Wisconsin governor who called for marijuana legalization says he'll back limited GOP proposal

Fri, January 5, 2024 



MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, who has pushed for full legalization of recreational marijuana, said Wednesday that he is open to a more limited medical marijuana legalization being promoted by Republicans.

“I would think that getting it all done in one fell swoop would be more thoughtful as far as meeting the needs of Wisconsinites that have asked for it,” the Democrat said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But if that’s what we can accomplish right now, I’ll be supportive of that.”

Republicans planned to introduce a bill on Monday. GOP lawmakers have repeatedly rejected calls from Evers and other Democrats to legalize all uses of marijuana, including medical and recreational.

Vos said the proposal would be limited and modeled after the medical marijuana law that had been in place in neighboring Minnesota before it moved to full legalization.

“I'm glad that the governor is open to supporting our proposal," Vos said Friday. "But if he keeps saying it’s only a precursor to recreational marijuana, it will kill this proposal.”

Republican state Sen. Mary Felzkowski, who introduced a medical marijuana bill that got its first hearing in the Legislature in 2022, said she too was glad Evers was open to the idea. Felzkowski said she is not involved with the Assembly's latest proposal.

Evers said he had not yet seen the Republican bill but that he would support a limited proposal.

Democratic Sen. Melissa Agard, who has pushed for full legalization, said Republicans were not consulting with her on the bill and she also didn’t know what it would include.

“The devil’s in the details with all policy making,” Agard said. “It’s hard for me to say I support or don’t support something I haven’t seen yet.”

Wisconsin remains an outlier nationally. Thirty-eight states have legalized medical marijuana and 24 have legalized recreational marijuana. The push for legalization in Wisconsin has gained momentum as its neighbors have loosened laws.

Marquette University Law School polls have shown large majority support among Wisconsin residents for legalizing marijuana use for years.

Scott Bauer, The Associated Press

Biden voted for the Bayh-Dole Act 44 years ago–but the administration’s plans to reinterpret it could undermine decades of world-leading U.S. innovation

Almesha L. Campbell
Fri, January 5, 2024 



Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) could soon become even bigger innovation hubs, thanks to measures advanced by Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). He recently introduced a bill to ensure that land-grant HBCUs receive fair funding, and last year, he fought to fund these institutions in the CHIPS and Science Act.

His actions could help HBCUs foster scientific innovations that become real-world products. But whether the schools will be able to take advantage of the new opportunities depends on a process known as "technology transfer," which brings promising breakthroughs out of university labs to everyday consumers. The Google search algorithm, the nicotine patch, and the Honeycrisp apple are just a few of the myriad innovations to come out of this process.

For over 12 years I have led the tech transfer program at Jackson State University, one of the largest HBCUs in the United States. I am now also the first person from an HBCU to chair AUTM, a non-profit organization of more than 3,000 members dedicated to transforming academic discoveries into the products and services of tomorrow.

Much of the modern tech transfer process flows from a revolutionary yet little-known 1980 law called the Bayh-Dole Act. That pivotal law allows academic institutions to directly protect and commercialize discoveries arising from federally funded research on their campuses. Universities are then free to license that intellectual property to private-sector companies, which further invest funds and continue to research and develop those inventions into commercially useful products.

The effects of the Bayh-Dole law, and the technology transfer horsepower it unleashed, are staggering. Between 1996 and 2020, technology transfer resulting from Bayh-Dole contributed as much as $1.9 trillion to U.S. economic output and supported some 6.5 million jobs.

The genius of this system, now emulated around the world, is that it takes control of intellectual property away from the federal government and empowers universities. This creates a virtuous cycle, in which taxpayer funds support research that may one day be commercialized, which can lead to royalty payments to universities and re-investment in future research for the next generation of inventions.

Ensuring that HBCU faculty and students benefit from this cycle has been one of my top priorities. That's why Jackson State leads EnRICH, a "pre-accelerator" for faculty and student innovators, and participates in programs like the Xlerator Network and the National Science Foundation Mid-South I-Corps, which encourage innovation and tech transfer in our region. This fall, the National Institutes of Health awarded Jackson State and our partners $12 million to enhance research, development, and entrepreneurship in biomedical innovation.

