Dive Brief: Macy’s announced Tuesday a commitment to spend $5 billion by 2025 on efforts to “create a more equitable and sustainable future,” according to a company press release.  The retailer’s social purpose effort, dubbed Mission Every One, was created to drive positive social change and will focus on three areas of impact: people, communities and planet.  Efforts include diversifying company leadership, raising hourly pay, and increasing the use of sustainable materials in its products. Dive Insight: With Mission Every One Macy’s is making it clear that it is committed to bei ..read more

AI music technology company LifeScore has raised £11 million in Series A funding, led by Octopus Ventures, and bringing its total funding raised to £12 million. The round saw participation from Warner Music Group, IDEO and 4 Good Ventures. Additional investment was received from existing investor Metaplanet Holdings OÜ, an early backer of the company. LifeScore creates adaptive music on demand which the company says is “algorithmically tailored to the context and needs of the listener”. The startup was founded by film and video game composer Philip Sheppard, Tom Gruber, the co-inventor of Si ..read more

In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, HR Exchange Network is sharing a series of interviews with dynamic women. They are HR leaders driving transformational change during this inflection point for business. They are redefining work, modeling empathetic leadership, promoting mental health and wellness, and integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts into the DNA of their organizations. The pandemic put a spotlight on the contributions and necessity of a strong Human Resources team. Finally, chief human resources officers (CHROs) have gained their seat in the C-suite. And ..read more

Geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe have recently pushed the price of Indian basket of crude to over $100 a barrel. As the spectre of Indian basket of crude averaging much above the level assumed in the Budget for FY23 looms large, the government will have a tough task ahead. It will have to avoid a big fiscal slippage and thereby refrain from stoking an already elevated inflation, but continue to support economic growth. Economists who FE spoke to believe the government indeed has some space for tax cuts on auto fuels, given the ‘conservative revenue estimates’ for the next year. A gove ..read more

Hipgnosis Song Management has announced the acquisition of a career-spanning catalog created by legendary Canadian artist and composer Leonard Cohen. The acquisition marks a landmark deal for the private, Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital ICAV fund, a separate entity to the UK-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Both of those funds (Hipgnosis Songs Capital and Hipgnosis Songs Fund) have their investments managed by Hipgnosis Song Management, in which Blackstone is also an investor. Hipgnosis has acquired an interest in all 278 songs and derivatives written by Leonard Cohen. Within those 278 ..read more

Thyolo — When Malawian engineer Ruth Mtuwa was a child, she visited a sick family member in hospital and was shocked to see that barely any of the medical equipment worked. That realisation pushed her to want to help, leading her on the path to becoming a biomedical engineer. Today, the 21-year-old research assistant has managed to bring a number of medical innovations to life – including a low-cost nebuliser and a hypertension tracking device – despite tight funding and crushing foreign competition. “I thought if we design on our own equipment, it should be easy to fix on our own when it br ..read more

Most of the world is taking a clear stand against Russia’s unjust war against Ukraine. Leaders of industrialized nations have condemned the war and taken measures to cut off Russia from the global economy.  But not China, which abstained from the vote to denounce Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the U.N.  General Assembly last week. According to Juscelino Colares, a professor of business law at Case Western Reserve and co-director of the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center, Beijing has taken a self-serving approach to international developments. “China’s response to Russia’s w ..read more

Dive Brief: Workers at an REI store in Manhattan on Wednesday voted by an 86% majority in favor of unionizing, according to an emailed press release from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Once the election is certified by the National Labor Relations Board, the RWDSU will represent 116 REI workers (including full- and part-time employees in various roles) in contract negotiations starting this year, the union said. In an emailed statement, REI acknowledged the vote tally of 88 to 14 in favor of the union. “REI firmly believes that the decision of whether or not to be represen ..read more

REUTERS LVIV/KYIV, Ukraine — The number of Ukrainian refugees was expected to reach 1.5 million on Sunday as Russia continued its attack 11 days after invading Ukraine and Kyiv pressed for further Western action, including more sanctions and weapons. Moscow and Kyiv traded blame over a failed ceasefire on Saturday that would have let civilians flee Mariupol and Volnovakha, two southern cities besieged by Russian forces. Ukrainians who could escape spilled into neighboring Poland, Romania, Slovakia and elsewhere. Ukrainian negotiators said a third round of talks with Russia on a ceasefire wou ..read more

Breadcrumb Trail Links PMN Business Author of the article: Article content The world’s biggest gathering of energy industry leaders returns to Houston this week as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine delivers an oil price shock to the global economy and embattled executives face growing criticism for the industry’s role in climate change. Global oil prices have reached levels not seen for a decade at over $110 a barrel as disruption to crude and fuel exports from Russia has left the world short of supply. Gas prices have also reached record highs, delivering a combined rise in energy costs that ..read more