with huge implications for our economies and societies," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement.The proposals reflect a recognition that the world has few realistic options to quickly replace oil supplies from Russia, the world's No. 2 oil producer in 2021. OPEC has signaled it's in no rush to ramp up production and the release of emergency oil stockpiles has done little to ease shortage fears. "The US and other IEA countries now realize that the potential loss of Russia's oil exports constitutes a bigger supply shock than either strategic stock draws or accelerated OPEC+ production hikes can solve," said Bob McNally, president of consulting firm Rapidan Energy.The Russia-Ukraine crisis has sent oil prices surging over the past month, driving up gasoline prices in the United States to record highs. Although oil prices have pulled back from their recent highs, oil soared back above $100 a barrel on Thursday on renewed concerns about the impact to Russian energy supplies.

As told to by Chris Wellisz, International Monetary Fund

2022-03-20 12:57:36

business

perspectives

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/20/perspectives/imf-digital-currencies/index.html

Opinion: Technology is transforming the nature of money. Here's how it will affect our lives - CNN

The convenience of digital payments to both consumers and businesses makes it highly unlikely that cash will survive much longer.

perspectives, Opinion: Technology is transforming the nature of money. Here's how it will affect our lives - CNN

Technology is transforming the nature of money. Here's how it will affect our lives

This interview has been edited from its original version. It was originally published in its entirety in the International Monetary Fund's Spring 2022 issue of Finance & Development magazine. Eswar Prasad is the Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University. He is also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. In his latest book, "The Future of Money: How the Digital Revolution Is Transforming Currencies and Finance," Cornell University professor Eswar S. Prasad describes how digital currencies and other financial technologies are reshaping everything from consumer banking to monetary policy and international payments. In a conversation with the International Monetary Fund, Prasad lays out the advantages and perils of the new forms of money. IMF: Is cash destined to wither away?Prasad: The convenience of digital payments to both consumers and businesses makes it highly unlikely that cash will survive much longer. In China there are two private payment providers, Alipay and WeChat Pay, that have blanketed the entire Chinese economy with very low-cost digital payments. You can use those for something as simple as buying, say, a piece of fruit or a couple of dumplings from a street vendor. In advanced economies like Sweden, the private sector is doing an equally good job of providing very low-cost digital payments.IMF: Is it likely that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin will be used to buy a cup of coffee or pay the rent?Read MorePrasad: Bitcoin has not worked very well as a medium of exchange that can be used for day-to-day transactions. One main reason is that Bitcoin has very unstable value. It's as though you took a bitcoin in with you to a coffee shop, and one day you could buy a whole meal with it and on another day just get a small cup of coffee. In addition, Bitcoin is somewhat slow and cumbersome to use.IMF: Some countries are considering the adoption of a so-called central bank digital currency (CBDC). What is the rationale?Prasad: For some developing countries, the objective is that of broadening financial inclusion. There are many people in those countries who don't have access to digital payments. They don't have access to basic banking products and services. In countries like Sweden, where most people do have access to bank accounts, the imperative is a little different. The Swedish central bank, the Riksbank, envisions the e-krona, or the digital krona, as essentially a backstop to the private payment infrastructure.The US dollar could go digital. Here's what you need to knowIMF: How about China?Prasad: The Chinese government is very concerned about two payment providers that have come to dominate the payment system and are blocking effectively the entry of new competitors who could provide innovations. The Chinese central bank views a digital yuan as essentially a complement to the existing payment systems, but one that could in principle increase the amount of competition.IMF: How does a digital currency affect the ability of a central bank to control inflation and ensure full employment?Prasad: Let's say all American citizens had, in effect, an account with the Federal Reserve, then it would be a lot easier for the Fed to undertake certain operations such as stimulus payments. When the pandemic hit, the initial coronavirus stimulus bill involved a large amount of money being transferred to American households. Many households that had direct deposit information on file with the Internal Revenue Service were able to get direct deposits to their bank accounts, but households that did not have that information on file with the IRS ended up getting prepaid debit cards or checks, many of which were lost in the mail and some of which were misappropriated or mutilated.IMF: Could central bank digital currencies be used to fight tax evasion and other crimes?Prasad: If you cannot use cash to pay your gardener or babysitter, it's much more likely that those payments will get reported to the government. And especially for large-value transactions, that will certainly make a difference in terms of tax revenues. Having digital money also reduces the use of cash for illicit transactions, say for drug trafficking or money laundering.IMF: Are there risks for private sector banks and payment providers?Prasad: If the government is in effect providing a very low-cost digital payment system, that might make it very difficult for private payment providers to continue their services because after all, what private corporation can compete with the deep pockets of the government? There is another risk, which is that commercial banks, which are very important in modern economies in terms of providing credit that fuels economic activity, might find that their deposits are being swept away into central bank accounts. In troubled times depositors might feel that ultimately their deposits are going to be safer with the central bank or other government institution compared to a commercial bank, even if the commercial bank deposits are insured.IMF: Is there a solution to that problem?Prasad: The experiments with CBDCs that are underway in China and Sweden are suggesting that what might work more efficiently is a dual-tier system of CBDCs. The central bank would provide the underlying payment infrastructure and provide the CBDC essentially in the form of digital tokens, but the actual digital wallets in which those CBDCs are maintained would be held by the commercial banks.China's digital yuan shows why we still need cryptocurrencies like bitcoinIMF: Do you see a digital yuan threatening the dollar's dominant position as a global currency by virtue of China's status as a fast-growing world economy?Prasad: It's not just the economic size or the size of the financial markets of a country issuing a particular currency, but also the institutional framework in that country that maintains the trust of foreign investors. And these elements of trust include the rule of law, an independent central bank, and an institutionalized system of checks and balances. In all these dimensions, I think the US still retains a dominance relative to much of the rest of the world.IMF: The US Federal Reserve has a cautious attitude toward CBDCs. Why?Prasad: One needs to think about what the user case really is for the CBDC in each country, and in the US certainly we have certain issues with our payment systems. A lot of payments are intermediated through credit cards, which are actually quite expensive for merchants to use because of the very high interchange fees. And many of those costs are passed on to consumers. About 5% percent of households in the US are still unbanked or underbanked. So you and I can use Apple Pay, but to use Apple Pay, we need to have that linked to a bank account or a credit card, and many households simply don't have access to that. So a CBDC might at the margin increase financial inclusion, but the Fed already has a major project underway called "FedNow" to increase the efficiency of both retail payments as well as wholesale payments; that is, payments among businesses and financial institutions.IMF: Do official digital currencies pose broader dangers for society?Prasad: You could see an authoritarian government using a digital version of its central bank money essentially to surveil its population. And even a benevolent government might decide that it wants to make sure that the money its central bank issues not only is not used for illicit purposes, but is also not used for purposes it might regard as not necessarily socially beneficial. You might well start seeing money being used as an instrument not just of economic policy, but potentially even social policy. That would be dangerous for the credibility of central bank money and for central banks themselves.

Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business

2022-03-18 17:14:11

business

investing

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/18/investing/smartphones-price-plans-inflation/index.html

Inflation is everywhere. Except your cell phone bill - CNN

Inflation is everywhere: grocery stores, gas stations, retailers and the housing market. But one important part of the economy has remained immune to higher prices: cell phone bills.

investing, Inflation is everywhere. Except your cell phone bill - CNN

Inflation is everywhere. Except your cell phone bill

New York (CNN Business)Inflation is everywhere: grocery stores, gas stations, retailers and the housing market. But one important part of the economy has remained immune to higher prices: cell phone bills. And telecom stocks are paying for it.Even as Americans pay more for just about everything else, the average price of mobile plans continues to drop. That's in large part because of the intense competition between Verizon (VZ), CNN parent company AT&T (T) and T-Mobile (TMUS). Price wars are as prevalent as ever, even after T-Mobile merged with Sprint in 2020 — a deal that some feared would lead to more pricing power for the industry's giants. Dollar stores are battling over $1 pricesThe decline in wireless service bills stands "in such stark contrast to the prevailing inflation that is seemingly everywhere else," analysts at Wall Street research firm MoffettNathanson wrote in a report titled "The Industry Inflation Forgot."And it's showing in financial results. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all reported fourth-quarter drops in average revenue per user (ARPU) — a key price metric in the wireless business. AT&T posted the biggest decline at 1.1%, while Verizon and T-Mobile prices each fell less than 1%.Read MoreThe analysts argue that this may be the key reason why shares of Verizon and AT&T haven't taken off this year. Verizon is flat and AT&T is down 6%. While that's not as bad as the S&P 500's nearly 7.5% loss, it's still nothing to call (or text) home about."Against a backdrop of terrifying geopolitical risks and disquieting financial ones, it is not surprising that telecom stocks have outperformed," the MoffettNathanson analysts wrote. "If there is a surprise, it is that they haven't outperformed more."They point out that the top US wireless providers have no exposure to Europe, where recession risks are higher and consumers are feeling an even bigger crunch from skyrocketing oil and natural gas costs. Wireless stocks still should do well even if economy slumpsTypically, telecom companies are also considered good defensive bets when the economy is slowing."If there is a U.S. recession, their services are, by and large, indispensable. Verizon and AT&T are both stable dividend payers," the analysts added. Both companies pay dividends with yields significantly higher than long-term Treasury bonds. "They are ideally suited, it would seem, for the times. What they lack, however, is pricing power," the analysts added. JUST WATCHED'Why so many Americans are sour on the economy:' Romans breaks down inflation reportReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCH'Why so many Americans are sour on the economy:' Romans breaks down inflation report 01:15T-Mobile's stock has held up better, gaining about 10% this year thanks in part to market-share gains and low level of customer churn (i.e. subscribers changing their wireless provider). "Only T-Mobile appears well positioned to weather this storm," said the MoffettNathanson analysts. "With still many growth opportunities ahead...we believe T-Mobile's share gains are poised to accelerate."As part of its deal with Sprint, T-Mobile said it would not raise prices for existing customers for three years. But AT&T and Verizon seem to recognize that they may need to boost prices. At AT&T's analyst day earlier this month, chief financial officer Pascal Desroches predicted that there will be a "more normalized industry backdrop" and what he called "surgical" price hikes later this year. The goal is"stable ARPU," he added.And Verizon chief financial officer Matt Ellis said during the company's earnings call in late January that there is "good news" for the company on the expenses front. Many of the company's costs are tied to longer-term contracts, he said, which means Verizon is "not necessarily going to see the full impact of inflation and at the same pace that other industries are seeing."But Ellis didn't dismiss the threat of further pricing pressures."Inflation is out there. And certainly, we'll see some of that," he said. "It's real. We'll take actions to address that."

Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business

2022-03-18 11:32:30

business

business-food

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/18/business-food/burger-king-russia-joint-venture/index.html

Burger King partner 'refuses' to close 800 Russian locations - CNN

Burger King is trying to suspend its operations in Russia, but that's proving difficult. A business partner controlling 800 restaurants has "refused" to close them, the company said.

business-food, Burger King partner 'refuses' to close 800 Russian locations - CNN

Burger King franchise 'refuses' to close 800 Russian restaurants

New York (CNN Business)Burger King is trying to suspend its operations in Russia, but that's proving difficult. A business partner controlling 800 restaurants has "refused" to close them, the company said.The burger chain, owned by Restaurant Brands International (QSR), has a joint venture partnership with businessman Alexander Kolobov in Russia. RBI controls just 15% of its Russian Burger King business, and Kolobov is responsible for the "day-to-day operations and oversight" of its locations in the country.That means Burger King can't just snap its fingers and close up shop. "We started the process to dispose [of] our ownership stake in the business," said David Shear, president of RBI's international operations, in an open letter. "While we would like to do this immediately, it is clear that it will take some time to do so based on the terms of our existing joint venture agreement."A Burger King restaurant at a St. Petersburg shopping center. McDonald's (MCD), by contrast, owns more than 80% of its restaurants in Russia outright. That made exiting the country significantly easier.Read MoreShear said that RBI has "demanded" that the joint venture immediately close the Burger Kings, but Kolobov has "refused to do so." Burger King entered Russia about a decade ago, operating the joint venture with Kolobov, Investment Capital Ukraine and VTB Capital, a Russian bank that has been hit with sanctions.Shear explained that a "complicated legal process" is preventing it from shutting down the partnership and businesses. McDonald's transformed Russia ... now it's abandoning the country"There are no legal clauses that allow us to unilaterally change the contract or allow any one of the partners to simply walk away or overturn the entire agreement," Shear said. "No serious investor in any industry in the world would agree to a long-term business relationship with flimsy termination clauses."Last week, Burger King pulled corporate support from its businesses in Russia, including suspending operations, marketing and supply chain assistance.This issue highlights the problems some Western companies and banks face in pulling out of Russia, complicated by joint ventures or partnerships that they don't have complete control over. For example, a Papa Johns (PZZA) franchisee in Russia refused to close about 200 locations even after the pizza chain suspended corporate support for it.

