Wish you a Happy New Year!
1 China manufacturing shrinks (BBC) China's
manufacturing activity shrank for the first time in seven months in December, a
private survey has shown. The final HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index
(PMI) was at 49.6, just below the 50 level that separates growth from
contraction in the sector.
The most recent data paints an even weaker picture
of the slowing Chinese economy, which has been heralded as the "factory of
the world". New factory orders contracted for the first time since April. The
economic data also backs the series of surprising moves by its government to
boost growth in the past two months.
In November, the country's central bank unexpectedly
cut interest rates to 2.75% for first time since 2012 in an attempt to revive
the economy. Whether the world's second biggest economy will be able to reach
its growth target of 7.5% after not missing the mark for 15 years has
economists questioning if more needs to be done by policymakers.
2 On New Year’s Eve, 2,300 redundancies at UK’s City
Link (Rupert Neate & Sarah Butler in The Guardian) More than 2,300 City Link
workers who discovered their employer was going bust on Christmas Day were made
redundant on New Year’s Eve. The administrators of the delivery company owned
by multimillionaire Tory donor Jon Moulton made 2,356 employees redundant at
4.30pm on Wednesday.
Moulton, whose Better Capital private equity firm
bought City Link for £1 in 2013, said he had done everything he could to keep
the company going and was very sorry that the collapse ruined Christmas and New
Year for so many people. Moulton, who donated £450,000 to the Conservatives
between 2004 and 2011, said Better Capital had probably lost about £20m trying
to keep City Link going.
The redundancies came despite a last-minute bid to
save the company. The administrators said the unnamed consortium’s bid “offered
no money up front and significantly undervalued the assets to be acquired”. Courier
company APC Overnight said it would give priority to City Link staff in filling
up to 100 vacancies at its national sorting centre. On top of the 2,356 City
Link redundancies, 1,000 self-employed drivers face serious financial
difficulties with some small businesses owed up to £21,000 in back pay.
3 Beware smiling too much at interview (Belo
Cipriani in San Francisco Chronicle) According to a study released by
Northeastern University, flashing your pearly whites too many times during an
interview could work against you. The research points out that over smiling can
come across as not serious—giving the impression that you cannot handle the job
responsibilities.
The data also shows that there is a difference in
smiling expectations from jobs perceived as more social to those that are seen
as more serious. For example, a bubbly grin will sit better with a manager
looking to hire a sales person than for someone looking to employ a news
reporter.
The Northeastern study confirms something that recruiters
and hiring managers have known for a long time: Too much of anything never
works and it’s easy to spot someone who is not being authentic. The purpose of
smiling is to greet someone and to help make a connection; however, if done
repeatedly during an interview, then the gesture loses its value. Additionally,
it may suggest that the over happy person is nervous or, worse, that they are
being dishonest.
The study recommends smiling should occur mostly at
the start of the interview and towards the end; something I completely agree
with, because this is the more natural way to connect with someone. And, in the
end, breaking too far away from social expectations can be problematic in an
interview.
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