Tag: Industry Analysis

UN eyes modest 2024 maritime trade growth, but future

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GENEVA: Maritime trade should show modest growth this year, the UN said Tuesday, warning though that the geopolitical tensions, climate impacts and conflicts shaking global trade are threatening the functioning of maritime supply chains.

The United Nations’ trade and development agency, UNCTAD, highlighted in its annual report on maritime transport that the global economy, food security and energy supplies were at increasing risk due to vulnerabilities along key maritime routes.

“The sector is facing numerous challenges that threaten the efficiency, reliability, resilience and sustainability of maritime transport,” UNCTAD chief Rebeca Grynspan said in the report.

“Just after recovering from the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic and having started to adjust to new shifts in trade patterns triggered by the war in Ukraine, global supply chains and trade are now grappling with an additional wave of disruptions,” she warned.

The report found that global maritime trade swelled 2.4 percent in 2023 to a total of 12,292 million tonnes, as it began to recover after a contraction in 2022.

For 2024, it projected “a modest 2 percent growth, … driven by demand for bulk commodities like iron ore, coal, and grain, alongside containerised goods”.And for the period 2025-2029, UNCTAD said it expected

Industry Sector

by Norma October 23, 2024

Go First may take legal action against Pratt & Whitney over

Indian airline Go First is considering legal action against Pratt and Whitney (PW) for failing to provide compensation after March 2020 for planes grounded due to engine supply delays, sources said on Thursday.

About 90 per cent of the airline’s fleet of aircraft uses PW engines. About 24 of the airline’s 55 planes are grounded due to delays in engine supply by PW. Go First is operating 27 per cent fewer flights in March 2023 than in March 2022 (see table).

PW’s contract with Go First has three main conditions: PW has to provide a spare engine within 48 hours of an aircraft getting grounded due to its faulty engine; faulty engines have to be repaired free of charge as they are under warranty; and compensation has to be provided to the airline for “productivity loss” due to grounded planes.

“Till March 2020, PW provided spare engines on time, repaired without cost, and provided some compensation. However, the airline has not received anything after that,” a source privy to the development said.

PW and Go First did not respond to queries by Business Standard.

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Industry Management

by Norma March 10, 2023

global supply chain: Fed’s all-clear on global supply chaos

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York this week said stress on the world’s beleaguered supply chains had finally returned to normal — below normal, in fact.

Not so fast, responded a professor at the top-ranked US university for supply-chain management.

After the New York Fed’s Global Supply Chain Pressure Index was posted Monday with a reading of -0.26, sinking below the zero level that’s consistent with the historical average, Michigan State University Associate Professor Jason Miller said in an email that it’s wrong to declare an all-clear and cited other evidence:

The Bank of Canada’s business-outlook survey for the fourth quarter of 2022, which showed some businesses said price adjustments related to previous supply disruptions continue to filter through their supply chains.
The Philly Fed’s manufacturing survey for December, which found that 45% of respondents said supply-chain issues moderately or significantly constrained capacity use.
The US Census Bureau’s quarterly survey of plant use showed issues relating to insufficient supply of materials were still about three times worse than before the pandemic in the third quarter, despite some betterment.
Institute for Supply Management data showing commodity shortfalls for some products including semiconductors running in excess of 25 months.

The field

Industry Sector

by Norma March 10, 2023

Power Demand: R K Singh launches portal to ensure

Union Power Minister R K Singh has launched a portal to ensure greater availability of power during the peak demand season at a price higher than the ceiling of Rs 12 per unit by certain category of sellers. The central government has launched a High Price Day Ahead Market (HP-DAM) and Surplus Power Portal (PUShP), a power ministry statement said.

Earlier in February, power regulator CERC had approved the HP-DAM segment where power can be sold at a price as high as Rs 50 per unit.

HP-DAM will aid stranded gas and imported coal-based power plants to generate and sell expensive power to meet the high peak demand in summers which is expected to touch 239 GW this season.

Besides, the new segment will also ensure availability of electricity through an expensive battery energy storage system.

The Union Minister said that only those generating capacities which have a cost of producing power of more than Rs 12 per unit would be allowed to operate in HP-DAM.

If the cost of production is less than Rs 12, the generators will have to offer power in the Power Exchange’s Integrated Day Ahead Market (I-DAM) only with a ceiling price of Rs 12,

Industry

by Norma March 10, 2023

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ to release on OTT on this date.

‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ , the grand spectacle film, now has an official OTT release date. The latest news is that the sequel to the blockbuster Avatar will be available for purchase on March 28 on major digital platforms such as Amazon Video, Apple TV, Vudu, and movies anywhere.

As a result, you will have access to one of the best films of the year, as well as an immersive Dolby Atmos soundtrack, and it promises to be an enthralling experience for all types of viewers at 4K Ultra HDTV resolution.

The official Avatar Instagram account announced on Thursday that Avatar 2 will be available digitally beginning March 28, 2023.

Several users responded to Avatar: The Way of Water’s OTT release date in the post’s comments section. “We enjoyed seeing it in theatres. It’s been seen before, but it’ll be nice to watch it at home. Thank you, Avatar team!” “Please keep Avatar 3 on track, I can’t wait to see it”, one user wrote.

Discover how the team brought the Pandora environment back to life in previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage. Avatar: The Way of Water is set more than ten years after the events of the first Avatar

Industry Accounting

by Norma March 10, 2023

Discord brings ChatGPT-powered features with Clyde AI

Discord has announced that it is jumping on the AI bandwagon with a range of new AI experiences that will be available on its servers. The most significant of these is the updated version of the Clyde bot, which now incorporates OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology to allow users to engage in extended conversations with the bot.

Users can chat with Clyde on any channel by typing @Clyde, and they can even ask Clyde to start a thread for a group of friends to hang out with. Clyde can also recommend playlists and access GIFs and emojis just like any other user on Discord.

“We’re seeing one of the most exciting moments in technology emerging,” Jason Citron, chief executive of San Francisco-based Discord, said during a press briefing.

Clyde: More than just a chatbot

With the new AI-powered AutoMod moderation tool, Discord will now use OpenAI technology to alert moderators when server rules may have been broken while taking the context of the conversation into account. AutoMod has already blocked more than 45 million unwanted messages since it was introduced last year, making it a highly effective tool in keeping servers safe and appropriate.

“Throughout Discord, you may already see Clyde responding

Industry Analysis

by Norma March 10, 2023