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Plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds are to be banned in England from next year to tackle pollution and protect the environment.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has confirmed a ban on the supply of the items from April 2020 after a consultation revealed “overwhelming” public support for the move.
Exemptions will allow those who need to use plastic straws for medical reasons or a disability to buy them from registered pharmacies or request them in restaurants, pubs and bars, and the use of plastic-stemmed cotton buds for medical and scientific purposes.
Food and drink outlets will not be able to display plastic straws or automatically hand them out.
The Government’s response to the consultation, published on Wednesday, reveals that more than 80% of respondents back a ban on the distribution and sale of plastic straws, 90% a ban on drinks stirrers, and 89% a ban on cotton buds.
It is estimated that 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds are used each year in England.
Around 10% of cotton buds are flushed down toilets, often ending up in waterways and oceans, the Government said.
Mr Gove said: “Urgent and decisive action is needed to tackle plastic pollution and protect our environment. These items are often used for just a few minutes but take hundreds of years to break down, ending up in our seas and oceans and harming precious marine life.
“So today I am taking action to turn the tide on plastic pollution, and ensure we leave our environment in a better state for future generations.”
It is estimated there are more than 150 million tonnes of plastic in the world’s oceans and every year one million birds and over 100,000 sea mammals die from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste.
The announcement follows the Government’s ban on microbeads and the 5p charge on single-use plastic bags, which has seen distribution by major supermarkets drop by 86%.
Surfers Against Sewage chief executive Hugo Tagholm welcomed the ban.
He said: “Stopping the production and distribution of these single-use plastic menaces will prevent them from polluting beaches nationwide. It’s a really positive and bold step in the right direction in the battle against plastic pollution.
“It is also helps further drive plastic-free options and alternatives for the public so they can truly make more sustainable choices in their daily lives.”
“We’re pleased the Government has recognised this in its proposals put forward today.”
Greenpeace political campaigner Sam Chetan-Welsh said: “It’s been a long time coming, but we welcome the news that the Government is finally enforcing a ban on throwaway plastics like straws, cotton buds and stirrers. The reality is though, that these bans only scratch the surface.
“To really tackle the plastic crisis we need bigger bolder action from this Government, including targets to radically reduce the production of single-use plastics and an all-inclusive deposit return scheme for drinks containers.”
Laura Foster, from the Marine Conservation Society, said: “While we strongly welcome today’s announcement, we now need Michael Gove to go further in moving to reduce plastic consumption overall and increase recycling rates, particularly with a fully inclusive deposit return scheme for bottles and glass.
“It’s clear that the public mood has changed and what we need to see now is further action by retailers and the government to encourage a move against all single use plastic and to improve recycling.”


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You are here find it difficult to hire qualified staff to operate its gigafactory located in Brandenburg, not far from Berlin. The German plant, which opened its doors in March last year, is in a situation labor shortage. If Elon Musk planned to recruit 12,000 people to operate the website, the business was only able to enlist 7,000the beginning of December.
The Gigafactory in Berlin, far from the set targets
This lack of weapons is felt on the productions of the manufacture, which had the ambition to build 5,000 vehicles per week at the end of the year. By the end of October, this number was more like 2,000 models built. The head of Tesla had even indicated to the German media Worldin December 2020, that the Berlin plant expected to produce 500,000 models by 2022. We are far from that.
The production rate is much weaker than other factories from the car manufacturer. According to data from Tesla analyst Troy Teslike, the gigafactory in Shanghai would build 20,000 units in 100 daysTexas in 151 days and Berlin’s in 187 days.
This was reported by a source with knowledge of the case The cable that this more modest production rate is explained in the absence of a third shift to ensure that the factory runs 24 hours a day. Scheduled for September 2022, the implementation of this additional rollover has been postponed.
The establishment of three-eight is also prevented with the number of employees in Tesla’s department in Berlin. Several former and current employees told US media that many people left their jobs because of from too low wages and the management’s inexperience. A Tesla worker presents the situation at the gigafactory in Berlin as ” total chaos “. He points out that ” some people are on sick leave longer than they have worked, often because the motivation is not there “. The car manufacturer has fallen dramatically in popularity with German engineers. In 2021, Tesla went from second place preferred employers in Germany, sixth.
Tesla and Volkswagen battle for Berlin’s workforce
Tesla is struggling to establish itself in a highly competitive and strongly unionized German sector. According to the German metalworkers’ union IG Metall, the billionaire’s company pay 20% less than similar companies. In the suburbs of Berlin, its biggest competitor is the historic Volkswagen and its factory located in Wolfsburg.
To remedy this problem, Tesla offered higher wages to its new recruits, without seeing it from his former employees. A measure that did not please the unions because the remuneration in this sector negotiated on the basis of a trade union tariff.
To be successful in hiring new employees, Tesla bets on Polish citizens. Today, 10% of the payroll at the gigafactory in Berlin is foreign.

domain: news


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KARACHI: The central bank has relaxed the import and export regimes in an attempt to facilitate exporters and turn Pakistan into an export-led economy in the long run from a heavily import-oriented economy at present.
“The central bank has lifted the ban on advance payment of up to $10,000 per invoice for the import of goods and services,” State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Reza Baqir announced while speaking at a press conference on Tuesday.
He also announced that the financing limit had been enhanced for exporters under the subsidised loan schemes including the Export Finance Scheme (EFS) and Long Term Finance Facility (LTFF). “The State Bank will (alone) increase the financing limit by Rs100 billion for the full year,” he said. The government and commercial banks may also increase their financing limits under the subsidised loan schemes in consultation with the central bank.
The improvement in the country’s foreign currency reserves has allowed the central bank to facilitate the importers. “The decision will largely facilitate small and medium-sized importers (cum exporters),” he said.
'Exporters should quote competitive prices'
The improvement came after the country implemented institutional reforms under the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s loan programme worth $6 billion, which started in July 2019. The reforms included a massive change in the rupee-dollar exchange rate made in May 2019, he said.
He said the exporters were provided short-term loans primarily to meet their working capital requirement at a subsidised rate of 3%.
Moreover, they are provided long-term loans for the import of machinery and plants and expanding the installed production capacity. The textile sector is provided such loans at 5% and others at 6%.
The central bank is also considering including more sectors in the LTFF so that they could groom or set up new export-oriented businesses.
“Exporters are playing a vital role in our economy. A core element of our economic policy is that we are to rely on exporters going forward,” Baqir said. He stressed that support for the exporters was a must as they earned foreign exchange for the country.
“More importantly, those countries which achieved sustainable economic development in the past 30-40 years were seen relying on exporters,” he remarked.
“There would be only a few, or perhaps no country at all, which managed to reduce poverty and create jobs without relying on exporters,” he said.
“The core part of our strategy is to promote exports…we have to open up to the world and we have to compete in the world market,” he said.
“Exports have to become the backbone of our economy. We have to change our orientation from inward to outward for sustainable growth and development.”
The SBP governor elaborated that the permission to importers to make an advance payment of up to $10,000 per invoice and the increase in financing limit for the exporters were fully consistent with the IMF programme. “Nothing is inconsistent there.”
The main idea is to share the benefit of improvement in the economy under the IMF programme with its stakeholders including the importers and exporters.
Pakistan to export more goods to China
Responding to a question, Baqir said the improvement in the reserves did not come due to payments made by individuals in the country. It came due to improvement in the sentiment and the new market-based rupee-dollar exchange rate played a primary role in boosting the sentiment and the reserves.
“There was a time when the (dollar) outflow was higher than the inflow. Now the situation has changed. Now, the inflow has surpassed the outflow,” he said. “The improvement in the reserves will strengthen our independence.”
He said the central bank’s forecast for gross domestic product growth had remained unchanged at 3.5% for the current fiscal year.
“The economy is still expanding,” he said. “There is deceleration in the economy, there is slowdown but there is no negative growth.”
Some sectors of the economy are performing positively and some negatively. Therefore, he said, export volumes of some of the sectors had increased up to 40% and import-cum-export sectors were also improving but pure import-based sectors were on the decline. The central bank will also consider allowing larger advance payments for imports in a phased manner in light of the experience of allowing advance payment of up to $10,000 per invoice.
The latest decision on advance payment may lead to an uptick in the demand for dollars and cause some depreciation of the rupee against the dollar but it will be good for boosting exports.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2019.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.


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Business Anthony Nappa was a 19-year-old labourer when he began selling products on eBay “as a hobby”. Today, he runs a $25 million empire.
News An Instagram model who made headlines after sensationally denouncing social media is online again and wants her followers back.
Lifestyle She’s the little sister of one of the UK’s most famous reality stars, but Lottie Tomlinson’s talents and huge following have just landed her in Sydney.
Fashion & Beauty Fashion designer Stella McCartney has been slammed for capitalising on that fact that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wore one of her coats on one of Britain’s most...


text: The real estate sector has definitely affected by the demonetization move, as it has traditionally seen a very high involvement of black money and cash transactions, but now it has overcome the impact of this demonetization. However, almost all such incidences have been in the secondary sales market, where cash components have traditionally been a veritable ‘must’. Therefore, the real estate sector and resale properties segment will take a big hit in the coming days. The luxury and high-end segments of residential real estate will also see a major impact from this exercise, since it is another area which has seen a lot of payments done in cash. This means that luxury homebuyers will suddenly have a much wider bandwidth of options to choose from.


