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☆ UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak draws criticism over Adidas Samba sneakers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Because UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was seen wearing a pair. “In a bid to present himself as young and hip… Sunak took an eternally cool sneaker, and ruined it for everyone,” added British GQ. It’s a far cry from the public reaction another political leader received after being spotted in a pair of sneakers. Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty ImagesSo why aren’t Sunak’s Sambas striking the same chord? Even the most ardent sneakerheads know there is a time and a place for a gum sole, and the British public have decided on-camera at 10 Downing Street is neither.

Persons: CNN — It’s, Harry Styles, Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid, Paul Mescal, Rihanna, it’s, Rishi Sunak, ”, “, relatable, Michael Hogan, … Sunak, It’s, Barack Obama, Stan Smiths, Kamala Harris, Chuck Taylors, Mohd Rasfan, Obama, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush, Ronald Reagan, Harris, Kevin McCarthy, Hakeem Jeffries, Donald Trump, Trump Organizations: CNN, Adidas Sambas, UK, Conservative, British, Guardian, GQ, Obama, Sneaker Con, Downing Locations: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, AFP, New York, Philadelphia, American

☆ 5 Podcasts for Hollywood’s Awards Season
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Emma Dibdin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The 2024 awards season has felt unusually hectic so far, thanks to the strike-delayed Emmy Awards shifting from their usual fall airdate to January. But even when there’s nothing quite so unusual going on, the analysis here always makes awards season more interesting. Starter episode: “Oscar Voters, Start Your Engines”There’s a peculiar category of film that debuts with great fanfare, attracts plenty of awards buzz, and then fades from the cultural consciousness without a trace (and no awards). Not all of the films discussed on “This Had Oscar Buzz” fall into that bracket, but, as the title suggests, the focus is on the movies that had that buzzy aura around them, at least for a while. Starter episode: “Alexander (With David Sims)”Though not a traditional awards season podcast with predictions or play-by-play recaps, “The Town” is an invaluable resource for anyone hoping to understand the upheaval in Hollywood.

Persons: “, Michael Hogan, Katey Rich, Richard Lawson, Joanna Robinson, Oscar, Andrew Scott, Emma Stone, Greta Lee, “ Oscar, Buzz ”, Jennifer Aniston, Aniston, Joe Reid, Chris Feil, don’t belittle, “ Alexander, David Sims, ”, Matthew Belloni, Puck, ’, Brooks Barnes Organizations: Sundance, The Hollywood, Hollywood, The New York Times, Hollywood Foreign Press Association Locations: Hollywood, La, Los Angeles, Cannes, Venice, Toronto

☆ They Spend Thousands Decorating Homes No One Will Ever Go Inside
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

So far this year, Michael Hogan has spent more than $5,000 on metal bar stools, a curved sofa and other modern décor to furnish a newly built home he’ll never live in. That is because the dwelling is so small it is better suited for a resident the size of a mouse. Take a tiny load offHogan is among a new cohort of dollhouse devotees who are shaking up how grown-ups indulge in the classic children’s hobby. Instead of outfitting old-timey homes with old-timey décor, they are assembling contemporary miniature abodes packed with tiny versions of trendy trappings sold in stores such as IKEA and West Elm.

Persons: Michael Hogan, he’ll Organizations: Hogan, IKEA Locations: West Elm

☆ She Spends $1,000 a Month Decorating Homes No One Will Ever Go Inside
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Michael Hogan, he’ll Organizations: Hogan, IKEA Locations: West Elm

Summary Egypt seeking cheaper wheat amid dollar crunchRussia blocked deal that undercut price floor- tradersCAIRO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Egypt is in talks with an Abu Dhabi-based bank for a loan facility that would finance wheat purchases from Kazakhstan, three traders told Reuters. The move could give Egypt a cheap alternative to grain from Russia, which has supplied an increasing share of Egypt's wheat since last year but recently blocked a deal for a purchase below an unofficial price floor for wheat purchases, traders say. Russia's agriculture ministry recently prevented the private sale of 480,000 tons of Russian wheat to Egypt, apparently because it was sold below the price floor, traders told Reuters. Kazakhstan is already an approved wheat import origin for Egypt, but purchases from the Central Asian country are rare. The Egyptian government recently signed a $500 million loan agreement with the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) to buy imported wheat from UAE-based agribusiness Al Dahra.

