Reforms will raise doubts over Chile's mining outlook

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Competitiveness ◽  
Price Premium ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Efficiency Gains ◽  
Constitutional Convention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mining Companies ◽  
Copper Mines

Significance However, mining companies are warning that bills before Congress and possible changes under a new constitution to be drawn up by a recently elected constitutional convention could raise doubts over these plans. Impacts As Chile’s copper mines age, efficiency gains will be ever more important for the industry’s ongoing international competitiveness. As countries seek to decarbonise, 'clean' copper will command an increasing price premium. In the constitutional convention, left-wing sectors will argue against extractivism as a manifestation of neoliberalism.

Heterogeneous investors and trading platforms competition

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Oriol ◽  
Alexandra Rufini ◽  
Dominique Torre
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Network Externalities ◽  
International Competitiveness ◽  
Foreign Market ◽  
International Competition ◽  
European Market ◽  
Financial Instruments ◽  
International Context ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider competition’s issues between European market firms, such as Euronext, and multilateral trading facilities, following Markets in Financial Instruments Directive’s enforcement. This new domestic competition is adding to the existing international competition among financial centers. While diversification of local trading services can improve the international competitiveness of a financial center, the fragmentation of order flows can harm its attractiveness. Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical setting analyzes the interaction between heterogeneous who experiment network externalities, and heterogeneous local trading services providers (alternative platforms and incumbent) in an international context. The authors compare two forms of organizations of the market: a consolidated market, and a fragmented market with alternative platforms – in both cases, in competition with a foreign universe. Findings – The results of this study point out the importance of the trade-off between diversification and externalities. With alternative platforms entry, enhanced competition decreases fees and redistributes informed investors between the foreign market and the domestic one. The increase of domestic platforms’ number then has more complex effects on externalities (of information and liquidity). When the liquidity externalities are low, the diversification of financial platforms increases the number of investors on domestic centers. When liquidity externalities are not negligible, despite the decrease of fees, this same diversification orientates more informed investors to the foreign center. Originality/value – This model is the first to analyze jointly the internal and international competition of trading platforms with heterogeneous investors.

Spain’s Sanchez faces tough battle after Madrid loss

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Party Competition ◽  
Main Issue ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Decline ◽  
Parliamentary Support

Significance The result led Pablo Iglesias, the founder of Unidas Podemos (UP), which is part of Sanchez’s minority left-wing government, to resign from politics. It also reinforced the national decline of the centre-right Ciudadanos (Cs) party, on which Sanchez has sometimes relied for parliamentary support. Impacts A fresh independence push in Catalonia would boost the electoral prospects of the PP and the far-right Vox party across Spain. Whether to cooperate with Vox in government could become the main issue of division within the PP. The return to traditional two-party competition between the PP and PSOE would increase the prospect of more stable governments.

The impact of the integrated reporting framework on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures – the case of South African mining companies

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Ackers ◽  
Susanna Elizabeth Grobbelaar
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
South African ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Orientation ◽  
Mining Companies ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Despite initially being lauded as a revolutionary approach for companies to account to all stakeholders, the shareholder orientation of the international integrated reporting (<IR>) framework gave rise to questions about whether integrated reports would still sufficiently disclose pertinent corporate social responsibility (CSR) information. This paper aims to investigate the extent to which the <IR> framework has impacted the CSR disclosures contained in integrated reports of South African mining companies. Design/methodology/approach The study deployed a mixed methods research approach, involving thematic content analysis of the CSR disclosures contained in the integrated reports of mining companies with primary listings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The resultant qualitative data were subsequently analysed using a T-test of difference. Findings The study observes that the release of the <IR> framework appears to have had a limited impact on the CSR disclosures in the integrated reports of most companies included in the study. However, where significant differences were identified, the CSR disclosures of some companies were positively impacted after the release of the <IR> framework, whilst others were negatively impacted. Research limitations/implications As South Africa is acknowledged as a leader in the global <IR> movement, the paper’s observations have global relevance and suggest that the fundamental principles of <IR> should be reconsidered to improve the alignment with stakeholders’ information needs, as originally conceived. Originality/value Despite the shareholder orientation of the <IR> framework, the global mining industry is acknowledged as being at the forefront of implementing CSR interventions to mitigate the adverse impacts of their operations on stakeholders, supporting a stakeholder orientation. As the adoption of <IR> continues to gain traction around the world, this paper’s contribution is that it represents one of the few papers to use the global reporting initiative G4 indicators to specifically examine the impact of <IR> framework on the CSR disclosures on the South African mining industry, where both <IR> and CSR reporting are quasi-mandatory disclosure requirements.

