Apple $200 billion loss in just a few days – NASDAQ falls

Apple

50 million iPhones sold in China every year

Apple sells around 50 million iPhones in China annually. A sweeping ban is what investors fear and that spells trouble for Apple.

Apple stock drops after The Wall Street Journal reported a day earlier that Chinese authorities have curbed the use of the iPhone. Apple’s flagship product will no longer be legal to use by some central government officials.

The potential crackdown threatens to dissrupt Apple’s sales as China accounts for about 20% of Apple’s total revenue. Uncertainties about the news prompted investors to retreat from Apple postions, leading to a 6% drop in Apple shares in two days. More than $200bn of market cap was wiped out.

$200 market cap drop

Apple shares fall $200 billion in just days September 2023

The iPhone commeth

Adding to the concern, Apple is just days away from its key event. On the 12th september 2023, the company is expected to officially announce the launch of its newest smartphone – the iPhone 15.

UK Farmers ‘struggling’ to harvest crops due to labour recruiting crisis

Farmring in th UK

Attracting seasonal workers remains a problem for some UK farmers, despite the UK government’s attempts to increase the number of visas available for people from overseas.

There is a shortage of short term farm labour in the UK to pick crops, especially potatoes. Some of the possible causes and consequences of this situation range from Brexit to the war in war Ukraine.

Problems

Brexit has reduced access to temporary workers coming from the EU, while war in Ukraine has disrupted the flow from a country that has provided a large proportion of the UK’s harvest workers in recent years.

The UK government has a seasonal workers pilot scheme that offers short-term visas to those helping with food production, but the farming industry says it needs more than the 38,000 visas that have been made available.

High employment levels in the UK and alternative work opportunities in other sectors such as warehouses and delivery have made it harder for farmers to recruit local workers.

The labour shortage has led to food waste of home-grown fruit and vegetables, as some crops are left to rot in the fields or are harvested less frequently.

Unharvested crops left to rot in a field due to worker shortage in the UK

Food waste and supply chain

The food supply chain is also affected by the lack of workers in slaughterhouses, dairy farms, and other processing facilities.

The food waste and supply disruption could have negative impacts on the environment, the economy, and the consumers’ access to fresh and affordable produce

And it can be especially challenging for farmers in very rural areas, where transport is more difficult and the pools of workers available are likely to be smaller.

‘If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write’.

Writing

Martin Luther 1483 – 1546

Martin Luther was a German theologian and leader of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. He is known for his writings and teachings on topics such as justification by faith, the authority of Scripture, the priesthood of all believers, and the freedom of the Christian.

He also translated the Bible into German and wrote many hymns, catechisms, and commentaries.

He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of Christianity

Writing
‘If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write’.

India’s ‘massive expansion’ could play key role in global economic growth

India expands

Many economists stronly believe that India’s stellar economic trajectory alongside strong forecasts for some Southeast Asian countries will be important drivers for future global growth.

The next decade, could see Asia Pacific become the fastest growing region of the world economy. India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam will most likely be among the world’s fastest growing emerging markets over the next 10 years.

India’s economy grew 7.8% in the June quarter, marking the fastest pace of growth in a year.

The momentum in the Indian economy looks really strong at the moment, economists suggest. Some forecasts expect that India will surpass Japan to become the third largest economy by 2030, with the country’s GDP projected to rise from $3.5 trillion in 2022 to $7.3 trillion by 2030.

As a region, Asia-Pacific’s growth is expected to strengthen from 3.3% last year to 4.2% this year, according to economic projections.

Over the next decade, we expect that about 55% of the total increase in the world’s GDP will come from the Asia-Pacific region.

Where does this leave the U.S. and China?

Still, the U.S. will remain an important driver of the global economy, accounting for some 15% of the world’s growth over the next decade.

China will also still be pivotal in this growth story, contributing to about one-third of the total increase over the same period, analysts suggest. China’s recovery has been weaker than expected and the expected ‘growth momentum’ has wained.

China has been affected by a slew of economic data broadly missing expectations.

As a whole, analysts expect global growth to come in at 2.5% this year and next. But please bear in mind these are forecast and move regularly.

Ashoka Chakra – the Flag of India

The flag of India is a horizontal tricolour of saffron, white and green, with a navy blue wheel called the Ashoka Chakra in the centre. The flag was adopted on 22nd July 1947, after India gained independence from British rule.

It is based on the Swaraj flag, which was designed by Pingali Venkayya and modified by Mahatma Gandhi. The colours and symbols of the flag have different meanings and interpretations.

Saffron represents courage, sacrifice, Hinduism and Buddhism. White represents peace, truth, purity and other religions in India. Green represents faith, fertility, Islam and Sikhism.

The Ashoka Chakra represents the law of dharma, the cycle of life and death, and the ancient Indian emperor Ashoka who spread Buddhism across Asia.

India’s flag is also known as the Tiranga, which means ‘the tricolour’ in Hindi. The flag has a ratio of 2:3 and can only be made of khadi, a hand-spun cloth.

The flag code of India regulates the usage and display of the flag by the government and the public.