Two billionaires' actions will determine India's response to climate change

 Don't expect a gabfest in Glasgow to save the planet when the scene of real action is 4,000 miles east.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in the Scottish city is being billed as our last best chance to keep global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial Revolution levels. But that’s already unrealistic. With temperatures 1.1 degrees higher than in the second half of the 19th century and greenhouse gas emissions still rising, the ambitious goal adopted by 196 countries in Paris six years ago is a near-certain miss.

That will no doubt lead to a new round of finger-pointing between rich and poor nations about how each side is being unreasonable and unfair. For a clue to how this depressing stalemate will ever be resolved, cast your gaze to Gujarat on India’s northwestern coast, where there’s no sense of defeat, or even righteous indignation about being forced to go on a low-emission diet by those who were early to industrialize.

Instead, two of the world’s richest businessmen are furiously writing billion-dollar checks in their race to shape our climate future. Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani owe their fortunes to carbon, and yet it’s in hydrogen — the simplest known element — where a complex contest between them could open a pathway to decarbonized economic growth. India’s official position is that net zero emissions by 2050 is an unjust demand. Yet, the optimism of the tycoons from Gujarat offers a way out of the impasse. Betting on one or both to succeed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi might promise to do more for the climate, though real work for his team will start only after returning from Glasgow. That’s when Ambani, 64, and Adani, 59, will want supportive policies.

Ambani owes his top spot on Asia’s rich list to Gujarat’s Jamnagar, host to the world’s largest oil-refining complex. It spews out spare cash to invest in retail and the internet. Pivoting away from fossil fuels, Ambani is setting up four new factories in the district, one each for solar panels, batteries, green hydrogen and fuel cells. His flagship Reliance Industries Ltd. has so far spent $1.2 billion on acquisitions and partnerships, and already Bernstein analysts believe the new enterprise to be worth $36 billion, compared with $30 billion for the decades-old refining business.

Samvat 2078: What's in store for equity markets?

 What does Samvat 2078 have in store for Indian equity markets? Which sectors look investment-worthy?

Leading market experts answer these questions and help you better understand what lies ahead
After a stellar liquidity-driven run in Samvat 2077, experts are suggesting that investors should brace for a volatile phase for Indian equity markets in Samvat 2078. The market direction, they say, will be guided by a host of domestic and foreign factors that will keep the markets choppy. These include:

Commodity prices and their impact on inflation and corporate earnings
Policy stance of global central banks, especially the US Federal Reserve
A fresh wave of Covid infections, if any
Global developments like economic recovery and China factors
IPO pipeline and liquidity with retail investors

While rising input prices, especially those of crude oil and coal, have seen the markets trim gains in the past few weeks, analysts at Nomura have pencilled in 0.6-0.7% rise in inflation over the next few months as a result of this.
Sonal Varma, chief economist for India and Asia ex-Japan, Nomura, said: “We estimate the impact on headline inflation to be as much as around 1 percentage point over the course of the next six months”

As an investment strategy for Samvat 2078, instead of chasing index-wide returns, experts suggest investors look for companies with sound fundamentals, low debt levels and revenue and profit visibility, given the multiple headwinds.

Japan's factory activity expands at fastest pace in 6 months in October

 The final au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index in Oct rose to 53.2 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 51.5 in the previous month, expanding for the ninth consecutive months.

Japan's factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in six months in October, an encouraging sign for the world's third-largest economy as it navigates the challenges posed by persistent global raw material and chips shortages.

Manufacturers said the material shortages and delivery disruptions continued to affect their operations, resulting in the sharpest jump of input prices in more than 13 years, a private-sector survey showed.

The final au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in October rose to 53.2 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 51.5 in the previous month, expanding for the ninth consecutive month.

The headline figure, which was slightly better than a 53.0 flash reading, was helped by a return to growth in output and overall orders, though their rate of expansion was modest and supply problems remained a drag.

"Manufacturers continued to note concern regarding significant supply chain disruption which dampened output and demand," said Usamah Bhatti, economist at IHS Markit, which compiled the survey.

"Material shortages and delivery delays induced sharp rises in input prices... This contributed to higher charges for clients in attempts to cover margins, with factory gate inflation quickening to a 13-year high."

Data last week Japan's factory output shrank for the third straight month in September as the auto sector was hit by a persistent global supply shortage, raising the risk of an economic contraction in the third quarter and throwing the recovery into doubt showed Japan's factory output shrank for the third straight month in September as the auto sector was hit by the global supply shortage, raising the risk of an economic contraction in the third quarter and throwing the recovery into doubt.

On the brighter side for consumption, the PMI survey's the headline figure for consumer goods rose to its highest since May 2019, HIS Markit said, as firms were helped by the waning impact of the coronavirus pandemic at home.

Decoded: What is dark web and is it really such a bad place to be in?

 There is a whole lot more to the web not accessible to everyone. People call it the dark web. Curious to know what the dark web is, who uses it, and why it is a maligned space? Let's take a look

From looking things up on search engines to ordering food, reading news and booking cabs, we use web services every day. But do you know the web as we know it is just a fraction of the actual web space. Yes, and that is why it is called the surface web. It is available for access to anyone and everyone with access to the internet. There is a whole lot more to the web which is not accessible to everyone. People call it the dark web. Curious to know what the dark web is, who uses it, and why it is a maligned space? Let’s take a look:

What is the Dark Web?
It is that uncharted part of the web which is not accessible to everyone

The Dark Web is a reality that has existed since the beginning of the internet. While there is a load of information indexed on the web and easily accessible by anyone with internet connectivity, irrespective of geography, there is even more information and data that does not come to your notice because it is hidden and requires special privileges to access. This uncharted part of the web is called the Dark Web.
How is the Dark Web different from the surface web?
Information on the dark web is not defined by regulations and content policies. Moreover, web pages serving information on the dark web do not appear on search engine result pages, or SERPs, like those of Google and Bing because they are hidden and not indexed. Therefore, the dark web includes information that is not easily accessible by everyone. Besides, the web pages serving up information on the dark web are marked unsafe by browsers and do not open on regular internet browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari.
Who uses the dark web?
Criminals for illegal activities
Investigative journalists to acquire info from secret sources
Whistleblowers to expose corporate, govt scams

Dark Web is home to all sorts of information but it has gained a bad name because of the prevalence of widespread illegal content, such as illicit pornography, sale of black market drugs, sale of illegal firearms, illegally acquired user databases, etc. The availability of such illegal content makes the dark web a playground for nefarious activities. Among positive use cases, investigative journalists are able to gather information from sources using the dark without risking their identity, and whistleblowers use it to expose corruption at corporations and in governments.

COP26 Glasgow 2021: What can India hope to achieve?

 We examine India's agenda at COP26 Glasgow 2021 climate change conference, what it hopes to achieve and what are the challenges. The fate of humanity arguably depends on the outcome of COP26

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, better known as COP26, began in the United Kingdom yesterday. Hosted in Glasgow, the summit will conclude on 12th November.

Now, before we get into the details, let's clear something up: what exactly is a COP?

These conferences are organised under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC, an international treaty agreed to in 1992. It came into force in 1994.

COP is a summit where the 197 signatories to the UNFCCC come together to decide how to implement the treaty. At present, the signatories include 196 countries and the EU.

Now, let's talk about the latest summit.

Several leaders have described COP26 as a "make or break" deal for the planet. And, its stated goals back up such a description.

COP26 will seek to finalise the ‘Paris Rulebook’, the rules needed to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate.

As such, the delegates will try to find a solution regarding carbon markets. The aim being to create a robust system of carbon credits that supports the transition to net zero. Countries are also being asked to come forward with ambitious 2030 emission-reduction targets that align with reaching net zero by the middle of the century.