Reclassification of Haloactinobacterium glacieicola as Occultella glacieicola gen. nov., comb. nov., of Haloactinobacterium album as Ruania alba comb. nov, with an emended description of the genus Ruania, recognition that the genus names Haloactinobacterium and Ruania are heterotypic synonyms and description of Occultella aeris sp. nov., a halotolerant isolate from surface soil sampled at an ancient copper smelter

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Schumann ◽  
Franziska Kalensee ◽  
Jialan Cao ◽  
Alexis Criscuolo ◽  
Dominique Clermont ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Copper Smelter ◽  
Amino Acid Identity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Average Amino Acid Identity ◽  
The Family ◽  
Emended Description ◽  
Copper Mines

In the course of screening the surface soils of ancient copper mines and smelters (East Harz, Germany) an aerobic, non-motile and halotolerant actinobacterium forming small rods or cocci was isolated. The strain designated F300T developed creamy to yellow colonies on tryptone soy agar and grew optimally at 28 °C, pH 7–8 and with 0.5–2 % (m/v) NaCl. Its peptidoglycan was of type A4α l-Lys–l-Glu (A11.54). The menaquinone profile was dominated by MK-8(II, III-H4) and contained minor amounts of MK-8(H2), MK-8(H6) and MK-9(H4). The polar lipids comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, mono and diacylated phosphatidylinositol dimannosides, and components that were not fully characterized, including two phospholipids, two glycolipids and an uncharacterized lipid. Major whole-cell sugars were rhamnose and ribose. The fatty acid profile contained mainly iso and anteiso branched fatty acids (anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C14 : 0) and aldehydes/dimethylacetals (i.e. not fatty acids). Sequence analysis of its genomic DNA and subsequent analysis of the data placed the isolate in the group currently defined by members of the genera Ruania and Haloactinobacterium (family Ruaniaceae , order Micrococcales ) as a sister taxon to the previously described species Haloactinobacterium glacieicola , sharing an average nucleotide identity and average amino acid identity values of 85.3 and 85.7 %, respectively. Genotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses support the view that strain F300T (=DSM 108350T=CIP 111667T) is the type strain of a new genus and new species for which the name Occultella aeris gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. Based on revised chemotaxonomic and additional genome based data, it is necessary to discuss and evaluate the results in the light of the classification and nomenclature of members of the family Ruaniaceae , i.e. the genera Haloactinobacterium and Ruania . Consequently, the reclassification of Haloactinobacterium glacieicola as Occultella glacieicola comb. nov. and Haloactinobacterium album as Ruania alba comb. nov., with an emended description of the genus Ruania are proposed.

Consumers’ WTP for certified traceable tea in China

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 1440-1452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolin Liu ◽  
Lingling Xu ◽  
Dian Zhu ◽  
Linhai Wu
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Price Premium ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Payment Card ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Traceability System ◽  
Consumer Organizations ◽  
The Government ◽  
Premium Income ◽  
The Cost

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer attitudes toward and willingness to pay (WTP) for traceability of tea in China. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used the payment card method to elicit WTP for certified traceable tea and logistic regression model to analyze the factors that affected consumers’ WTP. Findings – The results revealed that most consumers in China were concerned over tea safety; however, their WTP for certified traceable tea was limited. Only income and the degree of concern over tea safety affected the consumer’s WTP for certified traceable tea greatly. When it came to consumers’ WTP a positive price premium, income level, education, and attitude toward traceability of tea significantly influenced the actual premium consumers were willing to pay. Practical implications – The Chinese government and tea producers should pay attention when implementing tea traceability system. First, raising the consumers’ income contributes to the premiums that consumers are willing to pay for certified traceable tea. Second, social groups, consumer organizations and tea producers should popularize knowledge of tea traceability. Third, given the low price premiums that consumers are willing to pay, the establishment of viable traceability of tea in China requires the producers and the government to bear some of the cost associated with the implementation of this system. Originality/value – In past studies on WTP for certified traceable food, the study is focussed on meat in developed countries, and the research has expanded range of study, by conducting a survey in China to determine consumers’ WTP for certified traceable tea, and by empirically examining the main factors that influence the willingness of consumers to pay a price premium for certified traceable tea, as well as the premium that these consumers are willing to pay.

