NHRC takes suo motu cognizance of the reported death of a chartered accountant girl from Kerala in Pune due to excessive workload in her company Expressing serious concern over the incident NHRC emphasizes businesses should be sensitive to and accountable for human rights issues
Calls Businesses for reviewing their work culture, employment policies and regulations to ensure alignment with global human rights standards
Issues a notice to the Ministry of Labour and Employment calling for a report within four weeks
The Report is expected to include the steps being and proposed to be taken to ensure such incidents do not recur
Posted On: 21 SEP 2024 7:18PM by PIB Delhi
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports that a 26-year-old chartered accountant girl from Kerala died in Pune, Maharashtra on 20th July 2024, allegedly, due to excessive workload in the Ernst & Young that she joined four months back. Reportedly, the mother has written a letter to the employer claiming that long hours of work had taken a heavy toll on her daughter’s physical, emotional and mental health, a charge denied by the company. The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment is getting the matter investigated.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, raise serious issues regarding challenges faced young citizens at work, suffering from mental stress, anxiety, and lack of sleep, adversely affecting their physical and mental health while chasing impractical targets and timelines resulting in grave violations of their human rights. It is the prime duty of every employer to provide a safe, secure and positive environment to its employees. They must ensure that everyone working with them is treated with dignity and fairness.
The Commission has further emphasized that businesses should take accountability for human rights issues and regularly update and revise their work and employment policies and regulations to ensure alignment with global human rights standards. The painful death of the young employee in the instant case has indicated that there is an immediate need to take steps by all the stakeholders in this regard to stop such incidents in the country.
Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, calling for a detailed report in the matter. The Commission would also like to know the outcome of the investigation, reportedly, being conducted in the instant matter relating to the death of the young employee. Apart from this, the Commission would also like to know the steps being taken and proposed to be taken to ensure such incidents do not recur. The response is expected within four weeks.
According to the media report, carried on 18th September, 2024, the mother of the deceased girl has claimed that her daughter’s death is reflective of the larger work culture, which glorifies hard work but at the cost of health. She has reportedly stated that how can a company that speaks of values and human rights fail even to show up for the funeral of one of its own employees.
It may be recalled that recently, the Commission took suo motu cognizance of the media reports regarding alleged unfair practices at the workplace by two multinational companies in the States of Haryana and Tamil Nadu. Both matters are under consideration before the Commission. Apart from this, the Commission at various platforms has been insisting businesses integrate human rights protection, safety and security especially of women into their organizational culture to operate sustainably and extend these principles to formulate policies in such a manner that a healthy work environment is created for the welfare of the workers.
Last year, the Commission organized a conference on ‘harmonizing human rights and climate issues in businesses’ to sensitize various stakeholders especially business and industry on human rights. The Commission has also appointed a ‘Special Monitor’ to look into various practices and work environment leading to violations of human rights in business. The Commission has specifically constituted a ‘Core Group on Business and Human Rights’ to review the existing legislations and regulations relating to the business environment and human rights and suggest measures for improvement. Based on these inputs, the Commission intends to firm up its recommendations and send the same to the Central and State governments and their agencies to ensure protection of human rights and healthy work environment in business and industry.
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Omar H. Fares, Lecturer of Marketing in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University
Over the past decade, there has been a significant rise of celebrity brands. Recent data from NielsenIQ, a global marketing research firm, shows just how significant this boom has become.
Celebrity beauty brands collectively achieved $1.1 billion in sales from November 2022 to November 2023. Interestingly, these brands experienced a growth rate of 57.8 per cent, far outpacing the overall beauty category’s growth of 11.1 per cent during the same period.
Celebrity brands are products or services created, endorsed or owned by famous individuals who leverage their fame to influence consumer decisions. With the rise of social media and the emergence of digital celebrities, these celebrity brands have become increasingly prominent.
On the surface, the appeal seems straightforward for both celebrities and consumers. Celebrities use their influence to develop brands that bypass the typical awareness stage, entering consumers’ consideration immediately upon launch.
Consumers, in turn, expect that a celebrity they admire will offer high-quality products that resonate with their preferences and values. However, this trust can quickly erode when products fail to meet expectations.
There are three key reasons that can often lead to the downfall of these ventures: product quality, authenticity and misalignment of positioning with the target market.
Consumers expect that products endorsed by their favourite celebrities will live up to a high standard. When this expectation is not met, trust is quickly eroded. This falls in line with the expectation confirmation theory, which suggests consumer satisfaction is shaped by the relationship between initial expectations and the actual performance of the product.
An example of this is Kylie Jenner’s skincare brand, Kylie Skin, which came under fire shortly after its launch for promoting a walnut scrub. Skincare professionals and consumers criticized the product, for being too harsh for the skin and potentially causing microtears. This raised questions about the product safety and hurt the brand’s reputation early on.
Consumers expect products to deliver on promises, and if quality is lacking, no amount of celebrity endorsement can save the brand.
The value of authenticity
Younger consumers especially value authenticity in celebrity brands. Consumers are increasingly drawn to brands that feel like a true extension of the celebrity’s personal brand and values.
When a brand feels disingenuous or disconnected from the celebrity, it often results in strong backlash. Given the heightened expectations surrounding celebrity-backed ventures, any perceived inauthenticity tends to amplify negative word-of-mouth, even more so than traditional brands.
For example, in the case of Millie Bobby Brown’s Florence by Mills, the brand faced early challenges, particularly regarding its authenticity and the quality of its marketing.
Shortly after its 2019 launch, Brown was criticized for faking a skincare routine video in which she appeared to mimic applying her products without actually using them. This misstep raised doubts about her involvement in the brand and its authenticity, leading to public backlash.
Misalignment between what celebrities think their target market wants and what the market actually desires can severely impact a brand’s success. An example of misalignment in brand positioning is Jessica Alba’s Honest Beauty.
Initially launched as part of the Honest Company, which focuses on safe, non-toxic baby products, Honest Beauty faced challenges when it expanded into skincare. Issues like the 2015 sunscreen backlash where consumers reported sunburns despite using the product, and other allegations of misleading product claims, eroded trust.
Additionally, while the brand was positioned as eco-conscious and affordable, some premium-priced products alienated a portion of the target audience, creating a disconnect between its mission and consumer expectations.
In essence, successful brands must align their positioning — how the brand is perceived in the minds of the consumers — with the celebrity’s image and their audience’s expectations to avoid such challenges.
The future of celebrity brands
As the market continues to evolve and consumers become more discerning about the products they buy, the success of celebrity brands requires more than just star power these days. The era of slapping a famous name on any product and expecting it to sell is over.
With the market becoming increasingly competitive, longevity is now a critical measure of success. While some brands may enjoy an initial boost of interest upon launch, the real challenge lies in sustaining that momentum over time.
To stand out in today’s crowded marketplace, celebrity brands must demonstrate substance, quality and purpose. Today’s consumers are looking for brands that go beyond the surface, offering consumers real value, authenticity and a commitment to social responsibility. Celebrity brands must work to prove their worth and longevity to consumers.
As we move forward, the focus will shift from the sheer number of celebrity brand launches to which ones are truly deserving of consumers’ trust in a space that continues to be increasingly competitive.
Omar H. Fares does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Headline: ICC welcomes UN Pact for the Future as chance to forge new models of engagement with business
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The International Chamber of Commerce has issued the following statement following the adoption of the United Nations Pact for the Future. ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO said:
“We welcome the adoption today of the United Nations Pact for the Future. Global business is clear that enhanced international cooperation is imperative to tackle the critical challenges facing the world – from climate change to insecurity.
“We commend the leadership of the UN Secretary General and the President of the General Assembly for their leadership in delivering this important agreement in the face of complex political dynamics throughout the intergovernmental negotiations.
“We recognise that the final pact hasn’t delivered the level of ambition in some areas that many of us have been seeking from this agreement. But we believe, nevertheless, it provides an important foundation for renewed cooperation on cross-border challenges and, ultimately, a stronger UN system.
“Nowhere is that more important than the opportunity provided to enhance role of the UN crisis situations, learning the lessons – good and bad – from the international response to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic to the spillover effects of the conflict in Ukraine.
“Here, we believe the Pact must serve as an immediate platform for action to develop mechanisms capable of ensuring a rapid, cohesive and effective global response to emerging crises. This should provide an opportunity to forge new models of engagement with business – breaking through artificial silos that today often limit the real-world impact of crisis response efforts. We look forward to working with the UN Secretary General to this end.”
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the extradition of entrepreneur Michael Lomas concerning Eskom’s R745 million Kusile power plant allegations of fraud, unauthorised rewards, corruption and money laundering.
Lomas was arrested in April 2021. He is one of five accused of the alleged crimes.
His co-accused are former Eskom Group Executive for Group Capital Division, Abram Masango; former Eskom Senior Manager for Group Capital Division, France Hlakudi; the owner of Tubular Construction Project Antonio José Trindade, and the owner of Babinatlou Business Services Hudson Kgomoeswana.
The arrests follow an intensive investigation by the SIU at Eskom, which uncovered evidence of criminal actions involving five accused individuals. This evidence, gathered under the SIU Act, was referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks) for further action.
“The investigation, initiated in 2018 under Proclamation R11, focuses on Eskom’s procurement and contracting processes and related payments.
“The SIU applauds the diligent work of the NPA’s Investigating Directorate, Hawks and international partners, whose collaboration has led to this critical milestone.
“The SIU will continue to support the prosecutorial process and ensure that all individuals implicated in corruption are brought to justice in accordance with the law.
“This extradition is part of implementing the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, which sees law enforcement agencies coming together to eradicate corruption in South Africa and ensure the continued cleaning up of State-owned Entities, like Eskom, from corruption,” said the SIU. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) released the following statement after it was announced that the bipartisan legislation he authored with Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) to dramatically expedite semiconductor manufacturing plant construction would receive a vote on the House floor next week. The Kelly-Cruz bill has already passed the Senate.
