Positive on Copper, Aluminium, says Mark To

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Copper is also called Doctor Copper as it is believed to predict turning points in the global economy. And right now, its prices are surging. Aluminium prices are also crossing two-year highs.

“Copper and aluminium prices will keep on being strong. The momentum is pretty strong because of the basic attitude towards the economic recovery on a worldwide scale,” said Mark To, Head of Research at Wing Fung Financial Group in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

“Given the overall situation improving, we can be optimistic on these commodities,” he said. Since copper (and mostly aluminium) is used in almost all industries, its demand is often viewed as a reliable indicator of economic health.

On ferrous and non-ferrous metal space, he pointed out, “It is a general phenomenon that the demand will pick up. It is a positive development. Though the overall situation is positive, it may not be as positive as we expect.”

For a full interview, watch the video.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

EC bans West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh from campaigning for 24 hours

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Election Commission of India on Thursday imposed a 24-hour ban on West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh for violation of Model Code of Conduct.

The order said the Commission “sternly warns” Ghosh and advises him to desist from using such statements while making public utterances during the period when the Model Code of Conduct is in force.

The ban will in effect from 7 pm April 15 to 7 pm April 16, during which Ghosh will not be allowed to campaign. The Commission had on Tuesday issued a notice to Ghosh for his alleged remarks after four people were killed when central forces opened fire during polling at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district.

The Trinamool Congress had approached the Commission against Ghosh. The notice cited Ghosh’s alleged remarks that “If someone crosses his limits then you have seen what happened in Sitalkuchi. There will be Sitalkuchi in several places.”

Assembly polls have been held for 135 constituencies so far, and the remaining 159 seats are set to go to the polls between April 17 and 29.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Honda Civic 2022 unveiled: Here’s the first look

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Japanese automobile giant Honda has revealed the first images of 2022 edition of one of its most iconic cars — the Civic. While technical specifications haven’t been released yet, it is expected that Honda will share more details about the new car soon. The official debut of the 11th-generation Honda Civic is expected on April 28, 2021.

The car was revealed as a prototype in November last year. The released image has a few differences in look and colour compared to the prototype. The previous generation of Honda Civic was discontinued in India in last December.

Although specifications of the new sedan have not yet been revealed, the 11th-Generation Honda Civic is expected to get significant cosmetic upgrades. It sports a more modern design to get with the times.

👀 Here’s the official first look at the all-new #HondaCivic Sedan. pic.twitter.com/He7d971PLs

— Honda (@Honda) April 14, 2021

Honda has added slimmer headlights and slim upper and inner air intake grilles. Instead of the glossy accents that highlighted the grills in older models, the new Honda Civic uses matte trims.

The released pictures indicate the new model has a bigger sunroof, added fog lights and dual tone alloy wheels.

As far as the interior goes, we only have sketches to go on. But it is clearly evident that the new model features a lot of changes inside.

The new dashboard uses a central touchscreen tablet for controls while the central console has also been revamped with a differently positioned gear shaft.

While technical specifications haven’t been released yet, we expect a 2.0 ltr engine just like the previous model at the very least. The rest of the details will be released via livestream on Twitch.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Citigroup to exit consumer business operations in India, 12 other countries

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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American banking major Citigroup on Thursday said it will shutter retail banking operations in 13 countries including India and China. The 13 countries are Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The lender said it would exit its consumer businesses in 13 markets across the Asia and EMEA regions, as part of a broader strategic review under new chief executive officer Jane Fraser. As part of the move, Citi will divest those businesses in countries like Australia, China and India.

“While the other 13 markets have excellent businesses, we don’t have the scale we need to compete,” Fraser said in a statement.

Citigroup said its Institutional Clients Group will continue to offer services to clients and that it will continue to operate “wealth centers” in Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as London and the United Arab Emirates. It gave no time frame for the exits.

In India, the business comprises credit cards, retail banking, home loans and wealth management. The bank has 35 branches in the country and employs approximately 4,000 people in the consumer banking business.