France’s Macron seeks to relaunch economic reforms

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Government Spending ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
Fiscal Rules ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Social Unrest ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Government ◽  
Mandatory Vaccination

Significance Among those policies are measures targeted at youth unemployment and social care for older people, aimed at attracting left-wing support. Most importantly, Macron has committed to relaunching his controversial pension reforms, which triggered widespread social unrest in late 2019 and early 2020. Impacts Mandatory vaccination could trigger protests and legal action against the government. The centre-right Republicans could take support from Macron if they unite around a strong presidential candidate over the coming months. Macron will likely push for looser EU fiscal rules to facilitate more government spending beyond 2022.

Chile constitutional convention may struggle to agree

2022 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Investor Sentiment ◽  
Constitutional Convention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Hearings

Significance The process of drafting a new constitution is scheduled to be completed by July 4. A period of public hearings is drawing to a close and the convention’s seven permanent commissions are starting to discuss, draft and vote on articles to be submitted to the plenary. Impacts The constitutional process will be one of the defining issues of the new president’s mandate. Investor sentiment will remain cautious until there is more clarity on the new constitution’s impact on business. The right’s lack of representation in the convention may undermine its credibility.

Attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise – social influencers’ winning formula?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus-Peter Wiedmann ◽  
Walter von Mettenheim
Keyword(s):  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Source Credibility ◽  
Brand Image ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Price Premium ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Brand Trust ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Satisfaction

Purpose The importance of influencer marketing is constantly growing. However, little empirical research has examined influencers’ success requirements. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring whether the requirements of influencers’ attractiveness, expertise and trustworthiness are relevant for online influencer campaigns. An entry-level luxury fashion brand is the focus of the experiment. Design/methodology/approach A total of 288 participants completed an online survey evaluating the profiles of influencers who varied in terms of the three abovementioned requirements. The impacts of these requirements on brand image, brand satisfaction and brand trust as well as purchase intention and price premium were tested via structural equation modeling. Findings The results show that the most important requirement is trustworthiness, followed by attractiveness; surprisingly, the relevance of expertise is virtually nil. Research limitations/implications To date, practitioners are still struggling with the success requirements of influencer marketing. They have focused on traditional advertising models and numeric requirements such as the amount of followers. However, regarding merely these requirements can result in wrong decisions. Considering the two requirements, attractiveness and trustworthiness, in a stronger way can provide a remedy to this struggle. In future research, the relevance of the requirements in different involvement conditions and for non-attractiveness-related products might be investigated. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to explore the success requirements that are directly related to influencers (e.g. attractiveness) rather than numeric requirements of their profiles (e.g. page rank) and the impacts of those requirements on brand image, brand satisfaction and brand trust as well as purchase intention and price premium. It adapts the Source-Credibility Model for influencers and shows that its requirements interact in a unique way that is counterintuitive and different from other endorser types such as celebrities or salespersons.

The value of reputation in electronic marketplaces

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 578-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Yang ◽  
Xinyu Sun ◽  
Jiayin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Reputation System ◽  
Reputation Management ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Price Premium ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Marketplace ◽  
Sd Card ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the role of customer experience moderating the relationship between reputation (online consumer reviews) and price premium. Design/methodology/approach This paper collected half-year period transaction of Nokia 5230XM and Kingston SD card from Taobao.com, the largest e-commerce platform in China. This paper combined theoretical analysis and empirical analysis together. Two-stage regression and logistic regression analysis was applied in this empirical analysis. The sensitivity analyses (robustness check) were also conducted in this paper. Findings Customer experience negatively moderates reputation price premium; thus, the positive effect of the reputation system is weaker for the experienced customer than for the naïve customer. Customers with more experience are less likely to pay the price premium and rely on a reputation system. Practical implications The results help sellers to strategize in the online marketplace. Sellers that wish to compete in the e-market must understand the type of customers they are addressing and differentiate the way they treat customers based on the level of customer experience. Originality/value This research contributes to the reputation management and customer behavior literature by identifying the effects of customer experience on the relationship between the reputation system and price premium. The results address the conflicts found in previous studies by extending the explanation of the negative reputation price premium.

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