5 Easy Ways to Guarantee Success with Automated Email Marketing

May 21, 2020

There is no denying it – automated email marketing is invaluable to businesses.

In 2019 alone, there were 3.9 billion global email users (with the number projected to skyrocket to 4.3 billion by 2023). Need more proof of the power of email? According to Oberlo, a business can expect a $42 return for every $1 spent on email marketing.

Email marketing, especially when automated, allows a company to maintain and develop relationships with new and existing customers. Thanks to GoPromotional, a leader in promotional marketing visions, both small and large businesses can follow this guide to guarantee success with their next email marketing campaign.

Segment Your Customers

The overall goal of automated email marketing is to reach as many customers as possible, while still making each and every customer feel valued. Segmenting your customer email list allows you to group customers by different data points, such as their demographics (age, location, etc.), to better personalize each message they receive.

For example, customers on the east coast during winter months may view a promotional email on pools and hot tubs as simply SPAM mail – or completely irrelevant to their life. However, customers that live in warmer locations year-round may view that email differently. There are many ways to slice and dice your customer list and doing so allows your company to directly communicate to customers, while ensuring every email is relevant to their life.

“Automated” does not mean “without thought”. Make sure to keep customers and their wants and needs at the center of any automated email marketing campaign.

Get to Know Your Customers

Segmenting customers based on demographic information is helpful but can also be taken a step further. Truly understanding your customers as a business means understanding how each customer interacts with your business.

Tracking how customers navigate your website, for example, can help you understand your customers’ journey before they purchase a single product from you. What pages are customers visiting most? How long are they staying on each page? Is there a specific page or product they seem to visit most?

Use this information to further customize both your customer segments and email marketing content. Highlight the products or pages they visit most or send a promotional code for that product they have been eyeing for weeks.

Branding is Boss

Next, it is time to think about what your emails look like. How can your business ensure customers always know the email is coming from you? Consider these tips:

Customize your email layout and design
Include your logo
Include your company name
Create a standard email header or footer
Select a consistent color palette and fonts

Your company likely has some of this already in place! Select colors, fonts, and imagery similar to what you have in store or on your website. Emails with consistent branding build brand recognition, so customers easily recognize your company’s emails from all the rest.

Test for Results

As with any initiative, automated email marketing efforts can never guarantee success without regular testing and feedback. Superior marketing managers and salespeople understand the importance of regular and consistent testing and feedback.

Instead of sending only one type of email at a time, consider sending multiple versions of the same email to understand which gets the most traction. If you plan to send a sale-related email to a segment of customers, for example, try using two different subject lines (“Check out this sale!” versus “All items – 20% off!”). Which email was opened more often? Which generated more visits to your site or more purchases during the sale period?

Customer needs and expectations change, and the type of promotional emails they want to receive will change, too. This kind of testing not only allows you to see which automated emails work better, but regular testing gets you even closer to understanding your customers over time.

Play with Timing

Unfortunately, there is no black and white “best time” to send automated promotional emails. Although we wish there was a perfect formula, the best time varies from business to business and customer to customer.

Similar to testing different email structures and subject lines, also test the timing of your automated emails. Do your customers open more emails at 9AM on a Sunday or 9PM on a Friday? Track email open rates to understand which segments of your customer list respond successfully at different times.

Email timing is just another data point that gets you closer to understanding the different segments and demographics of your customer list.

Automated email marketing really comes down to knowing your customers and having the data to back it up. Individualizing their experience – from subject lines and content to timing and branding – will result in developing longer, more meaningful and successful customer relationships.

The world is reading emails and shopping online now more than ever, so use these tips as a launching pad for your business’s next great email marketing effort.

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Can We Use Unsecured Installment For Living Expenses?

May 21, 2020

An installment loan is a product of financing in which the borrower is advanced with a sum of money, which has a fixed rate of interest required to repay it over time for a specified period. Generally, this is a loan product other than payday loans. It is categorized into two; secured and unsecured loans. With a secured loan, the borrower must provide collateral for the loan. Examples are auto loans and mortgages.

Unsecured loans do not have special requirements for the security of the loan. Often at times, people associate installment loans to personal loans. They are however, different. Installment loans can be described as loans. It is a broad field. However, this article shall present a discussion on some of its benefits and uses to help understand more on installment loans.

Uses of installment loans

As earlier highlighted, installment involves a broad scope of loans. All business, commercial, personal, public, etc. loans are categorized under installment loans. Therefore, the list is broad, given that every kind of loan deal with a specific line of credits.

To answer the question about if these loans can be used in covering expenses, yes, it is true that the group. However, at least one loan can be taken to purchase whatever you wanted. These kinds of loans are categorized as personal loans. In a nutshell, the purpose of a loan product is tied to the loan product itself. For example, business loans are meant to be used for business purposes only. Mortgages are for house financing, and many more.

Personal loans, especially from a licensed moneylender, can be used for a wide variety of applications. It can be used for purchasing groceries, consolidating credit card balances, financing pricey equipment, etc. these loans are slightly expensive since they are unsecured.

In other terms, the question instructs us to discuss if personal loans can be used for living expenses.

How do personal loans work?

Personal loans are unsecured installment loans. Many lenders offer them either in-store or online. These loans, as established earlier, do not have specified uses. However, they come with terms. Firstly, all loans have interest rates chargeable. Secondly., they have to be repaid within a specified agreed upon period, and one has to make monthly installments.

Additionally, some loans come with hidden fees such as origination fees, processing fees, prepayment fees, etc.

