India Inc's low confidence reason for drop in investments: Analysts

Current Affairs
Starting on Monday, YouTube will overhaul its systems to comply with a landmark privacy ruling, a move that could dent revenue for the Google video giant and thousands of its creators.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google settled with federal regulators in September for violating laws on collecting data from minors, and YouTube agreed to a series of changes. Videos designed as “made for kids” would be stripped of targeted ads, which fetch higher prices, and other valuable features, such as user comments and live chats.
The Federal Trade Commission, which fined Google over the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, has given broad directives about what it considers child-directed video, including clips with popular animations and kids play with toys. Individual video creators will face fines for violating COPPA going forward, which has sparked panic.“YouTube now treats personal information from anyone watching children’s content on the platform as coming from a child, regardless of the age of the user,” the company wrote in a Monday blog post.
These changes have been expected for months, but their impact is still unknown. Google has warned that some video creators could lose a bulk of their ad sales. The company hasn’t shared its sales or how much of its massive catalog comes from videos “made for kids.”“We’re committed to helping creators navigate this new landscape and to supporting our ecosystem of family content,” YouTube said.
“We’ll share more in the coming months.”

In addition to the restrictions on videos, YouTube will begin placing a text below “made for kids” videos directing viewers to YouTube Kids, an app that’s designed for children. The app has a much smaller audience than the main YouTube service....Read More

GREY Group India appoints Anusha Shetty as chairman & group CEO

Current Affairs
New York headquartered global advertising and marketing agency GREY Group announced an organisational change of its Indian arm on Tuesday. It named Anusha Shetty as chairman and group CEO of GREY Group India and promoted Sandipan Bhattacharyya into the role of Managing Director & Chief Creative Officer (CCO).
Meanwhile, Yashaswini Samat, the current CEO will move to Singapore to take up a senior integrated role for WPP-GREY. She will continue to report to Nirvik Singh, Grey Group's global COO and Chairman & CEO, Grey Asia, Middle East and Africa. GREY Global is part of the WPP Group of companies.
In her role as the CEO of AutumnGrey, Shetty has delivered several award-winning online digital campaigns. Shetty's career graph spans across India and the Silicon Valley. She co-founded Autumn Worldwide, a specialised digital marketing firm, in 2005 along with Abhay Rajankar. Grey had acquired a majority stake in Autumn Worldwide in October 2018.
A 20-year veteran in the communications industry, Shetty began her marketing career with Lowe Lintas in 1994. She has worked on multiple brands including Intel, Titan, Unilever and Honeywell.GREY said Shetty will work closely with Singh to ensure a seamless transition. Singh felt that this is a 'game-changing' moment for GREY India and that Shetty is the right person to take the agency to the next level with her experience and business acumen.
Shetty commented, “Convergence as a topic is not new. But to see this in action, driving value for our clients and our end consumers, is a dream for all of us. The breakdown of communication silos is the only way to create a future agency model and I am delighted to lead this journey with Sandipan.”

Bhattacharyya was GREY's chief creative officer and has been promoted to MD and CCO. He has been part of a winning team for multiple Lions at Cannes...Read More

CES 2020: Daimler steals the show with Avatar-inspired concept car

Current Affairs
Daimler AG Chief Executive Officer Ola Kallenius paused an ambitious cost-cutting campaign long enough on Monday to unveil a futuristic concept vehicle inspired by one of the most expensive Hollywood blockbusters ever made. The Mercedes-Benz AVTR, named after the environmentally-conscious sci-fi film Avatar, is designed to showcase a melding of human and machine interaction for a mode of transport “in the very distant future,” according to the German carmaker.
Oscar-winning director James Cameron joined Kallenius on stage at MGM Park Theater to debut the vehicle during the Consumer Electronics Show, now called CES, in Las Vegas.The electric-powered car features a fully recyclable battery, lateral crab-like movement and no steering wheel. Instead, a biometric control function “allows human and machine to merge” as the car monitors the driver’s breathing patterns, the firm said. The Tinseltown glamour at one of the world’s biggest gatherings of tech aficionados marked a jarring contrast with Kallenius’ recent public appearances after taking over the world’s largest premium-car manufacturer from veteran leader Dieter Zetsche last year.
The new CEO has vowed to slash more than 10,000 jobs worldwide to save ^1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) by the end of 2022. That comes as global demand for cars waned after a decade of almost uninterrupted growth. Daimler is also conserving cash to pay for an electric-powered vehicle blitz needed to meet emissions rules in Europe and compete with industry leader Tesla.

