Young employees working regular five-day weeks told TODAY recently that they largely welcome the notion of a shorter work week. However, given that they already frequently work beyond their official hours to complete their tasks, they dread having to stretch their work days even longer to make up for theContinue Reading
Police leaders and teachers’ unions are warning that TikTok frenzies that encourage anti-social behaviour are putting a strain on public services.
It comes after the BBC revealed how disproportionate engagement driven by TikTok was linked to disruption.
The BBC found four recent examples, including public interference in the police investigation of Nicola Bulley’s disappearance and school vandalism.
TikTok says its algorithm prioritises safety while building communities.
The BBC’s investigation found that TikTok’s users are seeing videos which they wouldn’t normally be recommended – which, in turn, incentivise them to do unusual things in their own videos on the platform.
These frenzies – where TikTok drives disproportionate amounts of engagement to some topics – were evidenced by interviews with former staffers, users of the app and BBC analysis of wider social media data.
The two other examples the BBC investigated were outside the UK – an online obsession with the murder of four students in the US state of Idaho that led to innocent people being falsely accused, and the suggestion that TikTok fanned the flames of recent riots in France.
Chief Constable Pippa Mills, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Communications, says not all of TikTok’s effects are inherently negative – but the cases highlighted by the BBC investigation show TikTok “can lead to dangerous and sometimes criminal behaviour offline”.
“We’ve, upsettingly, seen additional and unnecessary pain and grief caused to victims and their families alongside detrimental impact on investigations,” she says.
“The effects of these behaviours on criminal investigations and the service to our communities should not be underestimated.”
What connects amateur sleuths turning up at crime scenes, anti-social behaviour in UK schools and French riots? This film finds evidence that they are all examples of TikTok “frenzies”.
Watch on BBC iPlayer (UK Only)
The chairwoman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) has also told the BBC she is “deeply concerned” by the added pressure that interference and anti-social behaviour by TikTok users puts on police.
Donna Jones called on the platform to take more responsibility for the impact of its design on its users.
She said: “The key difference here with TikTok in comparison to other social media platforms, as this investigation shows, is that their business model is based on active participation.”
Teachers’ unions have also expressed concern at how social media platforms were affecting behaviour amongst pupils.
Incidents often occur outside of school, but problems also tend to spill into school time, leaving teachers and leaders to deal with the fallout – says Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).
“Although schools are able to report social media misuse, they are essentially at the mercy of technology companies and their terms of service,” he adds.
The NASUWT has also raised concerns over how social media platforms are “contributing to a behaviour crisis in schools”.
The government needs to take stronger action to keep schools safe for “students, staff and the wider community”, says general secretary Dr Patrick Roach.
TikTok has previously distanced itself from outbreaks of disorder, such as the threatened looting of London’s Oxford Street last month, which politicians blamed on the billion-user app.
London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan reiterated his calls for social media companies including TikTok to “take more responsibility and clamp down on irresponsible and dangerous posts that incite violence and disorder”.
The BBC investigation was published in the same week a new law was passed in the UK parliament – the Online Safety Bill – aimed at making social media firms more responsible for users’ safety on their platforms.
The government said the BBC’s findings on TikTok frenzies highlighted “just how much it mattered” that it had taken “decisive action to prevent social media content from spiralling out of control and putting people at risk”.
Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan told the BBC the Bill would take “a common-sense approach to reining in the Wild West of social media”.
She explained: “It will mean that if social media platforms do not comply with their safety duties and tackle illegal content, they will face fines that could reach billions of pounds.”
Police and teachers representatives welcomed the new legislation but said it needed to go further.
The APCC’s Donna Jones described it as a “starter for 10” which needs “more revisions to ensure maximum protection for young people”.
Meanwhile, Geoff Barton from the ASCL said it was “a long way from seeing how effective it will be in practice”.
A spokesperson for TikTok told the BBC in a statement it recommends different types of content to interrupt repetitive patterns for users, removes “harmful misinformation” and reduces the reach of videos with unverified information.
