BRO CULTURE IS RAPE CULTURE

Facing a "challenging time", Activision Blizzard announces formation of Workplace Responsibility Committee

The latest poorly-judged move from Activision Blizzard includes a press release pushed out in the dead of night that doesn't mention its 10,000+ employees.

News by Dom PeppiattContributor

Published on 23 Nov, 2021

Another day, another development in the messy, appalling saga that is Activision Blizzard's response to its ongoing sexual harrassment lawsuit.

Following reports that Bobby Kotick apparently discussed stepping down as Activision Blizzard boss, the company's board slipped out a press release at 10.30pm EST detailing the formation of a "Workplace Responsibility Committee".

The press release, written in dense HR-centric language, basically notes that this new committee will oversee Activision Blizzard’s progress in "successfully implementing its new policies, procedures, and commitments to improve workplace culture and eliminate all forms of harassment and discrimination at the company". You can read about some of the proposed policies here, though it's worth noting that they won't necessarily apply to Kotick himself. Hm.

The new Workplace Responsibility Committee will consist of the only two women on Activision Blizzard's 10-person board of directors (a board which has stood behind Kotick as calls for his resignation mount up), though Activision notes "a new, diverse director" will soon be added to the board, too.

"The committee will require management to develop key performance indicators and/or other means to measure progress and ensure accountability," reads the press release. "The chief executive officer, Bobby Kotick, along with the chief people officer and chief compliance officer will provide frequent progress reports to the committee, which will regularly brief the full board. The committee is empowered to retain outside consultants or advisers, including independent legal counsel, to assist in its work."

So, basically, the committee can get advice from outside sources and lawyer up, but there's no reference at all to how it can (or should) interact with the actual workforce. You know, the people making all these complaints and the reason state and federal agencies are investigating the company.

"Formation of the committee and additional future changes will help facilitate additional direct oversight and transparency and ensure that the company’s commitments to Activision Blizzard’s workforce are carried out with urgency and impact," the press release continues. "This has been a challenging time across the company, but the board is confident in the actions underway to set the company up for future success."

It's worth noting, at this point, that this press release is directed at investors – some of which have also called for Kotick's resignation.

Given that PlayStation and Xbox bosses are planning to re-evaluate their relationship with Activision Blizzard, the formation of this Committee may not be enough.

Nintendo Joins Sony And Xbox In Calling Activision Blizzard Crisis 'Disturbing'

Doug Bowser finds recent reports “distressing”

By Ryan Leston
Updated: 23 Nov 2021 

Nintendo has joined the likes of Sony and Xbox, speaking out against Activision Blizzard due to recent reports of sexual misconduct and toxicity.

In a new report by Fanbyte, Doug Bowser reportedly expressed concern over the ongoing situation at Activision Blizzard in a company-wide email, calling the allegations "distressing and disturbing."

“Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company,” he explained. “I find these accounts distressing and disturbing. They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values and policies.

Activision Blizzard Lawsuit Timeline: The Story So Far

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The email reportedly goes on to explain that Nintendo is committed to providing an “open and inclusive” workplace and expects the same from the industry and its partners. Bowser also states that Nintendo has been “in contact with Activision, have taken action and are assessing others.” Although the email apparently stops short of giving further details.

However, the Nintendo chief does reportedly confirm that the company has been working with the ESA – a lobbying organization in which both Nintendo and Activision Blizzard are members. Bowser wrote that Nintendo has been working with the ESA since last week in order to “strengthen its stances on harassment and abuse in the workplace”.

“Every company in the industry must create an environment where everyone is respected and treated as equals,” the email reads. “And where all understand the consequences of not doing so.”

IGN has reached out to Nintendo of America for comment but has yet to receive a response at the time of publishing.

