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Washington the Washington US Federal Reserve raised its base lending rate at the highest since 2001, in an effort to curb over-target inflation. It also signaled that it could increase rates further to come in the near future.

The quarter-percentage-point rise lifts the key lending rate to a range between 5.25 percent and 5.5 percent, the US central bank said, adding that it will “continue to assess additional information and its implications for monetary policy.”

It is the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) employed similar words in its vote to keep the rate at a steady level in June and the most recent statement suggests that policymakers may be considering an additional pause during their September meeting.

But it is worth noting that the Fed added that it would examine a variety of information “in determining the degree of any additional policy tightening” suggesting that policymakers believe there is a chance of further loosening in the coming months.

In a press conference after the announcement, Fed chair Jerome Powell insists that no decision is taken on a hike each and every meeting according to some experts.

“We’re going to go one meeting at a time,” he said, noting that the Fed will continue to follow a “data-dependent” strategy.

“Long route to take”

In the last FOMC meeting in June, the median forecast predicted two more rate hikes in the coming year.

The latest quarter-percentage-point rise, which was in line with analysts’ expectations, is the Fed’s 11th since it began an aggressive campaign of monetary tightening last March in response to rising prices.

While inflation continues to decrease since the announcement in June to put a halt on the rate increases, it’s still over the Fed’s goal for the long term of 2 percent, which suggests that more intervention from the Fed could be required.

The unemployment rate has been near historic lows as economic growth for the initial quarter was revised upwards significantly based on robust consumption data.

“Inflation has been a bit lower in the last half of the calendar year,” Powell said on Wednesday.

“Nonetheless this method of getting inflation down to 2% has been a long road to travel,” he added.

Soft landing

The economic improvement increases the odds of a “soft landing” where the Fed can bring down the rate of inflation through raising interest rates, while also avoiding recession, and also a rise in unemployment.

The following day, Powell reiterated that he believes a smooth landing remains feasible.

“It was my opinion always that we have a chance,” He stated, and added: “That’s been my view for a long time, and that’s the view I hold.”

Powell reported to the media that the expectations of his team of a recession that could begin at the end of the year have diminished in the wake of more encouraging economic news has been released.

“The team is experiencing an apparent decrease in growth that is beginning at the end of this year’s projection, however, given that the economy has been resilient lately, they’re no more forecasting recessions,” He added.

As investors have mostly or all predicted a rate increase the previous day, they have doubted whether another rate hike is likely during the next Fed meeting scheduled for September.

Futures traders have an odds of around 20 percent of the FOMC will increase rates in September, as per CME Group.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-fed-lifts-rates-to-highest-since-2001-and-hints-at-more-to-come-4243798

An Icelandic volcano burst into flames near the capital city on Monday, the nation’s meteorological department announced, the third time in the past two years that lava has flowed into the area. Local news footage captures an enormous cloud of smoke erupting from the earth along with a large eruption of lava on the location about 30 km (19 miles) away from Reykjavik.

In the words of an AFP reporter that the smoke is visible from the highway that connects the capital city to the airport international, with automobiles stopped, and passengers taking photos. The eruption has been taking place in a small depression to the north of Litli Hrutur (‘Little Ram’ in Icelandic) where smoke has escaped from a direction of north-westerly,” the meteorological office declared.

Three fissures exist with the lava running in every direction,” Thorvaldur Thordarson, Professor of Volcanology at Iceland’s University of Iceland, told AFP.

He also said that the fissures measure 300-200 meters in length. He added that “it is a weak and effusive eruption.

“This implies that “it’s not creating widespread dangers as a result of the explosions” however “if the eruption goes on for a long time, it may pose a risk to the infrastructure.”

Small earthquakes of thousands were observed in the region throughout the week leading up to the eruption. These signals indicated that magma beneath the ground was moving, and the possibility of eruption was near.

It was reported that the Icelandic officials advised people against traveling to the location, which is in mountainous terrain, without a road connection prior to assessing the conditions.

The magma exploded through the earth at approximately 1640 GMT only a few kilometers from two other eruptions over the last two years.

The first took place on the 19th of March 2021 in the Geldingadalur Valley and ran for 6 months. The third occurred on the 3rd of August of 2022, within the Meradalir Valley, lasting three weeks.

Before the eruption of 2021, it was inactive for eight centuries however, volcanologists think the current period of activity that is expected to increase could be a few years in the making.

The effervescent eruptions which have occurred in the zone so far have not been particularly dangerous nor have they had an effect on the travel by air.

The eruptions of 2021 and 2022 were a draw for hundreds of thousands of people hoping to see the rare chance to see an active volcano.

Thordarson stated that the eruption could be up to “a couple of days” or over half a year, similar to 2021 or possibly more.

Iceland has 33 volcanic structures that are currently active, which is one of the largest in Europe. Iceland has eruptions every five years.

It is located in the North Atlantic island straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor that separates the Eurasian as well as North American tectonic plates.

In April 2010, around 100,000 flights were canceled which left more than 10 million people stuck, as a result of the huge volcano eruption that occurred on the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

Other volcanoes, including Askja located in the uninhabited highlands in central Iceland Recently, have shown indications of activity.

One of the nation’s most hazardous volcanoes is Katla located near the coast of South Africa. The last time it erupted was in 1918 which was followed by an incredibly prolonged pause that suggested that it was about to reactivate.

The 1783 eruption of the Laki fissure of volcanic lava situated in the south of Iceland is deemed by some experts as the most catastrophic of Iceland’s past and caused the country’s most devastating socio-economic and environmental disaster.

About 50 to 80 percent of Iceland’s cattle were destroyed, which led to an outbreak of famine that left a quarter of Iceland’s inhabitants in famine.

The impact of the meteorological eruption was also felt over a period of time Some experts suggest that it was a factor in the triggering of the French Revolution.

The White House, on June 26th, resisted strongly against the thugs who were harassing Sabrina Siddiqui, the Wall Street Journal reporter who posed Prime Minister Narendra Modi an inquiry about slowing down the democratic process in India at a press conference in the White House on June 22 after the Presidents. Modi’s bilateral visit to U.S. President Joe Biden.

