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Refilling the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve may take years, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said this week, reversing plans the Biden administration announced late last year to repurchase at lower prices oil it sold from the reserve in 2022. However, the relatively limited size of the planned repurchases in proportion to global oil demand makes assessing the impact on U.S. crude oil markets somewhat difficult—especially amid current global economic trends and geopolitical challenges. KEY TAKEAWAYS U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said this week it may take years for the government to replenish its Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It's a reversal of plans the government announced last year to repurchase oil it sold from the reserve at lower prices. Current global economic concerns and geopolitical conditions, however, present challenges in assessing the market impact of the decision. Granholm told a House panel Thursday that the U.S. likely would not … [Read more...] about US to Take Years to Refill Its Strategic Petroleum Reserve

BREADWINNER   Teodora Vega inside her “sari-sari” store in Pasig —photos by Gillian Villanueva Nearly 20 years ago, Veronica Garcia used to hawk sili, kamias, sampalok and other spices in a pushcart. As her husband was not earning enough as taho and binatog vendor, she decided to start selling vegetables and other goods as well. Her sister, who had her own car, helped her buy products in Divisoria, Urdaneta, Pangasinan, and other provinces. Nowadays, she is able to relax at home while her children tend to her stalls at a nearby wet market in Pasig. Her husband helps with the household chores. “I was pushing around a kariton , until I was able to rent a stall, until the stall became my own,” the 51-year-old says. Part of the reason that she was able to succeed in growing her business was the financing she was able to get from ASA Philippines Foundation. Her sister, who used to be a member of ASA, introduced her to the microfinance company. At that time, Garcia was still … [Read more...] about Empowering Pinay microentrepreneurs

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Brands are taking advantage of the national attention on both men’s and women’s basketball athletes during March Madness, but their strategies differ. Some had campaigns ready to go before the tournaments began, while others have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to see which programs and athletes emerge as this year’s biggest stories. Last year, Doug Edert and his signature mustache cashed in when Saint Peter's made history by becoming the first 15 seed to advance to the Elite Eight. Entering March in 2022, Edert had around 1,500 followers on Instagram and was rarely posting. A year later, he has more than 148,000 followers and has worked with national brands like Buffalo Wild Wings and Barstool Sports. Edert’s mustache is again a focus this year as it adorns special edition Pringles cans. The ““March Mustache Collection” also features Duke’s Dariq Whitehead and Virginia’s Ben Vander Plas. Fans are asked to show off … [Read more...] about How Brands Are Using The NCAA Tournament To Strike New NIL Deals

Eventbrite is No. 42 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023 . Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping industries and culture. Halloween. That’s the tell for Eventbrite . If the haunted yacht cruises and cemetery tours are reaching out to the event planning and digital ticketing platform to list and promote their events, then the Thanksgiving Eve bar crawls, holiday light shows, and New Year’s Eve specials will follow. During Halloween 2022, the number of paid events on Eventbrite grew 30% over 2019, and ticket volume beat the company’s prior record by more than 50%. The reinvigorated enthusiasm for live experiences has been a boon to Eventbrite’s fortunes—and a success made possible only because Julia Hartz, cofounder and CEO, has spent the past few years effectively re-founding the company, which she created with her husband, Kevin, and their technical cofounder Renaud Visage in 2006. After the pandemic hit in … [Read more...] about How Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz brought the ticketing platform back from the brink

Explore the full 2023 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies , 540 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the firms making the biggest impact across 54 categories, including advertising , architecture , design , and more. Nature has typically been the first place that beauty companies turn to for solutions to aging and skin imperfections. Now there’s a new source—biotech—and it takes its inspiration from the pharmaceutical industry. The move toward lab-generated ingredients that promise to improve on what scientists would find in nature dovetails with society’s larger embrace of personalized medicine, including cell and gene therapy, says Sarah Broyd, a partner at Durham, North Carolina–based Clarkston Consulting who specializes in consumer healthcare and pharmaceuticals. “Even the mRNA technology used in some of the COVID vaccines has contributed to a greater general understanding of how biotechnology works, which has … [Read more...] about The 10 most innovative companies in beauty of 2023

