Author Archive
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Tyson throws out poultry antibiotics
Tyson Foods says it is striving to eliminate the use of human antibiotics from its broiler chicken flocks by the end of September 2017. The US poultry giant has already stopped using all antibiotics in its 35 broiler hatcheries; requires a veterinary prescription for antibiotics used on broiler farms and claims to have reduced human antibiotics used to treat broiler chickens by over 80%, since 2011. “Antibiotic resistant infections are a global health concern,” said Donnie Smith, ...
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UK economic growth drops back
UK GDP, the main indicator of economic growth, rose by 0.3% in the first three months of 2015 compared with a rise of 0.6% between October and December 2014. According to the Office for National Statistics, output increased in services by 0.5% but the other three main industrial groupings within the economy decreased, with construction falling by 1.6%, production by 0.1% and agriculture by 0.2%. Year-on-year GDP was up 2.4% at the end of March although the ...
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Exports weigh on UK manufacturing growth
The recovery in British manufacturing continued in the three months to April but the pace of growth eased and growth in export orders remained sluggish, according to the latest CBI Quarterly Industrial Trends Survey. The survey of 468 firms reported an easing of growth in total new orders compared with the previous quarter. Domestic orders rose modestly, whilst exports growth remained sluggish. Meanwhile output growth fell to its lowest since January 2013, but above the long-run ...
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“Mobilegeddon” arrives with Google update
A new algorithm from Google means that from today mobile searches will focus on websites that are mobile-device friendly. According to a BBC report, the new criteria includes text size, the amount of space between links and whether the content fits across a mobile screen. However, desktop rankings should not be affected. With the 21st of April 2015 renamed "Mobilegeddon" by webmasters and the like, a Google representative also told the BBC that the new algorithm will ...
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Which? tackles misleading supermarket offers
Which? has launched a super-complaint against supermarkets that exaggerate discounts. The consumer group is asking the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate multi-buys and "baffling" offers that can create the illusion of savings that don't exist. The group claims that around 40% of groceries (by revenue) in the UK are currently sold on promotion. With £115 billion spent on groceries and toiletries in 2013, consumers could be collectively losing out to the tune of hundreds of ...
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Energy consumers still bamboozled by bills
New research from Which? reveals that three quarters of households are still completely confused by their energy bills. The consumer group surveyed around 1,600 of its members about their household energy bills only to discover that 18% were not even confident about checking the accuracy of their bills. Standing charge, kWh, calorific value and unit rate are all terms that consumers might find confusing on their gas and electricity bills. And this is despite new rules introduced ...
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Fraudsters use fake invoices to target firms
Fraudsters are targeting businesses by hiding malware inside fake emailed invoices which then steal online banking credentials, according to Financial Fraud Action, the UK’s fraud intelligence unit. The new tactic involves fraudsters emailing a business with an invoice purporting to be from a regular supplier or other trusted source. The invoice will be a normal looking word processing or spreadsheet document, however to view the file the recipient has to enable a macro – a set ...
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RPA update on BPS claims
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has announced more detail on next steps for farmers and landowners who wish to claim for Basic Payment Scheme 2015. The Agency says that pre-populated BP5 claim forms will start to be sent out next week by email, to everyone who has registered on the Rural Payments online system. They will also get guidance on how to apply via email initially, with paper copies to follow in the post. Where a farmer has ...
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Kraft accused of manipulating wheat price
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has accused Kraft Foods and Mondelēz Global of manipulating the prices of cash wheat and wheat futures. According to the CFTC, in response to high cash wheat prices in late Summer 2011, Kraft and Mondelēz developed and executed a strategy to buy $90 million of December 2011 wheat futures, which amounted to a six-month supply of wheat. The US regulator alleges that Kraft and Mondelēz never intended to take delivery of ...
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No rise in AHDB levy
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has announced that there will be no rise in levy rates, for the third year running. In addition, the Board says its focus for the 12 months ahead will be as follows: to help levy payers improve productivity and cost management (resource management, climate change, soils and water, managing market volatility) to help levy payers prevent and manage disease to help levy payers deliver market development (export development, promoting quality products to ...
