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2020-10-25 21:45:44

• Billions of tons of food were thrown away in one year

  Confined Brazil is hypnotized with ‘Big Brother’: M. Margolis. (Bloomberg) – After a year fighting the deterioration that covid-19 brings, and recently with the variants loose, Brazilians continue to face episodes of absolute confinement. So what is the favorite pastime of this nation of 211 million people locked up at home? See others in the same situation. TVs, computer monitors, smartphones, all are fixed on Big Brother Brasil, the local franchise of the reality show that is known internationally, but whose fan base and enthusiasm is perhaps no greater than the Brazilian. Two decades later, the local edition, featuring a group of strangers vying for money and glory under one roof, remains something of a cultural contagion, with tens of millions of viewers willingly grieving. Sometimes not much happens on the Big Brother set, and what happens is more trivial than dramatic. However, try to explain that to Brazilians, who cling to every outburst, sedition, snuggle, and infatuation, and then repeat what happens on TV, but now on social media until the early hours. And for Brazil’s consumer companies, the serendipitous combination of the public health emergency, digital democracy, and the national zeitgeist has generated a captive audience, eager for reward and distraction. The versions of Big Brother, which debuted in the Netherlands in 1999 , are still broadcast in about 50 countries. The US (3.9 million viewers in 2020) and Italy editions are streamed for niche audiences. Britain canceled the show in 2018. The Saudi version ran for nine days. But in few societies the follies of the human zoo have an audience as absorbed as the Brazilian. On January 25, the leading broadcaster TV Globo launched season 21 of Big Brother Brasil to an audience of 44 million, registering an average of 40 million daily viewers until the end of February. That’s not counting Globo’s on-demand service, which offers subscribers unlimited visits through the keyhole and chat after midnight on social media, the current Brazilian comfort zone. Last year’s edition, the season. number 20, began before the outbreak of the new coronavirus, leaving participants already confined without knowing it. Globo interrupted the game to warn contestants of the contagion, but only for a moment; in fact, the pandemic turned into an opportunity that gave the reality show a competitive advantage. While soccer matches were played in empty stadiums, and after the suspension of production of beloved Brazilian novels, or soap operas, in 2020 Big Brother took over. Then came a second wave of covid-19, forcing authorities to cancel this year’s carnival celebrations and leaving party-seekers alone in the dark. Instead of sponsoring floats and queens of samba, Brazilian advertisers turned to Big Brother. The payoff: Viewers cheered on the show’s great moments “as wildly as soccer fans shout goals from their terraces,” said Raquel Messias, chief strategy officer at the Lew’Lara TBWA advertising agency. Ironically, a possible explanation for the permanence of the program could be Brazil’s weakness for polarized politics and culture wars. “It is more than voyeurism. Big Brother gives people the opportunity to judge their peers, and people love to judge each other, ”Mauricio Stycer, screen critic for UOL and Folha de Sao Paulo told me. Thus, the show neatly plays on the tropes of a divided nation, in which social media becomes a platform for partisan battles and the culture of cancellation. Another reason could be the tradition of melodrama. Although Big Brother is a reality show, Globo modifies the daily offer with soap opera flourishes. Cameras are everywhere, allowing producers to film from all angles, capture contestants in flagrante delicto and edit the tedium, “as if it were all one great soap opera,” said the television producer and screen critic. Gabriel Priolli – In the soap opera, after all, hotties, burly men, Samaritans and villains mix and collide. The funny and good characters generate laughter and empathy. But as O Globo television critic Patricia Kogut told me, “the villains are the ones that drive the story, the same thing happens with Big Brother.” In season 21, that role fell to Karol Conka, a singer, rapper, and self-proclaimed diva who came to the game as a rising social media influencer. On February 23, with 63% of Brazil’s televisions tuned in, he left amid boos, garnering a record 99% of votes against. So, should businessmen and marketing agencies avoid such ignominy, or to The case, any of the other social and political landmines that detonate behind the country’s most heavily guarded gates? Silly question. “The advertisers are sponsoring the game, not the characters,” says Messias, who is also a Big Brother fan. “The companies in the best position to take advantage of the program are those that engage with the public, react quickly to new developments and, rather than avoid controversy, clearly express a point of view.” In fact, Big Brother’s longevity may depend of the heated tone with which the exchanges about racism, machismo, homophobia and social exclusion flow on set, just as they do outside the studio walls. “Big Brother will be relevant and attractive to sponsors as long as it continues to reflect society’s sensitivities and demands,” said TV Globo’s programming director Amauri Soares. Some of the country’s biggest brands have taken note, including the megastore Lojas Americanas, Avon, Amstel, McDonald’s and the Seara meat packing company. Twitter in Brazil even published a manual on how businesses can navigate Big Brother social media success, and watch out for a marketer not to pick up on the signs of the demographic awakening that Big Brother’s passions speak to. “Of course there is an element of risk when placing your product in an unscripted program where accidents and surprises occur,” admits Mario D’Andrea, who chairs the Brazilian Association of Advertising Agencies, citing the latest edition of Big Brother Portugal in the one that a contestant was expelled for doing the Nazi salute, or the Brazilian model in the Grande Fratello VIP of Italy that generated such friction between his companions, and Italians, that not only was he expelled from the house, but also triggered a war of fans Brazil -Italy and spasms of xenophobia. Last month, the Amstel brewery came out when a contestant left the Brazilian show after being repeatedly harassed by his peers, even prompting the brewery to insert politically correct messages into a sponsored episode. “We do not tolerate behavior that leads to exclusion or disrespect,” Amstel said in the statement. However, where sociologists see risk and conflict, most consumer brands see customers. “The audience for Big Brother is colossal and growing all the time. That’s what attracts sponsors, ”said D’Andrea. And when the show gets ugly, with displays of racism or politically incorrect comments, sponsors can adjust, but run away? Of course not, he said. All of that makes your checkbook bigger. Original Note: Lockdown Brazil Is Watching ‘Big Brother’: Mac MargolisFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. © 2021 Bloomberg LP.Read Full StorySocial Media InfluencerBig BrotherCarnivalFood ProductionFood WarsBraziliansSaudiUOLFolha De Sao PauloSamaritansMcDonaldO GloboLew ' Lara TBWABloomberg LPTV Globo

