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- Bit by Bit 8th Oct. || Indian pharma company under criticism for deaths in Gambia || Drop in demand for chipsets amidst looming recession & More
Bit by Bit 8th Oct. || Indian pharma company under criticism for deaths in Gambia || Drop in demand for chipsets amidst looming recession & More
BGS Committee
October 08, 2022
So, here are:
"5 amazing stories in 5 minutes to make you future ready"
Happy reading!
MARKETS
BSE SENSEX : ₹58,191.29 (-0.05%)
NIFTY 50 : ₹17,314.70 (-0.10%)
NIFTY BANK : ₹39,178.05 (-0.27%)
USD/INR : ₹82.83 (+0.94%)
BRENTOIL : $98.34 (+4.15%)
MCXGOLD : ₹51,999.00 (+0.05%)
FII Net Cashflow : - ₹2251 crores
DII Net Cashflow : + ₹545 crores
(Market data as of 11:00 PM on 7/10/2022)
ECONOMY
The Story:
India's foreign exchange reserves fell by $4.85 billion to $532.66 billion for the week ending Sep 30, according to data released today by the Reserve Bank of India. The foreign exchange reserves fell to their lowest level since July 2020 and also marked the ninth consecutive week of fall.
The fall in the foreign exchange reserves can be attributed to a fall in the Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), which is a major component of the overall reserves, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by RBI. Expressed in dollar terms, FCA consists of the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
The rupee breached the key 82 per dollar level today.
AUTOMOTIVE
Key Facts:
India is the only country outside of Germany where the EQS sedan is locally built
Mercedes-Benz India will set up 140 fast charging stations this year with an investment of over Rs 15 crore
The company sold a total of 11,242 units in 2021, while in the first half of 2022 it registered sales of 7,573 units
The Story:
Mercedes-Benz India started its electromobility drive in India with the launch of its all-electric SUV EQC as a fully imported unit in October 2020 priced at Rs 1.07 crore. Mercedes Benz’s India arm has decided that it will locally assemble most of the electric car models it brings to India by 2025, a year by which it hopes a 25% of its total sales will come from electric vehicles. The company will leverage the advantages provided by localization and GST benefits provided for EVs by the government to achieve a cost that is lower than its internal combustion-engine counterpart, the S-Class. The company has already sold out the initial allocation for the Indian market and deliveries of the new model will start on Thursday.
RETAIL
The Story:
Retailers and analysts said that consumers celebrating the festivals and attending social gatherings have turned to ethnic wear in a big way.
According to Pal, apparel retail shrugged off the impact of the pandemic faster than most consumer segments. He added that sales for men's premium ethnic wear brands reported growth in the two quarters due to pent-up demand. "Consumers upgrading their wardrobes for the festivities and the wedding season are an important component, considering that large gatherings are back."
On Thursday, Redseer Strategy Consultants said fashion goods contributed 20% to the gross merchandise value (GMV) during festive online sales.
Fashion, as a category, grew three times compared to business-as-usual days, or non-sale days, during the first leg of the festive sales. In the first four days of the online sales starting late September, fashion goods posted a GMV of ₹5,500 crores.
TECH
The Story:
Chip manufacturers are witnessing a decrease in demand signalling that the tech downturn may last longer than feared. After years of record capital spending, demand for tech seems to be decreasing. Samsung electronics and AMD reported decrease in operating income and lower than expected sales respectively. Micron technologies and Kioxia Holding Corp are reducing spending and output to stabilize plummeting prices.
Weaker than expected demand for consumer electronics and export restrictions from the US government has greatly impacted the tech industry. The PC segment is most impacted by this slowdown. A recession would hamper demand in other areas like cloud computing, automotive and factory automation.
Want More Bits?
According to the CEO of Binance, hackers stole $100 million worth of cryptocurrency from the blockchain.
The Story:
According to a Reuters story, hackers stole cryptocurrency valued at $100 million from a blockchain connected to Binance, as mentioned by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao in a tweet on Friday.
Zhao claims that the tokens were taken from a blockchain "bridge" that was utilized up until February in the Binance-linked blockchain. To transfer cryptocurrency from one application to another, a Blockchain bridge mechanism is employed.
Separately, BNB Chain claimed in a tweet that the hackers had impacted digital tokens valued between $100 million and $110 million, without mentioning which tokens were impacted. . The BNB chain is referred to as a "community-run, open-source, decentralized ecosystem" on Binance's website
Additionally, the BNB network tweeted that the activity had been halted before starting up again around 06:30 GMT. The broader bitcoin business has been significantly impacted by the recent rise in thefts on Blockchain bridges.
