What's behind Adani group's meteoric rise on the stock exchanges?

 The jump in market capitalization in the past year is not matched by its financial performance

The past 12 months have been of the rise of the Adani group. Once a medium-sized group based out of Ahmedabad, Adani’s companies now have the third-biggest market capitalization among family-owned businesses in India after Tatas and Reliance Industries. This has made the group owners and promoters — the Gautam Adani family — the second wealthiest in business in India, ahead of older and well-established industrial families.

Most of the gains to the group accrued in the past year. The combined market capitalization of six Adani group companies is up nearly 455 per cent since the end of March 2020 against an 80 per cent rise in the combined market capitalization of the country’s top 1,000 listed firms. The Adani group companies now have a combined market capitalization of around Rs 7.3 trillion, up from Rs 1.31 trillion at the end of March 20.

The group accounted for 7.3 per cent of the incremental rise in the market capitalization of all companies in the past year even though it had 1.2 per cent share in the overall market cap at the end of March last year. All six Adani group companies outperformed the broader market in the last 12 months. This makes Adani the most successful business group in the country, at least in terms of stock market performance.

The group companies now lead the market capitalization league table in sectors such as ports, power generation, gas distribution and transmission, and power transmission and distribution, ahead of incumbents in both public and private sector.

US stocks mixed, treasuries drop after Fed keeps rates pinned near zero

 The Federal Reserve has maintained the pace of bond purchases as was widely expected

US stocks were mixed and Treasuries held modest losses after the Federal Reserve kept rates pinned near zero and maintained the pace of bond purchases as was widely expected.

The Fed strengthened its view of the economy and said that recent increases in inflation looked “transitory,” reassuring investors that the central bank is in no hurry to tap the brakes on growth. The dollar was lower, the 10-year Treasury rate held near 1.65%, and gold was little changed.

“No news is good news as far as the market is concerned because it means the Fed will remain accommodative for the near future,” said Ellen Hazen, portfolio manager and principal at F.L.Putnam Wealth Management. “This is a goldilocks Fed. It is exactly what the equity markets are looking for.”

The Fed decision came as investors parsed the latest batch of corporate earnings reports. Alphabet Inc. rose toward a record after its results showed a surge in ad sales. Microsoft Corp. was among the biggest drags, dropping to a three-week low after the software maker failed to deliver the blockbuster results some analysts were looking for. The S&P 500 was little changed while the Nasdaq 100 fell.

With stock valuations about 25% above their five-year average, investors have been searching for new catalysts to sustain the bull market momentum.

UK becomes first country to green-light driverless cars on its roads

 The country announced it would regulate the use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds on motorways, with the first such cars possibly appearing on public roads as soon as this year

The UK government on Wednesday became the first country to announce it will regulate the use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds on motorways, with the first such cars possibly appearing on public roads as soon as this year.

Britain’s transport ministry said it was working on specific wording to update the country’s highway code for the safe use of self-driving vehicle systems, starting with Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) — which use sensors and software to keep cars within a lane, allowing them to accelerate and brake without driver input.

The government said the use of ALKS would be restricted to motorways, at speeds under 60 km per hour.

The UK government wants to be at the forefront of rolling out autonomous driving technology and the transport ministry forecasts by 2035 around 40 per cent of new UK cars could have self-driving capabilities, creating up to 38,000 new skilled jobs.

“The automotive industry welcomes this vital step to permit the use of automated vehicles on UK roads, which will put Britain in the vanguard of road safety and automotive technology,” Mike Hawes, CEO of car industry lobby group the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said in a statement.

Strong earnings reported by financial sector companies spur indices

 Sensex records biggest one-day jump in a month, Nifty50 ends the session with a gain of 211 points or 1.4 per cent

The benchmark Sensex posted its biggest single-day jump in nearly a month on Wednesday, as strong earnings reported by the financial sector helped revive sentiment earlier dampened by the surging number of cases.

While the infection tally continued to climb and Maharashtra extended restrictions on movement by another 15 days, investors chose to look beyond the short-term pain, said, analysts.

The Nifty50 ended the session at 14,864, with a gain of 211 points or 1.4 per cent. The benchmark Sensex finished the session at 49,733, with a gain of 790 points, or 1.61 percent — the most since March 30. In the past three sessions, the index has rallied nearly 4 per cent. However, it is still down 5 percent from its all-time high logged in mid-February.

Bajaj Finance rose 8.3 per cent, the most among Sensex components after it posted a 30 per cent year-on-year growth in net profits for Q4.

Shares of ICICI Bank added another 4 per cent after the lender posted strong earnings over the weekend. IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the other top Sensex gainers.

“Earnings have been good, which has kept the sentiment positive, and the narrative coming out of those companies has also been positive. The problem we have is more towards vaccination, which will be key now. Global markets remain positive; all PMI numbers coming out of the US, the UK, and the rest of Europe have been powerful. Global indices could be a bit hot in the summer thanks to reopening trades,” said Andrew Holland, CEO of Avendus Capital Alternate Strategies.

S&P downgrades Future Retail's issuer credit rating on debt recast

 The rating agency might look at an upgrade after liquidity review

Global rating agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded Future Retail Ltd's long-term rating issuer credit rating from "CCC-" to "SD", amounting to default. The rating action follows a restructuring of onshore debt.

India-based Future Retail has completed the one-time restructuring of its onshore debt (about Rs 10,200 crore) that includes extending the maturity of its term loans and other borrowings.

The restructuring constitutes a distressed exchange. It is tantamount to default as the likelihood of a conventional default in the absence of this transaction was high and there is inadequate offsetting compensation for lenders, S&P said in a statement.

It expects to raise issuer credit rating on Future Retail in the coming days, most likely to the 'CCC' category, after re-evaluating the company's liquidity position post-restructuring, the rating agency added. The review will also focus on the viability of its capital structure.

The rating on the company's US dollar-denominated senior secured notes remains unchanged at 'CCC-' as of now since it has been regularly servicing the semi-annual coupon on the notes.

The restructuring has been approved under the resolution framework for Covid-related stress provided by the Reserve Bank of India.

Future Retail's liquidity position has weakened materially since March 2020, exacerbated by the strict lockdown imposed in India to contain the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19). The company's operating cash flows remain depressed, given a near 70 percent decline in sales.

Rally in commodities still has plenty of room to run: Goldman and UBS

 Raw materials are likely to surge 13.5 percent in the next six months

The powerful rally in commodities that’s been a standout feature of global markets as the world emerges from the pandemic has plenty of room to run, according to Goldman Sachs Group and UBS Group.

Raw materials are likely to surge 13.5 percent in the next six months, Goldman Sachs said in a report, forecasting a never-seen-before jump in global oil demand and copper at a record.

UBS said commodities will rise another 10 percent. “The magnitude of the coming change in the volume of demand — a change which supply cannot match — must not be understated,” Goldman analysts including Jeffrey Currie and Damien Courvalin said in the April 28 note.

Activity levels are rising, aided by the roll-out of vaccines, and there will also be a seasonal upswing in manufacturing and construction through June, they said.

Raw materials from oil to metals have soared this year as the global economy rebounded from the mauling delivered by the pandemic.

Energy markets have also been aided by the tough supply curbs imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, although these will be gradually eased from next month. Demand is so strong that markets have “looked through” the current Covid-19 crisis in India, says Goldman.
There will be an unprecedented rebound in global crude demand, underpinning a forecast for higher oil prices by the summer, the bank said. Worldwide consumption is expected to swell by 5.2 million barrels a day over the next six months, driving Brent crude to $80 a barrel, it predicted.

Overall, raw materials are forecast to surge 13.5 percent, with copper expected to hit $11,000 a tonne, according to the Goldman report.

