Japan inflation rises fastest in 23 years; India mulls 100% FDI in defence ventures; Importance of a T-shaped career

1 Japan inflation rises fastest in 23years (BBC) Consumer prices in Japan rose at their fastest pace in 23 years in April, following an increases in sales tax. Prices rose 3.2% compared with the same period last year, beating analysts' forecasts of a 3.1% jump. The government raised its sales tax rate from 5% to 8% on 1 April.

Japan has been battling deflation, or falling prices, for best part of the past two decades, and policymakers have said that ending that cycle is key to reviving the country's economy. Falling consumer prices hurt domestic demand as consumers and businesses tend to put off purchases in the hope of getting a cheaper deal later on.

The Japanese government has taken various steps over the past few months to try and reverse this trend, and have set a target of a 2% inflation rate. The measures, which include boosting the country's money supply, have started to have an impact and consumer prices in the country have now risen for 11 months in a row.

But there have been some concerns that higher inflation may trigger a decline in spending. Data released on Friday showed that household spending fell 4.6% in April, compared to a year earlier. That follows a 4.4% decline in retail sales during the month. However, analysts said the decline in spending was in part due to consumers rushing to make purchases ahead of the tax rise.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27615551

2 India mulls 100% FDI in defence ventures (Santanu Choudhury & Rajesh Roy in The Wall Street Journal) India's Trade Ministry has proposed opening the country's defense industry to more foreign investment, a senior ministry official said. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has circulated a note among ministries which recommends allowing 100% foreign ownership in defense ventures in India. Foreign companies are currently permitted to own only up to 26% stakes in defense companies.

"The rationale behind this proposal is to give a boost to the manufacturing sector," said the official, who asked not to be named. Under the proposal, foreign defense companies would only be allowed full ownership of ventures in India if they promised "full transfer of technology and state-of-the-art technologies".

After discussion among ministries, including defense and finance, the proposal will be modified or rejected. If accepted, it will be sent to the cabinet for approval.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/india-ministry-proposes-opening-defense-to-investment-1401432099?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303633604579593254247920622.html

3 Importance of a T-shaped career (Kim Thompson in San Francisco Chronicle) T-Shaped skills is not a new concept in the marketplace. The idea was first mentioned by David Guest in the early ’90s when talking about the future of computer jobs. It was Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO design firm, however, who successfully brought the T-shaped hypothesis to the hiring process.

A T-shaped skill description is a metaphor for visualizing a person’s skills using the vertical stem as the depth of their expertise and the horizontal cross bar as their ability to effectively collaborate with others across the board. According to Brown, collaboration skills are key in bringing interdisciplinary teams together to create new ideas.

For example, when Brown interviews candidates, he listens to how they describe their collaboration skills in working with others, “If all the candidate talks about is what they have done, that’s a problem. The right person for us will talk about how other people have helped them do what they have done.”

The reason why T-shaped skills are so crucial to your career path is because the link between constant changes in the business market and diverse work teams. The new hiring strategies are based on skills that represent the depth and breadth of the value you bring to the organization. Decision-makers are looking for well-rounded candidates who possess both technical and soft skills.

Employers are facing hiring challenges every day because the marketplace is demanding cross functional skill sets with a broad scope of abilities. Universities know this as well. The Stanford Technology Ventures Program teaches entrepreneurial skills to its science and engineering students.

http://blog.sfgate.com/gettowork/2014/05/22/is-your-career-t-shaped/?cmpid=hp-hc-jobs