Business

Stock markets roiled anew by fears about emerging coronavirus variant – CBC.ca

Published

3 years ago

November 26, 2021

Global stock markets and oil prices tumbled Friday after South Africa identified a new, potentially fast-spreading coronavirus variant and the European Union proposed suspending air travel from the region.

The 27-member EU proposed a mass travel suspension to member governments after South Africa said the so-called Nu variant was spreading in its most populous province.

Britain promptly banned flights from South Africa and five nearby countries. Austria imposed a 10-day lockdown while Italy restricted activity by unvaccinated people. Americans were advised by their government to avoid Germany and Denmark. Belgium and Israel have already reported a handful of people who have tested positive to the new variant, and the slew of data points has added up to a flurry of uncertainty.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the TSX Composite Index were sharply down in premarket trading and held those losses into the trading day. Nearing midday, all three were down by about two per cent.

“This news has completely overshadowed early anecdotal reports of strong in-person and online traffic for Black Friday sales,” said Colin Cieszynski with SIA Wealth Management in Toronto.

Friday would normally be a quiet day on U.S. stock markets because of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, as stock markets in New York are scheduled to close at 1 p.m.

Oil and travel companies hit hardest

That thin trading could potentially make market anxieties worse as there is a smaller pool of buyers and sellers available to offset outliers.

“What you’re seeing is the absence of a lot of active managers in the U.S. and a lot of concerned panic selling … around the world,” said Dennis Mitchell, CEO of Starlight Capital, in an interview.

The VIX — which is known as Wall Street’s “fear index” because it measures volatility — spiked by more than 40 per cent to above 26 points. That’s its highest level since January 2021, before vaccination campaigns started to ramp up.

Anything related to energy or travel and tourism is being hit especially hard as investors digest the prospect of another round of limitations on international travel.

The North American benchmark oil price known as West Texas Intermediate lost more than $9 US, or more than 12 per cent, to trade just below $70 US a barrel.

Jeremy McCrea, managing director at Raymond James Energy Research, says while the anxiety is real, some of the oil selling is coming from traders just locking in profits from the recent run while they can.

“Given how much oil prices have moved up … there’s a lot of profit taking, a lot of speculators saying, ‘I’m not quite sure what this really means,’ ” he said in an interview.

Oil prices plunged Friday on news of the spread of a new, possibly more transmissible COVID-19 variant. (Todd Korol/Reuters)

“Wait a couple of weeks until we get a better idea of what this actually means.”

McCrea said the oil market has just had an especially volatile few weeks, first with OPEC trying to ratchet prices higher by slowing production increase, then by the Biden administration releasing millions of barrels to have the opposite effect.

With fears now of a new variant that could curb global demand for oil, he said it shows there are “still a lot of big factors that can shift prices here quite a bit.”

Air Canada shares lost more than eight per cent while those of cruise line Carnival lost 11. Hotel chains Hilton and Marriott were both down by more than eight per cent.

“These announcements have sparked a sell-off in travel-related stocks (airlines, cruise lines, hotels etc.) and has sparked a rally in stay-at-home and vaccine stocks,” Cieszynski said.

Pfizer shares rose nearly seven per cent while Moderna shares jumped more than 22 per cent.

“Today’s price action and abrupt moves were a good reminder of a need to avoid virus complacency into 2022,” currency analyst Audrey Childe-Freeman with Bloomberg Intelligence said in a note to clients.

Lisa Kramer, a professor of finance at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto, says investors are reacting with a fear similar to what happened at the start of the pandemic.

“It isn’t uncommon when we have dramatic news come out for some people to overreact,” she said in an interview. “And it doesn’t take a lot of people panicking for markets to react strongly.”

Bitcoin slumps, too

Cryptocurrencies sold off heavily as investors ran toward things like gold, bonds and the U.S. dollar that are perceived to be safer stores of value.

“In times like this, we get a true sense of what investors consider to be real, reliable safe havens and bitcoin is off eight per cent today, which has delivered a fatal blow to its safe-haven credentials, putting an end to another crypto myth that has surfaced over the years despite there being zero evidence to back it up,” analyst Craig Erlam with foreign exchange firm Oanda said.

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Business

What Difference Will You Make to an Employer?

Published

14 hours ago

October 21, 2024

Nick Kossovan

It’s common knowledge that companies don’t hire the most qualified candidates. Employers hire the person they believe will deliver the best value in exchange for their payroll cost.

Since most job seekers know the above, I’m surprised that so few mention their Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Most job seekers list their education, skills, and experience without substantiating them and expect employers to determine whether they can benefit their company; hence, most resumes and LinkedIn profiles are just a list of opinions—borderline platitudes—that are meaningless and, therefore, have no value. Job seekers need to better explain, along with providing evidence, how they’ll contribute to an employer’s success.

Employers don’t hire opinions (read: talk is cheap); they hire results.

You’re not offering anything tangible when you claim:

I’m a great communicator.
I’m detail oriented.
I’m a team player.

Tangible:

“At Global Dynamics, I held quarterly town hall meetings with my 22 sales reps, highlighting our accomplishments, identifying opportunity areas, and recognizing outstanding performers.”
“For eight years, I managed Vandelay Industries IT department, overseeing a staff of 18 and a 12-million-dollar budget while coordinating cross-specialty projects. My strong attention to detail is why I never exceeded budget.”
“While working at Cyberdyne Systems, I was part of the customer service team, consisting of nine of us, striving to improve our response time. Through collaboration and sharing of best practices, we reduced our average response time from 48 to 12 business hours, resulting in a 35% improvement in customer feedback ratings.”

These examples of tangible answers provide employers with what they most want to hear from candidates but rarely do; what value the candidate will bring to the company. Typically, job seekers present their skills, experience, and unsubstantiated opinions and expect recruiters and employers to figure out their value, which is a lazy practice.

