Month: January 2024

PepsiCo products are being pulled from some Carrefour grocery stores in Europe over price hikes

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Shoppers enter the new Carrefour store Wednesday Aug. 25, 2010 in Ecully, near Lyon, central France. Carrefour has unveiled its hypermarket reinvention project at two stores in Lyon. The Ecully and Venissieux host the Carrefour Planet concept. The stores split into nine zones, including a ‘discovery’ store for events and seasonally themed products. (AP Photo/Thomas Campagne, File)

By SYLVIE CORBET and DEE-ANN DURBIN Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Global supermarket chain Carrefour will stop selling PepsiCo products in its stores in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy over price increases for popular items like Lay’s potato chips, Quaker Oats, Lipton Iced Tea and its namesake soda.

The French grocery chain said it pulled PepsiCo products from shelves in France on Thursday and added small signs in stores that say, “We no longer sell this brand due to unacceptable price increases.”

It comes as a new French law meant to fight the rising cost of living has supermarkets facing millions in fines if they don’t reach a deal with suppliers on prices by the end of the month.

The ban also will extend to Belgium, Spain and Italy, but Carrefour, which has 12,225 stores in more than 30 countries, didn’t say when it would take effect in those countries. Continue reading

‘Oppenheimer’ dominates Golden Globes, ‘Poor Things’ upsets ‘Barbie’ in comedy

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

A general view of atmosphere at the 81st Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic “Oppenheimer” dominated the 81st Golden Globes, winning five awards including best drama, while Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein riff “Poor Things” pulled off an upset victor over “Barbie” to triumph in the best comedy or musical category.

If awards season has been building toward a second match-up of Barbenheimer, this round went to “Oppenheimer.” The film also won best director for Nolan, best drama actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and for Ludwig Göransson’s score.

“I don’t think it was a no-brainer by any stretch of the imagination to make a three-hour talky movie — R-rated by the way — about one of the darkest developments in our history,” said producer Emma Thomas accepting the night’s final award and thanking Universal chief Donna Langley. Continue reading

Work From Home: Trends, Trajectory, and Future Outlook

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Ananyaa Bhowmik | Wealth of Geeks undefined

In a 2022 survey, 36% of CIOs believed that work will transition into a hybrid or work-from-home model permanently. And with good reason.

While people commonly believe that the work-from-home culture arrived with the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, 15-16% of survey respondents said that their company had already worked remotely even before the pandemic. Around 2005, with the availability of high-speed internet connections, advanced laptops, and the rising digitization of jobs, work from home became a viable option.

Between 2005 and 2019, the corporate world saw steady growth in remote working, but this was mostly limited to certain sectors. It was the 2020 pandemic that changed it all. As the world went into lockdown, most jobs outside the essential sectors shifted to remote working almost overnight. Continue reading

Mickey Mouse will soon belong to you and me — with some caveats

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – An actor dressed as Mickey Mouse greets visitors at the entrance to Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort, April 18, 2022, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The earliest version of Disney’s most famous character, Mickey Mouse, and arguably the most iconic character in American pop culture, will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — M-I-C-K-E-Y will soon belong to you and me.

With several asterisks, qualification and caveats, Mickey Mouse in his earliest form will be the leader of the band of characters, films and books that will become public domain as the year turns to 2024.

In a moment many close observers thought might never come, at least one version of the quintessential piece of intellectual property and perhaps the most iconic character in American pop culture will be free from Disney’s copyright as his first screen release, the 1928 short “Steamboat Willie,” featuring both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, becomes available for public use. Continue reading