Russia launches first Arctic-monitoring satellite to track climate changes

 Russia has successfully launched its first satellite to monitor the Arctic's climate and environment, the country's space corporation Roscosmos said in a statement

Russia has successfully launched its first satellite to monitor the Arctic's climate and environment, the country's space corporation Roscosmos said in a statement.

A Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with the "Arktika-M" satellite onboard blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9.55 a.m. on Sunday, Roscosmos said.

The Arktika-M spacecraft was delivered to orbit at 12.14 p.m., Xinhua news agency quoted the space corporation as further saying in the statement.

The creation of a satellite system in highly elliptical orbits is necessary for information collection to solve operational meteorology and hydrology problems, and monitoring the climate and environment in the Arctic region, it said.

The Arktika-M will provide round-the-clock continuous monitoring of the northern territory of Russia and the seas of the Arctic Ocean, Roscosmos added.

The satellite will be able to transmit overview images of the Earth's northern polar region and the adjacent areas at least every 15-30 minutes.

Launch of Falcon 9 carrier rocket with Starlink satellites delayed: SpaceX

 SpaceX has cancelled the planned launch of a Falcon 9 carrier rocket with 60 Starlink satellites

SpaceX has cancelled the planned launch of a Falcon 9 carrier rocket with 60 Starlink satellites.

"Auto-abort at T-1:24 ahead of tonight's Falcon 9 launch of Starlink; next launch opportunity is tomorrow, March 1 at 8:15 p.m. EST [03:15 GMT on Tuesday]," SpaceX said on Twitter on Sunday.

The company did not specify the reasons behind the delay.

The Falcon 9 rocket was supposed to lift off from the Cape Canaveral (Kennedy) Air Force Station in Florida at 01:37 GMT on Monday.

The mission aims to put 60 Starlink satellites into orbit. If successful at its next launch opportunity, it will expand SpaceX's fleet of broadband relay satellites to include over 1,200 (some of them are prototypes that are no longer in service).

The Starlink project seeks to provide affordable access to broadband internet connection across the world.

Indian biggest fuel retailers gearing up for rural-led economic rebound

 The increasing economic importance of India's hinterlands is influencing business expansion plans and accelerating a trend of more service stations being opened in the countryside

If there’s one part of India’s economy that’s been relatively unscathed by the devastating impact of Covid-19 it’s the vast rural hinterlands. And the country’s biggest fuel retailers are sitting up and taking notice.

Stay-at-home orders first imposed from March last year had a disproportionate impact on India’s teeming cities, but in small towns and villages people mostly went about their business with fewer restrictions. A bumper agricultural crop and a splurge in government spending to pull the economy out of a slump is also expected to put more money into the hands of rural farmers and laborers.

The increasing economic importance of India’s hinterlands is influencing business expansion plans and accelerating a trend of more service stations being opened in the countryside. Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. -- two of the three biggest fuel retailers -- both said they planned to raise the proportion of outlets they have in rural areas this year.

“While the first-level cities are getting saturated, demand is coming up in rural areas,” Hindustan Petroleum Chairman Mukesh Kumar Surana said. The new outlets Hindustan is looking to open would “have a reasonable component of second-rung cities and rural areas without any doubt,” he said.

India is pinning its hopes on the agricultural sector to help pull the economy out of its worst recession since the 1950s. Rural India was a bright spot in local automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s latest financial results amid strong demand for tractors and farm equipment. The rural sector continues to outperform urban India, Ambuja Cements Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Neeraj Akhoury said on a conference call with analysts last month.

Godrej Properties buys land worth Rs 166 cr for residential proj in Mumbai

 Realty firm Godrej Properties Ltd has bought around 1.5 acre land parcels for Rs 166 crore in Mumbai to develop a residential project

Realty firm Godrej Properties Ltd has bought around 1.5 acre land parcels for Rs 166 crore in Mumbai to develop a residential project.

In a regulatory filing, Godrej Properties Ltd (GPL) announced the addition of a new residential project in Sanpada, Navi Mumbai.

"GPL emerged as the highest bidder in the CIDCO e-auctioning process with the total bidding value of Rs 166 crore for the two adjacent plots," it said.

Spread over around 1.5 acres, this project will offer about 4 lakh square feet of development potential comprising primarily of premium residential apartments with a small amount of high street retail.

Pirojsha Godrej, Executive Chairman, Godrej Properties,said, "This project will strengthen our development portfolio in MMR and fits well with our strategy of deepening our presence in key markets across India's leading cities."

Godrej Properties is the real estate arm of the business conglomerate Godrej group. It has projects in major cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Pune.

The Mumbai-based developer posted a 69 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 14.35 crore for the quarter ended December.

Total income of the company fell to Rs 311.12 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal year, from Rs 517.47 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

In the first nine months of 2020-21 fiscal, the company's sales bookings were up 16 per cent at Rs 4,093 crore, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chadwick Boseman wins Golden Globe postumously for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

 Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honoured with a Golden Golden for his performance as the strong-willed trumpet player Levee in the musical period drama "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"

Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honoured with a Golden Golden for his performance as the strong-willed trumpet player Levee who marches to his own beat in the musical period drama "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", the actor's swansong.

Boseman, who died in August at the age of 43 following a four year-long private battle with colon cancer, won the award in the best performance by an actor in a motion picture category.

Boseman's wife, Simone Ledward, accepted the award on his behalf in a Zoom call.

"He would thank God. He would thank his parents. He would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices," an emotional Ledward said.

It's the first Golden Globe win for Boseman, who achieved global stardom as King T'Challa of fictitious African country Wakanda aka superhero Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Much before 2018's "Black Panther", the actor had made a name for himself by playing iconic black historical figures like baseball star Jackie Robinson in "42", singer-songwriter James Brown in "Get on Up" and the first African-American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in "Marshall".

Bitcoin extends retreat from record high to hit lowest in 20 days

 Bitcoin dropped 6.39% to $43,165.78 on Sunday, losing $2,944.20 from its previous close.

(Reuters) - Bitcoin dropped 6.39% to $43,165.78 on Sunday, losing $2,944.20 from its previous close.

Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, has fallen 26% from the year's high of $58,354.14 on Feb. 21 when it soared amid increasing confidence that it will become a mainstream investment and payments vehicle.

Major firms such as BNY Mellon, asset manager BlackRock Inc and credit card giant Mastercard Inc have backed cryptocurrencies.

Tesla Inc, Square Inc and MicroStrategy Inc have invested in bitcoin.

Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, dropped 8.88% to $1,329.46 on Sunday, losing $129.57 from its previous close.

Unifying bond markets will allow use of common infra: Sebi's Ajay Tyagi

 "Unification of government bond and corporate bond markets is an idea whose time has come," Tyagi said while speaking at CRISIL's 6th bond market seminar

Unification of government bond and corporate bond markets will enable the trading of such securities on the same platform, thereby utilising common infrastructure for trading, clearing, settlement and holding of securities, said Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi.

"Unification of government bond and corporate bond markets is an idea whose time has come," Tyagi said while speaking at CRISIL's 6th bond market seminar.

He further added that this would lead to seamless transmission of pricing information between G-Secs and corporate bonds.

Corporate bonds, which are generally priced on the basis of G-Secs of comparable maturity, would therefore be priced more appropriately. The proposal would lead to economy of scope and scale, and increased liquidity for both G-Secs as well as corporate bonds and also facilitate greater participation by retail and non-institutional investors.

Tyagi, in his speech, laid out several other steps that are needed for further development of corporate bond market.

Emphasising on credit enhancement mechanism, he said the issuances by infrastructure projects do not typically fall in the category of top-rated corporate bonds.