• Nintendo Plans Switch Model With Bigger Samsung OLED Display

  Follow Bloomberg on Telegram for all the investment news and analysis you need. Nintendo Co. plans to unveil a model of its Switch gaming console equipped with a bigger Samsung OLED display this year, hoping the larger touchscreen can prop up demand in time for the holidays, people familiar with the plan said.Read Full StoryOledNintendo Switch LiteOLEDSamsung TVsMicrosoft DevicesNintendo Co.Samsung Display Co.PlayStationAnimal CrossingMicrosoft Corp.Sony Corp.SwitchDSCCKoreanSamsung Electronics Co.Shuntaro Furukawa

• U.S. utilities to keep gas in power mix for years in green transition

  (Reuters) – U.S. utility companies Duke Energy Corp and Xcel Energy Inc. said natural gas will remain part of their power mix for years to come to help keep electric grids reliable and power affordable as they transition to cleaner forms of energy. Speaking at CERAWeek by IHS Markit, Xcel...Read Full StoryElectric PowerEnergy MixNuclear PowerPower GridNatural GasElectric UtilitiesEnergy CompaniesSolar Energy StorageSolar Energy SourcesSolar PowerReutersDuke Energy CorpXcel Energy IncCERAWeekIHS Markit

• Here Are The Stocks With The Highest Short Interest Rate This Week: GameStop, Academy Sports

  It’s important for investors to pay attention to the most heavily shorted stocks on the market. Here are the stocks with the highest short interest this week including Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Gamestop, Academy Sports, Rocket Companies, and Gogo Inc. 1.GameStop Corp– 41.22%. GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) is an American retail...Read Full StoryStocksShort InterestSporting GoodsMarketsRetail InvestorsNASDAQ Stock MarketStock InvestorsGogo Inc. 1GameStop Corp -LRB- NYSEGMEAmericanRedditSKTRocket Companies IncGogo Inc -LRB- NASDAQ

• Stocks sink as Fed's Powell warns of patience if inflation returns

  U.S. equity markets slid back into negative territory Thursday afternoon in a sharp selloff following a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that said the central bank would be patient in taking action should inflation return. TickerSecurityLastChangeChange %. I:DJIDOW JONES AVERAGES30824.37-445.72-1.43%. SP500S&P 5003759.12-60.60-1.59%. I:COMPNASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX12693.549899-304.20-2.34%. Powered by. The...Read Full StoryTechnology StocksOil StocksMergers And AcquisitionsGrowth StocksVolatilityU.S. StocksFederal ReserveCOMPNASDAQ COMPOSITENasdaqUSOUNITEDOPECApple Inc.Microsoft Corp.Amazon Inc.AAPLAPPLEJerome PowellEvan SpiegelJack Dorsey

• Coursera is planning to file to go public tomorrow

  The Mountain View-based business, founded in 2012, was last valued at $2.4 billion in the private markets, during a Series F fundraising event in July 2020. Bloomberg pegs Coursera’s latest valuation at $5 billion. The latest financing event brought its cash balance to $300 million, right around the money that...Read Full StoryIpoBenefit CorporationMarketsOnline CoursesOnline BusinessOnline EducationOnline SchoolsCheggCoursera For CampusUdemy For BusinessB Corp.GSVEdtech CompaniesNerdy And SkillshareSPACJeff Maggioncalda

• Former Real Estate Mogul and Heir of Jenkintown Metals Business Looking to Raise $230M for ‘Blank Check’ Companies

  Nicholas Schorsch Jr., the heir to a Jenkintown metals business and former real estate mogul, is looking to raise $230 million from a “blank check” initial public stock offering, writes Joseph N. DiStefano for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Schorsch built a $30 billion real estate empire from his Montgomery County offices...Read Full StoryIpoReal Estate InvestmentInvestorsPublic InvestmentIPOStocks` Blank Check 'The Philadelphia InquirerG&P Acquisition Corp.SPACsJenkintown MetalsBusinessesInvestment OpportunitiesMoneyAutomotive

