The Rise of Resale
By Bani Sachar Editor: Suryansh Khare There was a time when buying second-hand or what is now called pre-loved fashion, was frowned upon. Today, it is the talk of the town. Revered designer brands are realising the allure of pre-loved glamour and adopting this trend to not only meet their sustainability goals but also as…
Saudi Arabia: Barrelling Wealth
By Srikrish Santhosh Editor: Kripa Jalan Saudi Arabia is the second largest oil producer in the world, making up nearly 11% of the global total. Incidentally, Saudi Aramco, the nationalized company responsible for oil production in the country, is the most profitable company in the world. Consequently, the oil-rich Gulf giant yields luxurious control in…
Decoding Crypto Scams: the FTX Fiasco
By Srishti Ganesh Editor: Blaine D’Silva What’s next for this soaring crypto craze that many consider the ‘modern-day gold rush’? Does it have what it takes to displace the tangible currency? Many jump into the sea of cryptocurrency, lured by the stories of huge successes and multiplied cash numbers. Many also preach about its flexibility…
Japan’s Shrinking Economy
By Amisha Chaturvedi Editor: Eva Bhiwandkar The Japanese economy has shrunk at its fastest rate on record as it battles the coronavirus pandemic. The world’s third-largest economy saw its gross domestic product fall 7.8% in April-June from the previous quarter, or 27.8% on an annualized basis (BBC News, 2020). So let’s understand the pillars that…
Copper: A King’s Ransom
By Mridul Jain Editor: Gargi Palaskar Factors behind the sky-rocketing Copper Prices and their implications for the Green Economy The price of copper is greatly affected by the global economy’s health. This is due to its numerous applications in critical sectors of the economy, such as power generation and transmission, construction, industrial equipment and electronics.…
D2C – The Next Market Disruptor?
By Ishan Kabra Editor: Suryansh Khare Let’s begin with a story. The story of a packet of chips. It sounds uninteresting at first, but keep reading. A packet of chips once made sits in a company warehouse for a while. Then, multiple similar packets were bought by a super-stockist (a middleman who buys large quantities…
Money and your Mind
By Jillian Tauro Editor: Kripa Jalan Have you ever claimed to have superior taste in fashion and have had your Spotify wrapped to prove your self-proclaimed elite music taste? More economically and technically, those are consumer preferences, and while your great taste isn’t subject to questioning, you’re subjected to tons of marketing and advertising tricks…
The Kashmir Apple Saga
By Suryansh Khare, Editor Editor: Blaine Dsilva The robust horticulture industry in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir is currently threatened by a new crisis– the product at risk is apples. Apples are vital to the economy of Jammu and Kashmir, which produces about 75% of the apples sold in India. Apples as a…
End of an Era for Big Tech in Silicon Valley?
By Gargi Palaskar, Editor Editor: Eva Bhiwandkar Layoffs in Silicon Valley of late have been indicative of large-scale pessimism in the big tech market. Firms like Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce and several others have laid off over 120,000+ employees in the third quarter of 2022. This, accompanied by a hiring freeze, has become a cause…
EVs and The Lithium Debacle
By Eva Bhiwandkar, Editor Editor: Kripa Jalan The demand for electric vehicles has been on a slow-footed growth trajectory, but the tsunami is yet to come. The great electric car race is just beginning as electric vehicles are particularly environmentally friendly since they consume little to no fossil fuels, have fewer moving components that need…
The New Global Reserve Currency
By Blaine Dsilva, Editor Editor: Gargi Palaskar “Changing times of globalization would give rise to a new global reserve currency.” These were the words spoken by Ray Dalio in his discussion on ‘ Principles For Dealing With The Changing World Order’. If the petro-dollar collapses, and trade is conducted using another currency, it would lead…
Unified Payments Era
By Jahnavi Jaipuriyar, Editor-in-Chief If there is one thing which is clear, it is that the future of money is digital. However, a question which lingers is– what does this future look like? Money has been an indispensable tool of human society, contributing to the advancement of trade and commerce for centuries. It is a…
The Attack on Art
On December 1st, 2019, the whole world changed. The first case of COVID-19 was detected in Wuhan, China. Little did we know that it would spread all over the world and start a global pandemic leaving us quarantined in our homes, facing a global unemployment crisis, depressing economies and taking millions of lives. The aftermath…
Work Force(d)
As we commence the new year, expectations of money, success and power are lingering ahead. Bucket lists are booming and resolutions are looming. Everyone is eager for 2022 to be bigger, bolder and better. A new semester begins, an imminent graduation awaits, a job waits to be filled– you are all ready to mould yourself…
Psyber Insecurity
Cyber insecurity presents an imminent threat to all businesses and has the potential to halt company operations and cost billions in recovery. This year alone, companies have witnessed a myriad of cybercrime cases, ranging from ordinary hacks of local businesses to the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack that shut down half the oil supply to the American…
