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- Bit by Bit 27th Jan || US, Philippines; Growing economies in the midst of recession fears & more
Bit by Bit 27th Jan || US, Philippines; Growing economies in the midst of recession fears & more
Good Afternoon Readers!
Here are:
"4 amazing stories in 4 minutes to make you future ready"
Happy reading!
ECONOMY
Key Facts:
GDP of Philippines expanded 7.6 per cent in 2022, faster than the pandemic-blighted 5.7 per cent output in 2021.
GDP of US rose at a 2.9% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, slightly better than expected.
Consumer spending weakened from the previous period but remained positive due to pent up demand.
The Story:
For the US, Consumer spending, which accounts for about 68% of GDP, increased 2.1% for the period, down slightly from 2.3% in the previous period but still positive. Along with the boost from consumers, increases in private inventory investment, government spending and non-residential fixed investment helped lift the GDP number.
For Philippines, The improvements in labour market conditions, increased tourism, revenge and holiday spending, and resumption of face-to-face classes supported growth in the quarter.
Agricultural production, however, grew just half a per cent last year, barely contributing to the overall output.Consumer spending weathered rising inflation as pent-up demand to spend in restaurants and entertainment as well as more jobs fuelled domestic demand.
Clearly, if not for the high inflation and elevated prices during this period, growth could have been higher.
FMCG
The Story:
In the face of a soaring cost of living, many low and middle-income people in Bangladesh have either ditched branded products or switched to smaller packs, causing consumer goods producers and marketers to record a slowdown in sales in 2022.
Senior executives of a number of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies told The Daily Star that the sales volume of non-essential products either fell or posted a very minimal growth last year compared to 2021.
FMCGs, also known as consumer packaged goods, are products that sell quickly at relatively lower costs. And the top officials say people have become more sensitive to the prices while sensitivity to the brands fell, meaning they are giving up their preferred brands in order to access low-priced alternatives.
This is because their purchasing power has eroded as inflation has persistently remained at an elevated level since March while incomes have stagnated.
TECH
The Story
While the U.S. Justice Department's historic case against Alphabet's Google over its monopoly on ad technology may benefit competitors and websites that sell ad space, it puts the future of advertisers themselves in doubt. In a lawsuit filed against Google on Tuesday, the Justice Department demanded that the corporation sell Google Ad Manager, a collection of tools that includes one that enables websites to list their ad space for sale and another that acts as a marketplace for matching advertisers and publishers.
According to Neil Begley of Moody's Investors Service, if the Justice Department's action is successful, "advertisers and publishers might have greater leverage with more alternatives with increasing players - and subsequently more competition."
According to Brian Mandelbaum, CEO of marketing company Attain, if Google advertisements become less effective, Apple Inc., which is slowly expanding its fledgling advertising business and pitching it as privacy-focused, might benefit.
Anything Interesting
The Story:
According to a leading UN economist, India is currently a "bright spot" in the global economy. It is in a "strong position," with its projected growth rate of 6.7% for next year being significantly higher than that of the other G20 members. According to the report's centrepiece, higher interest rates and the global economic slowdown will weigh on investment and exports, causing India's GDP to moderate to 5.8% in 2023. Even though the outlook for other South Asian countries is "more challenging," India's economic growth is anticipated to remain "strong." India is the world's fastest-growing major economy, which is predicted to grow at 6.7% in 2024.
The Group of Twenty (G20) is made up of 19 nations: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States. This growth rate is sustainable for India. Significant numbers of people reside in poverty in India. This would therefore be a huge boost. The Sustainable Development Goals and the fight against poverty around the world would benefit if India could maintain this growth rate in the near future, according to Economist. He claimed that India's unemployment rate, which is now 6.4% and lower than it was in 2017, has decreased significantly over the past four years. He explained, "That means the domestic demand has been fairly strong. India's inflation pressure has also "relaxed quite significantly," and experts predict that it will be around 5.5% this year and 5% in 2024.
