'Israel' arms exports hit all time high in 2024
'Israel's' defence ministry said Wednesday that its arms exports hit an all-time high of more than USD 14.7 billion in 2024, with a sharp rise in deals with Arab Gulf states, despite international criticism of 'Israel's' ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.
"Israel again reached an all-time peak in defence exports in 2024, marking the fourth consecutive record-breaking year in the scope of defence agreements," the ministry, which oversees and approves the exports of 'Israel's' defence industries, said in a statement.
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The Wire
28 minutes ago
- The Wire
Young Workforce is Rapidly Declining For Top Tech Companies: Report
New Delhi: Age is catching up for two of India's leading IT companies – Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Infosys Ltd – as they are witnessing a sharp decline in their young workforce, Mint reported. The shrinking number of employees under 30, as stated in the companies annual reports, have raised concerns over the sustainability of the traditional employee pyramid model. According to the report, at the end of FY25, just 47.7% of TCS employees in India were below 30, down from 59% in FY22, implying that the company had 44,542 fewer young employees than it had three years ago. Meanwhile, at Infosys, only 52% of its 323,578 employees were equal to or under 30 years of age at the end of FY25, down from 60% in FY22 – signalling a net drop of about 17,609 younger employees. According to the daily, one of the reasons could be that automation is eliminating a significant chunk of entry-level jobs, signalling broader shifts in the IT services market. With automation tools on offer, the need for younger employees who typically handled customer support roles has reduced. As a result, young graduates are more drawn to startups, software product makers, or tech centres of global firms like Google and Microsoft. These also allow them better pay, faster growth and more creative work, according to some analysts. Another reason is that the traditional pyramid model may now be dated causing companies to see their margins erode. According to the report, TCS's revenue in FY25 rose only 3.78% to USD 30.18 billion – slowest in four years – while Infosys's revenue growth was also sluggish at 3.85%, touching USD 19.28 billion. Economic uncertainty One of the other major reasons why the growth has noticeably slowed down now is because global clients are cutting back on tech spending due to economic uncertainty. A Mumbai-based analyst told Mint that slow hiring was a result of the sluggish demand for IT services. 'IT services providers hire junior employees, most of whom fall under 30, when there is high demand for tech services. This was the case in FY22 when plenty of freshers were added. Now, because growth has been a little sluggish, hiring has been low, and which is why we see fewer young people.' In FY22, TCS and Infosys had added over 157,000 employees combined whereas in FY25, that number dropped to 12,771. According to the report, this also shows up in campus placement data of engineering colleges as they report lesser offers from the top IT service companies. Final-year students who would typically receive early offers from these firms are now seeking opportunities at software product firms, fintech startups, or hunting for overseas universities instead. Bigger issue abroad The issue of ageing workforce becomes more pressing in key markets abroad as the firms are losing their appeal among young job seekers. In North America, which contributes over half of TCS's revenue, more than 20% of its workforce is over 50 years old, the daily stated. In Europe, nearly 28% of its employees are above 50. On the other hand, Infosys received 4.46 million job applications in FY25—a 24% drop from FY22. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
Airline Industry Value Chain: IATA Chief Economist highlights airlines' struggles with skewed value chain and low profit margins, ET Infra
Advt Airlines are grappling with a skewed value chain globally and historically, the profit margin has never crossed 5 per cent, according to IATA Chief Economist Marie Owens Thomsen Also, she expressed hope that any efforts to address making the airline value chain less skewed will surely be an example for other is one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation an interaction in the national capital this week, Thomsen said the skewed value chain for the global airlines industry is also a result of legacy is the Chief Economist & Senior Vice President Sustainability at the International Airport Transport Association (IATA), a grouping of over 350 airlines."Nobody sat down from the beginning and said, I'm going to create a super skewed value chain and make sure that the airlines never make any money."I don't think anybody had that intent. But unfortunately, that's sort of where we've ended up. And our industry globally has never made a profit margin in excess of 5 per cent," she noting that all participants in the value chain make more money than the airlines, she mentioned about the oligopolistic pricing power among the aircraft manufacturers and the outsized market power of oil companies."... then downstream, you know, notably here in India, maybe a very price competitive environment... our customers choose their airlines primarily on price. So the airlines are left completely squeezed between these two with very few ways out," she Thomsen said that if the Indian government tries to do everything to create a less skewed value chain, and that becomes possible, then that would surely be an example to follow for every other 2025, IATA has projected airlines to report a net profit of USD 36 billion and a profit margin of 3.7 per cent.
Mint
32 minutes ago
- Mint
Wall street is too pessimistic on the Dollar. That could be a problem.
The dollar is struggling, and strategists overwhelmingly agree it's heading even lower. But with such strong consensus on a negative outlook, any positive news on the greenback could deliver an unexpected—and much harder—blow. For investors, it's a risk worth considering now. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the value of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, fell as low as 0.45% during Thursday's trading before recovering. The WSJ Dollar Index, a similar but newer index, fell to lows last seen in summer 2023 during the session, but finished at 95.21, a level that isn't particularly significant. That bodes well for Wall Street's big banks, who've been increasingly predicting a dollar rout. On Thursday, Deutsche Bank's macro strategist Tim Baker said the proposal for new levies on foreign investment adds to the firm's bearish view on the dollar. Bank of America's foreign-exchange strategist Alex Cohen referred to his team as 'core dollar bears." Morgan Stanley's Matthew Hornbach expects the dollar to slide in 2025 and some part of 2026. That's not all. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Société Générale strategists are others part of this near-consensus view on the greenback. It's important to note that Wall Street isn't predicting an all-out demise for the U.S. dollar: The currency is entrenched within global financial machinery, and any significant decoupling by foreigners selling U.S. assets could take years. However, big money managers, hedge funds, and other institutions who've been holding lots of dollars by overweighting U.S. stocks or other dollar-denominated assets are rethinking exposure under a new, fast-paced regime in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump's tariffs also imply fewer dollars in the hands of other countries as they sell less goods in the U.S. That, in turn, will reduces foreign nations' ability to buy as many U.S. assets. Also, the dollar's usual role as a safe haven and a buffer against market swings is being questioned: The greenback is not reacting to moves in the S&P 500 and other major indexes as it once did. But here's the kicker: Even with many factors pointing to further dollar weakness, its not crazy to think that the dollar could go up—and that makes the groupthink on the dollar risky. Economic data could give the dollar a much-needed boost. Initial jobless claims published on Thursday were higher than economists anticipated. However, the unemployment rate has remained rather steady at 4.2%, and inflation seems more or less in control; an improvement on the economic front can strengthen the dollar. 'While the longer-term USD outlook is still bearish, a move lower from here may require signs of cracks forming in the economic data," wrote Kit Juckes, Chief FX Strategist at Société Générale on Monday. Trump's evolving tariff policy is another wild card. Trump said he had a 'very good" phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, which likely led to the dollar moderating its losses. It's unclear where negotiations between the U.S. and Europe stand, Cohen pointed out in a note listing upside risks to his bearish call. However, most harsh rhetoric between the U.S. and foreign powers has been walked back soon enough, he wrote. Goldman listed the comeback of U.S. exceptionalism talk as 'the biggest risk to our forecast for further Dollar depreciation." If Trump uses money from tariffs as fiscal support, that could eventually strengthen the dollar—and foreign investors may get drawn by even higher yields on bonds and cheaper equity valuations on stocks. When pessimism is this strong, its wise to consider if the market could have other plans that could make a sudden rebound hurt badly. Write to Karishma Vanjani at