The crucial context here is that the Paris Agreement’s central aim is to keep global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

So, now that we know what COP26 is all about, the question that arises is, what is India's agenda at the summit?

Apple Watch Series 7 review: Big display, redesigned UI enrich experience

 The Apple Watch Series 7 has larger display area, redesigned user interface optimised for the big screen, and new watch faces to complement the side curved display profile

There is no smartwatch that complements the iPhones the way Apple’s own watches do, even if they are not perfect. Therefore, even if the new models do not bring any significant upgrades over the previous-generation models, they still make a compelling buy for iPhone users looking to upgrade to a new model. A case in point is the Apple Watch Series 7. Over the Watch Series 6 (review), the Series 7 brings a bigger display with curved edges and negligible display bezels, redesigned user interface optimised for larger display, and new watch faces to complement the curved display profile.

Starting with the display, the Watch Series 7 boasts 20 per cent more screen area over the Watch Series 6. Interestingly, the bump in screen size does not translate into any significant changes in dimensions of the case. This is because the screen is stretched by narrowing the borders. That said, the Apple Watch Series 7 is just 1mm (45mm, review unit) bigger than its predecessor. The screen on the Watch Series 7 is not just bigger, but also brighter than the last-gen models. Apple said the screen was about 70 per cent brighter indoors than the Apple Watch Series 6. However, the bump in brightness is available only in the Always-On display mode. The Watch Series 7 has an impressive sunlight legibility, and with increased brightness in always-on display mode, it has equally good indoor legibility which makes it easier for you to read on-screen content on the watch face without having to lift the wrist or wake the display.

To make use of the larger display, Apple has redesigned the user interface by optimising the UI elements. Courtesy the watchOS 8, the Watch Series 7 gets larger menu titles and buttons in apps like Calculator, Stopwatch, Activity, and Alarms. Besides, there are two new watch faces exclusive to the Apple Watch Series 7. There is a new Contour face with an animated dial on the edge of the display that animates to emphasise the current hour details. Modular Duo is another face. The new redesigned UI and watch faces take advantage of the increased display size and profile to make the display intuitive to interact with. Besides, there are two additional larger font sizes for easy readability of the on-screen content. Apple has also included a new QWERTY keyboard with swipe-to-type feature. Though a good addition, the screen still is not big enough to make text entry easier and faster, especially if you have fat fingers.

Vastu Housing Finance raises $200 million from a consortium of investors

 With this investment, Vastu will further scale operations in existing locations, explore new markets and invest in next-generation technology platforms

Vastu Housing Finance Corporation (Vastu) has raised about $200 million from a consortium led by Norwest Venture Partners, Creation Investments and IIFL Asset Management to fund business expansion plans.

The transaction has two components involving primary equity infusion of about $125 million and balance is secondary sale by current investors. This transaction is the largest private equity growth investment in the affordable housing segment in India, till date, the company said in a late night statement.

Sandeep Menon, Founder, MD & CEO, Vastu said with this investment, Vastu will further consolidate operations in 13 states. It will build products to provide easy, faster and affordable credit to 900 million people residing in these states.

Vastu was set up in 2015 by Sandeep Menon and Sujay Patil, backed by funds managed by Multiples Alternate Asset Management (Multiples) and senior industry leaders from the BFSI sector. Vastu is a digitally enabled retail affordable housing finance company. with a pan-India presence.

Vastu has grown rapidly to an Assets Under Management of approximately Rs 3,000 crore ( about $400 million, serving 13 states across India, in 100 markets and 1,200+ employees.

With this investment, Vastu will further scale operations in existing locations, explore new markets and invest in next-generation technology platforms. It plans to hire 1,000 additional team members across functions over next 12 months.

Vastu has also set up a non-banking finance company (NBFC) – Vastu Finserve, for vehicle and MSME financing to become a diversified consumer lender serving all credit needs of middle and aspiring India.

S&P, Nasdaq hit record closing highs on earnings bullishness

 Amazon.com, Apple fall in late trade after quarterly reports; Caterpillar, Merck rise after posting higher profits

Wall Street closed higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq boasting record closing levels thanks partly to gains in Apple and Amazon, while solid results from companies including Caterpillar and Merck helped ease concerns about slowing economic growth denting profits.

After the bell, however, shares of both Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc moved sharply lower following the release of quarterly results.

Amazon was down 4% in extended trading after forecasting holiday-quarter sales below Wall Street expectations.

Apple fell more than 3% in late trading after it said supply-chain woes cost it $6 billion in sales in the last quarter and that the impact will be even worse in the holiday-sales quarter.

During the regular session, heavyweights including Tesla Inc , finishing up 3.8%, and Apple, which closed up 2.5%, spurred on the Nasdaq and the S&P.

The S&P was also boosted by Caterpillar Inc, which closed up 4% after reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit on rising commodity prices and a bullish forecast from drugmaker Merck & Co Inc, which added 6%.

Investors also eyed Washington, where President Joe Biden said he had secured a new $1.75 trillion framework for economic and climate change spending.

"Earnings continue to be very good," said Bill Stone, chief investment officer at the Glenview Trust Co in Louisville, Kentucky, who also noted that Biden's framework, if it succeeds, would not boost corporate taxes as investors had previously feared.

Meta: Can rebranding help Facebook repair damage, capture consumers?

 Mark Zuckerberg revealed a new name and logo for Facebook rooted in the social-networking giant's ambition to develop a digital world

It’s “Meta.” After a week of intense speculation, Mark Zuckerberg revealed a new name and logo for Facebook rooted in the social-networking giant’s ambition to develop a digital world that would replace the current version of the internet.

The metaverse Zuckerberg envisions will be a place where consumers can play, socialize and even run a business, all within a computer-generated virtual environment.

In one way, the name is apt. At the end of his virtual keynote, Zuckerberg noted how he was inspired by the origin of the term “meta,” which comes from the Greek word meaning “beyond.” To him, it suggests there is “always more to build.” Judging from his presentation, that would be an accurate assessment of Facebook’s progress thus far.

Zuckerberg didn’t offer much in terms of tangible software or hardware developments. Yes, there was confirmation Facebook was working on a new, more advanced virtual-reality headset and an augmented-reality device, but we already knew that. Instead, we were left to imagine a new digital universe, in which avatars of ourselves and friends and co-workers mingle seamlessly thanks to still-to-be-developed technology.

The timing for the rebrand is, of course, convenient. After whistle-blower Frances Haugen’s credible testimony before the Senate about Facebook’s harmful effects, there is more unity and momentum in Congress to rein in the tech giant. The name change certainly could help get negative coverage out of the headlines for a few days. But as a diversionary tactic, it’s unlikely to work for long.

Facebook changes name to Meta as it refocuses on virtual reality

 The new name reflected its ambitions to build the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service, said CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook Inc is now called Meta, the company said on Thursday, in a rebrand that focuses on its ambitions building the "metaverse," a shared virtual environment that it bets will be the next big computing platform.

The name change comes as the world's largest social media company battles criticisms from lawmakers and regulators over its market power, algorithmic decisions and the policing of abuses on its platforms.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg, speaking at the company's live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference, said the new name reflected its ambitions to build the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service.

The metaverse, a term first coined in a dystopian novel three decades ago and now attracting buzz in Silicon Valley, refers broadly to the idea of a shared virtual environment which can be accessed by people using different devices.

"Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can't possibly represent everything that we're doing today, let alone in the future," said Zuckerberg.

The company, which has invested heavily in augmented and virtual reality, said the change would bring together its different apps and technologies under one new brand. It said it would not change its corporate structure.

Decoded: What are bull and bear markets, and what is their significance?

 The terms 'bull market' and 'bear market' are often used to define the mood of equity markets. But how are the two stock market terms defined, and what is their significance? Here's an explainer

Bull market and bear market are said to be two opposite phases in a market. In a bull market, stock prices continue to rise over a period of time, whereas in a bear market, prices continue to decline over a period of time.

