Author: Abizar Attari
News Editor

Bengaluru: Ahead of its anticipated Spring launch, Apple has commenced production of the iPhone 17 at its contract manufacturing facilities in India. Though not much is known about this yet, small batches of the iPhone 17 are being manufactured in its five Indian facilities, run by Foxconn and India’s Tata Group, according to sources in the know. This marks the first time Apple will be producing a new model from its Indian facilities for the launch. This development comes after US President Donald Trump expressed his displeasure about the iPhones being manufactured in India during his meeting with Apple’s CEO…

Tokyo: Struggling chipmaker Intel, which once powered all computers used a decade ago, has now got another lifeline from Japan-based Softbank. The company, once worth a tad less than $500 billion during the height of the dotcom boom a quarter of a century ago, is now struggling to stay relevant, missing various opportunities to upgrade its status. On Monday, August 19, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son announced a $2 billion investment in Intel at a press conference in Tokyo. SoftBank will pay $23 per share, valuing its stake to under 2% of the company. SoftBank will not commit to buy Intel’s…

Mumbai: After its bold bid to dominate the soft drink industry with Campa Cola, RIL’s FMCG arm Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL) has announced its intention to acquire a majority stake in Naturedge Beverages, which owns the health drink brand Shunya. This move is part of a larger bid to dominate the FMCG and consumer durables market, largely through inorganic acquisitions. Founded in 2018, Naturedge Beverages’ Shunya and Armour brands offer low-sugar beverages developed in-house targeted to health-conscious consumers, as an alternative to sugar-laden beverages. The formulations are developed in collaboration with Naturedge’s parent company, the over 100-year-old Kolkata-based Ayurvedic…

Panchkula, Haryana: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Government of Haryana have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to spread awareness about fundraising via the IPO mechanism by Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state. This outreach is aimed at busting myths about fundraising and listing for such companies, while opening the doors to offer them new fundraising and networking opportunities. The MoU was signed between Mr Krishnan Iyer, Senior Vice President, NSE and Mr Dheeraj Chahal, Joint Director, Directorate of MSME, Government of Haryana at Panchkula. As part of this MoU, the NSE will conduct seminars,…

Mumbai: Leading pigment and dye manufacturer Vipul Organics’ profits have risen 11% to Rs. 1.26 crore in the June-August quarter from Rs. 1.14 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenues have declined slightly to Rs.3,768 crore this time from Rs.3,819 crore last year. The company’s operating profit margin has been its highest in five quarters at 10.05% even though the net sales have reduced to their lowest in the last five quarters to Rs.37.60 crore.  Even though Vipul Organics offers a diversified portfolio of products for the textile, food processing, pharmaceutical and paper industries, it is facing challenges in…

With AI-enabled automation threatening livelihoods, the desperation to secure an alternative source of income is dire. If you do lose your job, or your primary source of income, there are other avenues to earn money that can help you secure your future finances. Here’s a list that shows how you can do it- by leveraging your skills, possessions and knowledge- or a combination of them. We’re generalising here, so you may need to do your research for the demand, the USP and figure out a way to position your investment or endeavour to fulfil an unmet demand Rent Stuff It…

New Delhi: One of the first companies to Make in India before it even became a rallying call, Samsung has now started manufacturing laptops in India at its Greater Noida plant, sources familiar with the development have said. Currently, the South Korean electronics major already makes most of the feature phones, wearables, tablets and smartphones it sells in India, with its laptops now joining the list. The government’s PLI scheme, along with the Make In India initiative, has helped India become the world’s second-largest smartphone exporter, even though we’re at the bottom of the value chain- assembling smartphones using the…

New York: Irish IT company Accenture has announced its intent to acquire CyberCX, a cybersecurity solutions company from Australia-based private equity firm BGH Capital for USD 650 million. This acquisition remains Accenture’s largest in the security space, which have included almost 20 similar companies, including Innotec Security, MNEMO Mexico and Morphus. With a headcount of about 1400, CyberCX is one of the largest in the Asia Pacific region, offering end-to-end services including threat intelligence, crisis management, cyber physical security as well as cloud and network security. The company operates a network of advanced security operation centres across Australia and New…

Washington, D.C.: The Trump administration appears to be mirroring Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign. After a meeting with American chipmaker Intel’s CEO Lip Bu Tan, earlier this week, Donald Trump is considering ‘saving’ the troubled company with a stake purchase and an investment in its upcoming factory in Ohio. The chip fabrication plant, worth $31 billion, has faced mounting delays due to funding issues and rapidly evolving technologies, with the revised completion date slated for 2031.  Intel Corporation, a source of American pride as a pioneering chipmaker, has been facing increasing losses due to intense competition from Taiwan’s…

 Wall Street-associated institutional buyers are continuing to scoop up all the Ethereum they can, raising its prices by about 60% in the past month. Now known as Wall Street’s preferred choice, Ethereum (ETH) is increasingly being favoured over Bitcoin due to its higher functionality and higher transaction activity.  Even though Bitcoin has been nicknamed ‘digital gold’ due to the extremely challenging mining requirements, Ethereum’s higher flexibility has made it a viable alternative to invest in digital cryptocurrencies. Joseph Chalom, the co-CEO of SharpLink, and the second largest public holder of ETH, explains how this asset is becoming increasingly recognised as…