How 'stolen underpants' helped identify Baghdadi

"Our own source, who had been able to reach al-Baghdadi, brought al-Baghdadi's underwear to conduct a DNA test and make sure (100%) that the person in question was al-Baghdadi himself," Polat Can, a senior advisor to the Kurdish-led SDF, said.

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IT looks to up interactive share in revenue mix

The interactive business requires more design as well as user interaction and experience building to hook end customers to a digital product or make a digital experience more enjoyable.

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100-kg gold, 600-kg silver sold at IBJA’s muhurat trading

During the trading, gold was less in demand, while silver shone among the buyers.

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Singh brothers trade barbs at NCLT

NEW DELHI: Shivinder Singh likened his brother Malvinder to the “mythological Bhasmasur” and said he possibly suffered from a personality disorder while calling for a forensic audit of RHC Holding. Older brother Malvinder said he reserved the right to sue his sibling for making “scurrilous insinuations” and that Shivinder was trying to ingratiate himself with Radha Soami Satsang Beas, which owed RHC money.Shivinder made the accusations in a NCLT filing in July. Malvinder’s response came in August. ET has seen both documents, which haven’t been made public before. Hearings in the case are set to resume in the NCLT in December.The erstwhile promoters of Religare Enterprises (REL) and Fortis Healthcare (FHL) are currently in jail on charges of fund misappropriation. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police arrested the brothers and their associates earlier this month.Seeking the removal of Malvinder as director of RHC, the group holding company, Shivinder urged the NCLT to supersede the board and reconstitute it with persons appointed by the tribunal. Alleging that Malvinder had been “oppressive” in running RHC, Shivinder sought an injunction restraining his brother and any of his authorised representatives from interacting with RHC employees. He also demanded that Malvinder be prevented from entering RHC’s offices.Malvinder alleged that Shivinder filed the suit only to stop RHC from demanding its money back from Gurinder Singh Dhillon, chief of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB). Malvinder has alleged that Shivinder is appeasing Dhillon so that he can become the next RSSB head.Shivinder had raised “frivolous and irrelevant issues with an attempt to prevaricate the issues”, Malvinder said. He accused Shivinder of “large scale diversion of funds from FHL, RHC, REL etc to Dhillon (chief of RSSB) and the entities under his (Dhillon) control”. He alleged that an unsecured advance of Rs 600 crore was given to Lowe (an entity under the control of Dhillon) by FHL. The amount was used by Dhillon to acquire 20 acres in Gurgaon. This is said to be disputed land and the deal is being probed by the CBI.‘BID TO SHIELD DHILLON’Malvinder alleged in his response that Shivinder wanted to “shield Dhillon from debts and possible investigations and liability towards Daiichi (Sankyo)”.The younger brother alleged that Malvinder had made an “audacious and extravagant demand” of Rs 1,000 crore in order to cede control of RHC.71798841 Shivinder has demanded status quo be maintained on the assets and shareholdings of RHC. He has also sought the appointment of two independent directors and an administrator to look after day-today affairs at RHC. He further demanded that RHC bank account signatories be changed to include persons appointed by the tribunal and that it summon all statutory records for safekeeping at its registry. Shivinder has also sought complete access to secretarial records, books of accounts and other information regarding RHC.In his petition, Shivinder said Malvinder was like Bhasmasur, referring to a demon with the power to render anyone to ash.“Wherever he (Malvinder) became head of business — Ranbaxy, Fortis, Religare, SRL Labs Ltd — he decimated the value to zero for the RHC Group,” Shivinder said in his NCLT petition. “The continuous destruction of RHC’s asset base can be arrested provided the ‘Bhasmasur’ is dislodged from the helm of affairs of RHC.”‘PSYCHIATRIC ISSUES’Shivinder also alleged that his brother may have psychiatric issues.“Malvinder’s behaviour appears indicative of him suffering from either or both of certain specific personality disorders, namely antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder,” Shivinder said. If “Malvinder was to be professionally assessed and diagnosed by an unbiased and independent clinical professional, he may be found to suffering from one or both or other personality disorder, and that appropriate care and help may be sought for him to address and manage the same.”Shivinder also cited the “American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” to buttress his claim.In his response, Malvinder told the NCLT that he reserved the right to sue Shivinder and demanded that the accusations be “expunged/deleted”.Malvinder used RHC as his “personal fiefdom” and his actions in relation to the affairs of RHC were “harsh, burdensome, oppressive, prejudicial and gravely harmful”, Shivinder alleged. Malvinder had wrongfully transferred 3 million shares of Ranbaxy Laboratories held by RHC to Malav Holdings, he said. Malvinder denied this.Shivinder said he’s been denied his “rightful voice” and was forced to approach the NCLT to avoid the “otherwise inevitable insolvency of RHC and further prejudicing the interests of RHC and all its stakeholders”. He alleged that Malvinder had stopped board meetings from being held for over nine months, attaching emails sent by him to his brother to back up the claim.RANBAXY SALEThe brothers sold Ranbaxy Laboratories to Daiichi Sankyo for Rs 10,000 crore in 2008, an acquisition that turned sour. The Japanese drug maker had to pay $500 million in 2013 to settle a case in the US against Ranbaxy over felony charges that included making and distributing adulterated medicines. Daiichi Sankyo won an arbitration suit against the Singh brothers over allegations of fraud related to the deal. They owe the Japanese company $500 million on account of this. Sun Pharmaceuticals acquired Ranbaxy in 2016.Malvinder also alleged that Shivinder didn’t disassociate himself from the business in 2016 and 2017, when he was supposed to have increased his engagement with the Radha Soami Satsang Beas.

