SoftBank’s Japanese telecoms unit will receive the first chips using Nvidia’s (NVDA.O), opens new tab latest Blackwell design for its supercomputer, the California-based chip designer said, as Masayoshi Son looks to ride the artificial intelligence boom.
SoftBank Corp (9434.T), opens new tab is also planning to use Grace Blackwell chips for a further supercomputer, said Nvidia, which held an AI event in Tokyo on Wednesday featuring SoftBank Group (9984.T), opens new tab CEO Son and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Son is pushing to expand his conglomerate’s exposure to the AI wave, taking a stake in OpenAI and acquiring chip startup Graphcore, after a turbulent few years that forced the ebullient billionaire to retrench.
The two businessmen held a “fireside chat” at the event, with Jensen recalling Son had once offered to lend him money to buy Nvidia as its value was not understood by the market.
“He wanted to lend me money to buy Nvidia. All of it. Now I regret not taking it,” Huang said, laughing.
Son said the offer was made a month after he acquired chip designer Arm . The Japanese billionare later built and sold down a stake in Nvidia and attempted the sale of Arm to Huang’s company which foundered on regulatory hurdles.
Nvidia, once best known as a designer of graphic chips for gaming, has gone on to become the world’s most valuable company powered by insatiable demand for its chips.
While Son has built a reputation as a far-sighted investor with relationships with leading entrepreneurs and bets on companies such as Alibaba (9988.HK), opens new tab, he has also made high profile slips such as backing office space sharing firm WeWork.
The new-age tech will largely be used for reducing costs and increasing productivity by 18 per cent in the near future. IT leaders expect that GenAI will replace 3.8 per cent of headcount in 2024, 6.1 per cent in 2025, and 8.2 per cent in 2026.
Indian chief investment officers (CIOs) are expected to start allocating budgets for Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) from 2025, according to a forecast put out by management consulting firm Gartner Inc on Tuesday. This would mark the maturing of GenAI projects from an experimental stage to a more committed investment.
The new-age tech will largely be used for reducing costs and increasing productivity by 18 per cent in the near future. IT leaders expect that GenAI will replace 3.8 per cent of headcount in 2024, 6.1 per cent in 2025, and 8.2 per cent in 2026.
“Through 2028, AI specific expertise will demand a price premium of 5 per cent to 15 per cent over non-AI expertise, with the percentage varying across the different services markets,” added the report.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said that Tata Group will continue to be an important stakeholder in the state’s growth story.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said that Tata Group will continue to be an important stakeholder in the state’s growth story. This will include setting up an IT Development Centre in Vizag and building up to 20 hotels, among other initiatives.
The Chief Minister made this announcement following a meeting with Tata Group Executive Chairman N Chandrasekaran, where they discussed key growth areas for the southern state.
“Tata Group continues to be an important stakeholder in the growth of Andhra Pradesh. During my meeting with N Chandrasekaran today, I also discussed some key areas of growth in AP (Andhra Pradesh), where the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) and Tata Group could collaborate,” said Naidu in a post on X.
According to the CM, the development centre in Vizag could generate up to 10,000 jobs, while the hospitality wing of the conglomerate, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), is exploring the establishment of 20 hotels across its brands: Taj, Vivanta, Gateway, SeleQtions, and Ginger Hotels, along with a large convention centre.
In addition, Naidu said that Tata Power is evaluating solar and wind projects of up to 5 GW capacity, with a potential investment of Rs 40,000 crore.
“We also explored potential collaboration to innovate deep tech and AI solutions for primary healthcare,” he said, adding that these initiatives will play a crucial role in driving growth and development across Andhra Pradesh.
Budget 2025 Expectations: An amnesty scheme for customs, reduction in tax rates for individuals and Limited Liability Partnership firms, easier tax compliance, fast tracking of faceless appeals and a dedicated dispute resolution mechanism top India Inc’s wishlist for the next Budget submitted to the government.
Industry Bodies Submit Budget Recommendations for 2025
Representatives from all four key industry bodies, CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM and PHDCCI, have put forth detailed recommendations about the Budget, to be presented on February 1, 2025, in separate meetings held with top Finance Ministry officials.
FICCI’s Recommendations for an Amnesty Scheme Under Customs
Industry body FICCI sought the introduction of an “Amnesty Scheme under Customs” as a one-time settlement scheme to clear past dues, arguing that it will help the industry to reduce the baggage of litigation.
CII’s Focus on Tax System Reforms
CII also made a strong pitch for further reforms in the tax system, including through simplification of taxes, increasing India’s tax competitiveness, broadening of tax base and reducing tax litigation to build a globally competitive Indian economy.
ASSOCHAM’s Push for a Tax Amnesty Scheme
Similarly, Assocham has also pitched for the introduction of a comprehensive Tax Amnesty Scheme under Customs.
“A one-time settlement scheme to clear past litigations can be considered by the Government, on the lines similar to Sabka Vishwas Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2019 for pre-GST era indirect taxes and Vivad Se Vishwas for Income tax,” Assocham stated.
It suggested that the Government can provide relief to importers against all the disputes related to the Customs Act; Partial waiver of the duty in dispute depending on the quantum involved; and Complete waiver of interest and penalty.
Simplified Compliance and Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
Industry chambers have also demanded simplified compliance concerning TDS (tax deducted at source) and the introduction of a new independent Dispute Resolution forum for effective and time-bound dispute resolution.
FICCI’s Proposal to Support Women-Led Development
To enhance women-led development, FICCI urged the government to exempt reimbursement of daycare expenses from perquisite taxation.
Tesla’s (TSLA.O), opens new tab market value closed above the $1 trillion mark in a sharp rally on Friday, on expectations that CEO Elon Musk’s companies will get favorable treatment under President-elect Donald Trump for his extensive support during the poll campaign.
The electric automaker’s shares jumped 8.2% to $321.22, catapulting the company’s valuation above the trillion-dollar mark for the first time in more than two years.
The stock gained 29% this week, adding more than $230 billion in market capitalization, its best since January 2023.
“Tesla and CEO Elon Musk are perhaps the biggest winners from the election result, and we believe Trump’s victory will help expedite regulatory approval of the company’s autonomous driving technology,” said Garrett Nelson, senior equity analyst at CFRA Research.
The billionaire could push for favorable regulation of autonomous vehicles that Tesla plans and also get the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to hold off on potential enforcement actions involving the safety of Tesla’s current driver-assistance systems, a source had told Reuters.
Musk has focused on self-driving vehicle technology, ditching plans to build an economy car priced at under $30,000. However, development and regulatory hurdles have delayed the commercialization of such technologies.
“If Musk can convince Trump to establish federal autonomous vehicle rules, we think that’s a good thing for the auto industry because we think firms want one set of rules rather than each state making their own,” said David Whiston, equity strategist at Morningstar.
The food giant last year was selling 71 different versions of its Hormel Pepperoni brand. There was diced pepperoni. Turkey pepperoni. Mini-slices of turkey pepperoni. Pepperoni sticks. Pepperoni with 50% less sodium. Pepperoni with 25% less fat. Thick-sliced pepperoni. The list goes on.
But Hormel is removing, consolidating or repackaging 25% of the items as part of a company-wide strategy to prune unprofitable items across dozens of its brands like Spam, Applegate and Jennie-O, the company said in June. Around 80% of Hormel’s profit comes from a small number of products, like Hormel Bacon and Fire Braised-brand meats, while the rest of its tens of thousands of items often drive up costs and sit untouched in warehouses and on shelves for long periods.
Hormel is reviewing its product lineup to invest in items with higher profit margins, improve lower-performing items and “remove production complexity,” a spokesperson for Hormel told CNN.
That’s just one example of companies eliminating an endless assortment of products to boost profit. For consumers, it means that they now have fewer choices for everything from sneakers to toys to coffee.
It’s a reversal of years of companies trying to give customers unlimited choices and shelves getting more and more cluttered with dozens of variations of the same item.
Historically, brands wanted to broaden their choices to gain more shelf space at stores and react to the latest customer trends. But during the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, customer demand skyrocketed and global supply chains ground to a halt. Companies sped up production lines for their primary, top-selling items and ruthlessly pared down their niche offerings, a strategy known as “SKU rationalization.” Today, companies are thinning offerings because their sales volumes have dropped after years of raising prices. Food prices have gone up around 26% since 2020.
Since companies no longer can hike prices without pushing away customers, they are turning to cutting clunkers to maintain their profit, said Rob Wilson, a managing director at L.E.K. Consulting who works with brands and retailers.
“They can’t raise prices too much anymore, so this is where they go,” he said. Cutting products boosted companies’ profit margins by 0.9% compared to 2019, L.E.K. Consulting found in a study last year.
The more versions a brand offers, the higher their supply chain and distribution costs. With slimmer lineups, companies can narrow their advertising, distribution and sales efforts, focusing investments on a smaller number of items.
Too much mayo
Levi’s, Starbucks, Under Armour, Dollar General, Five Below, Hasbro, Hain Celestial and other companies are cutting down their choices.
Levi’s said in April that it cut 15% of clothing across its portfolio as part of its strategy to sell more clothing directly to consumers through its own stores and websites, a spokesperson told CNN.
Dollar General is taking about 10% of its products off shelves.
“We may have five or six different variants of mayonnaise on the shelf today. We can easily drop one or two of those. The consumer is not going to know the difference,” Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said last year in an earnings call. The strategy is going to make customers’ choices “a little simpler” and reduce re-stocking work for store employees, he said.
Dollar General did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Toy maker Hasbro has slashed around half of its products, which accounted for just 2% of the company’s revenue.
These products were “duplicative and unprofitable, clogging the network and creating cost for us and our retailers,” Hasbro finance chief Gina Goetter said earlier this year. The company, for example, would have a US version of a toy, a European version and a version for Asia, so it cut it down to one across the three regions, a Hasbro spokesperson told CNN.
Companies believe that reducing choices can make it simpler for overwhelmed consumers struggling to decide which type of toothpaste to buy, for example.
“In some places, that extra choice doesn’t make sense,” BJ’s Wholesale Club CEO Bob Eddy said last year. “There are only so many mint toothpastes you need.”
Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, 38, is the youngest on the list.
Bengaluru: HCL Technologies founder Shiv Nadar, 79, topped the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024 released on Thursday, for the third time in five years. He donated Rs 2,153 crore in the financial year ended March 2024.
Mukesh Ambani, 67, came second on the list with an annual donation of Rs 407 crore. Reliance Industries, which he and his family lead, contributed Rs 900 crore overall to CSR which surpasses their mandated amount by Rs 60 crore.
In the top ten, Infosys co-founders Nandan Nilekani and Rohini Nilekani are some prominent names from those based in Bengaluru.
Based on place of residence, Mumbai led with 30% of the list, followed by New Delhi which accounts for 19%, and then Bengaluru at 9%.
This year is “virtually certain” to eclipse 2023 as the world’s warmest since records began, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Thursday.
The data was released ahead of next week’s U.N. COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, where countries will try to agree a huge increase in funding to tackle climate change. Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election has dampened expectations for the talks.
C3S said that from January to October, the average global temperature had been so high that 2024 was sure to be the world’s hottest year – unless the temperature anomaly in the rest of the year plunged to near-zero.
“The fundamental, underpinning cause of this year’s record is climate change,” C3S Director Carlo Buontempo told Reuters.
“The climate is warming, generally. It’s warming in all continents, in all ocean basins. So we are bound to see those records being broken,” he said.
The scientists said 2024 will also be the first year in which the planet is more than 1.5C hotter than in the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period, when humans began burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale.
Carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal, oil and gas are the main cause of global warming.
Sonia Seneviratne, a climate scientist at public research university ETH Zurich, said she was not surprised by the milestone, and urged governments at COP29 to agree stronger action to wean their economies off CO2-emitting fossil fuels.
“The limits that were set in the Paris agreement are starting to crumble given the too-slow pace of climate action across the world,” Seneviratne said.
Countries agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to prevent global warming surpassing 1.5C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), to avoid its worst consequences.
The world has not breached that target – which refers to an average global temperature of 1.5C over decades – but C3S now expects the world to exceed the Paris goal around 2030.
Investigators searched the offices of U.S. streaming giant Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab in France and the Netherlands on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into tax fraud laundering, a French judicial source said.
The French investigation, carried out by the Parquet National Financier (PNF) – a special financial crime prosecution unit known for pursuing high-stakes white-collar probes that often involve large international companies – was opened in November 2022.
“We are cooperating with the authorities in France, where Netflix is a significant contributor to the local economy, and we comply with the tax laws and regulations in all the countries in which we operate,” a Netflix spokesperson told Reuters.
Investigators specialising in financial crime and corruption raided the company’s offices in central Paris on Tuesday morning.
Dutch authorities were simultaneously searching the company’s European headquarters in Amsterdam, the French judicial source said.
“Cooperation between the French and Dutch authorities has been under way for many months as part of these proceedings,” the French source said. The office of the Dutch prosecutor for financial crime declined to comment and referred questions to the PNF.
A preliminary investigation in France does not imply criminal charges and does not necessarily lead to a trial.
It was not immediately clear what prompted the investigation.
Corporate records reviewed by Reuters showed the revenue of Netflix’s French unit surged to around 1.2 billion euros in 2021, from 47 million the year before.
Netflix in France did not respond to a request for comment on the alleged reporting of revenues through Amsterdam rather than France in 2019 and 2020.
When Reuters reported in April that Tesla had scrapped plans for a long-promised, next-generation $25,000 electric vehicle, the automaker’s stock plunged. Chief Executive Elon Musk rushed to respond on X, his social-media network.
“Reuters is lying,” he posted, opens new tab, without elaborating. Tesla’s stock recovered some of its losses.
Six months later, Musk appears to have backed into an admission that Tesla dropped its plans for a human-driven $25,000 car. He said in an Oct. 23 earnings call that building the affordable EV would be “pointless” unless the car was fully autonomous.
His latest remarks came in response to an investor asking: “When can we expect Tesla to give us the $25,000 non-robotaxi regular car model?”
Musk responded: “We’re not making a non-robo…,” before he was interrupted by another Tesla executive. Musk later added: “Basically, I think having a regular $25K model is pointless. It would be silly.”
The April 5 Reuters article reported that Tesla had abandoned plans for an all-new, affordable mass-market EV but still planned a self-driving robotaxi. Since then, Musk has increasingly touted plans for robotaxis and autonomous vehicles.
Tesla and Musk did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
On the October earnings call, Musk said that Tesla does plan a “$25K car” – its “Cybercab,” a two-door, two-seat, fully autonomous vehicle. Musk unveiled a prototype at a Hollywood-style event on Oct. 10.
Musk says Tesla will start production of the Cybercab in 2026, after it deploys fully autonomous versions of its current Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Texas and California next year. The automaker faces steep technological, regulatory and legal challenges in delivering on Musk’s latest promises of fully autonomous vehicles, which echo others dating back about a decade.
An all-new affordable Tesla for human drivers had until recently been a linchpin of Tesla’s strategy to become the world’s biggest automaker. For several years, Tesla had a goal of producing 20 million vehicles a year by 2030, more than tenfold what it sells now and nearly double that of Toyota, the current global sales leader. In May, Tesla dropped the 20-million goal from its latest “impact report” on progress toward sustainability goals.
As recently as January of this year, Musk confirmed the plan for an all-new affordable EV in an earnings call. He said the next-generation vehicle would arrive in 2025 and launch a second major “growth wave,” following the first wave with the release of its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in 2017 and 2020, respectively.
Investors and Tesla fans commonly called the anticipated cheap car a “Model 2,” slotting in below the Model 3, currently the least-expensive Tesla, starting at $42,490.
In January, Musk described the all-new model as requiring “new revolutionary manufacturing technology.” But in April, after Reuters reported Tesla had scrapped the Model 2, Musk outlined a plan for “more affordable” models that could be produced “on the same manufacturing lines” as current Teslas.
Seth Goldstein, a Morningstar Research Services analyst, said he believes these less-expensive vehicles will be built on current Tesla platforms and priced in the mid-$30,000s.
“It was my understanding that the original plan was to make the more-affordable vehicle on a new platform,” he told Reuters. “I think Tesla realized they were late to making an affordable vehicle versus their Chinese-EV peers … So, they changed their strategy rather than make a large investment to produce a new vehicle.”
After the April 5 Reuters report that Tesla had killed the Model 2, Musk posted that day on X saying Tesla planned a “robotaxi unveil” in August. The event, delayed until October and held on a movie set near Los Angeles, underwhelmed Wall Street and drove a 9% drop in Tesla shares the following day.
Some investors viewed Musk’s comments on the Cybercab – along with displays of an autonomous “Robovan” concept and humanoid robots – as short on concrete details about the products. Tesla hasn’t said whether the Cybercab will feature new self-driving technology beyond the company’s “Full Self-Driving” feature in its current vehicles. Its existing models can’t fully drive themselves and require a human driver paying strict attention.
A 5.48 metre (18 ft) Australian crocodile that held the world record as the largest crocodile in captivity has died, a wildlife sanctuary said on Saturday. He was thought to be more than 110 years old.
Cassius, weighing in at more than one ton, had been in declining health since Oct. 15, Marineland Melanesia Crocodile Habitat said on Facebook.
“He was very old and believed to be living beyond the years of a wild Croc,” according to a post by the organisation, based on Green Island near the Queensland tourist town of Cairns.
“Cassius will be deeply missed, but our love and memories of him will remain in our hearts forever.”
The group’s website said he had lived at the sanctuary since 1987 after being transported from the neighbouring Northern Territory, where crocodiles are a key part of the region’s tourist industry.
Cassius, a saltwater crocodile, held the Guinness World Records title as the world’s largest crocodile in captivity.
For almost a month now, Kamra has been highlighting issues of Ola customers and the war of words between Bhavish and him has been continuing ever since.
The tug of war between Ola CEO Bhavish Agarwal and well-known stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra is not over yet. The clash, which began with Kunal Kamra highlighting the poor after-sales services of Ola based on several customer complaints, has already seen several twists and turns.
The latest in this is Kunal’s ‘service station dikhao’ jab at Ola CEO Bhavish Agarwal after the latter shared a video of Diwali celebration on ‘X’. Kamra taking a jibe at Bhavish said on a post, “Service station dikhao”.
Earlier, Kamra had shared a picture of Ola Electric scooters covered in dust at a company showroom, most probably waiting for service, resulting in a public feud between the two.
Kamra, highlighting the customer complaints, had asked why the company was not addressing them, which add up to almost 80,000 complaints monthly.
For almost a month now, Kamra has been highlighting issues of Ola customers and the war of words between Bhavish and him has been continuing ever since.
His latest jibe comes after yet another post where he had earlier jokingly accepted a job offer at Ola, over one of Bhavish’s posts, that read “Since you care so much @kunalkamra88, come and help us out! I’ll even pay more than you earned for this paid tweet or from your failed comedy career.”
To this Kamra replied saying, “I have no choice but to accept @bhash’s offer to work with OLA… After being tagged thousands of times I anyway feel like I am an OLA employee.”
Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), opens new tab extended their retreat from stocks in the third quarter, further slashing holdings in Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab and boosting cash to a record $325.2 billion.
In its quarterly report on Saturday, Berkshire said it sold about 100 million, or 25%, of its Apple shares over the summer, ending with about 300 million.
Berkshire has now sold more than 600 million of the iPhone maker’s shares in 2024, though Apple remained its largest stock holding, at $69.9 billion.
It sold $36.1 billion of stock overall, including several billion dollars of Bank of America (BAC.N), opens new tab shares, and bought just $1.5 billion.
That made the quarter the eighth straight where Berkshire was a net seller of stocks.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate also conducted no stock buybacks for the first time since the second quarter of 2018, and did not repurchase stock in the first three weeks of October.
“Berkshire is a microcosm of the broader economy,” said Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research in New York. “Its hoarding cash suggests a ‘risk-off’ mindset, and investors may worry what it means for the economy and markets.”
