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[1/3] Ben & Jerry's, a brand of Unilever, is seen on display in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 24, 2022. Nestle said cutting products saved 1 billion Swiss francs last year ($1.06 billion), while Unilever said the practice saved $2 billion. Food makers tend to cull products without much fanfare. At the consumer products conference they highlighted new offerings, many of them increasingly popular handheld foods that people can eat while scrolling on phones. "You'd be shocked by the loyalty and personal connections people have to food products," he said.

[1/3] Ben & Jerry's, a brand of Unilever, is seen on display in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 24, 2022. Eliminating less popular products is part of a "decomplexity program" underway at Kraft Heinz, its executives said at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York Conference this week. Nestle said cutting products saved 1 billion Swiss francs last year ($1.06 billion), while Unilever said the practice saved $2 billion. At the consumer products conference they highlighted new offerings, many of them increasingly popular handheld foods that people can eat while scrolling on phones. "You'd be shocked by the loyalty and personal connections people have to food products," he said.

☆ Soaring energy costs triggered by war in Ukraine could push 141 million into extreme poverty, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine could push 141 million people worldwide into extreme poverty, according to a new report published Thursday in the journal Nature Energy. In low-income countries, the report said poorer households already facing severe food shortages were at greater risk of poverty due to higher energy costs. Households in higher income countries also felt the impact of rising energy prices but were more likely to be able to absorb them into household budgets, the report said. Energy price hikes caused by the crisis in Ukraine have also resulted in the increased cost of necessities like food. According to the report, many governments worldwide have already taken steps to lessen the impact of soaring energy prices on households, from reducing energy taxes and providing energy bill discounts to one-off energy subsidies and price caps.

☆ Nestlé says food prices will rise further this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Food, including ice cream, will see significant price increases in 2023, CEO Alan Jope said on the same call. Unilever said price increases caused sales volumes to decline by 2.1% in 2022. Heineken, meanwhile, said it expected to sell less beer in Europe this year because of “steep” price increases related to energy costs. At the time, Tesco (TSCDF) described the company’s price increases as “unjustifiable.” Once the products were restored, prices were unchanged on Heinz’s most popular lines. Gabby Jones/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesTesco has also “fallen out with other suppliers” over price increases, its chairman John Allen recently told the BBC.

"Because the consumer is now under more pressure, and Walmart is under pressure, that sets up a dynamic where there's probably not a lot of pricing going forward." The clout Walmart holds over suppliers also means that Walmart would likely get the lowest percentage of any price hikes manufacturers implement, according to investors who track the company. In 2018, Walmart pulled Campbell Soup Co's (CPB.N) products during the key winter season over a dispute over prices and shelf space promotion. At the time, Tesco labeled Heinz's price hikes as "unjustifiable." After raising prices four times in 2022, he said, Clorox doesn't "have any additional plans" to hike prices this year.

☆ Morning Bid: Corporate scatter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. A hail of mega corporate updates distracted stock markets from a confusing macro picture - but offers little more clarity with scattergun fortunes and ambiguous readouts for the wider economy. The flub fed worries that the Google parent is losing ground to rival Microsoft (MSFT.O) in the renewed craze around artificial intelligence. European shares touched a fresh nine-month high on Thursday as Germany's Siemens and UK's AstraZeneca boosted earnings euphoria, while Britain's bank, commodity and pharma heavy FTSE100 hit another record high. Norway's $1.35 trillion sovereign wealth fund said it had recently divested virtually all its remaining shares in the Adani group.

☆ Unilever says prices hikes will continue into this year, easing in H2
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bottles of Dove body wash, produced by Unilever Plc, at an Iceland Foods Ltd. supermarket in Christchurch, UK, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. Unilever Plc said on Thursday it would continue to raise prices for its detergents, soaps and packaged food to offset rising input costs, and ease up those hikes in the second half of 2023. The packaged goods industry has hiked up prices over the past year to cope with surging costs of everything from cocoa and sunflower oil to wheat. The industry had already been battling Covid-era supply chain issues and raw material expenses when Russia invaded Ukraine, further boosting prices of energy and other commodities. Underlying sales at Unilever rose 9.2% in the fourth quarter, beating a company-provided analyst estimate of an 8.2% increase.

