Tue. Jan 19th, 2021

central business

The secret scheme to skim millions off central Asia’s pipeline megaproject 1 min read

The secret scheme to skim millions off central Asia’s pipeline megaproject

[email protected]_84 2 months ago

A Gazprom director profited from a secret scheme linked to the construction of a multibillion-dollar gas pipeline between central Asia and China, according to documents seen by the Financial Times.

The documents indicate that staff and consultants working for Timur Kulibayev designed a scheme for the Kazakh billionaire to receive at least tens of millions of dollars from contracts related to the vast project.

Kulibayev, who has served on the Russian energy giant’s board since 2011, is the son-in-law of a former Kazakh president and has wide-ranging business interests, including in banking, mining and real estate. As one of the most powerful officials in the country, he oversaw the state companies that awarded contracts to build the pipelines across Kazakhstan.

Emails sent between 2008 and 2014 and leaked by a whistleblower contain detailed descriptions of a setup that appears to allow Kulibayev to receive a share of the profits from

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America Has Central Planners. We Just Call Them ‘Venture Capitalists.’ 1 min read

America Has Central Planners. We Just Call Them ‘Venture Capitalists.’

[email protected]_84 2 months ago

In 2009, the U.S. government extended a $535 million dollar loan guarantee to a manufacturer of solar panels named Solyndra. The aim of this subsidy was to expedite the development of renewable energy technology, as the global economy’s reliance on carbon energy was threatening the long-term survival of human civilization. Shortly after Uncle Sam bankrolled the solar firm, the price of a material called polysilicon plummeted by 89 percent. Solyndra’s competitors used polysilicon in their solar panels, and thus, enjoyed a rapid collapse in their costs of production. Solyndra did not. The firm abruptly failed, taking $528 million in federal funds down with it.



a sign on the side of a building: Consider the fraudsters. Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

© Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Consider the fraudsters. Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

And conservatives rejoiced.

Barack Obama had just provided America with a “teachable moment” on the evils of public investment. Pointy-headed bureaucrats — high on their godless hubris and corrupted

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Central Garden & Pet Launches Central Ventures 1 min read

Central Garden & Pet Launches Central Ventures

[email protected]_84 2 months ago

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT, CENTA) (“Central”) announced today that it has launched Central Ventures, a venture fund dedicated to discovering emerging businesses that are focused on innovating and shaping the future of the garden and pet industries. The fund is a key priority in the company’s new ‘Central to Home’ strategy, which was unveiled today at Central’s first Investor Day.

“At Central Garden & Pet, we know we must always be looking ahead and investing in the leaders and ideas of tomorrow to ensure we are positioned to drive the future of our industries,” said Tim Cofer, CEO of Central. “Our new ‘Central to Home’ strategy includes a renewed focus in venture that will bring exciting new products and capabilities into the organization. Additionally, we’re looking forward to teaming up with great businesses and leaders and leveraging our capabilities to help them unlock

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RBI curbs HDFC Bank’s digital, credit card operations 1 min read

RBI curbs HDFC Bank’s digital, credit card operations

[email protected]_84 2 months ago

MUMBAI (Reuters) – The central bank has forbidden India’s largest private lender HDFC Bank from adding new credit card customers or launching digital businesses after its digital payment services were hit by a power failure last month.

FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of India’s HDFC bank is pictured in Mumbai, India, December 4, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File photo

The Reserve Bank of India has asked the bank’s board to examine the lapses and fix accountability, the lender said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.

It said the central bank would consider lifting the curbs on “satisfactory compliance with the major critical observations” it had made.

“We are working on war footing,” said Sashi Jagdishan, Managing Director & CEO of HDFC Bank in a statement to customers published on the bank’s website. “We will work with experts and the regulator to fortify the identified areas for improvement.”

On Nov. 21, HDFC Bank’s

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3PL Central Launches New Consulting Services to Support Warehouses’ Rapid Growth 1 min read

3PL Central Launches New Consulting Services to Support Warehouses’ Rapid Growth

[email protected]_84 2 months ago

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — 3PL Central, the leader in cloud-based Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) built to meet the unique needs of third-party logistics (3PL) warehouses, today launched a new suite of Consulting Services designed for 3PL warehouses to optimize efficiency, implement best practice workflows, and automate processes. Last week alone, 3PL Warehouse Manager customers saw increased order volume of more than 42% compared to the previous year’s Black Friday volumes, highlighting the need for warehouses to create scalable and optimized processes.

