Business
India’s retail sector: Market to hit $1 trillion by 2030; digital and D2C formats set to reshape traditional shopping – The Times of India
India’s consumption landscape is gearing up for a major shift over the coming decade, with the country’s retail market expected to reach $1 trillion by 2030. A new report by venture capital firm Fireside Ventures says this surge will be fuelled by rising disposable incomes, faster digital adoption and the growth of a large aspirational consumer class.Fireside argues that the change is not just in size but in the very structure of how Indians shop. The firm notes that retail channels are seeing their “most dramatic reconfiguration yet.” According to the report, general trade—which made up over 90 per cent of retail in 2014—is projected to drop to around 70 per cent by 2030, reported news agency ANI. At the same time, modern trade, e-commerce, quick commerce and direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands are expected to accelerate sharply. D2C and quick commerce alone may account for up to 5 per cent of the total market within the decade.With shoppers increasingly embracing digital-first formats, branded retail is forecast to double and reach nearly $730 billion, which would represent almost half of all retail spending. Fireside highlights that new-age, digital-native brands are currently scaling two to three times faster than conventional companies, helped by agile distribution, data-driven product development and more personalised customer engagement.The analysis outlines several emerging consumer segments. The firm notes, “Map your audiences, and you’ll see the opportunity take the shape of many substantial markets, whether India I, the 15 per cent population driving 35 per cent of retail and 60 per cent of branded purchases; or Bharat, the larger, fast-digitising 85 per cent, hungry for new brands and experiences,” as per ANI.By 2030, India is expected to have 1.1 billion internet users and over 400 million online shoppers. Fireside describes this as the “flattest consumption opportunity” India has ever witnessed.The firm concludes that India’s next hundred iconic consumer brands will be built by founders who blend cultural insight with digital fluency—creating niche, rooted and experimental labels that resonate with a confident, modern and increasingly regional Indian shopper.
Business
Trump’s new global tariff comes into effect at 10%
The global levy comes in at 10%, lower than the rate the president had threatened at the weekend.
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Business
How long will Jamie Dimon stay as JPMorgan CEO? Bank chief signals ‘few more years’ at the helm – The Times of India
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon signalled he plans to remain in charge of the largest US bank for “a few years,” offering fresh clarity on leadership succession even as the lender projected strong investment banking and trading performance, Reuters reported.Speaking at the bank’s Investor Day in New York, Dimon said he does not intend to step down immediately and may continue with the firm in a different role after eventually relinquishing the chief executive position.“I’m here for a few years as CEO, and maybe a few after that, as executive chairman, pending whatever the board wants to do,” Dimon said.His remarks come amid long-running investor speculation over succession planning at JPMorgan, where Dimon has led the bank for two decades. The lender’s board, he has previously said, remains focused on preparing a deep bench of executives capable of eventually taking over leadership.Under Dimon’s tenure, JPMorgan has risen to become Wall Street’s largest bank by both assets and market value, with a market capitalisation exceeding $800 billion — eclipsing the combined value of rivals Bank of America and Citigroup.Alongside leadership commentary, JPMorgan said it expects investment banking fees and markets revenue to post strong growth in the first quarter, easing concerns that recent equity market turbulence could disrupt dealmaking activity.Investor worries had grown after a sharp sell-off in software and technology stocks — driven by fears of artificial intelligence disruption — raised doubts about mergers and acquisitions and IPO pipelines for high-growth companies.Allaying those concerns, the bank said investment banking fees are expected to rise by a mid-teens percentage, potentially reaching the high teens in the quarter.“We started the year strong. Pipelines were very good, and it was broad based. The one thing I will say in M&A (is that) there are powerful strategic drivers,” Doug Petno, Co-CEO of JPMorgan’s commercial and investment bank, said. “I think a lot of these transactions will survive the volatility and carry on.”Markets revenue is also expected to increase by a mid-teens percentage, supported by elevated trading activity during volatile market conditions, when investors hedge risks and reposition portfolios.The bank kept its forecast for annual adjusted expenses unchanged at $105 billion as it continues investing heavily in technology and artificial intelligence initiatives.JPMorgan expects to spend $19.8 billion on technology in 2026, up 10% from a year earlier.