The White House was aware of the harassment allegations, John Kirby, the U.S. National Security Council’s chief of strategic communications, stated on June 26, during a White House press briefing.

“It’s inexcusable, and we firmly condemn all journalist harassment in any form under any circumstance,” Mr. Kirby stated, noting that the act is “antithetical to the very tenets of democracy which were displayed last week at the State visit”.

Mrs. Siddiqui was called on by Vice President. Biden at a press interview on June 22nd, to answer questions. She sought out Ms. Modi what steps he is willing to adopt to safeguard minority rights, as well as the rights of Muslims as well as uphold freedom of speech. Mr. Modi defended democratic values in India in his reply.

The actress. Siddiqui was trolled online in relation to her motives, as well as her background following the incident.

“Since certain people have decided to draw attention to my history, I believe it’s appropriate to give an accurate photo. There are times when identities can be more intricate than we think,” she said. Siddiqui had tweeted on the 24th of June, with pictures of her wearing her Indian cricket shirt, and another (in Team India colors) as well as her father looking on as India takes home in the 2010 Cricket World Cup, as in the caption for the photos.

As some people have decided to highlight my history, I feel it is just right to present a more comprehensive image. There are times when identities can be more intricate than they appear.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeated the message of Mr. Kirby’s remarks shortly following the remarks of Mr. Kirby’s comments on June 26.

“We’re dedicated to a free press and that’s why we held a press conference the last week,” the press secretary stated.

“We definitely condemn any attempt to intimidate or harass journalists working to fulfill their duties,” Ms. Jean-Pierre stated.

Mrs. Jean-Pierre was asked whether Mr. Biden had accepted Mr. Modi’s reply to the question about rights to rights in India.

“I consider that this is for PM Modi to address as well as everyone else to comment or write on that. I’m not going discuss this from the moment,” she said, saying to the fact that she was of the opinion that the Biden administration is determined to protect the rights of the press. That was one of the reasons that the White House thought it was crucial that journalists be able to hear from not only Mr. Biden but also Mr. Modi. The Prime Minister isn’t very likely to answer inquiries from reporters.

Some people who were involved in the process said to The Hindu that it “took some time and effort” to convince the Indian party to accept jointly host a press conference that included Modi. Modi taking questions.

Ms. Jean-Pierre did not provide details of the exchange between Prime Minister Biden and the President regarding the rights of journalists and human rights in India she said that Mr. Biden “will never shy from” of having these discussions with the other leader.

“…I believe we’ve clarified our position about our position,” she added.

Astronomers from different universities, including MIT, discovered a new multiplanet system in the galactic neighborhood. It is only 10 parsecs away from Earth (approximately 30-33 light-years). This is the nearest multiplanet network.

The system’s heart is a little, cool M-dwarf star called HD 260655. A discovery has been made by the astronomers that the system has at least 2 terrestrial-sized planets. Because of their narrow orbits, rocky planets are unlikely to support life. They are open to extreme temperatures, making it difficult for liquid water to survive.

Scientists still love the solar system because of its brightness and proximity to the star. This will permit them to observe the characteristics, as well as evidence of atmospheres, of planets.

Michelle Kunimoto, a postdoctoral researcher at MIT’s Kavli Institute of Astrophysics & Space Research, is Michelle Kunimoto. She is one of the most prominent scientists involved in the research. She stated that it is important to determine if the planets have volatile-rich atmospheres. These planets can be used as a test bed for future explorations.

The team was to present their findings on, June 15, at the American Astronomical Society meeting. Pasadena (California). Katharine Hesse, George Ricker and others are part of the MIT team. This team also includes Avi Shriper and Joel Villasenor.

The first to find the new planet system was NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Satellite (TESS). The MIT-led mission was created to search for periodic dips of light that could indicate the passing of a planet.

The mission’s science inspection pipeline quickly took the signals into account and classified them as TESS objects of interest (TOIs). These objects were then identified as possible planets. NASA Ames’ Science Processing Operations Center, (SPOC) also detected the signals. SPOC is the official TESS platform for planet searching. Scientists plan to confirm these planets with different telescopes.

It can take time to find and confirm new planets. The use of archived data significantly reduced the time taken to confirm the existence of new planets for HD 260655.

Two planets were discovered by Kunimoto. These could have been in the vicinity of HD 260655. Shporer checked to make sure that other telescopes had seen the star. It was a fortunate discovery that HD 260655 was discovered during an analysis of stars conducted by HIRES (i.e. The High-Resolution Echelle Spectrometers) is part of the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Since 1998, HIRES has monitored the star. The data was available to researchers.

CARMENES also conducted an independent study using HD 260655. This instrument is part of the Clear Alto Observatory in Spain. CARMENES members and HIRES members were contacted by the group to help them with their data capabilities.

Shporer says that these conversations can sometimes be very delicate. “Thankfully both teams were able to work together. Human contact was as important in obtaining data as actual observations.

In just six months, two planets were seen in the vicinity of HD 260655.

To check that TESS signals emanating from 2 planets orbiting one another, the researchers examined both CARMENES data and HIRES data. Both surveys measure the star’s gravitational wobble. It is also called its radius velocity.

Kunimoto claims that every planet orbiting the sun will experience a gravity pull. He further states that they are looking for any motion in the star that could suggest that a planetary object of planetary mass is pulling it.

Researchers identified statistically significant signals in both sets of archive data, suggesting that TESS signals came from 2 planets orbiting one another.

The group further studied TESS data to determine the characteristics of the two planets. The orbital times and sizes of both planets were also determined. The inner planet, HD 260655b orbits the star approximately every 2.8 days and is nearly 1.2 times larger than Earth. HD 260655c, the second planet in the outer solar system orbits the star approximately once every 5.7 days. It is 1.5 times larger than Earth.

Researchers used information from CARMENES and HIRES to determine the mass of each planet. This directly relates to the magnitude at which every planet pulls on its stars. The Earth’s inner planet is twice as large as the Earth, while the Earth’s outer planet has three Earth masses. The team calculated every planet’s density based on its mass and size of them. Earth’s smaller inner planet’s density is somewhat lower than Earth’s. The larger outer planet’s density is marginally lower. Based on both planets’ density, they are likely either rock-like or terrestrial.

