Indian mall operators turn ghostbusters
Also in today's edition: A Scarlett letter for Sam Altman; UK, India ply their trades
Good morning! Running a weak current through food can make your healthy but blah diet taste saltier than it actually is. That’s the claim of a Japanese company called Kirin, which, according to Reuters, just launched its line of electric spoons this week. The science is solid: the current draws all the sodium ions in food towards your taste buds, boosting the flavour. Last year, Kirin’s electric spoons even snagged the Ig Nobel Prize, which honours trivial feats in scientific research. Snide remarks aside, if it actually works out, the spoon could help the Japanese kick their overconsumption of salt. Indians, who are just as hooked on sodium, will have to hang tight until Kirin starts overseas sales next year.
🎧 The turmoil inside OpenAI. Also in today’s episode: Bengaluru-based startup Calmosis is now providing doorstep delivery of cannabis-based medicinal products. Tune in to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Anjali Palod, Roshni Nair, and Anup Semwal also contributed to today’s edition.
The Market Signal*
Stocks & Economy: AI chipmaker Nvidia’s earnings and minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last rate setting meeting will be today’s highlights. Any wobble by Nvidia will likely throw a wet blanket on the party in the equity markets. The Fed minutes are unlikely to matter much as the central bank’s views are no secret. A bunch of Fed officials will anyway have the opportunity to contain any fallout as they are scheduled to speak at different forums later this week.
Indian market regulator Sebi has issued norms that will neutralise sudden price spikes and drops attributable to rumours when determining open-offer price for shares in acquisitions and mergers.
The RBI has forecast a GDP growth of 7.5% in the quarter ended April.
Asian stocks remained lacklustre in early trade. The BSE crossed the $5 trillion market cap milestone on Tuesday. The GIFT Nifty indicates a positive opening for Indian shares.
RETAIL
The Mall Playbook Is Changing
There was a time when a stack of brand outlets and a bunch of department stores with a cinema complex thrown in would draw in hordes of customers ready to splurge. Not any more. Customers now demand novelty and freshness in stores, brands and entertainment.
Cinemas are losing their centrality (with multiplexes reducing the number of screens) in the mall business, and being replaced by entertainment centres, gaming arcades, and dining options to keep foot traffic high. Over 64 shopping centres in the country have more than 40% of their units unoccupied, according to Knight Frank. Consumers now favour Grade-A malls, which adapt better to changing tastes. These changing consumption trends have made the traditional business model of malls obsolete. Read this report in The Core to know more about what malls are doing to stay relevant.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Soapy Sam’s Froth Wears Off
Scarlett Johansson isn’t buying what OpenAI is selling.
Last week, OpenAI demoed GPT-4o’s personal assistant, Sky. Sky sounded eerily like Johansson in Her, in which the actor played an AI voice assistant.
Johansson resorted to litigation after revealing that CEO Sam Altman wanted her to voice GPT-4o, but went ahead with an apparent likeness despite her refusal. OpenAI has since “paused” Sky even after claiming it chose voice actors for GPT-4o; probably because Johansson’s lawyers demanded that OpenAI disclose the voice selection process, and that’s not something the company wants to make public.
As Platformer notes, Altman’s penchant for flashiness spurred the exits of “safety first” executives Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike the same week Sky was demoed. Apparent disregard for guardrails, including creative copyright/ownership/likenesses, are costing OpenAI goodwill and millions of dollars in legal fees. Considering its tech will be ubiquitous in next-generation computing devices, Altman better shape up.
PODCAST
Tune in every Monday to Friday as financial journalist and host Govindraj Ethiraj gives you the most important take on the latest in business and economy.
In today’s episode, he speaks to Tejas Gandhi, Secretary of The Federation of Indian Spice Stakeholders (FISS), about why India’s spice exports controversy is still dragging on. Also in this episode: Arun Anandagiri, co-founder and group editor at Taxsutra, on the economic issues affecting Maharashtra voters’ polling decisions.
TRADE
Election Fuel For UK-India Trade Deal
After more than two years and 14 rounds of talks, the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) is on the verge of being signed with the last few hurdles close to being removed, Mint reports.
The deal would reportedly include movement of Indian professionals to the UK for work in exchange for India allowing premium electric vehicles from that country to be imported at low tariffs. That means among others, Range Rovers and Jaguars, made by JLR, which is owned by the Tatas, could become cheaper.
There is said to be agreement on other items such as Scotch whisky imports to India and textile exports to the UK but differences on shipping ayurvedic products from India as many medicines contain substances banned in Britain.
The Signal
Work visas are a sensitive subject in the UK, especially among Conservatives. The UK has been tightening the visa process to curb migration. It raised salary thresholds as well as income levels required for family visas last month. The FTA talks were reportedly stalled in March but picked up after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to British PM Rishi Sunak over telephone. The Guardian had earlier reported that the Indian government was keen to stall the talks until UK elections (likely in January 2025) were over as the Labour Party was expected to come to power. It considered that Labour would offer a better deal. However, those in trade circles told The Signal that it was unlikely, and the Sunak administration was a better bet.
FYI
Sale: White Iris Investment, a subsidiary of private equity firm Warburg Pincus, is divesting its 3.54% stake worth Rs 1,041 crore in Apollo Tyres through a block deal, CNBC-TV18 reports.
Dear(er) getaway: The European Commission has increased short-stay Schengen visa fees by 12%, effective from June 11 this year.
Dip: Despite an increase in volumes, the value of India’s dairy exports fell 20% from ~$589 million in 2022-23 to $468 million in 2023-24, mostly due to reduced shipments of skimmed milk powder and casein.
Worst-case scenario: ASML and TSMC have “run simulations” for China invading Taiwan and have mechanisms for remotely deactivating chip machines, Bloomberg reports.
Executive reshuffle: Samsung is replacing semiconductor division chief Kye Hyun Kyung with Young Hyun Jun in a bid to overcome its “chip crisis”.
THE DAILY DIGIT
100%
The voter turnout at two (possibly three) villages in Lalitpur district, Uttar Pradesh, on May 20. Jagtial in Telangana and Banjarumale in Karnataka are other villages that recorded 100% turnouts in previous phases. (The Economic Times)
FWIW
The new (async) office: Despite resistance from top bosses, the typical nine to five is quickly becoming ancient history. At many tech companies, there are no set hours; workers clock in and out whenever it suits them. Which means managers can't randomly call meetings anymore, and employees are expected to leave memos, noting their activity and decisions in detail for others to view. The demise of needless meetings could also sound the death knell for the rank of managers. Per an estimate, asynchronous companies have half as many managers, since collaborative documents leave little room for them to act as go-betweens. A win-win, if you ask us. Freedom from pesky meetings, freedom from peskier managers.
Can you please, please, please tell me who are your writers? They are just so good, I am in awe of their writing every single time I read your newsletter.