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[ad_1] U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Fell Last Week by More Than Forecast [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] By Dr Rajendra Prasad Sharma  Trade, import and export for MSMEs: Of late, it is fashionable for small firms to eye global market opportunities. Despite the high failure rate of MSMEs in the foreign terrains, they still contribute approximately half of India’s export volume and value, and the growth potential is enormous. Apart from the product idea, success abroad requires knowledge, skills, and the right mindset.   A good starting point is knowledge of the political, economic, social, and technological environment, the demand-supply gap for the chosen product, and competition in the foreign market. Also crucial is the knowledge about market access, that is, trade barriers, bilateral trade agreements, export regulations, standards and procedures, shipping costs, and incoterms. An MSME exporter accepting and shipping an importer’s order without a proper HS code can make the customs have difficulty classifying the shipment. They will face a commercial risk of delivery delay, demurrage, a higher duty, or a fine It risks the reputation of the exporter and the country.  Exporters require an attitude of curative marketing with a strong ethical commitment to serve foreign needs. Japan’s success in global markets with brands such as Sony, Toyota, Honda, Hitachi, and others, despite nuclear devastation just around our independence and a perennial shortage of natural resources, should inspire Indian exporters. Our reliance on the ‘jugaad’ approach and belief in the ‘chalega’ syndrome validates India’s low score on Hofstede’s Uncertainty Avoidance index. Successful entrepreneurs must meet the prerequisites of being successful professionals, that is, the knowledge, the skills, and the ethical code of conduct for doing business abroad. Every exporter must introspect on the reasons for failure and answer some pertinent, open-ended questions that have a success recipe to help avoid failures. In the words of English poet Rudyard Kipling:    “I always keep six serving men with me, and they taught me all that I know. Their names are what, why, who, when, where, and how.” Why internationalize Following the British-American author and speaker Simon Sinek’s advice, let us start with the why. Answering the motives, aspirations, and goals for internationalization can help address the associated risks of international business. The natural perception of growth potential in foreign markets creates new market opportunities. However, few exporters know the precise reason for internationalization. Some consider exports as an alternative to saturation in domestic markets. Others consider it a matter of prestige. Many MSMEs only like to benefit from the government export promotion schemes. Still, assessing the firm’s export readiness is crucial before international expansion. Although firms can diversify the risks in domestic and foreign markets due to differential cost and profit structures, internationalizing firms eventually benefit from acquiring new skills and technologies.   What products to export  A close look at India’s export basket indicates commodities and not brands. Only the brands command customer respect and price premium. Even small and developing countries have branded their products, for example, tea brands such as Dilmah from Sri Lanka and Kericho Gold from Kenya fetch a higher price than Indian black tea.  It would be worthwhile to process the raw materials and move up the value chain for higher unit value realization. Moreover, MSMEs must adapt their products to the buyer’s needs in those countries, that is, branding, packaging, labeling, and adherence to sanitary and phytosanitary standards of the chosen market’s requirements.  Following the rules of segmenting, targeting, and positioning, international marketers must create, communicate, and deliver a unique value to their buyers. Developing a lovemark (a marketing concept) with an emotional connection with customers will even be a step beyond branding. Many of our products and services hold the potential to be converted into lovemarks. Being a service-based economy, India must capitalize on the advantage of its services. Our IT-enabled services brands like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Wipro enjoy a high image and reputation globally.  Subscribe to Financial Express SME newsletter now: Your weekly dose of news, views, and updates from the world of micro, small, and medium enterprises  How to do market selection  There are as many countries as the number of bones in the human body. The MSME exporters that ignore the systematic international marketing research to Screen, Identity, and Select (SIS) the right markets, head for peril. Foreign markets entail country, cultural, currency, and commercial risks. The democracy index from the Economic Intelligence Unit and the corruption perception index released by Transparency International help assess the host country’s governance and the corruption, respectively. Understanding the trading blocs, the trade agreements, the ease of doing business ranking, and intellectual property rights (IPR) issues also save from pitfalls. The Business Environment Risk Intelligence (BERI) and International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) can screen the markets for country risk if any. The Hofstede cross-cultural country comparison, Erin Meyer’s cultural maps, and other tools like World Value Survey (WVS) and the Values and Lifestyles (VALS) surveys can help eliminate the cultural risk.   The national trade statistics from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS) offers free principal commodity data. Euromonitor Passport provides rich information about the market potential and the dynamics in several product categories and geographies. Trade maps and other ITC tools such as market access maps, market potential maps, and procurement maps help assess the opportunity and identify the demand-supply gaps in the foreign markets. The country economic profiles from websites like statistictimes.com and theglobaleconomy.com prove handy for selecting the right countries by eliminating the riskier ones.  