Such regional investments are crucial to democratizing access to the benefits of tech transfer, previously the preserve of elite institutions such as Columbia, MIT, and UC Berkeley. At Jackson State and other regional institutions, we empower innovators and entrepreneurs who have been historically overlooked. This creates a more equitable landscape and helps everyone in our region by creating new economic opportunities.

Unfortunately, the U.S. tech transfer system, which was supercharged after the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980, is now on shaky ground. This month, after years of pressure from misguided activists, the Biden Administration announced a plan to dramatically reinterpret a provision of that vital law.

The White House has proposed that the government be allowed to "march in" and forcibly re-license patents that result from federally-funded research, with no basis in law. Under the planned scheme, the government could use this tactic to control the prices of thousands of products, including medicines.

This is a puzzling turn of events as President Biden, who voted for the original Bayh-Dole Act, has upheld decades of precedent by rejecting demands to reinterpret march-in rights at every turn, until now. We hope that during the public comment period on the proposal that runs through Feb. 6, better sense prevails. The suggested legal revision poses grave risks to tech transfer, regional innovation, and economic equity.

I am very concerned that this development could kill the golden goose that we have built for decades and undo our efforts to uplift innovators from all backgrounds. Reinterpreting Bayh-Dole as a tool for arbitrary price setting would make successful commercialization even more difficult. Private sector firms and their investors only risk their time, talent, and treasure on developing unproven technologies if they can be certain their efforts have the potential to pay off. That's precisely the purpose of patents.

Weakening the tech transfer process would work directly against the primary purpose of Bayh-Dole, which is to bring the products of government-funded research to consumers.

Entrepreneurs of color, at HBCUs and elsewhere, are finally getting a chance to show how innovative and entrepreneurial they are. They're founding dozens of startups in places like Mississippi. But venture capital funding is hard to find in "fly over America."

Making this already difficult process even harder, by threatening to take away entrepreneurs' intellectual property rights, would ensure they never even get a chance.

That would be more than a tragedy. It would be a disaster for our nation, which needs all the innovation– and economic growth–we can get.

Almesha L. Campbell, Ph.D., is the assistant vice president for research and economic development at Jackson State University, a public historically Black university in Jackson, Mississippi. She also serves as chair of AUTM, the nonprofit leader in efforts to educate, promote, and inspire professionals to support the development of academic research that changes the world and drives innovation forward.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Jarislowsky Fraser to back Browning West request for Gildan shareholder meeting

The Canadian Press
Fri, January 5, 2024


MONTREAL — Investment manager Jarislowsky Fraser says it will support a move by U.S. investment firm Browning West to replace five directors at Gildan Activewear Inc. in an ongoing fight over who should lead the company.

Charles Nadim, head of research and portfolio manager, Canadian equities, at Jarislowsky Fraser says the firm intends to support Browning West and its intent to requisition a special meeting of Gildan shareholders.

The dispute with the company comes after Gildan's board replaced Glenn Chamandy as chief executive late last year with Vince Tyra. Chamandy has said he was terminated without cause after four decades with the company.

Browning West wants to replace five incumbent directors, appoint Michael Kneeland as chair and reinstate Chamandy as chief executive.

In addition to Jarislowsky Fraser, which is Gildan's largest shareholder, Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. and Oakcliff Capital have said they will back the Browning West nominees.

For its part, Gildan's board has said the decision to remove Chamandy came after he agreed to a succession timeline only to later ask to stay on beyond the original plan.

In a letter to shareholders, Gildan chair Donald Berg, along with the board's committee chairs, have said the board's trust and confidence in Chamandy had eroded as it worked to hold him accountable for delivering the next chapter of the company's long-term growth.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GIL)

The Canadian Press

UK
Tube strikes: Dates and services affected in London Underground walkouts


Chris Price
Fri, 5 January 2024 

Mick Lynch, head of the RMT, which has rejected the latest 5pc pay offer from London Underground - James Manning/PA

Commuters are bracing for a week of travel chaos on the Tube as workers begin strike action.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will stage a series of walkouts from Sunday Jan 7 in protest at a 5pc pay offer. RMT engineers are also staging a walkout out on Friday evening, but the biggest disruption to services will be from Sunday evening to Friday January 12.