“My number-one priority fighting for Texas has always been jobs, jobs, jobs,” said Sen. Cruz. “I am thrilled that the House has scheduled the Kelly-Cruz legislation for a vote next week. I’ve teamed up with Democrat Senator Mark Kelly to pass landmark legislation streamlining environmental permitting rules for new semiconductor factories. When passed, Kelly-Cruz will help bring tens of thousands of jobs to Texas and hundreds of billions in new investments. It will also advance our national security significantly by making us much less dependent on China for advanced semiconductors. Our bipartisan legislation passed the Senate unanimously, and I urge our House colleagues to likewise swiftly pass it into law.”
During the week of September 23rd, the House will vote on S. 2228, the “Building Chips in America Act,” under suspension of the rules, requiring a 2/3 majority of House members for passage. S.2228 was modified with substitute text authored by Sens. Cruz and Kelly (Senate Amendment 1378).
In December, the Senate unanimously passed Sens. Cruz and Kelly’s bipartisan chips permitting bill, which was cosponsored by Sens. Todd Young (R-IN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). This legislation had also previously passed the Senate in July of 2023 as part of the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).In October of 2023, Sens. Cruz and Kelly led a bipartisan, bicameral letter with over 100 signers in support of passing these permitting reforms.
In January, Sen. Cruz toured the Samsung facility in Taylor, Texas and reiterated the importance of his CHIPS/National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) legislation. Sen. Cruz also hosted a roundtable event in Round Rock, Texas, to discuss regulatory hurdles facing the semiconductor industry. Sen. Cruz engaged with many Texas-based semiconductor companies, and discussed how burdensome federal environmental requirements are driving up compliance costs for chip manufacturers, leading to slower construction timelines.
In April, Sen. Cruz discussed the need for chips permitting reform at a roundtable discussion hosted by Southern Methodist University after the university had been designated the lead agency for this federally funded economic development initiative, aimed at bolstering semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.
Background on Sen. Cruz’s efforts to encourage American innovation through Chips manufacturing:
During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on ‘CHIPS and Science Implementation and Oversight,’ Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo endorsed Sens. Cruz and Mark Kelly’s (D-AZ) CHIPS/NEPA proposal.
Sen. Cruz helped enact historic tax reform in 2017, which gave a tax cut to virtually every taxpayer in America. It reduced taxes on small businesses, farmers, ranchers, and job producers, which has helped bring jobs to Texas and drive innovation.
Sen. Cruz has been leading the fight against burdensome federal government regulations and EPA overreach.
Sen. Cruz authored the Cost Recovery and Expensing Acceleration to Transform the Economy and Jumpstart Opportunities for Businesses and Startups (CREATE JOBS) Act, which would vitally reform business expensing in the tax code and help businesses and innovators thrive.
Sen. Cruz championed the Facilitating American-Built Semiconductors (FABS) Act to incentivize manufacturing in the U.S. through tax credits. That legislation is now law.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Priya Dev, Lecturer & Academic Data Science, Digital Assets & Distributed Ledgers, Australian National University
Last year, I started getting a lot of unsolicited phone calls, mainly from people trying to sell me things. This came as a surprise because, as a data scientist, I am very careful about what personal information I let out into the world. So I set out to discover what had happened.
My investigation took several months. It eventually led me to the labyrinthine world of data brokers.
In today’s digital age, where personal data is a new kind of gold, these companies wield significant power, creating networks where our personal information is shared between brokers and telemarketers as easily as TikTok videos. Their businesses profit from the data they collect, and many of the calls they enable come from scammers.
This comes at an enormous cost: in 2023, Australians lost $2.7 billion to scams. This highlights the urgent need for stronger privacy protections to limit how our personal data is collected and shared.
In an attempt to address this need, the Australian government this month introduced long-overdue privacy reforms. But these reforms are still inadequate for the many privacy issues affecting people today, including targeting by data brokers and telemarketers.
Investigating the hidden web
One of the mechanisms designed to protect us from unwanted calls is the Do Not Call Register.
Managed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the registry holds more than 12 million phone numbers, including mine. The registry is supposed to block unsolicited calls. But last year, despite being on the list, I began to receive dozens of unwanted calls – on average, about three per day.
Curious, I started tracing the origins of these calls. What I uncovered was a network of hidden connections between data brokers, telemarketers and large organisations – including a major political party. It became clear that simply being on the Do Not Call Register wasn’t enough to protect my privacy.
I started by asking the callers what data they held, and how they had obtained mine. I requested details about the companies they represented, including their websites and Australian Business Numbers (ABNs) – the unique identifiers for Australian businesses.
Most callers hung up the moment I started asking questions, until one day I spoke with a man named Paul, who worked in the real estate sector – an industry worth more than $10 trillion as of 2024. The high-value real-estate market makes our personal data especially valuable to businesses operating within the industry.
Digging deeper
The unique thing about Paul was that he knew my real name, whereas other telemarketers only had access to the pseudonyms I’d used to protect my identity online. Paul explained he had licensed my data from the real estate giant CoreLogic Australia.
This discovery pushed me to dig deeper. After a lot of back and forth, I finally obtained my data from CoreLogic. The amount of information was small, but surprisingly accurate – especially considering the steps I’d taken to hide my identity. It made me wonder where they got it from, as only organisations such as utility companies, banks or the government would hold that type of information.
CoreLogic told me in an email that:
CoreLogic gets data from a variety of sources … most of the information we collect comes from public records, which we license from government departments and agencies. We may also collect personal information from third parties such as through real estate agents, tenancy and strata mangers, financial institutions and marketing database providers.
This was a troubling discovery, because the institutions on which we depend for essentials such as public services, housing and finance – and from which we can’t hide our identities – may be selling our personal information to data brokers, who then pass it along to telemarketers.
What’s even more alarming is that the data is shared unmasked, meaning personal details such as our names, genders and phone numbers are fully visible. Once this information is out in the open, it becomes almost impossible to control how it’s recorded or shared.
It’s also nearly impossible to stop it being passed to overseas telemarketers, who aren’t bound by Australian privacy laws.
Real estate giant CoreLogic says most of the personal data it collects comes from public records. IgorGolovniov/Shutterstock
Solving the mystery
My investigation didn’t end there.
Eventually, CoreLogic revealed it had purchased my data from Australian data broker firm Smrtr in August 2023. This coincided with the surge in unsolicited calls.
Through Smrtr I learned they had purchased my data in 2016 from another data broker, EightDragons Digital. Smrtr also admitted to selling my data to various companies – all without my consent.
Determined to investigate the origin of my online data trail, I contacted EightDragons Digital, which calls itself “a leading global consumer data agency”. It collects personal data for big brands including Energy Australia, Vodafone, NRMA, Nissan, Johnnie Walker, American Express, The Good Guys, and even the Australian Labor Party.
The company claimed it collected my data in a 2014 marketing campaign, and likely passed it to at least 50 other companies. However, it had no records to verify the marketing campaign or prove that I had given consent.
A small step only
CoreLogic defended its practices as legal, saying it’s too difficult to verify consent or anonymise personal data.
However, with modern technology, it’s actually possible to track where data comes from, check consent, and share insights without exposing personal details such as names and phone numbers.
The government’s recent privacy reforms are a small step in the right direction. But until data brokers are required to obtain explicit consent before trading personal information, they fall far short of being a giant leap forward.
Priya Dev does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
On Monday 23 September at 1pm, Peace Action Wellington will protest against the Aerospace Summit. The Wellington protest will be outside the Ministry of Business at 15 Stout Street.
“The Aerospace Conference raises serious concerns because of its ties to the US weapons industry and US military. The aggressive steps taken by the NZ government to join the US in the weaponisation of space, contrary to the Outer Space Treaty, is a deeply alarming agenda,” said Valerie Morse, spokesperson for Peace Action Wellington.
The Aerospace Summit is an annual event sponsored by Rocket Lab and supported by the US government. Rocket Lab is partly owned by Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest arms dealer. Summit speakers include a representative from Boeing Aerospace, the second largest arms dealer. The Summit is held in Ōtautahi/Christchurch.
Rocket Lab has been launching US military satellites providing actionable information for the genocide in Gaza.
“Despite weekly outpouring across Aotearoa of calls for peace, the New Zealand Government seems determined to follow the US into their wars more than ever,” said Valerie Morse, spokesperson for Peace Action Wellington. “New Zealand has taken three steps to join the US Space Race in just the past few months.” (1)
“New Zealand is now one of the top ‘spots’ for space launches – why? Because NZ has become a US military spaceport,” said Morse. “All other major space programmes – US, India, China, Russia – are directly linked to their militaries. Ours is linked, too, but not to the NZ military, but rather to the US military. That gives the US huge sway in the things that are launched from Aotearoa, including things that are contrary to the interests of ordinary people here like surveillance and private spying satellites”
This is the third Aerospace Conference hosted in Ōtautahi, and the third year of peace organising to oppose it. The Wellington action is supported by the Stop AUKUS Coalition, Victoria University Socialists, Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga, climate and peace activists, and local solidarity band the Brass Razoo.
“We invite members of the public in Wellington to join us in opposing the militarisation of space. We stand in solidarity with Stop the Space Waste in Ōtautahi who are mobilising against the Aerospace Conference and have a nationwide petition (2). We stand in solidarity with: RocketLab Monitor in Māhia who have long exposed the military aims of RocketLab, with Kanaky, against French militarisation. Rocket Lab is launching technology for Kineis, a company based in France that builds French military satellites; with Palestine and with the Anti-Bases Campaign who have long opposed military bases,” said Ms Morse.