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Apple is postponing the return to the office for employees due to the high number of corona infections again recently. In fact, employees will be required to come to the office three days a week starting next week, but that requirement has been postponed for the time being.
For Apple employees, that means they still have to physically come to work twice a week. In a letter to employees, Apple also said that employees will once again have to wear masks in common areas, at least in Silicon Valley offices. This commitment is also reflected in the employees at the approximately 100 US Apple Stores.
The company’s steps behind the iPhone and iPad are linked to a rise in the number of coronavirus infections in the United States. But it is also known that not all Apple employees were happy with the intended employer’s return to the office.
Complaints have been made, among other things, that Apple’s plan would be detrimental to productivity. For example, some employees reported that their commute time was taking hours that they would have spent at work.
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Google is planning to add the white search bar, which you normally see in Google Now, to its Play Store app. In an upcoming Play Store update, Google will replace the existing tiny search icon with full search bar, allowing the users to tap anywhere on the bar to open the search function. It is almost exactly same as you see in the search bar present in Google Now including the spinning arrow animation.
There is no word on when this Play Store update will begin rolling-out, but it is expected soon. As Play Store update are normally released in batches, it could take some time for it to reach to your Android device. [Source: Google+]
Google adds new carousel feature in mobile search
Google has announced that it has upgraded the mobile search interface on Android to include a new carousel feature, which will showcase freshest, most relevant content from within a single website.
“When you search for a topic or news source, just scroll down to see a “carousel” of recent articles, videos or more on that subject,”Google wrote in a blog post.
According to the search giant, carousel results are only available for select websites right now, but Google will add more in the coming months.


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The Government has revealed it hopes to negotiate a temporary customs union with the rest of the EU.
This short-term arrangement could go on for up to two years when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019 and is intended to ease the transition to a final deal on trade and border arrangements.
The news will be a relief to business who feared a 'cliff edge' if the UK left the EU without new arrangements being in place. It would in effect give negotiators breathing space to figure out a new system that under which Britain trades with its European neighbours.
But what is the customs union and why is it so important? Our colleagues at Wales Online took a look.
The customs union is the arrangement under which goods can be traded within the EU without tariffs, while goods imported from outside the EU face tariff barriers that are common to all member states.
It's different to the single market in that only covers trade in goods, not movement of people, capital or services. It dates back to 1958 and is what Britain signed up to when we joined the then EEC back in 1973.
It also differs in that it only covers tariffs, not non-tariff barriers such as standards and regulations, which businesses say are just as important as tariffs in determining where they export to.
New trade deals
The Government also says it hopes to start negotiating new trade deals with non-EU nations while the temporary arrangements are in place. This could cause problems, because under the EU treaty members are not allowed to negotiate trade deals with third parties - only the EU can do that.
But the Government argues that the prohibition relates to signatories of the EU treaty, and once Britain has left the EU it is no longer bound by its provisions, even if it is still within the customs union for a limited time.
The Government will argue that it should be able to start talking with other states during the temporary arrangements so long as nothing is signed or implemented until the period is over. In practice the length of time it takes to negotiate trade deals means any new deals are unlikely to be finalised before Britain leaves the customs union.
New trading arrangements with the EU
The purpose behind our temporary membership of the customs union after Brexit would be to allow extra time to negotiate our new trading arrangement with our former EU partners. This means deciding what tariffs if any will apply on goods imported from and exported to the EU, as well as discussing how passing through customs can be made as quick and easy as possible.
There's also the thorny question of non-tariff barriers - those differences in standards and regulations that the single market is designed to remove. The EU will be concerned at the impact of diverging standards and regulations in Britain and will probably seek to block them at least during the temporary customs union phase, and reduce their impact afterwards.
Many people think it will be impossible to conclude a deal with the EU before the March 2019 deadline for Britain's departure - especially as the EU is insisting that the details of Britain's departure are thrashed out before its future relationship with the union is discussed.
This is why the Government has raised the idea of temporary membership of the customs union in the two or three years immediately after 2019. In the absence of a new trade deal - which most people agree could take years to negotiate - this would at least avoid the 'cliff edge' that economists and business people fear as British companies suddenly find themselves outside the tariff wall of the Customs Union.
The single market is the cornerstone of what the EU is all about. Under its rules people, goods, capital and services are allowed to move as freely as possible between the 28 member states.
Margaret Thatcher signed Britain up to the single market when she put her name to the Single European Act back in 1986. The idea was to boost economic growth by removing the remaining barriers to trade that still existed within the European Economic Community (EEC) that Britain joined in 1973.
The single market is Britain's biggest trading partner, accounting for 45% of UK exports and 50% of imports. Membership of the single market allows British companies to trade across the 28 member states without restrictions, and Britons to live and work anywhere in the EU.
Remainers would like the UK to remain part of the single market, but this could only happen if we accepted freedom of movement and the all the regulations that come with membership.
So soft Brexiteers prefer to talk about access to the single market under a special arrangement such as that enjoyed by Norway or Switzerland Both can trade freely with the EU, without tariffs, but have to accept freedom of movement and make some level of contribution to the EU budget.
Freedom of movement
Most commentators felt that concern over immigration was at the heart of the Leave vote in June 2016 - and Theresa May made regaining control of it the cornerstone of her position on Brexit.
Ending freedom of movement means leaving the single market, and the Conservatives pledged to reduce net migration to tens of thousands per year in their 2017 election manifesto.
What the EU wants to discuss first is arrangements for its citizens who live in the UK, and settling Britain's outstanding debts, which could amount to tens of billions of pounds.
Some hard Brexiteers say Britain shouldn't pay a penny, but most politicians accept that the UK should honour any financial commitments it has already entered into, even if this means paying a contribution into the EU budget after we have left.
If Britain continues to stay in the customs union, even if only for a short period, it may also have to pay a contribution to the EU. Brexit Secretary David Davis refused to be drawn on whether Britain would pay, saying it was something that would have to be part of the negotiations.
What business says
Business groups have welcomed today's announcement. Janet Jones, FSB Wales Policy chair, said: "Today's commitment from the Government would give small businesses in Wales the time they need to prepare for new customs arrangements, which is very welcome. But it is essential that this interim deal is negotiated as soon as possible with the EU Commission, to give businesses the certainty to keep investing in the UK.
"We also welcome the aspiration that negotiation on Free Trade Agreements globally will be able to begin once we have left the EU. Whilst 63% of our small businesses across the UK would prioritise an FTA with the EU, 49% would prioritise an FTA with the US and 28% with China.
"Beyond the interim period it is essential that new customs arrangements achieve the most frictionless trade with small businesses as possible. Our UK-wide research shows that non-tariff barriers are just as important as tariff barriers in determining where small businesses export to.
"Many Welsh businesses trade within the EU Single Market and so engagement with small businesses is essential to develop a new customs relationship with the EU that enhances trade and successfully capitalises upon the opportunities offered by digital technology."
Josh Hardie, CBI deputy director-general, said: “Companies will welcome the progress Government has made today in publishing these papers. Over the past year, businesses have been providing policymakers with the evidence, ideas and solutions to make a success of Brexit.
“So it’s encouraging to see that these papers propose a time-limited interim period and a customs system that is as barrier-free as possible.
“We at the CBI have always been clear that new ideas on crucial issues like this should be brought to the table quickly. But the clock is ticking and what matters now is giving companies the confidence to continue investing as quickly as possible.”
“Business wants to see as frictionless a customs system as possible, with a strong emphasis on digital systems that make it easier to trade.
“But to secure frictionless trade, negotiations on regulation, tariff and non-tariff barriers will have to take place. All efforts should be made to deliver a single-step transition, so that businesses don’t have to adapt twice.”


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As Greece prepares to burn down its economy in the name of national integrity, the rest of Europe is watching cautiously. Will those crazy Greeks ditch the euro and revive the drachma? Will they leave the eurozone, inspiring others to follow suit? (Hint, hint, UK.) Most importantly, Europe is asking, “Should we cancel our trip to Santorini?”
If you like bargains and don’t mind carrying a fat wad of cash, then by all means take your Greece vacation as planned. But if you’re nervous about food shortages, grounded ferries and Marxist uprisings, consider some alternatives.
Spain, for one, is waiting with open arms — particularly if you prefer to stay in homes, not hotels, when you travel. According to the non-profit tourism association Exceltur, the number of beds in Spain listed online by services such as Airbnb is actually greater than those offered by the country’s hotels. From AFP:
Airbnb and other similar sites listed a total of 2.7 million beds in Spain at the end of 2014, compared to 2.4 million beds available at hotels and other traditional regulated lodgings, according to the study carried out by audit firm EY for the association.
Sites like Airbnb, which lets homeowners rent out their homes for a fee by marketing them online, list around 278,000 properties in Spain.
"This is a highly lucrative business which has experienced rampant growth," Exceltur, which groups Spain's major hotel chains, travel agents, tour operators and airlines, said in a statement.
Spain is the world’s third most popular tourist destination (after France and the U.S.), welcoming 65 million foreign visitors in 2014. And though there’s a bit of backlash in certain cities over the influx of drunken yahoo tourists (hint, hint, Brits), it seems more locals like making some Airbnb scratch. In Barcelona, for example, nearly two thirds of available rooms are posted online through home-sharing sites.
The real problem, says Exceltur, is one of job creation. According to the report, “online home rental services generated just 9.8 jobs per 100 tourist beds compared to 53.3 jobs per 100 tourist beds at a hotel.” Exceltur also warned that the state could lose up to $883 million in tax revenue because many hosts don’t declare the income.
Then again, being a consortium that represents “22 leading Spanish tourist groups,” Exceltur may have a vested interest in slagging Airbnb and promoting traditional hotel interests.
No matter your opinion on Airbnb, it’s undeniably a good time for Americans to visit Europe. The insanity in Greece will hurt the global economy, yes, including the dollar, but the euro will take the biggest hit. By year's end, for the first time since September 2003, we can expect the greenback to reach parity with the euro. If you’ve never traveled in Europe with a strong dollar, it’s a glorious experience.
-- Jeff Koyen