The scientists determined the surface temperatures of the planets’ inner and outer surfaces based on their short orbits.

Kunimoto states, that they consider the area that isn’t habitable zones too warm for any existence of liquid water on that surface.

Shporer believes that the system could have additional planets. Many multiplanet systems host five to six planets, particularly close to small stars such as this one. We are hopeful that we will discover more. One might be in the habitable zone. This is a positive outlook.

Nowadays Online Information, there is a very line that segregates a person’s digital and physical identities and can be broken with ease. Social media have now evolved and now they contain all information such as an individual’s friends, family, etc. When applying for a job, with your educational qualification and work experience, the recruiter also checks your social media before hiring that particular person. For instance, a misapprehended tweet or comments from past years or an improper photo can destroy job opportunities or also end a career.

There is a thought that once something is posted or uploaded online, it is permanent and almost impossible to comprehend. Simply said, don’t post anything online that can damage an individual himself and his opportunities. Monitoring the passive data collected by companies is as important as checking the online information of the person.

To take control of online data and privacy, some tips are mentioned below:

In Europe, the citizens can request Google to remove information posted on its site.

Steps: The citizen has to fill out the “Right to be Forgotten” form. In the form, specific URLs that want to be delisted, search queries associated with these URLs, and lastly explain why that particular query needs to be deleted. After the form is filled, google employees review cases daily. Google may deny some requests for the removal of links.

“Have I Been Pwned” is a service run by Troy Hunt, a cybersecurity expert which can be used to find any account information that has been compromised or is involved in a data breach?

“Google Accounts Page” which provides various options to boost privacy, reduction in data collection, etc. such as

• Privacy Checkup
• Security Checkup
• Delete Me

To delete accounts or lock down social media accounts

Facebook, in the settings tab, there are various options that can help to change who can watch, like comment on your post, etc.
To delete Facebook account: Settings & Privacy>Settings>Your Facebook Information>Deactivation & Deletion to deactivate it.
On Instagram, to boost privacy Clicking Settings, Account Privacy, and switch to ‘Private account’
To deactivate your Instagram account, log in and go to the request deletion page.

Once again, the Canadian Manufacturers face a risk of being hit by U.S. Protectionism and need to fight for necessary exemptions. Challenges were raised after the Biden Administration announced new procurement guidance Monday that requires the construction material purchased for federally-funded infrastructure projects to be produced in the U.S. The Head of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Dennis Darby, says Canada will have to work hard to secure carve-outs and waivers to protect access to the U.S. market, as it has done in the previous challenges. U.S. President Joe Biden lifted the veil Wednesday on a broad and ambitious $2 trillion in infrastructure spending. However, Canadian businesses, contractors, and suppliers were left still wondering if they would be able to share in the benefaction.

Stakeholders, well familiar with Biden’s campaign-trail promises to impose more rigid “Buy American” rules for government contracts, are still waiting to learn how stringently those restrictions will be enforced. Key to those efforts will be emphasizing the integrated nature of the economies, where materials already flow freely across the border, and how Canada is rarely in a position to undercut U.S. prices. Darby says the U.S. provisions are more targeted toward countries like China, where there are concerns about subsidized production and the exporting of products at low prices.

The Buy American rules, part of the US$1-trillion infrastructure package passed into law last November, allow for several scenarios in which the requirements could be waived, including if they’re inconsistent with public interest or if the materials aren’t produced in sufficient quantities or quality domestically. “There will be additional opportunities for good jobs in the manufacturing sector,” said Celeste Drake, director of Made in America at the White House Office of Management and Budget. “And as we’re looking at boosting American content, big corporations are going to create opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in the U.S. as supply chains are partially re-shored to try to meet the content standards.”
Biden faces inflation at a 40-year high. He is betting that domestic production will ultimately reduce price pressures, a response to Republican attacks that his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package initially triggered higher prices.

“From Day One, every action I’ve taken to rebuild our economy has been guided by one principle: Made in America,” Biden said on Apr. 14 in Greensboro, North Carolina. “It takes a federal government that doesn’t just give lip service to buying American but takes action.”
Biden said that the roughly $700 billion the government devotes annually to procuring goods is supposed to prioritize U.S. suppliers. Still, regulations going back to the 1930s have been watered down in ways that masked imports use. The new guidelines would let government officials know how many dollars go to U.S. workers and factories. American manufacturers are about 170,000 jobs short of the 12.8 million factory jobs held in 2019, as manufacturing jobs declined before the pandemic began. But the U.S. has 6.9 million fewer manufacturing jobs than at the 1979 peak, a loss caused by outsourcing and automation.

A total beverage company- COCA-COLA sells its products in more than 200 countries. It provides services to more than 500 brands in about 200 countries. On May 8, 1886, Dr. John Pemberton presented the world’s first Coca-Cola at Jacobs’ Pharmacy in Atlanta & from that one drink, we’ve come up into a total beverage company. The portfolio of this company has increased to more than 200 brands and thousands of beverages across the world, ranging from soft-drink to water and from coffee to tea. The purpose of this multinational company is to refresh the people of the world and stand in a different way. The company’s operational structure has geographical segments like the Middle East & Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America & Asia Pacific.

The company is engaged in producing, retailing, distributing, and marketing non-alcoholic & alcoholic beverages. It is a public company founded in the year of 1892 by John Stith Pemberton. The headquarter of this company is in Atlanta. This company is in news on a continuous basis due to its operations. It has acquired various business units since its establishment. For example, it acquired Minute Maid in 1960, and Columbia Pictures (the movie studio) in 1982. With its acquisition of Minute Maid Corporation in 1960, this beverage company grab the citrus juice market. It introduced the well-known brand Fresca in 1966.

Before that, the company also launches the Sprite- The Lemon Lime Drink and also came up with its first diet cola along with sugar-free Tab, in 1963. Following these innovations and acquisitions, new market opportunities were welcoming the company in the early 1990s. Getting these opportunities, the company launched its first bottle that was partially made from recycled plastic. After that, it came up by acquiring the Indian cola brand Thumps Up in the year of 1993 and Barq’s in 1995. Despite having multiple worries such as inflation, COVID-19, interest rates, volatility in Ukraine’s stocks, etc.- consumers are ready to pay a prestigious pay when seeking something in the form of beverages.