The market rise can be attributed to several factors such as a positive economic outlook, strong corporate earnings, etc, and vice versa in the case of a declining market.

One of the commonly accepted definitions of bull and bear market phases is that when the stock price rises 20% or more from its recent low or 52-week low, it is said to have entered a bull phase. On the other hand, as and when a stock falls 20% or more from its recent peak or 52-week high, it is said to have entered a bear phase.

Can every 20% rise or fall be defined as a bull or bear phase? The answer is NO! Because in a volatile market a 20% fall after a steep rally can be termed a market correction. And, a 20% rise after a steep fall can be called a pull-back rally.

So, here’s another way of defining or confirming a bull and bear market phase based on market technicals. Chartists call it ‘Golden Cross’ & ‘Death Cross’.

The bull market is said to be confirmed when the 50-day moving average of the stock or index crosses the 200-day moving average. This is also called the Golden Cross.

We get the bear market confirmation when the 50-day moving average of the stock or index falls below the 200-day moving average. This is also called the Death Cross.

Any sell-off in Indian equities is a good time to buy: Chris Wood

 Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies reiterates his bullish view, remains structurally overweight on India, and would look to buy Indian stocks on every decline

At a time when most marquee global research & brokerage houses such as UBS, HSBC, Nomura and Morgan Stanley have downgraded Indian equities citing their rich valuation, Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies has reiterated his bullish view. He remains structurally overweight on India, and would look to buy Indian stocks on every decline.

“If GREED & fear had to own one stock market globally for the next ten years, and not be able to sell it during that period, that market would be India,” Wood wrote in his latest weekly note to investors GREED & fear.

The key point which GREED & fear agrees with is that India, from a macro perspective, looks in a similar condition to where it was in 2003 when the country embarked on the last property and capex cycle. Rising interest rates, Jefferies believes, will not derail the upcoming investment cycle. The 10-year bond yield, according to Jefferies' analysis, rose from a low of 5 per cent during the 2003-2004 period to 8-9 per cent during the next several years without impacting the then accelerating investment-led cycle. All this, they believe, will be the case now as well and will help accelerate growth. This in turn, he believes, will help keep equity markets buoyant.

“Any sell-off in Indian equities triggered by tapering / tightening scare on Wall Street will provide opportunities to add to Indian equities, most particularly if this coincides with a further likely rise in the oil price on an accelerating re-opening of the global economy,” Wood wrote.

Meanwhile on Thursday, Morgan Stanley downgraded Indian equities from ‘overweight’ (OW) to ‘equal-weight’ (EW) and recommended taking some money 'off the table'. The research & brokerage house maintained a 50 basis points (bps) overweight stance on the Indian market its Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) and Emerging Market portfolio. However, India’s outperformance this year vis-à-vis the EM peers, according to Morgan Stanley, prompted them to downgrade India to a neutral stance.

Why is TCS' share in listed Tata group firms declining so rapidly?

 The combined m-cap of all listed Tata firms, excluding TCS, has shot up by 102% this year. This report examines how the fortunes of the Tata group companies are turning around under N Chandrasekaran

The stock market underperformance of Tata stocks, excluding TCS, long cast a shadow on the group’s overall performance. But the past year and a half have been different. The group’s stocks have staged an astounding rally, helped by several factors, including India’s bull market.

Because of this, Tata Consultancy Services’ contribution to the group’s market cap declined to a decadal low of 58.2% as of October 14. The IT exporter had accounted for 67% of the group market cap in December 2020 and a record 75% at the end of March 2020.

On October 21st, rating agency S&P upgraded the global ratings for Tata Steel, Tata Motors and its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover with a stable outlook. It also removed the companies from Credit Watch. S&P’s action follows a reassessment of influence and potential for extraordinary financial support from holding company Tata Sons to group entities.

Listed Tata companies at present have a combined market cap of Rs 23 trillion, compared with Rs 9.19 trillion in March 2020. The entire group’s market cap is up 49% year-to-date (YTD).

Group stocks like Tata Elxsi, Tata Power, Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals and Tata Steel have notched gains in high triple digits since their lows of March and April 2020.

The best-performer is design and technology services firm Tata Elxsi, with a 1000% gain. Tata Power has rallied 740%, whereas Tata Motors and Tata Chemicals have gained 680% and 390%, respectively. Tata Communications, too, has been among top performers, rising 565% since March last year. Riding a commodity rally, Tata Steel reduced its debt to the tune of Rs 28,000 crore in FY21 to Rs 88,500 crore. Its stock has gained 450% since its low 1.5 years ago. Titan Company’s market value crossed the Rs 2-trillion milestone early this month.

Nearly five years after N Chandrasekaran took charge as the chairman of Tata Sons, a number of reforms initiated by him finally seem to be bearing fruit.

Paytm pegs IPO at $20 bn valuation, CEO says 'life to become QSQT'

 "Our life is going to become QSQT now or quarter se quarter tak (from one quarter to next)," says Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

Paytm IPO will be at $19.5 billion to $20 billion valuation, the company officially revealed for the first time on Thursday. Paytm was valued at $16 billion when it raised funds two years ago.

The IPO was priced at a lower valuation so that more people can participate, the company said.

In a media conference call, Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said, "Our life is going to become QSQT now or quarter se quarter tak (from one quarter to next)." He added that there is no interesting acquisition target on the horizon and the company is more focused on building itself as compared to buying. "But never say never," he added.

"We have been getting personal messages from investors requesting for an allocation in the Paytm IPO. These people have never invested before in a listed company in India."

Sharma also said that Paytm Mall is a separate business and the parent company is not investing any more money in it.

The payments unicorn claims to have become contribution margin neutral, meaning it is recouping its cost from operation revenue. The company's contribution margin grew 198 per cent to Rs 245 crore in Q1FY22 compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous financial year.

The fintech behemoth has raised its initial public offering (IPO) size to Rs 18,300 crore from the earlier Rs 16,600 crore.

Google to launch Android 12L soon, OS suitable for bigger screens

 As per GSM Arena, Android 12L will become available early next year, in time for the next wave of Android 12 tablets and foldable.

American tech giant Google released Android 12 last week, and now it's announcing the next feature drop which it's calling Android 12L. The L stands for Large screens, as the focus of this release will be all about better adapting the OS to tablets, foldable, and ChromeOS devices.

As per GSM Arena, Android 12L will become available early next year, in time for the next wave of Android 12 tablets and foldable.

A developer preview of Android 12L is now out for emulator use, and it will be available soon for Lenovo's Tab P12 Pro. Later a public beta for Pixel devices will be opened too, as Android 12L will also arrive as an update for phones, even though most of its features won't be visible on smaller screens.

The UI has been refined for use on large screens. This includes notifications, quick settings, the lock screen, the home screen, the overview/recent apps panel, and so on. On large screens, the notification shade, lock screen, and other system surfaces all use a new two-column layout, and system apps are also optimised, reported GSM Arena.

For enhanced multitasking, Android 12L has a new taskbar that allows for quick switching between your favourite apps on the fly. This also makes split-screen mode easier to discover - all you need to do to engage it is drag and drop an app from the taskbar. All apps are enabled to enter a split-screen mode in Android 12L, which is another big step forward.

Google is urging developers to update their apps in order to better adapt to the multiple screen sizes Android works across, providing three window size classes as seen in the image above - Compact for phones, Medium for foldables and small tablets, and Expanded for landscape-mode tablets and computers.

Facebook, Google, Twitter set to face grilling by UK lawmakers

 Representatives from Facebook, Google, Twitter and TikTok will be questioned by members of a parliamentary committee scrutinizing the British government's draft online safety legislation

British lawmakers are set to grill Facebook and other tech giants Thursday over how they handle online safety as European efforts to regulate social media companies gain momentum.

