DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Biocredits Could Help Save the Earth. But a Market Is Some Way Off.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Biodiversity credits could be key to funding the conservation of the Earth’s ecosystems, but setting up a functioning market to buy and sell these payment tokens won’t be easy. The World Economic Forum is working on bringing together stakeholders, but admits that a scaled-up market is still some way in the future. It follows the lead of so-called voluntary carbon credits that allow firms to buy credits to offset their own emissions. Those global carbon credit markets are now worth some $2 billion, up from $200 million five years ago, according to environmental-finance data provider Ecosystem Marketplace. “I feel a bit of ‘carbon envy’ when I look at the carbon markets,” Cornell’s Tobin said, noting that biodiversity markets lack a universal metric that can apply to every project, unlike carbon markets where each credit represents one metric ton of carbon dioxide.

Persons: John Tobin, de la Puente, Tobin, don’t, Cornell’s Tobin, ” Tobin, JULIAN HABER, Zoe Balmforth, ‘, ’ ”, Balmforth, ”, ” Nestlé, Nestlé, biocredits, Markus Mueller, ” Mueller, Joshua Kirby, joshua.kirby@wsj.com Organizations: Economic, Paulson Institute, Cornell University, Credit Suisse, Companies, UN, REUTERS, Sustainable Business, Unilever, Deutsche Locations: Australia, Switzerland, biocredits

☆ Popeyes is coming back to China in a big way
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Shares of the operator, Shanghai-based Tims China (THCH), rose 3.6% in New York following the news. The company is best known as the operator of Tim Hortons coffee shops in China but recently bought the franchise for Popeyes in the country. “We are thrilled to open our first Popeyes restaurant in China, a milestone in our longer-term strategy,” Tims China CEO Yongchen Lu said in a statement. The fried chicken chain previously operated in China under TFI Tab Food Investments, a quick service restaurant group based in Turkey. The US company signed a new partnership deal last year with private equity firm Cartesian Capital Group, the founder and top shareholder of Tims China.

Persons: Fried, Tim Hortons, Yongchen Lu, ” Tims, Tims, Lu, Burger, Joshua Kobza, “ Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Popeyes, TH, Subway, Restaurant Brands, TFI, Food Investments, PLKC International Locations: Hong Kong, China, Shanghai, New York, New Orleans, Popeyes, Turkey, Tims China, Macao

By accepting an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report last month that greenlit Japan's Fukushima water release, Yoon could encourage fresh dissent that China will try to amplify, analysts say. On Monday, Park Gu-yeon, vice minister of government policy coordination at the prime minister's office, said both sides have made "substantial progress" on the water release issue. A senior South Korean official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivity, said the government did not see it as a source of friction. "China absolutely will try to exploit Fukushima to drive a wedge between South Korea and Japan," said David Boling, a director at consulting firm Eurasia Group. In July, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Japan had shown selfishness and arrogance, and had not fully consulted the international community about the water release.

Persons: Rafael Mariano Grossi, Kobayakawa, Joe Biden, Yoon Suk Yeol, Fumio Kishida, Biden, David, Yoon, Japan Rahm Emanuel, Moon Jae, Christopher Johnstone, Antony Blinken, they've, David Boling, Joshua Kurlantzick, Wang Wenbin, Hirokazu Matsuno, Tim Kelly, Sakura Murakami, Hyonhee Shin, Josh Smith, David Brunnstrom, Trevor Hunnicutt, Ekaterina Golubkova, Lun Tian, Yoshifumi, Gerry Doyle Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, Tokyo Electric Power Co, Japanese, Reuters, U.S, IAEA, Biden's National Security Council, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Japan, South Korean, South, Gallup, Eurasia Group, Council, Foreign Relations, Global Times, Thomson Locations: Futaba, Japan, TOKYO, SEOUL, South Korea, Tokyo, China, Washington, East Asia, Taiwan, Beijing, Russia, North Korea, United States, Australia, Britain, Seoul, Seoul . U.S, Fukushima, Korean

☆ Best Gifts for the Tea Lovers in Your Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Sarah Rose | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