Thus, a credible credit enhancement mechanism is required to improve the rating category of infrastructure special purpose vehicles (SPVs), which, in turn, would facilitate these SPVs to raise funds from the corporate bond market.

"This would be crucial to meet infrastructure financing targets as per the National Infrastructure Pipeline," he said. He also noted that expanding the investor base with preference for lower rated corporate bonds is required for further deepening of the corporate bond market.

SMC Global Securities lists equity shares on NSE, BSE: Details here

 "The shares got listed at Rs 90.90 on NSE and Rs 91.60 on BSE," SMC Global Securities said in a release

Equity shares of SMC Global Securities on Wednesday got lis­ted at Rs 90.90 on NSE and Rs 91.60 on BSE. SMC was already listed on regional stock exchanges. As per Sebi guidelines, the company through direct listing process got listed on NSE and BSE without any public issue. The firm already has a public shareholding of around 38 per cent.

"The shares got listed at Rs 90.90 on NSE and Rs 91.60 on BSE," SMC Global Securities said in a release.

“It gives us immense pleasure to on board SMC on the NSE main board platform. We are confident that the firm in the broking industry has a major role to play in having financial inclusion and ongoing digital revolution," said Vikram Limaye, MD and CEO, NSE.

"We have well diversified public shareholding and this listing provides liquidity to our shareholders... This landmark marks a step forward in our aspiration to become a global organisation having a dominant position in the financial and investment services through customer centric approach," said Subhash C Aggarwal, SMC Global Securities.

Established in 1994, SMC Global Securities is a financial services provider offering diversified financial services.

It has presence across over 550 cities in India through a network of 95 branch offices including one overseas office at Dubai, further backed by over 2,500 sub-brokers/authorised persons and more than 13,700 independent distributors.

NASA's Perseverance rover sends HD panoramic view of Mars landing site

 According to a release by NASA, it was the rover's second panorama ever, as the rover's Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, also located on the mast, captured a 360-degree view on February 20

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover got its first high-definition look around its new home in Jezero Crater on Sunday, after rotating its mast, or "head," 360 degrees, allowing the rover's Mastcam-Z instrument to capture its first panorama after touching down on the Red Planet on February 18.

According to a release by NASA, it was the rover's second panorama ever, as the rover's Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, also located on the mast, captured a 360-degree view on February 20.

Mastcam-Z is a dual-camera system equipped with a zoom function, allowing the cameras to zoom in, focus, and take high-definition video, as well as panoramic colour and 3D images of the Martian surface. With this capability, the robotic astrobiologist can provide a detailed examination of both close and distant objects.

The cameras will help scientists assess the geologic history and atmospheric conditions of Jezero Crater and will assist in identifying rocks and sediment worthy of a closer look by the rover's other instruments. The cameras also will help the mission team determine which rocks the rover should sample and collect for eventual return to Earth in the future, the release said.

Stitched together from 142 images, the newly released panorama reveals the crater rim and cliff face of an ancient river delta in the distance. The camera system can reveal details as small as 0.1 to 0.2 inches (3 to 5 millimeters) near the rover and 6.5 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters) across in the distant slopes along the horizon.

From BSE to Tokyo Stock Exchange, here's a history of trading outages

 Often the causes are software glitches, hardware failures and internet connectivity problems

Trading stoppages are a common occurrence not just in India, but globally as well. Often the causes are software glitches, hardware failures and internet connectivity problems. We look at some of the important instances.

July 3, 2014: BSE halts trading for three hours due to network outage

July 4, 2017: A Nasdaq glitch shows prices of major tech stocks, including Alphabet as $123 per share—86 per cent below actual value

July 11, 2017: Trading halted on NSE for three hours as quotation stopped updating

April 25, 2018: The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) suspends trading in five stocks, including Amazon and Alphabet, after a technical glitch affected trading symbols

August 16, 2019: London Stock Exchange (LSE) suffers software issue that postpone opening of trade by nearly two hours

September 24, 2019: Connectivity issue with internet service provider resulted in trade outage 15 minutes ahead of close on the NSE, impacting several participants with open positions

June 04, 2020: Erroneous price feeds for certain F&O contracts disrupts trading on NSE

July 1, 2020: Three-hour outage at Europe’s Deutsche Boerse due to problem with a third-party software

October 1, 2020: Trading halted for entire day due to hardware failure at the Tokyo Stock Exchange

November 16, 2020: Software issue halts trading for 20 minutes at Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)

Centre lifts embargo on grant of govt businesses to private banks

 Move will spur competition, promote efficiency in customer service standards

The Centre has lifted the restrictions on the grant of government businesses to private banks, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Wednesday. All private sector banks now will be allowed to conduct government-related banking transactions, such as tax and pension payments.

Sitharaman in a tweet said that private banks can now be equal partners in the development of the Indian economy, furthering government social sector initiatives, and enhancing customer convenience.

“Embargo lifted on grant of government business to private banks. All banks can now participate,” she tweeted.

By lifting the embargo, this move will spur competition and promote greater efficiency in the standards of customer services, the Department of Financial Services said in a statement.

In a statement, the finance ministry said the government has conveyed its decision to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). “With the lifting of the embargo, there is now no bar on the RBI for authorisation of private banks for government business, including government agency business,” the statement added.

Government-related banking transactions include taxes and other revenue payments, pension payments, and small savings schemes.

In 2012, the finance ministry had not allowed private banks, barring some, to undertake government business for three years.

In 2015, the government had continued with the embargo, and allowed the private sector with existing government agency business to continue without any fresh authorisation to private banks.

Australia passes law that will make Google, Facebook pay for news

 Australia's laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news are ready to take effect, though the laws' architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals

Australia's laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news are ready to take effect, though the laws' architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals.

The Parliament on Thursday passed amendments to the so-called News Media Bargaining Code agreed between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday.

In return for the changes, Facebook agreed to lift a ban on Australians accessing and sharing news.

Rod Sims, the competition regulator who drafted the code, said he was happy that the amended legislation would address the market imbalance between Australian news publishers and the two gateways to the internet.

All signs are good, Sims told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The purpose of the code is to address the market power that clearly Google and Facebook have. Google and Facebook need media, but they don't need any particular media company, and that meant media companies couldn't do commercial deals, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair added.

The rest of the laws had passed earlier, so they can now be implemented.

Google has already struck deals with major Australian news businesses in recent weeks including News Corp and Seven West Media.

Frydenberg said he was pleased to see progress by Google and more recently Facebook in reaching commercial deals with Australian news businesses.

LinkedIn suffers over two hour long global outage, platform back up now

 LinkedIn, which is the world's largest professional network with nearly 740 million members in more than 200 countries, was later up and running

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn suffered a global outage for more than two hours in the early hours on Wednesday, and users across mobile and desktop platforms were unable to use the platform.

LinkedIn, which is the world's largest professional network with nearly 740 million members in more than 200 countries, was later up and running.

"Some members may be experiencing an issue with accessing LinkedIn on mobile and desktop. We're working on this as we speak and will provide updates as we have them. Thanks for your patience!" The company said in a tweet.

It later confirmed the problem is solved.

"Pardon the interruption everyone. We're back on track now. Unconfirmed reports indicate it might have been Agatha all along," the company said jokingly in a tweet.

Agatha Harkness is a fictional character that appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a powerful witch, portrayed as a sinister heroine and teacher of Wanda Maximoff, as well as being the mother of Nicholas Scratch.

It is rare to see LinkedIn facing an outage and it experienced widespread issues in January last year.

Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26 billion.

Investors jolted by sinking Bitcoin, Tesla and other market favorites

 Investors focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors may also have cause for concern

By Julien Ponthus, Aaron Saldanha, and April Joyner

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin, shares of Tesla and a high-flying exchange-traded fund (ETF) fell on Tuesday, retreating from recent rallies in a volatile session that gave investors a gut check.