The Class A shares of Berkshire are up 25% this year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 (.SPX)
Countries at the U.N. COP16 summit on nature on Friday approved a measure to create a permanent body for Indigenous peoples to consult on United Nations decisions about nature conservation.
The consultative body is considered a breakthrough in recognizing the role that Indigenous peoples play in conserving nature globally, including some of the most biodiverse areas of the planet, according to Indigenous and environmental advocates.
Nearly 200 countries convened in the Columbian city of Cali aiming to implement the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreement, which aims to halt the rapid decline of nature by 2030.
The consultative body, which will also extend to local communities, will help to incorporate traditional knowledge and practices into conservation efforts.
Countries also adopted a measure that recognizes the role of people of African descent in caring for nature, which COP16 host Colombia said would grant such communities easier access to resources to fund their biodiversity projects and participate in global environmental discussions.
The measure’s adoption was met with chants and singing by campaigners, as well as words of thanks from Colombia Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo, who said the breakthrough was particularly important for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Our territories, which cover much of the natural wealth of the planet, have also been home to people of African descent and Indigenous peoples whose sustainable practices are needed to face the environmental challenges that we all share today,” Murillo said.
Microsoft and Google are back to their old tricks. This week, the software giant accused Google of being behind what it calls “shadow campaigns” to undermine and discredit Microsoft’s cloud business. Microsoft let the world know that Google is behind a new Open Cloud Coalition lobbying group just hours before it was officially announced.
“It is designed to discredit Microsoft with competition authorities, and policymakers and mislead the public,” Microsoft deputy general counsel Rima Alaily writes in a scathing blog post. “Google has gone to great lengths to obfuscate its involvement, funding, and control, most notably by recruiting a handful of European cloud providers, to serve as the public face of the new organization.”
This new group has been formed after Google failed to derail a settlement between Microsoft and the trade group Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) earlier this year. CISPE agreed to withdraw its 2022 EU complaint about unfair licensing contracts for Azure after Microsoft agreed to allow European cloud providers to offer Microsoft’s apps and services on local cloud infrastructure. Microsoft alleges that Google offered CISPE members millions of dollars in cash and credits to reject Microsoft’s settlement.
Starbucks (SBUX.O), opens new tab CEO Brian Niccol on Wednesday told investors that he plans to overhaul Starbucks U.S. locations, adding more comfortable seating, ceramic mugs and a coffee-condiment bar, with customer wait times of less than four minutes.
Faced with falling demand for its pricey beverages in the key U.S. and China markets as well as a slide in its share price, Starbucks’ investors are counting on the new CEO to steer the company back to growth.
The company last week suspended its forecast for its 2025 fiscal year.
“Our financial results were very disappointing, and it is clear we need to fundamentally change our strategy to win back customers and return to growth,” Niccol said.
The CEO said he wanted to make it “easier for our customers to get a cup of coffee,” and that the company would aim to reduce wait times to less than four minutes. To help with that, and to make prices clear, Niccol also said the company would be simplifying its menu.
Niccol said staffing levels might increase, addressing a complaint that has often been voiced by baristas and by Starbucks Workers United, which is seeking to unionize Starbucks workers. “I want to make sure that the teams are staffed to win every transaction,” he said.
Investors are hoping that Niccol, an industry veteran and former Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG.N), opens new tab head, will simplify the company’s leadership and operating structure, and reinvigorate the coffee-house culture at Starbucks’ U.S. stores.
Niccol said ceramic mugs would be offered to customers who are staying in the café, and that actions would be taken over the coming months to separate pick-up orders from sit-down orders. He said “common sense guardrails” would be placed on mobile ordering.
Shares of the company have risen about 26% since Niccol replaced Laxman Narasimhan as CEO in a surprise announcement in August. They were little changed in extended trading on Wednesday.
Starbucks posted a 7% drop in global comparable sales for the fourth quarter on Wednesday, after reporting preliminary results for the quarter ended Sept. 29 last week.
Comparable transactions, which reflect traffic at its stores, fell for the third straight quarter in North America.
Track the U.S. technology stocks that dominate the market
They’re Wall Street’s big guns. Stocks with so much swagger that they earned a nickname conjured from Hollywood’s golden age.
As a group, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla have racked up the lion’s share of the market’s gains in recent years, roaring to nearly one-third of the S&P 500’s total capitalization.
That dominant run prompted a Bank of America analyst to dub them “The Magnificent Seven,” a nod to a 1960 Western about a gang of gunslingers led by Steve McQueen, Yul Brynner and Charles Bronson. The moniker quickly became part of the parlance, appearing all over the press and spawning a spinoff exchange-traded fund.
Will the star stocks continue to inspire investors? Or is this generation’s tech boom driven by the same “irrational exuberance” that inflated bubbles of the past? This live dashboard updates with the latest market data, offering a real-time view of what comes next for the sizzling U.S. technology stocks.
Stock performance
The Magnificent Seven’s tickers can be combined to track the group’s total value over time. In recent years, the club has climbed significantly more than the hundreds of other stocks in the S&P 500 index.
Change in combined value over the past year
But some of the seven are having a better time than others. Chipmaker Nvidia is booming thanks to its lucrative position as the dominant chip supplier to artificial intelligence innovators, while shares of the electric vehicle maker Tesla seesaw, opens new tab as investors vacillate on its prospects for growth.
Change in value over the past year
Trading Momentum
To get a sense of the market‘s direction, Wall Street analysts compare a stock’s current cost to its trading position in recent weeks and months. A peaking stock will climb up the scale, while a stock losing steam will gradually sink. Watching these metrics over time can help identify when a trend is reversing.
According to one rule of thumb, values that rank in the top 20% are considered at risk of gravity‘s pull, while those in the bottom 20% may be ready to rise.
National pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions still fall far short of what is needed to limit catastrophic global warming, the United Nations said on Monday as countries prepare for the next round of climate change negotiations in November.
The “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs) already submitted by countries to the U.N. are enough to cut global emissions by 2.6% from 2019 to 2030, up from 2% last year, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said in its annual assessment.
But they are far from sufficient to achieve the 43% cut that scientists say is required to stay within reach of a Paris Agreement target to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), it warned.
As part of their Paris obligations, nations must deliver new and stronger NDCs before a deadline in February next year, and the report’s findings should mark a “turning point”, said Simon Stiell, UNFCCC secretary general.
“Current national climate plans fall miles short of what’s needed to stop global heating from crippling every economy and wrecking billions of lives and livelihoods across every country,” he said.
“The last generation of NDCs set the signal for unstoppable change,” said Stiell. “New NDCs next year must outline a clear path to make it happen.”
Persuading nations to set and implement more ambitious pledges could depend on the success of COP29 climate talks beginning in two weeks in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku.
Nearly 200 countries will thrash out the details of a new global emissions trading system as well as a hefty $100 billion annual financial package to help developing countries meet their climate goals.
“What we are seeing is that in some cases, (the NDC process) might be used as a negotiating mechanism – more money for more ambition,” said Pablo Vieira, global director of the NDC Partnership, a non-government group that is helping around 60 countries draw up updated pledges.
“They also want to make sure that the new NDCs are investable, that they have the necessary elements that will attract not just public finance, but also private,” he said. ATMOSPHERIC CO2 AT NEW RECORD
In a separate report, the U.N.’s weather monitoring body said on Monday that greenhouse gases have been accumulating in the atmosphere “faster than any time experienced during human existence” over the last two decades.
Carbon dioxide concentrations hit a new high of 420 parts per million (ppm) last year, up 2.3 ppm from a year earlier, and they have risen by 11.4% in just 20 years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its annual greenhouse gas bulletin.
There are already signs that rising temperatures are driving dangerous “feedbacks” that will further increase atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, the report warned.
Last year’s increase in CO2 concentrations, the second largest annual rise of the last decade, could have been driven by a surge in forest fires, with the carbon released from Canada’s worst ever wildfire season exceeding the annual emissions of most major countries.
Facial recognition and iris biometrics are allowing Changi Airport in Singapore to process passengers through immigration in as little as 10 seconds as it fully embraces futuristic technology.
Since facial scanning was fully rolled out on Sept 30, the average time it takes travellers to get through immigration has been cut by 60%, down from the previous 25 seconds, the city-state’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on its website on Thursday.
Changi Airport, frequently rated among the best in the world, now has passport-less clearance at all four of its passenger terminals.
Singapore’s city dwellers — including permanent residents and long-term pass holders — can depart and arrive the airport using facial and iris biometrics without needing to show their passports. Foreign visitors will still need to present documentation on arrival but are then able to use passport-less clearance when they leave.
U.S. fast-food chains were pulling fresh onions out of their menu items on Thursday after the vegetable was named as the likely source of an E. coli outbreak at McDonald’s (MCD.N), opens new tab restaurants that has sickened 49 people and killed one.
Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO), opens new tab, parent of McDonald’s rival Burger King, and Yum Brands (YUM.N), opens new tab said they were removing fresh onions from menu items. Roughly 5% of Burger King locations have removed onions from the menu, a Burger King spokesperson said in a statement.
McDonald’s said on Thursday that Taylor Farms was the supplier of the sliced onions that have been removed. Taylor Farms did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has recalled several batches of yellow onions produced in a Colorado facility, according to a recall memo on Wednesday by US Foods (USFD.N), opens new tab, one of the largest U.S. suppliers of food service operations.
About 5% of Burger King stores also get supplies from Taylor Farms, but a company spokesperson said Burger King has not been contacted yet from health authorities or had any illnesses. Yum, which operates KFC, Pizza Hut and the Taco Bell chains, said it was removing onions “out of an abundance of caution.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday also confirmed that Taylor Farms was the supplier for the affected McDonald’s locations and that the company has initiated a voluntary recall.
“Yellow onions were sold to additional food service customers. Customers who received recalled onions have been directly notified of the recall,” an FDA spokesperson told Reuters.
Food distributors including US Foods and Sysco Corp (SYY.N), opens new tab have been notifying customers of the recall.
“Sysco has communicated to customers and a limited number of our sites instructions regarding the supplier-initiated recall of yellow onions,” a company spokesperson said.
The U.S. health regulator added that it was working with federal and state partners and the companies involved to investigate if onions are the source of this outbreak.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said late on Wednesday that fresh onions were the likely source of the outbreak.
Past E. coli outbreaks have hampered sales at big fast-food restaurants as customers avoid the affected chains for fear of illness. Regulators are still investigating whether McDonald’s beef patties could be affected, but E. coli is killed in beef when cooked properly, whereas the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder is served with raw, slivered onions.
McDonald’s has pulled the Quarter Pounder from about one-fifth of its U.S. restaurants, including in Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, and in parts of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
“We’ve been told by corporate to not use any onions going forward for the foreseeable future,” Maria Gonzales, the on-duty manager inside a Burger King in Longmont, Colorado, said on Wednesday. “They’re off our menu.”
McDonald’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
McDonald’s has moved quickly to try to contain the damage while also trying to reassure customers of its efforts. That may be critical – previous outbreaks in 2015 at Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG.N), opens new tab and in 1993 at Jack in the Box (JACK.O) caused sales at those companies to drop sharply for several quarters.
David Tarantino, an analyst at Baird Equity Research, downgraded McDonald’s shares to “neutral” late on Wednesday. “We are concerned that reports of an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s restaurants in multiple U.S. states could pose a major threat to consumer sentiment” and thus hurt U.S. comparable-store sales, he said.
One person died and dozens fell ill from E. coli infections linked to McDonald’s (MCD.N), opens new tab Quarter Pounder hamburgers in 10 states, led by Colorado, where 26 people were sickened, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said on Tuesday.
The E. coli outbreak, linked to one of McDonald’s most popular menu items, has sickened 49 people and sent 10 to the hospital, officials say.
The strain involved, E. coli O157:H7, can cause serious illness and was the source of a 1993 outbreak that killed four children who ate undercooked hamburgers at Jack in the Box (JACK.O), opens new tab restaurants.
Shares of the world’s largest fast-food chain were down about 6% in extended trading. A livestock trader said the outbreak also could pressure U.S. cattle futures on Wednesday by threatening demand for beef.
Everyone interviewed as part of an investigation into the outbreak has reported eating at McDonald’s before their illness started, and most mentioned eating a Quarter Pounder hamburger, according to the CDC.
The specific ingredient linked to the illness has not been identified but investigators are focused on fresh, slivered onions and fresh beef patties, the CDC said.
Most of the illnesses were reported in Colorado and Nebraska.
“The initial findings from the investigation indicate that a subset of illnesses may be linked to slivered onions used in the Quarter Pounder and sourced by a single supplier that serves three distribution centers,” McDonald’s North America Chief Supply Chain Officer Cesar Piña said in a statement.
McDonald’s has proactively removed the slivered onions and beef patties used for the Quarter Pounder hamburgers from stores in the affected states while the investigation continues, the company informed the CDC.
U.S. food safety attorney Bill Marler, who represented a victim in the Jack in the Box outbreak, said more cases of illness could surface. Onions have been linked to prior E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks, he said.
Jio Financial Services Ltd., controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has held talks with Allianz SE to set up an insurance partnership in India as the German firm seeks to scrap two existing joint ventures in the country, according to people familiar with the matter.
Allianz and Jio Financial are looking to establish a general insurance and a life insurance company in the South Asian nation, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The discussions are in early stages and both parties may decide not to proceed with the plan, the people said.
The Munich-based firm has indicated to its current partner Bajaj Finserv Ltd. that it’s “actively considering an exit” from the ventures, according to a statement from Bajaj on Tuesday after Bloomberg News reported the planned split. Allianz “has indicated that it remains committed to the Indian insurance market,” according to the statement. The break-up centers around a dispute over the direction of the partnership, people familiar with the matter had said.
A spokesperson for Jio Financial said the firm is unable to comment on speculation. “If and when there are any material developments with respect to the company, we will continue to make necessary disclosures in accordance with our obligations, as we always have,” the spokesperson added. Allianz doesn’t comment on market rumors, a Munich-based spokesperson said.
Byju Raveendran also said lenders will not get any money if the process of insolvency against the company continues.
Byju Raveendran, the founder of troubled edtech firm Byju’s, on Thursday said that he is willing to pay back all the money owed to lenders if they are willing to work with him.
During a two-and-a-half-hour call with the media, Mr Raveendran said lenders will not get any money if the process of insolvency against the company continues.
“If they are willing to work with me, I am willing to give them money back before I take a single rupee out. We paid $140 million but they wanted the entire $1.2 billion which we had already committed or invested by then. There is no way we could have given them back for a long time. Most lenders wanted to settle but one or two wanted to make a killing out of it,” Mr Raveendran said.
At present, Byju’s is undergoing insolvency proceedings, triggered after the BCCI approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal to recover its ₹ 158.9-crore dues. The company settled the dispute with BCCI after paying the entire dues following which NCLAT revoked the insolvency proceedings.
However, US lenders through their agent Glas Trust challenged the NCLAT order in the Supreme Court which restored the insolvency proceedings against the edtech firm.
Byju’s has raised a $1.2 billion Term Loan B (TLB)– a loan which is issued by institutional investors –through its holding company Byju’s Alpha, from US-based lenders.
The trouble for Think and Learn, which owns the Byju’s brand, began after the lenders through Glas Trust approached Delaware Court of Chancery alleging default in the payments under the loan agreement and sought early payment of the $1.2-billion TLB.
The US-based lenders through Glas have filed claims of $1.35 billion dues in Indian courts during ongoing insolvency proceedings against the edtech firm.
In the latest statement, the lenders have raised their total claim to $1.5 billion.
Mr Raveendran said that no money raised from US lenders has come to India as it also needs permission from the Reserve Bank of India.
He said that there are some aggressive lenders who initiated a case against the company and they don’t care about stakeholders in the business as it is their business model to make money out of distress.
Mr Raveendran said that all the deals and acquisitions were approved by the Byju’s board, which included leading investors.
“Most of the acquisitions were brought in by the investors and we got carried away. Investors wanted us to launch in 40 countries together. Investors celebrated when we raised a $1.2-billion loan,” Mr Raveendran said.
Apple just announced, in a somewhat understated fashion via a press release, a new iPad Mini. It’s the first upgrade for Apple’s smallest tablet since 2021. The new Mini starts at $499. It’s up for pre-order now and goes on sale next Wednesday.
The new Mini is mostly a spec bump: it runs a new A17 Pro chip, which Apple says has a 30 percent faster CPU, 25 percent faster GPU, and a Neural Engine twice as fast as the previous model. The device also supports the new Apple Pencil Pro, which is a nice touch for the Mini-toting artists out there, and comes with 128GB of storage in the base model rather than 64GB. (Those AI models need all the space they can get.) The Wi-Fi 6E chip is faster, the USB-C port is faster, everything about the iPad Mini is the same as before only faster this time.
The only real design change with the new Mini is the colors. Apple’s gone more colorful with a lot of its products this year, and the Mini comes in new purple and blue models. In photos they look muted rather than vivid, though, so don’t expect the eye-popping new colors on the iPhone 16.
The last-gen Mini was a pretty big overhaul, with a new design and a USB-C port along with a bunch of spec upgrades. Given that that was the first redesign since the original Mini in 2012, it’s not terribly surprising that this Mini looks a lot like the last Mini. The big spec bump makes sense, too: as Apple goes all-in on AI and Apple Intelligence, it needs all the power it can get on basically every device in its lineup. Apple also mentioned in its release that the new device can do hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which should make some high-end games look better, but this is clearly an AI-focused upgrade.
The Mini has always been something of an oddity in Apple’s tablet lineup, similar to the iPhone SE: it has fans who love it for the smaller size, but Apple has always intimated that there aren’t actually that many of those fans. Yes, pilots love their iPad Minis, but it seems clear that most people prefer the big screen to the small one.
The strike, which began more than a month ago, was driven by demands for union recognition, a pay revision, pay parity, and an eight-hour workday.
The strike by Samsung Electronics workers in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur is likely to end today as significant progress has been made in negotiations between the striking workers and the company, according to sources from both sides.
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), which represents the workers, will discuss the terms of the agreement in its general body meeting today and announce the withdrawal of the strike if ratified.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin thanked the CITU, Samsung workers, and the state ministers of small industries, labour, and industries for their efforts in resolving the issue.
The Tamil Nadu Industries Ministry sources have outlined these terms of the agreement:
All striking workers will return to work immediately.
No retaliatory actions by management against workers involved in the strike.
Workers must cooperate fully with the management and avoid any actions prejudicial to the company’s interests.
Both parties have accepted these terms, and the workers have indicated their willingness to end the strike and return to work. However, CITU President Soundararajan, speaking to NDTV, has clarified that the final decision on the strike’s withdrawal will only be confirmed after the general body meeting.
Samsung India has welcomed the decision and thanked the Tamil Nadu government for its support. The company has also assured that it will not take action against workers who merely participated in the strike.
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance has argued that the telecom regulator incorrectly concluded that home satellite broadband spectrum should be allocated and not auctioned, a letter seen by Reuters shows, intensifying a face-off with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The methodology of giving out spectrum for satellite services in India – a market set to grow 36% a year to reach $1.9 billion by 2030 according to Deloitte – has been a contentious issue since last year.
Musk’s Starlink and global peers like Amazon’s Project Kuiper back an administrative allocation, while Ambani – Asia’s wealthiest man who runs India’s Reliance Jio – is arguing for an auction process.
The current dispute is over an interpretation of Indian law that some in the industry say paved the way for the allocation of spectrum last year as Musk wanted.
But Reliance is arguing no provisions are in place for satellite broadband services for individual or home users, industry sources said on Sunday.
The telecom regulator, TRAI, is holding a public consultation, but Reliance in a private Oct. 10 letter seen by Reuters asked for the process to be started afresh as the watchdog has “pre-emptively interpreted” that allocation is the way forward.
