Finance

When countries began shutting down in response to the growing pandemic this spring, many employees found themselves working from home. That can be freeing and productive for some people, but lots of others scrambled to work around housemates, pets, partners, and children; splintered teams were reunited in endless Zoom meetings, and corporate life suddenly took on a very different tone. Which is precisely why Krissee Chasseur’s team at Zappos, the online shoe retailer, started a book club. “We were putting together ideas to keep our team digitally engaged, and a weekly virtual book club seemed like an easy fit to…

Oil prices edged higher on Monday as major producers cut crude output, but price gains were limited by worries that a rise in coronavirus infections worldwide might stall a recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude was up 48 cents, or 1.1 per cent , at $42.67 a barrel by 11:45 a.m. EDT (1545 GMT). The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude contract for August, which became the days more active contract, rose 50 cents, or 1.2 per cent , to $40.33. South Korea said for the first time that it was in the…

June 19, 2020 6 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. “Email marketing is an often overlooked but vital part of PR, media relations and thought leadership strategy,” says Blair Nicole, who is the CEO and founder of Media Moguls PR. She’s right. Most business owners I know rarely look at email as a public relations tool. For many, it’s a marketing channel on which they focus to increase sales. But as the lines between digital marketing and PR are blurring, you could be missing out by not adding a PR component to your email strategy. Email…

An insurance offering that almost became a laggard is getting back into the mainstream, thanks to Covid-19. Despite the growing frequency and severity of claims, many intermediaries stopped selling the Directors and Officers (D&O) Liability insurance because the product became very commoditised in the recent past, and the servicing demands attached to it were high. Starting from the Bhopal Gas tragedy of 1984, the Indian insurance industry began to realise the need for domestic expertise in liability classes. Despite a D&O product becoming available by the late 1990s, Satyam Computers was a wake-up call. While overseas…

Geopolitical developments and trend in Covid-19 cases will set the tone for equity markets this week, analysts said, adding that with no major events scheduled, indices may consolidate. “Going ahead, we expect the market momentum to continue in the near term on back of changed sentiments and improved liquidity. Apart from global cues and development around geopolitical tensions, the monthly F&O expiry would be some of the key monitorable,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. According to analysts, besides stock-specific action, trend in global markets,…

June 19, 2020 8 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 million people are currently unemployed. To put this in perspective, the Great Recession in the early-2000s saw its height of unemployment in 2010 at 14.8 million. The COVID pandemic has not only left this number in the shadows, but the speed at which it occurred is also like no other in our history. The result? Employees and contractors were quickly displaced and left scratching their heads saying, “What just happened?” Businesses scrambled to communicate with employees, clients, and…

Gold prices remained stable at Rs 47,450 per 10 gram, while silver went up to Rs 48,050 from Rs 47,550 per kilogram on Saturday, according to the Good Returns. The prices of gold jewellery vary across India, which is the second-largest consumer of the metal, due to excise duty, state taxes, and making charges. In New Delhi, the price of 22-carat gold is holding steady at Rs 46,250 per 10 gram, while in Chennai it is Rs 45,570. In Mumbai, the rate is Rs 46,100, according to Good Returns website. Prices…

June 19, 2020 6 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. As we learn to live in this “new normal” of media overflowing with stories about COVID-19, protests and civil unrest it’s sometimes overwhelming to think about pitching stories to journalists.  How can we pitch stories to press about our businesses when the world has turned upside down?  Journalists are looking for stories, and there are plenty of ways to provide the content they are seeking. You just need to know how to discover what they are looking for, and the most effective ways to present yourself…