Going the IPO Way
“2021 could be India’s year of IPOs” was a statement made by the Reserve Bank of India due to the vast number of companies submitting their IPO papers to the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). This has turned out to be true with over 70 IPOs hitting the stock market in a duration of…
The Weakest Link
Thanks to the rollout of vaccines for the corona virus, the global economy is slowly starting to recover. But the pandemic has left a very destructive economic issue in its wake: disruption of global supply chains. Covid-19 has, without a shred of doubt, proved to be a real test of resilience for supply chain leaders…
Scaling likes for Success
Even before the pandemic took a centre stage in our lives, social media sites had always been flooded with small business pages. Be it sweet cake bakeries, handmade shops or even thrift stores- Instagram marketing swiftly became the fastest way to scale-up a small business from your neighbourhood to the entire country. The power of…
Great Expectations
It’s the end semester examination and you’ve just got your results. Your paper (let’s say commerce) displays a score of 39 out of 50 and you can’t tell how good of a score that is. Your friends gather around you so everyone can check each others’ marks. It appears the highest score among them is…
India’s Crypto Kill Switch
Cryptocurrency is a word in common parlance that is as ubiquitous as it is poorly understood. Most people either express support or objection towards cryptocurrencies, or find it elusive and decide to not have a take on it altogether. The RBI is a prominent voice in the former group; specifically, a voice of opposition. The…
Is collaborative consumption here to stay?
20 years ago, none might’ve ever thought of sharing any personal assets with strangers. Sharing access to rooms, tractors or cars with strangers was weirdly intrusive. However, now companies like Uber, Airbnb, Zoomcar, Furlenco, etc. have made temporary “access” to such assets seamless and safer. Sharing is not new to us. Today, the moral of…
Et tu, Entrepreneur?
On the same day there have been two seemingly unrelated arrests on counts of robbery and fraud. Nathan was caught early in the morning and Maria, later at noon; both have been imprisoned such that neither can communicate with the other. Both were caught red-handed in the act; it is an open and shut case.…
High Frequency Trading: The Need for Speed!
Author : Samarth Khanduri FYBA, St.Xavier’s College. A typical at-home retail trader gives little thought to what happens in those few seconds between the time he clicks that buy order to when those shares get credited into his account. He remains unaware of the fact that out there, situated in close vicinity to the massive…
Let’s Budget the Budget!
Author : Ms. Aparna Kulkarni Asst. Professor, Economics St. Xavier’s college, Mumbai. aparna.kulkarni@xaviers.edu 7768027658 Budgetary system is an all-time important tool to accelerate the economy specially in the countries which have excess capacity and underutilized resources. By tools like, taxation and public expenditure it is possible for the fiscal policy maker to undertake the measures…
Trading Our Way Across the Ancient World
Author: Ameya SanzgiriTYBA, St.Xavier’s College. An old map showing the silk road Source: History.com I am sure that many of us have heard about the famous silk route. A spider’s web of various paths and roads that ancient travelers and traders took to traverse from the east to the west. Be it from the finest…
How Thomas Cook(ed), Burned & Failed to Serve
Author : Pranati Trivedi SYBA, St.Xavier’s College. “We found out that our holiday was cancelled via Twitter.” “I guess I now have to spend what’s left of my vacation time figuring out how to get back home. What should have been a very memorable time is now memorable for the wrong reasons.” (Twitter user @California_Ram)…
Big Data, Bigger Than You Think
Author: Anvi Agarwal SYBA, St.Xavier’s College. Have you ever wondered why many companies opted to meet their paper requirements through Dunder Mifflin Paper Company even though it was a small-scale company and offered more expensive products? It was because of the personal touch that Micheal, Dwight, Jim (Jim? James? Jimothy?) and the rest of the…
Apartheid recuperated South African economy post world cup 2010
Author : Zaid Khandwani TYBCom, St.Xavier’s College. A decade back, there was a period which was a worthy recipient for our wistful affection. The juxtaposition of 2010 with 2020 is just like a comparison between the Fast and Furious series and The Marine series. Hey, why are you pulling WWE in between, it’s a sham!…
The Atlantropa Project: How an Insane Nazi Project Would Have Been 21st Century’s Saving Grace
Author: Georgie Sam Shibu TYBSc., St.Xavier’s College Touted as the hundred year project, visionary architect Herman Sorgel’s project was insane, even by Nazi standards, and would have created a new supercontinent, limitless renewable energy, millions of hectares of new farmlands and development opportunities. All of it by doing one thing – damming the Mediterranean. The…
Why Oil Prices Fluctuate
Author: Vasudha Jha TYBA, St.Xavier’s College. It’s the spring of 2003, a massive drilling machine called Discoverer Enterprise tries to reach the ocean bed, around 1.6 km deep with 3 more kilometers of mud and rock. As reward for their efforts, the US discovers its biggest oil field in three decades. Recently, the oil prices…
Above and beyond.