Notes:
About Peace Action Wellington: For the past quarter-century, Peace Action Wellington has worked for peace and justice throughout the world, with a special focus on the New Zealand government’s involvement in international affairs. PAW stands for peace with justice and self-determination.
The Science, Innovation and Technology sector is working together to improve collaboration and access to infrastructure and expertise via a new online platform.
Kitmap is an online directory and database of scientific infrastructure and equipment owned by publicly funded institutes and is the first of its kind for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Kitmap was announced today by Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Judith Collins. The online platform is part of a wider project led by the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) that seeks to optimise the use of Aotearoa New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure.
“We are excited to be part of the delivery and management of a tool that streamlines access to facilities that also helps to enhance collaboration and efficiency,” says Callaghan Innovation Chief Executive, Stefan Korn.
It includes advanced facilities such as clean rooms, Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified testing, pilot and manufacturing infrastructure, and specialised Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy capabilities that are now more accessible.
Kitmap currently catalogues 260 R&D items of infrastructure, specialised equipment, much of which are found nowhere else, or not easily accessible in this country.
It provides easy access to equipment and facilities owned by Crown Research Institutes (CRIs), the National eScience Infrastructure (NeSI) and Callaghan Innovation.
“Our colleagues at MBIE have done the heavy lifting gathering the relevant information for this tool. As an innovation agency and R&D provider, we are very happy to host and promote Kitmap to support improved collaboration, and optimised resource use across the public sector and beyond.
“We engaged with MBIE late last year to see what we could do to help. They welcomed our input and their shared requirements for an online tool. We assembled our own team to deliver a dynamic platform that provides instant access to a comprehensive directory of R&D infrastructure and equipment.
“As scientific fields, interdisciplinary research and private sector R&D areas continue to evolve rapidly, it’s crucial that our public science and technology resources are deployed to the areas where they can deliver the greatest impact for New Zealand.
“And as the fourth industrial revolution gathers pace, Kitmap will offer valuable insights and access to a broad spectrum of research facilities and equipment, ensuring Kiwi innovators have the tools they need to successfully develop products and inventions.
“In the near future Kitmap will look to incorporate generative AI functionality to suggest potential methods and machinery required for rapid prototyping of new products or innovations,” says Stefan Korn.
Kitmap resource categories include:
Laboratories: Conventional research rooms/buildings
Field sites: Physical spaces for non-laboratory research activities
Livestock facilities: Spaces for rearing or researching livestock, including animals, fish, and insects
Vessels: Ships or boats equipped for sea research
Digital collections: Online databases and digital archives
Computing: Physical computing hardware or virtual networks
Workshops: Spaces with CNC machinery, tools and equipment for rapid prototyping
Sample collections: Physical specimen collections
Monitoring: Networks of monitoring equipment
Pilot plants: Facilities for pre-commercial production technology trials.
Callaghan Innovation is New Zealand’s innovation agency. It activates innovation and helps businesses grow faster for a better New Zealand. The government agency partners with ambitious businesses of all sizes, delivering a range of innovation and research and development (R&D) services to suit each stage of their growth. Its staff – including more than 150 of New Zealand’s leading scientists and engineers – empower innovators by connecting people, opportunities and networks, and providing tailored technical solutions, skills and capability development programmes, and grants co-funding. Callaghan Innovation also enhances the operation of New Zealand’s innovation ecosystem, working closely with MBIE, NZTE, NZVIF, Crown Research Institutes, and other organisations that help increase business investment in R&D and innovation. The agency operates from five urban offices and a regional partner network in a further 12 locations across Aotearoa.
Inflation rates remain a mixed bag and vary widely among different countries. Although inflation has moderated across some markets, it remains high for some countries, and accordingly the trend shifts towards rebalancing its impact. Companies have been vocal about their concerns related to inflation and discussing these extensively in filing documents, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
An analysis of GlobalData’s Company Filing Analytics Database revealed that companies are increasingly concerned about inflation, which is affecting consumer behavior and leading to lower-than-anticipated net sales and profits on both a quarterly and annual basis.
Misa Singh, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Inflation impacts business in multiple ways, from dampened customer sentiment, reduced demand, rising raw material costs to higher labor costs, ultimately squeezing profit margins. As consumer confidence wanes, companies are observing a shift toward lower-cost products and are prioritizing market development and portfolio diversification to navigate these challenges.”
Campbell Soup Co revealed in its earnings calls that it anticipates core inflation to remain in the low-single-digit range for fiscal ’25 and remains focused in areas of the portfolio where it has higher year-over-year input costs, including olive oil, cocoa, and packaging costs, and other areas of persistent inflation, such as labor costs and warehousing costs.
Haier Smart Home Co Ltd discussed persistent high inflation dampening consumer sentiment in Europe. The company also witnessed suppressed demand due to inflation in markets like the US and Europe. Because of high interest rates and inflation, consumers are increasingly seeking value-for-money products.
Darden Restaurants Inc mentioned that it is operating in a period of higher-than-usual inflation, led by food and beverage costs and labor inflation. This is principally due to increased costs incurred by vendors related to higher labor, transportation, packaging, and raw materials costs.
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd talked about soaring inflation in its reports particularly in controlling service inflation, which remains stubbornly high. The company believes that inflation surged initially due to supply-chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co experienced rising input component costs, principally driven by inflation.
Some developing emerging markets continue to experience intense inflation as revealed by The Coca-Cola Co in its earning transcripts. The company further mentioned that performance was driven by strength in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia while Argentina continued to experience highly inflationary conditions.
About GlobalData
4,000 of the world’s largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData’s unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalData’s mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Partnership unites six organisations including: Action with Communities in Rural England; Association of Drainage Authorities; Country Land and Business Association; Environment Agency; National Farmers Union; and Natural England
With rural communities increasingly on the frontline of extreme weather and the devastating impacts of flooding, a unique partnership has been launched today (23 September 2024) to support rural flood resilience and help farmers and communities adapt to a changing climate.
Climate change means that people, places and nature are facing more frequent and more severe storms and floods. Last winter saw one of England’s wettest periods since records began in 1836.
The Rural Flood Resilience Partnership has been established to improve collaboration, deepen understanding of vulnerabilities, and support rural communities and agricultural businesses in building their resilience to present and future flood risks and coastal erosion.
The Partnership unites organisations representing government agencies, trade associations, rural communities and businesses to tackle a joint challenge with joint solutions.
The six equal founding partners are: Action with Communities in Rural England; the Association of Drainage Authorities; Country Land and Business Association; the Environment Agency; the National Farmers Union; and Natural England.
Today, the Partnership publishes its work plan covering 2024 to 2026. Partners and a wide range of projects will work together to improve their evidence base and will draw on this to co-develop solutions.
The work plan sets out 21 actions supporting seven strategic outcomes focused on: developing the evidence base behind decision-making to increase resilience; ensuring communities, farmers and landowners have access to quality advice and support; and engaging rural communities in flood resilience.
James Blake, Chair of Trustees Action with Communities in Rural England, said:
It’s vital that everyone living and working in rural communities – not just those involved in land management and agriculture – have an opportunity to engage with and influence plans to manage the consequences of climate change.
As one of the founding members of this partnership, we look forward to drawing on the experience and reach of ACRE members to build the capacity of rural communities to come together and consider what can be done based on local circumstances in response to this most pressing global issue.
Robert Caudwell, Chair of the Association of Drainage Authorities, said:
Our climate is changing rapidly, and those living and working in rural parts of England are some of the most aware of, and most vulnerable to, those changes.
Listening to the voice of rural communities is essential if we are to build England’s resilience to flooding and drought in the future.
The best solutions can often be achieved when public authorities work together with local businesses and communities, combining their land and water management expertise with a deeper understanding of our local landscape and those impacted.
ADA is proud to play its part in this new Partnership in support of our members, England’s flood and water management authorities.
Country Land and Business Association (CLA) President Victoria Vyvyan said:
The damage to rural land and businesses from flooding is localised but acute, and the frequency of these events will increase with climate change.
It is crucial to improve the resilience of rural businesses and communities to flooding. The CLA hopes this partnership will provide the evidence, awareness of risks, and access to practical advice that will allow them to improve their resilience.
This partnership will look for short and medium-term solutions whilst raising awareness of the rural-specific costs and challenges from flooding which our members face.
Caroline Douglass, Executive Director for Flood and Coastal Risk Management, Environment Agency, said:
Flooding presents specific challenges to those living and working in rural communities, from ruined crops to having road access cut off by floodwaters.
Since 2015, flooding and coastal change projects have been completed to protect more than 400,000 hectares of agricultural land better. This includes 280,000 hectares between 2015-2021, helping to avoid more than £500 million worth of economic damage to agricultural land production.
While the Environment Agency continues to work to strengthen rural flood resilience, no single organisation can tackle these challenges in isolation. This partnership provides the opportunity to accomplish more than any one organisation can manage alone.
The new Rural Flood Resilience Partnership will help farmers, land managers and rural communities become more resilient to the impacts of climate change while retaining the vital role of managing land and producing sustainable food.
NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos said:
The NFU is pleased to be involved in this new Partnership and hope it will enable farmers and rural communities to strengthen the resilience of their homes and businesses by providing practical solutions based on tangible evidence to some of the challenges they face in the event of flooding.
It will also give rural communities the means to influence decision making, provide access to resources and support action on the ground, strengthening rural resilience to flooding in a changing climate.
Farmers are on the frontline of climate change – our biggest challenge. The extreme weather this brings is one of the main threats to UK food security and more severe storms, devastating floods, and increased periods of little or no rain are all impacting our ability to produce food.
The country has just experienced its wettest 18 months since records began in 1836 which left many thousands of acres of productive farmland under water. There are still many farm businesses in dire need of support, and we are awaiting details of how the Farming Recovery Fund can help those businesses recover from the impacts of the devastating flooding and saturated ground.