“TRAI seems to have concluded, without any basis, that spectrum assignment should be administrative,” Reliance’s senior regulatory affairs official Kapoor Singh Guliani wrote in the letter to India’s telecoms minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
TRAI has in its consultation paper indicated Indian laws mandate allocation of spectrum for such services without conducting any studies, Reliance added in its letter.
“We have requested (the) TRAI to amend the consultation paper” to ensure a level playing field, Reliance Jio said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, adding that “it is imperative upon TRAI to also consult on the methodology of assignment” of spectrum.
MUMBAI: In what is being seen as a ‘pivotal’ move, announced a change in its monetary policy stance from withdrawal of accommodation to neutral, even as it kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for the tenth successive time in its latest monetary policy committee meeting.
A ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ stance indicates a position where RBI makes money less easily available to keep a check on prices.
A neutral stance, on the other hand, indicates that the monetary policy is neither trying to speed up nor slow down spending. For borrowers, this could mean more festive offers on some borrowings even as deposit rates may plateau.
The change in stance – first in nearly 30 months – is seen as a step towards the softening of rates. “With both inflation and growth well balanced, there was no justification to continue with the withdrawal of accommodation. We have achieved what we wanted to achieve. While we have greater confidence that inflation is moderating, considering the significant risks that lie ahead of us, it will be inappropriate to specifically talk in terms of the timing of a rate cut,” RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said.
Monetary Policy Committee Meeting 2024: This means that all external benchmark lending rates linked to the repo rate will not increase, giving relief to borrowers as their EMIs will not increase.
The Reserve Bank of India Wednesday kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent for a tenth time in row. The rate-setting panel, however, changed the monetary policy stance from ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ to ‘neutral’.
This means that all external benchmark lending rates linked to the repo rate will not increase, giving relief to borrowers as their equated monthly instalments (EMIs) will not increase.
However, lenders may raise interest rates on loans that are linked to the marginal cost of fund-based lending rate (MCLR), where the full transmission of a 250 bps hike in the repo rate between May 2022 and February 2023 has not happened.
In response to the 250 bps hike in the policy repo rate since May 2022, banks have revised upwards their repo-linked external benchmark-based lending rates (EBLRs) by a similar magnitude. The one-year median MCLR of banks has increased by 170 bps during May 2022 to August 2024.
What did the previous MPC meeting say?
In August, while keeping the rate unchanged, the rate-setting panel had raised concerns over elevated food inflation over the past many months, as it could derail the disinflation path. Headline inflation, as measured by year-on-year (y-o-y) changes in the all-India consumer price index (CPI), edged up to 5.1% in June from 4.8% in May. The increase in the inflation rate is attributed to food inflation, which firmed up to 8.4% in June compared to 7.9% in the previous month. “Food component of retail inflation remains stubborn… food inflation contributed around 70 per cent of the overall retail inflation,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said.
The government last week reconstituted the Monetary Policy Committee, appointing three external members — Ram Singh, Director, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi; Saugata Bhattacharya, Economist and Nagesh Kumar, Director and Chief Executive, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development.
What are the stakeholders saying about RBI’s decision?
Reacting to the RBI’s move to keep the repo rate unchanged, Adhil Shetty, the CEO of BankBazaar.com, says that the current stance of the central bank signals that it is “ready to go either way – if inflation stays low, we may see rate cuts in the future. However, at present, it is a wait-and-watch situation.”
Nestle India’s parent has proposed Manish Tiwary, ex-Amazon India head, as the new managing director to address stagnant sales and competition. Tiwary needs board approval to succeed Suresh Narayanan, who retires on July 30 after nearly a decade.
Nestle India’s Swiss parent is betting on former Amazon India head Manish Tiwary to steer the packaged foods giant’s unit as it grapples with stagnant sales and increased competition in the world’s most populous country.
Nestle SA said on Monday it had recommended Tiwary as a successor to Suresh Narayanan, who is set to retire as managing director of Nestle India on July 30 after nearly a decade with the company.
Tiwary will now need the board approval of Nestle India before taking over as managing director.
Tiwary oversaw Amazon.com’s India unit for more than four years until resigning two months ago.
He was one of the key architects of the company’s explosive growth phase when Amazon India overtook homegrown rival Flipkart to become the symbol of e-commerce in the country.
Prior to his eight-year stint with Amazon India, Tiwary worked with Unilever’s Indian and Middle Eastern subsidiaries, according to his LinkedIn profile. Tiwary did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Narayanan, who has previously headed Nestle’s operations in the Philippines, Egypt and Singapore, is also retiring as chairman of Nestle India.
Nestle India did not publicly disclose who would replace Narayanan as chairman. A company spokesperson told Reuters its board would “deliberate at an appropriate time” once it received a nomination for the position from its parent company.
The Maggi instant noodles maker missed earnings expectations in the quarter ended June, when it posted its slowest revenue growth in eight years.
Shares of Nestle India are down 3.2% for the year, while Nifty 50, the country’s benchmark index, is up 14%.
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal took on the role of delivery partner to get a first-hand experience of their challenges.
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal on Sunday alleged that a mall in Gurugram stopped him from using the lift while he was picking up a food order as a delivery executive.
Mr Goyal, who along with his wife Grecia Munoz took on the role of delivery partner to get a first-hand experience of their challenges, said he was told to take the stairs when he went to the Ambience Mall to collect an order.
“During my second order, I realised that we need to work with malls more closely to improve working conditions for all delivery partners. And malls also need to be more humane to delivery partners,” he posted on X and tagged a video elaborating upon his experience in a Zomato delivery agent uniform.
“We reached Ambience Mall in Gurugram to pick up the order from Haldiram’s. I was told to take the other entrance, and realised they were asking me to take the stairs. Went in again on the main entrance to make sure there aren’t any elevators for delivery partners,” he said.
During my second order, I realised that we need to work with malls more closely to improve working conditions for all delivery partners. And malls also need to be more humane to delivery partners.
Mr Goyal claimed he took the stairs to the third floor to realise that delivery partners cannot enter the mall and have to wait at the stairs to receive orders.
“Chilled with my fellow delivery partners while also getting valuable feedback from them,” the Zomato boss said, adding that he was finally able to sneak in to collect the order when the staircase guard “took a small break”.
Reacting to his post, many users said that not just malls but various societies also don’t allow delivery partners to take the main lift.
“Every society, every mall and every office should make it mandatory for delivery partners to use normal regular lifts and entrances/exits. There shouldn’t be any divide,” a user said.
Last week, Mr Goyal shared a post in which he was seen riding on the streets of Gurugram while delivering orders.
RBI begins a three-day monetary policy meeting today, assessing whether to maintain repo rate at 6.50%. Inflation and global uncertainties will be key factors.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to begin its three-day monetary policy meeting today (October 7). The meeting will conclude on October 9 as it is to be seen whether the central bank keeps the repo rate unchanged as it has for the last nine consecutive meetings. The repo rate is currently at 6.50 per cent and has remained steady since the RBI adopted a cautious stance to balance inflation control and growth.
The meeting also comes at a time when the US Federal Reserve announced a steep 50 basis points interest cut in its review meeting after holding interest rates steady for eight straight meetings.
What will RBI MPC look at before making rate cut decision?
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, is expected to factors look at key like inflationary trends, global economic uncertainties and domestic growth prospects. This comes as inflation continues to be a challenge, particularly in food and fuel prices, which saw a surge earlier this year.
As per the data by Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation All India Consumer Price inflation in August was 3.65 per cent, which is under RBI target band but the food inflation stands at 5.65 per cent and remains above RBI’s medium-term target of 4 per cent.
What could make RBI change its stance?
External factors like the rising global crude oil prices on tensions in West Asia may compel the RBI to reconsider its current stance.
What has changed in the RBI?
Three new members have been appointed to the monetary policy committee. The MPC comprises three members from the RBI and three external members appointed by the Central Government.
Nithin Kamath, co-founder and CEO of Zerodha, announced that the leading online stock brokerage platform will review its pricing structure after November 20, 2024, based on the impact of new rules for index derivatives trading.
Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has mandated a new framework for India’s booming equity derivates market and announced sweeping changes to curb the rush in futures and options (F&O) trading. Post-SEBI’s announcement of new F&O norms, Nithin Kamath, co-founder and CEO of Zerodha, announced that the leading online stock brokerage platform will review its pricing structure after November 20, 2024, based on the impact of new rules for index derivatives trading.
Taking to microblogging platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) X, Zerodha’s Kamath said, “Here’s the potential impact of only one weekly expiry of index derivatives per exchange and contract sizes going up by around 2.5 times.”
“As things stand, assuming that those trading weekly don’t move on to trading monthly, the impact will be ~60 per cent of overall F&O trades and ~30 per cent of our overall orders. I guess things will become much clearer from November 20th. We will then decide on our change in pricing structure, based on the impact on the business,” said Kamath in a post on ‘X’.
Here’s the potential impact of only one weekly expiry of index derivatives per exchange and contract sizes going up by around 2.5 times.
As things stand, assuming that those trading weekly don’t move on to trading monthly, the impact will be ~60% of overall F&O trades and ~30%…
SEBI implemented six out of seven measures recommended by an expert panel to cool the exuberance in India’s derivatives market. Market participants said the measures, which will be implemented in phases, could dent derivatives volumes by 20-30 per cent.
Out of the six, the ones that could impact volumes the most are the reduction in weekly expiries per exchange from five to just one, the increase in lot size to ₹15-20 lakh from ₹5-10 lakh, and the removal of the calendar spread benefit on expiry day. The first two will take effect on November 20, and the third on February 1, 2025.
Sebi has raised barriers for equity derivatives trading, lowering weekly options contracts to one and increasing minimum trading amounts significantly.
India’s market regulator tightened the rules for equity derivatives trading on Tuesday, raising the entry barrier and making it more costly to trade in the asset class, despite pushback from investors.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) lowered the number of weekly options contracts available to trade for investors to one per exchange and raised the minimum trading amount nearly three times, according to a circular uploaded on the regulator’s website.
Reuters first reported SEBI’s intent to tighten its derivatives trading rules, in line with proposals it made in July, last month.
The minimum trading amount has been increased from 500,000 rupees ($5,967) to 1.5 million to 2 million rupees, SEBI said in the circular.
The measures are effective Nov. 20.
SEBI said that existing regulatory measures have been reviewed to ensure investor protection and the orderly development and strengthening of the equity derivatives market.
Indian authorities had raised concerns about the unchecked explosion of retail investor trading in derivatives and the possibility that it could create future challenges for the markets, investor sentiment and household finances.
The monthly notional value of derivatives traded was 10,923 trillion Indian rupees in August – the highest globally, data from the regulator showed. Bulk of trading happens in options contracts linked to stock indices like BSE Sensex and NSE’s Nifty 50.
A SEBI study published last month showed that individual Indian traders made net losses totalling 1.81 trillion rupees in futures and options in the three years to March 2024, with only 7.2% making a profit.
For the 12 months to March 30, 2024 retail investors made gross losses totalling 524 billion rupees but proprietary traders, acting on behalf of financial institutions, and foreign investors made gross profits of 330 billion rupees and 280 billion rupees, respectively.
Exchanges and brokerage firms which have been the biggest beneficiary of India’s derivatives markets trading boom are considering changes in strategies to minimise the impact.
Zerodha, India’s largest broking firm, said last month that derivatives are a significant portion of its revenue and it anticipate a 30% to 50% drop in revenue due to the changes.
A reason being cited for this is the damage caused to the reputation of the equity markets regulator by the allegations made against her by Hindenburg Research.
Bengaluru: Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch is unlikely to be granted an extension when her current tenure ends on February 28, 2025, DH has learnt from highly placed sources.
A reason being cited for this is the damage caused to the reputation of the equity markets regulator by the allegations made against her by Hindenburg Research.
While the Union government and the Union finance ministry believe that the allegations against Buch are weak, the leadership is aware that extending her tenure will give ammunition to a much stronger opposition and the critics of the government.
It is learnt that Buch has likely been informed through unofficial channels that she will serve only one three-year term as Sebi chairperson. Buch took charge of the regulator on March 1, 2022.
Sebi did not respond to DH’s request for comments for the story.
“We (the Centre) have kept ourselves out of this whole issue. But extending her tenure may send a wrong message and could have political ramifications. The government stands behind Sebi and the chairperson while she is in office,” said an informed source.
“The regulators should be above reproach or suspicion,” a second source said, while confirming that Buch’s tenure may not be extended.
“What Hindenburg is saying about Buch is not even as strong as what they alleged against Adani. Could the Buchs have handled their investment affairs better? Perhaps,” the second official said.
Japan’s beloved elderly giant pandas Shin Shin and Ri Ri were safely returned to China on Sunday, Tokyo’s Ueno Zoological Garden reported on its website.
The two pandas arrived at the Ueno zoo in 2011, bringing a little lightness to the country just months after a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11 of that year, and continued to draw fans of all ages over the years.
When it was announced a month ago that the elderly pandas would soon be returned to China to be treated for high blood pressure, visitors flocked to see the pair before they left.
Hiyori Sakurai, an artist in her 30s, said she has been visiting the zoo every Sunday and even some weekdays when she could take time off from work.
“Whenever I go through a hard time, I would go see Ri Ri and Shin Shin, and they always cheered me up,” she said.
Etsuko Tokuda, a self-employed woman in her 60s, has been going to the zoo almost everyday since the return announcement.
“Each day was important to me. I wanted to see them even if they were sleeping.”
Native to China, pandas have through the years become “envoys of friendship” and China’s offer of pandas to other countries has been dubbed panda diplomacy.
The company’s draft prospectus said existing shareholders will sell approximately 18.5 crore shares.
Food delivery and quick commerce giant Swiggy is targeting a $10 billion or 83,365 crore valuation with a ₹ 10,000-crore initial public offering (IPO). Out of this, the company seeks to raise ₹ 3,750 crore from fresh issues.
On Wednesday, it came to light that Swiggy had received clearance for the IPO from markets regulator SEBI and the company said on Thursday that it aims to raise ₹ 3,750 crore through fresh issues.
In its updated draft red herring prospectus, the Bengaluru-based company has said existing shareholders, including Tencent Europe and Accel India, will sell approximately 18.5 crore shares as part of an offer of sale (OFS). With the OFS, the IPO size will reportedly be over ₹ 10,000 crore.
Founded in 2014, Swiggy, which is backed by Japan’s Softbank and investment group Prosus, had a valuation of nearly $ 13 billion in April this year and has over 4,700 employees.
According to news agency Reuters, Swiggy’s listing comes amid a booming IPO market, with 198 companies having raised $7.1 billion in the year up to September 4, which is more than double the amount in the same period last year.
Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath stated the company is experiencing a revenue plateau and anticipates a significant decline due to new Sebi regulations.
Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath said that the company is currently facing a plateau in revenue while preparing for a significant dip in the same later this year. In a blog post, Nithin Kamath pointed to new regulations from markets regulator Sebi, which are expected to impact the brokerage’s business operations starting October 1 this year.
He noted, “We are already seeing revenue and profit plateau, and we are bracing for a big revenue hit later this year. Sebi’s true-to-label circular will go live on October 1, 2024. We expect a 10% revenue dip”.
Moreover, another regulation on index derivatives could lead to a 30% to 50% reduction in earnings, he said, adding, “Index derivatives today are a significant portion of our revenue, and any change will impact us.”
Nithin Kamath also highlighted changes to the Annual Maintenance Charges (AMC) under the new Basic Services Demat Account (BSDA) thresholds and said, “We can charge full AMC from customers with a demat holding of ₹10 lakhs and more, as opposed to ₹4 lakhs today. Combined with us removing the account opening fee, this would be a meaningful drop in revenue.”
Tupperware Brands (TUP.N), opens new tab filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware late on Tuesday, succumbing to mounting losses due to poor demand for its once popular colorful food storage containers.
Its popularity exploded in the 1950s as women of the post-war generation held “Tupperware parties” at their homes to sell the containers as they sought empowerment and independence.
However, its sales slumped in recent years as the company struggled to place more of its products in retail stores and online sales platforms. Tupperware has historically relied on independent sales representatives to move its products, but that strategy has failed to reach modern consumers, according to the company.
“Nearly everyone now knows what Tupperware is, but fewer people know where to find it,” Tupperware Chief Restructuring Officer Brian Fox wrote in a court filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. I
Tupperware last month raised doubts about its ability to remain in business after flagging bankruptcy risk several times due to liquidity constraints.
The company has $812 million in debt, much of which was purchased by distressed debt investors at a deep discount in July, according to court filings. Those new lenders had sought to use their debt position to seize Tupperware assets including its intellectual property such as its brand, pushing to the company to seek bankruptcy protection, Tupperware said.
The company intends to continue operations and conduct a 30-day bidding process to find a buyer for the entire company.
“Even with a recently restructured balance sheet and a temporary financial boost, Tupperware’s high leverage, declining sales and shrinking profit margins were too much to overcome,” said James Gellert, executive chairman at financial analytics firm RapidRatings.
The company has been trying to turn its business around for years after reporting several quarters of falling sales.
A post-pandemic jump in the costs of labor, freight and raw materials such as plastic resin also pressured its business.
The U.S. central bank on Wednesday kicked off an anticipated series of interest rate cuts with a larger-than-usual half-percentage-point reduction that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said was meant to show policymakers’ commitment to sustaining a low unemployment rate now that inflation has eased.
“We made a good strong start and I am very pleased that we did,” Powell said at a press conference after the Fed, noting its increased confidence that the country’s bout with high inflation was over, reduced its benchmark policy rate by 50 basis points to the 4.75%-5.00% range. “The logic of this both from an economic standpoint and from a risk management standpoint was clear.”
So clear in fact that Powell, who has championed policy-by-consensus since becoming Fed chief in 2018, saw the first dissent from a Fed governor since 2005 when Michelle Bowman voted against the decision in favor of a smaller quarter-percentage-point rate cut – evidence some analysts said of his motivation to start the Fed’s easing cycle in a compelling way.
Powell called the move a “recalibration” to account for the sharp decline in inflation since last year; he noted that the economy remained strong but the central bank wanted to stay ahead of and stave off any weakening in the job market; analysts saw a nod to what has been an overarching aim of his to avoid unnecessarily trading higher unemployment to reach the central bank’s 2% inflation target.
“A soft landing is within reach, which would seal his legacy as Fed Chairman,” said Diane Swonk, the chief economist at KPMG.
In addition to approving the half-percentage-point cut on Wednesday, Fed policymakers projected the benchmark interest rate would fall by another half of a percentage point by the end of this year, a full percentage point next year, and half of a percentage point in 2026, though they cautioned that the outlook that far into the future is necessarily uncertain.
The move marks a significant pivot in U.S. monetary policy and a recognition of the Fed’s growing comfort with inflation continuing to ease to its target. It is currently about half a percentage point above it.
Despite coming only about seven weeks before the U.S. presidential election, the Fed’s policy decision elicited a fairly muted reaction, initially at least, from the presidential candidates.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, called the rate cut “welcome news” for Americans.
“I know prices are still too high for many middle-class and working families,” she said in a statement.
Republican nominee Donald Trump, who as president first appointed Powell to lead the Fed, said the size of the cut suggested the economy may be in trouble.
“To cut it by that much, assuming they’re not just playing politics, the economy would be very bad,” Trump told reporters.
Powell, however, said the economy remained strong, with many job market indicators like unemployment claims and even the current 4.2% unemployment rate not at worrying levels.
But he nodded to the same issues economists and analysts raise with inflation: That it takes time for changes in monetary policy to have an impact and that, between anecdotal information from companies and slowed hiring rates, officials felt they needed to preempt further labor market weakness just as others have argued for fast action to preempt inflation.
“There is thinking that the time to support the labor market is when it is strong, and not when you begin to see layoffs,” Powell said.
Sitharaman, who was speaking at a conclave in Delhi, expressed disappointment in the Opposition, noting that despite the 2024 Lok Sabha elections giving them a significant mandate in Parliament, their focus seemed misplaced.