Persons: Abu, GASC, Sarah El Safty, Michael Hogan, Aidan Lewis, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, General Authority for Supply Commodities, Central, Abu, Abu Dhabi Exports Office, Thomson Locations: Egypt, Russia, CAIRO, Abu Dhabi, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Bulgaria, UAE

☆ Exclusive: Suedzucker unit drops plan to lift French sugar output, citing Ukraine imports
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Sybille De La Hamaide | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

European sugar prices have hit record highs, well above soaring global markets, due to a sugar deficit in the bloc, linked notably to falling output in France where farmers have been deterred by poor harvests in recent years. High sugar prices at a time when grain prices have fallen could make farmers favour beets in their rotations, sugar beet growers said. The French sugar beet crop area fell to a 14-year low this year. "We must be careful not to fall into the opposite extreme," Franck Sander, chairman of French sugar beet union CGB, told Reuters, warning that a rise in area could make EU prices slump. Saint Louis Sucre closed two factories in 2019 as part of a wider restructuring plan at Suedzucker, Europe’s largest sugar refiner.

Persons: Saint Louis Sucre, Germany's Suedzucker, Saint, Louis Sucre, rapeseed sowings, Franck Sander, Sybille de La, Nigel Hunt, Michael Hogan, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, European Union, Thomson Locations: France, Ukraine, Suedzucker, Poland, London, Hamburg

Traders have told Reuters the price could possibly be below an unofficial floor set by Russia's government to control domestic wheat prices. Other Russian wheat suppliers submitted offers on Friday at a free-on-board price of $265 per metric ton, believing it to be the set price floor, and a C&F price that exceeded $270 per ton. Traders told Reuters the price floor was not legally binding but that suppliers were expected to follow instructions from Russia's agriculture ministry. There is a lack of clarity in the market about the level of the Russian minimum floor price. GASC had also privately bought one cargo of Bulgarian wheat at $270 per ton C&F on Friday.

Persons: Mohamed Abd El Ghany, GASC, Sarah El Safty, Michael Hogan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, General Authority for Supply Commodities, Solaris, Reuters, Traders, Abu, Abu Dhabi Exports Office, Thomson Locations: Al Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt, Rights CAIRO, Ukraine, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Retail pasta prices rose about 12% this year in Europe and 8% in the United States, according to market research firm Nielsen. CANADA DRYWhen the Prairies turned dry this summer, Canadian farmer Darold Niwa saw hopes of a bumper durum harvest dashed. Durum, the hardest wheat, produces pasta with the prized "al dente" firm texture, unlike soft wheat. In the meantime, Vincenzo Martinelli, president of the durum section of Italian millers association Italmopa, nervously awaits the outcome of the Canadian harvest. "Without Canada, prices will only go up," he said.

Persons: De, Continental Noodles, Vincent Liberatore, Liberatore, Darold Niwa, Jerry Klassen, Philip Werle, There's, Severine, Maisons, Vincenzo Martinelli, Gus Trompiz, Rod Nickel, Emilio Parodi, Ceyda, Julie Ingwersen, Michael Hogan, Caroline Stauffer, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Foods, Nielsen, Grains, CANADA, Prairies, Statistics, Traders, Northstar, European Union, Thomson Locations: Fara San Martino, Italy, PARIS, WINNIPEG , Manitoba, Canada, Turkey, Toronto, Continental, Spain, India, Europe, United States, Oyen , Alberta, durum, Statistics Canada, France, Algeria, TURKEY, Turkish, American, Russia, North Africa, Milan, Ceyda Caglayan, Istanbul, Chicago, Hamburg

☆ Rhine river levels in Germany back to normal after rain
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stephane Nitschke/File PhotoHAMBURG, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Heavy rain has raised water on the river Rhine in Germany to levels allowing cargo vessels to sail fully loaded, data from German inland waterways agency WSA said on Wednesday. Commodity traders said full loads could now be taken on by ships along the entire river in Germany. German industry is finding new ways to transport cargoes from coal to chemicals as increasingly frequent low water levels on the Rhine disrupt Europe's largest economy, major cargo shippers told Reuters. The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals, coal and oil products, including heating oil. German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in the summer of 2022 after a drought and heat wave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.