Transport for London (TfL) said there would be little or no service between the evening of Sunday Jan 7 and the morning of Friday Jan 12 if the strikes go ahead.

A second trade union, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), is also threatening industrial action against London Underground in a dispute over pay. It is ballotting its London Underground members after rejecting a 5pc pay offer and plans to freeze pay bands and salary ranges.

Maryam Eslamdoust, TSSA general secretary, said: “Our members on London Underground are deeply unhappy at this sub-standard and simply unrealistic offer.

“We will now move to a ballot for industrial action, raising the very real prospect of a crippling strike on the Tube.”

Here is everything you need to know about the strike action:

When will the strike action take place?

Sunday, January 7: Tube services will close earlier than normal. Passengers are advised by Transport for London to complete Tube journeys by 5.30pm.

Monday, January 8 to Thursday, January 11: severe disruption is expected, with little to no service expected to run across the London Underground network.

Friday, January 12: Tube services will start later than normal, with services expected to return to normal by midday.

How will I be able to get around London?

London Overground, Elizabeth line, DLR, tram, bus and National Rail services are not involved in this strike action.

However, many services will be much busier than normal and affected by station closures where stations also serve London Underground lines.

Queuing and one-way systems may be in place.

Why are Tube workers going on strike?

The RMT said the latest pay offer of 5pc from London Underground is “unacceptable”.

It said Transport for London (TfL) has created a bonus pot of £13m for senior managers, while the commissioner took an 11pc pay rise in 2023 taking his salary up to £395,000.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The refusal of TfL to restore staff travel facilities and create a two-tier workforce is also unacceptable.

“Our members have made it clear that they are prepared to take action and we urge TfL to improve their offer to avert disruption in the capital.”

What have Transport for London said?

Glynn Barton, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: “We are disappointed that RMT is planning strike action in response to our offer of a 5pc pay increase.

“We have been clear throughout our productive discussions with our trade unions that this offer is the most we can afford while ensuring that we can operate safely, reliably and sustainably.

“We encourage the RMT to engage with us to avoid disruption for Londoners. We would like to advise anyone travelling during the strike days to check before they travel.”

Tube strikes go ahead after last-ditch pay talks break down


Alan Jones, PA Industrial Correspondent
Fri, 5 January 2024 

Strikes by London Underground workers will go ahead from Friday evening after last-ditch talks failed to resolve a pay dispute.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out throughout the next week, causing huge disruption to services.

The union is in dispute over a 5% pay offer and other issues including travel facilities.

The action will begin at 6pm on Friday when maintenance train workers at Ruislip Depot will walk out for 24 hours.

Control staff will strike on Sunday for 24 hours and from Monday to Wednesday nearly 10,000 RMT members will strike across the Tube.

An RMT spokesperson said: “Transport for London has failed to avert this strike by not offering a deal that was acceptable to our members on London Underground.

“We do not take strike action lightly but we are determined to get a negotiated settlement on pay, travel facilities and a grading structure that means our members will not lose out.”

Strikes by London Underground workers will be as follows:

– Friday January 5, 1800 hours, to Saturday January 6, 1759 – maintenance train workers at Ruislip Depot

– Sunday January 7, 0001, to Monday January 8, 2359 – LU Control Centre, track access control and power control

– Monday January 8, 0001, to Wednesday January 10, 2359 – including station staff and train operators

– Tuesday January 9, 0001, to Thursday January 11, 2359 – service controllers, signallers and line information

UNION SHOP
Sainsbury’s to hike hourly pay for 120,000 staff across UK

Anna Wise, PA
Thu, 4 January 2024




Sainsbury’s has revealed plans to hike the hourly wages of 120,000 staff as part of £200 million worth of investment in pay increases.

The supermarket chain, which also owns Argos, said hourly paid employees will see their salaries increase from £11 per hour to £12 per hour in March.