The loan application is usually followed by the lender’s valuation of your eligibility. This is done by checking your credit history and your income. Depending on the lender, you can have your funds approved within a short time.

Uses of personal loans

Debt consolidation:

You can take out a personal loan to refinance your credit card balances. This can be done if your current loan rates are high and the balances are almost due. Consolidation helps you to save on the amount you would have paid. Also, it assists you in arranging payment smoothly without a struggle.

Medical bills:

Be it an emergency or not, medical bills can inflate very fast within a short period. Your savings may not be helpful, hence pushing you to take a personal loan. It helps to re-organize things for you in regards to the medical bill. Also, pets do get sick, and their surgeries usually cost a fortune.

Student debt:

You are at liberty to service your student loan using a personal loan. This, however, is not advisable for several reasons. One is that it is financially imprudent to take a loan with a higher interest rate to pay for one at a lower price. Second, paying a student loan with a personal forfeit your right for deferments and forbearances. Furthermore, the term of the loan for student loans is extensive and does not expire until it is all paid. It would be unwise paying a student loan with personal loan funds.

Wedding costs:

Weddings nowadays have turned into expensive party events that intimidate people with expenses. You can take out a personal loan to supplement your savings.

Divorce:

Divorce proceedings can be very costly. These bills may come in from lawyers. Legal unions and separations are expensive. However, personal loans can be of help here.

Vacation:

Many plans help people plan for vacations. But some vacations don’t occur when you plan for them as much as it is inadvisable to use personal loans for this purpose; you have the liberty of going all out and enjoying your vacation.

Expensive consumer goods:

These are goods that are so costly that you cannot afford them on your paycheck. Therefore, you put them on the personal loan. An example of these goods includes computers, domestic appliances, etc.

Moving expenses: moving may be necessary because of job transfers or relocations. Transport companies would charge you a fortune moving goods from one location to another across the country. Personal loans may turn to be your rescuer.

Funeral costs:

Usually, people do not save for this expense. However, it does occur, and sometimes it happens when finances are tight. If your cat figures out what to do with your loved one, take out a loan for the funeral and pay later.

Tax debt: do not make your taxes overdue. If the penalties are higher than the loan rates, consider taking a loan to complete your debt.

Home repairs: repairs or renovations can be very costly. For instance, if you are having problems with your roof, you will need replacement, which may not be in the right terms with your finances. You can take a personal loan for this.

Family or friend’s debt repayment:

Owing to your family member can be stressful. Debts are not good custodians of relationships. It is better to owe a lending company than your family member or a friend.

The bottom line

Installment loans are a broad category of loans that are secured using collateral or unsecured. They include personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, etc. personal loans can be used for any expenses, including buying domestic items, food, vacations, Christmas, etc.

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The First 5 Steps to a Global Business

May 21, 2020

The global market is bursting with business potential, but not everyone’s idea or product will be able to take the pressure of the international business scene. Growth-minded business owners who dominate the local market see global expansion as an increased opportunity for financial success and company stability. After all, going global brings many benefits. Through your expansion you are able to grow your business, you also reduce your dependence on one consumer market and extend the sales life of your products. All of these benefits ultimately lead to increased revenue.

Breaking Down the Strategy

You might be thinking that you need a niche industry to expand your operations across the globe, but this isn’t the case. Expanding is possible for businesses of all sizes when they have the right strategy and understanding of the global market. For instance, Sjamsul Nursalim is one of the wealthiest executives found in Indonesia, but he amassed his fortune through the tire and retail industries. His approach to business simply took into account these strategic areas and at the end of it, developed a global empire.

Build on a Solid Foundation

You can’t expand overseas if you aren’t on solid ground back at home. Consider the financial resources you have available and compare them to the costs of initiating an expansion. Think about your leadership team and your labor pool. Are these individuals capable of juggling the needs of operating an overseas venture without dropping the ball on managing your existing customer base? Your business will be pushed and pulled in several areas once you consider exploring global trade, and you need a company with a structurally and financially strong foundation to see you through the changes.

Conduct an Internal Business Analysis

If you have decided that your foundation is solid enough to support global growth, you need to know if your business can financially succeed in the potential new markets. You have considered the overall strengths of your company, but now you need to put finances and figures with your projections. An internal audit helps narrow down the specific resources that are available, the core competencies of your team, the overall capabilities or production, and the value proposition against new competitors. Your report should identify if you have a customer base in countries you are interested in, if there is a demand that a local company is currently satisfying, if the market size can support long-term growth, or how long it will take to achieve profitability depending on the market trends in areas that relate to your product or service. In determining these answers, you might need to conduct both a gap analysis and SWOT analysis to get the big picture of where your sales might be headed.

If you are interested in learning about business analysis, you can enroll in a business analyst certification course and become a professional business analyst.

Craft an International Business Plan and Strategy

You won’t be able to simply hop across the pond and expect your current strategies to be successful. Each market across the globe is distinct, and there are economic, cultural, governmental, and market environments that need to be considered. Your strategy and plan need to be tailored to your intended operating location. This is the only way to improve your chance of success in the local markets, while still incorporating your company’s objectives and strategies that got you to this place. Clearly outline your short, medium, and long-term strategies, along with measurable and attainable goals and objectives. Include a cost/benefit analysis to make sure that profitability is still the end result. Determine how you will structure your new location, establishing either a sales office, a branch location, or a separate company altogether. Craft an annual budget that works from the top down. Use a timeline and commit date to develop a project plan.