It’s unclear if the new concept vehicle will make an appearance in the long-awaited Avatar sequel film, the release date of which has been pushed back from later this year to December 2021. That’s one facet of the film franchise that Kallenius won’t be keen to emulate as Daimler moves ahead with plans to introduce more than 10 fully-electric vehicles over the next three years...Read More

YouTube's landmark privacy upheaval on kids video content begins

Current Affairs
Starting on Monday, YouTube will overhaul its systems to comply with a landmark privacy ruling, a move that could dent revenue for the Google video giant and thousands of its creators.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google settled with federal regulators in September for violating laws on collecting data from minors, and YouTube agreed to a series of changes. Videos designed as “made for kids” would be stripped of targeted ads, which fetch higher prices, and other valuable features, such as user comments and live chats.
The Federal Trade Commission, which fined Google over the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, has given broad directives about what it considers child-directed video, including clips with popular animations and kids play with toys. Individual video creators will face fines for violating COPPA going forward, which has sparked panic.“YouTube now treats personal information from anyone watching children’s content on the platform as coming from a child, regardless of the age of the user,” the company wrote in a Monday blog post.
These changes have been expected for months, but their impact is still unknown. Google has warned that some video creators could lose a bulk of their ad sales. The company hasn’t shared its sales or how much of its massive catalog comes from videos “made for kids.”“We’re committed to helping creators navigate this new landscape and to supporting our ecosystem of family content,” YouTube said.
“We’ll share more in the coming months.”

In addition to the restrictions on videos, YouTube will begin placing a text below “made for kids” videos directing viewers to YouTube Kids, an app that’s designed for children. The app has a much smaller audience than the main YouTube service....Read More

Four CEOs found the secret to thriving during the retail apocalypse

Current Affairs
Buying things has never been easier. Selling them, however, is increasingly difficult. Blame changing tastes and the explosion of online options for killing off numerous retailers and forcing others to rewrite playbooks. Just last year about four dozen chief executives of U.S. companies making everything from Tupperware to jeans departed, according to researcher Exechange.
“The game has changed,” said John Wood, a vice chairman at recruiting firm Heidrick & Struggles. Much of the traditional marketing and merchandising that worked in the past doesn’t anymore, he said. Plus, today's CEOs need different skills, like enough humility to know their limits and continually upgrade their management teams, said Alice Elliot, founder and CEO of the Elliot Group, an executive search firm.
In pursuit of what may breed retail success in this new decade—one that’s bound to cause even more upheaval—Bloomberg News interviewed the chief executives of four chains that are thriving. Mary Dillon of Ulta Beauty Inc., Ritch Allison of Domino’s Pizza Inc., Eric Lindberg of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. and Wingstop Inc.’s Charlie Morrison took different paths to success, but two themes emerged—convenience is crucial and stores still matter.
Department-Store Killer

The woes of department stores, like Macy’s, get blamed on e-commerce, but brick-and-mortar competitor Ulta has also played a central role. Makeup is one of the biggest attractions for department stores, and Ulta’s supersized outlets, filled with major brands at often lower prices, have been poaching those customers. In the past decade, its sales jumped almost sixfold to more than $7 billion, leading to a stock gain of more than 1,000%. CEO Mary Dillon, a veteran marketer and former head of U.S. Cellular Corp....Read More

Big taxpayers yet to take benefits of Sabka Vishwas amnesty scheme

Current Affairs
As many as 87.5 per cent of the eligible taxpayers have taken advantage of Sabka Vishwas, a dispute resolution-cum-amnesty scheme, which has been extended till January 15.
However, the large taxpayers who are almost 12.5 per cent of the total eligible taxpayers with total tax amount of Rs 1.7 trillion under litigation has yet to make declaration under this scheme.
According to sources, the government is unlikely to further extend the scheme which went live on September 1, 2019. The sources said till now, 161,214 taxpayers (87.5 per cent) out of the total 184,000 eligible taxpayers have already availed the scheme.
These taxpayers have declared tax dues of around Rs 79,968 crore and after availing the various reliefs and amnesty as per the rules of the scheme, they would pay around Rs 35,094 crore, sources said.

However, only 23,000 (about 12.5 per cent of the total) eligible taxpayers have not yet applied under the scheme while the vast majority of the smaller taxpayers have already opted for the scheme. The sources said its officers are pursuing taxpayers to avail this scheme before January 15 as it would not be extend further.....Read More

Iraq asks foreign troops to leave; Trump threatens Iran with retaliation

Current Affairs
Iraq's parliament called on Sunday for US and other foreign troops to leave as a backlash grows against the US killing of a topIranian general, and President Donald Trump doubled down on threats to target Iranian cultural sites if Tehran retaliates.
Deepening a crisis that has heightened fears of a major Middle East conflagration, Iran said it was taking another step back from commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers.
Iran's most prominent general, Qassem Soleimani, was killed on Friday in a U.S. drone strike on his convoy at Baghdad airport, an attack that carried U.S.-Iranian hostilities into uncharted waters.
An Iranian government minister denounced Trump as a "terrorist in a suit" after the U.S. president sent a series of Twitter posts on Saturday threatening to hit 52 Iranian sites, including targets important to Iranian culture, if Tehran attacks Americans or US assets to avenge Soleimani's death.
Talking to reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Washington from Florida on Sunday evening, Trump stood by those comments.
"They're allowed to kill our people. They're allowed to torture and maim our people. They're allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we're not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn't work that way," he said.
Democratic critics of the Republican president have said Trump was reckless in authorizing the strike, and some said his comments about targeting cultural sites amounted to threats to commit war crimes. Many asked why Soleimani, long seen as a threat by U.S. authorities, had to be killed now.

Republicans in Congress have generally backed Trump's move.....Read More