Thursday, 25th June ’20
Good morning: On this day in 1975, the then PM, Indira Gandhi, declared a state of emergency throughout the country. As a nation we’ve come a long way since, having grown as a people and as a republic. For all it’s shortcomings, which do need to be rectified still, India has by far been subject to a lot less volatility than even exemplary Nations across the world. That’s one more thing to be grateful about.
The emergency is reminiscent of a big brother atmosphere prevailing in the country, quite akin to the novelist George Orwell’s masterpiece, 1984. Coincidentally, this day marks the birth anniversary of Orwell, who we can rightfully claim as one of our own considering he was born in Bihar.
In a world which is as polarised as it ever has been, we hope to inculcate more empathy for our fellow man. Here’s a quote from Mr Orwell to bring home the idea – “Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”
Hope you have a great day ahead.
MARKETS
- GAIL Q4 results posted 215% YOY increase consolidated profits, amounting to Rs. 4813 crores. Its standalone profits rose by 169% YOY for Q4. As expected, the market reacted positively to the news and the stock price rose by 2.15%.
- Asian Paints in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic experienced decline in profits and revenues of 2% and 7% respectively YOY in Q4. Despite the disappointing results, the stock rallied, owing to the impressive increase in gross Margin by 4.3% in the same period.
- Companies in India are in for a credit rating downgrade if the recovery in the economy takes more than 18 months, as per S&P Global ratings. Almost 35% of Indian companies have either a negative outlook or are on S&P’s “CreditWatch” list. Any rating downgrade would lead to an adverse effect on a company’s ability to borrow money.
- Credit Suisse predicted that Asian stocks are expected to perform better than other emerging markets in the latter half of 2020. This is primarily because of two reasons – weakening of dollar (down by ~2%) as compared to other major currencies, and a more agile monetary policy support in Asian countries.
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
- Brazil bans whatsapp payment citing regulations concerns as the central bank warned Visa and MasterCard against enabling money transfer through the app. Meanwhile the central bank is also working on its own payment platform and Facebook have confirmed their support for the same.
- Google images will introduce fact checking to its results to increase authenticity. The images will appear with a fact check label which rely on claim review – an open method used by publishers. YouTube already used claim review to fact check videos in India, Brazil and the USA.
- Chinese hacker groups Gothic Panda and Stone Panda have targeted Indian telecom providers Jio and Airtel apart from other companies like Cipla, Sun Pharma and L&T. The ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Information and Broadcasting were also targeted in a flurry of attacks that have numbered over 40k in the last five days itself.
- Zoom clarified to regulators that it’s not a Chinese company but based out of the USA instead. This comes after an anti China sentiment erupted calling for eschewing Chinese apps and products.
- Music syncing app Ampme is introducing a video chatting feature which would enable users to hang out while listening to music on Spotify, YouTube or SoundCloud. If you download AmpMe before the end of the day on Thursday, June 25, the app is offering lifetime free hosting for its video parties.
PRODUCTS & STARTUPS
- Swile, a startup based out of France that manages corporate benefits and helps improve team building raised $78.7 million in its series C funding. This round was led by Index ventures. Swile was the first company to offer a payment card for your lunch replacing the meal vouchers made out of paper. Swile is currently serving around 8000 companies.
- Aye finance, an Indian non-banking Financial Technology company focusing on the MSMEs has raised $27.74 million in its series E funding round. This series was led by Capital G, a google operated investment firm. Aye Finance provides working capital and business development loans to companies in the MSME space. They claim cluster insights that help in better repayment of loans.
- BrightInsight, a startup that makes toolkits and dashboard for digital medical devices and therapeutics has raised $40 million in its latest round of financing led by Insight Partners. BrightInSight is one of the forerunners of digitization of the life sciences industry. This recent round of funding will be used to expand into the Asian and the European markets.
