In this week's wrapup, we talk about Starlink, Cairn arbitration case, the gig economy, copper squeeze and Jet Airways
Understanding Starlink
Ever wonder how you can stream a live cricket match from hundreds of thousands of miles away in near real-time? Well, it’s largely thanks to transcontinental cables laid out on the ocean floor. They’re the conduits for data to pass through — the real physical highways for information to flow. But cables are considered old school these days and there have been several attempts to find an alternative solution. And perhaps, the most ambitious attempt is Project Starlink — the brainchild of SpaceX and Elon Musk. With Starlink, Musk is trying to eliminate physical cables altogether and instead, stream data using a constellation of satellites. And if you want to understand the process in detail, do read this story.
The Cairn Arbitration Case
Cairn is a global oil and gas exploration company and about a decade ago, they decided to restructure their Indian operations. The exact details of the transaction are rather complicated. But if you still want to make sense of things, here’s a crude and less complicated version.
The Moment the Gig Economy Changes Forever.
The UK Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Uber drivers ought to be classified as “workers” and entitled them to minimum wage and holiday pay. And this changes everything. Until now, these drivers were classified as independent contractors in most places. They had the flexibility of working any hours they saw fit, but they never had access to insurance and all the other benefits accorded to full time employees. But right now, with the latest ruling, that premise may no longer be tenable, at least not in the UK. If you want to know what this means for Uber and Uber drivers, you have to read this story here.
The Curious Case of Copper
Copper prices are on the rise and they’re now reaching multi-year highs. The immediate explanation is rather straightforward. Copper prices are rising because countries are trying to negate the impact of the lockdown by spending on infrastructure. Meaning, as they open up the economy, they will need more industrial machinery, they’ll need more automobiles and they’ll need more copper. So of course, prices are on the rise. But some analysts believe there’s something else happening here. They believe that this is the beginning of a great bull run — a period where copper prices will keep rising each day. But why would anyone think that? Well, you have to read this story here to find out.
The Jet Airways Comeback
Jet Airways is all set to be rescued. London based asset management firm Kalrock Capital and entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan are all ready to take control. And if NCLT — the tribunal that’s adjudicating the matter, gives the go-ahead, Jet Airways could be up and running this summer. But how did we get here? Read all the interesting comeback story here.
That's it from us this week. We will see you on Monday. In the meantime you can share this article on Whatsapp, Twitter and Linkedin.
