Bullets

Google's Adx, its $225 million ad exchange business, is locking horns with the EU's anti-competitive commission as it investigates possible misconduct by the tech giant.

Google has been alleged of misusing its dominance to snuff out rival ad businesses, increasing its monopoly in the digital ad space.

If the allegations land, the commission may direct Google to break up its ad business and pay a fine of 10% of its global sales.

Now who will recommend me shadily specific ads?

Kotak General Insurance might get a new parent company in Zurich Insurance as the latter wishes to acquire it. 

Kotak’s subsidiary is valued at $800 million, and Zurich Insurance is eyeing $400 million worth of shares in it that will land it a 49% or 51% control. This deal is still in talking rounds as Kotak Group seems unwilling to relinquish control of its subsidiary.

Check out other acquisitions that changed the ins and outs of the Indian market here.

Vodafone Idea is looking at a ₹14,000 crore equity infusion to revive its business. The promoter group already invested around ₹5,000 crore through the telecom revival package in September 2021. Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group PLC will invest ₹2,000 crore, with the remaining amount being raised through external investors.

Owing to this news, Vodafone shares jumped by around 10%, with trade volume reaching over 200 million.

All these struggles, just because Reliance wanted to give free data to India!

LTIMindtree (LTIM), a global technology consulting and digital solutions company owned by L&T, has joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA). 

By joining forces, LTIM can utilize Microsoft's security technology to strengthen its MDR platform and assist enterprises in effectively countering advanced cyber threats using Microsoft Sentinel. 

This collaboration empowers LTIM to enhance its services and provide real-time protection against complex cyberattacks. 

Together, they aim to create a more secure digital landscape for businesses worldwide.
 

Accenture is keeping pace with the world by investing $3 billion in its data & AI practice. This investment would be undertaken over the next three years, including hiring, acquisitions, & training employees.

Along with this, Accenture also plans to double its employees to 80,000. Accenture’s CEO Julie Sweet believes the advancement in AI would help customers define a smooth flow from “interest to action to value”.

In times of layoffs due to AI, Accenture turned the table with talks of hiring.

A Telegram bot run by the account “hak4learn” was found showing CoWin data on the entrance of mobile numbers. Birth date, Aadhaar/Voter ID number, sex, passport, and vaccination location were included in the data breach.

But MeitY minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar tweeted that the breach contained previously stolen data.

This tweet failed to downplay the danger we face as more than 1 billion citizens were vaccinated with almost one vaccine shot using the CoWin platform.

According to data released by the National Statistical Office, India's retail inflation rate dropped to 4.25% in May due to decreased food and fuel prices. 

This marks the third consecutive month that the inflation rate has fallen within the RBI's target range of 2-6% and the fourth consecutive monthly decline. 
Food inflation stood at 2.91% in May, with Spices experiencing the highest inflation rate at 17.90%. 

Remember, as prices come down, so does the heat on inflation!
 

MRF has become the first Indian stock to cross the milestone of ₹1,00,000. Although it came close to achieving this in May but fell short of ₹66.50.

In terms of metrics like PE or PB value, MRF is not the most expensive stock, there are other companies who feature on the list with high price tags. 

Remember, the price may catch your eye when it comes to stocks, but the real value lies beyond the digits.
 

A legal policy for bike taxi aggregators in the nation’s capital will likely be implemented by June 31, 2023. Till then, two-wheeler taxis from Ola, Uber, etc., were barred in Delhi.

But on May 26, the Delhi High Court put a stay on the ban. Supreme Court has now revoked this stay.

This to-and-fro has caused bike riders trouble as their livelihoods are on the line. Whether bike riders find relief with a well-defined policy is bound to be seen.

Twitter's partnership with Google, aimed at battling spam, eradicating child abuse content, and safeguarding accounts, hangs in the balance. 

The social media behemoth stopped paying for Google Cloud services once Elon Musk took over, and negotiations to renew the contract have hit a dead end. 

By the approaching deadline of June 30, Twitter's access might be terminated. As a result of this cloud service dilemma, the platform's trust and safety measures teeter on the verge of failure.
 

