EDITOR'S NOTE Stagflation looms large

INSIDE

IF MAY - JUNE 2022

24

BANKING AND FINANCE

METAVERSE: A VIRTUAL ASSET

How to make profits in the age of crypto, NFT, and VR

ECONOMY

IS CRYPTOCURRENCY DEAD?

The recent collapse of the crypto market has investors wondering if this is the end of the road for cryptocurrencies estimated to be $40 billion

TECHNOLOGY

BACKUP

BACK UP YOUR PHONE DATA

36

Both Apple and Android phones have readily usable cloud storage options

ECONOMY ECONOMY

44

CHINA'S ECONOMY SUFFOCATES

Can an autocratic nation continue to be innovative and prosperous

INDUSTRY

LESS PAY FOR REMOTE WORKERS?

Is location based-pay really justified or are corporations trying to squeeze their employees

58

WALL STREET BRACES FOR STORMS

Even during politically turbulent times, the markets outperformed, but their winning streak is finally over

70

SELLING HOUSE? THINGS TO KNOW

According to the National Association of Realtors, around 23% of sellers market their houses

ANALYSIS

12 How rattled is the US Federal Reserve? 32 Zindi taps African talent to find AI solutions 40 Middle East leading the way in COVID-19 recovery 62 How British schools are branching out in Asia 66 Restructuring global supply chains: Good, bad & ugly

REGULAR

03 EDITOR'S NOTE Stagflation looms large

06 TRENDING Amazon to deliver via drones

08 NEWS Russia to become major oil export player

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# TRENDING

LOGISTICS

Amazon to deliver via drones

Amazon shoppers from Lockeford in California will be able to sign up to have their deliveries made using drones later this year. The tech giant had promised drone deliveries for years, but could not do it due to unexpected setbacks. Lockeford citizens will be one of the first citizens in the world to receive Prime Air deliveries. Amazon also said their feedback about Prime Air in Lockeford would help the company scale the drone delivery model globally. "Lockeford residents will soon have access to one of the world's leading delivery innovations,” said California State Assemblyman Heath Flora, whose district includes Lockeford.

Musk meets Twitter employees

Elon Musk spoke with Twitter staff for the first time on June 16 after reaching an agreement to buy the firm, concentrating on “freedom of speech” in an online address. In April, the billionaire had announced his intention to buy Twitter for $44 billion but has since been critical of the firm, threatening to put the sale on hold due to concerns over bots, or phony accounts, that exist on the platform. Musk has set high objectives for Twitter during the call, stating that the count will increase from 229 million users to one billion users around the world.

ECONOMY British airline Virgin Atlantic will now let its cabin crew display tattoos. They are the first among the world’s leading airlines and the first in the UK to do so. However, there is still a ban on facial and neck tattoos for flight attendants, along with tattoos referring to nudity, violence, drugs, and alcohol. The decision to enable cabin crew to use tattoos comes a month after Virgin Atlantic launched a branding campaign named, ‘champion individuality.’ The restrictions were being relaxed in line with a focus on inclusivity and championing diversity

Airline drops ban on arm tattoos

LOGISTICS

Africa’s cultured meat on menu

The agricultural sector is the largest emitter of climate-damaging gases. These gases include carbon dioxide, ozone, ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen chloride. In the first twenty years following its emission, practices like bovine belching and flatulence produced the potent greenhouse gas methane. This gas is roughly 80 times more powerful than CO2 at trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. The main issue is with the manufacturing process of red meat.

At a Glance

World’s highest rice producers

China 209.6

Indonesia

54.6

Vietnam

43.5 India 177.7

Bangladesh

54.6

2019 Production million tonnes Source- Statista NEWS | INSIGHTS | UPDATES | DATA

ECONOMY

Mass exodus of Russian millionaires in 2022

According to data collected by Henley & Partners, about 15% of Russians with over $1 million in ready assets will emigrate following the invasion of Ukraine. Henley & Partners is a Londonbased firm that connects the super-rich with countries selling their citizenships. There has been a steady flow of wealthy elites exiting the country for the last decade. The large-scale exodus of wealthy citizens has historically led to the downfall of empires and nations. Ukraine will have a higher loss than Russia, with 2,800 millionaires (42% of all millionaires in the country) emigrating by the end of the year.

In a twist, the world’s wealthy have begun to prefer the UAE over the UK and US. Over 4,000 High Net worth Individuals (HNWI) will emigrate to the UAE, 3,500 to Australia, 2,800 to Singapore, and 2,500 to Israel.

Malta, Mauritius, and Monaco are also preferred locations. Malta has been one of the greatest economic miracles of the last decade, with a US dollar wealth growth of 87% between 2011-2021.