PNB HF eyes single digit growth in AUM, 15-16% in disbursement in FY22

 The Delhi-based mortgage lender's AUM shrank from Rs 83,346 crore as of March 31, 2020, to Rs 74,470 crore as of March 31, 2021

After witnessing a shrinkage in assets under management (AUM), in FY21, PNB Housing Finance (HF) is looking at single-digit growth in AUM and a 15-16 percent growth in disbursement in FY22.

The emphasis will be on the affordable housing segment. The disbursement grew by 50 percent to about Rs 3,900 crore in Q4FY21. The AUM growth would be in single digits in the current financial year and rise to double digits in the next year, company executives said in an analyst call after Q4FY21 results were announced.

The Delhi-based mortgage lender's AUM shrank from Rs 83,346 crore as of March 31, 2020, to Rs 74,470 crore as of March 31, 2021. The loan book decreased from Rs 67,571 crore at end of March 2020 to Rs 62,256 crore at end of March 2021.

Retail loans contribute 84 percent and corporate loans contribute 16 percent of the AUM. The corporate book in absolute terms fell by 19 percent in FY21 on account of sell down/accelerated payment/scheduled repayment, PNB HF said in a statement.

Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPA) rose to 4.44 percent in March 2021 as against 2.75 percent in March 2020. Net NPAs were up at 2.43 percent in March 2021 from 1.75 percent as of March 31, 2020.

Meanwhile, PNB HF posted a net profit of Rs 127 crore in Q4FY21 as against a net loss of Rs 242 crore in the corresponding period last year. For FY21, the net profit rose by 44 percent to Rs 930 crore from Rs 646 crore in FY20.

The company's board decided against recommending dividends for 2020-21 due to the current economic scenario. Its capital adequacy ratio stood at 18.73 percent at end of March 2021.

US Navy fires warning shots in new tense encounter with Iran: Details here

 An American warship fired warning shots when vessels of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard came too close to a patrol in the Persian Gulf, the US Navy said Wednesday

An American warship fired warning shots when vessels of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard came too close to a patrol in the Persian Gulf, the US Navy said Wednesday.

The Navy released black-and-white footage of the encounter Monday night in international waters of the northern reaches of the Persian Gulf. In it, lights can be seen in the distance and what appears to be a single gunshot can be heard, with a tracer round racing across the top of the water.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the incident.

The Navy said the USS Firebolt fired the warning shots after three fast-attack Guard vessels came within 68 yards (62 meters) of it and the U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat USCGC Baranoff.

The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices, but the (Guard) vessels continued their close-range maneuvers, said Cmdr Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the Mideast-based 5th Fleet.

The crew of Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the (Guard) vessels moved away to a safe distance from the U.S. vessels.

She called on the Guard to operate with due regard for the safety of all vessels as required by international law.

US naval forces continue to remain vigilant and are trained to act in a professional manner, while our commanding officers retain the inherent right to act in self-defense, she said.

Positive start to Q4 corporate earnings; combined net profit 36.2%

 Earnings growth in the early-bird sample has been driven BY banks and iron & steel companies.

The corporate earnings season for the fourth quarter of FY21 has started on a positive note for India Inc.

The combined net profit of 81 companies that declared their quarterly results by Monday evening is up 36.2 percent year-on-year (YoY).

These companies reported all-time high net profits of Rs 39,540 crore in Q4FY21, up from Rs 29,033 crore a year ago.

The early-bird companies’ earnings are, however, down 4 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, hinting at a plateauing of corporate profitability after three-quarters of recovery from Covid-19 lockdown.

The companies’ combined revenues, including banks’ other income and fee income, were up 35.8 percent YoY during Q4FY21. Growth was amplified by a low base in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The revenues of these companies were down 12.3 percent YoY in Q4FY20 due to the national Covid-19 lockdown imposed by the Central government on March 23 last year. For comparison, these companies’ revenues are up 19.1 percent over the March 2019 quarter.

Earnings growth in the early-bird sample has been driven BY banks and iron & steel companies. While banks gained from a decline in interest cost, steel producers saw a sharp rise in their product prices, resulting in higher margins and profits.

NBFCs seek fresh debt recast as Covid-19 second wave wreaks havoc

 Those who had availed themselves of the recast earlier should get a second chance, the Finance Industry Development Council said in a letter to the RBI

Amid the resurgence of Covid-19 and with states imposing lockdowns, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are seeking a revival of the debt restructuring scheme. Those who had availed themselves of the recast earlier should get a second chance, the Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) said in a letter to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

In the letter, addressed to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, the industry lobby group said, “Considering the severe second wave of Covid-19, the retail borrowers, including the [micro, small and medium enterprises], as also the retail and wholesale trader industry shall be in urgent need of support from the lenders, to revive their economic activities.”

It added that in this “challenging environment for borrowers and lenders”, it would be helpful, if RBI extends the August 6 notification on one-time restructuring till at least March 31, 2022.

The FIDC has said, borrower accounts, irrespective of whether they have been restructured on an earlier occasion, and if they are standard as of March 31, 2021, should be allowed restructuring without any downgrade in asset classification. Also, RBI may prescribe broad guidelines for restructuring such accounts on the lines of the recommendations made by the Kamath Committee.

They have also sought to restructure benefits for small NBFCs with asset sizes lower than Rs 500 crore, who are dependent on banks for their funding. Else, this may create an asset-liability mismatch for such NBFCs, FIDC said.

MSMEs urge FM Nirmala Sitharaman to review NPA classification norms

 In its suggestions to the finance ministry, the Federation of Indian Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises has said the greatest need that has emerged is the flexibility in assigning NPAs

Stung by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, small businesses have urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to review classification norms for bad loans and rationalize import duty on key raw materials such as iron and steel.

The Federation of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME) in its suggestions to the finance ministry has said that “more than the requirement of additional funds, the greatest need that has emerged is the flexibility in assigning non-performing assets (NPAs)”.

The industry body has said the framework to classify accounts under Special Mention Account (SMA) framework has been devised for normal times and should be revised for pandemic-hit years. Accounts are classified as SMA-0 if principal and interest are overdue between 1 to 30 days; SMA-1 and SMA-2 if repayment is overdue between 31 to 60 days, and 61 to 90 days, respectively.

A revision is needed because payment cycles are longer now and markets have been disrupted because of lockdowns, the industry body said. “Banking cannot be just excel-sheet based; the system ought to provide much-needed flexibility to the banker so that these facts could be factored in,” FISME said in the letter to Sitharaman on Tuesday.

Small businesses have also sought legislation providing protection from prosecution due to non-compliance during the pandemic up to March 31, 2022. The ratings of such businesses should also not be aff­ected during the period, it said. “Government needs to convey down its rank and file that no MSME should be shut due to com­pliance-related rigidity," it said.

The umbrella body of small businesses has also suggested that import duty on key raw materials such as iron, steel, copper, aluminium, and polymers should be rationalized as domestic producers have been unethically raising prices for the past six months. Close monitoring of prices of top 10 raw materials should also be done by secretaries of key economic ministries. Sitharaman has been meeting industry associations over the last week to discuss the disruptions caused by the second wave and had sought their inputs.

Info Edge to sell stake worth Rs 750 crore in proposed Zomato IPO

 Info Edge on Tuesday said it will sell a stake worth Rs 750 crore in the initial public offering (IPO) of its investee company Zomato

Info Edge on Tuesday said it will sell a stake worth Rs 750 crore in the initial public offering (IPO) of its investee company Zomato.

In a regulatory filing, Info Edge said Zomato -- an online food delivery platform -- is proposing an IPO of its equity shares, comprising a fresh issue of equity shares by Zomato Ltd and an offer for sale by Info Edge (India) Ltd.

