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A government budget disclosure has exposed $300 million was paid to “journalists” at Reuters, all of which then wrote scurrilous articles alleging criminal activity in his businesses. Shortly after that, Biden’s anti-American government insurrectionist agents began opening investigations against Musk on multiple fronts.
In addition to their economic compensation, Reuters also received a Pulitzer award specifically for “their work on Elon Musk and misconduct at his business.” At the very least, the connections are strong enough to warrant serious investigation from the Department of Justice once its halls are led by Americans once again.
Corrupt Biden Hands $300M in Contracts to Reuters which Turns around and Attacks Elon Musk– lidblog.com
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The disclosure of the huge amount of our tax dollars Joe Biden threw at wire service Reuters to use as a weapon against Elon Musk is a story of pure corruption.
Here is how the cycle worked:
-Joe Biden doled out $300 million in tax dollars to “journalists” at Reuters
-Reuters then used that money to target Elon Musk
-Then the corrupt “Pulitzer” system awarded Reuters with major awardsThe Biden Admin paid Reuters over $300 million in government contracts. 11 different Biden government agencies targeted Elon’s businesses. All 11 agencies paid millions to Reuters. Reuters then won the Pulitzer Prize for “their work on Elon Musk and misconduct at his businesses” pic.twitter.com/3IGGtuHv7L
— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) December 17, 2024
Biden Administration to Give Unprecedented $15 Billion Climate Change Handout to California Company: Report– www.westernjournal.com
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The Biden administration announced it is providing a record $15 billion low-interest loan to the California utility company PG&E, which is part of a push to get as much green money out the door as possible before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.
“The loan by the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office is slated to fund projects that refurbish PG&E’s hydroelectric infrastructure and upgrade power lines to support renewable energy projects, data centers, and electric vehicles,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
The second largest commitment under the program was a $9.6 billion loan to Ford Motor’s battery joint venture, which the office completed Monday as part of its clean energy lending program.
All told, the LPO has made more than $42.4 billion in loan commitments and over $24.1 billion in closed loans and guarantees, according to the Journal.
The misnamed Inflation Reduction Act “turbocharged the office’s lending capacity,” the news outlet said.
UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was assassinated in New York City allegedly by 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, who was arrested 5 days after the December 4 assassination at a McDonald’s in Altoona, PA, where he was found to have incriminating evidence on him, including the 3D-printed gun used in the killing.
Mangione is claiming he was set up, though many on the American left are convinced he is the killer, and for that he is being celebrated as a hero. Allegedly, Mangione killed Thompson due to the company’s policy of “deny, delay, and die,” to assure paying customers don’t get paid off when they actually get ill. The killer left three bullet cases at the scene that said Delay, Deny, Defend, which is also the title of a book about the health insurance industry’s unethical practices of denying coverage to save money.
UnitedHealth CEO Confronts Flawed System After Tragic Killing – kawsachunnews.com
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In an opinion piece for the New York Times on Friday, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty critiqued the current for-profit U.S. healthcare system, stating it “does not work as well as it should” and that it was a system “no one would design on purpose.” These comments emerged while his industry faced significant public outrage after the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive.
Witty mentioned that his company, which is the parent organization of UnitedHealthcare and the largest private insurer in the country, is “ready to work with anyone—as we have always done—including healthcare providers, employers, patients, pharmaceutical companies, governments, and others to find ways to improve the quality of care and reduce costs.”
However, skeptics are questioning Witty’s commitment to transforming an industry that his company has significantly shaped and from which it has profited immensely. Witty was the top-earning healthcare executive in the U.S. last year, and since the Affordable Care Act was passed, 40% of the private insurance industry’s total profits have gone to UnitedHealth Group.
The $24.6 billion merger between food giants Albertsons and Kroger was shut down by a Federal Judge. The action triggered a lawsuit by Albertsons against Kroger, alleging Kroger didn’t do enough to prepare itself for a merger that would meet legal and regulatory requirements.
Tom Moriarity, Alberton’s general counsel, said of the suit, “Kroger’s self-serving conduct, taken at the expense of Albertsons and the agreed transaction, has harmed Albertsons’ shareholders, associates and consumers. We are disappointed that the opportunity to realize the significant benefits of the merger has been lost on account of Kroger’s willfully deficient approach to securing regulatory clearance.”