Xbox Boss 'Disturbed and Deeply Troubled' By Latest Activision Reports - IGN Now

Nintendo’s comments follow PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan who is said to be "disheartened and frankly stunned" by the Activision Blizzard scandal. Xbox boss Phil Spencer also added that he is “disturbed and deeply troubled” by the ongoing events.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has found himself under pressure to resign, and has reportedly told the company he would consider stepping down if he’s unable to quickly fix the ongoing issues at the company.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Nintendo Of America President Joins PlayStation And Xbox Counterparts In Criticism Of Activision Blizzard

"They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs"

• by Liam Doolan  Yesterday, 

• 
  

Image: Nintendo

Update: Nintendo has now officially confirmed this in a PR response to Fanbyte:

“We can confirm the content of Doug Bowser’s internal email to Nintendo of America staff is accurate. We have nothing further to share on this topic.”

---

Nintendo of America's president Doug Bowser last week issued an internal response to ongoing reports about allegations of misconduct at Activision Blizzard.

Bowser's email, which has been publicly shared by Fanbyte, was sent out on 19th November and reached "all levels" of Nintendo of America - including internal development houses such as Retro Studios (Metroid Prime 4) and the recently acquired Canadian team Next Level Games (Luigi's Mansion 3).

Bowser mentioned how "distressing and disturbing" the reports were and said every company in the industry was responsible for creating an environment where everyone is treated as an equal:

“Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company. I find these accounts distressing and disturbing. They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values and policies.”

“Every company in the industry must create an environment where everyone is respected and treated as equals, and where all understand the consequences of not doing so.”

His email further states how Nintendo has committed itself to an open and inclusive workplace - welcoming everyone - and expects the same from the rest of the industry and its partners.

Nintendo's representatives have apparently been “in contact with Activision, have taken action, and are assessing others." Bowser mentioned how Nintendo has been working with the ESA (a lobbying organisation Activision is also a member of) encouraging it to strengthen its stances on harassment and hold its members to the highest standard.

Both Sony and Microsoft are also reportedly re-evaluating their relationship with Activision Blizzard. You can read more in our previous stories:

• Activision Blizzard Boss Bobby Kotick Is Reportedly Open To Quitting As Abuse Claims Rock The Company
• Activision Blizzard Employees Stage A Walkout Calling For CEO Bobby Kotick's Resignation

 

No More Hellcats: Dodge CEO Says Plug Is Getting Pulled After 2023, EV Muscle Cars Coming

Home > News > Industry

23 Nov 2021, 09:21 UTC · 

by Sergiu Tudose 

We knew this day was coming, but at least now we have somewhat of an expiration date. The Hellcat represents the pinnacle of internal combustion engine muscle cars. The result of 70 years of progress. Yet, according to Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis, the Hellcat’s days are numbered, and the future is clearly fully electric.

 7 photos

Kuniskis sat down with Motor Authority at the 2021 LA Auto Show and talked about Hellcats, as well as what we can expect from future Dodge muscle cars.

“I will have this car, this platform, this powertrain as we know it through the end of ‘23. There’s two more years to buy a Hellcat, then it’s history.” History indeed. What a good choice of words.

He then shared a small piece of cardstock dubbed “24 Months of Muscle”, serving as a roadmap to 2024. This calendar featured 26 garage doors, with only four of them having been opened so far – revealing the revival of a performance part program, Jailbreak versions of the Charger and Challenger Redeyes and so on.

The calendar should end with the unveiling of a fully electric Dodge muscle car, which will arrive in showrooms in 2024. Before that happens, the carmaker will showcase a concept version of the EV muscle car, and this should take place soon, in Q1 of 2022. The concept is said to be a working model capable of high-performance driving.

Dodge will also reveal the EV’s performance specifications, with Kuniskis adding that his company will “do electrification different than anybody else,” which sounds exciting.

Also in the works is a plug-in hybrid model, which according to the CEO will be a “new, new car,” – so not a PHEV version of a current model.

Finally, there will be a third big reveal next year, but Kuniskis wouldn’t give out any hints, except for suggesting it’s something we should get excited about.

Reading about all this has to be somewhat bittersweet. We’re going to miss Hellcats, with their rowdy supercharged HEMI V8 units. That being said, we’re pretty sure EV muscle cars will be even quicker, especially over a quarter mile.

Anti-vaccine groups 'boycotting' Chapman's ice cream

MISSING OUT ON THE BEST ICE CREAM IN CANADA

Scott Miller
CTV News London Videographer

The Chapman's ice cream factory in Markdale, Ont. is seen Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. 

