Tag: financial literacy

‘Line of sight’ in the supply chain has taken on a new meaning in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Rather than simply tracking stock movements and using this data to attempt to influence the end consumer to buy a product, there is now massive investment in trying to ‘own’ the retailer from a data perspective.

Literacy, the ability to read and to write, enables prosperity. Yet at least 773 million young people and adults lack basic literacy skills. As technology evolves, users who lack the foundation of learning and education will not reap the benefits of the ongoing digital transformation.

Right now, over 4.14 million people around the world have succumbed to COVID-19 - and over 84,000 of those deaths happened right here in South Africa. As we navigate a third COVID-19 wave, South Africans are starting to come to terms with their own mortality.

The trouble with following conventional wisdom is that it is always changing. Proximity to the branch matters. Branches are closing. Multi-channel. Omni-channel. Digital first. Digital only. Mobile first. Mobile only. Friction is bad for customer experience (CX).

Wealthy parents are often concerned about the preservation of their hard-earned family fortunes for their children, and rightly so: research has shown that around 70% of young heirs end up failing as custodians or stewards of the family wealth, sometimes squandering it within a few years after inheritance.

As the world battles COVID-19, a certain number of women in South Africa are fighting what the United Nations terms the shadow pandemic: endemic gender-based violence (GBV). The government GBV and Femicide Command Centre alone recorded more than 120,000 victims in the first three weeks of lockdown last year.

Given the dire economic circumstances, coupled with ongoing challenges facing businesses, it has never been more important for employees to be prepared both from a financial and personal perspective to deal with unprecedented changes, while still maintaining focus at work.

The middle class broadly has been a high level, vigorous and academic marathon in defining and diagnosing. The middle class has always been viewed as the creation of a capitalistic system, leading to defining society in terms of class and wealth.

Research shows that COVID-19 has caused women greater economic hardship than men. Women’s month is an opportunity to address larger societal issues such as equality, poverty and income security. Women must be financially independent to be fully empowered.

The COVID-19 pandemic, much like Black Monday in 1987 and the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, has presented a number of opportunities to buy stocks at seemingly 'bargain' prices. But even if a stock seems like a steal, the infamous case of Hertz demonstrates the perils of investing for 'fear of missing out' or FOMO without first doing your homework.