Judo Business Strategy: Techniques for Beating a Stronger Opponent

The idea of judo economics, building on analogies with the sport of judo, has been around for at least 20 years. But taking these ideas further to judo strategy means that a framework of strategic principles can be developed to help companies put stronger opponents on the mat.

One important not judo business technology is “If a challenger tries to capture the entire market, the incumbent will fight back – and probably win”

The following tactics can be used in a Judo Business Strategy:

 Technique no. 1: the “puppy dog ploy”

In any kind of competition, your first goal is to stay in the game. So judo strategy counsels’ challengers to keep a low profile and avoid head-to-head battles that they’re too weak to win. This advice goes against the grain for many managers. In a crowded marketplace, it’s often said, you have to shout to be heard.

Technique no. 2: define the competitive space

While the puppy dog ploy is largely about defense, with this next technique, offence comes into play. Here’s where you seize the initiative by defining a competitive space where you can take the lead. Most champions rise to the top by learning to excel at a few key skills – shoulder throws, for example, or cutting costs.

Technique no. 3: follow-through fast

By combining the first two movement techniques, you create a window of opportunity. Next, you need to use this opening to strengthen your position through continuous attack. One day soon – and these days, that’s sooner than ever – your competitors will see through the puppy dog ploy, rise to the challenges of a new competitive space and seek to bring the advantages of superior size and strength into play.

Technique no. 4: grip your opponent

By gripping an opponent early, you may succeed in pre-empting competition: securing victory, in essence, by making it unnecessary to fight. You can also build relationships with current or future rivals that limit their room for manoeuvre or allow you to benefit at their expense. Both moves will undercut their future ability to attack.

Technique no. 5: avoid tit-for-tat

Through gripping you can sometimes alter a competitor’s incentives sufficiently to head off a battle. Often, however, despite your best efforts, a rival company will eventually decide to attack. Once this happens, keeping your balance is a challenge.

Technique no. 6: push when pulled

Gripping your opponent and avoiding tit-for-tat help you minimise the prospect or impact of a competitor’s attack. With push when pulled, you go one step further by using your opponent’s force or momentum to your advantage.

Judo Business Strategy

Judo Business Strategy

A plan for managing a company by using speed and agility to mitigate the effect of its competitors, as well as to anticipate and take advantage of changes in the market through new product offerings. The judo business strategy consists of three components: Movement (using the smaller size to act quickly and neutralize a larger competitor's advantages), balance (to absorb and counter the competitor's moves) and leverage (using the competitor's strengths against it).

“A judo combatant uses the weight and strength of his opponent to his own advantage rather than opposing blow directly to blow”

“What judo strategists try to avoid are sumo matches, in which combatants go head-to-head”

"The term has become popular in the small business community that a small company by the name of Judo Financial Consultants successfully adopted this strategy with its focus centered around 'movement, balance and leverage'. Although the company was later merged with another small firm, Infinitum, Inc., the model still remains intact as the size of the organization aligns directly with this strategy. Larger organizations in direct competition with Infinitum, Inc. will still have difficulty implementing this practice as Infinitum, Inc. can quickly accommodate other businesses by utilizing its collaborative outsourced services."

Judo Business Strategy: Techniques for Beating a Stronger Opponent

The idea of judo economics, building on analogies with the sport of judo, has been around for at least 20 years. But taking these ideas further to judo strategy means that a framework of strategic principles can be developed to help companies put stronger opponents on the mat.

One important not judo business technology is “If a challenger tries to capture the entire market, the incumbent will fight back – and probably win”

The following tactics can be used in a Judo Business Strategy:

 Technique no. 1: the “puppy dog ploy”

In any kind of competition, your first goal is to stay in the game. So judo strategy counsels’ challengers to keep a low profile and avoid head-to-head battles that they’re too weak to win. This advice goes against the grain for many managers. In a crowded marketplace, it’s often said, you have to shout to be heard.

Technique no. 2: define the competitive space

While the puppy dog ploy is largely about defense, with this next technique, offence comes into play. Here’s where you seize the initiative by defining a competitive space where you can take the lead. Most champions rise to the top by learning to excel at a few key skills – shoulder throws, for example, or cutting costs.