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Christmas In August: President Trump Delays Part of China Tariffs Until December
The Office of the Trade Representative has announced Tuesday he would remove certain goods from the tariff list based on health, safety, and national security reasons. These products would not face additional tariffs of 10%, and the other duties would be delayed until the end of the year.
Among the imported products that would be affected by the surprising decision are mobile phones, video game consoles, toys, clothing, footwear, and more. It would also apply to some popular Christmas-related products, including Christmas tree lights and ornaments.
Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer broke the news after a brief phone conversation with China’s Vice Prime Minister Liu He and the U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Lighthizer also confirmed they planned a follow-up phone call for the end of August.
The President also assumed in a tweet that China would very much like to make a trade deal. Furthermore, the President did not miss to complain that China had not proceeded with the purchase of the expected large quantities of U.S. agricultural products.
Earlier this month, Washington had announced that it would impose 10% tariffs on the remaining $300 billion worth of Chinese products that had so far were not affected by the imported duties. President Trump’s administration has already imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of imports from China.
In response, China also had put retaliatory tariffs on $110 billion worth of U.S. goods. In addition to that, the Asian country also declined further purchases of U.S. agricultural products.
The news comes right after Goldman Sachs shared its concerns that the US-China trade war would lead to a global recession. According to many financial analysts, the tariff’s delay does not mean that the tensions between Beijing and Washington are over.
The credit rating agency Moody’s said in a statement that the current de-escalation of tensions could be temporary. Furthermore, it also warned that the relationship between the world’s two biggest economies remains complicated.
Tom Plumb, a chief investment officer of Plumb Funds, echoed his colleagues saying that thanks to the tariffs delay, the market would be able to get out of an oversold situation but it would bounce around for the rest of the year.
Despite the prognosis for temporary relief, the financial markets welcomed the news. The shares of leading tech firms went up immediately. Apple shares increased by 5%, and Best Buy jumped more than 8%.
What do you think? Is it a positive sign that the Trump administration decided to delay the tariffs, or is it just a temporary market relief?


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by Ian Harvey
IMPORTANT NOTE: There is no stop-loss or pre-determined sell price recommended – this is left to the discretion of the individual trader.
Friday, 22nd July, 2016
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Calls
**OPTION TRADE: Buy the GILD Aug 19 2016 90.000 call at approximately $1.60. Sell price is left to your own judgment.
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD), the Foster City, California-based biopharmaceutical company known for its flagship drugs like Sovaldi, Atripla and Zydelig, is scheduled to report second-quarter 2016 results on Jul 25, after the market closes.
Last quarter, the company had missed expectations with a negative earnings surprise of 1.65%.
Gilead otherwise has an impressive track record, with earnings. With the important exception of last quarter, GILD has a good history of beating analyst expected earnings by around 9% on average. Analysts have very recently bumped up GILD's earnings expectations by almost 7% (from $3.04 per share to $3.25 per share). This is a historic indication that the company will positively surprise on earnings about 70% of the time.
In the first quarter of 2016, Gilead's hepatitis C virus (HCV) franchise, consisting of blockbuster drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni, registered both sequential (12.2%) and year-over-year (5.6%) decline. The year-over-year decline was mainly due to lower sales of Harvoni in the U.S. (down 53.3% year over year to $1.4 billion), reflecting lower patient starts and the full-quarter impact of higher commercial rebates, which were entered into during the first quarter of 2015.
The sequential decline was primarily due to lower revenues in the U.S. and Japan. However, Sovaldi had recorded growth in the first quarter of 2016. Performance of the HCV franchise was also disappointing in Europe.
Nevertheless, Gilead noted on the first-quarter call that there was an uptick in new patients in the first quarter of 2016 and the company expects new patient starts to remain consistent through 2016. The company expects its HCV business to remain strong and sustainable.
Good news came in for the HCV franchise during second-quarter 2016. Gilead was successful in its efforts to expand its HCV franchise. Late last month, the company gained FDA approval for Epclusa, the first all-oral, pan-genotypic, single-tablet regimen for the treatment of adults with genotype 1-6 chronic HCV. It is also approved for use in certain other patient populations. Subsequently, Epclusa gained EU approval earlier this month.
As far as the HIV business is concerned, Genvoya, the company's first tenofovir alafenamide (TAF)-based single-tablet regimen for the treatment of HIV-1 infection uptake, has been strong both in the U.S. and EU since the drug's launch in Nov 2015. Genvoya may soon be among the most prescribed products for patients new to treatment.
While Descovy was launched both in the U.S. and EU during the quarter, Odefsey gained approval in the EU. Both Descovy and Odefsey are the two other TAF-based regimens in the company's HIV franchise. TAF-based regimens are expected to drive the HIV franchise's sales.
Given the launch of these TAF-based regimens, the company expects switches out of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)-based single-tablet regimens into the TAF regimens to grow significantly. The company at the same time believes it can maintain its ability to retain switch patients (implying fewer patients to switch from Gilead's TDF-containing regimens to non-Gilead products). The company noted on the first-quarter call that 82% of Genvoya's prescriptions came from switches while 49% of the switches have come from Stribild (another HIV-1 drug belonging to Gilead).
Other antivirals and products are expected to perform well. For 2016, Gilead continues to expect net product sales in the range of $30-$31 billion.
Meanwhile, Gilead is actively pursuing partnerships/acquisitions to strengthen its product portfolio as well as pipeline. During the quarter, the company acquired Nimbus Apollo, Inc. and its acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibitor program in a deal worth up to $1.2 billion.
Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $114.05.
Gilead is significantly cheaper than the industry in almost every valuation ratio metric. In addition, it is actually currently trading at its own five-year low P/E ratio.
Shares of Gilead Sciences will open at $85.54 today. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $77.92 and a 52-week high of $120.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.56 and a 200-day moving average of $89.56. The company has a market cap of $113.92 billion and a PE ratio of 7.30.
Wednesday, 20th July, 2016
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) Calls
**OPTION TRADE: Buy the GM Aug 19 2016 32.000 call at approximately $0.50. Sell price is left to your own judgment.
General Motors Company (NYSE: GM), the Detroit automaker, is scheduled to report second-quarter 2016 results on tomorrow, July 21. Last quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 24.75%.
Analysts expect GM to report adjusted earnings of $1.50 a share in the second quarter, which would be up from $1.29 a share in the year-ago period.
Also, analysts are expecting sales to reach $38.07 billion in the quarter, compared with $36.67 billion in the second quarter of 2015. North American sales, the bulk of the car maker’s revenue, are expected to climb slightly to $27.69 billion from $26.48 billion a year ago.
General Motors' retail sales in the U.S. went up 1.3% year over year to 1,137,101 units during the first half of 2016. Further, the company and its joint ventures in China reported a 5.3% increase in sales to 1,810,476 vehicles during the period. Higher sales should lead to better revenues for the company.
”Rising car sales in the U.S. and China bode well, and the company may surprise Wall Street on the upside”, said Bill Selesky, an analyst with Argus Research.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs also expect another strong quarter for GM as the company continues to focus on U.S. retail sales, which fetch higher prices, and cut down on U.S. fleet sales.
Goldman analysts said results for German subsidiary Opel “also seem poised to come in strong, with retail sales up 9.1% in the first two months of the quarter,” according to a recent note.
In addition, the automaker is focused on investment in innovative technologies and vehicles, which should provide sustained growth.
GM earlier this month announced it was expanding its partnership with ride-hailing company Lyft to cities in California and Colorado. GM has invested $500 million in Lyft with the goal of creating a fleet of driverless, for-hire vehicles. In the short-term, their partnership provides future Lyft drivers with rented GM cars so they can meet Lyft requirements and earn money as drivers.
General Motors Co. will open at $31.25 today. General Motors Co. has a 52 week low of $24.62 and a 52 week high of $36.88. The company has a market capitalization of $48.12 billion and a P/E ratio of 4.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.48 and a 200-day moving average of $30.19.


