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Swiss banking giant UBS has offered to buy the embattled Credit Suisse for up to $1 billion, the Financial Times reported. The deal values Credit Suisse at around $7 billion less than its market value at Friday’s close.   

Credit Suisse is reportedly baulking at the offer, however, arguing it is too low and would hurt shareholders and employees, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. 

Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve officials are weighing whether to raise interest rates this week to cool inflation or take a pause amid the market turmoil fueled by recent bank failures.

Before the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Fed policymakers were poised to raise rates by as much as 50 basis points. Now, given the financial market volatility, many Fed watchers expect a smaller, quarter-point increase, while some say the US central bank will pause altogether. 

If you are someone looking for a house in Bengaluru, ensure your LinkedIn profile is solid and up-to-date. 

Amid sky-high rents in the Silicon Valley of India comes another twist in the tale—homeowners now seek LinkedIn profiles and even pay slips before they decide on leasing their properties! And netizens are having a field day! 

ICYMI: Researchers in Japan recently identified a new species of orchid. Interestingly, its pink-and-white blooms are so delicate and fragile they look like they were spun from glass.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• IndiaMART aims to double revenue
• A smart wheelchair with assistive cleaning device
• The terrifying reality of climate change

Here’s your trivia for today: Myths of elves originated in which culture’s folklore?

B2B

IndiaMART aims to double revenue

Noida-based IndiaMART has set itself an ambitious target—to double its annual revenue to Rs 2,000 crore by 2027. This, it believes, can be achieved by further incremental improvement in ARPU (Annualised Revenue Per User), expansion into newer categories, and paid customer (subscriber) additions. 

Business roadmap:

• The company currently commands over 60% market share in the B2B listings space. 
• With a network of 7.4 million suppliers and over 90 million listings of products and services, it is now looking at further strengthening this position.
• IndiaMART clocked an operating revenue of Rs 251 crore at the end of Q3 FY23 on a consolidated basis, up from Rs 188 crore in Q3 FY22.

Women Entrepreneurs

A smart wheelchair with assistive cleaning device

Sruthi Babu’s innovation is Sahayatha, a smart wheelchair with an assistive cleaning device, offers both convenience and dignity to immobile patients. She recently raised Rs 1 crore in funding on Shark Tank India.

Top convenience:

• For completely immobile patients, she had to find a way for them to use a commode and be cleaned. The idea led to a wheelchair that could also expand into a bed and be used as a toilet.
• It took 118 iterations and five prototypes to zero in on the final design.
• The company has applied for patents for both products. While the recliner product is priced at Rs 39,900, the non-recliner option comes at Rs 29,900.

YS Reviews

The terrifying reality of climate change

Scott Z Burns’ Extrapolations has found ample size and breathing time to narrate a frightening story, essentially a wake-up call, about a rapidly changing environment and global warming. With three episodes already featured on Apple TV+, Burns’ signature interconnected storytelling has narratives from different characters, dealing with multifarious adaptations to climate change. 

Apocalyptic events:

• Starting with the year 2037, Extrapolations covers developments till the year 2070. The series begins on an ominous and almost violent protesting note by a young girl leading people outside the COP42 summit.
• As a series, Extrapolations makes scant effort to mellow its message. The earth is burning, and with its star-studded cast, Burns has effectively set out to send a resonating loud message to people—Listen! Pay Attention! 
• The slow-paced and slow-burn series echoes through its patient storytelling, with the absolute necessity for everyone to wake up before it’s too late. 

News & updates

• Tik-tok for TikTok: The US administration has ramped up pressure on TikTok over national security concerns stemming from its ties to China, and apparently the Justice Department and the FBI are also applying pressure of their own. The investigation was reportedly initiated after some employees leveraged the app to spy on US-based journalists—an incident corroborated by an internal investigation late last year.
• Work halt: Adani Group has suspended work on its $4.2 billion petrochemical project at Mundra, Gujarat as it focuses on consolidating operations and addressing investor concerns after the Hindenburg report. It has asked vendors and suppliers to “suspend all activities of the scope of work and performance of all obligations” for Mundra Petrochem Ltd’s Green PVC project “till further notice.”
• Mercedes EV: Mercedes will invest billions of dollars to modernise its plants in China, Germany, and Hungary over the coming years, Automobilwoche magazine reported. Mercedes has said it will be ready to go electric by the end of this decade when market conditions allow.

Myths of elves originated in which culture’s folklore?

Answer: Norse mythology

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