Albertsons sues Kroger after Oregon, Washington judges block $24.6 billion merger – salemreporter.com
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On Wednesday, the day after a federal judge in Oregon and a state judge in Washington blocked a merger between two supermarket giants, Albertsons canceled the $24.6 billion merger agreement and sued Kroger.
The grocery chain, which owns 24 Albertsons locations and 97 Safeway stores in Oregon, sued Kroger in the Delaware Court of Chancery, alleging the larger grocer didn’t do enough to secure regulatory approval for its 2022 agreement to buy Albertsons.
The Federal Trade Commission, joined by seven states including Oregon and the District of Columbia, sued to block the merger in U.S. District Court in Oregon earlier this year, and a federal judge in Portland temporarily halted the merger Tuesday. A state judge in Washington state also blocked the merger from proceeding there. Both judges agreed with federal regulators and state attorneys general that the merger would lead to reduced competition and harm both customers and grocery workers — customers with higher prices and lower-quality goods and workers with lower pay.
The complaint Albertsons filed in the Delaware court isn’t yet public, but the company said in a press release that Kroger “willfully breached” the merger agreement by ignoring feedback from regulators, refusing to divest assets needed for antitrust approval or find stronger buyers for divested assets and failing to cooperate with Albertsons.
While President-Elect Donald Trump has expressed interest in saving TikTok from the pending ban should it fail to be sold to an American interest, a Federal Appeals Court has denied TikTok’s latest attempt to appeal the ban. The case is sure to reach the Supreme Court unless Trump can save TikTok.
It should be noted that TikTok exploded in America AFTER the CCP-controlled company was allowed to purchase an American app, music.ly, a fact that in and of itself warrants investigation into possible acts of treason and sedition being committed by whoever approved such sale in the first place.
Federal appeals court upholds law requiring sale or ban of TikTok in the US- AP News
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A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok as soon as next month, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok’s petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company’s challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment.
“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court’s opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.”
In what might be a futile action, Biden’s Department of Justice is continuing to pursue its antitrust suit against Google, now demanding it sell off its Chrome operation, among other things, to take it out of the status of being what the DOJ is deeming an “illegal monopoly.” Trump is expected to stop the proceedings once he takes office.
DOJ seeks forced sale of Chrome, other big changes at Google in monopoly case – The Washington Post– www.washingtonpost.com
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The Justice Department is seeking to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser and make other major changes to remedy its illegal search monopoly, prosecutors told a Washington court Wednesday, setting a marker in the landmark case before the incoming Trump administration makes its own determinations about how to proceed.
Microsoft Teams has announced plans to create a voice-cloning feature that will let you “speak” multiple languages IRL using the sound of your own voice. This means you can have a Teams meeting with people who speak multiple languages yet will hear everyone in their own native voices. This is almost a digital “speaking in tongues.”
Microsoft Teams To Translate Your Speech To Foreign Language In Real-Time During Calls With Voice Cloning Feature – ABP Live
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Microsoft said, “Imagine being able to sound just like you in a different language. The Interpreter agent in Teams provides real-time speech-to-speech translation during meetings.”
Microsoft has unveiled plans to introduce a voice-cloning feature in Teams that will allow users to replicate their voices for communication in multiple languages during meetings. Announced at Microsoft Ignite 2024, this innovative tool, called Interpreter in Teams, offers real-time speech-to-speech translation. Starting in early 2025, Teams users will have the ability to simulate their voices in up to nine languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish.
This feature aims to enhance multilingual collaboration and bridge communication gaps in virtual meetings.
Thousands of UK Farmers are descending on London to protest the proposed draconian inheritance tax, which farmers say will essentially deprive today’s farmers the ability to transfer their farms to their children.
The far-left Labour government is proposing an inheritance tax starting in April 2026 on agricultural assets worth more than one million pounds. The percentage would be set at 20 percent and would mean 2/3 of British family-owned farms would not be transferred to the next generation.
Watch: UK Farmers protest against New inheritance tax– www.louderwithcrowder.com
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Farmers are protesting in the UK because the government believes they are entitled to the hard work of generational farmers for reasons that will never make sense.
According to the BBC:
Thousands of people have protested in London over changes to inheritance tax for farmers announced in the Budget.
