The Eastern Window: India displays muscular diplomacy amid spats with different countries
India is dealing with diplomatic spats with the US, Canada, Germany and Maldives in an assertive manner. Though this posture has raised India’s status in the world, it is not enough to resolve complicated disputes that require delicate backroom negotiations and not public spats
Closing Bell: Sensex ends 111 points higher; Nifty above 22100; Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, TCS top gainers
Top sectoral gainers: Nifty Pharma surged 1.8%, trailed by Nifty Metal and Realty, both up 1.3%. Nifty Bank rose 0.7%, while Nifty IT gained 0.4%. On the downside, Nifty Auto dropped 1.68%, followed by Nifty PSU Bank and Oil & Gas, down 1.2% and 0.8% respectively.
Trump and big oil are a match made in climate hell
The former president has promised to cater to the industry’s every wish if it helps him regain the White House, but that would be shortsighted
China’s housing crisis is stressing Xi Jinping’s state-owned developers
Beijing is opening the door to a real estate bazooka. But only a few developers will benefit
Hurricanes and tornadoes may occur less but destroy more as climate changes
Climate change might make them less frequent but more destructive
OPINION | Can markets predict elections? Applying the 2019 test
With every dip in the stock market people panic assuming that there is something wrong with the trend of the election. The stock markets have been around for decades, and a look at the past data reveals the real predictive worth of the markets. Let's dive in
Are modern media incentives distorting our sense of the economy?
A new study adds to the evidence that competition for eyeballs may be warping our sense of the world
It’s time the advertising industry was treated like an industry – and regulated
Relying on an industry that has a wide reach and impact to self-regulate is not tenable. The government should recognise it as any other industry and bring in appropriate regulations
Great expectations and earnings misses: poor combo for US e-commerce stocks
US e-commerce stocks are taking a beating by over-promising and under-delivering. They need to take a leaf out of PayPal’s book, by toning down market expectations
India should waste no time in fulfilling its green hydrogen potential
The challenges in creating adequate green hydrogen capacity are many, including for India. But the country must seize the advantages it has to quickly turn its green energy ambitions into reality
Discipline in project finance is needed, but in moderation
Past episodes of bad loans to projects may be behind the RBI’s proposal for a high provisioning requirement. But too much of the bitter medicine may harm the patient
Gold is becoming the new currency of the world, dollar losing its grip
Global chaos and sanctions on Russia forced many nations to make payments in local currencies, the dollar is no longer the only option for global transactions. On the other hand, gold in the last two-three years has seen an unprecedented rise
TCS’s greying employees send wage bill to record highs
The share of TCS employees in India aged below 30 years dropped from 59 percent in FY22 to 53 percent in FY23 and further to 50.3 percent in FY24
SBI’s Q4 reflects India’s economic buoyancy, gives hope for more
SBI’s biggest strength during the fourth quarter was its firm lid on operating expenses. Operating expenses rose by just 1.83 percent year-on-year against double digit increases reported by comparable large peers
Chart of the Day: Is there a two-speed consumption rate in Indian households?
The performance of the FMCG firms in the fourth quarter has, however, shown a turnaround in consumption of basic goods and could give a lift to consumption growth in FY25.
Closing Bell | Sensex ends 260 points higher, Nifty above 22,000; BSE MidCap, SmallCap up 0.8% each
Nifty Metal led gains, up 1.5%, with FMCG, Auto, and Pharma following at 1% each. Nifty IT led losses, down 0.8%, trailed by Nifty Realty and Nifty PSU Bank, both down 0.4% and 0.3% respectively.
Panama’s new President inherits a success story gone wrong
As a new administration takes over, Central America’s one-time success story is in danger of succumbing to problems that bedevil its Latin American neighbours
How nations can unite to make the pandemic treaty work
Governments, donors and pharma giants should build a string of mRNA vaccine production facilities around the world, and the US government, which funded the research leading to mRNA intellectual property, should buy out that IP or finance its extensive licensing. Funds for making vaccines and therapeutics can be mobilized via a pandemic-specific Catastrophe bond issuance
Market bonanza for ESOP holders, issuers, but don’t ignore the risks
Employees and employers may find the going great as rising equity valuations boost ESOPs, but they need to insulate from the inevitable market fall when it happens
Why investors should exercise restraint on debt
Moderate use of leverage should usually provide a good-enough return
Will AI be the ultimate techno-utopianism?
While AI holds immense promise for advancing human civilisation, it also poses unprecedented challenges that demand a nuanced and ethically informed approach to governance
Chart of the Day | India has the largest number of emigrants. Just look at World Migration Report
India is the first country to reach and surpass the USD 100 billion mark in inward remittances
Apple’s tone-deaf iPad ad triggers our darkest AI fears
Crushing human creativity is no way to sell a tablet computer or instill confidence in a tech giant
US: TikTok's free speech lawsuit has a logic problem
Unfortunately for the ByteDance-owned social media app, there’s no law against silly laws
Putin’s target after Ukraine may be NATO’s Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia
Coming exercises in the Baltic Sea will give the alliance a chance to work Finland and Sweden into its complex web of defences
