The United Auto Workers (AUW) have agreed to a newly ratified four-year labor contract with General Motors (GM). This will bring their 40-day union strike, which has cost the automotive company over $2 billion, to an end. The union has about 48.000 members, many of which are expected to return to work soon, a clear indication that General Motors wants to recoup their losses from the strike which began on September 16. This new contract was supported by 57% of the workers who voted – about 41.000 of them cast their ballots. Mary Barra, the CEO and Chairman of General…
Author: Vladimir Sumina
Amgen, a prominent biotechnology company, recently announced that it will be investing $2.7 billion into Chinese biotech company BeiGene. This way, they will buy out 20.5% of the company. Some of Amgen’s cancer drugs will be commercialized through BeiGene and will be sold on the Chinese market through them. 20 new cancer drugs are expected to enter the development pipeline. The deal, expected to close in early 2020, will significantly increase Amgen’s presence in China’s rapidly expanding pharmaceutical market. David Meline, Amgen’s Chief Financial Officer, said: “For a number of years, we’ve had as one of our key focuses for…
David Simon, the Chief Executive Officer of Simon Property Group, the biggest mall owner in the United States of America, says that the wave of bankruptcies that have been rocking the world of retail this year is finally expected to be dying down. He said: “We are having a high bankruptcy year. … There’s no denying that. But I think we’re kind of reaching the bottom in … 2019 on that stuff. It’s rivaling what happened in 2017. So, it’s not like something that we haven’t experienced before. But we know [what] we have to do. As we put together…
Founded in 2010, Birchbox is a flat monthly fee subscription service that offers its customers six specially selected curated beauty products. CEO Katia Beauchamp and co-founder Hayley Barna were initially having a lot of problems with convincing brands to join their program. Katia remembers how it was: “The story I always remember is going in to talk to brands and them saying you know, great idea but you’re too small. We just have a lot of other things to do, so come back when you have 10,000 subscribers. It was just really challenging in the early days to get brands…
According to Tesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm, the “audacious goals” that CEO Elon Musk has set forth have helped the success of the company. Denohlm recently said: “To achieve what Tesla has achieved over the last five years, over the last 10 years, you have to set audacious goals and big goals … and then have everybody in the company work like crazy to get there. I think part of it is setting those very big goals so that the company can rally and get behind them and move forward, and move the whole industry forward. There is a huge opportunity…
Vans, a US-based sports brand, has removed what they say are a “small number” of submissions for their sneaker design competition because one of them gave a positive shout out to protests that are currently going on in Hong Kong. Companies are afraid of angering China. Case in point – Tiffany & Co. recently deleted a Twitter advertisement that showed a female model that had her hand over her right eye, which could be a support of the protests. In August, a female medic was hospitalized after being shot in the eye with a pellet. She soon became a symbol…
Walmart is planning on selling ModCloth, their online apparel store which they bought in March of 2017 for an undisclosed amount, to Go Global Retail. Go Global’s Jeff Streader said: “We believe that together with current management, ModCloth has the ability to become a stronger player in the premium fashion market, nationally as well as internationally.” Christian Feuer of Go Global said: “Our team of experienced retail and brand practitioners will supplement existing management in areas of digital strategy, supply chain, and operations.” Ashley Hubka, Walmart’s senior vice president of corporate strategy, development and partnerships said: “We believe that ModCloth’s…
Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber, could very well wind up being more famous for his ghost kitchens than as his stint as Uber’s CEO. He has joined companies like GrubHub and DoorDash is making waves in the restaurant industry through third-party food preparation and delivery. Corey Manicone, the co-founder and CEO of Zuul Kitchens, said: “I think, at that time, Travis planting his stake in the space was a whole new proof of concept, of market validation. Every single VC that we had spoken to since then effectively circled back.” Ghost kitchens, also known as dark, virtual, and…
Disney CFO Christine McCarthy said that their acquisition of Fox will continue to impact their earnings all the way through their fourth-quarter. Still, the company remains optimistic about its decision to buy Fox and all their intellectual properties. Disney is primed to release their own streaming platform, Disney+, this November, in an attempt to compete with competitors such as Netflix and Amazon. Besides their own shows and movies, they will also include all of Fox’s, with things like “The Simpsons” and X-Men. CEO Bob Iger said: “As I said a few times, we analyze the 21st Century Fox opportunity entirely…
