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business

Coca-Cola Buys Costa Coffee for a £3.9B Deal

One of the world’s largest coffee chain, Costa is now under the beverage giant, Coca-cola, for £3.9B. Owner Whitbread deliberated on developing the chain as a separate firm but concluded that selling Costa would be more profitable.

According to Chief executive, Alison Brittain, Whitbread will now prioritize its Premier Inn businesses in UK and Germany. In 1995, Whitbread bought Costa for £19m when it had only 39 outlets. Today, the chain has more than 2,400 shops in the UK, 1,400 outlets in 31 countries, and 8,237 vending machines around the world.

Brittain told BBC that Coca-Cola intended to purchase the chain because “they want the coffee product, they have no coffee in their range.”

Whitbread will use the money for the expansion of Premier Inn, to return the cash of shareholders, to pay debts and to increase the company’s pension fund.

Chief executive Brittain added that Coca-Cola’s offer is significantly higher than demerging Costa into a separate firm in the stock market. She said it was a “win-win” deal for both parties.

Coca-Cola Buys Costa Coffee

The chief executive thought Coca-Cola plans to use Costa to make “ready to drink, cold brew coffees.”

“You could see Costa absolutely everywhere, in vending machines, hotels, restaurants, pubs, cafes – in all the places you see Coke today,” Brittain added.

James Quincey, Coca-Cola’s chief executive, believed that Costa was “a winning company that can go global.” On a conference call, Quincey admitted in front of investors that retail was a new field for the beverage giant. However, he knows that Costa already had “a strong management team.” For that, Coca-Cola plans to “make it attractive for them to stay.”

Earlier this year, Whitbread announced its plan to spin-off Costa. After being under pressure when US hedge fund, Elliott Advisors, held the largest share for Costa, Whitbread considered breaking up the business. Elliott Advisors brought up a demerger plan after it built a 6% stake in the firm.

Costa is the second to the largest coffee chain in the world, and the biggest in the UK. In China, Costa is the third leading chain when it comes to the most number of stores next to Starbucks. Consumer analysts, Kantar Worldpanel, said Costa obtains about £6.3B annual income just in the UK.

Coca-Cola Buys Costa Coffee

Apart from Premier Inn, Whitbread also owns Brewers Fayre and Beefeater restaurants. The company used to hold famous brands such as Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, and Marriott Hotels.

The deal is expected to be complete by the first half of 2019 after the finalization of agreement among Whitbread’s shareholders and other approvals like anti-trust regulators.

For years, Whitbread never liked the idea of demerging. The company glorifies the benefits of having two leisure brands in one place when asked about the reason behind having a hotel chain and a coffee chain.

Although the benefits don’t entirely convince some shareholders, they ride along Whitbread’s plan as they see the company grow its revenue, profits, as well as their share price at a steady pace for more than ten years.

Coca-Cola Buys Costa Coffee

However, things changed when Alison Brittain became the chief executive, and Elliott Management registered as a shareholder of the company. The aggressive US hedge fund had a history of shaking big companies, and Brittain believed that Costa and Premier are strong enough to stand on its own.

The initial plan was to spin-off Costa in the next two years, but Coca-Cola threw an irresistible offer. The deal was a milestone for Whitbread, and for Coca-Cola, it could also be a significant turning point. For the first time, the company will handle hot beverages, and it could also initiate growth, which investors are waiting for in a long time.

An equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Nicholas Hyett, told BBC that the deal is “a bitter-sweet moment for Whitbread investors.”

“On the one hand, £3.9bn is an undeniably rich valuation and likely far better than Costa could achieve as an independently listed company, valuing its earnings higher than those of the mighty Starbucks,” Lansdown added.

“On the other, Costa has long been the jewel in Whitbread’s crown, and some will be sad to see it go at any price, especially given the growth potential in China and elsewhere.”

Watch this video that covers the acquisition :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U01i6jzRKBY

November 16, 2018 0 comment

Business

Email Marketing: Your Perspective Vs Your Subscribers

written by Feras Antoon

Do you really know what your subscribers think about your emails? Failing to understand how our subscribers see the emails usually end in the ineffectiveness of strategies. We can’t blame you. Email marketers typically care about CTR, subscription rates, and conversions; while subscribers don’t share the same goal (obviously).

The key to effective marketing is knowing what’s important to our customers. We must define the reason behind what makes subscribers open the emails. We should specify why they’re subscribing to channels, or why they click the CTRs. The most crucial above all, we must know the elements that lead to sure conversions.

