Quick notes: Jane Street | Hydrofoil ferry...

• Jane Street's cash machine came to an abrupt halt: Foreign funds and proprietary traders using algorithms made $7 billion in the 12 months to March 2024 alone. That bonanza may be coming to an end.
  
  
• Manipulating Indian derivatives markets: How US-based Jane Street siphoned Rs 36,000 cr from Indian markets.
  
  
• Indian casino is a train-wreck: Indian retail investor losses on derivative trades widened in 2024-25 by 41% to 1.06 trillion rupees. India is the world's largest derivatives market, accounting for nearly 60% of the equity derivatives traded globally in April.



• Prada on backfoot: High Fashion's habit of 'borrowing' from India isn't new. Prada's Kolhapuri chappals are just the latest

Prada is at Centre of GI tag violations for its flat leather sandals that bear a striking resemblance to traditional Kolhapuri chappals.

Indian shops sell it for ₹1,000 and Prada is selling it for ₹1 lakh.

Indian artisans need good marketing or else this theft will continue. pic.twitter.com/F3rkAa75Zr

— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) June 28, 2025




• How America's Debt Spiral Could Spark The Next Crisis: America's debt problem is no longer linear; it is exponential.



• Ferries are making a comeback: Could the Electric Hydrofoil Ferry change the way we commute? “We see it as a blue superhighway that is still untapped”. Fast, sustainable mode of transit




• Unicorn: India's Rapido is outpacing global giants like Uber and Ola in user growth, while also achieving profitability . . . A ride-hailing unicorn is gaining users faster than Uber, disrupting the San Francisco titan’s effort to conquer a key growth market  



• AI's energy problem: Google’s carbon emissions went up again as its AI push continues



• Distress in Hi-tech jobs: Salesforce CEO Claims Half of the Company’s Work Is Now Done by AI



• One Way to Win Trump Over: Nominate Him for the Nobel Prize 



• The ‘Trump Pump’: How crypto lobbying won over a President. For years, cryptocurrency companies had endured a sweeping crackdown in Washington — a cascade of lawsuits, regulatory attacks and prosecutions that threatened the industry’s survival. Mr. Trump wasn’t an obvious sympathizer. He had once dismissed Bitcoin as a “scam.”

Are we being hoodwinked?

Is this the deal? India, Vietnam and China all get to pay the same 20%.

President Trump announced that a trade agreement with China has been signed and claimed the deal would begin to “open up” China. The strange part? We haven’t heard any details—except that it supposedly addresses rare earth disputes. On the Chinese side, it’s total radio silence.… pic.twitter.com/6xvfYXVqKC

— Lei's Real Talk (@LeisRealTalk) July 3, 2025

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What's the point of Quad if Trump equates India-Pakistan? If the only superpower, which calls India an ally, sees the region through an India-Pakistan prism, it is unacceptable. Rather than endorse India's sphere of influence, this undermines it.

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Trump Baffles With Sudden U-Turn on China Buying Iranian Oil: President Trump appeared to undermine years of US sanctions on Iran, giving its biggest customer China the green light to carry on buying its oil. . . . . India restricted from buying Iranian oil while China is free?

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Elon: America is going bankrupt quickly, but everyone is whistling past the graveyard.

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Old pal of Elon Musk has ominous warning for Trump: “I’ve had my share of blowouts with Elon over the years,” neuroscientist Philip Low told Politico. “Knowing Elon the way I know him, I do think he’s going to do everything to damage the president.”

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India caught in the middle: Rare earth curbs to hit EV, RE, defence sectors

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Time for Swadeshi platforms: Congressional staff members were informed that WhatsApp can no longer be used on their government-issued smartphones or other devices.

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No favours from Trump

After chickening out to China, Trump wants to "open up" India: The White House’s demands to “open up India” as it seeks a major trade victory — have made it that much harder for Modi’s govt to sell the deal to a domestic audience.