It was the latest sign of a possible pause in a rally that has buoyed a broad range of assets. Investors may be growing wary of sky-high valuations, while recent rises in Treasury yields could dim the allure of stocks and other comparatively risky investments.

"We have been in a sustained rally and there was a lot of leverage in the system," said Ty Young, crypto asset research analyst at crypto data platform Messari, of Bitcoin. "Corrections are to be expected during a bull run and not surprising when looking at previous cycles.

Bitcoin was recently down 11% at $48,207, paring some losses after Jack Dorsey's Square Inc said it bought around 3,318 bitcoins for $170 million. The cryptocurrency had fallen as low as $44,845 during the session.

Shares of Tesla, which recently disclosed a $1.5 billion investment in cryptocurrency, fell as much as 13.4% and pared losses to end down 2.1%. The ARK Innovation ETF, which counts Tesla as its biggest holding, finished 3.3% lower.

Recently popular exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on industries such as blockchain, cannabis, and renewable energy have also taken a hit in the past week-and-a-half, with some investors growing skittish.

Google planning to lower commission rate for in-app purchases in S Korea

 Google has announced a plan to newly introduce the 30 percent commission to all in-app digital goods purchases in South Korea later this year

The South Korean unit of tech giant Google is considering lowering its planned commission rate for in-app purchases, lawmakers said on Tuesday, amid complaints from local software developers over steep commission costs.

According to lawmakers from the parliamentary committee on science and technology, Google Korea representatives have told committee members that they were persuading the company headquarters to lower its planned 30 percent commission on in-app purchases.

Google has announced a plan to newly introduce the 30 percent commission to all in-app digital goods purchases in South Korea later this year.

Company representatives did not share further details, lawmakers added.

A recent government projection showed that Google's new commission policy would lead to an increase in app store costs for South Korean developers by more than 150 billion won (US$136 million).

The new billing policy has met fierce opposition from local tech groups and politicians, while some South Korean lawmakers have called on Google to reduce the commission rate, reports Yonhap news agency.

Fuelled by exports, leather units to turn the corner: CRISIL SME Tracker

 Leather exports plummeted in the first quarter, following lockdowns and restrictions in importing nations.

India’s leather industry, which is dominated by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with 12,000-14,000 units and about Rs 67,000 crore in revenues, appears set to turn the corner after taking a hit over the past 18 months due to muted global demand, made worse by the pandemic.

As per Directorate General of Foreign Trade data, the year-on-year decline in export value was a mere 5 per cent in the second quarter of FY2021, compared with 55 per cent in the first. This was significant because exports, with some 51 per cent share in total revenue, are the mainstay of the industry.

Leather exports plummeted in the first quarter, following lockdowns and restrictions in importing nations. About 70 per cent of the orders were either cancelled or put on hold by major destinations such as the US, Germany, Italy, France and Spain, which together account for a share of over 55 per cent in India’s exports.

However, as economies opened up, exports have recorded continuous improvement. Newer destinations such as Malaysia, Russia and Turkey also contributed to the recovery. Demand for casual leather products such as jackets, belts and garments surged, while that for more formal items (shoes and briefcases) remained flat, as people continued to work from home.

However, domestic demand is expected to see continued disruption in the retail segment, especially footwear (about 77 per cent share in domestic revenue), as most white-collar workers still work from home. However, gradual recovery in income sentiment, coupled with the hike in import duty on leather footwear from 25 per cent to 35 per cent in the 2020 Budget, is expected to have a marginally positive impact on domestic sales, especially in the next fiscal year.

Beat poet, publisher, and bookseller Lawrence Ferlinghetti dies at 101

 Poet, publisher and bookseller Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who helped launch and perpetuate the Beat movement, has died. He was 101

Poet, publisher and bookseller Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who helped launch and perpetuate the Beat movement, has died. He was 101.
Ferlinghetti died at his San Francisco home on Monday, his son Lorenzo Ferlinghetti told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The cause was lung disease.
His father died in his own room, holding the hands of his son and his son's girlfriend, "as he took his last breath, his son said.

Lorenzo Ferlinghetti said his father loved Italian food and the restaurants in the North Beach neighborhood where he made his home and founded his famous bookstore. He had received the first dose of the COVID vaccine last week and was a month shy of turning 102.

Ferlinghetti was known for his City Lights bookstore in San Francisco, an essential meeting place for the Beats and other bohemians in the 1950s and beyond.

Its publishing arm released books by Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S Burroughs and many others. The most famous release was Ginsberg's anthemic poem, Howl." It led to a 1957 obscenity trial that broke new ground for freedom of expression.

Few poets of the past 60 years were so well known or so influential. His books sold more than 1 million copies worldwide, a fantasy for virtually any of his peers, and he ran one of the world's most famous and distinctive bookstores, City Lights.

Asian stocks open lower on rising interest rates, inflation fears

 The tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 0.5% as investors sold the big tech stocks that have driven the market rally since last March

By Echo Wang

MIAMI (Reuters) - Asian equities opened lower on Wednesday on concerns about rising interest rates and rich equity valuations and following a downdraft in U.S. and European overnight trading.

The Dow and S&P 500 recouped early losses after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee that monetary policy would remain accommodative and would not change without advance warning.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 0.5% as investors sold the big tech stocks that have driven the market rally since last March, and rotated into cyclicals, helping lift the Dow and S&P 500.

But Powell's testimony hasn't fully swept away fears of rising inflation as the economies around the world are expected to rebound this year more strongly than was expected just weeks go as vaccines roll out around the world.

"Despite reassuring words from Mr Powell markets know that if the U.S. inflation ... hits over 2%, then the Fed will have difficulty in maintaining its support for economies and markets", said Michael McCarthy, Chief Markets Strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney.

In early Asia trade, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.5%, South Korea's KOSPI shed 0.4% while Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.9%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were down 0.37%.

Zomato's valuation crosses $5.4 billion, after raising $250 million

 Ahead of its expected IPO, investors such as Kora, Tiger Global and Fidelity have made fresh investments in the Deepinder Goyal-led foodtech company

Food delivery giant Zomato has raised another $250 million in primary fundraise from existing and new investors, ahead of its expected initial public offering (IPO) this year. Info Edge (IE), which is an existing shareholder in Zomato said in a stock exchange filing that the transaction has taken the post-money valuation of the company to $5.4 billion. This is an increase from its previous valuation of $3.9 billion in December last year when it closed a $660 million primary financing round.

“On a fully converted and diluted basis, Info Edge’s effective stake in Zomato stands at 18.4 per cent,” said Info Edge in the stock exchange filing.
Five investors have backed the Gurugram-based unicorn in the new funding round. Existing investors Kora invested $115 million, Fidelity invested $50 million and Tiger Global injected $50 million. Other investors Bow Wave invested $20 million and Dragoneer put in $10 million in the company.
Covid-19 has now accelerated the business of foodtech companies. After initial hiccups, Deepinder Goyal-led Zomato is rapidly coming out of the pandemic's shadows. With people opting to stay at home due to Covid-19-related restrictions and curfews in several cities, Zomato and its rival Swiggy witnessed orders shooting through the roof on New Year’s Eve as people ordered biryanis, pizzas and cakes. Zomato served 4,254 orders per minute during peak time and Swiggy recorded peak number of orders per minute at 5,500.

December 2020 was also expected to be one of the highest ever GMV (gross merchandise value) month in Zomato’s history. It was clocking about 25 per cent higher GMV than its previous peaks in February 2020.

