Daily News Digest- 23rd Sept'14

Thought of the Day:

Today in History:

Following made the Headlines:

India:

• Mars Mission: ISRO on Verge of Creating Space History: The Mars Orbiter spacecraft of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) moved closer to its home on Monday, as ISRO woke up its liquid engine from slumber and slowed down the spacecraft marginally. This is in preparation for the final manoeuvres on Tuesday morning, which will slow it further and place it in Martian orbit by 8 am. A successful set of manoeuvres will make ISRO the world’s only organisation to reach Mars in its first attempt. Monday’s operation was crucial as the Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) was lying idle since December 1 last year. Although ISRO had tested the engine on the ground, a 10-month journey through the cold interplanetary space was a new experience for its engineers, and events there are unpredictable. The mission has so far gone like clockwork, with each manoeuvre executed with precision, thereby raising expectations for the rest of the mission. A faultless operation on Tuesday means that ISRO will save fuel and make the spacecraft last longer. If the LAM does not fire, it will have to use eight smaller thrusters to slow the spacecraft enough for capture by the red planet. But these thrusters are not as efficient as the main liquid engine, and so the spacecraft will spend more fuel on slowing down. The spacecraft will then be substantially higher than originally planned, thereby forcing a review of the scientific objectives of the mission. Monday's firing, although only for 3.98 seconds, made sure the spacecraft approached the planet at the right altitude for maximum efficiency in operation. It will approach Mars on Tuesday at a velocity of just over 5 km per second, which will be slowed down to about 4.3 km per second after the LAM fires for 24 minutes starting 7.17 am. The news of each event -there is a series of them starting at 6.56 am -will reach the earth 12.5 minutes later. The first set of pictures will arrive in the afternoon. At an average distance of 224 million kilometres, Mars is so far away that a perfect mission to the planet is very difficult. Many of the Mars mission failures happened in the 1960s and 1970s, when scientists had not mastered some essential technologies. Failures happened even in the 1990s, after NASA had flown many successful missions. A Russian rocket to the planet never left the earth in 2011. This is why scientists can take nothing for granted while travelling to Mars. Which is also why India is close to a truly historic moment.

• BCCL Named as One of India's ‘Local Dynamos’: The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has named Bennett, Coleman & Co (BCCL), owner of The Times of India and The Economic Times, as one of India's “local dynamos“. BCCL figures alongside online retailer Flipkart and airline IndiGo in the BCG report, which is on business in emerging markets. The report chronicles the success stories of 50 companies based in emerging markets, of which eight are from India. “While the businesses of most other major publishers are in decline, Bennett, Coleman is thriving. Over 175 years, it has built a strong brand that advertisers and readers trust and the company has parlayed this strength into other media platforms, something many companies struggle with,“ BCG, a global management consulting firm, said in its report. Bennett, Coleman also owns India's biggest radio station and two of India's most viewed news television channels. The company generated a revenue of more than $915 million in 2013, the report said. “These companies over a period of time, outperform other companies,“ said Neeraj Aggarwal, senior partner and managing director at the Boston Consulting Group. On BCCL, the report said the 175year old company has built a strong brand that advertisers and readers trust, and the company has parlayed this strength into other media platforms -something many companies struggle with. “The print industry will change. But the attribute of the local dynamos would be to find newer ways to continue as a strong player,“ Aggarwal added. From 2009 to 2013, the revenues of the local dynamos grew 28% annually and during the same period, total shareholders' return rose 26% per year, a rate of increase that is steeper than those for indices composed of similar companies. Emerging markets such as India and China have been the focus of global attention in the last few years after companies across the world shifted their focus, investments and energies to these regions because of a downturn in the US and Europe.

