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Brazil experiments with cattle tracking to combat deforestation


'By 2030, cattle raised in Brazil will have a label that will allow us to identify and track them individually, to combat deforestation'. Paulo Teixeira is Brazil's Minister for Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture and talks to us about the initiatives put in place by the federal and local governments to make one of the country's most profitable businesses sustainable : meat. Below: bresaola is mainly produced from Brazilian zebu meat.

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Black Friday 2025: 2.2 billion in sales expected but consumption is struggling as Italians increasingly focus on savings


this is related to two relevant phenomena in digital retail today: on the one hand, the rapid expansion of the'second hand' market, on the other hand, the increasing entry of products from abroad with lower average prices. Both factors contribute to a reduction in the average shopping basket value, even in the presence of steadily increasing demand'. This is the effect of the arrival of Temu, Shein and similar platforms offering'low price' products and accused of selling illegal and unreliable products. Source On the origin of the name read here. On the geopolitical role of e-commerce read this article. Compiled 20 November, updated 23 November 2025

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Lidl invests eleven billion euros in the AI data centre in Lübbenau


SchwarzDigits, the technology division of Schwarz, is working on a 130,000 square metre site. The centre will be able to make use of 100 thousand AI chips while the initial computing power will be 200 megawatts. As already explained Lidl - 175.4 billion € turnover - will not only optimise its own data management, but also offer services to third parties. There are already 12,000 data centres worldwide, of which just under half are in the US. In Italy, according to the Datacenter Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, in 2023 there were already 190 centres in the country, but 2025 should close with 205 settlements. The same source explains that, in our country, EUR 5 billion have been invested in the two-year period 2023-2024, a figure that will rise to EUR 10 billion in 2025-2026. And, in order to improve and strengthen the energy supply, Terna has announced a 2025-2034 development plan with allocations of more than 23 billion euro. Big absentee from this race? The Italian retail sector. On the problems related to data centres read here but also here.

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Kroger to close three e-commerce warehouses: Ocado share price slumps


Shares in the Ocado Group plummeted more than 17 per cent on Tuesday after US grocery retailer Kroger announced it would close three underperforming warehouses developed using the British firm's technology, dealing a major blow to its licensing business. The London-listed group, which provides automated technology for distribution centres and also runs its own grocery business, said it would lose $50 million in revenue in the current financial year due to the closures. On the subject you can read here.

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US Christmas shopping: inflation and job losses are compounded by expectations of a slowdown in retail and hospitality sales


during the busiest time of the year. The job site ZipRecruiter said retailers advertise 8.4 per cent fewer holiday jobs on its site than last year (Financial Times), while ads for temporary hospitality workers fell by 12 per cent. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicts that US employers could hire fewer than 500,000 temporary workers in the last three months of 2025, the lowest total since 2009. Amazon said it will hire the same 250,000 seasonal workers this year as last year. The latest indicators from the University of Michigan - from Bloomberg - are not positive: savings and ability to buy durable goods down and expectations of losing a job up. Consumer sentiment is at its lowest level since June 2022. And Wendy's will close hundreds of shops as consumers cut back on restaurant spending.(McDonald's did better but) Compiled 7 November, updated 8 November 2025

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France: the government has initiated proceedings to block the website of e-commerce giant Shein


following the scandal surrounding the sale of child pornographic dolls. Despite the popularity of Shein - a site visited by more than 4.4 million people a day in France - the government is waging an unprecedented legal battle to force it to shut down, even if it means circumventing European legislation. "On instructions from the Prime Minister," reads the press release, Sébastien Lecornu's government intends to suspend 'Shein for as long as it takes for the platform to prove to the authorities that all its content finally complies with our laws and regulations ' . Below: gendarmes in front of the BHV warehouse, in Paris, where Shein has just opened a 1,500 square metre sales space, and some reflections on theunreliability and illegality practised, in some cases, without control, by Chinese sites (there is also Temu), which is the French government's main topic on this issue. The fact that it has not succeeded so far means that at least the problem - which is very relevant - has finally been raised. Update: The attempt to block Shein seems to have been dropped for now. Instead, the French government is targeting a €2 tax on every article imported from non-EU countries as a measure against Chinese 'fast fashion' platforms. Will it succeed? And should Italy do so too? In Italy, in fact, there is discussion of a €2 tax on small parcels from outside the EU, proposed for the 2026 economic manoeuvre. The measure would affect parcels weighing up to two kilograms from non-EU countries – mainly China – and would aim to raise new budgetary revenue while countering unfair competition from digital giants such as Shein and Temu, which thrive in Italy thanks to online platforms where they sell products at bargain prices. Drafted on 6 November, updated on 13 November 2025

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Comparable sales in the US, McDonald’s largest market, increased by 2.4%


McDonald's maintained its $5 meal offer for more than a year, prioritised menu innovation, and intensified marketing efforts to boost demand among low-income diners Reuters adds that it is raising discounts: "In September, the company reintroduced its Extra Value meals and began working with franchisees to standardise a 15% discount on combo meals nationwide, up from the current 10% to 11%."

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