Agreements among members of a given industry to shape markets to their mutual advantage are as natural a feature of capitalism as competition

Capitalism's clubby side, from Adam Smith to Libor

Bloomberg

On July 4, 2011, the British-born historian Simon Winchester took an oath to become an American citizen. It was a startling decision for someone Queen Elizabeth herself had made an officer of the Order of the British Empire not so long ago. Why the move? Mr Winchester, it seems, was in love. But it wasn't a woman who captured his heart. Mr Winchester had fallen for an entire nation.Mr Winchester's self-described "love affair" with America began when he hitchhiked across the country as a footloose kid. When he finally got his passport he felt moved to write a history of the quality that most entranced him: America's improbable, at times incomprehensible, unity. How was it, he asked, that people of such wildly different backgrounds share a "near-mystical concord" - how can such an eclectic assortment of peoples "enjoy the same rights and aspirations, encapsulated in their shared ability to declare so simply, I am an American?"His tour mixes popular history with a contemporary travelogue.

Nation builders

Business Standard

Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha will also attend the meeting

Amit Shah, Home Minister

Major e-commerce platforms such as Zomato, Ajio and Ola will adopt a Safety Pledge on National Consumer Day on December 24 as part of steps to enhance product safety for online shoppers.
The voluntary commitment, announced by the Department of Consumer Affairs, aims to detect and prevent the sale of unsafe and spurious products on digital marketplaces, an official statement said.
A committee chaired by consumer activist Pushpa Girimaji developed the pledge after extensive stakeholder consultations in November 2023.
With India projected to have 500 million online shoppers by 2030 and currently hosting 880 million internet users, the initiative addresses critical challenges in the rapidly expanding e-commerce landscape. The pledge requires platforms to cooperate with statutory authorities and raise product safety awareness among sellers.
"The unique nature of e-commerce, where physical product examination is impossible, makes this safety initiative crucial," the department said.
The

e-commerce

New Delhi [India], December 14: Supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, BOTT is delighted to announce the BOTT Knowledge Conclave: Tourism@2025, a premier thought-leadership event, scheduled on December 18, 2024 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The conclave is aimed at unlocking the immense potential of the global travel industry with a focus on India Tourism. It will bring together leading voices in tourism to discuss opportunities, challenges, and innovations shaping the future of both inbound and outbound travel.

BOTT Knowledge Conclave: Tourism@2025 - Charting the Future of Tourism

A purported suicide note recovered after the deaths of a businessman and his wife who hanged themselves in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district has led to a slugfest between the Congress and the ruling BJP.
In the purported suicide note that surfaced on social media, businessman Manoj Parmar urged Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders not to leave his children alone and accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and BJP leaders of harassment.
The Congress has claimed that Parmar and his wife were party supporters, and the ED harassed them over their political leanings. The couple's children had gifted their piggybank to Gandhi during his "Bharat Jodo (Nyaya) Yatra".
Sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Akash Amalkar said the suicide note received by the police was in the form of an application.
He said the family members of the deceased couple were still in mourning, so the police have not recorded their statements.
Talking to PTI, Amalkar said he cannot reveal more about the suici

suicide

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], December 14: Latteys Industries Limited, a leading NSE-listed manufacturer of energy-efficient solar submersible pumps, has reported a remarkable year in 2024. The company has received several significant orders, reinforcing its presence across India and bolstering its reputation as a committed player in India's green energy initiatives.

Latteys Industries Limited Achieves Significant Milestones in 2024, Strengthening Its Leadership in Solar Submersible Pumps

NMIIA operates an industrial area located in Mumbai, India's financial hub and the capital of the western state of Maharashtra.

Reliance

World's Richest Families 2024: The Walmart Waltons top the list with $406.5 billion; India's Ambanis and Mistrys of Shapoorji Pallonji rank 8th and 23rd. Here is the top five list

Sam Walton

The 26-year-old Indian American had accused OpenAI of using copyrighted content to train its AI models. Details

Suchir Balaji

Shares of Mahalaxmi Rubtech have continued their upward movement, hitting a new high of Rs 311.10, surging 10 per cent on the BSE in Friday's intra-day trade amid heavy volumes

stocks, markets, investors, growth, funds, investments, brokers

After spending the night in a local prison after being arrested in connection with the death of a woman in a stampede during the
premiere of his latest film, , actor Allu Arjun walked out of jail on Saturday following an interim bail granted by the Telangana High Court.
Arjun had to spend Friday night in prison despite the HC relief, as the authorities had not received a copy of the bail order until late last night.
"He has been released," Ashok Reddy, his counsel, told reporters at the Chanchalguda prison.
Reddy claimed the prison authorities did not release the actor despite having got the High Court order copy.
"You should question the government and the department why they have not released the accused. The High Court order is very specific. Forthwith, the moment you (prison authorities) receive the order, ( they should) release him. Despite the clear order, they have not released, they have to answer. This is an illegal detention. We will take legal steps, Reddy said.
Accord

Allu Arjun

Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha on Wednesday said the quick commerce platform's cafe offering, Zepto Cafe, will be launched as a separate app next week.
In a post on social networking platform LinkedIn, the young entrepreneur highlighted the rapid scaling of the cafe service which has motivated the separate offering.
"We're launching a separate app for Zepto Cafe next week! The team is shipping an MVP (minimum viable product) and iterating quickly, so it may not be perfect on Day 1, but it's worth it to launch fast :D
"Zepto Cafe is scaling rapidly; we're launching 100+ cafes a month and already clocking 30K+ orders/day," Palicha wrote on LinkedIn.
Zepto Cafe was launched in April 2022 as a division of Zepto, which itself was founded in July 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra.
Last month, Zepto announced the expansion of its cafe service to major cities through more than 120 cafes at stores across Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, and soon in Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune.
"The ..