(Scott Miller / CTV News)

Published Nov. 22, 2021

MARKDALE, ONT. -

The Chapman family’s specialty is making ice cream, which they never thought would put them in the crosshairs of Canada’s most militant anti-vaccine groups.

“In fact, I got a threatening package this morning from Druthers, saying 'the hundreds of employees you’ve fired,' now we’re going to come out with an article, and that will show you who’s boss,” says the vice-president of the family-run ice cream company, Ashley Chapman.

Druthers is an anti-vaccine, anti-COVID-19-restriction alternative publication.

On Nov. 7, Chapman’s started twice-a-week rapid testing for about 100 of their 850 employees, who had decided against getting vaccinated. Five employees refused, and are currently on unpaid leave.

On Nov. 12, Chapman’s announced they’d be giving their fully-vaccinated employees a $1 per hour raise by month’s end. Disgruntled employees leaked the raise news to some anti-vaccine groups, who have in turn launched a boycott of Chapman’s products.

“The far-right anti-vaxxers have taken it up, as in, we’re horrible people, and we need to be taught a lesson,” says Chapman.

So far, Chapman says the boycott has not impacted sales of their ice cream treats at all. He calls the boycott “frustrating” since the company was trying to find a middle ground, by deciding against a vaccine mandate, as many other organizations and businesses have.

“We’re really trying hard to work with these people, but it can be tough at times, especially when you’re being boycotted for this. It seems a bit ridiculous,” he says.

The “Chapman’s boycott” has actually started a counter movement #IStandwithChapmans, of supporters who are promising to buy even more ice cream in the coming months to support the Markdale-based company.

“It’s been overwhelming on the other side of things, it’s just that the negative comments, they hurt. We’re trying to do good in everything we do, so this was somewhat unexpected,” he says.

The $1 per hour premium for fully-vaccinated Chapman’s employees takes effect Nov. 28. The unpaid leave for the five employees who refused rapid testing started Monday.



Chapman's ice cream is seen on the line at their factory in Markdale, Ont. on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. (Scott Miller / CTV News)

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Lush Cosmetics to deactivate Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat accounts


Holiday shoppers browse at Lush, a cosmetics store at Cherry Creek Shopping Center in Denver, Colo. on November 24, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Tatiana Flowers


Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
Published Monday, November 22, 2021 

Lush Cosmetics will deactivate its social media accounts later this week in a bid to get tech companies to make online platforms safer.

The U.K. retailer, which sells bath and body products and has a large footprint in Canada, announced its plan Monday to cease posting on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat accounts by Friday.

The company, which likened social media to “a dark and dangerous alleyway,” said the deactivation decision is meant to address consumers' mental health challenges and will not be reversed unless the platforms are made safer.

“There is now overwhelming evidence we are being put at risk when using social media,” said Lush co-founder Mark Constantine, in a news release.

“I'm not willing to expose my customers to this harm, so it's time to take it out of the mix.”

Facebook, Instagram and TikTok refused to comment on the campaign, while Snapchat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Instead of using the platforms, Lush will invest in new ways to connect and for now can still be found on Twitter and YouTube.

Lush had previously tried to abandon social media in 2019 with just its U.K. accounts, but came back when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Lush is now bringing back the deactivation and applying it to all 48 countries it operates in because its “resolve has been strengthened” by information from whistleblowers who recently laid out harms young people face because of algorithms and “loose regulation.”

Over the last few months, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen accused the company of prioritizing engagement and user growth over online safety.

Documents from the former Facebook data scientist suggested the social media giant knew about the harms its products cause and often did little or nothing to mitigate them.

Courtney Radsch, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, said it's hard to tell how much success Lush will have with its deactivations because it didn't release a specific list of demands from the social media companies.

Getting the platforms to take action, she said, is typically a “long slog” made more difficult because “a couple of social media platforms have held the world hostage by becoming the walled gardens where all of our communication takes place.”

Companies have tried to push Facebook to adopt more consumer-friendly policies before, but the tech giant has not relented.

