Author: ovieoftoronto

Last August, three and a half years after the pandemic forced millions of government workers to stay at home, President Biden's chief of staff, Jeff Zients, directed federal agencies to “aggressively implement” a return to in-person work.In January, Zients emailed his cabinet colleagues that agencies “are not where they need to be… I ask that you redouble your leadership to increase in-person operations.”Speaking to the Economic Club of Washington in April, Zients said, “We have not yet reached the level of return to work that we need across the federal government.”This summer marks four and a half years since the…

Danone, the French multinational food and beverage giant known for its globally popular yogurt and plant-based products, has big plans with a roadmap for its next major phase of growth. The company is hosting a capital markets event to unveil its vision for 2025-2028, drawing investors and industry watchers to follow the company and its strategies aimed at reshaping the food and beverage industry. Developed at a time of growing health consciousness and environmental concerns, the 'Renewed Danone' strategy has emerged as a visionary roadmap for the future of food and nutrition. As one of the world's largest food companies,…

Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures rose on Wednesday as Nvidia and other semiconductor stocks continued to regain momentum ahead of a key inflation gauge this week, and FedEx shares surged on a strong full-year profit outlook.AI chip company Nvidia recovered from recent losses to rise 2.2% in early trading, while semiconductor stocks Broadcom Inc, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Arm Holdings Co. each rose 1%.Micron Technology also rose 3% ahead of its quarterly results, which are due to be released after the close of trading.The tech-heavy Nasdaq, the S&P 500 Information Technology Index and the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index all…

Pro-Israel donor plans to give $100 million to help Trump win During the Nevada caucuses in February, Donald Trump and several senior aides attracted the attention of Republican billionaire Dr. Miriam Adelson. Trump wanted financial backing from Adelson, a major conservative donor, and Dr. Adelson made a couple of requests: To cut back on the grandiose rhetoric and speak more directly about the economy, she told Trump. She also asked Trump to be patient, as she would not donate to him while his final rival and friend, Nikki Haley, remained in the race, according to two people briefed on the…

But with rising interest rates and the rising acquisition prices of companies over the past few years, private equity can no longer make the same profits by simply integrating a few companies. Today, value only comes from true transformation, so PE firms are looking for CIOs who can transform the entire company, not just one division at a time. “When I hire CIOs for my portfolio companies, I look for people with a technology background but who can think like a business unit leader, which is different from business acumen,” one IT operating partner at a PE firm told me.…

Rome2Rio is a service that helps you get from city to city or across a metropolitan area by connecting multiple transport modes along a route. For example, if your day trip to the Pinball Museum requires you to take a bus, metro, ferry and light rail, the app will show you all the legs, times and prices for your entire trip on one map.Happy Cow is the secret guidebook for plant-based eaters. The app shows you a map of all the vegan and vegetarian restaurants in your location, vegetarian-friendly spots, and nearby organic markets. I use the app whenever I…

Image credit: World Grain This is the 160th essay in the China Travelogue series. Availability of and access to safe food is key to achieving food security and good health. Food safety is “the handling, preparation and storage of food in ways that minimize the risk of food-borne illness”. Eating unsafe food causes approximately 600 million illnesses (1 in 10 people) and 420,000 deaths. In addition, it causes 33 million years of healthy life lost in low- and middle-income countries, and costs US$110 billion per year in healthcare. Approximately 40% of children under the age of 5 are affected by…

There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your family members vibrant, passionate and full of life even in old age. The internet is full of such heartwarming moments and content to spread happiness. One such video featuring a 95-year-old woman from Tamil Nadu has captivated the online community. In the video shared by Ananth Rupanagudi of IRAS, the elderly lady can be seen dancing to the Tamil song “Oh Rasikkum Seemane.”The video was shot at the nursing home where the woman is believed to live. The post said that she was a student of Kalakshetra Foundation in the 1940s and…

James Tweed has always been intrigued by the act of learning in isolation. He began his career as a shipping derivatives trader and founded a company to provide education to people on board ships who “didn't have much internet.” In recent years, he's discovered a new group of learners who also don't have access to the internet: prisoners. James Tweed has always been intrigued by the act of learning in isolation. He began his career as a shipping derivatives trader and founded a company to provide education to people on board ships who “didn't have much internet.” In recent years,…

Access to dental care for Windsors was a focus of the federal Health Minister's visit to the Rose City on Tuesday afternoon. Councillor Peter Holland spoke with reporters at Councillor Irek Kusmierczyk's East Windsor constituency office on Tuesday afternoon. On display at the venue was the Smile Wagon, a mobile dental care service van owned and operated by local Windsor-based dental hygienist Navjeet Gill. Gill's mobile platform is a business model that the federal government believes will not only make dental care more accessible to more people, but also make it far more convenient, particularly for older people and those…