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☆ Dove owner Unilever says it will permit conscription of its Russia employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Consumer goods giant Unilever has confirmed it will comply with legislation that could see its employees in Russia conscripted into the war in Ukraine. It has around 3,000 employees in Russia, working across four manufacturing sites and one head office. Ecclissato said in the letter that Unilever has faced three options for its Russia operations. One was closing all Russia operations, after which he said Unilever's business and brands in the country would be "appropriated — and then operated — by the Russian state." The third, which Unilever has adopted, was continuing to run the business with constraints that have been in place since March.

Persons: Reginaldo Ecclissato, Jerry's, Knorr, Ecclissato, — Organizations: Trinity Cathedral, Consumer, Unilever, BBC, Sunday, Business Operations, CNBC, Ben Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine, Russian

☆ The 'Barbie' movie could boost Mattel's stock prices and increase the price of old dolls in your closet, but avid Barbie collectors couldn't care less
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Colette Fountain | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Insider spoke to three Barbie collectors who seem unfazed by the potential rise in the dolls' worth. As a collector doing it for love, he told Insider those looking to make money should invest in other things. Antique expert Dr. Lori told Insider she estimates a 25% rise in the doll's value in the build-up to the film's release and immediately afterward. "There are too many elements to the concept of value, and it's rarely just about finance," Yang told Insider. Even if these Barbie collectors were looking to make a quick buck in Gerwig's box office weekend, selling Barbies isn't easy.

Persons: Greta Gerwig's, Jian Yang, Yang doesn't, Yang, Barbie, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, MarketBeat, Lori, Hankwitz, Mattel, Tommy Hilfiger, Gigi Hadid, Calvin Klein, Juno, Teresa, Arjen, Queen Elizabeth, Tina Turner, It's, I've Organizations: Service, Google, Mattel, Warner, Air, Nike, billings, eBay Locations: Wall, Silicon, Singapore, Philadelphia, Netherlands, Poland

☆ How Economists Got the Inflation Debate Wrong (on Both Sides) - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

True, economists’ games have been rather lacking in sex and, at least so far, violence. But while I’m tempted to use the old line about how academic disputes are so vicious because the stakes are so small, these debates matter. A current case in point is the determination of central banks across the world to get inflation down to 2 percent. That target emerged in large part from academic research suggesting (probably wrongly) that inflation at that rate would be more or less optimal. I was on Team Transitory, but as inflation went far higher for far longer than I had imagined possible, I admitted that I got it wrong.

Persons: I’m, John Maynard Keynes, Madmen Organizations: HBO

☆ Unilever to scoop up frozen yogurt brand Yasso
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 14 (Reuters) - Unilever (ULVR.L) said on Wednesday it is set to acquire frozen yogurt brand Yasso Holdings in North America, adding to its roster of premium ice-cream brands like Ben & Jerry's, Magnum, and Talenti. The consumer goods giant said its acquisition of Boulder, Colorado-based Yasso falls in line with its strategy to upscale the ice cream division and cater to rising demand for healthier snack options. Unilever did not disclose financial details related to the deal, which is set to close in the third quarter of 2023. Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru and Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jerry's, Rishabh, Abigail Summerville, Maju Samuel Organizations: Unilever, Holdings, Ben, Thomson Locations: North America, Boulder , Colorado, Bengaluru, New York

☆ A Lego Crime, a YouTube Rivalry, and the End of a Star Wars Friendship
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

Those who are into Lego Star Wars are among the most popular. It was at an informal contest where Louis met Victor, a fellow Lego Star Wars fanatic. Soon they ranked among the most popular Lego Star Wars YouTubers in France, known for the size and scope of their MOCs. The two friends no longer fit with that satisfying click that comes from snapping together two Lego bricks. Though it must have taken a truck to haul away all of Louis' Lego, no neighbor reported seeing anything suspicious.

☆ 'He'll do anything to come for you': Bang Bang, the tattoo artist to stars like Rihanna and Justin Bieber, is a controlling, vindictive boss, ex-employees say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Melkorka Licea | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Yet some former Bang Bang employees said that McCurdy's meticulously curated image as a thoughtful progressive in a rough-and-tumble industry wasn't much more than good PR. At Bang Bang, "they just woke-wash everything," one former employee said. This kind of behavior extended to other Bang Bang employees. Ganser, the Bang Bang manager, also sent Wang a text comparing her behavior to her father's, who was in prison. Photo by Gotham/GC ImagesNearly a decade after opening the first Bang Bang shop, McCurdy still sees himself as a trailblazer.

☆ ‘Maimonides’ Review: The Greatest Jewish Thinker, in Brief
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Adam Kirsch | Alberto Manguel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Moses Maimonides on a 1953 Israeli stamp. Photo: AlamyThe 12th-century sage regularly described as the greatest Jewish thinker of all time leads a double life for posterity. To this day, students in yeshivas turn to the Rambam’s magnum opus, the comprehensive legal code known as the Mishneh Torah, in navigating the complexities of Jewish law. In this context, the book that matters is the “Guide for the Perplexed,” the philosophical treatise Maimonides wrote in Arabic around the year 1190. The “Guide,” too, speaks the language of Judaism, but the questions it addresses aren’t practical and legal, as in the Mishneh Torah, but speculative and metaphysical.