Citi had entered India in 1902 and started the consumer banking business in 1985.

Apart from the institutional banking business, it will continue to focus on offshoring or global business support rendered from centres in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Gurugram.

Ashu Khullar, CEO Citi India, said, “Citi has been a deeply imbedded institution in India and the sharpened strategy announced today will strengthen our ability to bring the full global power of Citi to our institutional clients, reinforcing our leading positions across Corporate, Commercial and Investment Banking, Treasury and Trade Solutions, as well as Markets and Securities Services.”

“We will continue to deliver our innovative digital solutions, backed by our global network, and devote our resources to large and mid-sized Indian corporates and multinationals, financial institutions, start-ups in the new age sectors, amongst others. India is a strategic talent hub for Citi. We will continue to tap into the rich talent pool available here to continue to grow our five Citi Solution Centers which support our global footprint. There is no immediate change to our operations and no immediate impact to our colleagues as a result of this announcement. In the interim, we will continue to serve our clients with the same care, empathy and dedication that we do today,” Khullar said.

Peter Babej, Asia Pacific CEO, said, “Asia Pacific is an integral part of our global strategy, and a key driver of our growth and value proposition. We will continue to invest in our network across the region and deliver Citi’s unique global capabilities to clients across all our markets.”

The move is the latest step in Fraser’s drive to simplify the once spread out Citigroup consumer business and improve shareholder returns.

Citigroup beat Wall Street analysts’ first-quarter profit estimates on Thursday as its outlook for an economic recovery driven by vaccinations and government stimulus allowed it to release reserves set aside for loan losses from the pandemic.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

ISRO espionage case: Supreme Court asks CBI to probe role of police

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the role of the police officers involved in the illegal arrest of former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist Nambi Narayanan in 1994 espionage case.

The top court ordered that the report of a high-level committee probing the police’s report be handed over to the CBI.

The court said the CBI may treat the panel’s findings as part of a preliminary investigation. The CBI will submit its report to the court within three months.

A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar said the three-member panel’s report should be kept in a sealed cover and should not be published. Former SC judge, Justice DK Jain was heading the high-level panel.

The SC had asked the high-level committee to take appropriate steps against the culpable officers for causing “tremendous harassment” and “immeasurable anguish” to scientist Nambi Narayanan. It had also directed the Centre and government of Kerala to nominate one officer each in the committee.

On April 5, the Centre moved the Supreme Court seeking urgent hearing and consideration of the panel’s report terming it a “national issue”. The panel was formed by the SC itself on September 14, 2018, after directing the Kerala government to compensate Narayanan for compelling him to undergo “intense humiliation”. Narayanan was awarded Rs 50 lakh compensation.

The CBI, earlier in its probe, had held that the then top Kerala police officers were responsible for Narayanan’s illegal arrest.

The espionage case involved an alleged transfer of certain confidential documents on India’s space programme to foreign countries by two scientists and four others, including two Maldivian women.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

IPL 2021 RR vs DC match 7 preview: Predicted playing XI, betting odds and where to watch live

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Last year’s finalist Delhi Capitals will take on one-time champion Rajasthan Royals in match seven of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on April 15 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. While Delhi will look to continue their good run that saw it defeat Chennai Super Kings in their first match, Rajasthan will be hurt by the defeat against Punjab Kings despite a stellar performance by captain Sanju Samson. With due playing a key role in the game, the toss could well be a key decider of the match.

For Rishab Pant’s Delhi, the ease in which they chased down the challenging total put forward by Chennai is a positive sign. Openers Shikar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw dominated the opposition thoroughly and there was not much left for the rest of the pack. Apart from Pant, the batting line up includes big hitters such as Stoinis and Hetmyer, but questions remain over Steven Smith’s inclusion into the playing XI.

Match Details:

Timing: Match starts at 7.30 pm and the toss will take place at 7 pm.

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Where to watch LIVE: Star Sports 1/1HD/1 Hindi/1HD Hindi/1 Tamil/1 Telugu/1 Kannada/1 Bangla/Select 1/Select 1HD. Online viewers can catch the action live on Disney+ Hotstar.