The sales of the COCA-COLA company even beat the prediction of Wall Street of 9.8 billion dollars, that is, its sales rise up to 10.5 billion dollars. The company observed that some of its consumers are experiencing problems from higher prices and because of this CEO James Quincey is experimenting with refillable packaging in Latin America & Africa and returnable glass bottles in the different parts of Southwest US. The main objective of these innovations is to reduce and minimize the waste produced and provide consumers with financial incentives to make use of reusable bottles. One of the brands of COCA-COLA (Coke) is continuously developing quirky new flavors.

A Twitter story by Elon Musk does not involve him possibly owning this website.

To confirm rumors that he turned down a job with Bill Gates, the Tesla CEO took to Twitter (home to many poor tweets). An account called Whole Mars Catalog published several screenshots that allegedly showed a text exchange between Musk and Gates.

Tesla’s recent stock slump has been a cause of concern for many investors. Some have suggested that Bill Gates may have had a role in it. Gates is the founder of Microsoft and is now a major investor in Tesla. He allegedly sold off a large amount of Tesla stock right before the price drop. Tesla has denied any involvement by Gates and insists that the stock slump was due to other factors.

Musk asks Gates about his $500 million short positions in Tesla stock. Investor-speak means that Gates would be financially benefited if Tesla’s price falls. This is in contrast to traditional investing methods such as investing money in a stock and hoping it succeeds. Gates confirms that he does. Musk quickly shuts down the conversation to discuss the possibility of them doing philanthropic work together.

In an email to Bill Gates, Elon Musk outlined his thoughts on how to make humanity a multi-planetary species. He believes that the key is to create a self-sustaining civilization on Mars that can eventually support itself. This would require large amounts of money and innovation, but Musk is confident that it can be done. He also urged Gates to get involved in the project, as he has the resources and knowledge to make it happen.

Musk made it clear in his original post that the authenticity of the texts had not been confirmed. However, he did what Musk does and hopped in. It was true, but he didn’t leak it. (Mashable hasn’t confirmed the authenticity).

What does all this mean for me and you? It doesn’t really mean much. Musk is just being messy about an alleged conversation between him and another man who is insanely wealthy. This is probably what wealthy people debate about. It might be smart to think about the possibility that these texts may not be real, given Musk’s knowledge. You never know.

If the screenshots are true, then the biggest conclusion is Bill…green text? Really? You’re a man, come on.

It is no surprise that cryptocurrency has captured the attention of investors. Bitcoin (BTC) was the first mainstream investment to achieve high returns in the past decade.

Many other digital currencies have followed its lead, many with similarly high returns. While the Ethereum network’s Ether token (ETH) was initially launched in 2015 for less than $3, it reached a record $4,891 in November 2021. At the time of writing, both ETH and BTC were trading at over $43,000 and $3300, respectively. This is significantly lower than their peak but far more than they were a few years ago.

After a series of events, Alphabet Inc.’s Google hired Arnold Goldberg, an ex-PalmPay executive, to head its value operations, create a department for blockchain applied sciences, and plan and implement the Google Pay cryptocurrency transformation. Google may be considering adding cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to the Google Pay platform.

The whispers are now louder after the Invoice. The head of Google’s commerce explained that the move was part of a larger strategy to work with a wider variety of economic suppliers, including cryptocurrency.

This decision could be Google’s new direction after it abandoned the Google Plex project in October 2021, according to Bloomberg.

Google Plex was to be a digital check-in and monetary savings platform. After more than a decade of work, Google decided to end the project. It also had 11 financial partners.

Recent events suggest that the company has chosen to go cryptocurrency instead. Google Pay’s cryptocurrency conversion could play an important role in the company’s future plans. Clients from outside India were previously able to trade or acquire cryptocurrency using apps such as Coinbase and PayPal.

This change will allow for cryptocurrency support on Android smartphones. It will make it easier to manage your crypto money and provide stability to the infrastructure. This change could end several recent crypto frauds.

Although it is not clear if Google Pay will allow cryptocurrency on its platform, or if a companion app will be developed to do so. However, it is evident that the company is interested in blockchain and crypto.

Things look bright for an exciting future with the rumored entry of the IT giant into the Bitcoin and Ethereum markets.

India is attracting funding from investment firms from all around the world, indicating a breakthrough moment for the nation’s entrepreneurs. The analysis was based on information from Tracxn, a startup tracker firm. China’s not-so-great trade barrier is scarcely impeding export profitability. BIS Oxford has published a study outlining trade flows after China imposed a slew of trade obstacles. It appears that those affected by these restrictions or tariffs were more flexible in seeking markets abroad. A prominent example is a coal, which is of demand in China.

211 firms made their debut in India this year, 64 more than the previous year. Kleiner Perkins, the Silicon Valley fund that exited India in 2014, has returned to the battlefield, according to a report. 597 investment firms have done 2,284 deals this year. Concerning the circumstances in China, the study stated that Beijing’s regulation campaign on its IT industry has diminished its attractiveness as Asia’s first-choice destination for foreign investments by international venture funding.

As per Bloomberg, the campaign, which began last November with Jack Ma’s twin behemoths, Ant Group as well as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., quickly spread to other companies such as Tencent Holdings as well as Didi Global, as Beijing increased monitoring and supervision on anything from antitrust to data security as well as the distribution of wealth. According to Bloomberg, the crackdown caused a sell-off that wiped USD 1.5 trillion from Chinese markets, which witnessed erratic fluctuations with every new official inquiry, rule, and warning. However, India is excelling as a result of its thriving public markets, and the quick adoption of internet services in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak.

At the first edition of HT NxT, business executives from a variety of industries stated that, whereas the availability of cheap financing has frequently been mentioned as a main cause for the entrepreneurial wave, it was the emphasis on technology that helped shape this great success story. In research released in January, industry organization Nasscom and strategic consulting firm Zinnov predicted that India would create 100 new unicorns by 2025. Lately, expansion has been remarkable. There have been several promising IPOs in India this year, one of the most talked-about companies was Nykaa. It had a surprisingly profitable share market debut, which even made its founder the richest self-made female billionaire in India. Factors such as these indicate that India could become the world’s most favorable marketplace for venture capitalists over the next several decades.

