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Target: consumer boycott for change of direction on diversity and inclusion policies in the US


Last month, Target joined Walmart, McDonald's, Ford and Lowe's in withdrawing some of their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the face of mounting pressure from critics. Target announced the decision shortly after President Donald Trump signed several executive orders restricting such initiatives within the federal government and private sector... The drop in customers boycotting the chain ranges from - 4% to - 9%, depending on the week.

Mc Donald'sWalmart
 

n.213

Prosus (Glovo) also conquers JustEat. Integrations in view in delivery


This move marks a consolidation phase for the delivery market, as Prosus (a global investor focused on technology) is the main shareholder of Delivery Hero. And Delivery Hero (47,000 employees, present in 70 countries) encompasses a huge portfolio of brands, such as PedidosYa (South America), Glovo and Foodora (Europe), Talabat and Hunger Station (Middle East/North Africa) up to Foodpanda in Asia, just to mention the main ones... In the future, a merger between Glovo and JustEat could be considered... The first half of fiscal 2024, for Delivery Hero, was still a bloodbath: over 700 million net loss on over 5 billion in revenue. Prosus is still losing a lot of money in India with its subsidiary Swiggy. In the long run and by focusing on concentration, delivery could really make money as it does now in the US with DoorDash. Read: Delivery: between platform losses and worker exploitation

Delivery
 

n.210

The steep rise in the cost of morning coffee is causing discontent in Brazil


Coffee prices have risen globally due to extreme weather related to climate change, but the nearly 40 per cent increase in Latin America's largest economy last year has become symbolic of a broader discontent with food and drink inflation that has weighed on Lula Inacio Da Silva's approval rates... According to an industry association, the average Brazilian drank 2.2 per cent less coffee in the year to October...The cost of a basket of basic groceries rose 14.2 per cent last year, including a 25 per cent increase in the price of beef cuts, the Brazilian supermarket association said...Meanwhile, struggling Brazilians are switching to cheaper coffee blends. Source

Climate changeInflationMeat
 

n.209

Behind Donald Trump’s recent insults, Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to cede mining exploitation in Ukraine


The cascade of derogatory words, threats and lies from the US president this week is due, in large part, to the fact that the Ukrainian president refused to sign a draft agreement on these minerals, an affront to the White House... Arriving in Kiev by train, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on 12 February. The host came for a diktat, a short document in hand. Either his host would immediately sign a draft agreement on Ukrainian strategic minerals - in other words, rare earths - handing over more than half of them to the US, or Washington, according to Scott Bessent, would end its economic and military support to Ukraine, which had been ongoing for three years. These coveted rare earths are full of lithium for phone batteries, uranium to run nuclear power plants, graphite for electric car batteries and titanium, prized in aerospace. In addition, there are oil and gas...

 

n.208

Amazon, Alibaba and Walmart


This morning Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu presented profits up 239% over 2023 Alibaba in HK rises 13% this very good result is attributed to strong performance in the cloud business and expansion on AI the ecommerce sector showed signs of recovery in China yesterday Walmart reported its quarterly results for the first time Amazon had higher revenues than Walmart in a quarter expectations show that by 2025 full-year revenues will also be higher Amazon becomes the number one company by revenue in the US, surpassing Walmart Walmart had held the top spot since 2012 when it overtook Exxon

AlibabaAmazonWalmart
 

n.207

Fourth quarter comparable sales increased 4.6% for Walmart’s US operations. Slowdown expected for next year due to ‘Trump factor’


For the fiscal year 2025, Walmart's sales were $681.0 billion, up 5.1%. Operating income increased by $2.3 billion, or 8.6%, growing faster than sales. The company increased its dividend by 13% to 94 cents per share, its largest increase in more than a decade.. Great e-commerce progression. But Trump's policies sow uncertainty about the future and a possible slowdown in sales: "Uncertainty about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's trade policies is dampening expectations for how consumer spending will hold up this year. Just look at Walmart, which today projected that its revenue growth this fiscal year would slow to between 3% and 4%, compared with 5% for the year that ended Jan. 31, 2025" Theo Wayt Compiled 20 February, updated 21 February 2025

E-CommerceWalmart