New York, NY (CNN)The Ahmaud Arbery trial may not have happened without Larry Hobbs, a writer and reporter at The Brunswick News in Georgia.

“Every national and global news story begins locally, sometimes with a single reporter who’s determined to follow up and get to the truth,” CNN’s chief media correspondent Brian Stelter said on Reliable Sources Sunday. “That’s what happened in the case of Ahmaud Arbery.”

I reported on Ahmaud Arbery's death last year. I finally exhaled last week.Hobbs was among the first to pick up the story of a Black man who was shot to death while jogging in the afternoon on a residential street.

His first lead started with a Facebook notification — somebody posted they heard reports of the shooting on a police scanner. But police offered few details, and there were initially no arrests.

“This was a burglary apparently,” Hobbs said on “Reliable Sources” Sunday. “Burglaries don’t typically in my experience take place in the middle of the afternoon, especially on a Sunday when everybody’s home … That just raised a lot of red flags.” Read MoreIt wasn’t until video footage of the confrontation came to light and was widely shared that the case garnered national attention.A jury Wednesday found three White men charged in killing the 25-year-old guilty on multiple murder counts, as well as other charges.The verdict, delivered by a jury consisting of nine White women, two White men and one Black man, came after more than 11 hours of deliberation spanning two days. It followed eight days of testimony, involving 23 witnesses.

Hobbs covered the story from its earliest days through the verdict, speaking often to Brunswick’s mayor Cornell Harvey. He found Harvey on the courthouse lawn following the verdict.”[Harvey said], Larry, we showed that a person can get justice in a small southern town today,” Hobbs said.

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(CNN)Singapore-based virtual currency exchange Coinstore has begun operations in India at a time when the Indian government is preparing legislation to effectively bar most private cryptocurrencies.

Coinstore has launched its web and app platform and plans branches in Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai which will act as its base in India for future expansion, its management said.Partisanship, employee dissent and 'dead bodies': Inside Facebook's struggle to combat misinformation and hate speech in India”With nearly a quarter of our total active users coming from India, it made sense for us to expand into the market,” Charles Tan, head of marketing at Coinstore told Reuters.

Asked why Coinstore was launching India despite the pending clampdown on cryptocurrencies, Tan said: “There have been policy flip-flops but we hope things are going to be positive and we are optimistic that the Indian government will come out with a healthy framework for cryptocurrencies.”

The New Delhi government is planning to discourage trading in cryptocurrencies by imposing hefty capital gains and other taxes, two sources told Reuters earlier this month.Read MoreIt has said that it will allow only certain cryptocurrencies to promote the underlying technology and its uses, according to a legislative agenda for the winter session that is set to start later this month.

India's got the next big thing in tech, and it could be worth $1 trillionTan said Coinstore plans to recruit about 100 employees in India and spend $20 million for marketing, hiring and development of crypto-related products and services for the Indian market.Coinstore is the second global exchange to enter India in recent months, following in the footsteps of CrossTower which launched its local unit in September.

The price of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has more than doubled since the start of this year, attracting hordes of Indian investors.Industry estimates suggest there are 15 million to 20 million crypto investors in India, with total crypto holdings of around 400 billion rupees ($5.33 billion).

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San Francisco (CNN Business)Your next can of craft beer might be a lot more expensive.

Ball Corp (BLL)., one of the world’s largest suppliers of aluminum cans, is sending shockwaves throughout the craft beer world after lifting the minimum number of cans certain producers must order and saying it will raise prices. Ball said it will now require that non-contract customers — who include many smaller breweries — order no fewer than five truckloads (roughly 1.02 million cans) per each of their beverages starting on January 1. The previous purchase minimum was one truckload per product.

Additionally, starting in 2022, Ball wrote that it would no longer be able to store excess cans from those non-contract customers in its warehouses and that the price-per-can would increase by nearly 50% for at least some non-contract customers, according to notices sent to breweries.

