Global stocks markets hit after Chinese data and Fed comments

          Global markets have fallen after weak Chinese data and fears the US Federal Reserve may slow its monetary stimulus. In Asia, the fall was led by Japan's Nikkei index, which closed down 7.3% having fallen as much as 10%. European markets slipped, with London, Frankfurt and Paris all closing down by about 2%. In the US, the Dow Jones was slightly down in mid-day trade. The falls came after a long period of rising share prices, with several indexes reaching record highs. Earlier on Wednesday, data was released suggesting a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing. On Tuesday Fed chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that Quantitative Easing efforts in the US may be scaled back. Also, activity in the Eurozone’s manufacturing and services sector continued to contract in May, closely-watched preliminary data from Mark it, a financial information services company, showed. Separate data also from Mark it, and released before US stocks opened, showed US manufacturing activity fell for the second straight month in May. But a fall in the number of Americans claiming weekly unemployment benefits, pointing to a tentative recovery in the labor market, gave a mixed picture of the economy. But traders also suggested a correction was expected, following a period of rising markets. "Given how overbought the markets were it's not surprising to see a correction," said Jawaid Asfar, a sales trader at Secure Equity.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.5%, and South Korea's Kospi lost 1.2%. Markets in Australia and Singapore also fell. The Nikkei's 7.3% fall was the steepest one-day decline since 2011 in the wake of the tsunami and nuclear crises. The China data showed that factory activity contracted for the first time in seventh months in May. The preliminary HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for May fell to 49.6. A figure below 50 indicates a contraction. Analysts said the figures suggest that the Chinese government's target of achieving 7.5% growth this year may be missed.

'Overheated'

"It's no secret. The true picture is that China's export sector is slowing down, and its manufacturing sector is also slowing down. That means the trade surplus is almost gone," said Francis Lun, chief economist at GE Oriental Financial Group.  In April, the PMI had fallen to 50.6 from 50.9 in March, underlining that the economy's pace of expansion was slowing down.

Investor sentiment had already soured on Wednesday after Mr. Bernanke told a congressional committee that the central bank could scale back the pace of bond purchases over the next few meetings if the job market shows "real and sustainable progress". "Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's much anticipated testimony... certainly initiated the volatility" on stock markets, said Spreadex trader Max Cohen. The central bank's $85bn (£56bn)-bond purchases, known as Quantitative Easing, were designed to pump liquidity into the financial system to bring down borrowing rates for households and businesses, therefore shoring up the economy.

The minutes of the Fed's last meeting - revealed shortly before Mr. Bernanke's testimony - said that "a number" of officials favored slowing down the Fed's efforts as early as June. The Fed next meets on 18-19 June. Neil MacKinnon, economist at VTB Capital, said that while the financial markets were focused on Mr. Bernanke's comments, in his view "it says more about an equity market that is 'overheated' and due a correction rather than any suggestion from the Fed that monetary stimulus is about to be withdrawn".

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US Federal Reserve to maintain stimulus efforts

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke

          Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Congress that the U.S. job market remains weak and that it is too soon for the Federal Reserve to end its extraordinary stimulus programs.

In testimony to the Joint Economic Committee, Bernanke notes the U.S. economy is growing moderately this year and unemployment has fallen to a four-year low of 7.5 percent. Still, unemployment remains well above levels consistent with healthy economies. And Bernanke says higher taxes and deep federal spending cuts are expected to slow economic growth this year.

Bernanke says reducing the Fed's efforts to keep borrowing rates low would "carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery."

The Fed's low interest-rate polices have made borrowing cheaper and helped ignite a huge stock rally this year.

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Cannes film festival suffers $1m jewellery theft

The jewels were initially thought to have been loaned to stars at the annual film festival on the French Riviera.

They were taken from the hotel room of an employee of exclusive Swiss jewelers Chopard in the early hours of Friday morning.

Police say the thieves ripped the safe containing the jewels from a wall of the room at the Novotel hotel.

But a company spokeswoman, Raffaella Rossiello, insisted the value of the pieces had been exaggerated and "the jeweler stolen is not part of the collection... worn by actresses during the Cannes Film Festival".

And festival officials said the event's top award, the Palme d'Or, was not among the stolen items.

The trophy is also made by Chopard, an official sponsor of the festival.

