Week 20

Shopaholic! 💳

November 21, 2020

Good Morning,

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

How was your Diwali? I am sure it was filled with joy, food, and a lot of colors! This week saw mediocre market performances, a failing bank originating in Eastern India, Uber rickshaws and new sportswear sponsors! Drop me your book/music/movie recommendations so I can feature them in next week's newsletter!

I hope you enjoy today's newsletter,

Now let’s get into the news.

Markets

Market News

Weekly equity

saw a slight dip despite India sustaining foreign fund inflows and positive global cues. Bajaj Finserv was the top gainer tracking a 9% increase followed by Titan, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Nestle India, and Bharti Airtel. On the other hand, Reliance Industries, Induslnd Bank, Axis Bank, and ONGC were among the top losers. On Monday, India celebrated Diwali and some speculated the festivities to boost the Indian economy out of the hole it has found itself in over the past few months. Asian markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul ended positively mirroring the markets in Europe. The price of gold and crude oil rose by a minimum margin for the week. 

What to look out for?

depositing more money into the stock market due to rising hopes of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, which will turn around hard-hit markets. Currently, Pfizer and Moderna posted a 95% success rate on a COVID-19 vaccine. With positive news incoming, the economy is preparing for take-off towards recovery! 

In other news, India's

rose by USD 4.277 billion to a lifetime high of USD 572.771 billion in November. 

COVID-19 News

have seen the fastest rise in COVID cases and deaths in November, but Pune continues to have the highest number of total cases and deaths per million. Despite showing a declining trend in September and October, the increased festivities and relaxation of lockdown measures have seen a spike in COVID-19 cases in big cities. Will India face a second wave of COVID-19 cases? 

In other news, on Friday, the WHO (World Health Organisation)

as medicine individuals should consume to cure the symptoms of COVID-19. 

Lakshmi Vilas Bank

On Wednesday, the shares of

tanked 20% after the Reserve Bank of India imposed a 30-day moratorium period on the bank, restricting cash withdrawals to INR 25,000 per month. LVB stock fell by INR 3.10 to INR 12.40, reflecting a 20% drop. The Reserve Bank of India simultaneously announced the scheme to merge LVB with DBS India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS Bank Ltd, Singapore. Under the moratorium, the RBI also suspended the board of LVB and appointed TN Manoharan as the administrator for 30 days. LVB is the second private commercial bank that ran into rough water after Yes Bank suffered a similar fate earlier this year. 

What is LVB?

Lakshmi Vilas Bank is a

commercial bank that was started by a group of enterprising men to promote trade in Western Tamil Nadu. LVB's problems starting arising after the bank shifted its focus to large loans amounting to INR 720 crore. After bleeding and bleeding to raise capital to fund its commercial activities, the bank was limping until recently where the RBI stepped in to save the bank from crashing out. 

Flipkart on a shopping spree! 

Technology-enabled education...? 

On Tuesday,

, a wholly-owned subsidiary, and education arm of the National Stock Exchange acquired TalentSprint, a technology-enabled education platform for working professionals. The company offers certification programs in emerging technologies to aspiring and experienced professions using a hybrid online website. TalentSprint has been signed by multiple academic institutions to power their online campuses, a field that is heavily demanded in today's climate and with the rise of virtual learning due to COVID-19. NSE Academy acquired the company to provide skills in finance, AI, machine learning, and fintech through interactive online modules. With the rising demand for upskilling, this move will allow individuals to access education in a much easier way. 

Flipkart's shopping more than you! 

Walmart-owned

, on Tuesday, acquired a 100% stake in Bengaluru-based reality company Scapic. This move will help Flipkart to enhance its immersive shopping experience by accelerating the company's efforts to provide a more user-friendly storefront and webpage. In addition, it will look to make advertisements more interactive as well. Founded in 2017, Scapic is a cloud-based platform that enables the creation and publishing of augmented reality and 3D content. Flipkart has been on a shopping spree in recent months after acquiring Mech Mocha in early November. In addition, last month, Flipkart invested INR 1500 crore in Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. An online store that's the biggest buyer in the market??? 

Uber Rickshaws :/ 

Environmentally friendly future! 

has decided to eliminate all single-use plastic across all of its 33 luxury hotels by the end of March 2021. The use of single plastic will be halted in rooms, spas, transport, restaurants, bars, offices, and kitchens in all of the company's hotels. Until now, hotels consumed 95% of the items that were single-use plastic items. However, in recent times, a number of changes have been made. Most significantly, the hotel group has replaced traditional items with more eco-friendly options such as cocktail sticks, paper straws, paper bags, etc. Plastic bottles have also been replaced with glass or aluminum bottles. 

Uber e-rickshaw

On Thursday,

announced that it will deploy 500 electronic rickshaws in Kolkata to offer riders a sustainable transport option especially for short-distance and quick journeys. Uber users will be able to book an e-rickshaw starting on Thursday, and it will appear on the app as Uber Toto. Earlier this year, Uber launched 100 e-rickshaws in Delhi, which was a successful first step towards environmentally friendly public transport. This new launch is a step towards Uber's long-term goal of becoming 100% emission-free by 2040 through zero-emission vehicles. 

Sports

With the International break in football and the end of the IPL season in cricket, the sports world is taking a mini-break from the spotlight. 

On Tuesday, the BCCI formally announced

apparel and accessories as the official kit sponsor and merchandise partner for the Indian national men's and women's cricket team. The new deal sees the end of the Nike sponsorship the teams were tied to for the past 5 years. 

MPL Sports has entered into a three-year agreement from November 2020 to December 2023. The sports brand will also design the U-19 India Team jerseys.

Will you be buying the new Team India merchandise?  

Other News

1. Hong King has

flights for the fifth time, till December 3rd, after 5 passengers tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival. 

2.

has postponed their London flight launch due to new lockdown restrictions imposed in the United Kingdom. 

3. India loses over

due to tax evasion or corporate tax abuse. 

4. Indian students that study in the United States of America

to the US economy in the academic year 2019-20. 

5. The

in Delhi and other major cities shot up as the air quality in the country deteriorates. 

Quiz

Quiz time! 

What is a liquid at room temperature in its original state but solidifies when heated?

??? 

See you next week!

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Quiz Answer: An Egg! 

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