World shares slide as inflation fears batter bonds, commodities surge

 Oil prices rose on a tight global supply outlook after U.S. production was hammered by frigid weather and an approaching meeting of top crude producers is expected to keep output largely in check

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stock markets fell on Monday as expectations of faster growth and quickening inflation battered bonds, boosted commodities and led to a further rotation out of the big tech names that have driven the equity rally during the pandemic.

Gold rose more than 1% and copper prices shot above $9,000 a tonne for the first time since 2011 on the prospect for inflation and growth, while the dollar slumped to multi-year lows against the British pound and the Australian dollar.

Oil prices rose on a tight global supply outlook after U.S. production was hammered by frigid weather and an approaching meeting of top crude producers is expected to keep output largely in check.

Investors, who have been buying economically sensitive cyclical stocks and selling growth stocks, are preparing for a potential spike in inflation with the U.S. Congress poised to pass a $1.9 trillion pandemic-related economic stimulus bill.

"What we're seeing are expectations really growing that we're going to have a return (to) normalcy a lot sooner, and that's driving the cyclical rotation," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York.

High-growth stocks, including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Tesla Inc and Amazon.com, pulled the Nasdaq down and weighed on the S&P 500.

Triggering alarm: Reserve Bank of India's lack of support pushes up yields

 The 10-year bond yields continued to rise for the fourth straight session to close at 6.202 per cent from its previous close of 6.135 per cent

The bond market is not in a mood to reason with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on keeping yields low. The 10-year bond yields continued to rise for the fourth straight session to close at 6.202 per cent from its previous close of 6.135 per cent.
The yield was at 6 per cent a week ago.

The RBI wants the yields to remain at 6 per cent, but bond dealers say the central bank will have to step up its bond-buying programme.

A section of the market also says the RBI should not hurry in normalising its liquidity operations because that is scaring bond market participants, even as excess liquidity in the system is nearly Rs 6 trillion.

The RBI has been devolving auctions, or forcing underwriters of bonds to buy the bonds or even cancelling auctions to check yields. However, those actions are not having the desired effect.

The bond market demands more open market operations (OMO) from the RBI, but with so much liquidity around, the space for a huge OMO is also getting constrained. At the same time, a section of the bond market is suggesting that the RBI should stop the variable reverse repo auctions, through which it absorbed Rs 2 trillion of liquidity at just 3.55 per cent. The money, they argue, could have been better used in buying bonds when it is largely left to domestic investors to participate in the bond auctions.

Reliance to hive off O2C business, expects approvals by September quarter

 The Mukesh Ambani-controlled company had initiated the process to hive off its oil-to-chemicals business at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic caused a slump in fuel demand

Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) expects to get the necessary approvals to hive off its oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business into a separate unit by the second quarter of the next financial year, according to the company's presentation to investors on Monday.

The company had initiated the process of spinning off the O2C business at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic caused a slump in fuel demand and weighed on the segment's recent results.

Reliance would retain full control of the business after restructuring, the company said in the presentation.

The Mumbai-headquartered conglomerate also announced its aim to work with the O2C business to reduce its carbon footprint and become "net carbon zero" by 2035.

Its vision includes investing in developing renewable energy systems to meet energy demand and to speed up the transition from traditional carbon-based fuels to hydrogen.

China back as India's top trade partner, despite govt's 'atmanirbhar' push

 Total imports from China at $58.7 billion were more than India's combined purchases from the US and the UAE

China regained its position as India’s top trade partner in 2020, as New Delhi’s reliance on imported machines outweighed its efforts to curb commerce with Beijing after a bloody border conflict.

Two-way trade between the longstanding economic and strategic rivals stood at $77.7 billion last year, according to provisional data from India’s commerce ministry. Although that was lower than the previous year’s $85.5 billion total, it was enough to make China the largest commercial partner displacing the U.S. -- bilateral trade with whom came in at $75.9 billion amid muted demand for goods in the middle of a pandemic.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi banned hundreds of Chinese apps, slowed approvals for investments from the neighbor and called for self-reliance after a deadly clash along their disputed Himalayan border, India continues to rely heavily on Chinese-made heavy machinery, telecom equipment and home appliances. As a result, the bilateral trade gap with China was at almost $40 billion in 2020, making it India’s largest.

Total imports from China at $58.7 billion were more than India’s combined purchases from the U.S. and the U.A.E, which are its second- and third-largest trade partners, respectively.

That said, India did manage to lower imports from its Asian neighbor amid demand disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The South Asian nation also managed to increase its exports to China by about 11 per cent from a year ago to $19 billion last year, which makes any further worsening of ties with Beijing a threat to New Delhi’s export revenue.

Bharat Forge joins hands with Paramount to manufacture armoured vehicles

 Bharat Forge on Monday said it has inked a pact with global aerospace and technology firm Paramount Group to manufacture armoured vehicles in the country.

Bharat Forge on Monday said it has inked a pact with global aerospace and technology firm Paramount Group to manufacture armoured vehicles in the country.

An agreement to this effect was signed by both companies during the International Defence Expo (IDEX 2021) in Abu Dhabi, Bharat Forge said in a statement.

"This collaboration brings together the manufacturing and technology excellence of two leading companies, which have matching synergies and complementary capabilities. The Kalyani M4 is a fantastic new generation vehicle, and we want to position it as the future of protection in all markets worldwide," Bharat Forge Deputy Managing Director Amit Kalyani said.

The Kalyani M4 is a multi-role platform, designed to meet the specific requirements of armed forces for quick mobility in rough terrain and in areas affected by mine and IED threats.

It offers best-in-class levels of ballistic and blast protection - up to 50kg TNT side blast or IED/roadside bombs due to its design, built on a flat-floor monocoque hull.

Paramount Group Chairman Ivor Ichikowitz said all of its technologies have been developed with portable production in mind.

"We believe this model of world-beating innovative technology is fundamental to enhancing any country's contemporary defence, and technology capabilities. The Kalyani M4 is based on one of our flagship armoured vehicles designed specifically for in-country production in India with our partners the Kalyani Group," he added.

Saudi Arabia women can join armed forces in latest widening of rights

 Apart from the usual weight and height criteria, female applicants to the military need to have had at least a high school education.

Women in Saudi Arabia can now take up arms and enter the military, the latest profession in the kingdom to open up to female recruits.

Saudi Arabian women can be employed as soldiers, lance corporals, corporals, sergeants, and staff sergeants, according to the Saudi-based Arab News.

Jobs have been gradually opening up for Saudi women, whose increased participation in the workforce is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to transform the Arab world’s largest economy. It is now common to see Saudi women working as cashiers in shopping malls and taking up roles that were previously limited to men, such as waiting tables in restaurants and brewing cappuccinos in coffee houses. The expansion of job roles and rights has come even as women activists have been targeted in a crackdown on dissent.

The plan to allow women into the military was first announced in 2019, the same year the kingdom said it would allow women to leave the country without permission from a male relative, a major step toward ending a restrictive guardianship system that has been heavily criticised at home and abroad.

That came after Saudi Arabia in 2018 allowed women to drive and ended its status as the last country on earth to prohibit women from taking to the wheel, a step which Bloomberg Economics estimated at the time could add as much as $90 billion to economic output by 2030.

Never certified any traditional medicine as a cure for Covid-19: WHO

 Patanjali MD Acharya Balkrishna said that Coronil has been granted a certificate of pharmaceutical product, licensed by DCGI

Putting all controversies to rest, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said that it never certified any traditional medicine as a cure for Covid-19. 

WHO's clarification came via a tweet that is believed to have been motivated by the controversy that arose after Patanjali Ayurved relaunched a medicine on the same day. In its tweet, the health advisory organisation wrote: “WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment of #Covid.”

