In this week's wrapup we talk about RBI's bonanza, Cyclones, solar power, Global Minimum Tax and the Olympics.
But before that, a reminder to check out this week's Markets edition where we discussed a rather interesting theory on why stock markets continue to rise despite gloomy economic prospects. Link here.
RBI's bonanza to the government
The Reserve Bank of India decided to transfer 99,122 crores to the government last week. And while many people have discussed the merits of such an exercise, we wanted to see how the central bank earns such a windfall in the first place. So if you're looking for a simple explainer on the whole matter, you should definitely read Monday's newsletter.
When Cyclones hit Mango farmers
Cyclones Tauktae’s trail of destruction is there for the world to see. It has damaged life, property, and agriculture. The pre-monsoon cyclone destroyed several seasonal summer fruit crops which sustain thousands of farmers throughout the west coast of India. Tauktae pretty much single-handedly disrupted mango harvests across the west coast. And even though the fallout has been pretty extensive already, this is only the tip of the iceberg here. So if you want to know more about how cyclones might affect the farm economy in the near future, you should definitely read our article here.
How did solar get so cheap?
One of the most radical things propelling the rise of renewables right now is the proliferation of solar cells in the energy ecosystem. Only a few decades ago, solar energy was an insignificant component in the energy mix. Today, however, it’s competing with fossil fuels on an almost even footing. This begs the question — What really changed for solar? And how did we get here?
We tried to answer these questions in Wednesday's Newsletter.
What is a Global Minimum Tax Rate?
Multinational corporations don’t like to pay their fair share of taxes. In fact, they’ll do everything in their power to exploit loopholes and minimize their tax liability. Most companies simply open offices in places like Ireland and the Cayman Islands — destinations where tax rates are low or negligible. And at the end of it all, they’ll have done just enough to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes.
But the US government recently unveiled a plan that could curb the menace once and for all. And if you want to know more about this ambitious project, you should definitely check out Thursday's Newsletter.
The Curse of hosting the Olympics
The Japanese government decided to postpone the Summer Olympics last year after Covid-19. The hope was the extra time would offer enough leeway for the organizers to reconvene once again in 2021. But alas, a new wave of infections have wreaked havoc on the Japanese population and there are calls from multiple corners to abandon the games altogether. The taxpayers want nothing to do with this anymore and yet, it seems the games might just go on despite great reluctance from the public. So you have to ask — Why? Why do something that is so detrimental to your own cause?
Well, if you want to know why, you should probably read this story to know more.
Anyway, that's it from us this week. We will see you on Monday. Until then, don't forget to share this wrapup on WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Twitter.