For masterful measuringOMABETA Portable Kitchen Tea Scale $16 at AmazonAs with baking, you will get best results when measuring tea leaves by weight rather than the spoonful. “Some teas are tightly rolled while others are fluffy and light,” explains Ben Marcus-Willers, of Red Blossom Tea Company, a San Francisco-based tea company that sells to consumers as well as Michelin three-star chefs. Desains suggests a porcelain tea pot clad in stainless steel to keep a quality tea warm for hours. Alternately, make a tea concentrate by doubling the amount of tea leaves in hot tea, then pouring it over ice. Tea will always taste best fresh and warm, and its taste will change—“often for the worse,” Kroesen notes—as it cools.

Persons: Sarah Rose, ”, “, Abigail St, Clair, St, Maria Uspenski, Ben Marcus, Willers, Steve Schwartz, Ottilie Cunningham, Fortnum, Mason, Alex Monroe, Franck Desains, Joshua Kaiser, Milwaukee’s Rishi, —, Cindy Sherman, Madame de Pompadour, French King Louis XV, Heidi Johannsen Stewart, Van, Brandon Friedman, Obama, ” Friedman, “ Matcha, Catherine Jue, Tekuno, Emeric Harney, Harney, Ravi Kroesen, Smith, Orla Kiely, Jessie Dean Organizations: Amazon, Tea Bella Tea Company, Red, Red Blossom Tea, Michelin, Blossom, Art, Mariages Freres, Desains, MET, Bellocq, Metropolitan Museum of, 187th, Tea, Asheville Tea Company Locations: China, Tampa , Fla, Clair, Darjeeling, it’s, Boulder, Colo, Red Blossom, San Francisco, chai In India, Los Angeles, Paris, Brooklyn, U.S, Iraq, Afghanistan, Dallas, New York, Portland ,, North Carolina

☆ Nespresso Maker Nestlé Raised Prices More Than 9% in First Half of the Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/nespresso-maker-nestle-raised-prices-more-than-9-in-first-half-of-year-d2f26f17

Persons: Dow Jones, d2f26f17 Organizations: nestle

☆ If Biden Wanted to Ease U.S.-China Tensions, Would Americans Let Him?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Ian Prasad Philbrick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Americans still worry more about terrorism and other foreign policy issues than about China. “That’s percolated into the general public,” said Richard Herrmann, an Ohio State University professor who studies international relations and public opinion. A feedback loopSouring public opinion, in turn, may worsen U.S.-China relations. That might seem surprising; most Americans don’t pay that much attention to foreign policy, which is typically far removed from their daily lives. And once public opinion on a foreign policy issue calcifies, as it increasingly has on China, political leaders often pay attention to it.

Persons: ” —, Biden, ”, Richard Herrmann, Dina Smeltz, ” Joshua Kertzer Organizations: Soviets, Ohio State University, Chicago Council, Global Affairs, Democrats Locations: China, U.S, Taiwan, Washington, Harvard

☆ Half a Year After the COP Agreement on Nature, Companies Are Increasingly Looking at Their Biodiversity Impact
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

While mandatory reporting on nature may still be a long way off, for some companies, measuring their impact on nature makes good business sense. “Not enough companies are actually measuring their corporate biodiversity impact,” said Steve Kennedy, associate professor in business sustainability at the Rotterdam School of Management. Biodiversity impact, on the other hand, remains a more nebulous concept, with widespread uncertainty about what to measure and how to measure it. While biodiversity impact remains difficult to assess, more complete data can help, said Zoe Balmforth, co-founder of biodiversity-data startup Pivotal. And companies will soon have a final framework on which to base their voluntary biodiversity reporting.