Celebrities choosing the Swiss firm's gems for their red carpet appearances at this year's festival include Julianne Moore, Lana Del Rey and Cindy Crawford.

The theft happened a few hours after the festival was shown The Bling Ring, a new film by director Sofia Coppola.

The film is about teenagers who find out when celebrities are attending red carpet events in order to break into their homes and steal their designer clothes, bags and shoes.

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The iPhone maker is again No.1

Apple has again been crowned the most valuable global brand in the annual BrandZ report.

Released Tuesday, Mill ward Brown Optimor's 2013 BrandZ report pegs Apple with a brand value of $185 billion, up from $183 billion last year. Based on financial data and the opinions of potential and current buyers, Apple retained its top rank in spite of the thrashing suffered by its stock over the past several months.

"Despite a more competitive marketplace and other challengers nipping at its heels, Apple's ability to maintain its No.1 position demonstrates the value that having a strong brand brings to business," Nick Cooper, managing director of Mill ward Brown Optimor, said in a statement. "People still love the brand regardless of its stock price."

But Apple's value rose just 1 percent from last year, compared with a 19 percent jump in 2012 and an 84 percent leap in 2011. As such, a few other tech players outscored Apple in their value growth this year.

No. 2 Google received a brand value of $113 billion, a 5 percent gain from last year. No. 6 AT&T saw its value rise 10 percent to $75 billion. And No. 10 China Mobile earned a value of $55 billion, a gain of 18 percent from 2012.

Apple's major rival, Samsung, was No. 30 on the list. But it jumped by 51 percent from last year, achieving a brand value of $21 billion.

"Vying for leadership in the smartphone market, Samsung fueled its huge increase in brand value by balancing a remarkable period of innovation with growing market share -- it spent $1.6 billion more on advertising in the last year," Cooper said.

Still, other tech players saw their values drop in the BrandZ report. No. 3 IBM lost 3 percent of its value, No. 7 Microsoft shed 9 percent, and No. 31 Facebook gave up 36 percent.

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TCS beats ONGC

Tata Group software services company Tata Consultancy Services today became the country's most valued firm with a market capitalization of over Rs 2.87 lakh crore, surpassing energy major ONGC's value of more than Rs 2.84 lakh crore.

At the end of trade today, TCS commanded a market cap of Rs 2, 87,320 crore. This is about Rs 2,508 crore more than the ONGC's m-cap of Rs 2, 84,812 crore.

Shares of TCS ended without change, while ONGC fell by 2.09 per cent on the BSE. Last week, state owned energy major ONGC had pushed IT giant TCS to the second slot in the list of top-10 most-valued companies. Reliance Industries with a market capitalization of Rs 2, 68,910 crore was at third place, followed by ITC (Rs 2, 64,434 crore) and Coal India (Rs 1, 89,964 crore).

Market capitalization or the value of a listed company is arrived at by multiplying the total number of its shares with its stock price on a particular day or time. This figure changes daily with the change in the stock price.

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WTF (We Think Fashion)

Fashion design is the applied art devoted to the designing of clothing and lifestyle accessories. This art is influenced by cultural and social attitudes and has evolved over time and place. Fashion designing has come a long way from the designer clothes worn by the royalty of the ancient world to the haute couture products of the present.

Fashion designing is one of the most lucrative, appealing, glamorous and exciting career options in today's world. If you have a penchant for creativity, style and originality, a career in fashion designing is the one tailor made for you. On one hand, the fashion industry satisfies both the creative fancies and the materialistic needs of the people. On the other hand, it promises glamour, fame, success and a high pay package to the talented people.

However, it is also a demanding career, as fashion designers need to combine their creativity with managerial skills to sustain in this industry. Thus, if you can create magic with colours, shapes and designs, then just obtain a professional course to begin a successful career in the alluring world of fashion designing.

Step-by-Step

To start a career as a fashion designer, two types of qualifications are required, that is, natural and acquired.

• Natural: this skill set would comprise of a decent aesthetic sense, colour expertise, good taste and sense of trends and fashion. An eye for detail, knowledge of fabrics and so on is a big plus for those serious about a career as a fashion designer.

• Acquired skills would be a qualification from a decent, recognized fashion Institute. You can enrol for either a full-time course or a part time certificate course. Students usually take these up after their 10+2 level. Not that the courses are not available for graduates or people with higher qualification. There are several short-term certificate courses that are offered by the same fashion institutes for super specialization, on part-time basis. These courses equip you with technical and creative thinking skills.

