Police officers block off an area around a damaged office block of the Moscow International Business Center (Moskva City) following a reported drone attack in Moscow on July 30, 2023.
Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty Images
Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow early on Sunday, injuring one, damaging buildings and suspending flights at Vnukovo airport, TASS news agency said, citing officials.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said a Ukrainian drone was destroyed in the air over the Odintsovo district and two others crashed in Moscow, according to TASS.
One person was injured as a result of a blast in a building, TASS said, citing emergency services. The airport was closed for arrivals and departures, the agency said.
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said earlier the facades of two office buildings had been slightly damaged but that there were no casualties, TASS reported.
The Ukraine government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia said on Monday it would retaliate harshly against Ukraine after two drones damaged buildings in Moscow, with one strike close to the building where the military holds briefings on what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said at the time there would be more drone strikes.
Learn how to prevent drywall nails from popping out and what should and shouldn’t be put down a garbage disposal. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Hour 1
Listen to hear how to prevent nails from pooping out, raise an outdoor dryer vent’s height, and more!
How to Stop Drywall Nails from Popping Out
Use a drywall screw instead of a nail to stop nails from backing out. ( 3 Echoes Content Studio)
A homeowner’s house was built in 1954 and she is tired of watching nails back out of the drywall.
She asks, “How do I fix this? Can I pound the nails back in?”
First, pounding the nails back in is just a temporary fix — they will eventually pop out again. But the bigger question is this: why does it happen?
In a home, there is a lot of movement — doors slamming, people walking, etc. All these movements cause vibrations. And, over time, those vibrations will cause a drywall nail to back out.
You don’t want to just remove the nail and replace it with a screw before checking if the nail is in the center of the stud or close to the center. The stud might be the reason it is popping out.
So, we recommend taking a hammer and a finishing nail and tapping through the drywall until you find the center of the stud.
Once you find the center and pull out the nail, then drive one or two drywall screws an inch or two above the old nail hole. This will hold it tight.
After replacing the nail with a drywall screw, put joint compound over the screw heads and in the old nail hole, let it dry, sand it, and do it again. Once you have it filled and sanded dry, paint it.
The screws will hold up very well, and you will hopefully never have to do this process again!
An outdoor dryer vent should be at least 12 inches from the ground. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
A homeowner’s dryer vent runs on an exterior wall and under the brick veneer. It is installed about an inch off the ground instead of 12 or more (the recommendation).
He has trouble with stormwater getting into the vent, and now asks, “Do you have any recommendations for me?”
First, it’s rare to find a dryer vent so low to the ground. It is possible that when the vent was originally installed, it was the correct height off the ground. However, as time passed, grading and landscaping could have been added, and the vent got closer to the ground.
To make this dryer vent work efficiently, you’ll want to have as short of a path as possible. So, we do not recommend rerouting the current ductwork and going through the soffit.
Instead, we recommend trying to elevate or extend the existing vent upward, or digging dirt around the vent to give it more space. You could also add a slight turn and elbow to get it off the ground.
Check your local home center for a device that curls up at 90 degrees, which will help elevate the vent on the outside. There are many dryer vent options.
For safety, do not use PVC pipe for an elbow because it cannot handle the high temperatures that come through a dryer vent.
In addition, make sure you frequently clean your dryer vent to prevent house fires and keep your dryer working efficiently.
Hour 2
Listen to learn about garbage disposal rules, how to fix a toilet that won’t flush, how to lay an underlayment over a tile floor, and more!
What You Can Put Down a Garbage Disposal
It is acceptable to put things down a garbage disposal if they are small enough. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
A homeowner and his wife have had an ongoing disagreement about whether it is okay to put scraps of meat down the garbage disposal. They have septic tank disposal.
He says, “Can you settle this debate?”
It is perfectly fine to have a garbage disposal with a septic tank. However, some septic tanks are really good, and others are very marginal. That plays a large part in the disposal’s functionality and what waste it accepts.
When it comes to garbage disposals, you do want to use them sparingly and not put everything down it. You want to avoid putting large substances down.
