Author: Biz India

China is under pressure to boost its economy as the trade war escalates

By Michelle Toh – CNN Business May 15, 2019 – Hong Kong (CNN Business)China’s vast economy showed new signs of weakness last month, raising the likelihood of increased government efforts to stimulate growth as the trade war with the United States escalates. Key indicators of economic activity, like industrial output and retail sales, cooled significantly last month, according to figures posted by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. Industrial output, which measures manufacturing, mining production and other sectors in China, grew 5.4% in April compared to the previous year, significantly lower than analysts had expected. It was also a sharp...

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U.S. Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall Amid Weak Auto Purchases

By Reade Pickert – Bloomberg News ‘Control group’ sales little changed from prior month Report adds to downbeat economic readings on U.S. and China May 15, 2019 – U.S. retail sales unexpectedly declined in April for the second time in three months, weighed down by soft sales of autos and building materials and suggesting consumer spending will remain subdued this quarter. The value of overall sales declined 0.2% after a 1.7% increase the prior month that was the strongest gain since 2017, according to Commerce Department figures released Wednesday. That compared with the median forecast in Bloomberg’s survey calling for a...

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Trump’s new immigration plan emphasizes skills and education over family connections

By Ylan Mui and Eamon Javers – CNBC KEY POINTS President Donald Trump will unveil a sweeping new proposal Thursday designed to move the United States from a family-based immigration system to what administration officials describe as an employment- and skill-based system. The proposal includes two parts – a physical infrastructure component that would include border wall construction and be financed by new fees on trade collected at the border, and a revamped points system for those applying for U.S. citizenship. The plan is designed to give Republicans a positive proposal they can pitch on the campaign trail and in...

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If We Fail to Learn, We Fail to Grow

By John Tschohl “If you are not willing to learn no one can help you. If you are determined to learn no one can stop you.” – Zig Ziglar I believe that learning is the fundamental activity in a successful and purposeful life. I have spent much time and money since 1979, learning about everything related to customer service. The result has led me to position myself as the leading service strategist and expert in the world. I have been given endless opportunities to learn and I realize that the more difficult the situation, the more likely I am to learn and take that inevitable leap to move ahead with confidence. Mark Cuban is the epitome of this principle. In his early 20s, he bought a $99 computer and taught himself how to program by reading every manual he could find. The result? A thorough understanding of the technology he was selling and the insight to make it better. Mark Cuban has the kind of wealth that every startup and entrepreneur dreams of. He’s also earned every cent of it himself. Listed on Wikipedia as an American businessman, investor, film producer, author, television personality, and philanthropist, the self-made mogul and star of Shark Tank founded his first company at age 25 and is currently estimated to be worth in the region of $3+ billion.Driven and determined, he knows what...

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How overseas Indians could get Narendra Modi re-elected – without casting a vote

As foreign citizens, they cannot vote – but that hasn’t stopped them from campaigning hard for the incumbent prime minister Some see him as a symbol of India’s global power, while others just like his Bharatiya Janata Party’s Hindu nationalist message By Soumya Shankar – South China Morning Post May 15, 2019 –  Arvind Patel, a US  citizen who owns a popular sweetshop in New Jersey, has spent US$1,000 travelling to the Indian states of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Assam this election season to campaign for incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi The 53-year-old, who hails from Modi’s home state of Gujarat,...

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