Over 300 millionaires are expected to move to Malta in 2022. Mauritius is also a preferred emigration center for HNWI because of the serene landscape and significant tax breaks. In Mauritius, there is no capital gains tax, or inheritance tax, and a minimal tax rate of 3% for global companies.

By the Numbers

Largest oil-consuming countries

United States 20.54 China 14.01 India 4.92 Japan 3.74 Russia 3.70 United States 18.88 Saudi Arabia 10.84 Russia 10.78

(2019 figure in million barrels per day)

Largest oil-producing countries

Source: Tradingeconomics

Ones to Watch

ELISABETH BORNE

NEW PM OF FRANCE Elisabeth Borne has been appointed as France’s new prime minister on May 16, 2022. She becomes the second woman in the history of France to hold this post.

BORIS JOHNSON

FORMER PM OF UK Boris Johnson has resigned as leader of the Conservative party and plans to stay on as prime minister of England until a new party leader is elected.

MOHAMMAD BARKINDO

NIGERIAN POLITICIAN Nigeria's Mohammad Barkindo, who led OPEC in turbulent times, died at the age of 63. He was the secretary general of oil producers group OPEC.

Sinopec and state-run Zhenhua Oil, have ramped up purchases of Russian oil

People are beginning to hold off on vacation plans, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said

Russia become major oil export player “US recession not inevitable”

China's crude oil imports from Russia soared 55% from a year before to a record level in May 2022, displacing Saudi Arabia as the top supplier, with May volumes up 9% on year at 7.82 million tonnes, or 1.84 million barrels per day (bpd) This happened because refiners cashed in on discounted supplies amid sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Imports of Russian oil, which include supplies pumped via the East Siberia Pacific Ocean pipeline and seaborne shipments from Russia's European and Far Eastern ports, totalled nearly 8.42 million tonnes. The data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs revealed. This is equivalent to roughly 1.98 million bpd and up from 1.59 million bpd in April. China is the world's biggest crude oil importer.

Chinese firms, including state refining giant Sinopec and state-run Zhenhua Oil, have ramped up purchases of Russian oil, enticed by steep discounts after western oil majors and trading houses pulled back due to sanctions.

Saudi Arabia trailed as the second-largest A recession in the United States is not "inevitable" but the economy is likely to slow, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, a few days after the US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, raising fears of a contraction. "I expect the economy to slow" as it transitions to stable growth, she said on ABC's "This Week," but "I don't think a recession is at all inevitable."

The US economy has recovered strongly from the damage wrought by COVID-19, but soaring inflation and supply-chain snarls made worse by the war in Ukraine have increased pessimism.

Wall Street stocks tumbled after the US central bank, seeking to cool inflation, raised the benchmark-borrowing rate by 0.75 percentage points, the sharpest rise in 30 years.

Economists see worrying signs that consumer confidence is weakening, with spending on services affected most sharply.

People are beginning to hold off on vacation plans -- domestic flight bookings were down 2% last month, Adobe Analytics reported -- and are

supplier, with May volumes up 9% on year-on-year at 7.82 million tonnes, or 1.84 million bpd. This was down from April's 2.17 million bpd. Russia took back the top ranking after a gap of 19 months.

Customs data released recently also showed that China imported 260,000 tonnes of Iranian crude oil last month, its third shipment of Iran oil since last December, confirming an earlier report.

Imports from Malaysia, often used as a transfer point in the last two years for oil originating from Iran and Venezuela, amounted to 2.2 million tonnes, steady versus April but more than double the year-earlier level.

Imports from Brazil fell 19% from a year earlier to 2.2 million tonnes, as supplies from the Latin American exporter faced cheaper competition from Iranian and Russian barrels.

Separately, data also showed China's imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) amounted to nearly 400,000 tonnes last month, 56% more than May of 2021. Also, imports of Russian LNG rose to 22%. cutting back on restaurant visits, haircuts, and home repairs.

Yellen conceded that "clearly inflation is unacceptably high," attributing it partly to the war in Ukraine, which has pushed up energy and food prices.

But she said she did not believe "a drop-off in consumer spending is the likely cause of a recession."

The US labour market is "arguably the strongest of the postwar period," Yellen said, and she predicted a slowing of inflation in the coming months.

For Fed chair Jerome Powell -- who succeeded Yellen in that position -- to control inflation without weakening the labour market will take "skill and luck," she said, before adding, "but I believe it's possible."

The US economy contracted by 1.5% in the first quarter of this year, its first drop since 2020, and early indications point to a continued slowing in key sectors including manufacturing, real estate, and retail sales.

A recent survey found that 76% companies believed a recession is looming or has already begun.