Thought of the Day:
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
Did you know?
Almost 70,000 thoughts hit the mind of an average human every day.
India:
International:
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
Did you know?
Almost 70,000 thoughts hit the mind of an average human every day.
India:
- Take Back Fiat to Make Aadhaar Must: SC Tells Govt: The Supreme Court has ordered the government to withdraw all notifications that make Aadhaar cards mandatory for availing social security benefits, dealing a fresh blow to UPA’s showpiece project that was conceived to plug leaks in the system of subsidy payments. But in what will provide some succour to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the body until recently headed by Nandan Nilekani and now headless after the former Infosys boss stepped down to contest Lok Sabha elections, the top court on Monday also acceded to its request to not have to share biometric data collected by it with other government agencies or authorities. A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice BS Chauhan and Justice J Chelameshwar ordered the immediate delinking of Aadhaar cards and social security payments. Withdraw Orders Immediately: Supreme Court. The apex court bench noted that no citizen could be deprived of any benefit for lack of an Aadhaar card if he was otherwise eligible for it. “We had already passed orders saying no one should suffer for not having an Aadhaar card… How can you insist on Aadhaar card? If there are any instructions that Aadhaar is mandatory, they should be withdrawn immediately,” Justice Chelameshwar said.
- Leaked: Apple’s next phone could be your personal doc: Smartphones can already track and record details of a user’s physical activities but if Apple goes ahead with its plans, the next iPhone may come with a new app called Healthbook, which will help people manage almost all aspects of their health. According to screenshots leaked by ‘9To5Mac’, a website that reports on Apple products, with Healthbook, Apple is aiming to significantly expand on how smartphones track and record user’s health and fitness. According to information cards part of the Healthbook app, Apple is aiming to give iPhone users ability to track physical activity, nutrition, blood sugar, sleep pattern, respiratory rate, heart rate, hydration level, oxygen saturation, weight and blood pressure. The rumours suggest that Healthbook will likely work with iWatch, a wearable gadget that Apple will reportedly launch this year. The iWatch may give Apple ability to collect more precise and accurate health data. To track data related to oxygen saturation or blood sugar that requires special devices, Apple may use third-party tools that communicate with iPhone wirelessly. Already, there are tools in the market that can record blood sugar and blood pressure and then save that data on an iPhone app. Vishal Gondal, a Mumbai-based entrepreneur who recently launched GOQii, a fitness band, said that the technology is no longer an issue. “Smarphones and fitness bands are incredibly powerful nowadays and have enough sensors to record vital health parameters.”
- Affordable luxury market galores at 40% annual growth; Arvind adds Calvin Klein, RIL in talks with Brooks Brothers for JV: Arvind is playing for dominance in India's fast-growing affordable luxury fashion with the addition of Calvin Klein (CK) in its portfolio, even as Reliance Brands, a unit of Reliance Industries, is revving up its joint venture with US-based Brooks Brothers. Affordable luxury, or bridge-to-luxury in industry parlance, is a nearly $200-million market in India, expanding at 40% annually. It's a segment with meaty margins and steady growth - despite worsening consumer sentiment in Asia's third largest economy. Aspirational young Indians are buying into this segment for what some call "guilt-free shopping". Price points ranging between Rs 4,000 and Rs 8,000 for a shirt largely defines this segment. For the 200-year-old brand Brooks Brothers, the newest entrant into the affordable luxury market, India has been its fastest growing market in the Asia Pacific region. The brand has plans to double its store count to 20 in the next four to five years. On Monday, Arvind announced the acquisition of 49% stake in CK's India operations, first reported by TOI in October last year. CK joins Arvind's existing affordable luxury portfolio of Tommy Hilfiger, Gant and Nautica, giving it a lion's share of the market. Sanjay Lalbhai led Arvind said in an analyst call post the CK acquisition announcement that it had around 70% share of the segment.
- Missoni finds inspiration in rural India: For someone who burst into fame by instructing models to walk the ramp without bras — that too in the moderate sixties — Rosita Missoni has come a long way. These days, the 84-year-old matriarch of legendary Italian fashion house Missoni goes continent hopping to find inspiration in the most unlikely of places. Interestingly, Indian villages happen to be some of them. Rosita, who co-founded the Varese-based fashion house with her late husband Ottavio in 1953, just cannot get over the charm of Rajasthan. “Indians have a fantastic sense of style, which should never get lost,” she says. “On my way back from Jaipur, I saw a bunch of men huddled in groups in their elaborate turbans and intricate jewellery. That’s some original style that would be appreciated in any fashion capital across the world.” Rosita adores the variety of textiles found here and the riot of colours that identify the pulse of the country. And she should know. From a small atelier that made knitwear with the now legendary zigzag pattern, she steered Missoni to become a global fashion house with a large portfolio of 25 sublines including menswear, fragrances and designer hotels in locations such as Edinburgh and Kuwait. On being asked whether she harbours any plans of opening a Missoni hotel in India, Rosita says, “India is a beautiful place. We would love to. But not right now.”
