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- Bit by Bit 24th Dec. || FMCG rural demand shows signs of revival after 2 years || Long delays forced students to drop out of the CFA program & more
Bit by Bit 24th Dec. || FMCG rural demand shows signs of revival after 2 years || Long delays forced students to drop out of the CFA program & more
Good Morning Readers!
Anyways, Here are:
"5 amazing stories in 5 minutes to make you future ready"
Happy reading!
MARKET UPDATE
NIFTY 50 : ₹18,199.10 (-1.01%)
BSE SENSEX : ₹61,067.24 (-1.03%)
NIFTY BANK : ₹43,617.95 (-1.71%)
USD/INR : ₹82.90 (+0.37%)
BRENTOIL : $81.91 (+2.38%)
MCXGOLD : ₹55,030 (+0.24%)
FII Net Cashflow : - ₹1191 crores
DII Net Cashflow : + ₹1757 crores
(Market Data as of 11:00 PM on 22/12/2022)
Economy
The Story:
India is thought to occupy a sweet spot in a severely damaged global economy with significant uncertainties. But there are looming issues in India as well that require quick attention, including falling growth, high inflation, and an expanding current account deficit (CAD).
The economy expanded by an impressive 8.7% in the fiscal year 2021–2022 and a staggering 13.5% in the first quarter of 2022–2023—possibly the fastest growth rate among major economies during this time. However, the high base effect of the pandemic-driven contraction in 2020–21 and the first-quarter Delta variant shock of 2021–22 was largely responsible for this.
At the same time, even if it fell below 6% in November, headline inflation is still high and has widened. In 2022–2023, we forecast annual headline inflation to be 6.3%, higher than the RBI's tolerance band. The current account deficit (CAD), which has climbed far above the comfortable threshold of 2% of GDP and is currently approaching 3%, is the third main issue.
FMCG
Key Facts:
Rural demand for packaged FMCG goods has begun showing signs of revival after nearly two years of slowdown
Good harvest season, inflation slowing among the reasons for the recovery
Government spending and higher MSPs aiding recovery
The Story:
India's villages, which contribute more than 35% to overall annual FMCG sales, are crucial for overall revival of the sector. Executives said good seasonal harvests, resulting in improved liquidity in the hands of farmers, higher government spending on infra, and the wedding season are aiding consumer sentiment in India's villages.
The market was squeezed over the past two years by the pandemic-induced disruption of supply chains and distribution channels, followed by unprecedented inflation of commodities, fuel and packaging. This led companies to increase the prices of packaged goods, including daily essentials, forcing consumers to either buy cheaper packaged goods or buy less grocery and personal care products.
"Higher minimum support prices for key crops and increased spending on rural infrastructure by the government, would aid rural growth and help gradual recovery in rural demand," ratings agency Crisil Ratings said in its quarterly outlook update. Executives at Marico, Wipro Consumer and Britannia also said rural demand has begun showing signs of recovery after five-six quarters.
AUTOMOTIVE
The Story :
Citroen India on Friday forayed into Central India with the inauguration of ‘La Maison Citroen’ phygital showroom in Nagpur. The entire Citroen India range, which currently includes the new C5 Aircross SUV and the new C3, will be available for retail at the phygital showroom."In addition to customer-focused, digital-driven sales services, the dealership will also house L’Atelier Citroën to ensure customers have seamless access to a robust range of after-sales services as well".
The La Maison Citroen phygital showroom concept is designed with customers as the primary focus as it ensures all customers can explore the world of Citroen at their own pace and convenience. “To further enhance customer experiences, the brand also offers various vehicle customization options to ensure their Citroen is their true reflection."
L’Atelier Citroen, the brand’s after-sales workshop, offers innovative care and maintenance services for cars in India at customers’ doorsteps. “Among other things, Citroen car owners in Nagpur will have access to services such as Virtual Remote Diagnostics, Genuine Spare Parts availability within 24 hours, 180 minutes-RSA Guarantee, etc. L’Atelier Citroen also offers ‘anytime, anywhere’ access and pickup and drop services to further ease the ownership experience,"
TECH
The Story:
Last Sunday, Twitter announced new rules under which it would suspend accounts that posted links to other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram with the main purpose of promoting content on these platforms. It also said tweets promoting accounts on those platforms could be removed if users urged their Twitter followers to join them there. The move sparked an instant backlash from Twitter users, some of whom pointed out that the new rules were illegal under US antitrust law and the European Union's Digital Markets Act.
Twitter quickly deleted the tweets and the web page announcing the new policy and Musk tweeted hours later, “Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again.” He then tweeted a poll asking Twitter users if he should step down as head of the company, adding, “I will abide by the results of this poll.”
Sure enough, almost 60% of the 17 million Twitter users who participated in the poll voted ‘yes’. It’s hard to imagine Musk expecting anything but this result when he tweeted the poll. When asked afterwards whether he would in fact step down, he replied, “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.”
This seat-of-the-pants management style has come to typify Musk’s approach to running Twitter and has raised concerns about his other ventures.
Anything Interesting
Key Facts:
The CFA Program curriculum places a special emphasis on portfolio management and investment analysis and offers in-depth knowledge of investment ethics and principles.
Decentralized banking and blockchain are important updates in the syllabus.
In comparison to the previous curriculum, ESG content was raised by 130% in the present curriculum.
The Story:
Recent statistics revealed that when some candidates delay taking the chartered financial analyst (CFA) exam, the pass percentage for the first level fell. While the pass rates have started to recover from the pandemic-induced lows, Nick Pollard, the managing director of the Asian Pacific region at the CFA Institute, emphasised another significant factor contributing to the decline in pass rates.
While the three exams' pass rates have started to recover from the pandemic-induced lows, Pollard said in an interview with ETMarkets, "we also observe from our data that deferred candidates were less successful in their exams due to the lengthy delays, and as a result some are not continuing with the program." Students will have the chance to use Level I of the CFA Program as a strong indicator to employers that they are serious about a career in the investment industry, thanks to the expansion of the eligibility policy.