The British company, which sells Cornettos cones and Talenti tubs, on Thursday reported a 0.2% dip in overall quarterly sales volumes, but a more than 4% decline in ice cream volumes. Its ice cream prices rose 10.5% in the quarter, driving turnover of 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion). About 60% of Unilever's ice cream business is "in-home" - bought from stores - while the rest is eaten in parlours and other venues. "Ice cream is the most discretionary category that we have across all of our categories," finance chief Graeme Pitkethly said. When consumers are under pressure, because ice cream is more discretionary, ice cream gets dropped from the basket."

About half of the new gun owners were female, 20% were Black, and 20% were Hispanic. Overall, gun owners were 63% male and 73% White. “The face of gun ownership is changing somewhat and the people who are becoming new gun owners today are less likely to be male and more likely to be non-White, more likely to be somewhat younger than existing and long-standing gun owners,” Miller said. “Most people are coming in as new gun owners looking for something for personal defense or we spend a lot of time with inquisitive people. “I have a Ruger and a Rossi – both rifles,” Shelby said.

[1/2] The logo of chocolate and cocoa product maker Barry Callebaut is pictured during the company's annual news conference in Zurich, Switzerland, Nov. 7, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File PhotoApril 5 (Reuters) - Switzerland's Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the world's biggest chocolate maker, on Wednesday appointed Peter Feld as its new chief executive after lowering sales volume guidance as inflation-hit consumers cut back on purchases. The chocolate maker now forecasts full-year volume growth to be "flat to modest," Chief Financial Officer Ben De Schryver said. Barry Callebaut shares were down 2.5%, according to Julius Baer bank's pre-market indications. The company said that the sales volumes decline moderated in the second quarter, slowing to -0.5%, from -5.1% in the previous quarter.

☆ Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut's half year sales volumes drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] The logo of chocolate and cocoa product maker Barry Callebaut is pictured during the company's annual news conference in Zurich, Switzerland, Nov. 7, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File PhotoApril 5 (Reuters) - Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the world's biggest chocolate maker, on Wednesday reported lower half year sales volumes due to limited availability of its global brands and lower customer demand due by inflation. The Zurich-based company, which supplies chocolate for the Magnum ice creams made by Unilever (ULVR.L) and for Nestle's (NESN.S) KitKat bars, said sales volumes in its first half of fiscal 2022/2023 fell 2.9% to 1.130 million tonnes. Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Paolo LaudaniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

After a fire engulfed Notre Dame in 2019, horrified onlookers around the world donated nearly $1 billion to restore the cathedral. Scroll to experience an acoustic simulation of how “Viderunt Omnes” may have sounded from different places inside Notre Dame. In the survey on the acoustic experience of Notre Dame, respondents commented on the building’s unique sound. We may see Notre Dame as an eternal monument, but she hears it as a place that is always changing. When I visited Notre Dame with her, we were accompanied by a young sound engineer, as well as a historian studying metal.

☆ Putin’s War Rhetoric Rallies Russia’s Border Towns, but Nerves Fray
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Evan Gershkovich | Photographs Nanna Heitmann Magnum For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PSKOV, Russia—A jackhammer pounded the frozen ground on a recent afternoon as gravediggers uncovered fresh soil to provide the resting place for the body of a Russian soldier killed in Ukraine. At the Vybuty village cemetery in the western region of Pskov, the digging, the men said, has become a near daily job.

[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.

☆ Unilever Tries Reformulating Its Ice Cream to Survive Warmer Freezers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Keeping ice cream at 10 degrees as opposed to zero will reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 20% to 30% per freezer, it said. Unilever’s out-of-home ice cream sales declined slightly during the fourth quarter of 2022 because, the company said, some stores unplugged their freezers sooner in the year than usual. Higher temperatures can lead to softer ice creams that stick to wrappers and slide off ice cream sticks, for example, said Andrew Sztehlo, chief research and development officer for Unilever’s ice cream division. The warming program isn’t designed to sweat competitors out of Unilever freezers, which some shopkeepers fill with an assortment of brands that don’t carry the Unilever logo, Mr. Sztehlo said. Representatives from ice cream makers Nestlé SA, Mars Inc., General Mills Inc. and Froneri International Ltd. declined to comment.

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - British fund manager Terry Smith accused Unilever (ULVR.L) on Tuesday of "virtue signalling" with its ethically-focused marketing, in his latest salvo against the consumer goods giant. Yet the company had recently added activist investor Nelson Peltz to its board. On Tuesday, Smith reiterated "we don’t know how well it (Hellmann's) would have grown without the (virtue signalling) 'purpose’", adding that "maybe Hellmann’s would be growing as fast or even faster without its ‘purpose'". The words virtue signalling were struck through in Smith's letter. "Shouldn’t we have some idea how Unilever and its management have performed before they are allowed to do any more acquisitions?

