50K reasons to stay invested in gold

• With India entering a difficult economic period, chances of the rupee continuing to lose value against the dollar remain very high and gold is likely to benefit from that
• By investing in gold, investors will end up betting against the system. In such uncertain times, it might make sense to own a substantial portion of gold in the physical form

Five ways real estate will change forever

• Covid-19 may alter how we live, work, learn and play. What will it do to the buildings that house those activities?
• The nature of the home, the office and the retail zone is likely to see some dramatic change. Decentralization, redistribution and restructuring will be the key themes of this transformation

How Patanjali’s magic didn’t work on covid

• Besides overblown claims, the firm’s conduct has raised medico-legal issues. What was behind its tearing hurry?
• It is struggling with market share losses in many FMCG categories and a cure for covid was just the panacea it needed. Now, this fiasco will impact the Ayurvedic medicines sector

The hope and hype driving online education

• The boom in online education might yield profitability, rare in the startup space. But for how long will this last?
• The flood of new capital is leading to a spending binge. And while the pandemic has brought millions of news users online, it’s impossible to predict how many of them will stick over time

Chennai searches for life beyond lockdown

• India’s fourth-largest metropolis gropes for the way ahead as covid cases surge. When will its economy recover?
• How the next few months unfold may matter not only due to the city’s links with India’s economy, but also because it may offer lessons on the task of opening up a city economy amid a pandemic

India seeks friends in turbulent times

• Despite the Ladakh face-off, India’s foreign policy interests are better served by the Russia-India-China combine
• Despite nationalistic fervour, ties with China cannot be severed without hurting India’s economic interests. The RIC combine enables each partner to retain a fair degree of national autonomy

India Inc's big bet on Bharat saving the day

• Rural spending is the only ray of hope for a ravaged economy. But will consumers rise to the occasion?
• The income loss due to 30 million migrant workers returning home is a significant hit to household finances. Moreover, covid-19 has deeply affected an already bruised consumer psyche

In a season of layoffs, here’s where jobs can be found

• Slowly, but surely, there’s hiring in logistics, BPOs, healthcare, fintech, collections and more. Can it be sustained?
• Nevertheless, the volumes of open positions across different industries are very low still. Some staffing firms said the demand is a third of what is usually seen in the same period in a normal year

How India’s states are nearly broke

• The shock to revenues from the pandemic will compel states to either borrow more or curtail public expenditure
• It may be far from sufficient as states are at the forefront of battling the pandemic. Right now, even base expenditure is threatened, the effect of which will eventually be felt by citizens

The art of war and Sino-Indian business

• As differences escalate, firms on both sides are bracing for the level of uncertainty they faced a decade ago
• Both govts have kept a door open to ease tensions. Industry insiders expect Sino-Indian ties to gradually readjust and recover, and bad business sentiments to subside

Beyond Mumbai and Delhi, the new hotspots in India’s corona map

• Smaller towns like Nashik and Chengalpattu are already emerging as new trouble spots. Are we prepared?
• The lockdown has pushed back the window of peak cases. But India has merely delayed what’s coming. It’s time to count covid deaths meticulously and create mobile health response teams

Behind the rush to invest in Reliance’s Jio

• The company has positioned itself as a tech major, but has to deliver on promises through effective monetization
• Success is not a given. Worthy competition still exists in many of the verticals Jio Platforms is targeting. Also, the ability to monetize Jio is yet to be displayed.

The pitfalls of ESOP lifelines at startups

• Many startups have thrust ESOPs upon employees whose salaries have been cut. Why are they not excited?
• Some companies that orally tell their employees about options fail to actually give them the requisite ESOP documents. Startups also include clauses that allow them to withhold vesting

Caught between China and the US, Hong Kong shrugs off yet another obituary

• Despite a new Chinese security law and the inevitable US pushback, it seems set to make money in the middle
• The unfolding saga may also have implications for India. Hong Kong has long been suspected to be a safer conduit for Chinese investment into India, which recently has come under scrutiny

How supply chain shocks can derail green shoots of recovery

• There are doubts about smaller component makers’ ability to ramp up production. What’s holding them back?
• Over the next few months, labour shortages in the component ecosystem are likely to pinch. Getting back the labour, hiring and training new workers can take around four-six months

Hope and a prayer as reform rains down on India's farms

• Prior to the monsoon, agri reforms have begun to shower down on India’s farms. Will it improve rural lives?
• Most farmers were anticipating immediate relief, instead of long-term reforms. The prospects for new private investments to improve market access is also bleak in the midst of a recession

Beware the approaching financial train wreck

• Post covid-19, bad loans will rise sharply across the system. We must acknowledge the truth and act
• If NPA projections post covid-19 are indeed as dire as a scenario indicates, that makes a case for a stronger set of pre-emptive relief measures to be weighed against the fiscal space available

How Ola is hunkering down to ride out the storm

• Bhavish Aggarwal will have to downgrade Ola’s plans to build an Indian internet conglomerate
• As the domestic business declines, Ola could get a reprieve in its international markets. The single market that could change Ola’s fortunes is London, where it launched in February

After Franklin earthquake, inside the race to fix debt funds

• Investors in Franklin’s shuttered schemes are in for a 2-5-year wait to recoup their money. Will it spur change?
• There are more regulatory checks and disclosures in the offing. These would focus on where money is being invested, who the large investors are and their redemption patterns

As India unlocks, here are six ways our lives have changed forever

• From firewalls to cutting back on expenses, a clutch of scenario-planning experts unveil how New India will look
• Given that the world is staring at a massive recession, consumers will shed the consumerist approach of the BC era, and scrutinize what value each purchase delivers