CATEGORIES

$59 bn Swiss Franc debt mkt is up for grabs

For the past two decades, Credit Suisse Group AG dominated the business of arranging Swiss franc bond sales. Its sudden collapse presents an opportunity for the likes of Deutsche Bank AG and BNP Paribas SA in a market that saw $59 billion in deals last year.

Russia detains US journalist on spying allegations

An American journalist has been detained on suspicion of spying for Washington, Russia said Thursday, drawing immediate condemnation from the West and calls for the Wall Street Journal reporter's release.

Space design lab for startups opens in Ahmedabad

India has unveiled a state-of-the-art design lab in Ahmedabad to enable space sector startups to transform their innovative ideas into implementable models at a faster pace.

Schneider hires Sharma as MD, CEO

Schneider Electric has announced the appointment of Deepak Sharma as Zone president Greater India and MD & CEO, Schneider Electric India Pvt Ltd (SEIPL) effective 1 May 2023.

India, Lanka to build solar plant

India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly build in two stages a 135-megawatt solar power plant in the island nation's eastern port district of Trincomalee to promote renewable energy.

Vistara flies IndiaUS on blended fuel

Vistara on Thursday said it has operated a Dreamliner plane using fuel blended with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from the US to New Delhi, becoming the first Indian carrier to fly on a long route using SAF.

UPI transaction fee: Do prepaid cards, wallets stand to lose?

The National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI), has introduced an interchange fee of up to 1.1% on merchant UPI transactions made via prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) like wallets and prepaid cards from 1 April. Mint takes a deep dive to explain what it means, and who will be impacted.

CVC, Advent, Bain in race to buy Porus Labs for about ₹2,500 cr

CVC Capital, International Advent and Bain Capital, among others have evinced interest in acquiring Porus Laboratories, said two people in the know.

AI completes rollout of Esops

The Tata Group has completed the rollout of the employee share benefit scheme for Air India, by allocating 98 crore shares to the airline's permanent employees. These shares represent about 3% of the airline's equity.

Merchandise imports could hit record $710 bn this fiscal

India’s imports now exceed its exports for 22 of its top 25 trading partners, including China

Nestle eyes $1 billion deal for 'Ching's Secret' owner in India

Nestle SA, the world's biggest food group, is among final bidders competing to acquire India's Capital Foods Pvt as it seeks to boost its presence in the fast-growing economy, people familiar with the matter said.

Coal to the rescue in asset monetization

As several ministries have been lagging in their progress on asset monetization, the coal ministry which has surpassed its targets, has been asked to now try and make up part of the targets missed by other ministries, said two people aware of the development.

Dumping duty unlikely on Indonesian viscose

The Union finance ministry may not impose anti-dumping duty (ADD) on viscose staple fibre (VSF) from Indonesia as it may worsen the shortage of the key raw material for India’s textile industry, two people aware of the development said.

Musk move to monetize Twitter's blue check riles celebrities

Twitter Inc.’s plan to remove legacy blue check marks for verified accounts heralds an end to a longtime social-media status symbol and is prompting complaints from some of the platform’s celebrity contributors concerned about potential impersonation.

Backstop corpus for debt funds may grow in future

A ₹33,000-crore backstop proposed by the market regulator to support debt mutual funds at times of liquidity freeze is only an initial corpus, and it could be topped up in future, said a key executive at the fund that will manage this facility.

Atomberg nears raising $90 mn in round led by Temasek, others

Global venture capital fund Steadview Capital and Singapore's state investor Temasek has agreed to lead a $90 million (about ₹700 crore) investment in Atomberg Technologies Ltd, three people aware of the development said.

Milk may stay on boil due to cattle, fodder shortage

Milk prices, which have been rising steadily in the past year, may hit new highs in the year ahead, as production suffers due to insufficient fodder and fewer new lactating cattle, and farmers raise prices to make up for losses in the last two years.

'Wealthy countries have neglected the global SDG agenda'

Last week, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its report that detailed the devastating consequences of greenhouse gas emissions, and warned that the world needs to change course to avoid irreversible damage. It said global warming is already causing unprecedented changes to climate and called for more funding, especially for developing countries to adopt a low-carbon pathway to development. Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, director, Centre for Sustainable Development, Columbia University, tells Mint in an interview what needs to be done to reverse the direction before it is too late. He was a keynote speaker at a side event on green development held as part of 2nd Sherpa meeting of India’s G20 presidency. Edited excerpts:

After hiving off CodeChef, Unacademy cuts 12% staff

Unacademy, the Softbank-backed provider U of test preparation services, cut its workforce by 12%, according to an internal memo from co-founder Gaurav Munjal, adding to the job cuts it did in the past year.

Chip dearth adds to wait for hot models

PV industry may report an up to 15% decline in March output

Will The Recent Banking Chaos Lead To An Economic Crash?

How quickly things change. A few weeks ago analysts were convinced the global economy was powering ahead. Now they worry about a deep recession caused by fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the rescue of Credit Suisse.

France, India Dial Up Discussions Investment In Brexit Backdrop

India and France are gearing up for a busy summer of economic diplomacy, with the Indian Embassy in Paris set to welcome French enterprises in April for investment discussions, people aware of the matter said. France is also seeking to draw Indian investments away from the UK, they said.

Elon Musk And Others Urge AI Pause, Citing 'Risks To Society'

Elon Musk artificial experts and a group of intelligence and industry executives are calling for a sixmonth pause in developing systems more powerful than OpenAI's newly launched GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential risks to society and humanity.

App Alert: Don't Scream At The Gig Worker

There is little dignity of labour in India. Some startups want to change that

Scottish first minister Yousaf needs a new economic strategy

His predecessor's legacy and party's leftism make that a steep ask

The US Federal Reserve's role in America's string of bank failures

Many vulnerabilities were created by banks themselves but quantitative easing had an impact that must not be overlooked

Import substitution can set climate action back

Indian incentives for locally made solar panels have many takers, sure, but we must focus on our aim of an energy transition. Self-reliance behind raised tariff barriers could prove costly

'Health insurance policies cannot substitute emergency fund needs'

The right health insurance policy helps insulate financial goals from any significant healthcare expenditure. And, it ensures that I don't compromise on the quality of care ever,\" says 42-year-old Mahavir Chopra, founder and chief executive of Beshak.org-a Mumbai-based independent consumer awareness insur-tech platform for individual insurance buyers., underling the importance of a health insurance policy for every individual. In an interview with Mint, Chopra also explains why one shouldn't substitute health insurance for an emergency fund. Edited excerpts:

UBS veteran Ermotti returns to lead Credit Suisse takeover

UBS Group AG is bringing back Sergio Ermotti as chief executive officer to oversee the historic acquisition of Credit Suisse Group AG, tapping a Swiss insider with extensive restructuring experience to replace Ralph Hamers after just over two years.

The Metaverse is quickly turning into the Meh-taverse

The metaverse that was the hot thing in tech less than two years ago has cooled.