RIL, HDFC Bank, SBI, Maruti among 19 high-conviction ideas for March by InCred Equities; check full list here
Brokerage firm InCred Equities lists 19 high-conviction stocks for March with 'add' recommendation on all. Clean Science, IndiGo, Tata Steel, SBI Cards are 'reduce' calls. Key Points
mintZomato-backed fitness startup Cult.fit lays off over 100 employees
Fitness firm Cult.fit has laid off 100 to 120 employees as part of a cost-cutting exercise, people in the know told ET. The firms parent entity, Curefit Healthcare, also runs other brands like Sugar.fit and Carefit, and is backed by the likes of Tata Digital and food-delivery major Zomato. Key Points
Economic TimesDealshare names Kamaldeep Singh as CEO, third cofounder Medda quits
Singh joined Dealshare in December 2022 as president of the retail business at the Bengaluru-based firm. He was previously the chief executive of BigBazaar. Singh's appointment comes after an investor-led restructuring at the firm. Key Points
Economic TimesMerchant ship linked to Israel hit by drone strike off India's coast
A drone strike damaged a merchant ship in the Indian Ocean off the coast of India, causing a fire on board. The unclaimed attack targeted a Liberia-flagged chemical/products tanker reportedly affiliated with Israel. The incident resulted in no casualties, as reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations and maritime security firm Ambrey. Key Points
Economic TimesVeteran dealmaker Sanjay Nayar teams up with Peak Ventures for cleantech play
Nayar is partnering with Peak Ventures – an early-stage firm focused on cleantech areas such as new energy, food systems, clean water and climate. Under the new arrangement, Nayar would become a general partner at the Mumbai-based firm. Key Points
Economic Times
ETtech Exclusive: New Byju’s CEO Arjun Mohan plans to merge businesses; cut more than 5,000 jobs
The roles being cut across the firm are only at Think & Learn–parent of Byju's–and are not linked with any of its subsidiaries. However, a significant number of roles being made redundant would be across senior positions in the firm. Key Points
Economic TimesNifty outlook: Prabhudas Lilladher cuts index target to 20,735, expects consolidation ahead of 2024 elections
Prabhudas Lilladher trims Nifty target to 20,735, citing EL Nino impact on inflation and weak earnings. Expect consolidation ahead of 2024 elections. Key Points
mintCloud company assisted 17 different government hacking groups -US researchers
An obscure cloud service company has been providing state-sponsored hackers with internet services to spy on and extort their victims, a cybersecurity firm said in a report to be published on Tuesday. Key Points
ReutersCovid centre scam: ED arrests Sujit Patkar, BMC health official Bisure
Patkar’s firm is accused of receiving around ₹31.84 crore from the BMC as part of the contract even though between 50 and 60 per cent of the medical staff at the centres for which it had billed the civic body were allegedly non-existent. Bisure had allegedly connived with the firm to approve its dubious bills related to manipulated attendance sheets of the employees at the Covid centres, and received a laptop, cash and funds in his driver’s account, the ED claimed | Mumbai news Key Points
Hindustan Times10 Inspirational Quotes by Jack Ma on Entrepreneurship and Persistence
Jack Ma Yun is a Chinese business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of the global technology firm Alibaba Group. Key Points
Times of India
EY calls off splitting its audit and consulting units
The firm intended to spin off its consulting business and much of its tax practice into a stand-alone public company. But the plan, known as Project Everest, suffered repeated setbacks as partners disagreed over compensation and the resources needed to staff the remaining audit practice. Key Points
FinancialexpressJob search firm Indeed announces laying off 15% of staff, says report
As per details, the job search firm expects employment opening may decline to pre-pandemic levels of about 7.5 million or less in next 2-3 years. Key Points
mintJuspay spins off mobility platform Namma Yatri into new entity
Moving Tech Innovations Ltd, a Juspay spin-off, focuses on cost-effective solutions in the ride-hailing industry. Led by Shan M S and Magizhan Selvan, the new entity seeks funding, aims for profitability, and competes with major players like Uber and Ola. Key Points