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Medmen Enterprises Inc (OTCMKTS:MMNFF) has finalized a letter of engagement with entity named as Eight Capital. As per this deal, Eight Capital will purchase, together with Cormark Securities Inc. and a syndicate of underwriters, around 13.63 million units of the firm on a bought deal basis at a price a unit of CAD$5.50 for gross proceeds of around CAD$75 million. The deal is subject to custom approval regulations.
Medmen reported that it plans to use the net proceeds from this offering for expansion of its retail presence across distinct cannabis markets, advancement of its production and grow facilities, general corporate and working capital purposes. The company has 19 licensed facilities spread across New York, Nevada and California. More recently, the company reported the acquisition of a Florida license. Medmen reported that the offering is scheduled to be closed on or about September 28, 2018.
In the month of July, Medmen Enterprises secured prime retail sites with long term leases in Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, St. Petersburg, Key West and West Palm Beach. The firm continues to expand its presence in leading retail districts with heavy foot traffic and high visibility.
In other developments, Medmen Enterprises reported that it has closed the deal it reported in the month of June, linked to buying a dispensary and grow license, and related assets from Treadwell Nursery.
The License allows the firm to open 30 medical marijuana dispensaries in Florida and to carry out grow, delivery and manufacturing activities in the State of Florida. Under this deal, the company has also bought Treadwell Nursery’s grow facility situated near Orlando. This permit is one of exclusive 14 licenses in the state. Adam Bierman, the CEO and Co-founder of Medmen, stated that their entry into Florida via this deal showcases their expanding national footprint and their ability to execute.
Wanderport Corp. (OTCMKTS:WDRP) Targets The Skincare Market With Its CBD-based Hempova Skincare Products
Wanderport Corp. (OTCMKTS:WDRP) has announced the launch of its CBD-infused Hempova skincare facial serums through which it plans to tap into the skincare market.
This is an interesting step for the company considering that it previously dabbled mainly in the food and beverage industry with products infused with CBD derived from hemp. However, the company is now leveraging its manufacturing prowess and CBD knowledge to expand into the skincare market with the CBD-infused Hempova skincare line.
“Growth in the global skincare industry in general and in the anti-aging segment, in particular, has been staggering and we are excited to introduce our line of CBD serums,” stated Wanderport’s interim CEO, Liliana Vo.
The CEO also noted that her company also wants to introduce new products in the future as part of its campaign for people to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The company will announce the additional pipeline products in the future. For now, the launch of the Hempova skincare facial serums will allow the company to assess the market and see how things go.
The Hempova skincare product line consists of Collagen Cream, Eye Serum, and Anti-aging Face and Neck Cream for Men. All of the above products are developed using high-quality ingredients such as CBD, collagen and Hyaluronic Acid. These ingredients are supposed to help rehydrate the skin and at the same time helping the skin to appear youthful.
Wanderport cannot afford to ignore the lucrative skincare market
Wanderport has also entered the skincare market at an opportune time when the demand is shifting. Skincare products were in the past mostly purchased by older consumers but now there is a wave of younger consumers that are adopting the trend.
One particular segment of the skin care category that has seen significant growth in the anti-aging skin care segment. The segment was valued at $250 billion globally in 2016 and analysts estimate that it will be worth $331 billion by 2021.
Wanderport does not intent on being left behind by the anti-aging product wave. It has its Hempova anti-aging skincare product line that will allow it to secure a piece of the pie. The product line will target spas, wellness centers, and boutiques.
Harvest Health & Recreation Inc (OTCMKTS:HRVSF) Stakeholders Give Go-ahead For Business Combination With Verano Holdings LLC
Harvest Health & Recreation Inc (OTCMKTS:HRVSF) announced a few days ago that its shareholders together with those of Verano Holdings LLC approved a business combination between the two firms.
The idea of a Business Combination Agreement between the two companies was introduced in April this year. Once the agreement is in motion, Verano and Harvest Health shareholders will get to own stake in the merger which will handle the business operations of both firms.
An overwhelming number of Harvest Health investors voted in favor of the merger and the same case for Verano investors who unanimously agreed that it was the best way forward. The voting took place during a special meeting that was held towards the end of June.
Harvest shareholders and Verano shareholders will exchange their ownership stake on a 1:1 basis as part of the agreement. This means that Verano shareholders will receive Harvest Health shares while Harvest shares will receive Verano shares.
Harvest Health buys out Leaf Life dispensary
More recently, Harvest Health announced that it acquired Leaf Life, the only medical cannabis dispensary that is licensed in Casa Grande, Arizona. The strategic acquisition adds to the company’s growing portfolio of acquisitions in Arizona. It previously acquired a company called Devine Hunter, Inc., and that gave it access to six licenses.
Harvest Health’s acquisition of Leaf Life means the company can now operate in about 18 facilities and dispensaries that are based in Arizona.
“Arizona is the third largest medicinal cannabis market in the United States, yet too many in our communities still do not have adequate access to dispensaries that offer the high-quality medicinal products,” stated Harvest Health’s Executive Chairman Jason Vedadi.
Harvest Health therefore targets Arizona as one of the underserved markets where it can potentially secure a strong footing. Ricky Hendrickson, the vice president of Leaf Life pointed out that his firm agreed to a buyout by Harvest because the company seems committed to achieving success in Arizona. He also revealed that the two businesses agreed to a 2-year stock option lockup. Leaf Life will now become part of Harvest Health following the transaction.
Crop Infrastructure Corp (OTCMKTS:CRXPF) Announces Definitive Agreement For World Farms Corp To Go Public
Crop Infrastructure Corp (OTCMKTS:CRXPF) announced towards the end of June that World Farms Corp, its investment holdings secured a definitive deal with Graphite Energy Corp to go public.
The deal will facilitate a reverse takeover and World Farms Corp will go public through the Canadian Securities Exchange. Crop Infrastructure currently owns a sizable stake in 10 World Farms Corp at 10 million shares. Crop divested its stake in Jamaican and Italian joint ventures in February so that it could purchase the 10 million World Farms Corp’s common shares at $0.20 per share.
“By divesting our Italian and Jamaican assets to World Farms, it has allowed CROP to focus and expand its operations in the USA, as well as gain a major investment,” stated Crop Investment Holding CEO Michael Yorke.
The CEO also noted that the reverse takeover will go on as planned and that it was pending regulatory greenlight by the CSE. Yorke also noted that World Farms already has 100,000 cannabis plants in cultivation, and it plans to grow an extra 500,000 plants in Croatia over the next few weeks.
Crop Infrastructure acquires license for its Emerald Heights brand in California
Crop Infrastructure also announced in June that its brand Emerald Heights was awarded a provisional license that will allow it to run retail operations, a smoking lounge and delivery services in Cathedral City. The company also hired a local real-estate broker to secure an ideal location for the company’s new location for Emerald Heights in California.
The company also revealed that it already paid a US$30,000 down payment on the new location in Cathedral City. The Emerald Heights brand will handle deliveries in key routes within Coachella Valley and the Bay Area. The brand is also looking for a partner that will assist with distribution in Southern California.
Crop Infrastructure also revealed that its extraction partner in California has already carried out the extraction process on the first harvest batch from 2018. The THC distillate oil extracted from the 2018 harvest will be incorporated into 30,000 vape cartridges. Some of the extract will also be used in pre-rolled joints and also to build up inventory.
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Fashion designer Christian Siriano has pledged to help meet the shortage of face masks amid their shortage during coronavirus pandemic, reassigning his 10 seamstresses in New York to construct “a few thousand” nonmedical grade masks a week, according to the New York Times. Intended for hospital support staff and private individuals, the masks will be free of charge during the crisis.
As the COVID-19 outbreak has spread throughout the country, health care workers have seen a shortage of medical supplies like face masks, ventilators, gloves, gowns, and hand sanitizer, among other necessities. Though face masks are only meant to be single use, their scarcity has forced medical professionals to experiment with a myriad of ways to disinfect the masks for reuse — by slathering them in hand sanitizer, bleaching them, and placing them under ultraviolet light.
The government has urged companies to aid in the manufacturing of these supplies, and some have answered the call. European luxury giant LVMH, and beauty conglomerates L’Oreal and Coty, have all pledged to use their facilities to produce hand sanitizer for European hospitals. Inditex, the Spanish parent company of Zara, says they will produce face masks and hospital gowns. California tech and energy companies like Bloom Energy, as well as Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX have pledged to assist in the manufacturing of ventilators.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an appeal Friday (March 20) for local businesses to “get creative” and figure out ways to make masks, gloves, and gowns for medical professionals. Siriano stepped up to the plate and tweeted later the same day: “If @NYGovCuomo says we need masks my team will help make some. I have a full sewing team still on staff working from home that can help.”
Since then, the designer has been in daily correspondence with the governor’s office, he tells the Times, as they work out how the masks should be constructed. He has provided updates on Twitter and posted images of the prototypes, made from a poly-lycra-cotton blend fabric that his company already had in the stockroom. They are currently being tested according to regulations from the governor’s office, and Siriano hopes to begin production as early as today.
“We are making waves and working on getting approvals before we start anything, Siriano tweeted Saturday. “It’s very important before anyone does anything to help, please make sure what you are making is safe and hopefully FDA approved. We must be smart.”
Siriano joins fellow New York designer Kerby Jean-Raymond, the owner and designer behind Pyer Moss, who has converted his office into a donation center for masks and other medical supplies. Last week, Jean-Raymond pledged to donate $5,000 worth of these supplies to health care workers and $50,000 more “for minority and women owned small creative businesses who are currently in distress.”
Siriano also hopes to get a special exemption to reopen his office to make the masks, after sanitizing it and complying with official regulations, he tells the Times. Later, he hopes to make medical-grade masks as well.
“Every manufacturer is at something of a standstill anyway,” he tells the Times. “This gave us something to do and a way to help even a little.”
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The nation’s largest pay TV provider is rolling out a new service selling for $18 a month that gives customers access to a handful of TV channels, primarily the major broadcasters.
Recode reports that Comcast is introducing the service around the country during the next two weeks after testing it for a while.
“Comcast would rather you buy a lot of TV from them, not a little,” Recode reports. “But if you want to buy a little, they’ll sell you that, too.”
The report notes that Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit is an investor in Vox Media, which owns Recode.
“Like newish services on the market from Hulu, YouTube and others, you can stream Comcast’s ‘Xfinity Instant TV’ at home, or anywhere else you can get a broadband connection,” Recode reports. “And like those offerings, this one doesn’t require a set-top box or an annual subscription. You can also add on extras like HBO, or a $30-a-month sports/news package that includes ESPN, Fox News and CNN.”
However, the new service comes with one major disclaimer: It is available only for Comcast’s 25.3 million broadband customers.
“Comcast is marketing this one to a subset of its customers — those who use it for internet but aren’t paying it for TV,” Recode reports. “And Comcast is hoping to eventually entice some of those customers to a ‘real’ TV bundle, with a bunch of cable channels. The way it has always sold TV.”


