Bullets

After Twitter Inc. ceases to exist as a separate entity, Twitter’s Blue Ticks feature will end. Twitter’s CEO Elon Musk tweeted the removal of the legacy Blue Ticks from Twitter by 4/20. (Fly high, Bluebird!)

Twitter has been in buzz since Musk took charge. From changing the official logo to a meme to merging Twitter Inc. with a shell firm X Corp, the company never fails to amuse, much like Musk.    

What else should we be prepared for?

The onslaught of mass disfavour towards dairy giant Amul’s entry into Karnataka state led to the related officials breaking their silence. Amul’s Managing Director Jayen Mehta spoke about coexisting with Nandini, not competing with the local brand. 

After opposition leaders and Bruhat Bengaluru Hotel Association asked people to “boycott Amul and save Nandini,” a massive uproar against the dairy brand was noticed.

Will this declaration of cordiality level out Amul’s entrance, or are there more obstacles to be crossed?

VC and PE firms may be frantically exiting the Indian startup ecosystem, but Temasek has shown up like a room heater during this funding winter. The Singaporean investment firm has shown interest in increasing investments in India above the $1 billion it has already spent over six years.

The reasons behind this increased confidence are "strong fundamentals, solid foreign exchange reserves, ongoing good corporate earnings, and strong banks", according to Ravi Lambah, head of investment group at Temasek India.

The unfortunate debacle of Silicon Valley Bank has reached its auditors and underwriters. The Big Four auditing firm KPMG, and underwriters, namely Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, SVB CEO Greg Becker, and more, were sued by a group of SVB shareholders.

From concealing the magnitude of risks to misinterpreting the balance sheet, liquidity, and position in the market, many other accusations were included in the lawsuit. 

Looks like the blame game has finally begun!

Brookfield Corporation, a Canadian investment company, has created a landmark in the Indian clean energy scene by making the largest investment in clean energy in one go. Avaada Energy will be the recipient of the $1 billion Canadian investment.

Reportedly, $400 million has already been invested, with the remaining $600 million being invested based on production-based goals.

Hurray for green energy in India, but am I the only one thinking of all the Harry Potter jokes?!🧙‍♂️⚡

After being open for Reliance employees since mid-February, Tira, an omnichannel beauty platform, is now live for everyone. Along with the official website and app, Tira's flagship store of 4,300 sq. ft. opened its gate at Jio World Drive in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai.

Tira contains tutorial videos, blogs, and virtual try-on features, along with makeup, skin, and hair care products.

With this launch, Reliance has levelled up the intense competition in India's beauty sector.

Delivery aggregator Dunzo is setting up to axe 300 employees from its workforce, undergoing a 30% reduction. It's noteworthy that CEO Kabeer Biswas had hinted at "organisational changes that would affect employees" to CNBC TV18.

🎵🎶🎵Another one bites the dust!🎵🎶🎵

Dunzo is also in the process of acquiring funding worth around $75 million through convertible notes. These funds will be raised from existing investors like Reliance and Google.

Convertible notes mean these lenders would become shareholders.

I smell strengthening monopolies!🤔

After moving its headquarters to India, PhonePe made its first big decision by launching a hyperlocal shopping app, Pincode. The app marks the Walmart-backed payments platform's first step in the e-commerce market.

This separate store would work towards connecting consumers with local shops and stores in grocery, electronics, food, pharma, and home decor categories.

As PhonePe prepares to target a massive piece of the e-commerce pie, this move sure seems like waging war against ex-acquirer Flipkart.

Johnson & Johnson has decided to pay $8.9 billion as a settlement for the baby powder litigation. According to the lawsuit filed against J&J, its baby powder caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma (a type of lung cancer).

The company will be paying the amount over 25 years but has not admitted to any of the accusations against it.

Must be nice being so cash rich that you can just pay your way out of litigations.

The classic Blue Bird Logo on Twitter was reduced to an “old photo” after being replaced by the Shiba Inu Dog Meme “Doge.” Twitter’s CEO Musk confirmed with a meme, where an officer is checking an ID with Blue Bird’s image, to which Doge replies, “That’s an old photo.”