Economic TimesByju’s to vacate several offices in cost-cutting drive, may give up HQ partially
Edtech firm Byju's is undergoing cost-cutting and restructuring efforts, downsizing smaller assets and consolidating its focus on the top four to five cities. The company has identified offices and tuition centers for closure across 17 cities, reducing the count to approximately 250. Byju's faces financial challenges, including disputes with landlords over rental payments and legal issues related to a $1.2 billion loan Key Points
Economic TimesSequoia lays off 7 employees in ‘broad restructuring’ of firm: Report
Sequoia is not alone in downsizing staff. Earlier this year, another firm Y Combinator let go its 17 employees as it shut its late-stage startup fund. Key Points
Hindustan Times
Indian defence agency bought Pegasus ‘rival,’ trade data reveals
An Indian defence agency has been purchasing equipment from an Israeli spyware firm that is being billed as a potential Pegasus alternative. The Ministry of Defence did not respond to queries on the nature of the equipment. The firm in question is Cognyte Software Ltd, which faces a class action lawsuit in the U.S. from investors. Key Points
The HinduDefence intelligence bought Pegasus ‘rival,’ trade data reveals
An Indian defence agency has been purchasing spyware made by an Israeli firm that is being billed as a potential Pegasus alternative. The Ministry of Defence did not respond to queries on the nature of the equipment. The firm in question is Cognyte Software Ltd, which faces a class action lawsuit in the U.S. from investors. Key Points
The HinduCarlyle said to weigh $1 billion IPO for Indian IT firm Hexaware
At about $1 billion, it would be the biggest IPO in the country since Life Insurance Corp. of Indias in 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That companys shares slumped initially but have mostly recovered. Key Points
Economic TimesElectric bicycle-maker EMotorad bags Rs 164 crore in funding
EMotorad will use the funds to build a 150,000 square feet manufacturing facility, said its chief executive Kunal Gupta. The facility will be used to develop and manufacture in-house battery systems, motors, displays and chargers. Key Points
Economic TimesCarlyle pulls back from US consumer bets as part of strategic overhaul -source
Private equity firm Carlyle Group (CG.O) plans to pull back from investing in U.S.-based consumer, media and retail companies as it looks to focus on other key sectors such as technology and financial services, according to a person familiar with the matter. Key Points
Reuters
Jindal Steel share price rises 7%; Kotak upgrades the stock, sees a 36% upside; here's what the brokerage says
Jindal Steel & Power shares rose 7 per cent after Kotak Institutional Equities upgraded the stock from 'reduce' to 'buy' and increased its target price to ₹740. The brokerage said the next year is a transformational period for the stock. Key Points
mintFlipkart eyes quick-commerce entry; No point Googling ‘swadeshi’
Flipkart has been working to cut down the timeline of its deliveries across categories for some time now. The firm rolled out same-day delivery of products across several categories at no extra cost from February. Key Points
Economic TimesIndia Shelter Finance IPO: Check out 10 key risk factors from RHP before investing
The ₹1,200 crore initial public offering (IPO) of housing finance firm India Shelter Finance is scheduled to open today, Wednesday, December 13, and close on Friday, December 15. Here are the top 10 key risk factors mentioned in the India Shelter Finance IPO RHP. Key Points
mintPharmEasy devaluation: Thyrocare founder invokes anti-dilution; Flipkart employees to receive esop payout
Happy Friday! Arokiaswamy Velumani, founder of Thyrocare, which was acquired by PharmEasy in 2021, had secured anti-dilution rights when he invested in the epharmacy startup. We have details on that, and more in todays ETtech Morning Dispatch. Key Points
Economic TimesTech salaries get reset as startup talent becomes affordable amid crises at Byju's, Paytm