Staff in London, where living costs are typically higher, will be paid £13.15 per hour, up from £11.95.


The National Living Wage is set to rise from £10.42 to £11.44 from April, and for the first time will apply to 21 and 22-year-olds.

The move from Sainsbury’s will mean its staff are paid 56p more per hour than the Government minimum wage, and a month earlier than the official rate comes into effect.

The UK’s Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said it was “great to see Sainsbury’s rewarding hard work” with the nationwide pay increase.

Simon Roberts, the chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “Our colleagues do a brilliant job delivering for our customers every day and at the same time they are continuing to face the rising costs of living.

“So, in addition to investing to keep our prices low for customers, I’m delighted to confirm an industry-leading pay increase again this year for all our hourly paid colleagues.”

The retail giant has increased employee pay by 50% since 2018 and by 9% since last year.

It also offers workers free food during shifts, and a discount of 15% for Sainsbury’s staff every Friday and Saturday and Argos staff every payday.

Bally Auluk, the national officer of trade union USDAW, said: “The continuing strong working relationship between USDAW and Sainsbury’s has resulted in an inflation-busting pay award of over 9%, despite inflation falling and following on from the significant pay increases over the previous couple of years.”

Sainsbury’s injects £200m for staff pay as bumper Christmas helps stave off Lidl and Aldi threats


Laura McGuire
Thu, 4 January 2024 

Sainsbury's has been battling it out to retain customers hit by inflation. The relaunch of Sainsbury’s Nectar card, which now offers customers lower prices on 300 items, represents an attempt to gain ground back

Some 120,000 employees at Sainsbury’s and Argos are set to have their hourly wage increase, as the supermarket injects £200m into improving pay.

Staff at the ‘Big Four’ grocer will now be handed £12 per hour, in line with the Real Living Wage. For workers in London this will leap to £13.15.

Sainsbury’s has increased pay by 50 per cent since 2018 and by nine per cent in the last year. Employees are expected to see the increase come March.

Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said that for a full time colleague, this is an extra £1,910 a year.

“This increase is well ahead of inflation and the government’s 2024 national living wage of £11.44,” he said.

“We continue to lead our industry in the level of reward and benefits we provide for our people and this remains a clear priority for us at Sainsbury’s.”

“We believe well rewarded, engaged colleagues deliver the best service and attracting and retaining the best talent will be crucial to our success in delivering the next phase of our business strategy,” he added.

Sainsbury’s said the investment of £200m brings the three year total investment in colleague pay to over £500m.

In recent years the British retailer has had to compete with German discounters Lidl and Aldi, who are amongst the highest payers for supermarket roles.

Inflation led prices rises also weakened consumer confidence in the brand as shoppers feared big players in the grocery space were not passing cost cuts on to customers.

However, Sainsbury’s was one of the big winners over the Christmas period with the company’s market share hitting 15 per cent over the festive per

Britain's artillery assembly lines whir back to life amid global warfare

Matt Oliver
Thu, 4 January 2024 


The M777 howitzer is a 155mm gun capable of hitting targets up to 30 kilometres away - AP Photo/Libkos, File

The last M777 howitzer to be made in Britain rolled off the production line early last year, as BAE Systems quietly concluded that demand for the towed guns had dried up.

But soon the lines will be fired up again as heavy use of the towed-artillery pieces by Ukrainian forces against Russia revives interest in them.

Kyiv was given the lightweight guns by the US, Canada and Australia and many are now in need of refurbishment or repair.


But BAE is hoping that restarting production will create economies of scale, prompting other customers to bolster their own arsenals with new orders for full guns.

It is the latest boost to Britain’s booming defence industry, which has benefitted from a rush of orders in the past two years as rising global tensions fuel more spending on defence.

That was reflected in Britain’s stock market on Tuesday, the first day of trading in 2024, when shares in UK defence companies surged to a new record.

“There’s a pressure to compete and keep up and maintain an advantage”, says James Black, assistant director for defence and security research at RAND Europe.