Representatives from Facebook, Google, Twitter and TikTok will be questioned by members of a parliamentary committee scrutinizing the British government's draft online safety legislation.

Governments on both sides of the Atlantic want tougher rules aimed at protecting social media users, especially younger ones, but the United Kingdom's efforts are much further along. U.K. lawmakers are questioning researchers, journalists, tech executives and other experts for a report to the government on how to improve the final version of the online safety bill.

The hearing comes the same week YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat were questioned by a U.S. Senate panel. They provided little firm commitment for U.S. legislation bolstering protection of children from online harm, which lawmakers say ranges from eating disorders, sexually explicit content and material promoting addictive drugs.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen appeared before the U.K. committee this week, telling members that the company's systems make online hate worse and that it has little incentive to fix the problem. She said time is running out to regulate social media companies that use artificial intelligence systems to determine what content people see.

Haugen was a Facebook data scientist who copied internal research documents and turned them over to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They also were provided to a group of media outlets, including The Associated Press, which reported numerous stories about how Facebook prioritized profits over safety and hid its own research from investors and the public.

EBay revenue outlook disappoints as pandemic-led boom fades

 The company reported a 5% decline in the number of active buyers on its marketplace in the third quarter

EBay Inc on Wednesday projected holiday-quarter revenue below market expectations, another sign that the online shopping boom fueled by the pandemic was tapering as consumers returned to stores.

The company was a big corporate winner in 2020 when lockdowns forced people to shop on its online marketplace, but growth has slowed since then as vaccinations encourage consumers to step out.

EBay said it expected fourth-quarter revenue between $2.57 billion and $2.62 billion, well below analysts' average estimate of $2.65 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

The company also reported a 5% decline in the number of active buyers on its marketplace in the third quarter.

Gross merchandise volume, the total dollar value of sales on eBay from which the company takes a percentage, fell 10%.

But a strong showing by its payment services and the expansion of its advertising portfolio drove a 11% jump in revenue that was better expectations.

The company has doubled down on its core auction and e-commerce business in recent years through deals in a bid to fend off rising competition from industry behemoth Amazon.com Inc and upstarts such as Etsy Inc.

It earned 90 cents per share on an adjusted basis, a cent above estimates.

For the current quarter, it expects adjusted profit between 97 cents and $1.01 per share. Analysts expected $1 per share.

Climate change may reduce farm incomes by 15% in India, finds study

 It finds that on a high-emissions pathway, climate impacts spiral to cause devastating damage across the G20.

Climate impacts would tear through G20 countries without urgent action to reduce emissions, and in India, it could mean declines in rice and wheat production, causing economic losses of up to 81 billion euros and a loss of 15 per cent of farmers' incomes by 2050, a new report revealed on Thursday

The first study of its kind, the G20 Climate Impacts Atlas by the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), the leading Italian research centre on climate change and National Focal Point for the IPCC, collates scientific projections of how climate impacts will play out in the world's richest countries over the coming years.

It finds that on a high-emissions pathway, climate impacts spiral to cause devastating damage across the G20.

The research shows that rising temperatures and intense heatwaves could cause severe droughts; threatening essential water supplies for agriculture, causing huge loss of human life and increasing the chance of deadly fires.

In specific countries, this could mean heatwaves could last at least 10 times longer in all G20 countries, with heatwaves in Argentina, Brazil and Indonesia lasting over 60 times longer by 2050.

In Australia, bushfires, coastal floods and hurricanes could raise insurance costs and reduce property values by A$611 billion by 2050.

The report finds that without urgent action to reduce carbon emissions, GDP losses due to climate damage in G20 countries increase each year, rising to at least four per cent annually by 2050.

Will 'Facebook papers' be final nudge for social media regulations?

 The Facebook papers show Facebook should have done a lot more to curb the spread of hate and violence around the world. Will it be the final nudge for bringing in regulations for social media?

All that we suspected about social media – that it advances hate-filled content and induces anxiety and depression among youngsters – seems to be increasingly coming in the glare and drawing regulators’ serious attention.
The Facebook papers, the social media giant’s internal research documents leaked by former employee-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen, suggest that Facebook was acutely aware that its platform was being used to spread misinformation and propagate hate and violence in many countries.
Haugen has also accused the company of harming children and weakening democracy.
The Facebooks papers, among other things, suggest that Facebook’s algorithm favours hateful content and that Instagram might be worsening body image issues among teenage audiences.
The importance of these findings cannot be fully appreciated unless one grasps the size of the Facebook universe.
With an active monthly user base of 2.74 billion, Facebook has a 59% share of the world’s social networking population.
In India, which is its largest market by user base, Facebook has 410 million users. Add to that the user base of the company’s other platforms – WhatsApp has 530 million users and Instagram 210 million. As much as 75% of the country’s social networking population uses Facebook.
If we undertake a deeper examination of the allegation against Facebook — that it is promoting hate-filled content on users’ news feeds — then we need to delve into what could be the possible incentive for doing such a thing.

Wall Street closes at record but Facebook weighs; Microsoft up 1.29%

 GE rises on lifting 2021 earnings forecast; UPS jumps as results beat on e-commerce demand

US stock indexes closed modestly higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 hitting fresh records, and gains were subdued as Facebook shares fell in the wake of its quarterly earnings.

Facebook Inc, down 3.92%, was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq after the company warned that Apple Inc's new privacy changes would weigh on its digital business. Shares of the social media company closed below its 200-day moving average for the first time since March 8, a technical support level that could indicate further declines.

"Facebook has other issues, certainly the earnings report wasn't as stellar," said Ken Polcari, managing partner at Kace Capital Advisors in Boca Raton, Florida.

"Then pile on the issues with the whistleblower, what they knew, what they didn't know, how they set themselves up to benefit themselves even at the risk of kids and people that use the platform. That is going to kind of hangover it." However, the benchmark S&P index scored a new high, lifted by names with big market capitalizations. Nvidia Corp gained 6.70% to close at a record high of $247.17, while Amazon.com Inc advanced 1.68% and Apple rose 0.46%.

Support also came from a 6.95% advance in United Parcel Service Inc and a 2.03% rise in General Electric Co on the heels of their quarterly results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.73 points, or 0.04%, to 35,756.88; the S&P 500 gained 8.31 points, or 0.18%, at 4,574.79; and the Nasdaq Composite added 9.01 points, or 0.06%, at 15,235.72.

Stock markets build on gains amid strong global cues; RIL gains

 A rebounding rupee further bolstered sentiment, traders said

Equity indices darted up for the second straight session on Tuesday as healthy corporate results and upbeat global cues reignited risk appetite after the recent spell of weakness.

A rebounding rupee further bolstered sentiment, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened on a firm footing but ran into rough weather in afternoon trade, before staging a comeback to close 383.21 points or 0.63 per cent higher at 61,350.26.

On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty surged 143 points or 0.79 per cent to end at 18,268.40. Tata Steel topped the gainers' chart on the Sensex, spurting 3.92 per cent, followed by Titan, Nestle India, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Bank, and RIL.

Market heavyweight Reliance Industries accounted for around half of the benchmark's gains. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, HUL, NTPC, Dr. Reddy's, and Axis Bank were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.92 per cent.

"Markets managed to end higher in a volatile trading session, thanks to firm global cues. Upbeat earnings announcements from the US markets set the tone in the beginning however choppiness in the index majors, especially from the banking pack, in the middle kept the participants on their toes," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking

Policybazaar's Rs 5.8k-crore IPO to open on Monday: Check details here

 The IPO comprises a fresh issue of Rs 3,750 crore, along with an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 1959.72 crore by existing promoters and shareholders

PB Fintech, the parent of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, has set a price band of Rs 940-950 apiece for its initial public offering (IPO), which will open on November 1 and close on November 3.