In a pointed criticism seemingly aimed at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday took a strong stance against opposition leaders for allegedly criticizing India while abroad.
Sitharaman, who was speaking at a conclave in Delhi, expressed disappointment in the Opposition, noting that despite the 2024 Lok Sabha elections giving them a significant mandate in Parliament, their focus seemed misplaced.
“I believed that after the 2024 election, the government would need to push forward with even more work, and the Opposition, with their increased numbers, would take their role seriously. But instead, they got carried away, going around the world making false claims about the country. Even Mrs. Gandhi wouldn’t do that,” she said.
In her remarks, which she made at the event hosted by the media company Network 18, Sitharaman took aim at Rahul Gandhi’s comments during his recently concluded US visit, where he questioned the fairness of India’s 2024 general elections, calling them not “free and fair.” Sitharaman criticized this stance, stressing the importance of responsibility in leadership. “There is a certain level of seriousness expected from a Leader of Opposition. Yet, the current LoP seems to believe he can make reckless statements without consequence. That simply isn’t true,” she asserted.
Sitharaman also emphasized that the Narendra Modi-led government, now in its third term, faces no coalition pressures and remains committed to bold reforms. “We will continue implementing transformative reforms. There is no need for concern. Just as we introduced systemic reforms and welfare schemes earlier, we will carry on in that spirit,” she affirmed.
Addressing the contentious issue of states, including BJP-ruled ones, offering freebies ahead of elections, the Finance Minister stressed fiscal responsibility. “It’s essential for both the states and the Centre to ensure they only undertake projects that are financially viable. Any party seeking to govern must understand whether the state or Centre can afford to implement the schemes they announce. Unfortunately, what we see are promises made merely to lure voters, leaving states struggling with the financial burden later,” she explained.
The World Health Organization and partners on Friday set up a scheme to help bring mpox vaccines, tests and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the world’s poorest countries, similar to efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, after earlier approving the first shot for the fast-spreading disease.
Both steps should make it easier for badly-hit African countries to access the vaccine, as a new type of the mpox virus spreads from the Democratic Republic of Congo to its neighbours. The WHO has declared the outbreak a global public health emergency.
“Alongside other public health interventions, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics are powerful tools for bringing the mpox outbreaks in Africa under control,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
He said COVID-19 had shown the need for international collaboration to make access fairer. During the pandemic, many low-income countries were left behind in the global scramble for medical resources, particularly vaccines.
European countries, the United States and Japan have already pledged to donate 3.6 million doses of the two main vaccines used against mpox, the WHO said on Friday. Vaccinations are due to start from Oct. 2 with the first tranches of donations.
The WHO urged more countries to donate shots that were originally developed and stockpiled by rich nations for smallpox, and said it would work with affected countries to get them to the people at highest risk.
vaccine, known as Jynneos in the United States. It is also considering LC16, made by the Japanese manufacturer KM Biologics.
The approval, known as prequalification, means U.N. agencies can now buy the vaccines as well as help co-ordinate donations. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, co-funds vaccine purchases for low-income countries in this way and has up to $500 million to spend on mpox.
DELAYS
The WHO has faced criticism for moving too slowly on mpox vaccines.
Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine has been used worldwide since 2022, after U.S. and European regulators backed it for use against a different strain of mpox that spread globally in 2022.
The WHO only formally began the process in August this year.
Other factors, including the roughly $100 price tag for the vaccine, competing disease outbreaks, and sluggish processes in badly-hit countries like Congo have also played a role.
“The evidence we have now is… it is important we take advantage of it (the vaccine) to protect our population,” Dimie Ogoina, chair of the WHO’s mpox emergency committee, had said before the approval.
He however stressed that vaccines were not a “magic bullet” and other public health measures were also important.
In the post on X, Hindenburg claimed, “Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million in funds across multiple Swiss bank accounts.”
In what has transformed into a never-ending saga of revelations, the American short-selling group Hindenburg has come about with a new set of claims associated with the Indian business conglomerate, the Adani Group.
Adani’s Funds Frozen By Swiss
The Hindenburg research group took to its X account to share this new set of information. According to the short-seller, the Switzerland authorities have frozen funds belonging to Adani Group as part of an ongoing investigation against the company. Funds attuned to the amount of USD 310 million or Rs 2,602 crore, have been put out of Adani Group’s reach.
In the post on X, Hindenburg claimed, “Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million in funds across multiple Swiss bank accounts.”
Elucidating the reason behind the apparent action, Hindenburg said, “…as part of a money laundering and securities forgery investigation into Adani, dating back as early as 2021”
Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million in funds across multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of a money laundering and securities forgery investigation into Adani, dating back as early as 2021.
Prosecutors detailed how an Adani frontman invested in opaque…
Furthermore, the post also added, “Prosecutors detailed how an Adani frontman invested in opaque BVI/Mauritius & Bermuda funds that almost exclusively owned Adani stocks, according to newly released Swiss criminal court records reported by Swiss media outlet.”
Hindenburg has cited the Swiss media outlet Gotham City News for this piece of information.
Previously in this Adani-Hindenburg Saga, the group had accused the market regulator, Security and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI)’s chairperson, Madhabhu Buch and her spouse of having vested interests in Adani’s offshore companies.
SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch’s response to our report includes several important admissions and raises numerous new critical questions.
Zara will offer its service for selling, repairing or donating secondhand clothes in the United States by the end of October as a way of prolonging their life cycle and reducing waste, its owner Inditex said on Wednesday.
Zara’s ‘Pre-Owned’ platform is already running in 16 European countries, after launching in Britain in November 2022.
Inditex (ITX.MC), opens new tab previously said it was committed to operating the platform in all strategic markets by 2025 as part of its strategy to also help reduce raw material consumption.
The service is available through Zara stores, its website and an app in countries including Spain, France and Germany.
Zara has not yet disclosed data on how many customers have used the service in the markets where it is available, but Inditex CEO Oscar Garcia Maceiras said its online platforms receive more than 22 million visitors per day.
Other fast fashion retailers such as H&M also offer products for resale. Secondhand H&M items are available in the U.S. via a stand-alone website through a partnership with ThredUp.
Zara will also launch live shopping shows in the U.S., as well as other key markets such as Spain, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Britain, Ireland and The Netherlands in the coming months, the Inditex CEO said after reporting first-half earnings.
Five-hour long live shopping shows in China, broadcast weekly on Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese sister site, have helped boost Zara’s sales since they launched in November, retail analytics firm EDITED said.
Opposition lawmakers had a war of words with Bharatiya Janata Party MPs in a meeting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday over summoning Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The development came to light after a senior member of Parliament from Trinamool Congress, Professor Saugata Roy, wrote a letter to the chairman of the committee, Congress Lok Sabha lawmaker KC Venugopal.
Roy urged Venugopal to summon the SEBI chief suo moto to the meeting which was scheduled for Tuesday because, he said, the working of the regulatory body and activities involving Buch and her conduct recently were of urgent public importance.
However, sources said BJP MP Nishikant Dubey in the meeting cited parliamentary rules to contend that such a demand to summon an authority like this was not allowed. Dubey argued that the PAC can only examine the finances of the government with respect to various ministries, etc, but cannot examine the functioning of a regulatory board and its staff. To summon an office bearer of the SEBI would require the committee to get permission from the government of India itself, he said.
“The functions of the Committee, as enshrined in Rule 308(1) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, include examination of accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by Parliament for the expenditure of the Government of India, the annual finance accounts of the Government and such other accounts laid before the House as the Committee may think fit. In scrutinising the Appropriation Accounts of the Government of India and the Report of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India,” says the rule cited by Dubey.
It further states, “An important function of the Committee is to ascertain that money granted by Parliament has been spent by Government ‘within the scope of the demand’. The implications of this phrase are that (i) money recorded as spent against the grant must not be more than the amount granted, (ii) the expenditure brought to account against a particular grant must be of such a nature as to warrant its record against the grant and against no other, and iii) the grants should be spent on purposes which are set out in the detailed demand and they cannot be spent on ‘any new service not contemplated in the demand’. The functions of the Committee extend ‘beyond the formality of expenditure to its wisdom, faithfulness and economy’. The Committee thus examines cases involving losses, nugatory expenditure and financial irregularities. When any case of proved negligence resulting in loss or extravagance is brought to the notice of the Committee, it calls upon the Ministry/Department concerned to explain what action, disciplinary or otherwise, it had taken to prevent a recurrence. In such a case it can also record its opinion in the form of disapproval or pass strictures against the extravagance or lack of proper control by the Ministry or Department concerned. Another important function of the Committee is the discussion on points of financial discipline and principle. The detailed examination of questions involving principle and system is a leading and recognized function of the Committee. The Committee is not concerned with questions of policy in the broad sense. As a rule, it expresses no opinion on points of general policy, but it is within its jurisdiction to point out whether there has been extravagance or waste in carrying out that policy.”
Compounding plays a significant role in long-term wealth accumulation. With an average return of 12%, your money grows not just on the principal amount, but also on the interest earned.
Achieving the goal of accumulating a wealth of Rs 15 crore over 30 years may seem daunting, but with smart financial planning, disciplined saving, and the power of compounding, it’s within reach to make one’s retirement comfortable. Here is one of the ways how one can systematically work towards this financial milestone.
The key to building wealth over time is a consistent investment in high-return financial instruments like mutual funds, stocks, or other market-linked investments. By assuming an average annual return of 12% (which is reasonable for equity mutual funds), one can calculate how much money they need to invest each month to reach Rs 15 crore in 30 years.
The power of compounding
Compounding plays a significant role in long-term wealth accumulation. With an average return of 12%, your money grows not just on the principal amount, but also on the interest earned. Over 30 years, even a small monthly investment has grown exponentially.
For instance, after 10 years, your investments of Rs 50,000 per month will have grown to approximately Rs 1.12 crores. After 20 years, the investment grows to approximately Rs 4.6 crore. By the end of 30 years, it will cross the Rs 15 crore benchmark.
This steady growth happens because of the compounding effect, where your returns generate more returns over time.
Strategies to follow
Start early: The sooner one begin with investing monies, the more time their money gets to grow. Even a delay of five to six years can drastically reduce the final retirement corpus.
Diversify: While equity mutual funds can offer high returns, it’s essential to diversify across different asset classes, like debt funds and fixed deposits, to reduce risk. Experts suggest having a balanced portfolio so that they can achieve their financial goals easily.
Stay consistent: Market fluctuations are inevitable, but consistency is key. Stick to your investment plan, and avoid withdrawing your funds prematurely.
Imagine an iPhone. But slightly bigger. And slightly faster. Okay, now add another button to the side. Make it gold. You in?
Apple’s next event is on Monday, and the rumors and reports have been swirling for months about what we will and won’t see. New iPhones are a safe bet. New Apple Watches seem to be on the docket, and there’s strong evidence we’ll get some new AirPods, too. There’s even some smoke suggesting a new Mac Mini is in the offing… but that’s probably coming a bit later.
On this episode of The Vergecast, we discuss all the rumors, reports, speculation, and blatant wishful thinking surrounding the event. We talk a lot about cameras because that’s frankly mostly what iPhones are for now, and we talk a lot about AI because that’s what Apple wants iPhones to be for going forward.
Once we finish with Apple, we talk about the gadget news of this week, which is all the stuff coming out of IFA. It’s a big year for phones, laptops, smart home stuff, and much more, and it’s an especially big year for wild new ideas about how screens are supposed to work. We dig into all of what’s happening in Germany this year.
Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about Verizon’s boomerang purchase of Frontier, Snap’s turn toward in-your-face ads, Concord’s brutal flop, and a new way to make money in the fediverse. Turns out the business of the internet, no matter which part of the internet you’re working on, is complicated.
The Supreme Court has agreed to expedite the hearing on Glas Trust’s appeal against the NCLAT judgment that stayed insolvency proceedings against BYJU’s. This move comes after both BYJU’s and Glas Trust sought an early hearing.
The Supreme Court on September 6 agreed to list for an early hearing the appeal of US-based creditor Glas Trust Company LLC against a judgment of the NCLAT, which had stayed insolvency proceedings against ed-tech firm BYJU’s and approved its Rs 158.9 crore dues settlement with the BCCI.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was urged by senior advocate NK Kaul, appearing for the ed-tech major, that the case needed to be heard at the earliest.
Kaul said, “The only funding was done by the promoters and today no one has brought any external borrowing. We have to show today how malafide the petition (of US firm) is.”
“I will get it listed as early as possible,” the CJI, who was indisposed and in quarantine for the last few days, said.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the US-based creditor, said it also wanted an early hearing.The issue at hand involves the removal of Glas Trust from the CoC by IRP Pankaj Srivastava. Glas Trust has challenged its removal and is also seeking the removal of Srivastava as the IRP.
Earlier, the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had said that it cannot stop the committee of creditors (CoC) proceedings as the Supreme Court has allowed its constitution on August 21.
The matter pertains between Glas Trust Co, which represents a group of the troubled edtech firm Byju’s US lenders, and the Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP) for the parent company, Think & Learn Pvt Ltd. According to the bench, it cannot stop the committee of creditors (CoC) proceedings as the Supreme Court allowed its constitution on August 21.
The NCLT stated that the apex court has given the go-ahead for the formation and constitution of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) and for conducting the meeting, making it clear that the process cannot be halted. The bench mentioned that lenders could file a separate application if they wish to pursue further actions.
IPO-bound food delivery platform Swiggy has disclosed that a former junior employee allegedly embezzled more than Rs 33 crore over a period of time from one of its subsidiaries.
As per reports, the Zomato rival initiated a probe with an external team and has filed a legal complaint against the individual whose name was withheld in its annual report for the financial year 2023-24.
“The Group, during the current year, identified embezzlement of funds in one of the subsidiaries by a former junior employee amounting to INR 326.76 Mn over the past periods.,” the annual report mentioned.
Based on review of the facts discovered during the investigation, “the Group has recorded an expense for the aforementioned amount during the year ended March 31, 2024,” the report added.
However, such a large embezzlement from a junior employee raises further questions about corporate governance at the firm.
The company filed its initial public offering (IPO) draft documents through the confidential route In April, and plans to raise up to Rs 3,750 crore (approximately $450 million) through a new issuance and up to Rs 6,664 crore (about $800 million) via an offer-for-sale (OFS) in its $1.25 billion IPO.
Sources said the employees held a meeting with the whole-time members to convey their concerns over the ‘distorted picture’ painted by Sebi’s press release
A group of disgruntled Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) employees protested outside the market regulator’s headquarters on Thursday, seeking the immediate resignation of chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, and the withdrawal of the press release that termed their grievances as “misplaced” and “misguided” by external elements.
Sources said the employees held a meeting with the whole-time members to convey their concerns over the ‘distorted picture’ painted by Sebi’s press release.
“The content of the release is not true. It is distorted and doesn’t paint the right picture. It is not the right communication. This is the reason why today’s protest saw the support from all other officers as well,” a senior official said.
“The earlier matter had already been resolved internally and the media has blown the letter out of proportion. However, the concerns now are due to the press release issued, which doesn’t give the right perspective. It is not factually correct and is not giving the true context of the aggravation,” he added.
Another official said that Sebi is trying to alleviate concerns as the release has created a communication gap.
“All the teams are trying to address the concerns with the help of the HR department There will soon be a resolution. We are working on something,” said a top official.
The sources, however, said the action may not be in ‘monetary terms’ but on other demands around reducing stress and improving work culture.
While close to 300 employees gathered outside the Sebi building in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).
However, several employees claimed that the strength of the protest was close to 500 across different grades.
“The protest is for the purpose of showing dissent and unity against the ‘arm-twisting exercise’ by the top management in the garb of a press release with a fake narrative against all Sebi employees,” said a note circulated by the employees.
This is the second protest by the officials in the last two months after the first “silent protest” conducted on August 5, a day before they sent the letter on their grievances to the finance ministry.
The fresh protest stems from a five-page press release issued by Sebi detailing its stance on the HR crisis at the securities regulator.
Sebi underscored that the email dated August 6 was not sent by employee associations, which had, on the contrary, condemned it.
The market watchdog further said it suspected that its “junior officers have been receiving messages from external elements outside their group, effectively instigating them to go to the media, go to the ministry, go to board…perhaps to serve their own purpose.”
The market regulator had shared that the employees had, after a week of the first letter, submitted a list of 16 demands for monetary and non-monetary benefits, including an increase in House Rent Allowance (HRA), and an automatic promotion at lower performance ratings without interview, Sebi said in the release.
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), opens new tab is considering closing factories in Germany for the first time, in a move that shows the mounting price pressure Europe’s top carmaker faces from Asian rivals.
Monday’s move marks the first major clash between Chief Executive Oliver Blume, who analysts have described as more of a consensus builder than his often combative predecessor Herbert Diess, and unions that command substantial influence at VW.
VW considers one large vehicle plant and one component factory in Germany to be obsolete, said its works council as it vowed “fierce resistance” to the executive board’s plans.
Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz will speak to staff alongside Volkswagen brand chief Thomas Schaefer at a works council meeting on Wednesday morning.
Volkswagen’s works council head Daniela Cavallo, a member of the powerful IG Metall union, said she expects CEO Blume to get involved in negotiations too, adding that Wednesday’s meeting would be “very uncomfortable” for the group’s management.
IG Metall has thwarted previous attempts at more deep-rooted changes, most recently in 2022 when Diess departed as CEO.
Analysts have in the past named VW sites in Osnabrueck, in Lower Saxony and Dresden, in Saxony, as potential targets for closure. The state of Lower Saxony is Volkswagen’s second-largest shareholder and on Monday supported its review.
Volkswagen, which employs around 680,000 staff, said that it also felt forced to end its job security programme, which has been in place since 1994 and prevents job cuts until 2029, adding all measures would be discussed with its works council.
IG Metall says the job security covers Volkswagen plants in Wolfsburg, Hanover, Braunschweig, Salzgitter, Kassel and Emden.
“The situation is extremely tense and cannot be overcome by simple cost-cutting measures,” Schaefer said in a statement.
VW, which drives most of Volkswagen’s unit sales, is the first of its brands to undergo a cost-cutting drive targeting 10 billion euros ($11 billion) in savings by 2026 as it attempts to streamline spending to survive the transition to electric cars.
‘WAKE-UP CALL’
A difficult economic environment, new rivals in Europe, and the falling competitiveness of the German economy meant Volkswagen needed to do more, Blume told its management.
Volkswagen, whose shares closed 1.2% higher after the news, has lost almost a third of its value over the past five years, making it the worst performer among major European carmakers.
It faces a challenging landscape of challenges in Europe, the U.S. and especially China, where domestic EV makers led by BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab are grabbing its market share. It has lost more stock value than any major competitor over the past two years.
Volkswagen’s plans are the latest blow to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose three-way coalition was slammed in regional votes on Sunday that saw the far-right Alternative for Germany party top the poll in one state and come second in Saxony.
Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING Research, said the decision highlighted the consequences of years of economic stagnation and structural change without growth.
“If such an industrial heavyweight has to close factories, it may be the long overdue wake-up call that (Germany’s) economic policy measures need to be stepped up considerably.” Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/volkswagen-warns-possible-plant-closures-germany-2024-09-02/
Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab is planning to cut a few hundred jobs as part of an annual review process aimed at low performers, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
The investment bank reinstated performance-related job cuts in 2022 after halting it for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our annual talent reviews are normal, standard and customary, but otherwise unremarkable,” a Goldman spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters. “We expect to have more people working at Goldman Sachs in 2024 than 2023.”
Last year, the exercise reportedly resulted in 1% to 5% of Goldman employees losing their jobs. Over the years, the cuts done under Goldman’s strategic resource assessment has fluctuated based on market conditions and its financial outlook.
The bank’s global workforce stood at 44,300, as of quarter ended June 30. It took on multiple rounds of workforce reductions in 2023 as dealmaking suffered and higher-for-longer interest rates weighed on the macroeconomic outlook.