"The Board of Directors of the Company today considered and have given their approval to the company to participate in the said Offer for Sale of up to a such number of shares of Zomato Ltd as would aggregate up to Rs 7,500 million...," it added.

The terms and conditions of these will be specified in the Draft Red Herring Prospectus, the Red Herring Prospectus, and the Prospectus, and in certain other offer documents and agreements, the filing said.

On April 23, Zomato had announced the appointment of five independent directors on its eight-member board, including four women.

In February, Zomato had raised USD 250 million (over Rs 1,800 crore) in funding from Tiger Global, Kora, and others, valuing the online food ordering platform at USD 5.4 billion.

On a fully converted and diluted basis, Info Edge's effective stake in Zomato stands at 18.4 percent, Info Edge had said.

IHS Markit sees India's FY22 GDP growth at 9.6% amid rising Covid cases

 Those at Nomura, too, expect the pain in the economy to grow given the recent measures to curb the pandemic. However, they believe that the overall impact will be muted and be for the short-term

On-going lockdown and mobility curbs coupled with fears of an extension – time-wise and across more Indian cities – have led to economists tweak their gross domestic growth (GDP) projections for fiscal 2021-22 (FY22).

In a recent note, those at IHS Markit suggest that they expect the Indian economy (as measured by GDP) to grow at 9.6 percent in FY22. Maharashtra’s lockdown, it said, represents a significant dampener on growth, as the state accounts for 16 percent of the national GDP.

“IHS Markit forecasts 9.6 percent real GDP growth in FY 2021, though the wider restrictions forecast above indicate that there is scope for further reductions in economic growth, as these measures would mean income and job losses for workers alongside significant output and revenue losses for firms, particularly in the services sector and the informal economy,” wrote Deepa Kumar, deputy's head, Asia-Pacific, IHS Markit in a co-authored note Hanna Luchnikava-Schorsch, their principal economist for the Asia Pacific and Angus Lam, their senior economist.

With a number of states announcing an extension of curbs, IHS Markit feels more states are likely to follow suit, including West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand. Following Maharashtra and Delhi that have announced a lockdown and mobility curbs, Karnataka, too, followed similar measures for 14 days starting April 27.

Those at Nomura, too, expect the pain in the economy to grow given the recent measures to curb the pandemic. However, they believe that the overall impact will be muted and be for the short-term as compared to 2020 when all economic activity came to a standstill for a few weeks.

“We also see signs of the economic pain spreading to the wider economy (power demand, GST e-way bills, railway freight). With more states extending restrictions, sequential momentum is likely to remain weak over the next month, hurting GDP growth in Q2 2020. The sharp slowdown in ultra-high frequency indicators since April and extended restrictions does suggest downside risk to our existing GDP growth projection of 11.5 percent y-o-y in 2021 versus -6.9 percent in 2020,” wrote Sonal Varma, managing director, and chief India economist at Nomura, in a co-authored note with Aurodeep Nandi.

RBI fixes private bank MD, CEO tenures at 15 years; compliance by Oct 1

 The rules apply to private banks, small finance banks, and wholly-owned subsidiaries of foreign banks.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday capped the tenure of managing directors (MDs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) of private banks at 15 years. Promoters or major shareholders, however, cannot hold these posts for more than 12 years, but the RBI can choose to give them a three-year extension under extraordinary circumstances.

In its draft guidelines issued last year, the central bank had proposed a maximum of 10 years for promoter shareholders as MD and CEO.

According to the RBI’s latest guidelines on corporate governance in banks, after the completion of their term, professional MDs & CEOs or whole-time directors will be eligible for re-appointment in the same bank after a minimum gap of three years. During the cooling-off period, they should not be associated with the bank or its group entities in any capacity, either directly or indirectly.

The rules apply to private banks, small finance banks, and wholly-owned subsidiaries of foreign banks.

The RBI will issue norms for other banks separately.

Banks have to comply with the instructions latest by October 1.

Indiabulls promoters, directors booked; firm moves court to get FIR quashed

 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is learned to have reached out to the police team seeking details of the case, a senior official confirmed

The Maharashtra Police has booked Indiabulls group companies, including its flagship Indiabulls Housing Finance (IBHL), for allegedly siphoning off funds and for accounting irregularities committed by the promoters and directors of the company between 2014 and 2020.

A first information report was registered by the Palghar police on April 13 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with cheating, fraud, and criminal conspiracy. The move comes after Palghar’s judicial magistrate passed an order under Section 156 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (power to direct police/agency to investigate the matter), following a complaint filed by Ashutosh Kamble, a shareholder of IB HL.

In his complaint to the Palghar court, Kamble claimed that he suffered a devaluation of his shares due to alleged misdealings between 2014 and 2020. He also made several allegations against the founder and promoter Sameer Gehlaut and other directors in connection with the misappropriation of funds by the company.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is learned to have reached out to the police team seeking details of the case, a senior official confirmed.

When contacted, the Indiabulls group said that since the matter is sub-judice, it cannot comment on the case. However, sources said the company had filed a petition last week seeking quashing of the proceedings in the Bombay High Court. The court is expected to hear the matter later this week.

Medical oxygen is key to Covid fight, but once it used to be quack remedy

 Supplemental oxygen makes the difference between life and death for many Covid-19 patients.

The desperate scenes playing out in India may foreshadow a dangerous new phase of the pandemic where people die in droves, not of the disease so much as a lack of proper medical care. The situation could get a lot worse thanks to a sudden shortage of medical oxygen in the country.

Oxygen is one of the most straightforward and proactive ways of treating the disease, which causes hypoxia. When patients begin gasping for air, a steady supply of concentrated oxygen does wonders.

It may seem like an obvious treatment in hindsight, yet it took nearly two centuries to overcome strange theories, outright quackery, and trench warfare in the medical community and beyond.

Oxygen’s history in medicine begins in the 1770s when the Swedish pharmacist Karl Scheele and the British scientist Joseph Priestly independently isolated oxygen gas. Priestly unfairly received the lion’s share of the credit.

To make matters worse, Priestly was a believer in phlogiston, an invisible substance allegedly released during combustion. What we call “oxygen,” he called “dephlogisticated air.” When he breathed it, his chest felt “peculiarly light and easy for some time afterward.” Priestley subsequently bragged in a scientific tract that “only two mice and myself have had the privilege of breathing” the miracle gas.

In a nation of inequalities, India's vaccine strategy is bad economics

 Free, universal access to inoculation could prepare India better for a third Covid-19 resurgence.

After a tightly centralized vaccination drive that has delivered the required two shots to less than 2% of the population, India is opening up its inoculation strategy in the middle of a raging pandemic. Can the new approach flatten the curve?

Expanding the campaign to all adults below 45 starting next month is a late but welcome move. India’s daily infection rate of almost 350,000 is the worst any country has experienced. Even then, shifting a big part of the financial burden to 28 state governments and letting private hospitals buy shots at 600 to 1200 rupees ($8 to $16) apiece--and sell them to patients at even higher prices--are both wrong.

In a nation riddled with inequalities and swelling with 75 million newly impoverished after last year’s coronavirus lockdown, putting a price on any part of limited vaccine supplies could lead to unjust, lopsided distribution. Free, universal access, with New Delhi negotiating prices with at least four or five suppliers globally, could prepare India better for a third Covid-19 resurgence. Until herd immunity is achieved, private hospitals must continue acting as agents of the state, and impose only a limited markup on the stock they’re given free from the national pool.

It was a mistake to restrict the drive to just two Made-in-India vaccines: Covishield, the AstraZeneca Plc shot manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India Ltd., and Covaxin, an indigenously developed shot produced by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd. New Delhi managed to negotiate a competitive price of 150 rupees per shot, and then set out to distribute them free of charge--first to healthcare and other frontline workers and then to those older than 60. Only this month, the age restriction was lowered to 45. Covishield has accounted for roughly 90% of the 141 million doses administered so far. Nowhere near enough for a population of almost 1.4 billion.