It also told the BBC that users “naturally” took more of an interest in stories at “moments of national conversation, which are intensified by 24-hour news reporting”.
They also pointed out that the BBC has posted on TikTok about many stories like this.
Singapore Post ( SingPost ) will raise the postage rate for standard regular mail from 31 cents to 51cents, an increase of almost 65 percent, in response to rising costs and a decline in mail volume.
According to SingPost in its press release on Tuesday( Sep 19 ), the 20-cent increase reflects the” escalating costs of maintaining the telegraph service.”
Beginning on October 9 of this year, the new shipping prices will go into effect.
To assist in managing the postage increase starting at the end of October, SingPost also announced that it would distribute a second native stamp booklet of 10 stamps to each home.
According to SingPost, the last major rate increase occurred nine years back in 2014, when prices rose from 22 percent to 30 %.
Additionally, SingPost & nbsp stated that it will streamline the domestic postage rate structure,” including the elimination of the weight criteria, to make postal services more user-friendly, enhancing the customer experience, and provide greater convenience.”
For its Untracked Mail services, fat levels will be affected by this.
According to SingPost, the rate increase is required for it to” continue performing its duties as Singapore’s public post owner.”
It continued,” The modification will help address higher conveyance costs, more expensive labor, resources, and fuel.”
Additionally, it will aid in balancing the harm brought on by the” persistent reduction in postal levels.”
According to SingPost, the commercial viability of telegraph firms worldwide has been impacted by the international structural decline in post volumes over the past ten years brought on by digital disruption.
” Mail volumes decreased by more than 40 % between FY2018 / 19 and FY2022 / 23.”
According to Ms. Neo Su Yin, chief executive officer of SingPost, the company has been absorbing expansionary prices since 2014 and has maintained its shipping rates.
She stated that it is expected that we raise our prices in order to maintain a commercial viability and continue offering the nation’s vital postal service due to the mounting cost pressures and difficult business environment.
The rate increase, according to SingPost’s press release, will also enable it to & nbsp to investigate a longer-term more sustainable postal business model, balancing the need to remain profitable while protecting the shareholders’ interests.
To be cutting-edge and relevant into the future, the party stated that it is still dedicated to” providing high standards of quality post and package delivery services for Singapore, including the provision of self-service and modern platforms.”
” SingPost may also continue to improve its infrastructure for increased productivity and cost savings, while investing in sustainability initiatives to increase business resilience and drive green efforts towards a more lasting ecosystem.”
SingPost added that it is also collaborating with the Infocomm Media Development Authority( IMDA ) and nbsp to analyze the postal industry structurally and develop a longer-term plan to achieve commercial sustainability.
In Ukraine, Russia now fires about 14 million shell annually. Just 2 million are produced there. On the other hand, the Ukrainians struggle to find their sources while firing about 2.5 million shell annually.
A straightforward solution to Russia’s issue is a deal between North Korea and Russia for artillery shells, which the individual officials have stated they are” constantly advancing.” However, there are risks to the world’s balance associated with this package.
Since its conquest of Ukraine, Russia has been restricted in its ability to purchase military hardware, including artillery shells. It has made calls to China, Iran, and then North Korea. China has been cordial but has officially resisted providing weapons straight to the front lines.
Robots and a few casings have been sold by Iran to Russia. The first country to make the shift to immediately provide a sizable amount of ammunition for Russian artillery is North Korea. When viewed in a broader perspective, this transaction is likely to be remembered in history as an entry point for larger conflicts.
Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin, the presidents of Russia and North Korea, are both averse to traveling abroad. Kim will meet with Putin on September 13 for the first time since the Covid pandemic in 2020.
He rode in a train that was seriously armored. Face-to-face interactions are significant symbolic events for both men because they are uncommon and because their closeness conveys respect.
Soviet ground offensives and their well-established protective lines have relied heavily on the use of artillery.