The trade bodies and the product-specific export promotion councils also help the MSME exporters with trade inquiries and market information.      How to plan for promotion and distribution  Communicating value requires creating awareness. If a great product goes abroad without promotion, it would be like winking at someone in the dark. In international markets, the choice of promo tools like tradeshows, events, press coverage, e-commerce, digital, and social media marketing platforms, requires adequate attention. Messages need cultural sensitivity and authenticity to resonate with the intended foreign audience. Global sales management and personal selling pose unique challenges in cross-cultural settings.   Indian MSME exporters primarily cater to the buying agents. In the process, they miss out

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[ad_1] Ahead of the DefExpo 2022, the government on Thursday (March 3, 2022) has accorded in-principle approval to four projects which are under Make-I (this is funded by the government) and five projects under Make-II (this is industry-funded) categories of Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), in a landmark decision, the projects received Approval – in – Principle (AIP) which was decided by the Collegiate Committee of MoD. Under this, the industry will be provided financial support for prototype development of these projects. Know which projects received AIP For the Indian Air Force (IAF): approval has been given for Communication Equipment with Indian Security Protocols. This includes the Switches, Routers, VoIP Phones and their software and Encryptors. Also, airborne stand-off jammer, Airborne Electro Optical pod with Ground Based System, for the IAF. And, for the Indian Army the long awaited Indian Light Tank. As has been reported earlier, in 2021, the MoD had released Request for Information (RfI) for 350 light tanks. The decision to have these tanks was taken in view of the 22 months standoff between the Indian and Chinese forces in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Chinese side has deployed a light tank, the Type 15 or ZTQ 15. The Indian Army has stationed its heavy weight T-90 tanks in Ladakh and this was in addition to the T-72 tanks, which according to information available in the public domain weighs around 45 tonnes. The Light Tank Indian army is looking for and is now planning to build in India is expected to weigh around 25 tonnes, amphibious, easily transportable, by air, road and water route and should have state-of-the-art and cutting edge technology and protection systems, armament and protection systems. It should have the capability to operate in different terrains including high-altitude places. According to the Ministry of Defence, this is the first time that the Indian industry has now been involved in the development of big ticket platforms like Communication Equipment with Indian Security Protocols as well as Light Tanks. Larsen and Toubro and a South Korean company are already talking about these tanks. Five projects which will be funded by the industry under the Make-II procedure received AIP. The IAF Full Motion Simulator for Apache Helicopter; Wearable Robotic Equipment for Aircraft Maintenance; and the Full Motion Simulator for Chinook Helicopter have received AIP. For the Indian Army one of the biggest projects that received the AIP is Autonomous Combat Vehicle; and Integrated Surveillance and Targeting System for Mechanised Forces More about Make-II category Under this, the government does not provide any funding for the development of the prototype. The industry has to fund the whole prototype development of the equipment/system and their platform. Under this the expenses have to be met by the industry for their upgrades or their sub-systems/sub-assembly/assemblies/components.  These are mainly going to help as import substitution and innovative solutions. How will this help? With the development of the prototype, design capabilities, the country will move towards self-reliance. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Compass CEO Robert Reffkin “People used to talk about Compass all the time,” said Jonathan Miller, a real estate appraiser at Miller Samuel, who compiles housing market reports for Douglas Elliman, a Compass rival. “Now, you don’t really hear about them.” If Miller is right and Compass, after raising $1.5 billion and flying to a $6.4 billion valuation in 2019, is a stale subject, that’s a shame because now anyone can become a Compass expert. The real estate brokerage unveiled its first annual report Monday, a federally required document for any public company. The dossier unveils everything from CEO Robert Reffkin’s ability to soon control 67% of the company to an all-you-can-eat buffet of details on an up to $600 million revolving line of credit provided by Barclay’s Bank. Here are the five biggest takeaways from the 2021 10K report. Compass did not respond to messages for this story: Shooting the non-GAAP Under Securities and Exchange Commission law, companies must apply generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, in reporting their finances. In other words, companies cannot make stuff up. However, while companies cannot lie, they can have fun and devise non-GAAP measurements. No less than 16 times during its February earnings call, Reffkin and CFO Kristen Ankerbrandt mentioned “adjusted EBITDA” or adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Though Compass had lost $494 million in net income, they made a $2 million profit through adjusted EBITDA. Compass arrives at its adjusted EBITDA figure by subtracting $386 million in stock-based compensation, though the majority of this expense is recurring annually. It