Barneys, an icon of New York for almost a century, has filed for bankruptcy this Tuesday. They are looking to find a buyer so they won’t have to resolve to liquidation. Only five out of their ten stores – the ones on New York’s Madison Avenue, in downtown Manhattan, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, and Copley Place – will be kept open. This is the latest company which has fallen prey to the changes in consumer behavior, as more and more shoppers do their purchasing online. Another factor that has contributed to this is the high rent costs. This marks the…
The luxury theatre chain iPic recently filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is looking for potential buyers. The company, which is currently led by a former executive of big-box mega theaters, Hamid Hashemi, has claimed that the delays in development and the high cost of capital as the chief reasons for their bankruptcy. Hamid Hashemi said: “Importantly, delays related to the Delray Beach [Florida] location resulted in unforeseen costs and a significant slowdown in circuit-wide development and new grand openings. The decision to commence a Chapter 11 case to pursue a comprehensive restructuring was not taken lightly but is…
Jose Cil, the CEO of Burger King’s parent company, Restaurant Brands International, recently announced that they have chosen Impossible over Beyond Meat for their plant-based Whopper patty, since “it was the best product for our guests. The Burger King team in the U.S. tasted and tested several different alternatives. Guests validated [Impossible] through countless tests and focus groups and ultimately in restaurants and market tests that we’ve done.” The second-largest burger chain in the United States will be launching their Impossible Whopper nationwide, starting August 8th. Burger King has been testing the plant-based burger in St. Louis since April. Because…
Shares of Wayfair whipsawed after the company reported that they had a bigger loss in the second fiscal quarter because the costs for things such as advertising and customer support are up. They reported a loss of $181.9 million – $1.98 per share – compared with to a loss of $100.7 million – $1.13 a share – last year. Sales for the quarter are $2.34 billion, up 42% compared to a year ago. The company has always reported double-digit growth in its revenue, but it still hasn’t been able to earn a profit. This could be due to its online-only…
The new ad campaign for clothing giant Gap stars a 7-year-old blind pianist and a 13-year-old electric guitar player, playing “Sweet Child O’ Mine” from Guns N’ Roses. This marks a push in Gap’s new identity and marketing strategy. CEO Art Peck said: “You’ll also see Gap brand reinvest in marketing, kids and baby business with a strong back-to-school push later this year. This is especially important, given that market share is now up for grabs, and this is a clear opportunity for Gap brand given its strong equity in kids and baby.” Clothing retailers that specialize in children’s clothing,…
Sales of alcohol and tobacco-related products will from now on be strictly prohibited on Facebook and Instagram. A Facebook spokesperson said: “We are updating our regulated goods policy to prohibit the sale of alcohol and tobacco products between private individuals on Facebook and Instagram. Our commerce policies already prohibit the sale of tobacco or alcohol in places like Marketplace but we’re now extending this to organic content.” Mark Brown, CEO of alcoholic beverage company Sazerac, accused Facebook, Craigslist, and eBay of allowing private users to sell the counterfeit bottles of their proprietary Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, as well as empty…
Pfizer, the largest drugmaker in the world, is planning to divest their off-patent drug business and to combine it with Mylan, a generic-drug maker. The agreement is structured as an all-stock deal, meaning that every share of Mylan will be converted into a share of the new company. The shareholders of Pfizer will own 57% and their counterparts would own 43% of the new company. This newly-combined company, which will sell Pfizer’s Viagra and Mylan’s EpiPen, will be based in the U.S. The deal itself will be a so-called reverse Morris trust –Pfizer’s Upjohn business will first be divested and…
At a recent congressional hearing, James Monsees, Juul co-founder, defended his e-cigarette start-up by saying that the company never intended for minors to use its products, while still acknowledging that the company made some missteps. He and Juul’s chief administrative office, Ashley Gould, were called in to testify. Monsees said that Juul “never wanted any non-nicotine users, and certainly not anyone underage. We’ve certainly made missteps. I understand the criticism of some of our past actions, but we moved on very quickly.” Juul tried to present its product as meant for adult smokers, and not for underage persons and non-smokers.…
The shares of automotive giant Ford plummeted after the company reported below-expectations second-quarter earnings, as well as a disappointing next year forecast. Ford cut thousands of jobs earlier this year, and the company’s plan is to invest over $11 billion into electric cars and hybrid vehicles by 2022, in order to keep up the pace with the changes in the automotive industry. Chief Executive Jim Hackett said: “Midway through this key year of action, we are pleased with the progress we are making toward creating a more dynamic and profitable business. In this time of profound change in our industry,…