The news has many small and regional breweries scrambling to secure cans and has spurred fears of heftier costs, reduced variety and higher prices for consumers. Read More

Hawaii-based Maui Brewing received word from Ball Corp. this month that purchase minimums for aluminum cans will increase fivefold.”I do see this as an economic killer for some, and certainly most small brewers are going to have to raise prices significantly or rethink their entire models,” said Garrett Marrero, chief executive officer and co-founder of Maui Brewing Co. in Hawaii.The tight-knit craft beer industry was already reeling from pandemic-spurred restaurant and taproom closures, inflationary pressures, can shortages and other supply chain disruptions.Then, a little over a week ago, notices from Ball landed in the inboxes of hundreds of craft brewers across the country, according to the Brewers Association, the trade organization representing small and independent brewers. The Denver Westword was the first to report about Ball’s purchase minimums. In the letters, copies of which were provided to CNN Business, Ball wrote that demand for aluminum cans continues to outstrip supply.”Ball is making investments to bring additional capacity online, and in the meantime we remain in a tightly constrained supply environment for the foreseeable future,” according to the letter. “This environment is making it difficult for us to deliver the quality customer experience our customers expect from Ball, and we are making some adjustments to how we do business to remedy that.”With fewer than six weeks until the new year, hundreds of craft brewers will no longer be able to buy their pre-printed cans directly from Ball and instead will have to secure one of the most critical components of their business from new sources, said Bob Pease, president and chief executive officer of the Brewers Association.”This is still pretty darn new, so we’re still trying to gather information from our members that are being impacted,” Pease told CNN Business. The Brewers Association is weighing its options and considering reaching out to policymakers, Pease said, and was hoping to talk with executives at Ball, which is a longtime member, he added. On Friday, Pease said he heard back from Ball’s senior leadership, and the two sides are working to set up a meeting in December to discuss the recent changes. Ball isn’t completely abandoning the craft beer industry, a company spokesperson told CNN Business. “The new model will increase our overall efficiency and allow us to actually produce more cans for our contracted customers, including craft brewers,” Ball spokesperson Scott McCarty wrote in an email. McCarty added that Ball is building five plants in the United States to produce more cans, adding that “each year, we evaluate supply and demand and will continue to invest where it makes sense.”As potential solutions for customers that couldn’t meet the raised minimums, Ball offered up contact information for four distributors that could take smaller orders, provide warehousing, and offer labeling options such as stickers and plastic shrink wrap.

‘It will force us out of business’

When Upslope Brewing Company launched in Boulder, Colorado in 2008, it was one of only a handful of craft brewers to package their beer solely in aluminum cans. “My first phone call for cans was to Ball,” co-founder Matt Cutter told CNN Business. “They said, ‘That’s fine, you can buy a truckload.'”That wasn’t doable then for Upslope, a business whose startup funds came from the second mortgage of Cutter’s house. But a few years later, when Upslope’s snowmelt-based beer was being consumed throughout the Mountain West region, it certainly was possible.

Upslope Brewing Co., based in Boulder, Colorado, is a longtime customer of Ball that likely won’t be able to meet higher purchase minimums.”And Ball kept knocking on our door,” he said. Ball, also a Colorado-based company, had a can-making facility just down the highway, and offered up services such as storage and cheaper shipping. Upslope, which has bought its cans by the truckload from Ball since 2014, now feels left out in the cold. Cutter fears that the higher costs — including raw material, storage and any added margins from working with new distributors — could ultimately lead to craft six-packs sold at stores being $1 to $2 more expensive by next spring. Ultimately, he said, these higher costs might not be sustainable for smaller businesses. “As craft brewers, we’re not rolling in the dough here,” he said. “We can’t absorb this. It’ll force us out of business.” In Pueblo, Colorado, one of the co-founders of Walter Brewing Co. was frantically trying to get up to speed on what Ball’s plans may mean for his brewery.Walter Brewing has purchased cans for its Walter’s Original Pilsner and Walter’s Pueblo Chile Beer from groups that buy from Ball, as well as directly from Ball. “It would take us more than a year’s time to go through [a truckload],” said Andy Sanchez, one of Walter Brewing’s co-owners. The newly required five truckloads is out of the question.”With six weeks’ notice, it’s a lot to digest in that short time,” Sanchez said. “It would be crucial for all small breweries if Ball would rethink the path and maybe think of a way to mitigate the short-term impacts.”