Summary Trickbot targeted hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. saysSanctions could hit hackers' ability to move money-analystWASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United States and Britain have imposed sanctions against seven leading members of a notorious Russian hacking gang known as Trickbot, officials announced on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the United States and Britain were "committed to using all available authorities to defend against cyber threats." Both Trickbot and Conti were accused by U.S. and British authorities of having ties to the Russian intelligence services. Sanctions tend to be largely symbolic given that Russia is already heavily sanctioned and cybercriminals based there tend to steer clear of the United States or Britain. He said that U.S. officials had been lobbying to get other countries to impose sanctions on cybercriminals.

☆ Buy these 30 stocks that are all on track to outperform a 'flattish' market in 2023, according to RBC, which says it's safe to bet on Facebook parent Meta this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

RBC says its list of 30 favorite global stocks has steadily outperformed over the past 3 years. The group is made up of Global Head of Research Graeme Pearson, Head of US Research Mark Odendahl, Head of Canadian & APAC Research André‐Philippe Hardy, and Head of European Research & Global Head of Research Product Management Michael Hall. Painful as that is, its benchmark, the MSCI World Net Total Return Index, suffered an even bigger loss of 18.4%. Since the end of 2019, the firm adds that the top 30 list "has delivered a total return of +23.2%, above the benchmark at +15.6%." The 30 stocks are ranked here from lowest to highest based on the total return (share price and dividends) that RBC expects them to deliver in 2023.

☆ Here’s a list of Putin critics who've ended up dead
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Jeremy Wilson | Taylor Ardrey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Here's a list of people who have been critical of Putin and the Russian president is suspected of assassinating:Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Anna PolitkovskayaAnna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist who was critical of Putin. In her book "Putin's Russia," she accused Putin of turning his country into a police state. She specialised in uncovering human-rights abuses carried out by the Russian state in Chechnya. Sergei YushenkovSergei Yushenkov was a Russian politician who was attempting to prove the Russian state was behind the bombing of an apartment block.

☆ Female students turned away from Afghan universities after Taliban ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KABUL, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Female university students in Afghanistan were turned away from campuses on Wednesday after the Taliban-run administration said women would be suspended from tertiary education. A professor at another university in Kabul who declined to be identified said staff turned female students away at the gate as they had no choice but to implement the instruction. The bar on women students is likely to complicate the Taliban administration's efforts to gain international recognition and to get rid of sanctions that are severely hampering the economy. Several Taliban officials, including the deputy foreign minister and administration spokesperson, have spoken out in favour of female education in recent months. The Taliban administration has said it is working on a plan for girls' secondary education but has not given a time frame.

☆ It's been 50 years since the last moonwalk. NASA astronauts explain why it took so long.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Hilary Brueck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The 50th anniversary of the last Apollo astronaut moonwalk is Wednesday. NASA astronauts say it's taking so long to return to the moon because of politics and money. But NASA built Orion to send astronauts back into lunar orbit and, as early as 2025, link up with SpaceX's Starship to land astronauts on the moon. NASA astronaut Victor Glover visits the Space Launch System rocket inside Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building, on July 15, 2021. NASA/Kim ShiflettAs early as 2004, former President George Bush was setting goals to return astronauts to the moon.

☆ UK crime agency arrests 'wealthy Russian' over money laundering
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Britain's National Crime Agency said on Saturday it had arrested a "wealthy Russian businessman" on suspicion of money laundering and other offences as part of a crackdown on corrupt oligarchs. The unidentified 58-year-old was among three men arrested by officers from the Combatting Kleptocracy Cell (CKC) on Thursday at a "multi-million pound residence" in London, the NCA said. He was detained on suspicion of money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the Home Office (interior ministry) and conspiracy to commit perjury, the NCA said. These included a number of asset freezing orders on accounts held by people linked to sanctioned Russians. Britain has so far sanctioned more than 1,200 individuals and over 120 entities following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Over the line? Japan goal adds fuel to VAR debate
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Nick Mulvenney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The perspective that is clear is from above, and the belly of the ball is very big," he said. Everyone can take and use the photo they want, it doesn't matter, but the ball didn't go out." FIFA, who declined to comment on the incident on Friday, have invested heavily in VAR technology since introducing it at the World Cup four years ago in Russia. The match ball now contains a chip that transmits data to the VAR operations room 500 times a second, while 12 cameras in each stadium track 29 points on the body of each player. Former Scotland midfielder Graeme Souness said FIFA needed to be more transparent over VAR decisions.