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Diwali sales give retailers relief, finally

KOLKATA | MUMBAI: Sales of apparel, smartphones, electronics and consumer products grew about 7-9% during Diwali thanks to last minute shopping, giving brick and mortar retailers a strong finish to their make-or-break festive season.Most consumer goods makers and offline retailers had been cautious about business during this year’s festive season due to a slowing economy and poor consumer sentiment in both urban and rural India over the past three quarters.While purchase of entry-level products expanded at a slower pace, most retailers reported higher demand for mid-to-premium products, indicating lower-income buyers may have either postponed shopping or shifted to discount-led online portals. Also, wide availability and penetration of consumer finance boosted average transaction size.Consumption patterns have shifted, said Kishore Biyani, founder of Future Group, which runs chains such as Big Bazaar, Central and Brand Factory. Average Billing upFrequent shoppers were outnumbered by those seen as more conservative and typically don’t splurge as much.“Fashion did really well with Central exceeding our expectations,” he said. “Having a loyal customer base, which was supported by Future Pay and cashbacks was a huge advantage to us which helped us immensely this time. Even within packaged consumer goods, gifting segment did brisk business especially at smaller stores such as Easy Day.”Retailers and companies had reported better demand even during the Navratri-Durga Puja-Dussehra period with sales growing 7-8% over last year while Onam sales had reported 3-4% growth on a lower base due to floods in Kerala last year. As a result, overall festive sales grew 5-7% this year.71798714 Diwali and overall festive season sales were much better than initially anticipated, said Brian Bade, CEO of Reliance Digital, India’s largest smartphone and consumer electronics retailer.“There was some pessimism, but at the end we are very happy,” he said. “Performance was much better than last year — same-store sales went up in double digits, average billing went up with brisk demand across categories.”Puma India managing director Abhishek Ganguly said Diwali pointed to possible recovery in retail considering traffic in malls was better than in August and early September despite record sales by ecommerce marketplaces.While footfalls were similar to those last year, sales rose as the average shopping basket was bigger, some retailers said.“There was a high single-digit growth on a like-to-like basis compared to last year Diwali period. We have not seen slowdown in apparel sales yet. Also, the growth was largely driven by an increase in average billing size while the walk-ins were similar to last year,” said Vasanth Kumar, managing director at Lifestyle International, the country's biggest department store chain. “Post Diwali, there is a seasonal change and stores will (get) winter stock, which allows us to liquidate autumn collection at discounted prices.”While OnePlus clocked Rs 1,500 crore in sales from Navratri to Dhanteras, Xiaomi had said it sold more than 500,000 smart televisions in the same period apart from a record number of smartphones. Realme said it sold over two million smartphones.Diwali was a crucial period since sales of most categories had been flat or had declined this year due to poor consumer sentiment. A fortnight ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its economic growth forecast for India to 6.1% for the current fiscal from its July projection of 7%, citing weaker-than-expected outlook for domestic demand.Arvind Fashions managing director J Suresh said Diwali sales grew more than 9% while the overall festive season growth stood at 5-6%. Arvind Fashions sells brands such as Gap, Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger and US Polo Assn.In smartphones and electronics, retailers and brands said sales have grown 6-8% from last year. The relatively lower pricing of Apple’s new iPhone 11 and up to 30% price cuts in televisions boosted demand, with consumer finance schemes adding to the buoyancy. The latter’s contribution to overall sales went up to 75% compared with the usual 55-60%.“There was no doubt some impact of negative sentiments since the number of shoppers who bought this year was lower than last year. However, those who purchased did of a higher value, boosting overall sales,” said Vijay Sales director Nilesh Gupta, adding that sales grew 8%.Overall appliance sales went up by 6-7% with a clear shift toward premium products with little traction for entry-level products, said Vishal Mewani, director of Mumbai’s leading chain Kohinoor Electronics. The festive season — from Onam in Kerala to Navratri-Durga Puja-Dussehra, Karva Chauth, Dhanteras and Diwali — is the biggest shopping period in the country accounting for almost 35-40% of annual sales of most consumer facing companies.

