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Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman: Friday’s meeting in Switzerland was not intended to sign an agreement, and a decision on whether to hold the meeting is expected in the next few hours.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman: We believe the text of the agreement should exist in electronic form and be signed by the presidents of both countries.According to Axios: Two U.S. officials said the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday to end the war, which is now in effect.On June 18th, according to the Wall Street Journal, Apple (AAPL.O) CEO Tim Cook stated that Apple plans to raise product prices to offset soaring costs of memory and storage chips. "Unfortunately, price increases are inevitable," he said. "We are doing our best to mitigate these enormous price increases that are being passed on to us, and we have been trying to protect our customers from these price hikes, but the current situation has become unsustainable." Cook declined to disclose the timing or magnitude of the planned price increase, or which products would be affected. Cook stated that memory and storage chip prices are issues facing the company, and he paid particular attention to the DRAM market, noting that more and more resources are currently being allocated to so-called high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers. "Consumers need devices, and memory manufacturers are pushing up prices while supply is decreasing," Cook said. "We really need memory prices and supply to return to a level that is reasonable for consumer products. Thats the key." Cook also stated that Apple is prepared to use its cash reserves to increase memory supply. He said, "We are willing to use our balance sheet to address some of the issues. Obviously, more capacity is needed." However, Cook also stated that Apple will not use its cash and silicon technology to build its own memory and storage factories. “We can’t do everything at once, but we know where our strengths lie.”Apple (AAPL.O) shares rose slightly in after-hours trading, currently up 0.7%.

Plastic Consumption Is Projected to Nearly Double by 2050, According to Studies

Haiden Holmes

Feb 27, 2023 14:08

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According to research published on Monday, plastic consumption in G20 nations is on track to nearly double by the middle of the 21st century unless a comprehensive and legally binding global treaty to reduce consumption is drafted.


According to Back to Blue, a research group operated by the Economist Impact think-tank and the Nippon Foundation, existing initiatives to increase recycling or reduce single-use plastic consumption have "barely scratched the surface" and a more comprehensive global plan is required.


In Uruguay, the United Nations began negotiations on an agreement to combat plastic pollution in November, with the goal of drafting a legally binding treaty by the end of the following year. 175 countries have joined up for the negotiations.


Nonetheless, if negotiations fail, annual plastic production in G20 nations could reach 451 million tonnes by 2050 based on current development rates, according to Back to Blue - an increase of nearly 75 percent from 2019.


The research group stated, "There should be no illusions that the treaty negotiations will be anything but difficult and treacherous." "The likelihood of failure is high, both in terms of no treaty emerging and a treaty that is insufficient to reverse the plastic tide."


It called for a stricter ban on single-use plastic, as well as increased production taxes and mandatory programs to hold companies accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products, including recycling and disposal.


Back to Blue stated that the combined measures could limit annual consumption to 325 million tonnes by 2050, but that would still be a 25 percent increase from 2019 and the equivalent of 238 million garbage vehicles.


Brazil, the United States, Indonesia, and Turkey are among the G20 countries that have yet to introduce national prohibitions on single-use plastic products, according to the report.