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On March 11, China Resources Beverages (02460.HK) announced that, based on a preliminary assessment of the Group’s unaudited consolidated management accounts and other available information for the year ended December 31, 2025, the profit attributable to owners of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2025, is expected to decrease by approximately 40% compared to the same period in 2024 (2024: RMB 1,636,694 thousand).Q Technology (01478.HK): Sales volume of mobile phone camera modules increased by 40.2% year-on-year in February, and sales volume of camera modules increased by 40.3% year-on-year in February.The yield on German two-year government bonds rose 7 basis points to 2.342% as money market bets increased on a rate hike by the European Central Bank; the probability of a rate hike in July is 80%, and a rate hike in September is fully priced in.Two sources say the International Energy Agency (IEA) will recommend using its strategic petroleum reserves, given the potential disruption to oil supplies due to the situation in Iran. The initial release from the IEAs strategic petroleum reserves will exceed 100 million barrels in the first month.On March 11, Barclays Bank predicted that if oil prices remain around $100 per barrel and economic growth remains stagnant, the earnings per share (EPS) growth rate for European companies is likely to fall to a low single digit, and the Stoxx Europe 600 index will drop to around 550 points. Historically, during periods of stagflation, the energy, utilities, and healthcare sectors have outperformed, while the financial, telecommunications, and consumer sectors have tended to lag. In a report, the bank stated that although the energy intensity of the economy has decreased over time, economic growth still faces risks because Europes dependence on Middle Eastern energy supplies is as high as 30%.

Hershey, Nestle, and Cargill win the dismissal of a claim of child slavery in the United States

Charlie Brooks

Jun 29, 2022 11:06


Tuesday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. dismissed a case brought by eight Malians claiming child slavery on Ivory Coast cocoa plantations against Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY), Nestle SA (SIX:NESN), Cargill Inc, and others.


U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich determined that the proposed class action plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue because they failed to prove a "traceable nexus" between the seven defendant companies and the individual farms where the plaintiffs worked.


She added that the plaintiffs did not adequately explain the role of intermediaries in the cocoa supply chain, and that the companies did not oversee actions in "free zones" where 70 to 80 percent of cocoa is farmed.


Mali and Ivory Coast share a border in West Africa.


The plaintiffs claimed they were trafficked as children after being approached by strangers who promised them employment for which they would be compensated, but did not pay them, threatened them with starvation if they did not work, and forced them to live in squalor.


Their attorney, Terry Collingsworth, said that the plaintiffs plan to file an appeal to "compel the businesses to keep their agreements and put an end to this dreadful system they have created."


Other defendants included Mars Inc, Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), Barry Callebaut AG, and Olam International Ltd.


In court filings, the seven defendants said that they "strongly abhor the practice of forced labor" and that they were addressing non-forced child labor in cocoa supply chains.


However, they contended that the plaintiffs' too broad legal theory may hold too many parties liable for forced child labor, including consumers and merchants who would benefit from lower prices.


In accordance with the Reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the plaintiffs filed suit.


The Supreme Court of the United States rejected a similar case brought by six Malians against Cargill and Nestle under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789 in June of last year.


This was the most recent in a line of judgments denying access to federal courts based on human rights breaches occurring outside the United States.


Coubaly et al. v. Cargill Inc. et al., U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, case number 21-00386.


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