Recent stories

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  Unilever and Nestlé offer two flavours of India

  Weak rural demand ate into earnings at the $63 bln local unit of the Dove soap maker. By contrast, its smaller and more-richly valued Swiss rival grew profit thanks to a larger share of urban customers. The divergent fortunes point to the limits of the Indian consumer’s wallet.

  2 May 2024
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  Kotak’s IT slap-down points to a system weakness

  Shares of the $44 bln bank fell 13% after the regulator barred it from acquiring new customers online following tech failures. Kotak's rich valuation is slipping away. Targeting growth is a smart punishment but the RBI may need to be tougher. Digital weakness appears widespread.

  25 Apr 2024
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  Reliance’s efficiency may be New Delhi’s problem

  Completing the rollout of its 5G service helped Mukesh Ambani’s $240 bln oil-to-data conglomerate reduce capex by 7%. That’s good for shareholders. But Modi needs companies to boost spending to meet his administration’s deficit reduction goal without compromising on GDP growth.

  23 Apr 2024

• Stakes for India’s election outcome widen

  22 Apr 2024

• Remaking Made in India will be a long slog

  19 Apr 2024

• MUFG and Indian credit scratch each other’s backs

  15 Apr 2024

• Blackstone dodges worst of Asia’s exit angst

  8 Apr 2024

• India’s consumers are surprisingly fragile

  5 Oct 2023

• Ukraine war gives wings to India bond index debut

  22 Sep 2023

• Ambani’s retail backers dispel only a little doubt

  15 Sep 2023

• More by Shritama Bose