The company may be valued at around Rs 44,000 crore, and looking to raise an amount of around Rs 5,826 crore. The IPO comprises a fresh issue of Rs 3,750 crore, along with an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 1959.72 crore by existing promoters and shareholders.

According to the company’s draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), SVF Python II (Cayman) is offloading shares worth Rs 1,875 crore, and other shareholders will sell shares worth Rs 392.50 crore, of which Yashish Dahiya, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, will sell Rs 250 crore worth of shares.

The company said it will use around Rs 1,500 crore out of the net proceeds to fund marketing initiatives over the next three years.

Further, it intends to utilise Rs 375 crore to expand the consumer base, including offline presence; Rs 600 crore for strategic acquisitions and investments; Rs 375 crore for expanding presence outside India; and some portion for general corporate purposes. Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Global Markets India, ICICI Securities, HDFC Bank, IIFL Securities, and Jefferies India are the book running lead managers to the issue.

Oil benchmarks settle at highest since 2014 on global supply shortage

 Analysts expect the latest weekly US oil inventory data to show a 1.9 million-barrel build in crude stocks

Oil prices edged up to their highest since 2014 on Tuesday, supported by a global supply shortage and strong demand in the United States, the world's biggest consumer.

The rally came ahead of U.S. inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, on Tuesday and the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

Analysts expect the latest weekly U.S. oil inventory data to show a 1.9 million-barrel build in crude stocks. 

Brent futures rose 41 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $86.40 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended 89 cents, or 1.1%, higher at $84.65.

Those were the highest closes for both global benchmarks since October 2014.

"The energy crunch is still nowhere close to subsiding, so we expect prevailing strength in oil prices in November and December as supply lags demand and as OPEC+ stays on the sidelines," said Louise Dickson, senior oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy.

OPEC+, comprising of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies like Russia, is currently raising production by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) each month, but has pushed back against calls to boost output faster in response to the surge in prices.

"Crude prices continue to rise and pleas to OPEC to increase production continue to fall on deaf ears. The only thing that will get OPEC+ motivated is if private U.S. operators signal, they will increase production," said Edward Moya, senior market analysts at OANDA, noting "a jump to $90 oil seems likely."

IEX seeks shareholders nod to issue bonus shares via postal ballot notice

 Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) will seek shareholders' approval to issue bonus shares through postal ballot notice

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) will seek shareholders' approval to issue bonus shares through postal ballot notice.

The company has issued postal ballot notice to seek approval of shareholders on a proposal to issue bonus shares to members, a BSE filing said.

The board had approved and recommended on October 21, 2021, to issue of bonus equity shares of rupee one each credited as fully paid-up to eligible members of the company in the proportion of two new fully paid-up equity share of rupee one each for every one existing fully paid-up equity shares of rupee one each held by them, by capitalizing a sum not exceeding Rs 59,91,13,022 out of the company's free reserves and capital redemption reserve as on March 31, 2021.

The results of the postal ballot/e-voting will be announced not later than two working days of the closure of the e-voting i.e., on or before Monday, November 29, 2021, at the corporate office and will be displayed at the corporate office and intimated/communicated to BSE Ltd and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd, where the equity shares of the company are listed.

The company will also seek members' approval to increase in authorized share capital and consequent alteration in the capital clause of the memorandum of association.

The current authorised share capital is Rs 40,25,00,000 divided into 40,25,00,000 equity shares of rupee one each.

The company proposes to increase its authorized share capital to Rs 1,00,00,00,000 divided into 1,00,00,00,000 equity shares of rupee one each to cover the issuance of bonus shares.

Tesla drives towards $1-trillion club on 100,000 Hertz order

 The cars will be delivered over the next 14 months

Tesla on Monday neared $1 trillion in market capitalization as the company founded by Elon Musk received its biggest-ever order from Hertz, which announced plans to buy 100,000 electric rental cars.

Tesla shares opened up 4.5 percent at $950.53, a new record high, following the order. Sha­res were also buoyed by news of the company's Model 3 becoming the first electric vehicle to top monthly sales of new cars in Europe.

The news from Hertz comes as Tesla is coping with a backlog of unfulfilled orders for its vehicles and continuing supply chain disruptions, but it does solidify the mainstream appeal of electric cars.

Interim Hertz Chief Executive Mark Fields in an interview told Reuters the order, delivered by the end of 2022, will primarily be Model 3 vehicles. Tesla vehicles will start being available at Hertz rental facilities in November.

"We absolutely believe that this is going to be a competitive advantage for us," Fields said of the Tesla order. Hertz has around 430,000 to 450,000 vehicles worldwide, Fields said. Tesla would have to top $995.75 to become a company worth a trillion dollars, according to Reuters calculations based on its filing.

S&P 500, Dow close at new highs as Facebook starts heavy earnings week

 The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 64.13 points, or 0.18%, to 35,741.15

The Dow Industrials and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Monday, as earnings season kicked in to high gear in one of the heaviest reporting weeks of the quarter with bellwethers in multiple sectors poised to announce results.

While the Dow and S&P hit new highs, the Nasdaq outperformed on the day, buoyed by gains in Tesla and PayPal, and the tech-heavy index stands less than 1% away from its Sept. 7 closing record.

Tesla Inc jumped 12.66% to its own new high of $1,045.02 and breached $1 trillion in market capitalization, after car rental firm Hertz placed an order for 100,000 Tesla cars, while Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock to $1,200 from $900 per share.

"Tesla, there is a lot of the chatter out there today and Hertz placing a big order has created some excitement," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.

Tesla, which has risen in nine of the past ten sessions and is up more than 28% for the month, provided the biggest boost to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Also helping to lift the two indexes was PayPal Inc, which gained 2.70% after the payments company scrapped plans to buy the digital pinboard site Pinterest Inc for as much as $45 billion.

Shares of Pinterest slumped 12.71%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 64.13 points, or 0.18%, to 35,741.15, the S&P 500 gained 21.58 points, or 0.47%, to 4,566.48 and the Nasdaq Composite added 136.51 points, or 0.9%, to 15,226.71.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday held out hope for an agreement on his major spending plans before attending a climate summit in Scotland, while the White House said Democratic negotiators were closing in on a deal.

Is high price-earnings ratio the new norm for Indian markets?

 Rating downgrades continue to pour in for India as valuations remain exceedingly high. Will this valuation-based correction last? And which stocks are likely to be the worst hit? Let's find out.

The stupendous rise in the Indian benchmark indices – the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 – has given rise to valuation concerns in the past few months, at a time when commodity price-fuelled inflation concerns are rearing their head again.

After UBS, which downgraded India to “underweight” from “overweight”, now Nomura has also downgraded Indian equities to “neutral” from “overweight”, citing unfavorable risk-reward.

Nomura has said: “We now see an unfavorable risk-reward given valuations, as a number of positives appear to be priced in, whilst headwinds are emerging… India’s valuation appears “very stretched” as 77 per cent of domestic stocks in the MSCI index are trading higher than the pre-pandemic or post 2018 average valuations”.

The rise in inflation, coupled with high valuations, has triggered a correction in the past few sessions which have seen the Sensex slip below the 61,000 mark and the Nifty below 18,000.

The price-to-earnings ratio, or the P-E, is one of the most widely used tools by which investors and analysts determine a stock's relative valuation.

Amit Sachdeva of HSBC believes high P-E of Indian equity benchmarks is the ‘new norm’ in this liquidity-driven market. But not all are convinced.

A quick check of the stocks that comprise the BSE 500 index reveals startling results. Some stocks like Piramal Enterprises, Ujjivan Financial Services, Adani Green, Ruote Mobile, and IDFC are trading at an astronomical P-E of 545 times to 910 times their FY22 earnings.