Persons: Stephane Nitschke, Pegelonline, Kaub, Michael Hogan, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, WSA, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ludwigshafen, Germany, Cologne

☆ Rain raises Rhine river levels in Germany; north still too shallow
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAMBURG, July 26 (Reuters) - Heavy rain has raised water levels on the Rhine in Germany, but the river is still too shallow in central northern areas for cargo vessels to sail fully loaded, commodity traders said on Wednesday. As increasingly frequent low water on the Rhine disrupts Europe's largest economy, its industry is finding new ways to ship cargoes, including the use of low-water barges. "So far this summer we have had enough rain to prevent a crisis on the river," one commodity trader said. "Low water has increased costs but cargo has been delivered." German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought and heat wave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.

Persons: Michael Hogan, John Stonestreet Organizations: Thomson Locations: HAMBURG, Germany, Koblenz, Cologne, Duisburg

Port infrastructure on the Danube river is the target this time," regional governor Oleh Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Global wheat and corn futures rose sharply on concern that Russia's attacks and more fighting, including a drone strike on Moscow, could threaten grain exports and shipping. "Russia has in the past months not attacked Ukraine's overland and inland waterways grain infrastructure," one European trader said. Another European grain trader said: "It’s clearly an attack on additional Ukrainian grain export infrastructure. "Russia hit another Ukrainian grain storage overnight," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

Persons: Oleh Kiper, Reni, Odesa, Dmytro Kuleba, Valentyn Ogirenko, Michael Hogan, Tom Balmforth, Timothy Organizations: Press Service, Operational Command, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia, Ukraine KYIV, European Union, Romania, Police, Maersk Group, Twitter, Ukraine's National Security, Defence Council, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Odesa Region, Russia, Kyiv, Port, Moscow, Reni, NATO, Romanian, Africa, Asia, Hamburg

The government said it was imposing the ban after retail rice prices climbed 3% in a month as late monsoon rains damaged crops. While a late monsoon caused a major shortfall of rain up to mid-June, heavy rains since have caused significant damage. India accounts for more than 40% of world rice exports but low inventories mean any cut in shipments will fuel food prices driven up by Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year and erratic weather. His administration has extended a ban on wheat exports after curbing rice shipments in September 2022. "India would disrupt the global rice market with far greater velocity than Ukraine did in the wheat market with Russia's invasion," B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association told Reuters.

Persons: Rice, Narendra Modi, Krishna Rao, Rao, El, Michael Hogan, Jan Harvey, David Evans, Conor Humphries Organizations: Rice, Association, Reuters, El, Farmers, El Nino, Thomson Locations: India, Ukraine, DELHI, Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rice, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, China, Philippines, Hamburg

☆ Low water again hampers Rhine river shipping in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HAMBURG, June 28 (Reuters) - Low water levels after recent dry weather are again preventing cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the Rhine river in Germany with surcharges added to the usual freight prices, commodity traders said on Wednesday. Low water is hampering shipping on most of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said. Dry weather in early June meant the river became too shallow, hindering shipping before rain raised water levels. But rain forecast in river catchment areas in Germany from Thursday into the weekend could help raise water levels, traders said. German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought and heatwave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.

Persons: surcharges, Michael Hogan, Jason Neely Organizations: Thomson Locations: HAMBURG, Germany, Duisburg, Cologne

Pig prices soared in Europe last year as output was cut by farms squeezed by high grain and energy costs. The EU pork industry has been buffeted in the past decade by a Russian trade embargo, the westward spread of African swine fever and the COVID-19 pandemic. "We're continuing to add costs to the overall pork production chain," Justin Sherrard, global strategist for animal protein at Rabobank, said. That may mean EU pork exports, whose share of production more than doubled to 21% between 2000 and 2020, have peaked. But an inflationary economy may make consumers less ready to accept rising pork prices and deepen a shift towards chicken as a cheaper, more convenient option.