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Marketers have struggled for years with how to persuade China’s infamous savers to spend their money. Now the secret has been unlocked: It’s all about being online.
- Imaginechina/Associated Press
Such, at least, is the argument of a new report from consultancy McKinsey & Co., which found that e-commerce is convincing Chinese consumers to open their wallets.
China’s e-commerce market, largest in the world behind the U.S., is booming, with sales expected to reach $420 billion to $650 billion by 2020, up from $190 billion to $210 billion in 2012, according to McKinsey. Around 40% of China’s consumers wouldn’t have made purchases if not for the option of e-commerce, added the report, which used data provided by a major online company to analyze online spending from consumers in 266 cities. Read More »


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The 600-plus companies that have joined the ioXt Alliance to help it build confidence in Internet of Things products will be among the first to experience the national cybersecurity label NIST is developing for consumer Internet of Things (IoT) products and consumer software products—as soon as April, Grace Burkard, director of operations at the alliance, told EE Times.
Since May 2021, NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has been working under the Biden administration’s Executive Order 14028 on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity to improve connected security for products produced in the United States. The order focuses intently on the prevention, detection, assessment and remediation of cyber incidents.
NIST researchers investigated the situation for about 18 months and last February issued recommendations. The White House then held a meeting with private sector leaders, such as ioXt and other private sector leaders, as well as manufacturers and Congressional staffers. “They’re coming together to say, ‘OK, we need a single label that everybody can be housed under that the US government directly supports,” Burkard said.
NIST held some information-gathering sessions at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“Efforts are already underway to establish a national label, with the goal to have a major announcement from NIST in April,” she added.
The California-based alliance, founded in 2019, is focused intently on growing its membership among manufacturers, OEMs, labs, industry alliances and government organizations. “They’re very central for our workgroups, which are creating our profiles,” Burkard said. “Members can also obtain certification, so it’s really important to have their participation as they are the first ones who are going to be impacted by the creation of new standards. Our aim is to make them as aware as possible so that they can prepare for what’s to come.”
The group has gone about setting baseline security requirements to build a safer IoT world by using industry-led profiles created with the help of security analysts. “This way, we know that profiles are set by the best,” she said. “So far, we have focused on IoT devices in smart home, smart building, cellular IoT and mobile apps.”
It has established several profiles, including those for network lighting controllers, android, smart speakers, residential cameras and VPNs. This year, a profile for building network controllers will also be released.
Next on the horizon for the alliance are smart cities and healthcare, as well as online privacy, Burkard added, noting that it will take into account global regulations, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as Singapore’s Central Security Agency (CSA) standards.
The power grid is noticeably lagging in cybersecurity efforts, Burkard acknowledged: “Certain industries are going to be slow to adopt.”
Healthcare is probably not far ahead of the power grid in terms of industry readiness for cybersecurity.
“There’s a lot of red tape, so that’s more of the challenge when it comes to IoT healthcare,” she said. “Everybody wants it to happen. But it’s hard to break through that red tape at a quick pace.”
When NIST comes out with the national cybersecurity level, two goals will be obvious, Burkard said: “One is to make the public more aware of product transparency and their security levels. Another is to be able to be involved in international discussions. In the U.S., we have several standards organizations, so, the goal is to have one voice under one national label in discussions regarding the international issues of standards fragmentation.
“That will help the U.S. communicate with other global governments, such as Europe, and say, ‘Hey, look at our standards. Look at yours. How can we start harmonizing?’ This will enable going around the world and trying to reduce the fragmentation.”
Editor in Chief Brett Brune
Brett Brune is editor in chief of EETimes.com. He previously edited and reported business news at The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. He also previously served as editor in chief of SmartGridToday.com, as well as Smart Manufacturing magazine.


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Twiga Foods founders have sold part of their stake to a French long-term investment company, Creadev, for Ksh 500 million (US$ 5 million).
As part of the secondary investment, the early investors of Kenyan-based technology based B2B platform that aggregates retail demand and provides low cost access to better quality food, have adopted a strategy to accommodate later stage and longer-term investors.
They are Adolf H. Lundin Charitable Foundation, Blue Haven Ventures, Crescat Limited, Omidyar Networks, Index Ventures through Project Hand Purpose Trust, and Uqalo.
Other Twiga investors include DOB Equity, Wamda Capital, 1776 VC, AHL Venture Partners and Alpha Mundi.
The CEO of Twiga Foods Peter Njonjo said: “Having Creadev join our shareholding is a huge boost to our mission to deliver safe, affordable high-quality food to urban consumers, while providing reliable markets for farmers. It will support our efforts towards growing our ecosystem of farmers and retailers”.
Twiga, which was founded in 2014, currently works with 17,000 farmers, and 2,500 retailers daily and is looking to further expand its operations within and outside Kenya.
In a statement, Sarah Ngamau and Pierre Fauvet, who head Creadev’s activities in Africa, said: “We are proud to enter into this long-term partnership with Twiga as they answer a massive market need: the structuration and formalisation of the food logistics supply chain. We are impressed by Twiga’s fast growth, driven by an experienced and result-oriented management team.”
“We believe the appointment of Mr Njonjo as CEO is another proof of Twiga’s ambitions and willingness to grow to the next level. We will leverage on Creadev’s international retail network and future funding capacity to support the team in executing this ambitious expansion plan and continue delivering their strong value proposition to small-holder farmers, informal retailers, and end customers,” they added.
“We take the opportunity to thank Adolf H. Lundin Charitable Foundation, Blue Haven Ventures, Crescat Limited, Omydiar Networks, Index Ventures through Project Hand Purpose Trust, and Uqalo for their successful early-stage support to Twiga,” said the duo.


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Study: People With Attractive Parents More Likely to Get Rich
The children of good-looking parents are more like to become wealthy, than the offspring of unattractive parents. That’s according to a new study, from The National Bureau of Economic Research.
It’s titled “The Economic Impact of Heritable Physical Traits: Hot Parents, Rich Kid?” And it reveals that people with attractive parents earn an average of $2,300 more per year than those with average-looking or unattractive parents. The study used certain metrics to determine “good” looks, versus others.
Labor economist Daniel S. Hamermesh, a co-author of the study, says the increased money-making potential isn’t just about looks; it’s about money-making skills. “Good-looking parents make more money,” and he says, “The effects of looks on money have been shown countless times. Their beauty affects their income, and they pass that income-earning ability down to their kids.”
In other words, if people find you pleasing to look at, they are more likely to spend time or money with you.
Do you have any examples that support the results of this study?


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Tokyo Game Show 2013 opened yesterday at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba. The video game expo, Asia’s largest, runs through Sunday. This is a record-breaking year for Tokyo Game Show, with 352 exhibitors from 33 countries in attendance.
From upcoming next-generation consoles to increasingly popular mobile games for smartphones and tablets, Tokyo Game Show exhibitors have something to show off for every platform. This year, there are 962 titles on display from both mainstream and independent developers.
Console giants Sony and Microsoft are undoubtedly the centerpieces of this year’s event, with hands-on demonstrations of upcoming titles for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Elaborate props and cosplayers added to the visual overload.
The following photos were taken yesterday, the first of two business days that are reserved for gaming industry professionals and journalists. However, the Tokyo Game Show will open to the public on Saturday and Sunday. Be sure to arrive early if you want to avoid the long lines and have a chance to try some amazing new games months before they are released.
The doors open at 10:00 am and tickets can be purchase on-site for 1200 yen.