From April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be liable to the tax at 20% – half the usual inheritance tax rate.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
President-Elect Donald Trump confirmed the “rumor” that he will be declaring a national emergency on day one, and he will use the military to deport the most dangerous illegal aliens while also using the military to combat the drug cartels on the border.
The main argument against deporting illegals comes from the MSM, who makes the argument that without illegal aliens “who will pick the crops?” The apologetic is not unsimilar to the argument made in favor of keeping slavery in America before the Civil War. Former Senior Trump Official Ken Cuccinelli thinks “using the military” will drive illegal migrant numbers “into the dirt.”
Intel has announced losses of more than $16.6 billion in the last fiscal quarter. The loss is the highest ever for the 56-year-old company. The biggest losses came from $15.9 billion in charges resulting from lowered company asset value, and $2.8 billion that came from the cost of firing over 15K workers.
Intel Posts $16.6 Billion Quarterly Loss, Its Biggest Ever – The New York Times
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Intel on Thursday posted the biggest quarterly loss in its 56-year history, as the onetime highflying chip maker struggles to turn itself around.
The Silicon Valley company said its loss for the third quarter totaled $16.6 billion, a result of $15.9 billion in charges to reflect lowered valuations of company assets and a $2.8 billion restructuring charge associated with cutting more than 15,000 workers.
Pat Gelsinger, Intel’s chief executive, had ordered the restructuring in August in response to shrinking profit margins caused by the costs of catching rivals in manufacturing technology and little success in the booming market for artificial intelligence chips, among other factors.
Jeff Bezos continues to purge himself of the project that made him the international billionaire superstar he is today. Since July of this year, Jeff Bezos has unloaded more than $4.4 billion worth of Amazon stock, which includes the most recent purging of $1.4 billion. So far, he has unloaded more than $2.7 billion worth of Amazon stock in November alone.
Jeff Bezos Sells $1.2 Billion Worth of Amazon (AMZN) Stock – GuruFocus.com
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Recently filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reveal that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has sold Amazon (AMZN, Financial) shares valued at $1.2 billion. These transactions took place on two separate days, increasing his total stock sales for November to $2.7 billion.
Since July, Bezos has sold a total of $4.4 billion worth of Amazon shares. These sales are in line with a trading plan he submitted in March of this year.
The 16th BRICS Summit completed on Thursday, October 25. It was conducted this year in Kazan, Russia. At the meeting, the prevailing theme was “this is the end American hegemony and the beginning of a multipolar world order.” It was highlighted by the Kazan Declaration, which included 13 provisions that will allegedly create “a more just and democratic world order.”
This summit, more than any other since, garnished worldwide MSM and alternative media attention, and it serves as an “alterative” to anyone currently in the American orbit to consider a more “lucrative” (allegedly) option.
BRICS Summit highlights ‘Twilight of US Hegemony’, marks ‘official launch of Multipolar World Order’ – IOL
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Thursday marked the fourth and final day of the 16th Summit of the BRICS bloc, held this year in Kazan, Russia.
Packed with dozens of high-level meetings and bilateral talks and summarized in a 134-point joint declaration, the summit also had plenty of symbolic meaning, which observers unpacked for Sputnik.
“The BRICS Summit in Kazan is undoubtedly one of the most important global political and diplomatic events of this year as it brought together the leaders of the expanded BRICS family for the first time,” Professor Alexis Habiyaremye, a senior researcher with DSI/NRF, South African Research Chair in Industrial Development, University of Johannesburg, told Sputnik, summarizing the summit’s results as the long-anticipated event reached its final day.
“The grouping has now become the global growth engine and its economic muscle is by any measure stronger than that of the old hegemonic grouping. One can say that it’s the official launch of the multilateral world order, the twilight of the US hegemony,” Habiyaremye said.
The Kazan Declaration, published Wednesday and featuring 134 provisions aimed at “creating a more just and democratic world order,” “enhancing cooperation for global and regional stability and security,” “fostering economic and financial cooperation” and “strengthening people-to-people exchanges for social and economic development.”
Brazil Blocks Caracas’ Bid to Join BRICS – Folha De S. Paulo
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Brazil informally vetoed the admission of the Venezuelan dictatorship as a partner country in BRICS, the new category of association that is the key novelty of the 16th meeting of the group, which began this Tuesday (22) in Kazan.