It’s a typical situation when email marketers misunderstand how subscribers perceive messages. Therefore, to avoid it, we’ll enlighten you on the difference between how marketers and subscribers see email marketing. Seeing both perspectives will help you strengthen your marketing campaigns, and increase the satisfaction of your subscribers.

Marketers Vs. Subscribers

There were 269 billion business and consumer emails sent in 2017, and it’s expected to grow even bigger over the next four years. Experts assume, there would be 4.4% growth in the number of emails that could reach 319.6 billion at the end of 2021. We’re thinking, perhaps how many of these emails were made for marketing yet failed due to wrong strategies?

It’s important to know that marketers and subscribers perceive messages differently. Knowing the difference is the key to successful marketing, leading to positive outcomes.

Email Marketing

Decoding Emails

For the marketers, an email is about:

Return on Investment
Open and Click CTRs
lower down unsubscribe rates
To expand the subscriber base
To improve customer touch-point
Conversion rate

For subscribers, an email is about:

Discount offers
Visually-appealing design
Exclusive offers
Customized copy
Convenience

It’s two different worlds when it comes to email marketing. Most of the time, marketers become too serious when they create emails that they miss what’s essential for subscribers. There are ways to bring the gap closer between marketers and subscribers – and it’s simple.

Email Marketing

From Address

A valid ‘from address’ is vital for conversion. Sometimes, marketers fail to use an address where subscribers can respond to (i.e., [email protected]) while expecting responses from them. Using a consistent ‘from name’ must come with a valid ‘from address’ for better open rates. A valid ‘from address’ allows subscribers to reply to the email, and connect with marketers. Thus, leading to conversions as well as customer trust.

The crucial role of the subject line

Subject lines must be persuasive to increase open rates from subscribers, but there’s more to that. Because 35% of recipients open emails due to subject lines, the subject’s content and length are essential factors when writing the subject line.

54% of emails are opened using mobile devices, which means the ideal length of a subject line must be around three words. Marketers must know that an average mobile device fits 4-7 words across its screen.

Although compelling subject lines that grab attention may increase open rates, a stronger subject line must contain what matters most. A good subject line must convey the real and brief essence of the email campaign. Adding emojis may also help liven up emails. However, marketers must never create misleading subject lines, as well as they must avoid using spammy words.

Personalized subject lines are 26% more effective than generalized ones.

Segmentation is key

Great marketers know that segmentation is a significant part of creating email campaigns. Segmented emails get 100.95% higher clicks and 14.31% higher open rates than non-segmented ones.

Age, demography, gender, preferences, are some of the segmentation options that help marketers target the right audience. Segmented campaigns also give delight to the subscribers through the idea of receiving personalized emails.

Email Marketing

Visually appealing emails

The email’s visual appeal is also important in its marketing strength. A brand logo must match the CTA color. Most brands place the CTA in the top 3rd email. Furthermore, the CTA must have compelling content, it must possess a good design, and it must be placed above the fold. However, despite all this, if the CTA doesn’t have a properly working landing page, all efforts will go to waste. Make sure to create a dedicated landing page to where the CTA is linked. This way, the subscriber gets closer to making a purchase.

When and how often to send emails

The best time and date to send emails depend on what kind of subscribers you have. The best way to know the right timing is through permission-based email marketing. You can ask your subscribers about their preference, and then manage the number of messages and time you will send them.

Here are suggested time and day for sending emails:

For entrepreneurs and workaholics

Opens – Saturday 10:00 AM

Clicks – Saturday 10:00 AM

Responses – Saturday 10:00 AM

Normal (B2B)

Opens – Saturday 10:00 AM

Clicks – Tuesday 10:00 AM

Responses – Tuesday 8:00 AM

Consumer (B2C)

Opens – Saturday 12:00 AM

Clicks – Saturday 12:00 AM

Responses – Saturday 6:00 AM

Email Marketing

First name personalization

Mentioning your subscribers’ name in your emails can do wonders in your campaign. However, you can even go beyond first name personalization, and create a personalized copy for your subscribers. For instance, you can mention your subscriber’s name in the content as well as in the subject line. You can also send special greetings during occasions like birthday, and offer promos that are related to the event.

Personalization is a useful technique that 91% of email marketers noticed improvements in their CTRs and open rates when they incorporate this strategy. Personalization also involves checking your subscriber’s preferences, purchase history or the products they like by looking at their carts. Customizing messages help in converting subscribers into customers.

Email Marketing

October 19, 2018 0 comment

Business

Full-Time MBA Program in Several Business Schools

written by Feras Antoon

A controversial issue is spreading among business schools when the London School of Economics launched its management department and didn’t include any form of Master of Business Administration (MBA) course in its programs.