In a surprising move, Ford Motors has announced that it has dropped the plan to develop an electric vehicle with startup Rivian. This is despite the fact that Ford invested USD 500 million in the EV startup. These companies had then announced their plans to develop an EV. Later, the companies said that the vehicle developed by them would be for the luxury Lincoln brand of Ford. It was likely to be an SUV. However, that plan was canceled and Ford, at the time, said that it would continue to seek other opportunities where it can collaborate with Rivian. The companies then announced their plan to develop a joint vehicle. However, those plans have been dropped now. According to Ford spokesman Ian Thibodeau, the company would still maintain ties with Rivian, which has now gone public and reached a value of over USD 10 billion. Ford owns a 12 percent stake in the startup. “We have a lot of respect for the EV maker Rivian. Ford even had a very extensive exploratory discussion with Rivian. However, both sides have now mutually decided to not go ahead with any kind of joint vehicle development or platform sharing,” Ford said in a statement. The development has been confirmed by Rivian, which currently enjoys greater market value than Ford.

“Ford is extensively working on its own electric vehicle strategy. At the same time, Rivian vehicles have grown manifold. This is why we have mutually agreed to focus on our own projects and deliveries. This is important to mention that our relationship with Ford has been a very crucial part of our journey. For will continue to be an investor and ally. We share a common of an electrified future,” Rivian said in a statement. After the announcement, shares of Rivian saw a dip of around 2 percent during post-market trading. Ford continues to focus on the development of electric vehicles. It has even manufactured F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E. There are several other electric vehicles of Ford that are in different stages of development. However, it is important to mention that, unlike other automakers, Ford of North America is yet to make any commitment related to an all-electric vehicle future. This is despite the fact that its European division has already announced that they would be going all-electric in the future. General Motors and some automakers have also announced similar things. Several big carmakers are eyeing to add electric vehicles to their lineup. Some of them are even planning to go fully electric by the end of this decade.

Ford CEO Jim Farley had praised Rivian saying it is the “right company with the right strategy.” However, Farley had referenced the growing prominence of the startup in the electric space as the reason behind putting an end to this collaboration. “A lot of things have changed when we compare today’s time with when we had initially invested in Rivian. Both our ability and the direction in which the brand is moving ahead have changed. Also, we are now more certain about what we have to do in the near future. We love the future of Rivian as a company and we still want to invest in the company. But our focus at this point is to develop our own vehicles,” he was quoted as saying. Farley was appointed chief executive officer of the company in October last year. He inherited investment in Rivian and the plan to jointly develop a vehicle from his predecessor Jim Hackett. However, it was under Farley’s leadership when Ford purchased USD 415 million in convertible notes in July from the EV startup. They will become the common stock in June next year. It is pertinent to mention that Troy Design and Manufacturing has a contract with Rivian under which it will supply parts for its R1 vehicle program. Troy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford.

Apple has announced to end work from home. The company is asking its employees to be ready to return to offices. It said that employees worldwide will soon resume work at the office. It has set February 1 as the tentative date for employees to return to offices. The tech giant, however, said that it will adopt a hybrid working model. The company has already sent an internal memo to employees. The company said offices will resume from February 1 with a hybrid work pilot. Under this policy, Apple could allow employees to work remotely for one or two days every week. The memo said that some may have to come to the office for four to five days depending on the role.

According to the memo, employees will have to come to the office on the first three days of the week. On the last two working days of the week, employees can work remotely. Employees who require spending more time in the office according to their project will have to come to the office more than three days. Besides, the iPhone maker has also planned to let employees work remotely for up to four weeks every year. The company had earlier said that it will let employees work remotely for two weeks every year. But now the company has extended it to four weeks. It added that two extra weeks to work remotely will give employees more opportunities to travel.

Apple had planned to reopen the office earlier. But it delayed the decision at least till January next year after the rise in Covid-19 cases in parts of the United States. The surge in cases was mainly due to the widespread of the Delta variant. The government has managed to bring the situation under control by ramping up the vaccination drive. Apple had in August said that it will serve a month’s notice to its employees before asking them to return to offices. The company had earlier announced to reopen the office for three days every year from September. But then it delayed the decision till October. Later, the Cupertino headquartered company postponed the plan too early 2022.

Elon Musk has liquidated USD 5 billion in equities or around 3% of his Tesla ownership, the entrepreneur announced through the documentation on Wednesday, only days after polling Twitter followers regarding selling 10% of his stock. About USD 4 billion of the deal, 3.6 million shares, may be counted against his 10% Twitter promise. An additional USD 1.1 billion, or 934,000 shares, was sold via an options agreement to buy about 2.2 million shares that were already in the works before the election. As per Forbes, his stake in the electric car manufacturing organization accounts for most of Musk’s reported USD 281.6 billion net worth.

Stocks fell by 12% on Tuesday as part of a multi-day selloff that jeopardized the company’s membership in the USD 1 trillion-club circle. On Wednesday, it rebounded by 4.3%. Options-related sales were showcased in September using a trading plan that allows company executives to set up premeditated trades according to a given schedule. The option-related share sales covered relevant owed taxes. A request for information from Tesla was not responded to.

The new share transactions were distinct as well as provided Musk with sizable financial reserves, considering that his fortune is mostly related to his investments in Tesla as well as SpaceX. Musk possesses more than 20 million more stock options that will expire in August 2022. If Elon follows through on his pledge to sell 10% of his stock, this would be a minor disadvantage in the short run, according to Mark Arnold of Hyperion Asset Management, where Tesla is the leading holder in its worldwide portfolio. “But the stock has a high level of liquidity, and it represents a small fraction of total shares issued, so it shouldn’t have a significant influence… “We’re extremely pleased with the business’ prospects,” he stated.

Although Tesla’s market value has dropped by about USD 150 billion this week, ordinary investors have been net buyers of the shares. On Wednesday, 58% of Tesla trading orders on Fidelity’s brokerage platform were for buying rather than selling. As per Vanda Research, individual investors recorded net acquisitions of USD 157 million between Monday and Tuesday. Tesla has already gained upwards of 51% in 2021, owing in large part to an October surge fueled by a deal to sell 100,000 vehicles to car rental provider Hertz. “The business is on fire,” remarked Tim Ghriskey, a senior portfolio manager at New York-based investment firm Ingalls & Snyder.

