Month: February 2024

A Delicious 800-Pound Block in the Room: The World of Industrial Chocolate

natixis-ezine

Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

By Tara Gerner | Wealth of Geeks undefined

An estimated $2.2 billion is spent on Valentine’s Day candy every year — with the bulk of that money going to chocolate.

The industrial chocolate market size is expected to grow by USD 2.85 billion from 2023 to 2028, according to Technavio. Growing customer awareness of the health benefits of dark chocolate is one major reason behind the market’s continuing success. A myriad of consumer goods contain some form of chocolate or cocoa, and global demand for the product has rarely slowed.

While the target audience for industrial chocolate products continues to be commercial food companies, private customers can still take advantage of the industry’s ability to customize their offerings. For chocolate-related products, there are a lot of customization options. This can include anything from flavor and aroma, composition, viscosity, melting behavior, performance, production cost, and product certifications such as halal and kosher to product claims, which can involve sugar, oils, fat, and dairy. Continue reading

Beyond Tourist Taxes: How Popular European Cities Tackle Overtourism With New Strategies in 2024

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Emese Maczko | Wealth of Geeks undefined

A new requirement for American travelers bound for Europe — an online travel authorization via the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) — has been delayed until 2025.

The requirement restricts travelers from non-EU countries like the United States to 30 European nations, including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Applications would have brought in €7 apiece, adding up to considerable money.

As popular European cities continue to confront the challenges of overtourism in 2024, they choose to move beyond the financial solutions provided by tourist taxes.

These destinations are now deploying unprecedented innovative strategies aimed not only at managing crowds, but also at preserving their cultural heritage, protecting the environment, and maintaining the quality of life for their residents. Continue reading

Some Americans have become saddled with credit card debt as rent and everyday prices remain high

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

File – A card reader is used at a drive-thru restaurant in Mount Prospect, Ill., March 13, 2021. Noticeable pockets of Americans are quickly running up their credit card balances and increasing numbers are now falling behind on their debts. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — While the U.S. economy is broadly healthy, pockets of Americans have run through their savings and run up their credit card balances after battling inflation for more than two years.

Experts worry that members of these groups — mostly lower- and middle-income Americans, who tend to be renters — are falling behind on their debts and could face further deterioration of their financial health in the year ahead, particularly those who have recently resumed paying off student loans.

“The U.S. economy is currently performing better than most forecasters expected a year ago, thanks in large part to a resilient consumer,” wrote Shernette McLoud, an economist with TD Economics, in a report issued Wednesday. “However, more recently that spending is increasingly being financed by credit cards.” Continue reading

Traffic-blocking farmers now closing in on EU capital in a protest seeking better market conditions

natixis-ezine

Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

Tractors face military vehicles on a blocked highway, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 in Chilly-Mazarin, south of Paris. Farmers have captured France’s attention by showering government offices with manure and besieging Paris with traffic-snarling barricades of tractors and hay bales. Protesters say it’s becoming harder than ever to make a decent living from their fields, greenhouses and herds. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

By RAF CASERT Associated Press

HALLE, Belgium (AP) — Farmers blocked more traffic arteries across Belgium, France and Italy on Wednesday, as they sought to disrupt trade at major ports and other economic lifelines. They also moved in on Brussels on the eve of a major European Union summit, in a sustained push for better prices for their produce and less bureaucracy in their work.

While the days of mushrooming discontent have been largely peaceful, French police arrested 91 protesters who forced their way Wednesday into Europe’s biggest food market, the Paris police chief said. Armored vehicles block entrances to the sprawling site at Rungis, south of the French capital. Continue reading