Billionaire Economou Seeks to Replace Trafigura As Partner in Italy's Top Oil Refinery
The main investor in Italy's biggest oil refinery is sounding out trading firms to replace Trafigura Group as the plant's supply partner.
Greek shipping billionaire George Economou, the main investor in a fund that controls the owner of ISAB Srl, is exploring potential tie-ups with alternative oil traders, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the talks are private.
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Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fraudulent City boss ordered to pay back £64 million
A City boss compared to the The Wolf Of Wall Street has been ordered to pay back £64 million over his role in a multi-million pound Ponzi-style investment scam, prosecutors said. Anthony Constantinou remains on the run after he fled the UK during his fraud trial at London's Southwark Crown Court in June 2023. Hundreds of investors were duped out of a total of £70 million between 2013 and 2015 while he ran Capital World Markets (CWM). A spokesman for City of London Police said a confiscation order was made against him on Thursday for the sum of £64 million, which is payable within three months. The default period of imprisonment was set at 14 years. Police released photographs of some of the luxury vehicles Constantinou spent his fraudulent money on, including a Porsche, Range Rover and luxury motorbike. They previously said he was thought to be in Turkey or Dubai after being stopped in Bulgaria with a fake Spanish passport. CWM had high-profile sponsorship deals with the Honda Moto GP, Chelsea Football Club, Wigan Warriors rugby league club, Cyclone Boxing Promotions and the London Boat Show. The seven-week trial heard how Constantinou spent £2.5 million of investors' money on his 'no expense spared' wedding on the Greek island of Santorini in September 2014, while his son's first birthday party a few days earlier cost more than £70,000. More than £470,000 was paid for private jet hire to fly him and his associates to Moto GP races across Europe as well as a return flight to Nice for a 150,000-euro five-day yacht cruise around the Mediterranean to Monaco. The firm paid £200,000 a quarter to rent 'plush' offices in the City's Heron Tower, while nearly £600,000 was spent on just six months' rent of his large home in Hampstead, north-west London, where his luxury cars were parked in the drive. Promised returns of 60% per year on risk-free foreign exchange (FX) markets, a total of 312 investors trusted their money to CWM. Some were professionals but most were individuals who handed over their life savings or pension pots, with a large number of Gurkhas paying into the scheme, said prosecutor David Durose KC. Constantinou denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of one count of fraud, two counts of fraudulent trading and four counts of money laundering and sentenced to 14 years in prison in his absence. Adrian Foster, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: 'This was a callous scam targeting members of the public. Many people lost their hard-earned money because of Constantinou's greed and false promises in this fake investment scheme. 'We continue to pursue the proceeds of crime robustly with the City of London Police, where we identify available assets to disrupt and deter large-scale frauds like this case. 'In the last five years, over £478 million has been recovered from CPS obtained confiscation orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. £95 million of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.' Constantinou was previously jailed for a year at the Old Bailey in 2016 after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two women during after-work drinks. One of the victims described how the parties were just like the raucous scenes depicted in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as rogue New York trader Jordan Belfort.
Miami Herald
12 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Say goodbye to the rainbow: General Mills announces huge change
Growing up, I could always count on my cereal bowl being a swirl of bright pinks, blues, and yellows. Whether it was Lucky Charms, Trix, or Froot Loops, those colors were part of the the sugar rush. Even now, when I pass the cereal aisle, it's hard not to feel a little nostalgic looking at those rainbow-filled boxes. But in 2025, bright doesn't necessarily mean better. Consumer demand has shifted. More parents are checking labels. Clean ingredients are in, and artificial dyes are out. Related: Kraft Heinz announces drastic change to food products I eat extremely clean now. I've become one of those label-checkers, carefully scanning ingredients before buying. So while part of me misses the neon-colored nostalgia, I get why this shift is honestly, I'm here for it. That puts brands like General Mills in a tough spot: keep the bold, cartoon-colored classics or adapt to a new generation that cares more about what's inside than how flashy it looks. The pressure to evolve isn't new, but the next step might be the brand's biggest yet. General Mills is going all in. The company is officially committing to a 100% dye-portfolio across its U.S. food lineup. That includes removing certified colors from all cereals and K-12 school foods by summer 2026, with the full retail lineup following by the end of 2027. While nearly 85% of its retail offerings already avoid certified colors, and with that number even higher in school meals, this isn't just another quiet reformulation. It's a public, company-wide declaration that artificial dyes are out for good. "Across the long arc of our history, General Mills has moved quickly to meet evolving consumer needs," said CEO Jeff Harmening in the announcement. Related: Hostess, Twinkies face a troubling new consumer trend "Knowing the trust families place in us, we are leading the way on removing certified colors in cereals and K-12 foods by next summer." It's not the first time the company has made changes like this. In recent years, General Mills has doubled the vitamin D in its cereals, slashed sugar in its school lineup, and reduced sodium by 20% in key categories. This latest update doesn't mean cereal will go colorless. It just means colors will be sourced differently. Think beet juice, turmeric, and other plant-based options instead of Red 40 or Yellow 6. Still, some fans may notice a difference. For General Mills, this isn't just about food about brand positioning in a crowded market. Breakfast is more competitive than ever. Parents are skipping the cereal aisle in favor of protein-packed bars, Greek yogurt, or overnight oats. Others are switching to smaller brands that market themselves as "clean" from the start. This reformulation is a strategic attempt to win back trust and market share by aligning with consumer values. Especially in schools, where institutional buyers are under pressure to serve healthier meals, dye-free options may give General Mills an edge. And it's not just institutional buyers driving the change. According to a 2024 AP-NORC poll, about two-thirds of Americans support restricting or reformulating processed foods to remove artificial dyes and added sugars - a sign that dye-free cereals aren't just a trend but a necessity. It also signals a long-term shift. As food regulations evolve and retailers push for cleaner labels, moves like this won't just be be expected. Even U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made clean ingredients a focal point, backing broader efforts to "Make America Healthy Again" and calling for a national ban on artificial food dyes. This stance is putting even more pressure on food companies to align with shifting standards. And while some may mourn the slightly duller bowl of Trix, the message is clear: the rainbow might be fading, but General Mills is making sure their cereals stay magically delicious. Related: Popular candy pulled from shelves after strange discovery The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Only US can engage Israel and Iran in discussions, Greek PM says
ATHENS (Reuters) -Only the United States has the clout to engage Israel and Iran in negotiations as the two countries continue to trade air attacks, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday. "Europe alone does not have the necessary influence to bring the parties concerned to the (negotiation) table. Only the United States can do that. So I think it is up to the President of the United States to decide which path to take," Mitsotakis said in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in Athens. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. "We are all very concerned about any factor that will push inflation up and significantly disrupt energy markets," Mitsotakis said. He said Greece was also very worried about the safety of around 180 Greek-flagged and Greek-owned ships that sailed in the wider Persian Gulf region when Israel first attacked Iran last week. Greek owners control the world's largest fleet of oil tankers. Commercial ships are being advised by maritime agencies to avoid Iran's waters around the Strait of Hormuz, shipping sources said on Wednesday.