Remove Cultural Barriers

If you want to open the door to international customers, you need to remove cultural barriers and speak the language. There are many software applications that allow you to convert your content in a variety of different languages. The ability for international consumers to relate to the content of your store in their own language is fundamental to the success of your company’s expansion. With the Shopify app store, you can find an app that will fit your business need but all the need of the customer to understand the purpose of your store and just what it is they are purchasing. However, you will make the best headway if you work directly with locals who can overcome the language problems and give you clarity on the cultural issues. You can do this by hiring someone who immigrated to the U.S. from your new business location, or you could outsource the vital tasks of translation and marketing to someone who studied in the country or who is living in the country. Get firsthand knowledge of what you are dealing with by traveling to the country or international trade shows. Increasing your knowledge gives you more information about tailoring your products to a global need.

Armed with the right information, you will be able to make the all-important decision of whether or not you should expand your business overseas. The global market awaits, but you need to make sure your company is ready.

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4 Important Tips to Trade the Gold

May 19, 2020

The price of gold is measured in U.S dollars. A slight change in the U.S dollar index usually results in massive fluctuation. The rookies in Singapore don’t know this fact very well and often think gold trading is hard. In order to make a profit, you must trade a volatile asset. With gold, you are going to find everything you need to earn money. But still, thousands are traders are losing money because they often ignore the most basic rules for trading the gold. Let’s find out more about the perfect way to trade the gold market.

1. Find the trend

The first thing which you need to do in gold trading is to find the trend. Without taking the trade in favor of the trend, no one can make a profit in gold trading. Trading gold is like riding a trend. Use the Fibonacci retracement tool to find the perfect point to open a new long trade. Once you have executed the trade, make sure you are not taking too much risk. The trend is not perfect. You might experience a sudden change in the trend so be prepared to lose trades.

Rookies should start trading the gold with the simple trend line tool. Using sophisticated indicators and trying to find the perfect price to secure good trades is not going to work. In fact, the simplest trading method is the best trading strategy for gold trading. If you stick to this method, you can expect to become a professional gold trader.

Another excellent way to determine gold trading trends is by reading reviews, such as the Goldco review. Because gold investment comes in various forms, you can base your strategies on real-life testimonials and comments across different platforms and channels. This move will help increase your awareness and understanding of the most profitable ones, such as gold trading.

2. Analyze the major news

In the CFD trading industry, analyzing the major news is very important. If you ignore the news, it’s just a matter of time to blow up the account. The majority of novice traders don’t give any importance to the news. But trading gold is not like dealing with the currency market. The top traders in Singapore often take trades on gold by using fundamental analysis. So, you can understand that fundamental analysis is very important in gold trading.

Starting to learn about the news factors is a tough task. But if you follow the basic protocol and try to execute the orders with managed risk, you will learn to deal with the complex nature of the market. Once you become good at analyzing the major news, you will learn the perfect way to reduce the risk of trading.

When sourcing credible news, you can rely on newspapers, finance magazines, and mass media. Checking out trusted online platforms that provide the latest gold trading news is also helpful. You know that you’re dealing with a credible news provider by researching more about the company’s reputation, awards, and trust ratings.

Knowing the real news from fake or advertorial news is crucial to attaining success in gold investing. Beware of websites with affiliate gold trading companies. These websites merely aim to promote gold trading platforms to earn commission from successful registrations from site link referrals.

3. Learn the price action signals

The price action trading method is the most efficient way to make a big profit. To trade gold, you must use the most reliable price action signals. Once you become good at analyzing the price action pattern, you will become more confident. Rookies often say, analyzing and memorizing tons of patterns is impossible. But you don’t have to memorize the pattern. Just have a look at the anatomy of the candle and try to understand its functions.

Getting into the details of the Japanese candlestick pattern has a huge advantage. It will help you trade with a tight stop. In fact, you can even trade the major news. Once you become skilled at analyzing the major news, you can easily change your life and become a top trader in the world.

4. Never break the rules

Breaking the rules is the most common causes of losing money in trading. Since the gold market is very volatile it is important to follow the safety measures all the time. If you think you know everything about this market, you are wrong. The top traders are still learning about the CFD market and they keep themselves updated with the latest market news. It allows them to take the trade with low risk. So, think about the actions when you trade in such a delicate market. Stop being an aggressive trader to recover losses. Just go with the market flow and aim for a high risk to reward ratio in each trade.

Takeaway

Gold is an excellent investment that you can rely on when other investments experience a shortfall. When trading gold, it’s essential to have an objective view of the market prices to buy and sell intelligently. Consider buying gold and silver to further diversify your investment portfolio. Equip yourself with accurate market data, and listen to what gold experts advise for strategic trading.

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Creating an effective trading plan in the Forex market

May 19, 2020

To ensure success in the Forex market you must have complete knowledge about the market. Without the proper knowledge, you won’t be able to survive in the long run. The market is a competitive one, to make profits in the trades you have to compete with all the other traders. And it’s not an easy task to do every trader wants to win in the market so does you. So, to win over all the other traders you must have enough knowledge and understanding aspects to trade effectively by maintaining a proper trading routine.

Demo trades

To increase your experience and knowledge you must start trading in a demo account before trading in the live account. You must keep practicing in a demo account on a daily basis and that can only happen if you maintain a trading plan in the market. You will be able to lower your losing rate effectively with the help of a demo account. It also helps to boost up your trading methods to make profitable trades.