The answer to the question would be yes, but only small pieces of meat, and don’t pack it full.
Make sure you use and maintain garbage disposals correctly. It is recommended to use cold water to wash waste down the drain and ensure you don’t put something in the garbage disposal and not run it!
If your garbage disposal gets clogged, use this trick!
How to Solve Toilet Flushing Issues
Adjusting the chain is an easy fix to solve toilet flushing issues. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
A homeowner is struggling to get her toilet to flush completely. She says she has to hold the handle down until the bowl is flushed.
She wants to know, “Why does this happen, and how can I fix it?”
There are two reasons that she may be having this problem. One, there is not enough water in the tank, meaning the water stops before reaching about half an inch below the overflow tube. That is where you want to adjust it.
Next, you want to ensure that when you push down the handle, the flapper stays open to allow the flushing action and then closes. If the chain is too short or too long, that will prevent that from happening.
Another reason is an obstruction in the drain. If there is an obstruction, then you won’t get that flushing action because it’s resisting the water going into it.
It is most likely the first problem. This is a very common fix, and there are lots of great repair kits out there. Do this quickly so you won’t waste water!
Although fixing a toilet might not be the most glamorous form of home improvement, it is so important to have a working toilet that will stay in good shape for a long time.
Make sure you use the right notch trowel size to install an underlayment. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
A homeowner wants to put a quarter-inch underlayment over a tile floor.
He asks, “Do I need to nail or screw it? What do I use?”
No, you are not going to want to nail through or screw it. You will have to glue it down. Do some research and find the right adhesive you need, depending on the materials you are using. Most likely, it will be in a bucket, and you’ll use a notch trowel to install the right amount.
Make sure that you read the directions to ensure you use the recommended notch trowel size. A lot of people do not realize that the size of the notch trowel needs to correlate with the adhesive in order to work well.
To ensure there is no movement when putting down the floor, use leftover blocks, bricks, or heavy objects to weigh it down a little bit. Leave it overnight so that it will dry and really cure well.
There are multiple options for underlayment. One option is a self-leveling underlayment. This is like really thin concrete. Do a thin coat over the tile to create a smooth and flat surface for a vinyl floor to be put over.
The StyleWell Parker Mill 4-Piece Metal Patio Set is durable and long-lasting, providing you with the outdoor furniture you can count on. Learn more>>
Simple Solutions
Use a push broom before painting to remove dust and dirt from walls. (®JodiJacobson via Canva)
Push Broom Paint Prep—Prior to painting a room, it’s important to clean the walls and ceiling to remove all dust, dirt, and cobwebs. Here’s a quick and easy way to do that: Wrap a towel around the head of a push broom, and secure it with a binder clip or pinch clamp. Then lightly mist the towel with water. Now use the towel-wrapped broom to wipe down the walls and ceiling. The damp towel will trap any dust or dirt, leaving behind a clean, ready-to-paint surface. This tip also works great to remove joint-compound dust from newly sanded drywall joints.
Use concrete blocks to create easy storage for your gardening tools. (3 Echoes Content Studio)
Easy-Access Garden-Tool Storage—Most people store their lawn and garden tools in the garage or shed by simply standing them up and leaning them in the corner. There’s nothing particularly wrong with this except that it’s a little messy, and it’s hard to grab one tool without knocking over another. So, here’s a super simple solution to that problem: Take three concrete blocks and stack them up wherever you want to store your tools. What you end up with is two deep compartments for storing long-handled tools. The blocks are heavy enough that you don’t have to worry about them falling over, no matter how many tools you put in there. If you don’t have enough headroom, you can use two blocks so you can lift the tools out. This will give you a neat place where your tools are out of the way and easily accessible, and you don’t have to worry about them falling over.
PURCHASE, NY. — Higher prices haven’t stopped shoppers from buying Gatorade and Doritos. Ramon L. Laguarta, chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo, Inc., said the consumer response to price increases across its portfolio of brands has exceeded management’s expectations.
