Digital Financial News

Nothing said it is launching a mobile application to support blue chat bubbles on iMessage for Android users, US tech giant Apple announced it will adopt RCS (rich communication services) messaging standard, which will be enabled via a software update “later next year”. ET explains what this means. Apple’s software update will enable a range of iMessage-like features for messaging between iOS and Android users. Experts see this as a big step closer to making texting more inclusive for cross-platform communications. “Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association. We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS,” Apple said in a statement. “This will work alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users.”

The trust's net asset value per share  total return for the year to 30 September grew 8.3%, which lagged the total return of 20.5% for the FTSE Europe ex UK index. Baillie Gifford took over management of the trust from Edinburgh Partners Limited in November 2019. Since then, its net asset value has grown 9.3%, compared to the index's increase of 24.1%. The trust's discount has remained steady in the double digits over the last year, currently sitting at 14.7%, according to data from the Association of Investment Companies. Baillie Gifford closes Investment Grade Long Bond fund N...

Blue Dart Express Limited on Monday announced that it has entered into a partnership with India Post. With this collaboration, it said, Blue Dart is introducing automated digital parcel lockers at selected post offices, offering customers an additional delivery method. 

Co-working spaces have revolutionised the modern work environment, providing freelancers, SMEs (small and medium enterprises), and startups with a fixed base where they can thrive and be a significant part of the business ecosystem. According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the current co-working market in India is worth USD 1.78 billion. This showcases a surge in demand for flexible and collaborative working environments.

Vishal Goyal, Head of Research, UBS Securities, says NBFCs which are purely or mostly doing unsecured lending, are the most impacted as would be some banks which are unsecured and who have just entered unsecured and because their own cost of funding constraints might have taken additional risk. Then there is a category of large banks or top banks. They have historically been doing this business and have been taking less risk, even within unsecured. They would largely be unimpacted from a credit loss point of view. But almost everywhere we would see a slowdown.” You analyse this space pretty closely and RBI did kind of drop hints in multiple platforms about the way unsecured, especially consumer loans were growing at a very scorching pace and now they have moved. How much capital requirement or slowdown in the growth these names would have to see before they normalise? One, there is a direct impact on tier one which we estimate would be anywhere between 30 to 50 bps depending upon which bank we are talking about. Second, there is an indirect impact of increasing risk weights on lending to NBFCs which increases the cost of borrowing for NBFCs effectively and therefore, it will also have an indirect slowdown impact on overall consumer loans.

Nordic Baltic Eight (NB8) is a regional cooperation format that includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The NB8 is an innovation and technological powerhouse, while India, with its increasingly strong focus on technology, offers immense opportunities for partnerships.

Windows 11, offering users greater control over their operating system, in response to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Economic Area (EEA). These changes, set to roll out in early 2024, allow Windows 11 users to uninstall Microsoft Edge, Bing, and even disable ads, providing a more customisable experience.

Mastercard is doubling down on its efforts to detect and prevent fraud that's routed through cryptocurrency exchanges.

Renault Duster from the new generation has had its image leaked online, providing a glimpse of the car's silhouette. While still bearing a resemblance to the original Duster, the compact SUV now exudes a more stylish and sophisticated appeal. As per the publication, the new generation Renault Duster features a distinct design, diverging significantly from its original iteration.

In a decisive win during Argentina’s presidential run-off on November 19, pro-bitcoin and far-right populist candidate Javier Milei clinched victory with over 55% of the votes, boasting a substantial lead of nearly 3 million votes, according to Bloomberg data.

Russian lawmakers want the country’s Central Bank to ditch its current retail model digital ruble in favor of a wholesale alternative.

OpenAI’s interim Chief Executive Officer Mira Murati plans to re-hire her ousted predecessor Sam Altman and former President Greg Brockman in a capacity that has yet to be finalized, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Murati, who was installed on Friday after the board fired Altman, is negotiating with Adam D’Angelo, the CEO of Quora Inc., who is acting as a representative of the OpenAI board, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private and remain fluid. Brockman, who was also a board member, quit in protest hours after Altman’s departure.

“We believe India's investment and real estate cycle are in their early stages and can witness multi-year growth led by continuity of public and private sector investments and favourable govt policy,” says Taher Badshah, CIO, Invesco Mutual Fund. In an interview with ETMarkets, Badshah said: “We have recently increased our exposure to residential real estate noting demand resilience, steady improvement in demand-supply,” Edited excerpts: We are seeing some turnaround in Indian markets – is it the Diwali dhamaka or Santa rally? Indian markets were off to a weak start in the early part of 2023, trailing global markets due to growth concerns, particularly in the consumption economy, from rising interest rates and higher relative valuations.

Cruise, Kyle Vogt, has resigned from the company a day after apologizing to staff as the company undergoes a safety review of its U.S. fleet. Vogt, 38, offered little in the way of explanation, stating simply «I have resigned from my position,» according to his email to staff viewed by on Sunday.

NEW DELHI : India’s music lovers are flocking to paid subscriptions, after moving from free and pirated music to advertising-led platforms years ago. The change bodes well for audio streaming companies, who had come to rely on advertising for long.

MUMBAI : To strengthen its foothold in Japan’s gaming market, Indian digital entertainment and technology firm JetSynthesys has entered into a strategic tie-up with Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Digital Hearts Holdings (DHH). As part of a comprehensive deal aimed at mutual growth and global expansion, DHH will invest an undisclosed sum in JetSynthesys Japan, besides establishing a 50:50 joint venture in India. The venture will capitalize on the strengths of both entities, with DHH contributing expertise in quality assurance, customer support, and marketing, while JetSynthesys draws on its technology prowess and digital entertainment capabilities.

NEW DELHI : Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd (DRL), will invest ab out ₹700 crore for capacity expansion during the second half of the fiscal, G. V. Prasad, co-chairman and managing director of DRL told Mint.

In recent developments within the NFT ecosystem, a consistent growth pattern has emerged, as reported by Nansen, a blockchain analytics platform. Over a five-week period, the NFT market has seen a robust increase in trading volumes, particularly in Ethereum (ETH) transactions. The upward trajectory commenced in the week closing on October 9th, with NFT sales amounting to 29,704 ETH. By the week ending November 6th, this figure nearly doubled to 68,342 ETH.

Argentina heads to vote on Sunday to choose from option to bring the Argentine economy out of an economic catastrophe. The contestants- Economy Minister Sergio Massa, from the ruling Peronist party, against libertarian outsider Javier Milei. Milei stands out for displacing a traditional center-right coalition in the first round of voting last month.

BENGALURU : For Ashok Leyland Ltd, this financial year is likely to be a notable one in terms of profitability. After four years, the commercial vehicle (CV) maker is on course to clock double-digit Ebitda margin in FY24. In the first half of FY24, the measure stood at 10.7% and the company expects the second half to benefit from the twin tailwinds of better demand and softer commodity costs.

ABUJA — MTN Nigeria, a leading telecommunications company, is advancing its infrastructure strategy by reallocating approximately 2,500 network sites from IHS Towers to American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Corporation (ATC). This move is part of a detailed bidding process that aligns with the company's contract renewal schedule, with most IHS agreements set to conclude by 2029.