Mid-year outlook: How major brands fared Despite economic headwinds which assailed many businesses in the second half of the year, some corporate players within the commanding heights of the economy showed some positive level of resilience as well as raised the stakes for investors, Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf reports With the world still fighting to curb the spiraling effects of the newest strains of COVID-19 even on the back of the Russian and Ukrainian war, most economies are at the end of their tether and corporate organisations are also feeling the pinch. In the home front, businesses are not finding it any easier too as rising overhead costs fueled by a spike in inflation is having a rippled negative effect on their operations. A cursory review of the economic outlook for the second quarter of the first half of the year for most businesses including those within the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment, banking and financial services, telecoms sectors respectively, with the exception of a few, leaves nothing to cheer about as majority lamented the effect of the parlous state of the economy as it has weighed heavily on their operations.