☆ Japan reaches World Cup knockout stages with hotly debated goal after ball appeared to go out of play
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Japan reached the World Cup knockout stages for the fourth time on Thursday – by what appeared to be a matter of millimeters. But it’s Japan’s second goal that has been a topic of fierce debate in the aftermath of the game, specifically regarding whether the ball crossed the goal line before Kaoru Mitoma’s cutback pass to Ao Tanaka. Tanaka’s bundled goal was initially ruled out after the linesman flagged that the ball had gone out of play. 🧐 pic.twitter.com/cVXur9vMJ1 — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 1, 2022“That Japan goal almost defied physics. pic.twitter.com/mzF7YXnQiX — Nick Levett (@nlevett) December 1, 2022The goal means Japan will play Croatia in the knockout stages on Monday, while Spain plays Morocco on Tuesday.

☆ Zero-Based Budgeting, Currency Hedges Among the Tools CFOs Can Use to Weather Headwinds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Nina Trentmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

One area to which finance chiefs scouting for efficiencies have turned is zero-based budgeting, a tool that gained popularity early in the pandemic and requires finance executives to question and justify each line item in every new budget period. Reese’s peanut-butter cup maker Hershey Co., based in Pennsylvania, regularly goes through every line of its profit and loss statement, Finance Chief Steve Voskuil said. Detroit-based General Motors Co. is slowing and in some areas even freezing hiring, and homing in on other fixed costs, Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson has said. Facing high inflation and an uncertain outlook, finance chiefs are using zero-based budgeting to lower expenses in areas including operations, real estate, logistics, sales and marketing. Finance executives at large U.S. companies, including Coca-Cola Co. and materials-science company Dow Inc., are increasing their foreign-currency hedges and covering longer time periods.

☆ The FTC is 'likely' to file a suit to block Microsoft's purchase of Activision, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The FTC is 'likely' to file a lawsuit to block Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard. The suit would signify a major step by FTC chair Lina Khan to reign in big tech companies. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. Graeme Jennings/Pool via REUTERSMicrosoft first announced its purchase of Activision Blizzard, which manufactures popular video game titles like Call of Duty and Candy Crush, in January. This merger will benefit gamers and the U.S. gaming industry, especially as we face increasingly stiff competition from abroad," a spokesperson for Activision told Insider.

☆ World Cup 2022 - Germany 1-2 Japan: Late Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano goals earn shock victory
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Charlotte Marsh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Japan celebrates during a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match against Germany at Khalifa International Stadium on Nov. 23, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. Marc Atkins | Getty Images Sport | Getty ImagesEach Japan goal was greeted with a team bundle at the corner flag, and there were joyous celebrations at full-time. For Germany, their poor World Cup form continues, having finished bottom of their group at the 2018 tournament. After having two earlier efforts blocked, Gundogan stepped up and expertly dispatched his spot-kick to see the four-time World Cup winners in front. We made mistakes that we should never commit especially in a World Cup and those are the things that we need to improve on."

Weike WangJoan, the hero of this novel, is a 36-year-old attending physician in an I.C.U. on the Upper West Side of New York. Pressures from her family, H.R. and her neighbor throw her in a rage that Wang leaves bubbling beneath the surface. “Wang has given us a character so unusual and unapologetically herself that you can’t help wanting to hang out with her, knowing full well that she wants nothing more than to be left alone,” our reviewer wrote.