Author : Rhea Dias TYBA, St.Xavier’s College. It is the summer of 2050. You set out for the holidays and step into a vehicle that will take you on a 200- mile journey. Secured in a commercial space shuttle, you thrust back into your seat as the shuttle rockets into the sky. Within minutes, pressure…
Cartels – An Agathokakological Market Structure
Author : Anvi Agarwal SYBA, St.Xavier’s College. Imagine you are in the modest city of Dakar, Senegal in West Africa. As you get out of your Airbnb (a must if you want the true ‘local’ feel of the city you are visiting), you come across a man emptying buckets of sewage into a hole dug…
The Economics behind Hype-Brands
Author : Anuj Khare FYBA Adidas’ Yeezy. Supreme. Nike’s Air Jordan. Off-White. If these brands don’t ring a bell, you’re probably either: a) living under a rock; or b) missing out on a global, cultural phenomenon of the decade. Over the past few years, these brands have paved the way for a lifestyle of street-wear…
Algo-Trading: A Leap into the Future of Trading
Author: Kimaya Patil SYBCom, Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University. The advent of Algorithmic Trading happened in India back in 2008, when the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed stockbrokers to offer Direct Market Access (DMA) to their clients. Since this change took place in the middle of a global recession (2008), it swept…
The Lighter-Brighter Side of Marketing
Author: Khushboo Pareek SYB.com Honours, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi ‘5 problems, 1 solution’ and boom, you’ve bought that product without even realising if you had any of those 5 problems in the first place. But that’s what ‘the science of marketing’ does. The economic development of a nation, however, is greatly driven…
LEBANON IN A HYPERINFLATION QUANDARY
Author: Vasudha Jha, TYBA, St.Xavier’s College. Imagine going to the market with a purse full of money and returning with a bare handful of grains in exchange for it and nothing else! Unimaginable, right? This is the situation of hyperinflation. Hyperinflation is a phenomenon that is characterized by a rapid rise in prices of goods…
The Juicy Market for Lemons
Author: Neha Dagade TYBA, St.Xavier’s College. If you have ever purchased a used item from a stranger, you would have probably worried about whether s/he was telling you the whole truth about it. Perhaps you would have had the thought: “The seller knows a lot more about the item than I do. Is it any…
Crypto Hedge Funds: Are we ready for it?
Author: Zaid Khandwani TYBCom, St.Xavier’s College. Imagine this: you wake in the swimming pool with no water. The pool is money-packed. Your account currently has a balance of a billion rupees. How does that make you feel? Now you are on the horns of a dilemma, either to splurge the riches or to be frugal…
Fictional Economies: How Star Trek Predicts the Future of Commerce and Society
Author: Georgie Sam Shibu TYBSc., St.Xavier’s College. True to its fictional motto, ‘to boldly go where no man has gone before’, the franchise dares to do something that none have done before – to creatively imagine futuristic societies and institutions and thus, paint a realistic albeit utopian vision of humanity’s future. Star trek is one…
A Slice of Life
Author: Krisha Gandhi SYBA, St.Xavier’s College. The early 1980s were an anxiety-inducing age for administrators and stakeholders of the Coca Cola Company. The old and venerated Coke was steadily, but surely, losing its sales to Pepsi despite the fact that Coke spent a colossal sum on marketing and was actually more widely available. This was…
(Thrift)ing towards sustainability
“Luxury,” Socrates once said, is “artificial poverty”. On a Sunday afternoon spree through some of the snazzier stores in the city, I wondered if that white sundress I hastily bought from a luxury apparel store, a buy that I thought was a steal being heavily ‘discounted’, was really a steal from the Marciano Brothers (founders…
Gig Economy and the Pandemic
Author: Pranati Trivedi SYBA, St.Xavier’s College. Outsourcing Risk to Privatize Gain? My dad often indulges in lengthy conversations with delivery workers, auto drivers and shop owners. He refers to this exercise as building a rapport; I, personally, think it more as satiating his need to know everything. Last week, the both of us were waiting…
Chaos theory in the stock market
Author: Pamona Sharma TYBA, St. Xavier’s College. “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes” – Mark Twain “You can’t beat the market” is a popular phrase that a lot of people believe in. It comes from the famous ‘Efficient Market Hypothesis’ according to which, the price of any and every financial asset is a…
A Guide to Starting a New Venture
Thinking Of Starting a New Venture? If you are at a stage where you believe that you are ready to start something new on your own, then you must keep a few things in mind before planning your idea. Often people, when thinking about start-ups, try to think big. They always have the mindset of…
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