The DailyBrief Newsletter - 16 November 2022
A missile strike hit a NATO country, Donald Trump says he’s running for President again, and masks are no longer compulsory during air travel. This and more in today’s DailyBrief.
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Market Watch
Indian equity indices closed with marginal gains today with the Sensex ending 107.73 points higher at 61,980.72 and Nifty gaining 6.30 points to end at 18,409.70.
Sectorally, Nifty Metal fell 1.94%, Nifty Media fell 1.44%, Nifty Financial Services was up 0.34%, Nifty IT was up 0.034%, Nifty Midcap50 fell 0.90%, and Nifty Smallcap50 fell 0.68%.
A missile strike on NATO member Poland
Reports from late last night said a “Russian-made” missile hit Poland and left two people dead - something Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly blamed on Moscow.
This is what he had to say when the news surfaced - “To fire missiles at NATO territory! This is a Russian missile attack on collective security! We must act.” - prompting Poland to trigger NATO’s Article 4, which calls for “consultations among the allies in the face of a security threat.”
However, as investigations began, preliminary reports indicated that the missile was most likely a Ukrainian one, which was fired towards incoming Russian missiles.
Why this matters: Zelenskyy initially called the explosion in Poland a “significant escalation,” and offered no evidence that the strike was conducted by Moscow.
In fact, Ukraine has several Russian-made missiles in its arsenal, including some from the USSR, including the S-300 air-defence missile system.
Zelenskyy jumping the gun on something so significant could have triggered far more serious repercussions - like NATO’s Article 5 - which calls for a collective military response by all members.
The bottom line: Measured rhetoric would most likely be the key to de-escalation of the conflict, and premature comments could serve to be counterproductive during times of war.
Point to note: The US was looking to nudge Ukraine towards peace talks after Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson - something Zelenskyy explicitly rejected.
He had even said he would “never negotiate with Putin,” and that Ukraine would “negotiate with the next Russian president.”
Donald Trump to run for president in 2024
Former US President Donald Trump has announced the launch of his campaign to be re-elected as president in 2024.
"I am announcing my candidacy for president of the United States...America's comeback starts right now. Your country is being destroyed before your eyes," he said.
Between the lines: However, there could be several hindrances on his road toward the White House.
His past record as President and the January 6 riots are the major hurdles his PR campaign will have to overcome.
Multiple criminal and civil investigations against him and his businesses are other problems that he may face.
If he does win, he would be 78 years old (the same as Biden when he won) going into the White House, making him the second-oldest President in US history.
Masks are no longer compulsory during air travel
Amid a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases, the Civil Aviation Ministry has now said that the use of masks is no longer compulsory during air travel.
The ministry said, “The in-flight announcements henceforth may only mention that in view of the threat posed by COVID-19, all passengers should preferably use mask/face covers."
The decision is in line with the government's graded approach toward COVID-19 management and comes much to the relief of thousands of air travellers across the country.
ICYMI
Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath has offered advice for young investors hoping to dip their toes into the market - start with an FD, move on to an SIP, and then pick a low-cost index fund to start investing monthly.
MrBeast has displaced PewDiePie to become the most-subscribed YouTube channel of a single content creator on the platform.
Homegrown microblogging platform Koo is eyeing an expansion to the United States - its first market outside India - amid chaos over at Twitter.
The 2023 Grammy nominations are here and Beyoncé has scored nine nominations - the most this year.
Here’s a list of the most commonly used passwords in India, and surprisingly, “bigbasket” and “anmol123” are among the top 10.
A new study found that marijuana smoke can be more damaging to the lungs than tobacco, and people who smoke weed and tobacco had more lung damage than tobacco-only smokers
Sperm counts among men worldwide are falling at an accelerated rate, dropping by as much as 51.6% between 1973 and 2018.
A new study has found that three out of four people who invested in Bitcoin have lost their money.
Rest of World has an interesting infographic - The Ambaniverse - showing just how many aspects of our lives are controlled by Mukesh Ambani.