A new trading platform to assist buyers of timber in sourcing legal or certified products from all over the world has been launched. BVRio Environmental Exchange has announced its responsible timber exchange index to facilitate the screening of timber products and their supply chains.
Donald Trump railed against the shifting of U.S. jobs overseas during his campaign, but it remains to be seen whether the President-elect will make good on his promises to reign in offshore outsourcing. The Indian-dominated offshore IT services market was already struggling to find its place in a market increasingly ruled by smaller and shorter term deals, cloud computing options, increased automation and intense competition.
America's uncertain stance toward global warming under the coming administration of Donald Trump has given China a leading role in the fight against climate change. It has called on the United States to recognize established science and to work with other countries to reduce dependence on dirty fuels like coal and oil.
Rather than highlighting how far India's economy has come under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pro-growth administration, a new gross domestic product report underscores just how much there is to lose from his shock clampdown on cash.
From a remote corner of northeastern Myanmar, an insurgent army sells tin ore to suppliers of some of the world's largest consumer companies. More than 500 companies, including leading brands such as smartphone maker Apple, coffee giant Starbucks and luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co, list among their suppliers Chinese-controlled firms that indirectly buy ore from the Man Maw mine near Myanmar's border with China, a Reuters examination of the supply chain found.
The EPA has raised the amount of renewable fuel that must be blended into the nation's gasoline supply, drawing an immediate attack from the oil industry. The final Renewable Fuel Standards, announced last week, raise the levels from 18.11 billion gallons this year to 19.28 billion gallons in 2017.
Two months after a similar move by FedEx, UPS has announced changes to its dimensional weight pricing schedule. FedEx plans to decrease its DIM divisor from 166 to 139 as of Jan. 2, effectively increasing the shipping costs on millions of e-commerce parcels. UPS is also lowering its divisor to 139 as of Jan. 8, but is exempting domestic air and ground parcels that are less than one cubic foot (1,728 cubic inches).
Deep in the jungles of Colombia, thousands of small, illegal mining operations, many under the control of Marxist guerrillas or drug traffickers, are working long hours to pull gold out of the ground. Miners are digging in out-of-the-way places such as Timbiquí and Río Quito. From there, the gold is hauled by boat, truck or small airplanes to smelters in Cali and Medellin.