Persons: Jennifer Motles, Philip Morris, Motles, Katie Critchlow, Rémy Cointreau, Eric Vallat, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, ”, Steve Kennedy, Kennedy, “ It’s, “, ” Philip Morris International’s, Nicolo Filippo Rosso, Zoe Balmforth, Balmforth, Cameron Frayling, Frayling, U.N, JULIAN HABER, Kering, PMI’s Motles, Joshua Kirby Organizations: Philip Morris International, Data, Sustainable Business, Fund, Nature, PMI, Rotterdam School of Management . Companies, SAS, Bloomberg, World Bank, REUTERS Governments, United Nations ’, pharma, GSK, Gucci Locations: Montreal, American, of Mexico, Lake Erie, Colombia, Kunming, Canada, joshua.kirby

"Move Forward chooses an uncompromising mode of change while Pheu Thai choose a compromising mode of change," Prajak said. Pheu Thai has been far more measured in its messaging on the monarchy - and that could leave it with more options. "Pheu Thai is holding its cards close to its chest," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "I think Pheu Thai will stick with Move Forward," he said, adding abandoning its ally would make Pheu Thai look as if it was betraying the will of the people. "I still think that a conservative coalition ... with Senate backing is far more likely to emerge than a pro-democracy led coalition," Abuza said.

May 4 (Reuters) - Two prominent former Google (GOOGL.O) researchers who authored the groundbreaking paper that paved the way for the generative AI boom, have raised $8 million for their new startup Essential AI, four sources told Reuters. Thrive Capital had led the round in Essential AI, founded by Ashish Vaswani and Niki Parmar. Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner, is also an investor in Microsoft-backed OpenAI. Essential AI aims to build software for enterprises to use large language models, the core software of a new artificial intelligence system that has powered generative AI applications such as ChatGPT, sources said. The raise came after Vaswani and Parmar left Adept AI, a company they also co-founded in 2021 with former Google director David Luan.

☆ The US Air Force has big plans for the next-generation drones that will fight alongside its fighters and bombers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It's now developing collaborative combat aircraft, which can fight alongside piloted jets or on their own. A need for 'affordable mass'MQ-9s on a runway at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico in April. Worse, the Air Force faces a pilot shortage and its overall number of flight hours has been decreasing. The Air Force also continues to develop top-tier assets like the F-35, the B-21 stealth bomber, and the Next Generation Air Dominance program, or NGAD. "Without it, it's very difficult to envision how we could keep the Air Force at the size it currently is."

☆ Restaurant Brands beats quarterly estimates on higher pricing, traffic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 2 (Reuters) - Restaurant Brands International Inc (QSR.TO) beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue and profit on Tuesday, boosted by higher prices and increased traffic at its Burger King and Tim Hortons chains. Restaurant Brands' Burger King chain has been able to attract younger customers to its restaurants through a newly released viral "Whopper Whopper" jingle. Restaurant Brands in February named its chief operating officer, Joshua Kobza, as CEO in a turnaround plan for its struggling Burger King brand. According to location analytics firm Placer.ai, Burger King saw positive week-over-week visit growth for the majority of weeks since January 2023. Excluding items, Restaurant Brands earned 75 cents per share, compared with estimates of 64 cents, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

☆ Lauren Daigle, a Christian Music Superstar, Is Ready for a Bigger Tent
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Rob Tannenbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Christian rock began in the late 1960s and early ’70s, when it was known as “Jesus Music,” a grass-roots movement led by longhaired hippie outsiders. Major labels took notice, and began to buy up Christian labels or start imprints of their own. “She left no ambiguity in her music and spoke transparently about her personal relationship to God.”As a child, Daigle dismissed Christian music as cheesy. She was raised in a religious home that welcomed secular music, as long as there “weren’t F-bombs every five seconds,” she said. As her interest in music grew, she cleaned her church choir director’s bathroom in exchange for singing lessons.

☆ Serena Williams and Karlie Kloss debut pregnancies in style on the Met Gala red carpet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Met Gala is an evening of style, glamour and… baby news. In a pair of stylish debuts, tennis world champ Serena Williams and model and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss both stepped on to the Met Gala red carpet on Monday in New York City sporting very special accessories: babies on the way. “There’s three of us here,” Wiliams told Lala Anthony during Vogue’s live red carpet show. Karlie Kloss at the Met Gala on Monday. Kloss, a Met Gala vet, knows this to be true and joked to Chamberlain, “I know, I got a plus one.