Indian smartphone market grew 23% in Jan-Mar 2021: Counterpoint report

 The second Covid wave, however, is expected to dampen the show in the April-June quarter

Buoyed by pent-up demand, the local smartphone market grew by a whopping 23 percent over a year earlier in the January-March quarter. As a result, shipment of smartphones touched 38 million units – unprecedented for the quarter – a report by analyst firm Counterpoint Research showed.

“Continuing with its stellar run, India’s smartphone market registered a third consecutive quarter of record shipments in the first quarter of 2021, riding on pent-up demand. consumer confidence also increased due to the beginning of a vaccination drive in the country”, said Prachis Singh, an analyst at Counterpoint.

With a 14 percent rise in the shipment of feature phones during the period, the overall handset market registered 19 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth. Strong shipment numbers of Reliance’s JioPhone drove the feature phones market, while Chinese vendor Itel led the market with a 21 percent share.

In the smartphone space, market leader Xiaomi witnessed a strong demand for its handsets and had to expand local sourcing capacity by partnering with two Chinese manufacturers — BYD and DBG. Rival Samsung, which held the second spot, registered 52 percent growth in shipment over the corresponding quarter last year. Its sales were driven by new launches in the budget segment.

Analysts, however, are now wary of the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic in its second wave, and its impact on the market in the April-June quarter. According to Singh, the superior growth in the March quarter might not sustain in the coming days. “These (March quarter) numbers should be taken with caution as a second and more virulent wave of Covid-19 is currently on in the country. That is likely to impact the coming quarters. The consumer demand will take a hit due to the ongoing Covid-19 wave and subsequent lockdowns,” said Singh.

Copper climbs to highest in 10 years as global recovery powers metals

 Copper, a bellwether for the global economy, rose as much as 2.4% to $9,780 per tonne in London

Copper climbed to the highest in almost a decade as the global recovery from the pandemic extended a rally in metals markets.

Aluminum is surging and iron ore jumped to a fresh high as commodities advance toward the highs of the last supercycle. Metals are benefiting as the world’s largest economies announce stimulus programs and climate pledges as they rebuild from the coronavirus shock.

The US recovery is accelerating and President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan will highlight sectors like electric cars, driving further gains in commodities critical to the green energy transition. That’s coming alongside a continued economic boom in China, where a push to reduce emissions is filtering through to supply cuts for some metals just as demand is picking up.

“The super part of the copper supercycle is happening right now,” Max Layton, managing director for commodities research at Citigroup Inc., said by phone. “The bullish outlook is decarbonization-led, and I’m totally on board with that for the next three to four years, but the super part of this cycle is actually more related to the scale of global stimulus.”

Copper — a bellwether for the global economy — rose as much as 2.4% to $9,780 a metric ton in London, the highest since August 2011, and settled at $9,751 at 5:51 p.m. local time. The metal has gained 26% on the London Metal Exchange this year. Iron ore in Singapore jumped to the highest since contracts launched in 2013, while Chinese steel futures reached fresh highs.

With Temasek's $120 mn, Ronnie Screwvala's UpGrad set for $1 bn valuation

 Entrepreneur says his upskilling startup is targeting $2 billion in revenue by 2026.

Ronnie Screwvala pioneered cable television in India in the 1980s and then built a unicorn that was acquired by Walt Disney Co. At 64, the entrepreneur’s latest venture UpGrad is speeding toward a landmark $1 billion valuation.

The higher education and upskilling startup raised $120 million from Singapore-based investor Temasek Holdings Pte, according to its co-founder. That’s the first time UpGrad—which had been funded entirely by Screwvala and its founding team since it was established in 2015—is getting an external investor.

“We are not quite a unicorn but we’ll get there soon,” the entrepreneur said in an interview via Zoom video call.

A posse of Indian edtech companies target the K-12 and test prep market and two of them, Naspers and Tiger Global-funded Byju’s as well as SoftBank-backed Unacademy, are already unicorns. UpGrad Education Pvt, as the startup is officially called, focuses on a different niche: older Indians looking for specialist skills, an additional degree, or better preparation for the ultra-competitive entry tests for top engineering, medical and business schools.
The Mumbai-based startup, currently at an annual revenue run rate of $165 million, wants to use the capital to scale to overseas markets, make acquisitions, expand its graduate degree portfolio and launch an app that will offer everything from masterclasses to soft skills training. Screwvala said sales are doubling every year and the firm is targeting $2 billion in revenue by 2026. He expects to raise another round of capital in 3 to 6 months.

Screwvala’s entertainment conglomerate UTV was acquired by Disney at an enterprise valuation of $1.4 billion in 2013. He set up UpGrad six years ago with co-founders Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli, initially offering courses on entrepreneurship and data science.

Tata vs Mistry: Shapoorji-Pallonji group files review petition in SC

 In its March 26 verdict, the court had ruled in favor of the Tata group

The SP Group has filed a review petition before the Supreme Court challenging the court’s March 26 verdict, in which it had ruled in favor of the Tata group. The SP group and the Tata group were locked in a bitter dispute after SP group scion, Cyrus Mistry, was removed by the Tata Sons board as its chairman. A Bench led by former Chief Justice of India S A Bobde had ruled that Mistry's removal was in sync with the law and SP group, a minority shareholder in Tata Sons, could not seek a board seat.

“The power of review is very limited, and typically addresses an error on the face of the record in the judgment. It is usually decided without a fresh hearing, and by the same Bench that passed the judgment against which the review is filed. It is pertinent that the Bench that passed the judgment included Chief Justice Bobde, who has just retired, and will not be part of the Bench deciding the review," said Anand Desai, managing partner, DSK Legal.

According to lawyers, yet another legal battle might be brewing between the two warring sides and unless the Tatas and Mistrys sit together and settle the issue, the legal fight would continue on various issues. The Mistry family owns an 18.4 percent stake in Tata Sons while the rest is owned by the Tatas.

The Mistrys have sought a valuation of Rs 1.74 trillion for their stake in Tata Sons while the Tatas have pegged it far lower at Rs 80,000 crore. The SC has left the valuation of shares on the warring parties to decide.

Reliance, BP announce start of production from gas field in KG D6 block

 Two companies are developing three deep-water gas developments in block KG D6

Reliance Industries Ltd. and BP said on Monday they have started production from a gas field in block KG D6 off the east coast of India.

A press statement said the two companies are developing three deep-water gas developments in block KG D6--R Cluster, Satellite Cluster, and MJ--which together are expected to produce around 30 mmscmd (1 billion cubic feet a day) of natural gas by 2023, meeting up to 15 percent of India’s gas demand.

The Satellite Cluster is the second of the three developments to come onstream, following the start-up of R Cluster in December 2020. The field will produce gas from four reservoirs utilizing a total of five wells and is expected to reach gas production of up to 6 mmscmd. The R Cluster and Satellite Cluster together are expected to contribute to about 20 percent of India’s current gas production, said the statement.

KG D6 is expected to come onstream towards the latter half of 2022.

Oscar 2021: India's Irrfan Khan, Bhanu Athaiya get mention in 'In Memoriam'

 Irrfan Khan and Bhanu Athaiya were the Indian film personalities honored in the "In Memoriam" montage showcased at the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony

Irrfan Khan and Bhanu Athaiya were the Indian film personalities honored in the "In Memoriam" montage showcased at the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony held here, on early Monday morning according to India time.

Sean Connery and Chadwick Boseman were also among many others that the Academy remembered in the special tribute segment. Oscar nominee Angela Bassett gave a speech with the tribute, which was shown in the form of a video clip and was a homage to achievers the world of screen lost over the past year, including actors, writers, directors, and technicians.

