The big money guns of big tech

Technology companies are bracing for a new administration and new scrutiny of their businesses with a time-tested strategy: opening their pocketbooks. Facebook and Amazon topped all other US companies in federal lobbying expenditures last year. IT was the second straight year they outspent all other companies, including stalwarts such as AT&T and Boeing. Facebook, facing federal and state antitrust lawsuits as well as a series of hearings summoned CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Washington, spent nearly $20m in 2020, up nearly 18pc from the previous year. Amazon, which saw CEO Jeff Bezos testify before Congress for the first time and continued pressing to expand its business as government contractor, up from 11pc from 2019 spending. Such expenditures, which are required to be disclosed under federal law, represent only part of an array of efforts that tech giants, including Apple and Alphabet, are using to build goodwill in Washington.

(Adapted from “Facebook and Amazon Boosted Lobbying Spending in 2020,” by Ryan Tracy, Chad Day and Anthony DeBarros, published on January 24, 2021 by Wall Street Journal)

The potential of trade with South Africa

While Africa is a non-traditional market for Pakistani goods, it has potential for an increase in exports, states a report by the Pakistan Business Council. One way is to focus on par-boiled rice which is consumed in South Africa. Though Pakistan exports parboiled rice, rice exporters need to understand the demands of the South African market and come up with a pertinent strategies. Cement is another sector that can be explored. South Africa impose anti-dumping duties in the range of 14pc to 77pc on cement imported from Pakistan on December 18, 2015. This resulted in Pakistan’s exports to South Africa of Portland cement falling to $4.2m in 2019 from $80.95m in 2014. Furthermore, a trade agreement between Pakistan and the Southern African Customs Union may prove to be beneficial.

(Adapted from “The Republic of South Africa – Market Access Series 2020-21,” by Samir S. Amir and Usama Ehsan Khan published in January 2021 by the Pakistan Business Council)

Stop trying to ‘fix’ yourself

Focusing too hard on ‘improving’ ourselves is a recipe for self-judgement, anxiety and many other crappy emotions. In fact, research confirms it. There is a direct correlation between negative emotions and procrastination — the more anxious we feel about completing a task, the less likely we are to do it. Rather than surveying your life for all the things you need to ‘fix’, acknowledge all of the things you have already begun that you did like to continue, or build upon, this year. Maybe last year you committed to reading before bed instead of scrolling on your phone. Perhaps this year, you decide to go a step further and read two new books a month. Whatever you choose, notice how your mind set changes when you regard your goal as a continuation of something that you already feel good about.

(Adapted from, “Why You Should Stop Trying to Fix Yourself,” by Charlotte Liberman, published on 28 January 2021 by HBR Ascend)

The dollar’s slide downwards

The dollar has been falling steadily since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in the US last March. It is down about 10pc to 12pc relative to America’s major trading partners, dropping to its weakest levels since early 2018 as measured by several of the broad dollar indexes with more expected to come. The three main reasons that dollar could fall are: 1) sharp widening in the US current-account deficit, 2) the rise of the euro, and 3) a Federal Reserve that would do little in response to any weakness in the greenback.

(Adapted from “The Dollar’s Crash is Only Just Beginning,” by Stephen Roach, published on January 25, 2021 by Bloomberg Opinion)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, February 1st, 2021