Aadit Palicha

The shares of the company were in great demand, as a total of 0.66 million equity shares worth Rs 51.15 cr exchanged hands on the BSE, by 1:45 PM. Similarly, 24.19 million shares worth Rs 1,858.22 cr

Stock Market, Market, Crash, Funds, up, Stock, Gain, Lost, decline, statistic, Crisis, Capital, BSE, NSE

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the government of using public sector banks, the "lifelines of the masses", as an unlimited source of funds for their "fraudulent friends".
Gandhi met a delegation from the All India Banking Officers Confederation. "The Modi government has turned these lifelines of the masses into private financiers for only the rich and powerful corporations," he said in a post on X.
After meeting the members, he expressed distress at the state of public sector banks and its impact on common people.
"Public Sector Banks are being forced to prioritise profit over people and are thus unable to serve the public effectively. With staff shortages and a toxic work environment, they are expected to reach unachievable targets without a level playing field," Gandhi said after hearing the members of the confederation.
He alleged women employees are not given equal opportunity or advancement avenues and are forced to bear the brunt of th

Rahul Gandhi, Rahul, congress leader

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to spell out its proposed actions over the appointment of the "Arangavalar Committee" (trustee committee) for all Hindu temples in the state.
"File an affidavit as to what you (state government) propose to do, a bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and Aravind Kumar asked the Tamil Nadu government counsel.
The direction came after the state government informed the apex court that it had sought applications for appointment of trustee committees from 31,000 temples and such panels were appointed in over 7,500 temples only as many were yet to respond.
The bench granted four weeks' time to the state government to file the affidavit and listed the plea of petitioner "Hindu Dharma Parishad" in February, 2025.
The counsel for the state government said a very few people came up for appointment in the temples' trust despite the government issuing advertisements in this regard.
The counsel for the petitioner body claimed th

Supreme Court, SC

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said global tech giant Google has identified Andhra Pradesh as a key partner as part of its ambitious plans and operations in India.
After meeting a Google delegation at the secretariat here, the Chief Minister said he discussed various potential areas for collaboration. He exuded confidence that collaborations with global technology leaders such as Google will empower the southern state.
I met a Google delegation led by VP (vice president), Bikash Koley in Amaravati today. The delegation offered me an overview of their operations and shared their ambitious plans in India. I am proud that Andhra Pradesh has been identified as a key partner, said Naidu in a post on X.
According to the CM, Andhra Pradesh's progressive industrial policies have created a business-friendly ecosystem, attracting investors and paving the way for employment opportunities.
Recalling that the state recently signed an agreement with the US-headquartered company 

N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chandrababu, Naidu

Highlighting the historical presence of Hindus in Bangladesh, stating, "We are vanished from Afghanistan. We are vanished from Pakistan. This is the high time. If we are not saved now, we will be

Protest, Delhi Protest, Bangladesh Protest, Hindu Protest

Despite the growth slowdown, a rate cut-cycle is unlikely to start anytime soon

Policy

Sitharaman said that intergenerational debt is mounting on countries, and it is important for the government and industry to work together to manage debt at the national and sub-national levels

Nirmala Sitharaman, Nirmala

The new system will introduce dedicated PF withdrawal cards, functioning like regular bank ATM cards

ATM, Money, Transaction

The suicide of a Bengaluru techie brings intense scrutiny on India's family courts, raising questions about their ability to protect vulnerable individuals in disputes

Stephen Mihm

Stephen Mihm

Stephen Mihm

Capitalism's clubby side, from Adam Smith to Libor

Nation builders

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HM Shah to chair high-level security meeting on J-K on December 19

E-commerce to adopt Safety Pledge to protect online consumers on Dec 24

BOTT Knowledge Conclave: Tourism@2025 - Charting the Future of Tourism

MP bizman-wife death: Suicide note mentions harassment by ED, BJP leaders

Latteys Industries Limited Achieves Significant Milestones in 2024, Strengthening Its Leadership in Solar Submersible Pumps

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Reliance Industries buys 74% stake in Navi Mumbai IIA for $192 mn

World's Richest Families 2024: Waltons top with $432.4 bn, Ambanis at no. 8

OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji found dead; police rule out foul play

This microcap textile stock has zoomed 100% in 5 days; climbed 10% today

'Am a law-abiding citizen, will cooperate': Allu Arjun walks out from jail