Earlier in the day, the firm had relaunched its Coronil medicine, which it claims can cure Covid-19 and provide adequate immunity against.

In the presence of the country’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Patanjali MD Acharya Balkrishna said that Coronil has been granted a certificate of pharmaceutical product, licensed by the Drugs Controller General of India, in accordance with the WHO's Good Manufacturing Practices.

Iran to give access to nuclear sites, but stop future 'snap' checks: IAEA

 Iran is changing its access policy from Tuesday because the US has not lifted the sanctions imposed since Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog has said Iran has agreed to extend UN inspectors' access to its nuclear sites for three months.

But the hastily brokered agreement will give IAEA officials less access and end their right to make snap inspections.

Iran is changing its access policy from Tuesday because the US has not lifted the sanctions imposed since Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal, the BBC reported.

Washington and Tehran now have more time to seek a compromise.

Then-Donald Trump administration re-imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, and Tehran retaliated by resuming nuclear activity barred under the agreement signed with six world powers in 2015.

Iran says it will not reverse the measures unless the US fully complies with the 2015 deal - but US President Joe Biden has said Iran must do so first.

The crisis over Iran's nuclear programme has been on the international agenda for almost 20 years. Iran says its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes, while the US and others suspect Iran is secretly seeking the capability to develop nuclear weapons.

A law coming into force on Tuesday by Iranian MPs requires the government to stop allowing the inspection at short-notice of declared or undeclared nuclear sites by experts from the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

HSBC ups India's FY22 GDP forecast to 11.2%, cuts inflation target to 4.7%

 Besides India, HSBC has cut 2021 CPI inflation forecasts for Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. In Korea and Malaysia, the upward revisions were marginal

A pick up in business activity coupled with a steady fall in COVID cases should aid a faster economic recovery across Asia, says a recent report by HSBC. It expects almost all economies in Asia to reach their pre-pandemic level by the end of 2021, if they haven’t already.

“The only exceptions are Japan and Thailand (next year), and the Philippines (beyond 2022). Encouragingly, we expect the rebound to have legs: growth in 2022 is likely to remain robust, still exceeding its pace in 2019, in all Asian markets, except for mainland China, Taiwan, and Vietnam,” wrote Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economics research at HSBC in a February 18 co-authored note.

As regards India HSBC has raised their growth forecasts from 9 per cent to 11.2 per cent for the coming fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22).

"By some measures, industrial activity is only a few percentage points below its pre-pandemic peak. Mobility, too, has largely recovered, which should help spur services demand, which is still 25 per cent below pre-pandemic level in the coming months," the HSBC report said.

Despite rising crude oil and auto fuel prices in India, the research and brokerage house has lowered the consumer price inflation (CPI) forecast for 2021 to 4.9 per cent and to 4.7 per cent for 2022. Besides India, HSBC has cut 2021 CPI inflation forecasts for Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. In Korea and Malaysia, the upward revisions were marginal.

“Despite recent market jitters about rising price pressures – and we certainly share concerns about near-term volatility – the medium term outlook for inflation in much of Asia remains relatively benign,” Neumann wrote.

Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter adopt Australian misinformation code

 The code, prepared by the Digital Industry Group Inc (DiGi), a non-profit industry association, will be reviewed in 12 months, reports ZDNet

Top tech giants like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, TikTok, and Twitter have agreed to adopt the Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation that aims to address the spread of fake news and disinformation on online platforms.

The code, prepared by the Digital Industry Group Inc (DiGi), a non-profit industry association, will be reviewed in 12 months, reports ZDNet.

The code will apply to certain products and services that are delivered to end-users in Australia, such as user-generated sponsored and shared content.

Private messaging services, email services, and enterprise services are excluded from the code.

The code was developed in response to government policy where it asked the major digital platforms to develop a voluntary code of conduct outlining what the platforms will do to address concerns regarding disinformation and credibility signaling for news content.

The code provides seven guiding principles, with the first aimed at protecting freedom of expression.

"Signatories should not be compelled by governments or other parties to remove content solely on the basis of its alleged falsity if the content would not otherwise be unlawful," according to the code.

The digital platforms that have signed this code recognize their role as important actors within the Australian information ecosystem and have already implemented a range of measures to tackle the propagation of disinformation and misinformation amongst users of their services and products.

Asia share market edges up as bond yields, resources steal the show

 Japan's Nikkei recouped 1.0% and South Korea 0.4%, while E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were a fraction firmer

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian share markets inched higher on Monday as expectations for faster economic growth and inflation globally batter bonds and boost commodities, though rising real yields also make equity valuations look more stretched in comparison.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.1%, after easing from a record top late last week as the jump in U.S. bond yields unsettled investors.

Japan's Nikkei recouped 1.0% and South Korea 0.4%, while E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were a fraction firmer.

Bonds have been bruised by the prospect of a stronger economic recovery and yet greater borrowing as President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package progresses.

"Yield curves have continued to steepen, as COVID infection rates decline further, reopening plans are discussed and a large U.S. fiscal stimulus package looks likely," said Christian Keller, Barclays' head of economics research.

"This in principle signals a better medium-term growth outlook for the U.S. and beyond, as other core yields curves are moving in the same direction," he added. "Meanwhile, central banks seem set to look through this year's inflation increase, keeping the curves' front end anchored."

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers his semi-annual testimony before Congress this week and is likely to reiterate a commitment to keeping policy super easy for as long as needed to drive inflation higher.

WhatsApp to move ahead with controversial privacy update despite backlash

 The messaging platform laid out fresh terms in January, aimed at increasing business transactions on the platform

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc's WhatsApp said on Thursday it will go ahead with its controversial privacy policy update but will allow users to read it at "their own pace" and will also display a banner providing additional information.

The messaging platform laid out fresh terms in January, aimed at increasing business transactions on the platform.

The policy update would allow owner Facebook and its subsidiaries collect user data, including their phone number and location, which sparked a global outcry and a rush of new users to competitors Telegram and Signal, among others.

WhatsApp then moved to delay the new policy launch to May from February and sought to clarify the update was focused on allowing users to message with businesses and would not affect personal conversations, which will continue to have end-to-end encryption.

In its latest blog post, WhatsApp said it will start reminding users to review and accept updates to keep using the messaging platform.

"We've also included more information to try and address concerns we're hearing," it added.

NHAI transitions to 100% cashless toll through mandatory FASTags

 With nearly 60 lakh transactions, the per day toll collection through FASTag crossed the highest ever mark of Rs 95 crore on February 17, 2021

The NHAI on Thursday said it has transitioned to 100 per cent cashless tolling at national highways with the government making FASTags mandatory.

"Following the guidelines for mandatory payment of user fee through FASTag at the toll plazas from the midnight of 15/16 February 2021, NHAI has successfully transitioned to 100 per cent cashless tolling at National Highways fee plazas across the country," NHAI said in a statement.

The rollout of 100 per cent cashless tolling has been positively received by highway users with a record sale of over 2.5 lakh tags in the last two days, it said.

With nearly 60 lakh transactions, the per day toll collection through FASTag crossed the highest ever mark of Rs 95 crore on February 17, 2021, the statement said.

"Currently, the total penetration of FASTag has reached around 87 per cent, an increase of 7 per cent penetration in just two days, with over 100 toll plazas achieving around 90 per cent penetration," the statement said.

To facilitate adoption of FASTag, NHAI has also decided to launch a Free FASTag' campaign till March 1, 2021, by waiving the tag cost of Rs 100 at over 770 toll plazas (including State Plazas) across the country.

For the convenience of highway users, new feature Check Balance Status' has been added in My FASTag App', National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said.