The operating environment for banks has since improved with Goldman reporting second-quarter profit that more than doubled in July on strong debt underwriting and fixed-income trading.
The resilience of the U.S. economy has given corporate executives the confidence to pursue deals, debt sales and stock offerings. But despite an industry-wide recovery, dealmaking activity has remained below historical averages.
India approves investment for Vistara-Air India merger; passengers can book Vistara flights until September 3 for travel until November 11.
Following the merger of Vistara with Air India, which is set to be concluded soon, passengers will only be able to book tickets till September 3 for flights that will be operating till November 11.
“We are delighted to share with you that Vistara and Air India are all set to take the next significant step in their integration journey. Starting 03 September 2024, customers will, progressively, no longer be able to make bookings with Vistara for travel on or after 12 November 2024. Vistara will continue to take bookings and operate flights, as usual, till 11 November 2024,” Vistara said in a statement.
This comes after India cleared the last roadblock to Air India’s merger with Vistara, approving a S$360 million ($276 million) investment by Singapore Airlines Ltd. into the new combined carrier.
Vistara said that it will operate its last flight on November 11. All Vistara aircraft thereafter will be operated by Air India and bookings for the routes operated by these aircraft will be redirected to Air India’s website.
RIL was also in news as the Mukesh Ambani-led company and The Walt Disney Company got nod from fair trade regulator CCI for the merger of their Indian media assets.
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Thursday shares topped the Rs 3,000 mark ahead of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate’s 47th annual general meeting (AGM), scheduled late in the day at 2 pm. The stock rose 0.68 per cent to hit a day high of Rs 3,016.10.
RIL was also in news as the Mukesh Ambani-led company and The Walt Disney Company got the nod from fair trade regulator CCI for the merger of their Indian media assets.
On technical setup, resistance on the counter could be seen at Rs 3,020, followed by Rs 3,060. “The stock is trading on a neutral make-or-break level. For any close above Rs 3,060, we can see the price rising towards Rs 3,100 and for any close below Rs 2,990, we can see a breakdown towards Rs 2,930 levels. We are on a wait-and-watch strategy,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities.
“The scrip faces overhead resistance near Rs 3,020 and with a decisive close above this hurdle, the price action is anticipated to attain the target of Rs 3,220 in the short term,” said Kushal Gandhi, Technical Analyst at StoxBox.
RIL AGM: Where the focus could be?
JM Financial recently said that any update on the progress of various projects underway in the new Energy business with timelines around project commissioning and earning potential from such projects would be keenly followed.
ICICI Securities said, “New energy will be commissioning its first train of module and cell manufacturing in FY25. Solar panels manufactured in Jamnagar have obtained BIS certification. Parallelly, work on RE development has commenced and Reliance has been allotted land in Gujarat. The company aims to become the largest RE developer in India.”
AGM to be conducted virtually
The AGM will be conducted virtually in line with contemporary practices and regulatory guidelines, RIL mentioned. “The 47th post-IPO AGM of the members of the company will be held on Thursday, August 29, 2024, at 2:00 pm (IST) through video conferencing, in accordance with regulations,” the company release stated.
Traders in the U.S. equity options market are expecting Nvidia’s (NVDA.O), opens new tab upcoming earnings report to spark a more than $300 billion swing in the shares of the world’s most dominant artificial intelligence chipmaker.
Options pricing shows that traders anticipate a move of around 9.8% in the company’s shares on Thursday, a day after it reports earnings, data from analytics firm ORATS showed. That’s larger than the expected move ahead of any Nvidia report over the last three years and well above the stock’s average post-earnings move of 8.1% over that same period, according to ORATS.
Given Nvidia’s market capitalization of about $3.11 trillion, a 9.8% swing in the shares would translate to about $305 billion, likely the largest expected earnings move for any company in history, analysts said.
Such a move would dwarf the market capitalization of 95% of S&P 500 constituents, including Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab and Merck (MRK.N), opens new tab, according to LSEG data.
The results from Nvidia, whose chips are widely seen as the gold standard in artificial intelligence, also have big implications for the broader market. The stock is up some 150% year-to-date, accounting for around a quarter of the S&P 500’s 18% year-to-date gain.
“It alone has been a huge contributor to the overall profitability of the S&P 500,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. “It’s the Atlas holding up the market.”
Options pricing suggests traders are more concerned about missing out on a large upside move from Nvidia than getting hurt by a large drop.
Aviation officials from Asia are making a case for global action to reduce injuries from turbulence, with recent high-profile incidents driving calls to improve forecasting across borders at a Montreal gathering of regulators starting Monday.
While turbulence does not frequently cause fatalities, it is the leading cause of accidents, according to data from the U.N.’s aviation agency, and severe weather patterns brought about by climate change could lead to more incidents, experts say.
It’s one of several issues being tackled by global regulators at the International Civil Aviation Organization’s air navigation conference which runs through Sept 6.
Concerns about turbulence on planes have heightened since a Singapore Airlines flight from London in May encountered a severe incident leading to one death and dozens of injuries.
Countries like Japan, Korea and Singapore want turbulence added as a category in ICAO’s 2026 Global Aviation Safety Plan, which outlines industry priorities, according to event working papers. ICAO said a decision will be taken by its 193 member states at its triennial assembly next year.
Japan and other countries would like ICAO to improve real time coordination of weather and turbulence data sharing across borders as countries take steps to make alerts more user friendly for pilots, an official with the country’s civil aviation bureau said.
Some countries in Asia are taking early steps to make that information, now usually sent in text format, more visually accessible.
Turbulence accounted last year for around 40% of all accidents involving large aircraft in scheduled commercial operations, according to ICAO’s 2024 Annual Safety Report.
The market regulator has imposed a penalty of ₹25 crore on Ambani and restrained him from serving as a director or key managerial personnel (KMP) in any listed company, associate firm of a listed company or any Sebi registered entity for five years
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has barred Anil D. Ambani and 24 others from the securities market for five years for the alleged diversion of funds from Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL).
The market regulator has imposed a penalty of ₹25 crore on Ambani and restrained him from serving as a director or key managerial personnel (KMP) in any listed company, associate firm of a listed company or any Sebi registered entity for five years.
RFHL has been barred from accessing the securities market for six months and imposed a penalty of ₹6 lakh.
Sebi has also levied a fine ranging ₹25-27 crore on 24 other entities.
The 222-page regulatory action came after the regulator conducted a probe for 2018-19 to ascertain any regulatory violations. Reliance Capital was the major promoter of RHFL, holding 47.91 per cent of its equity.
Sebi sought copies of certain loan application documents pertaining to General Purpose Working Capital Loans (GPCL/GPC Loans).
An analysis of such documents — total 70 application documents for loans of ₹6,187.78 crore for GPCL — showed 14 applications involving ₹1,472.16 crore were approved by Ambani in his capacity as chairman, Anil Ambani group. Sebi said this was done despite a decision of the RHFL board on February 11, 2019 not to grant any further loans to corporates
Historically, the RBI issued 10-14 tranches of SGBs annually. Yet, over the last two years, only four series were released, suggesting a slowdown.
Every year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) typically releases Series I of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) between April and June. However, as we sit in August, there’s still no news of the release for 2024.
This delay is raising questions and concerns. Historically, the RBI issued 10-14 tranches of SGBs annually. Yet, over the last two years, only four series were released, suggesting a clear and deliberate slowdown.
Interestingly, despite this slowdown, the last fiscal year saw significant subscriptions of 443 lakh units, compared to 122 lakh units in FY23, 270 lakh units in FY22, and 323 lakh units in FY21.
So, what’s driving the slowdown in the release of the next tranche of SGBs? SGBs were introduced in 2015 with a specific purpose: to curb the growing current account deficit by reducing gold imports. The idea was to provide an alternative to physical gold purchases by offering digital gold with a fixed 2.5% interest rate.
This initiative was based on the assumption that gold prices would remain relatively stable. Between 2012 and 2018, gold prices remained relatively stagnant, fluctuating within a narrow range. During this period, the government saw an opportunity. By offering SGBs at a 2.5% interest rate, the government could raise funds at a lower cost compared to issuing government bonds, which typically carry a 7% interest rate.
The plan was financially sound as long as gold prices remained within a modest range. However, the absence of physical gold backing for SGBs significantly altered the financial calculations.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and subsequent geopolitical tensions brought about unprecedented changes in the global economy, and gold was no exception. Gold, often seen as a safe-haven asset during times of economic uncertainty, saw its price surge dramatically.
In 2019, gold prices were around Rs35,000 per 10 grams. By 2024, the price had nearly doubled to nearly Rs75,000 per 10 grams. This steep rise in gold prices has significantly increased the government’s liability on the SGBs issued during the period of lower prices.
The initial strategy was based on the premise that the government could offer a low-interest product with limited exposure to gold price volatility. However, with gold prices skyrocketing, the financial burden on the government has grown considerably. Each SGB issued now represents a much larger financial commitment than originally anticipated. The 2.5% interest that seemed attractive in a stable gold price environment now appears less so when juxtaposed with the government’s growing liabilities.
Indian market regulator, SEBI has imposed a five-year ban on industrialist Anil Ambani and 24 other entities, including former senior executives of Reliance Home Finance, from participating in the securities market. This action is a result of their involvement in the misdirection of company funds.
Indian markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has imposed a five-year ban on industrialist Anil Ambani and 24 others, including top executives of Reliance Home Finance Ltd. (RHFL), from participating in the securities market. This action follows a probe into RHFL, where funds were allegedly diverted through questionable loans, leading to significant losses and raising concerns among investors.
In addition to the ban, Sebi has imposed a penalty of ₹25 crore on Ambani and barred him from holding any directorial or key managerial positions in listed companies or any intermediaries registered with the regulator for five years.
Reliance Home Finance has also been barred from the securities market for six months and fined ₹600,000.
Sebi’s probe uncovered instances of financial mismanagement at RHFL, where Ambani and key executives were found to have channelled funds through Guaranteed Payment Credit (GPC) loans. These loans were extended to entities with weak financial profiles—entities that, under normal circumstances, would not have qualified for such substantial financial support.
Unprecedented loan disbursements to unworthy entities
Sebi noted that during FY18 and FY19, RHFL disbursed thousands of crores in GPC loans to entities with negative net worth and minimal assets. These loans were issued without any collateral or security, representing a significant deviation from standard credit due diligence.
RHFL’s management ignored internal credit ratings and waived the requirement for assessing the probability of default, allowing these risky loans to proceed unchecked. Despite a board directive on February 11, 2019, to halt GPC loan disbursements, RHFL, under the leadership of Ambani, continued to issue these loans, further exacerbating the financial irregularities.
According to the findings of the Sebi probe, RHFL’s management consistently deviated from standard credit due diligence, disregarding internal credit ratings and waiving the requirement to assess the probability of default, even when borrowers exhibited clear financial weaknesses. This lack of scrutiny allowed risky loans to be issued without proper oversight.
Despite a direct order from RHFL’s Board on 11 February 2019, to cease GPC loan disbursements, the company continued to issue these loans, including those personally sanctioned by Anil Ambani as group head. This disregard for board directives underscores the significant internal control failures within the company, the regulator highlighted.
Further investigation revealed that the GPC loan borrowers and the entities receiving the funds were connected to the promoter group, with post-facto guarantees from promoter-group companies confirming these links. The Statutory Auditor, PwC, raised concerns about the quality and recoverability of the loans but resigned in June 2019, citing these issues.
Key players fined
Sebi has imposed fines of ₹27 crore on Amit Bapna, ₹26 crore on Ravindra Sudhalkar, and ₹21 crore on Pinkesh Shah–all key officials at RHFL. In addition, several entities associated with the fraudulent scheme have been fined ₹25 crore each. These penalties are a response to their involvement in facilitating or benefiting from the illegal loan disbursements.
Sebi’s findings indicate that Anil Ambani, as chairman of the Anil Dhirubai Ambani Group and a key promoter of RHFL’s holding company, played a pivotal role in orchestrating the fraudulent loans. His influence was instrumental in approving substantial loan amounts and directing funds to related entities.
India’s antitrust body has reached an initial assessment that the $8.5 billion India merger of Reliance and Walt Disney media assets harms competition due to their power over cricket broadcast rights, four sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
It is the biggest setback so far to the planned Disney-Reliance merger which aims to create India’s biggest entertainment player which will compete with Sony (6758.T), opens new tab, Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS), opens new tab, Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab with a combined 120 TV channels and two streaming services.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has privately warned Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab and Reliance (RELI.NS), opens new tab through a notice in which it has shared its concerns about their grip over rights to broadcast the favourite sport of the world’s most populous country, one of the sources said.
The CCI has asked the companies to explain within 30 days why an investigation should not be ordered.
“Cricket is the biggest pain point for the CCI,” said another source.
The merged company, which would be majority owned by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance (RELI.NS), opens new tab, would have lucrative rights worth billions of dollars for the broadcast of cricket on TV and streaming platforms, raising fears over pricing power and its grip over advertisers.
Reliance, Disney and the CCI did not respond to requests for comment. All sources declined to be named as the CCI process is confidential.
Antitrust experts had warned the merger, announced in February, could face intense scrutiny, especially on the sporting rights issue.
The CCI earlier privately asked Reliance and Disney around 100 questions related to the merger. The companies have told the watchdog they are willing to sell fewer than 10 television channels to assuage concerns about market power and win an early approval, sources told Reuters.
But they had refused to relent on cricket, telling the CCI that broadcast and streaming rights will expire in 2027 and 2028 and cannot be sold right now, and that any such move would require the cricket board’s approval, which could delay the process.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has Jay Shah, the son of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home minister Amit Shah, in one of its top positions as secretary.
What are the charges levelled against the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s Chairperson by Hindenburg Research? What are the market regulator’s code of conduct guidelines? Do Madhavi Puri Buch’s actions constitute a potential conflict of interest? What lies ahead?
The story so far: Over a year and a half after U.S.-based Hindenburg Research alleged corporate malfeasance, stock price manipulation and breach of minimum public shareholding norms against the Adani Group of companies, the firm issued another report late last Saturday. It argued that India’s stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is reluctant to follow the trail on its charges about the use of offshore funds linked to “the Adani money siphoning scandal” because its own chairperson had a conflict of interest, having jointly invested in the same fund with her spouse.
SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, in a statement last Sunday, said their investment in the fund flagged by Hindenburg was made during their stint as “private citizens” in Singapore, and almost two years before she joined as a SEBI member in 2017. This investment was spurred by Mr. Buch’s proximity to the fund’s Chief Investment Officer, Anil Ahuja, who was a “childhood friend”, and was redeemed in 2018 when Mr. Ahuja moved on from the role. They also cited a confirmation from Mr. Ahuja that the fund in question did not invest in any bond, equity or derivative of any Adani Group firm at any time. Mr. Ahuja was also a director of Adani Enterprises till 2017. On the U.S. firm’s charges that the SEBI chief owned two consulting firms, in Singapore and India, and transferred 100% of the Singapore outfit’s shares to her spouse in March 2022, the Buchs said these firms “became immediately dormant” on her appointment with SEBI. The transfer of the Singapore entity to Mr. Buch, who was said to have used both the entities since 2019 for his “own consultancy practice” with “prominent clients in the Indian industry”, was disclosed to SEBI as well as tax authorities in India.
Sovereign gold bonds are trading above the reference rate, due to their tax advantage and coupon rate. But with news of lesser or no future issuances, listed SGBs are becoming even more popular.
Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) that are available on the exchanges are trading at a higher premium to their reference price.
For instance, on an average, the closing prices of the topmost 15 liquid SGB series were eight percent higher than their reference price, as of August 14, 2024. The price of gold with 999 purity, published on ibjarates.com, is the reference rate for SGBs.
Starting 2015, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched 67 SGB tranches and issued 14.7 crore units.
All the series were listed in the secondary markets and are available for trading in the cash segment of the BSE and the NSE. Investors can buy and sell them through demat accounts. In the absence of new issues, the demand for these bonds may likely go up, and this would lead to a further rise in the price of these bonds against the reference price.
For instance, the closing price of the most actively traded SGB series, SGB 2023-24, Series IV, on August 14, 2024, on the NSE was Rs 7,930 — about 12 percent higher than the IBJA 999 purity gold rate of Rs 7,079.
SGB series have traded on premium to the reference rate since the beginning due to the additional coupon rate and the tax exemption upon maturity.
What are SGBs?
SGBs are government-backed gold bonds issued by the RBI. Unlike other gold asset classes like gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and physical gold, SGBs offer an annual coupon rate of 2.5 percent or 2.75 percent, which is an added advantage.
Bleak outlook for new SGB issuance
SGBs are in the spotlight after Union Budget 2024 cut customs duties on gold and silver to 6 percent from 15 percent. This led to a fall in gold and SGBs prices. Investors are worried that this could, in turn, reduce the gain from the SGBs that will mature in the upcoming months.
“There were rumours that the reduction of gold import duty were due to high bond returns,” says Deepak Jasani, Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
On July 25, Moneycontrol reported that the government might reduce or even discontinue the SGB scheme as they are turning out to be an expensive proposition.
As there is uncertainty on the future issuances of SGBs, investors who find SGBs as a good option to participate in the expected gold price upmove seem to be paying a premium to buy the current series of SGBs, adds Jasani.
Tax exemption on maturity an added advantage
SGBs score over other gold investment options, such as gold ETFs and physical gold, on taxation.
If individuals redeem their SGB investments at maturity (after eight years), they don’t have to pay capital gains tax. Also, they are exempted from capital gain, if they redeem SGBs using the RBI’s premature withdrawal window at the end of the 5th, 6th, or 7th year.
However, if you sell your SGBs outside of this window or on the stock exchange, capital gains will be taxable. If SGB units are bought on stock exchanges and sold within 12 months, that shall be classified as short-term capital gain (STCG) and taxed at applicable slab rates. If SGBs are held for more than 12 months, the long-term capital gain tax is applicable at 12.5 percent (plus applicable surcharge and cess).
Ford Motor (F.N), opens new tab is recalling about 85,000 Explorer SUVs equipped with the Police Interceptor Utility package over concerns of an engine fire, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Friday.
In the event of a motor failure, oil and fuel may be released into the engine compartment and accumulate near ignition sources, possibly resulting in a fire, the regulator said.
The recall affects SUVs from model years 2020-2022 equipped with 3.3L hybrid and gas engines.
Ford’s Explorer with the Police Interceptor Utility package is equipped with better powertrain options, structural reinforcement and cargo storage when compared to the base model sold to civilians.
Family-owned candy giant Mars is buying Cheez-It maker Kellanova (K.N), opens new tab in a nearly $36 billion deal, bringing together brands from M&M’s and Snickers to Pringles and Pop-Tarts in the year’s biggest deal to date.
Mars said on Wednesday it will pay $83.50 per share for Kellanova (K.N), opens new tab, representing about a 33% premium to its closing price on Aug. 2 before Reuters first reported that Mars was exploring a deal for the maker of frozen breakfast foods, such as Morningstar Farms and Eggo.
The deal is a bet on consumers continuing to indulge in branded snacks, and comes as packaged food companies face stalling growth after years of price hikes to cover sky-rocketing inflation.
The combined company aims to hold prices steady, said Mars CEO Poul Weihrauch in an interview with Reuters Wednesday, and not pass on costs from the deal to consumers.
“We are a big and stronger company,” Weihrauch said. “We hope to be able to absorb more costs in our structure and help alleviate the issues we have in an inflationary environment.”
Food prices in the United States increased roughly 25% from 2019 through 2023, far more than other categories such as housing and medical care, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But inflation has started to moderate, according to the U.S. consumer price index data released Wednesday.
Consumers in the United States and Europe – major markets for both companies – have been looking for cheaper alternatives or ditching brands for cheaper private label goods.
Kellanova has seen private label encroach on its market share for cereal in Europe and other areas, said CEO Steve Cahillane. The company sells sweet cereals such as Smacks, Frosties and Coco Pops in Europe, according to securities filings.
