TRENDS
GameStop hits celluloid and is aptly titled Dumb Money
As the second wave of Covid-19 sent people back indoors, the GameStop stock started rising, from $3.25 in April 2020 to $145 by January 26, 2021, and then to $469 two days later...
BUSINESS
India’s family businesses are learning to quit when on top
The reasons are varied but passing the baton need not be a family affair and legacies and brands can endure even if ownership changes hands
TRENDS
Walter Isaacson's Elon Musk book review: The difficulty of pinning down Elon Musk and his many contradictions
Walter Isaacson does a great job of getting Elon Musk to open up about his difficult childhood, but the book could have used more candid analyses.
BUSINESS
Unlisted companies have got a free pass for too long, it's time to level the playing field
A special regulatory regime for large unlisted companies is a right step, but it should go beyond preventing malpractices and encourage more transparency too
BUSINESS
Ashwin Dani: The man for all seasons at Asian Paints
When it looked like this fine Indian company was in danger of imploding from within, Ashwin Dani went on to lay the foundations of a powerful Indian market leader that was also globally competitive, a rare and precious achievement
LIFESTYLE
Masala Desh that is India that is Bharat
What if countries were named after their most famous product? There’s a reason why the typical potboiler from Bollywood is termed a 'masala' movie.
BUSINESS
Torrent-Cipla: Multiple opportunities beyond near-term uncertainties
The benefits of the acquisition for Torrent are apparent but the reported asking price could equal its current market capitalisation, raising a question if it will be worth it
TRENDS
Offshore tax havens have become a vital part of global business
And just how powerful these tax havens have become can be judged by the abject failure of various efforts to reign in their powers.
BUSINESS
JSW’s electric dreams defy logic
The timing for a foray by the group into EVs is questionable, given that it is in the midst of an extensive capacity expansion programme and diversifying into paints, cement, renewable energy and ports
TRENDS
2023 G20 Summit: Needed, a smart city for our hard-working politicians
There is precedence for this - many countries have seen the wisdom of taking their rulers far away from the folks they rule.
BUSINESS
Uday Kotak’s success as a banker has overshadowed his entrepreneurial achievements
Despite setbacks suffered by the financial services sector in the nineties, Kotak's business not only survived the carnage but emerged stronger
INDIA
India has found new sporting heroes and a place in the global leagues
Recent successes of Indian sportspeople across disciplines from badminton to javelin throw and golf signal that India is finding its place on the sporting high table of the world.
BUSINESS
India’s antitrust agency needs to be beefed up to cope with complex corporate moves
As a successor to the infamous Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, CCI hasn’t lived up to its promise to uphold the interests of consumers by preventing large companies from abusing their dominant positions. Perhaps it is early days
LIFESTYLE
The fading calls of 'kai po che'
In the India of the 1970s, flying kites was a shared passion. In recent years, its popularity has been on the decline.
BUSINESS
China’s growing woes send alarm bells ringing at Indian companies
Private Indian companies cannot exit China completely to avoid the repercussions of a slowing Chinese economy. But they can begin to take long-term calls on strategy
TRENDS
The young will save the world, but only after they have finished finding themselves
Will the next generation build a better India? Not necessarily, if the example of the millennials is anything to go on.
BUSINESS
US Steel is up for sale, but Indian companies aren’t buying
India’s top private sector steel makers like JSW, Tata Steel and ArcelorMittal have all learnt their lessons from some ill-advised globalization attempts in the past which later came up against regulatory changes
INDIA
Blind belief in Western institutions is colonialism’s unfortunate legacy to India
It is an all too familiar story. A new report is issued by a Western institution criticizing some aspects of India's polity or economy. Instantly a howl of protest follows.
TRENDS
Zuck and Musk show represents the trivialisation of business
The Musk and Zuck showdown reeks of the kind of megalomania that only billions can fuel. Two men engaging in the kind of braggadocio that would make a responsible teenager squirm
TRENDS
A sin tax on online gaming allows the government to sidestep the morality debate
Gaming and casinos have joined crypto trading, cigarettes and liquor in the category of activities which fall under the dreaded sin tax bracket in India. But do sin taxes work, and how?
BUSINESS
What’s driving M&M’s move to buy a stake in RBL Bank
For now, M&M remains a group which derives the bulk of its revenue - 55 percent - from its automotive business
TRENDS
Why startups aren’t a great place to start your career
An employee at a clueless startup is like the blind leading the blind.
BUSINESS
The rebranding of Vistara and Twitter defies understanding
The Tatas’ move to subsume Vistara which stands for high quality into Air India that evokes shoddy customer service is a move that defies common sense, if not logic. The morphing of Twitter into an ambivalent X by Musk is equally perplexing
BUSINESS
Institutional activism an effective check on unbridled promoter power
Given the notorious pusillanimity of independent directors, whose role in Indian companies is in marked contrast to their rising levels of independence in both the US and UK, the onus of raising corporate governance standards in the country falls upon the powerful institutions