What seemed like a consensus solution, however, was shaken by the surprise arrival of Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro. The signal of pressure is obvious, given the fact that the Chavista regime is militarily supported by Russia.
Caracas had been left out of the list of 12 countries to be invited. According to Folha’s findings, they are, by region of the world: Cuba and Bolivia, Indonesia and Malaysia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Thailand and Vietnam, Nigeria and Uganda, and Turkey and Belarus.
The list, which is being put together by the Russian presidency of the bloc, is not yet final, and there may be surprises at the meeting of heads of state and government.
The BRICS coalition of nations, which started out as a 5-nation coalition, expanded to include 4 new countries (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE), and now includes a couple dozen more countries wanting in to the club, met again this year, with the prevailing theme being the urgency of creating a world financial alternative to the western-dominated one. Russia is leading the charge, with China right beside, and both are now pushing for a gold-backed BRICS currency.
Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov declared,” The IMF and the World Bank are not performing their roles. They are not working in the interests of BRICS countries. It is necessary to form new conditions or even new institutions, similar to the Bretton Woods institutions, but within the framework of our community, within the framework of BRICS.”
The BRICS Coalition, with some exceptions, seems to be forming a Global South Coalition rather than an Eastern one, meaning the polarity of world power is starting to form around northern and southern powers (with some notable exceptions, such as Russia) rather than Eastern and Western ones (which also includes exceptions).
Anti-West BRICS Summit Unites Biggest U.S. Enemies – PJ Media– pjmedia.com
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The BRICS coalition of nations, which last year touted its expansion and determination to undermine U.S. currency’s global status, is once again bringing together powerful dictatorships to challenge the West, especially America.
As the world’s greatest mass murderer, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), dictatorial Russia, jihad-sponsoring Iran, and the other regime leaders of the BRICS nations gather in Russia for the BRICS Summit, the CCP has made it clear that the nations’ coalition is a rival to the West. “Unlike the ideological offensive and defensive alliances formed by some Western countries, the BRICS cooperation mechanism embraces diverse political systems and economic development models,” CCP outlet Global Times babbled. It’s propaganda but still worth noting, especially in light of last year‘s BRICS goal of de-dollarization — a move away from the U.S. dollar as world reserve currency. That’s a goal the CCP highlighted again this year.
This comes as an unknown number of Chinese spies infiltrate through our southern border as illegal aliens. Indeed, The Federalist covered a Congressional report last week that Chinese Communist spying has increased across 20 states since pro-China Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took office. The CCP wants to prevent a Trump presidency, undermine the U.S. dollar, and keep the U.S. weak — which is exactly what Russia and Iran want, too. These countries are spying on the U.S. and funding our politicians. Yes, BRICS is a threat, but that is why we need new leadership in America from the White House on down.
In the article I cited above, CCP’s Global Times used a lot of nonsense words to emphasize its ambitious goals for BRICS.
From the Middle East to Africa, from Asia to Latin America, the expansion of BRICS is an inevitable result of aligning with globalization trends to promote win-win cooperation. The expanded “Greater BRICS” now accounts for nearly half of the world’s population, with greater strength and broader representation…the economic output of the “Greater BRICS,” calculated by purchasing power parity, has already surpassed that of the G7…joining BRICS helps promote economic development, improve trade levels, attract more investment, reduce reliance on the US dollar, and enhance their country’s international standing…
Additionally, the charm of the “Greater BRICS” lies in that in an increasingly fragmented world, it allows the Global South, which lags behind the West in economic development, to see the power of unity and collaboration, as well as the hope of catching up
In another article, Global Times pontificated, “While organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank remain crucial, BRICS brings new energy and perspectives by prioritizing the needs and aspirations of the Global South.” The CCP outlet added:
A key contribution of BRICS lies in its efforts to advance inclusive economic globalization. For decades, the benefits of global economic growth have disproportionately flowed to the West, leaving much of the developing world on the margins. Closer and enlarged BRICS cooperation promises to rebalance this dynamic by promoting investment, infrastructure development, and trade that align with the specific priorities of the Global South.
BRICS aims to rival and eventually usurp the power of corrupt globalist organizations like the UN. Of course, the Islamic jihadis backed by Iran and the CCP already seem to dominate the UN. Yes, this is what it looks like when genocidal dictatorships try to take over the world. That’s not Sci-fi or comic book exaggeration; it’s reality.
