Why India shouldn't host the Olympics

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Friday, July 26, 2024. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started:Sensex was down by 0.14 percent, while Nifty dropped by 0.03 percent during trading hours yesterday.Nifty and Sensex aren't the only ones having a poor run. Their cousin in the US, Nasdaq, is having a bit of a meltdown too. Technology stocks, which were having a dream run over the past couple of years, have seen a massive sell-off this week. So far this week, Nasdaq is down nearly 3 and a half percent. Widespread fear of the artificial intelligence bubble bursting for these tech stocks has spooked investors, who have decided to sell en masse. Abhishek Mukherjee brings you the details of this sudden change, and what lies ahead for Nasdaq's tech stocks.Gold prices too are down around 7 percent since the Union Budget cut the import duty on gold. This move by Nirmala Sitharaman raised fear among investors because this directly affected the yields of sovereign gold bonds. But Ram Sahgal reports that despite this beating, investors in the gold bonds still stand to double their investments. As per the Reserve Bank of India, bonds bought in 2016 which are to be redeemed in August this year will give an annual compounded rate of 10.3 percent. In comparison, Nifty has compounded 13.8 percent over the same period. It's not all dull for gold bond investors, after all.Out with the dollar, in with the yen. Indian companies are increasingly open to taking on debt in Japan's national currency, as opposed to the standard US dollar. The yen has slid 18 percent against the rupee since the beginning of 2023. Nehal Chaliawala and Shayan Ghosh report that this makes it quite appealing for Indian corporates to take on debt — a sliding currency means that the borrower will have to pay less than anticipated. Companies like JSW Steel, Power Finance Corporation, and the Housing and Urban Development Corporation have taken yen-denominated debt worth about 11,000 crore rupees in the past 11 months. Even the Tamil Nadu government has borrowed a substantial amount in the Japanese currency, note Nehal and Shayan.Patanjali has a new segment it wants to conquer in the FMCG industry: toothpaste. After faring well in areas like ghee, biscuits, hair oil, and honey, the Baba Ramdev-led company wants to beat out the likes of Colgate, Nestle, and Unilever. We invited freelance journalist Devika Singh to take a deep dive into the company's latest pursuit. Patanjali has also done quite well in the ayurveda space, and now wants to replicate that success across the FMCG board. Devika writes about Patanjali's past, how it turned its focus into FMCGs, and what the road looks ahead after consecutive years of flat revenues.The Olympics start today! The celebrated sporting event starts in Paris today, and will continue for the next two and a half weeks. Every leap year, athletes look forward to qualifying and participating in this spectacle. However, every leap year, another discussion takes place: that India should host the Olympics. Siddharth Upasani writes that this isn't a very wise move. Hosting such an event costs about 8 billion dollars. While the organising committee is looking to make Olympics more sustainable and cost effective, at this stage, India isn't ready and doesn't need to host Olympics, Upasani writes.We'd love to hear your feedback on this podcast. Let us know by writing to us at feedback@livemint.com. You may send us feedback, tips or anything that you feel we should be covering from your vantage point in the world of business and finance. Show notes:The Magnificent Seven: Has the AI bubble burst? Gold bondholders winners even after slash in dutyIndian borrowers take fancy to Japanese debtA new Patanjali: The monk who sold toothpaste is at it again Why India shouldn't host the Olympics—a costly affair with no returns