Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG. Productivity in the UK dipped in the first quarter of the year and is likely to fall further as estimates suggest that the fall in output has been greater than the fall in hours worked. Various causes of this slowdown have been proposed including low interest rates, low investment, short-termism in the corporate sector, austerity, Brexit and mismeasurement to name but a few.
Morning has broken – New signals, standards, and semantics
We are facing an immense global crisis by Covid-19 which forces us to avoid physical contact of any kind to avoid contagion. This has meant another boost to beat the challenges of traditional Global Trade and Trade Finance and start using new digital business and financial processes. The long night of non-progress seems to really break to a new, digital dawn. Read more →
Post-pandemic production relocation: an opportunity for CEE countries?
While China is not expected to lose its position of global supplier, the aftermath of the pandemic could bring opportunities for Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in this diversification process, with a higher share in global supply chains. The CEE region has already made progress in enhancing its productivity by a wider usage of automation and robotization. Read more →
TDB Commits USD 1 Million to Agribusiness SMEs in East Africa
TDB announced the signing of an initial 4-year senior / mezzanine debt facility of USD 1 million to be managed by Grassroots Business Fund (GBF), to finance agribusiness SMEs in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The transaction is enhanced with a partial risk guarantee from the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) of 50% with up to 75% in the case of women-led SMEs. Read more →
UK and India agree to deeper trading relationship
The UK’s International Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss and India’s Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal agreed to explore opportunities for expanding and deepening our trade relationship. This will include an Enhanced Trade Partnership as the first step on a wider roadmap for a deeper #trade partnership. Read more →
What’s next for the pound? – Quarterly Currency Forecast
Smart Currency Business have collated predictions from major banks and highlighted key factors which may influence the pound, euro and dollar in their latest quarterly forecast. What can be the best option(s) to protect businesses from any possible currency fluctuations? Read more →
SMEs will help post-virus recovery
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss believes the online sales and exports generated by SMEs will benefit from the free-trade deals being negotiated by the Government. She said exports and e-commerce have been “essential in keeping the economy going” during the coronavirus crisis.
ING partners with genesis to streamline Credit and Political Risk Insurance in expanding global market
ING announced its partnership with Genesis – Code Less, Do More, the Low Code Application Platform for financial markets, to launch the Credit Insurance Application (CIA), a deal-flow and portfolio application which will transform the management of credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) globally. Read more →