• Entergy should pay $1B in refunds, damages to customers over faulty power plant, regulators say

  Entergy Corp. wrongfully charged customers over eight years for a nuclear power station that often malfunctioned and was repeatedly deemed unsafe, according to allegations in a federal complaint filed by three of the utility's regulators. The Louisiana Public Service Commission, the New Orleans City Council and the Arkansas Public Service...Read Full StoryElectric PowerEntergy Corp.Federal RegulatorsCompany OfficialsOperational CostsFERCThe City CouncilGrand Gulf 'sEntergy New OrleansEntergy CustomersEntergy SharesEntergy LapsesAppropriate RefundsArkansas RegulatorsPower Purchases

• Exxon Baytown, Texas, refinery restarting hydrocracker after CDU restart - sources

  HOUSTON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp began restarting the hydrocracker at its 560,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Baytown, Texas, refinery on Thursday, shortly after restarting a crude distillation unit (CDU), said sources familiar with plant operations.The 135,000-bpd Pipestill 7 CDU was the first to restart since the Baytown refinery was shut on Feb. 15 by the effects of severe cold weather. The 25,000-bpd hydrocracker produces diesel and other motor fuels.“Exxon Mobil continues to make progress restarting its Baytown operations,” said company spokesman Jeremy Eikenberry.Pipestill 7 is the second largest of the refinery’s three CDUs, which break down crude oil into hydrocarbon feedstocks for all other production units.Hydrocrackers use a catalyst in the presence of hydrogen under high heat and pressure to convert gas oil into diesel and other motor fuels.Baytown RefineryCduOil And GasCrude OilHydrogen GasProduction CompanyCDUReutersExxon Mobil CorpHydrocrackersPipestillExxon BaytownGas OilPlant OperationsHydrocarbon Feedstocks

• Microsoft's latest app lets you transcribe in-person conversations

  Group Transcribe is a new Microsoft Garage app that lets you transcribe in-person conversations. The app can also translate conversations. The app is available for free on iOS. The Microsoft Garage has rolled out yet another interesting app. The app is called Group Transcribe, and it allows you to transcribe...Read Full StoryIos AppTranslationIOSMicrosoft Corp.The Microsoft [email protected] Garage TwitterIn-person ConversationsGroup TranscribeAndroid DevelopmentNotesTranscriptsTranslateIPhonesApproach

• Explainer: Honda unveils its new level 3 technology, but how does it work?

  TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co Ltd unveiled on Thursday a limited batch of its flagship Legend sedan this week, becoming the world’s first carmaker to sell a vehicle equipped with certified level 3 self-driving technology.Lease sales of the level 3 Legend would be limited to 100 cars at a retail price of 11 million yen ($102,000). But Japan’s No.2 automaker is stepping up its game in self-driving technology as global competitors aim for fully autonomous vehicles.WHAT EXACTLY IS LEVEL 3?There are different levels of automation, from levels 0 to 5, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers and most automakers. hereLevel 3, also known as conditional driving automation, involves automated features which allow drivers to engage in activities behind the wheel, such as watching movies or using smartphones - but under limited conditions - while their car navigates expressway traffic.Besides Honda, several automakers including Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz have said they are ready to deploy Level 3 systems for highway driving.OTHER LEVELS OF AUTOMATED DRIVINGLevels 0 to 2 involve driver support features such as automated braking systems and lane departure warnings that need to be supervised by a driver. Liability for vehicle behaviour rests with the car owner rather than the manufacturer.Most global automakers that develop autonomous driving technology such as General Motors Co , Volvo and Toyota Motor Corp, currently offer vehicles equipped with a level 2 automation system. This means vehicles can accelerate, brake and steer without driver input, but drivers are required to remain engaged at all times.A level 5 vehicle, on the other hand, is fully autonomous and can navigate roads without any human attention in all conditions.HOW DOES HONDA’S LEVEL 3 WORK?Honda’s level 3 “Traffic Jam Pilot” system uses data from 3D high-definition maps and a global navigation satellite system for vehicle control, as well as a dozen of external sensors to detect the car’s surroundings.The system can alert the driver to respond when handing over the control, for example via vibration on the driver’s seatbelt.And if the driver is unresponsive, the system will assist with an emergency stop by decelerating and stopping the vehicle while alerting surrounding cars with hazard lights and the horn.Honda simulated around 10 million patterns of possible real-world situations, and conducted a massive number of demonstration tests on highways to create safe-driving technology, said Hitoshi Aoki, the Legend’s development manager.($1 = 107.3300 yen)JapanDaimler AgAutonomous CarsReutersDaimler AG 'sMercedes-BenzGeneral Motors CoVolvoToyota Motor CorpHONDAHonda Motor Co LtdSelf-driving TechnologyFully Autonomous VehiclesAutomakersAutomated Braking Systems