Technique no. 3: follow-through fast

By combining the first two movement techniques, you create a window of opportunity. Next, you need to use this opening to strengthen your position through continuous attack. One day soon – and these days, that’s sooner than ever – your competitors will see through the puppy dog ploy, rise to the challenges of a new competitive space and seek to bring the advantages of superior size and strength into play.

Technique no. 4: grip your opponent

By gripping an opponent early, you may succeed in pre-empting competition: securing victory, in essence, by making it unnecessary to fight. You can also build relationships with current or future rivals that limit their room for manoeuvre or allow you to benefit at their expense. Both moves will undercut their future ability to attack.

Technique no. 5: avoid tit-for-tat

Through gripping you can sometimes alter a competitor’s incentives sufficiently to head off a battle. Often, however, despite your best efforts, a rival company will eventually decide to attack. Once this happens, keeping your balance is a challenge.

Technique no. 6: push when pulled

Gripping your opponent and avoiding tit-for-tat help you minimise the prospect or impact of a competitor’s attack. With push when pulled, you go one step further by using your opponent’s force or momentum to your advantage.

All nations collect intelligence, Obama says

Magazine: U.S. bugged EU offices

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: The U.S. State Department says any talks with Europe on spying will be private
• President Obama says all nations, including European allies, spy on each other
• EU to sweep for bugs after news outlets report on alleged U.S. surveillance
• Der Spiegel reports that the U.S. bugged EU offices and infiltrated a computer network

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama responded to outrage by European leaders over revelations of alleged U.S. spying on them by saying Monday that all nations, including those expressing the strongest protests, collect intelligence on each other.

The German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday that classified leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden detailed NSA bugging of European Union offices in Washington and New York, as well as an "electronic eavesdropping operation" that tapped into an EU building in Brussels.

Mounting anger throughout Europe on Monday included a threat by French President Francois Hollande to halt talks with the United States on trade and other issues unless the bugging stopped.

U.S. and EU officials are scheduled to begin talks on a proposed trans-Atlantic free trade agreement next week.

The European Commission will sweep its offices for electronic listening devices and other security breaches, a spokeswoman said Monday.

Asked at a news conference in Tanzania about the latest leaks involving Snowden, Obama said he needed more information on the specific programs cited in the Der Spiegel report, but made clear such spying was commonplace.

 "I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders," Obama said. "That is how intelligence services operate."

Opinion: U.S. intelligence community is out of control

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the door on Monday to Snowden possibly staying in Russia. The admitted NSA leaker has been in the international transit lounge of the Moscow airport seeking asylum in Ecuador.

Snowden "must stop his work aimed at harming our American partners" if he wants to stay in Russia, Putin said. Previously, Putin had said Snowden should depart the airport for his final destination, wherever it might be.

Conflicting reports emerged Monday that Snowden was seeking asylum in Russia. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell was unable to provide clarity to reporters.

"We don't have information one way or another" about an asylum request for Russia, Ventrell said, later adding that Snowden "appears to still be in Russia and our position is the same that he should be expelled and returned home here to the U.S."

Obama said Monday that Snowden had traveled to Russia without a valid passport or legal papers, and he hoped that Moscow would handle the case as it would any other travel-related matter.

The president confirmed that the United States and Russia have had "high-level" discussions about Snowden, after an earlier report from Russia that the two nations' top law enforcement officials were working together to resolve the situation.

The new bugging controversy follows earlier European discontent over revelations of U.S. surveillance of overseas e-mails related to terrorism, as well as the collection of phone records as a database for further court-approved investigation.

Obama sought to distinguish between what he portrayed as normal intelligence-gathering and the specific anti-terrorism programs disclosed by Snowden's earlier leaks to The Guardian newspaper in London and the Washington Post.

In the end, he said, U.S. and European allies "work so closely together that there is almost no information that is not shared between our various countries."

Hollande, however, said bugging of EU offices went beyond the anti-terrorism programs previously revealed and must stop immediately before negotiations can go forward.