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Despite ongoing silent runs on the Regional and Community Banks, it appears that both Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Yellen view the events of the recent past (SVB VB , Signature Bank, First Republic, Credit Suisse, and now Deutsche Bank) as one-off events and not symptomatic of stress in the world’s financial system. The dictionary defines “obtuse” as “annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand.” We can’t think of anything more precise! The chart at the top shows the continued decline in the value of S&P’s Regional Banking ETF through the close of business on Friday (March 24 th ). On Wednesday, the Fed raised interest rates 25 basis points despite liquidity issues in the banking system and the apparent loss of confidence in that system by a significant portion of the public. During his press conference, Powell acknowledged some FOMC concerns over banking issues, said that they had considered a "pause,” … [Read more...] about Obtuse: The Fed & Treasury View Of Banking Issues

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Thomas Tuchel has been living in Munich for weeks. He has been spotted walking his dog in Bogenhausen, a leafy, affluent neighborhood on the Isar river. His two young daughters and ex-wife live in Munich. But now, Tuchel has truly arrived in Munich . In Bavaria’s temple of elite football, the shiny Allianz Arena. Smiling on the press podium, sat between Bayern board members Hasan Salihamidzic and Oliver Kahn, Tuchel explained why he joined Bayern: “On a personal level, it is great for me to work in Bavaria, the state where I was born, and to live close to where my children and my family live.” Besides that, it was all business from Tuchel. “The DNA of the club is a responsibility. It is clearly defined. The responsibility is to win,” he said, with Kahn and Salihamidzic looking pleased on either side of their new signing. But there is another, more important responsibility at Bayern. One not uttered by … [Read more...] about Between The Lines, Kahn And Salihamidzic Warn Tuchel: Play Nice With Bayern’s Stars

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Labor strikes are looming at three of the nations’s major universities, continuing the trend of increased union activism and success on American campuses that began with a prolonged strike at the University of Californ ia last November and has continued at scores of institutions ever since. Now, campus workers at the Rutgers University, the University of Michigan and the California State University system appear ready to strike over a set of demands, including increased compensation, improved benefits, and better working conditions. Rutgers University Members of two unions at Rutgers University voted recently to authorize a strike by their members. The AAUP-AFT, which represent full-time faculty, graduate student workers and postdocs, and the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, which represents part-time instructors, both voted to authorize a work stoppage should ongoing contract negotiations with the university … [Read more...] about Strikes Loom at Rutgers, University Of Michigan, Cal State System

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Is it time for us contrarians to “buy the dip” in bank stocks? We’re drowning in big bank-scare headlines. Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB VB ) knuckled under in days, Signature Bank (SBNY) wasn’t too far behind, and across the pond, Credit Suisse (CS) needed a buyout bailout from rival UBS (UBS) . The next bank run, however, won’t be with the big boys . Too big to fail, baby . Here, we’ll find not only government help but also secure yields of up to 5.1%—trading at a discount, no less. Why the big guys? Well let me show you. Last week, my software firm received this email from one of our vendors: “Brett, Just wanted to give you our new banking details. We’re out of SVB; we’re moving to JPM.” JPM for the win. And they’re not the only big bank benefiting. CNN recently reported that Bank of America BAC (BAC) , Wells Fargo WFC (WFC) and Citigroup C (C) “have all experienced a … [Read more...] about Make Your Own Bank Run On These Blue-Chip Yields

Russian carriers have been able to scrounge enough spare parts to maintain robust domestic service across their vast country. S ince the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine, GA Telesis, a Florida-based aircraft-parts distributor, has been getting a lot of suspicious requests. They’re from shadowy companies formed over the past year in the United Arab Emirates and former Soviet republics like Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Mindful of sanctions against Russia, GA Telesis asks for proof that the parts are for a particular airline and plane. When confronted with those questions, company founder Abdol Moabery says, they vanish. “We have a robust compliance department,” Moabery tells Forbes, “but not everybody does.” When the U.S. and Europe first imposed economic sanctions in the wake of the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine a year ago, aviation experts expected that Russian airlines would be reduced to cannibalizing parts to keep a dwindling number of planes in the air. … [Read more...] about How Russian Airlines Have Been Able To Skirt Sanctions And Keep Flying