☆ UEFA Chamions League: Manchester City to face Real Madrid in semifinals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Manchester City took another step towards winning its first Champions League trophy after cruising to a 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich on Wednesday to secure a 4-1 aggregate win in the quarterfinals. “I’m so happy for three years in a row to be in the Champions League semifinals,” City manager Pep Guardiola told reporters after the second leg at the Allianz Arena. The Norwegian striker pounced on a mistake by defender Dayot Upamecano to smash home a finish into the top corner of the net in the 57th minute – his 12th Champions League goal of the season. “I am very satisfied with both games against Manchester City and with the way we presented ourselves today,” Tuchel told reporters after the match. The Italian side will face fierce city rival AC Milan for a place in the Champions League final where the winner will face either Manchester City or Real Madrid in Istanbul on June 10.

☆ Manchester City reach Champions League semis with 1-1 draw at Bayern
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Soccer Football - Champions League - Quarter Final - Second Leg - Bayern Munich v Manchester City - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - April 19, 2023 Manchester City's Erling Braut Haaland celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates REUTERS/Heiko BeckerMUNICH, Germany, April 19 (Reuters) - Manchester City drew 1-1 at Bayern Munich on Wednesday to cruise into the Champions League semi-finals with a 4-1 aggregate win that moved them a step closer to an elusive first title in the competition. City forward Erling Haaland, who had missed a first-half penalty, made amends in the 57th minute, drilling in his 48th goal in all competitions this season to kill off the tie. Losing finalists in 2021, Pep Guardiola's team had a 3-0 advantage from the first leg and soaked up considerable Bayern pressure before Haaland's goal. City will next play holders Real Madrid in the last four. Reporting by Karolos Grohmann Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tuchel praises Bayern despite second cup exit in two weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUNICH, Germany, April 20 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel heaped praise on his team despite their Champions League exit at the hands of Manchester City after a 1-1 draw in their quarter-final return leg in Germany on Wednesday dumped them out 4-1 on aggregate. "I am very satisfied with both games against Manchester City and with the way we presented ourselves today," Tuchel told reporters. But City's top scorer Erling Haaland struck after the restart, seconds after Bayern had gone close themselves, before a late Joshua Kimmich penalty earned Bayern a draw. But in order to beat the best team you need more than just 100%. Unfortunately we can also play on a different level and sometimes in a game the concentration level is not kept up," Tuchel said.

☆ How a trio of ProPublica reporters landed an explosive story on Justice Clarence Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A team of ProPublica reporters earlier this year began looking into the travel of various Supreme Court justices, not entirely sure what they would find, if anything. But their editors encouraged the team to keep working the story, Justin Elliott, a member of the reporting team, told me by phone on Thursday. “The progress was gratifyingly steady,” Elliot told me, cautioning, however, that “it was not easy.”Easy or not, the final product that published on Thursday morning was unquestionably worth the effort. “These trips appeared nowhere on Thomas’ financial disclosures,” the ProPublica team wrote. “From my perspective as a reporter,” Elliott told me, “I feel so lucky to have the reporting resources and time resources to do a heavy lift like this.

☆ Whirlwind Bayern crush Dortmund 4-2 to go top in Tuchel debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUNICH, Germany, April 1 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich overran a hapless Borussia Dortmund to win Der Klassiker 4-2 on Saturday as three goals in the opening 23 minutes helped them reclaim top spot in the Bundesliga and hand new coach Thomas Tuchel a winning start. With Tuchel, who also coached Dortmund from 2015-2107, having replaced Julian Nagelsmann on the Bayern bench, the hosts were all over their title rivals from the start. With Dortmund's defence torn to shreds and club bosses frozen in their seats at the Allianz Arena, Bayern never took their foot off the gas. Some sloppy finishing, however, saw them squander half a dozen golden chances in the second half before Dortmund struck twice late in the game, with an Emre Can penalty in the 72nd minute and a stoppage-time effort from Donyell Malen. Tuchel, who previously also coached Paris St Germain and Chelsea, could not have dreamt of a better start with Bayern on course for a record-stretching 11th league crown.