“We continue to invest in AI and we’re seeing tangible benefits in multiple areas. Machine learning and analytical AI have been driving improvements in revenue,” Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said, as quoted Reuters.UBS analyst Erika Najarian said markets increasingly view large money-centre banks as relative beneficiaries of AI disruption, adding investors are keen to understand both productivity gains and revenue opportunities from the technology.Executives said US consumers remain resilient despite elevated interest rates and economic uncertainty, helping sustain spending and credit quality.JPMorgan executive Marianne Lake said the bank had not seen deterioration among lower-income consumers and that “everything is solid” on the consumer front.The lender is targeting a return on tangible common equity of 17%, a key profitability metric measuring how efficiently tangible equity generates profits.In January, JPMorgan reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates as volatile markets boosted trading income. The bank beat Wall Street profit forecasts in all four quarters last year, according to LSEG-compiled data.JPMorgan shares rose 34.4% in 2025, outperforming both large-cap US banking peers and the broader equity market, while the stock traded marginally higher in post-market activity.
Business
Spirit Airlines plans to slash flights, fleet in bid to emerge from bankruptcy as early as spring
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 taxis at Los Angeles International Airport after arriving from Boston on September 1, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Spirit Airlines is gearing up to shrink to a tiny version of its former self in an attempt to survive, according to a new plan it unveiled in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday.
The budget-travel icon said it will get rid of even more of its Airbus fleet as it plans to exit its second bankruptcy in less than a year. It expects to emerge in late spring or early summer, Spirit’s lawyer, Marshall Huebner of Davis Polk, said at a hearing.
The airline has reached an agreement in principle with its creditors for the plan, Huebner said, adding that secured lenders will make “material incremental liquidity available to Spirit via the release of cash collateral.”
In its second bankruptcy, Spirit had held deal talks with Frontier Airlines, and with investment firm Castlelake. Nothing materialized, but Huebner hinted a combination could be back on the table.
“This emergence will allow Spirit to do many things from a position of strength and stability, including to consider potential future industry transactions,” Huebner said.
Spirit’s new fleet would be made up of mostly older Airbus planes, “with the potential rejection of additional high cost NEO aircraft,” Huebner said, referring to the more modern Airbus A320 family of planes, adding that the exact size of Spirit’s fleet will depend on talks with counterparts like aircraft lessors.
He said Spirit’s annualized fleet cost would be cut another $550 million, down 65% from before its bankruptcy filing last year. The debtors have also eyed another $300 million in cost savings from non-fleet cuts, he said.
Spirit has already reduced some of its Airbus fleet and furloughed pilots and flight attendants to cut costs as it reduced its network, though some cabin crew members were called back to work ahead of spring break.
“Because every single day counts, and every single dollar counts, the airline industry is just as competitive today with this deal in hand as it was last Friday, and we must — and will — lock down what we need from other stakeholders and then begin a high speed march to get this storied company out of Chapter 11 at the earliest possible date so that it can write its next chapters from a position of strength,” Huebner said.
Spirit’s new plan will be challenging. It would pit a smaller version of Spirit against ever-larger competitors that dominate the U.S. market. Some U.S. budget carriers have struggled due to a surge in labor and other costs post-Covid, a growing consumer shift in favor of more upscale travel and increased competition from larger airlines that offer stripped down fares.
Spirit was uniquely challenged by a massive engine recall from Pratt & Whitney and a failed plan to get acquired by JetBlue Airways, a deal knocked down by a federal judge in early 2024.
Spirit forecast it would generate a net profit of $252 million last year, according to a court filing in December 2024. But it said in an August report that it lost nearly $257 million in a matter of months stretching from March 13, after it exited its first Chapter 11 bankruptcy, through the end of June. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection again less than a month later.
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