daily column – 24th june 2021


Amazon critic to probe the MGM deal

Lina Khan, the newly appointed chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, has a big job ahead of her: investigating MGM’s planned $8 billion purchase. Khan is well-known in antitrust circles in the United States as an Amazon critic.

In January 2017, Khan published a paper titled “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” an antitrust plan that found that Amazon’s business practices and market dominance were “anti-competitive.” Khan was also a member of the House antitrust panel, which recently presented five bills regulating Big Tech. One of those proposals, sponsored by Pramila Jayapal, a Seattle congressman who also happens to be Amazon’s HQ, may compel the e-commerce behemoth to sell its logistics division.

Faced with antitrust scrutiny, major technology firms have increased their lobbying activities in Washington, DC. According to the New York Times, Apple CEO Tim Cook has urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to postpone the presentation of this legislation, saying that they would harm small companies and impede innovation. According to reports, the initiatives aren’t making much progress.

The C-19 Delta version has been dubbed “the biggest danger.”

The Delta form of the Coronavirus has been dubbed the “biggest danger” to the US effort to eradicate Covid-19 by White House top medical adviser Anthony Fauci. It is currently responsible for 20% of all new cases in that nation.

The highly infectious version, WHO experts warned earlier this week, was the “fastest and fittest coronavirus strain” ever and that it would “pick off” the most susceptible individuals, particularly in areas with poor vaccination rates. According to the report, Delta, which was originally discovered in India, has become the prevalent variety globally, spreading to 92 nations.

Spreading throughout Europe and Africa: It is spreading across Europe, first in Lisbon, Portugal, and then moving on to the United Kingdom, threatening to undermine Europe’s economic recovery. In Africa, the virus is also rampaging, with weekly cases up 44 percent and fatalities up 20 percent in the past week.

Meanwhile, according to one news source, the Seychelles, Chile, Bahrain, and Mongolia, which rely on Chinese vaccinations, are reporting increased instances.

The new strategy of the Aditya Birla Group

Kumar Mangalam Birla, head of the Aditya Birla Group, a $46 billion conglomerate with businesses ranging from couture to chemicals, has said that the company would not acquire firms with internationally diverse supply chains.

Protectionism was cited as a major danger that spurred the strategic rethinking by the billionaire entrepreneur, who built his corporate empire by purchasing more than 40 businesses over 25 years. Growing protectionism and the epidemic have wreaked havoc on companies that rely on the safe flow of raw resources, completed goods, and people. The maritime and transportation sector is likewise experiencing rough seas.

Vote for local: “We wouldn’t look at a firm or a business where you source in one part of the globe and sell in another…,” Birla added, even though the group’s foreign activities, which cover 36 countries, now account for 50% of its sales. Birla now intends to solidify its operations by employing locals and responding to regional needs. “We’re a worldwide business with a strong local presence.”

Globalization is used to help businesses save expenses and diversify their risks. However, the emergence of China as a worldwide manufacturing center for everything from safety pins to automobiles has changed the global supply chain dynamics. Even established economies like the United States and the European Union are looking inward to address this capacity gap.

Another factor that the Birla group may have considered was the challenge of controlling the external environment while they were away from home. For example, strikes have disrupted supply chains at Tata Group-owned Jaguar Land Rover plants in the United Kingdom. The Adani Group’s Carmichael mining project in Australia has been delayed due to a bitter battle with environmental groups. Birla is remaining at home and not taking any risks.


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