They are under more pressure to purchase from the global market as a result of the Russian army’s inability to maintain its supply of shells. In contrast, North and South Korea maintain the shell reserves on the Korean peninsula, which are still technically under ceasefire rather than over. This is a legacy of the Korea War( 1950 – 1953 ).
As a result, the US is purchasing North Vietnamese shells to ship to Ukraine, and Russia will soon receive North Korean missiles. As a result, both sides can continue to fire at the same rates as long as their local companies adapt to the demands of this conflict.
Russia is no North Korea’s healthy friend. Russia participated in global efforts to halt North Korea’s nuclear technology growth in the 1990s.
A atomic North Korea with the ability to attain the US or Europe may be weakening because, like China, Russia naturally prefers stability in its immediate neighbors. However, the foundation for this rational alliance was laid by the invasion of Ukraine and the requirement for a sizable supply of artillery ammunition.
In exchange for money, foods support, and cutting-edge military technology, North Korea wants to trade its weapons. The best indicator of how much Russia needs North Korean ammunition will be the amount of Russia payments in these groups.
Regardless of its want, Russia is unlikely to move anything other than upgraded missiles for North Korea’s nuclear system, but not fast weapons or miniature warheads. Russia continues to be strategically concerned about the region’s security, which is one reason why US intelligence sought to make the first rounds of talks public in an effort to discourage Russia from continuing.
The conquest of Ukraine by Russia has boosted global ties. Finland, a former natural country, has joined NATO, and Sweden has requested participation. While Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea have even gotten closer to one another, South Korea and Japan have grown much closer.
The Ukrainians may find it difficult to collaborate on spy satellites, modeling, life intelligence, and even communications hacking. The link between a small, dirty war in Eastern Europe and the historical and present unrest in Asia is extremely risky and serves as an accurate stepping stone to an even larger conflict.
Both North Korea and Russia are extremely skilled cyberattacks and computer intelligence countries that have the ability to destroy or destroy important equipment and take sensitive government data. Through careful operation scanning, it has been determined that North Korea‘s Lazarus cluster of thieves is to blame for crypto incidents totaling tens of millions of dollars.
Western societies now face a serious risk from Russia’s efforts in website scams, disinformation, and disruption to critical infrastructure.
Because the adult wallets where the Lazarus Group’s stolen cryptocurrency is kept have been found, some of it is stuck. In order to move the” coins” and make a significant portion of the revenue, Russia may be an invaluable partner.
When combined with Chinese, Russian, and Egyptian skills in influencing activities, hackers, mental battle, their combined power to influence the government and values of the Euroatlantic region is significant. A closer partnership between Russia and North Korea significantly improves the online side of this issue and the ongoing hostilities on the Korean island.
One component of this deal is the provision of artillery shells. The wider risks stem from the fact that it will power the conflict in Ukraine and unite Russia, North Korea, China, and Iran.
In the end, this agreement opens the door for riskier technology exchanges and more instantly links the conflict in Eastern Europe with tensions in Asia.
Professor of Intelligence and National Security at the University of Hull, Robert M. Dover
Disclosure: Robert M. Dover has disclosed no related affiliations outside of their educational session and does not work for, read, private shares in, or obtain funding from any company or organization that may benefit from this article.
Under a Creative Commons license, this article is republished from The Conversation. read the article in its entirety.
NEW YORK- Corporate and government officials told Asia Times that the US market would be vulnerable to harm in the event of an all-out trade war with China because it lacks the factories or experienced labor to substitute Chinese imports that support defence contractors and basic facilities.
Officials from the Biden administration are therefore unlikely to accept calls from China hawks to entirely cut off US tech to China’s semiconductor industry.
On September 14, a group of ten important House Republicans wrote to the US Commerce Department to demand that the trade restrictions put in place in October 2022 be lifted on US microprocessor technology exports to China.