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E-shoppers load festive carts with affordable goods

BENGALURU: The value of merchandise sold by Flipkart and Amazon during the recent month-long festival sales may have fallen short of analysts’ estimates, marginally, while the number of units sold were in line with industry expectations, according to multiple people aware of the specifics.The slight dip in this year’s projected gross value of sales from the crucial festive sale, which was spread across September and October, at India’s two largest online marketplaces is largely due to consumers’ preference for more affordable products dragging down order value in the midst of a general slowdown in consumer sentiment, said company executives who briefed ET on the matter. On an overall basis though both companies grew sales and units sold when compared to 2018.Flipkart and Amazon were expected to rake in a cumulative $5 billion (Rs 36,000 crore) in sales, or gross merchandise value (GMV), during the festival sale season as reported by ET. Non-metro Areas Drive SalesBoth ecommerce firms were aiming to clock a 30% increase in GMV compared to last year. GMV is overall sales clocked by an online marketplace and does not include discounts, returns, cancellations and cashbacks on products sold, and it is different from the revenue generated by a marketplace. People in the know, however, said, the two companies clocked 10-15% less in terms of overall GMV on the back of lower-priced items selling better this year.71798740 Further, customers from India’s non-metropolitan areas accounted for over two-thirds of the online festive sales, with low-priced items across fashion, home and electronics emerging as top categories, company executives said. Brands and logistics companies that ET spoke to concurred.While Flipkart missed sales targets by value for mobile phones, it did well in categories like large appliances, fashion, home, beauty and lifestyle, sources said.“On the other hand, Amazon India missed estimates on general merchandise and lifestyle, and did well on mobiles and new prime membership,” said a person cited above.Replying to ET’s queries on the matter, a representative for Flipkart said the company does not comment on “category specific metrics,” adding that the company “exceeded all customer metrics we measure ourselves against.”Amazon India said top categories included smartphones, consumer electronics, large appliances, fashion, grocery, and home & kitchen. 83% of customers who shopped were from small towns, the company said.Flipkart did not share sale numbers.Separately, Delhi based Snapdeal said its sales volumes were 52% higher this year fuelled largely by demand from non-metros.“Units shipped in October on average saw a 60% spike for all ecommerce companies,” said a logistics company founder.In the first leg of the six-day sale that ran from September 29 to October 2, Amazon and Flipkart clocked gross merchandise value estimated at $3 billion, or about Rs 21,380 crore, according to Redseer Consulting, missing analysts’ estimate of $3.7-3.8-billion.Analysts are of the view that bank partnerships, luring customers towards flat discounts as high as 10%, along with EMI plans, exclusive launches, private labels, and introduction of features like games and Hindi interface helped ecommerce firms overcome a challenging macro environment.Marketplaces track multiple targets internally to gauge sales including units sold, returns, total value of items sold, delivery time, cancellations, among others. And these vary for different categories.“For instance, for smartphones and large appliances the metric is largely order value and delivery time,” said one person directly aware of the matter.“For long-tail merchandise like home items, that metric is primarily units sold, selection, and return,” the person added RBC Capital Markets in a recent report said that in 2018, Amazon accounted for 30% of India’s ecommerce market, second to Walmart-owned Flipkart, which held 44%.