Walter Brewing Co., in Pueblo, Colorado, packages its beer in Ball Corp. cans. Co-owner Andy Sanchez said he’st trying to determine how his brewery will be affected by higher purchase minimums.Maui Brewing, because of its scope of operations in Hawaii and close relations with Ball’s plant there, should be relatively insulated from major disruptions, Marrero said. However, he fears that breweries on the Mainland and Maui Brewing’s efforts to expand production there face complications.

He’s concerned brewers that can’t float the costs to shift suppliers will be forced to change their operations, close or consolidate. He said he’s also worried this may lead to a greater use of less-sustainable materials, such as plastic labels.”This is going to create a paradigm shift in craft beer moving forward,” he said.

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New York (CNN Business)Many Americans are shopping small Saturday to support mom-and-pop clothing, toy, furniture, sporting goods, hardware and electronics’ stores.

But this year’s Small Business Saturday promotion is unlikely to change the fortunes of independent shops in America, which have diverged dramatically from their larger rivals.Small retailers have been squeezed out throughout the pandemic and are at a significant disadvantage navigating the current supply chain crisis, rising inflation and the shortage of workers, said retail analysts and supply chain experts.

First, as Covid-19 spread last year, many small shops did not meet the criteria of “essential” businesses and had to close down. Their larger competitors such as Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Costco (COST), Home Depot (HD) and others were able to stay open.

Labor shortage? Not at TargetWith smaller retailers closed and spending on travel and leisure at a standstill, these major chains boomed as Americans stocked up on groceries, household basics, office supplies and furniture during stay-at-home mandates.Read MoreMeanwhile, the pandemic caused roughly 200,000 more small businesses to close in the first year of the pandemic than in a typical year, the Federal Reserve estimated.As independent shops began reopening in the second half of 2020 and early 2021, they met a new set of challenges: manufacturing shutdowns and material shortages that made it harder to get products and keep them in stock, higher costs for shipping and transportation, as well as difficulties hiring and retaining workers.All retailers have grappled with these problems this year. But the challenges have hit independent stores harder, experts say. Mom-and-pop owners are typically lowest on the priority list for manufacturers and shipping companies when shortages or delays pop up. Home Depot, for example, said last week that some vendors with limited supplies told the chain that they’re giving the company priority over others: “‘We can’t service the industry, so we’d rather focus on the best partner,” the suppliers said, Home Depot chief operating officer Edward Decker recalled on a call with analysts last week.Small stores also usually lack the financial flexibility to manage higher costs and hold prices down for customers, unlike large competitors that can use their scale and extensive resources to absorb cost increases.”Bigger retailers should be more able to navigate supply chain issues and have better in stocks than smaller retailers without the muscle,” said Michael Baker, a retail analyst at D.A. Davidson, in a note to clients last week.

The gap between big and small retailers

Sales are expected to boom this holiday, but small stores may miss out as shoppers head to cheaper chains with more goods on their shelves.Retail sales in November and December will grow between 8.5% and 10.5% this year compared with the 2020 holiday season, to a record of up to $859 billion, projects the National Retail Federation, an industry trade group.Large chains’ inventories have ballooned ahead of the holidays thanks in part to tactics that are way too costly for most shop owners — chartering ships and airfreighting products to the United States from overseas, for example. Big retailers have also been relying on their broad supplier networks to mitigate shortages of raw materials and factory shutdowns. Small stores typically only have a handful of suppliers, so if something goes wrong with one of them, they’re stuck.Target is “well positioned” on key holiday products such as toys and gifts, the retail giant’s chief operating officer John Mulligan said on an earnings call last week. This will help Target “continue to take market share as we go through the holiday season.”

Here's why gas is so cheap at Costco and WalmartRetail giants are pulling out all the stops this holiday stretch to stockpile goods, hold prices down for customers, and staff stores and warehouses. But independent stores are struggling to to keep up.According to a recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business, a lobbying group for small businesses, 39% of small business owners reported in October that supply chain disruptions have had a significant impact on their business. Another 29% reported a moderate impact. Only 10% reported no impact from supply chain disruptions.”Small business owners are attempting to take advantage of current economic growth but remain pessimistic about business conditions in the near future,” said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg in a statement.

