Good morning!
Here are the top stories to start your day.
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⭐ Infosys lowers average variable pay
According to reports, Infosys has reduced the average variable payout of employees to about 70% for the June quarter amid margin squeeze and high employee costs. Earlier, Wipro held back the variable pay of employees due to pressure on margins, inefficiency in its talent supply chain and investment in technology. Meanwhile, TCS has also reportedly delayed quarterly variable compensation payout for some employees by a month.
⭐ Demand for e-scooters slowing down
With a number of concerns raising around e-scooters, consumers are pausing their buying plans, according to a survey. Fires reported in electric scooters continue to be one of the top concerns of consumers. The survey said that the number of people not convinced about the e-scooter's safety and performance rose to 32% in August, compared to 2% in August 2021. Around 7,000 electric vehicles have been recalled after over two dozen e-scooters caught fire between March and April 2022.
⭐ China cuts lending rate
In order to revive the country's economy, which has been impacted by property crises and Covid cases increasing, China has cut its benchmark lending rate and has also lowered the mortgage reference. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has lowered the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 5 basis points to 3.65%, while the five-year LPR was slashed by 15 basis points to 4.30%. Note: 100 basis points equal 1 percentage point.
Global markets (at 7:30 AM today)
| Indices | Today's movement |
| SGX Nifty | ▼ 0.44% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | ▼ 1.17% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | ▼ 0.78% |
| SSE Composite (China) | ▼ 0.39% |
| Dow Jones (US) (August 22) | ▼ 1.91% |
| NYSE (US) (August 22) | ▼ 1.62% |
| Nasdaq (US) (August 22) | ▼ 2.55% |
| S&P 500 (US) (August 22) | ▼ 2.14% |
Fact of the day
Indian fintech market has received $29 billion in funding across 2,084 deals from January 2017 to July 2022.
Source: Economic Times