Start Early

The word ‘fashion’ immediately conjures up images of glitz and glamour. The onset of the International fashion market in India has given an impetus to the fashion industry which has emerged as the booming industry and a career as a fashion designer is like a pot of gold. So, many young people who are attracted by these attributes decide to foray into the fashion industry.

While the academic requirements are not very high, you need considerable aptitude and talent to be labelled “designer” material. You must be highly creative to combine colours, shades and textures and express your ideas through sketches.

Your race for admission into a reputed fashion school will begin straight after school. Subjects like drawing, painting, home science and computer graphics will develop your creativity.

By the time you finish the course you will have mastered the step-by-step making of a garment: from designing to pattern making, production and even marketing.

Is it the right career for me?

A career in fashion designing is right for you if you are talented and exude style in everything you do. You must also possess the ability be original and creative and love to make people look good.
Further, you must be creative enough to combine colours, shades and textures and express your ideas through sketches. You must also visualise new design, patters, garments and accessories and enjoy working with fabrics and accessories.

If you have all this and more in you then you are all, set to step into the arena of fashion designing.

What would it Cost Me?

The fee structure varies from institution to institution. However, on an average you will have to dish out more than Rs. 45,000 per annum to complete a course in Fashion Designing from a reputed institution.

Funding/Scholarship

Some fashion academies extend merit based scholarships.  These scholarships usually waive off payment of tuition fee only. These waivers continue in the subsequent year(s) on the condition that the awardees academic performance meets the prescribed standards of achievement.

The criterion of these scholarship programmes is based on the annual income of the eligible student’s parental annual income. There are a few scholarships sponsored by reputed companies for meritorious and financially deserving students. Scholarship awardees also get educational loan facility to cover other payable fee and expenses.

Job Prospect

In India, the fashion industry has just begun to come of age, as it is still in its fledgling stage. This industry offers plenty of opportunities for talented hard working and enthusiastic people. Prospects for fashion design graduates are pretty good thanks to the huge and still growing demand for “designer wear” and the equally outsized quantity of exports.

After successful completion of the course, you can remain self employed. Alternatively, several export houses, garment store chains, textile mills, leather companies, boutiques, fashion show organizers, jewellery houses and media houses recruit professionals interested in a career in fashion designing.

Pay Packet

The Starting monthly package can be around Rs.10, 000 to Rs.15, 000. With experience, you will acquire maturity in designing skills and a few years down the line your salary would be in the range of Rs.30, 000 to Rs.40, 000 per month. Of course, if you become a reputed designer you could demand the world.

Great fashion designers salary always shows an upward moving trend. However, hard work and a conscious effort to update the latest trends in the fashion industry are imperative.

Demand and Supply

Economically India is progressing rapidly today with even better future prospects. Therefore, the country is today witnessing rapid growth in many sectors which includes the fashion industry.

Indian fashion is gaining a lot of popularity abroad because of cheap labour and excellent craftsmanship. Many top Indian designers are now catering to this growing international demand for quality fashion products and accessories. In addition, for the demand for Indian garments, designer saris and textiles are also of great demand.

Many individuals choose careers in fashion designing today as there are many areas of work and countless opportunities within this field.

Market Watch

The scope for fashion design jobs in India is immense as Indians have increasingly become more fashion conscious and seek to enhance it in every way. Clothing companies need to hire people in a variety of jobs, ranging from fashion designers, textile designers, models, retailers, buyers and merchandisers, to provide end-to-end solutions to their clients.

According to a recent study, the India’s fashion designing industry aims to grow to Rs.1, 000 crores from the current to Rs.180 crores within the next 5 to 10 years.

International Focus

Better prospectus both in terms of salary and growth of fashion design jobs is enormous and extends beyond India’s markets to international markets too. Indian fashion designers are doing very well in almost all countries and hence the scope has broadened for students of fashion designing.

Fashion designers such as Ritu Beri, Ritu Kumar, Rohit Bal, Satya Paul and Tarun Tahiliani are known worldwide. Many Institutions provide training to potential fashion designers to expand their talent and become entrepreneurs in the fashion world. The India Fashion Week has become an international fashion event, with buyers from international stores making an appearance to transact business.

