TMS Ep325: Paytm Share Buyback, Fertiliser Prices, Markets, Nuclear Fusion

The board of One 97 Communications Ltd, the parent of digital payments provider Paytm, has approved a share buyback proposal. The decision comes less than 13 months after Paytm’s disastrous listing. Against this backdrop, how will the buyback affect the company’s fortunes and investors? And, what are the concerns surrounding the decision?

Buyback, obviously, failed to lift the spirit of investors as Paytm stock fell 3%. Moving on, retail inflation in India has finally come under the comfort zone of RBI. But the central bank’s relief may be short lived, as global fertilizer prices continue to remain high. So will it affect India’s food inflation in the long run? 

Moving on, the cement industry has been one of the worst impacted this year with monumental declines in profits amid record-high energy prices and subdued demand. But, as price hikes make a comeback, will the industry see a turnaround? 

As the world is increasingly turning green, cement producing companies are finding themselves in a tight spot. Holcim had sold Ambuja and ACC to focus on green portfolios. Meanwhile, scientists in the US on Tuesday announced a big breakthrough. They claimed to have found the key to tame the unruly power of nuclear fusion-- which fuels the sun. But what is a nuclear fusion? How the latest discovery may help us fight climate change? We explain it in this podcast.