For example, Vancouver athleticwear companies Lululemon Athletica Inc., Mountain Equipment Co-op and Arc'teryx pulled their paid ads from Facebook in July 2020 as part of a global StopHateForProfit boycott supported by Coca-Cola, Unilever, Honda America, Patagonia and more.

The companies wanted to boycott Facebook because they believed it had not done enough to keep racist, false and dangerous content or white supremacists off its platform.


StopHateForProfit's website said studies completed since the boycott found “no platform has made significant structural changes” and Facebook made the least progress toward meeting the coalition's demands.

So far, Lush hasn't had any other businesses take up its fight, which could blunt the campaign's effectiveness.

“Companies will wait and see what type of coverage this generate in terms of free earned media for Lush versus having to spend on advertising right around the holiday season,” said Radsch.

“And then of course, they will also want to see the impact on sales and traffic revenue.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2021.

 BC Business  

Wineries seek permanent change to deliver directly to consumers

Disaster highlights red tape

Glen Korstrom / BIV - Nov 22, 2021 / 10:44 am | Story: 352333

Photo: Okanagan Crush Pad

Last week's closure of all highways connecting the Lower Mainland to the rest of B.C. highlighted the fragility of the province's supply chains.

Recent torrential rain prompted mudslides and several sections of the Coquihalla Highway to collapse – something that could happen again, given the global trend toward more extreme weather events.

B.C. winery owners, who during the COVID-19 pandemic shifted business models to include more direct shipments to customers and to wine-club members, believe they were unnecessarily affected by the disruption.

For years, they have been trying to get Victoria to snip red tape that limits how they can deliver wine to the public.

Pre-pandemic, the B.C. government forbid winery owners from taking products stored in off-site warehouses and delivering them directly to individual customers. Winery owners were allowed to store products at warehouses far away from their winery sites, but products in those far-flung facilities could only be directly delivered to restaurants, bars and retail stores.

The B.C. government, in 2020, changed this restriction on a temporary basis, to allow wineries to directly deliver products to the public from off-site warehouses.

The temporary change is set to expire at the end of December, and, as such, has not garnered much uptake from winery owners because putting in place new delivery systems costs money that would be capital down the drain if the new systems are not permanent.

"None of us are going to do that for a temporary measure," said Okanagan Crush Pad owner Christine Coletta.

She wants the B.C. government to make its change permanent so she can put in place a new storage and delivery system, and hire management staff.

Coletta stores some wine at ContainerWorld's bonded warehouse in Richmond, but she is not able to touch product in that warehouse, as ContainerWorld makes all deliveries.

If she knew that she could permanently deliver wine directly to the general public, she would lease space in a non-bonded warehouse, perhaps jointly with other wineries, and hire people to manage the purchase orders.

"When we're selling to the public, we're selling mixed cases of wine," Coletta explained. "There would have to be a warehouse set up where we could pick and pack and ship. That's a major undertaking, and it would probably involve several different wineries getting together, and having a warehouse business."

The math makes sense to invest capital into that initiative because shipping prices have soared.

Colletta said delivery-company fuel surcharges make the cost of shipping wine from the Okanagan to the Lower Mainland $20, instead of what was $10 not long ago.

"We could have the same delivery go from Vancouver for $7, so it would be a massive cost saving for us," said Colletta, who ships about 20% of her winery's 20,000-case annual volume directly to the public.

B.C.'s Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said in an email that it expects to announce by the end of the November whether it will make permanent its temporary policy on wine deliveries to the public.

"There are significant considerations in making this temporary authorization permanent, such as B.C.’s international trade obligations," the ministry said.

Wine lawyer Mark Hicken, however, says making the change permanent should not be a problem.

"It's commonplace," said Hicken, who in 2018 chaired the B.C. government-created Business Technical Advisory Panel (Liquor Policy), and recommended a slate of 23 recommendations for how the government should modernize liquor regulations in B.C.

"Nearly every other jurisdiction in the world allows that to happen. I think it's a very sensible, logical change to make it permanent, and allow wineries to deliver direct to consumers from secondary warehouses."

Wine Growers BC CEO Miles Prodan says his organization, which promotes B.C. wine, has been after this change for many years.