Demo accounts are blessings. No one could have mastered this business without taking any risk if the demo account was not an investment. So, take advantage of the demo account and soon you will be able to execute your trade with a high level of accuracy.

Fix your limits in the market

By fixing your limits you won’t risk all your money and this also helps to make good profits. While placing for a trade you need to be prepared for both winning and losing as any of this can happen. But if you fix your limits in the trades then even after losing in the trade you won’t lose more. So, the fixed limits act as a saving barrier for the traders makes sure you don’t skip this to reduce your risk. New traders often end up with a big loss in the trades as they fail to fix their limits while placing for a trade.

You are not an oracle. So, if you expect to win most of the trades you are pushing yourself to the grave. Use the best forex trading account and see if you can trade for a month without losing any trade. Soon, you will realize losing is nothing but a part of this job.

Set a profit target

Always set a profit target in the market with the help of a trading plan. You can fix your loss and also fix your target of earning profits in the trades by a proper trading plan. Always set your targets in the trades so that you end up making a big loss. Setting the profits target is important for the traders as it can save them losing more and can also help them to win more. This term is quite similar to the fixed limits in the market but you must implant them wisely.

Chose the take profit in such a way so that the winners are twice the amount of the losers. In other words, maintain decent risk to reward ratio or else it will be tough to make some serious profit. Think twice before you set the stop loss and take profit.

Plan your entry and exit

Many traders don’t pay attention to their entry and exit and this leads them to fail. You should maintain your entry and exit point with the help of a trading plan so that it can help you to make profits. Never enter or exit the market randomly as this will lead you to lose more. To make success in the market you must keep your entry and exit point properly.

Conclusion

You must pay attention to all the above points precisely if you want to become successful in the Forex market. By building an effective trading plan will help you to understand and execute the above terms properly in the market.

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How Education Can Transform A Society

May 19, 2020

As a human race, we have come a long way when it comes to making scientific progress, and all this credit goes to education. They strive to keep on learning new knowledge is quite powerful. There are various mediums to learn from, like our experiences, critical analysis, and reading. Education is pivotal if you want to enhance your quality of life and have a better understanding of the world. It is a potent tool that helps to create better societies with an in-depth knowledge of good virtues. Education is much more than just bookish knowledge, and when the members of a community inculcate ethical, moral values, they build a positive environment. The citizens of prosperous nations are empowered and well aware of their rights; the credit for such advancement goes to education.

Here are a few points that explain how education can transform a society.

1. HELPS YOU TO MAKE GOOD MORAL CHOICES

Developing good ethical values requires an integrative approach. While fighting against all social ills, education serves well as an influential device. Poverty, insecurity, and lack of knowledge can push people to make wrong choices in life. An educated person is mature enough to choose right over evil and stand up against atrocities and other social problems. People become more patient, and education transforms their way of viewing the world. It brings more positivity in society, and citizens living in a diverse community learn to accept those who are different than them. Education subtracts the overall negativity, and your mind fosters good thoughts. The human brain nurtures whatever you feed it when you accept moral values in your account and make peace with everyone you meet. Education changes a society holistically without disturbing its traditional outlook. It can also assist in dealing with real life examples of ethical dilemmas in a very profound manner.

2. IT BUILDS BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF ISSUES

Problem-solving comes second, and the first part is understanding the issues. Sometimes it requires research, and education can build the step for it. Points either belong to the local level, or they can be international issues like environmental issues that demand a different set of expertise than local concerns. A person who receives an education in a specific field can handle more pressing issues, address them, and then come up with solutions. Public agendas and forums are an excellent opportunity to deal with problems; you can also voice your thoughts on such platforms. Education polishes your problem-solving skills and makes you ready to deal with challenges. It shapes the decisions and actions of societies and makes them able to explore more options for themselves.

3. IMPROVES DECISION-MAKING ABILITY

The potential benefits of education also sum up a person’s decision-making ability. It improves the rational thinking of an individual and makes them able to be a progressive citizen. The quality of a decision can be beneficial for society’s economic and social growth. Education can help you to become mature to read the pros and cons of a situation before jumping to a decision. You will know the significance of weighing a choice if you have an education. One educated person can change the future of society through his decision-making abilities. It is equally important to have a sense of what the possible outcomes of a decision will be. Education will enable you to wait for the right time to pursue a specific strategy.

4. IT MAKES THEM MORE EFFICIENT

Efficiency, productivity, and education are correlated. Knowledge can keep you more focused and less distracted, and communities, where people are busy with their work, are more successful. It increases the efficiency of society by giving those reasons to tackle situations logically. When the majority of the population is educated and skilled, there will be more jobs, and the workers will put their share in uplifting the economy. About the fact of how important education has become, governments are investing in improving the quality of education in their areas, and it is the fundamental right of every citizen.

5. CREATES A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Education creates awareness and gives you knowledge about every subject. Healthy societies can perform more actively and have a better concentration on their work. The benefits of a good routine, healthy diet, exercise, and all the healthy alternatives are part of the facts that education can teach you. Communities with a healthy immune system and a balanced vitality are always on the go and active citizens.

6. HELPS TO FIGHT CRIME

Capital punishment is not sufficient in most of the cases because the prisoners and criminals follow the same path once they are out of prison. Education makes them able to stand up for themselves and know their true potential. It harnesses the positivity in them and makes them good citizens of a society. It also makes them realize their mistakes and create a new start.