While many employees of cash-strapped ed-tech firm Byjus have been in the job market for a while now, troubles at Paytm after the central bank imposed curbs on its payments bank unit have made a number of its staffers jittery, driving them to explore other options. Swiggy and Flipkarts announcements of workforce cuts have also added to the supply of talent who were highly paid. Key Points
Economic Times
Stocks in news: RIL, Fusion Micro, Axis Bank, NBCC, SBI
Private equity firm Bain Capital has offloaded 1.1% stake in Axis Bank through the open market on Wednesday, thereby taking home over Rs 3,700 crore. Key Points
Economic TimesLiquidity crisis to ease in 45-60 days, says Byju's
India Business News: Byju's expects the liquidity crisis to ease in 45-60 days. The firm is working to close the audit of its FY23 accounts. The litigation surrounding ter Key Points
Times Of IndiaWells Fargo sees economic "soft patch" capping further S&P 500 gains
An upcoming "economic soft patch" will likely weigh on the recent U.S. equity rally and stall sectors such as consumer discretionary and small-cap stocks, strategists at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute warned in a note on Monday. Key Points
ReutersMan loses Rs 1.2 crore after investing online, says he thought that he was getting profits
A man was cheated of around Rs 1.2 crore when he was contacted by scammers online. He thought that his profits were getting added at an app. Key Points
India TodayBlinkit quarterly contribution margin turns positive first time ever
For Blinkit, contribution counts as revenue minus costs like store operation expenses, delivery costs, wastage and packaging costs, among other things. The firm retained its earlier guidance of breaking even in the quick commerce business by the first quarter of FY25. Key Points
Economic Times/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/UPLHWB2ZYFI5TEPG6S535N3YIQ.jpg)
PE firm Tiger Global sells remaining stake in India's Zomato in $136 mln deal
U.S.-based private equity firm Tiger Global on Monday sold its remaining stake in Indian food delivery firm Zomato (ZOMT.NS) in a deal valued at 11.24 billion rupees ($136.08 million), according to exchange data. Key Points
ReutersForeign holdings in Reliance rises from six-year low on spinoff
Foreign ownership in billionaire Mukesh Ambanis company rose to 22.55% in the three-months ended June after dipping to the lowest level since 2017 earlier this year, according to the latest shareholding filed by the firm on Thursday. A recent special session that saw Jio Financial Services Ltd. valued at about $20 billion also helped sentiment in Reliance, which has risen more than 26% from a low in March. Key Points
Economic TimesWipro Q1 results: Attrition rate at 8-quarter low, headcount down by 8,812 staff
The firm said that its attrition volume under TTM (Trailing 12 months) stood at 17.3 percent. Key Points
mintJayshree Ullal, Neerja Sethi, Neha Narkhede, Indra Nooyi: Meet Indian-origin women on 'America's Richest Self-Made Women' List
Four Indian-origin women have made it to the Forbes list of America's 100 richest self-made women, with a combined net worth of a $4.06 billion. Key Points
Business TodaySolarWinds executives receive Wells notice from US SEC
SolarWinds said on Friday some of its former and current executives had been issued a Wells notice by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a massive 2020 data breach tied to the software firm. Key Points
Reuters
Sekhmet, Nirma in fray for Glenmark's API business
Sekhmet Pharmaventures and Nirma Group are in competition to acquire Glenmark Life Sciences (GLS), the 82.85% subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals. The firm will reportedly sell the API developer and manufacturer in bid to deleverage. Many sources, including ChrysCapital, are said to be looking at the opportunity, but have yet to make any binding bids. Since Glenmark's share price peaked at Rs 595 last week, the company has grown in value to have a market cap of Rs 7,232 crore. Rising dependence on imports of APIs and bulk drugs has made it an area of interest for India's government, which is seeking to incentivise domestic production. Key Points
Economic TimesOpenAI chief seeks to calm fears on job losses
Sam Altman said that AI would not wipe out whole sectors of the workforce through automation. To learn more, read the full story on The Hindu. Key Points
The Hindu