According to the Republicans’ letter,” Recent & nbsp, reports that Huawei Technologies Co.( Huawei ) has developed a smartphone containing 7 nanometer( nm ) chips, capable of supporting 5G, and produced by the Chinese state-owned Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp ( SMIC ).”
The letter continued,” We are extremely troubled and perplexed about the Bureau of & nbsp, Industry and Security’s ( BIS ) inability to effectively write and enforce export control rules against violators, especially China.
The well-known chip business website Semianalysis.com declared that” US restrictions have failed.” It was referred to as Huawei’s 7 – nm chip, which is essentially incredible,” and” a better designed device than most people in the West realize, with capabilities comparable to Nvidia, Qualcomm, and the best AI processers. It stated that the device was purposefully hampered, had higher produces, and had no access to cutting-edge US intellectual property.
According to the website, China’s progress may be halted by nothing less than a total export ban on all types of silicon products. Half methods won’t work, but a full-scale attack may make it so that internally replicating the silicon supply chain is nearly impossible. It is obvious that the west is also halt China’s fall if decisive action is taken, even though we aren’t specifically supporting any of these,” it wrote.
Unless China completely stops producing semiconductors, the US cannot prevent China from producing high-end chips like the fresh Kirin 9000 computer. With serious monetary repercussions, that may result in a significant disturbance of not only the semiconductor industry but also of dozens of other industries that depend on it.
The likelihood that the US would be able to recruit allies like Japan, South Korea, and the Netherlands is far from certain. In response to Asian needs to keep their current chip factories in China open, the Biden administration complied.
The top chip-making lithography manufacturer in Holland, ASML, won’t sell China its most cutting-edge machinery, but it will keep selling the Deep Ultraviolet ( DUV ) devices that SMIC used to create the new Huawei chip.
The US is not the only nation that you start an economic war with China, even if it could convince other nations to completely ban the country’s chip-making machinery. The destructive effect on the global economy would be unfathomable, and one potential outcome would result in the paralysis of US critical infrastructure.
A potential restrictions on Chinese government officials using Apple smartphones has been the subject of public discussion regarding potential Chinese retaliation against more US export restrictions. However, the thousands of crucial components used in vital system and the US defense industry are evidence of American vulnerability.
For the purpose of producing and dispensing power in 2022, the US imported$ 33 billion in money goods from China. These goods are no longer produced in the United States.
According to professional officials, substituting domestic manufacturing for these goods would result in lengthy lead times and costly costs. A Chinese restrictions on essential parts could lame simple US infrastructure in the event of a full-scale trade war.
Vital infrastructure’s supply chains are acutely and self-inflictedly vulnerable. In fact, almost every component of the technology-based online bright grid is dependent on Chinese-made components, according to Brian Sheahan, a former major US energy regulation official, who wrote in April.” The US and its allies have allowed themselves to become captive to Chinese cartels that control production of electronic components.
Chinese defence companies are also heavily reliant on the US. Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes stated in an interview with the Financial Times on June 19 that his business had” a number of thousand suppliers in China and decoupling is unachievable.” ” Adding that he believed this to be the scenario for everyone” in US manufacturing, we may de-risk but not detach.
Consider the$ 500 billion in trade that comes from China to the US each year, Hayes continued. China is where more than 95 % of rare earth materials or metal are produced or processed. There isn’t any other choice. It would take us a very long time to re-establish that capability, either internally or in other helpful countries, if we had to leave China.
Raytheon manufactures the Javelin anti-tank missiles, Maverick air-to-surface projectiles and Tomahawk cruise rockets as well as other staples of the British army.
However, American efforts to lessen reliance on foreign supply chains for essential products have failed. The major chip manufacturer in Taiwan, TSMC, accepted$ 15 billion in cash incentives and tax credits from the Biden administration to construct a facility in Arizona, but the plant won’t be operational until 2025 due to labor shortages.
US attempts to remove Chinese components in critical facilities may be hampered by the same bottlenecks. Over the next two years, the US faces an air sack in the supply of qualified labor.