7. IT MAKES THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

It gives everyone equal opportunities to empower themselves. Today women are making full use of their capabilities with the help of education; they are connecting to the world as per their skills. Knowledge has encouraged pluralism and diversity; people with different backgrounds are living together with peace and harmony. Affirmative learning rejects any kind of violence, biases, and racial superiority. Across the border, connections are flourishing, and knowledge is not limited to an area, a discovery made in one part of the world paybacks everyone on earth.

The Final Word

When the world faces the 7 global challenges, when a society faces moral problems and crime rates, then education can help it to maintain law and order and build peace. Education is much more than just well-researched books and findings, and it makes you able to distinguish between right and wrong and stay within the ethical borders. It also increases the productivity of citizens by creating job opportunities and engaging them in activities. With the help of education, communities can maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Always remember to be humble, be teachable, and never stop learning.

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“Third Wave” of Covid-19 Impact Exacerbates Emerging Market Crisis

May 19, 2020

By Chan Kung and Wei Hongxu

The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe and the United States tends to ease and some countries have begun to discuss about the issue of economic recovery. However, from a global perspective, the virus continues to spread in South America and Africa, forming a “third wave” impact on the global economy. This impact will exacerbate the crisis in emerging market countries and cause the global economy to fall into a quagmire of “depression”.

Affected by the situation in Europe, the number of confirmed cases in Russia in Eurasia has exceeded 80,000, and in Turkey it has risen to 110,000. According to data from the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention on April 26, the number of confirmed cases in Africa had exceeded 30,000, reaching 31,023 cases, 1,390 deaths and a surge of 47% within a week. The number of confirmed cases in South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and other countries has exceeded 4,000. The World Health Organization has previously warned that the African continent with a population of 1.3 billion and having the largest concentration of developing countries may become the next “epicenter” of the Covid-19 outbreak.

In South America, the number of confirmed cases in Brazil has exceeded 60,000. The number of confirmed cases in Ecuador, Peru and other countries also exceeded 20,000 and in Mexico it has reached 14,000. The overall trend for the spread is quite obvious. In Asia, Covid-19 continues to spread in India, Singapore, Indonesia and other countries. On the whole, the pandemic is entering the “version 3.0” along the path of “East Asia, Europe – the United States and Europe – Asia, Africa and South America” and this covers the whole world. The impact of the pandemic on the global economy has also begun to enter the “third wave of shock”. In this shock, emerging market countries will face even more severe challenges.

Due to some long-term economic structural problems, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Turkey and other emerging market countries are already in recession and economic slowdown. The arrival of the pandemic will exacerbate the economic slowdown and even put these countries into a “crisis” mode. Moreover, in the first two rounds of the impact of the disease on China, Europe and the United States, financial market turmoil and energy price fluctuations have already affected emerging market countries. Since the beginning of this year, the exchange rates of currencies of emerging market countries against the U.S. dollar have depreciated to varying degrees. Since the beginning of this year, the Brazilian real exchange rate has continued to deteriorate. On April 25, it once again set a historical low. On the same day, the Brazilian real was reported to 5.5905 against the U.S. dollar, which was more than 20% depreciated from the beginning of the year. The exchange rate of the South African rand against the U.S. dollar has been declining this year. As of the close of April 25, the South African rand was quoted as 19.0211 against the U.S. dollar and the exchange rate against the U.S. dollar has fallen by more than 30% as compared with the beginning of the year.

Turkish lira, Chilean peso, Mexican peso and other emerging market currencies depreciated against the U.S. dollar. On April 6, the Mexican peso’s intraday quotation against the U.S. dollar reached 25.7782, which was a depreciation of more than 30% from the beginning of the year, setting a record low. In the new IMF World Economic Outlook Report, it is predicted that the Mexican economy will shrink by 6.6% in 2020. The currency devaluation and capital outflows have brought about a sharp rise in the debt risk of emerging market countries. At present, Argentina may default again due to huge debts. At the end of March, the international rating agency Moody’s also downgraded South Africa’s sovereign credit rating from BAA3 to BA1, with a rating outlook of “negative”. The main reason is that the financial situation is deteriorating and structural growth is very slow.

Due to the large population and relatively weak medical system, the economic and social impact on emerging market countries will be even greater under the third wave of the pandemic. Emerging market countries will directly face the economic stagnation caused by “isolation” and “lockdown”. In particular, emerging markets are highly dependent on foreign countries and they need international markets and links with other countries like trade, commerce, and investment. Therefore, if customs and countries are closed, they will be more affected by the “closed” exchange of global personnel and goods and the energy economy and export-oriented economy will suffer even more severe losses. In this regard, Brazil and South Africa have a higher proportion of service industries; Thailand is heavily dependent on tourism; Saudi Arabia and Russia are more dependent on crude oil.

The crisis in emerging market countries will mainly manifest in several aspects. First, the imbalance between energy supply and demand will increase and commodity prices will fluctuate. Under the conditions of economic recession, global demand side shocks, contractions and economic pressure on some raw material and energy exporting countries continues to increase. Second, the currency depreciation of emerging countries has brought financial and trade shocks. As the pandemic spreads in emerging economies and external demand weakens, the balance of payments deficit pressure in emerging market economies will further increase. At the same time, this will accelerate the currency depreciation of emerging market countries and even lead to a larger currency crisis.

Third, the risk of debt defaults has risen sharply. The currency depreciation has brought about turbulence in the financial market and rising financing costs, which may further trigger chain debt defaults and even cause partial “debt crises”. Therefore, under the impact of the third wave of the pandemic, emerging market countries will be hit harder, the losses will be more severe and even a chain reaction will be formed.

