The sharp jump in shares of Kalyan Jewellers (Kalyan) has surprised many on the Street; however, analysts believe more steam could be left in the stock as the Thrissur-based gold retailer pivots to a new asset-light network expansion model. Kalyan's stock has surged 62 per cent in the past month, even as the S&P BSE SmallCap Index has gained just 5 per cent. In its latest business update, the company said its consolidated sales grew more than consensus expectations at 31 per cent year-on-year, led by strong domestic sales regardless of the volatility in gold prices.
The gauge for the performance of informational technology (IT) stocks soared nearly 5 per cent-most in nearly three years-as growth worries eased following a robust order book posted by bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The Nifty IT index rose 4.5 per cent to close at 30,945. This was the biggest single-day gain since September 14, 2020. Industry titan TCS' shares rose 5 per cent to Rs 3,509.
India's information technology (IT) sector will witness subdued hiring in 2023-24 as macro uncertainties impact demand environment, with clients either taking a pause on spend or stopping discretionary spend, say human resource experts. To begin with, unlike earlier years, the three large IT players TCS, HCLTech, and Wipro have not provided any new hiring targets for the financial year. And Wipro has said that its hiring target will depend on the demand environment.
'As China's reopening euphoria fizzled out on the back of some disappointing economic data, we saw inflows coming back to India with full force in the past 3-4 months.'
Byju Raveendran, CEO and founder of the eponymous edtech giant, has told shareholders that the company will set up a board advisory committee (BAC). This was part of a discussion on July 4 with shareholders at an emergency general meeting (EGM). Raveendran also said that in the next EGM in three weeks will give details about BAC's members and composition.
Google, in its latest appeal to the Supreme Court, has said the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is protecting Amazon's interests after having complained that India's anti-competition body (CCI) had copied part of a European Commission ruling against it for allegedly abusing the market dominance of Android. The latest twist to the Google-CCI case comes as Google filed an appeal in the Supreme Court on June 26, against the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT's) March 29 order. The tech giant's contention is that the NCLAT failed to apply the "effect analysis" part in the CCI order.
After assuring shareholders that Byju's is on a strong footing, Chief Executive Officer Byju Raveendran, after much delay, spoke to employees in a townhall session. In his first-ever address to employees since problems began at Byju's, Raveendran spoke about the resignation of auditors and board members, the Term Loan B dispute, and the future of educational technology (edtech). Raveendran also asked his team to 'rise above the noise' and work with resilience and determination.
Tata Communications on Wednesday announced that it would acquire NYSE-listed Kaleyra, a global omnichannel integrated communication services provider with a set of proprietary platforms offering targeted personalisation through messaging, video, push notification, e-mails and voice-based services, and chatbots. The acquisition is an all cash deal. Tata Communications has agreed to acquire Kaleyra at a price per share of $7.25, for a total consideration to Kaleyra shareholders of approximately $100 million, besides the assumption of all outstanding debt.
With the number of start-ups reaching the unicorn level falling drastically in 2023, the Hurun Unicorn Index said it has demoted eight gazelles - start-ups that were founded in 2000 and have the potential to go to unicorn in three years - to cheetahs.
India's largest IT services player Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) saw its $2 billion, 10-year deal with Transamerica Life Insurance Company come to an end even before the period was over. Transamerica is the subsidiary of American arm of Dutch insurer Aegon NV. This is not the first time such a long-term deal has been called off. Earlier this year, UK's National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), ended a $1.8-billion deal with French IT services player Atos.
The sharp rally in the broader markets has propelled India's market capitalisation (m-cap) to a new high. The combined m-cap of all BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 291.9 trillion in intraday trade on Thursday before settling lower at Rs 290.9 trillion. The previous record was on December 14, 2022, at Rs 291.3 trillion.
India's largest edtech firm Byju's will fire 1,000 employees in a fresh round of layoffs across departments. With the latest round, total job cuts at the company have mounted to around 3,500. According to sources, fresh job cuts are an attempt by the company to improve its finances and work towards a path to profitability.
Corporate India's net profit as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) dipped in the 2022-23 financial year (FY23) -- after rebounding sharply in FY22 -- amid a decline in global commodity prices. Top 500 companies' combined net profit stood at 4.1 per cent of the GDP for FY23, down from 4.3 per cent in the previous financial year when it had gone up from just 3.5 per cent in FY21. "The year-on-year (YoY) decline was led by global commodities, which contributed adversely to the ratio, while the financial sector contributed positively.
Jiomart B2B is the latest among organised supply-chain companies to bite the bullet, shutting down its warehouses, and asking its employees to leave. Why are companies finding it difficult to sustain the supply-chain business? Experts point out that gross margins in supplying fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) are very low.
Half of India's top-priced stocks have outperformed the benchmark indices this year. On a year-to-date basis (YTD), the Sensex has gained 3.8 per cent and the Nifty50 3.4 per cent. The stocks which have outperformed the indices include 3M India, Nestle India, MRF, Shree Cement and Bosch while those who have underperformed the benchmarks include Page Industries (-10.4 per cent), Procter & Gamble (-4 per cent), Honeywell Automation (-0.9) and Lakshmi Machine Works, which gained 1.3 per cent.
The initial public offering (IPO) market has seen some momentum of late with robust responses to recent issues. However, only some have been able to ride the wave. So far in 2023, 23 companies have let their approval granted by the markets regulator - the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) - lapse.
With debt woes and a legal case in the US courts, educational technology (edtech) giant Byju's is expected to be laying off more employees, according to media reports. According to The Morning Context report, Byju's intends to lay off 1,000 employees. This number, however, could not be confirmed by Business Standard independently. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the reports.
Spear-phishing e-mails typically try to steal sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial information, which is then used to commit fraud, identity theft, and other crimes.
As artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to replace jobs, a new report from Microsoft has suggested that Indian employees are caught between a fear of losing jobs and an opportunity to reduce workload by delegating tasks to technology. Microsoft's Work Trend Index 2023 found that while 74 per cent of Indian employees are worried about AI replacing their jobs, 83 per cent would delegate as much work to it as possible, to help lessen their workloads. More than three in four Indian workers would be comfortable using AI not just for administrative tasks (86 per cent), but also for analytical work (88 per cent), and for the creative aspects of their role (87 per cent).
'I am confident that TCS's best years are ahead,' outgoing CEO tells staff in farewell email.