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Diwali sales give retailers relief, finally

KOLKATA | MUMBAI: Sales of apparel, smartphones, electronics and consumer products grew about 7-9% during Diwali thanks to last minute shopping, giving brick and mortar retailers a strong finish to their make-or-break festive season.Most consumer goods makers and offline retailers had been cautious about business during this year’s festive season due to a slowing economy and poor consumer sentiment in both urban and rural India over the past three quarters.While purchase of entry-level products expanded at a slower pace, most retailers reported higher demand for mid-to-premium products, indicating lower-income buyers may have either postponed shopping or shifted to discount-led online portals. Also, wide availability and penetration of consumer finance boosted average transaction size.Consumption patterns have shifted, said Kishore Biyani, founder of Future Group, which runs chains such as Big Bazaar, Central and Brand Factory. Average Billing upFrequent shoppers were outnumbered by those seen as more conservative and typically don’t splurge as much.“Fashion did really well with Central exceeding our expectations,” he said. “Having a loyal customer base, which was supported by Future Pay and cashbacks was a huge advantage to us which helped us immensely this time. Even within packaged consumer goods, gifting segment did brisk business especially at smaller stores such as Easy Day.”Retailers and companies had reported better demand even during the Navratri-Durga Puja-Dussehra period with sales growing 7-8% over last year while Onam sales had reported 3-4% growth on a lower base due to floods in Kerala last year. As a result, overall festive sales grew 5-7% this year.71798714 Diwali and overall festive season sales were much better than initially anticipated, said Brian Bade, CEO of Reliance Digital, India’s largest smartphone and consumer electronics retailer.“There was some pessimism, but at the end we are very happy,” he said. “Performance was much better than last year — same-store sales went up in double digits, average billing went up with brisk demand across categories.”Puma India managing director Abhishek Ganguly said Diwali pointed to possible recovery in retail considering traffic in malls was better than in August and early September despite record sales by ecommerce marketplaces.While footfalls were similar to those last year, sales rose as the average shopping basket was bigger, some retailers said.“There was a high single-digit growth on a like-to-like basis compared to last year Diwali period. We have not seen slowdown in apparel sales yet. Also, the growth was largely driven by an increase in average billing size while the walk-ins were similar to last year,” said Vasanth Kumar, managing director at Lifestyle International, the country's biggest department store chain. “Post Diwali, there is a seasonal change and stores will (get) winter stock, which allows us to liquidate autumn collection at discounted prices.”While OnePlus clocked Rs 1,500 crore in sales from Navratri to Dhanteras, Xiaomi had said it sold more than 500,000 smart televisions in the same period apart from a record number of smartphones. Realme said it sold over two million smartphones.Diwali was a crucial period since sales of most categories had been flat or had declined this year due to poor consumer sentiment. A fortnight ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its economic growth forecast for India to 6.1% for the current fiscal from its July projection of 7%, citing weaker-than-expected outlook for domestic demand.Arvind Fashions managing director J Suresh said Diwali sales grew more than 9% while the overall festive season growth stood at 5-6%. Arvind Fashions sells brands such as Gap, Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger and US Polo Assn.In smartphones and electronics, retailers and brands said sales have grown 6-8% from last year. The relatively lower pricing of Apple’s new iPhone 11 and up to 30% price cuts in televisions boosted demand, with consumer finance schemes adding to the buoyancy. The latter’s contribution to overall sales went up to 75% compared with the usual 55-60%.“There was no doubt some impact of negative sentiments since the number of shoppers who bought this year was lower than last year. However, those who purchased did of a higher value, boosting overall sales,” said Vijay Sales director Nilesh Gupta, adding that sales grew 8%.Overall appliance sales went up by 6-7% with a clear shift toward premium products with little traction for entry-level products, said Vishal Mewani, director of Mumbai’s leading chain Kohinoor Electronics. The festive season — from Onam in Kerala to Navratri-Durga Puja-Dussehra, Karva Chauth, Dhanteras and Diwali — is the biggest shopping period in the country accounting for almost 35-40% of annual sales of most consumer facing companies.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/347EKxM