Natural England champions the power of nature and nature-based solutions to help tackle the joint climate and biodiversity emergencies.
NE welcomes the opportunity to join this partnership and add our science and evidence expertise and our local farm advice offer into the mix. Together we can support farmers and land managers to farm in more flood resilient ways – supporting communities to become more flood resilient and recovering nature at the same time.
From signing up to the Sustainable Farming Incentive to manage arable land for flood/drought resilience and water quality or by working with others to restore a river and floodplain in Landscape Recovery every farmer and land manager can make a difference.
The Partnership forms part of the wider work that all partners are undertaking on flood and coastal resilience.
All flood and coastal risk management schemes delivered by risk management authorities in England are carefully assessed to make sure they benefit the most people and property. Approximately 40% of all schemes and 45% of investment better protect properties in rural communities.
Headline: Disaster Recovery Center Opens in St. Mary Parish
Disaster Recovery Center Opens in St. Mary Parish
BATON ROUGE, La. – FEMA and the State of Louisiana will open a Disaster Recovery Center in Morgan City on Monday, Sept. 23 to provide one-on-one help to Louisiana residents affected by Hurricane Francine.
Center location:
St. Mary Parish
Morgan City Municipal Auditorium 728 Myrtle Street Morgan City, LA 70380
The center will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Residents in Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and Terrebonne parishescan visit the center to meet with representatives of FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration, along with other community partners. No appointment is needed to visit the center.
The center is accessible to people with disabilities or access and functional needs and is equipped with assistive technology. If you need a reasonable accommodation or sign language interpreter, please call 833-285-7448 (press 2 for Spanish).
You do not have to visit the center to apply for FEMA disaster assistance. The quickest way to apply is by going online at disasterassistance.gov/.
Additional options when applying include:
Download the FEMA App for mobile devices.
Call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.
To view an accessible video about how to apply visit: Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube.
For the latest information visit fema.gov/disaster/4817. Follow FEMA Region 6 social media at X.com/FEMARegion6 or on Facebook at facebook.com/FEMARegion6/.
The Albanese Government is committed to supporting a competitive and sustainable food and grocery sector that works for Australian families and farmers.
Today we are releasing an exposure draft of the new mandatory Food and Grocery Code (Code) and an exposure draft of amendments to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 for consultation.
The new Code will see Aldi, Coles, Woolworths and Metcash subject to multi‑million‑dollar penalties for serious breaches. The Code increases protections for suppliers by introducing strengthened dispute resolution arrangements, and new obligations to protect suppliers from retribution, which will be complemented by the creation of an anonymous supplier and whistle‑blower complaints pathway through the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The new Code implements the recommendations of Dr Craig Emerson’s independent review of the code in full and would commence on 1 April 2025.
The amendments to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 will introduce higher maximum penalties for breaches of the Code, as well as higher infringement notice penalties for alleged breaches of the Food and Grocery Code and other industry codes. Legislation will be introduced into the Parliament later this year.
The Government’s economic plan is all about easing the cost of living for Australians. The new Code will help to ensure our supermarkets are as competitive as they can be so Australians get the best prices possible.
Strengthening the Food and Grocery Code is only one part of the Government’s broad competition reform agenda, which includes an ACCC supermarket inquiry, progress on the most significant merger reforms in Australia in almost 50 years, consultation on reforming non‑compete clauses, funding for CHOICE to conduct quarterly price monitoring and working with the states and territories to revitalise National Competition Policy.
Source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
The ACCC has commenced separate proceedings in the Federal Court against Woolworths Group Limited (Woolworths) (ASX: WOW) and Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd (Coles) (a subsidiary of Coles Group Limited – ASX: COL) for allegedly breaching the Australian Consumer Law by misleading consumers through discount pricing claims on hundreds of common supermarket products.
The ACCC’s allegations relate to products sold by each of Woolworths and Coles at regular long-term prices which remained the same, excluding short-term specials, for at least six months and in many cases for at least a year.
The products were then subject to price rises of at least 15 per cent for brief periods, before being placed in Woolworths’ ‘Prices Dropped’ promotion and Coles’ ‘Down Down’ promotion, at prices lower than during the price spike but higher than, or the same as, the regular price that applied before the price spike.
“Following many years of marketing campaigns by Woolworths and Coles, Australian consumers have come to understand that the ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotions relate to a sustained reduction in the regular prices of supermarket products. However, in the case of these products, we allege the new ‘Prices Dropped’ and ‘Down Down’ promotional prices were actually higher than, or the same as, the previous regular price,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
“We allege that each of Woolworths and Coles breached the Australian Consumer Law by making misleading claims about discounts, when the discounts were, in fact, illusory.”
“We also allege that in many cases both Woolworths and Coles had already planned to later place the products on a ‘Prices Dropped’ or ‘Down Down’ promotion before the price spike, and implemented the temporary price spike for the purpose of establishing a higher ‘was’ price,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
The ACCC alleges the conduct involved 266 products for Woolworths at different times across 20 months, and 245 products for Coles at different times across 15 months. The representations were made on pricing tickets displayed to consumers in-store on supermarket shelves and online, usually with a ‘was’ price displayed showing what the price was during the short-term price spike and the date of that price.
The ACCC identified this conduct through consumer contacts to the ACCC and social media monitoring, and then conducted an in-depth investigation using its compulsory powers.
“Many consumers rely on discounts to help their grocery budgets stretch further, particularly during this time of cost of living pressures. It is critical that Australian consumers are able to rely on the accuracy of pricing and discount claims,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
“We allege these misleading claims about illusory discounts diminished the ability of consumers to make informed choices about what products to buy, and where.”
The ACCC estimates that Woolworths and Coles sold tens of millions of the affected products and derived significant revenue from those sales.
The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, costs and other orders. The ACCC is also seeking community service orders that Woolworths and Coles must each fund a registered charity to deliver meals to Australians in need, in addition to their pre-existing charitable meal delivery programs.
Alleged conduct
The ACCC alleges that the supermarkets offered certain products at a regular price for at least 180 days. They then increased the price of the product by at least 15 per cent for a relatively short period of time, and subsequently placed it onto their ‘Prices Dropped’ or ‘Down Down’ program.
The ACCC alleges the display of the Prices Dropped and Down Down tickets was misleading, as the price of the products was in fact higher than or the same as the regular price at which the supermarket had previously offered the products for sale.
Alleged conduct by Woolworths
The ACCC alleges that Woolworths made false or misleading representations to consumers about the prices of 266 products during the period between September 2021 and May 2023.
Products affected include Arnott’s Tim Tams biscuits, Dolmio sauces, Doritos salsa, Energizer batteries, Friskies cat food, Kellogg’s cereal, President butter, Listerine mouthwash, Moccona coffee capsules, Mother energy drinks, Mr Chen’s noodles, Nicorette patches, Ocean Blue smoked salmon, Oreo cookies, Palmolive dishwashing liquid, Raid insect spray, Sprite soft drink, Stayfree pads, Twisties, Uncle Tobys muesli bars, and Vicks VapoDrops.
Example – Oreo Family Pack Original 370g
From at least 1 January 2021 until 27 November 2022, Woolworths offered the Oreo Family Pack Original 370g product for sale at a regular price of $3.50 on a pre-existing ‘Prices Dropped’ promotion for at least 696 days.
On 28 November 2022, the price was increased to $5.00 for a period of 22 days. On 20 December 2022, the product was placed on a ‘Prices Dropped’ promotion with the tickets showing a ‘Prices Dropped’ price of $4.50 and a ‘was’ price of $5.00. The ‘Prices Dropped’ price of $4.50 was in fact 29 per cent higher than the product’s previous regular price of $3.50.
In this example, the ACCC alleges Woolworths had planned the temporary price spike to establish a new higher ‘was’ price for the subsequent ‘promotion’. Woolworths had decided (after a request from the supplier for a price increase) on or around 18 November 2022 to take the product off ‘Prices Dropped’, increase the price, and then put the product back on to ‘Prices Dropped’ three weeks later.
Alleged conduct by Coles
The ACCC alleges that Coles made false or misleading representations to consumers about the prices of 245 products during the period between February 2022 and May 2023.
Products include Arnott’s Shapes biscuits, Band-Aids, Bega cheese, Cadbury chocolates, Coca Cola soft drink, Colgate toothpaste, Danone yoghurt, Dettol multi-purpose wipes, Fab laundry liquid, Karicare formula, Kellogg’s snack bars, Kleenex tissues, Libra tampons, Lurpak butter, Maggi two-minute noodles, Nature’s Gift dog food, Nescafe instant coffee, Palmolive shampoo, Rexona deodorant, Sakata rice crackers, Sanitarium Weet-Bix cereal, Strepsils lozenges, Sunrice rice, Tena pads, Viva paper towels, Whiskas cat food, and Zafarelli pasta.
Example Strepsils Throat Lozenges Honey & Lemon 16 pack
From at least 1 January 2021 until 11 October 2022, Coles offered the Strepsils Throat Lozenges Honey & Lemon 16 pack product for sale at a regular price of $5.50 (on a pre-existing ‘Down Down’ promotion) for at least 649 days, including one seven-day short-term special.
On 12 October 2022, the price was then increased to $7.00 for a period of 28 days. On 9 November 2022, the product was placed on a ‘Down Down’ promotion with the tickets showing a ‘Down Down’ price of $6.00 and a ‘was’ price of $7.00. The ‘Down Down’ price of $6.00 was in fact 9 per cent higher than the product’s previous regular price of $5.50.
In this example, the ACCC alleges Coles had planned the temporary price spike to establish a new higher ‘was’ price for the subsequent ‘promotion’. Coles had decided (after a request from the supplier for a price increase) on or around 7 October 2022 to take the product off ‘Down Down’, increase the price, and then put the product back on to ‘Down Down’ four weeks later.