With more and more Indians dressing up and focused on looking good, there is an increasing awareness about fashion in India. The Indian fashion industry is booming. The domestic Indian Textile market is worth $25 billion today and growing at an annual rate of 15-20%.

Mega Malls are mushrooming all over. The Retail sector is witnessing a virtual explosion with the Ambanis, Mittals, Birlas and now, the Tatas making a foray in this sector. The fashion market will require thousands of trained professionals in the fields of design, management, communication and technology.

Positives/Negatives

+ives

• The scope of fashion design is such that it’s cut out for success.
• There are some glamorous aspects to this business, you may get to rub shoulders with the rich and famous, but reaching there is absolute hard work.

-ives

• Fashion designers need a lot of experience and hence they have to work as assistant for any reputed fashion design firm in the initial phase.
• You might want to set up your own studio but you will need a lot of money or have to find investors who are ready to invest in your studio.
• Unless you have some hands on experience, it is hard to get investors.

Different roles, different names

As a professional fashion designer, you can work in areas like designer wear production, fashion marketing, planning and concept management. Then there is fashion media, design production management, fashion accessory design, quality control and promotion of brands.

You can also work as a designated costume designer, fashion consultant, personal stylist, technical designer, graphic designer, production pattern maker or a fashion coordinator.

Other roles include: apparel production manager, fabric buyer, fabric quality control manager, show room sales representative, illustrator, cutting assistant and outside sales representative. Those interested in a career in fashion designing can also become entrepreneurs and form their own companies.

Top Companies

1. Fashion houses run by top fashion designers such as: Abu Jani, JJ Valaya, Manish Malhotra, Neeta Lulla, Rina Dhaka, Ritu Beri, Ritu Kumar, Rohit Bal,  Sandeep Khosla, Tarun Tahiliani and so on.

2. Top notch garment and textile export houses

3. Textile and fabric manufacturing units

4. Exclusive and branded fashion showrooms

Tips for getting Hired

1.    Make a great portfolio that showcases your creative talents

2. Apprenticeship under a well-known designer is desirable for getting hired in this industry

3. Thoroughly research the market before making a foray into it

4. Do freelancing for fashion houses and boutiques

5. Be creative, exclusive and innovative

6. Don’t be impulsive and impatient

7. Don’t get disheartened by rejections, understand your drawbacks and work on it

8. Start affordable and once you have proved yourself, you can go for the stars

I hope this serves you better if you are interested in this field. Don’t forget me if you become a designer with a good reputation…. Good luck..

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What about being an Engineer?

Engineering as an option for career has to be finalized at an age when the student opting for is not very mature. Most of the time it’s the parents choice, who undoubtedly think in the best interest of their ward or the students imitating the seniors. Not necessary, those furnishing the advice are engineers or have the complete idea of engineering as a profession. It’s seldom that the one opting for the career is completely aware of Engineering as a profession.

Before choosing this career we need to think probably do a kind of re-search on few aspects.

ü  Why Engineering as a career option?

ü  How to be an Engineer

ü  The Governing Body

ü  Important Engineering Institutes

ü  Engineering-related Career Options

 I am just giving a basic idea about these and rest is up to you.

Engineering related Career Options
 The ethos of Engineering is not new to the Indian subcontinent. The Rustless Wonder- the Iron Pillar at Delhi, in the memory of Chandra Gupta Vikramaditya, is testimony to the advances made in metallurgy some 2000 years back. But yes the study of engineering was confined to few and the scope of engineering was certainly limited.

But with the onset of development fuelled by science and technology and the growth of service sector Engineering as a career has attracted the student fraternity of the country in a big way. Number of aspirants taking the engineering exams are testimony to the fact.