The U.S. packaged food sector is seeing robust dealmaking as companies seek scale to weather the impact of inflation-weary consumers cutting back and shifting their purchases to private label brands.
“We think an environment more conducive to deal-making could also encourage some of the large-cap packaged food names within the industry to shift their focus away from portfolio cleanup and divestiture efforts and towards a more offensive, acquisition-led posture with a focus on growth,” Barclays analysts wrote in a note on Wednesday.
Investors are also worried about a decline in sales from the greater adoption of drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy for weight loss, which curb appetites and lead to feelings of fullness.
Weihrauch said half of the company’s portfolio will be “wholesome” snacks such as low-calorie Special K, Kind bars and Nutri-grain.
Unlike competitor Nestle (NESN.S), opens new tab, Mars has no plans currently to develop new products specifically for people using the weight-loss drugs, Weihrauch said.
Mars said it plans bolster its snacking division, invest locally and introduce more healthy options through the deal, as the category is “attractive and durable.”
The company has a 4.54% share of the U.S. snacking market, while Kellanova holds about 3.9%, according to data from GlobalData, well behind market leader PepsiCo (PEP.O), opens new tab.
Kellanova sells noodles in Africa, though the business has faced hurdles due to the continent’s economic struggles.
Cahillane said Kellanova’s distribution network in Africa offers Mars an opportunity to take its candy to the continent. Mars’ presence in China offers an “enormous” opportunity for Pringles, Cahillane said.
MARS’ BIGGEST-EVER BET
The acquisition, which dwarfs Mars’ $23-billion takeover of Wrigley in 2008 and is one of the biggest deals ever in the packaged foods industry, is not expected to face too many antitrust roadblocks due to the limited overlap in the offerings of the two companies, legal experts had told Reuters.
After the completion of the deal in the first half of 2025, Kellanova will become a part of Mars Snacking, led by Global President Andrew Clarke, the companies said. It will be based in Chicago. Cahillane, a veteran of the packaged food and drinks industry who previously held positions at Coca-Cola (KO.N), opens new tab, said he would be leaving the combined company when the deal closes.
In a regulatory filing, Kellanova said the closing date for the deal could be extended by up to 12 months, if the companies do not receive the necessary regulatory approvals by August 2025.
Shares of Kellanova rose about 8% to $80.25 in early trade. Excluding debt, the deal values Kellanova at $28.58 billion, based on its outstanding share count, according to Reuters calculations.
Kellanova, which split from WK Kellogg (KLG.N), opens new tab last October, is rooted in a salty snacks business and sells cereal outside of North America. WK Kellogg was left with the North American cereal business of Kellogg, the original parent company.
Since the separation from WK Kellogg, Kellanova’s shares have traded at a discount to peers such as Hershey (HSY.N), opens new tab and Mondelez International (MDLZ.O), opens new tab, which made the company an acquisition target.
The Supreme Court has revived insolvency proceedings against Byju’s by putting a previous tribunal order on hold.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday revived insolvency proceedings against Byju’s by putting a previous tribunal order on hold, in a victory for US lenders that say they are owed $1 billion by the education technology company.
The Supreme Court order is a setback to company founder Byju Raveendran who earlier this month regained control of the startup that was once India’s most valuable at $22 billion.
Byju’s did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the court order.
The company was undergoing insolvency proceedings following a complaint by India’s cricket control body which said it was not paid sponsorship dues. The two sides subsequently settled the dispute and an appeals tribunal halted the insolvency proceedings.
A revival of the proceedings will put control of the company back in the hands of a court-appointed insolvency administrator.
Laxman Narasimhan had only been in the role for a year-and-a-half, but had been under growing pressure following a string of disappointing financial results.
Starbucks has suddenly replaced its chief executive after the company suffered a bigger-than-expected drop in sales.
The coffee chain’s board announced on Tuesday that Laxman Narasimhan had departed the firm “effective immediately”.
They said Brian Niccol – the boss of burrito chain Chipotle – would soon take his place.
It comes following mounting pressure and speculation over the future of Mr Narasimhan, who had only been in the role for a year-and-a-half.
Last month, the firm reported that global sales had fallen by 3% during its third quarter – more than forecast by analysts, and the latest in a string of disappointing financial results.
Along with slumps in regions such as the US and the Middle East, sales plunged by 14% in China during the period.
The declines have been blamed on a combination of weaker demand amid price rises and boycotts related to the war in Gaza.
Mr Narasimhan, previously chief executive of multinational consumer goods firm Reckitt, had been under scrutiny over his lack of experience in the restaurant sector.
Despite spending months studying Starbucks’s business – including training as a barista – he came under further pressure in May when his predecessor Howard Schultz published an open letter urging the chain to make improvements.
There has also been pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management after it built a $2bn (£1.55bn) stake and demanded changes in the firm.
Mellody Hobson, who has stepped down as chairman to lead the company’s board as part of the shake-up, admitted to CNBC that she had begun pushing to have Mr Narasimhan replaced “a couple of months ago”.
Mr Niccol, who has also held senior positions at major US food brands including Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, will become chief executive on 9 September.
Ms Hobson said she was “thrilled”, adding: “His phenomenal career speaks for itself.”
Justice Department officials are considering what remedies to ask a federal judge to order against the search giant, said three people with knowledge of the deliberations involving the agency and state attorneys general who helped to bring the case.
Washington: Google was found last week to have violated antitrust law by illegally maintaining a monopoly in internet search. Now discussions over how to fix those violations have begun.
Justice Department officials are considering what remedies to ask a federal judge to order against the search giant, said three people with knowledge of the deliberations involving the agency and state attorneys general who helped to bring the case. They are discussing various proposals, including breaking off parts of Google, such as its Chrome browser or Android smartphone operating system, two of the people said.
Other scenarios under consideration include forcing Google to make its data available to rivals, or mandating that it abandon deals that made its search engine the default option on devices like the iPhone, said the people, who declined to be identified because the process is confidential. The government is meeting with other companies and experts to discuss their proposals for limiting Google’s power, the people said.
The deliberations are in their early stages. Judge Amit P. Mehta of US District Court for the District of Columbia has asked the Justice Department and Google to come up with a process for determining a fix in the case by September 4. He has scheduled a hearing on September 6 to discuss next steps.
Last week’s ruling that Google was a monopolist was a landmark antitrust decision, raising serious questions about the power of tech giants in the modern internet era. Apple, Amazon and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, also face antitrust cases. Google is scheduled to go to trial in another antitrust case — this one over ad technology — next month. Any remedies in Google’s search case are likely to reverberate and influence that broader landscape.
The stakes are acutely high for Google, which became a $2 trillion internet juggernaut by building an online advertising business and others on top of its search engine. Mehta could reshape the core of the company’s business or order it to abandon longtime practices that have helped to cement its dominance. Google generated $175 billion in revenue from its search engine and related businesses last year.
Private polar expeditions are reaching a new level: Space.
Cryptocurrency speculator Chun Wang bought a SpaceX multi-day flight for an undisclosed amount, the company announced on Monday, with plans to lead the first crewed space mission in polar orbit, flying end-to-end over the Earth.
Called “Fram2,” an ode to the 19th-century polar expedition ship Fram, the mission is scheduled to launch near the end of this year. It will fly on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and use its thrice-flown Dragon capsule named Endurance — an apt coincidence, as a NASA crew three years ago named the spacecraft after explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s famed ship.
For the mission, Wang invited a trio of Arctic specialists to join him: Jannicke Mikkelsen, 38, a Norwegian filmmaker; Eric Philips, 62, an Australian explorer and guide; and Rabea Rogge, 28, a German researcher.
“I’ve been interested in space from a very young age … and for the first time, a private person can plan and design their own very personal mission,” Wang told CNBC.
Wang, 42, was born in Tianjin, China, but now hails from the Mediterranean island country of Malta, having become a citizen last year. Wang said he met his fellow crewmembers while living in Svalbard, the far north Norwegian archipelago, and describes himself as “nomadic,” having visited more than 100 countries the past few years.
Even as the cost of human spaceflight has come down from the exclusive domain of superpower governments, a multi-day mission is still only accessible to ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
SpaceX does not advertise the price of its crewed missions, even though the company does disclose its price tag for launching satellites. NASA has previously disclosed it pays about $55 million per seat to fly astronauts on Dragon, meaning a crewed mission is upward of $200 million.
Wang confirmed that “I paid for this mission,” but declined to specify how much.
Aside from showing off his trips around the world on social media, Wang has kept a low profile and his unspecified net worth appears mostly, if not fully, tied to work mining cryptocurrency.
On LinkedIn, Wang says he mined 7,700 bitcoin over two years, an amount that would be worth about $450 million at current prices. He also says he was the co-founder of F2Pool, a self-described decentralized collective that helps generate cryptocurrency — and the organization says it’s mined more than 1.3 million in bitcoin in the past 11 years, an amount that would be worth over $76 billion in today’s dollars.
Mikkelsen, who is Wang’s neighbor in the Svalbard town of Longyearbyen, said she was shocked when she went from friend to future astronaut.
“I absolutely did not believe Chun when he just randomly texted me,” Mikkelsen told CNBC.
Wang said his proposal to SpaceX for the Fram2 mission came together after the historic private Inspiration4 flight in 2021.
Kenya’s main aviation union said it would call a strike from next Monday over a proposed deal with an Indian company to develop the country’s biggest airport – industrial action that could cause major disruption in the east African travel hub.
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union, which represents airport workers, said the proposed agreement announced last month with India’s Adani Airport Holdings would lead to job losses and bring in non-Kenyan workers.
It called on the government to scrap what it referred to as the “unlawful intended sale of JKIA (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport) to Adani Airport Holdings of India” in a seven-day strike notice issued on Monday.
Kenya’s government has said the airport is not for sale and that no decision had been made on whether to proceed with what it called a proposed public-private partnership to upgrade the hub.
He repeated a call for the entire board of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to resign.
The KAA confirmed on Monday that it had received a strike notice. “We are hopeful that a resolution can be reached through negotiation,” spokesperson Elijah Miano said.
The authority has said Adani would add a second runway at JKIA and upgrade the passenger terminal.
Kenya Airways Chief Executive Allan Kilavuka did not respond to a request for comment.
The government said in a statement on the Adani proposal last month that JKIA was stretched beyond its capacity of 7.5 million passengers a year and in urgent need of improvements, citing incidents like leaking roofs which it said had caused “international embarrassment”.
The statement said modernising JKIA could cost $2 billion, which the government was “constrained to fund due to the current tight fiscal situation”.
The mop-up includes personal income tax collection of Rs 4.47 lakh crore and corporate tax collection of Rs 2.22 lakh crore.
New Delhi: Net direct tax collection grew 22.48 per cent to about Rs 6.93 lakh crore as of August 11 this fiscal, government data showed on Monday.
The mop-up includes personal income tax collection of Rs 4.47 lakh crore and corporate tax collection of Rs 2.22 lakh crore. Securities Transaction Tax (STT) mopped up Rs 21,599 crore, while other taxes (which include equalisation levy and gift tax) earned Rs 1,617 crore.
Refunds worth Rs 1.20 lakh crore were issued between April 1 to August 11, a growth of 33.49 per cent.
On a gross basis, direct tax collection grew 24 per cent to Rs 8.13 lakh crore. The collection includes PIT (personal income tax) of Rs 4.82 lakh crore and corporate tax of Rs 3.08 lakh crore.
Adani Power shares plunged 10.94 per cent to hit a low of Rs 619 on BSE. Adani Enterprises tanked 5.27 per cent to Rs 3,018.55 level. Adani Energy Solutions nosedived 17.06 per cent to hit a low of Rs 915.70, before staging recovery.
Shares of Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Power Ltd, Adani Total Gas Ltd, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd, Adani Green Energy Ltd and five other Adani group stocks fell up to 17 per cent in Monday’s trade after Hindenburg Research suggested alleged links of SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch with an offshore fund tied to the Adani group. While the Adani group, the market regulator SEBI and the Buchs issued clarifications, Adani stocks fell on knee-jerk reaction to fresh Hindenburg allegations.
Analysts believe the prevailing weakness in Adani stocks would be short-lived. Shares of Adani Power plunged 10.94 per cent to hit a low of Rs 619 on BSE. Shares of the flagship firm Adani Enterprises tanked 5.27 per cent to hit a low of Rs 3,018.55. Adani Energy Solutions in fact nosedived 17.06 per cent to hit a low of Rs 915.70, before staging recovery. The stock was later down 2.38 per cent at Rs 1,078. Adani Green Energy sank 6.96 per cent to Rs 1,656.05.
Adani Total Gas tumbled 13.39 per cent to Rs 753. It later recovered to Rs 829.85 level, down 4.55 per cent. Adani Wilmar declined 6.49 per cent to Rs 360. Adani Ports dropped 4.95 per cent to Rs 1,457.35. ACC, Ambuja Cements and NDTV slipped 2-3 per cent.
Hindenburg claimed that the IPE Plus Fund where SEBI chief had investments, beyond being a purported channel for Vinod Adani’s money, had other close ties to the Adani group. The Founder and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the IPE Plus Fund was Anil Ahuja, who, according to his biography and exchange disclosures, served as a director of Adani Enterprises for three terms spanning nine years, ending in June 2017, Hindenburg said. He had previously been a director of Adani Power, it claimed.
In response to these claims, the Adani Group emphasised that Anil Ahuja, mentioned in the report, served as a nominee director of 3i investment fund in Adani Power from 2007 to 2008 and later as a director of Adani Enterprises until 2017. However, the Adani Group clarified that it has no commercial relationship with the individuals or matters mentioned in what they describe as a deliberate attempt to tarnish its reputation.
Besides, the SEBI chief said the decision to invest in the fund was based on the fact that the Chief Investment Officer, Anil Ahuja, was a longtime friend of Dhaval’s from school and IIT Delhi. Ahuja, who had a strong investing career with experience at Citibank, J.P. Morgan, and 3i Group plc, was the key factor in their investment decision. “When in 2018 Mr. Ahuja left his position as CIO of the fund, we redeemed the investment in that fund,” the release stated. They also confirmed, with Ahuja’s affirmation, that at no point did the fund invest in any bonds, equities, or derivatives of any Adani group company.
Vinit Bolinjkar of Ventura Securities does not see Hindenburg allegations as serious. “They are recycling of the same thing. They are trying to connect one event around and into the other, without giving any evidence of criminality. It is old wine in a new bottle, recycled and desperate.”
Responding to the allegation, Buchs said in their statement, ‘Our life and finances are an open book. All disclosures as required have already been furnished to SEBI over the years.’
New Delhi: Capital markets regulator Sebi Chairman Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband on Saturday denied allegations levelled against them by short seller Hindenburg as baseless and asserted that their finances are an open book.
In a statement, Madhabi Puri Buch and Dhaval Buch also said it is unfortunate that Hindenburg Research, against whom Sebi has taken an Enforcement action and issued a show cause notice, has chosen to attempt character assassination in response to the same.
US short-seller Hindenburg Research has alleged that Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puro Buch and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.
In a blogpost, Hindenburg said 18 months since its damning report on Adani, “SEBI has shown a surprising lack of interest in Adani’s alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities.”
Citing “whistleblower documents”, it said, “Madhabi Buch, the current chairperson Of SEBI, and her husband had stakes in both obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.”
Responding to the allegation, Buchs said in their statement, “In the context of allegations made in the Hindenburg Report dated August 10,2024 against us, we would like to state that we strongly deny the baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report.”
“The same are devoid of any truth. Our life and finances are an open book. All disclosures as required have already been furnished to SEBI over the years,” the statment said.
Ola Electric IPO is likely to be listed at around ₹73 per equity share as it is available at a discount of ₹3 in the grey market.
Ola Electric IPO is set to list on the bourses today (August 9). The stock is expected to make a lacklustre debut after the IPO of Ola Electric was subscribed 4.27 times owing to decent response from qualified institutional buyers and retail investors.
Ola Electric IPO details
The IPO opened for subscription on August 2 and closed on August 6. The electric vehicle company offered shares in the fixed price range of ₹72 to ₹76 per share with a lot size of 195 shares.
Through the IPO, the company raised a total of ₹6,146 through the issue which comprised of a fresh share sale of ₹5,500 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) up to 8.49 crore shares. From the Net proceeds of the IPO ₹1,600 crore will be used for research and development purposes, it said, adding, “We cannot assure you that such investment into research and development will proceed as planned and result in creation of tangible assets or achieve results as anticipated.”
Ola Electric IPO GMP today
Ola Electric Mobility Limited shares are available at a discount of ₹3 in the grey market today which means that the IPO is likely to be listed at around ₹73 per equity share.
Ola Electric IPO listing price prediction
Prashanth Tapse, senior VP — research at Mehta Equities, said, “The much-hyped Ola Electric IPO received demand well below street expectation. Looking at the subscription figures and mood of the markets, there are very high possibilities of flat to discounted listing in the range of negative 5 per cent to positive 10 per cent in the best-case scenario. Discounted listing would be justified because of weak financials and risk of negative net cash flows in the past and future negative cash flows.”
The Mac Mini will shrink to a size comparable to an Apple TV set-top box. The update will mark Apple’s first major design change since Steve Jobs’ era in 2010.
Apple may give its biggest ever overhaul to Mac Mini as the tech giant is reportedly readying a new version of Mac Mini which is set to be its smallest desktop computer ever. As per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the update will mark Apple’s first significant design change since Steve Jobs’ era in 2010. In the update, the Mac Mini will shrink to a size comparable to an Apple TV set-top box, the report claimed.
What features will the new Mac Mini boast of?
Apple is attempting to refresh its Mac lineup with special focus on Mac Mini, it was reported.
The new Mac Mini will be integrated with AI-focused M4 processors which are also set to power upcoming iMac desktops, MacBook Pros, and potentially MacBook Airs and Mac Pro models. This represents a major shift as Apple will standardize its chip generation across all its Mac products for the first time. The M4 processors already feature in the iPad Pro and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities.
Moreover, Apple has tested models of the new Mac mini with multiple USB-C ports, an HDMI port and a power cable connection. The new mini will be available in two versions: a base model with the standard M4 chip and a higher-end variant with the M4 Pro chip.
Apple will begin updating its Mac lineup with the new M4 chips starting in late 2024 and early 2025. The 24-inch iMac will be upgraded to feature the next-generation M4 chip and in the MacBook Pro lineup 14-inch model will receive the M4 chip while the 16-inch high-end models will be equipped with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.
The government on Tuesday proposed relief for taxpayers by offering a choice to select either a 12.5 per cent long-term capital gains tax rate without indexation or a 20 per cent rate with indexation for property acquired before July 23.
News18 has learnt that an individual or Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) buying houses before July 23, 2024, can compute taxes under the new scheme of 12.5 per cent without indexation and the old scheme of 20 per cent with indexation and pay such tax which is lower of the two.
The union budget announced the withdrawal of indexation benefits from real estate and lowered the long-term capital gains from 20 per cent to 12.5 per cent. The government felt that this was a good move to adjust the purchase price of an asset for inflation, thereby reducing tax liability eventually.
A copy of the amendment to be moved by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is available with News18.
The minister will introduce the Finance Bill for fiscal 2024–25 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, seeking its consideration and passage. This bill is essential for implementing the budget proposals, which require approval from both houses of Parliament.
A few other amendments have been proposed too, pertaining to customs and excise duties: rate of duty, short-levy refunds, exemptions, and interest. Here too the options are of before July 23, 2024, which would be fixed at 10 per cent, and after or on July 23 at 12.5 per cent.
Concerns have been raised after the world’s largest economy reported much lower-than-expected job creation in July.
Stock markets around the world dropped sharply on Monday amid fears the US economy may be heading for a recession.
The UK’s FTSE 100 closed down more than 2%, the worst day since July 2023. The FTSE 250 also dropped on the open and had fallen 2.83% by the end of the trading day.
