A major key takeaway from the COP27 is the consensus to create a loss and damage fund, without which the summit could have been the biggest failure, writes Manish Vaid, Junior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.

This year's climate summit, the 27th round of the Conference of Parties (COP27), was held at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, amidst geopolitical tensions around the Russia-Ukraine war and China's Covid-19 induced economic slowdown due to its harsh zero-Covid policy. G7 countries led by the United States are gearing up for imposing fresh sanctions against Russia by capping it's crude oil prices to punish it for its war against Ukraine. This the West believes would limit Russian oil revenue, thereby weakening its economy and war efforts in Ukraine. However, at the same time, this war has also unsettled the global energy system in a way that countries that had set their respective net-zero targets in Glasgow to embrace cleaner fuels, have suddenly found themselves scrambling for both oil and gas supplies. The implications for these developments were also felt in the recently concluded COP27 Summit. Notably, India's call for a complete phase-down of all fossil fuels was not agreed to in this summit, except by the European Union (EU). EU Vice President Frans Timmer-mans said that "the bloc would support India's proposal to phase out all fossil fuels "if it comes on top of what we already agreed in Glasgow". He further added that "provided the commitment to phase-down coal was not undermined as a result, the Indian proposal would be acceptable".

Earlier, citing the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Indian negotiators had told the Egyptian COP27 presidency that meeting the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement "requires phase down of all fossil fuels". However, Alok Sharma, a British politician, and President of the COP26 Summit, in the closing plenary, raised his concerns by stating that, "Emissions peaking before 2025 as the science tells us is necessary? Clear follow-through on the phase-down of coal? A clear commitment to phase out all fossil fuels? " Leading oil and gas producers of the world including US and Saudi Arabia didn't    Full Article ...

India's real gross domestic product or GDP at constant (2011-12) prices grew 6.3% during the second quarter ended September 30, 2022, driven primarily by the services sector, provisional data from the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed. The GDP growth, however, was lower compared to both the corresponding quarter a year ago when it grew by 8.4%, as well as the preceding quarter growth of 13.5%. The GDP growth was hit by tepid shows in segments such as manufacturing, which contracted 4.3%, as well as mining sector, which shrank 2.8%, during the period under review. Agriculture sector, however, proved to be a bright spot, with real gross value added (GVA) growing by 4.6%. Construction GVA too was quite encouraging, with growth of 6.6%, during the July-September quarter. Further, in another positive, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) too showed sign of improvement with its share in GDP jumping annually from 33.4 in Q2FY22 to 34.6% in Q2FY23. The GDP growth data was in line with the Reserve Bank of India's projections of 6.1-6.3%. The GVA at basic price at constant terms stood at 5.6%, during Q2FY23. Commenting on the latest GDP data, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said the Indian economy is on track to achieve a 6.8-7% GDP growth in the current fiscal. In an interaction with the media following the release of the Q2 GDP data, he told while a fall in the growth rate was expected due to the fading away of the base effect, the numbers show the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has continued. "This data confirms that the economic recovery continues and most components of economic growth are stabilizing at a moderate pace and we are on track to deliver 6.8-7% GDP growth for the current financial year," he observed, adding, "We can look ahead-as capacity utilization rate picks up, as capital formation maintains its buoyancy, tax revenue growth indicates the vigor of economic activity, etc.,-to India building on its growth recovery further in 2023-24 as well," the CEA told. RBI expects the GDP to grow 7% in FY23. He also said that inflation could ease in the coming months which could bring relief to the common man. According to Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Chief Economic Adviser, State Bank of India, several indicators suggest that the Indian economy is making resilient progress.    Full Article ...

Despite global gloominess, India remains a bright spot supported by increasing credit growth, record GST collections, and a resilient agriculture sector.