The lack of workers for unfilled jobs and inventory shortages are some of the top challenges for small businesses, he said, and will “continue to be a problem during the holiday season.” It all means that, by the end of the holidays, it’s likely that the gap between America’s largest stores and its smallest will have stretched even further.

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New York (CNN Business)Black Friday doesn’t carry the significance it once did for many US shoppers — blame the rise of online shopping holiday “Cyber Monday” and then Covid-19’s impact on retail.

But customers are still dishing out more money for clothing, electronics and other items this Black Friday as they return to visit stores in person and keep up their spending online.Sales on Black Friday increased 29.8% from a year ago, according to estimates through 3 p.m. ET from Mastercard, which tracks payment data in stores and online, excluding car sales. E-commerce sales grew 10.6% from last year, while in-store sales increased 42.9%.

Going to the store may be your smartest bet to navigate the supply chain crisis this holiday”Retail spending has been on the rise throughout the day and it speaks to the strength of the consumer,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard. “We anticipate a positive holiday season well beyond Black Friday.”

Clothing sales led the growth, increasing 86.4% on Black Friday from a year ago when shoppers were mostly at home and didn’t have much reason to spruce up their wardrobes.Read MoreThese trends mark a reversal from 2020, when retailers limited their doorbuster deals to prevent overcrowding in stores and pushed shoppers to buy online instead. Online sales on Black Friday surged 85% in 2020 from the year prior, but overall sales dipped 16.1%.This year, retailers bet on a strong holiday.Retail sales in November and December are expected to grow between 8.5% and 10.5% this year compared with the 2020 holiday season, to a record of up to $859 billion, projected the National Retail Federation, a trade group for retailers. The figure excludes car dealers, gas stations and restaurants.Federal stimulus payments to households and families since the onset of the pandemic elevated savings rates, and rising wages are expected to propel consumer demand during the holidays, NRF predicted.Retailers kicked off their holiday deals in October to try to spread out the holiday season. They did this in part to prevent a crush of demand on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which can strain stores and logistics networks.Chains also encouraged shoppers to buy early and avoid waiting in case the product they want sells out. Retailers have been navigating high demand from consumers, as well as delays and shortages getting goods to shelves due to ongoing supply chain hurdles.

Deborah Weinswig, CEO of retail research and advisory firm Coresight Research, visited stores in Boston and Providence Friday. Out-of-stock items were most noticeable in furniture and for clothing basics such as denim jeans, khakis, underwear and socks, she said in a report.Still, Weinswig said traffic was strong at home goods and department stores and projected strong profits for retailers this holiday because they were offering fewer discounts.

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New York (CNN Business)Procter & Gamble Co. issued a recall for more than a dozen Old Spice and Secret-branded aerosol deodorants and sprays, warning that the products could contain benzene, a cancer-causing agent.

The recall notice, published earlier this week, noted that the affected products likely will not expose people to levels of benzene high enough to cause health issues. The company added it has not “received any reports of adverse events,” but it’s moving forward with the recall out of “an abundance of caution.” “Exposure to benzene can occur by inhalation, orally, and through the skin and it can result in cancers, including leukemia and blood cancer of the bone marrow and blood disorders which can be life-threatening,” the recall notice said.

Sunscreen recall: What the finding of a cancer-causing chemical means for youP&G (PG) wants people who purchased the affected products — which were sold in stores across the United States, as well as online — to throw them away, and the company is offering full refunds. Customers can fill out an online form or contact a hotline at 888-339-7689 Monday through Friday from 9 am to 6 pm ET.

