Fintech lenders focused on small businesses are finding comfort in the steady cash flows of corner shops selling groceries, milk and medicines, even as Indian economy slowly reboots itself from the Covid-19 pandemic-led lockdown phase. Most fintech lenders are focusing on servicing existing clients and in the process turning off the funding tap for new […]
Archives for June 2020
Dine-in customers at eateries are scarce after lockdown
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Dine-in customers at eateries are scarce even after they have reopened following a nationwide lockdown, although takeaways and deliveries are picking up pace, restaurant chains told ET. Customer footfalls are at about 5-8% of the levels seen before the pandemic but are likely to go up in the next few weeks, they […]
India Inc chalks out new plans for staff amid the pandemic
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi With cities opening up gradually, India Inc is chalking out attractive medium-term work policies for staff, even as the Covid-19 pandemic shows no signs of easing. Companies such as Ola, Droom, Kissflow, Instamojo, Udaan and Flipkart, are putting in place measures that include part-time logins from home as well as offices, work […]
U.S. Democratic candidate Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules
(Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign published an open letter to Facebook (FB.O) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, calling for the company to fact-check politicians’ ads in the two weeks ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. The letter also demanded that Facebook promptly remove false, viral information and that there […]
Leave-based donation program available during pandemic
The IRS on Thursday issued guidance on leave-based donation programs, permitting employers to make deductible monetary donations for relief of victims of the COVID-19 pandemic based on the value of sick, vacation, or personal leave that employees voluntarily forgo (Notice 2020-46). The donated amounts will not be treated as compensation to the employees, and employees […]
GASB proposes accounting guidance for CARES Act aid
GASB issued a proposed technical bulletin Thursday to assist state and local governments in their accounting for funds received as a result of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116-136. The exposure draft, Accounting and Financial Reporting Issues Related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES […]
Take care of your staff’s mental health during COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept into the United States this spring, accounting firm Seiler LLP activated its crisis plan, allowing employees to make arrangements to work from home. On March 23, as employees from four offices logged on and work continued, departments ranging from HR to marketing remained involved to keep employees engaged, optimistic, and […]
ETtech Top 5: Jio-TPG talks, Digital India trends, renegotiating rentals & more
Happy Thursday! There’s no stopping the Jio juggernaut. After it raised Rs 97,885.65 crore through eight transactions in seven weeks, Jio Platforms is said to be in talks with US-based TPG Capital. The private equity firm, known primarily for leveraged buyouts, is expected to be nearing a deal that might see it invest $1-1.2 billion […]
CIO Re-Energizes IT Infrastructure with Public Cloud Move
CIO Chris Foster said the move to public cloud has cut costs (but not staff), provided access to advanced technology such as machine learning and AI, and accelerated efforts to work-from-home. Back in March as COVID-19 forced governments to issue stay-at-home orders, plenty of companies were scrambling to equip workers with laptops and desktops so […]
Introducing live video analytics from Azure Media Services—now in preview
Azure Media Services is pleased to announce the preview of a new platform capability called Live Video Analytics, or in short, LVA. LVA provides a platform for you to build hybrid applications with video analytics capabilities. The platform offers the capability of capturing, recording, and analyzing live video and publishing the results (which could be […]