India's growth story is here to stay, despite a slew of challenges like macroeconomic gusts stemming from Russia's war in Ukraine, the aftermaths of the Covid-19 pandemic, challenges posed by a changing climate, escalating crude oil prices, and tightening liquidity. Globally, an unprecedented acceleration in inflation has created a crisis for economic growth in many economies. Despite these obstacles, the Indian economy is expected to grow at a 7% annual rate (compared to the world's two largest economies, the United States at 1.6% and China at 3.2%), bolstered by a large demography to support consumption, abundant natural resources, and a reform-oriented stable government. More so, the changing policy approach towards boosting investment, demographic advantages, deepening trade ties with global economies, and the public digital infrastructure should ensure that gross domestic product (GDP) growth remains much stronger than elsewhere.

India has become an attractive destination for global investors as the economy is doing better than most other economies around the world in a time of economic volatility. The country has emerged as one of the fastest-growing major economies (surpassing China for the first time in a generation) and has recently surpassed the United Kingdom to become the fifth-largest economy in the world at market exchange rates. The pace of growth that it has achieved so far is impressive. The economy possesses all the ingredients required for attracting long-term foreign capital and vaulting into the top three economies in the world.    Full Article ...

Bisleri, the maker of the eponymous mineral water brand and inarguably one of independent India's most successful startup stories, is up for grabs as Ramesh Chauhan, the group patriarch, prepares to hang up his boots.

Tata Consumer Products Ltd. (TCPL), the venerable Tata Group's subsidiary, is rumored to be leading the race to acquire Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd., as the group patriarch Ramesh Chauhan prepares to hang up his boots. However, the competition (to ensnare the prize catch) has only intensified with a slew of rivals, including Reliance Retail, owned by Asia's second-richest man, Mukesh Ambani, Swiss FMCG giant Nestle, and French dairy major Danone, also throwing their hats in the ring. Nevertheless, if several unconfirmed reports are to be believed, the Tata Group has emerged as the frontrunner to take over the company that pioneered the concept of packaged drinking water in the country and which currently leads a market that is estimated at around 20,000 cr. According to a report in The Economic Times, TCPL is looking to shell out anywhere between 6,000 cr and 7,000 cr to buy out the firm that owns the namesake packaged drinking water brand. Apart from that, the proposed acquisition, provided it gets through, will also give the acquirer access to a slew of other popular brands, such as Vedica, a premium packaged drinking water brand, and Fonzo and Spyci fizzy soft drink labels. For the unfamiliar, Bisleri International, owned by Parle (Bisleri) patriarch Ramesh Chauhan, is India's largest packaged drinking water company with a market share of over a third. As per media reports, Tatas and Chauhan-helmed Bisleri International have been in talks for more than two years now, although without any breakthrough so far. However, it is believed that the balance has tilted in favor of Tatas after the Bisleri boss met sometime ago, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, and Tata Consumer Products Ltd. CEO Sunil D'Souza, whom the maverick marketer described as "good guys."    Full Article ...

A raging pandemic, flawed government's response and constant war mongering have all meant China's once mighty manufacturing hub image takes a hit..

It was not long ago that China's manufacturing reigned supreme, earning it the sobriquet, the world's workshop. Look at the data. According to the United Nations, the world's second-largest economy accounted for about 29% of the world's manufacturing output in 2019 (as against America's share of 17%, Japan's 8% , and Germany's 5%), which adds a total value of nearly $4 tn to the world economy. China attained this status in a short period of time. The Economist magazine claims that it contributed less than 3% of the world's manufacturing output in 1990. However, it first outshone the US in 2010, which had previously been the world's manufacturing powerhouse. The Dragon economy continues to dominate the world's manufacturing sector, ranging from light industries (such as apparel and textiles) to general sectors (like basic metals and electrical equipment), and higher-end activities (like computers and transport equipment). Reports indicate that there's hardly a sector in which China does not have at least a 20% global market share while commanding 40%+ shares in electrical equipment, basic metals, and computers. In textiles, apparel, and leather, China's share is more than half. Put differently, if global manufacturing were akin to the Olympics, China would take gold or silver in every event.    Full Article ...