The ACCC’s investigation into the conduct which is the subject of these proceedings pre-dates this inquiry. The inquiry will not consider the issues in dispute in these proceedings.
Note to editors
The ACCC does not regulate supermarket prices.
The ACCC has taken proceedings in respect of alleged breaches of the Australian Consumer Law, which provides that businesses must not make false or misleading statements about prices.
Separate proceedings are brought against Woolworths and Coles, and the ACCC is not making any allegation of any collusion or anti-competitive conduct by Woolworths and Coles as part of these proceedings.
The ACCC is not alleging any contravention of the ACL by any of Woolworths’ and Coles’ suppliers in these proceedings.
The maximum penalty for each breach of the Australian Consumer Law increased on 10 November 2022, part way through the period of the alleged conduct. For contraventions from 10 November 2022, the maximum penalty is the greater of:
$50,000,000
if the Court can determine the value of the ‘reasonably attributable’ benefit obtained, three times that value, or
if the Court cannot determine the value of the ‘reasonably attributable’ benefit, 30 per cent of the corporation’s adjusted turnover during the breach turnover period for the contravention.
Any penalty that might apply to this conduct is a matter for the Court to determine and would depend on the Court’s findings. The ACCC will not comment on what penalties the Court may impose.
Background
Woolworths runs the largest supermarket chain in Australia, with about 1,140 Woolworths supermarket stores across the country.
The ‘Prices Dropped’ Program is promoted by Woolworths as a shelf price reduction program designed to offer Woolworths’ customers consistently low prices over a prolonged period. The objective of the Prices Dropped Program was to lower the standard shelf price of a product from its previous standard (or regular) shelf price.
Example of a Prices Dropped ticket
Coles is the second-largest supermarket chain in Australia, operating more than 840 stores nationally.
Coles introduced the ‘Down Down’ Program in June 2010 and marketed it as a promotional campaign designed to reduce the regular shelf price of commonly purchased products — thereby offering customers predictable and reliable value on the items they purchased the most and reducing the cost of their shopping basket.
Example of a Down Down ticket
Separate to these proceedings, in December 2023, following a complaint by CHOICE and an investigation by the ACCC, Coles announced refunds for thousands of customers after it raised the price on 20 products that it had promised would remain ‘locked’ for a certain period of time as part of Coles’ ‘Dropped and Locked’ promotion.
These documents contain the ACCC’s initiating court documents in relation to these matters. We will not be uploading further documents in the event these initial documents are subsequently amended.
The China Photovoltaic Industry Association has expressed serious concerns about and strong opposition to the United States’ distorting the global solar market by providing excessive subsidies to US companies and imposing high tariffs on imported solar products.
It said the US moves are hampering international cooperation in the fight against climate change.
The trade body said in a recent statement that the US has built high walls of protectionism by imposing multiple trade restrictions and continuously increasing tariff barriers on imported photovoltaic products. In May, for example, the US decided that the import tax on Chinese solar cells would rise from 25 percent to 50 percent.
The association also pointed out that the US implemented exclusive and discriminatory industrial policies through legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and subsidized its own photovoltaic industry on a large scale.
“The Inflation Reduction Act, introduced in 2022, offers subsidies of an unprecedented $369 billion to support investments and production in the clean energy sector, including domestic PV products, aiming to reconstruct the PV industry chain,” said the trade body’s statement.
On May 16, the US Department of Energy announced $71 million investment to fund the Silicon Solar Manufacturing and Dual-Use Photovoltaics Incubator Program ($27 million) and the Advancing US Thin-Film Solar Photovoltaics Funding Program ($44 million), aiming to close the gaps in PV supply chain manufacturing capabilities, the association added.
Such moves violated multilateral trade rules and severely distorted the market operations of the global supply chain of the PV industry, according to the statement.
Experts and business leaders said that while subsidies are common globally in the new energy industry, the US strategy of raising tariffs under anti-subsidy pretexts and financially backing domestic companies is a double standard, with the aim of hindering Chinese solar companies from capturing global market share.
They said that Chinese-made solar and wind power equipment has facilitated the widespread adoption of affordable renewable energy worldwide, contributing to a global shift toward green development, adding that collaboration among global economies is essential for mutual gains in the sector.
Cui Fan, an international trade professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said that policy interventions are necessary globally to address market flaws in advancing new energy. Solely relying on market forces could significantly delay global decarbonization progress by 20 to 30 years, which would be out of sync with the pace of global green initiatives, he added.
“However, in the WTO framework, subsidies must adhere to specific conditions, including avoiding unjust discrimination. The US’ Inflation Reduction Act breaches this by favoring US products over Chinese imports,” Cui said.
Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University, said that the US’ high subsidies for its new energy industry, as well as its consistent raising of tariffs on Chinese goods under anti-subsidy pretexts, showcase a US double standard.
Song Hao, assistant vice-president at GCL Technology Holdings, said the US’ contradictory actions of restricting imports under anti-subsidy pretexts while heavily supporting domestic solar industries were undermining fairness.
Lin said: “Although the US has continuously raised trade barriers, it has limited impact on the Chinese solar industry, as China’s direct exports to the US are relatively small. Chinese companies have diversified investments globally, forging stronger ties with Europe, the Middle East and other regions to explore new opportunities.”
The US was not among the top 10 markets for China’s solar module exports in the first half of this year, while Europe and Asia collectively accounted for over 80 percent of these exports, according to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association. Solar modules accounted for 87 percent of China’s total PV product exports in terms of value, it added.
Amid Shanghai’s continued efforts to deepen international cooperation in terms of research and development, multinational companies should be better integrated into the city’s innovation network, which would be conducive to the city’s high-quality development, said officials and company executives.
They made the remarks on Sunday during the 36th International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai.
Chen Jining, Party secretary of Shanghai, said that as technological innovation has been playing an increasingly important role in driving economic growth, Shanghai will expand its science and technology exchanges with other markets.
Efforts will be made to develop offshore technological innovation, Chen said, adding that a foundation to advance coordinated technological innovation at a global level will be built in Lin-gang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
International organizations are also encouraged to set up branches in the city, and all these steps are aimed at nurturing an open, fair, just and nondiscriminatory environment for technological innovation, he said.
Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng said the scientific research paradigm is undergoing profound changes amid the new round of technological and industrial revolution, and coordination and cooperation are crucial against this backdrop.
Shanghai will implement a global technology partner plan, and will also actively participate in, nurture and initiate international large-scale scientific projects, he said.
Multinational companies will be encouraged to set up international R&D centers and open innovation centers in the city, and will be deeply integrated into Shanghai’s local innovation network, Gong added.
As of June, 985 multinational companies had set up their regional headquarters in Shanghai, and the number of foreign-funded R&D centers reached 575, according to the municipal government.
Severin Schwan, chairman of the board of directors of Swiss healthcare company Roche Group, said that openness, innovation and collaboration are important for Shanghai’s high-quality development, particularly in the wake of geopolitical tensions and market uncertainties.
Multinational companies can tap into the sectors of healthcare, science and technology, and the digital economy more deeply, said Schwan, who is also chairman for this year’s International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council.
Dominic Barton, chairman of multinational mining company Rio Tinto, said the private sector has been contributing substantially to research projects, and this is a global trend.
Miguel Lopez, CEO of German industrial and engineering conglomerate Thyssenkrupp AG, suggested that Shanghai could place great importance on and fully utilize multinational companies’ industrial expertise, global networks, international experience and innovative resources.
The International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council was initiated in 1989 and has grown into a think tank for Shanghai mayors over time.
This year’s meeting was attended by top executives of 34 multinational companies from 13 countries.
Press Release Nokia deploys high-performance cross-border DWDM network for IGC
Nokia’s Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) solution was used by IGC to overlay and enhance the existing infrastructure to more effectively manage the growing capacity demand.
The new, improved network allows IGC’s customers, including hyperscalers, to benefit from a high capacity, low latency and highly available network.
Based on Nokia’s latest photonic service engine (PSE) chipset, Nokia’s DWDM solution will allow IGC to improve its energy efficiency while increasing network capacity and availability.
23 September 2024 Bangkok, Thailand – Nokia today announced that International Gateway Company Limited (IGC) has selected Nokia’s next-generation optical transport solution to modernize its existing DWDM network, which connects the East region to Cambodia and the South region to Malaysia. Powered by Nokia’s latest generation Photonic Service Engine (PSE) chipset, the upgraded network will be capable of transmitting 400G per wavelength, enabling IGC to more effectively manage booming traffic demands while ensuring superior data center connectivity for its customers.
Upon deployment in Bangkok and in the East and South regions, Nokia’s Data Center Interconnect (DCI) solution will enable IGC to cost-effectively meet requirements for a high-capacity, robust network as consumer data demand surges.
Pichit Satapattayanont, Chief Executive Officer at IGC, said: “Nokia’s cost-effective and resilient DWDM solution, based on coherent technology, will help us delight our hyperscale customers by providing superior connectivity from the Cambodian border to the Malaysian border. We are pleased with the timely and seamless completion of the project and look forward to strengthening our partnership and collaboration with Nokia in the future.”
Ajay Sharma, Head of Network Infrastructure Sales, SEA North at Nokia, said: “We are thrilled that our industry-leading products and solutions will help IGC fulfil the transmission capacity demands of its customers today and in the future. Our innovative DWDM optical network solution is designed to help service providers cost-effectively enhance network capacity and build resilience while reducing their energy consumption.”
About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.
As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.
With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.