"We know that there are systems which have to control notably for the threat against terrorism, but I do not think that this is in our embassies or in the EU that this risks exist," he said.

READ: Europe furious, 'shocked' by report of U.S. spying

Der Spiegel reported the allegations Sunday, citing information from secret documents obtained by Snowden and "in part seen" by the news magazine.

In Brussels, Der Spiegel says, the agency targeted the Justus Lipsius Building, which houses the European Council and the EU Council of Ministers, the union's main decision-making and legislative body.

And in Washington, the magazine report claims, the NSA installed bugs in the European Union's building and infiltrated its computer network.

To Michael Hayden, a former director of the NSA and CIA, the report reflected the reality of international spying.

"Any European who wants to go out and rend their garments with regard to international espionage should look first and find out what their governments are doing," he told CBS on Sunday.

Obama declined to comment in-depth on the Der Spiegel article, saying his staff needs to analyze the report to figure out which, if any, U.S. surveillance programs it involved.

"When we have an answer we will make sure to provide all the information that our allies want in what exactly the allegations have been," he said.

Describing himself as "the end user of this kind of intelligence," Obama said he telephones Hollande or German Chancellor Angela Merkel or British Prime Minister David Cameron if he wants to know what they're thinking.

"Ultimately, you know, we work so closely together that there is almost no information that is not shared between our various countries," Obama said.

'Unbowed' Snowden seeks new havens

Reactions abroad

The reports elicited particular outrage in Germany, where Der Spiegel reported that NSA spying had targeted telephone and Internet connection data in Germany more than any other European nation.

Citing the Snowden documents, the news magazine reported that an average of up to 20 million phone connections and 10 million Internet data connections are surveyed daily. Der Spiegel noted that the intensity of surveillance puts the U.S. ally on par with China, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Merkel's spokesman, Steffan Seibert, cautioned Monday against taking the report as fact without further confirmation.

"If it is, though, confirmed that diplomatic representations of the EU and some European countries were spied upon, we have to say clearly: The bugging of friends is unacceptable," Seibert said. "That cannot happen at all. We are no longer in the Cold War."

The German and French foreign ministries planned to meet with the U.S. ambassadors to those countries to talk about the allegations.

The Italian Foreign Ministry called the reports "a very thorny affair," while European Parliament President Martin Schulz said Sunday he was "deeply worried and shocked" by the claims.

"If the allegations prove to be true, it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-U.S. relations," he said.

Another report Sunday claimed that surveillance extended beyond European offices.

The Guardian newspaper reported that one NSA document leaked by Snowden describes 38 embassies and missions as "targets" and details surveillance methods that include planting bugs in communications equipment and collecting transmissions with specialized antennae.

Targets included France, Italy, Greece, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, India and Turkey, according to The Guardian.

CNN has not independently confirmed the allegations in the reports from Der Spiegel and The Guardian.

What the U.S. has to say

The U.S. Director of National Intelligence's office declined to comment Sunday on specific allegations published in Der Spiegel.

Obama: Pay no attention to that man we can't capture

"The United States government will respond appropriately to the European Union through our diplomatic channels, and through the EU/U.S. experts' dialogue on intelligence that the U.S. proposed several weeks ago," the DNI office said in a statement. "We will also discuss these issues bilaterally with EU member states. While we are not going to comment publicly on specific alleged intelligence activities, as a matter of policy, we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations."

Ventrell referred to the DNI statement Monday, repeatedly telling reporters that the United States would deal directly with European allies on the matter instead of making public statements.

U.S. asks Ecuador to reject any asylum request from Snowden

Snowden has revealed himself as the source of documents outlining a massive effort by the NSA to track cell phone calls and monitor the e-mail and Internet traffic of virtually all Americans.

Now Snowden faces espionage charges in the United States and was seeking asylum from Ecuador.

Vice President Joe Biden asked Ecuador "to please reject" the request for asylum, according to Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa.

Father proposes deal for Snowden's voluntary return

Snowden and his asylum bid

On Saturday night, Correa said the ball was in Russia's court.

"In order to process this request, he needs to be in Ecuadorian territory," Correa said in an interview with Ecuador's Oromar TV on Saturday night. "At this point, the solution for Snowden's final destination is in the hands of the Russian authorities."