The metaverse can be thought of as a collection of shared online worlds in which physical, augmented, and virtual realities converge. To put it more succinctly, it is a continuum that spans the spectrum of digitally enhanced worlds, realities, and business models and creates value for consumers, the workforce, and across different parts of the enterprise such as supply chains and operations, amongst others. The "Metaverse Continuum" will define the next era of digital transformation and revolutionize businesses and the lives of their customers and workforce in the years ahead. While we are in the early days of the metaverse, if companies don't act now, they will operate in a world designed by their competitors, reckons Raghav Narsalay, Managing Director, Accenture Research, and Research Lead for the Metaverse Continuum Business Group.

Value is the heartbeat of any business enterprise. Executives are always on the lookout for new sources of business value. And many are now getting interested in the metaverse because they believe in the value promise it holds. Accenture surveyed more than 4,600 business and technology leaders across 23 industries in 35 countries while penning its Technology Vision for 2022. According to 71% of executives polled, the metaverse will have a positive impact on their organization.

So, what is metaverse?
It's a continuum that spans the spectrum of digitally enhanced worlds, realities, and business models. The metaverse continuum creates value for consumers, the workforce, and across different parts of the enterprise, such as supply chains, and operations, among others. The metaverse is where we can be ourselves, express ourselves, and get together with like-minded people to build and exchange value. Several research reports have been published over the past six months estimating the macroeconomic value to be released by metaverse initiatives undertaken by businesses and governments. Given that this terrain is already covered, this article investigates where the value in the metaverse comes from.    Full Article ...

Target mutual funds (TMFs) have been in the limelight, of late, driven by growing awareness among investors as well as the onset of a hardening interest rate regime. However, these alone perhaps cannot explain the sudden investor interest in these funds, which apparently score over their other debt fund peers in terms of their ability to mitigate volatility (also known as interest rate risk or duration risk) and credit risks. Amit Somani, Sr Fund Manager, Tata Mutual Fund, in an interaction with Amit Singh Sisodiya, Deputy Editor, The Global ANALYST, explains what makes TMFs a preferred investment avenue for investors looking to beat the twin risks of volatility in returns and duration risk, their nitty-gritty, what asset allocation strategy one can follow for investing in such funds, risk-return trade-offs, if TMFs are the best choice when it comes to investing a debt fund, his outlook on interest rates, etc.    Full Article ...

India is on track to become the world's third-largest economy by 2027, surpassing Japan and Germany, and will also have the third-largest stock market by 2030, thanks to global trends and key investments the country has made in technology and energy, says Morgan Stanley in a new report. According to the US investment bank, India is already the fastest-growing economy in the world, having clocked 5.5% average gross domestic product growth over the past decade. Now, three megatrends-global offshoring, digitalization and energy transition-are setting the scene for unprecedented economic growth in the country of more than one billion people, forecasts the report titled "India's Impending Economic Boom." "We believe India is set to surpass Japan and Germany to become the world's third-largest economy by 2027 and will have the third-largest stock market by the end of this decade," observed Ridham Desai, Morgan Stanley's Chief Equity Strategist for India. Suggesting this presents a significant investment opportunity, he said, "Consequently, India is gaining power in the world order, and in our opinion, these idiosyncratic changes imply a once-in-a-generation shift and an opportunity for investors and companies." As per the report's projections, India's GDP could be more than double from $3.5 tn today to surpass $7.5 tn by 2031, while its share of global exports could also double over that period.    Full Article ...

Lula has been an advocate for democratic practices and that gets him American support. Given the growing trade between the two nations, Washington may find it much more convenient to deal with Lula than with Bolsonaro

Lula da Silva, a former metal worker who fought extreme poverty and a multitude of odds to head the Workers' Party, a major political party in Brazil, and later was elected as Brazil's President in 2003 (and remained in office between 2003 and 2010), and one of the most popular Latin American political leaders, returns to power after securing victory in a tight run-off race for the country's top job. However, Lula, who will formally take charge as the country's new president on January 1, 2023, faces a raft of challenges. N Janardhan Rao, Deputy Editor, The Global ANALYST, invited Surbhi Singhal (CA, CS), Senior Research Analyst, Advance Thinktank, New Delhi, to share her views on what Lula's return to power and the instalation of a leftist government mean for Brazil, its impact on the country's ties with the rest of the world, particularly US, what are the major issues the country faces today, can he be expected to come good on the many election promises he made to his voters, etc., among other issues.    Full Article ...