About IGC International Gateway Company Limited or IGC is a subsidiary of ALT Telecom Plc., a neutral regional telecommunication and network service provider. IGC was established in year 2017 to provide wholesale bandwidth for both domestic and international traffic via SRT (State Railway of Thailand), EGAT and its nationwide network (so-called GMS network) which has totally about 12,000km of nationwide-optical fiber network and owns NNI (Network to Network Interface) for 12 Active Crossing Borders to connect with total of 42 operators surrounding countries and in Thailand, with extended connectivity to more than 10 well-known data centers in Thailand. Moreover, the Open Access License includes 5 CLSs (Cable Landing Stations) which located in the most strategic locations for the Submarine cable Business in Thailand. With Submarine cable network it will allow IGC to play a major role in the Eastern Economic Corridor Project and bridge the Submarine cable traffic to the GMS Terrestrial network.
ASEAN alongside Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand gathered in Vientiane on 22 September 2024 for the Third RCEP Ministers’ Meeting. The Meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, Director General of International Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia and H.E. Li Fei, Vice Minister of Commerce of China.The Meeting reaffirmed their commitment to actively promote the RCEP Agreement so it can be effectively utilised by businesses in the region and contribute to further deepening regional economic integration.
Download the full statement here.
The post Joint Media Statement of the 3rd RCEP Ministers’ Meeting appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
Together with the Chair of the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Meeting 2024 and Minister of Industry and Commerce of Lao PDR, H.E. Malaithong Kommasith, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, this afternoon concluded his engagements in a series of meetings in Vientiane, Lao PDR, by attending the Press Conference of the 56th AEM Meeting and Related Meetings.
During the Press Conference, Minister Malaithong Kommasith and SG Dr. Kao provided key takeaway points on the discussions at the various meetings, which saw many constructive exchanges by both ASEAN Ministers and that of its Dialogue Partners, on how to strengthen economic integration in the region and beyond.
Download the full remarks here.
The post Secretary-General of ASEAN joins Chair of the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting 2024 in a Press Conference appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
At a time most people are trying to cut their weekly grocery bills, Australia’s supermarket giants have been hit with legal action for allegedly misleading shoppers over the price of hundreds of products.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Monday announced it was launching separate actions in the Federal Court against the largest and second-largest grocery chains, Woolworths and Coles.
The ACCC alleges the two have systematically misled consumers over price discounts on hundreds of everyday products. The ACCC chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said the alleged wrongdoing involved the sales of “tens of millions” of products, reaping “significant” extra revenue for the businesses.
Woolworths’ list of 266 items included Arnott’s Tim Tams, Dolmio sauces, Doritos salsa, Friskies cat food, Kellogg’s cereal and Stayfree pads, while the 245 products allegedly targeted by Coles included Arnott’s Shapes biscuits, Band-Aids, Bega cheese, Cadbury chocolates and Libra tampons.
These were not one-off pricing errors. The ACCC alleges the misleading conduct took place over 20 months as part of the Woolworths “Prices Dropped” and the Coles “Down, Down” promotional campaigns.
How shoppers were allegedly misled
The ACCC alleges on repeated occasions the supermarkets’ strategy was to temporarily raise the price of goods before applying the so-called discount.
The approach meant that although the boldly placed, coloured discount tickets showed a reduction from the previous “regular” price of the products, the discounted price was still higher than the price before the temporary price rise.
The ACCC gave the example of how consumers were allegedly misled over savings on a 370-gram family pack of Oreo original biscuits.
From at least January 1 2021 until November 27 2022, Woolworths offered the Oreos for sale at a regular price of $3.50 on a pre-existing “Prices Dropped” promotion. Then, on November 28 2022, the price was increased to $5.00 for 22 days.
On December 20 2022, the product was placed on a “Prices Dropped” promotion with the tickets showing a “Prices Dropped” price of $4.50 and a “was” price of $5.00. The “Prices Dropped” price of $4.50 was in fact 29% higher than the product’s previous regular price of $3.50.
What is the legal claim?
The ACCC does not regulate prices. Instead, it acts on breaches of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, including making false or misleading claims about the prices of goods and services.
While it was true that Woolworths and Coles reduced the shelf price of the products, the ACCC alleges they didn’t reveal that the starting price had recently been increased. It is this conduct of promoting a discount from a recently inflated price that the ACCC says would mislead consumers.
The ACCC’s argument is the “ordinary and reasonable” consumer expects a discount to be genuine, not coming off a recently inflated price. The net effect of that strategy is just an increased price.
Other cases
This is not the first time the ACCC has pursued such a claim. In 2020, the commission successfully went after online retailer Kogan for engaging in a similar strategy.
Kogan ran an online promotion advertising to consumers that they could use the code TAXTIME to reduce prices by 10% at the checkout. The court found the ads conveyed false or misleading representations because Kogan had increased the prices of more than 600 of its products immediately before the promotion by at least 10% per cent.
A similar strategy of offering discounts that were not genuinely delivered has also been raised against insurer IAG. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleges IAG did not deliver promised loyalty discounts to customers because their premiums were increased before the discount was applied by more than the amount of the discount.
IAG is now facing action for civil penalties from the regulator (ASIC) and a class action by affected customers.
Potential penalties Woolies and Coles might face
The ACCC is seeking fines (civil penalties) which could be significant. In the Kogan case, the Federal Court awarded penalties of $350,000.
But since November 2022, potential penalties have risen. These increases are designed to ensure companies do not treat the possibility of being penalised as a cost of doing business that is outweighed (and disregarded) by the benefits that might come from contraventions of the law.
These new penalty amounts work on a sliding scale: they start at $50 million but can go up to potentially 30% of a company’s turnover during the period of the contravening conduct.
This amount is per contravention. This means, if the ACCC’s allegations of misleading conduct are established, each time the supermarkets misled consumers, they would technically be liable to pay the full penalty amount.
That said, in such a case, a court would likely take a more holistic approach in setting the penalty, taking several matters into account including: the extent of the conduct, its impact on consumers, the gain to the business and whether the conduct was deliberate.
Fittingly, the ACCC is also asking the supermarkets to make a contribution to charities that provide food to people in need.
Notably, in May Qantas agreed with the ACCC to pay a penalty of $100 million, subject to court approval and in addition to compensating customers, for misleading conduct in selling tickets for flights it had already cancelled.
Jeannie Marie Paterson receives funding from the Australian Research Council and DFAT.
A disability service provider has been referred to the Director of Proceedings to investigate if further legal action should be taken. The Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner said there was public interest in holding the service to account for its failures, in a decision released today.
Rose Wall said the service, and one of its care workers, breached multiple rights of a resident under the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights. She found several significant departures from accepted practice.
The resident – a man in his thirties at the time – and the care worker, had known each other for around 20 years. Their relationship was characterised as ‘brotherly’ by the care worker.
The breaches relate to multiple incidents involving the care worker, including the resident allegedly being supplied with marijuana and alcohol, physical violence, a strangulation event, sharing recordings of embarrassing acts, being injured by a piece of wood and unsafe driving.
Ms Wall said, while she was unable to make findings on some aspects of the resident’s complaint, there was enough evidence to conclude the care worker acted inappropriately.
“There was a clear power imbalance and Mr B failed to maintain the professional boundaries required of him in his role as a carer,” she said. She found that “by consuming alcohol with Mr A, being violent towards him, and driving in a way that made him feel unsafe, Mr B failed to provide services with reasonable care and skill.”
Rose Wall was critical of the way the service managed the resident – and another care worker’s – complaints, noting it was important that vulnerable consumers, especially those in residential settings, are supported appropriately to complain about the services provided to them.
“They have a right to expect that their complaints and concerns will be taken seriously and managed appropriately. Mr A raised several concerns about Mr B’s behaviour with the disability service over time… Despite this, the disability service largely dismissed these concerns and failed to manage them as complaints.”
Ms Wall noted the service had failed to act on, or resolve, the man’s concerns about the care worker and had denied his right to efficient resolution of his complaints. No evidence was found of training or guidance on clear professional boundaries, nor were there adequate policies and procedures to manage professional boundaries and personal relationships between caregivers and residents in general, she found.
Ms Wall also found that the service did not have a structure that provided safe and appropriate services in place for Mr A for his care planning and needs assessment.
She noted there was a failure to provide services with reasonable care and skill, or comply with professional standards, which was in breach of the Code. The Ministry of Health also audited the facility and did not renew its contract with the service as a result.
The service is no longer operating. Because of this, Rose Wall recommended a trustee, or senior staff member employed at the time of the events, formally apologise to the man.
A woman’s rights to make a choice and give informed consent to a procedure were breached when her right fallopian tube was removed during a procedure to remove her left ovary and fallopian tube, said the Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner.
In a decision released today, Dr Vanessa Caldwell said under the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, before making a decision or giving consent, every person has the right to information that a reasonable consumer could expect to receive, and this opportunity was not provided to the woman.
The complaint centres on surgery for the removal of a suspected ovarian cyst in the woman’s left fallopian tube. Written consent was provided for the removal of the woman’s left ovary and fallopian tube.
On the morning of the surgery, the surgeon documented that the woman agreed to the removal of her right fallopian tube – known as a salpingectomy – the first mention of this in clinical records. He said he discussed the option of this as a preventative measure to alleviate the woman’s concerns about familial cancer risk, just before the surgery. However, after the surgery, the woman said she asked about her right fallopian tube and was told it was unaffected.
While the removal of both fallopian tubes was noted in the woman’s discharge summary, the woman said she was only made aware of the removal of the right tube when she was advised by an ultrasound technician a year later.
Dr Caldwell was critical of the doctor for advising the woman of the change in surgical plans, to include the right salpingectomy, in the preoperative holding bay while she was experiencing signs of acute stress relating to the procedure. “The environment in which this option was put to her was inappropriate. It affected her understanding of her surgery and the effect the procedure would have on her fertility was profound”.
Dr Caldwell said the risks, benefits and options related to the procedure were not explained to the woman appropriately, particularly its potential effects on her fertility, and said the inadequate informed consent was a severe departure from accepted standards.