The reality is that by the end of 2025, 22 % of skilled manufacturing workers will be retiring. According to the consulting company HBK, this could lead to between 2 million and 3.5 million unfilled manufacturing employment by 2025.
According to calculations from the Federal Reserve, America’s capital investment of manufacturing technology has remained constant since 2000.
US manufacturing equipment orders have remained steady at between$ 1.5 billion and$ 2.2 billion per month, which is roughly half the level prior to the 2008 recession.
America’s trade imbalance increased as the expansion rate of production capital investment fell.
While the US also relies on China for a significant amount of capital goods sources, it is correct that China continues to rely on the West for an array of chip-making products. Both are capable of seriously hurting one another.
The issue is whether they will or not. Officials in the johnson management are wary of escalating the tech war with China to the point where China will retaliate because they are acutely aware of American weaknesses.
Even with a full mobilization, it may take the US many years to develop enough accommodating manufacturing capacity to replace essential Chinese parts.
Follow David P. Goldman at @ davidpgoldman on X, formerly Twitter.
Even though general visits to Japan had recovered to 70 % of pre-pandemic levels as of April, Chinese commerce there had decreased by about 85 % since 2019. Foreign travel to well-known Western nations like France, Switzerland, Greece, and Spain has also significantly decreased.
Overall, it is anticipated that China’s outgoing travel spending will be over roughly 70 % this year from its pre-pandemic peak.
To be honest, hospitality in China is recovering to some extent as modest travelers increasingly choose to stay closer to home. According to the China Tourism Academy, domestic tourism will account for 90 % of pre-pandemic levels in 2023. However, the effect of a decline in consumer trust didn’t be mitigated by that alone. The fact that travelers are willing to spend less money is a contributing factor.
Foreign traveling agencies have been shuttering in large numbers in recent years due to demand issues, the effects of COVID-19, and political unrest. About 8,500 commerce officials and businesses filed for bankruptcy between January and April 2022. Even if there were some reopening, the attrition and disturbance were bad news for the industry.
International tourism has had a difficult few years, with the crisis and rising gas prices deterring would-be travelers. A treatment will be that much more difficult for Chinese consumers who are feeling down in the dumps about the market and choosing humble vacations.
Professor of advertising at Miami University, Zhiyong Yang. The Conversation was where this remark second appeared.
A more significant foreign policy issue, namely how the country’s friends in the Indo-Pacific area are responding to the conflict in Ukraine, may be overshadowed by the debate in New Zealand over whether to visit” Pillar 2″ of the AUKUS security agreement.
AUKUS appears to be predicated on the idea that it will thwart or oppose China’s confidence in the Indo-Pacific. However, it is uncertain whether this arrangement would improve New Zealand’s fundamental national interests.
It is also obvious that China is not the only or even the greatest threat to this arrangement, despite the fact that New Zealand’s” stability, security, and prosperity” depend critically on an” international rules-based order ,” according to a recent government document.
The Indo-Pacific region’s capital have been closely observing the Soviet invasion of Ukraine in the meantime. The majority of people backed the UN resolution from last year denouncing Vladimir Putin’s” special military function”( Laos and Vietnam abstained ).
However, just Singapore, a nearby US ally, put Russia under sanctions. Additionally, the statements made by the ASEAN countries regarding the war have no directly criticized Moscow. This is connected to the significant malaise in Asia over the interruption and price shocks brought on by the conflict in Ukraine for international commodities.
The war has caused food and energy prices to soar for Indonesia and many other Southeast Asian nations, as well as a more divided political climate.
Indonesia is the fourth-largest market for Russian substance fertilizer, which is required to grow native rice, and the second-biggest for Russian wheat. 15 % of all global exports of wheat come from countries that are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Some Indo-Pacific nations are aware that China and India, two local powerhouses, continue to be crucial allies of Moscow.