"Selling wine direct to consumer makes the best sense for wineries because that is how they make the highest margin on the sale – directly from the winery," he said.

When wineries sell wines to the public via retailers, the retailers take a cut of the profit.

Wineries would still need to register their off-site warehouses with B.C.'s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch, and would have to adhere to government regulations, he added.

"These wouldn't be fly-by-night operations," said Prodan.

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Cobalt Is the New Oil

A New York Times investigation details China's rapid acceleration of cobalt mining as countries gear up for a rapid rise in renewable energy and battery demand.

By
Mack DeGeurin

The U.S. and China may be on a collision course over scarce resources, the fallout of which could have a massive impact on developing countries.

Superpowers fighting worried over valuable goods might sound familiar in the context of oil and gas. But the new resource struggle is over the metals and minerals that will power the future from electric vehicles to clean energy technology.

That’s according to a recent New York Times investigation, which used formerly classified diplomatic cables and interviews with more than 100 people spread across three continents to paint a picture of the fight for cobalt. The investigation zeros in specifically on the southwest region of the Democratic Republic of Congo called Kisanfu, which is home to one of the world’s largest cobalt reserves. Congo as a whole is responsible for producing over 70% of the world’s cobalt supply, according to Reuters.

The report traces Chinese companies ramping up cobalt extraction in Congo back to 2016, when a major U.S. mining firm sold off two massive cobalt reserves to a Chinese conglomerate China Molybdenum. Chinese mining firms have since been on a buying spree in the county, locking up much of the global cobalt supply chain.

According to the Times, 15 of the 19 cobalt-producing mines in the country are now owned by Chinese companies that have received at least $12 billion in loans and financing from state-backed institutions. The five biggest companies have a line of credit hovering around a whopping $124 billion. The U.S., meanwhile, has fallen behind—and even let cobalt assets slip out of its grasp. That’s set the stage for a major fight for the energy of the 21st century, with Congolese workers and residents caught in the middle.

Congolese officials have accused one of those mining companies, China Molybdenum, of withholding payments to the government. As cobalt production has rapidly increased since the Chinese firms took over, at least a dozen employees and contractors at a Tenke Fungurume mine complained of a “drastic decline in safety and an increase in injuries, many of which were not reported to management.”

The report comes as the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on the Build Back Better bill, which would include $320 billion in expanded tax credits for renewable energy and electric vehicles and another $110 billion to improve U.S. renewable energy technology supply chains. Those investments will be crucial if the country and carmakers have any shot at meeting EV and clean energy targets outlined for the next decade. For some context, President Biden has promised to decarbonize the grid by 2035 and set a target of making half of all new U.S. car sales electric by 2030. He has used the weight of the federal government to start the EV transition, and Build Back Better would add more juice to it and the clean energy goals. But there’s a lot of work to do between now and then; a report from LMC Automotive suggested that that share is expected to be less than 4% this year.

But analysts and experts are already warning of a coming EV battery shortage that could resemble the current global semiconductor scarcity rattling supply chains. In the U.S., EV carmakers like Tesla as well as traditional brands like General Motors and Ford are gearing up to dramatically increase their cobalt and lithium demand in coming years as they ramp up EV production. That could strain already shaky supplies.

Some of those effects are already being felt according to a report released last month by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, which found an increase in battery cell prices in tandem with an increase in raw material prices, especially for lithium. If countries continue towards their path of meeting needed climate goals, the International Energy Agency warns supplies from existing mines may only be able to meet half of lithium and cobalt requirements by 2030.

Biden, for his part, made clear his administration’s ambition to ramp up the mineral race with China during a visit at a General Motors facility last week, the Times notes.

“We risked losing our edge as a nation, and China and the rest of the world are catching up,” Biden said. “Well, we’re about to turn that around in a big, big way.”

So far, the global push towards renewable energy technology appears poised to follow a familiar script, with a handful of large players fiercely competing on the global stage to extract valuable resources, likely at the expense of local geography, ecology, and communities.