WHAT ELSE IS COOKING
In a move likely to raise spirits, Diageo announced the “Raising the Bar” programme in which it has allocated Rs. 75 crores to support bars, pubs and restaurants, to help them recover fast from the hit on business due to Covid-19.
After 18 consecutive days of increase in fuel prices, Diesel prices – for the first time – crossed Petrol prices in the NCR. In the past 18 days the diesel and petrol prices have increased by Rs. 10.49 and Rs. 8.5 per litre respectively. As of today, Diesel costs Rs. 79.88 per litre whereas Petrol costs 79.76 per litre.
Patanjali Ayurveda Limited announced an Ayurveda medicine named “Coronil” and claimed to have conducted “successful trial and cure” against Covid-19. In response, the Ministry of Ayush instructed the company to stop advertising the drug and seeked the composition of the medicine along with the product approval details.
MORNING TEA LISTICLES
Top 10 companies by market Cap Globally (as of 23rd June ‘20)
- Apple- $1584 billion
- Microsoft- $1531 billion
- Amazon- $1378 billion
- Alphabet- $999.5 billion
- Facebook- $690.2 billion
- Alibaba- $613.7 billion
- Berkshire Hathaway- $440.7 billion
- Visa- $421.5 billion
- Johnson and Johnson- $376.4 billion
- Walmart- $342.9 billion
BOOKS & MOVIES
Recommended Book: Elon Musk- Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance – to say that Elon is working on the future is an understatement. Ashlee takes us inside the world of the engineer billionaire and his companies to showcase what goes on behind the scenes before we get to witness the blockbuster press conferences and rocket launches. If you don’t have time to read the whole book here’s our Blog instead.
Recommended Movie: Moneyball – the Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill starrer is an easy watch illuminating an epochal event in the history of team sports. The transition from a gut instinct approach to analysing teams and recruiting players to then basing those decisions on statistical research not only changed the landscape of American baseball but also association football all the way across the ocean in Europe and beyond.
Check out: Phishing Quiz Considering there’s a bunch of pillaging hackers on the loose how about test your knowledge about phishing with a quick quiz? This is only a starter. For the next few days stay vigilant, stay safe.
YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Finding a new job requires focussed effort. Finding a new job during a recession, on the other hand, requires much more than just a focussed effort, it requires effective networking. In a study, it was found that most jobs are found not by direct application but through referrals by “personal contacts”.
- OnePlus ventured into the Smartphones business knowing fully how smartphones have become such an integral part of our lives. Starting off as “Flagship Killer”, it offered flagship specs at budget price. Over the years though, they have drifted towards flagship specs and flagship price segment, irking some of its fanbase. Acknowledging this disappointment, it is trying to reinvent some of its past philosophy by launching a budget phone (named OnePlus Z). Are you in the market for a new phone? It may be a good idea to wait another month!
- In a latest trend, it is seen how companies are transitioning into a subscription based model from the traditional order based model. This model, made famous by the likes of Netflix, Dollar Shave Club and Tesla, has been on the rise in recent times. In India too, this model has been picking up with the rise of various OTT platforms as well as by automobile companies such as Ather. It takes agility, resolve and a long term view for an organization to make this transition from order based to subscription based model.
MORNING TEA CHALLENGES
- Find your Ikigai: Ikigai is a Japanese concept and is simply something that makes you jump out of your bed every day. The Ikigai concept originated from the Japanese island of Okinawa which has the highest number of centenarians in the world. It is a convergence of your passion, mission, vocation, and your profession. How do you find it? By following your curiosity. Have you found your Ikigai yet? If not, think about it.
- Applauding the Women Entrepreneurs around us: In India, it is tough to get started in a business. Especially for women who take up the onus of the household, it can be particularly challenging. Today, we start our day by appreciating the women entrepreneurs around us who continue to make it big and inspire us. Post your one favorite female entrepreneur who you look forward to as a reply to this tweet.
Written by Akansh Bhatt, Piyush Vijayan and Shashank Dobhal.
