Digital Financial News

Times of India, the engineering services company sacked its staff partly because of the actions initiated as part of the performance cycle and to reduce overlapping of the roles. The layoffs have mainly happened in delivery and support functions due to the integration of automation in many functions.

Gurmeet Chadha, CIO & Managing Partner, Complete Circle Consultants, says “we are playing power through power generation which is Tata Power, also had some exposure to CG Power. Then we are playing it through the transmission space which is Power Grid, among others. Some of the stocks are fairly valued, including Coal India and NTPC. So that is one way. Then we have the renewable sources to play, which is Praj Industries and that is more on bio-fuel. The third way is through the financiers and just see the move in REC and PFC, the way they have run up. That has been the most long, secular play.” What all do you own in power because from legacy companies, wires and cables, transmission towers, financiers, there is a big bouquet out there in power? Absolutely. And as we were discussing in the morning we are playing it through power generation which is Tata Power, also had some exposure to CG Power. Then we are playing it through the transmission space which is Power Grid and there is a proxy play to power through a company which is basically a defence company into explosives, got the largest order from Coal India for Rs 3000 crore – Solar Industries. The stock has run up quite a lot. 40% of the revenue comes from Coal India, which again is mainly on power generation.

Meanwhile, the market capitalization of a cryptocurrency called Pepe — a meme coin based on a cartoon frog — doubled in just a few weeks. And even the price of the FTT token, which was created by the FTX exchange and currently has no real utility, has tripled in the past month on hopes that Sam Bankman-Fried’s exchange will return from the dead. Everywhere you look, there are signs that the wacky excesses of the crypto market — and fear of missing out on them — are making an unlikely comeback. As expectations of an imminent approval of a spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded fund pushes the oldest and biggest cryptocurrency ever higher, the hype has also lifted other boats — even those considered among the least seaworthy. This latest rise of digital junk follows a nearly two-year long crypto winter that saw the value of thousands of dubious projects slide — some to nearly zero — to the delight of critics and even some industry insiders. Aggressive actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission marked some crypto coins as illegal and chased some promoters away from crypto. Now it appears that the cleansing was only been temporary.

After a strong rally in midcap and smallcap stocks in the last one year, one might on the face of it, tend to believe that switching to largecaps is ideal. But, from a valuation standpoint, the midcap and smallcap indices are still trading well below their historical averages, says Pawan Bharadia, managing director, Equitree Capital Advisors. While there is exuberance in some pockets of mid and smallcaps, there are enough and more opportunities within the smallcap space where valuations are reasonable and may continue to generate alpha returns even from hereon, Bharadia said. Edited excerpts from an interview with ETMarkets: Is it time to switch to largecaps, or is there more steam left in the midcap and smallcap space? Midcaps and smallcaps indices have had a good run over the last year, delivering 40-44% returns, whereas the Nifty has given a somber 9% return only over the same period.

By Laurie Chen

Nov. 23rd – Gate.io, a leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 innovator, has announced upgrades to its Proof of Reserves (PoR) process, which includes a new open-source method utilizing zero-knowledge technology. Following the upgrade, the PoR process will now cover the top 100 digital assets, with certificates published regularly for enhanced transparency.

LONDON (Reuters) — British investment managers have got the go-ahead to develop tokenised funds, in which assets are split into smaller tokens backed by blockchain technology, the industry's trade body said on Friday.

Appario Retail, the largest seller on Amazon India, is scripting a change of plans for its future on the ecommerce platform, multiple people aware of the development told ET. Amazon and Patni Group, joint venture partners of Appario’s parent firm Frontizo, had in October last year announced plans to shut the seller entity within a year. But it is unlikely to stop selling on Amazon India as it continues to work closely with brands and sellers and has more than a month of forward inventory in its warehouses, people cited above said.

Zomato and Swiggy are planning to approach goods and services tax authorities to explain their position, after they received notices seeking tax on delivery fees collected from consumers. The issue could have wider implications, as a senior government official said other companies collecting such fees from users could also be asked to pay tax on the amount, which the platforms claim that they pass on to their delivery partners.

Reserve Bank of India and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), for pushing the adoption of the central bank-backed digital currency (CBDC), said two bankers in the know of the matter. Both the RBI and NPCI want CBDC to make digital payments as simple as cash transactions, the bankers said.

Moscow will give Russian bailiffs more new powers to seize digital rubles and cryptoassets in bankruptcy cases.

This week’s fall economic statement had very little in the way of tax measures, but there were a few items that may affect you if you own real estate or are considering the succession of your privately owned business.

Mint in the week gone by. The government is on track to meet its ambitious aim of ₹10 trillion capital expenditure. Latest data show road accidents have become more fatal in recent years.

Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank is set to launch crypto trading services in 2024, joining a slew of European banks breaking into the digital asset custody business. 

Bitcoin reserves on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, are rapidly depleting, according to data from blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant.

By Foo Yun Chee

Hong Kong Legislative Council member and CPPCC member Johnny Ng, known as @Johnny_nkc on Twitter, attended the «2023 World Internet Conference» in Wuzhen, where he delivered a keynote speech on digital literacy and skills enhancement. Ng’s speech, dated 9th November 2023, focused on two main themes: the integration of the  senior  economy with the internet, and the role of Web3 technology in empowering content creators.

ARK Invest, led by the pro-Bitcoin advocate Cathie Wood, and 21Shares, a renowned exchange-traded product (ETP) supplier, have announced the launch of a new suite of digital asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This collaboration marks a pivotal step in offering investors a comprehensive range of options for integrating digital assets into their investment portfolios.

On November 8, 2023, the United States Congress witnessed the introduction of a significant piece of legislation — H.R.6307. Sponsored by Representative Zachary Nunn [R-IA-3], this bill aims to defend against the economic and national security risks posed by foreign adversarial blockchain networks. The bill has been referred to several key committees, including the House Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), for comprehensive consideration.

Strategic Alliance for Digital Asset Security

Nigeria's Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has   announced   a landmark achievement in the nation's digital transformation journey. The 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative, a strategic program designed to advance artificial intelligence (AI) skills among Nigerians, has successfully attracted over one million applicants. This remarkable response, disclosed on November 8, 2023, on a platform formerly known as Twitter, represents a significant stride in Nigeria's ambition to become a hub of technological talent.