MINING IS ECOCIDE

UK’s Hochschild fights Peru’s plans to close mines over environmental impact


London-listed firm says it will ‘vigorously defend’ plan to continue mining gold and silver

Peru’s Yanacocha goldmine, a joint venture that includes Newmont Mining Corp. Hochschild is threatened with the closure of two of its mines. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images


Jillian Ambrose
Mon 22 Nov 2021 

The UK metals company Hochschild Mining is to fight plans by Peru’s government to hasten the closure of several mines in the southern Ayacucho region because of concerns over their environmental impact.

The London-listed mining company has promised to “vigorously defend” its plan to continue mining gold and silver from two mines – Pallancata and Inmaculada – which it claims operate under the “highest environmental standards”.

Ignacio Bustamante, the Hochschild chief executive, said he was “surprised” by the “illegal nature” of the government’s planned action and would “vigorously defend its rights to operate these mines using all available legal avenues”.
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Shares in Hochschild plunged nearly 40% on Monday morning, wiping more than £300m off the value of the company, after the Peruvian prime minister, Mirtha Vásquez, told local media over the weekend that four mines in the southern Ayacucho region would be barred from further expansion, and would be closed “as soon as possible”. They closed down 27%, the lowest since April 2020.

Hochschild said it had “not received any formal communication from the government regarding this matter”.

The plan could have severe consequences for Lima-headquartered Hochschild, which sources more than two-thirds of its gold and silver from its Peruvian mines.

The announcement is likely to raise hackles throughout the mining sector in Peru, the world’s second largest producer of copper, which includes UK miners Anglo American, Newmont, Glencore and Freeport-McMoRan. Peru’s mines are also operated by China’s MMG and Chinalco alongside local producers such as Buenaventura.

Peru’s mining industry has been linked to a string of environmental issues in recent years including deforestation, pollution and the mistreatment of environmental activists.

Bustamante said: “Our goal is to continue investing in Peru, growing our resources and extending mine lives, in accordance with the Peruvian legal framework.”

Hochschild said it was a significant employer in the region, employing more than 5,000 people directly and about 40,000 indirectly, and has long-term investment plans for the local region.

“We are prepared to enter into a dialogue with the government in order to resolve any misunderstandings with respect to our mining operations. However, given the illegal nature of the proposed action, the company will vigorously defend its rights to operate these mines using all available legal avenues,” Bustamante added.

Hochschild shares tank after Peru nixes key mine extensions

Henry Lazenby | November 22, 2021 

Hochschild Mining’s Inmaculada mine in Peru. Credit: Hochschild Mines.

London-based Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC; US-OTC: HCHDF) says it will fight what it claims are “illegal” efforts by Peru to close and block extensions of its Pallancata and Inmaculada silver mines on environmental grounds.


The company said in a statement Monday it had learned via media reports that Peru’s head of cabinet, certain vice-ministers and regional authorities in the town of Coracora in the Ayacucho region had signed minutes of a meeting that detailed alleged environmental complaints.

The minutes also state that a commission has been established to negotiate the timetable and terms for the closure of specific mining projects in southern Ayacucho, including the company’s Pallancata and Inmaculada mines.

According to Hochschild, the Peruvian head of cabinet subsequently indicated that approvals would no longer be granted to facilitate additional mining or exploration activities concerning these mining operations.

Hochschild said it had not received any formal communication from the government regarding this matter. The news was enough to scuttle the value of the company’s London-listed shares, sending them down nearly 60% in early morning trading.

ShareCast News reported over the weekend that Peru’s Prime Minister Mirtha Vasquez said that four mines in the nation’s Ayacucho region would be closed “as soon as possible.”

However, Hochschild said it would defend its position in Peru and asserted that its mines operated under the “highest environmental standards.”

“Our goal is to continue investing in Peru,” Hochschild chief executive Ignacio Bustamante said in a statement. “However, given the illegal nature of the proposed action, the company will vigorously defend its rights to operate these mines using all available legal avenues.”

He said the company would seek to enter dialogue with the Peru government to resolve any “misunderstandings” concerning its mining operations.

The communities close to the affected operations and the trade unions representing the operations’ workforce have issued formal statements supporting Hochschild. The company employs more than 5,000 people directly and about 40,000 people indirectly in Peru.