Dr Caldwell was also critical that the written consent form did not include the right salpingectomy, because following the change in surgical plan, the doctor did not update the written consent form.
She also made adverse comment against Health NZ for systemic issues relating to informed consent practise because, in the woman’s case, a surgical safety checklist was not followed.
Dr Caldwell made a range of recommendations including that the doctor provide a formal apology to the woman and completes HDC’s the online learning modules about the Code. She has recommended Health NZ perform an audit of the last 30 clinical records for compliance with its informed consent policy.
Health and Disability Commissioner Morag McDowell has found a urologist breached the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights (the Code) in the treatment of a man with prostate cancer.
The man was diagnosed with prostate cancer and offered two primary treatment options – radiation or surgery. The man opted for surgery, believing that the prostate cancer had not spread to the surrounding lymph nodes.
Following surgery, two of the lymph nodes came back positive for metastatic disease. After another clinical consultation the man discovered that the spread of cancer to the lymph nodes was evident in his preoperative scan.
The man said he was not told the surgery would not be curative because the cancer had spread, and that he would therefore require radiation therapy.
Ms McDowell found that, while surgery was an appropriate treatment option, the urologist breached the Code for failing to ensure the man was adequately informed | whakamōhio and, therefore it followed that the man was not able to give informed consent for the procedure | whakaritenga mōu ake.
She was critical that the urologist did not provide the man with an appropriate explanation of his preoperative scan result, so that he did not understand his pelvic lymph nodes were involved, and that the man did not have the opportunity for a radiation oncology review, or a clear explanation of the benefits of radiation or surgery.
“Informed consent lies at the heart of the Code”, Ms McDowell said. “The responsibility for ensuring that the consumer has been provided with sufficient information to make an informed choice and give informed consent lies with the clinician who is to undertake that treatment.”
Ms McDowell also found the urologist breached the Code for failing to comply with appropriate documentation standards | tautikanga.
“Given the man’s diagnosis and prognosis, I would have expected the urologist to have taken appropriate steps to ensure his discussions with the man, including the information provided to him, were documented adequately and accurately reflected what was discussed,” Ms McDowell said.
She made an educational comment about consideration being given to a multidisciplinary team meeting, which would have enabled both radiologists and the radiation oncologist involved in the man’s care to confirm and interpret the scan findings.
Since the events, the urologist has made significant changes, outlined in the report. Given the changes made by the urologist, Ms McDowell had no further recommendations.
Shri Piyush Goyal to co-chair with Minister Farrell the 19th India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission meeting in Adelaide Commerce Minister to interact with leading Australian and Indian CEOs, discuss investment avenues in India
Posted On: 22 SEP 2024 6:04PM by PIB Delhi
At the invitation of Senator, The Hon’ble Don Farrell, the Minister of Trade and Tourism of Australia, Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry will undertake a visit to Australia from September 23-25, 2024.
Shri Piyush Goyal will co-chair with Minister Farrell the 19th India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission meeting to be held in Adelaide on September 25, 2024, during which both sides will discuss ways to further elevate the bilateral economic engagement.
Commerce Minister will interact with leading Australian and Indian CEOs & industry leaders and representatives from Australian pension funds to highlight the vast opportunities for investment in India. His interactions with business and industry leaders in events organized by Business Council of Australia, Centre for Australia- India relations, India Australia Business Community Alliance, AsiaLink Business and CREDAI will stress leveraging the complementary strengths and synergies between the economies of India and Australia. He will also interact with the representatives of the vibrant Indian community in Sydney, Indian origin Chartered Accountants and emerging leaders of Indian diaspora from various walks of life.
Commerce Minister’s visit will add further impetus to the strong and growing trade and investment ties between India and Australia, which have received a boost following finalization of the bilateral Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. It will encourage business-to-business engagement, and promote strategic partnerships across sectors of priority to both sides, including critical minerals, manufacturing, education, renewable energy, infrastructure, tourism, space etc. The visit will also bring in sharper relief the collaborative potential of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Future Made in Australia’ initiatives creating more jobs and economic benefits to people of both the countries. The visit is particularly opportune as it comes at a time when India and Australia have intensified their engagement both bilaterally and in various fora, such as G20 and the Quad, to work together for global good.
Shri Goyal will also participate virtually at the meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework on September 24, 2024.
The Dialogue provided an opportunity to explore the future development of the CER framework, including the Single Economic Market (SEM) agenda, the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement (TTMRA) and the CER Investment Protocol, and to discuss collaboration on regional and global trade issues.
The ANZLF CER Business Dialogue was attended by the New Zealand Minister for Trade, Hon Todd McClay, and Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell.
The Ministers joined ANZLF CEO delegates for a discussion on how to enhance trans-Tasman economic and trade cooperation through:
Streamlining regulations and standards to boost competitiveness and facilitate seamless trade
Jointly developing and promoting an attractive single investment environment for both domestic and foreign investors
Strengthening supply chains to mitigate risks and ensure business continuity in times of crisis
Leveraging technology to modernise trade processes, including the transition to paperless trade documentation and the adoption of coherent digital standards for areas like digital identity verification, cyber security, e-commerce, and data exchange.
Australian ANZLF Co-Chair and CEO of CyberCX, John Paitaridis, emphasised the ANZLF’s role in fostering strong relationships between business and political leaders to ensure a healthy and vibrant trans-Tasman relationship. Mr Paitaridis noted that for twenty years the ANZLF has helped develop the SEM agenda and influenced a raft of policies, ranging from border control to business regulation.
“The ANZLF brings trans-Tasman business leaders together to advance the trans-Tasman relationship,” Mr Paitaridis said, “Our engagement with Ministers in Rotorua underscored the importance of the ANZLF as a platform for dialogue and active collaboration. It also spoke to the Prime Ministers’ recent joint statement acknowledging the ANZLF’s relevance to business and effectiveness as a voice to governments.”
Spark NZ CEO, Jolie Hodson, highlighted the need for a more outward-looking approach to the trans-Tasman relationship. Ms. Hodson said, “CEOs emphasised the importance of promoting CER to the world, and ensuring the SEM agenda remains modern and, forward-thinking, attractive to foreign investors by pursuing regulatory coherence wherever possible and embracing new opportunities in the digital economy.”
Mr Paitaridis concluded, “By aligning our policies, enhancing investment frameworks, supporting innovative supply chain solutions and digitising the trade relationship, we can ensure our two countries remain match fit for a modern trade relationship.”
Australia Delegation
John Paitaridis, CEO, CyberCX and ANZLF Co-Chair
Bran Black, CEO, Business Council of Australia
Paul Corbett, General Manager, New Zealand, CPB Contractors
Tracey Evans, Managing Director, Aurecon
Ranj Samrai, Australia Director, ANZLF
New Zealand Delegation
Jolie Hodson, CEO, Spark NZ and Acting ANZLF Co-Chair
Jason Boyes, CEO, Infratil
Roger Gray, CEO, Port of Auckland
Traci Houpapa, Chair, Federation of Māori Authorities and ANZLF Indigenous Business Sector Group
Simon Limmer, CEO, Indevin
Amelia Linzey, CEO, Beca
Stephen Jacobi, New Zealand Director, ANZLF
Simon Le Quesne, New Zealand Associate Director, ANZLF.
Wellington Chamber of Commerce welcomes move to encourage public servants to return to the office
The Wellington Chamber of Commerce supports the Government’s move to issue new guidance for working from home in the public service, and expects it to make a real difference to the capital.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has issued new guidelines for public service CEOs to encourage more employees to work from the office.
Wellington Chamber of Commerce CEO Simon Arcus says the move will have a number of benefits, particularly in the capital.
“Today’s announcement is welcome news for Wellington businesses and will have a positive impact on our city,” says Arcus.
“Footfall is critical for a number of industries, especially retail and hospitality. These sectors have been struggling with a lack of customers with more Wellingtonians working from home. Many businesses have gone from expecting several days of profitable trading to turning a profit only one day a week,” he says.
“CBD businesses pay the highest levels of rent, rates and insurance and rely on a thriving central city to survive.”
Arcus says there are a number of other good reasons for encouraging employees to work from the office, whether in the public or private sector.
“Working in the office also has benefits for productivity and team culture. It gives junior staff much better opportunities to be mentored by senior colleagues and encourages . The corporate sector has recognised this and has already moved to reduce working from home arrangements. It’s pleasing to see the public sector do the same,” he says.
“We encourage local councils to follow the government’s lead and encourage their staff to come back to the office. This change will bring life back to our city, bringing benefit to businesses, communities and workers,” he says.
Govt job cuts to blame for Wellington’s ills, not working from home
The Government’s reckless decisions to axe thousands of public service jobs are what is hammering the Wellington economy, not working from home.
“If the Government really cared about the Wellington economy, then it shouldn’t have cut thousands of hard working, dedicated public service workers from its payroll,” said Duane Leo National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“The directive from Public Service Minister Nicola Willis to reduce numbers of people working from home is just a scapegoat for the real problem which is of the Government’s own making.
“Taking the spending power of thousands of public service workers out of the Wellington economy is what is damaging businesses, and the Government must take full responsibility for its poor leadership and economic management.
“Simply telling workers to come back to the city a few more days a week won’t revive the Wellington economy. In a cost-of-living crisis, people are already saving money by making their own lunches and cutting down on coffees and after work drinks.”
The decision is out of step with modern workplaces, across the private and public sector and around the world which have embraced flexible working because of its many benefits.
The latestShaping Business Study by 2Degreesunderlines this with the majority (51%) saying it has increased productivity and more than a third (37%) saying it helps to recruit and retain staff.
“Many public servants already have flexible working built into the employment agreements that have been negotiated by unions and employers. The Government can’t just disregard negotiated employment agreements.