It was in 2006 when LSE decided to dismiss MBA, which later on sparked outrage among professors and students. Professor Saul Estrin the head of the department who made the ruling said, “They put me on the rack.” Americans who were members of LSE disagreed the most. They feared replacing MBA with a masters degree in management would lower down the reputation of business schools.

However, the decision of LSE was based on a shred of evidence, which eventually worked out for the school. Currently, LSE has more than 600 masters students, and the school incorporated part-time masters in management as its strategy to compete with rival schools that offer an Masters of Business Administration program.

Anne Massey was about to get her deanship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s business school in October 2017 when plans about canceling MBA programs leaked. A barrage of complaints from students and alumni strewn when people heard the news, but Massey said that proposals got dismissed. A week after Massey’s statement, she resigned.

According to the AACSB, in a survey conducted among 661 institutions accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, only 79 do not offer MBA in any form. It just shows, a full-time MBA program remains a flagship course across many schools.

MBA & Business Schools

However, several schools have recently dropped full-time MBA courses, while a few new institutions opened without Master of Business Administration programs. Some of the schools that decided not to offer MBA as part of their strategy to cope up with changing business education demands include the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, King’s College London, and Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

According to Professor Estrin, it’s possible for schools to survive without an MBA program. In fact, ten years ago Prof Estrin decided to stop offering MBA to students when employers told him that they wanted to hire employees as soon as they graduated from so they can send the new hires to internal training programs. Typically, Masters in Business Administration Students who begin working before they go to business schools are considered “less malleable.” As mentioned by Prof Estrin in a statement from FT, employers wanted to hire people with “more specific sets of skills, such as critical thinking.”

There had been notable changes in the number of MBA enrollees across various schools. At the Wake Forest University School of Business, 123 students declined to 98 within five years before the school decided to close the program in 2014. According to dean Charles Iacovou, the schools based the decision on the inability to sustain the program financially.

However, when the Wake Forest University offered part-time MBA courses in the evening and during weekends, they saw a 44 percent rise in the number of enrollees. Currently, there are now MBA 321 students in the two campuses combined.

MBA & Business Schools

Wake Forest launched a course for specialist masters in business analytics in 2016 with an initial plan to enroll 25 students. From 25, the number of students became 39 as the program received too many top-quality applicants that they had to change plans. The year after, the number of students grew even more substantial, reaching a total of 67 students in 2017. The school then started offering a part-time version of the course.

“We recognized this key change in the marketplace,” Mr. Iacovou said in the statement.

In 2017, the dean at Tippie, Sarah Gardial announced the closure of the school’s full-time MBA program. According to the dean, the decision was based on the economic factors when running the course. The declining economy of full-time Masters of Business Administration programs was a crucial aspect of the ruling. Besides dean Gardial, two previous deans had the same decision.

The closing of MBA at Tippie wasn’t taken lightly by the alumni and the students. Many had violent reactions about the decision; some of them even expressed their anger on social media.

“In those first 48 hours it was ugly,” Gardial said in a statement with FT.com. “Telling them that we would be investing in other forms of programme and that staff would not be losing jobs did not wash.”

MBA & Business Schools

Dean Gardial shared the data with the students and the alumni showing that running a full-time MBA course resulted in a $1m loss a year, excluding the costs used for faculty staff. People calmed down upon knowing the information.

As Ms. Gardial mentioned, the school’s full-time MBA program will be replaced by specialist masters courses as degrees in business analytics continue to succeed. Since 2014, there had been a 517 percent growth in the number of applicants in such classes.

“A lot of the students for these courses are working professionals who are coming back to enhance their skillsets,” Ms. Gardial said in a statement with FT. The dean believes there’s a constant need for life-long learning.

Ms. Gardial added that ever since Tippie decided to close down their full-time MBA courses, other deans started considering the same move.

“I am not a champion of closing full-time MBA programs,” the dean said in the statement. “What I am is a champion for responding to new demands in the marketplace.”

October 5, 2018 0 comment

Business

Global Wealth : World’s Richest People Might Own Two-Thirds by 2030

written by Feras Antoon

The world’s wealthiest people only take up 1% of the population. A massive amount of the global wealth goes into this small number, and analysts expect, the amount will grow even more significant in the coming years. If we don’t do anything about the evident inequality, this 1% of the world’s richest people may own 2/3 of the globe’s wealth by 2030.

Inequality is only one of the major concerns at risk about this global imbalance. If the gap between the rich and the poor continues to extend further, anger and distrust among people worldwide could sprout from the uneven distribution of wealth.