Irrfan Khan, who passed away last year in Mumbai at the age of 53 after a two-year battle with a neuroendocrine tumor, earned global recognition with his work in projects such as "The Warrior", "The Namesake", "Slumdog Millionaire", "The Amazing Spider-Man", "Life Of Pi", "Jurassic World" and "Inferno". He passed away on April 29 last year.

Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya became the first Indian to win an Oscar, for her work in Sir Richard Attenborough's much-feted classic of 1982, "Gandhi". She won the Oscar jointly with John Mollo. Athaiya was 91 when she passed away at her residence in Mumbai after a prolonged illness last year on October 16. Athaiya had also won a BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design for the film.

In 2012, Athaiya returned her Oscar to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for safekeeping.

The 93rd Academy Award, also known as the Oscars, was held from two locations in Los Angeles -- Union Station and Dolby Theatre. Anthony Hopkins and Frances McDormand were honored with the Best Actor and Actress award respectively while filmmaker Chloe Zhao's "Nomadland" was named the Best Film. Zhao won Best Director for the film.

Big groups plan O2 storage, transport; PM Cares Fund for 551 plants

 The government is using "linear programming", an operation research tool, to get oxygen to cities from their nearest sources

As the number of Covid-19 deaths due to the lack of medical oxygen at hospitals mounts, India’s big conglomerates have begun collaborating with the Union government on the production, supply, and storage of the essential medical resource.

The Tatas, Larsen & Toubro, and Bharat Forge on Sunday expressed interest in building pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants at hospital sites, while Indian Oil Corporation and Reliance Industries are pitching in with both oxygen and cryogenic tankers needed for its transportation.

India has also tied up with some of these companies to import tankers from four destinations — Dubai, Bangkok, Shanghai, and Dusseldorf. Four tankers from Singapore bought by the Tatas have already reached Vishakhapatnam on an Indian Air Force plane.

A total of 262 tankers are expected to be imported. IndianOil plans to manufacture 100 cryogenic tankers at its Nashik facility but the first units from there would be available only after three weeks.

As far as oxygen imports go, so far there has only been a firm commitment of 500 tonnes from a Gulf organization and about 3,000 tonnes from other countries against a tender of 50,000 tonnes floated on April 16. “The worrying part is these imports will not come immediately and are priced very high. Some of the global suppliers are taking advantage of the shortage,” said a senior government official.

Amid Covid-19 second wave, Centre may not weigh in on 'essential' debate

 Will let states define what kind of e-com deliveries will be allowed

Despite several requests from the industry to define essential and non-essential commodities, the Centre has indicated that it will not step in. Instead, it will let the respective state governments take a call on categorising essential and non-essential goods, as localized lockdowns have been imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Senior government officials said that, right now, the central government’s priority is to ensure supplies to micro containment zones. Deliveries of non-essential items may have to wait until after the second wave peaks.
“Our focus is on saving lives right now. It’s for the states to define (what are essential and non-essential goods) in accordance with their requirements. They will take a call for the time being or at least till we hit a peak (number of Covid-19 cases),” a senior government official told Business Standard.
The Centre may step when cases start declining, if required, and may look at allowing e-commerce companies to deliver non-essential items.
For the time being, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will not step in and leave it on the states to make their rules on delivery, the official explained.
To be sure, unlike last year, there isn’t a nationwide lockdown this time around. While Maharashtra was the first state to impose a curfew, several other states, including Delhi, Jharkhand, followed suit and imposed restrictions as cases spiked. However, unlike last year, supply chains have not been disrupted this year and e-commerce logistics have not seen a massive impact.

Wipro pips HCL Tech in m-cap to become third most-valued Indian IT firm

 At 09:37 am, Wipro's market-cap stood at Rs 2.65 trillion while that of HCL Technologies was Rs 2.62 trillion, BSE data shows

IT major Wipro, on Friday, regained the position as India's third most-valued information technology (IT) company, surpassing HCL Technologies in terms of market capitalization (market-cap).

At 09:37 am, Wipro stood at number 12 in the overall m-cap ranking with an m-cap of Rs 2.65 trillion. HCL Technologies, meanwhile, slipped to number 13 with an m-cap of Rs 2.62 trillion, BSE data shows. Wipro has regained this spot after a gap of 18 months. Earlier, on October 22, 2019, Wipro had a market cap of Rs 1.449 trillion while HCL Technologies had a market cap of Rs 1.444 trillion.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is at number one position in the IT company's market-cap rank, stands strong with a market-cap of Rs 11.47 trillion, followed by Infosys (Rs 5.72 trillion), data shows.

Shares of Wipro hit a record high of Rs 494.50 on Thursday, rallying 16 percent in the past five trading days, after the company reported a healthy IT services revenue growth and margins in the March quarter (Q4FY21). In comparison, HCL Technologies were down 2 percent during the same period. The stock had hit an all-time high of Rs 1,073.55 on January 13. The company is scheduled to announce its Q4FY21 results today.

After a muted growth over the last few years, Wipro delivered strong results for the third quarter in a row led by healthy volume growth. After a steep decline in Q1FY21, the company bounced back sharply.

"Wipro's turnaround has been led by the strategy of the new CEO, coupled with a strong demand environment. Along with these, improved execution is likely to drive earnings going ahead," analysts at Edelweiss Securities said. All in all, the brokerage firm remains optimistic about the demand environment and maintains ‘BUY’ on the stock with an unchanged target price of Rs 550.

ICICI Securities, on the other hand, said that the key highlights of the quarter were healthy deal wins, up 16.7 percent quarter on quarter (QoQ), to $1.4 billion, a healthy net addition of 7,404 employees, and higher offshore up 180 bps to 54.5 percent. "Robust Q1FY22E guidance IT services revenues would be in the range of $2,195 - 2,238 million, which translates into 2.0-4.0 percent QoQ growth. The guidance does not include announced acquisitions of Capco and Ampion," it said.

RBI approves Atanu Chakraborty appointment as HDFC Bank part-time chairman

 Private sector lender HDFC Bank on Friday said the Reserve Bank has approved the appointment of former Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty as the part-time chairman of the bank

Private sector lender HDFC Bank on Friday said the Reserve Bank has approved the appointment of former Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty as the part-time chairman of the bank.

"The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vide its communication dated April 22, 2021, has approved the appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as the part-time chairman of the bank... for a period of three years with effect from May 5, 2021, or the date of his taking charge, whichever is later," HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing.

HDFC Bank said a meeting of the board of directors of the bank will be convened in due course inter-alia to consider the appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as the part-time chairman and additional independent director of the bank.

Chakraborty, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, retired as Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs in April 2020. Prior to that, he was Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM). Both departments come under the finance ministry.

Once he is appointed as chairperson, HDFC Bank will be the second private sector lender to have a former bureaucrat at the post. ICICI Bank is chaired by the former Petroleum Secretary and Additional Secretary in the finance ministry G C Chaturvedi.

Intel PC chip sales rise, but profit forecast falls short: Details here

 Intel fumbled new manufacturing technology in recent years, causing it to fall behind rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Nvidia Corp in the race to make faster, smaller chips

By Stephen Nellis and Chavi Mehta

(Reuters) - Intel Corp on Thursday raised its annual sales outlook on the booming demand for personal computers, but its second-quarter profit forecast fell short of analyst expectations as the company spends heavily to get its manufacturing operations back on track and catch up to rivals with faster chips.

Intel shares were down 3.1% to $60.60 in after-hours trading after the results. The company also missed first-quarter expectations in its closely watched data center chip unit.