China has declined to sign important UN resolutions denouncing Soviet deeds in Ukraine. Beijing has consistently blamed the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for starting the fight.
Since the beginning of the war, China has also significantly increased deal with Russia. In 2023, this bilateral trade will surpass US$ 200 billion, up from$ 70 billion in 2021. It is anticipated that Russian energy supplies to China will rise by more than 40 % this year.
China and Russia’s defense relations are only getting stronger. Since the Ukraine war began, a number of joint activities have been conducted. Beijing has apparently given Iran parts this year for usage in robots being sold to Russia and has quietly provided Russia with military-related technology.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to emphasize near diplomatic and military relationships with Moscow despite being more openly critical of the Ukraine war than China’s Xi Jinping.
Important UN commitments criticizing the war have also been rejected by India. The American government also shows no signs of reducing its reliance on spare parts and technical help for the numerous Russian weapons platforms used by the American military, despite the fact that tensions between India and China have risen.
Additionally, since the war, business upset has increased by more than 30 %, including a tenfold increase in discounted Russian fuel purchased by India.
Last but not least, Indo-Pacific countries may be worried about how the US and the rest of the world will react to the Soviet invasion. They may specifically doubt the West’s ability to endure.
More than$ 75 billion in financial and military support has been provided by the US President Joe Biden’s administration, NATO has increased its membership, and the Russian economy has come under attack from a variety of broad and coordinated sanctions.
However, the US has also made an effort to avoid” provoking” the Putin administration directly while defending Ukraine’s sovereignty.
International backers of Ukraine also support a” land for peace” agreement with Russia. Additionally, it’s still possible that the present military responsibility will be dropped by a new Republican leadership in Washington in 2024.
Given the situation, New Zealand needs to keep a close eye on the relationships between its support for thwarting Russian expansionism and its corporate interests in the Indo-Pacific area.
New Zealand has given Ukraine more than NZ$ 70 million( US$ 41.5 million ) in military and humanitarian aid to date. But given the potential consequences for the Indo-Pacific place if Putin wins any kind of victory, this appears to be fairly modest.
Particularly but when you consider that Ukraine is supposedly a liberal democracy that abandoned its atomic weapons in 1994( in exchange for Russian acknowledgment of its sovereignty and territorial integrity ) and that shares New Zealand’s ambition to reform the UN Security Council.
In fact, the best way for New Zealand to combat Chinese confidence in the Indo-Pacific place would be to significantly boost its military backing of Ukraine.
Any plans Xi Jinping may have for annexing Taiwan may be hampered if Russia is defeated or forced to withdraw. This would help to strengthen the” rules-based order” in the Indo-Pacific region, which is thought to be in New Zealand’s best interests.
Under a Creative Commons license, this essay has been republished from The Conversation. publish the first post.
In the past, Chinese visitors were among the most well-traveled in the world in 2019. Together, they spent more than US$ 250 billion worldwide that year, which is almost twice as much as their closest rivals, the Americans. They also took part in over 150 million international flights.
The Covid-19 pandemic shook both the global and Chinese go markets. However, despite the lifting of pandemic restrictions and a resurgence in international travel, Taiwanese tourists have been slower to return to the stars of the world. Strangely enough, the cause could be found in the homes and grounds that Chinese aircraft fly around.
I’m interested in how China’s faltering real estate market is lowering customer wasting and having an impact on travel destinations around the world as a teacher of selling who specializes in consumer psychology.
To comprehend the problem, you must first comprehend China’s recent real estate crisis. How awful is it exactly? Investors worried about potential loan default have sent China’s largest designer, Country Garden, stock plummeting after it lost$ 7.1 billion in the first six weeks of 2023.
The troubled China Evergrande Group, another significant developer, reported a$ 4.5 billion loss during the same time period and last month requested bankruptcy protection in the US. After defaulting on$ 300 billion in debt in 2021, which sparked the current crisis, it attracted attention from around the world.
