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Day: 17 February 2020

Preventing the extinction of penguins

by: Cassandra Tanti
17/02/2020

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation is helping to prevent the extinction of penguins – the second most endangered seabird species after the Albatross and an emblematic animal of the Southern Hemisphere. 
Among 18 sub-species of penguins, 10 are identified as globally threatened. The Cape penguin, for example, has lost nearly 98% of its 19th century population, with only 50,000 individuals remaining.
The main causes of this drastic decline are the collection of eggs at the beginning of the 20th century, the collection of guano a little later – crucial to the balance of its habitat, and overfishing. Meanwhile, the Galapagos has lost 77% of its penguin population since the 1980s and now accounts for a little less than 2,000 individuals.
The Prince’s foundation worked with Bird Life on a penguin protection project, which took place over a period of 18 months involving several key regions of the Southern Hemisphere from South Africa to Antarctica via the Falklands and New Zealand. The project focused on three main objectives: to improve the amount of information available on penguin populations through tracking and monitoring for researchers and environmentalists, to identify sites which are crucial for the protection of the species, and to create the basis for increasing the global constituency of support for this cause.
As a result of the project, nearly 150,000 bird group placements have been added to international databases, while 12 new IBAs (Important Bird and Biodiversity Conservation Areas) were identified. For the two most threatened sub-species, the Cape penguin and the antipode penguin, the project has also helped to restore penguin habitat as well as the expansion of protected zones, including a site on the Sandwich Islands which saw a protected area extended by nearly 30kms. The seasonal closure of the site for krill fisheries was also extended by two months per year.
According to the foundation, by the end of the project, a solid foundation had been laid for the protection of penguins on an international scale, capitalising on the International Penguin Conference of August 2019. “All this has laid new constructive grounds to generate other adapted and effective actions but also a better participation and collaboration for a sustainable protection of these emperors of the South Pole,” reports the foundation.
 
 

Ugandan runner crushes 5km world record

by: Stephanie Horsman
17/02/2020

At a jaw-droppingly fast 12:51, Joshua Cheptegei has broken the 5km road world record during the weekend’s Monaco Run.

Blowing the former record set only a month ago by Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto away by 27 seconds, the Ugandan long-distance phenom was too fast to even be a pace setter at last weekend’s Monaco Run.

After the starting gun went off, the current cross country and 10,000 metre track world champion wasted no time getting the jump on the pack and sped passed the first kilometre mark in just over two and a half minutes.

The 23-year-old Cheptegui finished 27 seconds ahead of second place Jimmy Gressier from France and Great Britain’s Nick Goolab, who nabbed the bronze coming in at 13 minutes and 27 seconds.

Cheptegui’s latest world record continues the back and forth between he and Kipruto, who broke the 5km world record in January whilst running a 10km in Valencia. The two men have been swapping world records over recent months creating excitement in the running world and wondering who will top who next.

He first gained notoriety in 2018 when he shaved eight seconds off the 15km world record at the NN Zeven Heuvenloop race in the Netherlands, followed the next year by taking the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Denmark. This new record certainly starts off the sprinter’s year on a high note.

In order to set the 5km record, the Ugandan ran an average of two minutes and 34 seconds per kilometre or 15.4 seconds per 100 metres. He is the only man from his country to set four world records.

 
Photo: Monaco Run Facebook page
 

Heartbreak for Roca Team

by: Stephanie Horsman
17/02/2020

After 10 wins in a row in Leader’s Cup matches, AS Monaco Basketball suffered an agonising loss in a last minute nail-biter under the marquee of the Disney Arena against Dijon Saturday night.

The game was evenly matched from the get-go, and neither team was about to relent. The entire first half was a cat and mouse between Roca Team and JDA Dijon, with no one ever clearly having an upper hand, though there were some magnificent plays by JJ O’Brien, Dee Bost and Eric Buckner.

Toward the end of the first half, Anthony Clemmons landed a fantastic shot from the line, followed by a beauty from Norris Cole, ending the half with a comfortable 47-42 lead for the red and Whites. 

After the break, the lead was increased to the largest of the game with Monaco ahead 51-42, but from there the tide began to turn. Dijon went on a massive offensive push and for four minutes, Monaco didn’t get a single ball through the hoop, whilst their opponents played catch up making it a nearly even match.

By the end of the third quarter, the Roca Team were trailing, but only by two points. But Dijon launched a massive attack and pulled ahead by six points. With only two and a half minutes left, Monaco clawed their way back to a three point spread, though still at a deficit.

Fast forward to nine seconds left on the clock and Dijon’s Sulaimon made one out of two free throws, leaving Monaco behind by a basket. A Dee Bost-Norris Cole play with two seconds left equalised the score and the crowds went wild.

Less than a second remained and through some unbelievable stoke, Solomon recovered the ball from Julien and alley-ooped the ball in, giving Dijon the last second win.