• Jewellery Stocks Soar on Festive Hopes, Gold Slide: Shares of gems and jewellery companies soared as much as 20% on Monday on expectations of a jump in sales in the upcoming festival and marriage seasons amid falling gold prices. Traders also placed bets on hopes that the government may ease curbs on gold imports as the current account deficit (CAD) is within the manageable limit. “Some of the leading jewellery stocks such as PC Jeweller and Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri look like interesting buys, as they are trading at attractive valuations, which is around 10 times its PE multiple based on FY16 estimated earnings,” said Vinod Nair, head of fundamental research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services. “The margins of jewellery companies may rise in the coming quarter as festive season followed by marriage season will boost sales.” A pick-up in demand will coincide with a slide in gold prices. The metal has declined to its lowest in eight-and-a-half months to around $1,210 an ounce (about 72,600 per 28.3 gm) in the international markets. At India’s MCX, gold for delivery in October 2014 was trading at 26,400 per 10 gm. A fall in gold prices could trigger surge in demand for gold jewellery ahead of the year-end festivals like Diwali, Dhanteras and the wedding season, say analysts. “There are expectations building up that the Reserve Bank of India may ease curb on gold imports. The turnover of gold cos is also expected to rise as falling prices will attract more buyers into the market,“ said Rakesh Goyal, senior vice-president at Bonanza Portfolio. Post the election results in May, expectations of a relaxation in gold import restrictions were seen increasing. The previous government had imposed a series of curbs on gold imports in 2013, including raising customs duty to 10% from 2% in three tranches, to rein in the country's ballooning CAD, which touched an all time high of 4.8% of GDP in 201213. RBI also imposed curbs on gold imports such as the 80:20 rule, which mandated export of 20% of gold imported. The CAD narrowed to 1.7% of GDP in the first quarter of FY15. The participation of jewellery stocks in the current rally has been mixed. Shares such as PC Jeweller and Rajesh Exports rallied between 100% and 200%, whereas cos like Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri and Gitanjali Gems gained up to 25%. Over this time, the BSE Smallcap rallied 69%. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, first-month gold futures fell 12% to around $1,210 an ounce on Monday from a high of $1,379 on March 14.Goldman Sachs has forecast gold will decline to $1,050 this year. Analyst say gold premiums in India are likely to rise from current levels of $7-10 per ounce to as high as $12-15 per ounce ahead of festival season as weak prices may ignite more buying activity.

• IITs Ease Admission Eligibility Criteria: The Indian Institutes of Technology have eased the eligibility criteria for admissions, opening their doors to students who have scored at least 75% in class XII, even if they are not among the top 20% performers of their boards, provided they crack the entrance exam. This will be in addition to the top 20-percentile criterion, adopted two years ago at the behest of then HRD minister Kapil Sibal, the IIT Council decided in its meeting in Chennai on Monday. In other words, In other words, an aspirant, who has cracked the entrance test, should either figure in the top 20% performers of the Class XII Board examination or score at least 75%, to be eligible for admission to IITs. In the case of SCST candidates, the cut-off will be 70% in board examination. The change, however, will not apply retrospectively. ET was the first to report on September 16 that IITs were considering a change to the admission criteria. The move follows criticism that the top 20-percentile criterion is shutting out many deserving candidates. Students from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are regarded as the worst hit because the top 20 percentile cut-off for their state boards usually is 90% and more. This year, about 240 students were left out despite cracking the JEE (Advance) as they did not meet the percentile criterion.

