05.05.2007

• Mega IT merger on the cards?
• Microsoft is reportedly acquiring Yahoo for a staggering $50 bn.
• If it succeeds, it will the largest M&A deal in the IT industry.
• India’s Retail story
• Remember sometime back I was noting how the small (Mom & Pop) kirana stores, which face an existential threat from the mega retail plans of the biggies, can face those threats successfully?
• Today’s ET reports in an interesting article detailing how they are facing the threat. It says that the grocers are loosening grip on the MRP of branded products by collectively outsourcing or aligning themselves with corporates like HLL, P&G and others to be their ‘preferred suppliers.’
• The grocers are stated to be paying attention to back-room efficiencies and are now willing to embrace change to be competent and relevant. They are fine tuning their plans of collectively setting up sourcing companies to offer similar scale and claim higher profit margins from corporates.
• From my personal I at least know one value add that is being tried out by retail medical shops. They are coming together and forming a chain. Through this chain they are approaching all the corporates and government offices where medical reimbursement is made by the employers to their employees. They are saying that they will supply the medicines to their employees based on the prescriptions and that they will claim the money from the employer concerned. This has a very good value proposition to the employee; as he/she need not make any upfront payment and then claim reimbursement. It is initiatives like this that will come from competition. It is for this that I like Wal-Mart, Reliance etc., making an entry into the retail space.
• Highest denomination coin ever made!!!
• Royal Canadian Mint has unveiled the world’s first 100 kg pure gold bullion coin worth one million Canadian dollars.
• Only three such coins are minted on specific orders.
• Incidentally, loonie is the name given to the Canadian dollar.
• PwC Chief
• Ramesh Rajan is elected the Chief of PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers), one of India’s largest professional firms with about 1000 staff and 100 partners. It does a business of Rs. 800 to 900 crores a year.
• Their Chief is elected by the partners.
• Carbon trading market
• It has crossed the $30 bn mark in 2006, largely driven by the trading of EUA (European Union Allowances). EUA are the equivalent of CERs (Certified Emission Reductions). EUAs are traded among the EU members that have emission caps.
• China is the largest seller in the CDM market with about 61% share, followed by India with 12% share.
• Following notes are contributed by Anish Upadhyay, one of our regular readers:
• Squash:
• Dipika Pallikal became only the second Indian ever to break into the top 100 of squash rankings rising to a career-high 91^st in the latest list. She climbed a remarkable 43 places to be among the top-100 in the monthly rankings.
• Earlier, only Joshna Chinappa was the only Indian to have made the cut. Joshna, meanwhile, slid two places to 41st in the list with 1478 points.
• About Annamacharya
• The Telugu speaking people are celebrating the 600th birth anniversary of Tallapaka Annamacharya, the Saint-Composer of the 15th century from today (May 3^rd). The celebrations are being organised for a week at several places including his birth place Tallapaka in Kadapa District. Gifted with rare poetic talent and versatility and strengthened by his all-surrendered devotion to the lord Sri Venkateswara, the legend had elevated music to the cosmic heights with his more than 32,000 Sankeerthanas, during his lifetime. The Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam has discovered and recovered the great cultural treasure from a dark cell of the temple, after centuries. The Devasthanam could publish only 3500 songs penned by this gifted composer so far. The Department of Culture, Government of Andhra Pradesh, the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) of Tirupathi and many others are organizing the celebrations on a grand scale and paying rich tributes to the saint-poet in the form of mass singing his devotion-filled songs. Promoting his spiritual and social ideals, the TTD organized 'Dalith Govindam' which was aimed at advocating casteless society and spread the message of equality and fraternity at his birth place yesterday.
• Antarctic Treaty
• Antarctic Treaty is quite significant in providing good governance and environmental stewardship in managing the continent of Antarctica, common heritage of mankind. The Treaty is devoted to scientific and peaceful use of the continent. It is also the pre-cursor to the Space Treaty. The International Polar Year 2007-08 has also brought countries together for the launch of a comprehensive science mission. Such a mission is not geared for economic gain, but it is, in fact, a long term campaign through which scientists hope to unravel the enigmas of nature and space best understood from a vantage point, like the Antarctica.
• The 30^th Antarctic Treaty Consultative meeting is on this day (May 3rd) in New Delhi and Dr. U.R. Rao, an eminent Space Scientist and the Former Chairman, Space Commission and Secretary, Department of Space, Government of India, was elected its Chairman.
• India is privileged to host the ATCM for the first time ever since India joined the Antarctic Treaty in 1983 and was granted the consultative status. It coincides with the Silver Jubilee Year of signing of the Treaty by India. The year is also being celebrated as the International Polar Year, to commemorate the International Geophysical Year 1957-58, which lead to the framing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.