Showing posts with label micro business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label micro business. Show all posts

Tuesday 2 March 2021

The Covid bubble

‘When it comes to this year, growth may yet fall short of expectations. New strains of the coronavirus continue to emerge, raising concerns that existing vaccines may no longer be sufficient to end the pandemic. Repeated stop-go cycles undermine confidence, and political pressure to reopen the economy before the virus is contained will continue to build. Many small- and medium-size enterprises are still at risk of going bust, and far too many people are facing the prospects of long-term unemployment. The list of pathologies afflicting the economy is long and includes rising inequality, deleveraging by debt-burdened firms and workers, and political and geopolitical risks.

‘Asset markets remain frothy – if not outright bubbly – because they are being fed by super-accommodative monetary policies. But today’s price/earnings ratios are as high they were in the bubbles preceding the busts of 1929 and 2000. Between ever-rising leverage and the potential for bubbles in special-purpose acquisition companies, tech stocks, and cryptocurrencies, today’s market mania offers plenty of cause for concern.’

Read here (Project Syndicate, Mar 2, 2021)

Friday 14 August 2020

Covid-19 is causing a microcredit crunch

‘Today the lending portfolios of microfinance institutions (mfis) are worth a combined $124bn. But the industry is in trouble. Covid-19 is straining its finances. Repayments, usually done in cash and in person, have plummeted, yet the banks and investors which provide the mfis with funds still expect money. A crunch looms. More than two-thirds of mfis have cut lending, often by at least half. Nearly one-third do not have enough cash to meet outflows this quarter. If only this were the industry’s only problem. Compounding it is a set of deeper, longer-standing issues that have begun to undermine its reputation for efficiency and probity.’

Read here (The Economist, August 15, 2020)

Thursday 4 June 2020

Chinese tech firms pledge more help for street stalls, small vendors after Premier’s comments

Key points: Premier Li Keqiang says the Chinese government will provide more support for street stalls and small businesses as they are the “fire” of China’s economy. Tech platforms like WeChat and JD.com responded to Li’s comments by announcing new initiatives to help smaller retailers.

Read here (South China Morning Post, June 4, 2020)

Worst ever Covid variant? Omicron

John Campbell shares his findings on Omicron.  View here (Youtube, Nov 27, 2021)