To say the very least, Nykaa’s (formally, FSN E-Commerce Ventures) share market launch on November 10 exceeded all expectations. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the corporation’s shares concluded at ₹2,206.70 a share (BSE). This marks a 96% gain over the initial offering price of ₹1125 per unit. On November 10, Nykaa’s market valuation increased to ₹1,04,438.88 crore, putting it far ahead of several consumer businesses such as Marico as well as Berger Paints India. Of course, these businesses aren’t quite alike. Nykaa is an online store that is profitable but at a far lower rate than several other consumer enterprises.

According to Karan Taurani, an expert at Elara Securities (India), “businesses like Nykaa are in the aggregating game, while consumer corporations market their brands.” Nykaa, on the other hand, is a one-stop store for numerous companies, and its scalability is enormous.” Many analysts believe that the potential for the development of internet/digital enterprises is vast. “It is worth emphasizing that various consumer-related enterprises are not likely to expand at 40-50% every year and they are largely offline plays,” stated Nitin Rao, creator of Alpha Ideas. in, an investment blog. Nykaa’s estimated potential rate of growth is substantially higher in contrast, and it is a digital bet.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has expedited the implementation of electronic portals, and firms like Nykaa stand to prosper as a result. Nykaa is an Indian multi-brand Beauty & Personal Care (BPC) portal with a strong presence in this market. It entered the fashion market in 2018 as Nykaa Fashion. “Furthermore, the Chinese government’s digital repression will push foreign investors to explore alternative possibilities, and as a result, they may find the Indian market appealing,” Rao remarked. It also helps because Nykaa is profitable, as opposed to other internet companies such as Zomato (an online food delivery service) or One97 Communications (Paytm).

Nykaa’s net income in FY21 was ₹62 crore, with an Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) margin of 6.6%. Thankfully for shareholders, the forecast for margins is positive. “We estimate Nykaa can maintain a CAGR of roughly 35% in sales and 50% in EBITDA over the next several years with double-digit margins,” Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd. analysts stated in research on October 26.  For context, Nykaa’s earnings climbed at a CAGR of 48% between FY19 and FY21. During the same timeframe, the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) CAGR was around 57%. While these indicators are promising, it comes without mentioning that Nykaa’s values are exorbitant.

Elara’s anticipated target value for Nykaa’s stock 5 years from now, depending on FY27 revenue estimates, is ₹1880 per share. Nykaa’s stock price has now crossed this level. Considering Elara’s expected revenues for FY27, the stock now trades at a market valuation to revenue ratio of around 8X. “Shareholders would have to monitor the implementation in the clothing category, the success of which would be essential for values ahead,” Taurani says. Investors must also keep a careful watch on the rate of expansion. On Thursday, when the wider markets were down, Nykaa’s shares slid around 1% to ₹2187 per unit on the BSE at 12.51 p.m.

Royal Dutch Shell has decided to give up its dual share structure and move its head office to the United Kingdom from the Netherlands. The company is also moving its tax residence to Britain. The decision comes as the oil giant was pushed away by Dutch taxes. The decision of Shell to ditch royal designation has sparked mixed reactions from both sides of the North Sea. This is mainly because the company enjoyed the royal designation for almost 114 years. The oil and gas supermajor will now be known as Shell Plc. The company has been long questioned about its dual structure from investors. It also faced climate pressure in court and has been actively working on reducing dependency on fossil fuels. The Anglo-Dutch firm has been working on restructuring its business. It said the move would strengthen the company’s competitiveness. “The decision will definitely strengthen our competitiveness. It will also accelerate both shareholder distributions. The most important thing is that it will help in the delivery of its strategy to become a net-zero emissions business,” the company shed. It was in 2005 when Shell was incorporated in the United Kingdom with dual-class shares and Dutch tax residency. Recently, another big Dutch company did the same thing. Unilever had picked the UK as its home.

Shell has described the move as necessary simplification. However, the Dutch government said that it was an “unpleasant surprise.” The Dutch government also said that it was in talks with the top management of the oil company over the consequences of this decision. “The government deeply regrets that a major oil company wants to shift its head office away from the Netherlands. We are discussing with the top officials of the company about the implications of the move, how it will affect jobs,” said Stef Blok, Dutch Economic Affairs and Climate Minister. Blok said that the multinational firm has assured that the consequences of the decision to move its head office will only be limited to the relocation of a few executives. Once the decision is implemented, the chief executive and chief financial officer of the company would move to London. There are others too who are surprised by the decision of Shell to move to London from the Hague. Shell has announced its plan to shift base, but it will need approval from shareholders. For this, 75 percent of shareholders need to vote in favor of the decision during the general meeting. The meeting has been scheduled for December 10.

Shell said that it had no option but to take this step to simplify its corporate structure. This is because the present structure may not be sustainable in the long run, the firm had said. “Also, the decision will present value of the company more clearly to shareholders.” Shell chairman Andrew Mackenzie said that the move will not only normalize our share structure but it will also place us in a better position to seize opportunities. The company took this decision after it lost a landmark case in May that was brought by climate activists. In its ruling, the company was asked by the Hague District Court to deepen its planned greenhouse gas emission cuts in order to align with the Paris climate deal. The Paris climate deal aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The court clearly ordered Shell to cut its carbon emissions by a net 45 percent by 2030. The court’s decision was hailed as a victory for the planet. However, Shell said that it would appeal against the ruling. Also, Shell is facing other issues. The most important was a call given by activist investor Third Point to break the firm into multiple companies. Shell had hit back, saying the businesses work better together. Several big firms are under pressure to simplify their structures. Toshiba, General Electrics, and Johnson & Johnson have already announced their plans to split into separate companies.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has said that a whistleblower has been awarded a record USD 24 million for providing key information related to the safety of vehicles manufactured by Hyundai and Kia. The whistleblower revealed that Hyundai and Kia moved very slowly to address issues linked with Theta II engines. The companies did this despite the fact that engines were prone to catching fire or could freeze up. The whistleblower was an ex-employee of Hyundai. Kim Gwang-ho said that deliberately moved slow on recalling more than 1 million vehicles with faulty engines. Kim was a motor engineer at the South Korean motor company.

