Week 17

Spooky Szn! 🎃👻

October 31, 2020

Good Morning,

Welcome! I hope you have your “Subah Kee Chai” ready and you're excited to read your weekly 10-minute digest. 

Its Spooky Season! Happy Halloween to all Subah Kee Chai readers! This week saw negative market performances, permanent changes to the office environment and a boost in the tech and aviation sector. Lastly, this week features my monthly recommendations for October! Who are you dressing up as this Halloween? I'm going as the infamous Borat! 

I hope you enjoy today's newsletter,

Now let’s get into the news.

Markets

Markets

Markets suffered a major beating this week, with both equity markets finishing in the red. The Rupee depreciated against the Pound and the price of 10g of 24k gold posted a weekly negative performance. Lastly, the price of crude oil dropped 2 percent on Friday. Amid a

in global markets shattering investor wealth by INR 1.56 lakh crore, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, Infosys, and ICICI Bank were among the top losers. On the positive,

, Sun Pharma, Nestle India, and TCS were the top gainers. According to experts, the market mood has been wary this week due to a rise in COVID-19 cases globally and uncertainty regarding the upcoming US elections. 

COVID-19

While COVID-19 cases are declining in India, the second wave of fresh cases has stricken European nations identifying the potential future risk of a second wave for India and other neighboring countries. While the Government has protocols in place, it is important for individuals to be responsible and help keep the number of cases at a minimum. 

Permanent Changes :/ 

End of an Era 

After 25 years of service in the banking industry,

stepped out of HDFC Bank's Corporate Headquarters after handing over charge to Sashidhar Jagdishan as the new chief executive and managing director. Aditya Puri started work at HSBC 25 years ago as the Bank's first head and built the large lender which currently employs 1.20 lakh people. Farewell celebrations have been on for the past 25 days and ended with a 90-minute virtual event on Saturday which was watched by over a lakh employees. Bank House, the corporate headquarters, was lit up with a huge picture of Puri thanking him for his service. 

Cyril

One of India's leading law firms

has adopted a permanent dynamic working policy, which allows employees to have a mix of working from home and in the office. The new working model will allow the firm to strive towards working on a paperless basis and increase their technological presence. 

Tech numbers flying high like planes

Tech Boost 

The Indian market is a gold mine for Apple as Tim Cook, CEO of

, posted the company's global performance numbers for the September quarter. A week after the tech giant started its online service in India, the demand for iPhone 12's and other Apple products skyrocketed. Apple posted a record September-quarter revenue of USD 64.7 billion. In a more narrow focus, Apple's sales in India were up 37%. With plans to set up Apple's first Indian store, sales and revenue numbers are unaffected by COVID-19 and are flying high. 

In other tech news,

saw a 2x increase in Prime users in August 2020 as compared to last year. Globally, Amazon has over 150 million subscribers on its Prime service, however, it did not release country-specific numbers. In addition, Amazon said it saw a 37% growth in sales at over USD 96 billion during the September quarter, recording a profit of over USD 6 billion. 

Fly high

Breaking barriers in the Indian aviation sector,

was appointed by the Indian Government as the first female CEO of Alliance Air, a regional subsidiary of Air India. Harpreet Singh was the first woman pilot to be selected by Air India in 1988, however, she was unable to fly due to health reasons. Singh has also headed the Indian Women Pilot Association and mentored a number of budding female pilots. While the global average of woman pilots has been 2-3%, India has reported women involvement greater than 10% in the aviation industry. 

On Saturday, India's

took off from Kevadia in Gujarat, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one of the passengers. 

Fun Fact:

Due to seaplanes the postal service between England and Australia, in the 1930s, took only 16 days!

The introduction of the seaplane will give a big boost to the state's tourism sector, and full services commenced on Friday night. Passengers can book tickets for as low as INR 1500 per person, with regular prices at INR 4800 per person.

Lastly, state-run

reported its highest ever net profit for the financial year at INR 412.77 crore. Efficient utilization of assets in terms of aircraft, manpower, and materials improved operational efficiency stated CEO K Shyam Sundar.  

Sports 

This is how the IPL table looks as we enter November and the end of the 2020 season. Mumbai Indians sit narrowly at the top with a two-point lead over the Royal Challengers Bangalore. After a depressing start, can Bangalore win their first IPL title? Chennai Super Kings sit at the bottom of the table, having lost 3 of their last 5 games. With the playoffs starting on Thursday, what are your predictions? Who do you think is going to win this year's IPL season? 

In other sports news, Cristiano Ronaldo thankfully tested negative for COVID-19 and will return to training with the Juventus squad for their upcoming league game. 

Monthly Recommendations

While this year has been an absolute rollercoaster, October has flown by! Here is a round-up of what I have been reading, watching, and listening to over the past month. 

Books

1. The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger 

2. The Mammoth Book of losers by Karl Shaw 

3. A Colourful History of Popular Delusions by Robert E Bartholomews

Movies/Documentaries/TV Shows

1. Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) 

2. The Boys (Amazon Prime) 

3. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Prime) (p.s. the title is very long). 

4. David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (Netflix) 

Music

1. Winona by DJ Boring 

2. Lofi Basketball by Bleacher Report (Youtube) 

3. DNA by M Huncho ft Nafe Smallz (Album) 

4. Pluto Projector by Rex Orange County 

5. You Know How We Do It by Ice Cube 

6. Paper Planes by M.I.A 

7. Hello by Pop Smoke 

Other News

1. Hong Kong

for the 4th time as passengers traveling from India tested positive for COVID-19. 

2. Following from last week, the

dropped by 10 rupees per kg as a result of the Government's actions against hoarding. 

3.

is looking to invest INR 41 crore in its windmill business as part of its INR 72 crore capital expenditure project for the second half of the fiscal year. 

4. The Westminister Court on Monday rejected

Nirav Modi is wanted for the INR 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud perpetrated by him and his uncle Mehul Choksi. 

5. Between April and September,

bought nearly 30% of Indian steel exports indicating signs of a positive bilateral economic activity amid political tensions between the two countries. 

Quiz

Quiz time! Easy one :) 

Below are 3 anagrams of holidays. Can you figure them out?

1. Charm sits

2. Art see

3. Ale hen low

Spooooooooooooky szn. 

See you next week!

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See you next week!

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Quiz Answer: 1. Christmas 2. Easter 3. Halloween 

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Written by: Adnan Bahrainwala (Founder of Subah Kee Chai)