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- Bit by Bit 2nd Jan || The Benefits of MBA Networking || FMCG firms do not see any disruption from new COVID wave & more
Bit by Bit 2nd Jan || The Benefits of MBA Networking || FMCG firms do not see any disruption from new COVID wave & more
Happy New Year Readers!
Here are:
"5 amazing stories in 5 minutes to make you future ready"
Happy reading!
MARKET UPDATE
(Markets were closed on 01/01/2023, Sunday)
ECONOMY
Key facts
The inflation rate for Germany was 10.1% as compared to France's 6% and UK 9.3%
Germany highest rate of inflation was 29,500% in 1923
One of the worst cases of hyperinflation was seen in Hungary from august 1945 till July 1946, with the highest monthly inflation reaching (4.19*10^16) %
The Story:
The finance minister of Germany predicts that in 2024 and beyond, inflation in Europe's largest economy would decline to 7%, but he also predicts that high energy prices will become the new normal.
"The 2% goal hasn't changed. The German government and the European Central Bank must consider this their top priority "In an interview with the daily Bild that was published on Sunday, Christian Lindner remarked.
Germany's year-over-year inflation has slowed somewhat in November from a peak of 11.6% in October, driven by rising energy prices in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and declining Russian energy exports.
FMCG
Key facts
Consumer goods companies do not expect any disruption in supply chain or operations in case of any surge or new wave of Covid cases in the country.
Companies selling both essentials and non-essentials said they are completely prepared to replenish stock
The Story:
Consumer goods companies do not expect any disruption in the supply chain or operations in case of any surge or new wave of Covid cases in the country, even as the government has started preparing for any such eventualities. Companies selling both essentials and non-essentials said they are completely prepared to replenish stock even if there is any pantry loading by consumers, and also ensure their back-end is not impacted, executives said.
Companies said there had been no visible signs of pantry loading yet, but rumours are spreading about possible lockdowns if a China-like surge in Covid infection happens in India. At present, the positivity rate and active Covid cases in India are well below 1% with a surge in booster vaccination in the last few days. Still, the companies are closely tracking retail-level sales to check if there is any sudden surge in buying patterns or that of large packs indicating pantry loading so.
Some restrictions were there for companies selling non-essentials such as consumer electronics, smartphones and other non-food products in the first and second Covid waves. However, such restrictions were only in a few states during the past two waves and in offline retail. Over the past two years, consumer firms saw an improvement in sales during every Covid wave as retailers bought more stocks to ensure availability as well as pantry loading by end consumers due to uncertainty in restrictions.
AUTOMOTIVE
The Story :
Toyota Kirloskar Motor, an automobile giant, reported a data breach in its system on Sunday and said that the extent of intrusion is being confirmed. The company said in a statement that it has been "notified by one of its service providers of an incident that might have exposed personal information" of some of its customers on the internet.
The competent authority CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has been notified, as per the automaker. Considering this incident, TKM will work with its service provider to further enhance the existing extensive guidelines being followed and is fully committed to avoid any kind of inconvenience to our esteemed customers," the automaker said, apologizing "for any concern" the incident may have caused to its customers.
Meanwhile, the Automaker Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Saturday said it will increase prices of its entire model range by up to 4 per cent from April 1 to offset the impact of rising input costs. The company, which sells models like Fortuner and Innova Crysta, noted that prices are being hiked due to the rising input costs, including raw materials.
As a committed and customer-centric company, TKM has made all conscious efforts to minimize the impact of rising costs on consumers, it said in a statement.
TECH
New Twitter navigation tools arriving in January: Elon Musk
The Story:
In an effort to speed up the platform, Elon Musk on Saturday revealed new navigation features that would be available on Twitter in the coming months.
Twitter navigation that enables swiping to the side to navigate between suggested & followed tweets, trends, subjects, etc. will be available in January, he announced in a tweet.
In the meantime, he advised, "touch the star icon on the top right of the home screen to switch."
According to Musk, switching back and forth is beneficial. "Recommended tweets, lists, and topics will become awesome as we develop Twitter AI," he said. According to Musk, swiping between Lists on Twitter will also be possible.
The "view counts for tweets" function has proven popular with users, just as the Twitter CEO had promised. The list of features for Twitter's Blue service has also been revised, and it now states that those who pay the $8 monthly fee will receive "prioritized rankings in chats."
The Blue members can also upload videos from the internet that are up to 60 minutes long, 1080p, and 2GB in size. Prior to now, 1080p films with a 512MB file size cap were the only videos that Twitter Blue subscribers could submit to the site
Anything Interesting
Key Facts:
In order to network, 52% of prospective students pursue graduate degrees like an MBA, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).
76% of alumni who pursued a degree like an MBA agree that doing so helped them successfully expand their professional networks.
Given that 22% of CEOs worldwide hold an MBA degree, networking and hence having access to MBA alumni can be easily viewed as being equally valuable to the case study system used by business schools and any MBA course: Yiannis Gavrielides.
The Story:
Individuals benefit from having a strong professional network not just throughout their MBA but also throughout their whole career. It can primarily assist you in obtaining your ideal career. Consider that approximately 40% of applicants who submit applications for up to 10 job positions do not even receive an invitation to an interview, advises Yiannis. "Networking can dramatically boost your chances of getting interviewed or hired, whether you're applying for a full-time job after graduation or your first internship in your first year." Yannis references LinkedIn research in which it was determined that 70% of professionals who were looking for work knew someone who worked for the organisation they were applying to. Additionally, according to 52% of hiring managers, a referral might improve a candidate's chances of landing an interview.
Tips for better networking:
1. Refine your network.
2. Don’t hold back on LinkedIn.
3. Take advantage of alumni networks.
4. Do your research.
5. Keep in touch.