The analysis came from the House of Commons library. The uneven swell of wealth started since the 2008 financial crash, and experts say, if the trends continue, the richest 1% will own 60% of the world’s riches by 2030. Even if the financial crash ends, the wealthiest people will still possess more than half of the world’s riches.

Ever since the financial crash, 1% of the world’s most affluent population has growing wealth at a rapid rate of 6% a year. Compared to the remaining 99% of the people, which have an increasing net worth at 3% yearly, the growth rate is of the wealthiest is much faster. If the pace carries on in the coming years, the top 1% will hold the globe’s wealth amounting to $305tn (£216.5tn) from $140tn that they have today.

According to analysts, the contributing factors that are behind the wealth swell among the richest 1% are income inequality, higher amounts of savings, and asset accumulation. The wealthiest people invest in businesses, stocks and other financial resources that all lead to gain of benefits, eventually, the uneven share of the global riches.

Global Wealth

Based on a poll gathered by Opinium, voters believe the inequality may result in issues of influence. When asked which group would have the strongest influence by 2030, the poll showed that 34% of the voters believe it will be the wealthiest people, while 28% thinks it will be the national governments. The survey depicts pandemic distrust, which the 41% of the investigation believes could be the root of corruption or as per 43% of the survey, the “super-rich enjoying unfair influence on government policy.”

The survey was authorized by the previous Labour cabinet minister, Liam Byrne, as part of the union of the world’s academics, MPs, business leaders, civil society leaders, trade groups, who all aim to address the issue.

Actor Michael Sheen is also one of the people who supported the call. Sheen had set aside his Hollywood career to lead a campaign against high-interest credit providers.

Global leaders hope to intensify the pressure in addressing the problem in the gathering of the G20 group of nations in the drawing summit in Buenos Aires in November. Byrne organized the first-ever conference as he believes, the inequality is “now at a tipping point.”

“If we don’t take steps to rewrite the rules of how our economies work, then we condemn ourselves to a future that remains unequal for good,” Byrne said in a statement with The Guardian. “That’s morally bad, and economically disastrous, risking a new explosion in instability, corruption, and poverty.”

Global Wealth

The call has gained attention and support across the political divide. According to Tory MP, George Freeman and the prime minister’s policy board said in a statement with The Guardian, “While mankind has never seen such income inequality, it is also true that mankind has never experienced such rapid increases in living standards. Around the world billions of people are being lifted out of poverty at a pace never seen before. But the extraordinary concentration of global wealth today – fuelled by the pace of technological innovation and globalisation – poses serious challenges.

“If the system of capitalist liberal democracy which has triumphed in the west is to pass the big test of globalisation – and the assault from radical Islam as well as its own internal pressures from post-crash austerity – we need some new thinking on ways to widen opportunity, share ownership and philanthropy. Fast.”

The group believes the keys to equality are increasing wages and improving the capital markets to balance the distribution of wealth.

Professor of geography at the University of Oxford, Danny Dorling, said the 2030 presumption is realistic.

“Even if the income of the wealthiest people in the world stops rising dramatically in the future, their net worth will still grow for some time,” Dorling said in statement with the The Guardian. “The last peak of income inequality was in 1913. We are near that again, but even if we reduce inequality now it will continue to grow for one to two more decades.”

This image shows the current trend which doesn’t look to be changing any time soon :

Global Wealth 2030

August 17, 2018 0 comment

Business

Walmart CEO Earned $22.8 million Last Year While the Company’s Median Worker Only Made $19,177

written by Feras Antoon

Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, earned 1,188 times more than the company’s median worker in the retailer’s last fiscal year that ended on January 31.

According to company indexing last fiscal year, McMillon earned $22.8 million while Walmart’s median worker had a gross totaling $19,177. The company is the nation’s private sector that has the most number of employers which amounts to 2.3 million workers worldwide. The figure includes both part-time and full-time employees, and 1.5 million of these workers are in the US.

For the first time, US companies were mandated to release the annual gross of CEOs including the pay ratios. The requirement is part of the Dodd-Frank financial reforms approved during the Obama administration. The pay ratios between CEOs and employees clearly show that even after the 2008 financial crisis, chief executives continue to earn substantially higher than the workers.

Walmart is not the only company that showed tremendous gaps in the pay ratios. For instance, Macy’s CEO earned $11.1 million in the last fiscal year, which was 806 times larger than the company’s median worker. On the other hand, Gap’s CEO made $15.6 million, that was 2,900 times bigger compared to the median employee.