The shift towards re-armament was under way before the Ukraine war, he explains, but it is undoubtedly being accelerated by the conflict, as well as the recent Israel-Gaza war, attacks on ships by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, and China’s growing assertiveness toward the West.

Since the 1990s, most of the wars fought by Nato countries were either counter-insurgency operations or against foes who were vastly outgunned by western forces.

In these conflicts, for example against the Taliban in Afghanistan or Saddam Hussein’s forces in Iraq, the UK and its allies could count on having superior air power.

But that will all change in western confrontations with the likes of Russia and China, which are peer competitors with air defences and advanced warfighting capabilities of their own.

“The Taliban, or ISIS or whoever, didn’t have air forces of their own and they didn’t have any meaningful kind of ground-based air defences,” says Black.

“So in that context, Nato got quite used to operating in places like Iraq and Afghanistan with air power rather than artillery as the one of the primary tools that it would fall back upon for any given kind of mission.

“If troops in Afghanistan were on a patrol, and they were engaged by the Taliban and they needed support, they would probably have been more likely to call in an Apache helicopter for support, with missiles and guns on it.

“That all changes as soon as you’re fighting someone like Russia, because you don’t have uncontested superiority of the domain.

“So there is a need to shift back towards territorial defence, towards preparing for large-scale conventional warfighting against near-peer adversaries – rather than against non-state actors and terrorists.”

Both Russia and China have spent the past two decades beefing up their armed forces and modernising them. They have also developed weapons designed to target the gaps in Nato’s armour, such as the alliance’s dependence on satellite systems and US aircraft carriers.

In Ukraine, the challenges posed by a peer competitor like Russia have been starkly illustrated.

But the war has also highlighted the importance of having mobile artillery platforms, for example, in situations where air strikes are far more difficult and expensive.

Russia has been firing up to an estimated 60,000 shells a day, while Ukraine was reportedly firing 6,000 back at the height of its counter-offensive last year.

“You can’t rely on air power….So in that context, artillery becomes key,” Black adds.

It gives forces longer range, allowing them to attack and suppress ground forces, or fire defensively at closer range, engaging in “shoot and scoop” manoeuvres where the guns are quickly deployed, fired and then driven away at speed to a new position.

They can also engage in “deep battle” – the targeting of higher-value targets at the back of enemy lines such as ammo depots, logistic hubs, fuel depots, command and control centres, or infrastructure such as bridges and railway sidings.

“That then gets you into an artillery duel, where both sides are trying to use artillery to shape the battle” says Black.

In this way, Ukraine has acted as something of a showcase for the most effective western weapons, from shoulder-fired Starstreak and NLAW missiles to Leopard 2 tanks and Patriot missile defence systems.

“Weapons that get visibility and credibility during a conflict often generate foreign sales,” Mark Cancian, an adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

It has also prompted Nato countries to focus on improving and modernising their arsenal of “fires” – mobile guns, tanks and missile launchers.

On the battlefield in Ukraine, soldiers have reportedly come to favour the M777, which must be towed into position, for its reliability and the speed with which it can be moved.

The guns are made of a titanium-aluminium alloy and so weigh only 4.5 tonnes, which is lightweight for artillery.

But intensive use by Ukrainian forces now means some will soon need repairs or refurbishment, which is the primary goal of the $50m contract sealed by BAE and the US Army.

It comes off the back of a separate contract inked last year with the American military to produce a string of other components for the M777, which has around 1,500 parts including the three large chassis pieces.

“The gun is performing well,” says John Borton, vice president and general manager of BAE Weapons Systems UK, which manages the manufacture and assembly of the M777 lightweight howitzers.

“But everything has an engineering useful life attached to it, and because of the rate of usage we’re seeing actually we’re getting close to a point we haven’t seen before.”

Now that BAE is restarting production, at least eight unnamed countries are understood to have expressed an interest in placing new orders for the guns.

“Everybody’s looking at how they look forward to having a well-rounded military capability,” Borton adds.

For now, he is remaining tight-lipped about whether the US Army deal could lead to howitzers being built once again at Barrow-in-Furness.