Intel fumbled new manufacturing technology in recent years, causing it to fall behind rivals such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Nvidia Corp in the race to make faster, smaller chips. Patrick Gelsinger, who returned to Intel as its chief executive earlier this year, said the chipmaker has begun to resolve its manufacturing problems, and in March announced a major expansion plan to build new factories in the United States and Europe.

Intel, which is one of the few remaining companies in the processor chip industry that both designs and manufactures its own chips, has said it has been able to beat out rivals during a global chip shortage by operating its own factories. But the company said shortfalls of other third-party components needed to build complete computers could hold back its sales this year.

Engineers trick Tesla Model Y to drive on Autopilot sans driver on the seat

 Engineers at Consumer Reports have tricked a Tesla Model Y to drive on the electric carmaker's driver assistance feature, without actually anyone in the driver's seat

As Tesla faces several fatal crashes in the recent past that have put its Autopilot mode in scrutiny, engineers at Consumer Reports engineers have easily tricked a Tesla Model Y to drive on the electric carmaker's driver assistance feature, without actually anyone in the driver's seat.

During the drive, Tesla Model Y automatically steered along painted lane lines, but the system did not send out a warning that the driver's seat was empty.

The engineers tricked Tesla vehicle by placing a small, weighted chain on the steering wheel, to simulate the weight of a driver's hand, and slid over into the front passenger seat without opening any of the vehicle's doors, because that would disengage Autopilot, the report said on Thursday.

Using the same steering wheel dial, the engineers reached over and were able to accelerate the vehicle from a full stop.

"In our evaluation, the system not only failed to make sure the driver was paying attention, but it also couldn't tell if there was a driver there at all," says Jake Fisher, CR's senior director of auto testing, who conducted the experiment.

"Tesla is falling behind other automakers like GM and Ford that, on models with advanced driver assist systems, use technology to make sure the driver is looking at the road."

Climate change: US applauds India for stepping up green energy commitment

 Biden administration has applauded India for stepping up its climate change commitment including the partnership with the US to deploy 450 gigawatts of renewable power to meet the 2030 target

The Biden administration has applauded India for stepping up its climate change commitment including the partnership with the US to deploy 450 gigawatts of renewable power to meet the ambitious 2030 target for climate action and clean energy.

At the Leaders Summit on Climate on Thursday, the two countries launched a new high-level US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership to create stronger bilateral cooperation on actions in the current decade to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The partnership will proceed along two main tracks -- the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership, co-chaired by Secretary of Energy Granholm, and the Climate Action and Finance Mobilisation Dialogue, co-chaired by Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, a joint statement said.

India, in partnership with the United States, to deploy 450 gigawatts of renewable power. Why is that important? Because if we can do that -- which is where our finance component of this is so critical -- if we do that, India is on track to hold the 1.5 degrees centigrade, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.

Describing the partnership as one of the core venues for the US-India collaboration, the joint statement said that its focus would be on driving urgent progress in this critical decade for climate action.

Both the United States and India have set ambitious 2030 targets for climate action and clean energy. In its new nationally determined contribution, the US has set an economy-wide target of reducing its net greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels in 2030.

Banks must halve their dividends to conserve capital in view of Covid: RBI

 Banks could pay a maximum of 50% of dividend from their profits in 2020-21; no such restriction on cooperative banks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said that in order to stay resilient during the Covid-19 crisis banks could pay a maximum of 50 percent of dividend from their profits in 2020-21.

"In view of the continuing uncertainty caused by the ongoing second wave of Covid-19 in the country, it is crucial that banks remain resilient and proactively raise and conserve capital as a bulwark against unexpected losses," the central bank said in a statement on its website.

However, there will be no such restriction on cooperative banks.

"While declaring a dividend on equity shares, it shall be the responsibility of the board of directors to inter alia consider the current and projected capital position of the bank vis-a-vis the applicable capital requirements and the adequacy of provisions, taking into account the economic environment and the outlook for profitability," the central bank said.

Upstox eyes 3-4 times growth in its customer base this year to 6-8 mn

 Tiger Global-backed online brokerage Upstox on Wednesday said it is aiming at a customer base of 6-8 million at the end of 2021

Tiger Global-backed online brokerage Upstox on Wednesday said it is aiming at a customer base of 6-8 million at the end of 2021.

This will be almost a 3-4 fold increase from the customer base of over 2 million at the end of December 2020, Upstox said in a statement.

Upstox, which was set up in 2009 by Ravi Kumar, Kavitha Subramanian, and Shrini Viswanath, said it registered robust growth in terms of a number of clients in the last two three years mainly due to the migration of millennials to digital-native trading platforms.

The increase in the number of active traders is largely fuelled by Tier-II and Tier-III towns with a vast majority being first-time investors.

According to Upstox's co-founder Ravi Kumar, the trend has only accelerated in the post-pandemic period, as more individuals and households have been looking for additional sources of income beyond the traditional instruments.

"The stay-at-home economy is a new experience for all demographics. It has served as a wake-up call for many millennials to think about investing in the stock market... millennials realized that getting started in the stock market is not that difficult in this digital era," he said.

Kumar, further, said 85 percent of Upstox customers carry out daily trades through their mobile devices.

UK-based fintech start-up Revolut to hire 300 staff for India support hub

 The company also appointed Paroma Chatterjee, a former executive at Lendingkart and Via.com among other companies, as its chief executive in India, Revolut said

By Lawrence White

LONDON (Reuters) - Revolut will hire 300 staff for its subsidiary in India and make a multi-million-pound investment there as part of its global expansion, the British-based digital bank app said on Thursday.

The company also appointed Paroma Chatterjee, a former executive at Lendingkart and Via.com among other companies, as its chief executive in India, Revolut said.

Revolut is hiring in human resources, finance, growth, marketing, and other functions as it bases support for its global operations from its Indian subsidiary, it said.

The company raised $500 million in a funding round at a valuation of $5.5 billion in early 2020, and according to media reports, this month is seeking a further funding round that could double that valuation.

Founded in 2015 by former Credit Suisse trader Nik Storonsky and software developer Vladyslav Yatsenko, Revolut has since attracted more than 15 million retail customers with products including currency exchange, debit cards, and stock trading.

The company said in March it had completed the first step to apply for a U.S. banking license and is launching its services for businesses across 50 states.

Tessolve raises $40 mn from Singapore's Novo Tellus at $100 mn valuation

 The funding will be used by Tessolve, a Hero Electronix venture, to drive further growth through acquisitions and organic investments

Tessolve, a Hero Electronix venture, has raised $40 million from Novo Tellus Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm based out of Singapore at a $100-million valuation. Tessolve is a global provider of engineering and research and development services to semiconductor companies. The funding will be used by Tessolve to drive further growth through acquisitions and organic investments.

“We are delighted to welcome Novo Tellus as a key partner in the journey to build Tessolve into the largest global provider of semiconductor engineering services,” said Ujjwal Munjal, founder-director, Hero Electronix. “Their sector expertise and experience in building technology leaders should be a great asset to Tessolve.”

Last year in March, Tessolve acquired UK-based Test & Verification Solutions (T&VS), a leading provider of chip design services. In 2017, Tessolve acquired Spectrum Integrated and analog design business of Analog Semiconductors and test lab business of Lynxemi Pte. In 2016, it bought TES DST.

Since a majority investment by Hero Electronix in 2016, Tessolve has witnessed a year-on-year growth rate of over 30 percent, achieving $75 million in 2020 revenues. It has transitioned from a semiconductor test services provider to a provider of complete engineering solutions to semiconductor companies. Its offerings range from designing chips, testing chips, and product engineering to designing electronic products. The firm has grown into an over-2,000-employee organization and has significantly expanded its global presence with 15 offices across the US, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Europe, the UK, and Taiwan. Its client base includes leading marquee names from the technology industry, including eight of the top 10 semiconductor companies.

