Arirang News2023.2.6---2085年韓國老年貧困率或達近30%
3 out of 10 South Koreans born in 2020 may experience poverty when they turn 65.
According to National Pension Research Institute on Sunday, the elderly poverty rate will reach nearly 30 percent in 2085, twice the average rate estimate in other OECD countries.
The institute largely attributed this to what it called meager public transfer income or payments from the state.
As of 2020, payments from the government only accounted for 25-point-5 percent of elderly income, which is lower than the 60 percent figure in other OECD countries such as Japan.
If the Yoon administration's pledge to raise basic pensions for seniors by some 3-hundred-20 U.S. dollars is carried out, the old-age poverty rate will be roughly 25 percent in 2085.
Arirang News2023.2.2---美聯儲小幅加息 0.25%p.但仍預計持續加息
We start in the U.S. where the Federal Open Market Committee took a widely expected baby step, lifting interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point thanks to some encouraging signs in the U.S. economy.
But it says the job's not fully done, signaling further rate hikes to come.
Shin Se-byuck leads us our coverage this morning.
The Federal Reserve has once again slowed its target interest rate increase as it raised policy rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday.
But, it hinted at further hikes to come.
"Today, the FOMC raised our policy rates by 25bps. We continue to anticipate that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate in order to attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2 percent over time."
The "baby step" hike matches market expectations.
Last year alone, the Fed increased policy rates seven times, making it the fastest increase since the 1980s.
Accordingly, the US benchmark interest rate jumped to a range of 4-point-5 to 4-point-7-5 percent.
The Fed's latest decision comes amid two encouraging wage growth and inflation trends in the U.S. late last year after inflation soared to 9-point-1 percent in June, a level not seen in over 40 years.
After taking four consecutive 'giant steps' of 75 bp rate hikes from June to November last year,.. the Fed slowed the pace to 50 last month.
Still, Fed officials signaled there's still a long way to combat inflation.
"While recent developments are certainly encouraging, we'll need substantially more evidence to be confident that inflation is on a sustained, downward path."
The latest statement assessed the current inflation situation as eased but still elevated.
Powell also warned that the job is "not fully done", as he said he doesn't expect rate cuts this year.
With Wednesday's announcement, the interest rate gap to Korea widened to as much as 1-point-2-5 percentage points the largest gap in over 22 years.
Shin Se-byuck, Arirang News.
Arirang News2023.1.26---訂閱經濟擴展到從食品、視頻內容到汽車等各種行業
It's time for our regular economy segment.
Traditionally, subscription services referred mostly to newspapers and magazines but nowadays, it's more than that.
Demand for subscription is high for video content, music streaming platforms, and even computer software.
For more on 'subscription economy', we have our business correspondent Lee Rae-hyun here with us in the studio.
Good to see you, Rae-hyun.
Good evening, Jung-min.
So, tell us more about the subscription economy what is it and why is it so important to businesses?
Right, the term subscription economy might be unfamiliar to some, but I'm pretty sure many people have used it at least once.
It's a growing business landscape in which traditional pay-per-product or service companies are moving toward subscription-based business models.
It involves selling recurring subscriptions to consumers in exchange for access to a product or service over time.
So basically, it's about access, not ownership.
Credit Suisse says the subscription economy market size grew to 530 billion U.S. dollars in 2020 from 420 billion in 2015.
And it's expected that 75 percent of global manufacturing companies will provide the service this year.
Along with this, this service is now expanding into a variety of industries in the current era of digital transformation.
Amazon on Wednesday started a subscription service that allows premium members in the U.S. to purchase multiple drugs for a flat fee of 5 dollars a month, the e-commerce giant’s latest foray into health care.
Car companies, too are getting in on the act as Hyundai Motor introduced a program in South Korea and other countries including Spain and the UK that allows customers access to one car out of 6 options with a monthly subscription fee of a little over 800 dollars.
OTT businesses, including Netflix, are noticeable, as leading video content industries and are seeing exponential growth since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Netflix saw a drop in the number of subscribers last year, largely due to increased membership fees some experts forecast that as the demand for video content continues to rise, the company's profits may recover this year.
They also say that as subscriptions are mostly automatically prepaid, companies can secure stable income until customers cancel their service.
Also, service providers can monitor consumer reactions based on a long-term relationship with them and use data to improve products and services.
Right, then how does this service benefit consumers?
Right, as you might have already guessed, most people are welcoming this new business model.
Using this kind of service, there's no need for consumers to spend a sizable amount of money at once.
Moreover, consumers can always access the latest product and services.
U.S.-based subscription billing platform eLabs says 78 percent of adults around the world were subscribed to a subscription service as of 2022.
That's quite a lot.
And this is what people had to say about the benefits of subscribing over owning a product or service.
"I subscribe to a video streaming service. I can reduce my time by accessing the service whenever I want."
"I subscribe to a salad delivery service. It's convenient when I'm busy and can't go to a store."
"I'm planning to get chicken breast delivered regularly. Subscription services are cheaper, and I get it delivered to my door by the time it runs out."
Right, and what's the outlook for the subscription economy?
Well, the service has now adopted AI technology to provide better choices for consumers.
For example, some video subscription services provide recommended videos based on users' histories.
Spotify the global audio streaming platform provides music playlists based on a technology that analyzes peoples' voices to detect their feelings.
It's expanding into the product delivery service, too, where it recommends books or drinks using an algorithm function that's based on a customer's gender and age.
Despite the development in technology, however, one expert says businesses should brace for difficulties, too.
Take a listen.
"As the economic slowdown continues, consumers tend to tighten their purse strings. The first thing they would likely do is cut their recurring payments for some subscriptions. But still, it's important for companies to adopt the subscription system in the long term, as the system is expanding into essential products and services."
So, there are concerns about subscription services in a volatile financial market.
But the expert says, letting consumers easily and conveniently cancel their subscriptions in this situation can be a good strategy that can lead to a positive corporate image, keeping consumers coming back in the future...
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