India to contest Cairn arbitral award, other suits filed by firm: Sources

 New Delhi has time till March 21 to file an appeal in accordance with a 90-day window

India will file an appeal against the Cairn arbitration award soon and will defend its sovereign rights to tax, sources said a day after Cairn Energy CEO Simon Thomson sought swift enforcement of the over-$1.2 billion award during his meeting with top finance ministry officials.

Sources said the government will strongly contest other suits filed by Cairn Energy at various other international courts.

The energy major has filed cases in the US, the UK, and The Netherlands over implementation of the December 21 award.

Meanwhile, sources said that the government welcomed Cairn's move to reach out for a resolution. However, any dispute resolution to be sought by Cairn will have to be within the already existing laws, they asserted.

They emphasised that Cairn had conducted transactions via tax havens to evade taxes.

New Delhi has time till March 21 to file an appeal in accordance with a 90-day window. Thomson had, however, sought a meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Before the meeting, Thomson said the firm’s shareholders wanted the matter to be resolved quickly as the ‘award has been granted’. “We are pleased it has come to an end and the award has been granted. Our shareholders want it to be resolved quickly which is why we’re here,” said Thomson.

E-learning, work from home power up notebook and laptop sales: IDC

 For Q4CY20, PC shipments grew by 27 per cent year-on-year, said data from the IDC.

Demand thanks to the rising trend of e-learning and remote working gave a fillip to sales of notebooks and laptops in 2020. CY20 ended the biggest year for notebooks with 7.9-million-unit shipments during the year.
Notebook shipments grew 6 per cent in 2020, said the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

If one excludes the mega ELCOT deal, notebooks witnessed an impressive 34.3 per cent YoY growth this year, said IDC. Had the industry not been challenged by the component shortages, notebook shipments could have been much higher during the year. Contrary to this, desktop shipments saw a decline of 33.2 per cent in 2020 as companies reduced their spending on fixed computing devices and preferred mobile devices to manage their operations remotely. This led to a 6.4 per cent decline for the overall PC market in 2020.

The PC market included desktops, notebooks and workstations. IDC stated that 2.9 million PCs were shipped in 4Q20 (Oct-Dec), with notebooks growing 62.1 per cent YoY to contribute more than three-fourths of total shipments. The growth driver continues to be the demand from e-learning and remote working, leading to a 74.1 per cent and 14.1 per cent annual growth in the consumer and enterprise segments, respectively. For Q4CY20, PC shipments grew by 27 per cent year-on-year, said data from the IDC.

Covid-19: Uber tells employees to work from home till mid-September

 

In August, Uber told employees they should expect to work from home through June 2021

Ride-hailing major Uber has extended work-from-home policy for its employees till September 13, as California continues to show a dramatic decline in the number of Covid-19 cases.

Uber is also encouraging employees to get vaccinated when it's possible to do so, reports TechCrunch."In considering the extension, we took into account the latest scientific data and experts' views; the fact that different countries are at different stages of recovery; and the start of the school year," Uber Chief People Officer Nikki Krishnamurthy said in an email.

In August, Uber told employees they should expect to work from home through June 2021.

"We're taking a number of aspects into consideration, such as how being physically together benefits or reduces productivity, collaboration, and engagement," Krishnamurthy said.

Google has also extended work from home till September 2021 and when the offices reopen, employees may rejoin the workplace for three days a week and work from home on rest of the days.

Google had earlier set January 2021 as a tentative timeline for its workers to return to offices.

In May, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out a detailed remote-working plan to make half of his 50,000-strong workforce work from home by 2030.

Asian stocks step back from record highs on rising bond yield, weak US data

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan was last down 0.1per cent at 733.67 from a record high of 745.89 touched on Thursday

By Swati Pandey

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stocks pulled back from all-time peaks on Friday as higher longer-dated bond yields and underwhelming U.S. data dented investor confidence in a faster economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, while gold hit a seven-month trough.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan was last down 0.1% at 733.67 from a record high of 745.89 touched on Thursday.

The index is on track for a small weekly loss after two consecutive weeks of gains.

Since the start of the year, the index has surged nearly 10.5% largely led by easy monetary and fiscal policies around the world.

On Friday, Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.8% while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4%.

Chinese shares started in the red with the blue-chip CSI300 off 0.6%.

"The recent move up in longer dated core yields appears to be weighing on equity investors' mind," said Rodrigo Catril, forex strategist at National Australia Bank.

Core bond yields have pushed higher globally led by the so-called "reflation trade" where investors wager on a pick-up in growth and inflation. Successful coronavirus vaccine roll-outs so far and hopes of massive fiscal spending under U.S. President Joe Biden have spurred reflation trades.

Logistics aggregator platform Shiprocket raises Rs 200 cr in C3 funding

 The fresh funding round was co-led by Tribe Capital, a leading Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, along with March Capital, a Santa Monica-based venture growth firm

E-commerce aggregation platform Shiprocket on Thursday announced it has raised $27 million (nearly 200 Crore) in Series C3 funding.

The company said it will use the fresh funds towards aggressive product development roadmap, which includes hiring top talent across product, data, and engineering functions.

The funds will also focus on the company's new strategic initiatives, including expanding globally.

The fresh funding round was co-led by Tribe Capital, a leading Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, along with March Capital, a Santa Monica-based venture growth firm.

"Shiprocket is the first and the largest D2C shipping enabler in India today. With the growth in D2C as a share of overall eCommerce, there is a growing opportunity to enable the full-stack of services in the post-purchase journey of the D2C consumer," said Saahil Goel, CEO and Co-founder, Shiprocket.

Rahul Mehta of DST Global also participated in the round along with existing investor Bertelsmann India Investments, the company said in a statement.

The latest round brings Shiprocket's total funding to $53 million.

"We already power shipping for over 100,000 merchants and have recently launched Shiprocket Fulfilment for extending the existing platform include storage, pick, pack and dispatch," Goel informed.

Launched in 2017, Shiprocket turned profitable in FY18-19 and has an annualised revenue run rate between $50-60 million.

Jaguar Land Rover to cut 2,000 jobs globally, full review underway

 "We anticipate a net reduction of around 2,000 people from our global salaried workforce in the next financial year," it said

By Derek Francis and Nandakumar D

(Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover said on Wednesday it would cut 2,000 jobs from its global salaried workforce, just days after announcing its luxury Jaguar brand will be entirely electric by 2025 and e-models of its entire lineup will be launched by 2030.

"The full review of the Jaguar Land Rover organisation is already underway," the company said in an emailed statement.

"We anticipate a net reduction of around 2,000 people from our global salaried workforce in the next financial year," it said.

However, it added that the organisational review did not impact hourly paid, manufacturing employees.

JLR, owned by India's Tata Motors, said earlier that its Land Rover brand will launch six fully electric models over the next five years, with the first in 2024.

Known for its iconic, high-performance E-Type model in the 1960s and 1970s, Jaguar faces the same challenges as many other carmakers as it transitions to electric vehicles while trying to retain the feeling and power of a luxury combustion engine model.

Last month, Tata Motors said it was concerned by semiconductor shortages and Brexit-related supply disruptions as its luxury car sales recover, although the Indian automaker added these had not yet hit production.

Tata Motors posted three straight quarters of losses as the COVID-19 crisis dented sales, exacerbating uncertainties over Britain's exit from the European Union, weak demand and rising costs, but had bounced back to clock a profit in its third quarter to the end of December.