Walmart CEO Earnings

According to Walmart spokesperson Randy Hargrove, the company has made significant investments in their employees in the past years. The efforts include raising the employees’ minimum wage to $11 per hour that began in February. The company also allotted budget for the workers’ educational programs and training.

“It’s about moving people beyond entry-level jobs by giving associates clearer career paths, skills-based training and more control of their schedule,” Hargrove said in a statement with CNN.

McMillon has been Walmart’s CEO since 2014. The company acquired the majority of its earnings from online sales under McMillon’s leadership, as the retailer competes against Amazon (AMZN).

According to Walmart’s latest fiscal year, McMillon made $1.3 million. Most parts of his salary were in the form of stocks awards.

WalMart CEO earnings

August 3, 2018 0 comment

Business

Branding Strategies that Inspires Customer Loyalty

written by Feras Antoon

One of the key facets of a successful business is a strong brand. Branding works side by side with marketing, which gets the word out about the product. Branding, on the other hand, is what inspires customers to stay loyal, and to keep them safe from leaping out and onto your competitors.

Your brand tells your customers what they can expect from you. When you have a strong brand, your customers know what value you provide. However, with a strong brand you must make sure to never disappoint customers – keep them satisfied with the quality of products and services that you offer. Acquiring the right branding strategies will help your business succeed.

Establish an online platform

Nowadays, having an online platform is necessary for any business. Creating a simple website doesn’t require great cost, but it can bring humongous benefits. With the internet exploding, most of your potential customers are online. People go to the web when they look for something, and that’s where your platform comes in.

When building an internet profile, you must also apply some SEO techniques that crafts your edge over your competitors. When customers look for a product or a service, your website must appear on the search engine results page.

Your site’s first impression counts as well. Your landing page must look professional, visually-appealing, and easy to navigate. Create quality content that captivates customer’s attention long enough for a conversion. You may combine your organic traffic with paid traffic to amplify target marketing.

Additionally, your online platforms must enable you to reach out and interact with customers. Create social media pages, where you can respond to customer inquiries in a timely manner. Respond as soon as possible. Answering customers’ inquiries weeks or months late won’t benefit your business, it may even damage your reputation. You may also want to encourage customers to give feedbacks and reviews. Customer reviews are important, which inform other people if your product or service is working or not.

Identify your target market

Before anything else, before creating your brand, one crucial step you should never miss is knowing your target market. Otherwise, all your effort will go to waste. You should know your target market before you launch your business. Allot time and effort researching extensively on your possible customers that would love and support your brand. When you have identified your possible customer base, only then you can create your branding campaign.

Perform market research, and see through gaps. Know what your market wants, then sculpt your branding that targets those needs.

Do the branding

Do the actual branding. Customers expect your brand; so you must able to make them visualize the value of your product or service. For instance, if you have a printing business, you must invest in high quality equipment that can assure the quality of your designs and printing work. Share with customers your vision of quality work that you can provide to them.

One step at a time

It’s impossible to master everything at once – so, do it one thing at a time. Be patient, and resist the temptation to hit all birds in one attempt. Don’t try to be the jack of all trades. Your purpose is to serve as a market leader of your product or service. Build your brand along that purpose, until customers see and like what you’re building.

For instance, if besides your printing business, you also have a shampoo gig, create a separate branding campaign for each one. Do not attempt to promote your shampoo on the side of your printing business. Focus on a single brand.

June 8, 2018 0 comment

Business

The Modern Boss: Leading People Through Coaching

written by Feras Antoon

A real boss isn’t someone who puts up his feet on the desk, while his employees do the job. At least, that isn’t what a good boss does. It’s time to lose the old definitions of a boss. If you’re aiming to be one — an efficient, successful boss, you must know that good leadership involves standing up as your team’s coach.

Leading your people on the path where you want to go requires coaching. To be a coach, employees don’t need an often tap on the head, nor they don’t need you to guide them, hand-in-hand in every step of the way. To be successful in your goals, and turn your visions into reality, you need to give your employees regular and effective feedback, effective communication, drive and support.

More and Frequent Feedback

It’s typical for businesses to conduct an annual review among employees, where positive contributions and areas for improvement are being addressed. Leaders know putting down employees can never lift them up, neither it can sculpt productive and talented team members.

Giving frequent feedback to employees is critical for coaches. Soon Millennials will take over a large percentage of the workforce, and these young professionals will want regular feedback at work. Providing frequent feedback encourages openness in the office. Positive and constructive feedback helps build a kind of company culture that allows employees to evaluate their own work, their productivity, and their work-life balance.

