According to Ukrainian President Zelensky, Wildberries’ massive hubs do not merely handle civilian goods; they are used as logistical bases by the Russian army to supply the military with components for weapons, as well as for the production of drones and hardware
The doubling of Brazil’s production of cereals, pulses and oilseeds (346.1 million tonnes in 2025) over 13 years, coupled with its dominance of the meat market through the JBS group, was bound to lead to serious tensions: Trump accused Brazil of deforestation and imposed 25 per cent tariffs. This will not prevent Brazil from becoming the world’s leading agricultural power
There are major problems for cheese, milk, rice, wheat, fruit, vegetables and wine. But it is the olive groves that have been hit hardest: on top of the damage caused by climate change, there is also a very unclear political situation
The commentary therefore focuses primarily on the discrepancy between the article’s headline and the evidence presented in the text. The FT describes the progress made by some Spanish producers towards improving the quality of their extra virgin olive oil, but does not offer a direct technical comparison with Italian production
When it comes to knowledge, innovation, skills, the manufacturing sector, US debt and rare-earth elements, China certainly holds more ‘cards’ than the US
The real crux of the matter is the rapid technological advancement of Walmart and Amazon, the undisputed market leaders, which European retailers can never hope to match, and which will continue to subject them to unfair competition from online platforms
The illegal labour scheme distorts prices. As well as measures to combat organised crime, the government could begin to tackle the issue of wages and consumer incentives: with wages and prices distorted by the Mafia, we won’t get very far
In response to the Soviet decision to deploy SS-20 missiles, NATO adopted the ‘twin-track approach’: to station missiles in Europe whilst simultaneously negotiating disarmament with the USSR. Italy chose Comiso Airport as the base for 112 cruise missiles. The deployment caused extremely high tensions between 1981 and 1983 and gave rise to a major peace movement. Catholic and left-wing
Unfortunately, Mango, which is a sound company, is not acquiring a stake in the business: on the other hand, given the current situation – with losses of 35 million for the year 2025 and three further closures – it was foreseeable that there would be no ‘white knights’ available to save Coin, whose brand seems to be slowly but surely fading away
Well done to Lidl for managing to make a name for itself for something I personally haven’t noticed: that the German discount chain is a high-quality supermarket
… The same method was used to defend public funding for the promotion of red and processed meat. When the Commission considered excluding these products from programmes in line with the European plan against cancer, Copa-Cogeca engaged with certain Commissioners, the wine and spirits organisations, and national associations. The restrictions were first watered down and then dropped altogether. The comment in the internal documents is succinct: “The lobbying has paid off.”
Lidl’s marketing would have us believe that it is a supermarket. It is not, and we explain why. Furthermore, the slogan ‘eat fresh’ used by Lidl to market itself to Europeans is somewhat misleading, and Lidl cannot be an ‘ambassador of Made in Italy’ if it sells pasta made from foreign wheat as ‘Italian’