• Lamborghini's Huracan to cost Rs 3.4cr: Automobili Lamborghini SpA, the luxury sports car maker owned by Volkswagen through its Audi unit, on Monday launched the all-new Huracan in India for Rs 3.43 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi). The latest offering replaces the Italian sports car major’s earlier model, the Gallardo. The Huracan made its global debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show in March 2014. Sebastien Henry, head (south-east Asia and Pacific), Lamborghini, said, “We expect the new Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 to be well-received in this country.” Pointing out that the company was very proud to officially launch the new model in India, Henry said that it could go from 0-200 kmph in 9.9 seconds. “Automobili Lamborghini continues to set new benchmarks in the luxury super sports car industry with its pure and cutting edge technology,” he said. The Huracan bears a name inspired by the Spanish art of bullfighting and is designed to be bold and edgy with sculptural forms. The exterior is marked with LED-lighting technology, which is a first in the super sports car segment. The Huracan is made of a naturally aspirated V10 engine with 5.2-litre displacement. This allows it to accelerate from 0-100 kmph in a jaw-dropping 3.2 seconds and touch a maximum speed of 325 kmph. The sports car boasts of a new chassis of aluminum and carbon fibre, which makes it lighter than the earlier mod el Gallardo at 1,422 kg. The Huracan is aligned to become a legend in the future. Since its global launch at the Geneva Motor Show, the customer response has been very positive. They are delighted with the new design philosophy. Deliveries of these units are scheduled to begin in October 2014,” said Pavan Shetty, head (operations), Lamborghini India. The Italian car maker has two showrooms in Delhi and Mumbai, which have been accepting bookings for the Huracan since January 2014. There are plans to open another showroom by this year-end, possibly in Bangalore. So far, Lamborghini has managed to sell 14 units in 2011, 17 in 2012 and 22 in 2013, which shows the growth trajectory for supercars in India. The Huracan has already attracted over 1,000 buyers worldwide since its launch.

• Alibaba's Jack Ma is 2nd richest Asian: Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, has not only created history with the largest IPO ever at $25 billion but also made its founder and CEO, Jack Ma, the second richest man in Asia. The record for the largest IPO was held by Agriculture Bank of China, which raised $22.1 billion in 2010. Ma (50) has overtaken Mukesh Ambani and Hong Kong's Lee Shau Kee to become China's richest and Asia's second wealthiest with a personal wealth of $26.5 billion. Ma trails HK's Li KaShing among Asia's richest, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Jack Ma, a former English teacher, wants Alibaba to be bigger than Walmart in the coming years. As per Friday's trade (entire detail's of Monday's trade were not available at the time of filing this report), Alibaba shares surged by 38% to $92.7 in New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), valuing the firm at over $231 billion. It thus raised the fortune of Ma to $26.5 billion. RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, once Asia's richest and world's fifth richest (till 2008), has now been overtaken by the Chinese and the Hong Kong billionaires in Asia and has slipped to fourth position in Asia and 33rd in the global rankings. He retained the tag of Asia's wealthiest till 2012. However, Ambani saw his wealth falling to $23.2 billion in 2014 from a high of $43 billion in 2008. Hong Kong's Li Ka-Shing with a personal fortune of $31.2 billion is Asia's wealthiest person and the only Asian to figure among the top 20 list of billionaires at 19th rank. Li controls Hutchison Whampoa, a conglomerate with interests in energy, port, retail, infrastructure and mobile networks. On the other hand, Lee Shau Kee is the founder and the largest shareholder of Henderson Land Development, the real estate conglomerate that builds and manages properties in Hong Kong and China. Lee also holds a 36% stake in Hong Kong and China Gas. Ambani is followed by Dilip Shanghvi, another Indian, in the top 5 list of Asian billionaires. Shanghvi (58), promoter of Sun Pharmaceuticals, is the second richest Indian. Shanghvi saw a 43% surge in his wealth after Sun Pharma acquired Japanese-owned Ranbaxy , making Sun the largest drug maker in India and fifth largest in the world. Investment advisor S P Tulsian believes that the depreciation of the Indian currency from 45 levels to above 61 against the US dollar is one of the major reasons for the fall in Ambani's wealth. “Falling gas production is another factor in investors losing faith in RIL. Besides, the petrochemicals and refining segments have been stagnant while retail and telecommunications are yet to take off,“ said Tulsian.

• Logistics companies like Gati, Blue Dart soar high on e-commerce buzz: The buzzing e-commerce theme has been beyond the reach of most Dalal Street participants. But, a handful of astute investors have found a way to bet on the sector. They are betting big on the logistics sector, which is expected to be a key beneficiary of a possible commerce boom. Radhakishan, or RK Damani, a widely-followed investor, has been an active buyer in shares of logistics companies such as Gati, Blue Dart and Transport Corporation in the past few months. Damani's continued interest in the sector came under the spotlight recently on market talk that he had mopped up a sizeable amount of Snowman Logistics on its listing day. Dalal Street is agog with speculation that he has been an active buyer of Snowman shares since then. Snowman shares have gained about 30% since its market debut on September 12. On Monday, some of the optimism surrounding Snowman rubbed off on Gati, Blue Dart and Transport Corporation, which gained 5-7%.