Australia: Yet Another Rate Hike
Federal Reserve's string of recent rate hikes raises fears about global financial stability.
The global economy faces extreme risks as the "Great Rever sal"-of the monetary stimulus and low-interest rates regime which prevailed across the economies from 2008 to 2020-21-unfolds. Perhaps, the seeds of today's rate hike spree were sown during that expansionary phase which had been in vogue for over a decade and saw the balance sheets of central banks led by the US Federal Reserve expand and surge to a gargantuan $32 tn as quantitative easing (QE) and loose monetary policy took center stage. Interest rates remained benign for a long time and some countries even dived into negative territories. This expansionary policy was then considered the panacea for the economic problems faced by the world. However, it also created a bubble in both physical and financial assets and inflation surged toward unsustainable levels. President Joe Biden's $1.9 tn stimulus plan for 2021 added fuel to the fire. The situation on the inflation front went from bad to worse, led by pent-up demand, driven in part by the pandemic-induced supply chain constraints. Higher energy prices coupled with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war have only made the job of the central banks, desperately looking to contain runaway prices, only harder now. While the Fed seems to be under pressure to do a course correction, which may see it pausing its rate hike spree, rising borrowing costs elsewhere and a runaway dollar, are worsening the miseries of the rest of the world.    Full Article ...

Buying a company in an industry you don't understand with goals that have nothing to do with economic success will virtually always end badly. That's what we're seeing play out with Musk's extremely foolish acquisition of Twitter, writes Rob Enderle, President and Principal Analyst of the Enderle Group, a forward-looking emerging technology advisory firm based in Bend, Oregon, USA.

One of the most valuable assets a CEO has is his image of competence and capability. If investors, employees, and customers believe that a CEO is competent, then he can survive until that opinion changes, regardless of the mistakes he makes. When he is viewed as incompetent, his ability to run a business suffers significantly, as does his ability to keep the CEO job. While Elon Musk has done what now appears to be terminal damage to Twitter through his poorly planned and executed acquisition of the company, this failure has a growing number of employees, investors, and customers of all his companies questioning his competence. When Twitter fails, the consequences may be his termination from several of the other firms he currently runs. Let's explore why Musk's acquisition of Twitter is such a huge train wreck.

Acquisition goal was flawed
Generally, a company is acquired when the value of it remaining independent is exceeded by the perceived increase in value once it is purchased. This is somewhat ironic given that most acquisitions tend to underperform expectations and lose value as a result of the merger process. But the Twitter acquisition is relatively unique, as there is no apparent synergy between Twitter and any of Musk's other companies. In addition, Twitter's founder and previous CEO, Jack Dorsey,    Full Article ...

With Lula da Silva's victory in the presidential election, Brazil joins the likes of Argentina, Chile, Peru, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Colombia, and Costa Rica where leftist-oriented regimes are currently ruling the roost. This reminds one of a similar pink tide during the early 2000s. However, this time the turn could be more precarious. Nonetheless, the key question is: Can Lula deliver on his promises he made to Brazilians? If his record is anything to go by, the prospects are mixed, writes Michael Roberts, Economist, and the author of the book The Great Recession.

