TMS Ep297: Elon Musk & Twitter, India's China trade data, markets, FTA

For hundreds of people who worked at Twitter as recently as Friday, the bitter reality will take a while to sink in. But for Elon Musk, it made perfect business sense. He had dropped hints on mass lay-offs soon after taking over the San Francisco-based company. But the planet’s richest man is facing backlash for unceremoniously expelling so many people. So is Musk setting a new trend where owners can brush aside the HR rulebook and write their own edicts? 

The mystery of missing $12 billion from India-China bilateral trade is as engrossing as the ongoing developments at Twitter. China said that its trade with India touched $103 billion in the first nine months of 2022. But India says that it is $91 billion. So who is right?

Moving on, financial markets displayed tremendous resilience and ended with steady gains last week even as global central bankers raised rates. In the week ahead, markets will focus on the last leg of Q2 results and macro-economic data for further cues on direction. 

Financial markets respond positively to free trade agreements. Australia recently said that the free trade agreement with India has been tabled in its parliament, and is likely to be passed soon. But what is a free trade agreement? Listen to this episode of the podcast to find out.