“…we’re seeing the majority of consumers staying within our categories, staying within our brands, and it’s remarkable what our marketing teams and commercial teams have been doing to minimize elasticity,” he said during a July 13 conference call with securities analysts. “In some respects, it is what we have been investing for the last few years. Our brands are stronger. The perceived value of our products is better than it was. And obviously, we’ve been able to raise prices, and consumers stay within our brands.”
Based on strong year-to-date performance, as well as improved supply chain and labor market conditions, management has raised its full-year outlook. Organic revenue now is expected to increase 10%, up from a previous guidance of 8%, while earnings per share in core constant currency are expected to increase 12%, up from a previous guidance of 9%.
Net income attributable to PepsiCo for the second quarter ended June 17 was $2.75 billion, equal to $1.99 per diluted share on the common stock, up 9.2% from $1.43 billion, or $1.03 per diluted share, in the prior-year period. In the year-ago quarter, the company recorded a gain associated with the divestment of certain juice brands and impairment charges related to decrease in fair value of intangible assets as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Net revenue for the quarter totaled $22.32 billion, up 10% from $20.23 billion.
In PepsiCo Beverages North America, operating profit was $723 million, up 11% from the year before, and net revenue was $6.76 billion, up 10%. Organic revenue also increased 10%, reflecting growth across large-format, small-format and foodservice channels.
Investments in brands, technology, consumer insights, manufacturing, and go-to-market execution are driving growth across the portfolio with double-digit net revenue growth in Gatorade and high-single-digit net revenue growth in Pepsi, Starbucks and Rockstar, according to the company.
Management cited the addition of zero-sugar soft drinks, sports nutrition products, distribution partnerships in the energy drink category, and a strategic expansion into the alcohol market as areas of focus within the segment.
Operating profit for Frito-Lay North America advanced 15% to $1.65 billion, and revenue rose 14% to $5.9 billion. Organic revenue also grew 14%, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit organic revenue growth, according to the company. Continued top-line momentum was led by a diversified portfolio, marketplace execution and net revenue management capabilities, according to the company.
Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, and Ruffles each delivered double-digit net revenue growth, while smaller, emerging brands including PopCorners, SunChips, Bare and Off The Eaten Path also each delivered double-digit net revenue growth. New packaging options, baked and lightly salted offerings, and spicier flavor combinations are among ways the company aims to meet evolving consumer needs and taste preferences.
In the Quaker Foods North America business unit, operating profit decreased 5% to $129 million, while revenue of $684 million was up 1% from the prior year. Organic revenue increased 2%. PepsiCo gained share in the pancake mix, pancake syrup, grits, rice and pasta and light snacks categories and delivered double-digit revenue growth in light snacks, grits, cookies, and pancake syrups and mixes.
Recent launches extending the business into new dayparts and occasions include Quaker Chewy Granola, Marias Gamesa cereal, Cap’n Crunch Instant Oatmeal made with Quaker Oats, Fruit Fusion Instant Quaker Oatmeal, Cap’n Crunch Original Crunch Treats Cereal Bars, and Near East Heat & Eat Rice Pilaf and Long Grain & Wild Rice.
The international business delivered 11% revenue growth and 15% organic revenue growth, reflecting the benefits of increased investments to drive higher per capita consumption, build scale and market share, and expand portfolio breadth. Year-to-date, PepsiCo gained savory snack share in China, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Netherlands, South Africa, Belgium and Pakistan, and gained beverage share in Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, India, Egypt, and Nigeria. Operating profit was up 29% in Latin America and 7% in Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China region, flat in Europe and down 11% in Africa, Middle East and South Asia.
For the first six months of the fiscal year, PepsiCo had net income of $4.68 billion, equal to $3.38 per diluted share, down 18% from $5.69 billion, or $4.09, in the comparable period. Net revenue year to date totaled $40.17 billion, up 10% from $36.43 billion.
In prepared remarks released ahead of the conference call, management shared updates on ongoing initiatives to drive long-term sustainable performance and “promote positive change for the planet and people.” Milestones include more than doubling its regenerative farming footprint through partnerships and new technologies, improving operational water-use efficiency, and reducing added sugars and sodium levels across the portfolio.
