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ATLANTA, Jan. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Novelis Inc., the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, announced today that it has named Chris Courts as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Compliance Officer. In this role, Courts will have responsibility for all legal matters across the company and serve on the company’s Executive Committee.

Courts has over 15 years of experience with Novelis, having most recently served in this role in an interim capacity since March 2020. Prior to that, Courts served as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel. During his tenure, he has held a series of leadership positions in the legal department, including overseeing intellectual property, contracts management, securities, compliance, governance, corporate secretary, as well as mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

«Chris’ expansive experience across Novelis has prepared him to excel in leading the organization’s legal function,» said Steve Fisher, President and CEO, Novelis Inc. «Not only is he an expert in his field, Chris is also incredibly knowledgeable of the aluminum industry. I am extremely confident in his capabilities as a leader and believe he will continue to provide impeccable strategic legal guidance to our executive team and the business as a whole.»

Prior to joining Novelis, Courts served as Senior Corporate Counsel for Aquila, Inc. He began his career as a corporate associate at the law firm of Husch Blackwell LLP.

Courts earned both a bachelor’s degree in finance and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Iowa.

About Novelis
Novelis Inc. is driven by its purpose to shape a sustainable world together. As a global leader in innovative products and services and the world’s largest recycler of aluminum, we partner with customers in the aerospace, automotive, beverage can and specialties industries to deliver solutions that maximize the benefits of lightweight aluminum throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited, an industry leader in aluminum and copper, and the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. For more information, visit novelis.com.

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SOURCE Novelis Inc.

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Despite the ongoing pandemic and a still struggling jobs outlook, Florida’s housing market in December showed more closed sales, more new pending sales, higher median prices and more new listings compared to a year ago, according to Florida Realtors® latest housing data. Single-family existing home sales rose 21% compared to a year ago.

«The strength and resilience of Florida’s housing market in 2020 has been remarkable – even with the challenges caused by the ongoing global pandemic and the resulting economic turmoil, the market in December ended on a high note,» said 2021 Florida Realtors President Cheryl Lambert, broker-owner with Only Way Realty Citrus in Inverness. «Mortgage rates remain historically low and there’s great interest from buyers throughout the state. However, a continued shortage of for-sale inventory is having an impact on prices and attainable, affordable housing.»

In December, closed sales of single-family homes statewide totaled 30,478, up 21% year-over-year, while existing condo-townhouse sales totaled 12,752, up 27.7% over December 2019. Closed sales may occur from 30- to 90-plus days after sales contracts are written.

The statewide median sales prices for both single-family homes and condo-townhouse properties rose year-over-year in December for 108 consecutive months. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $309,000, up 14.4% from the previous year, according to data from Florida Realtors Research Department in partnership with local Realtor boards/associations. Last month’s statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $230,000, up 13.7% over the year-ago figure. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Brad O’Connor noted that December’s closed sales for existing single-family homes was the second highest total for any month in 2020.

«Last winter we were on pace to have one of the best years on record in residential real estate,» he said. «The pandemic dashed those dreams in March, of course, but the housing market has since come roaring back – right now a lot of the right factors are in place for us to get off to another really strong start in 2021. New pending sales of single-family homes were up 30.7% year-over-year in December, while new pending condo and townhouse sales were up 42.6%, which strongly signals that we’re going to see this surge in closed sales continue into at least the first couple of months of this year.»

O’Connor added, «For all of 2020, we ended up with almost 6% more closed single-family home sales across the state than in 2019. But our current rate of sales is better exemplified by what took place during the second half of 2020, with single-family home sales marking an 18% year-over-year increase. And December’s strong finish for condo and townhouse sales put its annual total for 2020 ahead of its 2019 total by 2.5%.»

The state’s luxury market led the way throughout the second half of 2020, O’Connor noted, and coupled with the overall increase in home value appreciation across the board during that time, it resulted in a dollar volume of sales in 2020 that was far greater than in 2019.

«The dollar volume of closed single-family home sales rose by 22.5% in 2020 to nearly $125 billion,» he said. «Closed sales in the condo and townhouse category, meanwhile, ended the year with an annual total dollar volume in excess of $36 billion, for an increase of just under 14%.»

New listings statewide increased year-over-year in both property type categories in December, up 10% for single-family existing homes and 11.4% for condo and townhouse units.

On the supply side of the market, inventory (active listings) remained restricted, particularly in the single-family existing home category, which was at a very limited 1.8-months’ supply in December. Condo-townhouse inventory was at a 4.2-months’ supply.

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.68% in December 2020, significantly lower than the 3.72% averaged during the same month a year earlier.

To see the full statewide housing activity reports, go to Florida Realtors Media Center at http://media.floridarealtors.org/ and look under Latest Releases or download the December 2020 data report PDFs under Market Data at: http://media.floridarealtors.org/market-data.  

Florida Realtors® serves as the voice for real estate in Florida. It provides programs, services, continuing education, research and legislative representation to about 200,000 members in 51 boards/associations. Florida Realtors® Media Center website is available at http://media.floridarealtors.org.

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SOURCE Florida Realtors

ROME, Jan. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — If investments to help rural small-scale farmers adapt to climate change do not substantially increase, we risk widespread hunger and global instability, warned Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), ahead of the Climate Adaptation Summit next week.  

«It is unacceptable that small-scale farmers who grow much of the world’s food are left at the mercy of unpredictable weather patterns, with such low investment to help them to adapt,» said Houngbo. «They do little to cause climate change, but suffer the most from its impacts. Their increasingly common crop failures and livestock deaths put our entire food system at risk. It is imperative that we ensure they remain on their land and sustainably produce nutritious food. If not, then hunger, poverty and migration will become even more widespread in the years to come.»

In response, Houngbo will announce the launch of IFAD’s Enhanced Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP+) at the Climate Adaptation Summit on 26 January, alongside IFAD’s Goodwill Ambassadors Idris and Sabrina Elba who will discuss the topic with Alexander de Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, and Dag Inge Ulstei, Norway’s Minister of International Development.

Only 1.7 percent of global climate finance – a fraction of what is needed – goes to small-scale farmers in developing countries despite their disproportionate vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, according to a report released by IFAD at the end of 2020.

ASAP+ intends to change this. It is envisioned to be the largest fund dedicated to channelling climate finance to small-scale producers. It aims to mobilise US$500 million to reduce climate change threats to food security, lower greenhouse gases and help more than 10 million people adapt to weather changes. It will also help countries achieve their nationally determined contributions set under the Paris agreement. Austria, Germany, Ireland and Qatar have already pledged commitments.

Small-scale farmers currently produce half of the world’s food calories, but are often entirely reliant on natural resources, including rain. As a result, they are at significant risk from increasing temperatures, erratic rainfall, pest infestations, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events.

Note to the editor:

Follow the event: 26 January 09:30-11:30 CET CAS Channel 4. Register here or follow CAS YouTube channel. 

Contact: Antonia Paradela – a.paradelatorices@ifad.org – Mobile: +34 605398109 www.ifad.org

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SOURCE International Fund for Agricultural Development