- Companies like Mindtree, Marico, Pepsico eager to help employees strike a better work-life balance: IT firm Mindtree is considering launching a software that helps track physical, mental, spiritual wellness of people by engaging them through an array of wellness activities socially linkable through iPads, iPhones, Androids and the like and will help in HR analytics on employee wellness. "In the past one year, we have got a team of two to frame and implement policies and programmes that ensures employee work-life balance and welleness," says Ravi Shankar, chief people officer, Mindtree. Against the backdrop of a prolonged tough economic environment, increasing stress levels among employees, and rising representation of GenY at workplace, Corporate India is increasingly recognising the need to come up with innovative ways to help employees strike a healthy work life balance. This, in turn, helps at engaging the workforce better, retain high performers, enhance productivity and boost profitability. Like Mindtree, several other companies of India Inc such as Marico, Citibank, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, Pepsico India, or Raychem RPG are upgrading their employee engagement measures by coming up with newer policies.
- Twitter Looks To Monetise Elections and Cricket By Charging Political Parties And Brands For Interacting With Its User Base: US-based micro blogging site Twitter is looking to monetise elections and cricket this year by charging political parties and brands for interacting with its user base. Twitter India has set up a dedicated vertical whose mandate is to get political parties, politicians and influencers to engage with their audience on Twitter. "The Lok Sobha elections would be a key partnerships platform for Twitter in India this year," Rishi Jaitly, India head of Twitter told ET in an exclusive interview. BJP's Narendra Modi and Sushma Swaraj, and AAP's Arvind Kejriwal are the most active Twitter politicians.Twitter, with 241 million active users globally, 76% of them coming to the site from mobile devices has seen a whopping 600% increase in political conversation in the last year. Jaitly who works with a team of 12 (globally it has 2,700 employees) who joined the site in end of 2012."The headline for us is Twitter is designed for every Indian....Indians are interested in conversations. We are investing in growth in India. We are looking at a service that can reach everyone," Rishi Jaitly, India market director, Twitter India said. Citing reasons on why people use Twitter, which sees 500 million tweets put out every day globally, Jaitly said, "to discover content, connect with others and express themselves publicly."
- Dabur ropes in Ali Zafar for 'OxyLife Men' brand: FMCG firm Dabur India today said it has roped in Bollywood actor Ali Zafar as the new brand ambassador for its 'OxyLife Men' product. A new campaign, featuring Ali Zafar, will be launched shortly, Dabur India said in a statement. "We believe Ali Zafar exemplifies and brings to life the values and the proposition of OxyLife Men and we are confident of the success of this relationship," Dabur India head of Marketing-Skin Care Sanjay Singal said. OxyLife Men Creme Bleach has been developed keeping the male skin in mind, he added.
International:
- Luxottica, Google clinch Glass eyewear deal: Ray-Ban sunglasses maker Luxottica said on Monday it had sealed a strategic partnership with Google Inc over its Glass eyewear that could pave the way for a new market in smart glasses. In a statement, Italy's Luxottica said it would design, develop and distribute a new kind of eyewear for the U.S. group's Internet-connected Glass eyewear. Google Glass is a small stamp-sized screen attached to a pair of eyeglass frames. It can record video, access email, and retrieve information from the Web by connecting wirelessly to a user's cell phone. Luxottica said the two groups would work together to create innovative wearable devices for the iconic Glass brand. No financial terms were disclosed.
- Golden Gate Buys Stake in Parent of Ann Taylor: The private equity firm Golden Gate Capital prides itself on its retail expertise, having helped revive companies like Eddie Bauer and Zale. Now it thinks it can aid the parent of Ann Taylor. The firm disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it had purchased a roughly 9.5 percent stake in Ann Inc., with the aim of bolstering the retailer’s stock price. Golden Gate’s approach was unusual: The investment firm revealed its stake in what is known as a 13D filing, a form often used by activist hedge funds to indicate that they plan to shake up a company. In a letter to Ann Inc.’s management, however, Golden Gate said that it did not plan to seek changes to the retailer’s board or executive team, or to push for a sale. (The deadline to nominate alternative directors passed earlier this month.) The filing was a legal requirement, since the firm bought over 5 percent of the shares of Ann Inc., a publicly traded company, within the past 10 days. With $12 billion of assets under management, Golden Gate has long made retailing investments one of its specialties. Among the store chains in which it owns at least a stake are Eddie Bauer, the outdoor gear seller; J. Jill, a clothier for middle-age women; and Payless ShoeSource.
- Amanda Wakeley Revamps Retail Outlets: Amanda Wakeley is shaking up her retail environment. This week the designer will unveil her new look Fulham Road store, which echoes the interiors of the town house flagship that she designed herself and opened last month on Albemarle Street in Mayfair. The designer’s Harvey Nichols concession will be the next unit to get a facelift, following the reopening of the 1,080-square-foot Fulham Road unit in London’s Chelsea. The design template for both units is 18 Albemarle Street, formerly home to Elizabeth Gage jewelers. The shop fit is flexible, with clothes hanging on adjustable shiny brass trolleys or resting on tables or other pieces of furniture. The architecture is Georgian, with soaring ceilings, a curved iron staircase, and French windows upstairs, while the color palette is neutral — mostly black and white with flashes of gold and silver. The floors are made from dark, distressed oak, while fireplaces are surrounded by dark marble. The furniture is mostly vintage with an Art Deco edge, from places such as Alfies Antique Market and 1stdibs.com.