Law firm Constantine Cannon said that the award given to Kim is the biggest ever to any whistleblower in the auto sector globally. It must be noted that Constantine Cannon had represented Kim. Also, this is the first time when NHTSA has paid an award to any whistleblower. The announcement comes at a time when the US Department of Transportation along with the NHTSA is planning to propose regulations in the automotive whistleblower program that was created in 2015 by Congress. NHTSA also said in a statement that the award given to Kim is the maximum percentage that has been allowed to by law.

“Whistleblowers have been playing a very important role in bringing information to NHTSA. The information shared is usually related to serious safety problems. Most of the time the agency is not aware of those things,” said NHTSA’s Deputy Administrator Steven Cliff. Kim had brought the issues to the notice of the regulator in 2016. Kim sighted an internal report of Hyundai to inform NHTSA that the Korean company failed to take enough measures to address the engine fault. NHTSA later found that the automaker delayed recalling affected vehicles. Also, it provided wrong information about the faults. It was in 2020 when US units of Kia and Hyundai agreed to pay penalties after NHTSA said that both companies failed to recall vehicles on time.

Amazon has already planned to invest USD 10 billion in building a satellite network to provide broadband internet. Amazon is working on the Project Kuiper program under which it will provide an internet facility. The company said that it will provide internet in areas where there is very little option of setting up towers. Amazon has already sought approval for deploying two prototype satellites. These satellites have been named KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2. They are expected to be launched by the end of 2022. Now, the tech giant has sought approval for deploying 4,500 additional satellites. This will take the total number of satellites that it plans to deploy to 7,774. It is now awaiting final approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

In its filing, Amazon said that the network of satellite it is setting up will provide internet connectivity to households, businesses, hospitals, and government agencies around the globe. This will include areas where there is no reliable broadband. “Countries are working to improve internet connectivity, but the fact is that only 51 percent of the global population is online. This number is even lower in developing countries. Around 44 percent population of developing countries have access to the internet,” the company said. The company has already got approval for Project Kuiper. The approval was granted in 2020. Amazon will have direct competition with the Starlink network, being developed by Starlink. There are other competitors too in the field.

The two companies are enthusiastically working on the project. Amazon has accused Starlink of not taking several government-imposed rules seriously. It must be noted that Blue Origin of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and SpaceX of Elon Musk are rivals in the private space launch business. Blue Origin had recently challenged NASA’s decision to award USD 2.9 billion Artemis contract to SpaceX. While Amazon is planning to deploy it satellites, SpaceX has already employed more than 1,700. Meanwhile, Boeing to has sought approval to deploy such satellites. Boeing has plans to deploy its satellites in V-band. This will allow Boeing to provide internet at a higher speed. But the drawback is that it runs the risk of interference. This is mainly because of its higher frequency. This is why other companies are not focusing on V-band right now. They have plants of expansion in this band but only in the future. But providing internet from these satellites is definitely going to take quite some time. Users will have to wait at least a couple of years before they will have access to the internet from these satellites.

In a setback for Blue Origin, the US Court of Federal Claims has dismissed a lawsuit brought up by Jeff Bezos’ company against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The lawsuit was filed as Blue Origin was not happy with the US space agency for awarding the USD 3 billion lunar lander contract to SpaceX earlier this year. Federal Judge Richard Hertling has put an end to over a month-long battle that started with Blue Origin suing NASA. Soon after the judgment, the space agency has said that the work on the project with SpaceX will soon start. “There will be more opportunities for companies in the future where they will get to partner with NASA in its effort to establish a long-term presence of humans at the Moon,” the US space agency said. It must be noted that these initiatives are being taken under NASA’s Artemis program. Reacting to the judgment, a Blue Origin spokesperson said that the company tried to highlight the important safety issues and that must still be addressed. “There are serious safety issues with the procurement process of the Human Landing System procurement. This must still be addressed. An unprejudiced procurement process along with a sound policy is very crucial for returning astronauts safely to the Moon through the US space agency’s public-private partnership model. We are committed to ensuring that the Artemis program of NASA becomes a success,” the spokesperson said.

Bezos personally commented on the judgment. In a tweet, Bezos said that the company respects the judgment of the CFC but he said that ‘it was the decision they wanted.’ His tweet clearly hints that the company is not planning to appeal the decision any further. Hertling has issued a short ruling in which he noted that the motion for judgment moved by the Bezos’ company has been denied. The opinion is yet to be published. It is likely to be released on November 14 after all the properties involved in the lawsuit will propose which parts of the judgment they want to be redacted. Blue Origin was expecting to be part of NASA’s ambitious and much-awaited plan. In order to take the project forward, the US space agency had awarded the contract worth USD 2.9 billion to build Human Landing System to SpaceX. As part of the contract, SpaceX will use its Starship rocket to land astronauts on the lunar surface for the Artemis program. Earlier, the US space agency had publicly hinted that it would choose two companies for the contract. It hinted that the move would keep some competition and redundancy. After initial screening, the US space agency had narrowed to three companies – SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics. However, it took everyone by surprise by announcing just one company for the contract.

SpaceX had asked for USD 2.9 billion for the project. Commenting on its decision to go with only one company, the space agency had said that it was because of the lack of funding for its lunar lander program. This was apparently because of the lower-than-expected allocations for the Artemis program from Congress. However, the appeal was denied by the GAO in late July. This leads to Bezos to take the issue with the US Court of Federal Claims. NASA had halted the work on the contract with SpaceX during the lawsuit. But now the space agency is all set to resume the work on the HLS contract. The decision comes at a time when the company is having an equal share of success and scrutiny. Also, Bezos has increased his involvement in the company after stepping down from the post of chief executive officer of Amazon. The company has two successful crewed flights of New Shepard to its credit. But at the same time, it has been facing a lot of soaring employee turnover. But the company continues to work towards making the company achieve the vision of Blue Origin. The vision of Blue Origin is to make it possible for millions of people to live and work in space so that they can benefit Earth. In October, the company had announced Orbital Reef, a private space station. This will be developed in partnership with a consortium of space companies.