Other exchanges in Europe, including in France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain, also dropped between 2% and 4%.
What happened in the US?
As was expected, all the major US stock market indexes fell at the opening bell and continued to drop up to the close.
The Nasdaq Composite – the index heavily made up of technology companies – finished down 3.4%, at its lowest level since early May.
The US index containing companies relied on to be stable and profitable, the S&P 500, slid 3%, its worst day since September 2022.
Similarly, the index of 30 major companies listed on US stock exchanges, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), ended the day down 2.6%.
The falls have come from all-time highs, however. The Nasdaq and Dow Jones tumbles follow new records set in July. The S&P is coming off a February record.
Behind the drop are seven high-performing tech companies, the so-called magnificent seven: Apple, Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, AI-microchip maker Nvidia and electric car producer Tesla.
Sell-offs were not confined just to stock markets. Cryptocurrency Bitcoin reached a level not seen since February. One Bitcoin is now worth $54,650.
A bright spot
There was a bright spot for motorists in the oil price, which fell to $76.62 for a barrel of the benchmark Brent crude oil. Not since January have prices fallen to such a level.
Asia
It follows much steeper drops in Asia earlier in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 share index was down more than 12% at the close – its biggest fall since “Black Monday” in October 1987.
South Korea’s Kospi index dropped more than 9%, while Taiwan’s Taiex exchange slipped by 8.4%.
Markets in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines also fell by around 2% and 3%.
The declines prompted the triggering of circuit breakers – in which the trading of stocks and derivatives is halted for 20 minutes – by some exchanges during the day.
It comes after US jobs market data on Friday came in much lower than expected for July, sending the country’s stock markets tumbling.
Some 114,000 jobs were created during the month – significantly lower than the 175,000 new roles forecast by Wall Street.
The figure was the weakest since December last year and the second weakest since the start of the COVID pandemic in the West in March 2020.
Robert Carnell, from financial services firm ING, said: “What we are looking at now is a situation where the market is viewing what’s going on in the US macro economy as ticking the recession box.”
It also comes after the US Federal Reserve decided on Wednesday not to cut interest rates from the 5.25% to 5.5% range which they have been held at since July last year. Markets expect the central bank to make a cut in September.
Economists at Goldman Sachs said they believed there was now a 25% chance of a recession in the US, up from their previous estimate of 15%.
Analysts at JPMorgan were more pessimistic, putting the probability of a recession at 50%.
Concerns globally have also been heightened by worries over the strength of China’s economy and several weak earnings reports from major technology firms last week, as investors grow jittery over potential returns from investment in AI.
“Succession is very, very important for business sustainability,” Adani told Bloomberg, adding that he preferred an organic, gradual, and systematic transition.
Gautam Adani has reportedly mapped out a succession plan. According to a Bloomberg report, Adani, 62, plans to step down at 70, transferring control of his empire to his sons and their cousins by “early 2030s”.
Adani revealed his thoughts on the future of the conglomerate he built in an interview to the agency. BT could not independently verify the report.
Adani, during the interview, was posed a pivotal question to his two sons and two nephews: Should they divide the extensive Adani Group businesses and go their separate ways, or stay united? He gave them three months to decide. This was the first time Adani discussed his succession plans publicly, emphasizing the importance of a well-planned transition for the sustainability of the business.
“Succession is very, very important for business sustainability,” he said, adding that he preferred an organic, gradual, and systematic transition.
Adani’s sons, Karan and Jeet, along with cousins Pranav and Sagar, chose to run the group as a united family even after their father steps down. This decision aligns with the family’s values and ensures continuity and stability for the Adani Group, which boasts a market capitalization of $213 billion across ten listed entities.
These entities span various sectors, including infrastructure, ports, shipping, cement, and solar energy.
According to Bloomberg, Adani’s four heirs will be equal beneficiaries of the family trust, guided by a confidential agreement. This structure ensures that the family’s legacy and business empire remain intact and continue to flourish under the next generation’s leadership.
BMW (BMWG.DE), opens new tab reported a lower-than-expected profit margin in its core automotive segment during the second quarter on Thursday, hitting its shares as heightened competition and weaker demand in China weighs on the sector.
The German automaker’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin in its car segment fell to 8.4% from 9.2% in the same period last year, falling short of the 8.7% expected by analysts, according to a company-compiled consensus.
The shares were trading 3.8% lower at 0727 GMT.
BMW and its peers are under pressure in their key market China, where local carmakers are gaining share with lower-cost electric vehicles, forcing their European rivals to slash prices.
The Munich-based carmaker saw a 4% slump in its China sales in the first six months of the year but performed better in the region than Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), opens new tab and Mercedes (MBGn.DE), opens new tab.
BMW expects the economic situation in China to stabilise in the third quarter, it said in a statement. EV GROWTH STRONG
Carmakers are under pressure to ramp up their electric vehicle offerings as regulatory deadlines from China to the European Union and some U.S. states will begin to ban sales of new fossil fuel emitting cars from the middle of the next decade.
BMW, whose heavy investment in model revamps also weighed on second-quarter results, is seeing strong demand for its all-electric models, setting the company apart from its rivals.
“In our view, e-mobility will continue to be the core drive technology of the future and our primary growth driver,” CEO Oliver Zipse said in a speech to investors, adding that BMW was the world’s third-largest e-car manufacturer.
BMW and its smaller brands Mini and Rolls-Royce increased sales of purely electric cars by a quarter to just over 190,000 in the first half of 2024.
Pointing to broader structural headwinds in the auto sector, finance chief Walter Mertl said BMW was seeing additional requests for support within its supply chain. Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/bmws-auto-profit-margin-falls-short-forecast-q2-2024-08-01/
Intel’s on a long, long road to recovery, and over 15,000 workers will no longer be coming along for the ride. The chipmaker just announced it’s downsizing its workforce by over 15 percent as part of a new $10 billion cost savings plan for 2025, which will mean a headcount reduction of greater than 15,000 roles, Intel tells The Verge. The company currently employs over 125,000 workers, so layoffs could be as many as 19,000 people.
Intel will reduce its R&D and marketing spend by billions each year through 2026; it will reduce capital expenditures by more than 20 percent this year; it will restructure to “stop non-essential work,” and it’ll review “all active projects and equipment” to make sure it’s not spending too much.
“This is painful news for me to share. I know it will be even more difficult for you to read,” reads part of a memo from Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger to staff, which you can also read in full at the bottom of this post.
The company just reported a loss of $1.6 billion for Q2 2024, substantially more than the $437 million it lost last quarter. “Our Q2 financial performance was disappointing, even as we hit key product and process technology milestones,” admitted Gelsinger in the company’s press release. “Our revenues have not grown as expected — and we’ve yet to fully benefit from powerful trends, like AI,” he writes in his employee memo.
Second quarter revenue was $12.8 billion, down just 1 percent year over year, and it’s not like all of Intel’s businesses are failing. While Intel has absolutely been losing money on its chipmaking Foundry business as it invests in new factories and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, to the tune of $7 billion in operating losses in 2023 and another $2.8 billion this quarter, the company’s products themselves aren’t unprofitable.
Almost all the losses this quarter and last quarter came from Foundry, while its sales continue to stay relatively stable and its PC and server businesses stay profitable. (The PC sales slump ended earlier this year.) The company is also set to receive up to $8.5 billion in US government funding from the CHIPS Act.
But investors didn’t seem happy that the company kept itself on a knife’s edge: over the past two years, before this quarterly loss, it had continued to swing between losses and profits overall, for just $1.1 billion in cumulative between Q2 2022 and Q1 2024. “Intel is now the worst-performing tech stock in the S&P 500 this year,” CNBC wrote in April.
Stock Market Today: The bullish run of the share market continues today in the early trade. Both the Indian exchanges are trading in green. Continue reading to find out further details like top gainers, losers, sector-wise performance, and more.
Stock Market Today Opening, August 1
Stock Market Today Opening: The upward momentum of the Stock Market is making a long thread. On another day, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty are positively trading in the early trade. Today is the fourth trading day of the week and it is also the fourth straightforward session in which Indices have opened in green.
Stock Market Today: NSE, BSE Today
At 9:15 am, the Sensex is trading with 177 points high at 81,918, and the Nifty is trading 69 points high at 25,020.
Share Market Today: Top Gainers on NSE
Maruti
On the stock market, Maruti opened at Rs 13,393.00 and reached a high of Rs 13,680.00, while the low was Rs 13,375.00 and the previous close stood at Rs 13,115.80. The last traded price (LTP) for Maruti was Rs 13,546.30. The trading volume for Maruti was 4,21,250 shares, with a total value of Rs 57,128.03 lakhs.
Coal India
Coal India had an opening price of Rs 535.00, peaked at Rs 539.90, and fell to a low of Rs 528.00, with the previous close at Rs 522.20. The volume of shares traded was 76,27,330, amounting to a value of Rs 40,736.81 lakhs.
Hindalco
Hindalco started at Rs 680.00, reached a high of Rs 690.90, and a low of Rs 678.00, with the previous close at Rs 669.60. The volume of traded shares was 14,29,994, with a total value of Rs 9,810.33 lakhs.
All listed Indian companies, including public sector firms, are required to maintain a minimum public shareholding of 25 per cent as per the market regulator’s rules.
New Delhi: India has exempted all state-run firms from meeting public shareholding norms for two years until August 2026, according to a document seen by Reuters.
All listed Indian companies, including public sector firms, are required to maintain a minimum public shareholding of 25 per cent as per the market regulator’s rules.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was against everyone having an electric car despite the endorsement of billionaire Elon Musk, the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab.
“Elon Musk endorsed me and he is a friend of mine, … but I am against everybody having an electric car,” Trump said while speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago.
In a recent harrowing experience, a Bengaluru businessman discovered counterfeit currency in bundles supposedly containing genuine 500 rupee notes. The incident, which left him visibly distressed and sweating upon opening the bundles sealed with a bank stamp, underscores a growing concern over counterfeit money circulating in the region. According to police, Divyansh Sanklecha, proprietor of a furniture outlet in Indiranagar, required an urgent sum of Rs 30 lakh. Unable to travel to Delhi himself, he enlisted the help of his relative Jyoti Babu based in Delhi. Sanklecha’s father took on the task of coordinating with relatives and friends to gather the required funds.
On July 2, Sanklecha’s father received a call from an individual identifying himself as Ramesh. Claiming to have been referred by mutual acquaintances, Ramesh assured that his associates were prepared to collect the Rs 30 lakh from Babu in Delhi. He further promised that upon receipt, another associate named Suresh would deliver the funds to them in Bengaluru.
Sanklecha reportedly forwarded Babu’s information to Ramesh. Around 2 am on July 3, Suresh contacted him, confirming that Rs 30 lakh was prepared and instructing him to retrieve the cash at Marathahalli. Upon arriving at the designated location, Suresh and an accomplice entered Sanklecha’s vehicle and handed him bundles of Rs 500 notes, each bundle bearing bank seals.
After receiving the cash, Sanklecha contacted Babu to inform him of the transaction. Upon returning home and inspecting the bundles, he discovered that only the top and bottom notes of each bundle were genuine, while the remainder were counterfeit. Shocked by this realisation, he came to the distressing conclusion that he had fallen victim to a scam.
According to reports, this is not an isolated case. In recent weeks, there have been multiple instances of businessmen falling victim to similar scams involving fake currency amounting to approximately Rs 92 lakh. In two separate incidents, businessmen sought investments from acquaintances, only to receive bundles of counterfeit notes in return.
Similar fraudulent activities have also been reported in Karnataka’s Kolar, where another businessman found himself in possession of fake currency. In response to these alarming incidents, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) has initiated investigations. Authorities suspect that the perpetrators may have acquired the counterfeit notes through illegal channels such as hawala.
The investigations are ongoing as the affected businessmen seek justice and efforts intensify to curb the circulation of counterfeit currency in the area.
Prem Kumar Jain, a cloth businessman from Chickpet, also filed a similar complaint. Jain informed the authorities that he required Rs 25 lakh and approached his friend Bipin for assistance. Bipin assured Jain that his associate Mahi would arrange the funds from Delhi. Jain received a call from a person named Jayesh, who claimed to have the capability to transport large sums of money to Bengaluru. Jain then provided Mahi’s details to Jayesh.
Union Budget: Funding agencies have already informed scientists that their budgets are fixed with no room to hike allocations.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman hiked customs duty on laboratory chemicals from 10% to 150% in the Union Budget 2024. Owing to this, university research centres are seeing cancelled work orders. This includes all research labs, barring those for physics and maths, as they buy chemicals of international standard from certified suppliers, Times of India reported.
Funding agencies have already informed scientists that their budgets are fixed with no room to hike allocations. A faculty member said as per TOI, “For my lab, which works in the field of biology, one which is a medium-sized one, the annual spend on chemicals is about ₹45-50 lakh. As per new norms, the tax burden on this spend would be ₹1 crore, and my total bill would be ₹1.5 crore now.”
What has Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the Union Budget 2024?
As per the Budget, “The BCD (basic customs duty) rate on lab chemicals classified under HS 9802 00 00 has been increased from 10% to 150%.” Owing to this, an order of ₹1.1 lakh inclusive of tax will now touch ₹2.5 lakh which means tax of ₹1.5 lakh.
What experts feels about the announcement?
A senior scientist told the outlet, “The chemicals under this code make up 90-95% of what we use. Even for most basic experiments, we need chemicals like salts of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and buffers. For growing cells, one needs media, and media needs chemicals. Think of chemicals as the most basic ingredient.”
KYC updates are mandatory for FASTags issued three years ago, to be completed by October 31. For new vehicles, the registration number must be updated within 90 days of purchase.
Starting August 1, 2024, the new updated FASTag rules will be implemented aimed at enhancing toll payments smoother and reducing the wait times at toll plazas. The new rules, issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), emphasises on mandatory KYC updates and linking vehicle details with FASTag accounts.
What are the Key Highlights of New FASTag Rules?
1. Replacement of Old FASTags
2. FASTags older than 5 years must be replaced by October 31.
3. KYC updates are mandatory for FASTags issued three years ago, to be completed by October 31.
4. Mandatory KYC Updates
5. The new guidelines require all FASTag users to complete their KYC process.
6. The KYC process starts on August 1, and all users must update their KYC by October 31.
7. Companies providing FASTag services must ensure KYC is updated for all FASTags issued between three and five years ago.
8. Linking Vehicle Details
9. Vehicle owners must link their registration number and chassis number with their FASTag.
10. For new vehicles, the registration number must be updated within 90 days of purchase.
Additional Requirements
Furthermore, database verification is needed, that is, FASTag providers are required to verify their databases to ensure accuracy. Moreover, as per the new update, users have to upload clear photos of the car’s front and side to their FASTag account.
Mobile number linking is another requirement of this new update, that is each FASTag must be linked to the owner’s mobile number.
Several associations of doctors had sued Patanjali and its promoters, including Baba Ramdev, for defamation.
The Delhi High Court on Monday ordered Patanjali Ayurved and its promoters, including Baba Ramdev, to take down claims that allopathy doctors were responsible for the deaths of lakhs of people during the COVID-19 pandemic, while promoting Patanjali’s Coronil as a “cure” [Resident Doctors Association, AIIMS and Ors v. Ram Kishan Yadav Alias Swami Ramdev and Ors].
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani passed an interim order restraining Ramdev, his associate Acharya Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurveda from making such allegations.
“I have directed the defendants to take down certain tweets in three days, if they fail to do it, the social media intermediaries will take down the content,” the judge said.
In a detailed judgement, the Court ruled that Ramdev’s conduct in blaming allopathic doctors for lakhs of Covid deaths is “egregious” and labeling Patanjali tablets as Coronil amounts to mislabeling which is impermissible under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
The Bench stressed that if Ramdev and Patanjali are allowed to promote and advertise Coronil, the public at large will be at risk and Ayurveda may come into disrepute.
“A plain reading of the impugned material shows that the contesting defendants [Ramdev, Balkrishna and Patanjali] have represented to the public-at-large that the said Tablet [Coronil] is a treatment, medicine and even cure for COVID-19. Such statements and representations are clearly contrary to, and in flagrant violation of, the statutory approvals, certifications and licenses issued by the Ministry of AYUSH and/or by the Licensing Authorities, as detailed above,” the court said.
Justice Bhambhani further said that the statements were made when people were most vulnerable during the pandemic and prone to accepting whatever was put-out by the Ramdev and his associates.
“As a sequitur to the above, this court is constrained to observe that if the contesting defendants are permitted to continue to promote and advertise the said Tablet, not only would the public-at-large be at risk of their health, the ancient and venerated system of Ayurveda may itself come into disrepute,” the Court concluded and passed the interim order.
The Court was dealing with a defamation case filed against Patanjali and its promotors by the Resident Doctors’ Association of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh, Patna and Bhubaneswar along with the Association of Resident Doctors, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, the Union of Resident Doctors of Punjab (URDP), Resident Doctors’ Association, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, Meerut and the Telangana Junior Doctors’ Association, Hyderabad have filed the defamation suit.
As per the suit, Ramdev and his associates made the following claims which are false and should be taken down:
Allopathy is responsible for the deaths of lakhs of people due to COVID-19;
Allopathic doctors have been causing the deaths of thousands of patients;
Allopathic doctors have been profiteering off the patients and advising medicines to patients that have the effect of poison.
The doctors argued that through such misleading claims, Patanjali was sowing doubts in the minds of the general public as to the safety and efficacy of allopathic treatments, and also of COVID-19 vaccines.
As an interim order, the suit sought to restrain Ramdev, his associate Acharya Balkrishna as well as Patanjali Ayurveda from making defamatory allegations against allopathy and from promoting Coronil as a cure for COVID-19.
The doctors alleged public nuisance and misrepresentation by Ramdev for making statements against allopathic medicine and doctors while promoting his own Coronil as a cure for COVID 19.
“The misinformation campaign as to the alleged ill-effects and lack of efficacy of allopathy during the ongoing pandemic have the propensity to divert people from allopathic treatments prescribed as the standard form of care even by the Government of India, and thereby directly violates the right to health of persons in India/citizens of India, which is a facet of Article 21 of the Constitution,” the plaint filed by the doctors stated.
The paper said that Viksit Bharat is envisioned to be built on the three pillars of ‘Demography, Democracy and Diversity’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the Ninth Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog.
India needs to strive to be a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047 with a per capita income of USD 18,000 per annum to become a developed economy, NITI Aayog has said in an approach paper ‘Vision for ‘Viksit Bharat @2047’.
According to the paper, which was discussed in the NITI Aayog meeting on Saturday, India needs to avoid the middle-income trap.
The paper said that Viksit Bharat is envisioned to be built on the three pillars of ‘Demography, Democracy and Diversity’.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the Ninth Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog.
The paper said that studies have shown that barely a dozen middle-income countries have broken out to become develop high income countries in the last 70 years.
“Progressing from a middle-income to a high-income level requires sustained growth in the range of 7-10 per cent for 20-30 years. Very few countries have managed to do this. The reasons have been well analysed and include structural, institutional, and other socioeconomic factors. As a nation we need to avoid this trap and carefully work towards breaking out of it,” the paper said.
“As for the economy, to become a developed nation, we need to strive to be a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047 with a per capita income of USD 18,000 per annum. The GDP would have to grow nine times from today’s USD 3.36 trillion and the per capita income would need to rise eight times from today’s USD 2,392 per annum,” the approach paper said.
Referring to the tangible gaols for Viksit Bharat, the paper said that on the demographic front, India can aim for raising the average life expectancy to around 84 years.
“The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) will be gradually declining to about 1.80 and the population stabilising at about 165 crores by 2047. Being a youthful nation, the working age population would be around 112 crores, making it the single largest workforce of any nation in the world. In a similar manner, we can aim for tangible goals on some basic parameters such as literacy and health with a target of universal literacy and a very low Infant Mortality Rate (IMR),” it said.