Unlike the relatively complete and balanced economic system of developed countries, the economic ecology and mechanisms of emerging market countries are not very sound. So they will suffer more damage and will form a “third wave of shock” to the global economy. In terms of growth contribution in 2018, emerging markets and developing economies contributed 47.8% to global economic growth. If emerging market countries fall into a crisis, the global economy will fully enter the “depression” quagmire and the recovery of the global economy will take longer time.

Final analysis conclusion:

Under the circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic spreading to Africa, South America and the Asian region, emerging market countries will face more economic pressure, which may lead to a series of crises. The crisis in emerging markets will have a “third wave” impact on the global economy and the global economy will continue to fall into depression.

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About the Authors

Founder of Anbound Think Tank in 1993, Chan Kung is now ANBOUND Chief Researcher. Chan Kung is one of China’s renowned experts in information analysis. Most of Chan Kung‘s outstanding academic research activities are in economic information analysis, particularly in the area of public policy.

Wei Hongxu, graduated from the School of Mathematics of Peking University with a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Birmingham, UK in 2010 and is a researcher at Anbound Consulting, an independent think tank with headquarters in Beijing. Established in 1993, Anbound

China Faces Deteriorating Geopolitical Environment

May 19, 2020

By He Jun

Many countries are still focusing on taking measures to counter Covid-19 as the pandemic continues to ravage the whole world. That being said, it is also quite obvious that China’s relationship with the West is suffering even more by the day, particularly its relationship with the U.S., given both countries are dealing with a situation far worse than the trade friction. Based on the events that have transpired, it looks like China’s tension with the U.S. and many European countries are taking a turn for the worse.

A part of the reason for that stems from the severe impact the pandemic has towards the U.S. and Europe. As of April 22, more than 2.51 million confirmed cases and 175,000 deaths were reported worldwide, with both countries becoming the world’s hardest-hit countries. The death toll in the U.S. alone exceeds 45,000 while Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom collectively experienced a death toll exceeding 90,000. Additionally, the number of unemployed people in many states (or countries) across the U.S. and Europe has reached tens of millions. Put simply, the world’s two largest economies are experiencing the worst economic depression since World War II.

As a country that has experienced the pandemic firsthand, China knows the countries’ plight all too well. Losing the lives of more than 100,000 people and suffering immeasurable economic losses in a matter of two months can truly be a devastating blow to both the U.S. and Europe. To be fair, it’s perfectly understandable to see why China is receiving all the slurs, hate, complaining and questioning. As a matter of fact, there’s no denying that all the hate and skepticism being directed to China comes from the West and we are certain that the negativity will only continue to intensify as times goes on. What this also means is should China fail to respond to this appropriately, its geopolitical relations are guaranteed to suffer greatly in the future.

As such, there is a need for China to be mindful of the Western leaders’ geopolitical attitude at the moment.

American President Donald Trump’s attitude towards China speaks for itself, it screams hostility and is everchanging. During the briefing concerning pandemic work at the White House on April 18, Trump said, “It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn’t, and the whole world is suffering because of it”. He further warned, ” If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake. But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, I mean, then sure there should be consequences”. As it stands, there are two reasons Trump will continue to pressure China. One, the Trump administration underestimated the pandemic during its early stages and was ill prepared in the areas of virus detection and protection resources, resulting in uncoordinated early prevention and control measures, and therefore leading to a disaster. In fact, Trump is being held accountable for all the mess that is happening as we speak. Two, 2020 is the year of the U.S. election. The pandemic has severely affected the U.S. economy and wiped out its 2008 employment accomplishments, which dampens Trump’s odds of winning. Faced with enormous pressures, it only makes sense that Trump would resort to a tactic of blatantly blaming and publicly attacking China as a part of his go-to political strategy

With that said, European leaders are too seeing a subtle shift in their geopolitical stance.

Previously in an interview with the Financial Times, French President Macron was asked if China’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has “exposed the weaknesses in Western democracies”, to which he responded, “There’s no comparison between an open society and China.” Macron added, “given these differences, the choices made and what China is today, which I respect, let’s not be so naive as to say it’s been much better at handling this”. He added that, “there are clearly things that have happened that we don’t know about”. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has recently made similar demands towards China. According to some reports, Merkel urged China to be as transparent as possible throughout the pandemic; the more transparent China is about the source of the novel coronavirus, the more beneficial it is for the whole world.

Dominic Raab, the British politician serving as First Secretary of State as well as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, also voiced his doubts about China and mentioned the it will have “hard questions” to answer over the virus’s origins and whether it could have been curbed earlier.

In an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corporation on April 19, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne expressed her concerns over China’s transparency over Covid-19 and that the country should be called in for a non-WHO led “independent international inquiry” on the origins of the pandemic. While she did not comment on China’s transparency in handling the epidemic directly, she stressed that trusting a country is based on long-term relationships and that all major countries in the world should uphold transparency. Prior to that, Peter Dutton, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister, even said that the way the world interacts with China needs to be re-evaluated to some extent.