The social media company Tiki is taking its last breath as it will close operations on June 28th, 2023. The app was used to create and stream short videos and had 100 million downloads on Google Play Store.

 Despite being one of India's top 30 grossing apps, Tiki is shutting down due to challenges in the tech industry.

After Tiki fails to stand the heat in the tech industry, who will the next be to fall?

Ford and General Motors (GM) have partnered to use Tesla’s electric vehicle charging network, which has caused its shares to soar by about 7%.

This ground-breaking partnership guarantees that Tesla's superchargers become the norm in the US, securing their status as the main charging infrastructure.

The stage is set for a phenomenal year of growth, adding more than $194 billion to Tesla's market valuation. Tesla's stock is accelerating into high gear, poised to overtake its competitors.
 

The Foreign Exchange Management Act authority has fined the Chinese phone company Xiaomi ₹5,551.27 crore for siphoning off money from India to three entities (including one group company) since 2015.

The authority presented show cause notices to Xiaomi, its Director and CFO, Sameer B Rao and former MD, Manu Kumar Jain. Citi Bank, HSBC Bank and Deutsche Bank AG also received notices.

Seems there will always be a Chinese phone manufacturer to mess with the Indian Government...

To avoid more frauds from happening, like crypto exchange FTX bankruptcy, the EU might take regulatory action against social media platforms.

The European Commission & Consumer Authorities is considering taking action against platforms like Instagram, Twitter, YouTube & TikTok for promoting misleading ads regarding crypto assets.

Wrong data from cryptocurrency promotions are similar to a little spark in gasoline. Readers, Insider suggests being extra cautious while coming across such ads.

While people normally go for "retail therapy" or "munch mania" when stressed, Byju's tries to lose weight! The EdTech platform is allegedly looking to shed ~1,000 more jobs in the near future. The sales and marketing departments are predicted to feel the brunt.

These moves come at a time when Byju's faces debt dilemmas of $40 million, valuation volatility of $13.6 billion and more funding fumbles.

May the EdTech Gods bless Byju's, because the markets seem fresh out of mercy.

After 6 consecutive hikes of 250 basis points since April 2022, the Monetary Policy Committee has decided to pause the repo rate hike at 6.50%.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das clarified that this stoppage in the hike is a pause, not a pivot. This means that the rates have a likelihood of being raised but not relaxed.

Focus will also be kept on "withdrawing accommodation", i.e. reducing liquidity in the economy.

Get ready for "Tangi Times"!

It would be the third time in five years that BSNL has received a revival boost from our government. This time the package is worth ₹89000 Crore. This takes the authorised capital to ₹2.10 lakh crore from ₹1.50 lakh crore.

The move aims to improve 4G services in rural areas and enhance 4G & 5G services across the country.

Will BSNL finally provide its loyal users with unbreakable connectivity and a seamless network? At least, we hope so!

Aditya Birla Group is looking to make a ₹5,000 crore investment in the jewellery business with the establishment of a new unit named Novel Jewels Ltd.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the group, bases the opening of this new vertical on the "rising disposable income" and increased favour for "design-led, bespoke, and high-quality jewellery".

While players like TBZ, Kalyan, and Tanishq already stand tall, AB Group might have chosen a bite into a cookie too hard to chew, diamond-hard!

Venture capital Sequoia Capital has broken into three independent firms. The Sequoia India & Southeast Asia branch formed a new company named Peak XV Partners.

The US-based Silicon Valley investor was behind the fund that supported big names like Google & Apple in India. The recent fund of $2.85 billion will continue under Peak XV Partners.

Portfolio conflict & profit distribution caused Sequoia Capital’s exit from Asia. Looks like the investing firm was only looking for huge profit without responsibilities.

Titan's jewellery brand, Tanishq, and CaratLane have been in a sparkly partnership since 2010. 

Titan invested a staggering ₹440–450 crore on CaratLane between 2016 and 2019 and even a dazzling ₹99 crore was provided as the initial injection. 

Titan controls a proud 72.3% of CaratLane and the remaining 27.8% is held by the three founders and employees, who must be over the moon. 

Negotiations are ongoing, but hey, startups gotta shine bright and be agile, right?