Search Results for: Environmental health

China’s paint and coatings companies are struggling to make headway in a tough domestic real estate market, even though medium-term forecasts remain positive. In the first six months of 2024, the value of real estate sales fell by 26.4% year-on-year. The average prices of deals struck dropped 7%, according to the China Real Estate Information Corp which bases its data on the country’s 100 largest real estate developers.…

*UAE family-owned businesses still debt shy, says top CFO

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), family-owned businesses contribute up to 70% of GDP, according to the ministry of economy, and continue to be a powerful force in the Gulf region, the ACT Middle East Treasury Summit 2024 was told.…

Taiwan’s major packaging and packaging machine industries – with more than 1,000 factories – have been prospering in through proactive service delivery. They have helped the country’s local and overseas packaging value chain in handling and using their goods and services, including eco-plastics.…

New members of the European Commission have been proposed for the next 2024-29 term, starting November 1, with knitwear lobbyists facing experienced hands in the key trade and economy/de-regulation portfolios. Re-appointed Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has nominated Maroš Šefčovič, of Slovakia, as trade and economic security; interinstitutional relations and transparency Commissioner, for example.…

Auditors can play a major role in fighting fraud, with the onset of sustainability reporting creating a new opportunity to sniff out swindles. Keith Nuthall reports.

While the initial goal of audits is not to detect fraud, rather to say whether financial statements (and latterly, sustainability reports) are accurate, these assessments do often uncover crime.…

The Ghanaian government has welcomed an “unprecedented increase” in cocoa prices in the 2023/24 season of 129.36% year-on-year as the market responded to production declines worldwide – costing chocolate manufacturers dear. Ghana’s food and agriculture minister Bryan Acheampong said Ghanaian cocoa prices had risen from Ghanaian Cedi GHS20,928/tonne (USD1,325) and GHS1,308 (USD82.80) per 64kg bag in September 2023 to GHS48,000/tonne (USD3,030) or GH3,000 (USD190) per 64kg bag as the season wrapped last month (September 2024).…

In a “scary” world that is moving faster, adhesive businesses should assess opportunities to innovate, focusing on their “your sense of timing”, innovation expert Peter Hinssen told participants in the FEICA 2024 European Adhesive & Sealant Conference. Speaking in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, Hinssen, partner at consultancy nexxworks, told members of the Association of the European Adhesive and Sealant Industry (FEICA) companies should not wait until they are at their peak or past it, to reinvent themselves: “That doesn’t work anymore.…

Portuguese textile and garment industry executives have told Just Style how they can attract more international buyers and export sales at a tough time for the sector, through its sustainability, quality, innovations and proximity to main markets.
They were speaking at the 60+4 edition of Modtissimo, the oldest international textile fair in the Iberian Peninsula, in Matosinhos, northern Portugal, on September 12-13 (1).…

Profiling fraudsters can hone anti-fraud responses, helping investigators short-list likely suspects for detailed evaluation – and with profiling research and experience expanding, the effectiveness of such approaches is sharpening.

Forensic accountant and fraud examiner Dave Oswald, who runs Canadian anti-fraud consultancy Forensic Restitution (1), said: “Fraudster profiling can provide valuable insights into the minds of those who commit these crimes, helping law enforcement agencies and organizations to prevent, detect, and respond to fraudulent activity.”…

With the global commodities market valued at USD121.2 trillion in 2024 and expected to generate USD136.8 trillion in 2029 (1), the scope for fraudsters to make money from this sector is vast. German statistical service Statista notes that commodities sales have latent augmentation, given that it all includes emissions trading systems expanding worldwide, along with energy products, food and drink, precious and industrials metals and more.…