For a start, Lula da Silva and his Workers' Party do not have a majority in the Brazilian Congress. Defeated incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters did much better in the elections than expected. Lula beat Bolsonaro in the presidential race by two million votes, still many governorships and congressional seats were taken by Bolsonaro's followers, particularly in the key cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The victory of 'Tropical Trump' Bolsonaro in 2018 was achieved mainly because of the disillusionment of the electorate with the failures of Dilma Rousseff's WP administration to sustain living standards and economic growth. After the collapse of commodity prices in resources and agriculture in 2014, the economy went into a recession. The Workers Party was held responsible for this and its corruption. But the experience of the Covid slump under Bolsonaro, when over 750,000 Brazilians died, has been so searing that, enough Brazilians turned away from him and returned to Lula in the hope for better. Can Lula deliver on his promises to Brazilians? If his record is anything to go by, the prospects are mixed. Lula's previous administration did see an expansion of real wages and a reduction in poverty and inequality. But the global financial crash and subsequent collapse in prices of key commodities (agriculture and minerals) that make up much of Brazil's exports ended that. The Rousseff administration was forced into a series of fiscal austerity measures that reversed many of the gains in living standards and public services achieved under Lula.    Full Article ...

As we bid adieu to 2022 and usher in 2023, it's time to reflect on which strategies worked and which ones need to be rejigged, though this is easier said than done. In this engaging piece, Michael Walton, a business psychologist, and visiting professor, outlines a slew of frameworks that can help organizations structure a process of reviewing what has gone on before and, based on the experiences of the past year, recalibrate organizational and personal aims and objectives for the next year or so.

The end of the calendar year is an opportune time to review progress over the previous 12 months. A time to (i) take stock of how things have gone; (ii) consolidate gains; (iii) examine surprises, losses, and disappointments; and (iv) plan for the coming calendar year. It is a time to reset goals, review plans, and assess the availability of the resources that will be required during the coming year. The purpose of the article is to offer several frameworks that can be used to structure a process of reviewing what has gone on before and to recalibrate organizational and personal aims and objectives for the next twelve months.

Review, recalibrate and restart
The first step is to review the past year's progress and accomplishments. To look, to see what needs to change and perhaps what needs to be done differently in the future, and then plan the work schedule for the following year. The '3 Rs' sets out these ideas and provides a few prompts about how this framework can be used.    Full Article ...

Today's workplace demands not only a high intelligence quotient but also a slew of intangible skills, such as adversity quotient and emotional quotient, writes K Murlidar, Regional Manager - Marketing, Life Insurance Corporation of India, SCZO, Hyderabad.

Human intelligence has always been an exciting field of study. Management researchers have been focusing on this to develop, monitor, and control organizational development. Intelligence is rooted in genetic code and controlled by the brain and helps individuals to explore their capacity and ability to interact with themselves as well as their peers, subordinates, and others. However, recent studies talk about upgraded science of human brain with different kinds of neural structures like mental, emotional and spiritual. It has been the practice of many employers to use the intelligence quotient (IQ) test to assess their employees. However, in the changing context, using intelligence quotients alone would not suffice, as a little more creativity is required to measure the personality of a person with different types of quotients independent of IQ.    Full Article ...

All the exertions of man emerge from mind, and so, the wise endeavor to steadying and stilling it.

We all still remember Enron and its meteoric rise and fall. But what we have perhaps, forgotten or less noticed is: followers fudging the accounts as ordered by bad leaders with eyes wide open and on free will. That is what we learn from Wesley H. Colwell, former Chief Accountant of Enron, who admitted to manipulating earnings on two occasions in the court. Similarly, Paula H Rieker, Secretary to Enron's board, testified in court about Skilling's order to make "last minute changes in earnings results to put them in line with analysts' expectations". Narrating this story, Barbara Kellerman, author of the book Followership, frames an axiom: "To oppose a leader who is bad-ineffective and/or unethical-is to be a good follower.

This whole episode takes me to Va-lmiki Ra-ma-yana, the oldest epic of India. We all know that at the behest of King Sugriva, Hanuma-n, Ja-mbavan, and Angada proceed southwards along with the monkey force to search for Si-ta. Hearing that Si-ta has been taken to Lanka, they wonder how to cross the ocean. Finally, encouraged by Ja-mbavan, Hanuma-n, like a comet spanning the whole sky, takes his flight above the sea and having crossed it, lands on Mount Lamba in Lanka.    Full Article ...