However, other deals struck with the UK Government to restock national ammunition supplies, including 155mm shells used by the M777s, have already led to expansion at another one of BAE’s facilities in North East England.

And the M777 is expected to involve at least some UK manufacturing.

“We have a mix of the US and the UK supply chain,” Borton says. “And therefore UK jobs and US jobs will support the [M777] programme, as well as bringing some critical capabilities into the UK with regards to titanium fabrication.”

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

Telegraph bidder vows Abu Dhabi will be ‘passive investor’


August Graham, PA Business Reporter
Fri, 5 January 2024 



The company which is bidding to own The Daily Telegraph has said the newspaper’s journalists would have complete editorial freedom from its backers in Abu Dhabi.

Former CNN executive Jeff Zucker, who is leading the bid, told the BBC that United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan would be a “passive investor”.

The sheikh is providing around three quarters of the money needed to buy the newspaper title and its sister publication The Sunday Telegraph.


Last year the Government got involved in the deal, amid worries that the authoritarian Gulf State could get a say over the journalism of an influential UK paper.

Mr Zucker, who works for investor RedBird IMI, said the bid was “American led”.

“We are confident that our commitments and the incredibly robust legally underpinned editorial protections that we have submitted will be sufficient to address any concerns,” he told the BBC.

“I think that taken collectively, there’s no UK newspaper that has stronger protections of editorial independence,” Mr Zucker said.

He promised to set up an editorial trust board which would ensure the titles’ independence and handle disputes.

The deal, which also includes The Spectator magazine, was hammered out after the Telegraph’s then owners the Barclay family did not pay back a £1 billion loan to Lloyds Bank.

The bank seized the titles and started trying to find someone to buy them.

However the Barclays were later able to pay off the debts and reclaim them thanks to money from Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

As part of that deal the Barclays agreed to transfer ownership to RedBird IMI, which is set up as a joint venture between US investor RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments.

UK

Migrant workers paid below minimum wage or 'given meals only' at Balham restaurant

Jordan King
Sat, 6 January 2024 at 7:41 am GMT-7·2-min read

A south London restaurant has been stripped of its late-night licence after it was exposed for exploiting migrant workers.

The owner of Lebanese Garden Lounge on Balham High Road has been fined nearly £15,000 after the establishment was found to have employed five people without a legal right to work in the UK.

The workers said they were being paid well below the minimum wage, while one man said he was only receiving meals from the restaurant as pay.

The restaurant was raided by Home Office officials on March 10 last year.

The Home Office successfully applied to have the establishment’s late-night licence revoked from Wandsworth Borough Council last June and the owner, Karim Ali, appealed.

But just before Christmas his appeal was rejected, meaning the venue is no longer allowed to sell late-night refreshments after 11pm.

Mr Ali has also been ordered to pay the council’s legal costs, which amounts to just under £15,000.

Head of Licensing Caroline Sharkey said: “This case sends out two strong messages to licence holders that they must not employ people whose immigration status means they are not allowed to work and they must not exploit any staff members by paying them less than the minimum wage.

“Business owners who flout these simple rules run the very real risk of losing their licence.”

The council said Mr Ali denied claims that his staff were working illegally, but was able to "offer no evidence to support his denials and no adequate explanation was given for his paying employees less than the minimum wage".

"Mr Ali disputed the wage rates given by employees when they had been interviewed by the Home Office Enforcement Team. He insisted that all employees were paid at least the minimum wage and food was not included as part of their pay," the licencing sub-committee decision said.

"One man was on a trial shift and was not being paid but did receive a free meal at the end of the shift."

But the council committee "felt that paying less than minimum wage is indicative that Mr Ali was aware that his employees did not have the right to work in the UK", the decision stated.

It added: "It was clear that such workers would struggle to find alternative employment and are unlikely to complain. It was found that it was most likely that the licence holder did know that workers were being employed illegally."

The Home Office has been approached for comment.