Hochschild’s Inmaculada mine is the company’s most significant, representing more than 60% of its cash flows, according to its latest 2020 annual report.

Both the mines account for the bulk of the company’s output. In 2020, the Immaculada mine produced 15.14 million silver-equivalent ounces and the Pallancata mine produced 4.79 million silver-equivalent ounces.

BMO Capital Markets said in a research note the announcements over the weekend would probably cast a cloud of uncertainty over the future of the operations.

“Although Hochschild will not go down without a fight, it is very difficult for us to envision a scenario where the stock outperforms, given the current government’s stance on the operations; we are therefore moving to the sidelines with a ‘Market Perform’ rating until more certainty emerges,” said analyst Ryan Thompson.

Hochschild shares tumbled on the news and were down 57.5% at 70p each by 08:30 GMT.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

JPM settle spoofing lawsuit with $60mln payment

Rajan Dhall  Monday November 22, 2021 

(Kitco News) - Reuters have reported that JPMorgan Chase & Co has agreed to pay $60 million to settle class-action litigation by investors who accused the largest U.S. bank of manipulating prices of precious metals futures and options.

U.S. government investigations into a form of illegal trading in precious metals and U.S. Treasury markets, known as spoofing. Spoofing is where traders place orders they intend to cancel, hoping to move prices to benefit their market positions. For example, a trader could put a massive bid in to buy gold underneath the current price in the hope that other traders will see it and start buying. This could push the price higher when the original bid was never meant to be filled. All the while the traders could be holding the commodity watching the price rise.

The U.S. investment bank did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement, which covers traders in precious metals futures and options from March 2008 to August 2016 and requires approval by a federal judge in Manhattan.

Lawyers for the investors called the accord "substantively fair," citing among other reasons the risks of continued litigation.
The payout would recover about 7% of the estimated $915 million of classwide damages, the lawyers added. JPMorgan declined to comment.

In September 2020, JPMorgan entered a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay $920 million, including a $436 million criminal fine, to settle U.S. government probes into spoofing in precious metals and Treasuries. The New York-based bank in September reached a $15.7 million settlement with investors over Treasury spoofing. Lawyers for the precious metals investors plan to seek up to one-third of their settlement, or $20 million, to cover legal fees.

JPMorgan is not the only bank that has been in hot water over spoofing. U.S. authorities investigated two former employees of Deutsche Bank traders who were found guilty of manipulating gold and silver prices. After a two-week court case (Seltember 2020) a federal judge in Chicago found James Vorley, 42, of the United Kingdom, and Cedric Chanu, 40, of France and the United Arab Emirates, were convicted of three counts and seven counts, respectively, of wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Let's hope this latest action can help clean up market manipulation.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Toronto Parking Authority tried to sell public land in pricey midtown area to condo developer

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Land was earmarked for a public park north of Yonge

Street and Eglinton Avenue

Michael Smee · CBC News · Posted: Nov 22, 2021 5:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 11 hours ago

The Green P lot at Yonge Street and Castlefield Avenue. At right is the old Capitol Theatre. The new condo project will include a 10-metre strip of the lot along the theatre's back wall. (Grant Linton/CBC)

The agency that oversees parking in Toronto tried to sell a piece of prime midtown property to a condo developer without city permission —  even though staff had identified the land as a good spot for a much-needed neighbourhood park, CBC News has learned.

The land sale agreement involving the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) would have seen the Green P lot on Castlefield Avenue, a few blocks north of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, transformed into a block-long condo tower, but councillors found out about the deal in June of 2018 and put a stop to it.

The city solicitor asked council last week to keep the deal a secret. But CBC News pieced together the timeline and the details of the agreement and its aftermath by speaking with the area city councillor and then reviewing legal and real estate records for the property. The city, the TPA and the developer all declined to go on the record for this story. 

"It was quite astonishing," Coun. Mike Colle, who represents the neighbourhood, told CBC Toronto. "The TPA obviously did not do something that was kosher. [It was] very disturbing ... I'm glad that we were able to get the park back."