Coach Obradovic was graceful in defeat, as only a man who rarely suffers it can be. He said of the match: “We must first congratulate our opponent, who deserved this victory, this place in the final. They played with enormous confidence. It was a very good match. For us, the 3rd quarter cost us a little. Offensively, we didn’t find the means to score baskets easily. But one cannot complain too much.”

 

 

 

Students shown merits of a career in sustainability

by: Stephanie Horsman
17/02/2020

Monaco is helping to shape its workers of tomorrow, encouraging students to pursue a career in sustainability at the 10th annual Graduate Integration Commission.
The Graduate Integration Commission met last week at the Oceanographic Museum for its panel, this year titled ‘Energy Transition and Sustainable Development’. Entrepreneurs, professionals in various fields of the energy industry including innovation and technologies, and those involved with Monaco’s current energy transition programme spoke to over 150 secondary school pupils in the Principality.
Amongst the 18 speakers were Alexis Lanari from Thoody Consulting, Marion Soler of Actis, Monte Carlo Bay’s Marcel Ravin, and Annabelle Jaeger-Seydoux who represented the Principality’s Mission for the Energy Transition.
The primary goal of these panels is to introduce students to inspiring and inspired professionals who have made projects pertaining to sustainable development and responsible energy creation and usage their life’s work, and be encouraged them to follow in their footsteps.
“The commission informs our young people about the professions of the future in order to meet the future needs of the Principality and ensure that our businesses can find in them the skills they will need tomorrow,” said Minister of Social Affairs and Health Didier Gamerdinger.
The Integration Committee also presented its activity report from 2019 and decided on several courses of action to be taken in 2020. The day was closed with a cocktail to celebrate the organisation’s 10th anniversary with several esteemed local personages in attendance along with the students.
Since its inception in 2010, an initiative created by then- Minister of Social Affairs and Health Stéphane Valeri, the Graduate Integration Commission has been responsible for facilitating access to working life for young Monegasque graduates or those with ties to the Principality. It develops links with businesses in Monaco and works to inform young people about job-creating sectors in the Principality, supporting them in their professional integration path.
Nearly 200 partner companies work alongside the commission to ensure the integration of young people. To date, more than 1,300 students have been involved.
 
Photo: Ten years of the Commission d’Insertion des Diplômés ©Direction de la Communication/ Michael Alesi
 
 

Markets weekly

by:
17/02/2020

This week’s key macroeconomic data for the main developed economies start on Tuesday with the UK’s December unemployment figures. The number of vacancies rose for the first time in seven months in November, with those in employment climbing at its strongest pace in over 50 years at 208,000. That said, December’s election may make it difficult to get a true gauge of the resilience of the jobs market.
UK inflation and retail sales data for January follow on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Inflation fell to a three-year low in December, hitting 1.3%. January’s data is unlikely to show much of a pick-up, with the rate of price increases remaining significantly below the central bank’s target.
Retail sales ended 2019 poorly and survey data is not suggesting spending bounced back in the new year. Also on Thursday, January US housing starts is out. In December, housing starts rose to a 13-year high of 1.61m and consensus expects 1.39m this time.
The week closes with February’s flash purchasing managers’ index readings for the UK, eurozone and the US. January showed signs in the UK of a “Boris bounce”, with manufacturing at the 50 mark (implying output is neither expanding or contracting) and services moving into expansion.
The eurozone has also showed signs of improvement of late, though manufacturing is still contracting, while services has been weakening, but still expanding. The US remains the only region out of the three still in expansionary territory for both manufacturing and services. That said, a sustained rebound will be contingent on progress on the trade front and the coronavirus epidemic.

The low inflation, low unemployment paradigm

The traditional inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation seems, at face value, intuitive. As companies hire more workers, the pool of employable people begins to fall, resulting in companies having to pay higher salaries to lure workers or those that are inactive. In turn, higher salaries and the need for companies to preserve their margins means prices of final goods and services increase. That’s the theory.
We have seen the unemployment rate in the eurozone, UK and the US touch a 12, 44 and 50-year low, respectively, over the past few months. However, inflation has remained noticeably below the central banks’ targets across all respective regions.
Partially explaining the breakdown in the relationship between unemployment and inflation is how consumers have used their earnings. Since the financial crisis, consumers for the most part have had to juggle paying down debt and spending combined. Consequently, businesses have struggled to increase prices of final products due to the fear of deterring consumption further.
Simultaneously, costs of production have increased through tariffs, in particular with regards to the US, and in the case of all three regions, uncertainty leading to the delay/postponement of investment decisions.
While firms have substituted labour for capital (explaining the high employment level), the participation ratio in the US has continued to increase, with the ratio at 63.4% in January, a seven-year high. This remains however well below the participation ratio observed pre-2008.
 
For more information contact Barclays Private Bank in Monaco by clicking here or on +377 93 15 35 35
 
 

Win 2 Metabolic Balance programmes

by: Cassandra Tanti
17/02/2020

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