Selfridges tycoon’s property empire auctions off doormats in scramble for cash


Riya Makwana
Fri, 5 January 2024 

Rene Benko was ousted from Signa late last year - GEORG HOCHMUTH/APA/AFP via Getty Images

The troubled property empire founded by the Selfridges tycoon Rene Benko is auctioning off doormats and coat hangers in a bid to raise funds.

Assets owned by Signa are up for sale as it battles a cash crunch that forced the company into insolvency in November last year, with administrators also seeking €350m (£301m) from investors.

The request for cash was made in December, the Financial Times reported, as Signa’s administrator Erhard Grossnigg urged investors to provide money “quickly” to help tide the business over until April.

It comes as 465 Signa products were recently put up for sale online, including branded snow globes, office plants and dustbins. Some items costing as little as €3 have received bids of up to €500.

Signa snow globes are among auction items fetching hundreds of euros

Aurena, the Austrian company running the auction, said in an online listing: “Anyone who would like to secure a small share of the prestigious Signa properties can bid on elaborately designed project brochures, images or 3D building models from Park Hyatt Vienna.”

“Less glamorous items such as a Signa doormat, Signa clothes hangers or office supplies are also being auctioned.”

The collapse of Signa has left many firms facing steep losses, including a host of European banks that lent Mr Benko’s empire almost £7bn.

Bidding for Signa branded doormats is currently at €650

Among those most exposed is the Austrian bank Raiffeisen, which is thought to have lent Signa more than €750m, and the Swiss lender Julius Baer, which is reportedly on the hook for €640m. Italy’s Unicredit, Credit Suisse, and Germany’s Commerzbank are also believed to be facing heavy losses.

It emerged earlier this week Mr Benko also risks losing his luxury alpine villa after tax officials placed a claim against the property.

Mr Benko was ousted from Signa late last year.

The embattled property company had amassed some of the world’s most iconic properties, including the Chrysler Building in New York and Berlin’s KaDeWe luxury department store - some of which could be up for grabs in a looming fire sale.

Signa boomed in the era of cheap debt, although high interest rates and plummeting valuations pushed the company to the brink.

The business bought Selfridges in a £4bn deal in 2021 with Thailand’s Central Group.

However, the Thai retailer has since seized control of the British retailer after it became a majority shareholder in November last year.

Signa was contacted for comment.

McDonald’s: Middle East boycott over free meals for Israeli soldiers hits sales

Laura McGuire
Fri, 5 January 2024 

McDonald’s chief executive, Chris Kempczinski, has blamed “misinformation” surrounding the Israel-Gaza war for flattening sales in the Middle-East.

McDonald’s chief executive, Chris Kempczinski, has blamed “misinformation” surrounding the Israel-Gaza war for flattening sales in the Middle-East.

In a post on LinkedIn, the head of the fast food chain said calls for boycott have led to “meaningful business impact”.

Kempczinski, said: “Several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing a meaningful business impact due to the war and associated misinformation that is affecting brands like McDonald’s.

“This is disheartening and ill-founded In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald’s is proudly represented by local owner operators who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens.”

The popular chain has been scrutinised by pro-Palestinian groups after it emerged that McDonald’s gave free meals to Israeli soldiers following the October 7th attack on the country by Hamas.

Franchises in Saudi Arabia and Oman also issued statements distancing themselves from their Israeli counterpart and pledged millions in aid of Gaza.

McDonald’s is one of a host of high street brands which has been targeted by protestors.

Starbucks was also forced to call for peace after its stores were vandalised.

Boss Laxman Narasimhan, said: “We see protestors influenced by misrepresentation on social media of what we stand for.”

“We have worked with local authorities to ensure our partners and customers are safe. Nothing is more important. Our stance is clear. We stand for humanity.”

Some $11bn (£10bn) has been wiped off the coffee outfit’s market value amid calls for a boycott.

McDonald’s chief says anti-Israel boycotts hitting sales

Jabed Ahmed
Fri, 5 January 2024

McDonald’s CEO said ‘our hearts remain with the communities and families impacted by the war in the Middle East’ (REUTERS)

The CEO of McDonald’s, Chris Kempczinski, has said the fast food chain was seeing a “meaningful” hit to business, as customers boycott the firm in the Middle East for its perceived support of Israel.