Personal control is one of the aspects of positive psychology. When a person can take negative feedback, it provides an opportunity to practice personal control by analyzing his or her internal and external goals. Employers may provide external rewards like bonuses, but employees are also driven by internal goals such as, seeing the project they’re working on succeed, or having more time with their families.

Modern Boss & Employee Coaching

Both leaders and employees must look into their goals alongside their drives to make good use of the feedback they get. Giving regular feedback also allows people, both CEOs and staff, to grow each day of the year.

Leaders must also be open to the employee’s positive and constructive feedback. More importantly, bosses must be responsive. All professionals, whether a newbie or a CEO, have opportunities for growth, which they can use to improve and become better.

The importance of communication: trust and empowerment

Every coach knows that good communication builds trust between employee and employer; it can effectively empower others as well. If you’re a leader, have you thought about how your communication is like with your employees?

It’s a common situation where a boss feels superior, and uses tone for communication following this perspective. However, using a disciplinary tone makes employees feel like a child, especially if the boss reprimands in front of other staff or customers. For improved communication, leaders must use active listening and hear out employees. They must understand the situation thoroughly. Communicate your employees’ points back to them using your own words, and then follow up with some questions. Besides, bosses who are good listeners can be sound strategists.

Through effective communication, leaders can empower employees by letting them know, failures offer opportunities, too. Coaches can transform points of weakness into valuable lessons both in life and business. Provide optimal feedback that is given in a practical and timely manner. Given observations must be detailed to have a clear understanding for the both sides, avoiding miscommunication and negativity.

Employers must communicate with empathy, and work with the employee towards solutions if they’re having a hard time at work or in personal life. Great bosses see the person behind the employee, and not just a worker bee.

Encourage employees

Coaches encourage the team to innovate and experiment. Great coaches know, stagnancy hinders progress.

Leaders serve as a great example for employees, who they learn from the importance of the initiative of developing opportunities. Coaches and supervisors don’t sit back, do nothing, and wait for opportunities to knock; they create it themselves. Encourage your employees to grow, and go outside their comfort zones. Coaches empower employees to innovate, create, and experiment. Allow them to present new ideas, and let them propose about taking risks, especially if they have valid points to back up their claims.

To be an effective leader, it also means you should be the coach of your team. Coaching involves providing regular and frequent feedback, and helping them get outside of their comfort zones. Encourage them to experiment, and innovate. Focus on quality, rather than quality, when it comes to handling people. Most importantly, serve as a good example; someone your team can look up to, and follow steps.

Enjoy this video that discusses being a modern boss and the importance of good employee coaching:

May 25, 2018 0 comment

Business

$1.8 Billion Indian Bank Fraud Unraveled After 7 Years of Operation

written by Feras Antoon

The biggest question is: how this billion-dollar Indian bank fraud lasted 7 years? This greed-crime happened right under people’s noses, while all were sleeping soundly for many nights. Alongside this global fraud are $81 million cyber-heist in Bangladesh, lenders abuse, and a series of missed massive opportunities.

It all began in 2016 after an infiltration from hackers got detected in the Bangladesh central bank’s system. It was also when its Indian counterpart sensed a lurking danger. So, the Reserve Bank of India prompted all the lenders to check if their computer networks were properly integrated with Swift, the system used in the Bangladesh theft for sending transmit payment instructions.

Unfortunately, out-of-the-radar was a rogue employee of the state-owned Punjab National Bank who was allegedly taken advantage of this system flaw. RBI knew nothing about this person’s stealthy deed until 5 years later, which resulted in a $1.8 billion fraud swell.

“The biggest thing that didn’t happen was the linkage between Swift and the bank’s back-end software — they didn’t talk,” according to Abizer Diwanji, a financial services partner at the accountancy firm EY in India. “The ball was first dropped,” when PNB failed to settle the two systems together, he added.

Indian Bank Fraud

The incident had spread fast, then government agencies performed efforts to investigate. Above all the chaos and mishaps one thing came clear: the ones worth blaming were inferior technology, flawed risk management, and inadequate monitoring. An $800 million loss could’ve been dodged if the fraud had been discovered a year earlier.

Former PNB employee Gokulnath Shetty is being alleged of providing billionaire jeweler, Nirav Modi, and his associates guarantees of acquiring loans from abroad. According to PNB’s complaint, over 2011 to 2017, there had been guarantees issued without collateral worth 65 billion rupees ($1 billion), which was then followed by guarantees worth 49 billion rupees between March to May last year, the same time Shetty retired.

