Business News

Friday, 15 July 2022 07:10

Money doesn't make you middle class. Here's what does

About 70% of Americans consider themselves middle class, according to a 2017 study by Northwestern Mutual. But according to most economists' definitions, that's not possible. One of the ways the Brookings Institution defines "middle class" is those in the 20th to 80th percentiles of household income. This would make 60% of American households middle class. The Urban Institute defines the middle class as those whose income is from 250% to 499% of the federal poverty line. By this measure, 31% of households were middle class in 2019. And the Pew Research Center, which uses government data to take into consideration…

Thursday, 14 July 2022 06:51

Oil prices fall further below $100 as inflation woes take centre stage

Oil prices ticked down on Thursday as investors doubled down on the possibility of a rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve that would stem inflation and curb oil demand. Brent crude futures for September fell 20 cents, or 0.2%, to $99.37 a barrel by 00:10 GMT after gaining 8 cents on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was at $95.93 a barrel, down 37 cents, or 0.4%, after rising 46 cents in the previous session. The Federal Reserve is seen ramping up its battle with 40-year high inflation with a supersized 100 basis points rate hike…

Thursday, 14 July 2022 06:43

Why the distinction between leader and manager matters

The difference between a manager and a leader is that a manager “counts the beans,” whereas a leader makes them. In other words, a leader inspires by example. For instance, in the early days of Peninsula when we only had about twelve employees, although I’d never worked in sales before, I went on the road and sold our business services. This taught me a great deal. Firstly, our services were useful for small business. Even if we didn’t sell the service, the concept was always welcomed by the business owners, and they learned something. Most importantly, my experience gave me…

Wednesday, 13 July 2022 06:00

Nigerian businesses turn to solar power as diesel costs skyrocket

Nigeria's solar companies are seeing a surge in demand for mini-grids and equipment as businesses in Africa's biggest oil producer look for alternative power sources after the cost of diesel soared locally due to rising global oil prices. Supply constraints could, however, hamper their ability to capitalize on the trend, with some saying they have begun to turn away customers because they are unable to meet demand. Nigeria, Africa's largest economy with a population of more than 200 million people, has installed electricity capacity of 12,500 megawatts but the national grid only provides 4,000 MW at peak, leaving businesses and…

Wednesday, 13 July 2022 05:43

To speed up your productivity, slow down

Imagine this: you step into the elevator and instinctively reach for your smart phone, only to discover that you've mistakenly left it at your desk. A sense of panic sets in as you wonder what to do. What will you think about when you can't have your "thoughts" fed to you? We live in an age of information, when there is always a new browser window to open, pop-up to click, post to like and headline to react to. According to Pew Research, 31% of adults are online nearly constantly. This has led to as many as 75% of adults…

Tuesday, 12 July 2022 07:29

Nigeria’s manufacturing sector records contraction for two months in a row - Report

The Manufacturing sector contracted for the second time in April, according to figures obtained from Central Bank of Nigeria. Reports released by the CBN said, the Deputy Governor, Financial Systems Stability Directorate, CBN, Aishah Ahmad, stated that, “Continued interventions especially in growth enhancing sectors is, thus, critical to sustain momentum in economic activity and stimulate aggregate demand, especially in view of the manufacturing purchasing manager’s index which contracted for the second consecutive month at 48.9 index points in April 2022 from 49.10 index points in the previous month,” she said. A member of the MPC, Robert Asogwa, said available high-frequency…

Tuesday, 12 July 2022 07:28

Oil slides as fears of global economic slowdown weigh on fuel demand outlook

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as fresh Covid-19 curbs in China, the world's biggest crude importer, and fears of a global economic slowdown weighed on the fuel demand outlook. Brent crude futures for September fell $1.35, or 1.3%, to $105.75 a barrel by 0305 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was at $102.64 a barrel, down $1.45, or 1.4%. "Growing fears of a recession and continued sluggish demand in China are pulling oil prices lower, though the current supply-demand balances remain precarious," analysts from consultancy Eurasia Group said in a note. Multiple Chinese cities are adopting…