Oliver Darcy, CNN Business

2022-03-19 02:51:46

business

media

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/18/media/axios-ukraine-article/index.html

White House 'appalled' at Axios over Ukraine article - CNN

The White House spent much of Friday frustrated by an Axios report that it believes was based on a fabricated letter purportedly written by Ukraine's top national security official.

media, White House 'appalled' at Axios over Ukraine article - CNN

White House 'appalled' at Axios over Ukraine article

New York (CNN Business)A version of this article first appeared in the "Reliable Sources" newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.The White House spent much of Friday frustrated by an Axios report that it believes was based on a fabricated letter purportedly written by Ukraine's top national security official. The Axios story, written by reporter Zachary Basu, said that Oleksiy Danilov had asked the US earlier this month "to go beyond traditional military aid and provide the country with the funding, training and weaponry to support a long-term resistance movement." But Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova later told Axios that she believed the letter was "falsified." And officials at the National Security Council also told Axios they have no record of receiving such a letter from Danilov.Here's what I have gathered after talking to a senior administration official familiar with the matter: White House and CIA officials told Axios off the record on Thursday that they had no record of receiving Danilov's supposed letter and that they could not confirm its authenticity. In other words, they tried to wave Basu away from it. When Basu published his report anyway, the White House connected the outlet with Markarova so that she could relay that she believed it to be inauthentic. Markarova did so on Friday. Meanwhile, the White House repeatedly asked Axios to retract its story — all to no avail. "We were appalled that Axios apparently did not have time to verify with Ukrainian officials whether or not this letter was a fake, but made sure to reach out to a former Trump official with no knowledge of the situation for a 'gotcha' quote," the senior admin official told me. "And then we were even more appalled it stayed up all day despite our repeated asks to take the story down when became obvious the letter was a fake — which Axios should have dug up before publishing in the first place."Read MoreShortly after I contacted Axios for comment Friday evening, the outlet updated its story. Axios changed the headline — which initially read "Scoop: Ukraine sought long-term resistance funding" — to "Ukraine's ambassador disputes letter asking U.S. for resistance support." The new story, which included Markarova saying the document appeared "falsified," cited a "former senior Ukrainian official close to Danilov" who told Axios "that they had received the letter from Danilov's office, and that it was also distributed to Ukrainian American groups and think tank experts in Washington." But crucially, the source also told Axios that he or she could not confirm the letter was officially transmitted to the US government — essentially the crux of the initial story.Notably, at that point, the article didn't include a correction or retraction, despite it seemingly having no real legs to stand on. Later in the evening, a proper correction was ultimately appended to the top of the story. It read, in part, "This corrects an original version of this story that stated the Ukrainian government 'asked' for additional assistance from the U.S. government, when Axios was unable to confirm the letter was actually sent." Still, given that Axios is now conceding it was "unable to confirm" the main point of its initial story, it is surprising that a more forceful correction or full retraction wasn't issued.NSC spokesperson Emily Horne went on the record about the whole episode. In a statement to me, she said, "We told Axios that we had not received this letter and were unable to verify its authenticity. There's a lot of disinformation and misinformation being pushed around about Ukraine right now. This is a moment where taking the extra time to verify reporting is even more essential than usual."

Ramishah Maruf, CNN

2022-03-20 20:50:32

business

media

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/20/media/reliable-sources-kyiv-independent/index.html

How Ukrainian news outlet Kyiv Independent is protecting its journalists - CNN

As Russia's attack on Ukraine continues to intensify, reporting from the war zone is becoming increasingly difficult — and dangerous. Four journalists have so far been killed reporting on the war and many more are injured or missing.

media, How Ukrainian news outlet Kyiv Independent is protecting its journalists - CNN

How this Ukrainian news outlet is protecting its journalists

New York (CNN)As Russia's attack on Ukraine continues to intensify, reporting from the war zone is becoming increasingly difficult — and dangerous. Four journalists have so far been killed reporting on the war and many more are injured or missing. Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna has been missing for more than a week, and her outlet believes she is being held by Russian forces. However, Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent, said journalist Oleh Baturyn, who was kidnapped last week in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Kakhovka, was just released by Russian fighters. The Kyiv Independent is a fairly new publication but has earned acclaim for its war coverage. "It's gone from being a three-month-old startup and a relative unknown in the Western world to now one of the leading sources of information on the war in Ukraine," CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter said on Reliable Sources Sunday.Rudenko said no one on her team has been directly targeted yet, but reporting on the conflict is a "daily risk."Read More"We have to remember that this is an invasion by an authoritarian regime that has been targeting journalists and media consistently for decades now," Rudenko said. Rudenko said the outlet is learning as they go when it comes to protecting employees who have suddenly found themselves war correspondents. Several of the Independent's reporters already had experience working in a war zone following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Now they are once again working in dangerous locations, including Kyiv.One of the outlet's biggest fears is that Russian forces may cut off internet connections, hindering their ability to publish news."We do not concentrate" in one place, Rudenko said. "We are in different locations."Work goes on, but there is an emphasis on avoiding unnecessary risks. "We are also telling reporters that safety is a priority," Rudenko said. "No story is worth a human life." But the psychological impacts will last after the war, Rudenko said. "Just being thrown into this," Rudenko said of the toll the fighting is taking. "This new reality where we cover this horror every day and every hour."

Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Business

2022-03-19 12:10:14

business

business

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/19/business/kohls-stock-department-stores-activist-investor/index.html

How Kohl's became such a mess - CNN

In 2018, Kohl's was a bright spot in the beleaguered department store sector.

business, How Kohl's became such a mess - CNN

How Kohl's became such a mess

New York (CNN Business)In 2018, Kohl's was a bright spot in the beleaguered department store sector.Sales were growing, Kohl's (KSS) stock price was booming and new CEO Michelle Gass was earning widespread praise for her creative approach, including partnering with Amazon (AMZN) to offer free Amazon returns at Kohl's stores.Out of the three largest US department store chains — Kohl's, Macy's (M) and Nordstrom (JWN) — Kohl's looked to be in the strongest position.Not anymore. Kohl's is in turmoil today. The chain's sales are lower than before the pandemic, despite strong consumer spending and as its rivals enjoy big gains. Activist investors are circling Kohl's and demanding leadership changes. A sale of the company could be on the horizon.Read More"We see a company that's lost its way," said Jonathan Duskin, managing partner at Macellum Advisors, an activist investment firm that has become Kohl's third largest shareholder.Kohl's is under heavy pressure from investors and retail rivals.Macellum and a group of activist investors took a stake in Kohl's last year. The group reached a settlement with Kohl's in April, but Macellum has recently revived its effort to overhaul Kohl's because of continued stock price weakness and market share losses.Kohl's "should be doing better than Macy's, not worse," Duskin said. "We see a lot of initiatives that sound okay, but never really result in growth."In a statement, a Kohl's spokesperson blasted Macellum, saying the firm was "using a misinformed, shifting and hollow narrative" to push for changes that would not improve Kohl's and result in "poorly qualified and inexperienced" board directors.The spokesperson said Kohl's has made "substantial progress in transforming our business and positioning the Company for long-term success.""We are already delivering results," the spokesperson added, pointing to the company's record earnings in 2021, operating profit margins reached two years ahead of schedule and an increase in the company's quarterly dividend.Kohl's is attempting yet another makeover to turn things around, but its success is far from guaranteed.Fighting the tideWith more than 1,100 US stores and around $19 billion in annual sales, Kohl's is the largest department store chain in the United States.The department store sector has been in structural decline for years against pressure from Amazon, growing big-box chains including Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT), and discount clothing stores like TJMaxx. Companies such as Sears, JCPenney, Neiman Marcus, Barney's and others have filed for bankruptcy in recent years. Department stores including Kohl's have been undercut on prices by discount players from the bottom, and prestige by luxury stores at the top, said John Fisher, a senior lecturer at Boston College's Carroll School of Management and former CEO of Saucony running shoes."It's hard to be unique," Fisher said. "I think Kohl's is caught right now by death in the middle."Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass has been considered one of the most innovative executives in retail.Kohl's has lost around 17% of its market share since 2011, primarily to off-price retailers such as TJMaxx (TJX), as well as Amazon, according to UBS."[F]orces like consumers' migration to online and preference for value have contributed to this erosion," UBS analyst Jay Sole said in a recent report. "This will likely continue after the pandemic."Since Gass, a former top deputy to Howard Schultz at Starbucks (SBUX), took over as Kohl's CEO in 2018, the company has attempted a handful of approaches to draw customers and stave off competitors.In addition to the returns partnership with Amazon, Kohl's expanded its athleisure clothing business with brands such as Nike (NKE) and Under Armour (UA). Kohl's also shrunk the size of a handful of stores and leased out the extra space to Aldi and Planet Fitness, made a bigger play for Millennials with new brands such as PopSugar and, more recently, opened Sephora beauty stores inside Kohl's.These strategies have not led to major improvements. Kohl's has improved its athleisure business and other areas, but its women's clothing business has slumped. In 2018, sales inched up 0.7% from the prior year. In 2019, they dropped 1.2% before plunging 20% in 2020 due to store closures and Covid-19 restrictions.Last year, after stores reopened and shoppers refreshed their wardrobes, sales bounced back 23% — but that was still below pre-pandemic levels.Competition has become more cutthroat in the four years since Gass took over, and "a lot of Kohl's stores feel tired," said Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at GlobalData. "It has been very easy for customers to switch away from Kohl's to others offering something better."And brand partnerships with Amazon and Sephora do not address core issues, he added. "Kohl's needs to look to improving its own brand rather than relying on others to lift it."A sale looming?Over the last few months, activist investors have been pressing for changes at Kohl's. One firm, Engine Capital, urged Kohl's to spin off its e-commerce business from its stores or find a buyer to take the company private. "Even the most patient long-term shareholders cannot be expected to endure the punishing underperformance and perpetual value disconnect seen at Kohl's," Engine Capital said in December. A month later, Macellum Advisors said it would nominate a slate of new board members at Kohl's because Kohl's board and leadership "spent another year materially mismanaging the business." Private equity firms also made buyout offers for Kohl's, which the company rejected.To fight off pressure, Kohl's last week laid out plans for a "complete reinvention of our business model and our brand" at an investor day. JCPenney and Tide tried to get rid of coupons. It was a disasterKohl's said it would add Sephora mini-shops to roughly 75% of its 1,100 US stores, open 100 new locations at half the size of its traditional outlets in the next four years and increase its popular Kohl's Cash rewards program to 7.5% on purchases, up from 5%. Kohl's also unveiled new strategies to grow online, including self-service for pickup orders and returns."We're evolving our position from a department store to a more focused lifestyle concept centered around the active and casual lifestyle," Gass said in a presentation.But to Duskin at Macellum Advisors, the plan was "disappointing."He believes the strategy won't meaningfully change how consumers see Kohl's — and he says it's time for a new board and, possibly, a new CEO. Kohl's has not fully taken advantage of its stores being located away from traditional malls, which are losing foot traffic, he said, and he questions whether the investment in Sephora is worth the cost.Kohl's said last week that it has engaged with more than 20 potential buyers for the company, a sign of wide interest. Hudson's Bay Co., the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, also is considering a bid, Axios reported Wednesday.Kohl's board has an "ongoing dialogue with potential bidders" and will measure any offers against its own "compelling standalone plan," a spokesperson said.Duskin expects Kohl's to accept a buyout offer, he said. "This company can easily be turned around."

