TMS Ep148: Basmati rice, Bollywood earnings, Q4 earnings, fracking

Grown in rugged northern plains of India, its long, shiny and fragrant grains have long been lifting the mood of people across Europe and West Asia. But, India’s basmati rice export has been witnessing a decline now. It plunged to its lowest in the last four years in 2021. Is Indian basmati losing its shine, or is it a temporary phase? 

The spell of Indian movies is no less heady than the recipes made of basmati. Director SS Rajamouli’s RRR breached the Rs 1,000 crore collection mark on Monday -- by bringing the audience back to movie theaters. And several other promising movies are lined up for release in the next few days. Will they be able to recreate the magic and give the box office its old days back? 

After the box office revenue, let us move on to the earnings of India Inc, which has begun reporting numbers of March quarter. While brokerages expect the earnings of Nifty50 companies to hit record peak levels, the march is expected to be driven by banks and financials. Take a dive into what the Street is expecting from Q4 results of public and private banks, and what are the key things to watch out for.

Soaring energy prices are not just spooking the stock markets and the economies, they are also nudging countries into looking for more oil reserves. Fracking is one of the ways to extract gas and oil. What it is and why it is controversial, listen to this podcast to find out more.