Santosh Singh, head of research at Motilal Oswal AMC, says any liquidity-driven rally that is not backed by fundamentals will not last:

Facebook admits site hardwired for misinformation, show documents

 An internal memo warned Facebook's "core product mechanics", or its basic workings had let hate speech and misinformation grow on the platform

Facebook has admitted that core parts of its platform appear hardwired for spreading misinformation and divisive content, according to a fresh wave of internal documents that showed the social media company struggled to contain hate speech in the developing world and was reluctant to censor rightwing US news organizations, The Guardian reported.
An internal memo warned Facebook’s “core product mechanics”, or its basic workings had let hate speech and misinformation grow on the platform. In March, a group of researchers inside Facebook compiled a report for one of the company’s most powerful executives, Chief Product Officer Chris Cox. The paper included charts and data highlighting a troubling trend that seemed to be accelerating: Facebook was losing popularity with teens and young adults.
According to Bloomberg, one colorful graphic showed that “time spent” for US teenagers on Facebook was down 16 per cent YoY, and that young adults in the US were also spending 5 percent less time on the social network. The number of new teen signups was declining, and perhaps most concerning was a series of slides showing that young people were taking much longer to join Facebook than they had in the past.
The report is among hundreds of internal documents collected by former Facebook employee-turned-whistle-blower Frances Haugen, who went public in early October with accusations that Facebook has been prioritiSing profits over user safety and security. Among Haugen’s arguments is that Facebook “has misrepresented core metrics to investors and advertisers” by showing overall growth but excluding details that show slowdowns in key demographics, according to the letter outlining her complaint. Documents viewed by Reuters show Facebook has known that it hasn't hired enough workers who possess both the language skills and knowledge of local events needed to identify objectionable posts in a number of developing countries.
The documents also showed that the artificial intelligence systems Facebook employs to root out such content frequently aren't up to the task, either; Facebook will fuel more violent unrest around the world because of the way its algorithms are designed to promote divisive content, whistleblower Haugen told the British parliament on Monday. She said the social network saw safety as a cost centre and said it was "unquestionably" making hate worse.

Cryptocurrencies post record inflows in latest week: CoinShares data

 Inflows so far this year hit $8 billion, far exceeding the record set for the whole of 2020 of $6.7 billion, the data showed as of the week ended Oct. 22

Cryptocurrency products and funds had record inflows last week to the tune of $1.5 billion, their 10th straight week of investments, as optimism soared with the trading of bitcoin exchange-traded funds, a report from digital asset manager CoinShares showed on Monday.

Inflows so far this year hit $8 billion, far exceeding the record set for the whole of 2020 of $6.7 billion, the data showed as of the week ended Oct. 22.

Total assets under management also hit a new record of $79.2 billion, although it ended the week at $76.7 billion.

The bulk of inflows for the sixth straight week went to Bitcoin, with $1.45 billion, data showed. Inflows to the world's largest cryptocurrency year-to-date amounted to $6.1 billion.

The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF debuted last week, a defining moment for the crypto industry that is expected to lure more inflows from big institutional investors.

That pushed bitcoin to an all-time peak of $67,016.50. It was last up 4.6% at $63,682.

"Bitcoin hitting new all-time highs shows both how far we've come and the capacity bitcoin has to upend the financial system and create a global economy, linking the developed and emerging markets like never before," said Ray Youssef, co-founder, and chief executive officer of Paxful, a global peer-to-peer fintech platform.

"While this recent price rally can be attributed to movements like the approval of the first bitcoin ETF for institutional investors, we can't ignore the impact of significant development and adoption in emerging markets," he added.

Ethereum, meanwhile, saw outflows for a third consecutive week totaling $1.4 million. CoinShares believed that the outflows were due to minor profit-taking as the price approaches record highs. Ether, the currency for the Ethereum blockchain, last exchanged hands at $4,224.30, up 3.5%.

Brokerages turn cautious on India amid concerns over pricey valuations

 The Indian markets have gained 30 percent so far this year, even as the MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index is flat

Foreign brokerages have turned cautious on India amid concerns over pricey valuations and earnings delivery. In the past week, at least three brokerages have recommended their clients to consider a higher exposure to other markets such as China and Indonesia, which have hugely underperformed India this year.

Japanese firm Nomura on Monday downgraded Indian equities from ‘overweight’ to ‘neutral, citing unfavorable risk-reward. Earlier, UBS, while maintaining an overweight stance, noted that India had turned “unattractive” due to “extremely expensive” valuations relative to the ASEAN countries. Meanwhile, Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, said its overweight position on India had come under a threat.

The change in stance has coincided with the latest round of correction in the domestic market. The benchmark indices on Monday would have posted a fifth straight day of loss if not for an 11 per cent jump in the shares of private sector lender ICICI Bank, which made a 511-point contribution to the Sensex. The 30-share index managed to end with a gain of 145 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 60,967.

The broader market indices extended losses with the Nifty Smallcap 100 index dropping 2.3 per cent and the Midcap 100 falling 1.7 per cent. Both indices are now down over 8 per cent from their recent highs, underscoring the pain in the market.

“We now see an unfavorable risk-reward given valuations, as a number of positives appear to be priced in, whilst headwinds are emerging. We, thus, downgrade India to neutral in our regional allocation and will look for better entry points given our still-constructive medium-term view. We like China (significant underperformer seeing stabilizing sentiment) and ASEAN (tactically laggard reopening play),” said Nomura equity strategists Chetan Seth and Amit Phillips in a note.

VEM Tech inks deal with Telangana for Rs 1,000 cr integrated defence unit

 The integrated defence systems facility will come up at Yelgoi in Telangana and might create around 2,000 jobs over the next five years

Hyderabad-based VEM Technologies, which is into aerospace and defence technologies, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government on Sunday to set up an integrated defence systems facility at Yelgoi in Telangana.

The Yelgoi unit, the first of its kind in the country and having the end to end infrastructure for assembly, integration and testing of the systems, will see an investment of around Rs 1,000 crore and might create around 2,000 jobs over the next five years.

The deal was signed between the company's Chairman and Managing Director V Venkata Raju and Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary to the Government of Telangana, in the presence of KT Rama Rao, industries minister, Government of Telangana.

VEM is one of the largest production partners for Akash, LRSAM/MRSAM, Astra and BrahMos missile programmes supplying various systems and subsystems. VEM supplies "centre fuselages" to the country’s prestigious light combat aircraft, Tejas production programme.

Groww's valuation hits $3 bn as start-up raises $251 mn in Series E round

 ICONIQ Growth leads $251-mn fundraise in a start-up which has over 20 mn users

Fintech unicorn start-up Groww’s valuation has reached $3 billion after a fundraise of $251 million, led by ICONIQ Growth, including participation from investors like Alkeon, Lone Pine Capital, Steadfast, and existing investors.

The platform, which can be used to invest in direct mutual funds, stocks, ETFs, and IPOs, currently has more than 20 million users. The company had raised $83 million in its previous round, which was at a valuation of $1 billion and was led by Tiger Global.

Groww plans to extend its reach to the under-penetrated geographies, strengthen the team, and scale tech infrastructure. The company plans to continue making investments in spreading financial education and awareness.

Founded in 2017 by former Flipkart employees Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh, and Ishan Bansal, the start-up competes with players such as Zerodha and Upstox. Tiger Global is also an investor in Upstox.

Lalit Keshre, CEO and co-Founder of Groww, said: “We will continue working hard to build an iconic and trusted brand out of India. Over the past five years, we have built a product that customers love and have lowered the barriers to investing across India.”

In June 2020, the start-up launched stocks with an easy-to-use interface for DIY investors. It is also among the largest mutual fund distribution platforms in India, registering more than 250,000 new SIPs monthly.