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There hasn’t been any shortage of rumors surrounding Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro over last couple of months. Although we heard rumors that the company might be announcing the laptop in October, that never really materialized. But if a recent report from 9to5mac is accurate, then we might finally see the laptop later this week.
According to the outlet, Apple is planning on holding a private press briefing later this week. Although details of the event are rare, the report speculated that the private briefing might be related to previously announced Mac Pro and upcoming 16-inch MacBook pro.
Unfortunately, we will have to wait to see if the company indeed announces the rumored laptop sometime this week. Given that there hasn’t been any shortage of hints from official macOS release, it won’t be surprising if Apple indeed ends up announcing the laptop during the press briefing.
If that’s the case, it will mark an important shift in Apple’s product lineup. Apple dropped the 17-inch MacBook Pro model few years earlier which makes the upcoming announcement even more exciting. If recent rumors are accurate, then the upcoming laptop will also feature a number of changes to address issues that have been plaguing MacBook in recent years. Most notable one is the butterfly keyboard issue which has attracted a lot of criticisms. Although Apple has adamant about the technology, reports have claimed that the company will drop the butterfly switch in favor of some different technology.


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Barclays sells Kurt Geiger amid retail drop-off
The buyout arm of UK bank Barclays has made a two-times return after selling shoe chain Kurt Geiger in a secondary buyout despite reluctance from banks to back retail transactions.
Barclays bought Kurt Geiger in July 2005 in a management buyout for £46m from Harrods to own 72% of the business. At the time of the transaction, the debt to equity ratio of the deal was about 1:1, said a source with knowledge of the acquisition.
European banks are hesitant to provide finance packages for leverage buyouts of retail businesses amid concerns that consumer spending will drop. Several banking sources said the cyclical nature of retail meant the sector would be one of the first to be hit as a result of the slow -down in the debt markets.
UK banks Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland provided the debt facilities for the Kurt Geiger transaction, including mezzanine finance, according to a Graphite spokeswoman. Graphite declined to comment on the debt to equity ratio of the deal.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs’ European retail report in mid-January said European retail stocks have underperformed since November. Goldman said: “We now believe that the UK [retail] stocks’ valuation largely discounts the bleak outlook for 2008 while we still see risk for multiple contractions for European retailers."
The secondary buyout of Kurt Geiger is the first European fashion retail deal backed by private equity since the start of the year, according to research by data provider Thomson Financial and Financial News.
The most recent transactions in the fashion retail sector have been at the lower end of the mid-market, including UK firm Exponent Private Equity’s buyout of bag maker Radley in December for $266m (€180m), and London-listed 3i’s acquisition of underwear retailer Agent Provocateur for $123m a month earlier, according to Thomson's data.


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Active export support prices for soybeans in Ukraine at a high level
a Sharp increase in soybean exports from Ukraine in 2019/20 MG led to increased competition between processors and exporters, and the growth of domestic purchase prices.
In this season, as at 21st April, Ukraine exported 2,606 million tons of soybeans, which is 595 higher than the corresponding figure last year.
given the volume of exports and processing of soybeans in Ukraine in 2019/20 Mr experts of "APK-inform" revised estimates of the harvest of oilseeds in 2019, the harvest increased to 4.35 million tons (second highest), which is 650 thousand tons exceeds the official data of the state statistics and shows that almost 15% of the crop was produced on the black market. According to the updated forecast of domestic consumption of soybeans in 2019/20 MG will be 1.8 million tonnes, which is 17% less than last year.
Through precipitation caused by the delay in harvesting of soybean in Argentina and Brazil, even despite the increased production and export of oilseeds in these countries, the demand for Ukrainian soybeans in March-April.
Export prices for soybeans at the port during the month increased by 5-10 $/MT up to 365-375 $/ton thanks to strong demand from Turkey and Egypt. Traders raise prices in order to carry out the contracts, and processors – essentially to get to the end of the season volumes. Processors offer soy 11800-12000 UAH/t with delivery to the plant that corresponds to the level of 380-385 $/t at the port. For soybeans, non-GMO offer 380-385 $/t at the border with Belarus, but domestic purchasing price is the most interesting.
the High level of prices on the background of containment sales manufacturers, who expect the price high, has forced private refiners to stop purchasing soy after export prices of soybean meal decreased.
the July soybean futures in the U.S. yesterday fell 1% to 310,5 $/tonne, despite the news about intention of China to increase purchases of soybeans to replenish state reserves.
Export sales of soybeans from the U.S. last week rose by 41% to 344,9 thousand tons, which is 42% below the corresponding period last year.
Prices for June shipments of U.S. soybeans remain at 333-335 $/MT FOB Gulf, whereas the prices of Brazilian and Argentine soybeans are reduced due to the devaluation of local currencies.


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Chinese company BAIC showed up to the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show with a pair of concepts, the 500 (above) and 900 (right). And while we don't have much in the way of information about these vehicles from the People's Republic, they're still pretty neat and worthy of some attention.
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Port of Kiel maintains high handling levels
by Ulf Jahnke
Cargo turnover again tops 3.5 million tons
Kiel, August 2nd, 2018: In the first six months of the year more than 3.5 million tons of cargo were handled in the port of Kiel and just about a million passengers were carried. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the PORT OF KIEL (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) said: “We may not have been able to match the absolute record of 2017, but we have nonetheless managed to achieve an acceptable half-year result. Compared with the extra-ordinary growth of 20% in the first half of last year, this year’s handling has continued to maintain a high level." In the first half of 2018 a total of 3,544,275 tons of cargo were handled, which corresponds to a drop of 3.65%. In passenger trade however 964,604 travellers left or boarded a ferry or cruise ship – which meant an increase in this sector of 5.55%.
The main reason for the drop in cargo was the particularly long yard stay of one of the ferries of the Stena Line, which had a modern waste gas cleaning system – a so-called scrubber - installed in February and March. Dirk Claus said: “We welcome this investment in environment protection – even though the ship’s six week yard visit, rather than the originally planned two weeks, led to a significant cargo decline at the Schwedenkai Terminal.” Growth rates on the Oslo route could only make up for part of the loss. Trade with the Baltic region and Russia in the first half of the year totalled a good 1.2 million tons and was at just about the same level as in the same period of last year. Ships on the Kiel-Klaipeda route were almost full to capacity and volumes in trade with Russia showed stabilisation. The St Petersburg service benefitted from an additional port warehouse being taken into operation.
In the bulk cargo handling sector, developments in Kiel were mixed. The handling of fuels like oil and coal showed an overall small decline while that of building materials like gravel and agricultural products such as grain grew slightly. “Coal handling in the Ostuferhafen is being wound down gradually as a result of the impending decommissioning of the local power plant”, said Dirk Claus. “At the same time however, handling of bulk cargo in the Nordhafen is increasing”, he added. Kiel expects a new impetus to growth in ferry business from the additional Color Line cargo ferry being introduced into service from January 1st next year. Intermodal rail/ship shipments will also continue to profit from this development. In the first half of this year a little over 15,000 consignments, most of them trailers and containers, have already been loaded onto the railways.
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“The eurozone economy moved up a gear in February. GDP growth of 0.6pc could be seen in the first quarter if this pace of expansion is sustained into March,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.
“With inflows of new orders also surging and firms becoming even more optimistic about the year ahead, growth could even lift higher in coming months. The survey therefore indicates that companies are currently firmly focused on expanding in the face of rising sales and fuller order books.”
The composite PMI number for the eurozone climbed to 56 for February, up from 54.4 in January. Any number above 50 indicates growth.
France’s PMI hit a 69-month high of 56.2 - indicating it is now expanding more quickly than the eurozone average - while Germany’s index score rose to 56.1, a 34-month high.
It is the first time French growth has exceeded Germany’s since 2012.
The last time the PMIs were this high the European Central Bank hiked interest rates in a move which was widely blamed for derailing the economy.
The sovereign debt crisis followed, leading to another five years of mediocre economic performance.
But now the eurozone might be finding its feet once more, and economists do not expect the ECB to tighten monetary policy just yet as inflation remains low.
“Crisis legacies and low core inflation will prevent the ECB from turning hawkish any time soon,” said Holger Sandte at Nordea.
“However, the doves in the ECB Governing Council will find it harder to defend the current policy stance if core inflation unexpectedly picks up significantly during the coming months.”
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THIS weekend is the last chance to visit Newstead Abbey during its Christmas event.
Visitors will get the chance to see the historic abbey decorated with traditional flowers and festive foliage to celebrate the season.
Santa was just one of the many guests last weekend but this will be the last time the famous man in red will be touring the abbey gardens and house as he needs to get ready for the big day.
“Father Christmas spent time meeting and greeting our young visitors,” said site manager Penny Beniston.
Don’t miss the opportunity to see Christmas at Newstead which runs again this weekend from 11 am to 4 pm, along with a festive craft fair.
Entrance costs £6 for parking which gives you free entrance to the craft fair with admission to the house priced at £5 adults, £1 children.
But if you quote ‘Christmas Boatswain’ at the gate, tickets are half price.
Go online for photos and a video to see what is on offer at www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk.
n OUR PHOTO shows Santa at the abbey — DISPIC NHUD12-3058-6.