Analysis by Brian Stelter, CNN Business

2022-03-21 03:21:05

business

media

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/20/media/disney-bob-chapek-reliable-sources/index.html

Disney braces for further walkouts as employees express discontent with CEO Bob Chapek - CNN

Disney versus Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is far from over.

media, Disney braces for further walkouts as employees express discontent with CEO Bob Chapek - CNN

Disney braces for further walkouts as employees express discontent with CEO Bob Chapek

New York (CNN Business)A version of this article first appeared in the "Reliable Sources" newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.Disney versus Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is far from over. And Disney is the state's largest private-sector employer, so this is a battle between giants -- one that DeSantis clearly welcomes as he plots a run for president.At issue: Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, that would ban classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity before fourth grade. Disney CEO Bob Chapek tiptoed around the bill at first, was pilloried by employees, and then publicly criticized the bill after it passed the state's legislature. Chapek apologized to LGBTQ employees, but his words did little to lower the temperature. Some employees staged brief walkouts last week, ahead of a "full day walkout" slated to take place on Tuesday.How many will participate? No one knows. "It's unclear whether it will draw a crowd" among studios employees, CNBC's Julia Boorstin wrote, "as only a fraction of employees have been coming in to work on the lot."But the earlier walkouts garnered a lot of attention, and "the act of protest will culminate" on Tuesday, as The AP's Mike Schneider put it. Three new stories have outstanding insight into this issue...Read MoreChapek's decision backfiredThe WSJ's Robbie Whelan, Erich Schwartzel and Joe Flint nailed it with this lead:"Chapek made a decision at the start of the year: Disney was staying out of politics. The strategy was meant in part to help the entertainment giant avoid the culture clashes between executives and employees that have plagued many companies in recent years, said people familiar with his thinking. Instead, it backfired."Chapek's mishandling of the Florida fight "managed to offend both progressives, who wanted the company to do and say more to fight the bill, and conservatives, who wanted Disney to stay out of the debate and now claim it is bowing to liberal agitators within its ranks.">> Chapek's contract is up for renewal next February, so "several current and former Disney executives described the next 11 months as a critical period for the CEO," the WSJ team added...The view from FloridaCNN's expert in all things Florida politics, Steve Contorno, is out with an excellent new story about how the Disney dispute has further bolstered DeSantis's standing within the GOP. It has also "exposed a widening chasm between the current crop of Republican leaders and the corporations that have traditionally curried favor with the GOP," Contorno wrote...>> Christopher Miles, a Miami-based GOP consultant, told Contorno that watching a Florida governor go after Disney was "not a world I expected to be living in a couple of years ago." But DeSantis, like Donald Trump, has gained popularity by bucking conventional wisdom...Chapek and Iger at oddsIn media insider circles, the weekend's #1 read was Alex Sherman's story for CNBC about the falling out between Chapek and his predecessor Bob Iger. It's a rift that now "looms over Disney's future."In the wake of the Florida debacle, several Disney employees have called Iger "to express their disappointment in Chapek," Sherman reported. But "while public controversies generate headlines, it's likely to be Chapek's internal changes, and how successful they become, that will determine his future as Disney's CEO."One of the key changes is the elevation of Kareem Daniel, who has profit and loss oversight over Disney's media and entertainment businesses. Daniel has "one of the most powerful jobs ever created in media," Sherman wrote. Daniel has not given any interviews since his October 2020 promotion. Read all about the internal intrigue here...Moments of silence on ESPNWe noted on Friday that ESPN announcers Carolyn Peck and Courtney Lyle showed solidarity with fellow employees by going silent for two minutes at the start of the NCAA women's tournament. During Sunday's tournament coverage, they did it again, remaining silent "for about two minutes as the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Miami Hurricanes tipped off," per Analis Bailey of USA Today."Announcers Stephanie White and Pam Ward also observed a moment of silence during Saturday's game in Connecticut," Bailey added. And Elle Duncan mentioned the walkouts on the air on Friday...

Ramishah Maruf, CNN

2022-03-20 20:44:33

business

business

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/20/business/disney-native-american-logo/index.html

Disney said it regrets racist cheer by high school team - CNN

Disney said it regrets a performance at its Orlando theme park by a high school cheerleading squad after it received backlash for the routine's depictions of Native Americans.

business, Disney said it regrets racist cheer by high school team - CNN

Disney said it regrets racist cheer by high school team

(CNN)Disney said it regrets a performance at its Orlando theme park by a high school cheerleading squad after it received backlash for the routine's depictions of Native Americans. A widely circulated video of the Port Neches-Groves High School "Indianettes" from Texas shows the team dancing and chanting "scalp 'em Indians, scalp 'em" while performing moves that appear to appropriate Native American culture in a parade at Disney's Magic Kingdom theme park. Disney employees are staging walkouts over company's response to the 'Don't Say Gay' bill"The live performance in our park did not reflect our core values, and we regret it took place," Disney spokesperson Jacquee Wahler said in a statement. "It was not consistent with the audition tape the school provided and we have immediately put measures in place so this is not repeated." Tara Houska, an Ojibwe tribal attorney and advocate, tweeted the video. "Shame on @DisneyParks hosting this," Houska wrote. "Nostalgic racism is RACISM." Read MoreOn its website, the school district said the "Indianettes" drill team has been a tradition for over 50 years. CNN reached out to the school district on Saturday and Sunday for comment but did not hear back. The school district's Twitter account has been deleted. In a statement to KFDM, a spokesperson from the school said the team had performed the routine at Disney before with no issue."This is our eighth time at Disney," the spokesperson said. "They don't ask what you're going to do as far as a performance. It's just contest video and they see the uniforms. They asked for nothing else. This is the same performance we've done all eight times."Port Neches-Groves High School has previously faced calls to change its mascot, which is listed on its website as "Indians," and depicted by a Native American man in a feathered headdress.The Cherokee Nation said it has reached out to the school district and board in the past several years "asking them to cease using this offensive imagery, chanting, symbolism and other practices in their school traditions," Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said Friday in a statement addressing the recent performance in Orlando.Disney CEO apologizes for 'silence' on 'Don't Say Gay' billThe online reaction to the parade follows a controversial week for Disney.Last Friday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek issued an apology for his previous public silence on a controversial Florida bill that would ban certain instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity for children from kindergarten to third trade. Critics have dubbed it the "Don't Say Gay Bill." Chapek initially said the company would not publicly condemn it. Some of the company's employees staged brief walkouts in protest.The organizers of the Disney walkout have not identified themselves, but they have a Twitter account, @DisneyWalkout and a website, whereischapek.com. Last week they wrote an open letter posted on their website, saying that Disney's recent statements "have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation."It's unknown how many employees are taking part, but Disney's LGBTQ+ employee resource groups are not involved, a source familiar with the matter told CNN earlier this week.Chapek later apologized for his initial response. "Speaking to you, reading your messages, and meeting with you have helped me better understand how painful our silence was," Chapek wrote in a letter to employees last Friday.-- CNN Business' Frank Pallotta contributed to this story.

Brian Fung, CNN Business

2022-03-18 18:33:51

business

tech

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/18/tech/social-media-russia-government-accounts/index.html

Social media platforms tread carefully when it comes to the Russian government - CNN

As its troops have gotten bogged down in Ukraine, the Russian government has been fueling a conspiracy theory on social media about the purpose of US-funded biolabs in Ukraine.

tech, Social media platforms tread carefully when it comes to the Russian government - CNN

Social media platforms tread carefully when it comes to the Russian government

(CNN Business)As its troops have gotten bogged down in Ukraine, the Russian government has been fueling a conspiracy theory on social media about the purpose of US-funded biolabs in Ukraine.In posts spread across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube viewed by CNN this week, Russia's foreign and defense ministries have repeated claims that Ukraine had been researching biological weapons — an assertion that's previously been rejected as false by the United States, its allies and a top United Nations disarmament official. In fact, the US-supported labs are part of a program to develop vaccines and perform peaceful research, the United States has said, while White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has described the Russian claim as "propaganda" and a potential pretext for Russia to deploy chemical or biological weapons itself in Ukraine.The issue marks yet another front in the sprawling information war over Ukraine. And it highlights the challenge for social media platforms posed by Russian government accounts that critics say are freely allowed to spew disinformation to millions of users, even as those same platforms have moved to restrict Russian state media content over similar concerns.Rather than announce blanket restrictions on Russian government accounts, as they've done with Russian state media, tech platforms have instead taken a more surgical approach by removing individual posts by government accounts that violate platform rules. Read MoreHowever, as the information war continues, and as US officials increasingly blast the Russian government for spreading false claims, tech platforms may come under more pressure to crack down on accounts linked to the Kremlin, disinformation experts say."We're in a serious crisis situation right now, and we're in an information warfare situation where maybe suspending these accounts, if not banning them for all eternity, would make a lot of sense," said Alina Polyakova, president of the Center for European Policy Analysis, a think-tank that receives support from some tech giants including Google and Microsoft. "For now [the platforms] have stuck to a more free-speech approach rather than a blocking approach, which I also understand, but again, we're in a very different situation when it comes to what's happening in Ukraine right now."Why Ukraine war misinformation is so hard to policeCalifornia Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell put it more bluntly in a tweet last week: "RT NOW if @twitter should BAN the baby-killing country of Russia from its platform."Earlier this week, Facebook removed a post by Russia's embassy in the UK for disputing reported facts about the bombing of a hospital in Mariupol. The post violated Facebook's policy against denying violent events, said Drew Pusateri, a spokesperson for Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Similar posts by Russian embassy officials were also removed from Twitter for violating that platform's policy against denying violent events, company spokesperson Katie Rosborough told CNN. The affected Russian accounts remain active on both websites, along with the Russian foreign ministry and ministry of defense. On Twitter, an account run by the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin still shares Kremlin promotional photos and links to press releases. And on YouTube, a Russian government channel broadcasts speeches by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov."We don't remove accounts even when we disagree with the content they post — but we do take action when they violate our rules," said Meta's Pusateri. "The world deserves the opportunity to hear and scrutinize the content of Russian leaders at this moment." Like Facebook, Twitter labels government-run accounts, including Russia's, for transparency. Twitter added Wednesday that its moves to restrict Russian state media has led to a 30% decrease in that content's reach, and that it has also begun labeling accounts belonging to the Ukrainian and Belarusian governments. Facebook and YouTube say they removed Zelensky deepfake"While we've had a policy around state-affiliated media and government accounts for years, the war in Ukraine raises a complicated set of challenges in how we handle the accounts," Rosborough said in a statement. "Our goal is to consistently enforce our rules while balancing the public interest."Ivy Choi, a spokesperson for YouTube, said the platform's policies apply equally to all users, including Russian government channels, and that "our teams continue to monitor the situation closely." Asked to name an account linked to Russia that has been banned from the platform, Choi said YouTube had terminated Vladimir Solovyov, a pro-Russia broadcaster, for repeatedly violating YouTube policies, including its policy against incitement. But the company did not identify any official Russian government accounts that have been banned.Russia has objected to what it's described as censorship at the hands of western tech platforms, and has moved to block Facebook, Instagram, and to a lesser extent, Twitter within its borders. Russian internet users have flocked to digital circumvention tools in response to defeat the government's information blackout. Analysis: Russia and QAnon have the same false conspiracy theory about Ukraine Differences among platforms and how they work have in some cases led to varying policies and approaches to enforcement, said Polyakova, adding that greater regulation could lead to more uniform policies across the industry. "We've seen this hodgepodge approach that hasn't always been coordinated or consistent; in general, this creates a lot of vulnerabilities and openings for spreaders of disinformation," Polyakova said.Social media sites' handling of Russian government accounts also echoes how the companies have dealt with individual politicians for years. Tech companies famously grappled with how to handle claims by Donald Trump — both before and during his presidency — with most platforms arguing it was important for users to hear what public figures have to say, if only to help keep them accountable. While some may argue it's in the public interest for Russia's claims to be documented and preserved, said Polyakova, there will always be ways to access Russia's propaganda without giving it a megaphone on social media.The posts viewed by CNN this week containing the debunked claims about Ukrainian biolabs were not accompanied by content warnings or labels, though the platforms did label the Russian accounts as government-run in accordance with existing policies.The rapidly unfolding military, political and diplomatic situation may prompt platforms to hesitate in many scenarios, said Karen Kornbluh, a disinformation expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. "It's a tough balancing act for platforms," Kornbluh said. "They do not want to call the shots in foreign policy disputes."But even though tech companies may be wary of getting caught in an uncomfortable position, Kornbluh said, social media platforms should nevertheless consider applying to Russian government accounts some of the same restrictions they've applied to Russian state-run media, "especially when that same government is criminalizing truth in Russia with the new 'fake news' law" that threatens over a decade of jail time for contradicting official narratives about the war.