According to R. Gandhi, a former RBI deputy governor, we can link the incident to RBI not integrating the two systems back then, since many Indian banking systems were not compatible to Swift. However, Gandhi added, banks like PNB which didn’t integrate the two systems have been required to perform manual checks to compare Swift’s messages with the banks’ internal records.

According to Tim Phillipps, an Asia-Pacific financial crime specialist at Deloitte, reconciliation between Swift and other bank systems is crucial for banks since there’s a prevalence of fraud across global finance trade. He added that it’s not hard to create an interface that can link the two programs.

Indian Bank Fraud

“Trade finance operations at banks are one of the riskiest parts of the business they do and also one of the most profitable,” Phillipps said. “Most checks in a world structured environments don’t allow data to be entered directly into Swift because that is where many of the big problems have occurred over the past decade in terms of falsifying information.”

According to the director in the financial institutions group at Fitch Ratings, Saswata Guha, changing costs may have contributed to the continuous upgrades in the Indian bank systems. For years, indian lenders have been struggling from ceaseless rise of loans, and insufficient capital, which Guha believes can turn worse in the upcoming years after new regulations are mandated.

Discovering the billion-dollars Indian fraud

These incidents that took place over the four months played an important role in the discovery of this global crime.

RBI released statement on its site saying it cautioned banks about the misuse of Swift on at least three occasions. “Banks have, however, been at varying levels in implementation of such measures,” the RBI said.

Indian Bank Fraud

Has justice been served?

Shetty got arrested by federal officials, but shared zero comments on the allegations. PNB had nothing to say as well, and Swift comments none about any allegations or customers.

On the other hand, Modi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal told NDTV that Modi denies his involvement in any fraud incidents, although all his transactions with PNB are documented.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reminded supervisors and auditors to make sure that any fraud activities must be detected early. According to Bloomberg, “the 10-member Bankex index rose 0.3 percent in Mumbai on Wednesday, snapping a three-day drop, as the main equity gauge advanced 0.4 percent.”

There are on-going efforts to reform India’s banking sector. For years, the Indian government and the central banks have been working together to set up panels, and suggest new recommendations. However, the progress has been sluggish, said Fitch’s Guha.

“If a few people, or connivance of a group of people, can take a bank this large down to its heels with the kind of capital market implications one has been seen, then it poses very serious questions,” he said. “At the core of it, it’s really governance.”

Have a look at this video that goes into more detail about this longstanding bank fraud issue:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-21/how-an-1-8-billion-indian-bank-fraud-lasted-seven-years

May 7, 2018 0 comment

Business

35 Cities and Their Visions of the Future in A Competition to Change Corners of the Globe

written by Feras Antoon

In the hope of moving towards a better world, Bloomberg philanthropists established a $200 million effort called, American Cities Initiative in June 2017 to fund the revolutionary visions of cities that can improve lives.

Tailoring and executing metro-level changes can be quite challenging nowadays, but we can’t deny it has become an unshakeable need. City officials may choose to make a step towards solutions for raising minimum wages, gun control or any typical city policies. The changing world has also contributed to reduce the efficiency of once-well-working fundamental services like transportation. With all these, still federal government appears to disown their responsibility in funding basic health and social services, as well as clearly brushing off the apparent issues regarding climate change.

Thus, Bloomberg makes a move. To solve the innumerable issues that cities face today, Bloomberg funded 2018 Mayors challenge. It’s one of the funder’s long-time running global programs that ask city leaders to compete for funding by submitting plans and solutions that can solve the most critical issues today.

35 Cities & Vision of the Future

Winner of the competition will receive $5 million to implement the most-fitting idea, while four runner-ups will also get an additional $1 million. From 320 applicants, Bloomberg has narrowed down the list to 35 so-called “Champion Cities,” who will all be given a grant up to $100,000 to turn their world-changing visions into prototypes.

The competitors will be given 6 months to create, test, and alter their applications before Bloomberg announces the grand prize winners in October.

Bloomberg probably didn’t see it coming, but they are the ones who are learning from this program. While reviewing the applications of the leading candidates, they are made aware of the issues and solutions of different cities. Head of Bloomberg’s Government Innovation programs, James Anderson, says the applications are an “incredible snapshot” of city leaders’ “priorities and what’s keeping them up at night.” Together with, of course, what can be the cure for their sleepless nights.

Most of the top candidates laid out solutions battling climate change, specifically, about the increased risks of natural disasters. One of these nearly one-third applicants, are officials in Charleston, South Carolina, who believe there’s a need for a uniquely tailored alert system when coastal floods soak up the city.