Financial education content has been a critical focus for Groww from its inception. In the next two years, Groww plans to launch a slew of financial education initiatives aimed at millennials and expand the market for financial services.

BPCL privatisation faces bigger obstacles than Air India sale. Here's why

 BPCL privatisation faces bigger obstacles than the Air India sale. Here's why

The privatisation of Bharat Petroleum may hit a roadblock due to high fuel prices due to a rise in global crude oil prices.

The price of global benchmark Brent crude oil has risen 13% in a month to $85 per barrel, its highest level in seven years.

A senior oil ministry official told Business Standard that state-run oil marketing companies were currently taking a hit on the sale of petrol, diesel and LPG and expected to recover losses when oil prices would soften later. The fuel retailers are losing about Rs 100 for every domestic LPG cylinder sold.

Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum adopted a daily price revision mechanism in June 2017 to pass on the impact of international oil prices quickly.

But an official said the full impact of the recent surge in crude oil prices was yet to be passed on to the consumers by oil companies.

State and central taxes account for a major part of petrol and diesel prices in India.

As on October 16, when petrol was sold at Rs 105.49 per litre in Delhi, the cost excluding taxes was Rs 44.37 per litre. Customers are paying more than twice the cost of auto fuels due to high taxation by both the Centre and states.

Even though petrol and diesel prices have been officially deregulated, the government nudges the three refiners under its control to keep prices under check.

Under the current pricing structure, the oil companies are bearing a loss with their existing marketing margin of Rs 3-4 a litre getting squeezed.

The new owners of BPCL will not like a scenario where they have to adhere to these unofficial price regulations to remain competitive.

Barely 60% willing to go for second Covid-19 jab, says BCG report

 BCG pointed out that across India only 54-62 per cent is willing to take the second dose

India on October 21 touched a historical milestone of having administered one billion vaccine doses. The path to the next billion, however, seems uphill.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan highlighted the challenge himself. “Completion of the second dose is the next challenge.”

Why so? A recent study based on primary research with 3,500 citizens conducted by Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG’s) Centre of Customer Insight (CCI) shows that only about half the population (54-62 per cent) who are vaccinated with the first dose, have high willingness to take the second dose.

About 35 per cent of this segment is indifferent, driven by lower Covid-19 cases, and believe one shot is sufficient to protect them against the infection.

BCG pointed out that across India only 54-62 per cent is willing to take the second dose. Abhishek Gopalka, MD and Partner, BCG, said demand hesitancy is likely to become the major constraint.

“Key drivers of hesitancy or apathy for the second dose are that Covid is in control, or that one shot is sufficient for immunity,” said Gopalka, who leads BCG’s work in public health in India. A high number of fence-sitters are in urban areas and large towns — around 44 per cent of the unvaccinated population. Among the older age groups, the proportion of fence-sitters is about 56 per cent of the unvaccinated population.

Rough estimates by public health experts suggest about 90 million partially vaccinated people in India are due for their second dose.

Australian regulator 'concerned' about Facebook's approach to media law

 Facebook and Google must negotiate with news outlets for content that drives traffic to their websites, the Australian regulator's code says.

The Australian regulator behind a law forcing large internet platforms to negotiate licensing deals with media outlets said on Monday he was "concerned" about Facebook Inc's cooperation, seven months after the rule took effect.
Under the News Media Bargaining Code, the social media giant and Alphabet Inc's Google must negotiate with news outlets for content that drives traffic to their websites or face possible government intervention.
"Google is still negotiating and finalizing deals with more news media companies and seems to be approaching this exercise in the right spirit," Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims said in a statement.

"We are concerned that Facebook does not currently seem to take the same approach."
Since the controversial law was passed in March, Facebook and Google have struck licencing deals with most of Australia's largest news outlets, including Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
But, some smaller publishers say Facebook, in contrast to Google, has declined to negotiate with them.
Academic publisher The Conversation and foreign language broadcaster SBS were both denied discussions. As reported first by Reuters, Facebook said in an email to publishers in September it had concluded deals to pay Australian companies for content on its "Facebook News" channel.
Facebook was not immediately available for comment on Monday. The company told Reuters in September that content deals were "just one of the ways Facebook provides support to publishers" and it continued to have discussions about alternatives.

The media law allows for the government to intervene if a platform fails to negotiate with a media company, a condition that has not yet been invoked.

Apple deleting in-app buy clause a welcome move: Digital start-ups

 This comes as a major victory for the developer and start-up community who have been vocal against the restrictive and anti-competitive practices of the two big firms

The Indian digital start-up ecosystem has welcomed Apple's deleting a clause that prevented developers from contacting users outside of in-app purchases.

On Saturday, Apple said it deleted clause 3.1.3 that said: “Developers cannot use information obtained within the app to target individual users outside of the app to use purchasing methods other than in-app purchase (such as sending an individual user an email about other purchasing met­hods, after that, individual signs up for an account within the app).”

The All India Digital Foundation (ADIF), a think tank for digital start-ups in India, called it an encouraging move, which it said was being used by Apple to maintain a stronghold on the developers in order to make them cough up hefty commissions. “This comes as a major victory for the developer and start-up community who have been vocal against the restrictive and anti-competitive practices of the two big firms through AppStore/PlayStore policies," said Sijo Kuruvilla George, executive director, ADIF.

“Having said that, practices that restrict app developers with their product and user experience choices still persist. For instance, Apple has still not relented on allowing alternative payments systems to be embedded directly in its apps. It is crucial now to ensure that the efforts towards making the app economy a fair marketplace are sustained,” he said.

Google, which owns a majority of the operating system market in India with its Android OS, has also been at the receiving end of developers' ire. Its commissions have been a contentious issue for a long time, and given Apple's deletion of the clause, ADIF feels more work needs to be done by Google to address developer concerns.

Vaccine makers meet WTO D-G, flag excess capacity of Covid-19 jabs

 Some manufacturers also said that the regulatory approval framework for Covid-19 vaccines in other nations also takes a substantial amount of time

In a meeting with World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the country's top vaccine manufacturers on Thursday raised concerns regarding the excess capacity of Covid-19 jabs created during the pandemic.

"With the outbreak of the pandemic, vaccine manufacturers have rapidly created capacities to meet demand. Going ahead, manufacturers are concerned about excess capacity and how it can be utilized," said a person in the know, adding that similar concerns have been raised by manufacturers of other countries as well.

Okonjo-Iweala, who is on a three-day visit to the national Capital, met key industry leaders, including vaccine makers, such as Bharat Biotech Managing Director (MD) Suchitra Ella, Panacea Biotech MD Rajesh Jain, and Biological E Chief Operating Officer Lakshminarayana Neti, among others.

Some manufacturers also said that the regulatory approval framework for Covid-19 vaccines in other nations also takes a substantial amount of time.

They urged the D-G if the WTO could help in ways to reduce delay.

Vaccine makers are concerned about optimal utilization of excess capacities created during the pandemic.

Ella raised similar concerns at a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry event on Thursday, and pointed out that when the Covid-19 pandemic is gone, what would happen to the excess capacities created.

“The excess capacities, manpower recruited... what happens? How many companies will be able to sustain it? It will be a global challenge,” said Ella, adding, “Today we want more production, tomorrow who will want that excess production?”

UV Asset Reconstruction Company submits bid to buy IFIN's bad loans

 Sale to help IL&FS clean its financial services arm book

UV Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) has submitted a bid to buy 62 non-performing accounts worth Rs 4,300 crore from IL&FS subsidiary, IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN).

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations, IFIN has initiated the Swiss challenge method to give an opportunity to the higher bidder of the earlier round, ARCIL, to match the fresh bid by UV ARC. The winner from the Swiss challenge is likely to be announced soon. The bids for IFIN’s bad loans sale had closed on Tuesday. The potential transaction would be conducted on a full upfront cash consideration basis.