Russian hacker targets Apple in $50 million ransomware attack: Details here

 Russia-based hackers have hit Apple in a $50 million ransomware attack via a Taiwan-based company that manufactures MacBooks and other products for the Cupertino-based iPhone maker, the media reported

Russia-based hackers have hit Apple in a $50 million ransomware attack via a Taiwan-based company that manufactures MacBooks and other products for the Cupertino-based iPhone maker, the media reported.

According to The Record, the operators of the REvil ransomware are demanding that Apple pay a ransom demand to avoid having confidential information leaked on the Dark Web.

The cybercriminals timed the attack to coincide with Apple's "Spring Loaded" event. Files leaked on the Dark Web show "schematics for Macbook laptops".

REvil is a Russian hacking group that's also known by the name Sodinokibi.

The hackers claimed that they have Apple product data after breaching Quanta Computer, a Taiwanese company that is the biggest laptop manufacturer in the world.

"In a message posted on a dark web portal, the REvil gang said that Quanta refused to pay to get its stolen data back and, as a result, the REvil operators have now decided to go after the company's primary customer instead," the report said late on Wednesday.

According to report, Quanta refused to pay the $50 million ransom for the data.

Reached out for comment, "Apple said it was looking into the incident and had nothing to share at the moment".

The REvil operators said in the message that "Our team is negotiating the sale of large quantities of confidential drawings and gigabytes of personal data with several major brands. We recommend that Apple buy back the available data by May 1."

Credit Suisse had more than $20 billion exposure to Archegos investments

 Credit Suisse Group had more than $20 billion of exposure to investments related to Archegos Capital Management and struggled to monitor them before the fund had to liquidate many large positions

(Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group had more than $20 billion of exposure to investments related to Archegos Capital Management and struggled to monitor them before the fund had to liquidate many large positions, the Wall Street Journal reported https://on.wsj.com/2PeVhye.

Parts of the bank had not fully implemented systems to keep pace with Archegos' fast growth when Archegos bets on a collection of stocks swelled leading up to its March collapse, the report said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Chief Executive Thomas Gottstein and Lara Warner, the bank's recently departed chief risk officer, became aware of the Archegos exposure in the days leading up to the forced liquidation of the fund, the report said. Neither Gottstein nor Warner had been aware of the fund as a major client before, it said.

Credit Suisse declined to comment on the WSJ report.

Switzerland's second-biggest bank has been reeling from its exposure to the collapse first of British fund Greensill Capital and then U.S. investment fund Archegos within the course of one month.

Huge losses at Archegos last month prompted Credit Suisse to replace its heads of investment banking and of compliance and risk after it said it would book a $4.7 billion first-quarter charge from exposure to the stricken firm.

 

Arzooo launches in-house logistics service Arzooo Express

 Retail-tech startup Arzooo said it had launched an in-house logistics service that would manage the first-mile service to last-mile delivery of goods for its partner stores across the country

Retail-tech startup Arzooo on Wednesday said it has launched an in-house logistics service that will manage the first-mile service to last-mile delivery of goods for its partner stores across the country.

The in-house logistics service, Arzooo Express, has been launched with an investment of USD 2 million.

This investment follows USD 6 million funding by Arzooo from Trifecta Capital recently.

"Arzooo Express, besides having a fleet of vehicles plying around cities, has an end-to-end technology platform to manage Arzooo's supply chain on a real-time basis," a company statement said.

In the first phase, Arzooo Express will serve 10,000 pin codes across the country with a fleet of trucks. By 2021-end, it hopes to double its logistics service capability to serving 20,000 plus pin codes across India with a 3 times larger fleet on the ground and advanced supply chain technology.

The new service is expected to help Arzooo improve serviceability, speed of delivery, expand its pay on delivery option to a larger network along with efficiency in its supply chain operations.

At present, the logistics service will serve Arzooo's own client base.

However, the company may look to extend the Arzooo Express platform as a third-party service provider in near future, it said.

"We aim to deliver a level of service for our retailers that are 2X faster in speed and reliable when it comes to the turnaround time, but with a fragmented network of logistics ecosystem with limited capabilities to handle large appliances it is hard to achieve the speed and quality of service.

"Arzooo Express equips us with the best supply chain capability built to handle large products, deliver faster service to our customers with an optimum level of operational efficiency that sets us to achieve the larger business objective to serve 50,000 stores by the end of this year," Arzooo co-founder and CEO Khushnud Khan said.

US Capitol violence: Apple signals return of social app Parler in App store

 Apple said it has reached an agreement with the right-wing social app Parler that could lead to its reinstatement in the company's app store

Apple said it has reached an agreement with the right-wing social app Parler that could lead to its reinstatement in the company's app store.

Apple kicked out Parler in January over ties to the deadly January 6 siege on the US Capitol.

In a letter to two Republican lawmakers in Congress, Apple said it has been in substantial conversations with Parler over how the company plans to moderate content on its network.

Before its removal from the app store, Parler was a hotbed of hate speech, Nazi imagery calls for violence (including violence against specific people), and conspiracy theories.

Apple declined to comment beyond the letter, which didn't provide details on how Parler plans to moderate such content.

In the letter, Apple said Parlor's proposed changes would lead to approval of the app.

Parler did not immediately respond to a message for comment. As of midday Monday, Parler was not yet available in the app store and Apple did not give a timeline for when it will be reinstated.

According to Apple's letter, Parler proposed changes to its app and how it moderates content. Apple said the updated app incorporating those changes should be available as soon as Parler releases it.

Google also banned Parler from its Google Play store in January, but Parler remains available for Android phones through third-party app stores.

Apple's closed app system means apps are only available through Apple's own app store.

Texas police to seek Tesla vehicle crash data as Musk denies autopilot use

 Police say evidence suggests there was nobody in the driver's seat of the Model S when it crashed and killed 2 persons.

Texas police will serve search warrants on Tesla Inc on Tuesday to secure data from a vehicle that crashed on the weekend, killing two people, a senior officer told Reuters on Monday.

Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4, said evidence including witness statements clearly suggested there was nobody in the driver's seat of the Model S when it crashed into a tree on Saturday night.

Herman said a tweet by Tesla chief Elon Musk on Monday afternoon saying that data logs retrieved so far indicated the car's autopilot was not engaged was the first officials had heard from the company.

"If he is tweeting that out, if he has already pulled the data, he hasn't told us that," Herman told Reuters. "We will eagerly wait for that data."

"We have witness statements from people that said they left to test drive the vehicle without a driver and to show the friend how it can drive itself," Herman added.

The crash is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which regulates vehicle safety, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

In his tweet, Musk rejected the idea vehicle's driving software was to blame: "Data logs recovered so far show Autopilot was not enabled & this car did not purchase FSD", in a reference to Full Self-Driving, Tesla's semi-automated driver assistance system that requires driver supervision.

Musk added that "standard Autopilot would require lane lines to turn on, which this street did not have."

The 2019 Tesla Model S was traveling at high speed near Houston when it failed to negotiate a curve and went off the road, crashing into a tree and bursting into flames, Herman said.

Monday blues: Second Covid-19 wave stings indices as markets drop 1.8%

 Benchmark indices drop 3% before settling 1.8% lower, amid Covid-19 surge, new restrictions

The worsening coronavirus crisis triggered yet another sell-off in the domestic stock market on Monday, with the benchmark indices dropping more than 3 percent before recouping some of the losses.

A sharp jump in Covid-19 cases and fresh curbs to contain the spread of the virus has stoked concerns about the revival of the economy and corporate earnings, prompting some investors to pull back.

After dropping as much as 1,469 points, or 3 percent, the Sensex settled 883 points, or 1.8 percent, lower at 47,949, while the Nifty 50 index fell 258 points, or 1.8 percent, to finish at 14,359. Both the indices had dropped more than 3 percent on the previous Monday.