“Nothing riles Indians more than the idea that their govt was bullied by a foreign leader”

#WATCH | "...We just signed (trade deal) with China. We're not going to make deals with everybody... But we're having some great deals. We have one coming up, maybe with India, a very big one. We're going to open up India. In the China deal, we're starting to open up China.… pic.twitter.com/fJwmz1wK44

— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2025

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India gets no favours from Trump: Efforts to strike a trade “mini-deal” are dragging on. The Trump administration is asking India to lower its trade barriers, while only offering to give up some of its newly-imposed tariffs, in return.

“Whatever the government [in India] does, it will be seen as they basically capitulated to Trump’s demand. So they are in a no-win situation.”

The president has complicated matters by repeatedly taking credit for brokering peace between India and Pakistan this spring.

“The more he repeats his claim, the more a prospective U.S.-India trade agreement smells like coercion, not cooperation.”

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Threat of more tariffs hangs over trade partners: These governments have been hesitant to strike a deal with the Trump administration, worried that they only will be hit by more levies down the road. For some foreign governments, these national security tariffs are potentially more concerning than the reciprocal tariffs Trump is threatening to apply to all their US exports.

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Maybe India can learn from EU: EU to accept Trump's universal tariff but seeks key exemptions. Everyone knows Trump will eventually break his own deals, so keep it small.

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GMO junk: Trade deal hits hurdle between India and USA over US demand of low duties on agricultural, genetically modified food

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Trump looking at deporting Musk

Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!

And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2025

Quick notes: Ivy league | Urban highways...

• Can India create its own Ivy League? The country is home to around a fifth of the world’s university-age population. Why are they going abroad? India has been losing academic talent to America for decades.



• China and Europe luring American scientists: Dr. Patapoutian’s federal grant to develop new approaches to treating pain has been frozen. Within hours, he had an email from China, offering to move his lab to “any city, any university I want,” he said, with a guarantee of funding for the next 20 years.



• Saver of Pakistan: Trump to be nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Pakistan. . . . Trump is in awe of strongmen, alpha leaders, who stand up to him. Recall how Kim Jong-un of North Korea tamed him, and Putin has him on a leash.




• Expanding in India: The Trump Organization Has expanded globally since the 2024 election. And India leads, sigh.



• Securing its world-domination: China-backed militia secures control of new rare earth mines in Myanmar. China has a near-monopoly over the processing of heavy rare earths into magnets that power critical goods like wind turbines, medical devices and electric vehicles. But Beijing is heavily reliant on Myanmar for the rare earth metals and oxides needed to produce them.
  
  Morgan Stanley: China Is Maneuvering US “Into Weakness” When It Comes To Making Advanced Robots.
  
  Rare earth inventories may run dry by mid-July: China is the source of nearly 85 per cent of India’s rare earth magnet imports.



• Urban Highways Suck: "Cars and highways are great. But neither of them belong in cities". . . From Atanu Dey's blog.
  
  Car economy leaves India's middle class fuming: India has more than twice as many kilometers of roads per square kilometer of land as the US. China, which has built a lot of highways but chosen highspeed trains as the focal point of transport, has a much lower density.For intercity travel, India’s template ought to have been 21st-century China, not 20th-century America.
  
  The fastest train journey between Chennai and Bengaluru takes over four hours. In that time, one could go from Beijing to Shanghai, a distance nearly four times greater. Within cities, subways are coming up even in places where they aren’t a practical option.
  
  A death every three minutes: Why India's roads are among the world's deadliest



• The I Am: Nisagardatta Maharaj.




• Bicycling tied to reduced dementia risk and greater hippocampal volume retention: Of all the transportation modes older people can use to get from one place to another, bicycling appears to offer the most benefit in potentially reducing the chances of developing dementia.



• ‘Even a freeway is redeemable’: World’s largest wildlife crossing takes shape in Los Angeles



• Blazing India: Extreme heat forces India’s farmers to pick between low pay and heatstroke

Quick notes: Brain drain | Deep tech...

• GOP versus scholars: America is in danger of experiencing an academic brain drain. Other countries may benefit.
  
  India must decide if it’s ready to welcome back scholars: A perceived threat to academic freedom is prompting many academicians to consider relocating. Countries in Europe have taken swift action on the perceived brain drain from the US. Emmanuel Macron extended an open invitation to the best brains to relocate to France.