For Our VIPs: IDF Affirms Hamas-Issued Gaza Casualties Are Exaggerated as Westerners Bewail Gaza
The CCP is extremely open about its goal of being the “Middle Kingdom,” by which it means the center of the world, the sun around which all other nations revolve. The Iranian regime has affirmed that “Death to America” is one of its main slogans, and it has threatened to assassinate Donald Trump and other U.S. politicians. Russia hates the Biden-Harris administration for funding Ukrainian oligarchs. The other BRICS nations, including Brazil, also resent U.S. influence.
All of which is to say that when you vote this year, don’t just vote for Republicans who will take on domestic problems, but for leaders like Donald Trump who will challenge and contain the dictators desperate to destroy us.
Russia urges BRICS to create global financial alternative to Western-controlled IMF – Firstpost
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…. Russia as the current chair of the BRICS group has urged the member countries to form an alternative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a bid to counterbalance the political influence exerted by Western nations ahead of the upcoming BRICS summit this month.,,
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who is hosting the meeting, said the global financial system is controlled by Western countries and that the group, which represents 37% of the global economy, needs to create an alternative.
”The IMF and the World Bank are not performing their roles. They are not working in the interests of BRICS countries,” Siluanov said at an event on the first day of the meeting.
”It is necessary to form new conditions or even new institutions, similar to the Bretton Woods institutions, but within the framework of our community, within the framework of BRICS,” Siluanov added.
BRICS Summit Kicks Off With Welcome To “Record Gold Prices”– wltreport.com
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An expanding group of nations are backing a new form of money aimed at disrupting the Western status quo and dethroning the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
At a meeting this week, representatives from these BRICS nations met to discuss their strategy at a summit that coincided with an all-time record-high price for gold.
BRICS kicking off their summit by welcoming Record Gold Prices to the table …pic.twitter.com/jHyaki3F9a
— Peter Spina ⚒ GoldSeek | SilverSeek (@goldseek) October 22, 2024
That “new world order” involves a gold-back currency that could become an existential threat to the U.S. dollar and, as nations around the world invest in gold as a hedge, the precious metal’s price continues to soar.
Russia hosts BRICS summit, pushes new world order agenda to rival West – cnbc
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Russia is rolling out the red carpet to its geopolitical allies as it hosts the latest BRICS summit on Tuesday, pushing its agenda to create a “new world order” that challenges the West.
The group was initially comprised of Brazil, Russia, India and China before South Africa joined in 2010, giving the organization of rapidly economically-developing nations its current name. It has since morphed into a geopolitical forum for the world’s most powerful nations outside of the West.
The BRICS now have additional clout after Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined the group in January, with membership to the bloc becoming an attractive prospect for countries looking to boost trade, investment and economic development.
Russia has been trying to woo what’s collectively known as the “Global South” — or economically-developing countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America — and contrast to the “Global North” of industrialized nations, traditionally led by the U.S.
Russian President Vladimir Putin frequently comments on his ambition to establish what he calls a “new world order” to rival and usurp the geopolitical and economic pre-eminence enjoyed by the U.S.-led West.
Russia, holder of the rotating BRICS presidency and economically isolated and heavily sanctioned by the West, can also turn to this year’s summit to demonstrate that it still commands respect on the global stage and has powerful allies willing to turn a blind eye to its ongoing war in Ukraine.
Putin has described the beefed-up BRICS group as a “strong indication of the growing authority of the association and its role in international affairs” and signaled on Friday that he intends for the so-called “BRICS +” format to challenge the West on both a geopolitical and economic front.
“The countries in our association are essentially the drivers of global economic growth. In the foreseeable future, BRICS will generate the main increase in global GDP,” Putin told officials and businessmen last Friday at the BRICS business forum in Moscow, which precedes the group’s summit, in comments translated by Reuters.
“The economic growth of BRICS members will increasingly depend less on external influence or interference. This is essentially economic sovereignty,” Putin added.
Earlier in October, Putin said Moscow was open to using the summit for discussions with its allies on the “the parameters of interaction in the emerging multipolar world, and is open to discussing the issues of building a new world order with all our friends, partners and like-minded people,” he said, according to Russian state-owned news agency Tass.