Laura He, CNN Business

2022-03-17 11:14:49

business

business

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/17/business/china-russia-sanctions-friction-intl-hnk/index.html

China Russia: 4 ways China is quietly making life harder for Russia - CNN

China is quietly distancing itself from Russia's sanction-hit economy.

business, China Russia: 4 ways China is quietly making life harder for Russia - CNN

4 ways China is quietly making life harder for Russia

Hong Kong (CNN Business)China is quietly distancing itself from Russia's sanction-hit economy.The two states proclaimed last month that their friendship had "no limits." That was before Russia launched its war in Ukraine. Now, with Russia's economy being slammed with sanctions from all over the world, there is growing evidence that China's willingness and ability to aid its northern neighbor may be limited. Beijing has refused to condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine but wants to avoid being impacted by the sanctions it has repeatedly denounced as an ineffective way of resolving the crisis."China is not a party to the [Ukraine] crisis, and doesn't want the sanctions to affect China," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday during a phone call with his Spanish counterpart.Beijing also gave its full backing Wednesday to comments made earlier this week by China's ambassador to Ukraine. "China will never attack Ukraine. We will help, especially economically," Fan Xianrong was quoted as saying in a press release from the Lviv regional government. Read MoreFears that Chinese companies could face US sanctions over ties with Russia had contributed to an epic sell-off in Chinese stocks recent days. That slump was reversed Wednesday when Beijing promised it would pursue policies to boost its sputtering economy and keep financial markets stable.US officials told CNN on Monday that they have information suggesting China has expressed some openness to providing Russia with requested military and financial assistance. China dismissed that as "disinformation." Analysts say that China is attempting to strike "a delicate balance" between supporting Russia rhetorically but without further antagonizing the United States. Beijing and Moscow share a strategic interest in challenging the West. However, Chinese banks cannot afford to lose access to US dollars, and many Chinese industries cannot afford to be deprived of US technology.Analysis: China can't do much to help Russia's sanction-hit economyWhile China is Russia's No. 1 trading partner, Beijing has other priorities. Trade between the two countries made up just 2% of China's total trade volume. The European Union and the United States have much larger shares, according to Chinese customs statistics from last year.Here are some measures Beijing has taken in the last few weeks to distance itself from the isolated and crumbling Russian economy.Letting the ruble drop China's currency, the yuan, doesn't trade completely freely, moving instead within bands set by officials at the People's Bank of China (PBOC). Last week, they doubled the size of the ruble trading range, allowing the Russian currency to fall faster.The ruble has already lost more than 20% of its value against both the dollar and euro since the start of the war in Ukraine. By allowing the Russian currency to fall against the yuan, Beijing isn't doing Moscow any favors.Russians will have to pay more in rubles for Chinese imports such as smartphones and cars. Chinese phone brands like Xiaomi and Huawei are hugely popular in Russia, and were vying with Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (SSNLF) for market leadership before the war. Chinese car makers, such as Great Wall Motor and Geely Auto, occupy 7% of Russia's market, selling more than 115,000 vehicles last year. Great Wall Motor has stopped supplying new cars to dealers in Russia because of the exchange rate fluctuations.Expanding the trading band would allow the yuan to keep up with the ruble's wild swings, so that Chinese companies can "better grasp the magnitude or trend of future exchange rate fluctuations and reduce exchange risks by using hedging methods, such as derivatives," state-owned China Business Network reported last week. Currently, about $25 billion of China-Russia trade is conducted in yuan, Chinese state media reported.Sitting on reservesThe most significant help China could offer Russia is through the $90 billion worth of reserves Moscow holds in yuan, wrote Alicia García-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, in a research report on Tuesday. Sanctions have frozen about $315 billion worth of Russia's reserves — or roughly half the total — as Western countries have banned dealing with the Russian central bank. Russia's finance minister Anton Siluanov said this week that the country wanted to use yuan reserves after Moscow was blocked from accessing US dollars and euros, according to Russia's state media.The PBOC has so far not made any comment about its position regarding these reserves. If China allowed Moscow to convert its yuan reserves into US dollars or euros, "that would clearly help Russia's current impasse," García-Herrero noted. However, "the reputational risk of potentially breaching Western sanctions would be a huge step for the PBOC to take and therefore makes it highly unlikely," she said."The long-term gains of moving closer to Russia might not match the impact of Western investors suddenly losing interest in China," she added.Withholding aircraft partsSanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union mean that the world's two major aircraft makers, Boeing (BA) and Airbus (EADSF), are no longer able to supply spare parts or provide maintenance support for Russian airlines. The same is true of jet engine makers.That means Russian airlines could run out of parts within a matter of weeks, or fly planes without having equipment replaced as frequently as recommended to operate safely.Why China won't put its economy on the line to rescue PutinEarlier this month, a top Russian official said that China has refused to send aircraft parts to Russia as Moscow looks for alternative supplies. Valery Kudinov, head of aircraft airworthiness at Russia's air transport agency, was quoted by Russian state news agency Tass as saying that Russia would look for opportunities to source parts from countries including Turkey and India after a failed attempt to obtain them from China."As far as I know ... China refused," Kudinov was quoted as saying.In response to CNN's request for comment, China's foreign ministry reiterated Beijing's opposition to sanctions adding that China and Russia will maintain "normal economic and trade cooperation."China and Russia set up a civil aviation joint venture in 2017 to build a new long-haul, widebody passenger plane, seeking to rival the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus. Production of the CR929 has begun, but disagreements over suppliers have caused delays. The plane was initially expected to be offered to customers in 2024. But Russia postponed the timeline to 2028 to 2029.Freezing infrastructure investmentThe World Bank has halted all its programs in Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine. It hadn't approved any new loans or investments to Russia since 2014, and none to Belarus since 2020. More surprisingly, perhaps, is the decision by the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to do the same. In a statement earlier this month, it said it was suspending all its activities related to Russia and Belarus "as the war in Ukraine unfolds." The move was "in the best interests" of the bank, it added.Frustrated by a relative lack of influence at the World Bank (based in Washington, D.C.) and the Asian Development Bank (where Japan is a major force), China launched the AIIB in 2016. In addition to hosting the headquarters, China provides the president of the bank and has 26.5% of the votes. India and Russia have 7.6% and 6% respectively. The AIIB's decision to suspend activities in Russia means $1.1 billion of approved or proposed lending aimed at improving the country's road and rail networks is now on hold. — CNN's Beijing bureau and Hannah Ritchie in Sydney contributed to this article.

Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business

2022-03-19 09:29:57

business

business

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/19/business/budweiser-slogan-origin/index.html

Budweiser's slogan wasn't always the 'King of Beers' - CNN

Budweiser's slogan, the "King of Beers," is as recognizable as its Clydesdales. But it wasn't always those exact words.

business, Budweiser's slogan wasn't always the 'King of Beers' - CNN

Budweiser's slogan wasn't always the 'King of Beers'

New York (CNN Business)Budweiser's slogan, the "King of Beers," is as recognizable as its Clydesdales. But it wasn't always those exact words.Let's start from the beginning: German immigrant Adolphus Busch arrived in the United States in 1857. A few years later, he married Lilly Anheuser and began working at his father-in-law's brewery. The brewery, renamed Anheuser-Busch in 1879, pioneered the pasteurization technology that allowed Budweiser to be shipped across the United States without spoiling, according to its website. Budweiser, which traces its name back to the Czech Republic town of Budweis, became the first nationally distributed beer. During this period, draught kegs and glass bottles were the only packaging formats available to brewers. Budweiser was primarily sold bottled, so the original slogan was actually the "King of Bottled Beer."A "King of Bottled Beer" cardboard sign from the 1930s."By specifically mentioning bottles in the 'King of Bottled Beer' slogan, Budweiser communicated the overall strength of the brand as well a defining feature separating Budweiser from some of its competitors," a spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) told CNN Business. The slogan was tweaked to "King of All Bottled Beers" as competition grew. Then prohibition happened, banning the production, importation, sale and transportation of alcohol in the US from 1920 to 1933. Read MoreThe company survived by making alternative products, such as soft drinks and "near-beer," which had a very low (and legal) alcohol content. After the ban was lifted, the slogan "King of Bottled Beer" returned and Anheuser-Busch once again began brewing its signature brand. A bottle of Budweiser beer.The slogan was changed to the "King of Beers" in the mid-twentieth century as aluminum cans became a more popular form of packaging. It's still in use today and is featured predominately on Budweiser labels. The slogan hasn't been technically true for a while, however. Budweiser was the country's top-selling beer until 2001, when it relinquished that crown to its sister brand, Bud Light. Shifting consumer tastes to lower-calorie options, such as spiked seltzer, as well as the increasing popularity of premium liquors, has also dented Bud's popularity.

Diksha Madhok, CNN Business

2022-03-03 05:17:39

business

investing

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/03/investing/india-cryptocurrency-investing-future-hnk-intl/index.html

India's young investors prefer crypto to gold and 'boring' stocks - CNN

India has seen a massive boom in cryptocurrency trading since the start of the pandemic, even though authorities in Asia's third largest economy have for years expressed concerns about digital currencies, and even flirted with a ban.

investing, India's young investors prefer crypto to gold and 'boring' stocks - CNN

Crypto 'superpower?' India's young investors prefer bitcoin to gold and 'boring' stocks

New Delhi (CNN Business)Indian businesswoman Swati Daga first bought bitcoin in 2017, when the cryptocurrency was trading well under $3,000. Her decision to invest in digital currencies was met with wariness by her family, she recalls. "The elders in my family told me not to throw my money away," said Daga, who runs a food business near New Delhi.But the 33-year-old hasn't regretted her decision — bitcoin's value has increased 15 times since then — and she continues to invest as much as 10% of her savings in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum. "I find stock markets boring," she told CNN Business, adding that she enjoys the "thrill" and "recklessness" that comes with investing in volatile currencies. She is not the only one. Read MoreIndia has seen a huge boom in cryptocurrency trading since the start of the pandemic, even though authorities in Asia's third largest economy have for years expressed concerns about digital currencies, and even flirted with banning them. Entrepreneurs in the industry told CNN Business that the country has the potential to become a crypto superpower, since it is one of the hottest internet markets in the world, with 750 million users, and hundreds of millions more yet to come online for the first time. India ranked second behind only Vietnam last year in a list of countries seeing the fastest growth in cryptocurrency adoption, according to a report published in October by blockchain data platform Chainalysis.While the government does not keep estimates of how many people trade cryptocurrencies, industry experts have suggested that the country may now have more than 20 million crypto investors. The growth is driven by younger investors — mostly under the age of 35 — and many of them are coming from smaller cities and towns, founders of two of India's biggest crypto exchanges told CNN Business. According to Sumit Gupta, CEO and co-founder of exchange CoinDCX, many Indian millennials have started "their investing journey with crypto."While 20 years ago, their parents chose to invest in gold, these youngsters "are more interested in having bitcoin as part of their portfolio," Gupta told CNN Business, referring to the fact that traditionally Indians chose to park their money in gold or savings accounts. Buying gold is both an investment and a cultural habit in India, which is one of the largest markets for the precious metal, according to the World Gold Council. It also considered auspicious by Hindus and Jains, and plays a fundamental role in many religious ceremonies.Mumbai-based CoinDCX became India's first crypto unicorn last year, achieving a valuation of $1.1 billion after raising money from investors such as Coinbase Ventures and B Capital Group. The company says 70% of its 10 million users are between the age of 18 and 34. The CoinDCX app is seen on a phone screen in West Bengal, India, in August 2021.Data shared by rival firm WazirX tell a similar story. WazirX also has over 10 million users, and called 2021 a "phenomenal year" for crypto trading in India. The company was acquired by Binance, one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, in 2019.Over 65% of its users are under the age of 35, according to a recent company report, and it has seen a "700% increase in the number of participants from smaller cities like Guwahati, Karnal, Bareilly, thereby signaling the growing interest from rural and semi-urban areas." Pritish Kumawat, a crypto trader from a small town in the western state of Rajasthan, said that he now finds conversations about cryptocurrencies in almost every tea shop in his area. Often, the most engaged participants are college students, he said, adding that bitcoin's massive spike last year has fueled the frenzy in India. In November, bitcoin was trading at a record high of $68,990, but it has since fallen to around $43,000. In addition to bitcoin, meme currencies such as dogecoin and shiba inu are also popular among Indians, the WazirX report added. Apart from investors from smaller towns, both companies saw an increase of more than 1000% in the number of women users on their platforms, albeit on a small base.Gupta said that participation of crypto by Indian women has seen "a massive upside" in the past 18 months and is "fairly high, fairly healthy, relative to equity markets." The company's data shows that 15% of their overall users are women — which is the global trend as well.On-again, off-again relationshipThe excitement over crypto is rising in India despite the country's on-again, off-again relationship with digital currencies. The central bank has long expressed concerns that cryptocurrencies can be used for money laundering and to finance terrorism. A cryptically worded proposal posted on the Indian parliament website last year even suggested the government was exploring plans to "prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India."This year, however, started on a more cheerful note for enthusiasts. Earlier this month, the Indian government announced it would impose a 30% tax on income from virtual digital assets, which many industry experts took as a sign that crypto trading won't be banned after all. The government also said it would launch a digital rupee in the coming months. "Taxation of virtual digital assets or crypto is a step in the right direction. It gives much-needed clarity and confidence to the industry," Gupta said at the time of the announcement.Siddharth Menon, the co-founder of WazirX, told CNN Business that following the announcement, his platform saw daily sign-ups jump by over 50%. He also noticed rising interest among Indian developers and other professionals in joining the crypto industry. WazirX's website is shown in New York, USA, in April 2021."I'm getting LinkedIn messages" from senior executives in India, who are now more optimistic about the business, he said. In the past, Indian exchanges have struggled to hire and retain experienced people due to the lack of clear regulations. But the Indian government soon put a damper on the mood, by clarifying that the cryptocurrencies are not yet legal in the country."I am not doing anything to legalize it or ban it or not legalize it," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in parliament a few days after announcing the tax rate. "Banning or not banning will come subsequently ... But I will tax because it is a sovereign right." "I think the government is not entirely sure what it wants to do from a policy perspective," said Anirudh Rastogi, founder of tech law firm Ikigaw Law, which works with crypto exchanges in India."It knows where it wants to land broadly. It wants to find the right balance where it is not disconnected from the global progress in blockchain and other tech, but it wants to also address concerns regarding cryptocurrency."Rastogi added that the "extraordinarily high" tax on crypto is a short-term fix, which will also acts as a deterrent to many investors. "This rate is typically used to tax activities that are not considered economically productive, such as lottery," he said. "So this could be an indication that the government wants to make revenue, but it does not see crypto trading as economically productive."For equities, India applies a 15% short-term capital gains tax if shares are sold in less than a year, and 10% if sold after a year.Gupta hopes that the government makes up its mind soon. India, with its vast pool of developers and enthusiastic young population, could be a "superpower in the next five to 10 years," in cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, he said. "What is missing right now is a clear regulatory framework," he added.