☆ Adidas to Drop Opposition to Black Lives Matter’s Three-Stripe Logo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An Adidas store in New York. Adidas AG said it would retract its opposition to Black Lives Matter’s bid to trademark its logo design, which the sportswear company had previously said was too similar to its own. Adidas will withdraw its challenge to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s trademark application as soon as possible, a spokesman for the German company said Wednesday.

☆ Adidas Ends Its Opposition to Black Lives Matter Logo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Trefor Moss | Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The three-stripe Adidas logo has been in use for over 70 years, the company says. Adidas AG said it would drop its opposition to Black Lives Matter’s bid to trademark its logo design, which, like the sportswear company’s emblem, features three stripes. The German brand has in the past fiercely defended its logo design, which comprises three diagonal stripes, albeit with mixed success. The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s logo, which the advocacy group is seeking to trademark, consists of three parallel yellow lines on a transparent background.

☆ Former Aetna CEO to Take Helm of Health Insurer Oscar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Anna Wilde Mathews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Mark Bertolini said he would initially focus on ensuring Oscar meets its goal of having profitable insurance business this year. Mark Bertolini , former chief executive of health insurance giant Aetna Inc. and hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, will take the helm of Oscar Health Inc. as it seeks to turn a profit and carve out a role as a technology supplier in the healthcare industry. Mr. Bertolini, 66 years old, will take the post effective next Monday, the company said. He will succeed Mario Schlosser , 44, who co-founded Oscar in 2012 with Joshua Kushner and will take the new title of president of technology, reporting to Mr. Bertolini.

☆ Companies Urged to Take Stock of Their Impact on Nature and Related Risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

“We used to think of nature as an endless supplier of resources into our business practices,” he said. “We’re trying to shift the conversation around the nature of the relationship between nature and business.”The final framework should give priority to the end result in natural areas, said Kat Bruce, founder and director of environmental-DNA startup NatureMetrics. Some $44 trillion of global economic value is moderately or highly dependent on nature, according to the World Economic Forum. Companies and shareholders should pay more attention to the material risk of natural degradation, Mr. Goldner said. The draft framework includes sector-specific guidance for areas including agriculture, mining, energy and financial services.

☆ Burger King is closing 26 locations in Michigan. See the full list.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

26 Burger King locations are closing in Michigan by April 15, predominantly in the Detroit area. Burger King franchisee EYM King of Michigan said it failed to reach a deal with the fast-food giant. EYM began shuttering Burger King locations on March 17 and expects to shutter all locations by the middle of April. Leslie AllenThe news of over two dozen Burger King locations closing in Michigan comes as the chain, owned by Restaurant Brands International, undergoes a brand reset in the US. The parent company also named a new CEO of Burger King in Joshua Kobza, formerly the chain's COO.

☆ Nestlé Says Less Than Half of Its Main Portfolio Is Ranked as Healthy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Joshua Kirby | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Nestlé SA promised it will work to boost the nutritional value of its snacks, drinks and food products, after most of its portfolio was rated as unhealthy. Less than half of Nestlé’s main food-and-drink portfolio is considered healthy, according to the results of an international nutrient profiling system that the Swiss food company published for the first time. Nestlé started using it last year with the aim of boosting transparency about the nutritional value of its products. “Our focus is on improving the nutritional value of our products,” Nestlé said. The rankings from the Access to Nutrition Initiative rate companies on their practices and disclosure, including on ensuring healthy products and influencing consumer choices.

☆ U.S. states urge Hyundai, Kia to do more to tackle theft risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In Chicago there were over 7,000 thefts of Hyundai and Kia vehicles in 2022 accounting for 10% of Kia and 7% of Hyundai vehicles registered in the city, the letter said. Ellison said in Minneapolis in 2022 Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts were tied to five homicides and 265 motor vehicle accidents. The free upgrade will be offered for 3.8 million Hyundai and 4.5 million Kia vehicles, the automakers and NHTSA said. Many Hyundai and Kia vehicles have no electronic immobilizers, which prevent break-ins and bypassing the ignition. All Hyundai vehicles produced since November 2021 are equipped with an engine immobilizer as standard equipment.

Search resuls for: "Joshua K"

25 mentions found