Retailers have been told to remove the products from shelves. Read MoreThe recall includes the following products with an expiration date before September 2023:

• Old Spice High Endurance AP Spray Pure Sport
• Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Invisible Spray Stronger Swagger
• Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Invisible Spray Pure Sport Plus
• Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Invisible Spray Stronger Swagger
• Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Invisible Spray Ultimate Captain
• Old Spice Below Deck Powder Spray Unscented
• Old Spice Below Deck Powder Spray Fresh Air
• Secret Aerosol Powder Fresh Twin Pack
• Secret Aerosol Powder Fresh
• Secret Aerosol Powder Fresh
• Secret Fresh Collection Invisible Spray Waterlily
• Secret Fresh Collection Invisible Spray Lavender
• Secret Fresh Collection Invisible Spray Light Essentials
• Secret Fresh Collection Invisible Spray Rose
• Secret Outlast Invisible Spray Completely Clean
• Secret Outlast Invisible Spray Protecting Powder
• Old Spice Pure Sport 2021 Gift Set

This isn’t the first benzene-related recall of 2021. In July, Johnson & Johnson recalled some spray-on Neutrogena and Aveeno sunscreens after it detected low levels of the carcinogen in the products.

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New York (CNN Business)This Thanksgiving weekend is offering a box office feast with two genres that have been lacking on the menu so far this year: family movies and non-franchise films aimed at adults.

Disney’s “Encanto,” an animated film featuring music written by “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, is expected to have a $35 million domestic opening over the five-day holiday — enough to win the weekend. As for MGM’s “House of Gucci,” a true crime film starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, that film could slide into the No. 2 spot. In order for theaters to truly recover, family films and films that aren’t reboots, prequels or sequels are important to the box office. Both films this weekend are exclusive to theaters and could give a much needed box office jolt to theaters.

“To truly recover — to find their cinematic pulse — these genres will not only have to debut with better-than-expected numbers, but continue to sustain through the long holiday corridor,” Jeff Bock, senior analyst at entertainment research firm Exhibitor Relations, told CNN Business. “For cinemas to truly rally, Hollywood needs multiple genres to pop, not just superheros saving the day.”

Fun for the whole family

Read MoreThere have been plenty of family films this year, such as “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” “Tom and Jerry” and “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” but none of those films were exclusive to theaters. “Encanto” will play in theaters for a month before hitting Disney+ around Christmas, which gives cinemas a great chance to rack up money before audiences can stay home and watch it.

'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' scares up a solid opening at the box officeBock noted that over the years, Disney has released big family hits like “Frozen” and “Moana” over Thanksgiving, and while “Encanto” doesn’t have the anticipation of those films, it could be “in competition for the top spot” this weekend.Family films like “Encanto” could also get a boost since children can now get vaccinated in the US. If more children are vaccinated, parents may be more confident in taking kids out to theaters.On the other end of the spectrum, a big weekend from “House of Gucci” could act as a rare success among adult dramas this year.If you look at the top ten films of the year, eight of the ten are films either from a franchise, like “Black Widow,” or a sequel, like “No Time to Die,” with “Free Guy” and “Jungle Cruise” being the only two outliers.As for films that don’t have superheroes or 007 saving the world, many have not fared well this year at the box office.

Lady Gaga to save the day?

Buzzy adult dramas, such as “The Last Duel,” “The Many Saints of Newark,” “Last Night In Soho” and “Dear Evan Hansen,” have all grossed less than $20 million domestically this year, according to Comscore (SCOR).Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, told CNN Business that audiences over the age of 35 have been “among the holdouts for a movie going return due to an abundance of caution relating to the pandemic” but “House of Gucci” could change that.

'House of Gucci' doesn't make the most out of its stylish accessories”A star-studded film like ‘House of Gucci’ looks to prove why the movie theater experience remains such an attractive and irreplaceable setting for such marquee movie events,” he said. “This is the type of movie tailor made to get parents, aunts, uncles, and even young adults out after a big Thanksgiving meal.”

While superhero movies are the focal point of Hollywood (and were before the pandemic), it’s important for theaters to have variety. That includes family films like “Encanto” and films for an older demographic like “House of Gucci.””Audiences are diverse and complex, and so too is the box office when it’s firing on all cylinders,” Robbins said. “Comic book films attract most of the attention, and they certainly are near the center of the industry’s financial gravity, but a variety of content aimed at all demographics has always been and will always remain integral to the sustained success of the theatrical experience.”

