Hot wheels race against time

Good morning! Argentina’s polarising president Javier Milei is on a roll. Per Financial Times, he will meet the who’s who of the tech industry including Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman in California this week. This marks his fourth US trip in just five months since taking office. The man clearly relishes his frequent flyer miles. Back home though, Argentina is mired in its worst economic crisis in decades, and many doubt if Milei’s fame will lure any foreign investment. Chances are slim, indeed. Last month, Milei tried to woo Elon Musk with Argentina’s lithium reserves, but besides the photo-op, he couldn’t get Musk to announce any new investment. Turns out anarcho-capitalist sweet nothings don't melt billionaire hearts. Before resurrecting Argentina's glory, maybe Milei should douse the nation's economic dumpster fire first. We said what we said. 😏

Anup Semwal also contributed to today’s edition.

The Market Signal*

Stocks & Economy: The Nasdaq touched on a record high on Tuesday, going past 17,000 for the first time thanks to Nvidia shares surging 7%. The AI chipmaker’s market value was $2.8 trillion at close, just $100 billion away from Apple’s $2.9 trillion.

Asian indices traded lower due to receding bets for Fed rate cuts and a jump in US Treasury yields. Oil prices surged following another presumed Houthi attack in the Red Sea ahead of the OPEC+ meet this weekend.

The GIFT Nifty indicates a soft start for Indian indices.

CONSUMER

Neu Wine, New Bottle

Super apps are an exercise in futility in India. Tata Neu is the best example, though the ambitions of Bajaj Finserv and even Reliance Jio too have failed to take off in this regard.

Adani, however, doesn’t seem to be deterred despite the failings of its own super app, Adani One.

Financial Times reports that the conglomerate may venture into payments and e-commerce, which will pit it against Google Pay, PhonePe, and several shopping apps. The Adani Group is reportedly applying for a UPI licence and finalising plans for co-branded credit cards, and may launch online shopping via the Open Network for Digital Commerce. These services could be integrated into Adani One, alongside Uber as well.

The case for Adani customers (electricity, gas, air travellers) flocking to Adani One for its payments and e-commerce offerings isn’t strong just yet: utility bill payments and air travel aren’t everyday occurrences.

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 Arvind Chari, chief investment officer, Q India (UK) Ltd and Dr Viranchi Shah, national president of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association.

ENTERTAINMENT

Summertime Sadness

Hollywood must be missing Barbie and the atom bomb. Unlike Barbenhiemer, none of the big ticket films this summer are pulling crowds. The much-hyped Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga fell flat on the box office. 

Call it sequel fatigue. Last year, audiences made it clear as day that they were in the mood to retire sequels (and prequels) for bold new films. If you look at the slate of films this summer — Deadpool & Wolverine, Despicable Me 4, Bad Boys: Ride or Die — it appears the studios have missed the memo. Besides, movies take years to develop, so any pivot in strategy by studios won't be apparent in just a matter of a year. 

No Buyer: Disney's desperate to offload its 30% stake in DTH firm Tata Play, but as Mint reports, Tata's just not biting. Disney's Tata Play stake isn't part of its Reliance merger.

Little hope: After a dismal FY23, Indian TV broadcasters are hoping ads rebound this fiscal. They've got elections and FMCG's resurgence to thank, if luck holds.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Everyone Is Cornered

Washington has imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, effectively blockading them from the world’s second-largest automobile market. So what’s next for the likes of BYD, Geely, SAIC Motor, etc.?

The answer: going premium in Europe, though that won’t be easy since BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, is already targeting the premium and luxury markets. That leaves competitors with little time to either catch up or offer standout features such fast charging and an ‘intelligent cockpit’, which Geely’s Zeekr 001 sedan has. But even this could be an uphill climb considering the bloc’s anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs.

As for the US: the Biden administration’s hefty tariffs could still render sub-$10,000 vehicles price-competitive. But Americans don't really care for stripped-down cars; Toyota learnt that the hard way when it first entered that market.

FYI

Re-up: EV incentive scheme FAME 3 may be rolled out with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore and a provision for hybrid cars within 100 days of the new government taking charge, The Economic Times reports.

Fund alert: Avendus has launched a Rs 3,000 crore late-stage fund to invest in healthcare, financial services, and tech firms.

Broiled: Temperatures in some parts of Delhi touched nearly 50°C on Tuesday. The national capital is currently on red alert for heatwave conditions.

Breather: iPhone sales increased by 52% year-on-year this April in China according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, extending a rebound from March. Apple had been contending with lagging device shipments in the US and China, its biggest markets, of late.

Late but ok: OpenAI has created a Safety And Security Committee to explore AI risks as the company readies to train a new model that will succeed GPT-4.

THE DAILY DIGIT

Rs 26 lakh crore

India’s stock rally ever since the Lok Sabha elections began. As of Monday, the Sensex was up by 3,570 points since April 19. (The Economic Times)

FWIW

The cult of biryani: Nobody can think of dethroning biryani. In its annual report, Swiggy declared that biryani continues to be the most ordered dish online. In 2023, Indians ordered 2.5 biryanis every second on Swiggy. What's more? It’s also the go-to dish for first-time customers. With biryani mania raging, brands are racing to feed the frenzy. Rebel Food's Behrouz Biryani is marching into tier 2 cities like Jammu and Rajkot, while eyeing the Middle East market. Mumbai's House of Biryani is expanding to Pune and Delhi. More options? Yes, please! Now spill: Team Hyderabadi or Team Lucknowi?