Tilray, a Canadian company specializing in pot products, has acquired Smith & Sinclair, the firm that produces boozy gummies, with a plan to create an entire line of CBD (Cannabidiol) edibles. Smith & Sinclair, a UK-based company, infuse sweet treats and candies with alcohol, to give them a fun, boozy twist. Among other products, they sell alcoholic lollipops and gummies, edible fragrances, and tablets that can transform a cocktail into a fizzy drink. Tilray will work with Smith & Sinclair to develop new CBD-infused edibles which will then be distributed across the US and Canada. This deal will provide Tilray…
Coffee giant, Starbucks is set to start licensing their mobile and loyalty program technologies, which will allow other companies to offer its mobile app to their customers. In exchange for the license to Starbucks’ software, the company will receive an equity stake in Brightloom (formerly Eatsa), as well as a seat on the its board. When the software is fully integrated into Brightloom’s system, they plan on offering this tech to other similar companies and licensed Starbucks shops. Less than half of Starbucks’ 80 global markets have the mobile app. In the US, approximately 40% of all transactions are made…
“Avengers: Endgame” is now officially the highest grossing movie of all time, overtaking a decade-old record previously held by “Avatar”. This Sunday, Disney announced that the movie has earned $2.79 billion at the global box office, more than “Avatar’s” $2.7897 billion. To put this accomplishment in perspective, “Endgame” has played in theatres for only 87 days, while “Avatar” ran for 234 days during its original run, and was rereleased in 2010. “Endgame” also had a sort of limited rerelease in June, when an extended edition, featuring a new scene and a special tribute to recently departed Stan Lee, the architect…
JC Penney said that it still hasn’t hired any advisors to help out with eventual restructuring or bankruptcy issues. JC Penney said in a statement: “As a public company, we routinely hire external advisors to evaluate opportunities for the Company. By working with some of the best firms in the industry, we are taking positive and proactive measures, as we have done in the past, to improve our capital structure and the long-term health of our balance sheet. We have no significant debt maturities coming due in the near term, and we continue to maintain a strong liquidity position. Also,…
Ascena Retail Group announced that it will be shutting down 53 stores of its Dressbarn outlets in August. Dressbarn will most likely have to be permanently shut down and file for bankruptcy. Ascena plans to shut down all 650 Dressbarn stores by the end of the year, so it can focus on its more successful brands, such as Ann Taylor and Loft. Steven Taylor, Dressbarn CFO, said: “We have received overwhelming landlord support for our plan, which will allow us to implement our wind down in a manner that provides the best recovery for our landlords. Further, we are current,…
Amazon reports record sales for this Prime Day. With more than 175 million items sold, they had more sales for this year’s Prime Day shopping sale than both their Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events combined. Other records that Amazon said were broken during this sale are –the biggest number of Amazon devices (such as the Echo Dot, the Fire TV Stick, and Alexa Voice Remote) ever sold during a two-day period, the biggest number of Prime members across the US (who pay an annual fee of $119 for perks such as access to Prime Day and free shipping),…
United Airlines confirmed that it will extend the grounding of all Boeing 737 MAX aeroplanes until November 3. This will result in 2,100 flight cancelations in September and a further 2,900 flight cancelations in October. United said in a statement: “We are continuing to work through the schedule to try and swap and upgauge aircraft to mitigate the disruption caused by the grounding of the MAX. We continue to automatically book affected customers on alternate flights. If we are unable to place them on a different flight, we will proactively reach out to try and offer other options.” Since the…
Gilead Sciences Inc plans to invest a further $5.1 billion into the Belgian-Dutch biotech firm Galapagos NV. This investment, after nearly four years ago, when the companies partnered to develop a drug that targets inflammatory diseases, will come in the form of an upfront payment of $3.95 billion and a further $1.1 billion equity investment. Gilead’s Chief Executive Officer, Daniel O’Day said: “Gilead gains exclusive access to all current and future compounds in Galapagos’ rich pipeline while Galapagos is able to expand its research activities and build commercial infrastructure.” The US-based GSI will pay $158.43 per newly acquired share, which…