☆ Prehistoric humans were surprisingly creative cooks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Stone Age cooks were surprisingly sophisticated, combining an array of ingredients and using different techniques to prepare and flavor their meals, analysis of some the earliest charred food remains has suggested. (From left) Breadlike food was found in Franchthi Cave in Greece; pulse-rich food with wild peas was uncovered in Shanidar Cave in northern Iraq. The charred food remains from Franchthi Cave dated from 12,000 years ago, when it was also occupied by hunter-gatherer Homo sapiens. Much research on prehistoric diets has focused on whether early humans were predominantly meat eaters, but Kabukcu said it was clear they weren’t just chomping on woolly mammoth steaks. A Neanderthal hearth was unearthed at Shanidar Cave, where charred plant remains were also found.

☆ After winning the Senate, Democrats' campaign chief warns GOP: Trump will continue to drag you down
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | Sahil Kapur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — Days after denying Republicans the Senate majority they fought for in the midterm elections, the Democrats' campaign chief warned the GOP: If former President Donald Trump continues to be your leader, voters will continue to punish you. “There’s no question that Donald Trump is a motivating factor for turnout when it comes to Democratic voters,” Sen. Gary Peters, of Michigan, said in an interview at Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters. If the party continues to be following the Trump model and is Trumpian and doesn’t go back to their more conservative roots of the traditional Republican Party, I will say, definitely that’ll be a problem,” he said. The GOP's failure to recapture the Senate has led to recriminations and a dispute about whether Trump was to blame for their underperformance. Warnock, sensing an opportunity to mobilize his party’s base, cut that video into a campaign ad and displayed “Stop Donald Trump.

Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s 30-year-old founder, became the face of the company and, to some, crypto at large. The first red flagsNot long after Bankman-Fried started FTX, crypto began to boom. Venture capital money flooded into all things blockchain and crypto, and crypto platforms moved to attract customers beyond the technologists and blockchain evangelists that once fueled its rise. These digital tokens use blockchain technology, in which computers contribute to a shared ledger that can be used to track digital assets. Graeme Sloan / Sipa USA via APThe Wall Street Journal and CNBC, also citing anonymous sources, reported that Alameda had used FTX funds for trading.

It wants 3.8 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) to build a gigafactory in northern England but its plans are hanging by a thread as it struggles to lure enough investment. French battery startup Verkor, for example, announced on Wednesday that it had raised 250 million euros ($249 million) to fund a megafactory. The European Battery Alliance (EBA) acknowledges Asian firms, and Chinese companies in particular, are likely to increase their market share in the coming years, helped by their track record and offtake agreements. "Even if we have the production in Europe, it doesn't mean we have the know-how or the control," she said. The EU has approved 6.1 billion euros since 2019 in funding by member states for battery research and innovation while Britain has a 1 billion pound fund to support investments in EV supply chains.

☆ Liverpool: After another Premier League defeat, what has gone wrong at Liverpool?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Aimee Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The team had won the League Cup and the FA Cup, was going toe-to-toe with Manchester City in the English Premier League, and had reached the Champions League final. Ultimately, two trophies went to Anfield instead of four, as Liverpool lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League and fell one point short in the league. For years, Liverpool has been the only team to challenge City for the league title – winning it in 2020 – yet this season Liverpool and City are worlds apart. ‘Liverpool being bullied’So, why is Liverpool struggling so badly in the league this season? “The Premier League is a really hard league to play in and is a long, difficult, sometimes physically and mentally, nine months for you.

☆ ECB policymakers stick with hike plans even as recession looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Balazs Koranyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Signage is seen outside the European Central Bank (ECB) building, in Frankfurt, Germany, July 21, 2022. But policymakers on Friday appeared to be on message that rates will keep going up. Investors now see ECB rates peaking at around 2.75%, above levels near 2.5% seen on Thursday after the ECB's rate hike and language tweaks. RECESSIONThe policymakers' reinforcement of the rate hike message comes as a recession now looks almost certain, and will likely prompt a barrage of further criticism from European leaders. But ECB chief Christine Lagarde pushed back on the criticism on Thursday, arguing that breaking inflation was the ECB's chief mission and governments could help by providing targeted support for the most vulnerable.

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