A large number of students take the Engineering Entrance Examination but few are aware of the various career options that engineering as a profession offers. NNE for the sake of apprising students of the same has compiled a list of various engineering options having a great deal of potential

Ø  Agricultural Engineering

Ø  Aeronautical Engineering

Ø  Architecture

Ø  Automobile Engineering

Ø  Biomedical Engineering

Ø  Biotechnology

Ø  Ceramic Technology

Ø  Chemical Engineers

Ø  Civil Engineering

Ø  Computer Engineering

Ø  Environmental Engineering

Ø  Electrical Engineering

Ø  Electronics Engineering

Ø  Genetic Engineering

Ø  Industrial & Production Engineering

Ø  Instrumentation Engineering

Ø  Marine Engineering

Ø  Mechanical Engineering

Ø  Metallurgical Engineering

Ø  Mining Engineering

Ø  Petroleum Engineering

Ø  Plastic Technology

Ø  Polymer Engineering

Ø  Rubber Technology

Ø  Space Technology

Ø  Textile Industry

WHY Engineering as a stream ?
 Any act of yours, bringing tangible change in the society, would undoubtedly bring a sense of satisfaction and feeling of pride. What if, besides the quotient of satisfaction and feeling of pride you also earn a handsome amount and reputation in the society?

A career in the field of engineering provides just that.

Engineering is amongst the few professions where creativity and ingenuity knows no bounds. Moreover if you are the one among those who look for challenging opportunities than probably, engineering is the most ideal profession to opt for. As an aerospace engineer you have the chance of developing cryogenics technology badly needed for the country to make advances in the space research, as a Civil Engineer you have the opportunity of developing earth quake resistant houses and as an electrical engineer the challenge lies in developing superconductors. The list is endless.

In a similar fashion every stream of engineering has lots of such opportunities and challenges. And if you are the one looking for opportunities where creativity and imagination are the tools to mitigate the challenges then you ought to be an Engineer.

Rewards and Opportunities:

Job Satisfaction

Studies show that, by far, the most important cause of dissatisfaction among the working people is the job dissatisfaction. Thus, it is important to find a career that provides job satisfaction. After all, one has to spend good part of his/her life at work station and if the place you work delivers content and satisfaction you are bound to grow in a better way with each passing day.

Variety of Career Opportunities

Neil Armstrong, Jimmy Carter, and Alfred Hitchcock, an astronaut, a president, and one a filmmaker – from different streams of occupation all together but a commonality, they all started with an engineering education.
 

Engineering as a profession offers a wide range of career possibilities. From the design of fighter planes to that of pacemakers for hearts from boring holes deep in the earth for the petrochemicals to steeping at mars, engineers play the pivotal role.

Challenging Work

Engineering is all about fixing things so as to make the object serve its purpose in the best possible and efficient way. From the flying machine of the Wright brothers to the stealth bombers the range of improvement and development is enormous. Here lies the challenge. Challenge is not only about visualizing the development and improvement but also in performing it.

Intellectual Development

Engineering as a profession is function of creativity and ingenuity. Its more about developing the best possible option. This in turn involves great utilization of your mental faculties as compared to the professions where practice and pattern aid a lot in performing the job.

Contribute to Society

No one can deny the contribution of society in one’s own development but few bother to contribute for the same. Engineering as a carrier provides lots of opportunity to this end too. A civil engineer can design models for easing out traffic congestion. A software engineer can develop cheap and user friendly software for the disabled, an electrical engineer can devise ways and means for optimum utilization of electricity. All in the interest of the society and ones own career.

Financial Security

While financial security should not be the only reason for choosing a career in engineering, if you decide to become an engineer you will be well paid. Engineering graduates receive one of the highest starting salaries of any discipline.

Prestige

Engineers play an important role in the development of the nation and add to its international stature in a big way. And in this pursuit, one also earns a reputed place in the society.

Professional Environment

As an engineer, you will work in a professional environment where creativity and intellect are on the top priority. Working in such an environment with creative and intellectual colleagues is rewarding in itself.

HOW to be an Engineer?

If you are not a "genius” hard-work can help you attain your goal. To be an Engineer One should excel in problem solving and if one does not, should try to do so. Because Engineers spend much of their time in solving problems. Enrich your problem solving know-how by practicing Math, Physics and Chemistry numerical as much as possible.

Admission to the Engineering course in India demands 10+2 qualification. One is supposed to write entrance examination conducted at all India level to get entry to the premier institutes of India.

There are seven Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) viz, Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee, 20 National Institute of Technologies (NITs), couple of IIITs and several private institutes are engaged in the task of grooming engineers.

The Joint Engineering Examination (JEE) and the All India Entrance examination (AIEEE) are the gateways to IITs and the NITs and the IIITs respectively.

I think this will help you serving as a guide map if you choose engineering as a career path. Think of it.. research about it work on it.. and then proceed towards it…!!

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