Why we're all stuck in the digital transit zone with Snowden

NSA violated phone rules, misinformed secret court, documents show

 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Newly released documents show the National Security Agency violated phone-records rules
• Papers: NSA also submitted incorrect information to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
• The papers were released to comply with ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation requests
• The court required the NSA to seek approval to query data until processes were improved

Washington (CNN) -- The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has released approximately 1,800 pages of documents that shed more light on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

The documents indicate that the National Security Agency violated its own internal guidelines relating to phone numbers it can "query" from among records the agency collects.

Moreover, the documents indicate that the NSA presented false information to the surveillance court about the violation.

"The people responsible for authoring the report did not fully understand how the operation was working," a senior intelligence official said. "That misrepresentation resulted in a factually inaccurate report."

Opinion: What the government is hiding from you

The documents satisfy a judge's order pertaining to public records requests from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy advocacy group, about FISA Court interpretations of the section of the Patriot Act dealing with collecting metadata, the so-called business records provision.

The metadata program started in 2006 and allowed the NSA to seek to obtain more information about a number if there was "reasonable articulable suspicion" that the number was linked to terrorism.

The NSA also kept a separate "alert list" that was used to compare the new numbers that were coming in daily and consider whether new numbers should be added to the category of those with "reasonable articulable suspicion."

The alert list started with about 4,000 numbers and ended up with 17,835, most of which did not have the required suspicion, officials say.

The court ruled that the NSA was allowed to have the alert list, but the agency could not run it against the larger database because it did not have the reasonable suspicion.

Every day, phone companies sent metadata, which went into an archive. But each day, the NSA ran the alert list against the new information to see if it could establish reasonable suspicion. This went on from May 2006 until January 2009.

"To further complicate matters," an official said, "reporting to the court, we described the alert list but did not describe (it) accurately."

NSA misrepresented scope of data collection to secret court

Senior intelligence officials attempted to assure reporters that the news was not so much the compliance violation, but the fact that the NSA uncovered the problem, reported it to the Justice Department and the FISA Court, "took steps thereafter to do a thorough scrub of operations," and reported back to the FISA Court after the changes had been made.

In one declassified order from March 2009, Judge Reggie Walton said the court would "not permit the government to access the data collected until such time as the government is able to restore the court's confidence that the government can and will comply with previously approved procedures for accessing such data."

A senior intelligence official noted "fairly strong language" by the court, but stressed that it did not find any "intentional attempt" to violate the law or abuse the program.

Because there was such confusion about the program, the NSA instituted new steps to guard against future violations, including adding a compliance director, the officials said.

One official said this proved that there was "effective oversight by the executive branch and the court. NSA is not perfect and screws up from time to time." But there never has been any indication that these programs have been abused by spying for improper purposes or exceeding guidelines with improper authority, he said.

The officials said they did not know of any NSA employee who was punished or fired as a result of the problem.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in a statement that the incidents were promptly reported to the court, which ordered NSA to seek its approval to query metadata on a case-by-case basis, except when lives were under imminent threat.

"The documents released today are a testament to the government's strong commitment to detecting, correcting, and reporting mistakes that occur in implementing technologically complex intelligence collection activities, and to continually improving its oversight and compliance processes," he said.

Court renews secret U.S. surveillance program

Human-animal conflict leaps up in India

In Assam state, development and habitat loss are forcing wildlife into urban areas.

Rapid-rescue teams in Assam capture wild animals that have strayed into human settlements [Nupur/IFAW-WTI]