Diksha Madhok, CNN Business

2022-02-01 10:44:06

business

investing

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/01/investing/india-budget-digital-rupee/index.html

India budget 2022: Digital rupee and crypto tax announced - CNN

India is planning to launch a digital version of the rupee, becoming the latest country to join the rush to create state-backed virtual currencies.

investing, India budget 2022: Digital rupee and crypto tax announced - CNN

India wants to launch a digital rupee and tax crypto profits

New Delhi (CNN Business)India is planning to launch a digital version of the rupee, becoming the latest country to join the rush to create state-backed virtual currencies. The country's central bank expects to introduce the currency "using blockchain and other technologies" some time in the new fiscal year, which begins in April, according to Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.Presenting India's annual budget to parliament on Tuesday, Sitharaman said the digital rupee would "give a big boost to the digital economy." She did not give any further details about what the launch would entail, how widely a digital rupee might be used initially, or what impact it might have. India sows confusion with plan to ban 'private cryptocurrencies'Digital payments have grown dramatically in popularity in India since late 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi banned the country's two biggest rupee bank notes. Apart from homegrown players such as Paytm, some of the world's biggest tech companies, including Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB), have joined India's cashless payments boom.The announcement comes as other major economies move forward with their own plans to launch virtual versions of their own currencies. China has been trialing its digital yuan in major cities for the last two years. It's one of only three payment methods available to athletes, officials and journalists attending the Beijing Winter Olympics this month. Read MoreEurope and the United States have also been exploring the possibilities for a digital euro and digital dollar, though both have stressed the importance of mitigating financial risk presented by any e-currency.India has for years expressed concern about cryptocurrencies and how best to regulate digital assets, at times even flirting with a ban on cryptos. A cryptically worded proposal posted on the Indian parliament website last year suggested the government was exploring plans to "prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India." The central bank has often expressed concerns that cryptocurrencies can be used for money laundering and to finance terrorism.No ban on cryptocurrenciesIn her speech Tuesday, Sitharaman suggested that authorities are willing to continue allowing crypto trading in the country, albeit with some regulations. She said that the Indian government would impose a 30% tax on income from virtual digital assets."There has been a phenomenal increase in transactions in virtual digital assets," Sitharaman said. "The magnitude and frequency of these transactions have made it imperative to provide for a specific tax regime."The budget speech was greeted with a sigh of relief from India's crypto investors, and industry experts pointed to Sitharaman's remarks as a sign that Asia's third largest economy would not ban virtual currencies."Hope to see a reduction of crypto ban fear in India." tweeted Nischal Shetty, the founder of cryptocurrency platform WazirX, on Tuesday. "Lot to unpack here but overall this is a very positive step forward for crypto ecosystem in India."Virtual currencies have become attractive to Indians since the start of the pandemic. While the government does not keep estimates of how many people trade cryptocurrencies, media reports have suggested that the country may hold as many as 20 million crypto investors, citing industry experts."Taxation of virtual digital assets or crypto is a step in the right direction. It gives much-needed clarity and confidence to the industry," said Sumit Gupta, co-founder of CoinDCX, an exchange that is also India's first crypto unicorn.

Diksha Madhok, CNN Business

2021-11-02 11:02:09

business

business

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/02/business/adar-poonawalla-risk-takers/index.html

Adar Poonawalla: He vaccinates half the world's babies. Ending the pandemic proved much harder - CNN

As Covid-19 wreaked havoc around the world last year, the 39-year-old son of an Indian billionaire was laying the groundwork for a plan he hoped would eventually end the pandemic.

business, Adar Poonawalla: He vaccinates half the world's babies. Ending the pandemic proved much harder - CNN

India's billionaire vaccine prince held the key to ending the pandemic. His plans went awry

As Covid-19 wreaked havoc around the world last year, the 39-year-old son of an Indian billionaire was laying the groundwork for a plan he hoped would eventually end the pandemic.Adar Poonawalla — the CEO of Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine maker — pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into his Indian manufacturing facility and committed to make millions of doses of a then-unproven coronavirus vaccine. That vaccine, created by Oxford University and AstraZeneca (AZN), was still in clinical trials at the time. Nobody was sure how long a vaccine would take to develop, let alone whether it would even work. "It was a calculated risk," Poonawalla told CNN Business. "But I didn't see the choice at that time, to be honest. I just felt I'd regret not committing one way or another."Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, chose to commit to making a vaccine while it was still in clinical trials.To make his plan work, Poonawalla first had to raise nearly $1 billion. And the lives of hundreds of millions of the planet's most vulnerable people were at stake, since SII had pledged to provide poorer countries with jabs. If the gamble paid off, Poonawalla would save countless lives and be hailed as a hero during a period of historic turmoil. His fabulously rich family also would stand to grow even more wealthy by profiting from a significant deal. Read MoreAs the world gave its money — and trust — to Poonawalla, things seemed to be going according to plan. The AstraZeneca vaccine received approval from UK regulators in December 2020, and Poonawalla became a household name in India. "It was a calculated risk. But I didn't see the choice at that time, to be honest. I just felt I'd regret not committing one way or another."SII CEO Adar Poonawalla, on committing his company to make millions of doses of a then-unproven Covid vaccineBut soon it became evident how badly Poonawalla had miscalculated the challenges that come with distributing millions of vaccines in the middle of a once-in-a-century pandemic. His company's ability to inoculate even his own countrymen was thrown into doubt earlier this year as a devastating wave of coronavirus hit India. He's also failed to keep up with his commitment to deliver shots to other nations — the consequences of which have dented his reputation and shed light on the perils of such heavy reliance on one manufacturer. From horse breeders to vaccine makersIt's easy to see why some of the biggest names in public health chose to rely on Poonawalla. Few manufacturers can come close to the scale at which SII is able to produce vaccines. The company — which was founded by Poonawalla's father, Cyrus, 55 years ago — produces 1.5 billion vaccines each year for measles, rubella, tetanus and many other diseases. The jabs are mainly distributed to low-income countries worldwide, including India. Poonawalla estimates that just over 50% of the world's babies depend on vaccines made at SII. The Poonawalla family charted an unusual path to becoming one of the world's preeminent vaccine makers. They have bred and raced thoroughbred horses since the 1940s, diversifying into pharmaceuticals, finance and real estate over the last half-century.Cyrus Poonawalla is now India's seventh-richest man, worth more than $16 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. His son Adar took over as CEO in 2011 and has focused on expanding in international markets. To prepare for the AstraZeneca vaccine production, Poonawalla said he spent $800 million on buying chemicals, glass vials and other raw materials, as well as ramping up manufacturing capacity at his plant in the Western Indian city of Pune. More than $250 million came from the company's own funds. Another $300 million came from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which SII collaborated with to provide discounted or free doses to low-income countries. The rest was paid by other countries once SII started accepting orders for vaccines. In total, SII agreed to make up to 200 million vaccine doses for as many as 92 countries, as part of its deal with the Gates Foundation and Gavi, a vaccine alliance.All of that happened, though, before regulators signed off on the AstraZeneca vaccine. Had trials for that vaccine been unsuccessful, SII would "just be making batches and then end up throwing them away," Poonawalla said.Poonawalla said he spent $800 million on materials including chemicals and glass vials to prepare for vaccine production.A business studies graduate of London's University of Westminster, Poonawalla said SII was able to make that decision more swiftly than many other companies, since it is a family-run business. "The flexibility of being able to decide on the spot very quickly was really the main game-changer that enabled us to be able to do this," said Poonawalla, whose office in India is a refurbished Airbus A320. After UK regulators approved the vaccine, Poonawalla began supplying doses to Indians and other other countries. By May, Gavi had received some 30 million jabs from SII. India's Covid-19 tsunamiBut Poonawalla's plans soon went awry when a second wave of Covid-19 hit India in the spring. At its peak the country was reporting over 400,000 cases per day, though experts say the actual number was likely much higher. At that point, only 2% percent of India's 1.3 billion population was fully vaccinated, and the country's national government had been slow in placing orders for more vaccines. Without a massive stockpile, states in India began to run out of the limited number of jabs they had.India then decided to stop the export of all vaccines, preventing SII from keeping up with its commitments elsewhere.A brutal second wave of Covid-19 hit India in spring 2021."I've always been a patriot for my country ... and if my country needs my facility first, I have to do what they say," Poonawalla said. "There was no two ways about that."The inability to export vaccines hurt some of the poorest nations in the world. The director of Africa's disease control body, for example, warned India's hold on exports could be "catastrophic" for the continent. People in several countries, from neighboring Nepal to Kenya, were left stranded after receiving the first dose of Covishield, the name of the India-manufactured vaccine.When asked why the global vaccine alliance chose to rely so heavily on one manufacturer, a Gavi spokesperson told CNN Business it had few options. At the start of 2021, "very few vaccines were approved and available for deployment," the spokesperson said, adding that it was "natural" that SII would be contracted for early doses given its size. But public health expert Jeffrey Lazarus said there were flaws in the plan. "Relying on one manufacturer was a mistake, which is easier to see in hindsight," said Lazarus, who heads the health systems research group at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health.Being held to accountWhile Poonawalla cannot be held responsible for some of the issues that led to the vaccine rollout stalling — chief among them, India's massive outbreak — his detractors have questioned parts of his approach. They point out Poonawalla hasn't delivered the number of jabs he initially promised, and they claim he hasn't been transparent about how he's been using all of the money he raised for the big vaccine push."There isn't much accountability for where the money he raised went," Malini Aisola, co-convenor of health sector watchdog All India Drug Action Network, told CNN Business. In June last year, SII pledged it would make one billion doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for low and middle income countries, with 400 million doses ready by the end of 2020. But by January 2021, the company had a stockpile of just 70 million doses. His critics weren't impressed, given the amount of capital he raised last year. SII declined to comment on the amount it has made from its vaccine production so far. Poonawalla called it "very unreasonable and naive" for people to expect companies not to profit from these efforts.The global media coverage also turned unfavorable, with headlines linking the global shortfall in vaccines to SII's problems, including the India export ban and a fire at the company's Pune facility. At the time Poonawalla said the fire had no effect on Covishield production. But he has since reversed course, saying that the incident has played a major role in hampering manufacturing.He also insists he was realistic about his goals. "We always underpromise," Poonawalla told CNN Business, when asked whether the company pledged more than it could deliver. Still, he's been dogged by other controversies that have dented his reputation. As India's Covid-19 cases were skyrocketing in April, Poonawalla lowered the price of his vaccine and referred to the move as a "philanthropic gesture" — leading to heavy criticism, with activists pointing out that even a small profit is still a profit for SII."AstraZeneca has pledged that it won't make profits from low income and middle income countries during the pandemic, but that does not seem to apply to SII," Aisola said. According to AstraZeneca, the companies the drugmaker has sublicensing agreements with, including SII, dictate their own prices. SII declined to comment on how much it has profited from the vaccine efforts so far, but Poonawalla said it is a "very unreasonable and naive way of looking at the world" for people to expect companies not to profit from the vaccine. While Poonawalla has yet to match his lofty goals, there is a chance that he and SII can get back on track, which is critical to ending vaccine inequality worldwide. India has decided to begin exporting vaccines once again as its own rate of inoculation increases. The nation had administered one billion doses by October — about 90% of which came from SII, according to the company.SII also says that it has increased its production to 220 million doses a month as of October. SII is also expanding its partnerships, having signed a deal with American biotech firm Novavax to manufacture its Covid-19 vaccine, which is awaiting regulatory approvals. It's also partnering with the Russian Direct Investment Fund on production of the Sputnik vaccine.

