COST Financial News

Swiggy is working with banking and telecom firms to roll out bundled plans that include Swiggy One subscriptions. The company is also experimenting with different pricing and service tiers for the subscriptions, people in the know of the matter told ET. Buyers of telecom subscriptions and banking products such as credit cards will get Swiggy One as part of their package under a B2B programme called Swiggy One Lite. Swiggy One’s bundling exercise comes after rival Zomato reintroduced its ‘Gold’ subscriptions in January. The latter claimed Zomato Gold had 1.8 million subscribers as of the quarter ended March 2023. Swiggy One’s subscription stands in “the low-single-digit millions”, a person in the know told ET, without giving a specific number.

Logging is threatening Omo Forest Reserve in southern Nigeria, which is home to endangered wildlife like African elephants

career stagnation used to be a phenomenon associated with just midlifers and senior-level professionals. Today, you might be just 3 or 5 years into your career and already feeling a lack of engagement at work or a sense of misalignment in your role and ambitions. It is imperative to recognise the early signs and take the necessary steps to revive the dead ends and bolster your career growth.Reasons for more early career stagnation Vaibhav Sisinty, Founder & CEO, GrowthSchool, defines early career stagnation as an “unsettling phase in one's professional journey where, despite the initial excitement and momentum of a new job, there seems to be little to no progression in terms of skills, responsibilities or even pay. Think of it as being stuck in professional quicksand; you're moving, but not really getting anywhere.” According to him, there are several reasons why this phenomenon has become highly prevalent in recent times. One is the rapid pace of technological advancements. Although this promises innovation, it also necessitates continuous upskilling, failing which one can quickly fall behind. Another reason he states is that modern workspaces are highly competitive. This implies that “standing out and making significant progress early on can be challenging”. On the other hand, Raghupathi C N, Director of MILES, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, describes early-stage career stagnation as “no upward change in role and responsibilities for 3 years or 5 years or 8 years and no opportunity for growth in skills”.

India is preparing to start the auction process for some 100 critical mineral blocks in the next four months, as part of plans to secure domestic supplies of the raw materials needed to fuel the green energy transition. The blocks are for minerals including nickel, lithium, cobalt and platinum, along with rare earths, Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said in an interview in New Delhi. “The legal framework has been laid out and the blocks have been identified,” Bharadwaj said. The tender seeking bids is expected to be out by December and auctions may start three months later, he added. The South Asian nation is racing to ensure critical minerals security to power its ambition to make the country a key battery and electric vehicles manufacturing hub and help attain a net zero goal.

G R Infraprojects rose over 4% to Rs 1,425 in Wednesday's trade on BSE after the firm's arms executed a concession agreement with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). GR Belgaum Raichur (PACKAGE‐5) Highway Private Limited and GR Belgaum Raichur (PACKAGE‐6) Highway Private Limited, wholly owned subsidiaries of the company, have executed the concession agreement for projects worth Rs 1,457.24 crore with the NHAI on August 29, 2023. The project included 4 lanes with paved shoulders in the Belgaum – Hungund – Raichur Section of NH‐748A in Karnataka on a hybrid annuity mode under NH(O) (Package‐5). The bid project cost is Rs 716.47 crore and is to be completed in 730 days from the appointed date. The second project relates to the construction of 4 lane with paved shoulders in the Belgaum – Hungund – Raichur Section of NH‐748A on hybrid annuity mode (Package‐6) under NH (O).

Narendra Modi on Wednesday. The Prime Minister extended his warm wishes to everyone on this occasion, emphasizing the festival's significance in showcasing the strong bond between siblings. He expressed his hope that Rakshabandhan would reinforce feelings of love and unity among people. The festival is traditionally marked by sisters tying Rakhis on their brothers' wrists, symbolizing protection and affection. «Happy Rakshabandhan to all my family members.

Indians are now considering gold loans as smart loans due to their faster processing and flexible repayment options, says George Alexander Muthoot, MD, Muthoot Finance. The NBFC, which has received permission from the RBI to open 114 new branches, is optimistic about growing its gold loan book by 10-15% in FY24. Edited excerpts from an interview:Your loan AUM rose 21% YoY to Rs 76,799 crore in Q1. What is the guidance ahead of the festive season?We are delighted to report strong growth in an otherwise challenging macro environment. In Q1FY24, we reported the highest-ever quarterly gold loan disbursement of Rs 53,612 crore and achieved an all-time high gold loan portfolio growth for any Q1. Our consolidated loan AUM grew 21% YoY to Rs 76,799 crore and consolidated profit after tax grew 27% YoY at Rs 1,045 crore. Over the past several years, we have observed a paradigm shift in the perception of gold loans. More customers now consider gold loans as smart loans due to their faster processing and flexible repayment options.

Till Payments is in trouble, the latest in a string of local payment companies teetering on the brink. Its board, however, is confident that existing shareholders will step up to keep Till afloat as its fast-growing revenues turn into profit. Without additional funding, it has little chance.

Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak AMC, says “when smallcap starts trading at a premium to largecaps, when micro caps and mini caps start trading at the premium to largecaps, then there is a need to be a little bit cautious. Many of the micro caps and mini caps are today trading at valuation which looks excessive. They are trading there because floating stock is limited. There is a herd mentality in buying what moves and maybe distribution is already happening. There is no harm in being cautious when making money is easy.”I used to think that we are the only two bulls in the town. But when I look around, everybody suddenly is the India bull. Everybody is excited with what is happening in the midcap space, the smallcap space and the SME space. Now should one turn bearish for the sake of turning bearish or stay with the market?If you are a long-term investor, you can stay bullish. If you are a trader, especially in micro caps, mini caps and small caps, this is time to be cautious.

LPG cylinders by Rs 200 per refill. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) was the top loser as stock price declined 2.5% to the day's low of Rs 350.20.

Dheeraj Wadhawan, arrested in connection with a multi-crore bank loan scam, during medical check-ups at hospitals in Mumbai, an official said on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden is touting his administration's efforts to lower medical costs

Online real estate marketplace Listing Loop – co-founded by an entrepreneur who sold his previous proptech to Carsales.com and backed by basketballer Andrew Bogut – has secured investment from Bermuda-based Duncan Saville, Street Talk understands.

Zomato, CLSA maintained an underperform rating on UltraTech Cements, Motilal Oswal has a buy on M&M Financial Services and Prabhudas Lilladher recommends a buy on Navneet Education.We have collated a list of recommendations from top brokerage firms from ETNow and other sources: HSBC on Zomato: Buy| Target Rs 120 HSBC maintained a buy rating on Zomato but raised the target price to Rs 120 from Rs 102 earlier. A deep dive into hyperlocal further raises our conviction on the long-term value of Blinkit, said the HSBC note. The value for Blinkit is now at $5 billion. In the next 3-4 years, HSBC believes that Blinkit can achieve 6-7% contribution margin (CM) and 3-4% EBITDA margin. Hyperlocal could be a much bigger business for Zomato in the long term.CLSA on UltraTech Cements: Underperform| Target Rs 8400 CLSA maintained an underperform rating on UltraTech Cements but raised the target price to Rs 8400 from Rs 7900 earlier. The global investment bank expects the company to report industry-leading growth and profitability.

₹418 to ₹441 per equity share of face value of ₹10 each. The IPO lot size is 34 equity shares and in multiples thereafter. The public offer comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth ₹75 crore and offer for sale (OFS) portion aggregating to 9.43 million equity shares of ₹415.78 crore.

Chalice Mining boss Alex Dorsch has defended the use of high commodity price assumptions in a scoping study that sparked a 27 per cent crash in the company’s share price during morning trade on Wednesday.

Transport and logistics group Brambles expects profit growth to slow in 2023-24 as cost-of-living pressures on households mean lower volumes of goods are being transported on pallets to the group’s retailer customers, which are cutting back inventory levels.

American consumers are feeling less confident as summer comes to a close as high prices and interest rates weigh on their willingness to spend

GMR Goa International Airport is looking to raise ₹2,480 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures to repay existing debt and fund capex. The securities have a tenor of five years and will be raised at 10.25%.JP Morgan will help raise the debt. The paper is rated BBB+ by Care Ratings and has a call option after three years. Proceeds of the paper will be used to repay the existing senior debt of ₹1,520 crore, repay the external subordinated debt of ₹227 crore, repay the group-level debt of ₹269 crore and fund capex, according to an indicative term sheet seen by ET. GMR Goa International Airport, which is a 100% subsidiary of GMR Airports, is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up to establish the greenfield international airport at Mopa in the northern part of Goa, on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis.

trades has dropped sharply over the past two months, reflecting the sudden tightening in broader market liquidity that appears to have sapped investor interest in the most liquid of government debt instruments. Until the week ended August 25, T-bill trades worth ₹1.1 lakh crore were carried out, with the average trades at ₹6,820.5 crore, Clearing Corporation of India Limited data show. The trades in July, which were 40% lower than those in August, were at ₹1.5 lakh crore with the average at ₹7,256.3 crore, the data showed. The CCIL data includes over-the-counter trades, brokered deals and those struck in the Reserve Bank of India's Negotiated Dealing System Order-Matching trade platform. «In terms of numbers of trades where the single ticket is more than ₹1,000 crore, in May, there were 162 trades where the single ticket was more than ₹1,000 crore.

RBI) wants peer-to-peer (P2P) lending startups to work towards diversifying their partnerships to ensure there is no overlap of lenders and borrowers from the same partner which might eventually lead to asset-liability mismatch. Three people in the know told ET that while the banking regulator has not spelt out any statement on the fledgling sector explicitly, back channel conversations between companies and the regulator have made many startups course correct.