Mr Kempczinski said calls from pro-Palestinan groups to boycott McDonald’s are based on “misinformation”.

The fast food giant has been targeted by campaigners after posts on social media showed franchised stores in Israel giving free meals to Israeli military forces following the 7 October Hamas attack.

This move sparked grassroots calls for boycotts of the brand by those angered by Israel’s military response in Gaza, prompting owners in Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan to release statements distancing themselves.

McDonald’s operates a franchising business model, which means it relies on thousands of independent businesses to own and operate most of its more than 40,000 stores globally, with about 5 per cent located in the Middle East.

The company has said it has no position on the conflict and is not responsible for the action of its franchisees, who pay the company a fee to use its brand and recipes.

Mr Kempczinski said in a LinkedIn blog post on Thursday: “Several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing a meaningful business impact due to the war and associated misinformation that is affecting brands like McDonald’s.

“This is disheartening and ill-founded. In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald’s is proudly represented by local owner operators who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens.”

“Our hearts remain with the communities and families impacted by the war in the Middle East. We abhor violence of any kind and firmly stand against hate speech, and we will always proudly open our doors to everyone,” he added.

The post from the McDonald’s boss comes as tensions over the boycotts have escalated in recent days. The pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), which had not formally targeted McDonald’s, this week officially called for a boycott of the brand.

Earlier this week, McDonald’s Malaysia sued the Malaysia BDS group for $1.3m (£1m), claiming “false and defamatory statements” had hurt its business, according to Reuters.

In response, BDS Malaysia said it "categorically denies" defaming the fast-food company.

“We cannot let this pass. Let’s show McDonald’s what grassroots boycotts can do,” the group said in a statement.

Mr Kempczinski is the second boss of a major global business to address the toll sparked by Israel-Gaza war tension. Last month, the Starbucks CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, said the company was the victim of “misrepresentation on social media of what we stand for”.

McDonald’s chief says Israel-Gaza ‘misinformation’ is hurting sales

Ayan Omar
Fri, 5 January 2024 

(PA Wire)

McDonald’s chief executive warned “misinformation” about the Israel-Gaza war is having “meaningful impact” on sales in the Middle East.

Chris Kempczinski said calls for boycott has affected the fast-food chain both in the Middle Eastern markets and “some outside of the region.”

Mr Kempczinski said: “Several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing a meaningful business impact due to the war and associated misinformation that is affecting brands like McDonald's.”

"This is disheartening and ill-founded."

"In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald's is proudly represented by local owner operators,” he wrote in a blog post on LinkedIn.

The chain has been targeted by Pro-Palestine activists after McDonalds Israel said it had given thousands of free meals to the Israeli military following the October 7 Hamas attack.

The decision sparked outrage among those angered by Israel's military response in Gaza, with many calling for a boycott and protesting.

In October, protestors released mice painted in the colours of the Palestinian flag in a Birmingham branch of McDonald's.

McDonald’s franchises in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain and Turkey have distanced themselves from the move at the time and pledged aid to Gaza.

The Pro-Palestine organisation, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) included McDonalds in their targeted boycott list in November, which included organisations they believe “openly supported” the Israeli military.

This week they have officially called for a boycott of the chain after McDonalds in Malaysia, backed by a Saudi firm, sued the Malaysia BDS group for $1.3 million (£1 million) over “false and defamatory statements” they claim damaged their business.

In a statement the BDS group said McDonalds should end its “shameful franchise agreement” with Israel and accused McDonald's Malaysia and its Saudi owner of “desperately trying to silence voices of peaceful solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle in Malaysia.”

"We cannot let this pass. Let's show McDonald's what grassroots boycotts can do,” they added.

McDonald’s is among several other companies, including Starbucks and retail chain Zara to be hit with boycotts following the Israel-Hamas war.

Last month, Starbucks boss Laxman Narasimhan blamed “misinformation” of the company’s views for its low sales.

Fashion brand Zara was also forced pulled an ad following complaints that it contained pictures resembling images from the Israel-Hamas war.