- Steve Shiffman to Succeed Tom Murry as Calvin Klein CEO: Calvin Klein Inc., a division of PVH Corp., is about to usher in a new era. Steve Shiffman, currently president and chief commercial officer of CKI, will become chief executive officer on July 1, succeeding Tom Murry, who has been at the fashion firm for 17 years. Murry will become executive chairman, serving in an advisory role until he retires on Jan. 31. Murry, 63, originally planned to change his role at CKI in mid-2016, but decided to accelerate the process by two years. He said he felt like the company would be in capable hands with Shiffman, with whom he has worked closely for the past seven years. “The past 17 years of Calvin Klein have been an incredible experience for me, having shepherded the company through multiple transformations over the last decade. I felt this is the right time to accelerate our transition plans and made my decision knowing that Calvin Klein is in an excellent position and that we have the right team in place to build on our success around the world,” said Murry. He added that selecting Shiffman as his successor “provides for a smooth, seamless transition.”
- Retail Stocks Take 1.7% Tumble: U.S. retail stocks suffered their worst losses in seven weeks as increasing anxiety about earnings and guidance combined with fears about Russia’s intentions in Ukraine. The S&P 500 Retailing Industry Group was off 1.7 percent, to 902.49, for its worst decline since the 2.5 percent drop of Feb. 3. While Nasdaq shed 1.2 percent, to 4,226.39, on concerns about biotech stocks, the larger market weathered less damage. The Dow Jones Industrial Average drifted 0.2 percent lower, to 16,276.69, while the S&P 500 was off 0.5 percent to 1,857.44. With Monday’s decline, retail stocks have evenly divided results for the year. After 56 trading days, the S&P retail monitor has registered 28 days of gains and 28 days of declines. It’s currently 4 percent below the 939.81 level at which it began the year. Shares of Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. had by far the largest gain among fashion, retail and beauty issues monitored by WWD. They rose 18.2 percent to $88.66 after the company said it had been fined $540,000, far less than expected, in connection with the sale of certain products in China. The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. saw its shares add 8.2 percent, to $11.79, while J.C. Penney Co. Inc. was up 1.3 percent, to $8.60, on the day.
- How Facebook avoided Google's fate in talent poaching lawsuit: Facebook Inc has emerged as one of the biggest Silicon Valleycompanies to have resisted rivals' entreaties to stop poachingeach other's employees, according to emails between the No. 1 social network and Google Inc released in court filings. Sheryl Sandberg had just been installed as Facebook's chief operating officer when one of her former colleagues from Google emailed her, according to the filings unsealed late last week. Facebook's aggressive recruitment of Google employees had heightened tensions between the two companies to "Defcon 2," top Google executive Jonathan Rosenberg told Sandberg in August 2008. "Fix this problem. Propose that you will substantially lower the rate at which you hire people from us," Rosenberg told Sandberg in an email. "Then make sure that happens." But Sandberg deflected Rosenberg's entreaties, saying she thought Google only had limited no-solicitation agreements with companies with which it shared board members, not blanket no-hire policies with other companies. Plaintiffs say companies like Apple Inc , Google and Intel Corpdrove down wages by agreeing to avoid soliciting employees from each other. "I declined at that time to limit Facebook's recruitment orhiring of Google employees," Sandberg wrote in a sworn declaration submitted by the plaintiffs in court.
Currency:
· 1 USD= ₹ 60.560
· 1 EUR= ₹ 83.777
· 1 GBP= ₹ 99.907
· 1 AUD= ₹ 55.351
Glitter Meter: India
Gold (INR/10g) | Silver (INR/kg) | |||
City | Current | Change | Current | Change |
Chennai | 29750.00 | -210 | 44305.00 | -310 |
Mumbai | 29280.00 | -200 | 44305.00 | -310 |
Delhi | 29040.00 | -200 | 44305.00 | -310 |
Kolkata | 29160.00 | -200 | 44305.00 | -310 |
World Indices:
Exchange | Last | Change |
DJIA | 16276.69 | -26.08 |
FTSE 100 | 6520.39 | -36.78 |
CAC 40 | 4276.34 | -58.94 |
DAX | 9188.77 | -154.17 |
Nikkei | 14473.78 | -1.52 |
Hang Seng | 21854.07 | +7.62 |
Sensex | 21998.01 | -57.47 |
NASDAQ | 4226.39 | -50.40 |
*Disclaimer:
World One Consulting Pvt Ltd will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information contained within this newsletter including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals.
World One Consulting Pvt Ltd will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information contained within this newsletter including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals.