Morning! If you are a millennial, we are sending you a virtual hug because you might need it after reading this issue. What we have for you this Tuesday:

• What Amazon is doing for the movie theatre industry

• Why the romance between low gas supply and winters in Pakistan will be strong this winter too

• How the tech industry seems to get the worst of the economy

• Pak's plan to launch its own digital currency

- The Itla Squad

Business

Global 🌎

Amazon to Cinema Industry: ♪ I'll be there for you ♪

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Time to fully push the resume button on all the cinema plans you used to make before 2020. The cinema industry seems to get a new life after a report claimed that Amazon plans to spend around $1 billion a year on theatrical film releases. The stocks also seem to celebrate this as Cinemark jumped 11% on the news, with IMAX up 7% and AMC up 5%.

This certainly is a relief after the industry was one of the most affected industries due to the pandemic. While the industry saw success from many blockbuster movies this year, the slow production pipeline in 2020 and 2021 negatively impacted the steady movie content we all were used to before COVID-19.

TLDR: A report claiming Amazon planning to spend $1 billion a year on theatrical film releases boosts up the cinema's stocks. The movie theatre industry struggled in the wake of the pandemic as cinemas shut down in 2020.

What else is new in news

✶ Russian price cap proposal helps ease the worry of a supply shortage in global oil markets.

✶ Picture Cristiano Ronaldo playing for a Saudi Pro League team. That image might become a reality as it's part of the latest sporting ambitions for the kingdom.

Local 🇵🇰

Low gas supply 🤝 Winters in Pakistan

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Get ready to eat tandoor naans more than usual these winters as Pakistan’s invitations to bids for LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) long-term contracts have not received any takers. One of the reasons reported for this is tight international market conditions.

It's a rich man's world: The big boys like China and Germany will be able to keep themselves warm in the harsh winter season. Germany partnering with the Middle East at record prices touching $40 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) and China's LNG deal with Qatar didn't leave much for the underdogs like Pakistan.

But it will get better, right? Umm.. maybe not. The government previously decided on revising consumer gas prices by more than what has been suggested by authorities to help with the gas supply. While gas prices may well have increased, its availability still proves to be a disappointment.

News Flash

✶Pakistan’s currency is among the 7 currencies that are now at a high risk of currency crises.

✶FID (foreign direct investment) continues to be a challenge for Pakistan.

Tech

Global 🌎

This economy isn’t gonna get better anytime soon

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If you are a millennial in this economy, sucks to be you (if the pandemic was not enough). American venture capitalist Doug Leone says that today's economy might prove to be worse than recessions in 2000 and 2008. Leone highlighted the global rise in interest rates, the energy crisis, and issues of geopolitical challenges as the reasons for the direness of today’s economic situation.

The tech mess: We saw its onset as tech leaders and investors previously have had to deal with higher interest rates and struggling macroeconomic conditions, resulting in mass laying off in leading tech companies. The Nasdaq, which is known to be a tech-heavy index, is down nearly 30% year-to-date signaling a decline in the high-growth tech stocks. With Leone not giving any good news, he further added he doesn’t expect tech company valuations to recover until at least 2024.

TLDR: Billionaire VC Doug Leone says today’s economic downturn was “more difficult and more challenging” than recessions in 2000 and 2008. Its impact on the tech industry has resulted in higher interest rates and deteriorating macroeconomic conditions.

What else is new in news

✶ A potential break-up between Twitter & Apple might be in the process because of Musk’s big plans for Twitter 2.0 as Musk questioned the “high” app store fees that the store charges to the company.

✶ Workers smashed surveillance cameras and clashed with security personnel in a protest at the world's biggest iPhone plant in Zhengzhou city, China, over wage issues.

Local 🇵🇰

Pakistan launching its own digital currency? We are as surprised as you

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The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor Jameel Ahmed reveals that SBP is weighing the cost and benefits of launching the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

Is CBDC like crypto? Yes and no. Like cryptocurrency, CBDCs are digital tokens and are the digital form of a country's fiat currency. However, a CBDC is issued and regulated by a nation's central bank or monetary authority, unlike cryptocurrency.

Like most things, Pakistan is late to this party too. It is reported that fifty nations are already in the development, pilot, or launch stages of their exploration. Moreover, ten nations have fully launched digital currencies, with China expanding its pilot program in 2023.

Zooming out: What’s the big deal about digital currency? Many factors. With only 82 million out of an estimated 132 million adults having a bank account in Pakistan, digital currency becomes "handy" as the wallets for digital currency do not require bank accounts. This helps with the financial inclusion of the people. Moreover, digital currencies can also result in faster and cheaper payments, reduced delays and costs related to the storage of physical cash, and encourage the formalization of the economy.

Tech Tour of News

✶ Google And TikTok are soon to open their offices in Islamabad.

✶ Pak-Cheen dosti comes to the rescue of the climate change disaster in Pakistan with both countries partnering up to build a high-tech environmental observatory - a system that will inform about disasters such as floods, droughts, and cyclones - in Peshawar.

More Interesting Itla we consumed:

⚽ Maybe Maths wasn't as useless as we thought in school. A mathematical model from University of Oxford predicts the path of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with Brazil winning against Belgium in the final

🍃 Good news for Pakistan and other developing countries as COP27 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) reaches a landmark agreement of creating a new "Loss and Damage" Fund