ET NEWS

Over the past two decades, no company has done more to shape the American workplace than Amazon. In its ascent to become the nation's second-largest employer, it has hired hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers, built an army of contract drivers and pioneered using technology to hire, monitor and manage employees. Now, interviews and a cache of internal strategy documents viewed by The New York Times reveal that Amazon executives believe the company is on the cusp of its next big workplace shift: replacing more than half a million jobs with robots. Amazon's U.S. workforce has more than tripled since 2018 to almost 1.2 million. But Amazon's automation team expects the company can avoid hiring more than 160,000 people in the United States it would otherwise need by 2027. That would save about 30 cents on each item that Amazon picks, packs and delivers. Executives told Amazon's board last year that they hoped robotic automation would allow the company to continue to avoid adding to its U.S. workforce in the coming years, even though they expect to sell twice as many products by 2033. At facilities designed for superfast deliveries, Amazon is trying to create warehouses that employ few humans at all. And documents show that Amazon's robotics team has an ultimate goal to automate 75% of its operations. The documents contemplate avoiding using terms like "automation" and "artificial intelligence" when discussing robotics, and instead use terms like "advanced technology" or replace the word "robot" with "cobot," which implies collaboration with humans. "Nobody else has the same incentive as Amazon to find the way to automate," said Daron Acemoglu, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who won the Nobel Prize in economic science last year. If the plans pan out, "one of the biggest employers in the United States will become a net job destroyer, not a net job creator," Acemoglu said. Amazon said that the documents viewed by the Times were incomplete and did not represent the company's overall hiring strategy. Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon, noted that the company planned to hire 250,000 people for the coming holiday season. "That you have efficiency in one part of the business doesn't tell the whole story for the total impact it might have," said Udit Madan, who leads worldwide operations for Amazon, "either in a particular community or for the country overall."

Mumbai: India's benchmark indices began Samvat 2082 on a positive note, closing higher for the fifth straight session at the end of the special one-hour Muhurat trading on Tuesday. This new year will deliver double-digit returns, compared with the subdued performance of the past one, aided by ample liquidity, consumption growth and hopes of a resolution of tariff-related issues, experts said. In addition, given strong buildup of short positions by foreign investors, a short-covering rally cannot be ruled out in the near term, said market observers. After gaining over 0.4% IN the Muhurat session, the Nifty finished at 25,868.60, up 0.1% or 25.45 points. The Sensex ended at 84,426.34, 0.1% or 62.97 points higher. Both indices gained close to 3% over the past week. "Returns of 10-12% are expected from Diwali to Diwali, which is much higher than muted returns in Samvat 2081," said A Balasubramanian, managing director and chief executive, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC. 124731475 Tariffs a Big Factor "The gains are likely to be led by consumption growth, a pickup in credit growth due to interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and a positive surprise on the tariff negotiation front," Balasubramanian added. He said there's a high possibility of a constructive outcome from tariff negotiations with the US. The Sensex and the Nifty have gained 5.9% and 6.4%, respectively, since last Diwali. The Nifty Midcap 150 index advanced 4.5% while the Nifty Smallcap 250 index tumbled 3.6% in this period. During Tuesday's special session, the Nifty Midcap150 index rose 0.2% while the Nifty Smallcap 250 advanced 0.7%. Of the 4,178 traded stocks on BSE, 3,023 advanced, while 954 declined. Cipla emerged as the top gainer on the NSE and rose 1.6% on Tuesday. Bajaj Finserv advanced 1.2% while Infosys, JSW Steel and Grasim Industries moved 0.7% higher. "Stronger Q2 earnings would signal economic recovery and drive stock-specific rallies, while a robust monsoon would boost rural consumption across FMCG, auto, and consumer durable sectors," said Dhiraj Relli, managing director and CEO, HDFC Securities. He said improving corporate performance is likely to attract foreign institutional investor (FII) flows back to India, bolstering local equities further. Overseas investors bought shares worth ₹2,176.4 crore in October, after selling equities worth over ₹1 lakh crore since June. In eight of the past 12 months, global investors have been net sellers of Indian stocks. According to Balasubramanian, while the quantum may be debatable, foreign inflows are likely after a favourable tariff outcome in November. "Since there is a strong short buildup on the FII side, a short-covering rally is anticipated that could propel Nifty higher by around 3,000 points in the next six to 12 months," he said. The Sensex and Nifty reached record highs of 85,836.12 and 26,216.05, respectively, at the end of September 2024. Both indices are about 1.5% away from those record levels. Relli pointed out that easing global interest rates will make India more attractive to yield-seeking investors, potentially triggering a renewed surge in capital inflows. "We expect Indian markets to deliver low double-digit returns in the current Samvat as we expect 9% aggregate earnings growth for FY26 followed by mid-teens growth in FY27," he said. For Balasubramanian, a record rally in the bullion market, which took gold and silver prices to new peaks, may see profit booking, helping equities. "Exceptional returns are not expected from either of the precious metals. Equity is expected to outperform in the next one year," he said. Between the two, silver may appreciate more, he added. The trading community actively participates in the Muhurat session at the time of Diwali, making token transactions with an intent to take home profits. Making money in this hour of trading is considered auspicious, setting the tone for the year to come. The market is shut on Wednesday.