also takes out $24 million in “acquisition-related expenses” despite the report stating Compass intends more acquisitions. And there’s a $21.3 million “litigation charge” (more on that in a sec). Instead of justifying dropping these expenses, the report warns about adjusted EBITDA’s limitations. “In evaluating adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments reflected in this presentation,” the report reads, later adding that Compass’s Adjusted EBITDA “varies from others in the industry.” Indeed, most other brokerages either do not provide an adjusted EBITDA figure or give one at less variance to net income. eXp World Holding’s yearly report, for instance, gives an adjusted EBITDA measurement of $4 million less than its $82 million in annual income. “All expenses should be included in their EBITDA,” said Michael Nourmand, president of Nourmand & Associates Realtors, a brokerage headquartered in Beverly Hills. “I run a privately owned company and we include all expenses in our profit and loss. In particular, I don’t see any reason to exclude litigation costs other than to make their numbers appear better.” Compass, though, is hardly reinventing the non-GAAP wheel. Office subleasing company WeWork became a punchline in 2018 partly because its “community adjusted EBITDA” took out marketing and even administrative costs as expenses. And Opendoor turned a $662 million loss in 2021 to a $58 million gain under Adjusted EBITDA. Perhaps coincidentally, all three companies grew after venture capital funding from the SoftBank Vision Fund. Litigation As The Real Deal first reported in November, Compass settled its lawsuit with Avi Dorfman who claimed that, along with Reffkin and Ori Allon, he co-founded the company. The yearly report reveals that the settlement was for $21.3 million, the aforementioned litigation charge. But while Compass is done duking it out with Dorfman, the company is locked in a three-year-old lawsuit with brokerage conglomerate Realogy. Compass has repeatedly lost motions to compel arbitration and take the case out of the public eye, according to the report. They are now in the discovery, or fact-finding stage, which is scheduled to last until October. Meanwhile, Compass is fending off with a stick trade secret lawsuits from brokerages, and even breach of contract cases from Compass’s own agents. Litigation, as Nourmand argued, may be a recurring expense. Agent productivity Compass has made agent productivity a calling card – the firm’s principal agents do 2.7 times the deals of the average agent, the report states. And agents who work at Compass say the brokerage gives them tools to be productive. User friendly templates for social media, email, and digital ads plus the ability to quickly customize videos are part of what “Compass has to offer that those other brokerages may not,” said Beatrice Stambulski, a Compass agent based in Sherman Oaks, California who spent a decade at Realogy-owned Coldwell Banker. Other agents praise Compass for listening. “The difference with Compass is that they regularly seek input and feedback, and testing from the agents,” said Matt McKee, a Compass broker in Orlando. “They do not deliver their product until it has been thoroughly tested by agents.” To ineptly paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, one can hold two seemingly opposed thoughts about Compass – a financially troubled company admired by agents. Still, those agents are not necessarily more productive. Principal agents refer to agents either working as lone wolves or heading a team. At Compass, agent teams can include the Aaron Kirman Group, a Los Angeles outfit that consists of Kirman and 84 additional agents. Whether that 2.7 number refers to deals Kirman did or deals Kirman and the 84 other agents did combined is not explained. Compass’s agents do not appear more productive than the average agent who does 10 deals a year, Miller said, declaring, “I would think that the leaders of teams would be doing many multiples more than the rest of the pack – 2.7 seems modest.” Mortgage joint venture Compass announced to some fanfare in July a partnership with Guaranteed Rate, a mortgage lender in Chicago that already partners with Realogy and @properties. For some observers, the joint venture holds promise as a path to the brokerage’s profitability. But the impact of the mortgage lender, OriginPoint, is so far minimal. Compass has invested just $3.7 million in a company for which it owns 49.9%, though this number could swell in 2022. Compass expects OriginPoint

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[ad_1] Amazon calls for dialogue with India's Future amid raging legal dispute [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] UP Elections 2022 Sixth Phase Voting Live Updates: An average 36.33 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm in the sixth phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several prominent faces are among 676 candidates, who are contesting on 57 seats spread across 10 districts. The voting started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Around 2.15 crore people are eligible to vote in this phase. Till now, voting for 292 of the 403 Assembly seats has been completed. The final phase of the elections on the remaining 54 seats will be held on March 7. A total of 676 candidates are in the fray. Prominent of them are Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from the Gorakhpur Urban seat, Congress UP president Ajay Kumar Lallu from the Tamkuhi Raj seat, Samajwadi Party’s Swami Prasad Maurya from the Fazilnagar seat, and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, senior Samajwadi Party leader Ram Govind Chaudhary from the Bansdih seat, UP minister Surya Pratap Shahi from the Pathardeva seat, Satish Chandra Dwivedi from the Itwa seat, Jai Pratap Singh from the Bansi seat, Shree Ram Chauhan from the Khajani seat, and Jai Prakash Nishad from the Rudrapur seat.  [ad_2] Source link

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