McDonald’s announced that it will be ending its exclusive partnership with UberEats and enter into a new arrangement with new delivery partner DoorDash. UberEats was McDonald’s sole US delivery provider ever since 2017. They brought deliveries to approximately 67% of McDonald’s store within the United States. Thanks to this, the delivery for McDonald’s has grown into a $3 billion business. Even so, the US head of McDonald’s, Chris Kempczinski, said that deliveries only make up a 2-3% of McDonald’s business. Even before Uber’s underwhelming initial public offering, McDonald’s have been looking for ways to end their partnership, as well as…
Prime Day, a global shopping event that lasts only two days and is exclusive to Prime members, begins this Monday. Amazon has promised to provide one-day shipping for all of the 10 million products sold on their website. The event is expected to break all records this year. Held annually since 2015, this is the first time that it will last for two days. Sucharita Kodali, an analyst at market research company, Forrester, said: “For them to be able to deliver the volume of transactions, it will likely be hundreds of millions, in a short compressed period of time. This…
Fred’s, a discount merchandise retailer announced that they are planning on closing another 129 stores and have sales in an attempt to pay off accumulated debt. Joseph Anto, Fred’s CEO said: “While it is never easy to make decisions that impact our valued employees and customers, this initiative represents another necessary step in our continued efforts to stabilize our business by simplifying our store portfolio and product assortment.” Founded in Coldwater, Mississippi in 1947, Fred’s soon expanded across the Southeast of the US. Fred’s sold its pharmacy files to Walgreens for approximately $165 million in 2018. China’s tariffs on consumer…
India hopes that they will become the future global hub for electric cars production since their government eased several government regulations and offered incentives. Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said that the Indian government will provide tax deduction of 150,000 rupees (approximately $2,185) on the interest paid on loans to purchase electric cars. Buyers of electric cars can accrue approximately 250,000 rupees in total benefits. Puneet Gupta, associate director of automotive forecasting at IHS Markit, said: “The government is trying to create demand, to spur demand, and thus help (original equipment manufacturers). I think the first thing is to kickstart the…
Theatre subscription service, MoviePass could be at its end. This Thursday, the company temporarily suspended its services until it makes unspecified improvements to the product. The company wrote the following on their website: “For the past several months, MoviePass has been working hard to improve our groundbreaking subscription service to ensure it meets the vision that we have for it. We are temporarily not accepting new subscribers as we work on these improvements.” MoviePass responded to questions on Twitter, saying that the “process will take several weeks.” The company has been struggling to maintain its userbase for more than a…
The airline company, Boeing is still recovering from the disasters in October and March, which resulted in the deaths of 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia. These funds will be available over the next few years, and are separate from any additional compensation Boeing will have to pay in eventual litigation fees. The company’s Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg said: “We at Boeing are sorry for the tragic loss of lives in both of these accidents and these lives lost will continue to weigh heavily on our hearts and on our minds for years to come. The families and loved…
The United States threatened the European Union with tariffs on EU imported goods, worth up to $4 billion. However, it is unknown when, or even if, these tariffs will be imposed. The US is the largest foreign market in the world for Scotch whiskey by value and the second largest by volume. A spokesperson for the Scotch Whisky Association said: “Exports of Scotch whiskey to the US have been zero tariff for 20 years, so it is disappointing that Scotch whiskey has been drawn into this dispute. There is a close relationship between the US whiskeys and Scotch whiskey, not…
Scientists from Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center used a combination of CRISPR gene-editing technology and a therapeutic treatment called LASER ART to erase the HIV DNA from the genomes of living mice. This is an important step to potentially finding the cure for HIV in humans as well. Dr. Kamel Khalili, study co-author, chair of the department of neuroscience and director of the Center for Neurovirology and the Comprehensive NeuroAIDS Center at Temple University, said: “We think this study is a major breakthrough because it for the first time demonstrates after 40 years of the AIDS…
Even though Disney made a big marketing push with the rerelease of their superhero blockbuster, Avengers: Endgame this weekend, it still lags by $26 million behind the box office record set by “Avatar” a decade ago in 2009. The new rerelease tried to pull in more viewers by putting in a special tribute to Stan Lee, a deleted scene the Hulk, as well as a teaser for “Spider-Man: Far From Home”. Marvel Studios managed to earn an estimated $5.5 million in domestic and $2.3 million in the foreign box office, but this still wasn’t enough to dethrone “Avatar”. Senior media…