Persons: Carole Joliff, Joliff, Jean, Paul Simier, AKI, We're, Justin Sherrard, slaughterhouses, Klaus Kaiser, FICT, Rabobank's Sherrard, jamon serrano, prosciutto, Tim Koch, Gus Trompiz, Forrest Crellin, Michael Hogan, Johannes Birkebaek, Emma Pinedo, Toby Sterling, David Evans Organizations: European Union, Commission, Rabobank, BLE, Danish Crown, AMI, Thomson Locations: PARIS, Brittany, Europe, Russian, Hungarian, China, Japan, Denmark, Netherlands, Danish, France, Brazil, United States, Germany, EU, Paris, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Madrid, Amsterdam

☆ Talks underway on Black Sea grain deal extension in Geneva
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 13 (Reuters) - Negotiations began on Monday between U.N. officials and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin on a possible extension to a deal allowing the safe export of grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, the Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva said. The deal, which was extended for 120 days in November, is up for renewal on March 18. Two sources involved with the talks said they were initially scheduled to last just one day but could be extended as needed. "Wheat and corn markets are weaker today as the talks start about extending the safe shipping agreement for Ukraine’s exports," said Matt Ammermann, StoneX commodity risk manager. "As such a large wheat and corn exporter, Ukraine’s supplies are vital to world markets."

☆ Russia suggests renewing Black Sea grain deal for shorter term
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Black Sea grain initiative, brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to prevent a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blockaded by Russia's invasion to be safely exported from three Ukrainian ports. Russia, he said, "does not object to another extension of the 'Black Sea Initiative' after its second term expiration on March 18, but only for 60 days." 'CRITICAL MOMENT'The United Nations said it noted the Russian position and that it remained "fully committed to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, as well as to efforts to facilitate the export of Russian food and fertilizer." "The UN Secretary-General has confirmed that the UN will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and ensure its continuity," it said in a statement. "To extend it for 60 days, you have to amend the deal."

☆ Germany reports another African swine fever case in farm pigs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HAMBURG, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Another case of African swine fever (ASF) has been confirmed in farm pigs in east Germany, authorities said on Tuesday. It was reported on a small farm with 11 animals in the eastern state of Brandenburg, the state's health ministry said. Wild boar coming into Germany from Poland were believed to have spread the disease to Germany, especially in the eastern states of Brandenburg and Saxony. The German government has been seeking to contain and eradicate ASF in the east partly by reducing the wild boar population. But the country’s large numbers of wild boar, which move over great distances, has made containment difficult.

☆ Bird flu alarm drives world towards once-shunned vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sybille De La Hamaide | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

"That's why every country in the world is worried about bird flu," French agriculture minister Marc Fesneau said. But the fear of trade restrictions remains centre stage for countries reluctant to vaccinate poultry against bird flu. Bird flu can also mutate rapidly and reduce the efficacy of vaccines while programmes are costly and time consuming, as shots often need to be administered individually. Ceva said it was using the mRNA technology used in some COVID shots for the first time in poultry vaccines. The global market for bird flu vaccines would be about 800 million to 1 billion doses per year, excluding China, said Sylvain Comte, corporate marketing director for poultry at Ceva.

☆ Wheat retreats on hopes Ukraine's grain shipments may continue
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Michael Hogan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Grain flowing out of Ukraine despite Russia ending shipping dealU.S. winter wheat suffers from drought - USDASoybeans rise, hopes of China buyingHAMBURG, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat and corn futures fell on Tuesday as grain shipments continued from Ukraine despite Russia suspending its participation in an export agreement for a safe shipping channel from Ukrainian ports. Soybeans rose on hopes of more U.S. export sales to China, while protests were eyed in Brazil - including road blocks - after the presidential election. Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat was down 1% to $8.73-1/4 a bushel at 1138 GMT, while corn was down 0.3% to $6.89-1/4 a bushel. Markets surged on Monday after Russia suspended its involvement in an agreement allowing Ukraine to make grain and other food shipments in a safe Black Sea shipping corridor. “Wheat and corn are weakened today on expectations the safe shipping channel for Ukraine’s exports may not be ended but could continue in some form,” said Matt Ammermann, StoneX commodity risk manager.

The order should also prohibit firms related to "unfriendly" states from owning Russian companies involved in grain loading capacity in ports, and grain storage, he said. VTB owns stakes in a number of major Russian grain export hubs in the Black Sea. Russian grain market players should still be allowed to sell grain to international traders for export on a free-on-board basis, which includes delivery to the final destination, the letter said. "But the main idea is to strengthen the position of Russian traders on the global market, not to prohibit anyone from doing anything," the source said. According to one grain trader, the government is expected to prepare its response to VTB's proposal by Sept. 30.

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