Diksha Madhok, CNN Business

2021-09-09 09:43:22

business

tech

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/09/tech/india-software-saas-intl-hnk/index.html

India's got SaaS, the next big thing in tech, and it could be worth $1 trillion - CNN

More than two decades ago, India began its transformation into a global IT powerhouse, ushering in an era of wealth and job creation never before seen in the country.

tech, India's got SaaS, the next big thing in tech, and it could be worth $1 trillion - CNN

India's got the next big thing in tech, and it could be worth $1 trillion

New Delhi (CNN Business)More than two decades ago, India began its transformation into a global IT powerhouse, ushering in an era of wealth and job creation never before seen in the country. Now, Asia's third largest economy is ready for the next big frontier in tech: Coming up with a new generation of software companies like Zoom or Slack.The Covid-19 pandemic has forced business around the world to make huge investments in digital infrastructure, furthering the influence of companies providing software-as-a-service, or SaaS. Businesses spent an extra $15 billion per week last year on tech as they scrambled to create safe remote working environments, according to a KPMG survey. TCS employs more than 500,000 people. It's ready to ditch office life for many in IndiaSaaS companies provide web-based applications that take care of everything from how secure the software is to how well it performs. Some of the world's most well-known SaaS companies include Zoom (ZM), SAP Concur and Salesforce (CRM), the American behemoth that owns workplace messaging app Slack.India's software-as-a-service industry could be worth $1 trillion in value by 2030 and create nearly half a million new jobs, according to a recent report compiled by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and SaaSBoomi, a community of industry leaders.Read MoreThere are nearly a thousand such companies in India, of which 10 are unicorns, or startups worth at least $1 billion, the report said. "This can be as big an opportunity as the IT services industry was in the 90s," said Girish Mathrubootham, CEO of Freshworks, India's best-known SaaS company. It filed for an IPO last month, joining a string of other major Indian tech unicorns that are going public this year. Freshworks was founded more than a decade ago in the southern Indian city of Chennai. Like Salesforce, it provides software to help companies manage relations with their customers. It's also India's oldest unicorn in the sector, having raised funds from investors such as Tiger Global and Accel, and has more than 50,000 customers. The company was last valued at $3.5 billion in a 2019 funding round, according to data firm Tracxn. Other Indian SaaS firms have found traction by focusing on niche businesses. Zenoti, for example, is a unicorn that builds software for the spa and beauty salon industry. Of India's 10 SaaS unicorns, six reached that milestone in 2020, and investors around the world are paying attention. Last year, investors pumped $1.5 billion into Indian SaaS companies, four times more than in 2018 or 2019, according to the SaaSBoomi report. Bullish investorsInvestors are excited about SaaS because of the "massive adoption" of software over the last decade, according to Mohit Bhatnagar, managing director of Sequoia Capital India.Girish Mathrubootham, CEO and founder of Freshworks, a "SaaS" or "Software-as-a-service" company founded in Chennai, India.While India is a small player in the global SaaS market, investors say the country could eventually dominate the sector because of two things: its vast pool of English-speaking developers, and the relatively low cost of hiring them.Thanks to the rise of India's IT industry, software engineering has become one of the most sought-after career options in the country. "India actually has one of the largest developer communities in the world," Bhatnagar told CNN Business. Many of them have worked at some of the biggest global tech companies.Abhinav Asthana, the co-founder of Postman, pointed to his experience working as an intern at Yahoo in Bengaluru as instrumental in the decision to build his product. He came up with the idea to build a tool that would simplify the API (Application Programming Interface) testing process. An API is a programming code that defines how two applications communicate with each other, and Postman says it has made it easier for engineers to work together as they design and build their APIs. "We saw how software was created at these global companies, and we saw API was a key problem," Asthana told CNN Business.Now, Postman is India's most valuable SaaS unicorn, with a valuation of $5.6 billion.International clients, Indian engineersThe low cost of operating in India is a big plus. According to a report by consulting firm Bain & Company, the salary of entry-level developers in India is 85% less than their counterparts in the United States.Abhinav Asthana, CEO and co-founder of Postman in India."If you are building a SaaS company in the US, it is better to have a million-dollar client rather than a $10,000-client because you need to pay for sales and marketing in that country," said Prasanna Krishnamoorthy, managing partner at SaaS accelerator Upekkha. "When you are serving customers from India, you can have these small and mid-sized companies, as well as large ones."Most SaaS companies focus on global clients, similar to the strategy that was followed by India's IT giants such as TCS and Infosys (INFY). Investors see this as a welcome change, since most of India's oldest unicorns — from Flipkart to Paytm — have focused primarily on the domestic market.Almost 98% of Fortune 500 companies use Postman's products, according to Asthana, while Freshworks' first client was based in Australia. SaaS firms are much better placed to go global than e-commerce companies like India's Flipkart, for example. They write software once, and then are able to use it multiple times.India is churning out billion-dollar startups. Now they need to start making money"For a Flipkart you need billions of dollars [to grow internationally], but for a Freshwork you need much less capital to go global," said Mathrubootham, who is also an investor in Postman. This is because e-commerce firms require a ton of money to set up physical operations elsewhere — they have to hire delivery drivers, rent warehouses and buy inventory.Bhatnagar of Sequoia Capital said that Indian software entrepreneurs "mastered" the art of "remote sales" fairly early. "Honestly, in this last two years, the whole world has had to understand how to do better remote sales," he added.Despite the euphoria, there are some hurdles Indian companies have to overcome before they can deliver on the $1 trillion promise. Indian engineers trained in the IT services industry may find it hard to develop the discipline required to build a product-focused company.In IT services, "you are selling bodies and you say yes to everything the customer says," said Krishnamoorthy. SaaS companies, on the other hand, have to say no to 99% of [potential] customers, he added. And India's startup ecosytem is still relatively immature when compared to Silicon Valley. Despite the massive size of some homegrown unicorns, Mathrubootham said that the country does not have a "global tech powerhouse product brand." But he hoped that future SaaS companies can change that. "It is my personal dream to see India as a product nation," he added.

Diksha Madhok, CNN Business

2021-12-23 04:21:24

business

investing

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/22/investing/india-tech-ipos-2021-2022/index.html

India IPOs: 2021 was a dramatic year for tech. The hype won't go away in 2022 - CNN

It was a year of IPOs for India, with over $15 billion raised. It saw unicorns approach public markets for the first time, with IPOs from Zomato & Nykaa. It also saw one of the biggest debut day flops in history, with Paytm receiving a big thumbs down on listing day.

investing, India IPOs: 2021 was a dramatic year for tech. The hype won't go away in 2022 - CNN

2021 was a dramatic year for Indian IPOs. The hype won't go away next year

New Delhi (CNN Business)India's stock market celebrated an extraordinary year as some of the country's buzziest tech firms made their public debuts. And while one high-profile blunder cast a chill over the festivities, that's probably not enough to stop the excitement in 2022. By December, more than $15 billion had been raised in Mumbai through initial public offerings, a record amount, according to Dealogic. About $6 billion, or nearly 40%, went to tech companies — another record.This year was historic for another big reason: It's the first time any of India's tech unicorns, or startups valued at more than $1 billion, have gone public. Those milestones indicate how much of a shift happened this year for tech darlings tapping investment in Asia's third largest economy. India's unicorns have in the past focused on exclusively raising funds from private markets, fearing that the country's conservative investors would not understand their business models.Most of these high-profile startups are losing money, which was making retail investors leery, Piyush Nagda, head of investment products at Mumbai-based brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher, told CNN Business. Read MoreBut that all changed after food delivery giant Zomato made its red hot debut this summer. Nagda said the IPO sent a clear signal that "perception is changing" among investors.The party that started with Zomato's $1.3 billion IPO — the company popped 65% on listing day to reach a market value of $13 billion — swept up a handful of other tech firms as well. E-commerce company Nykaa and online insurance marketplace Policybazaar each surged on their debuts.The euphoria came to a screeching halt with Paytm's disastrous IPO last month. The mammoth listing from the digital payments firm crashed 27% on its first day of trading, and hasn't come close to reaching its offer price again.Despite that fiasco, which analysts blamed on the lack of a clear pathway to profitability and an overly high valuation, other Indian tech firms likely won't be stopped from going public in the coming years. They'll just have to be careful about how they price themselves and whether they're buying too much into the hype.Why the party could keep going There are a few reasons to remain hopeful about the Indian tech sector.Many of the country's digital startups saw a big jump in growth during the pandemic, both in terms of customers and funding. Coronavirus-related lockdowns have encouraged people outside of major cities to spend money online, speeding up digitization of businesses and opening up more opportunities for technology entrepreneurs.Tech firms in India have raised nearly $25 billion this year, the highest annual amount ever, according to data platform Tracxn. Some 34 companies have reached unicorn status.India has also attracted more attention from top global investors this year due to the crackdown on tech firms in China, where authorities have imposed sweeping curbs on private enterprise that have eaten into share prices and triggered concerns about future growth.As a result of those regulatory actions, "growth investors have shifted funds to India" said Tom Masi and Nuno Fernandes, co-portfolio managers of the emerging wealth strategy at GW&K Investment Management. They told CNN Business that the performances of the two countries have diverged this year, "with India up about 20% and China down 20%."China may have to juice its economy soon as 'stagflation' risk risesNagda also said that interest in Indian tech from global investors has made the sector more attractive to India's tech-savvy millennials. He estimates that India added about 20 million retail investors since April 2020, and between 30% to 40% of them are under the age of 40. They've been piling into the stock market since the pandemic started, and are eager to invest in the country's internet giants, he added. And, they should be getting plenty of opportunities next year, with some of India's biggest startups gearing up for IPOs, including Walmart-owned Flipkart and hotel chain OYO. Young investors don't look at companies in a "traditional" manner "where profitability and those kind of ratios were heavily looked at," Nagda said, adding that there is a "revolutionary change" underway in stock trading in India. A wake-up callEven those investors may have their limit, though.Paytm raised $2.5 billion during its IPO, with almost half of that coming from foreign investors.The company was valued at $20 billion when it launched its public offering — even though it lost hundreds of millions of dollars last year and seemed far from ready to turn a profit."Paytm was overpriced," said Masi and Fernandes. "It required investors to make growth assumptions well into the future for a business model that has not been firmly established."Some analysts describe Paytm's flop as a much-needed wake-up call for companies that need to rethink their valuations."Some rationality will prevail," Nagda said. To see Zomato-like "success stories," you need to "price the stock rightly," he added.After Paytm's historically terrible debut, some companies in fintech sector are rethinking their IPOs. Paytm's smaller rival Mobikwik said it would defer its IPO, originally planned for November, by a few months. Paytm is still struggling to convince investors after disastrous IPO"The company is witnessing strong business growth, has a clear path to profitability and will list at the right time," it told CNN Business.Some tech entrepreneurs have urged caution while chasing big money in public markets. Nithin Kamath, founder of India's largest retail brokerage Zerodha, tweeted recently that his firm won't be filing for an IPO, even though he "can potentially get ridiculous valuations.""We are in a world where companies are getting priced to perfection based on all the future growth potential. For a stock to do well, you have to outperform," he wrote. "As CEO, I dread to think how you can outperform the already really high expectations that growth companies have today."Along with managing overwhelming expectations, startups that go public will also have to adjust to the amount of company information they'd be expected to regularly reveal to their new shareholders. Privately held tech giants are less beholden to such transparency. And many investors think those requirements would be a welcome change.There will be "visibility into this for the very, very first time," said Karthik Reddy, co-founder of venture capital firm Blume Ventures. "Even I don't know what was going on in all these companies, even though I'm an industry person."

Nell Lewis, CNN Business

2022-03-14 09:52:11

business

energy

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/14/energy/energy-vault-renewable-storage-spc-intl/index.html

Gravity could solve renewable energy's biggest problem - CNN

Energy Vault's gravity-based technology can store wind and solar power longer than batteries.

energy, Gravity could solve renewable energy's biggest problem - CNN

Gravity could solve renewable energy's biggest problem

London (CNN Business)In the Swiss municipality of Arbedo-Castione, a 70-meter crane stands tall. Six arms protrude from the top, hoisting giant blocks into the sky. But these aren't building blocks, and the crane isn't being used for construction. The steel tower is a giant mechanical energy storage system, designed by American-Swiss startup Energy Vault, that relies on gravity and 35-ton bricks to store and release energy. When power demand is low, the crane uses surplus electricity from the Swiss grid to raise the bricks and stack them at the top. When power demand rises, the bricks are lowered, releasing kinetic energy back to the grid. It might sound like a school science project, but this form of energy storage could be vital as the world transitions to clean energy.35-ton blocks, made of recycled or locally sourced materials, are raised to the top of the crane where they store energy."There's a big push to get renewables deployed," Robert Piconi, founder of Energy Vault, tells CNN Business, adding that companies are under increasing pressure from governments, investors and employees to decarbonize.Read MoreBut relying on renewables for consistent power is impossible without energy storage, he says. Unlike a fossil fuel power station, which can operate night and day, wind and solar power are intermittent, meaning that if a cloud blocks the sun or there's a lull in the wind, electricity generation drops.To compete with fossil fuels, you need to "make renewables predictable," says Piconi, which means storing excess energy and being able to dispatch it when required. Battery alternativesOne solution to this problem is lithium-ion batteries, which are already linked up to power grids worldwide. They can be charged using electricity generated from wind and solar and release that energy on demand. The technology has advanced rapidly in recent decades, says Dan Shreve, global head of energy storage at Wood Mackenzie, an energy research and consultancy firm. For the most part, they have been used for short-term energy storage (up to six hours), he says, and as decarbonization ramps up, demand for more durable storage will rise.Another drawback is that lithium is a limited resource, found only in certain parts of the world, and mining it can harm the environment. While the cost of batteries has plummeted over the last decade, prices started to soar in 2021 as lithium demand outstripped supply. For these reasons, Piconi says that while batteries are great for electric cars or computer electronics, they're not "ideal for large utility-scale trade." Instead, Energy Vault decided to base its technology on a method developed over 100 years ago, which is widely used to store renewable energy: pumped storage hydropower. During off-peak periods, a turbine pumps water from a reservoir on low ground to one on higher ground, and during periods of peak demand, the water is allowed to flow down through the turbine, generating electrical energy. Piconi says Energy Vault relies on gravity in the same way, but "instead of using water, we're using these composite blocks." By doing it this way, he says the company is not dependent on topography and doesn't have to dig out reservoirs or create dams, which can have negative effects on the environment. "Simple and elegant"Since Energy Vault established its successful prototype in Switzerland in 2020, the company has pivoted from the tower model design, which could reach up to 200 meters in height, to 20-story modular buildings it calls "Energy Vault Resiliency Centers." Piconi says the company received feedback from potential clients that the tower was "too tall" and might not comply with international building codes.Energy Vault pivoted its design from giant cranes to vast energy storage buildings, as shown in this rendering.The resiliency centers will use the same bricks, made from soil and waste products, and the buildings will be around 100 meters tall. Bricks will move up and down inside the building on trolleys, controlled by an artificial intelligence system that identifies optimal times for charging or discharging energy, depending on supply and demand.The centers will vary in footprint, possibly covering between 1.5 and 20 acres depending on the storage capacity, he adds. But they are likely to be installed in places where space isn't an issue, such as near existing wind or solar plants. Energy Vault's technology is "simple and elegant," says Shreve, but he questions whether the devices can compete with lithium-ion batteries on price. Even so, the market is hungry for battery alternatives. While other startups — such as UK-based Gravitricity, which drops weights down disused mineshafts — are also exploring gravity-based energy storage, none yet match the scale of Energy Vault.In February, Energy Vault listed on the New York stock exchange, raising approximately $235 million. It recently announced that actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio had joined the company's strategic advisory board. Energy Vault's resiliency centers will be linked up to nearby wind or solar farms, as shown in this rendering. Credit: Energy Vault This year, Energy Vault will start building resiliency centers for DG fuels, which wants a continuous supply of renewable energy to create green hydrogen fuel for the aviation industry. It has also signed deals worth up to $880 million with companies including Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer, metal smelting company Korea Zinc, and mining giant BHP. With this backing, Piconi is confident Energy Vault can help to accelerate the energy transition.So far, customers have signed up to projects that equate to 2.5 gigawatt hours of energy storage — a significant addition to the 17 gigawatt hours of battery storage that Wood Mackenzie estimates is currently in operation in the United States. "In terms of impact, that's pretty massive," says Piconi.