Facebook blocks news content in Australia as it blasts proposed law

 The move, announced in a blog post on Wednesday, represents a divergence in responses among the big tech giants under attack by news publishers

Facebook Inc will block news content from being read and shared in its news feed in Australia, drawing a line in the sand against a proposed Australian law that would require it and Alphabet Inc's Google to pay the country's news publishers for content.
The move, announced in a blog post on Wednesday, represents a divergence in responses among the big tech giants under attack by news publishers, which have blamed the companies for destroying their advertising business.
The Australian federal government has said it plans to put the legislation, which effectively force Google and Facebook to strike deals with media companies or have fees set for them, to a vote in the coming weeks.

Google has also threatened to shut down its search engine in the country to avoid "unworkable" content laws even as it has secured deals with publishers in the UK, Germany, France, Brazil and Argentina for its Google News Showcase product.

On Wednesday, Google reached a landmark global deal with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, owner of the Wall Street Journal and two-thirds of Australia's major city newspapers, to develop a subscription platform and share advertising revenue.
Facebook said the proposed legislation "fundamentally misunderstands" the relationship between itself and publishers, arguing that news outlets voluntarily post their article links on Facebook, which helped Australian publishers earn about AU$407 million in 2020 through referrals.

Covid-19 pandemic: Plasma therapy gets thumbs down from expert panel

 The absence of drugs to target the Sars-CoV-2 virus had triggered research on repurposed drugs, as well as biologics

Convalescent plasma (plasma-derived therapy) from Covid-19 patients and products derived from it have failed to get a thumbs up from the expert panel advising the Indian drug regulator on Covid vaccines and drugs.

The subject expert committee (SEC) noted recently that clinical trials on the convalescent plasma in Mumbai’s Wock­hardt Hospitals and on hyperimmune globulins by Intas Pharmaceuticals (Intas) have not shown any remarkable difference in efficacy between the treatment and control arms. The panel has rejected Intas’ application for restricted emergency-use authorisation for the blood product.

The absence of drugs to target the Sars-CoV-2 virus had triggered research on repurposed drugs, as well as biologics. Immunity modulating products derived from convalescent plasma (part of blood) were put to test to see if it wor­ked to treat Covid-19 patients.

Ahmedabad-based Intas had initiated work on what they call Covid-19 hyperimmune globulins. A patient who has recovered from Covid has antibodies that are targeted against the virus. In convalescent plasma therapy, these Sars-CoV-2-neutralising antibodies containing plasma are administered to a patient. The Covid-19 hyperimmune globulin product is also prepared from convalescent plasma.

Bharti Airtel buys Warburg Pincus' 20% stake in DTH arm for Rs 3,126 crore

 Airtel, which is locked in a fierce competition with Reliance Jio in the telecom space, aims to align the ownership of its consumer-facing businesses, with the Warburg Pincus transaction

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday initiated the first step to unlock the value ofits digital businesses by setting up a special committee of its boardof directors.

Airtel said the committee would evaluate various options for the re-organisation of businesses and shareholding structure of the company and its various subsidiaries to achieve the required flexibility and sharper focus on digital and non-telecom businesses. This, it said, would enable any unlocking of enhanced value for its stakeholders.

The company also announced the acquisition of Warburg Pincus’s 20 per cent stake in its direct-to-home (DTH) arm.

Airtel, which is locked in a fierce competition with Reliance Jio in the telecom space, aims to align the ownership of its consumer-facing businesses, with the Warburg Pincus transaction. Separately the Sunil Mittal-led company is looking to scale up and monetise its digital businesses, which include music streaming app Wynk, content platform Xstream, cloud-based communication platform Airtel IQ, among others.

The digital assets have around 190 million customers and contribute around Rs 100 crore in revenue annually. The company hopes to increase it to over Rs 1,000 crore, Mittal said in a recent media interaction.

After losing to WhatsApp, Kavin Mittal's Hike aims to rival Facebook

 Despite becoming a hit early on thanks to quirky stickers and a privacy feature that let teenagers hide chats from parents, Hike's messenger app overtime failed to challenge the popularity of WhatsApp

Kavin Bharti Mittal, a scion of the family behind India’s second-biggest wireless operator, is planning to revive his struggling technology startup more than four years after it was valued at $1.4 billion by backers including Softbank Group Corp.
Since attaining unicorn status in 2016, New Delhi-based Hike Pvt. has suffered a string of setbacks. The latest blow came last month when it shut down its signature messaging app -- a platform that grabbed the attention of other investors such as Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Foxconn Technology Group for taking on WhatsApp in the local market.

That setback doesn’t mean the end of the road for Hike, the 33-year-old son of Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s billionaire-chairman Sunil Mittal, said in an interview last week. In a bid to rekindle growth, he’s now betting on a Facebook-like new social networking platform that promises to weed out "creeps" and "fake profiles" as well as a gaming app that aims to tap rising demand in the world’s second-most populous country.

"This is the most excited I’ve been in 18 months," Mittal said. Hike would go back to investors to raise funds sometime this year, he said, declining to elaborate.

Mittal’s attempt to salvage the startup highlights the struggle faced by many Indian technology entrepreneurs who are chasing a market of more than a billion consumers with a smartphone user base that’s projected to surpass 750 million this year, with online entertainment to financial products and shopping. While some of them have aspired to become local versions of Facebook Inc. or an Amazon.com Inc., few have so far succeeded in even coming close to beating the U.S. giants.

India's ageing dams pose a safety risk, nation must conduct reviews: Study

 India must analyse the costs versus benefits of its ageing dams, and conduct timely safety reviews in order to ensure safety of the structures, and the safety of those who inhabit the areas downstream

India has 4,407 large dams of which more than 1,000 would be 50 years or older by 2025, a new study has shown.

Older dams pose greater safety risks, cost higher in terms of maintenance and have declining functionality due to sedimentation, stated a study by the Canada-based United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, released in January. Climate change is also likely to accelerate the ageing of dams, it said.

India must conduct a cost-benefit analysis of its ageing dams, and conduct timely safety reviews in order to ensure their operational and ecological safety, as well as the safety of those who inhabit the areas downstream, experts told IndiaSpend.

Key findings
All over the world, many large dams built in the 20th century may start to show signs of ageing, and many may already be operating at or beyond their design life, the study said. For India, 2025 is set to be a big year as more than 1,000 dams would turn roughly 50 years or older.

Fifty years is not a defining age for all dams because the design life also depends on factors such as construction and maintenance, the study said, adding that a well constructed and well maintained dam can go up to a 100 years. However, 50 is roughly the age when a dam may begin to show signs of ageing. In some cases, dam components such as gates and motors may need to be replaced after 30 to 50 years.

Therefore, an assessment of the structure should be carried out, and, if needed, the dam should be decommissioned, states the study.

Reliance Entertainment partners with Ribhu Dasgupta to form Film Hangar

 Reliance Entertainment, with Film Hangar, has invested in creative leadership and put content-driven cinema right at the forefront

Reliance Entertainment has joined hands with filmmaker Ribhu Dasgupta to form Film Hangar, a joint venture company to produce clutter-breaking content.

The first film under this banner is the highly anticipated thriller, "The Girl On The Train", an adaptation of the bestselling novel with the same name by Paula Hawkins. The film starring Parineeti Chopra is slated to release on Netflix on February 26.

Ribhu's body of work comprises "Michael" (2011) starring Naseeruddin Shah, the TV series "Yudh" (2014) starring Amitabh Bachchan, "TE3N" (2016) starring Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui and, very recently, the web series "Bard Of Blood" (2019), which streams on Netflix.

Speaking about the joint venture, Ribhu said: "I have always believed that content sets the ground for you as a filmmaker, and Reliance Entertainment embodies this philosophy with the stories it tells. Film Hangar will bring films that are rich in content and high on entertainment. We aim to blur the lines between 'massy' and 'classy' content because filmmaking is an art that defies boundaries, definitions and labels."