Tuesday, 12 July 2022 07:18

Don't lose your best employees. Use this 9 box grid to grow people and your business

Hiring good people is tough. Retaining your best talent can be equally challenging. In today's disruptive world, competitive advantage relies as much on people as it does technology. So, how do you objectively know which people are your all-stars, especially in a bigger organization? And not just the best talent today, but the best for the future? Just like it's easier and cheaper to retain customers than acquire new ones, the same goes for employees. Knowing who your current and future all-stars are helps you keep them and gives you the opportunity to help them grow into more strategic roles.…

Monday, 11 July 2022 06:34

Dollar shortage forces diary firms to invest in local cattle farms

Nigeria’s ban on buying dollars to import milk is prompting dairy companies to invest in cattle farms -- some with exotic cows -- in Africa’s biggest economy. The Central Bank of Nigeria rations dollars and has barred importers of 45 products including milk from accessing foreign exchange from the authorized market, which it tightly controls. Nigeria operates multiple exchange rates with an official rate that is 45% cheaper than the unofficial price. The difficulty in accessing dollars has raised the cost of doing business in Nigeria. Denmark-based Arla Foods and French-owned Danone are investing in cattle farms to sustain their…

Monday, 11 July 2022 06:28

Uber broke laws, duped police and secretly lobbied governments, leak reveals

A leaked trove of confidential files has revealed the inside story of how the tech giant Uber flouted laws, duped police, exploited violence against drivers and secretly lobbied governments during its aggressive global expansion.The unprecedented leak to the Guardian of more than 124,000 documents – known as the Uber files – lays bare the ethically questionable practices that fuelled the company’s transformation into one of Silicon Valley’s most famous exports. The leak spans a five-year period when Uber was run by its co-founder Travis Kalanick, who tried to force the cab-hailing service into cities around the world, even if that…

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Monday, 11 July 2022 06:22

5 fundamental differences between entrepreneurs and everyone else

As someone who meets and speaks about entrepreneurs regularly, there is one sentence I hate hearing and that sentence is: "I want to be an entrepreneur." A person who says that sentence is most likely to fail at entrepreneurship. You cannot want to be an entrepreneur. You either are or you aren't. And if you are an entrepreneur, you can't work a regular job because you need to be creating and building, not working behind a computer. So, how do you know if you're an entrepreneur or not? Here are 5 signs that you might be an entrepreneur. You're willing…

Saturday, 09 July 2022 06:42

Twitter vows legal fight after Musk pulls out of $44bn deal

Elon Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla and the world's richest person, said on Friday he was terminating his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter because the social media company had breached multiple provisions of the merger agreement. Twitter's chairman, Bret Taylor, said on the micro-blogging platform that the board planned to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. "The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk...," he wrote. In a filing, Musk's lawyers said Twitter had failed or refused to respond to multiple requests for information…

Friday, 08 July 2022 06:48

Mark Zuckerberg just made a huge mistake. It could destroy Meta and Facebook

Zuckerberg's recent comments may seem par for the course with an impending recession, but it's actually a recipe for disaster. "Realistically, there are probably a bunch of people at the company who shouldn't be here." That's a powerful sound bite from Mark Zuckerberg directed at Meta and Facebookemployees. It was part of broader comments the CEO made at a recent weekly employee Q&A session (which which my Inc. colleague Jason Aten first reported on a couple of days ago). Zuckerberg also announced severe cost-cutting measures and increased pressure on employees to execute as the company braces for tough times ahead.…

Thursday, 07 July 2022 06:48

Naira falls to record low at official, parallel markets

Nigeria’s currency fell to the lowest on record after traders adjusted prices to reflect the rate Central Bank of Nigeria sold the currency amid a lack of dollar supply in the authorized foreign-exchange market. The naira retreated 1.6% to 426.26 a dollar as of 3.30 p.m. local time on the investors and exporters window, also known as Nafex, in Lagos. The Nafex is regarded as the official market for foreign currency transactions in Africa’s biggest economy. Pressure on foreign reserves, which is down 3.4% since the beginning of the year, despite higher oil prices in Africa’s largest crude producer, has…

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