Voters across the United States are casting ballots in what’s likely to be the most expensive election in the country’s history, projected by the Center for Responsive Politics to cost US$10.8 billion. But despite record-breaking spending by the campaigns and the possibility of a once-in-a-century surge in turnout, voter participation in the U.S. is comparatively underwhelming. Only 55.7 percent of eligible voters participated in the last presidential election, below recent voter turnouts in other countries (for example, 66 percent in Mexico, 76 percent in Israel, and 87 percent in Belgium). That means about 100 million U.S. citizens did not exercise…

Biscuit maker Mrs Bectors Food Specialities has filed draft papers with markets regulator Sebi to raise Rs 550 crore through an initial share-sale. The IPO comprises fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 50 crore and offer of sale to the tune of Rs 500 crore by existing shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with Sebi. Linus Private Limited, Mabel Private Limited , GW Confectionery Pte Ltd and GW Crown Pte Ltd will be offering stocks in the initial share-sale. Net proceeds of the issue would…

October 19, 2020 7 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. In the span of a few short weeks, the coronavirus pandemic completely reshaped shopping and left many retailers struggling to survive. Neiman Marcus, JCPenney, J. Crew, and other popular chains filed for bankruptcy. According to a report from Yelp, 60 percent of listed businesses that shut their doors during the pandemic have closed for good, including 48 percent of retail stores. At the same time, the crisis is opening up opportunities for retail to evolve. It has disrupted  when, where, and how people shop, creating space…

The Indian insurance regulator has allowed renewal, migration and portability of Covid-19 specific standard health insurance policies — Corona Kavach, Corona Rakshak and Group Corona Kavach Policy.     The move is expected to increase the sale of other health insurance policies.   In a circular issued on Tuesday, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has said the insurers have the choice to allow renewal, migration and portability of the above policies.   According to IRDAI, renewal of the policies is…

Listed companies spent Rs 36,000 crore on research and development (R&D) — just 0.9 per cent of revenues. As a percentage of GDP, R&D spends in India have averaged 0.7 per cent in the past six years, ICICI Securities’s analysis showed. India’s R&D spends are “relatively low as compared to other emerging economies (1-1.5 per cent) and significantly lower than developed economies and China (more than 2 per cent),” said Vinod Karki, Siddharth Gupta, and Anagha Deodhar, analysts at the brokerage. Dear Reader, Business Standard has…

October 18, 2020 8 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. What if prospects came to you? That’s the point of authority marketing.  Authority marketing is a multifaceted approach that includes content marketing, public relations, speaking, and for many, authorship. Some call it “attraction marketing” or “doing thought leadership.” But whatever you choose to call it, the goal is to position yourself as an authority and have prospects knocking on your door.  This approach is particularly valuable in this era of information availability. Most sales conversations don’t start with a prospect actually reaching out to you or…

In this podcast, Business Standard’s Sanjay Kumar Singh explains the difference between active and passive funds, why should an investor get into passive funds and more Topicspassive funds | Mutual Funds | Nifty index One category that has been gaining interest among investors these days is passive funds. Some such funds that were launched in the market recently are– Nippon India Nifty Smallcap 250 Index Fund, Edelweiss MSCI India Domestic & World Healthcare 45 Index Fund. But what are passive funds? And can these funds add value to your portfolio? In this podcast, Business Standard’s Sanjay Kumar Singh explains…

Soybean at the benchmark Indore markets traded at Rs 4,145 per quintal; Chana price is expected to move up marginally from Rs 5,475 to Rs 5,525-5,550 per quintal in the Delhi market TopicsCommodity picks | Soybean | Chana Prices Soybean Soybean at the benchmark Indore markets traded at Rs 4,145 per quintal. For the week ahead, the price is expected to trade weak and head towards Rs 4,100-4,075 per quintal. There is weak demand from processors, besides attractive price could increase farm arrivals. Hence, the price is expected to trade with a downward bias for the…