Putin added that “it is in this spirit that we are preparing the BRICS and Outreach/BRICS Plus summit,” referring to the last day of the three-day summit when officials from almost 40 Asian, African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries are attending as part of the group’s bid to expand ties with the “Global South.”
PM’s Modi Full Speech At 16th BRICS Summit In Russia– www.ndtv.com
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today strongly pitched for “single-minded” focus and “firm support” of all in combating terrorism, asserting that there is no place for “double standards” to deal with the challenge. In an address at the 16th BRICS Summit, PM Modi also underlined the need to take “active steps” to stop the radicalisation of young people.
Here’s PM Modi’s full speech at the BRICS Summit.
Your Highness,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Congratulations to President Putin for the excellent organisation of the 16th BRICS Summit.
And, once again, a warm welcome to all the new friends who have joined BRICS. In its new avatar, BRICS accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s humanity and about 30 per cent of the global economy.
In the last nearly two decades, BRICS has achieved many milestones.I am confident that in the times to come, this organisation will emerge as a more effective medium to face global challenges.
I would also like to convey warm greetings to Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff, President of the New Development Bank.
Friends,
In the last 10 years, this bank has emerged as an important option for the development needs of the countries of the Global South. The opening of GIFT or Gujarat International Finance Tech City in India as well as regional centres in Africa and Russia has boosted the activities of this bank. And, development projects worth about $35 billion have been sanctioned. NDB should continue to work on the basis of the demand driven principle. And, while expanding the bank, ensuring long-term financial sustainability, healthy credit rating and market access should remain a priority.
Friends,
In its new expanded avatar, BRICS has emerged as an economy of more than $30 trillion. The BRICS Business Council and the BRICS Women Business Alliance have played a special role in increasing our economic cooperation.
This year, the consensus reached within BRICS on WTO reforms, trade facilitation in agriculture, resilient supply chains, e-commerce and Special Economic Zones will strengthen our economic cooperation. Amidst all these initiatives, we should also focus on the interests of small and medium scale industries.
I am pleased that the BRICS Startup Forum proposed during India’s presidency in 2021 will be launched this year. The Railway Research Network initiative taken by India is also playing an important role in increasing logistics and supply chain connectivity among BRICS countries. This year, the consensus reached by BRICS countries, in collaboration with UNIDO, to prepare a skilled workforce for Industry 4.0 is quite significant.
The BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre launched in 2022 is helping increase health security in all the countries. We would be happy to share India’s successful experience in Digital Health with BRICS partners.
Friends,
Climate change has been a subject of our common priority. The consensus reached for the BRICS Open Carbon Market Partnership under Russia’s presidency is welcome. In India too, special emphasis is being laid on green growth, climate resilient infrastructure and green transition. Indeed, India has taken up several initiatives like the International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Mission LiFE i.e. Lifestyle for Environment, Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam.
Last year, during COP-28, we started an important initiative called Green Credit. I invite BRICS partners to join these initiatives.
Special emphasis is being laid on the construction of infrastructure in all BRICS countries. We have established a digital platform called the Gati-Shakti portal to rapidly expand multi-modal connectivity in India. This has helped in integrated infrastructure development planning and implementation and has reduced logistics costs.
We will be happy to share our experiences with all of you.
Friends,
We welcome efforts to increase financial integration among BRICS countries.
Trade in local currencies and smooth cross-border payments will strengthen our economic cooperation. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) developed by India is a huge success story and has been adopted in many countries.
Last year, together with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed, it was launched in the UAE as well. We can also cooperate with other BRICS countries in this area.
Friends,
India is fully committed to increasing cooperation under BRICS. Our strong belief in our diversity and multipolarity is our strength. This strength of ours, and our shared belief in humanity, will help in giving a meaningful shape to a prosperous and a bright future for the generations to come.
I thank everyone for today’s very important and valuable discussions. As the next President of BRICS, I extend my heartfelt best wishes to President Lula. India will give its full support for the success of your BRICS presidency.
Once again, many thanks to President Putin and all the leaders.
(This is the approximate translation of the Prime Minister’s remarks. Original remarks were delivered in Hindi.)
Xi and Putin vow stronger China-Russia cooperation for ‘fair world order’ at Brics summit – scmp.com
Ukraine Blasts U.N.’s Guterres Over Invitation to BRICS Summit in Russia U.S. News & World Report
Walgreens has announced plans to close more than 1,200 stores it deems to be under performers by the next 3 years, with most of the closings scheduled to happen in the last half of the current year, which started in September.
