Where are the US unemployed workers? (audio)

 

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French baguettes and UNESCO (article and audio)

 

(CNN) — The baguette - a mix of wheat flour, water, yeast, salt and a pinch of savoir-faire and as much a symbol of France as the Eiffel Tower - may soon join UNESCO's listing of cultural treasures.

Bakers say the traditional craft loaf, whose purchase from the local bakery is a ritual in French daily life, is being pushed off shop shelves, even in France, by frozen bread sticks made on giant assembly lines.

"There's not one single secret to making a good traditional baguette," said Mickael Reydellet, owner of eight bakeries. "It requires time, a savoir-faire, the right way of baking, good flour without additives."

A 1993 French government decree dictates that "traditional" baguettes must be made from nothing more than the four classic ingredients. Fermentation of the dough should last 15 to 20 hours in a temperature between 4 to 6 degrees Celsius.

The Confederation of French Bakers has submitted its application to be added to the U.N. rankings of intangible treasures.

Bakers say the UNESCO listing could protect a know-how that has passed through generations and shield the baguette from imposters around the world.

The UNESCO "intangible heritage" marker recognizes oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals and methods of traditional craftsmanship. It already covers ancient methods of making flat breads in Iran and Kazakhstan, 1,500 beers brewed in Belgium has been recognized and the Neapolitan art of pizza twirling.

France's boulangeries were hit hard by COVID-19 restrictions last year. Reydellet said: "This title will comfort bakers and encourage the next generation."

About 6 million baguettes are sold daily in France. But Dominique Anract, president of the bakers' federation says the cultural habit is under threat, with some 30,000 bakeries closing since the 1950s as supermarkets took over.

"The first errand we ask of a child is to go buy a baguette from a bakery." Anract said. "We must protect these habits."

 

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French workers' lunch (audio)

 

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French workers can now eat lunch at their desks

Paris (CNN Business) Many French workers can now eat at their desks without breaking the law.

To help curb the spread of Covid 19, the country has suspended a longstanding prohibition on desk lunches, according to a government decree published Sunday.

The lunch break, or "la pause déjeuner," is considered sacrosanct in France. Before Sunday's decree French labor code forbade employers from allowing workers "to have their meals in the workplace," reflecting the importance of food and meals in national culture.

The temporary rule applies to offices with more than 50 employees and where the layout of the cafeteria does not allow for social distancing. People must be at least one meter apart when not wearing a face mask.

Before the pandemic, French workers typically enjoyed a two or three course meal with colleagues at a nearby bistro. 

They can't now because restaurants, bars and cafes were closed in October 2020. Besides, there is a nationwide 6 p.m. curfew. 

                                 People eat their lunch outside a closed restaurant  in Paris.

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The future of business travel

Business travel is as old as the traders who carted silks and spices between ancient civilizations. The executive tapping at a laptop as other flyers recline their seats and settle down with a glass of wine is a more recent phenomenon.

Executives, diplomats and government employees, and NGO staff still trot the globe. Bosses of big companies often spend more time in corporate jets than with their families. At lower altitude workers travel to fit out factories, attend trade shows and conferences, launch new products or meet clients. Business class is a recent arrival and has grown a lot in the past 25 years. According to Bernstein, an equity-research firm, total spending on international and domestic travel in 1995 amounted to $2.1trn, of which $400bn was for business. By 2019 around a quarter of the total, or $1.3trn, was spent on business travel.

Covid-19 has hit corporate travel hard. A poll in January by the Global Business Travel Association found that 79% of its members had cancelled all or most business travel. Credit Suisse estimates 2021 will see 65% fewer international business trips than in 2019.

Bill Gates thinks the shift will be permanent.  “My prediction is that over 50% of business travel will go away,” he says. That may be too pessimistic. Bernstein goes for up to 24% never coming back. Credit Suisse reckons 10-20% will disappear for good.

