Business Today 9 June 2024

When Reliance outsmarted Amazon in 2022 by signing fresh lease agreements with the owners of over 800 Future Retail stores, it dealt a blow to the American giant’s offline plans in India. Today, after several twists and turns and courtroom battles, what Amazon reckoned would be a straightforward acquisition of Future Retail by way of its 49% stake in Future Coupons, looks uncertain. The off line piece would have given Amazon India an important engine of growth in a market that is complicated and dynamic. Despite this setback, Amazon India is busy doubling down on its growth plans. Last June, it committed to investing another $15 billion by 2030, taking its total India investments to a hefty $26 billion. That’s ample evidence of the kind of aggressive growth the Jeff…

The Cosmic Birla Group, originating from the East, stands as a prominent industrial conglomerate embodying innovation, expansion, and a steadfast dedication to achieving excellence. Initially centered on engineering products and components, the five decade old legacy business, led by a 34-year-old Aditya Vikram Birla, Chairman and Managing Director, has transformed into a diversified enterprise over time. The enterprising leader of the Group took pride in addressing some questions about the Group: What are the key entities of the Group? “Cosmic CRF Ltd, listed on the BSE, serves as the leading entity within the group, providing a wide array of products. The Group’s strategic growth encompasses affiliated companies like AVB Entech, Comet Technocom, Comet Tradecom, Prilika Enterprise, Asansol Steel, Cosmic Steel Castings Ltd & NS Engineering Pvt Ltd. Furthermore, initiatives such…

SOURCE CMIE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 1.4 million Number of passenger transport vehicles registered in 2023-24, higher than the pre-pandemic peak of 1 million in 2018-19 22.7% YoY increase in registrations of construction vehicles to 22,040 in 2023-24, well above the pre-pandemic high of 17,963 in 2018-19 55.4% Share of passenger transport vehicles in FY24 of the total commercial vehicle registration, a jump from 45.6% last year…

INDICATING OPTIMISM IN THE MARKET, PROMOTERS, DOMESTIC FUND MANAGERS, AND GLOBAL INVESTORS INCREASED THEIR STAKES IN VARIOUS STOCKS ACROSS SECTORS IN FY24, ACCORDING TO INDIA INC.’S LATEST SHAREHOLDING DATA. INVESTORS, BOTH DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN, POURED MORE THAN ₹4 LAKH CRORE INTO EQUITIES AS THE BENCHMARK NIFTY 50 RALLIED OVER 29% DURING THE YEAR. HERE’S WHAT THE LATEST SHAREHOLDING DATA REVEALS: NOTE ONLY COMPANIES THAT SAW AN INCREASE IN SHARE-HOLDING BY THE RESPECTIVE CATEGORIES OF INVESTORS IN ALL FOUR QUARTERS OF FY24 WERE CONSIDERED ₹39.38 LAKH CRORE THE VALUE OF SHARES HELD BY THE GOVERNMENT (PROMOTERS) IN NSE-LISTED FIRMS AS OF MARCH 2024, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST EVER ₹33.96 LAKH CRORE WORTH OF SHARES MUTUAL FUNDS HELD FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 2024 COMPARED TO ₹22.07 LAKH CRORE A YEAR AGO…

IT TOOK A little less than seven years since its introduction on July 1, 2017, for the goods and services tax (GST) to cross the ₹2 lakh crore-mark in April 2024. At ₹2.1 lakh crore, registering a 12.5% growth year-on-year, this was the highest ever monthly collection from the indirect tax levy. This was more than double the mop up of ₹92,283 crore from GST in its first month of rollout in July 2017. The mop up from GST crossed ₹1 lakh crore for the first time in April 2018, when it amounted to ₹1.03 lakh crore. Over the years, the number of taxpayers under the indirect tax levy has nearly trebled to 14.6 million at present from just 5.95 million when it was launched. Commenting on the April data,…

THE INDIA VIX, also known as the volatility index, experienced a surge of over 100% in just 13 trading sessions till May 13. This sharp surge was propelled by a combination of factors, including the ongoing General Elections in the nation, relentless selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), and broader global dynamics like the US Federal Reserve’s move on interest rates. Serving as a metric for gauging market expectations regarding volatility in the forthcoming 30 days, the India VIX is commonly recognised as the “fear gauge”. Market watchers believe that during the Lok Sabha elections, the markets tend to be volatile, causing concern for traders. In 2019, the India VIX index hit a high of 28.66 during April-May, coinciding with the election period. This index is computed on the basis…