Guwahati, India - Each time the sepia-coloured snake hisses, Pronita Kashyap says, "Aastik, Aastik, Aastik" - a prayer to the Hindu serpent goddess and her son. Sweaty and jittery, she explains, "It is said that snakes kill by fate and tigers by chase". When the snake coils and recoils at the corner of a squat toilet, Kashyap sprinkles smashed garlic and sprays a disinfectant on the floor, hoping to drive the half-metre-long intruder from her home. Stick in hand, she calls the state animal zoo - but there's no response. About half an hour later, the snake slithers out through the window into the garden. Kashyap keeps watching until the weeds and reeds stop quivering. As forest cover shrinks in India's northeastern state of Assam, sightings of wild animals have become increasingly common. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 290 people were killed by animals in Assam from 2009-11 - second only to Maharashtra state. Human-animal conflict is widespread in rural areas in Asia and Africa, but habitat loss and development in places like Assam have put more people in urban areas at risk. In the past few years, reports have abounded of pythons entering bathrooms and bedrooms, sambar deers running through courtyards, clouded leopards sneaking into backyards at night and carrying off livestock or pets. Pangolins, jungle cats, civet cats, foxes and wild boars repeatedly stray onto the lanes and bylanes of Guwahati, the capital. Monkeys running amok in kitchens is a routine occurrence in hillside areas. Outside of the city, elephants, tigers, one-horned rhinos and gaur, the Indian bison, are occasionally spotted. These human-animal encounters often result in panic, fracas and bloodshed. Shrinking habitat As man encroaches on wilderness, the wild strays into urban settlements. This is not an overnight development, says Jayanta Sarma, an environmental consultant. The Assam state zoo has rescued 324 animals from in and around Guwahati, the capital, from April 2012 to March 2013 [Sashanka/IFAW-WTI] Assam's population swelled from 14 million in 1971 to 31 million in 2011. Frenzied urbanisation gobbled up 30 percent of the state's forestland. Nationally, Assam has the most forestland under encroachment. "There has been a prolonged conflict between so-called development and conservation of wildlife," explains Sarma. The line between urban, rural and jungle is becoming blurry in Assam, a tropical biodiversity hotspot. Illegal deforestation, logging, earth-cutting and extension of residential settlements and croplands into reserved forests and hillocks have reduced the natural habitat of animals, forcing animals to wander around in search of food. When stray wild animals devour domestic ones, there is no compensation for owners. When vengeful crowds slay feral animals, there is no punishment, encouraging such killings, adds Sarma. Rescue teams Between April 2012 and March 2013, the Assam state zoo has rescued 324 animals from in and around Guwahati, the capital, according to Dr M L Smith, a forest veterinary officer. Of these, 54 died, 45 were exhibited at zoos and 225 were released in protected areas. The zoo has no specific rescue team, and the officials, animal-keeper and veterinary doctors respond to distress calls. Many animals die during rescue attempts or from being trapped in wells; one leopard died from an overdose of tranquiliser. Irate locals have killed many straying animals with rocks, axes or bamboo poles. In March 2012, mobs butchered two leopards - one in Kamrup and the other in Dibrugarh district - and feasted on their meat. In January, the state government announced the deployment of rapid-rescue teams in 15 districts. "None of the teams are operational," says Anjan Talukdar, a veterinarian at IFAW-WTI, Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, based in Kaziranga. He says media - particularly television channels - provoke the crowds and cause a nuisance. "At least 1,000 people gather out of curiosity and it hampers the rescue operation," he explains. The IFAW-WTI centre has five mobile teams and has rescued more than 3,306 animals in the last 10 years in Assam and released 1,854, according to Rathin Barman, the coordinator of the centre. It receives an average of 30 calls a month and during monsoon season about 200. No winner in this tussle Feverish urbanisation has muddled the food chain and positioned man in the path of animals' migration routes, says Rajib Rudra Tariang, a professor of zoology at Digboi College. "Now there is more collision and people have become volatile," he explains. The close encounters have left residents of Assam wary. A muddy road leads to Mridula Borah's house, perched on the foothills of Durga Sarobar in Guwahati. A few years ago, the hill was covered with dense forests, but now it is a haphazard patchwork of ranch-style houses, clusters of trees and large egg-shaped rocks. "We regularly hear the roar of leopards at night, and there is a strong musky smell," Borah says. Once the street was full of stray dogs, but now there are none. The community has started keeping pets indoors after many were killed. Borah's two-year-old cocker spaniel, Olive, was taken one night. In the morning, Borah found dried blood and leopard pawmarks on the soft, red soil. This story has been written under the aegis of the CSE Media Fellowships.