• It's India calling again for Tommy Hilfiger: Iconic American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, who is inspired by the "energetic culture" of India, will visit the country for three days starting Sep 26 to commemorate 10 years of his brand's existence in the nation. He will host special events in the capital as well as in Mumbai. "It's an honour to be visiting India again to celebrate our brand's 10th anniversary in the country," the designer, who has over 30 years of experience in the international fashion and design world, said in a statement. Talking about his deep connect with India and its culture, Hilfiger said: "I first visited India in the early 1980s, and over the course of my career, I've returned many times. I am continuously inspired by the country's energetic culture and India's incredible colors, textures and fabrics.""For 10 years we've shared our classic, American, cool styles with consumers throughout India, and I look forward to celebrating this milestone in New Delhi and Mumbai," added Hilfiger, who made his inaugural trip to India in the 1980s. His official tour of India will begin Sep 26 in the capital, with an exclusive VIP dinner hosted by Indian philanthropist and patron of the arts, Feroze Gujral, at her private residence. The following day, the ace designer will attend a press event at the Tommy Hilfiger Select Citywalk store with Bollywood actress and fashionista Sonam Kapoor.

• Pidilite Industries to acquire Blue Coat’s adhesive business: Consumer and speciality chemicals maker Pidilite Industries Ltd’s board of directors has approved the acquisition of adhesive business of Blue Coat Pvt. Ltd on a so-called slump sale basis for a cash consideration of Rs.263.57 crore, the firm said in a filing to BSE on Monday. Blue Coat is a manufacturer of industrial adhesives and textile printing chemicals. Slump sale means the transfer of one or more undertakings as a result of the sale for a lump sum consideration without values being assigned to the individual assets and liabilities. Pidilite Industries fell 0.11% to close at Rs.393.50 per share on Monday on the BSE, while the benchmark Sensex gained 0.43% to close at 27,206.74 points.

International:

• Tesco suspends execs over inflated profit report: Tesco, Britain's largest retailer by revenue, has suspended four executives and launched an accounting investigation after admitting that its half-year profit was overstated by 250 million pounds ($407 million). The accounting irregularity led the company to issue on Monday its third profit warning in two years. The announcements shocked investors, with shares falling 8.8 per cent to 209.40 pence in early trading Monday. The investigation, prompted by information from a whistleblower, comes less than a month after the new chief executive, Dave Lewis, took charge. The company has faced intense competition as retailers cut prices to attract customers hit by tough economic times. "We have uncovered a serious issue and have responded accordingly," Lewis said in a statement. Lewis took over from Philip Clarke after the company issued a profit warning at the end of August. At the time, Tesco said it expected to report "trading profit" of about 1.1 billion pounds for the six months ended Aug. 23. The retailer now plans to release its earnings for the period on Oct. 23, three weeks later than previously scheduled. Tesco said the overstatement resulted from reporting commercial income too early and delays in booking some costs. The company asked Deloitte to begin an independent review, along with the group's external legal advisers. Lewis stressed in an interview with the BBC that the decision to ask employees to stand aside was not an indication of guilt or disciplinary action.

• iPhone opening weekend sales top 10 million: Apple: Apple said Monday it sold more than 10 million of its new iPhone models globally in the opening weekend of record sales of the bigger-screen version of its smartphone. The US tech giant broke its own record for launch weekend sales of nine million a year earlier. "Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn't be happier," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook, adding that "we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible." The new iPhones were launched Friday in the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico and Singapore. They will be available in more than 20 additional countries on September 26, and 115 countries by the end of the year. The global rollout led to long lines outside Tokyo's flagship Apple store in glitzy Ginza, and in stores from Hong Kong to Paris to New York.