The bowling line-up includes Ravichandran Ashwin and Tom Curran, who will look to redeem themselves after being bludgeoned by Raina and Co. The continuing unavailability of the South African duo Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada would be at the back of the minds of the team’s think tank that is led by Ponting and Kaif.

Key player: Captain Rishab Pant is going through the best phase of his career after emerging out of Dhoni’s shadow in his last outing down under. With detractors silenced, Pant will be looking to prove that he is not just a replacement for Dhoni as a player but also as a leader.

Predicted playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Tom Curran, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan

Delhi Capitals squad: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant(WK/C), Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Chris Woakes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Tom Curran, Amit Mishra, Avesh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Steven Smith, Sam Billings, Axar Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Praveen Dubey, Vishnu Vinod, Manimaran Siddharth, Lalit Yadav, Ripal Patel

For Rajasthan, the tournament began with a heartache that saw them lose the high scoring first match by just four runs. While captain Samson’s form is a positive sign along with the performance of youngsters Chetan Sakariya and  Riyan Paraag the rest of the aspects remain unsolved. With BenStokes out of the tournament, Rajsthan has not just lost a brilliant player but also a mature leader who Sanju could have leaned upon. While the team will hope the inclusion of David Miller could negate some of the issues a lot will depend on how  Jos Buttler will perform in the beginning.

On the bowling front, the franchise will be hoping for more maturity from the part of Mustafizur Rahman who is set to lead the bowling attack. They will also hope Chris Morris will perform better at the depth- both with the bat and ball.

Key player: Captain Sanju Samson announced his arrival as the skipper with a memorable century.  His ability to be devastating yet classy with the bat will be the backbone for the Pink brigade.

Predicted playing XI: Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson (WK/C), David Miller, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya

Squad: Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson(w/c), Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, David Miller, Jaydev Unadkat, Andrew Tye, Liam Livingstone, KC Cariappa, Mahipal Lomror, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markande, Anuj Rawat, Kartik Tyagi, Kuldip Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Akash Singh

Betting Odds (Oddschecker):

DC: 8/11

RR: 5/4

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3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

STARTUP DIGEST: Top stories of the day

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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There were several important developments in the startup space during the day on Thursday. Here’s a wrap of all the stories from the startup universe:

Softbank to invest $450 mn in Swiggy ahead of Zomato’s IPO

Softbank is set to pump in nearly half a billion dollars into foodtech startup Swiggy, taking a bet on India’s growing food delivery sector. The Japanese investor will make the new investment from its Softbank Vision Fund 2, sources aware of the matter said.

The backing for Swiggy comes just ahead of Zomato’s impending IPO and is likely to take its valuation at close to $5.5 billion.

Sources said Softbank wants to take approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) as it is an investor in global foodteh players such as DoorDash. The official announcement on the funding is expected in a month. Swiggy and Softbank did not respond to CNBC TV 18’s queries.

Earlier this month, CNBC TV 18 had reported that Swiggy is closing a $800 MN round.

Flipkart acquires online travel aggregator Cleartrip

Walmart-owned Flipkart will acquire online travel company Cleartrip.
Flipkart will acquire 100 percent of Cleartrip’s shareholding as the company further enhances its investments to strengthen its digital commerce offerings for customers, a statement said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cleartrip operations will be acquired by Flipkart and Cleartrip will continue to operate as a separate brand, it added. All employees of Cleartrip will be retained and work closely with Flipkart to further develop technology solutions to make travel simple for customers.
The company, however, did not disclose the value of the deal.

“The Flipkart Group is committed to transforming customer experiences through digital commerce. Cleartrip is synonymous with travel for many customers, and as we diversify and look at new areas of growth, this investment will help strengthen our wide range of offerings for customers,” Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

He added that the Cleartrip team, with its deep industry knowledge and technology capabilities, will help Flipkart Group provide deeper value and travel experiences for customers.

