Rupert Murdoch making a strong comeback in India; scoops up VCCircle, Screen magazine
On Monday, two Murdoch companies -- News Corp and 21st Century Fox --- snapped up VCCircle, an online business news and information venture founded in 2005; and Screen, a 64-year old film magazine belonging to the Indian Express to consolidate its online presence in India. Writing in The Economic Times, Nandini Raghavendra & Biswarup Gooptu say, “after almost a decade, billionaire media magnet Rupert Murdoch -- one of the earliest backers of local digital properties like Indya.com and Bazee.com - is making a strong comeback in the growing online space.” Read more: http://bit.ly/1x9sNAv
Global stocks fall on US rate increase bets
Fears of a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve following positive jobs data in February has seen investors selling stocks in emerging markets, including India. As a result, the Nifty on Monday closed at 8,757, down 2.03 per cent (181 points) while the Sensex lost 2.05 per cent (604 points) to close at 28,845. This is the biggest drop over the last two months. Read more: http://bit.ly/1aYxbOc
Spectrum auction garners bids worth Rs 94,000 crore as it enters sixth day, beats government expectations
The Government is assured of getting at least Rs 94,000 crore from the ongoing spectrum sale which enters its sixth day on Tuesday. By the end of day five of the auctions on Monday, confirmed proceeds have well passed the minimum Rs 82,000 crore the Government had estimated from the spectrum sale. Read more: http://bit.ly/196XiSF
Airtel and Aircel look to leverage 4G networks to grow enterprise businesses
The Economic Times reports that Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom operator, and its smaller rival Aircel are looking to leverage their 4G networks to grow their respective enterprise businesses which generate much higher margins than services to retail customers. The two operators are currently the only providers of 4G services in India. Read more: http://bit.ly/1AaTB3G
Reliance Retail to start online sales in April/May
The Hindu’s Sangeetha Chengappa writes that Reliance Retail, the retail arm of Reliance Industries, is set to launch its e-commerce portal in April/May, coinciding with the pan-India roll-out of Reliance Jio Infocomm’s 4G internet and mobile services. Read more: http://bit.ly/1F56cM8
ITC targets to achieve turnover of Rs 1 lakh crore from non-cigarette FMCG business by 2030
Diversified conglomerate ITC is scouting for more acquisitions to scale up its non-cigarette fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business. The Economic Times’ Writankar Mukherjee reports that this is because ITC expects cumulative brand turnover from this segment to increase to Rs 15,000 crore in the next two-three years. Read more: http://bit.ly/18wvt4X
Decision on Pipavav loan recast put off, deal with Reliance Infra hangs in balance
A decision on the Rs 12,000-crore loan recast for the loss-making Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering was deferred on Monday. Last week, Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra) announced it would acquire an initial 18% stake in the beleaguered firm which caters for the defence sector. Read more: http://bit.ly/1MmM0G0
India’s billionaire count is expected to double by 2024: Report
According to Knight Frank Wealth Report 2015, India’s billionaire count is expected to double over the next 10 years, helping the country climb to fourth in the list of nations with most number of billionaires. Read more: http://bit.ly/1BqLLqv
McDonald’s global sales drop in February
McDonald’s says global sales declined in February, including a 4 percent drop in the US, where it is fighting to hold onto customers and reinvigorate its image. The world’s biggest hamburger chain has been struggling with disappointing sales amid shifting tastes and intensifying competition. Read more: http://bit.ly/1AaSKjo
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