• Shiseido Names New Strategy Officer: In the latest of a series of reforms enacted by new Shiseido president and chief executive officer Masahiko Uotani, who took office in April of this year, Japan’s largest cosmetics company has appointed a corporate advisor and chief strategy officer. Ralph Ahrbeck will fill this newly created position starting from October 1, overseeing the company’s general management strategy. Canadian-born Ahrbeck currently provides management consulting services to a wide range of global firms, and his resume includes stints as international business development director at Alliance Boots, European head at Roche Consumer Health, and executive roles at Ajinomoto General Foods and Kraft Foods.

• Tiffany Plans $500M Note Offering: Tiffany & Co. expects to offer $500 million in senior notes due in 2024 and 2044 in order to redeem $400 million in notes with earlier maturities and for general corporate purposes. The notes to be redeemed are $100 million in 9.05 percent senior notes due in December 2015 and a total of $300 in 10 percent senior notes set to mature in February 2017, April 2018 and February 2019. New York-based Tiffany expects to take a charge for debt extinguishment for the fiscal year ending this January that will reduce net earnings between $55 million and $70 million, with a corresponding reduction in earnings per share of between 43 and 53 cents. Tiffany also expects, upon completion of the notes offering, to replace its $275 million unsecured revolving credit facility set to mature this December and another facility of equal size due to mature in December 2016 with new revolvers totaling $750 million, split between an unsecured revolver due in four years and another unsecured revolver maturing in five years. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services assigned “BBB-plus” ratings, indicating good credit quality, to the company as well as the two tranches of new senior notes and the proposed $750 million in revolver financing. The outlook is stable.

• Shinola to Open in London's Soho: Shinola is getting ready to bring its U.S.-made designs to London. The Detroit-based company will open a 400-square-foot store on Newburgh Street in Soho, just off Carnaby Street, in October. “[London] is a city that’s as global as they come,” said Steve Bock, chief executive officer of Shinola.  The space, set over two floors, will carry Shinola watches, leather goods, journals, pet accessories and the label’s Supply collection of curated product, along with Shinola’s bicycles. Three of the watches in the store will be in colorways that are exclusive to the space in Europe — a women’s Runwell and a men’s Runwell, along with an all-black Brakeman model.  Bock said the London store would follow a similar design concept to Shinola’s New York and Detroit spaces, which boast exposed brick walls and polished concrete floors, but on a smaller scale. “We’ll pack 10 pounds into a five-pound bag,” said Bock. “The whole idea is that we want to represent everything that Shinola stands for — quality, craftsmanship [and] workmanship.” Bock noted that the label chose Newburgh Street because “it’s still somewhat of a destination. It’s exactly how we want to be seen and positioned,” he said. Other stores on the street, which has more of a boutique feel than nearby Carnaby Street, include Filson — another label owned by Bedrock Manufacturing, Shinola’s parent company — Levi’s Vintage, Evisu, MAC Cosmetics and a number of independent jewelry and clothing stores. The store is set to open Oct. 24, and before that, the label will launch a European Web site, at shinola.com, that will be managed from Europe and will deliver across the region. The site is set to launch Oct. 1. Currently, Colette in Paris carries Shinola’s products, along with Mr Porter and Net-a-porter.com online.

Tech:

• Get Ready for more Flipkarts and Snapdeals: IITs have always produced a steady stream of entrepreneurs, including those behind celebrated companies such as Flipkart and Snapdeal. Many IITs also have thriving incubation cells that seek to spawn such entrepreneurs. IITMadras is even raising a start up fund. Now, finally, IITs are gearing up to teach entrepreneurship in the classroom. IITs in Delhi, Kharagpur and Hyderabad are planning to bring entrepreneurship at the forefront of their BTech curriculum, and plan to launch minor as well as elective courses on the subject from next year. Other IITs in Madras, Mumbai, Gandhinagar, Kanpur, Patna and Mandi have just taken baby steps to include entrepreneurship in their curriculum. These steps could further whip up a culture of entrepreneurship at the IITs and in the country, entrepreneurs and investors say. “This will benefit students who are not born into a business family, but yet aspire to run a company, “ Sasha Mirchandani, managing partner and founder of Kae Capital and founder of Mumbai Angels, a network of investors, said. “If you have faculty members teaching entrepreneurship, students would be more willing to learn about start-ups and businesses,“ he added. IIT-Delhi recently introduced courses on entrepreneurship. These could evolve into a minor, PV Madhusudan Rao of the mechanical engineering department of IIT-Delhi, said. A minor is a pre-defined course in a focus area whereas an elective is an optional departmental or open-category course. IIT-Patna is also thinking about launching a minor in entrepreneurship. “With a subject like entrepreneurship being taught by actual entrepreneurs, it will help, support and guide young entrepreneurial ventures in the right direction,“ said Ajai Chowdhry , founder of HCL, who also teaches the subject at IIT-Hyderabad and is chairman at IIT-Patna. IIT-Kharagpur is considering a micro or thin specialisation in engineering entrepreneurship for its BTech students from next year, said PP Das, head of Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship at IIT Kharagpur. IIT-Madras is raising a fund for start-ups. “We're tapping into our alumni network to handpick mentors who could guide the student entrepreneurs,“ said Ashwin Mahalingam, assistant professor, department of civil engineering, IIT-Madras. IITs may even consider offering full-time degree and diploma programs on entrepreneurship, Rohin Kapoor, senior manager at Deloitte said. Many engineering institutes abroad already offer formal courses like Masters in Entrepreneurship etc.

• Alibaba makes Profit in India Even as Indian Biggies Bleed: Alibaba.com India Ecommerce has made profits in two financial years since entering India. In contrast, India's largest online player Flipkart continues to be in the red after more than six years of operations, although the scale differs vastly. The Indian unit of Alibaba posted a profit of more than 1 crore on sales of 20 crore in the year ended March 2013, according to the latest financial numbers available with the Registrar of Companies. Alibaba's filing also shows that it bought EasyBusiness India E-commerce in December 2010 to enter the market, renaming the company in the process. “We are currently in a quiet period,“ said Pamela Munoz, manager, international corporate communications, at Alibaba. More than 1.3 million suppliers are listed on Alibaba's Indian website, second just to its home market China's 8.2 million. To be sure, Alibaba's sales numbers are a fraction of online players such as Flipkart that puts revenue at nearly 6,000 crore, or even its own sales in other countries. That's because Alibaba operates an online business-to-business (B2B) marketplace together unlike Amazon or Flipkart that sell products to end consumers directly. Experts feel that the wide supplier base for Alibaba in India doesn't necessarily mean higher sales as order sizes in India are still relatively smaller than China or other countries.

• As Online Shopping Booms, Big Brands Turn to E-tailers for Consumer Insight: When Philips India recently launched a specially designed entry-level shaver targeted at male consumers in smaller towns, what convinced the Dutch firm about its market potential was data culled primarily from e-commerce and search sites, validated by its own research. A Philips official said tracking sales and browsing data of such products helped the firm notice high interest in shavers in tier-II towns and the features and price range they were looking for, which convinced the firm to roll out a new product with a starting price of 900, about 40% less than the previous entry-level product. Consumer electronics companies, smartphone makers, apparel and lifestyle brands are increasingly sourcing consumer data research from e-commerce firms on the back of rapid growth of online shopping and product searches in the country, pitting the likes of Flipkart and Snapdeal against market research firms such as Nielsen and GfK. “Big data gathering has been a key goal for major e-commerce players. Now that a significant data has been gathered, companies have started mining insights and actions from this big data,“ said Sachin Oswal, co-founder and chief operating officer of e-commerce firm Infibeam. He said apparel and jewellery brands use “purchase data“ of customers to plan new product styles, including material and colour, based on its analytics system while electronic brands are using it to plan inventory levels. Brands are also diving into the shopping history and reaching out to consumers via personalised newsletters and notifications, Oswal said. Several consumer electronics brands, including Canon, Samsung, Panasonic and Sony, have either tied up with e-commerce firms, or plan to do so, to tap into their goldmine of consumer data. Panasonic India MD Manish Sharma said the company plans to tap consumer insight from online sales for product development, creating pricing and launch strategies. “We will primarily use it for televisions, smartphones and beauty care products,“ he said. Brands say data from online retailers cost a fraction of the hefty fees market research firms charge. Often it comes at no cost if they have direct business agreements with the retailer. Many brands already avail data analytics services of search major Google, which is often the starting point for a lot of e-commerce transactions. Canon buys consumer surfing data on cameras from Google to understand what features, colour and specifications consumers are searching.