The RealReal, a secondhand luxury retailer, raised over $300 million in an initial public offering (IPO). Their shares jumped almost 50% – from $20 to $28.90 – and The RealReal’s market value is estimated at approximately $2.5 billion. Founded by Julie Wainwright in 2011, The RealReal is the most popular marketplace that sells authenticated secondhand goods, such as Cartier and Gucci. More than 100 experts are employed to make sure that there are no counterfeits among the sold goods, and the company itself has earned $207.4 million in revenue in 2018. The secondhand retail market is worth around $28 billion,…
According to a study conducted by World Health Organization (WHO) international experts, there is “strong evidence” that the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine can prevent cervical cancer, and that men and boys should also receive it. Marc Brisson, one of the authors of the study and a professor at Canada’s Laval University, said: “Because of our finding, we believe the WHO call for action to eliminate cervical cancer may be possible in many countries if sufficient vaccination coverage can be achieved.” It is a recommendation of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that both genders receive this vaccine when…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued warnings to two companies – North Carolina-based KratomNC and California-based Cali Botanicals – for making illegal and unproven marketing claims that their products, containing a drug called kratom, can help with treating and curing addiction and withdrawal symptoms. Kratom, a herbal extract that doesn’t grow in the US, is not FDA-approved. In small doses, kratom acts as a stimulant, but in larger doses, it works on the same neural receptors as morphine and is potentially just as addictive. Dr. Ned Sharpless, the acting FDA Commissioner, said: “Despite our warnings, companies continue to…
Popularized by Warren Buffet, the classic investing strategy of picking stocks with cheap book valuation has become more and more irrelevant because of central banks and the advancements of technology, Asset Management Company, AllianceBernstein, claims. Bernstein’s head of European quantitative strategy Inigo Fraser-Jenkins, recently said: “Duration has been bid up as rates are so low. Thus, the outperformance of value might require higher interest rates, which could be structurally difficult to achieve in the foreseeable future. In this sense, one could say that QE could have stopped the mean-reversion process that usually occurs over the economic cycle.” The rise in…
Guy Miller, chief market strategist and head of macroeconomics at Zurich Insurance, says that the US economy could enter a state of slight economic recession starting next year because the Federal Reserve will likely lower interest rates in order to boost growth. Miller said: “Our view still is that we (will) have a mild U.S. recession in 2020. People forget that the reason interest rate should be cut, and the reason that the Fed has done this pivot, is because global conditions are getting worse. U.S. conditions, we believe, will get worse — that will impact earnings and ultimately margins…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking into changing the rules for the manufacturing of opioids by making the drugs less addictive. The new proposal states that the drug manufacturers would have to report if their products have “any characteristics that would mitigate the risks of overdose, abuse, or the development of addiction.” The FDA also said: “Companies should also indicate whether their drugs have novel or greater risks compared to other opioids on the market and also note the public health implications of their products in terms of risks to non-patients, including members of the patient’s household, visiting…
Disney wants to make “Avengers: Endgame” the highest-grossing film of all time. But to do that, it first has to overtake “Avatar”. Screen Rant and Comicbook.com both report that Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, indicated that the movie would get a special theatrical rerelease with additional footage that wasn’t included in the movie’s original theatrical run. Feige said: “Not an extended cut, but there will be a version going into theaters with a bit of a marketing push and a few new things at the end of the movie. If you stay and watch the movie, after the credits,…
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) announced that ADM Milling Co. will be recalling Pilsbury, its brand of flour, because of an outbreak of E. coli. The company will be recalling approximately 4,620 cases of Pillsbury Best 5-pound Bread Flour which were distributed in New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Maine, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The article in question was sold by Hometown Food Co. and produced by ADM Milling, a subsidiary of worldwide food processor Archer Daniels Midland Co. According to the FDA, there have not been any reported cases of illness relating to the flour,…