Rebecca Cairns, CNN Business

2022-02-03 03:21:34

business

business

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/business/stellapps-india-dairy-hnk-spc-intl/index.html

This Indian dairy-tech startup has created a step counter for cows - CNN

Stellapps has developed a device called the mooON in its bid to make India's huge dairy industry more efficient. The company's farm-to-consumer digital platform tracks milk on its journey through the supply chain.

business, This Indian dairy-tech startup has created a step counter for cows - CNN

This dairy-tech startup has created a step counter for cows

(CNN Business)The wearables market skyrocketed over the last three years, and consumers are projected to spend nearly a $100 billion on devices ranging from smartwatches to smart patches in 2022.Now, one tech startup wants to take wearables to another market: cows. Bangalore-based Stellapps is a farm-to-consumer digital platform that uses technology to track milk on its journey through the supply chain. "We have a device which is like a Fitbit for cattle," says Ranjith Mukundan, co-founder and CEO of Stellapps. The company's "mooON" device "goes around the animal's leg, and [tracks] their activity levels," he says.When cows are sick, they move less, and when they are ovulating, they move more, says Mukundan. Stellapps combines information from the step trackers with data that farmers and vets enter into a smartphone app, which issues reminders for routine protocols such as vaccinations and artificial insemination. Healthier cows produce more milk, and by tracking and better managing their animals, farmers can increase yields, says Mukundan.Read MoreBut Stellapps isn't just creating step counters: the mooON device is one small part of a much bigger initiative to transform the world's largest dairy industry with smart tech.Farmers bring milk to village collection centers where it is weighed, analyzed and priced. This is also where farmers receive payment for their milk. Digitizing dairyFounded in 2011, Stellapps' technology is currently used by nearly three million dairy farmers across 36,000 villages in India, accounting for over 13.5 million liters of milk daily, according to Mukundan.In October 2021, the company raised $18 million, led by Dutch animal nutrition company Nutreco, which joined existing investors including the Gates Foundation and Blume Ventures. In India, farmers typically deliver milk to collection points in nearby villages. Here, Stellapps uses an ultrasonic analyzer to measure the nutritional content of the milk — allowing standardized price-setting and giving farmers updates on their cows' health and nutritional needs. The company measures the volume of milk collected with a digital scale and transfers payments directly to farmers' bank accounts via its "mooPay" platform.Milk of similar quality is then combined in digitally tagged 40-liter cannisters and sent to a larger, centralized cold storage unit. At the unit, volume sensors monitor the milk to prevent it from being watered down or stolen, says Mukundan. From there, the milk is taken to a processing plant to be pasteurized and packaged, or converted into products like cheese or yogurt. Mukundan says Stellapps can bring traceability into India's dairy industry, enabling the company to "vouch for every glass of milk." India is the world's largest dairy producer, and companies like Stellapps hope to make it more efficient with technology. A fragmented industryIndia is home to the world's large milk industry, producing 199 million metric tons in 2021.But dairy hasn't always been a staple in India, which relied on milk imports until 1970, when a rural development program called "Operation Flood" overhauled the industry.This made milk more affordable, providing a good source of protein, as well as reducing poverty in rural communities, says Thanammal Ravichandran, a dairy economist, and program manager for dairy at food producers ABT Foods. The program also turned India into a "milk-exporting country."An Indian startup could revolutionize ocean farming with its 'sea combine harvester'But despite its size, India's dairy industry is still fragmented and largely unindustrialized, says Ravichandran. Around 80% of dairy animals in India belong to smallholders who own only two to three cows. In contrast, the average size of a dairy herd in the United States was 296 cows in 2020. On the small Indian farms, productivity is often low, Ravichandran adds. On average, dairy cows in India produced five liters per day in 2019, compared to more than 30 liters daily for the United States' top dairy cows.Stellapps is not the only Indian startup looking to modernize the industry through smart technology. Like Stellapps, Prompt has created cow pedometers to monitor health and breeding cycles, and Ravichandran points to Farmtree by Inhof Technologies, which uses data to work out the efficiency and value of small farms, and Herdman by Vetware, which offers a subscription model to track data for more than one million animals. "Data can help to transform the industry," she says. The step tracker is tamper-proof, and Stellapps says it could help insurers identify and monitor cows.An expanding platformStellapps does not charge farmers for its technology and advisory services. Instead, it monetizes its product through the cooperatives that purchase the milk and additional service providers, like insurance and animal nutrition companies.Mukundan says the company is eyeing the retail end of the supply chain, too. It's developing a portal that maps the origin and journey of milk, which he believes will appeal to quality-conscious consumers.By bringing more dairy farms onto the platform, Mukundan hopes he can improve life for farmers while making India's milk products tastier and more nutritious. "Consumers are willing to pay more so that when they give it to their kids at home, they're absolutely confident that it's the best milk possible," he says.

Dan Tham, CNN Business

2022-02-28 02:00:09

business

business-india

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/27/business-india/bollant-industries-india-areca-tableware-srikanth-bolla-hnk-spc-intl/index.html

How an Indian company is transforming palm leaves into tableware - CNN

India is slated to ban most single-used plastics starting in July 2022. Bollant Industries, which makes disposable products from fallen leaves and recycled paper, stands to gain from this move towards sustainability.

business-india, How an Indian company is transforming palm leaves into tableware - CNN

How an Indian company is transforming palm leaves into tableware

(CNN)It's time for lunch in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad and locals are crowding at Prahalad Tiffin Point, a popular roadside eatery serving regional staples like dosa and idli. In the shade of the awning, customers eat standing up. They're perhaps unaware that the paper plates they're using are made of palm leaves. The plates are produced by Bollant Industries, a local company that makes eco-friendly and disposable products and packaging from the fallen leaves of areca, a species of palm, as well as recycled paper."I call myself a waste person, because I really love waste," CEO Srikanth Bolla says. "I want to recycle all the waste that I can in this world"Now aged 30, Bolla, who has been blind since birth, founded the company in 2012 to pioneer sustainability and to provide jobs for people with disabilities. His company currently employs around 400 people, a quarter of whom have disabilities, Bolla says. "Our core vision is to employ as many people as possible who are at the margins of society," Bolla says. Staff operate hand presses to transform used paper into colorful plates. Credit: CNNRead MoreHis efforts have attracted attention: In 2021, the World Economic Forum named Bolla one of its Young Global Leaders and a Bollywood biopic about him starring actor Rajkummar Rao is in the works.Valued at $65 million, with funding from investors including Indian industrialist Ratan Tata, Bollant Industries operates seven manufacturing plants, producing hundreds of tons of products each month, ranging from tableware to packaging. It's part of a wider shift in India, as the country transitions away from single-use plastic to embrace more sustainable alternatives. Eliminating single-use plasticsOn Indian Independence Day in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to phase out single-use plastic. That ban, targeting plastics that have "low utility and high littering potential," is slated to take effect this summer. It will prohibit the manufacture and import of plastic ear buds, plastic flags, and lightweight plastic bags and cutlery, among other items.India's plastic waste problem has grown in recent times. The country's Central Pollution Control Board says that per capita plastic waste generation in India has almost doubled in the last five years. According to the United Nations Development Program in India, the country generates 15 million metric tons of plastic waste each year. Kavala Krishnaiah, whose legs are not fully formed due to polio, makes disposable plates and bowls at Bollant Industries' manufacturing unit.Critics of the single-use plastics ban, however, cite a poor recycling infrastructure, relative lack of plastic alternatives, and enforcement challenges as potential barriers to success. This dairy-tech startup has created a step counter for cows Priti Mahesh, the chief program coordinator at Toxics Link, an environmental research and advocacy NGO in Delhi, says, "Yes, there's a ban, but has there been any concrete measure to identify alternatives [to plastic]? And what is done to enforce this ban on the ground will be a question."For Bolla, an outright ban on single-use plastics is not the best solution. He says that subsidies are needed to encourage manufacturers to develop new alternatives. "Plastic is such a versatile, flexible material," he says, "So we should shift to making plastic using biodegradable polymers. This is the only way we can tackle plastic pollution.""We are ready for the big shift"To make its plastic alternative products, Bollant purchases fallen areca leaves collected by farmers in the neighboring state of Karnataka and acquires used paper from local paper mills. At its manufacturing unit, staff operate hand presses to transform the leaves into cutlery and tableware, and the used paper into colorful plates. Bollant sells its products to around 200 small and medium enterprises, like Prahalad Tiffin Point, across India. Bolla says he hopes to export his line of products to the US and Europe in the future. Bollant Industries uses recycled paper to make cardboard sheets. Credit: CNNBollant is not the only Indian company innovating in this space. Delhi-based Ecoware converts agricultural waste like sugarcane residue into compostable tableware, and Biogreen in Bangalore manufactures biodegradable bags derived from corn starch.These startups are part of an expanding market. According to market research firm Valuates Reports, India is expected to be the fastest-growing market for biodegradable plastics, anticipated to grow to almost $9 billion globally by the end of 2025.Bollant Industries is currently expanding its range and developing a biodegradable product which can be used, instead of plastic, to coat and waterproof paper products. "We are ready for the big shift," says Bolla.

Stephanie Bailey, CNN Business

2021-06-09 10:56:20

business

tech

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/09/tech/robot-zaps-weeds-spc-intl/index.html

A robot is killing weeds by zapping them with electricity - CNN

UK-based startup Small Robot Company has developed robots to rid land of unwanted weeds without using chemicals and heavy machinery.

tech, A robot is killing weeds by zapping them with electricity - CNN

A robot is killing weeds by zapping them with electricity

London (CNN Business)On a field in England, three robots have been given a mission: to find and zap weeds with electricity before planting seeds in the cleared soil. The robots — named Tom, Dick and Harry — were developed by Small Robot Company to rid land of unwanted weeds with minimal use of chemicals and heavy machinery. The startup has been working on its autonomous weed killers since 2017, and this April launched Tom, its first commercial robot which is now operational on three UK farms. The other robots are still in the prototype stage, undergoing testing. Small Robot says robot Tom can scan 20 hectares (49 acres) a day, collecting data which is then used by Dick, a "crop-care" robot, to zap weeds. Then it's robot Harry's turn to plant seeds in the weed-free soil. Using the full system, once it is up and running, farmers could reduce costs by 40% and chemical usage by up to 95%, the company says. Read MoreAccording to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization six million metric tons of pesticides were traded globally in 2018, valued at $38 billion."Our system allows farmers to wean their depleted, damaged soils off a diet of chemicals," says Ben Scott-Robinson, Small Robot's co-founder and CEO. Zapping weeds Small Robot says it has raised over £7 million ($9.9 million). Scott-Robinson says the company hopes to launch its full system of robots by 2023, which will be offered as a service at a rate of around £400 ($568) per hectare. The monitoring robot is placed at a farm first and the weeding and planting robots delivered only when the data shows they're needed.The robot zapping weeds with electricity.To develop the zapping technology, Small Robot partnered with another UK-based startup, RootWave. This supplement can reduce methane in cows and make farmers money"It creates a current that goes through the roots of the plant through the soil and then back up, which completely destroys the weed," says Scott-Robinson. "We can go to each individual plant that is threatening the crop plants and take it out." "It's not as fast as it would be if you went out to spray the entire field," he says. "But you have to bear in mind we only have to go into the parts of the field where the weeds are." Plants that are neutral or beneficial to the crops are left untouched.Small Robot calls this "per plant farming" — a type of precise agriculture where every plant is accounted for and monitored.A business case For Kit Franklin, an agricultural engineering lecturer from Harper Adams University, efficiency remains a hurdle. "There is no doubt in my mind that the electrical system works," he tells CNN Business. "But you can cover hundreds of hectares a day with a large-scale sprayer ... If we want to go into this really precise weed killing system, we have to realize that there is an output reduction that is very hard to overcome."But Franklin believes farmers will adopt the technology if they can see a business case.This 'snake robot' can fix pipelines on the ocean floor"There's a realization that farming in an environmentally friendly way is also a way of farming in an efficient way," he says. "Using less inputs, where and when we need them, is going to save us money and it's going to be good for the environment and the perception of farmers."As well as reducing the use of chemicals, Small Robot wants to improve soil quality and biodiversity."If you treat a living environment like an industrial process, then you are ignoring the complexity of it," Scott-Robinson says. "We have to change farming now, otherwise there won't be anything to farm."

