Latest news with #Americas
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
DHL inks Shopify partnership for easier seller access
This story was originally published on Supply Chain Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Supply Chain Dive newsletter. DHL is now a pre-integrated partner in Shopify's shipping platform, giving Shopify sellers easier access to the logistics giant's network and delivery services, according to a May 26 announcement. The integration with Shopify Shipping, which offers merchants discounted shipping rates and other services, is live in the U.S. and Germany. By 2026, DHL shipping options on Shopify will also be available in other major markets in the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. 'Sellers on Shopify will no longer need to onboard a logistics provider independently, so that they can streamline operations and reduce administrative burdens,' the announcement said. 'Also, the DHL integration helps sellers manage complex customs, legal, and administrative tasks.' DHL is among several logistics providers that have secured shipping partnerships with e-commerce platforms. FedEx rolled out rate discounts in Pitney Bowes' ShipAccel and Auctane's product suite last year, while UPS and the U.S. Postal Service have their own arrangements with major platforms. DHL, UPS and the Postal Service are carriers with U.S. coverage that sellers can access on Shopify Shipping with discounted rates. For DHL Express, Shopify's website touts savings of up to 80% on international shipping. For carriers, these partnerships can be appealing by giving them the opportunity to serve a larger pool of customers, particularly in the lucrative small- and medium-sized business segment. For sellers, the arrangements often provide lower shipping rates than what they could secure through individual contract negotiations. DHL and Shopify's new partnership in particular aims to offer millions of e-commerce merchants a quicker and more efficient way to leverage domestic and cross-border logistics services. One perk for U.S. merchants tapping into the collaboration is Delivered Duty Paid shipping, removing the risk of shoppers facing unplanned fees. 'This service protects consumers from unexpected additional fees such as customs charges or import sales tax, as DDP shipping ensures that the merchant has taken care of all costs and formalities,' the announcement said. Recommended Reading Flexport, Shopify strengthen logistics ties with merchant perks
Travel Weekly
2 days ago
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Hyatt is using Unscripted brand for a new hotel collection
Hyatt Hotels Corp. revealed that Unscripted by Hyatt will be a collection brand for upscale independent hotels. Unscripted was one of the brands Hyatt obtained when it acquired Dream Hotel Group in February 2023. Hyatt is targeting independent properties and small hotel portfolios seeking to join a major hospitality system. Hyatt says Unscripted will have "a light-touch operating model and flexible brand standards." Unscripted will focus on conversions and adaptive reuse projects. Hyatt says it is in discussions with 40 hotels to join the collection. Hotels will be in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. "The Unscripted by Hyatt brand gives owners a flexible path to join the Hyatt system while still delivering the high-quality, dependable experience guests expect from Hyatt," said Dan Hansen, Hyatt's head of Americas development. Unscripted by Hyatt will be part of Hyatt's Essentials portfolio. Hyatt revamped its brand organization, grouping its flags into Luxury, Lifestyle, Inclusive, Classics and Essentials categories, earlier this year. Hyatt's Essentials category comprises select-service brands like Caption by Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Hyatt Studios, Hyatt Select and UrCove.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Nomura sees great opportunities to grow in U.S. despite turmoil
Nomura Holdings is setting its sights on the United States for growth despite the current turmoil surrounding the world's biggest economy. Japan's largest brokerage said it is strengthening its focus on the Americas through "strategic resource allocation,' according to an investor day presentation, which touted the "big opportunities' there. The firm plans to advance targets for its investment management and wholesale banking businesses by pursuing long-term growth in the Americas, it said. "Currently, market volatility is increasing due to global tariff negotiations, and the U.S. can be said to be the epicenter of all this,' Chief Executive Officer Kentaro Okuda told investors on Friday. "However, in our company's global strategy, the U.S. is the most important area rich in business opportunities, and this will not change in the future.' Nomura is in expansion mode, having recently clinched a $1.8 billion deal to buy Macquarie Group's U.S. and European public asset management business. The firm's optimism toward the U.S. comes against wider sentiments that are more worried about U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies overshadowing global growth prospects. In its presentation, the Tokyo-based firm also said it aims to boost revenue from trading and investment banking business by 15% to 20% in dollar terms by March 2031. It plans to expand in private credit, structured and solutions, equity trading in Europe and Asia, and international wealth management. Led by ex-JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive Christopher Willcox, this wholesale banking arm will seek to "ramp up productivity' of bankers in advisory business as well as global markets sales and trading operations. The division accounts for about half of Nomura's overall net revenue. Meanwhile, Nomura also introduced a ¥50 billion ($348 million) pretax profit target for its newly created banking division for the year ending March 2031. Nomura earned a record net profit last fiscal year, joining Wall Street titans in benefiting from trading while enjoying a boom in dealmaking and retail investing in Japan. The firm posted a 72% increase in income before taxes to ¥472 billion in the year ended this March. At last year's investor day, the management unveiled a target to lift annual pretax profit to more than ¥500 billion by March 2031. It had also identified India and the Middle East as growth opportunities.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Nomura Sees Big Opportunities to Grow in US Despite Turmoil
Nomura Holdings Inc. is setting its sights on the US for growth despite the current turmoil surrounding the world's biggest economy. Japan's largest brokerage said it's strengthening its focus on the Americas through 'strategic resource allocation,' according to an investor day presentation, which touted the 'big opportunities' there. The firm plans to advance targets for its investment management and wholesale banking businesses by pursuing long-term growth in the Americas, it said.