This year, Disney the global entertainment powerhouse, has the chance to break the record they made in 2016. That year, their films earned a total of $7.6 billion worldwide, and this year, they are on their way to surpass that with $9 billion. Cowen analyst Doug Creutz said: “I would say they should finish pretty substantially above where they finished last year. I think it’s going to be above eight [billion dollars], it might be above nine.” Since May, Disney has earned over $4 billion worldwide, according to Comscore’s data. Their closest competitor, Warner Bros., has earned $702 million domestically…
Tyson Foods, the biggest meat producer in the United States, announced their plans to debut plant-based nuggets starting this summer. These nuggets will be the first product in “Raised & Rooted”, a new brand dedicated to plant-based and blended meat goods. Company executives have been hinting at the possibility of the meat giant entering the meat alternative market since this February, where they will face competition from the likes of Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Noel White, Tyson CEO, said in a statement: “We remain firmly committed to our growing traditional meat business and expect to be a market leader in…
Uber Technologies recently unveiled a new Volvo self-driving car model in Washington. Uber’s plan is to eventually deploy these driverless vehicles. The new XC90 is going to be assembled in Volvo Cars, Sweden, and will come with human controls such as the steering wheel and brake pedals, but is foremost designed to be driven by computer controls, not human drivers. Before this, Uber had already bought around 250 Volvo XC90 SUVs, which were then redesigned for self-driving. Eric Meyhofer, the head of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group, expects the new models, codenamed 519G, to be safer, more reliable, and to soon…
Amazon wants to make their rewards credit card available to more people. To do this, Amazon partnered with Synchrony Financial, a publicly traded bank, and launched “Amazon Credit Builder” – a program for shoppers with no credit history or bad credit, who would otherwise not be able to obtain Amazon’s loyalty cards. Synchrony executive vice president and CEO of the bank’s retail card operation Tom Quindlen said: “There’s always going to be people that we can’t give credit to – this is a large population that we weren’t able to reach. It’s a new segment of the market.” The card…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent out warning letters to Solace Technologies, Hype City Vapors, Humble Juice Co., and Artist Liquids Laboratories for not following proper federal advertising rules for tobacco products on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The FDA and FTC pointed out that these companies did not include the following statement: “WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.”, which is a federal requirement since August. The letter, which was separately sent to all four companies, states: “Given the significant risk of addiction, the failure to disclose the presence of…
This Friday activist firm Elliott Management announced their plans to acquire bookselling company Barnes & Noble, for approximately $683 million. Barnes & Noble have had severe problems in the book market for a long time, so this news comes as no surprise. Their biggest rival, Amazon, holds almost half of all new book sales, and Walmart has control of 4.2% of the market. Before this news had become available, Barnes & Noble shares had fallen by 25%, but are now up by 10%, to a $6.56 per share cost. In the past five years, Barnes & Noble market value has…
Insys Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company based in Chandler, Arizona, agreed to plead guilty to fraud and charges of giving kickbacks to medical doctors in exchange for them prescribing Insys’ addictive opioids. Insys has agreed to pay $225 million for using kickbacks and other illicit strategies in order to sell greater quantities of their product Subsys, a spray that’s used to lessen pain in cancer patients. Subsys contains fentanyl, which is 100 times stronger than morphine. On May 02, five ex-Insys executives, including founder John Kapoor, were convicted on racketeering charges. The share price of the company has decreased by 93%…
According to a study conducted by the CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project), more than 200 of the biggest companies around the world estimate that growing climate concerns could cost them up to $1 dollars. The report speculates that most of these costs will be incurred in the next five years. Nicolette Bartlett, the author of the report and CDP’s director of climate change, said: “Most companies still have a long way to go in terms of properly assessing climate risk.” The majority of companies, just like their CEO’s and boards of directors, tend to downplay or ignore…
Interestingly, even though many places around the world have been hit hard by the economic crisis of the last decade – which usually leads to people consuming more alcohol – the total alcohol consumption worldwide has decreased by 1.6% in 2018, according to the IWSR. The consumption of hard liquor has increased, but beer and wine, which still comprise most of the alcohol purchased and consumed, has entered a slight but noticeable decline. This can be attributed to recent trends of heightened health-consciousness behavior. After all, alcohol is “empty calories” and many young people are going teetotal, or, as they…
Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest and oldest American corporations, was fined with a $300 million fee in punitive charges, awarded to Donna Olson, 66, and her husband. She claims that her asbestos-related cancer is due to J&J’s talc-based baby products. Jerome Block, the lead attorney in this case, said: “With this verdict, yet another jury has rejected J&J’s misleading claims that its talc was free of asbestos. The internal J&J documents that the jury saw, once more laid bare the shocking truth of decades of cover-up, deception, and concealment by J&J of the asbestos found in talc baby…
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance has never been harder. We’re expected to devote a third of our lives to work, and technology means that we are able to – and encouraged – to carry our work with us everywhere we go, 24/7. It’s no wonder that so many of the workforce regularly experience signs of burnout. We live unhealthy, stress-ridden lives, in which we worry about our jobs, the future of our company, even the industry we are part of. That is why it is more important than ever before to find ways to identify and prevent burnout before it…
Millennials have long been the butt of every joke about young people. They’ve been presented as entitled, spoiled, lazy, brilliant, ambitious, and every possible flavor of both good and bad in-between. But, naturally, Millennials are, like all of us, getting older, and not every Millennial is a “young person” anymore. That title now belongs to Gen Z, people born between 1996 and 2015 – though these numbers are often disputed, and can range from 1998 to 2012. Even though there are many similarities between Millennials and Gen Z’s, like their innate understanding and everyday use of technology, there are just…
In the olden days (i.e. – before the internet was being used for literally everything), business conferences would take place either live – in any executive board room – or over the phone. Today, we can conduct our businesses and jobs with people from all over the world, so things like getting cut off due to a bad phone signal reception is no longer an issue. But this has also opened up a whole new set of potential problems and rules of video conferencing decorum we must adhere to. So here are some tips on how to get the most…
Thanks to the internet, you can offer your services and expertise to clients all around the world. It is an exciting new way to do business, but many are still unsure of how to get started. Since the virtual landscape is constantly changing and evolving, this tends to scare off potential online entrepreneurs and workers, but the only thing you should really focus on is finding an idea or job that best matches your skill set and preferences. To help you get over some initial misgivings and fears associated with getting a start in online business, here are a couple…
A happy employee is a productive employee. Good managers have known this for a long time, but it’s only really caught on in the last couple of years, thanks to a growing culture that focuses on employee wellbeing – mostly centered in the tech industry. There are a number of ways employers can reward their workers and show them that their hard work and dedication are appreciated. Many of these don’t even cost anything, while others are cheap but very effective methods to make your employees feel good about themselves and the organization they are working for. Pet-friendly Workspaces…
The European Commission has fined five banks with a $1.1 billion fine for rigging the foreign exchange market. Barclays, RBS, Citigroup, JP Morgan, and MUFG are facing fines, while UBS won’t suffer financial penalties, since it alerted the European Commission to these illegal activities. These illegal activities took place from 2007 to 2013, during which several exchange traders shared trading plans and coordinated strategies over online chatrooms. These traders formed two cartels that manipulated the spot foreign exchange market for over ten currencies, including the United States dollar, the euro, and the British pound. Margrethe Vestager, the European competition commissioner,…
Workplace conflict is one of the worst things that can happen at the office – or any other place of business. It negatively affects productivity, permanently sours relationships, makes employees sick with stress, and can even lead to such extreme measures as people getting into physical altercations, or quitting their jobs which they otherwise enjoy. Good employers, managers, and Human Resources specialists know the importance of correctly identifying and avoiding situations and personalities that can potentially lead to workplace conflict, as well as how to peacefully resolve them when they do occur. These are some of the tips they employ…
Online shopping has long since become an easy, everyday occurrence. It’s both a lot more practical, since it saves us precious time, and is ideal for people who are too busy to go out shopping or don’t very much like having to interact with salespersons in real life. Entrepreneurs have also greatly benefited from this, with their products and services now being available for purchase worldwide. This is thanks to online payment services, which allow us to pay (and get paid) using a secure, reliable, and fast method. Let’s explore some of the best online payment services you can use…