Stuart Crighton, CEO and co-founder of Cleartrip, said the company has been a pioneer in capitalising on technology to simplify the travel experience for our customers.

“This product-driven focus has enabled us to become the preferred travel partner of choice for consumers in a wide range of markets in the region,” he added. The deal closing will be subject to applicable regulatory approvals.

Amazon launches $250 million fund for SMEs

E-commerce giant Amazon has announced a $250 million fund that will focus on digitising small and medium businesses, and drive innovation in the areas of agri-tech and health-tech.

“Small and medium-sized businesses are often the engine and the lifeblood of economies and I think it’s true in India as well. And we are very passionate about trying to enable acceleration of SMBs in fueling innovation and the economy in India and so building on what we did last year, I’m excited to announce a brand new $250 million Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund,” Amazon Web Services CEO Andrew Jassy CEO said.

Under this, Amazon intends to help inspire more SMBs to be able to build brand new businesses, Jassy, who will take over as Amazon Inc CEO later this year, said during the second Amazon Smbhav event.

Amazon India Global SVP and Country Head India Amit Agarwal said the fund is targeted at empowering the best ideas, and attracting visionary entrepreneurs.

“The fund is going to focus on three key priorities – SME digitisation, agri-tech innovations to empower farmer productivity and reach, and health-tech to provide universal and quality health care,” he added.

India clocks investments worth $8.3 billion in Jan to March: EY-IVCA

India recorded investments worth $8.3 billion in the January to March period across 266 PE/VC deals, according to a IVCA-EY report.
Q1 of 2021 saw 22 large deals aggregating to $4.8 billion and at $1.8 billion, e-commerce recorded the highest quarterly value of investments in the sector in the past five quarters.

“The first quarter of 2021 has seen a sequential month-on-month increase in PE/VC investment activity, from US$1.6 billion in January to US$4.6 billion in March 2021. On a y-o-y basis, investments grew by 64% in 1Q21 due to the low base effect as investments in 1Q20 were severely curtailed by the growing uncertainty around the spread of COVID-19. After the flurry of mega deals towards the second half of 2020, there has been a marked decline in large deals in 1Q21 with just 22 large deals aggregating US$4.8 billion vs. 30 deals worth US$16 billion recorded in 4Q20.

Likewise, the number of buyouts have also reduced significantly with ten buyouts worth $1.1 billion in 1Q21 vs. 21 buyouts worth US$8.9 billion in 4Q20. The pandemic resilient sectors like pharma, healthcare, edtech, online media, SaaS etc continue to see good traction in both value and volume of PE/VC deals, said Vivek Soni, Partner and National Leader Private Equity Services at EY.

PE/VC exits have picked up momentum in 2021 with exits worth $4.2 billion, which is 70% of the total value recorded last year. The first three months of the year recorded 9 PE-backed IPOs which is the highest quarterly number so far. Of the 90 companies that have filed their DRHPs for an IPO with SEBI, more than 45 are PE-backed, as per the report.

E-commerce has emerged as a new IPO focused sector with six companies have filed their DRHPs including Zomato, Nykaa, and Grofers. This is in line with the global trend of startups going the IPO route; in 2020, US exchanges hosted 120 VC-backed IPOs worth a combined value of $259.8 billion

Facebook partners CleanMax to move to 100% renewable energy in India

Facebook has partnered CleanMax with a view to move to 100 per cent renewable energy in India as part of its sustainability efforts.

Under the agreement, Facebook and CleanMax will assemble a portfolio of wind and solar projects, supplying renewable power into India’s electrical grid, in states where the social networking giant”s facilities are also present, a statement said.

“Facebook and CleanMax today announced a partnership to support Facebook”s sustainability ambitions in India with renewable power from wind and solar facilities set up by CleanMax, India’s leading B2B renewable energy provider,” it said.

The first project to be brought online in the agreement is a 32MW wind project located in Karnataka, the statement added.

While CleanMax will own and operate the projects, Facebook will provide long-term support by committing to purchase 100 per cent of the environmental attribute certificates (EACs) from the projects for years to come.

“We’re excited to announce this important step that is helping us support our operations in the region, including our offices in India, with 100 per cent renewable energy.

“This partnership with CleanMax will enable new solar and wind power to be generated in the near future, contributing to the decarbonisation of the Indian electrical grid. Facebook is committed to upholding the highest standards in environmental sustainability across all aspects of our operations,” Urvi Parekh, Head of renewable energy at Facebook, said.

Approximately half of the project capacity has recently been commissioned and is already generating power.

“…We have always strived to develop innovative solutions to help our clients achieve their 100 per cent renewable ambitions. Given the constraints in sourcing power to many facilities, we are working with forward-thinking corporations like Facebook to find creative solutions to these problems,” CleanMax co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Hines said.

Grocery retail startup SuperK raises seed funding

Tech-enabled grocery retail chain for small towns SuperK has raised Rs 6 crore in seed funding led by Strive VC with participation from Firstcheque, Ramakant Sharma & Syndicate, serial entrepreneur Srinivas Anumolu, Anand Chandrasekaran (ex-Snapdeal CPO/Facebook Director), Lalit Keshre (CEO at Groww), Rajan Bajaj (CEO at Slice), Sampad Swain (CEO at Instamojo).
The startup plans to utilize this investment for expanding its infrastructure, improving technology, and hiring talent.

Vahdam India’s FY21 revenue doubles to Rs 159 cr

Homegrown premium retailer Vahdam India has clocked a 110% jump in its revenue for FY 20-21 at Rs 159 crore compared to Rs 75 crore in FY1920, on the back of rising demand for its health and wellness products during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vahdam India, which sells premium tea in domestic and overseas markets through digital platforms, has now become profitable.

The company in a statement said it has “witnessed strong growth and ended 2020-21 with a delivered net revenue of Rs 159 crore, up from 75 crores in 2019-20, registering a 110 per cent year-on-year growth”. The brand also achieved net profitability in FY21, it added. Vahdam India gets majority of its revenue from the US market. The company aims to grow 3x over the next 3 years to deliver Rs 500 crore of revenue by 2023-24.

It has set up a new state-of-the-art 1 lakh sq. ft. factory in the national capital region to support its growth over the next few years.

Vahdam India founder and CEO Bala Sarda said, “The pandemic has accelerated our growth, given the shift towards high quality and trusted wellness products, larger adoption of e-commerce globally and a more effective execution capability with a strong leadership team in place.”
The company will focus on expanding its presence in current key markets the US, Canada, the UK and Germany, he said.

Vahdam will grow its omni-channel distribution and strengthen its presence in new markets like India, besides diversifying into other relevant product categories.

Credflow raises $2.1 million from Stellaris Venture Partners, Omidyar Network India, and Flourish Ventures

SME cashflow management platform Credflow has raised $2.1 million in seed funding led by Stellaris Venture Partners, Omidyar Network India and Flourish Ventures.

CredFlow will be investing in platform development, strengthening tech capabilities and building new products as it focuses on expanding its customer base, the company said. The SaaS platform for SME cash flow management is also looking to expand its team across tech, product and marketing.

Since its launch in May 2020, over 5,000 businesses have used Credflow to process and sync invoices worth more than Rs 70,000 crore, it said.

CredFlow’s vision is to build a full stack solution including cashflow based financing, treasury management and payments management to help SMEs optimise their cashflows and accelerate their growth.

Insurtech startup Nova Benefits raises $1 million in fresh funding

Insurtech startup Nova Benefits has raised $1 million in seed funding led by Multiply Ventures, Better Capital and Titan Capital along with a clutch of angel investors including, Sumit Maniyar, CEO of Rupeek Gold Loans and Ashish Goyal, co-founder of Early Salary.

The firm will use the money to to integrate with insurance and human resource management companies to co-create new categories of health insurance products and expand its engineering and business development teams, a statement said.

Since its launch in 2020, Nova has onboarded more than 70 clients with 25,000 members on its platform. Nova’s clients include Snapdeal, Yulu Bikes, Chumbak, Fisdom and Dealshare among others.

