Epic nights are here🌌 - Issue #2

Business

Private sector credit passes N$100 billion mark

According to Simonis Storm Securities, this follows the latest data point of 4,2% year-on-year (y/y) credit growth in December 2022, compared to 3,7% y/y in November 2022.“Credit growth in 2022 exceeded the annual average credit growth in the last two years and was mainly supported by credit uptake by corporates, which averaged 4,6% in 2022, compared to 2,9% for households,” said the analysts.This in turn has led to an increase in debt stock, where household debt is recorded at N$64,7 billion in December 2022, corporate debt (N$45,8 billion) and non-resident debt (N$7,6 billion).Corporate credit growth in December 2022 was mainly supported by higher demand for short-term credit facilities by firms in the energy and services sectors, according to the Bank of Namibia.Debt by non-residents – both foreign individuals and foreign firms – increased from about N$377 million in December 2021 to N$7,6 billion in December 2022, rising 1,927% y/y.“This coincides with a significant rise in foreign direct investment that has been recorded for the first half of 2022.Credit - Matthew Dlamini/ The Namibian

U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

The U.S. military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had been transiting across the country for several days.

In a statement Saturday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said a U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the balloon at the direction of President Joe Biden. Lloyd said the balloon was being used by the People’s Republic of China “in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.”

Biden gave authorization on Wednesday to take down the balloon as soon as it could be done “without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path,” Lloyd said.

“In accordance with the President’s direction, the Department of Defense developed options to take down the balloon safely over our territorial waters, while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities,” he said in the statement.

Credit - Ashley Capoot/ CNBC

Technology

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked - The S23 series

What you should know about the S23 Ultra:

• All S23 Ultra models ship with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip (no more Exynos)

• New 200MP main camera, improvements to the other cameras

• 256GB base storage (double than before)

• Big improvement in loudspeaker quality

• 8K30 video now with less crop

• Gorilla Glass Victus 2

• Battery size unchanged, but battery life has improved

• Same charging speeds

Display

Samsung is the market leader in display technology, so it's no surprise that the screen on the S23 Ultra looks exquisite, but again, so did the one on the S22 Ultra. The main advantage here is just the size: it's a massive 6.8-inch screen with a wider aspect ratio and bigger screen real estate than most other phones, which makes it more comfortable for media consumption.

Cameras

After three years of using a 108MP sensor for the main camera, Samsung is making the jump to an impressive new 200MP sensor. 200 megapixels sounds crazy! And it is, but the reason you should be impressed is not because of the detail alone. In fact, most people might never actually use the full resolution and by default Samsung uses pixel binning and by combining 16 pixels into one super-pixel, you still get 12MP photos by default. But thanks to that pixel binning trick, Samsung is able to clear out noise and deliver outstanding night shots.

Enthusiasts also finally get the ExpertRAW mode baked right in the camera app. ExpertRAW on the S23 Ultra is more powerful than the regular "Pro" mode because it not only gives you manual camera controls, but also allows you to shoot RAW files with multi-frame exposures. New this year is a 50-megapixel RAW file option, which won't take up as much space as a 200-megapixel file, but which still provides a lot more detail than the default 12MP shot.

Gaming and Performance

Built on the latest and most efficient 4 nanometer technology, it is a huge improvement particularly for gamers. The GPU in this new chip actually is on par or even better than the one in iPhones, which used to lead the market for a few years.

While the chip enables all sorts of fancy tech like Wi-Fi 7 and 4K120 video, not all of them actually make it to the Galaxy. For example, the S23 Ultra still supports only Wi-Fi 6E and 4K60 video recording, so there is that.

Credit - Phone Arena

Personal Development

How to deal with a panic attack at work

If you deal with panic disorder, you can be prepared in the event of an attack at work. Start by recognising the early signs. Some common ones include palpitations or increased heart rate, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, feelings of choking, chest pain, nausea or abdominal distress, and feelings of dizziness.If you're feeling any of these symptoms, first, take a deep breath. Know that they may be unpleasant, but they will pass. Next, try self-soothing techniques, which activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the network of nerves in your body that help you relax, especially after stressful episodes).You can do this by practising “square breathing” – breathing in for four seconds, holding your breath for four, exhaling for four, and holding again for four – until you feel calmer. Another way to do this is to mindfully reflect on your physical experience in the moment. Visualise yourself in a peaceful environment, and let the thoughts pass.

Credit - Desmond/The Namibian

“One of the best guides to how to be self-loving is to give ourselves the love we are often dreaming about receiving from others.” - Bell Hooks