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(CNN)Lin-Manuel Miranda is not throwing his shots, and in 2021, the creator of “Hamilton” has been getting a whole lot of them.

After his earlier work “In the Heights” became a critically admired (if little seen) movie, Miranda has made his directing debut with “Tick, Tick … Boom!,” a loving adaptation of “Rent” creator Jonathan Larson’s coming-of-stage story, and written eight original songs for “Encanto,” a Disney animated film featuring a predominantly Latinx cast. That follows another animated movie, Netflix’s “Vivo,” which he produced in addition to writing the music.Although he is working from a script by Steve Levenson (“Dear Evan Hansen”), Miranda has clearly approached “Tick, Tick” as a deeply personal ode to musical theater in general and in particular Larson, who tragically died on the eve of what would become “Rent’s” record-breaking run at the age of 35.

Deftly expanding the source material into a movie, the film is anchored by a sensational performance by Andrew Garfield as Larson, with the title referring to the sense that his bravado about becoming “the future of musical theater” is running dry, with timing running out, in his eyes, as he approaches his 30th birthday.

Capturing the creative process on film also poses a tricky proposition, but Miranda mostly manages to do just that, while conveying the palpable anxiety that Larson feels about at what point he transitions from being a writer who waits tables to make ends meet to becoming “a waiter with a hobby.”Read MoreThe echoes of “Rent” throughout are also everywhere, reflecting how Larson eventually went from trying to sell an esoteric concept set in the future to writing about subjects very close to home, including struggles to keep the lights on (literally) and the ravages of AIDS at the time.”Tick, Tick … Boom!” is filled with happy surprises, and Garfield receives able support from Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesus and Vanessa Hudgens, as well as Bradley Whitford as legendary composer Stephen Sondheim.If Larson took the right advice when he decided to “write what you know,” Miranda, as a director, has taken that advice to heart as well.

Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz), center, in the Disney animated feature ‘Encanto,’ featuring songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda.As for “Encanto,” feeling like an outcast is one of the most durable themes in Disney animation, which has become more relevant as those movies have moved in a more progressive direction than ol’ Walt’s early days. “Encanto” reflects a more recent tradition, in a movie about what makes us special, seriously enlivened, again, by Miranda’s musical gifts.Miranda did the same for “Moana,” and “Encanto” possesses many similar charms, with a sizable dollop of “The Incredibles” in its focus on a super-powered family. The main departure, and it’s an interesting one, is the lack of a traditional villain, an absence that’s felt but mostly overcome by the warmth and energy behind the execution, which effectively draws audiences into the story.Set in a magical town in Colombia, Disney’s 60th animated feature begins with a nod to a particularly sober real-world phenomenon — namely, the plight of refugees. But amid their loss comes the magic that has made the Madrigal family flourish, with each possessing a remarkable gift under the watchful eye of matriarch Alma (María Cecilia Botero).Everyone, that is, except Mirabel (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s” Stephanie Beatriz), who emerged empty-handed from the gifting ritual, still determined to be as much a part of the family as her parents and sisters.”Gift or no gift, I am just as special as the rest of my family,” Mirabel tells the local children, but she seems as doubtful of the truth of that as they are.Still, just as one of Mirabel’s cousins comes of age and her sister is about to marry, strange things start happening, with signs that the family’s magic is beginning to fade. Mirabel thus becomes the Cassandra warning of danger, something her grandma has no interest in hearing, merely reinforcing Miirabel’s sense that it has fallen to her to save everyone.Directed Jared Bush and Byron Howard (“Zootopia”) and co-directed by Charise Castro Smith, “Encanto” compensates for the dearth of traditional conflict with a colorful world filled with powers and an abundance of music.”I will never be good enough for you,” an exasperated Mirabel says at one point.

Happily, “Encanto” is plenty good enough for families seeking a sprinkle of that Disney animated magic, just as is “Tick, Tick … Boom!” brings theater into the home.”Tick, Tick … Boom!” premieres Nov. 19 on Netflix. “Encanto” premieres in US theaters on Nov. 24. It’s rated PG.