While China has answers to the international community’s questions and certainly holds the right to refuse any calls for probe, it wouldn’t serve as a feasible solution in the long run, especially not in the face of globalization. Plagued with global issues, China cannot afford to ignore the perception the world has towards it, nor can it refuse cooperating and exchanging with other countries. During April 21st, ANBOUND noted that the Pew Research Center, an independent polling agency in the U.S.’s survey shows Americans’ negative perceptions of China continues to grow. Currently, 66% of Americans hold unfavorable views towards China, the highest recorded response since the research center begun examining the matter since 2005. By the time the Trump Administration had been established in 2017, the responses were said to have increased by nearly 20 percentage points.

To sum up the wall of text thus far, China has been facing deteriorating geopolitical relations since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite the massive negativity that is going around, there is people who, nonetheless, remain objective in their views concerning the pandemic’s impact whilst acknowledging the risks of China’s separation from the U.S. and Europe. Robin Niblett, director of Chatham House, believes China may become the world’s largest economy by 2030 and maintains that the U.S. and Europe’s act of managing their differences with China post-pandemic is just as important as resolving the post-1945 Soviet Union conflicts both countries had. Back then, the Soviet Union was a military powerhouse and a strong competitor, though the same couldn’t be said for its economy. The decision to contain the Soviet Union was a practical, smart and ultimately right strategy. This time however, things are no longer the same, as there will be no victors in the new Cold War against China.

Bearing in mind of the possibility that China’s geopolitical relations will suffer significantly in the future, it should regard the matter with utmost seriousness and respond appropriately. To that, we would like to emphasize several key factors. One, China needs to increase the amount of pandemic support materials (PPE in particular) provided to the U.S. and Europe. Being the first country to be free from the Covid-19 pandemic, China should provide donations, expand its exports, and rely on other means to aid the disease prevention measures in other countries, especially to the U.S. and Europe, so as to help free them from the pandemic as soon as possible and restore their economies. Two, China needs to strengthen its communication with senior leaders from other countries. As a matter of fact, President Xi Jinping has been communicating and interacting with leaders from various countries, and similar activities are expected to take place on a more diverse and multi-faceted level in the near future. And finally, establish a more transparent and frequent flow of information exchange mechanism.

Final analysis conclusion:

As Covid-19 continues to spread to the rest of the world, China’s geopolitical relations are showing signs of deterioration. To improve the state of its geopolitical relations and alleviate some pressure off it, China needs to have more information exchanges, better management of differences, and more practical support with the international community in the future.

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About the Author

Mr. He Jun takes the roles as Partner, Director of China Macro-Economic Research Team and Senior Researcher. His research field covers China’s macro-economy, energy industry and public policy.

COVID-19: How the Economic Impact is Pushing Banks to Digitise

May 19, 2020

By Sudeepto Mukherjee

As the world tries to deal with COVID-19, we see citizens, governments and businesses impacted in ways that was hard to imagine a few months ago. Enforced social distancing, rapid increase in the use and demand for bulk hand sanitiser in Adelaide, unprecedented fiscal/monetary stimulus from governments, drastic fall in energy prices, mass adoption of digital tools, rapid transition from physical to digital interactions… there is no doubt the world will be a different place for businesses going forward.

Like other institutions, banks will have to rapidly adjust to this new “normal” while living up to the expectations of responsibly helping their customers, and businesses drive the economic rebound that is so desperately needed. While the Financial crisis has strengthened banks’ ability to withstand such shocks, this crisis will stretch the limits of their resilience.

The immediate priority has been to respond effectively to the high volume of calls from consumers and businesses and facilitate the various government schemes like UK’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Soon banks will need to focus on effectively dealing with what’s coming next as we collectively seek to rebound from this crisis.

A strong digital culture and infrastructure can provide a solid foundation for banks to effectively react to this challenge and regain the trust of their customers going forward.

While the external context has changed, the fundamental benefits of accelerating to become a digital enterprise are arguably more relevant than ever before. The need to adapt quickly to changing client needs, to redefine their risk/pricing models that underpin profitability, the ability to lower cost to serve to increase shareholder returns, and the need for employees to collaborate effectively using digital tools – all these will only be possible if banks aggressively digitise.

Banks should look outside of their core industry to learn valuable lessons on the benefits of digitisation. Take Amazon and Uber as examples: Amazon has been an outlier in the stock market using its digital backbone to meet the growing demands of their services during this crisis. Similarly, Uber’s agility has allowed it to launch new products in delivering medicines and groceries to meet immediate customer needs. Both have showcased their ability to transform at speed, to spin-off new products and scale propositions to meet changing customer needs in real time. However, for weighty legacy banks, moving at speed has traditionally been tricky; they don’t yet have the infrastructure and ability to move and evolve in the same way which would allow them to solve the current economic requirements of their customers.

Moving from Evolve to Jump

To take advantage of digital, banks must take a more aggressive approach to transforming their businesses. The current conservative, evolutionary transformation approaches that most banks have adopted will need to give way to more determined strategies. We have seen some banks like Lloyds and Goldman Sachs already look at innovative ways of accelerating their transition to digital.

For others to do this, it would involve investing in key parts of their digital journey at scale and creating relevant partnerships with digital leaders like Microsoft and Google. Their strategies should cover key elements like:

Leveraging Cloud to not only retire Data Centres but move to a more flexible and scalable operating model that creates business value
Creating open APIs to increase the breadth of services by leveraging relevant partnerships
Rethinking their operating structures from being product led to customer/proposition led
Investing in capability (internally or via partners) that will accelerate the adoption and use of modern tech and tools
Using a data driven approach to create personalised offerings and products and drive acquisition
Thinking of IT as an asset to differentiate and not a risk to be managed

A significant proportion of banks have not been ready for a massive shift to digital. Legacy architectures/operating models, lack of adequate skills and a scarcity of capital have made it difficult to make this transformation quickly. However, banks need to overcome these challenges to pave a path towards a more digital centric organisation.