Indian equities posted modest gains in Samvat 2081 after a strong rally in the previous year, which took the markets to new highs in September 2024. Since then, volatility returned as high valuations, mixed corporate results, and global uncertainty — including the impact of Trump’s tariff moves — led to foreign investor selling. However, steady buying by domestic investors helped support the market, with the Nifty rising 6.4%, the Midcap index up 4.3%, and the Smallcap index down 4%. As Samvat 2082 begins, investor sentiment is turning positive again. Hopes of GST simplification, liquidity support from the RBI, and the government’s push to boost manufacturing are expected to aid earnings recovery. Experts anticipate better returns this year than in the previous Samvat with opportunities likely to come from selective stock picking, particularly in banking, consumption, and other domestic focused sectors. Against this backdrop, HIMADRI BUCH analysed the top gainers and losers on the BSE 200 between Samvat 2081 and 2082, indicating investor preferences over the year. 124731375Among the gainers, Muthoot Finance led the pack with a stunning 69.6% jump, followed by Bajaj Finance (56.9%) and Aditya Birla Capital (47.7%), reflecting a strong comeback for finance stocks. Maruti Suzuki (47.5%) and TVS Motor (45.6%) reflected sustained strength in the auto sector. Among the losers, Adani Green Energy (-36.3%) and Thermax (-35.7%) lagged the most, hurt by valuation corrections and margin pressures. Sona BLW Precision Forgings (-33.8%) and Trent (-32.9%) also reported steep declines after strong rallies in the previous year. Public sector lenders such as Central Bank of India (-32.8%) and UCO Bank (-30.6%) cooled off after an extended run-up.

Mumbai: In what could lower the standalone earnings of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), fees charged by its clearing corporation, which absorbs most of the risks on behalf of the bourse, would go up. A working group looking into the financial independence of clearing houses and unbundling of charges, is veering around to the view that the transaction charges of clearing corporations should be reviewed, scientifically designed, and suitably linked to the total volumes of stocks settled, according to a person familiar with the deliberations. In the stock market architecture, exchanges like NSE offer the platform where deals are cut while their clearing arms, like NSE Clearing, a subsidiary of NSE, acts as the legal counterparty for clearing and settling the transactions. An overhaul of the charge structure would mean NSE and other exchanges settling for a lower share of the transaction fees collected from its members, and letting their clearing arms (which bears the risks) receive a higher portion than they presently do, earn more and strengthen their balance sheets. 124731339 The working group, constituted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and headed by former RBI deputy governor RS Gandhi, is also learnt to be exploring a proposal under which the 'clearing members' would have to contribute to the settlement guarantee fund (SGF). Such a fund, held by a clearing corporation, is created to meet contingencies arising from payment default by any member or broker of the stock exchange. A 'clearing member' is a member of the clearing corporation who clears and settles deals through the corporation. Such a member can execute trades on his own account as well as on account of his clients; it can also clear and settle trades executed by themselves as well as by other trading members who choose to use the clearing services of the member. "Since clearing members bring in more risk, they should pay something more than the regular transaction charges. So, there is a proposal for clearing members to support the SGF through bank guarantees, or marking lien on fixed deposits. It is practiced in some of the markets," said another person. The discussions of the working group, which is expected to finalise its report by this year, assumes significance as a concrete plan to improve the financial health of the clearing corporation is understood to be a prerequisite for NSE's much-talked-about IPO plan. The panel has also studied the findings of an internal report which says that the present earning structure of clearing corporations is not robust enough to make them self-sufficient. Given their flow of earnings and growth in trade volumes, the clearing houses could find it tough after some years to make meaningful contributions to the SGF, it says. At present, NSE Clearing receives about 5-6% of the fees that NSE collects from members. A revision of the clearing corporation's charge structure and appropriately linking them to volumes, would raise the share to 25% or even a little higher. This was originally the share that NSE Clearing received during the years when NSE was headed by its founder managing director RH Patil. After Patil's exit, the number was whittled down over the years under subsequent NSE chiefs. In some of the advanced markets, this share is close to 50%. Since Sebi has made it clear that the charges applicable on brokers would not be raised - so that transaction costs for investors do not rise - it would mean NSE receiving a reduced share of the fee pool. While at a consolidated level it would not mean any change in financials as NSE Clearing is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NSE, Sebi would prefer to review and finalise the charges before NSE goes for listing. "Ideally, NSE Clearing should rise from a position where it has to depend on fund infusion from the parent to grow the SGF. It should have a strong, independent balance sheet. The path to make that happen should be laid down before NSE becomes a publicly listed company with diverse shareholders," said another person.

A French prosecutor on Tuesday said that the financial damage from the audacious Louvre heist was estimated at 88 million euros ($102 million) after thieves made off with priceless royal jewels.Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told broadcaster RTL the museum's curator had estimated the losses at that amount but the thieves would not earn the equivalent if they had "the very bad idea of melting down these jewels".