India jumped up 16 positions on a global index of the world's most competitive economies

In a big jump, India has moved up 16 positions to rank 39th on a global index of the world's most competitive economies. The report  showed that India fared well in goods market efficiency, business sophistication and innovation

India’s competitiveness improved across the board, particularly in goods market efficiency (60), business sophistication (35) and innovation (29). WEF said recent reform efforts by the government have concentrated on improving public institutions (up 16 places), opening the economy to foreign investors and international trade (up 4), and increasing transparency in the financial system (up 15).

India still needs to cover a lot of ground, the WEF said, citing labour market deficiencies, large, public enterprises that reduce economic efficiency, especially in the utilities sector and the financial market. Lack of infrastructure remains a critical bottleneck, the report said.  

Top Quotes from India @UNGA 2016 in respose to Pakistan PM's speech

The land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centres of ancient times, is now host to the  Ivy League of terrorism.
 

The effect of its (Pakistan's) toxic curriculum are felt across the globe.

Pakistan’s nuclear proliferation record is marked by deception and deceit.

Pakistan channelises billions of dollars, much of it diverted from international aid, to training, financing and supporting terrorist groups as militant proxies against it neighbours.

Pakistan is a terrorist state.

Pakistan extends support to extremist groups, it suppresses minorities and women and denies basic human rights including through draconian laws.

Terrorist entities and their leaders continue to roam the streets of Pakistan freely and operate with State’s support.

Pakistan is a democracy deficit country and practises terrorism on its own people.

It is ironical that a country which has established itself as the global epicentre of terrorism, is preaching human rights and talks about the ostensible support for self-determination.

What my country and our other neighbours are facing today is Pakistan’s long-standing policy of sponsoring terrorism.

Bayer and Monsanto to Create a Global Leader in Agriculture

In the largest deal of 2016 (so far), after months of negotiations  with several  baby steps  agriculture giants Bayer and Monsanto announced  that  they are planning to merge. In an  all-cash   transaction    Bayer  striking the deal a $128  a share  valuing Monsanto at $66B.  including the debt.

Consolidation has been driven by a global  glut that has pushed down crop prices and hurt farm incomes, leading to reduced investment in agricultural inputs such as fertilisers and  Agrochemicals.   Several Mega & small mergers are right now underway/partially completed   like Dow Chemical and DuPont, ChemChina &   Syngenta, FMC & Cheminova  etc.

But the proposed merger  likely face an intense and lengthy regulatory process If the deal closes, it will create a company commanding more than a quarter of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides in the fast-consolidating farm supplies industry.

Both the   company executives claims the  businesses are complimentary & there is very little overlap between them.  However antitrust experts have said regulators  likely  demand the sale of some soybeans, cotton and canola seed assets.

The transaction includes a $2-billion break-up fee that Bayer will pay to Monsanto should it fail to get regulatory clearance. Bayer expects the deal to close by the end of 2017.

Tesla Model 3- "Biggest one-week launch of any product ever."

Tesla announced on 8^th April that it has received 325,000 pre orders for its recently unveiled Model 3. If it sells every car that's been reserved, the company says it will earn enough revenue to make this the "biggest one-week launch of any product ever."   

Approx $14 billion in implied future sales for a car that  unlikely  to  delivered  to anybody  until 2018 at the earliest.  While it’s undoubtedly encouraging that hundreds of thousands of consumers are eager to purchase the Model 3, its possible that interest may wane if some deliveries are pushed back until 2020  and that  seems likely if one sees the  history of Tesla.

Musk further  revealed that only 5 percent of Model 3 pre order customers reserved two cars -'the maximum allowed"  and  as per him,   this suggests "low levels of speculation," or buyers looking to flip the car for a profit. The reservations are not transferable, meaning any speculators would need to buy the car outright and then sell it used to a third-party.

After receiving these incredible numbers of pre orders  Tesla now seems to be scaling back on Model 3 expectation. For instance, when Musk first introduced the Model 3, he insinuated that Supercharging would be free. However, a closer inspection of Musk’s remarks revealed that Supercharging capabilities on the Model 3 would come standard, perhaps implying that Model 3 users might have to pay for Supercharging access.

In fact, Tesla even changed the supercharging verbiage on its website following the Model 3’s unveiling. Whereas “Supecharging” was initially listed as one of the Model 3’s features, it has since been changed to “Supercharging Capable.”

Other   instances like, Tesla’s initial Model 3 webpage boasted that the car would sport a “5-star Safety Rating in all categories.” but the updated Model 3 webpage simply states that the car will be “Designed for Safety.”

In another example, the first incarnation of the Model 3 webpage said that the car will feature “Autopilot Safety Features.” Now it simply reads that the Model 3 will come with “Autopilot Hardware”, seemingly implying that users will have to pay extra to get Autopilot safety features turned on.

Source :website and various news articles

Largest U.S. chemical companies to combine in megamerger. Could spark more deals!!

Two American  Chemical giants and possibly among the oldest,  DuPont and Dow Chemical  have agreed to combine in an all-stock merger valued at $130 billion  which  would be the 18th largest deal ever.

 

Dow Chemical Co. and Dupont Co. that are 118 and 213 years old, respectively, announced the blockbuster, tax free  deal that would take two years to complete.  Following the completion of the deal's in 2016, the  merged entity  would eventually    will  break up  into  3 separate, publicly-traded entities focusing on Agricultural products, Material sciences, and Specialty products.

The deal, the fifth-largest corporate merger of 2015, would certainly receive scrutiny from federal regulators, especially regarding the new companies  place in global agricultural production, including seeds, insecticides, and pesticides. Executives from both companies  however said the agrochemicals businesses have little overlap and any asset sales would likely be minor.

By revenue, the material sciences company – which makes products for the packaging, transportation, and infrastructure industries, to name a few – will be the largest. Its combined revenue in 2014 was around $51B on an adjusted basis. It will compete with the likes of corporate titans BASF, Honeywell, and 3M.

The specialty products company, with a combined revenue of $13B in 2014, would sell materials to the electronics and communications industries, among others.

The agriculture company, focusing on seeds and chemicals, would have a combined adjusted revenue of $19B overtaking BASF as the leader in agrochemicals. In the seed industry, DowDupont is pitted against behemoth Monsanto.

Dow shareholders would own 52 percent of the new company after preferred shares are converted, the companies said. The agreement includes a $1.9 billion termination fee under specified circumstances, such as rejection by shareholders.

The biggest impact will certainly be in the agriculture market, where the seeds and crop chemical industries are to undergo rapid consolidation

Prior to the merger, Dupont said in a statement it will slash $700 million in costs, with ten percent of its workforce "impacted" by the move, while Dow is expected to drop $300 million in costs.

As per Dealogic , this   merger would represent the 18th largest corporate deal of all-time. It would trail the 2015 deals made by Allergan and Pfizer, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, BG Group and Royal Dutch Shell and Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications.

Dow and Dupont have a combined annual revenue of around $83 billion, with operating profit of about $15 billion.