• Deep tech, shallow pockets: Indian deep tech startups raised only about 3.2% of the total funds funneled into Indian startups since 2014. Unlike e-commerce, ride-hailing or financial services, where revenues kick in from the beginning, startups focusing on deep tech take years to develop and commercialize their products. While Silicon Valley might have become obsessed with startups dealing in robotics, rockets, chips and other complex technologies, such deep tech companies are having a much harder time fundraising in India. . . Frugal tech.



• Bharat Karnad: "The trouble lies in Modi’s inordinate desire to please America, to be in Trump’s good books, and that’s the joker in the pack".
  
  Remittance Tax: Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' proposes 5% remittance tax, may cost India $1.65 billion
  
  Tenacity: Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
  
  Stand tough: China-US trade truce prompts nations to consider tougher tactics
  
  ‘Trump Was Forced to Back off’: Even Fox news reporter thinks President caved on China tariffs



• Al-Bakistan: Afghanistan plans to build dams to cut water flow to Pakistan.. . . Pak always wished to turn into Arabia.. their wish is getting fulfilled :)
  
  




• #FundKaveriEngine trending: Many called on PM Modi to allocate more funds and resources for the Kavera engine, emphasising its importance in the nation's interest. The goal is to end India's dependence on foreign engines for building fighter jets, promoting self-reliance in defence technology.



• US DIA Report: China still India's 'primary adversary', Pakistan mere security problem.
  
  Prepare for China conflict: "If India really did lose between two and five aircraft, as most outside analysts believe is the case, the explanation for that appeared to be the superior radar of the Chinese aircraft. I hope Indians are really reflecting upon what does this mean for a potential China-India conflict, not just what does this mean for future India-Pakistan conflicts".



• White Man's Caste:




• Toxic work culture: Suicide due to work pressure at the OLA Krutrim, the worst place to work.



• Self-Reliance looks like this: China's first 6nm domestic GPU with purported RTX 4060-like performance has powered on. . . . . What the U.S. Feared Is Happening: China’s Chip Empire Is No Longer a Fantasy—Huawei and Xiaomi Just Opened a New Front

Quick notes: PM yojana | Kill chain...

• Pradhan Mantri Yojana to rescue UK's economy: Hasn't India enriched them enough already?
  
  UK gains: Because British exports are so much higher value than Indian exports of clothing, footwear, and food, this should be worth £15bn extra for British exports and £10bn for India by 2040. . . expect this to get even worse for India
  
  Roll out the barrel: Scotch makers toast UK trade deal with India. . Our riches attracted invaders and colonizers. Today it is our dhaaru culture that is drawing them.
  
  FTA Impact: Scotch to get cheaper, Indian liquor stocks dip
  
  Limeys and cheating: India's exports to the UK may be impacted by Britain's decision to introduce carbon tax from 2027. “If Indian exports still face CBAM levies while UK goods enter India duty-free, it risks turning a balanced FTA into a one-sided bargain”.
  
  Limeys and looting: Sotheby's halts Buddha Piprahwa Gems auction. The collection is described as one of the most astonishing archaeological finds of the modern era. Its sale had drawn criticism from Buddhist academics and monastic leaders.




• Kill chain: While a spendthrift IAF invested in prohibitively priced weapons platforms, like the Rafale, the PAF invested in the “kill chain” inclusive of a few J-10Cs, Saab AWACS and mostly long range A2A ordnance.
  
  The PAF has initiated a new method of air warfare — combat aircraft staying well back in their own air space, firing long range air-to-air (A2A) and air-to-ground (A2G) weapons with exceptional support. Rafales cost $250 million each. The fleet of 36 is now depleted.
  
  The US is keen to push the far more useless and expensive F-35 on Modi’s India.




• US tariffs come with a side of Starlink: The US is reportedly encouraging countries to adopt Musk’s Starlink in tariff trade talks. India, Lesotho, Bangladesh, and other countries have moved forward with Starlink adoption in recent weeks.



• Woke flight? Europe launches program to lure scientists away from the US



• Manufacturing juggernaut in serious trouble: China’s economy on cusp of a deflationary death spiral