☆ It Would Be Hard for Ukraine to Lose the War to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Holman W. Jenkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

World War II revisionist historian Phillips O’Brien has been fighting the good fight lately on Twitter, upholding the thesis of his 2015 magnum opus, “How the War Was Won.” To wit, Russia’s contribution to victory in the world war was relatively minor after all. German weapons and materiel consumed in battle on the eastern front calculate out to a modest fraction of those destroyed or prevented from being created by the Western air and naval war against Germany’s productive capacity. He turns on its head an old belief that allied bombing was ineffective because Nazi production for a time continued to grow in absolute terms. Mr. O’Brien suggests the effect on potential output is what matters. According to Mr. O’Brien’s figures, the lion’s share of resources went to the Luftwaffe and German navy even at the height of the ground campaign in the east.

☆ How Much of My Paycheck Should I Save?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +12 min

By Tanza LoudenbackIf you’re wondering how much of your paycheck to save but don’t have any concrete goals in mind, there may be a better strategy. Where to save for retirementYou should count yourself lucky if you work for a company that offers a retirement plan to employees. How much to save for other goalsSavings targets for nonretirement goals also depend on your timeline and where you save the money. You should keep the cash somewhere easily accessible that carries no risk, such as a savings account, money-market account, or CD. Once you know your target down payment, it’s easy to figure out how much you need to save from each paycheck.

☆ U.S. confirms fifth Takata air bag inflator death in 2022, urges owners to get repairs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A recalled Takata air bag inflator is seen just before being removed from a Jeep in Boulder, Colorado United States July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Rick WilkingWASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - U.S. auto safety regulators confirmed a fifth Takata air bag inflator crash death in 2022 and reiterated urgent calls for owners to get repairs. Chrysler-parent Stellantis (STLA.MI) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said they had confirmed a third Takata air bag inflator death. In November, Stellantis urged owners of 276,000 older U.S. vehicles to immediately stop driving after the crash death reports, but just 2,000 owners have gotten repairs since then. Also in November, NHTSA confirmed a new death due to a defective Takata air bag inflator in a 2006 Ford (F.N) Ranger pickup.

☆ ‘Adam Smith’s America’ Review: Wealth of a Nation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Barton Swaim | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Admirers of Adam Smith may be surprised to learn that there is an entire academic industry dedicated to the proposition that the great Scottish economist was not a proponent of free-market capitalism. Scholarly articles on Smith and the economic ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment frequently contain lengthy explanations of how he really didn’t promote amoral capitalism and unfettered markets but believed rather in a virtuous society that placed moral concerns above the market. Academic debates aside, the basic point about Smith’s economic views isn’t in doubt. They recruited Smith, in other words, to make the case against central planning and high taxation. His metaphor of an invisible hand, in their view—the self-interested merchant going about his business is “led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention”—exploded the fantasy that faraway planners were best equipped to create widespread prosperity.

☆ U.S. confirms another Honda death from faulty air bag
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. auto safety regulator on Friday said it had confirmed a new crash death from a faulty air bag in a Honda (7267.T) car, as it urged owners to get recall repairs completed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it had confirmed that the February death of the driver of a 2002 Honda Accord in Bowling Green, Kentucky, was due to a faulty air bag inflator. Four Takata air bag deaths have been confirmed this year, including two Stellantis (STLA.MI) vehicles and one Ford (F.N) vehicle. Also last month, the NHTSA confirmed a new death due to a defective Takata air bag inflator in a 2006 Ford (F.N) Ranger pickup. Last year, the NHTSA opened a probe into 30 million vehicles built by nearly two dozen automakers that have potentially defective Takata air bag inflators.

☆ Unilever mulls $3 bln sale of some U.S. ice cream brands - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - British consumer goods giant Unilever (ULVR.L) is considering the sale of a portfolio of U.S. ice cream brands such as Klondike and Breyers, that could be valued at as much as $3 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. International labels Magnum and Ben & Jerry's are not part of the review, the Bloomberg News report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Deliberations are ongoing and the company may still decide not to sell the brands, the report added. In June, Unilever sold its Ben & Jerry's ice cream business in Israel to its local licensee for an undisclosed sum, aiming to smooth over a diplomatic dispute. Ben & Jerry's and Unilever have been in a bitter legal dispute over the sale ever since.

☆ Tom Stoppard Fears the Virus of Antisemitism Has Been Reactivated
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

I don’t think that it’s an equal participant in some kind of debate. I don’t think so. If you’re sitting there enjoying the structure, then I don’t think that’s entirely good news for the writer. I don’t know that I would actually pursue the subject as a playwright. You know, I’m told there is such a thing as the long view.

☆ Some Dodge, Chrysler vehicles deemed dangerous over airbag defect
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Stellantis said replacement driver-side air bags have been available for the vehicles subject to the stop driving notice since 2015. Stellantis said a Takata air bag was suspected in a third death. “Left unrepaired, recalled Takata air bags are increasingly dangerous as the risk of an explosion rises as vehicles age,” said NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson. Last year, the NHTSA opened a probe into 30 million vehicles built by nearly two dozen automakers that have potentially defective Takata air bag inflators. The 30 million vehicles that are part of the 2021 investigation have inflators with a “desiccant” or drying agent.

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