Ana De Oliva, CNN Business

2021-07-08 07:44:46

business

tech

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/08/tech/usky-pod-sharjah-uae-spc-intl/index.html

These futuristic pods could help free up roads - CNN

Belarus-based uSky Transport is testing a set of suspended pods to offset traffic congestion in Sharjah, UAE.

tech, These futuristic pods could help free up roads - CNN

These futuristic pods could help cities solve their traffic problems

Abu Dhabi (CNN Business)Traffic congestion is a problem for cities around the world, with some looking to electric scooters to ease gridlock, and others to AI-enabled traffic lights. But one company believes the solution is to build a network of driverless high-speed pods that ride around cities suspended from a steel track.In June, Belarus-based uSky Transport opened a 400-meter test line in Sharjah, which borders Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.From the outside, the electrically powered pods are glossy white while the interiors are designed to feel like a first-class airline suite, including mood lighting, lounge music and floor-to-ceiling windows. With two padded armchairs and two foldable seats, the vehicle being tested can carry up to four passengers.The interior of the uSky pod currently being tested in Sharjah, UAE.A fully implemented city-wide network could support 10,000 passengers per hour, uSky says, with vehicles currently able to travel up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour — although for safety reasons, they can't reach their top speed on the test track.The company says its objective is to free up roads and ground space that could be used for greenery, walkways and public leisure spaces. "The ground level is completely over-saturated, and people are tired of traffic jams. People are tired of emissions," says Oleg Zaretskiy, uSky Transport's CEO. This supplement can reduce methane in cows and make farmers moneyRead MoreAccording to uSky, while one kilometer of subway can cost up to $150 million to construct, this system costs around $10 million. And by using less structural materials, it reduces carbon emissions.The company has also developed a similar technology to transport cargo containers, carrying up to 48 tons at a top speed of 90 kilometers (56 miles) per hour.Making a difference in mobilityTransport pods that travel above the ground — often referred to as "sky pods" — are sometimes compared to monorails or cable cars. But they offer greater flexibility, says Stephanie Haag, associate partner at consulting firm McKinsey & Company."In a cable car, you have one car and it always drives at the same speed," she says. "[In sky pods] you can use many different cabins on that particular infrastructure," such as ones tailored for shorter trips in urban areas or for longer distances.The uSky pod is being tested at the Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park.Although she cautions that it would require careful planning to avoid congestion in a busy city-wide network, Haag believes it could still be a widely adopted solution if the promises of improved mobility and sustainability are kept.Plans for future expansionLater this year, uSky plans to build a 2.4 kilometer (1.5 mile) line in Sharjah, allowing it to run the passenger pod at higher speeds and demonstrate how passenger and cargo pods can be integrated into the same network.According to Hussain Al Mahmoudi, CEO of Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park, where uSky's test lines are located, the hope is for sky pods to boost the emirate's strategy of becoming a sustainable, futuristic hub.uSky says an AI-powered camera helps avoid potential collisions with other pods on the track.With the test line up and running, uSky has also received initial approval to build a line around the coastal town of Khor Fakkan, to the east of the emirate. Neighboring emirate Dubai is also exploring driverless pods that would operate above city traffic and other global companies, such as Virgin Hyperloop, are reportedly developing high-tech transport pods for the region. Zaretskiy says uSky is also looking beyond the UAE. "We can see that the most promising areas for us [are in the] Middle East [and] Asia -- places where there is natural growth of population ... such as India and Pakistan," he says.A robot is killing weeds by zapping them with electricity Haag adds that pods are more suited to countries where public transportation is under-developed and there is increasing demand for mobility solutions. Still, Zaretskiy says uSky Transport has received inquiries from countries including the United States and Canada.The company hopes to finalize its first commercial contract by the end of the year in Sharjah, Zaretskiy adds, meaning uSky pods could be up and running over traffic by 2024.

Nell Lewis, CNN Business

2021-07-15 08:24:45

business

business

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/15/business/whim-app-helsinki-spc-intl/index.html

These apps are trying to put car dealers out of business - CNN

A Finnish startup has developed a mobile app, Whim, to fix urban congestion and reduce pollution.

business, These apps are trying to put car dealers out of business - CNN

These apps are trying to put car dealers out of business

London (CNN Business)City dwellers are used to switching between apps to decide the best way to get from A to B. Is it quickest to get the train or the bus? What about a taxi or a city bike? Which provider has the nearest e-scooter?It can be inconvenient and time consuming. Which is why Finnish startup MaaS Global decided to aggregate all these services into one app called Whim. Available in more than 10 cities across Europe and Asia, users can access taxis, buses, bikes, e-scooters and rental cars. "Whim's sole purpose is to compete against car ownership," CEO Sampo Hietanen tells CNN Business.According to the International Energy Agency, transport is responsible for 24% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, most of which come from passenger vehicles. If Whim can persuade users to trade their car keys for a single app offering multiple transport options, the environmental impact could be enormous, says Hietanen. Car competitionRead MoreHe admits this isn't an easy task. To succeed Whim has to be more convenient and cheaper than owning a car. "The car represents freedom of mobility," says Hietanen — even if a city dweller barely uses it, they still keep it parked outside as a "freedom insurance."To compete, Whim offers rental cars and taxis, but Hietanen says that users tend to opt for public transport or micromobility (shared lightweight vehicles such as bikes or e-scooters). The app was launched in Helsinki but is now available in several European and Asian cities.Users can choose between multiple tiers of service, including a pay-as-you-go option and a 30-day season ticket, which costs €62 ($73) in Helsinki — where the app is most established — for unlimited public transport and short taxi rides. The ticket also offers car rental from €55 ($65) per day.While Helsinki has well-developed alternatives to driving, that's not true of everywhere. If a city "does not have a wide public transport system or a lot of rental cars or taxis in place" then it will be difficult to convince people to give up their cars, says Maria Kamargianni, associate professor of transport and energy at University College London.She says apps like Whim represent the first step in tempting people away from car ownership, and adds that the availability of alternative transport options is likely to improve as the market matures. Research firm MarketsandMarkets predicts the global mobility service market will grow from $4.7 billion in 2020 to $70.4 billion by 2030. MaaS movementOther providers include Citymapper, which launched a travel pass for Londoners in 2019, and Moovit, which launched an all-in-one mobility app in Israel last year. Whim, launched in 2016, is one of the earliest providers and has raised more than $60 million from investors such as BP (BP), Mitsubishi (MBFJF) and Toyota Financial Services. It's available in several European cities and in Tokyo, and has racked up 18 million trips globally since launch. But the business has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, says Hietanen; with fewer people traveling, revenues are lower, stalling the company's expansion into other cities.According to Whim, public transport and micromobility are the most popular ways to travel using the app. Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat recently reported that the company had spent €50 million ($59 million) on failed expansion ventures. Hietanen says the money was spent on integrating multiple transportation providers, establishing market readiness in several countries, and developing the complex technology that underpins the app. "We've known from the beginning that the investment needed to create this would be substantial," he says, adding that the company has recently secured further investment. Greener travelThough the industry is in its infancy, Hietanen is confident the demand will be there. A recent report from the International Transport Forum (ITF) says that mobility services will be vital in meeting the needs of a growing world population and fast-paced urbanization. But for growth to happen, "people must choose it over other travel options" such as private motor vehicles.This is already happening, says Hietanen. According to a company survey carried out in Helsinki, 12% of its users said that Whim had prompted them to give up their cars. "People want the more sustainable solution," he says, "but they still want the freedom of being able to go anywhere, anytime."

Milly Chan, CNN Business

2021-10-27 01:37:49

business

tech

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/26/tech/seatrec-bedrock-robot-seabed-mapping-climate-spc-hnk/index.html

Electric robots are mapping the seafloor, Earth's last frontier - CNN

Seatrec and Bedrock Ocean Exploration are two startups taking electric robots to new depths in an attempt to map the ocean floor.

tech, Electric robots are mapping the seafloor, Earth's last frontier - CNN

Electric robots are mapping the seafloor, Earth's last frontier

(CNN Business)For centuries, humans have explored the Earth's mountains, jungles and deserts. But despite covering more than 70% of the Earth's surface, the ocean is still a relative mystery. In fact, we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the sea floor; just over 20% of the ocean bed has been mapped. Getting a fuller picture would enable us to navigate ships more safely, create more accurate climate models, lay down telecommunication cables, build offshore windfarms and protect marine species -- all part of what's known as the "blue economy," projected to be worth $3 trillion by 2030.Underwater robotic vehicles equipped with sensors are helping gather that data quicker and more cheaply than ever before. But many of these vehicles rely on batteries with a limited lifespan, and need to return to a boat or the shore to recharge, making it difficult for them to map more remote parts of the sea. A five-year-old startup called Seatrec is rising to the challenge, founded by oceanographer Yi Chao. While working at NASA, he developed technology to power ocean robots by harnessing "the naturally occurring temperature difference" of the sea, Chao told CNN Business. Greener and cheaperRead MoreThe power module can be installed on existing data-gathering robots or Seatrec's own floating device. This dives a kilometer down to examine the chemistry and shape of the seabed, using sonar to create a map of the surrounding area. The robot returns to the surface to send back its findings via satellite.Seatrec's float uses differences in ocean temperature to power itself.As the float moves between colder and warmer parts of the ocean, material inside the module either melts or solidifies, causing pressure that in turn creates thermal energy and powers the robot's generator."They get charged by the sea, so they can extend their lifetime almost indefinitely," Chao said.This underwater concrete attracts marine life and gets stronger at the same timeA basic float model typically costs around $20,000. Attaching Seatrec's energy system adds another $25,000, Chao said.But the access to free, renewable energy and the ability to stay in the water longer makes data gathering up to five times cheaper in the long run, according to Chao. He said the startup is making fewer than 100 devices per year, primarily for marine researchers, but the technology is easily scalable -- Seatrec's energy module can also be can be retrofitted onto existing mapping devices to extend their range. Picking up the paceNew technologies that can extend the reach of data-gathering devices are crucial for mapping more remote parts of the deep sea, according Jamie McMichael-Phillips, director of the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project. "One of the huge challenges we have is quite simply physics," said McMichael-Phillips. "Unlike mapping the Earth's surface where we can use a camera [or] satellites, at sea, light does not penetrate through the water column. So we're pretty much limited to using sonar systems." How 3D printing could help save Hong Kong's coralLaunched in 2017, the Seabed 2030 Project has increased awareness about the importance of the ocean floor, and given researchers and companies a clear goal to work towards: map the entire seafloor by the end of this decade. Some companies, such as XOCEAN, are surveying the ocean from the surface. Another startup, Bedrock Ocean Exploration, says it can provide surveys of seabed areas up to 10 times faster than traditional methods by using an autonomous electric submarine fitted with sonars, cameras and lasers; the data is then analyzed on Bedrock's own cloud platform.Bedrock Ocean Exploration uses an autonomous electric submarine fitted with sonars, cameras and lasers.The challenge aheadEven with the growing number of technologies accelerating seabed exploration, completing the map is still a logistical and financial challenge. This vegan 'tech-style' startup wants to make clothes using algae Chao estimates that it would take 3,000 of Seatrec's floats operating over the next 10 years to fully survey the ocean. The company has raised $2 million in seed funding to scale up production of its energy harvesting system.But this is a drop in the ocean of the capital needed to fully survey the ocean, which is estimated to be "somewhere between $3 to $5 billion," according to McMichael-Phillips -- "pretty much the same order of magnitude as the cost of sending a mission to Mars."Bedrock's DiMare believes it's time we start investing in our own planet."If we want to keep Earth as a place that humans can live," he said, "we have got to get a lot smarter about what's going on in the ocean."