The fact that regional governments are heavily reliant on tax revenue from property sales, as well as estate taxes and real estate development fees, is one significant, if direct, reason why China’s housing market is so weak. At the same time, real estate has accounted for roughly 70 % of the common population’s property.
Due to these details, both local governments and builders were persuaded to take out large loans to finance new construction. The industry predictedably cooled and has continued to cool when the central government began to impose stricter rules to limit debate and control prices. The best 100 engineers in China saw a 33 % decline in new home sales in July 2023. Costs are also falling.
This has had a ripple effect on the economy of China. Most quickly, selecting has cooled and customers are tightening their budgets despite the declining demand for labor and construction elements. With less funding, local governments are even having trouble surviving; some regions are compelled to reduce benefits and wages for the government.
For people, who must deal with declining money as housing prices decline, the situation is particularly difficult. As careful consumers prioritize their savings more and more, this has an impact on spending, making the economic hardship for businesses all over the nation worse.
It should come as no surprise that what happens in China doesn’t sit there, at least to anyone who has paid attention to the global economy. And as new, frugal Chinese people cut back on their spending, the international tourism industry has been hit particularly difficult.
Even though general trips to Japan had rebounded to 70 % of pre-pandemic levels by April 2023, Chinese hospitality there had decreased by about 85 % since 2019. Foreign travel to well-known Western countries like France, Switzerland, Greece, and Spain has also drastically decreased.
Overall, it is anticipated that China’s outbound travel spending will be down by almost 70 % from its pre-pandemic peak this year.
To be honest, China’s tourism industry is recovering to some extent as conservative tourists increasingly choose to stay closer to home. According to the China Tourism Academy, domestic tourism may reach 90 % of pre-pandemic levels by 2023.
However, that didn’t be enough to make up for the effect of a decline in consumer confidence. The fact that the amount of money travellers are willing to invest is declining is a contributing factor.
Foreign traveling agencies have been shuttering in large numbers in recent years due to demand issues as well as the effects of Covid-19 and political unrest. About 8,500 hospitality companies and providers filed for bankruptcy between January and April 2022. That churning and disruption are bad news for the industry, even if there is some reopening.
With the crisis and rising gas prices deterring would-be guests, international tourism has faced a difficult few years. A treatment will be that much more difficult for Chinese consumers who are feeling down in the dumps about the market and choosing moderate vacations.
Professor of advertising at Miami University, Zhiyong Yang.
Disclosure: Zhiyong Yang has not disclosed any important affiliations outside of their educational appointment and does not work for, read, individual shares in, or get funding from any company or organization that may profit from this article.
Under a Creative Commons license, this essay has been republished from The Conversation. read the article in its entirety.
When the Federal Reserve Board raises interest rates, the market is expected to experience the following effects: a decline in demand for goods and services, an increase in employment, and stagnation in economic development. Rising costs are feared by the crisis. Higher unemployment is a sign of crisis, which is the method by which higher rates control inflation.
The Fed has raised interest rates 11 days, for a complete boost of five full percentage points, over the past 18 months. Although” core” inflation( minus volatile food and energy prices ) is more like 4 %, inflation has significantly decreased from the 9 % annual rate it reached at its peak and is now around 3 %.
However, unemployment is shockingly low — under 4 %. The sector is still expanding as well.
Therefore, there has been a disconnect between the outcome( inflation decreasing ) and the mechanism by which it was achieved( recession not occurring ). Naturally, this has raised questions about what is happening and what the Fed should be doing right then and has led to confusion.
The focus of this discussion is on two issues: Why didn’t higher levels lead to a downturn? What caused interest rates to fall if the crisis system didn’t work?
The near-term future of interest rates is at stake in this discussion for producers, farmers, and different business loans. Does prices increase? Did they remain high for how long?
The Fed had faith in the process when it began raising rates. Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Fed, has repeatedly warned that price increases will slow the economy. The central bank was ready for a crisis and significantly higher employment because it was so dedicated to eradicating prices.