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(CNN Business)Amazon (AMZN) is facing strikes by warehouse workers and delivery drivers across Europe as its busiest weekend of the year begins.

Labor unions in Germany, Italy and France are calling for the company to pay its workers fairly and respect their right to join unions. The strikes have been called to coincide with Amazon’s annual Black Friday event, which kicks off a four-day shopping bonanza that culminates in Cyber Monday.The action is part of a wider global protest organized by a group called Make Amazon Pay. The coalition of unions, environmentalists and tax campaigners has called for protests in 22 countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.

The international coalition is also demanding that Amazon “pays its fair share of taxes and commits to real environmental sustainability.”

An Amazon spokesperson said that the groups represented a variety of interests, and while the company was “not perfect in any area” it was taking its role and impact seriously. Read More”We are inventing and investing significantly in all these areas, playing a significant role in addressing climate change with the Climate Pledge commitment to be net zero carbon by 2040, continuing to offer competitive wages and great benefits, and inventing new ways to keep our employees safe and healthy in our operations network, to name just a few,” the spokesperson added.Some of its workers are not convinced. Germany’s giant Verdi union organized a strike of warehouse workers to coincide with the launch in Berlin of “Amazon Workers against Surveillance,” a group protesting the company’s “use of apps, hand scanners, browser tools and cameras to surveil its workforce 24/7.” “Working almost anywhere at Amazon is stressful and hazardous to one’s health,” the group said in a statement on its website.In Italy, workers are planning to blockade warehouses and trucks at all Amazon centers across the country, and thousands of drivers are set to strike on Friday.Warehouse workers are also striking in France, including at a logistics center in Lille, in support of demands for wage increases and bonuses, and an end to compulsory overtime.

Elizabeth Warren says Amazon is 'like a monster' that must be fed every minuteThey told CNN that Amazon has asked employees to work on all four Saturdays during December, in addition to their usual hours. For this overtime, they would get a bonus of €120 euros ($136) subject to certain conditions, the workers said. It’s not clear how disruptive the strikes will be for Amazon, but this holiday shopping season is proving tough for retailers trying to satisfy strong consumer demand in the face of supply chain disruptions, and shortages of workers and some goods. Make Amazon Pay was launched a year ago after 50 organizations held strikes and protests in 16 countries around the world, the coalition said.”Today’s actions show the scale of resistance to Amazon’s exploitation at every link in its chain of abuse,” said Casper Gelderblom, a coordinator of the group.

“Workers throughout the supply chain are demanding what’s rightfully theirs when even Jeff Bezos admits their labor paid for his recent joy ride to space,” he added.— Xiaofei Xu and Nathaniel Meyersohn contributed to this article.

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Hong Kong (CNN Business)Shares of SoftBank (SFTBF) plunged about 5% in Tokyo on Friday after Chinese regulators reportedly asked Didi to delist from the United States because of concerns about data security.

The Japanese company’s Vision Fund is a major shareholder in the Chinese ride-hailing service with a stake of over 20%.SoftBank shares opened lower on Friday as Asian markets were slammed by fears of a new coronavirus variant that appears to be spreading rapidly in parts of South Africa.

But the losses accelerated after Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources, that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has asked Didi’s top executives to work out a plan to delist the company from the New York Stock Exchange.

Didi, SoftBank and the CAC didn’t immediately respond to CNN Business’ requests for comments on the report.

SoftBank's CEO went big on China. Now he's pulling backRead MoreThe country’s tech watchdog has asked Didi’s management to delist the company from the United States over ” concerns about leakage of sensitive data,” the Bloomberg report said. “Proposals under consideration include a straight-up privatization or a share float in Hong Kong followed by a delisting from the US,” the report added.But deliberations are still under way and “it’s possible regulators will backtrack on their request,” it said.

In July, Chinese regulators probed Didi over cybersecurity concerns and removed it from app stores in the country, just days after Didi’s blockbuster US IPO. The CAC accused Didi of illegally collecting and handling personal information.The tough action against Didi is part of Beijing’s sweeping regulatory crackdown on the country’s private enterprise, in particular tech companies.

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