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Apple fans might not be lining up for the iPhone 7 like they did for previous models (mostly because the company has been pushing online sales instead), but one mega-fan is still going strong. Japanese Apple fanatic Ayano Tominaga lined up for the new iPhone in Tokyo this week and she brought a Steve Jobs body pillow to keep her company.
Tominaga picked up a matte black iPhone 7 (possibly because the iPhone 7 Plus and the Jet Black color option aren’t available in stores at launch). She was also happy to pose with her body pillow alongside other Apple fans for photos. Tominaga apparently slept outside the store for two nights, sharing photos on Instagram while she waited for the new smartphone to arrive.
This isn’t the first time Tominaga has shown up for iPhone launch day with her Steve Jobs body pillow on display. According to Mashable she had the pillow printed back in 2014 for the iPhone 6. That year she spent nine days camped out at the Apple Store. Nine days! 216 hours!!
As long as Apple has fans like this we’ll continue to see customers line up each year to grab the new iPhone at launch. But for most people, it makes more sense to just pre-order the phone online or a wait a little longer until things calm down.


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Startup QuantumScape will make multilayer solid state battery cells when it moves to pilot production, the CEO said on Thursday.
tl;dr: The fact that QuantumScape will target multilayer cells for pre-pilot production instead of the single-layer technology it has been working on is a big step toward commercial production of its batteries.
QuantumScape is developing what many consider the Holy Grail of electric car batteries: a highly-efficient, long-lasting, long-range, fast-charging electric car battery cell.
The battery startup achieves this by replacing* the liquid electrolyte that regulates the flow of current with a solid electrolyte.
The polymer separator used in conventional lithium-ion batteries is substituted with a solid-state ceramic separator, QuantumScape says. As a result, the less-efficient carbon or carbon-silicon anode is replaced with an anode of pure metallic lithium.
QuantumScape has achieved “three things that matter,” Jagdeep Singh, Founder, CEO & Chairman of QuantumScape told me in an interview on Thursday.
“One, it's got to work at a high enough rate of power to be useful, otherwise it's useless. Two, it’s got to work under a broad range of temperatures. It can’t only work at elevated temperatures. And three, it’s got to deliver high cycle life,” Singh said.
“We have not seen any other solid-state effort in 45 years of publications that meet those three basic requirements,” he said.
Mutlilayer cell production
Commercial production of multilayer-cell batteries is the goal, Singh said. That’s what electric car makers like Volkswagen, a major investor in QuantumScape, require.
QuantumScape has already developed 4-layer multilayer 30-by-30mm cells. These cells can complete close to 800 cycles at near-room temperature with over 90% capacity retention. The results are substantially similar to the single-layer cell data reported in December, the company said.
Now it’s working on manufacturing these multilayer cells in their commercial size — 70-by-85mm layers.
In order to scale up the technology, QuantumScape will build a pre-pilot line facility in San Jose, what it calls “QS-0” due t0 come online in 2023.
QS-0 is intended to have a “continuous ﬂow, high automation line” capable of building over 100,000 engineering cell samples per year.
Following this, high-volume commercial production is planned for 2024 or 2025, Singh said.
That facility will be “done in conjunction with Volkswagen. A joint venture. 50-50 owned [between Volkswagen and Quantumscape]. We call that QS-1,” Singh said.
I asked Singh about this:
“I don't think that production is hard and development is easy. In fact, I think it's the opposite. Development, this is much harder,” he said.
“Because you have to have the technology that works before you can think about manufacturing it,” he said.
And what is a commercially-viable multilayer cell?
“It would be a few dozen [layers],” Singh said. “The precise number of layers varies by by automotive OEM. Every OEM has a different package design and module design, but it will be on the order of a few dozen of those layers,” he said.
“We’re not the first guys to come up with a lithium ion battery factory. What's new here's the technology that we’re developing,” Singh said.
And companies like VW want a high-volume product that is safe. Solid-state batteries are safer since they don’t have the liquid polymer that has the potential to catch fire.
“This is why VW is so interested,” Singh said. While Tesla sold about 500,000 cars in 2020, “VW sells 10 million cars a year. At that scale if there's anything that can go wrong, it will go wrong. They really appreciate the safety benefits. In addition to the range and power and fast charge capability.”
*According to Singh: “You’re no longer holding the lithium ion in a carbon lattice. But as pure metallic lithium.” Getting rid of those carbon atom “hosts” in the lattice allows the battery to be much more efficient.
Comments can be sent via direct message to “twitter.com/mbrookec”


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Abdoulai G. Dibba
Secco Managers (Buying Points), have lamented the delay of paying their 25 percent commission from the National Food Security, Processing and Marketing Corporation or former GGC, which the latter usually retain until the Seccos Managers reconcile their books with them.
The Secco Managers within the Barra, Kerewan, Kaur and Kuntuar Depot circles, informed this reporter that even though they have reconciled their books with the National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation a month ago, they are yet to receive their 25 percent commission retained by them; that any time they ask the Corporation for this, they will always refer them to the following week on end. This information from the Secco Managers prompted this reporter to contact the Managing Director of the National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation on Tuesday 22nd May, to shed light on the issue.
According to Mr. Anthony Carvalho, they have already reconciled with the Cooperative Primary Marketing Societies (Seccos) and they know what to pay each Secco.
He however said they are engage in an exercise in which to inform farmers through a press release that if they are owed any amount of money by their Secco Managers, they should report the matter to their nearest depot with a documentary evidence to prove that they are owed such monies.
MD Carvalho asserted that after this exercise, which they hope to conclude by the 27th of May 2018, any farmer who is owed by a Secco Manager, we will be paid and the balance if any, will be given to the Secco Managers.
“Cooperative Primary Marketing Societies (Seccos) should therefore expect their 25 percent commission any time after the 27th of May 2018,” MD Carvalho concluded.


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After a Supreme Court ruling on privacy violation stopped the Aadhaarbased electronic KYC, mobile wallet companies had to resort to paper-based KYC. If collecting paper documents from customers is an expensive proposition, then managing those documents is also a challenge.
With the RBI saying on Monday that the extension could be used for putting in place alternative systems of completing the KYC process, the industry hopes new digitised KYC process would replace paper KYC.
“The extension opens up possibilities of alternative digital KYC mechanisms like QR code-based KYC or video KYC, which can make the customer verification process simpler,” said Sunil Kulkarni, joint managing director at Oxigen Services India, which operates as a mobile wallet and digital payments company.
Other mobile wallet companies too hope that the banking regulator would follow the markets watchdog Sebi and allow video KYC, which will help avoid papers. ET had written in its December 10 edition that the RBI was planning to allow live video KYC for authentication of wallet customers after eKYC stopped.
“The mobile wallet industry is looking at development of alternate KYC mechanisms within these six months so that entities can actually get the full KYC done in a cost-effective manner,” said Naveen Surya, chairman of industry body Fintech Convergence Council.
Surya added that the regulator should also allow minimum KYC wallets to remain in operations for small-value transactions. As per current guidelines, all wallets should compulsorily be in the full-KYC bracket.
As senior payment executives said, if the KYC process does not get simplified after six months, the share of full-KYC wallets will continue to be in low single digits. Ola, which runs its own wallet service Ola Money, has been asking customers to submit paper documents to their driver partners. A customer needs to upload soft copies of identification documents, click a selfie and then submit the paper documents.
“The whole process is cumbersome, not to mention the fact that paper documents with personal details of the customer can be misused by the agents for multiple purposes, which is a privacy breach,” cautioned another top executive of a payments company.
ETPrime stories of the day
9 mins read
11 mins read
Under the lens
15 mins read


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A week has already passed, but people are still buzzing about Super Bowl 50. From the activations to the parties to the game itself, there’s enough material to pore over for the next month. One of the parties that received a sizable amount of attention this week was Vanity Fair’s Super Bowl 50 party.
With A-list celebrities dressed in the latest designer fashions, this prelude to the Super Bowl felt more like a walk down the red carpet than your typical cocktail party. One of the major highlights to Vanity Fair’s event was the portrait studio designed by set decorator Abraham Latham.
Quite a few celebrities like Adrian Grenier found themselves enjoying the photo studio, as one can see in the photo above. We worked with Abraham to provide all of the football gear—jerseys, helmets, pants, pads, and footballs—seen behind celebrities like Joe Jonas, Amy Adams, Adriana Lima, and more.
Whether it’s a live event, production, or a photo shoot, we’re the leaders in football equipment rentals. Not only do we rent football uniforms and props for these jobs, but we can also provide athletes and choreography as well.
Call us today at (310) 303-4467 or email us at email@example.com for a quick quote.


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The shoppers of the former Eastern Bloc have huge pent-up spending power and a development boom is creating opportunities for Western retailers. Ben Cooper reports
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09 Mar Update from latest BID stakeholder meeting
Feedback stakeholder meeting at Hexham Abbey 27th Feb 2017
Hexham Abbey kindly hosted our latest stakeholder meeting in their Wilfred Room, and BID Director Trish Hannant welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Owen Mills, General Manager, gave a short presentation on what the Abbey is doing circulating their Spring events guide, and explaining the Abbey wanted to be more engaged with the businesses community and the town. The Abbey is reviewing the car park to see if it can be opened up for local use. They will running a Flower Festival in July (20th-23rd) and a special Roman Day on August Bank Holiday Monday to tie in with Hadrian’s Cavalry multi site events, and would welcome businesses linking up with them on this. We discussed whether the BID should run a garden/flower themed market to complement and give local traders opportunities.
Helen Grayshan, the BID Manager, circulated details of training opportunities for businesses, and asked for feedback on what businesses would like that the BID could arrange. On BID projects, there would soon be an announcement about improving the appearance and cleanliness of the town, working with a local partner.
There was then a discussion about plans for Christmas, and for retail promotion, looking at a local gift card scheme with a click n collect style shopping portal. Finally, it was noted that some traders were involved in making Hexham a Dementia Friendly town, working with the Alzheimer’s Society and Hexham Town Council, and that the BID might support this.