• Shopclues Plans to Raise Rs 600 cr, Add More Categories, Merchants: Online marketplace Shopclues is in talks with investors to raise Rs 450-600 crore ($75-100 million), according to two people close to the discussions. The three-year-old company has so far raised over Rs 90 crore (about $15 million) from investors including Helion Venture Partners and Nexus Venture Partners. “The company is in talks with a few Asian private equity funds and sovereign wealth funds who already have invested in Indian ecommerce firms before,“ said one of the persons quoted earlier.“Shopclues aims at raising between $75 million and $100 million Rs 450 to 600 crore) in this round.“ Singapore government's investment arm Temasek and Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital are among the investors the company is negotiating with, the other person said. Shopclues declined comment on the talks. The company's cofounder, Sanjay Sethi, however, said, “We our expanding our categories, number of merchants and investing into technology."

• Smartphones to account for 2/3rd of world market by 2020: Report: Smartphones will account for two out of every three mobile connections globally by 2020, according to a new report that pegs India as the fourth largest market of hi-tech phones in 2014. The report, "Smartphone forecasts and assumptions, 2007-2020", prepared by GSMA Intelligence, finds that smartphones presently account for one in every three mobile connections, representing more than two billion connections. It forecasts that the number of smartphone connections will grow three-fold over the next six years, reaching six billion by 2020, accounting for two-thirds of the nine billion mobile connections by that time. Basic phones, feature phones and data terminals such as tablets, dongles and routers will account for the remaining connections. The study excludes M2M from the connections totals. "The smartphone has sparked a wave of global innovation that has brought new services to millions and efficiencies to businesses of every type," said Hyunmi Yang, Chief Strategy Officer at the GSMA. "One billion new smartphone connections are expected over the next 18 months alone," Yang said. According to Yang, in the hands of consumers, these devices are improving living standards and changing lives. "As the industry evolves, smartphones are becoming lifestyle hubs that are creating opportunities for mobile industry players in vertical markets," he said.

• Yahoo acquires Bangalore start-up BookPad: BookPad Inc., a US-based start-up with operations in Bangalore, has been acquired by Yahoo Inc. for a over $8 million, according to news reports on Monday. The Economic Times pegged the deal value at above $8 million but Yahoo and BookPad are yet to confirm the deal and the money involved. The acquisition “involved the technology and the team”, said a person familiar with the transaction, who did not want to be named. “Post the acquisition, the team will be relocating to the Silicon Valley,” said the person, but added that the “deal size is much above $8 million”. “This is Yahoo’s first technology M&A deal for an Indian company and it’s good news for the BookPad team. The company has built some very interesting technology and was beginning to demonstrate some solid customer traction. They were extremely capital efficient and focused on solving a real pain point,” Ravi Gururaj, chair, product council and member, executive council with software lobby body Nasscom, said in an email response. The company, incubated at the Startup Warehouse of Nasscom, was also a part of the fourth batch of the Microsoft Accelerator programme. BookPad, which helps users view documents (pdf, word, powerpoint) online, was founded in 2013 by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati alumni Aditya Bandi, Niketh Sabbineni and Ashwik Battu with their own funds.

• eBay under pressure as hacks continue: Leading security researchers have called on eBay to take immediate action over dangerous listings, as the problem continues to put users at risk. The BBC has now identified more than 100 listings that had been exploited to trick customers into handing over personal data. Over the weekend, readers got in touch with the BBC, saying they had attempted to warn eBay about the problem. The company said it would "continue to review all site features and content".