Healthcare is also a top priority, especially in Huntington, West Virginia, where opioid overdose is 10 times more common than any other city. According to Bloomberg’s compiled proposals, city leaders desire to incorporate mental health workers to emergency crews, so they can provide help to drug addicts, as well as to those who are suffering from “compassion fatigue” due to dealing with a lot of possible crises.

35 Cities & Vision of the Future

One of the attention-grabbing applications is Los Angeles’s novel plan to incentivize homeowners to build “accessory dwelling” units, which homeless folks and other people receiving support services, can rent for three years after construction.

“When you read these 35 applications, mayors are saying data matters, mayors are engaging citizens, and they are very focused on collaboration,” says Anderson. Those are three messages that I think America really needs to hear right now.”

The competition had already taken place in the US, and during that time, leaders have developed concepts, which other cities have expressed interest in, or have already copied. Included in those plans is Santa Monica, California’s Well Being Index, which grades residents if they feel “happy, healthy, and connected to the community” in their daily lives. It drives reforms that can target issues to improve the quality of life.

Another concept was from Providence, Rhode Island, which encourages parents with low-income to converse more with their young children that can patch verbal and word recognition gaps, which can be a hindrance in the kids’ learning curve. This project involved an actual word counting device that can determine the flow and recedes of conversation.

35 Cities & Vision of the Future

Throughout the program, Bloomberg learned to worry less about the city leaders walking away with prototypes in hand. They focus more on a “stretching and strengthening phase” which can fill the theoretical gaps in the implementation of concepts. Eventually, it crafted a learning-by-doing mentality among everyone involved in the program.

“Part of our goal here is to make sure that even those cities that don’t win the million dollar implementation award have a rock-solid proposal that they’ve field tested and prototyped with key constituents,” says Anderson. “So that they are well positioned to begin finding additional support.”

April 27, 2018 0 comment

Business

How Much S&P 500 Do We Need to Match The Great Recession?

written by Feras Antoon

Remember the Great Recession of 2008-09? Along with the evaporation of investment banks and the deeds to homes of thousands of Americans, this unfortunate economic phenomenon also affected the S&P 500. It was a one-two punch for S&P 500 that led to interests falling, and the Federal Reserve buying mortgage-backed securities. The Fed even helped bolster the bond market as well, which caused a constant decline for rates. The only place to go was the equities. Bonds were seen as stocks, and investors gave up on yield. They rather hoped that bonds priced at 110 would hit 120. This was the Great Recession 8 years ago – everything was sky high.

Since 2011, we have been experiencing a raging bull market. For 7 years, the US stock market only had one major correction, which was a 19% drop.

However, once the central banks abandon QE, and the interest rates normalize to the point the equity market steps back to pre-QE levels, you would likely think S&P 500 gets around 1500 points.

Before the Great Recession, the previous bear market happened after the dot-com bubble burst and the planes piloted by terrorists crashed into the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001. Shortly, the S&P 500 dropped 49% from a high ground of about 1510. After 6 years, it fell again to 666 in Intraday trading on March 6, 2009. It has been the lowest S&P 500 hit since 1996.

S&P500 and Great Recession

We could trace the slide that took place on the second week of February to the U.S. non-farm payroll report for January, which showed an increase in average earnings growth to 2.9%.

Wage inflation scared the bond markets. The expected inflation resulted in pricing in a 0.75% rate hike, then came a prospective hike for the fourth time.

“Powell Put” which thought to be less market-friendlier than “Greenspan-Bernanke-Yellen Put,” helped equity levels reach record levels, and inflated the financial asset prices.

ETNs, exchange-traded notes was revealed. These strategies of betting on low equity volatility caused the aggravation of inflation concerns. According to BlackRock’s chief investment strategist Richard Turnill, the retreat was somehow caused by the rapid run-up in government bond yields. However, investors who prefer to remain active just had to focus on the fundamentals of the economy. But the fundamentals are still changing, says Turnill.

On the second week of February, the US congress approved a budget deal that expands the government’s spending for defense by about $300 billion over two years. This approved bill and tax cuts will stretch out the federal deficit further.

“We could see net Treasury coupon issuance more than doubling this year,” he says.

S&P500 and Great Recession

That’s not good for the US Treasury bonds. The equity market is smaller than the bond market.

Turnill says, the combination of the government spending and corporate tax cuts can result in the addition of roughly 1% to GDP this year, in comparison to the 0.8 percentage point in the last report.

A strong economy can easily raise inflation, and allow the Fed to increase interest hikes faster. Along with that, the central banks will loosen up their QE programs that could drive the S&P absolutely lower than it is today. Only if the bears get what they deserve.

April 16, 2018 0 comment

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