Servify acquires WebToGo to strengthen global footprint

Servify has acquired the key businesses of Munich based WebToGo, a provider for multichannel self-care and customer experience solutions for smartphones, tablets and laptops.

The acquisition will help Servify further strengthen its global footprint both in terms of technology and people, the company said.

The acquisition brings the two flagship solutions of WebToGo into Servify’s portfolio – myhandycheck and wenewa. While ‘myhandycheck’ is a mobile device diagnostics suite using cutting edge technology, ‘wenewa’ has the ability to identify, diagnose and triage connected devices remotely. Both these products have close adjacencies to Servify’s core business and will further enhance Servify’s offerings, it added.

Servify works with smartphone brands such as Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi etc on their device protection business and device exchange/buyback programs.

KKR-backed AppLovin raises $2 billion in US IPO at over $28 billion valuation

Mobile app and gaming company AppLovin Corp has priced its initial public offering at $80 per share, the mid-point of its previously set range, placing the company’s valuation at $28.64 billion, Reuters reported.
At this price, AppLovin, backed by private equity giant KKR & Co Inc, will raise $2 billion through the IPO.

The Palo Alto, California-based company is the latest player in the mobile gaming industry to list itself on the stock market, as demand for video games surges among consumers staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AppLovin now has over 410 million daily active users on its platform and its apps consist of more than 200 free-to-play mobile games, including Word Connect, Slap Kings and Bingo Story.

The company sold 22.5 million Class A common shares, it said, adding that selling stockholders offered the remaining 2.5 million shares.
The company’s shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Thursday under the ticker symbol “APP”, AppLovin added.

Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, KKR Capital Markets, LLC, BofA Securities and Citigroup are the lead underwriters for the offering.

Crypto flagship Coinbase jumps 11% after stormy Nasdaq debut

Coinbase Global Inc shares jumped 11% in early trading on Thursday, a day after the cryptocurrency exchange went public in a high-profile debut on the Nasdaq that briefly valued it at more than $100 billion.

The debut, done through a direct listing where no shares are sold ahead of the opening, marked another milestone for bitcoin and other digital assets and came amid a surge in the value of cryptocurrencies that has lured a clutch of mainstream, top-tier firms.

Cathie Wood’s Ark funds bought $246 million worth of Coinbase shares on Wednesday, while one of her funds sold a $4.4 million stake in New York Stock Exchange-owner Intercontinental Exchange, according to the firm’s daily trade summary.

Founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, San Francisco-based Coinbase has 56 million users globally and an estimated $223 billion assets on its platform, accounting for 11.3% of the crypto asset market share, regulatory filings showed.

Tencent aims to raise $4 billion in bond deal: Report

Chinese internet and social media giant Tencent Holdings plans to raise up to $4 billion in a bond launched on Thursday, Reuters reported citing sources.
The deal has been launched with 10-, 20-, 30- and 40-year tranches, according to a term sheet reviewed by Reuters.

The deal sheet did not specify an exact figure but sources said the company was targeting to raise $4 billion from the issue, which would be its second major fundraising deal in a year.

Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company has approval from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to raise up to $4.15 billion, one of the sources added.
The sources could not be named as the information has not yet been made public.

Tencent raised $6 billion in May last year and issued 40-year debt for the first time.

The company intends to use proceeds from capital raising for general corporate purposes.

Final terms and pricing are due to be set for the Hong Kong listed Tencent later on Thursday during U.S. trading hours, the two sources said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Govt must open vaccination for younger population, says COVID Care Head at Max Hospital

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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For the first time ever, India has reported more than 2 lakh COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours. This is the second-highest daily case count reported by any country in the world.

The United States reported more than 3 lakh cases early in January. India has also doubled the daily cases from 1 lakh to 2 lakh in just 10 days. So cases have doubled, but, at the same time, total tests have only grown by 16 percent.

The daily death toll remains above 1,000. This is the second straight day India has reported more than 1,000 COVID deaths.