The reason given for the closings was telegraphed in June by CEO Tim Wentworth, who said “there is a ‘difficult operating environment, including persistent pressures on the U.S. consumer and the impact of recent marketplace dynamics which have eroded pharmacy margins.’”
Walgreens Closing 1,200 Stores Over Next Three Years– legalinsurrection.com
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Due to retail losses, Walgreens announced it will close 1,200 underperforming stores over the next three years.
I wonder if having to lock up everything contributed to horrible sales.
From The Associated Press:
The company said Tuesday that about 500 stores will close in the current fiscal year and should immediately support earnings and free cash flow. Walgreens didn’t say where the store closings would take place.
Company leaders said the initial wave of closings will take place mostly in the back half of its fiscal year, which started last month. Walgreens will prioritize poor-performing stores where the property is owned by the company, or where leases are expiring.
Walgreens operates about 8,500 stores in the United States and a few thousand overseas. All of the stores that will be closed are in the United States.
In June, CEO Tim Wentworth said “there is a ‘difficult operating environment, including persistent pressures on the U.S. consumer and the impact of recent marketplace dynamics which have eroded pharmacy margins.’”
Walgreens reported $37.55 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, 6% higher than this time last year.
However, overall, the company has a net loss of $3 billion for the quarter.
REPORTER: “Walgreens announcing some tough news for many of their employees and people who like to shop there. They’re going to close over 1000 stores in the next three years. 500 will close their doors in the next one year. It’s in response to competition from online pharmacies like Amazon, then also rising labor costs and declining prescription drug payments. It comes just months after the pharmacy giant said it was going to close 300 locations. But this announcement of 1200 currently swamps that estimate.”
But, as I said above, I wonder if locking up products significantly affected low sales.
In August, Business Insider reported that Walgreens and CVS locked up products to deter shoplifting.
Drugstores are supposed to be easy shopping.
At one Duane Reade location in Brooklyn, New York, Business Insider saw an older adult ask why the toothpaste was locked up as an associate was unlocking aspirin for her. Duane Reade is owned by Walgreens.
[Global Data analyst Neil] Saunders also said it’s a natural response for retailers to try to protect their inventory from shoplifters, but preventing or delaying honest shoppers doesn’t exactly help a store’s financial performance either.
Spokespersons for Walgreens and CVS each told BI that anti-theft technologies were installed in response to store-level shoplifting data and intended to ensure that products were in stock for customers.
“Locking a product is a measure of last resort,” the CVS spokesperson said. Rite Aid did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2022, a Rite Aid executive blamed high losses on shoplifting. The executive said the company was at a point of “‘literally putting everything‘ under lock and key.”
The different definitions of theft causes problems for companies to determine if shoplifting has a significant impact:
It’s partly a definition problem. “Organized retail crime,” “retail theft,” and similar terms don’t correspond with categories that local police departments use to categorize crimes, Hanna Love, a fellow at Brookings, told Business Insider.
That means many claims from retailers about those crimes rising relies on data that includes related but different offenses, such as shoplifting.
It’s unclear what makes organized retail crime “different than, say, other instances of shoplifting” from a data perspective, Love said. “We just don’t actually have the data to understand the problem.”
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Boeing is withdrawing its initial 30% pay increase offer after it made that offer last month, calling it their “best and final offer.” A letter sent to Boeing employees said “The union made non-negotiable demands far in excess of what can be accepted if we are to remain competitive as a business. Given that position, further negotiations do not make sense at this point and our offer has been withdrawn.”
Boeing withdraws 30% pay rise offer to striking workers – bbc.com
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Boeing says it has withdrawn its pay rise offer to striking workers after negotiations with union representatives reached a stalemate.
The aviation giant accused the union of not giving its proposals serious consideration.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union (IAM) said Boeing was “hell-bent on standing on the non-negotiated offer” which it says was rejected by its members.
Last month, Boeing announced what it called its “best and final” offer to workers, which proposed a 30% rise over four years – lower than the 40% being demanded by the union.
“The union made non-negotiable demands far in excess of what can be accepted if we are to remain competitive as a business,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Stephanie Pope said in a letter sent to employees.