Senator Josh Hawley, the Republican representative of Missouri, recently announced that he plans on introducing legislation that will effectively outlaw certain video game features such as “loot boxes” and “pay to win” monetization practices. He argues that these systems are deliberately marketed to minors and that they are purposefully built to mimic gambling mechanics in order to hook unsuspecting children into spending large amounts of money on these gaming services. His bill, The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act, is set to ban randomized or partially randomized microtransactions in free or paid games. He cited the famous game “Candy Crush”…
More and more companies and organizations around the world are increasingly eliminating – or at least significantly reducing – the use and consumption of paper supplies in the office. For many of them, this goes beyond mere ecological concerns for the environment – though there are those, too, of course – a paperless office is tidier, more organized, and saves a lot of money on office supplies (paper, notebooks, calendars, printers, ink cartridges, etc.) in the long run. So let’s explore some of these reasons in greater detail. You Are Making a Positive Impact on the Environment When it…
Being – and staying – productive is the name of the game. And in this age of constant information overload, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to focus, even while we’re at work. The need to read the latest news, find out what’s the notification we’ve received about, or watching a video of meowing kittens on YouTube, is constantly in the back of our minds – often more than the workload that should be our top priority. While it is debatable whether or not blocking certain websites leads to an increase in overall productivity, many business owners still opt to do…
We all want to be as productive as possible. The lingering dread that things could be done better, faster, with fewer mistakes and greater accuracy. All of these things haunt the waking dreams of even the most successful businessmen. And while there isn’t a surefire recipe for perfect productivity, there are numerous tips that can help you – and your workforce – to become more efficient at what you do. Here are but a few of them: Organize Your Activities In Advance We “lose” a lot of time by not having a schedule and sticking to it. For example,…
Smartphones have long since taken on the role of – among other things – miniature, portable computers we carry almost everywhere we go, and have with us all the time. Because of this, they are an indispensable tool when it comes to business. With so many useful apps at our disposal, smartphones of today are used for so much more than just making calls and sending out emails. These are but a couple of iPhone apps that are sure to be useful for any entrepreneur. Slack With so much of the modern workforce – especially in tech – being…
Technology is advancing at a tremendous speed. Every day, humanity is making strides in developing new and exciting breakthroughs in every possible branch of science. Naturally, this also applies to business, and staying on top of things can be daunting for any business owner. New words are cropping up all the time, and it is expected of entrepreneurs to know what every abbreviation and term means, and how and what they are used for. These are some of the most commonly used tech terms that have gained prominence in the last couple of years. Internet of Things (IoT) A…
Running a successful business today is more complex than ever before. Even though the global market is vast and open to everyone, this means that there is also a lot more competition. Every day, new companies rise and fall. The very way business is conducted has changed, and so have the methods and methodologies around it. Project Management has become a cornerstone of business. With so many of the workforce now working remotely, and with projects, increasing in size, complexity, and scope, this is a necessity. These are some of the reasons why every business, regardless of size or the…
According to Bloomberg, Uber is seeking to start selling their market shares in the $44-50 price range. It is estimated that they will raise approximately $10 billion this way. The online payment platform, PayPal, is set to buy $500 million of those shares. Apart from PayPal, Uber also has other big name stakeholders, such as Alphabet, Japan-based Softbank, and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, to name a few more. Travis Kalanick, the founder of Uber, has a sizable stake as well. Uber’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) will be the biggest one in US history since the Alibaba Group…
In today’s world, work-associated stress is, without a doubt, one of the biggest health issues employees has to deal with. There are a lot of reasons for this – the fact that we are expected to be online 24/7 and be able to respond in minutes, the globalization of the market, which means that we can always be replaced, the capitalistic culture that views people as statistics instead of as human beings. All of these and more contribute to a lot of stress buildup, which can, if left untreated, lead to a multitude of health problems: high blood pressure, insomnia,…