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- General
- Gizmodo
Leprosy's Origins Are Even Weirder Than We Thought
New research complicates the narrative of how leprosy reached the Americas. One of the world's oldest diseases has an even more complex history than expected. Research out today reveals that a form of leprosy was stalking people in the Americas long before Europeans arrived. A large international team of scientists conducted the study, published Thursday in Science. The researchers found DNA evidence of Mycobacterium lepromatosis—a recently discovered species of leprosy-causing bacteria—infecting people in North and South America over 1,000 years ago, predating European colonization. The findings upturn the prevailing belief that Europeans were responsible for leprosy's introduction to the New World. Leprosy's reputation for human destruction is so notorious that it's repeatedly referenced in the Bible (some of these references might have been about other conditions, though). These bacteria can cause a chronic infection of our skin and nerve cells, though it may take years for symptoms like lesions and sores to appear. If not treated with antibiotics, the infection can progressively and permanently damage these cells, leading to lifelong disabilities and other serious complications. Leprosy, also called Hansen's disease, is primarily caused by Mycobacterium leprae bacteria. But in 2008, scientists discovered that a similar species, M. lepromatosis, can cause it, too. Leprosy from M. lepromatosis appears to be rarer than the former, with cases predominantly found in North and South America. And we know very little about it, partly because both species aren't easy to culture in the lab (much like viruses, leprosy-causing bacteria can only replicate by hijacking our cells from the inside). Study author Nicolas Rascovan, who specializes in the evolution of human diseases, and his team decided to take a closer look at the bacteria after making a discovery of their own. 'Our interest began when we unexpectedly detected M. lepromatosis DNA in the remains of an ancient individual in North America,' Rascovan, a researcher at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, told Gizmodo. 'That prompted us to ask how long this pathogen had been circulating in the continent, how much spread there was before European contact, and what diversity it might still hold today.' The team analyzed hundreds of samples collected from modern-day people (mostly recent leprosy patients), as well as ancient DNA samples recovered from people in the Americas before European contact. Three of these ancient samples tested positive for the bacteria, the researchers found, from people living in what's now Canada and Argentina. 'Leprosy has long been considered a disease brought to the Americas by Europeans, which is true for the case of M. leprae. But our study shows that at least one of the two species that causes it—M. lepromatosis—was already here centuries earlier, and probably evolved locally for thousands of years,' Rascovan explained. 'This essentially changes how we understand the disease's history in the Americas.' Thanks to antibiotics and improved sanitation, leprosy is rare in much of the world (only about 200 cases are documented in the U.S. every year). But it remains a public health issue in some countries, with more than 200,000 cases reported annually globally. And the researchers' findings may complicate both the past and future of leprosy. While most modern cases of M. lepromatosis were linked to one specific lineage, or clade, of the bacteria that has recently expanded, the team also identified older clades that have likely been evolving independently in the Americas for over 9,000 years. That suggests these bacteria have been hiding out in still mysterious animal hosts (in the U.S. the classic form of leprosy has sometimes been linked to armadillo exposure). And though M. leprae still causes the majority of leprosy cases worldwide, its less famous cousin certainly has the potential to become a bigger threat. 'Given its diversity and spread, M. lepromatosis could be an emerging pathogen with dynamics different from M. leprae,' Rascovan said. As is often the case in science, the team's work has raised even more questions for them to answer. They're hoping to unearth the animal reservoirs where the bacteria have potentially been circulating all this time, for instance, and to trace its journey from the Americas to other parts of the world. They now believe that a strain of M. lepromatosis was brought over to the British Isles sometime in the 19th century, where it still infects red squirrels today. But we're still in the dark about how it reached Asia, where cases have been documented. 'All of this suggests that this is not just a neglected disease, but a neglected pathogen—one whose history and spread are only now beginning to be understood,' Rascovan said.
