In this week's wrapup, we will discuss the NASDAQ Whale, how India dealt with excess milk during the lockdown, Deepak Kochhar's arrest, the Anuragh stock broking scam, and Abenomics. But first... This week's Finshots Markets.
Future group sale - The end of an era
On August 29th, Reliance Industries announced that it had acquired Future Group’s retail business across the apparel, lifestyle and grocery segment by paying up close to ₹25,000 crores. Which means all the retail brands you know and love — Big Bazaar, Nilgiris, fbb, Easyday, Central, and Brand Factory, now enter the Reliance stable. With the sale being finalized, Kishore Biyani (the modern king of retail) will also have to walk away from the empire he painstakingly built and this begs the question — How on earth did we get here?
Read the full story here.
Softbank and the NASDAQ Whale
On Monday, we talked about what happens when Softbank dabbles in the Options market. Most people think the only way you can bet on a company is by having part ownership in it i.e. though stocks. For instance, if you see shares of your favourite tech company trading at Rs. 80 today, and are pretty sure the price will go up, the only way you can place a bet is to buy the actual shares.
But what if you didn't have to? What if you could find someone who’s willing to hear a different proposition? More importantly, what if you could make him an offer he couldn’t refuse? Read all about this "option" here.
Thou shalt not dump the milk
On Tuesday, we talked about the problem of plenty. When you’re trying to navigate a lockdown, you have to contend with a demand slump. For instance, when restaurants and ice cream parlours all across India closed down, milk producers lost their biggest customers.
Now, milk is a perishable product. It doesn’t have a long shelf life. Unless specially treated and packaged in impeccable condition it won’t last more than a couple of weeks. Which means producers had two alternatives- either process it into something that can last longer or dump the excess. Find out which path they took here.
Quid Pro Quo or not?
On Wednesday, we talked about all the things that led up to Deepak Kochhar's arrest. Quid Pro Quos aren't always illegal, even though the phrase does carry a negative connotation. In original Latin, it alludes to an exchange — “Something for something”. All kinds of barter are examples of quid pro quos. The only problem emerges when there is a circumvention of rules.
So when Chanda Kochhar’s husband received a massive capital infusion from Videocon's founder right after she approved a loan to the beleaguered company, which side of the law did that transaction fall into? Find out here.
A 1000 Crore Scam?
On Thursday, we talked about another scam that’s rocked Dalal Street. Now, the case facts are rather straightforward. Anugrah Stock and Broking Limited, a Mumbai based stockbroking company raised money from prospective investors and promised to deliver attractive monthly returns by dabbling in the stock market on their behalf. Unfortunately, they bailed on the promise, and soon enough, all hell broke loose. Customers stopped receiving their money. They noticed some of the shares were missing and Anugrah's offices had been cleaned out.
So what really happened? Find out here.
What is Abenomics?
On Friday, we discussed Abenomics. When Shinzo Abe stepped in as Prime Minister in 2012, Japan’s economy was in crisis. It’s GDP growth rate had tumbled to -4.3%. Demand was lacklustre, exports had taken a hit and there were worrying signs that the country was barrelling down the dark rabbit-hole of recession. Bottom line — Abe had his work cut out for him and he needed to shock the world’s third-largest economy back into action.
And lo and behold, Abenomics was born. Here's everything you need to know about it.
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That brings us to the end of another weekly wrapup. Have a great weekend!