Haitham al-Ghais, secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), speaking at the Energy Asia Summit on June 26, 2023.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Country signaled that the influential producers’ alliance is actively open to recruiting new members.
Asked if he is trying to expand the OPEC coalition, the organization’s Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais told reporters on Wednesday: “I am, yes.”
The organization currently has 13 members, predominantly based in the Middle East, North and West Africa and South America. At stake for the group of oil producers is a battle to reconcile an outlook of tighter crude supply in the second half of the year, current macroeconomic worries, and inflationary concerns. OPEC members coordinate the amount of oil they output in an effort to influence prices.
Ecuador exited the group in 2020 because of political circumstances, but in May was invited to rejoin the OPEC ranks, according to a letter from al-Ghais shared by the Ecuadorian energy ministry.
“The Organization sees as a top priority that Ecuador joins the OPEC family again,” the letter said. The Ecuadorian ministry did not reveal its response.
Al-Ghais would not be drawn into disclosing the names of potential new members. He mentioned recent visits paid to oil-producing countries, however, including allies that currently implement a joint production strategy with OPEC countries, in a group known as OPEC+.
“I was in Malaysia, I was in Brunei,” he said, stressing that he had not necessarily invited these countries to join the organization. “I was in Azerbaijan, I was in Mexico.”
Previous speculation about Guyana’s potential membership saw OPEC state in late June that, while the South American country is “an emerging player in the international oil market with significant potential,” it had not been invited to join.
Asked about the requirements to become an OPEC member, al-Ghais said: “They have to be a net [oil] exporter, substantial, they have to have similar goals as OPEC. This is all mentioned very clearly in our statute. And I think many countries that I just named actually fit this profile. So … work in progress.”
Unanimity
The OPEC secretary-general addressed reporters following an OPEC seminar conference in Vienna, where energy and oil ministers met on the sidelines.
No new policies were announced, but ministers expressed appreciation for the additional oil production cuts of OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia, Russia and Algeria.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia announced that it would extend its voluntary 1-million-barrels-per-day cut initially outlined for July into August, while fellow heavyweight Moscow said it would trim its exports by 500,000 barrels per day next month. Algeria also said it will reduce its production by 20,000 barrels per day in August.
All three countries and several other OPEC+ members in April declared a separate set of output cuts totaling over 1.6 million barrels per day, which they have extended until the end of 2024.
Al-Ghais emphasized that the voluntary reductions enacted by some OPEC+ did not suggest divisions in the policy views of coalition members.
“When people can sit down and go through an agreement that goes all the way through, with a clear vision, into 2025, I think that’s a sign of unanimity,” he said.
“These are sovereign country decisions. They are extra. We appreciate them … It does not in any way insinuate that there is a fragmentation.”
Focus on investment
Echoing the comments of other OPEC officials, al-Ghais has also been advocating for simultaneous joint investment in fossil fuel projects and in renewables, in an effort to avoid energy supply deficits. Despite what he perceives as global underinvestment in hydrocarbons, he said that the OPEC alliance can still answer any potential supply crisis.
“Part of the decision to reduce production is also good because it gives us more spare capacity, and OPEC has always managed to step up in case of any shock globally,” al-Ghais said.
“Spare capacity is tight, I would say … And our countries are investing. When I talk about underinvestment, most of our countries, if not all of them, are investing … But it’s a global responsibility. OPEC cannot shoulder this on its own. We have to have everybody step up.”
Suhail al-Mazrouei, energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, likewise stressed focus on investment and availabilities.
“What’s important is not the price, what’s important is the level of investments that are coming to the market to balance the longer or the medium-term view of the supply,” he told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Wednesday. “If something worries me, that’s what worries me, the medium to long-term supply. Not the demand.”
The International Energy Agency in May foreshadowed an intense supply crunch, noting “tighter market balances we anticipate in the second half of the year, when demand is expected to eclipse supply by almost 2 mb/d.”