In a statement from 2022, Powell said,” These are the unfortunate costs of reducing cpi.” However, failing to bring about price stability may result in much greater suffering.
However, thus far, high interest rates have primarily hurt the consumers who must pay them. Few Americans have lost their jobs as a result of them. The anticipated crisis is no longer present.
Or is the arrival merely a minor tardy? A recession, according to one school of thought, is just around the corner. High interest rates haven’t already hit home, but they soon will.
Consider business loans as evidence in favor of this school of thought. Some businesses locked in lower costs for a few years during the crisis. The Fed’s rate increases haven’t yet had an impact on them, but those debts will eventually need to be renewed at significantly higher levels. That will help the economy lose some of its weather.
If the delayed-recession theory is correct, the Fed may soon start lowering interest rates, particularly if inflation stays average.
According to another school of thought, prices is simply taking a break and isn’t actually dying. In the 1970s, that is what took place. After a brief period of decline, prices picked up and soared also higher. Prices will rise and remain large longer if the Fed determines that inflation is still alive and well.
Some propose the following theory to explain how inflation subsided without unemployment rising: In contrast to some inflationary episodes, this single involved too few goods rather than an excessive amount of money chasing them. It occurred as a result of the pandemic’s disruption of supply chains and the scarcity of merchandise. The inflationary motor ran out of fuel once the supply chain flaws were fixed.
To put it another way, despite the fact that they may have contributed, prices wasn’t primarily defeated by the Fed’s price increases. It was the strange supply disruption’s natural unwinding. the unwinding pinch-hit for crisis as a different method of controlling inflation. The Fed will be less likely to raise rates or keep them large if it accepts this idea.
Normally, the Fed hasn’t stated how little, if at all, it invests in any of these concepts. A few weeks ago, Fed chair Powell delivered a significant statement that alternated between sounding aggressive and dovish.
The Fed is even more data-dependent than usual as a result of yesterday’s combination of lower prices and ongoing low employment. If inflation increases or the economy warms up, it will slim aggressive; if unemployment rises or inflation falls, the market will purr like a dove.
Fed politicians are going to have a heated internal discussion if either inflation or unemployment stagnates at the present level, or both do.
The best situation for business debtors is for prices to keep falling, enabling the Fed to win and begin lowering rates. Watch the inflation figures the government releases in the coming weeks if you’re trying to predict the interest rate the bank will charge you second spring.
Urban Lehner, a longtime editor and correspondent for the Wall Street Journal Asia, is now the editor-emeritus of DTN / The Progressive Farmer. & nbsp,
Copyright 2023 DTN / The Progressive Farmer is the title of this article, which was first released on September 12 by the latter news organization and is now being republished with authority by Asia Times. All right are reserved. Urban Lehner andnbsp on Twitter: @ urbanize
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Food Agency( SFA ) announced on Friday, September 8, that Turkey has been approved as a new nation for exporting chicken eggs to Singapore. & nbsp,
According to SFA,” this brings the number of nations and regions authorized to import bird shell hens to Singapore to 19, away from 12 in 2019.” & nbsp,
No country may be spared from uncertainties in the global food supply, according to SFA, as Singapore continues to improve its food safety. & nbsp,
An extraordinary avian influenza outbreak, supply chain problems, and the rising cost of feed and fuel are to blame for the global egg shortage situation, according to nbsp.
SFA even urged consumers to participate by being adaptable with their food choices in the event of a disturbance. & nbsp,
Building Singapore’s food endurance also requires being open and receptive to learning about new food sources, according to SFA. & nbsp,
Singapore approved the import of chicken egg from Indonesia in April. In December 2022, it also gave the go-ahead for Brunei to import egg. & nbsp,
The fourth egg farm in Singapore will start operating in 2024, according to ISE Foods Holdings, a local operator & nbsp, last October. & nbsp,
Now, imports make up about 70 % of Singapore’s chicken offer. & nbsp,