Maharashtra has reported nearly 59,000 cases. But cases have largely stabilised around that mark for the last few days. Uttar Pradesh reported its highest-ever daily spike of over 20,000 cases. Delhi and Karnataka also reported their biggest spike in 24 hours.

India needs to ramp up testing. Among the states that are doing the most tests, Delhi tops the list. In fact, the number of tests carried out in Delhi is more than 5-times the national average. Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Telangana are also testing well above the national average.

On the Vaccination front, India has inoculated just over 7 percent of its population with at least one dose of the vaccine. Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Gujarat have vaccinated about 13 to 14 percent of their population which is twice the national average.

Dr. Sandeep Budhiraja, Head – COVID Care at Max Hospitals, and Dr. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals discuss the COVID situation across the country.

Talking about the infection Dr. Budhiraja said, “We are seeing a lot of differences in terms of clinical presentation of patient in the second wave, actually for Delhi, this is the fourth wave now. What we are seeing is more younger people coming down with this illness, though fortunately, the severity of this illness in the younger patients is not as bad, overall severity of diseases is as severe as last or maybe even more severe.”

He further added, “Mortality rate is no less this time. What we are seeing is earlier and much severe lung involvement. People are complaining of longer duration of fever, much higher fever, much severe constitutional symptoms like body ache as so overall I think the virus is much more infectious.”

Dr. Ballal said, “I think COVID has been a scourge for society and healthcare in general. Delhi and Bangalore seem to be running parallel to each other and certainly maybe 2-3 weeks behind Maharashtra. So there is some light at the end of the tunnel that may be in another 2-3 weeks we will go pass the peak. As of now, the situation is quite serious, all hospital beds have been taken up at least in the private sector and these are the combination of a significant increase in the COVID patients along with the non-COVID patients who are already there.”

He further added, “This time the COVID is little different from what it was in the last time. One it is spreading very fast though the overall seriousness in the mortality seems to be less.”

“The other point is that lot of younger people are getting infected and they are relatively asymptomatic or mild asymptomatic but they are spreading to others. Also, COVID epidemic this time has affected the middle-class and the upper class much more than what we would have seen in the low source economic status.”

Watch the video for in-depth analysis.

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How to approach investment during market volatility caused by COVID-19 second wave?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Indian equities have turned jittery recently due to the second wave of COVID-19 in the country and some investors must be having second thoughts on whether they should continue their investments, especially through the popular systematic investment plan (SIP) route.

In view of this, here are some tips for them (as suggested by experts):

Continue Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs)

According to Sahil Arora, director at Paisabazaar.com, investors should continue SIPs in equity funds irrespective of the market conditions.

“Continuing with SIPs during periods of steep market corrections, if any, caused by COVID-19 2nd wave will allow SIP investors to buy units at lower NAVs and thereby, average their investment cost,” Arora explains.

Those with investible surpluses can also top up their existing SIPs with lump sum investments in a staggered manner, Arora suggests, especially during bearish markets.

Also read: Here are key things to consider before investing in gold

“As quality equities are available at attractive valuations during bearish market conditions, topping up existing SIPs during such market conditions will further average investment cost and might also help them in achieving financial goals sooner,” he suggests.

Don’t use emergency funds

As per Arora, investors should refrain from using their emergency fund or surpluses earmarked for short-term financial goals like investing in equity funds.

“As equities can be volatile in the short term and recovery from bearish market conditions can take significant time, any financial emergency or maturity of short term financial goal occurring during the bearish market conditions can force them to redeem equity investments at loss or avail loans at higher interest rates,” Arora tells.

Don’t make hasty decisions

According to market mavens, investors should not panic in such a situation as that can lead to more wealth erosion.

It’s essential to understand that market condition is only a temporary phenomenon with a severe but temporary impact.

Avoid panic selling

During times of bloodbath, any panic selling should be avoided by small investors, experts suggest.

Retail investors suffer the most if they attempt to exit during such times. Therefore, it is best to avoid these phases.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on CNBCTV18.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. CNBCTV18.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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