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- Bit by Bit 8th Dec. || The growing economy of Saudi Arabia amidst global slowdown || Chip shortage plagues auto production & More
Bit by Bit 8th Dec. || The growing economy of Saudi Arabia amidst global slowdown || Chip shortage plagues auto production & More
Good Morning Readers!
Anyways, here are:
"5 amazing stories in 5 minutes to make you future ready"
Happy reading!
MARKET UPDATE
NIFTY 50 : ₹18,560.50 (-0.44%)
BSE SENSEX : ₹62,410.68 (-0.34%)
NIFTY BANK : ₹43,098.70 (-0.09%)
USD/INR : ₹82.29 (-0.23%)
BRENTOIL : $77.47 (-2.39%)
MCXGOLD : ₹54,023 (+0.49%)
FII Net Cashflow : - ₹1242 crores
DII Net Cashflow : + ₹389 crores
(Market data as of 11:00 PM on 7/12/2022)
ECONOMY
Key Facts
Saudi Arabia has exceeded its surplus estimate and revised the GDP forecast.
The country has recorded a larger-then-expected budget surplus for 2022 of SR102 billion ($27.13 billion).
Saudi Arabia’s inflation, which recorded 2.6 percent in 2022, is expected to fall to 2.1 percent in 2023.
The kingdom has seen first budget surplus since 2013.
The Story
The surplus comes as the Kingdom's gross domestic product is also set to exceed expectations — registering growth of 8.5 percent compared with the 7.5 percent estimated in December 2021 and the 8 percent forecast in pre-Budget statement published at the end of September.
The Kingdom expects revenues of SR1.13 trillion next year, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported. The surplus is equivalent to 0.4 percent of gross domestic product — 0.2 percentage points higher than forecast in September.
After oil prices collapsed in the aftermath of the pandemic, Saudi Arabia pledged fiscal restraint, though this year it has boosted spending to cushion inflation for some of its citizens. The government is also directing massive state spending off-balance sheet, mostly through the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the PIF, which is driving its ambitious "Vision 2030" programme to wean the economy off oil.
FMCG
Distributors upset by FMCG cos’ practices
The Story
Distributors of fast-moving consumer goods have raised concerns over some practices of packaged goods makers such as Amul, Mondelez and Tata Consumer Products, which they say are leading to supply shortages, or dumping of stocks in a sluggish market.
The issues were discussed at a national governing council meet of the All India Consumer Products Distributors’ Federation (AICPDF) in New Delhi earlier this month. Representatives of 17 state associations attended the meeting. The AICPDF represents lakhs of distributors pan-India.
Many state representatives requested AICPDF to look into the concerns of the distributors of FMCG companies like Cadbury’s (Mondelez), Amul and Tata Consumer Products who suffer due to the anti-distributor policies of these companies, the association members said in a note.
AICPDF has resolved to take up these issues directly with company management in due course.
AUTOMOTIVE
The Story:
The queue for passenger vehicles now has over 700,000 people in line, but automakers are unable to service the demand, thanks to the continuing global semiconductor shortage.
The chip shortage which was at its most acute in the third quarter of last fiscal, had begun to ease toward the second half of the year, though carmakers note that while the challenge has eased considerably since then, uncertainties in availability are causing a dip in monthly volumes and are expected to persist through the next year. “We have seen a 95-96% recovery in our production but some models are impacted due to chip shortages - including variants of the Swift, Baleno and XL6.
Carmakers also haven’t had much success with launching de-featured variants of products as a measure to ship out product to mitigate the shortage of chips, as customers increasingly look for higher-end models.
Japanese automotive giant Toyota Motor Co. is adjusting its global production schedule by closing operations at four lines in three plants in Japan in December, to account for semiconductor and parts shortages because of resurgence in covid-19 cases in China and South Korea. It slashed production targets by 500,000 units for FY23 from 9.7 million to 9.2 million units to account for potential shortages.
TECH
The Story:
On Tuesday, Sony Group Corp stated that it was technologically prepared to produce humanoid robots, but that it was important to first determine the applications of such robots.
According to Sony Chief Technology Officer Hiroaki Kitano, "many firms throughout the world, including this one, have enough technology accumulated to produce them fast once it becomes evident which usage is promising."
The creation of application is crucial, according to Kinota.
Want a BIT More?
Your dog's breed may not dictate its behavior, though genes do play a role, a study of the genomes of 4,000 purebred, mixed-breed and wild dogs has revealed.
In comparing the DNA data of so many animals, researchers found that genetic variations appeared in clusters around different types of dogs. These clusters contained dog breeds that all had one thing in common: the role their ancestors played in human history
The study also found genes relating to the heart, the digestive system and other parts of the dogs' physiology, as well as many bits of DNA that are inactive or non-coding, or "junk DNA." While some of these genes were found more commonly in some lineages than in others, the research doesn't directly prove a link between specific bits of DNA and certain behaviors, said Kathleen Morrill(opens in new tab), a genomics researcher at the University of Massachusetts.