“Workers have made decisions around their family life based on these agreements, and its particularly important for our disabled kaimahi. Flexible work arrangements make it easier for those who face challenges being in the office every day to have rewarding and productive 40-hour weeks.
“The PSA will be backing our members to stand together to hold onto their legal entitlements.
“This directive is just par for the course from a government which has consistently attacked public service workers and the role they play in supporting the economy.
“More job cuts are likely, and the Government has made it clear in the latest Workforce Policy Statement that it wants to clamp down on pay rises.
“All the evidence shows austerity doesn’t work. The Government should be investing in public services and stop blaming public service workers for the damage caused by its own policies,” said Duane Leo.
When the Greens tell Labor they’re ready to negotiate, what they usually mean is they’re preparing to make populist demands that can’t or shouldn’t be met.
So it is with their “ask” on the Reserve Bank legislation.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers wants to split the Reserve Bank board into two, one to run monetary policy and the other to administer the bank.
He got close to agreement with the Liberals, but then they saw an advantage in walking away. The Greens jumped in to fill the void, demanding an interest rate cut in exchange for their support.
“Both the Treasurer and the RBA Governor have said the reforms are important. Now they know what they have to do to get them done – provide some much needed relief to mortgage holders,” the minor party’s treasury spokesman Nick McKim said on social media on Monday.
“We are unashamedly using our political power to fight for mortgage holders who are getting smashed by high interest rates.
“The power exists for the Treasurer to bring down interest rates. Time to stop the pretence that the RBA is independent.
“Time for Jim Chalmers to end his ritual ashen-faced handwringing, end the pretence there’s nothing he can do, and intervene to bring down interest rates,” McKim said.
“We are deliberately bringing the RBA into the centre of the political debate where it belongs. The RBA board are unelected technocrats, not high priests who are beyond criticism. Every decision they make is political.”
When it comes to the Greens, the government gives as good as it gets.
“The Greens are out of control,” Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told the ABC on Monday. “It’s crazy what they’re saying to us,” adding, rather primly, that it was “a bit unseemly” for McKim to be “issuing ultimatums”.
Leave aside the unseemly – that’s a common political trait. What about the crazy?
What the Greens are demanding is bad economic policy. Whether it is crazy politics remains to be seen.
From time to time the Reserve Bank comes under sharp criticism, from experts and from the public.
Chalmers and McKim agree on one thing – the “smashing” power of high interest rates.
But the bank’s essentially independent status is a bulwark against monetary policy becoming the creature of short-term politics, as McKim would have it.
(The bank isn’t totally independent. Section 11 of the RBA Act gives the treasurer the power to overrule it, with statements from both the treasurer and bank tabled in parliament. The section has never been invoked.)
What the Greens are proposing, having the treasurer use his power to overrule the bank board to get his way on legislation, is irresponsible.
It’s also illogical. The whole point of the proposed dual boards is to strengthen the bank’s expertise as the independent setter of monetary policy. But McKim wants, in essence, to scrap that independence.
The stand on the Reserve Bank is typical of the Greens policy positions more generally. They’re presently holding up the government’s housing legislation in the Senate, making demands they know the government won’t meet, such as controls on rents.
When challenged, the Greens point out that after playing hardball on earlier housing legislation, they won extra funding.
They’re probably hoping the government will decide to buy them off this time with some more housing money. Notably, they have delayed the latest bills rather than vote them down. To do this they’ve teamed up with the Coalition – expediency overcomes ideology with these bedfellows.
Monday’s announcement that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched legal action against Coles and Woolworths over their allegedly misleading behaviour on product discounts feeds right into the Greens’ (and the Coalition’s) policy for the power to break up the big supermarkets.
The government reacted on Monday by releasing an exposure draft of its mandatory food and grocery code of conduct, which has been in the pipeline for some time. A government inquiry by former Labor minister Craig Emerson argued against divestiture powers but it’s easy to understand how cash-strapped families struggling with grocery bills could see that as appealing.
In general, is wild economics savvy politics? We won’t know until after the election.
The Greens were on a roll in 2022. They ended up with four lower house members, up from the one (leader Adam Bandt) they had before. The extra seats, all in Queensland, were won from both Labor (one) and the Liberals (two).
They also came out of the election with a record dozen senators (now 11, after Lidia Thorpe’s defection).
In the hunt for more lower house seats, the Greens would hope to pick up votes from those on the left who see Labor as too conservative, people financially hurting who are attracted to populist solutions, and young voters turned off the major parties.
Given its present radicalism, one wonders whether the Greens will hold the two Brisbane seats they won from the Liberals.
It’s difficult to chart the likely trajectory of the Greens, given their small share of the vote, and the heavier concentration of their support in particular areas. But Labor is certainly afraid of them. With the government on the back foot, it knows the potential attraction of easy-sounding solutions.
The Greens hope there will be a minority Labor government after the election, and that they would be in a position to twist that government’s arm on multiple issues.
The risk for them, however, is that if they overreach now, some of their potential but still undecided voters might become wary about how they would behave if their power was much enhanced.
Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States Small Business Administration
ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding businesses, private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters in Vermont affected by the severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides that occurred July 9 – 11, to apply for physical damage disaster loans by the Oct. 21 deadline.
Those affected by the disaster should not wait to settle with their insurance company before applying for a disaster loan. If a survivor does not know how much of their loss will be covered by insurance or other sources, SBA can make a low-interest disaster loan for the total loss up to its loan limits, provided the borrower agrees to use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay the loan.
The disaster declaration covers Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden Essex, Lamoille, Orleans and Washington which is eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA. Small businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs): Franklin, Grand Isle, Orange, Rutland and Windsor in Vermont; Coos and Grafton in New Hampshire and Clinton, Essex and Washington in New York.
Applicants can still get assistance at SBA’s Business Recovery Center (BRC) in Washington County. Customer Service Representatives at the BRC will help business owners complete their disaster loan application, accept documents, and provide updates on an application’s status. Walk-ins are accepted, but you can schedule an in-person appointment at an SBA Disaster Recovery Center in advance. The Center address and hours of operation are indicated below.
Business Recovery Center (BRC) Washington County
Barre Municipal Auditorium
20 Auditorium Hill
Barre, VT 05641
Hours: Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Closed: Sunday
With the changes to FEMA’s Sequence of Delivery, survivors are now encouraged to simultaneously apply for FEMA grants and the SBA low-interest disaster loan assistance to fully recover. FEMA grants are intended to cover necessary expenses and serious needs not paid by insurance or other sources. The SBA disaster loan program is designed for your long-term recovery, to make you whole and get you back to your pre-disaster condition. Do not wait on the decision for a FEMA grant; apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information at sba.gov/disaster.
Applicants may also call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
Submit completed loan applications to SBA no later than Oct. 21, 2024. The deadline to submit economic injury applications is May 20, 2025.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
Growth in province’s retail trade ranks first in both month-over-month and year-over-year categories
According to data released today by Statistics Canada, Saskatchewan ranks first among the provinces for year-over-year growth in retail trade. Retail trade sales in the province increased by 6.3 per cent from July 2023 to July 2024 (seasonally adjusted), reaching $2.2 billion.
“The growth we are seeing in our retail sector is a vitally important leading economic indicator, which shows the current strength of Saskatchewan’s economy and points to our continued leadership position in Canada,” Minister of Trade and Export Development Jeremy Harrison said. “This growth is creating new opportunities for the people and families of our province. With the strongest job growth in the country, lowest rate of inflation, and record investment, Saskatchewan’s strong and vibrant communities are well positioned now and into the future.
“Our government will continue to work alongside our industry partners and job creators to protect and promote the interests of Saskatchewan residents.”
The value of retail trade in Saskatchewan increased by 3 per cent in July 2024 compared to June 2024 (seasonally adjusted), also ranking first in terms of percentage change among the provinces.
The Monthly Retail Trade Survey compiles data on sales, including e-commerce sales, and the amount of retail locations by province, territory, and selected census metropolitan areas from a sample of retailers.
Retail sales is a measure of total receipts at stores, or establishments, that sell goods and services to final consumers.
The province continues to see positive outcomes in several key economic areas, with Saskatchewan currently maintaining the lowest year-over-year rate of inflation according to the Consumer Price Index, at 1.1 per cent.
Statistics Canada’s latest GDP numbers also indicate that Saskatchewan’s 2023 real GDP reached an all-time high of $77.9 billion, increasing by $1.2 billion, or 1.6 per cent. This places Saskatchewan second in the nation for real GDP growth, and above the national average of 1.2 per cent.
Private capital investment is projected to reach $14.2 billion in 2024, an increase of 14.4 per cent over 2023. This is the highest anticipated percentage increase in Canada.
The province has revealed “Securing the Next Decade of Growth: Saskatchewan’s Investment Attraction Strategy,” in conjunction with the launch of the investSK.ca website. These initiatives are positioned to amplify growth in Saskatchewan, serving as pivotal instruments in driving further development.
Source: United States Department of Justice (National Center for Disaster Fraud)
NEW ORLEANS – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that DEAN MEILLEUR (“MEILLEUR”), age 57, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, was sentenced on September 17, 2024, for making or using false writings or documents to the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(3).
According to court documents, MEILLEUR, submitted false writings and documents to the SBA to obtain Economic Impact Disaster Loans (“EIDL”). In his EIDL applications, among other things, MEILLEUR falsely represented that he was the owner of a trucking business formed in 2017 and, that he was eligible for EIDL funds. As a result of these false submissions, MEILLEUR obtained $147,400 from the SBA to which he was not entitled.
United States District Judge Brandon S. Long sentenced MEILLEUR to four (4) years of probation, payment of restitution in the amount of $147,400.00, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
U.S. Attorney Evans commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Andre J. Lagarde of the Public Integrity Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