Investor wealth on Monday tumbled over Rs 3.53 trillion, and the market capitalization of all BSE-listed companies stood at Rs 201 trillion at the close of trade.

The latest sell-off came as the daily Covid-19 tally in the country crossed a record 273,810. The spike in new cases was accompanied by a severe shortage of medicines and other essentials, putting a spotlight on the country’s weak healthcare infrastructure. Health experts have raised concerns that a possible new variant could spread more rapidly.

The rise in Covid-19 cases has forced many states to impose lockdowns of varying intensity. Delhi on Monday announced a week-long curfew.

Last week, Maharashtra, one of the biggest contributors to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), imposed strict curbs on movement.

Medical oxygen requirement increased 7 times; met 60% demand: Inox Air

 According to industry figures, the pre-Covid demand for liquid medical oxygen before the pandemic was 700 tonne per day across the country

The demand for medical oxygen has jumped manifold amid the second wave of Covid, according to industry players who said it much sought-after since the start of the pandemic last year.

According to industry figures, the pre-Covid demand for liquid medical oxygen (LMO) before the pandemic was 700 tonne per day (TPD) across the country. During the first wave of Covid-19 last year, the demand for LMO increased four times to 2,800 TPD. Further, with the second wave, the demand has gone up more than seven times the pre-Covid levels -- 5,000 TPD.

“While we hope that the spike in cases is arrested, the success of oxygen therapy in Covid treatment means that there will be sustained demand for liquid medical oxygen in the months to come,” said Siddharth Jain, director, INOX Air Products. His company is meeting more than 60 percent of the total medical oxygen demand in the country.

The supply of medical oxygen is currently being allocated centrally and monitored by the empowered group, EG II, headed by the secretary in the department for the promotion of industry and internal trade, mandated by the Union government. This explains the pressure from states on the Union government since quotas are allotted by the central committee. The Delhi government had on Sunday alleged the Centre was diverting from its quota to other states.

The EG II has members nominated from all the states, along with all major oxygen manufactures, All India Industrial Gases Manufacturers’ Association (AIIGMA), Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), the Ministry of Road Transport, and the Indian Railways. While medical oxygen is not a controlled commodity, the prices are controlled by the National Pharma Pricing Authority. “In normal times, India had an excess supply of medical oxygen, so there was no restriction on interstate movement earlier. We believe that once the pandemic subsides, there will be no restriction on the movement of LMO,” said Jain.

Facebook unveils upcoming audio products to take on Clubhouse: Details here

 Zuckerberg said the world's largest social media network planned in the coming months to launch features including short-form audio clips called Soundbites

By Elizabeth Culliford, Sheila Dang, and Munsif Vengattil

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday the company planned to launch several audio products, including Clubhouse-style live audio rooms and a way for users to find and play podcasts.

Facebook's incursion into the audio market comes as the sudden explosion of interest in Clubhouse, an audio app where billionaires and celebrities including Tesla CEO Elon Musk have popped in to chat, could be waning. Downloads of the Clubhouse app, which is only available on Apple's iOS devices, suffered an estimated 70% decline in downloads in March from February when it hit a high.

Zuckerberg said the world's largest social media network planned in the coming months to launch features including short-form audio clips called "Soundbites" and ways to create sound effects or improve audio quality. Facebook said in a blog post-https://bit.ly/3e8FGsc it would begin to test live audio rooms, which would launch by the summer.

Zuckerberg said Facebook was looking to "treat audio as a first-class medium in the way that we would photos or video" in an interview on Discord with Casey Newton, editor of newsletter Platformer.

The rapid growth of the year-old app Clubhouse has demonstrated the potential of audio chat services.

A brief look at REPCO, the latest universal bank licence candidate

 Repco Bank would approach the private sector for investments. However, it is yet to start such an exercise.

REPCO Bank, which recently applied for a license to start a universal bank in the country, expects to post a net profit of up to Rs 60 crore in FY21. A multi-state cooperative society, it is currently under the administrative control of the Union Home ministry.

The Government of India — along with the governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh — is the promoter. They together hold a 55.3 percent stake in the lender and the remaining 44.7 percent is with individuals.

With 1.2 million customers, the lender applied for a universal banking license to broad base its operations, services and come under the regulatory purview of the Reserve Bank of India.

Repco Bank would approach the private sector for investments. However, it is yet to start such an exercise.

It expects a 10 percent rise in business in 2021-22, especially by growing its gold loan portfolio.

Why use muscle? Let a bot be the debt collector and never lose a customer

 Like in most emerging markets, these last-mile hurdles pose a frustratingly complex challenge to India's creditors. They also increase the overall risk premium for rural advances

A 2021 remake of getting Shorty might not have much use for John Travolta’s Miami mobster character. The debt collector role could go to a bot.

You can test this hypothesis in a most unlikely place to roll out a new technology: the Indian countryside. The setting is perhaps not as odd as it seems, with about 5% to 10% of the country’s farmers not repaying their tractor loans on time. The explanations for tardiness range from failed crops to medical emergencies and strategic defaults in anticipation of state-mandated debt waivers, a regular feature of the political economy. But delinquency often stems from more mundane reasons: Borrowers forget their due dates or fail to withdraw cash to pay the nonbank financiers who provide the bulk of loans for farm equipment purchases.

Like in most emerging markets, these last-mile hurdles pose a frustratingly complex challenge to India’s creditors. They also increase the overall risk premium for rural advances.

Of late, three things have changed. First, the world’s cheapest data prices have made smartphones ubiquitous. Second, a strong push for financial inclusion has seen more than 400 million no-frills savings accounts opened in the last seven years. Finally, banks are now on a nationwide mobile payment network that is fast, convenient, and supports apps like Google Pay and Walmart Inc.’s PhonePe. Google has even recommended the architecture to the U. S. Federal Reserve.

Yet for all the help from technology, collections are still hard in villages due to barriers of language, education, and entrenched cash use. Farmers simply don’t know how to use the new digital tools. Or they may miss a deadline because of a temporary cash-flow mismatch. When creditors respond by handing over borrowers to third-party recovery agents, scandals emerge. It’s a universal problem. In Indonesia, the 2011 death of a cash-strapped small businessman in Jakarta after alleged harassment by collectors led to a two-year ban on Citigroup Inc. from acquiring new credit card customers in the country. Even when things don’t go to such extremes, unpleasantness and soured relationships usually follow.

Two passengers killed as Tesla car with 'no one' driving crashes in Texas

 One victim was found in the front passenger seat of a 2019 Model S and the other was in the rear.

A Tesla Inc. electric car that “no one” appeared to be driving crashed late Saturday in Texas, erupting into flames and killing the two passengers, according to local authorities.

One victim was found in the front passenger seat of a 2019 Model S and the other was in the rear, Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said in a telephone interview. The car ran into a tree in the Carlton Woods subdivision near The Woodlands after traveling at high speed and failing to navigate a turn.

The position of the victims, statements and other physical evidence suggests that “no one was driving the vehicle at the time of impact,” Herman said. “It’s still under investigation.”

Herman said his office is coordinating with federal authorities, without specifying which ones, and didn’t know whether the Autopilot feature was engaged. It took more than 30,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire, which burned for four hours, he added.

Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

Federal officials have criticized Tesla for fire risks related to the battery packs in its cars and for not doing enough to keep drivers from using its driver-assist function inappropriately. In a hearing last year, the National Transportation Safety Board’s chairman said that “it’s time to stop enabling drivers in any partially automated vehicle to pretend that they have driverless cars.”

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has defended the safety record of his company’s vehicles. This week, he shared a report on Twitter, saying that a Tesla with Autopilot engaged is now approaching a “10 times lower” chance of an accident than an average vehicle.