Tony Loeb

📈 The U.S. President imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and 25% on Mexican and Canadian goods starting February 1, with the latter delayed by a month. China retaliated with a 15% tariff on U.S. coal imports and 10% on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and some vehicles from February 10, sparing the agri-food sector. The U.S. soybean market, which sends over 40% of its domestic production abroad with 55% going to China in 2023/24, experienced a 52% export drop to China and a 9% CME market price decrease during the 2018/19 trade war. Argentina's peanut market saw a 5% price drop from January to February 2025 and 28% from January 2024 highs, with projections of a record 1.5 million tons production in 2025, up 1% from 2024, and a 10% increase in U.S. production to 2.93 million tons. Argentina eliminated export tariffs, enhancing its global market competitiveness. Areté – The Agri-Food Intelligence Company, a leader in Italy for agri-food commodity market analysis, has served major sector companies, institutions, and associations for over twenty years.

🏠 Steampunk bars, fusing futuristic technology with Victorian aesthetics, sprang up in the 1980s. The world's first steampunk bar, Enigma Café, operates from morning to night in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The Abyss Pub, celebrating its 10th anniversary on December 15, 2026, in Milan, Italy, features a 9-meter tentacle sculpture of the Kraken. In Salerno, Italy, The Boiler offers a Victorian era and Jules Verne-inspired setting, spotlighting rum in its drinks menu. These bars require careful planning, realistic cost assessments, and targeted marketing strategies.

🍻 The World Health Organization (WHO) continues its campaign against alcohol consumption, highlighting the unchanging high levels of consumption in Europe for over a decade, making it a high-risk sub-region. In June 2024, WHO released updated data showing worsening scenarios and the need for intervention. A new report focuses on the Nordic alcohol retail monopolies in Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands, demonstrating how state-owned retail outlets exclusively selling alcoholic beverages have reversed negative trends. These monopolies have implemented WHO's "best buy" policies, including reducing alcohol availability, aligning with national strategies, and curbing consumption tendencies by eliminating promotions. The Nordic approach prioritizes public health and youth protection, leading to lower per capita alcohol consumption and associated harm rates than the EU average.