Global Business Environment
Global Business Environment This article is taken from the December 2017 IABM Business Intelligence Digest Overview The majority of the global economy is experiencing growth. IMF projections of world output growth in 2017 have increased from 3.5% forecast in April to 3.6% as of October. The IMF forecasts 2.2% growth in advanced economies in 2017, an increase from 2% in April. Similarly, for developing and emerging economies, the IMF forecast increased from 6.6% to 6.8% for 2017. This positive outlook is spurred by increased consumer spending and business investments as confidence increases, however growth in some developed nations remains weak in the medium-term due to low inflation and slow wage growth. Commodity prices, especially oil, have made little progress in gaining momentum globally, impacting oil-exporting nations. The IMF has warned nations not to get complacent with recent growth figures, as policy uncertainty and political tensions could threaten progress in certain regions making sustainability difficult. Chart 1 shows that oil prices have declined since 2014 and have not been able to recover to their previous level, staying around the $50 mark. Analysts have forecast that oil prices will remain around the US $50/ US $60 mark with only modest increases in...
Cyber Security – a small business guide
The impact of a cyber breach or attack can be huge: there’s the time you could lose through having to fix your website or systems, the potential loss of customers, damage to your reputation and all the other potential consequences of a hacker getting their hands on your data. [bctt tweet="The impact of a cyber breach or attack can be huge: there’s the time you could lose through having to fix your website or systems, the potential loss of customers, damage to your reputation & more- Cyber Security – a small business guide"] The good news is protecting your business from hackers and viruses does not have to take a lot of time, work or money. Small businesses can do two simple things which can help improve their online security – installing the latest software and app updates and using a strong, separate password for your email. Once you and your staff are taking these two key actions, there’s a range of guidance you can follow to protect your business. Cyber Security: a guide for small businesses - CyberSecuritySmallBusinessGuide Most cyber-attacks exploit basic vulnerabilities in IT systems and software. You can prevent these by using Cyber Essentials, which sets out...