Πέμπτη 29 Αυγούστου 2019

Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation (Business Roundtable Aug 19 2019


(https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redefines-the-purpose-of-a-corporation-to-promote-an-economy-that-serves-all-americans)
(https://qz.com/work/1690439/new-business-roundtable-statement-on-the-purpose-of-companies/)

Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation

Americans deserve an economy that allows each person to succeed through hard work and creativity and to lead a life of meaning and dignity. We believe the free-market system is the best means of generating good jobs, a strong and sustainable economy, innovation, a healthy environment and economic opportunity for all.
Businesses play a vital role in the economy by creating jobs, fostering innovation and providing essential goods and services. Businesses make and sell consumer products; manufacture equipment and vehicles; support the national defense; grow and produce food; provide health care; generate and deliver energy; and offer financial, communications and other services that underpin economic growth.
While each of our individual companies serves its own corporate purpose, we share a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders. We commit to:
  • Delivering value to our customers. We will further the tradition of American companies leading the way in meeting or exceeding customer expectations.
  • Investing in our employees. This starts with compensating them fairly and providing important benefits. It also includes supporting them through training and education that help develop new skills for a rapidly changing world. We foster diversity and inclusion, dignity and respect.
  • Dealing fairly and ethically with our suppliers. We are dedicated to serving as good partners to the other companies, large and small, that help us meet our missions.
  • Supporting the communities in which we work. We respect the people in our communities and protect the environment by embracing sustainable practices across our businesses.
  • Generating long-term value for shareholders, who provide the capital that allows companies to invest, grow and innovate. We are committed to transparency and effective engagement with shareholders.
Each of our stakeholders is essential. We commit to deliver value to all of them, for the future success of our companies, our communities and our country.

Τρίτη 27 Αυγούστου 2019

When People Get Married Around the World




Scientific studies have found that smaller age gaps in marriages are correlated with higher socioeconomic status and higher class. In some developing countries, large age gaps show a reality of arranged marriages that are tied to families' econmic well-being through dowry payments as well as reflecting customs that value youth in women and experience in men. The country with the largest age gap in the analysis was Guyana, where the median marriage age was 20 for women and 31.8 for men. The Caribbean state has tried to battle child marriage in the past.

Infographic: When People Get Married Around the World | Statista

Δευτέρα 19 Αυγούστου 2019

Where The EU Imports Its Clothes From



Eurostat has released data showing that EU Member States imported €166 billion worth of clothing in 2018, just over half of which came from outside the EU. China was the largest non-EU source country, accounting for €27 billion or clothing imports or 32 percent of the total. It was followed by Bangladesh with €16 billion (19 percent) and Turkey's €10 billion (12 percent). Read more.

Κυριακή 18 Αυγούστου 2019

The Top 10 Most Promising Medical Technologies UPDATED - The Medical Futurist

CEO PAY. CEO Pay Growth Has Wildly Outpaced The Average Worker



While the CEO-to-typical-worker compensation ratio stood at 278-to-1 in 2018 when realized stock options were factored in, it was just 20-to-1 in 1965 and 58-to-1 in 1989.The report states that exorbitant CEO pay is a major driving factor behind rising inequality which can be safely done away with. Read more.

How would an accelerated energy transition impact natural resource demand? (https://www.mckinsey.com)



...we’ve identified eight potential shifts that could further accelerate the energy transition. Although these eight shifts may not represent the most probable future, they should be considered conceivable based on the developments that can be observed today:
  • Shift 1: Faster uptake of electric vehicles (EVs). Accelerated EV uptake—to 100 percent for vehicle fleets in China, Europe, and North America and 50 percent in the rest of the world by 2050—minimizes demand from road transport, today’s biggest oil demand sector
  • Shift 2: Improved efficiency gains and increased uptake of low-emission fuels for aviation and marine. Meeting the aviation and marine transport sectors’ 50 percent emission- reduction targets adversely affects oil demand growth
  • Shift 3: Accelerated electrification of residential heat. Heating 50 percent of the homes in Europe and North America with electric heat pumps by 2050 slows down global gas demand growth
  • Shift 4: More rapid electrification of cooking in non-Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Africa and Asia. Accelerated electrification of cooking strongly increases power demand growth
  • Shift 5: Increased demand reduction and recycling of plastics. Plastic bans, more efficient use of plastics, the replacement of plastic with alternative materials, and recycling affect demand for petrochemicals, the largest driver of global oil demand growth
  • Shift 6: More efficiency gains, recycling, and low-emission feedstock in iron and steel production. Improvements in energy efficiency and the carbon intensity of iron and steel production decreases industrial coal demand globally
  • Shift 7: More extensive electrification of EU industry low- and medium-temperature heat. Electrification of low- and medium-temperature heat in Europe reduces gas demand for the third largest sector in the region
  • Shift 8: Accelerated cost reduction for renewables and storage. Renewables and battery storage become the cheapest power source at scale, outcompeting fossil fuels

Σάββατο 17 Αυγούστου 2019

The Most Expensive Healthcare Systems



OECD data shows that U.S. healthcare spending per capita (including public and private spending) is higher than anywhere else in the world by a considerable margin, despite the fact that the country lags behind other nations in areas such as life expectancy and health insurance coverage. Read more.