BUSINESS
Bollywood is threatened by the other movie-making powerhouse
A new genre of films from southern India — epic, big-budget, over-the-top action flicks, some of them served with a dollop of toxic masculinity and gory violence — are increasingly dominating the country’s $24 billion media and entertainment market, and in some cases, making their mark beyond India.
BUSINESS
Pain for rupee likely due to trade deficit, capital outflows
“India’s external balances are deteriorating,” economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. wrote in a note Thursday, citing the terms-of-trade shock from higher commodities prices and weakening global growth.
BUSINESS
Oil heads for worst losing streak of 2022 on recession fears
West Texas Intermediate traded below $106 a barrel after tumbling on Thursday as commodities were pummeled. The US benchmark has shed more than 1% this week despite signs that the physical crude market remains tight.
BUSINESS
Metals cap worst quarter since 2008
The London Metal Exchange Index tumbled 25% since the end of March, although the decline has been magnified due to prices spiking that month following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
BUSINESS
Blackstone Weighs US Listing of $2 Billion Tech Firm IBS
The company is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. for the planned first-time share sale, the people said. IBS Software has filed confidentially for the US IPO, which could happen as soon as this year, they added.
CRYPTOCURRENCY
Bitcoin set for biggest quarterly drop in more than a decade
Bitcoin is on track for its worst quarter in more than a decade, as more hawkish central banks and a string of high-profile crypto blowups hammer sentiment.
BUSINESS
Romance scams explode, leaving broken hearts and millions lost
Digital romance scams have surged over the past two years, leading to millions of dollars in losses for people who were wooed and then duped out of money.
BUSINESS
Inside Didi’s $60 billion crash that redefined China tech
“We had a tough year,” said the reserved billionaire known as Will, who that day seemed even gloomier than normal, according to people briefed on the gathering. “But next year will be even tougher.”
BUSINESS
Biggest forex rout since ‘97 puts Asia central banks in bind
Policy makers already grappling with the fastest inflation in decades now face stark choices: forcefully raise borrowing costs to defend currencies and risk hurting growth, spend reserves that took years to build to intervene in foreign exchange markets, or simply step away and let the market run its course.
BUSINESS
Russia muscles in on Indian oil market at expense of OPEC titans
Deprived of many of its traditional European buyers, Moscow is on course to deliver somewhere between 1 million and 1.2 million barrels a day to the world’s third-largest oil importer this month, according to tanker tracking figures compiled by Bloomberg and two oil analytics firms.
BUSINESS
Oil set for first monthly decline this year before OPEC+ meeting
West Texas Intermediate futures traded near $110 a barrel after closing almost 2% lower on Wednesday. Escalating fears over an economic slowdown as central banks aggressively raise interest rates to combat surging inflation have dented oil this month. That’s overshadowed rapidly tightening energy markets.
BUSINESS
CEO quits $68 billion firm to sit at the beach & ‘do nothing’
Formica, 51, will leave the position on Oct. 1 and will also resign as a director of the London-based company on that date, according to a statement released on June 28.
BUSINESS
Netflix’s plan to fix its subscription crisis starts in Asia
Despite plans to curb overall spending, investment in Asia will keep growing, including financing for the production of local films and series, Tony Zameczkowski, vice president of business development for Asia Pacific, said in an interview.
BUSINESS
US dollar crunch worries Indian forex traders as equity outflows grow
Some Mumbai-based banks saw a dollar crunch last week, as outflows from Indian assets add to the pressure, according to Mizuho Bank Ltd. and IFA Global. The rupee dropped to a record low against the greenback on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
India forced to ship in gasoline, diesel as shortages flare up
Gasoline imports rose to about 13,000 barrels a day in the first half of June, a seven-month high, according to Vortexa Ltd. Diesel imports, meanwhile, are set to surge to the highest since February 2020 at about 48,000 barrels a day, tenders by Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp., as well as Vortexa figures show.
BUSINESS
Mukesh Ambani’s daughter Isha set to be named chair of Retail arm
An announcement of Isha Ambani’s elevation could come as early as Wednesday, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified ahead of a formal statement. She is currently director of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.
BUSINESS
A $2 trillion free-fall rattles crypto to the core
As Bitcoin slipped almost 70% from its record high, a panoply of altcoins also plummeted.
BUSINESS
Tesla lays off about 200 autopilot workers, most of them hourly
Surprisingly, the majority of those who were let go were hourly workers, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. As recently as last week, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk had outlined plans to cut 10% of salaried staff but said he’d be increasing hourly jobs.
BUSINESS
Goldman Sachs expects over $1.2 billon losses from consumer unit this year
The burn rate in the second quarter is in line with those forecasts, according to the report. A spokesperson for the bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
BUSINESS
US IPOs can’t shake 2022 slump after thriving through pandemic
Companies have raised a combined $4.9 billion via US initial public offerings this year, less than 6% of the record sum raised in the first half of 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, While 2021’s volume was an historical outlier, this year’s paltry total distantly trails the $47 billion five-year average for the period.
BUSINESS
Billionaire chief of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Pallonji Mistry passes away at 93
A company spokesperson confirmed the death of the Indian tycoon after social media posts on the news spread.
BUSINESS
Love of big cars, chip crunch extends wait time for M&M
Outstanding customer pre-orders for the seven-seater XUV700, which the Indian automaker launched in August, are running to around 70,000, Executive Director Rajesh Jejurikar said in an interview last week. While the chip shortage has eased from a peak late last year, Mahindra is still experiencing some supply chain pain points, he said.
BUSINESS
The rags-to-riches journey of Italy’s Ray-Ban billionaire
Del Vecchio, whose father died five months before he was born, would spend the next seven years at the institution. Precocious, he was allowed to leave early — at age 14 — to start working.
BUSINESS
Sony's next tech push is helping Honda take on Tesla
As Yoshida wrapped up his 30-minute presentation, the lights on stage dimmed and a glowing grille emerged from the shadows. The CEO raised his hands as a sleek, Sony-branded car rolled onto the stage. Like mobile phones during the past decade, “the next megatrend will be mobility,” Sony’s chief declared.