Elon Musk also shared the conversation’s screenshot with another user, with the caption “As Promised.”

The biggest social meme platform is now represented by a meme, LOL! 😄

Google’s CFO Ruth Porat dropped the bomb of perks cut on employees via a “vitalizing” memo. Directing towards the wish to advance in AI, the company announced putting a stop to micro kitchens and free laundry services for the best.  

These benefits were one of the reasons that made Google offices alluring for many employees and applicants. 

Looks like AI has a lot of responsibility to uphold, from the world’s future to employees’ hunger.

The government is intent on setting off the green energy race with a bang, and the big boys look set to make the most of it. As many as 11 companies have been declared as the recipient of the second round of the Solar PLI Scheme.

A private entity, Shirdi Sai Electricals, received the highest outlay in this scheme, with ₹3,300 crore, followed by RIL, receiving an outlay of ₹3.098 crore.

Is it time to start placing bets? 🏇

Benefitting the elderly and female populace, Small Savings Schemes in India saw a rise in interest rates from 7% to 7.5%. This hike will be valid for the next quarter, i.e., April 1st to June 30th, 2023. 

This increase of 70 basis points on the National Savings Certificate (NSC) was announced via a circular from the Ministry of Finance. 

The hike is bound to allure rich deposits for the next quarter in 2023.

Edtech giant Byju recently got its world "rocked" as its US investor BlackRock reduced the valuation of its holding in the startup by around 50%. The current valuation of the startup stands at $11.5 billion, as per BlackRock.

From various rounds of layoffs and unpaid employees to even dipping its hands in its only profit-making business Aakash's pockets, Byju's being called a giant is, of course a loose application of that term.

Try another football star, that ought to help!

After months of due diligence, PhonePe has backed out of the acquisition deal with ZestMoney. The reason behind shrugging the agreement, which began in November, is the valuation issues due to the company’s complex structure.

ZestMoney is facing trouble raising funds with increased interest rates and the shaken sustainability of the BNPL sector. Their high delinquency rates also played a huge role in the decision.

Not paying dues before due diligence costs ZestMoney big time.

South Asia’s largest EdTech company upGrad succeeded in funding ₹ 300 Crore through an internal rights issue. The raised amount was summed up of ₹212 Crore contributed by co-founder Ronnie Screwvala, ₹81 Crore by shareholder Temasek, and the rest ₹7 Crore by other minority shareholders.

This is upGrad’s second funding round in a year, as it raised around ₹1600 Crore last August.  

This continuity of raising internal funding sure is a sign of the trust lost in the market.

NCLAT has confirmed the ₹1,337 crore fine on Google with a deadline of 30 days. The fine comes as a ruling to the anti-trust case on the internet giant by the Competition Commission of India. The case accused Google of misusing its dominant position on Android devices, where it restricted the removal of pre-installed apps from these phones.

Apart from the fine, Google has been ordered to discontinue these anti-competitive activities.

Try and Google your way out of this! 😂

OYO has reduced the valuation of its IPO before trying to make an appearance in the markets for a second time. On October 2021, when OYO made its first attempt, the IPO was valued at ₹8,430 crore. Out of this, shares worth ₹7,000 crore would be fresh issues, while ₹1,430 crore would be offered for sale. This would have given SoftBank an opportunity to reduce its stake by selling shares worth ₹1,328.53 crore.

Maybe another CEO salary hike would help...

US Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit against the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance Holdings Ltd. for not following the set rules. CEO Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, also got roped in the charge for not registering properly with the US Derivatives Regulator. 

CFTC commented on how Binance took advantage by disregarding set laws to trade American products.  

This news was a cold splash to Crypto enthusiasts, as the “ride to the moon” sees the probability of stalling.

Twitter, the popular social networking service has been in the spotlight since the dramatic takeover by Elon Musk. Now, Musk has valued the company at half its purchase price. 

CEO Musk, who purchased Twitter at $44 Billion, said the company now has a mere value of $20 Billion. This valuation was revealed by Musk while announcing a new stock compensation program for the employees.  

Twitter sure has many thorns in its path to the vision Musk has for the company.