BP sues US government over contract ban

Company says ban unfairly includes 21 of its subsidiaries that were not linked to fatal Deepwater Horizon blast in 2010.

BP agreed to pay a record $4.5bn last November to settle criminal charges arising from the case [File: EPA]

British energy giant BP is suing the US government for banning it from federal contracts after the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, documents showed. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year barred BP from competing for new federal contracts following the catastrophic accident three years ago, which left 11 people dead and sent millions of barrels of oil churning into the Gulf. The EPA decision, citing BP's "lack of business integrity," came after BP agreed to pay a record $4.5bn last November to settle criminal charges arising from the case. The lawsuit filed this week by BP in federal court in Texas has challenged the EPA ban, arguing it surpassed the agency's authority and constituted an abuse of power. "EPA's decision to suspend did not address the overwhelming evidence and record of BP's present responsibility as a government contractor and leaseholder," the lawsuit documents stated. It "did not attempt to explain how or why immediate suspension was necessary to protect the public interest, as federal law requires". BP argued that the company has already been punished for the oil spill and faces "irreparable harm" if the bans are not lifted. 'Abuse of EPA's discretion' The British energy giant has paid several billion dollars in various settlements since the disaster. It labelled the EPA's action "punitive, arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of EPA's discretion". Around 4.9 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf over a three-month period following the April 2010 explosion aboard the offshore rig, devastating the region's environment and economy. BP has resolved thousands of lawsuits linked to the disaster out of court, including the record $4.5bn deal with the US government to settle criminal charges, and a $7.8bn settlement with people and businesses affected by the spill. BP spent more than $14bn on the response and cleanup and paid another $10bn to businesses, individuals and local governments that did not join the class action lawsuit. It remains on the hook for billions in additional damages, including the cost of environmental rehabilitation. A civil trial which got under way in Louisiana earlier this year could result in BP having to pay billions of dollars in environmental fines if the Justice Department proves that gross negligence led to the accident.

Brazil makes $60 billion bid to halt currency slide

Brazil's central bank says it will launch a $60 billion program to support the real.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Brazil's central bank said Friday it will launch a $60 billion program to halt a slide in its currency, which has fallen in recent days to its lowest level since 2008.

The series of currency swaps and loans, worth $3 billion per week, will be carried out on a regular schedule for the remainder of the calendar year.

The bank, which previously announced a smaller intervention, said in a statement that it reserves the right to perform additional operations if appropriate.
The move comes as talk of tighter U.S. monetary policy has seen some investors pull out of emerging markets in recent months.
The Fed has bought some $3 trillion worth of assets since it launched quantitative easing in 2008. Much of that money has found its way into stocks in developing economies as investors ventured into more risky assets.
Related story: Fed provokes run for the hills ... in China and India
With investors now pulling out, currencies in countries like India and Indonesia have touched fresh lows in recent days. Brazil's currency, the real, had been trading at around 2.00 against the dollar as recently as April, but now stands at 2.44.
The sudden decline in the real's value raises the prospect of further inflation, which is already racing above an annual rate of 6% -- and perilously close to the government's 6.5% target ceiling.
Adding to worries, the country's Bovespa index has been among the world's worst performers, losing more than 15% of its value since January. The implosion of parts of Brazilian entrepreneur Eike Batista's industrial group has contributed to the stock market slide.
Related story: BRIC markets left in the dust
The bid to stem the real's decline is likely to give policymakers in Brazil a nasty case of whiplash.
Not long ago, some Brazilian politicians were accusing wealthier countries of waging a currency war as low interest rates sent investors to emerging markets in search of higher returns, pushing their currencies up and making life more difficult for exporters.
But those concerns have been replaced by worries about a flight of capital. Brazil's economy has cooled off from a torrid pace in the past few years as domestic consumption has not made up for the decline in demand for natural resources. The International Monetary Fund has cut its outlook for Brazilian growth this year to 2.5%, down from 3.0% in April.
The government, meanwhile, has ramped up infrastructure spending as Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.
That hasn't been enough to offset the impact of the slowdown in commodity prices and is putting a strain on the government's finances.