In a recent survey, 3PL warehouses cited managing costs (49%), driving operational efficiency (47%), and technology implementation/integration (45%) as the top three challenges within their businesses today — finding and retaining workers came in as a close fourth (43%). Designed to address these challenges, 3PL Central’s Consulting Services include a variety of options to overcome the unique challenges associated with efficiency bottlenecks, insufficient

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How to Hire Top-Tier Freelance Writers for your Content Business 1 min read

How to Hire Top-Tier Freelance Writers for your Content Business

[email protected]_84 2 months ago



a man sitting at a table using a laptop computer

© Westend61 | Getty Images



Delegation is a part of building any content empire — but copywriting isn’t a task you want to throw to someone just because their schedule is open. Although the average person is capable of tapping out a decent email or social media post, it takes an experienced copywriter to create compelling content. A perfectly-scribed blog post or advertisement can easily impress your viewership and bring in a fresh wave of business, and thanks to social media and the rise of the freelancing lifestyle, there are plenty of places to find talented writers. 

Of course, you should know what you’re looking for before jumping into the water. Are you hoping for someone to write just an article or two a week, or do you need someone who can juggle multiple formats: press releases, blog posts, ad copy and clever Instagram captions? Would you prefer to pay

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India’s central bank curbs HDFC Bank’s digital, credit card operations 1 min read

India’s central bank curbs HDFC Bank’s digital, credit card operations

[email protected]_84 2 months ago

Adds analyst quote, more background

MUMBAI, Dec 3 (Reuters) – The central bank has forbidden India’s largest private lender HDFC Bank HDBK.NS from adding new credit card customers or launching digital businesses after its digital payment services were hit by a power failure last month.

The Reserve Bank of India has asked the bank’s board to examine the lapses and fix accountability, the lender said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.

It said the central bank would consider lifting the curbs on “satisfactory compliance with the major critical observations” it had made.

“We are working on war footing,” said Sashi Jagdishan, Managing Director & CEO of HDFC Bank in a statement to customers published on the bank’s website. “We will work with experts and the regulator to fortify the identified areas for improvement.”

On Nov. 21, HDFC Bank’s digital payments business went down for more than 12 hours

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GrowthForce Reveals How Smart Business Owners Power Through a Recession in Webinar 1 min read

GrowthForce Reveals How Smart Business Owners Power Through a Recession in Webinar

[email protected]_84 2 months ago

KINGWOOD, Texas, Dec. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — GrowthForce—a leading provider of outsourced, advanced bookkeeping, management accounting, controller, and advisory services—today announced that its CEO and founder, Stephen King, will host a webinar on Dec. 8, 2020 at 12 p.m. Central Time, titled “How Smart Business Owners Power Through a Recession: Why every business should practice these 5 steps now and beyond.”

GrowthForce to host a webinar on Dec. 8, 2020 at 12pm CT on “How Smart Business Owners Power Through a Recession.

Every business has been affected by the pandemic in one way or another. Regardless of industry or specific situations, there are certain actions organizations can take to become stronger. In this webinar, GrowthForce CEO Stephen King will walk participants through five specific steps business leaders can take right now, even in the current environment, that will have a profound impact on profits and help companies

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Euro Zone Business Activity Shrank in November, but Optimism Surged | Investing News 1 min read

Euro Zone Business Activity Shrank in November, but Optimism Surged | Investing News

[email protected]_84 2 months ago

LONDON (Reuters) – Euro zone business activity contracted last month as governments across the bloc re-imposed strict lockdowns to quell a second wave of coronavirus infections, but optimism recovered on hopes for a vaccine, a survey showed.

The euro zone’s economy will shrink again this quarter, a Reuters poll predicted, but as a coronavirus vaccine comes closer and with expectations for additional support from the European Central Bank, quarterly growth forecasts for next year were upgraded.

IHS Markit’s composite PMI, seen as a good guide to economic health, sank to 45.3 in November from October’s 50.0, the level separating growth from contraction. That was, however, above an earlier flash reading of 45.1.

“There is a sense that after the initial reactions of businesses to the lockdowns, the second half of the month was better than anticipated. It’s still bad but not as bad as expected,” said Peter Dixon at Commerzbank.

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Euro zone business activity shrank in November, but optimism surged 1 min read

Euro zone business activity shrank in November, but optimism surged

[email protected]_84 2 months ago

LONDON (Reuters) – Euro zone business activity contracted last month as governments across the bloc re-imposed strict lockdowns to quell a second wave of coronavirus infections, but optimism recovered on hopes for a vaccine, a survey showed.

FILE PHOTO: Unfinished pliers still glow after being hot-formed by a hammer at the factory of Knipex, a 130 year-old family-owned pliers and tools maker company in Wuppertal, western Germany, October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

The euro zone’s economy will shrink again this quarter, a Reuters poll predicted, but as a coronavirus vaccine comes closer and with expectations for additional support from the European Central Bank, quarterly growth forecasts for next year were upgraded.

IHS Markit’s composite PMI, seen as a good guide to economic health, sank to 45.3 in November from October’s 50.0, the level separating growth from contraction. That was, however, above an earlier flash reading of 45.1.

“There is a

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