Events of the past few months have forced consumers and small businesses to do things differently. Banks have a tremendous opportunity to rethink their strategy, fine-tune their response and take bold steps to achieve operational and customer leadership.

Customers at the center of the response

However, any transformation needs to be customer led. This crisis will be the ultimate test as to whether banks can do the right thing. Banks need to take the lead in re-assuring their customer base in an empathic and personalised way. They’ll have to move from shorter term metrics driving customer decision-making to a focus on customer lifetime value.

A majority of their clients, both retail and institutions, now need economic help and banks have a unique opportunity to regain their trust by not only solving their immediate issues but also helping them recover by creating innovative and personalised products to meet the unique needs. The need to serve different cohorts and segments can be make operations more complex. But digitalisation can provide relevant insights and patterns to help make the right choices and decisions.

The current crisis will force banks to digitise but the ones that take the initiative and take ambitious steps to overcome legacy challenges and create a future proof platform and operating structure will increase their chances of success in this new and uncertain future.

Visit www.publicissapient.com/financialservices

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About the Author

Sudeepto Mukherjee is the Senior VP EMEA & APAC Banking & Insurance Lead. He is a pioneering digital technologist with unrivalled experience in helping financial services firms overcome complex strategic challenges using modern tools and techniques to amplify their competitive edge. With more than two decades’ experience at the vanguard of the banking and insurance industries, his role at Publicis Sapient combines advising the world’s top financial organisations on their next steps and ensuring the company remains at the cutting edge of the Enterprise Digital Transformation realm.

5 Alternatives to Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit

May 18, 2020

Debt consolidation loans are a great solution if you have multiple debts. You can roll all your balances into just one monthly payment while getting a lower interest rate, enabling you to get out of debt cheaper and quicker.

Unfortunately, if you have bad credit, such a loan might not be accessible to you. You either won’t qualify, or you will qualify but you will get a crippling interest rate, which defeats the purpose.

The good news is that you can pursue other options. Below are just 5 alternatives you can explore if you can’t get an affordable debt consolidation loan due to bad credit.

Credit card refinancing

One alternative is to use a balance transfer credit card. Such credit cards do not charge any interest for a certain number of months (usually 6, 12 or 24).

If you transfer your balance(s) to this new card, you will be free for several months to pay off your debt without accruing additional credit card interest — giving you breathing room to make actual progress toward eliminating your debt.

Note that this option is not for everyone who has bad credit, but only those whose credit is lackluster but still good enough to get solicitations for balance transfer credit cards. It is not easy to get approved for a new card if your credit is poor and opening a new card can further erode your credit score.

To make the most out of this alternative, you must be committed enough to pay off the whole balance before the zero-interest period is over. Otherwise, the card turns into another source of debt.

You must also have the self-discipline to not use your credit cards at all while paying off your debt.

Debt management plan

If you enter a credit counseling program, one of the options the counselor might suggest is a debt management plan.

With a debt management plan, you can qualify whatever your credit score is.

Here, the counselor will negotiate with the creditors on your behalf. You might get lower interest rates, reduced penalties, or waived late fees in exchange for a stable repayment plan.

This repayment plan will last from 3 to 5 years, during which you have to make a single payment to the counselor each month. The counselor will take care of distributing the payments to your creditors.

Second mortgage

If you own a house and have built up equity, you can use that equity as collateral for a home equity loan or line of credit (also called a second mortgage).

Needless to say, by going this route, you’re putting your home on the line, so be careful. If you don’t make timely payments, your home will get foreclosed.

Debt settlement

With debt settlement, your creditors might agree to lower your balance if you pay in a lump sum.

This option is available to consumers with bad credit and can help you quickly get rid of your debt while saving a lot of money.

Note, however, that your credit score will take a big hit with this alternative because credit reporting agencies treat the unpaid money as a demerit. Your credit score will drop by 75 to 100 points and the damage may last for years.

If you still want to proceed, you typically need a third-party company to handle the debt settlement.

Initially, creditors will likely be reluctant with this strategy, especially if you’re arranging it yourself. You may get intimidating collection letters and phone calls, but after some time, before they sell your debt to collection agencies for cheap, they might agree to settle with you so that they can make more money.

Bankruptcy

Filing for bankruptcy should be your last resort, only when it is clear that all other options won’t be able to get you out of debt.

There are two kinds of bankruptcy: chapter 7 (aka liquidation bankruptcy) and chapter 13 (aka reorganization bankruptcy).

Chapter 7 lets the bankruptcy trustee sell your assets to cover as much debt as possible. Some assets are exempt, however, such as your house, furniture, cars, clothes, and retirement accounts. The creditors must then accept the proceeds as payment.

If you exceed income limits for chapter 7, you need to file for chapter 13. With this kind of bankruptcy, you can create a 3-5-year repayment to partially cover your debts, but the court should agree that the repayment is sufficient to erase the debt.

With a bankruptcy filing, you can wipe away your debts, but your credit score will suffer for 7 to 10 years.

Bottom Line

Getting out of debt through a debt consolidation loan is a good move but it is not available for everyone, especially those who have bad credit.

You have other options to pull yourself out of debt, however, such as credit card refinancing, debt management plan, home equity loans or lines of credit, debt settlement, and, as a last resort, bankruptcy.

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