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Bitcoin payments company Paymium has actually partnered with among the world’s biggest point-of-sale (POS) option companies to permit European brick-and-mortar sellers to accept the digital currency.
Specifically, Paymium has actually developed an app that is being hosted on the Telium Tetra Marketplace, a payment application suite established by Ingenico Group entirely for its POS terminals. The app permits merchants to accept bitcoin payments and convert them to euros instantly.
Michel Léger, EVP worldwide sales and marketing at Ingenico Group, stated:
Continue reading at CoinDesk


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Many marketers (and their CEO bosses) have possibly had more time on their hands than usual. And spent more time with their favourite humans than they expected. Perhaps they realized how nice the outside world really is. Whatever. Fact is that many brands are keen to discover their ‘bigger purpose”. Tanishq was one example of a brand that used its commercial megaphone to propagate a set of beliefs, which didn’t go down so well with some.
The latest entrant is Mondelez (the owners of Cadbury’s and Oreo brands, amongst others) with ‘humaning’. The company defines humaning as “a unique, consumer-centric approach to marketing that creates real, human connections with purpose, moving Mondelez International beyond cautious, data-driven tactics and uncovering what unites us all”. This hasn’t come out of the blue – last year they published research which has gems like “80% of adults worldwide acknowledge the need for balance by appreciating the option of both healthy and indulgent snacks depending on the moment of need”, and how parents use snack time to connect with their kids. As someone who has been on a 3 month program to desperately reverse the impact of years of indulgent snacking, I might be a bit biased against candy companies at present 🙂 But this campaign sounds like “purpose-washing” – sugar-coating a business that essentially packages sugar in various formats to be one that enables human connections.
But consumers – and employees – are voting with their wallets for ‘good’ companies, so brand managers will definitely work hard in 2021 to show how they are better for the world. Some will be more authentic than others.
Next Wednesday (25th November, 3pm IST) I’m happy to be sharing the stage, rather, screen with Rahul Munjal, CEO of Hero Future Energies, and Anup Sharma, Independent Communications Consultant, to discuss the marketing trends for 2021. HFE is in the business of renewable energy which is definitely a good cause. In this session we are going to be talking about the trends we see in marketing, given that 2020 has seen a huge amount of behavioural modification and digital transformation.
A trend which I think is likely to stay is “Direct to Consumer”. The COVID-19 lockdown has taught many businesses how to move past their traditional distribution patterns and sell directly to the consumer – through ecommerce portals, their own websites and apps, and physical pop up stores.
In B2B, the traditional sales model has been disrupted as well. Will it go back to the way things were once the vaccine works its wonders? I don’t think so, because a lot of changes have already been set in motion. Two big elements of B2B marketing will not go back to 2019 is my view. Given Rahul’s position in the B2B space – as a provider and in procurement – we’re going to delve a bit more into this topic.
We’ve seen a lot of country branding play out this year (Huawei, TikTok) and it would be interesting to see how that plays out in 2021. What is India known for was a question that generated a lot of discussion on social media. Some are positive, though not all. Will we be able to monetize that remains the question – will 2021 be the year of the “Made in India” brand? More on this in the next issue.


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US: Treasury Wine Estates tackles debt with new notes issue
The transaction raised US$250m
Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has issued US$250m worth of notes to help refinance its US debt.
The transaction, which involved US private placement (USPP) notes, was completed on Monday, the wine company said yesterday (18 December). TWE said the raising was oversubscribed three times over, demonstrating a “strong appetite” for its credit.
“This is an excellent outcome for TWE and re-enforces the quality of TWE’s unique portfolio of assets and brands,” the company's CFO, Tony Reeves, said.
The USPP market is provides access to long-term funding to both rated and unrated issuers.
In July, Melbourne-headquartered TWE announced that it was destroying its old and out-of-date stock in the US, resulting in a writedown of AUD160m (US$145.7m). CEO David Dearie subsequently left the group.
Environmental sustainability in the global drinks industry in 2013
Environmental sustainability remains one of the most active areas for the global drinks industry. This four-part report takes an in-depth look at the buzz topic of environmental sustainability throug...read more
Who'd have thought it? Treasury Wine Estates, a company that, in the recent past, has scrabbled around trying to find someone to buy its wine business, has finally received a takeover offer. And, they...
Treasury Wine Estates has faced serious challenges since its spin-off from Foster’s Group in 2011. The US, which was a key component of its turnaround plan, has thus far failed to pay dividends. In 20...
The report provides a review of the mergers and acquisitions (M&As), partnering deals, and agreements entered into by companies active in the global wine market during December 2013....
Earlier today (2 June), brand valuation consultancy Intangible Business released the results of its latest survey of the world's wine and spirits brands. Here's a look at 'The Power 100', along with t...
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Razer may have plans to make a big splash with its first smartphone. Weeks ahead of the company’s scheduled event, a Razer Android phone has appeared on GFXBench website which suggests that the phone will have 8GB of RAM among other high-end features.
According to the listing, first spotted by PhoneRadar, the ‘Razer Phone’ will feature a 5.7-inch QHD (1440×2560 pixels) display. It will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC and 8GB of RAM. Other features listed include 64GB inbuilt storage, a single 12-megapixel rear camera, and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.
The high-end hardware specifications will fit into Razer’s supposed ambition to position its upcoming smartphone as a gaming device. How well Razer manages the software will of course determine whether its device is able to make the most out of the hardware.
Razer’s arrival to the smartphone industry follows the recent trend that has seen several smartphone companies try their hands at making or selling their own branded smartphones. Earlier this year, Pepsi launched its own smartphone. Camera company Red is also working on its own smartphone.
Even as smartphone market looks lucrative, Razer will soon find out how difficult it is compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung. Other than Apple and Samsung, every other company has been posting major losses in the recent quarters.
Though Razer has some expertise in the area. Earlier this year, the company acquired Nextbit, the smartphone company that made cloud-focused handsets.


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The frozen treat company founded by Philadelphia firefighter Bob Tumolo has been ushering in the warmer seasons with free water ice for 30 years now. But Rita’s first day of spring promo is slightly different this time around:
To get your free red-and-white striped cup, you have to download the Rita’s app today — and you can redeem it anytime this week.
The way it works: download the app by March 20. You’ll get a reward with a special QR code. Show it to the counter person of one of the 25 locations in Philly — or any of the nearly 600 locations across 30+ states (where the franchises are known as “Rita’s Italian Ice” instead of “Rita’s Water Ice”).
When the deal was first rolled out in 1992, the world was a very different place. Microsoft had just released Windows 3.1. Bill Clinton had smashed opponents in Super Tuesday Democratic presidential primaries. Ed Rendell had just been sworn in as mayor, and Charles Barkley was a couple months from getting traded to the Phoenix Suns. Rita’s, which Tumelo had founded in 1984, was about to add custard to its dessert lineup for the first time.
Some things haven’t changed at all. There are nine Rita’s flavors that have been offered through the three decades of the promotion:
- Root Beer
Cherry, lemon and chocolate are water ice canon, and pineapple is also traditional. Root beer is a crowd-pleaser, something that appeals to kids and grandpas alike. Watermelon, strawberry and vanilla? Classic candy flavors. And mango is still one of Rita’s top-selling flavors. But pour one out for mint chocolate chip, which was on this list five years ago, but is no longer offered.
Of course, there are plenty of other, non-franchised spots to get water ice in Philly. To plan out the rest of your spring slurping, check our list here.


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Each minute the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic ends up in the ocean, so why do 4 billion plastic line Starbucks paper cups get thrown away every year along with masses of it single-use plastic lids, straws, and culturally?
Starbucks is part of the global plastic problem: tell the coffee giant to stop trashing our planet with plastic!
By 2050 the world’s oceans are projected to have more plastic than fish. Yet Starbucks has no plan to reduce it’s plastic trash and continues to serve paper coffee cups that are nearly impossible to recycle because of the plastic lining.
The sheer amount of plastic trash created by Starbucks is out of control – and it’s ending up in the waterways and other fragile ecosystems.
In 2008, Starbucks said it would serve a 100% recyclable paper cup and increase reusables to 25% by 2015. To date it has not done either.
It’s time for Starbucks to live up to its promises.


text: Martha’s Vineyard Community Services (MVCS) will hold its biannual spring Electronics Disposal Day on Saturday, May 19, from 9 am to 2 pm, according to a press release. Recycle your personal or business old and tired air conditioners, cell phones, computers, copiers, dehumidifiers, fax machines, microwaves, monitors, laptops, printers, refrigerators, scanners, stereo equipment, televisions, washers and dryers, scrap metal, and more. Fees are between $5 and $40 per item. A 10 percent discount is given for full car loads. All proceeds support the programs and services of MVCS. More information, including a price list, can be found at bit.ly/MVCSelectronics. THe event will take place at the MVCS campus, across from the high school.