Coun. Mike Colle, who represents Ward 8, Eglinton-Lawrence, says he is relieved the city was able to win back the parking lot property, which he wants transformed into a park. (Grant Linton/CBC )

The agreement led to several years of legal wrangling and negotiations. Last week, after three years of efforts behind the scenes and a lawsuit, city council voted to take the city solicitor's advice and keep the details of a settlement it reached with the developer confidential, citing the potential for further litigation over the botched TPA deal. 

The TPA doesn't own the land that it manages. Instead, it oversees it on behalf of the city. According to city documents, the TPA  didn't have the necessary permission from council when it agreed to sell the land in 2016, 

Although the Castlefield sale had not yet been finalized with the developer, Madison Group, the original agreement was still in place in June of 2018, about a month after city staff identified the four-hectare lot as a good spot for a neighbourhood park.

And as far back as 2014, commercial parking lots in the neighbourhood had been identified by city staff as potential new parks.

The Yonge-Eglinton area is undergoing intensification after the city identified it as a neighbourhood that could sustain a larger population. (Grant Linton/CBC)

It wasn't until its June 2018 meeting that council instructed city staff to try to nix the sale.

That decision led to a lawsuit about two months later by Madison Group against the city for breaking the original agreement.

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That lawsuit dragged on for two years, during which the city could have been developing the new Castlefield park, according to Colle, who has championed that effort.

"The area's being flooded with wall-to-wall condos," Colle said. "We need more green space, parks, desperately."

City staff have written in the past that residents of the Yonge-Eglinton neighbourhood are among the most starved for green space in the city, with fewer than 43 hectares —  or less than half a football field — of parkland per 1,000 people.

The lawsuit was finally settled in September of 2020, when the city and Madison agreed to swap parcels of land, each worth about $1 million.

An ad for the new condo complex that Madison Group plans to build using the old Capitol Theatre, and part of a Green P lot at Yonge Street and Castlefield Avenue. (Chris Ensing/CBC)

Madison currently owns the closed Capitol Theatre on the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Castlefield Avenue, which it planned to develop into a condo tower. That building could have stretched the full block, from Yonge to Duplex Avenue, had the parking lot sale gone through.

Instead, in the land swap, Madison gets only the easternmost strip of the Green P lot, expanding its footprint for the condo building by about 10 metres. In return, the city gets a 10-metre strip of land along the lot's northern edge.

It's unclear how much money would have changed hands, had the TPA agreement to sell Madison the full lot been finalized, or how much time city legal staff spent fighting the court battle.

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Neither the TPA nor the city will talk about the deal or its aftermath. Both say confidentiality agreements are in place.

Former city councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, who sat on the TPA board at the time of the deal with Madison, said he doesn't remember hearing anything about it. 

"I don't recall any reports coming to the board about it," he said.

The TPA is no stranger to controversy. Just a few months before the December, 2016 Castlefield sale agreement was signed, the city's auditor, Beverly Romeo-Beehler, issued the first of two reports slamming the authority for its handling of another land deal — the attempted purchase of an Arrow Road lot for about $2.5 million more than its actual value. That controversy led city council to fire the entire TPA board of directors.

'You can barely see the sky'

Shari Lash, vice chair of the Eglinton Park Residents Association and a 12-year resident of the area, agreed her neighbourhood desperately needs this park.

"It almost slipped through our fingers," she told CBC Toronto.

"There's so much development you can barely see the sky," she said. "There are shadows constantly, and there are going to be more of those shadows because the buildings are getting higher and higher. We just need to have spaces for us."

Shari Lash, who is an area resident, is pictured here in the parking lot that will eventually be turned into a music-themed park. (Chris Ensing/CBC)

Three months ago, the Castlefield lot was formally rezoned as parkland, according to Colle.

"I'm hoping by early 2023," the new, music-themed park will open on what was once a parking lot, he said.  

And as for the opening ceremonies? He's hoping to get singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell to attend, and perform her song Big Yellow Taxi.

"You know, 'They paved paradise'? We want to do the opposite here. We want to make it into a park."

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With files from Nicole Brockbank, John Lancaster and Chris Ensing

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