Vaccines, fast-testing regimes and the dropping of travel bans might yet open the door for leisure travel. But Zoom, Google hangouts, Skype and other video-conferencing services have a better chance of permanently replacing business-class tickets, for several reasons. One is that companies badly hit by covid-19 will be under pressure to cut costs—and travel is an easy target. Another is that, even though vaccines may reopen borders to many travellers, as long as covid-19 is at large firms will be reluctant to allow trips not strictly required.

Some types of business trip are harder to conduct over a screen and so they are likely to revive. Vik Krishnan of McKinsey notes that these include sales and client meetings. Personal contact, especially when seeking new business, is hard to replicate digitally. Manufacturers will struggle to monitor remotely factories in far-away corners of their supply chains.

Trade shows and conferences that bring many people together in close proximity are more vulnerable, notes Bernstein. Hybrid shows, with some people present and others joining online may attract a larger audience.

Many low-level internal meetings will migrate permanently to the online world. One executive who has not flown in months happily notes that the sort of trip that required flying halfway around the world for one short meeting will go for good. Though the number of trips is likely to fall, their length may increase as executives will try to visit several outposts in a single trip.

If around a fifth of business travel never returns, that will have big consequences for airlines. A rule of thumb is that business class comprises 10% of tickets, but 40% of revenues and up to 80% of profits.  Every 1% fall in business custom knocks 10% off profits. Some airlines are trying to sell business-class seats to leisure travellers, but they will not be able to charge as much as to a late-booking executive. The decline in business travel will mean a smaller business cabin and higher long-haul economy fares.

A permanent decline will make airline life harder still. However, for the executive who used to spend weeks of every year on the road, the chance to settle down in front of a computer screen instead will come as something of a relief.

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The pandemic's impact on our eating habits (audio)

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Ford will run Google's Android starting in 2023

New York (CNN Business) Ford and Google announced a six-year strategic partnership in which they will collaborate on new technologies and install Google's Android operating system as the primary system in its infotainment screens in millions of Ford and Lincoln cars and trucks starting in 2023.

Android's operating system will allow drivers to access Google Maps for in-vehicle navigation and Google's Voice Assistant for handling voice commands in the car without the use of an Android phone. 

Starting in 2023, Ford cars will also begin offering an in-car version of the Google Play Store to download apps for things like music, audiobooks and podcasts.

In addition, Google will also be Ford's preferred provider for cloud data storage. Ford will also use Google's artificial intelligence and data analytics capabilities to better interpret the data it collects from vehicles and its own operations to improve upon things like customer service, manufacturing and marketing.

General Motors recently announced a similar arrangement with Microsoft in which Microsoft will be the cloud storage provider for GM and Cruise, the autonomous car company majority owned by GM. 

Ford and Google did not specifically say if Google's cloud computing systems will be used for autonomous vehicles, as in the GM and Microsoft deal.

As part of their partnership, Ford and Google will create a group called Team Upshift that will collaborate on new ways the companies can work together. Executives from Ford and Google imagine, for example, that the team will work on things like improving the online car shopping experience using customer data.

The companies did not reveal the financial terms of the arrangement.

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Nike's hands-free new shoes

New York (CNN Business)Nike's newest shoe is "easy on, easy off" for those who can't put their shoes on without assistance -- or cannot be bothered.

Called the Go Flyease, it's Nike's first pair of lace-less sneakers that can easily be put on and taken off without using your hands. The casual shoe arrives at a time when people are touching fewer things during the pandemic.

The Go Flyease has unique features, including a tension band that secures the shoe in place of laces. Putting them on involves just stepping into the shoe so that it will snap into place. Taking them off is done by stepping on the heel.

The shoes will go on sale this month for $120 for subscribers of the free membership program on Nike's website. Broader availability is planned for later this year.

Nike's new shoes are coming at a time when home-bound consumers want comfort. That's evident from Crocs most recent earnings, which revealed a 55% jump in revenue. 

Launching the new shoes on its website first also fits into Nike's strategy of selling directly to consumers rather through third-party retailers. The company reported in December that its online sales soared 84% in its most recent quarter as people snapped up fitness and casual shoes.

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