For Bharat@2047, the paper projects a median population age of 37 years. In terms of social profile, it calls for 100 per cent literacy rate, over 70 per cent female labour participation (from current 37 pc), 100 per cent skilled workforce and top 10 in global gender equality.
In terms of economic profie, the paper calls for over USD 18,220 per capita GDP, 34 per cent industry contribution to GDP and 55 per cent reduction in carbon emission intensity from 2005 level.
Viksit Bharat @ 2047 is ambition of every Indian. States can play an active role to achieve this aim as they are directly connected with the people: Prime Minister @narendramodi at the 9th Governing Council Meeting of #NITIAayog. The Governing Council Meeting is being attended by…
“These goals are just a few illustrative examples of what our nation should aim to achieve. There should be similar goals in all spheres of life, be it for individuals, for the economy or for governance. It is only the steadfast pursuit of these goals across all spheres of human endeavour that will enable India to become a Viksit Bharat. Team India will have to work together to realise this Vision by strategizing, planning and implementing policies, programmes and interventions in a spirit of cooperative federalism,” the paper said.
The paper said that Viksit Bharat represents “our collective vision to transform India into a developed country where each individual will live up to her/ his potential with meaningful lives and livelihoods, and the entire society and economy will flourish.” “As India stands at this crucial juncture, poised to take off on its growth trajectory, it is important to realise that tremendous dedication and belief in India’s destiny is necessary to realise this potential. There is enormous work that needs to be undertaken in a mission mode to achieve the vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.”
The fall in gold prices primarily impacts Indian households, who own some of the largest reserves of gold across the world.
The pen is known to be mightier than the sword, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proved it in one fell swoop.
By announcing a cut in gold customs duty in the Union Budget 2024, gold prices tumbled over five percent, wiping off over Rs 10.7 lakh crore in value in a single day. When compared to the equity markets, this move caused the sixth largest wealth erosion recorded so far.
More importantly, the wealth destruction is likely to have hit far more households than the damage caused by the big falls in equities because the number of households owning gold is far higher in comparison.
The fall in gold prices primarily impacts Indian households, which combined, own some of the largest reserves of gold across the world. Currently, Indian households own approximately around 11 percent of the entire world’s gold. This is more gold than large developed nations like USA, Germany, Switzerland and the IMF combined.
Why did gold prices fall on Budget day?
Since the year began, gold prices had been on a tearaway rally, jumping 14.7 percent and outperforming the Sensex, which has risen around 11 percent during the same time. Thus far in July, MCX gold has dropped by nearly 5.2 percent.
However, during the Budget, the Finance Minister announced a reduction on Basic Custom Duty on gold and silver from 10 percent to 6 percent and Agriculture Infrastructure & Development Cess (AIDC) from 5 percent to 1 percent. It will effectively reduce the overall taxes on gold from around 18.5 percent (including GST) to 9 percent.
Who does it impact and how?
Gold traders were not happy with the move to reduce the value of the precious metal and began selling off their holdings, booking profits.
Gold financiers were also none too pleased with the move, as it reduces the value of gold and will significantly reduce their loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, making them less financially secure.
A lower LTV ratio means that the value of the gold used to secure loans is less compared to the total loans issued, thus reducing the companies’ margin of safety.
Even Indian households and temples, which combined own over 30,000 tonnes of gold, saw the value of their holdings sharply.
However, the beneficiaries that will benefit from the move are organised jewellery players. The reduction in duty has been a long-standing demand of traders, as it will slow down smuggling as well.
Sharks off the coast of Brazil’s party city Rio de Janeiro have tested positive for cocaine.
The predators were consuming the potent stimulant due to its continuous release from inadequate sewage treatment facilities and clandestine refining operations, scientists wrote in a study, opens new tab published in Science of The Total Environment.
Some may also have attacked bricks of cocaine which traffickers had lost at sea off the coast of Brazil, one of the world’s largest markets for the drug.
Of the 13 specimens of Brazilian sharpnose shark scientists tested over almost three years, all presented cocaine in their muscle and liver tissue, according to the study by the Oswaldo Foundation Cruz, an institute of science, technology and health.
“It is necessary to carry out specific studies to determine the exact consequences of this contamination on animals,” said Rachel Ann Hauser-Davis, a biologist from the IOC Environmental Health Assessment and Promotion Laboratory, in a statement.
“It is believed that there may be an impact on the growth, maturation and, potentially, the fecundity of sharks, since the liver plays a role in the development of embryos.”
The scientists collected the samples between September 2021 and August 2023 as they monitored environmental impacts of pollution on marine life.
Because sharks were predators, Hauser-Davis said they were central figures in the food chain and were considered “sentinel species” that could provide early warnings about environmental threats to humans.
Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab said on Thursday that whoever wins the U.S. presidential election in November will have limited tools to significantly boost domestic oil supply next year.
Strategic petroleum reserve stocks are low and regulatory easing may only significantly boost U.S. long-run supply, the bank said in a client note.
Oil prices rose slightly on Friday after the release of U.S. economic data that beat analyst estimates, raising investor expectation for increased crude oil demand from the world’s largest energy consumer.
The Brent crude futures contract for September traded around $82 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September was around $78.
Goldman Sachs expects Brent prices to range from $75 to $90 in 2025, assuming trend-like growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and steady oil demand as well as market balancing by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and affiliates.
“While there is a lot of uncertainty about trade policy, tariffs on U.S. crude imports seem unlikely.”
Goldman Sachs expects oil prices to take a hit of as much as $11 per barrel next year as a result of weaker demand and GDP in a scenario where the U.S. imposes an across-the-board tariff of 10% on goods imports.
The Budget 2024 saw Centre push for more individuals to opt for the simplified new tax regime, which can be beneficial for those with a lower income slab.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented the Budget 2024-25 in Parliament, making announcements offering improved benefits to those who opt for the new tax regime. However, people with higher incomes and higher tax deductions may find the incentives offered by the old tax regime more attractive in the longer run.
Under the new and simplified tax regime, Nirmala Sitharaman liberalised the income tax slabs, and hiked the standard deduction from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000. In view of the new revisions, salaries individuals would be better off switching to the new tax regime amid the government’s push.
However, if one is claiming deductions of up to ₹2 lakh on home loan interest or are eligible for hefty house rent allowance (HRA), the old tax regime makes much more sense.
Old tax regime better for higher deductions
For instance, if a salaried employee has an income of ₹11 lakh, and claims deductions of over ₹3,93,750, their outgo will be lower under the old tax regime. While it is at times unlikely that an individual with ₹11 lakh income can claim such a high level of deduction, the same can be claimed by a couple with a double income.
The old regime will be more suitable for a person with an income of around ₹60 lakh if they claim deductions worth more than ₹3,93,750. However, for people with income up to around ₹7.75 lakh, the new and simplified tax regime will be far more beneficial.
The old tax regime will be more ideal for people with income of over ₹10 lakh since it offers flexibility on deductions, leading to more savings for high-income individuals.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted one of the major changes in the budget, which includes adjustments in tax slabs under the new regime and an increased standard deduction to Rs 75,000. These changes are expected to provide taxpayers with annual savings of Rs 17,500.
New Delhi: With the announcement of Budget 2024-25, the middle class is keen to understand its implications on their lives. The crucial question remains: where does this Budget position India’s middle class? The answer is determined by three key factors: your income level, the tax regime you have chosen, and the specifics of your investments (where and how much you have invested.) In one of the major highlights of the Budget 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a in tax slabs under the new regime and the enhanced standard deduction to Rs 75,000.
The move will benefit taxpayers by saving Rs 17,500 annually. Additionally, since a reduction in your tax also lowers the health and education cess, saving another Rs 700 (4% of Rs 17,500), the total savings amount to Rs 18,200.
Who All Have Benefitted After The Change In Tax Slab Under New Tax Regime
The increase in the standard deduction amount and the tax slab under the new tax regime will benefit the middle class taxpayers as those with income of Rs 7.75 lac per annum can now make their tax liability nil.
There is no tax payable on income up to Rs 3 lakh. For income between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 7 lakh, the tax rate is 5%. This means that at an income of Rs 7 lakh, your tax liability would be Rs 20,000. However, you are entitled to a rebate of Rs 25,000 under Section 87A, resulting in no actual tax due. Adding the standard deduction of Rs 75,000, you remain exempt from taxes up to an income of Rs 7.75 lakh.
Gold, silver, platinum, mobile phones and cancer drugs are among the items likely to become cheaper with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing relaxation in duties in her Union Budget 2024 speech on Tuesday.
HERE’S WHAT IS LIKELY TO BECOME CHEAPER:
Mobile Phones: The basic customs duty (BCD) on mobile phones, mobile printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), and mobile chargers has been reduced from 20% to 15%.
This move by the government is expected to make smartphones more affordable for consumers, which can be considered a good sign for the ‘Made In India’ manufacturing sector.
This decision comes in light of the substantial growth in domestic production and exports of mobile phones over the past six years.
The announcement has been welcomed by handset and electronics manufacturers, who have long advocated for a rationalized import duty structure to attract global value chains and enable large-scale manufacturing in India.
Cancer Drugs: Three more cancer treatment drugs exempted from customs duty.
Gold and Silver: Customs duties on gold and silver to be reduced to 6%.
Platinum: Customs duties on platinum to be reduced to 6.5%.
The reduction in basic customs duty of gold, silver and platinum has been a long pending demand of the gems and jewellery industry.
Shares of gold and jewellery retailers surged after Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement. On the BSE, the stock of Senco Gold zoomed 6.16% to trade at Rs 1,000.80 apiece, Rajesh Exports surged 5.49% to Rs 313.90 and PC Jeweller jumped 5% to trade at Rs 74.16 — also its upper circuit limit.
In addition, shares of Titan Company climbed 3.66% to Rs 3,371.65 per piece, Tribhovandas Bhimhji Zaveri rose 2.79% to Rs 140.20, and Kalyan Jewellers India gained 1.54% to Rs 537.05 apiece on the bourse.
Seafood: Basic customs duty on certain brood stocks, shrimps and fish feed to be reduced to 5%.
Following the announcement, shares of producers and exporters of seafood products’ firms jumped.
The stock of Zeal Aqua soared 9.27%, Kings Infra Ventures surged 8.15%, Coastal Corp climbed 7.55%, Apex Frozen Foods zoomed 7.51% and Waterbase jumped 5.51% on the BSE.
Solar Energy Parts: Govt proposes not to extend customs on solar energy-related parts.
List of exempted capital goods for use in the manufacturing of solar cells and panels in the country to be expanded.
Footwear: Govt proposes to cut customs duty of manufacturing leather and footwear.
Critical Minerals: 25 critical minerals to be exempted from customs duties & BCD on two of them to be reduced.
The finance minister proposed to fully exempt 25 minerals, such as lithium, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements, which are critical for sectors like nuclear energy, renewable energy, space, defence, telecommunications, and high-tech electronics from customs duties and reduce basic customs duty on two of them.
This will provide a major fillip to the processing and refining of such minerals and help secure their availability for these strategic and important sectors, she said.
Ferronickel, Blister Copper: Basic customs duty on ferronickel and blister copper to be removed.
The Sensex and Nifty plummeted after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to increase Securities Transaction Tax (STT) in the Union Budget 2024.
The announcement of a proposed increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Union Budget 2024 speech sent the stock market plunging downwards.
The benchmark BSE Sensex fell by over 900 points to a low of 79,515.64. This was a loss of 1.23% or 986.44 points and the NSE Nifty fell below ₹24,300.
What is securities transaction tax?
Securities transaction tax is a direct tax that is levied on the sale of securities on the stock exchanges like equity shares, derivatives (Futures and options), and units of equity mutual funds.
Why did an increase in securities transaction tax lead to the stock market tumbling?
STT is paid on top of the transaction value of the security. Therefore, a higher rate of STT increases the transaction value of the security. This can reduce the demand for buying shares and increase the demand for selling them, leading the market to crash.
When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rises to present the 2024 Union Budget at 11 am on July 23, she may perhaps be mindful of the record she will set: presenting seven consecutive budgets.
Bengaluru: When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rises to present the 2024 Union Budget at 11 am on 23rd July, she may perhaps be mindful of the record she will set: presenting seven consecutive budgets.
That, however, will be a secondary consideration. As the Narendra Modi government finds itself with a greater fiscal breathing space than previously expected, the first budget of its third term is a much anticipated one among industry, markets and citizens.
Expectations are that thanks partly to the bumper Rs 2.11-lakh crore dividend paid by the Reserve Bank of India to the government, Sitharaman may be able to provide tax relief to the salaried classes, bring down the cost of housing loans, announce a cash transfer scheme for poor urban women, increase the allocation for infrastructure spending and welfare schemes and expand the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to cover more sectors.
However, beyond PLI and big-ticket infrastructure projects, details are scarce as to how the Finance Minister will tackle the biggest challenge facing the Indian economy: job creation.
“The government should focus on adherence to fiscal prudence and continue on the fiscal consolidation path, but at the same time refrain from obsessing too much over the fiscal stance as it may come in the way of long-term sustainable growth path,” said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group Chief Economic Advisor, State Bank of India, and member of the Sixteenth Finance Commission.
“We think the budget will balance economic imperatives with political ones. In terms of the deficit, this would mean the government using the windfall from the RBI dividend and higher tax revenues to fund higher spending, rather than reducing the deficit from the interim budget estimate, which already suggested accelerated consolidation,” said Shreya Sodhani, Regional Economist, Barclays.
Pol Dominguez, 11, is enjoying his summer holidays in Spain. But unlike most children his age, he does not spend his days at the beach or pool, instead staying indoors to avoid ultraviolet radiation that could be deadly for him.
Dominguez has Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), a rare disease that affects his skin and eyes. Patients are unable to repair their DNA from solar damage, which puts them at high risk of developing cancer.
His case is extreme: even brief exposure to sunlight causes serious burns.
With only 2.3 cases per million live births in Western Europe – and around 100 people living with XP in Spain – the hereditary disease is usually detected early when burns appear.
Dominguez and his family, who live in Barcelona, have radically modified their habits to avoid exposure to UV radiation.
To avoid severe sunburns and blistering, Dominguez wears a hood, jacket, sunglasses and gloves outside, even in winter.
In summer, he stays indoors as much as possible, but when he does need to leave the house, the protective clothing is hot and uncomfortable.
Dominguez’ school has adapted windows and lights so he can have as normal a life as possible, although he needs to bundle up for outside activities and carries a UV meter to check that an environment is safe.
“It’s very hot and I use a fan to make it cooler,” he told Reuters on one of his last days of school, using a portable fan underneath the shield he wears over his face.
Dominguez’ home is UV-light-proof, with protective film on windows, blinds lowered and fans to keep the environment well-ventilated, said his mother, Xenia Aranda.
Gujarat Titans- a three-year-old franchise- could be valued at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.
Adani Group and Torrent Group are in talks with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for the sale of controlling stake in Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans, it was reported. CVC is willing to offload a majority stake in the IPL franchise while retaining a minority holding, Economic Times reported citing people in the know. This comes as Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI’s) lock-in period that stops new teams from selling a stake will end in February 2025.
Gujarat Titans- a three-year-old franchise- could be valued at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. CVC bought the franchise in 2021 for ₹5,625 crore.
An official in the know told ET, “Having missed out on the opportunity to own IPL’s Ahmedabad franchise in 2021, both Adani and Torrent are vying aggressively to buy a majority stake in Gujarat Titans. For CVC, it’s a great opportunity to monetise its stake in the franchise.”
Another official said as per the outlet, “IPL franchises have been attracting a lot of investor attention since the league has established itself as an attractive asset with solid cash flows.”
Gautam Adani has already made investments in cricket by acquiring teams in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and UAE-brd International League T20. In 2023, Adani bagged WPL’s Ahmedabad franchise with a top bid of ₹1,289 crore.
The VRS scheme is open to employees who have completed five years of service with the company, while the voluntary separation scheme (VSS) has been offered to employees with less than five years of service at the airline.
Air India has rolled out a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) along with a voluntary separation scheme for its non-flying permanent staff ahead of the merger of Vistara with it, according to sources.
The VRS scheme is open to employees who have completed five years of service with the company, while the voluntary separation scheme (VSS) has been offered to employees with less than five years of service at the airline, they said.
VRS/VSS scheme
Air India confirmed the developments without sharing the specific details of the twin schemes that the airline rolled out on Wednesday, giving the aspirants a one-month window to apply for VRS/VSS.
This is the third time Air India has come out with a voluntary retirement scheme for its permanent employees since its privatisation two-and-a-half years ago.
600 employees Impacted
Earlier this month, sources in the know told PTI that the merger is expected to impact around 600 employees from the two airlines.
Tata Group-owned loss-making full-service carriers—Air India and Vistara—together have more than 23,000 employees.
Similar schemes are expected to be announced by Vistara as well soon, as after completion of the fitment exercise and assigning of roles, some redundancies are bound to creep in, said a source, adding that Air India is trying to accommodate some of the redundant employees with the Air India group or within the Tata Group companies as well.
Vistara is a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Group.
Once the merger is complete, Singapore Airlines will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India.
Fitment excersise
The fitment exercise, which involves the evaluation of the roles and responsibilities of staff at both airlines in the run-up to the merger, has been going on for the past few months.
Ola Electric IPO: In its last funding round in September, which was led by Singapore investment firm Temasek, Ola Electric was valued at $5.4 billion.
Ola Electric that is gearing up for its initial public offering (IPO) is likely to value the company around $4.5 billion, which is around 16-20 per cent lower than the valuation at its last funding. In its last funding round in September, which was led by Singapore investment firm Temasek, Ola Electric was valued at $5.4 billion.
According to a report in news agency Reuters, the valuation would drop due to a recalibration in the valuation of tech stocks globally. The source told the agency that valuations have corrected overall in the market. The source said that the valuation could still change but is unlikely to reach the $6 billion that founder Bhavish Aggarwal had hoped to achieve for the IPO.
However, another source said that the valuation is likely to be lower since Ola Electric wants the IPO to be “attractively priced so there is an opportunity for investors to create wealth”.
Founded in 2017, Ola Electric dominates the e-scooter market with its offerings and commands 46 per cent market share. It competes with TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, and Ather Energy.
Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRKa.N), opens new tab share price set a record high on Monday, reflecting investors’ confidence in Warren Buffett’s company, which is often regarded as a microcosm of the broader American economy.
The price of Berkshire’s Class A shares closed up 2.1% at $652,997.17. They earlier reached $653,861, surpassing the previous high of $647,039 set on Feb. 26. Berkshire’s more widely held Class B shares are worth about 1/1,500th as much.
Monday’s gain boosted the market value of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire to approximately $937 billion, based on reported shares outstanding. The stock trades at about 23 times the full-year operating profit that analysts project.
Some stock price services show Berkshire’s record-high Class A share price was $741,971 on June 3. That appears to reflect a glitch that also caused the price of the Class B shares to briefly fall more than 99% that day.
Berkshire owns dozens of insurance, energy, manufacturing, retail and service businesses including Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad, Berkshire Hathaway Energy and Dairy Queen ice cream.
It also owns a huge stock portfolio led by Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, whose share price has risen 37% since the end of March.
Despite having donated more than half his Berkshire stock since 2006, the 93-year-old Buffett still owns about 14.5% of the company, worth about $135.8 billion.
His overall fortune is about $137 billion, making him the world’s eighth-richest person, Forbes magazine said on Monday. Source:https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/berkshire-hathaway-share-price-sets-record-high-2024-07-15/
The SETFI, in a statement, added there should be a provision for giving loans for losses made by businesses in certain emergency situations.
New Delhi: Self-employed taxpayers should get pension after retirement and loans in case of losses in businesses, a body representing the group said on Monday.
Raising concerns regarding social security, the Self-Employed Taxpayers Federation of India (SETFI) demanded that the government provided adequate medical facilities for the group.
The SETFI, in a statement, added there should be a provision for giving loans for losses made by businesses in certain emergency situations.