Shibasish Sarkar, Group CEO, Reliance Entertainment, said: "Right from our 'TE3N' days, Ribhu has been someone who has brought a unique sensibility to every project and with Film Hangar, we wish to break the clutter with edgy and engaging content. At Reliance Entertainment, we believe that filmmakers who keep us on the edge of the seat should be in the driving seat when it comes to content, and our new joint venture is a testament of this belief."

Global stock markets set for the longest winning streak since 2003

 But Indian indices slip from record highs in volatile session

Global stocks are in the midst of the longest run of gains since 2003 as optimism over the economic recovery sweeps across markets. This even as the Indian equity benchmarks — Sensex and Nifty — ended marginally lower on Tuesday as investors booked profits at higher levels amid a mixed trend in global markets.

The MSCI World Index has risen for 12 straight sessions; US equities were in the green in early trade. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average extended its advance past the 30,000 level. European markets steadied after a rally on Monday.

The reflation trade is powering assets tied to economic growth and price pressure, including commodities and cyclical stocks. At the same time, investors are riding a wave of speculative euphoria from penny stocks to Bitcoin amid abundant policy support.

“Continued monetary stimulus and bursts of fiscal support maintain a strong foundation for risk assets,” said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors.
In India, however, after touching a lifetime high of 52,516.76 in the opening session, the 30-share Sensex settled 49.96 points, or 0.10 per cent lower at 52,104.17. Similarly, the broader Nifty inched 1.25 points or 0.01 per cent lower to close at 15,313.45.

Axis Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.42 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, Infosys, Nestle India, SBI, TCS and HUL.

On the other hand, PowerGrid rallied over 6 per cent. ONGC, NTPC, Kotak Bank, Reliance Industries and Maruti Suzuki were among the other gainers.

EPFO stops correction in member profiles online over fraudulent withdrawals

 The organisation in its circular, issued ahead of 2020-21 interest announcement, has ordered its field offices to not entertain any such request for correction in name

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation in a circular stopped the “major corrections" option in member profile stating that it could lead to mismatch of records and fraudulent withdrawals.

The organisation in a circular said, "A complete change in the member profile cannot be allowed in the normal course through online or offline process, except in extreme situations where it has been proven that the member’s name has been changed following the due process prescribed in law, or there has been an erroneous upload of data by the employer on production of documentary evidence, by the member and employer, and after due verification."

The organisation in its circular, issued ahead of 2020-21 interest announcement, has ordered its field offices to not entertain any such request for correction in name or other employee details. It has also asked the field offices to keep the documentary prrofs submitted by employees and employers for future audits.

“Correction in profile has been allowed to rectify the errors in the name, father’s or husband’s name, date of birth and gender. However, it has been observed that complete name and profile changes have been made in certain cases, leading to fraudulent withdrawals," it said.

Major changes include a complete change in name, which “shall not be done in the online process without obtaining proper documentary proof, including explanation from the employer", the circular mentions.

Bitcoin crosses $50,000 for the first time as record rally continues

 The world's largest cryptocurrency jumped as much as 4.9 per cent to $50,548 and is now up about 70 per cent, so far this year

The seemingly unstoppable rise of Bitcoin continued on Tuesday with the cost of a single unit of the digital currency rising above $50,000 for the first time.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency jumped as much as 4.9 per cent to $50,548 and is now up about 70 per cent, so far this year. Bitcoin pared its gain after setting the record high. Ether, a rival crypto, hit a record on Friday and is up about 140 per cent year-to-date.

The same Bitcoin just one year ago would have cost you $10,000. The price is up almost 200 per cent in the last three months alone.

Bitcoin is rallying as more companies signal the volatile digital currency could eventually gain widespread acceptance as a means of payment. The vast majority of those who have acquired Bitcoin have treated it as a commodity, like gold, with few places accepting it in exchange for goods or services.

Companies have been leery because of Bitcoin's volatility and its use by parties who want to avoid the traditional banking system for a myriad of reasons. On Tuesday, the price crossed and recrossed the $50,000 barrier at least a half dozen times before 10 am.

Last Monday, however, the electric car company Tesla sent a tremor through the digital currency markets, saying that it was buying $1.5 billion in Bitcoin as part of a new investment strategy, and that it would soon be accepting Bitcoin in exchange for its cars.

Then Blue Ridge Bank of Charlottesville, Virginia, said that it would become the first commercial bank to provide access to Bitcoin at its branches. The regional bank said Wednesday that cardholders can purchase and redeem Bitcoin at 19 of its ATMs.

Asian markets offer mixed signals as investors juggle stimulus, pandemic

 Dow Jones Industrial Average scored another record closing high on Tuesday, climbing 0.2%. The S&P 500 fell 0.06%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.34%

By Pete Schroeder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Asian markets pointed to a mixed open on Wednesday, as investors juggle the prospects for an economic comeback and additional stimulus with continued pandemic concerns.Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.06% in early trading, while Japan's Nikkei 225 futures were up 0.12%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were down 0.37%.

The tentative open comes after a mixed finish on Wall Street. The expectation that U.S. policymakers will stick with significant fiscal and monetary stimulus helped drive stocks higher and spur a sell-off in bonds. Concerns over rising interest rates weighed on some sectors.

"U.S. markets started the week in an optimist mode after being closed for Presidents Day on Monday," wrote ANZ analysts in a research note. "As inflation expectations rise, investors are looking to reduce their exposure to fixed income in favour of investments which will rise with any wave of inflation."

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average scored another record closing high on Tuesday, climbing 0.2%. The S&P 500 fell 0.06%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.34%.

The MSCI's global stock index was down 0.1%.

The surge came as the United States continued to ramp up vaccine distribution and President Joe Biden pitched his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill.

The continued rise of bitcoin added to the bullish appetite, after the cryptocurrency briefly cleared $50,000 for the first time.

The U.S. dollar bounced back from three-week lows, boosted by rising Treasury yields. Against a basket of global rivals, the dollar gained 0.21%.

On Tuesday, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose above 1.3% for the first time since the pandemic took hold. The steepening yield curve reflected expectations of ongoing fiscal and monetary stimulus.

A deep freeze across the U.S. South that shut down wells and refineries helped push oil prices to near 13-month highs on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled up 1%, and Brent settled up 0.1%.

Restructuring inevitable for Renault Samsung for survival: CEO Signora

 Renault Samsung Chief Executive Dominique Signora made the comments as the company struggles with lower vehicle sales and high labor and manufacturing costs

The chief of Renault Samsung Motors said on Tuesday that restructuring will be inevitable for the survival amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic and lower demand for its models.

In a message to employees, Renault Samsung Chief Executive Dominique Signora made the comments as the company struggles with lower vehicle sales and high labor and manufacturing costs.

"There is an urgent need to cut costs (through restructuring) to ride out this crisis as the company's overall vehicle sales fell to the lowest level in 16 years since 2004. In particular, exports plunged by nearly 80 percent last year compared to the previous year due to the halted production of the Nissan Rogue SUV in March," Signora said.

Car assembly plants under Renault Group are required to cut manufacturing costs further to secure a new vehicle for production and additional volume for sales for survival amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a paradigm shift in the automobile industry, he said.

For the whole of 2020, Renault Samsung, which is 81 per cent owned by French carmaker Renault SA, sold 116,166 vehicles, down 34.5 per cent from 177,450 units a year earlier, reports Yonhap news agency.

Domestic sales rose 11 percent to 95,939 units last year from 86,859 the previous year, but exports plummeted 78 percent to 20,227 autos from 90,591 over the cited period.

As a result, the Korean unit reported an operating loss worth 70 billion won last year for the first time in eight years.