Author: Bhakti Jain
-
Commodity Disruption and Consumer Markets: The FMCG Impact of the Russia–Ukraine War
The Russia-Ukraine war is typically associated with energy prices, arms spending and geopolitics. But its effects on the global FMCG sector reveal a less visible but equally significant vector – farm commodities. Wheat and sunflower oil in particular became a war bridge to the supermarket aisle. This is because the needs of FMCG companies are…
-
How Russia–Ukraine War Reshaped Europe’s Power Markets?
The energy architecture in Europe designed over decades was based on efficiency. Imports of energy, especially Russian ones were rather stable, which allowed maintaining comparably low and predictable prices on energy, which in turn helped make industry competitive and maintain economic stability. Nonetheless, this model had a major weakness – excessive reliance on one external…
-
The Evolving Geopolitical Role of Africa in Global Supply Chains
As the global economy increasingly becomes interconnected and vulnerable to disruption, Africa is gradually becoming a central player in how global supply chains are changing. Historically viewed as a continent with abundant natural resources but not much industrial infrastructure, Africa is now excluding itself as an integral player in worldwide production, resource extraction and manufacturing.…
-
The End of the Yen Carry Trade: A Hidden Risk for Global Financial Markets
For decades, Japan’s ultra-loose monetary policies have made the yen carry trade one of the most influential financial strategies in the world’s financial markets. Investors were borrowing yen at near zero interest rates, investing the funds in higher yielding investments throughout the world and profiting from the interest rate differential. As the economic environment for…
-
The Economic Impact of SaaS AI on Global Business Efficiency
Enterprise software has gone through many waves’ digitization, migration to the cloud, and process automation and each time efficiency is improved. However, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms is not merely an increment for the better, but a fundamental change in the manner of business decisions. Traditional SaaS platforms were structured…
-
The Global Return of Industrial Policy
For decades, as globalization reshaped the world economy where markets were once expected to self-regulate, industrial policy seemed like a thing of the past. But in recent years, it’s made a dramatic return. Why? Because the world is no longer looking at industrial policy through the lens of protectionism and state control, it’s looking at…
-
Impact of Electric Vehicles on Local Automotive MSMEs
Electric vehicles (EVs) are changing how the automobile industry works across the world. For consumers, the shift is often discussed in terms of lower emissions and fuel savings. For governments, it is framed as an industrial and climate opportunity. But for local automotive MSMEs in India, the EV transition is a far more practical and…
-
ReFuelEU Aviation: How Europe’s SAF Mandate Is Rewriting Airline Strategy
Europe has finally decided that using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is no longer a niche experiment and should become a legal requirement. Under the new ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, this initiative is part of the EU’s “Fit for 55” package, aiming to significantly reduce the aviation sector’s greenhouse gas emissions to meet climate targets. In this,…