Getting hired isn’t based on “I have an MBA in Marketing and Sales,” “I’ve been a web designer for over 15 years,” “I’m young, beautiful and energetic,” blah, blah, blah. Likewise, being rejected isn’t based on “I’m overqualified,” “I’m too old,” “I don’t have enough education,” blah, blah, blah. Getting hired depends entirely on showing employers that you can add value and substance to their company; that you’ll serve a purpose.

When you articulate a solid value offer, the “blah, blah, blah” doesn’t matter. Job seekers focus too much on the “blah, blah, blah,” and when not hired, they say, “It’s not me, it’s…” The biggest mistake I see job seekers make is focusing on the “blah, blah, blah”—their experience and education—believing this is what interests employers. Hiring managers are more interested in whether you can solve the problems the position exists to solve than in your education and experience.

Not impressive: Education

Impressive: A track record of achieving tangible results.

You aren’t who you say you are; you are what you do.

If you want to be somebody who works hard, you have to actually work hard. If you want to be somebody who goes to the gym, you actually have to go to the gym. If you want to be a good friend, spouse, or colleague, you have to actually be a good friend, spouse, or colleague. Actions build reputations, not words.

The biggest challenge job seekers face today is differentiating themselves. To stand out and be memorable, don’t be like most job seekers, someone who’s all talk and no action. Any recruiter or hiring manager will tell you that the job market is heavily populated with job seekers who talk themselves up, talk a “good game” about everything they can “supposedly” do, drop names, etc., but have nothing to show for it.

More than ever, employers want to hear candidates offer a value proposition summarizing what value they bring. If you’re looking for a low-hanging fruit method to differentiate yourself, do what job seekers hardly ever do and make a hard-to-ignore value proposition.

Increase sales: “Based on my experience managing Regina and Saskatoon for PharmaKorp, I’m confident that I can increase BioGen’s sales by no less than 25% in Winnipeg and the surrounding area by the end of 2025.”
Reduce cost: “During my 12 years as Taco Town’s head of purchasing, I renegotiated contracts with key suppliers, resulting in 15% cost savings, saving the company over $450,000 annually. I know I can do the same for The Pasta House.”
Increase customer satisfaction:“During my time at Globex Corporation, I established a systematic feedback mechanism that enabled customers to share their experiences. This led to targeted improvements, increasing our Net Promoter Score by 15 points. I can increase Dunder Mifflin’s net promoter score.”
Save time: “As Zap Delivery’s dispatcher, I implemented advanced routing software that analyzed traffic patterns, reducing average delivery times by 20%. My implementation of this software at Froggy’s Delivery can reduce your delivery times by at least 20%, if not more.”

If you want to achieve job search success as soon as possible, structure your job search with a single thread that’s evident and consistent throughout your résumé, LinkedIn profile, cover letters and especially during interviews; clearly convey what difference you’ll make to the employer.

_____________________________________________________________________

Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

Business

Netflix’s subscriber growth slows as gains from password-sharing crackdown subside

Published

4 days ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

Netflix on Thursday reported that its subscriber growth slowed dramatically during the summer, a sign the huge gains from the video-streaming service’s crackdown on freeloading viewers is tapering off.

The 5.1 million subscribers that Netflix added during the July-September period represented a 42% decline from the total gained during the same time last year. Even so, the company’s revenue and profit rose at a faster pace than analysts had projected, according to FactSet Research.

Netflix ended September with 282.7 million worldwide subscribers — far more than any other streaming service.

The Los Gatos, California, company earned $2.36 billion, or $5.40 per share, a 41% increase from the same time last year. Revenue climbed 15% from a year ago to $9.82 billion. Netflix management predicted the company’s revenue will rise at the same 15% year-over-year pace during the October-December period, slightly than better than analysts have been expecting.

The strong financial performance in the past quarter coupled with the upbeat forecast eclipsed any worries about slowing subscriber growth. Netflix’s stock price surged nearly 4% in extended trading after the numbers came out, building upon a more than 40% increase in the company’s shares so far this year.

The past quarter’s subscriber gains were the lowest posted in any three-month period since the beginning of last year. That drop-off indicates Netflix is shifting to a new phase after reaping the benefits from a ban on the once-rampant practice of sharing account passwords that enabled an estimated 100 million people watch its popular service without paying for it.

The crackdown, triggered by a rare loss of subscribers coming out of the pandemic in 2022, helped Netflix add 57 million subscribers from June 2022 through this June — an average of more than 7 million per quarter, while many of its industry rivals have been struggling as households curbed their discretionary spending.

Netflix’s gains also were propelled by a low-priced version of its service that included commercials for the first time in its history. The company still is only getting a small fraction of its revenue from the 2-year-old advertising push, but Netflix is intensifying its focus on that segment of its business to help boost its profits.

In a letter to shareholder, Netflix reiterated previous cautionary notes about its expansion into advertising, though the low-priced option including commercials has become its fastest growing segment.

“We have much more work to do improving our offering for advertisers, which will be a priority over the next few years,” Netflix management wrote in the letter.

As part of its evolution, Netflix has been increasingly supplementing its lineup of scripted TV series and movies with live programming, such as a Labor Day spectacle featuring renowned glutton Joey Chestnut setting a world record for gorging on hot dogs in a showdown with his longtime nemesis Takeru Kobayashi.

Netflix will be trying to attract more viewer during the current quarter with a Nov. 15 fight pitting former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson against Jake Paul, a YouTube sensation turned boxer, and two National Football League games on Christmas Day.

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Business

All Magic Spells (TM) : Top Converting Magic Spell eCommerce Store

Published

4 days ago

October 17, 2024

Sven Eggers

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