"As the bid was under Swiss challenge, there is an RBI approved process which is underway before H1 can be declared," an IL&FS spokesperson said.
The sale will help IL&FS clean up the books of its financial services arm, which had a large portfolio of bad loans. Banks have already classified loans to IFIN as fraud after its parent firm IL&FS collapsed under a massive debt of Rs 99,000 crore.

The new board of IL&FS said in July this year that it will be able to recover Rs 58,000 crore, or 95 percent of its recovery target, by the end of the current fiscal year.

For both UV ARC and ARCIL, the acquisition of IFIN’s bad loan portfolio will help them increase their market share. IFIN had granted loans to various group companies of IL&FS apart from lending to outside parties.

UV ARC had won the mandate to bag two telecom companies, Reliance Communications, and Aircel after both companies were sent to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for debt resolution. But the RBI later clarified that the ARCs cannot participate in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code process.

PSBs may get capital support in Q4 to meet regulatory requirements

 The capital position of banks will be reviewed in the next quarter for infusion requirement

The government is likely to pump capital in public sector banks during the last quarter of the current financial year to meet the regulatory requirements.

The government in the Budget 2021-22 has made an allocation of Rs 20,000 crore for the capital infusion in the state-owned banks.

The capital position of banks would be reviewed in the next quarter, and depending on the requirement, the infusion will be made to meet the regulatory needs.

In the current fiscal so far, all 12 public sector banks have posted a profit, which is being plowed back to bolster the balance sheet of the banks, sources said.

Going forward, they said, the rise in stressed assets would determine capital requirement. If numbers are anything to go by, the sources said, the financial health of public sector banks is showing gradual signs of improvement across the spectrum.

Last month, the Reserve Bank removed UCO Bank and Indian Overseas Bank from prompt corrective action framework (PCAF), following improvement in various parameters and a written commitment that the state-owned lender will comply with the minimum capital norms.

However, the only public sector lender left under the PCA framework is the Central Bank of India.

Indices decline for third straight day amid concerns over economic recovery

 Investors turn jittery over high valuations, inflation

India’s benchmark indices declined for the third consecutive day on Thursday, led by losses in index heavyweights Reliance, Infosys, and TCS, amid investors’ concerns over high valuations and the impact of inflation on corporate profits and economic recovery. A rally in banking shares helped offset some losses.

After dropping as much as 774 points, the Sensex ended the session 336 points, or 0.5 per cent, lower at 60,923, while the Nifty fell 89 points to close at 18,178. In the last three sessions, the Sensex has declined 842 points, or 1.4 per cent, while the Nifty has dropped 299 points or 1.6 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100, on the other hand, have plunged close to 6 per cent in three days.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have sold shares worth about Rs 9,000 crore in the last nine trading sessions. On Thursday, DIIs turned net buyers to the tune of Rs 428 crore, but foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,819 crore, taking their nine-day selling tally to Rs 4,482 crore.

Market observers said retail investors continued to remain strong buyers in the market in a bid to 'buy the dip'. However, they were not able to offset the massive selling by DIIs and FPIs over the past few days. If the markets continue to correct, retail investors, too, could turn sellers, adding more downward pressure to the market, experts said.

Prior to the latest correction, the Sensex and the Nifty had gained for seven straight trading sessions, logging record highs of 61,766 and 18,477, respectively.

Institutional investors are prompted to take some money off the table given the sharp up-move seen last week, analysts said. Profit booking was more prominent in certain pockets that had seen frenzied buying.

On Wednesday, global brokerage UBS in a note said valuations of Indian equities had turned extremely expensive and the market had become unattractive.

Google Play cuts subscription fee from 30% to 15% starting Jan 1, 2022

 Google Play currently charges 30 percent fees for subscription services after 12 months. Now this will be 15 percent for subscription services from the first day

Google said today that starting on January 1, 2022, it will be decreasing the service fee for all subscriptions on Google Play to 15 percent from 30 percent, and for developers offering subscriptions, this means that first-year subscription fees will be cut in half.

"Digital subscriptions have become one of the fastest-growing models for developers but we know that subscription businesses face specific challenges in customer acquisition and retention. We’ve worked with our partners in dating, fitness, education, and other sectors to understand the nuances of their businesses. Our current service fee drops from 30 percent to 15 percent after 12 months of a recurring subscription. But we’ve heard that customer churn makes it challenging for subscription businesses to benefit from that reduced rate. So, we’re simplifying things to ensure they can," said Sameer Samat, Vice President, Product Management at Google, in a blog post on Thursday.

Google Play currently charges 30 percent fees for subscription services after 12 months. Now this will be 15 percent for subscription services from the first day.

Earlier this year Google launched the Play Media Experience program to encourage video, audio, and book developers alike to help grow the Android platform by building cross-device experiences. This helped developers invest in these multi-screen experiences with a service fee as low as 15 percent, the firm said in the blog post.

The tech giant further said e-books and on-demand music streaming services, where content costs account for the majority of sales, will now be eligible for a service fee as low as 10 percent.

Credit grows by 6.47 % on YoY basis to Rs 110.3 trillion in early October

 So far this year, the growth in the major banking indicators has been mixed. Growth in deposits has slowed down

The credit dispensed by commercial banks in India rose by 6.47 per cent on a year-on-year basis (Y-o-Y basis) to Rs 110.3 trillion as of October 08, 2021, according to the Reserve Bank of India data. The pace of credit is shed higher than 5.7 percent a year ago. But, it remains below the pre-pandemic level of 8.9 percent in October of 2019.

Usually, the month of October marks the beginning of the second half of the financial year and also the start of a busy season with traction for higher demand for loans from corporates, businesses, and retail segments.

Meanwhile, CARE Ratings, in the analysis of credit in the second half of the last 10 years, said the Indian economy appears to be in the take-off stage post the opening of the economy after the second lockdown in April 2021.

With the economy picking up further in the second half, it may be expected that there will be a higher demand for credit and overall growth of around 8-10 percent for the year (Fy22), the rating agency said.

So far this year, the growth in the major banking indicators has been mixed. Growth in deposits has slowed down.

RBI data showed deposit rose by 10.16 per cent on Y-o-Y basis to Rs 157.55 crore. The pace of deposit accretion is shed less compared to 10.5 per cent a year ago but still higher than 9.8 per cent in October 2019.

We expect gold imports to rise further in coming months: GJEPC

 The imports, it said, picked up in August which recorded the second-highest gold imports of 118.08 tonnes

The country's gold imports are expected to grow further in the coming months on account of peak demand due to festive and wedding seasons, Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said on Wednesday.

Gold imports, which have a bearing on the current account deficit, zoomed to about USD 24 billion during April-September 2021.

The council said that the imports have witnessed a fluctuating trend during the last six months and have come at par with the statistics of the pre-covid years.

Gold imports in May (12.98 tonnes) and June (17.57 tonnes) 2021 were severely hit by the second devastating Covid wave that resulted in nationwide lockdowns and paralysed several industries for a brief period including gem and jewelry, it added.

The imports, it said, picked up in August which recorded the second-highest gold imports of 118.08 tonnes.

Colin Shah, Chairman, GJEPC said that the increase in imports during July, August, and September 2021 was due to the lifting of lockdowns, revival of the domestic and export demand, and the start of the festive season which has resulted in a sharp rise in demand of the products.

We expect that imports of gold will further rise in the forthcoming months as peak festive/wedding season will further boost the demand for jewelry both at home and key international markets, Colin added.

India is the largest importer of gold, which mainly caters to the demand of the jewellery industry. In volume terms, the country imports 800-900 tonnes of gold annually.

Gems and jewellery exports increased to USD 19.3 billion during the first half of the current fiscal as against USD 8.7 billion in the same period previous year.