Ever since the outbreak of the coronavirus vaccine, there has been misinformation related to the highly infectious disease. The misinformation became widespread as soon as the rollout of vaccines started. Facebook has been taking several steps to curb misinformation on the social media platform. With the Food and Drug Administration officially giving a green signal for Covid-19 vaccines for kids between the ages of five and 11, Facebook has announced that it will roll out stricter policies to curb the spread of misinformation related to vaccines for children. The social media giant has taken several steps to put restrictions on Covid-19 related misinformation. But it had no policy that was specifically related to kids. Meta, the brand new identity of Facebook, in a blog post said that it decided to partner with the World Health Organisation and Centers for Disease Control and Preventions to tackle any misinformation related to the Covid-19 vaccine of children. The company will take strict measures to stop the spreading of misinformation on its platform. There move comes as there were several posts that claimed that there are other Covid-19 treatments available for kids. Facebook has made it clear that all such posts will be removed instantly.

Meta said that it will keep an eye on misinformation being shared on the platform. It will include everything related to Covid-19. From claims about it, efficacy to misinformation like vaccines can seriously harm or even kill children. This will include posts that claim that Covid-19 vaccines are unsafe, untested, or ineffective for children. Additionally, it will provide in-feed reminders about locations where citizens can find vaccines for children. These feeds will be available in English and Spanish languages. According to Facebook, it has removed more than 20 million feeds containing misinformation related to Covid-19 and vaccine misinformation from both Instagram as well as Facebook since the beginning of the pandemic. The company also said that it has taken down around 3,000 pages, accounts, and groups from its platform. However, these claims are totally opposite of what was clear from the leaked internal documents from Facebook. The leaked documents, also known as Facebook Papers, showed that how unprepared the social media giant was when it comes to tackling misinformation related to coronavirus and vaccines. Had it been prepared to fight misinformation related to the pandemic, it might have rolled out campaigns much earlier. This could have helped Meta in filtering more misinformation related to Covid-19 and vaccines for both adults and children.

Meta’s head of health, Kang-Xing Jin said that the partnership with WHO and CDC is part of an ongoing effort. “We have partnered with health authorities as part of an ongoing effort. So it is not about a single update on Facebook. The company will continue to update and clarify its policies. We all also keep on adding new claims related to coronavirus vaccine for children that will be removed from our platforms,” Jin said. Meta has time and again faced the heat for not being able to control the spread of misinformation on its platforms. The problem became more obvious with the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Under pressure, Facebook decided to implement a wide range of strict policies to reduce the number of such content. However, there are several who believe that the response by Facebook is too little too late. This is because the hashtag #VaccinesKill was functional as recently as July. It was only in July when Facebook blocked it. US President Joe Biden has accused the company of ‘killing people’ by not being able to check false vaccine claims on its platform. It is pertinent to mention that FDA has given authorization to the mRNA vaccine of Pfizer-BioNTech. The vaccine has been proved to be 90.7 percent effective in controlling coronavirus in children of age group five to 11 years. The child version of the vaccine comes in smaller doses when compared to that with adults. It will be offered as a two-dose shot with the second being administered at a gap of three weeks. No side effects or adverse events were reported during the trials.

The American chief executive officer of Barclays, Jes Staley, has stepped down with immediate effect as British regulators are investigating his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The bank said that C S Venkatakrishnan, who is commonly known as Venkat, will take over as CEO. Venkat was promoted last year to run the markets division of the bank. Earlier, he was chief risk officer at Barclays. However, the appointment is subject to regulatory approval. The bank and the outgoing CEO were made aware of the ‘preliminary conclusions’ of a probe by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the United Kingdom and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) recently. These preliminary findings are the result of two years of investigation into the matter. The investigation was launched in 2020. The bank also said that investigation was into how Staley had characterized his relationship with late Mr Jeffrey Epstein to the employees of Barclays. The regulators are also investigating how Barclays described that relationship in response to the FCA. However, the bank emphasized that there are no findings in the two-year-long investigation that Staley was aware of any of the alleged crimes of Mr Epstein. This was the main question that cemented Barclay’s stand to support its group chief executive when he was arrested in the summer of 2019.

“Keeping in mind those conclusions and Staley’s intention to contest them, the Board and Staley have reached an agreement that he will be stepping down from his role as Group Chief Executive as well director of Barclays with immediate effect,” the bank said. The development had its impact on the market as the shares of Barclays were trading 1.2 per cent lower after the announcement was made. Wealthy financier and convicted pedophile Epstein was arrested in July 2019. He was charged with sex trafficking by the United States federal prosecutors. However, he hanged himself a month later in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial. Barclays has maintained that the regulatory process still has to run its full course and therefore it will not be appropriate for the bank to make comments on the preliminary conclusions of the investigation. It is worth mentioning that Staley took over as CEO of the bank in October 2015. And Staley has previously said that his relationship with the convicted multimillionaire ended in late 2015. Staley has also said that ‘he regrets his relationship with Epstein.’ Before joining Barclays, Staley worked for more than three decades at JPMorgan. He served as head of JPMorgan’s investment banking division. He came in touch with Epstein in early 2000. At that time he was made head of JPMorgan’s private bank.

“He was already a client of the bank. I just tried to maintain the relationship during my time at JP Morgan. But that ended as soon as left JPMorgan,” Staley had said in February 2020. Staley has told the Barclays board that both were not in contact ever since he became CEO of the bank in December 2015. When asked to comment on the preliminary conclusions, a spokesperson for the FCA and PRA said that ‘regulators are not known for making comments on ongoing investigations or regulatory proceedings.’ There are reports that Staley has told the bank staff in an internal memo that he did not want them to be distracted from his ‘personal response’ to the investigations. “I will not be with all you of you for the next chapter of the banks’ story, but you all must know that I will be cheering your success from the sidelines,” Staley said. This is not the first time when the Wall Street veteran has run into trouble with the UK regulators. He was fined USD 870,000 by the FCA after it emerged that he had tried to identify a whistleblower at Barclays. He had tried to find out the person who had written an anonymous letter that raised concerns about the bank’s senior employee. He had apologized for that and admitted that ‘it was a mistake.’ The bank had clawed back around USD 680,000 from his 2016 pay over the incident.