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As fans remember iconic singer late BB King on his 94th birth anniversary, today's' Google Doodle also paid tribute to the legendary artist. Today's Google doodle dedicated to the ace singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, features a vibrant animated video coupled with his soulful track and shows the iconic Singer holding a guitar. from India News | Latest News Headlines & Live Updates from India - Times of India https://ift.tt/34Md4zH

Moreover, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the second-highest-ranking Democrat, is also going to address the gathering. This also reflects the strong bipartisan support for the relationship between the two countries. Over 50,000 people have registered for the event at the NRG Stadium in Houston which is being hosted by the Texas India Forum. from India News | Latest News Headlines & Live Updates from India - Times of India https://ift.tt/31rZBuG

DETROIT: The United Auto Workers union called a nationwide strike against General Motors Sunday, with some 46,000 members set to walk off the job beginning at midnight amid an impasse in contract talks. The decision, which the Wall Street Journal described as the first major stoppage at GM in more than a decade, came a day after the manufacturer's four-year contract with workers expired without an agreement on a replacement. Local union leaders met in Detroit "and opted to strike at midnight on Sunday," the UAW said on its Twitter account. "This is our last resort," Terry Dittes, the union's lead negotiator with GM, told a news conference after the meeting. "We are standing up for the fundamental rights of working people in this country." UAW officials said the two sides remained far apart in the contract negotiations, with disagreements on wages, health care benefits, the status of temporary workers and job security. "Our members have spoken; we have taken action; and this is a decision we did not make lightly," Ted Krumm, chair of the UAW's national bargaining committee, said in a statement. "We are standing up for what is right," Krumm said. Hours before the strike was set to begin, US President Donald Trump tweeted: "Here we go again with General Motors and the United Auto Workers. Get together and make a deal!" GM's last major strike, according to the Journal, was in 2007 when 73,000 workers at more than 89 facilities walked off the job for two days. In a statement, GM said it was "disappointing" that the UAW's leadership had decided to call the strike, saying it had presented a "strong offer" in contract negotiations. "We have negotiated in good faith and with a sense of urgency. Our goal remains to build a strong future for our employees and our business," it said. UAW's leadership had previously won overwhelming approval from its rank-and-file for a strike if it became necessary.Workers at Ford and Fiat Chrysler agreed to extend their contracts, but GM management was informed Saturday that the union would not extend its contract. Earlier on Sunday, contract maintenance workers walked off the job at GM plants in Michigan and Ohio in a parallel dispute with contractor Aramark. GM has enjoyed several years of strong sales, posting $11.8 billion in operating profits last year, prompting union officials to argue it is time to share the wealth with workers who have borne the brunt of downturns. But the outlook for GM is less clear, with concerns growing that a recession may be in the offing amid protracted trade tensions. GM announced last November it was effectively shuttering five plants in North America, including facilities in Michigan and Ohio that were "unallocated" for production. Protecting jobs and saving those plants have been key issues in the negotiations. In its response to the strike, GM's management revealed that its offer included a promise of $7 billion in investments that would save or protect 5,400 union jobs and address the issue of the two "unallocated" plants. It also promised that a new all-electric truck would be built in a US plant. Adding to the friction is a federal corruption probe of the union leadership, which resulted in an FBI search last month of the home of UAW President Gary Jones. A member of the UAW's executive board, Vance Pearson, was arrested on Thursday on charges of conspiracy to use union dues for lavish personal expenses. Pearson, a UAW director in St. Louis, Missouri, was accused of using union conferences as a cover to justify long-term stays at luxury resorts in California. from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2NgRQ7A

Moreover, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the second-highest-ranking Democrat, is also going to address the gathering. This also reflects the strong bipartisan support for the relationship between the two countries. Over 50,000 people have registered for the event at the NRG Stadium in Houston which is being hosted by the Texas India Forum. from Times of India https://ift.tt/31rZBuG

Gets his painting on Sachin signed by 100 international cricketers and 50 celebrities from The Hindu - National https://ift.tt/31qjORB

5 million in the State involved in plate-making from leaves from The Hindu - National https://ift.tt/2I8pyIa

NCP chief criticises CM for neglecting western Maharashtra at the time of floods from The Hindu - National https://ift.tt/30m15Fq

‘Many private parties ply without licence, fitness certificate’ from The Hindu - States https://ift.tt/34Mcphw

BENGALURU | MUMBAI: Consumer spending on online shopping sites is estimated to be down by about a fifth in the first half of the year to June as etailers have cut discounts and the growth slump has hit buying sentiment across sectors, according to a report by market research firm Kantar. To be sure, the company expects a “bounce back” in the second half, which is marked by the festive season when ecommerce players typically register a significant spike in sales.While the average ticket size has fallen 27% in the first six months compared with the same period last year, average spending is down 21%, according to the report that’s exclusive to ET.“The overall economic slowdown is reflecting in consumer sentiment with respect to online shopping,” said Hemant Mehta, MD (insights division), Kantar. “Consumers seem to be cautious and taking their time before making purchases.” 71142798 Mobile Phones, Fashion See Steep FallThe number of buyers dropped across several key categories with mobile phones clocking a 17% decline, while fashion saw a 16% drop, Kantar said.As per estimates by IT industry body Nasscom, the Indian ecommerce market was worth $38.5 billion in 2018-19, compared with $33 billion in 2017-18. Amazon and Flipkart comprise the bulk of India’s online retail market.ET reported last month that online marketplaces are expected to register 25-27% sales growth during the crucial festive season, slower than last year’s 35%, owing to sluggish consumer sentiment and a slowing economy.“Once considered recession-proof, online shopping has experienced a dip in H1 2019, in terms of buyers and spends,” according to the report. These changes were influenced in part by a reduction in discounts — which nearly halved between 2018 and 2019, the report added. Kantar analysed the online purchase behaviour of 50,000 urban consumers to derive its findings.Some of this was bound to happen, said Paula Mariwala, founder of Stanford Angels, which invests in startups.“Banks and NBFCs (nonbanking finance companies) have been reluctant to give credit and you’re seeing that here as well,” she said. “A major portion of customers in India had found access to premium phones and fashion through EMIs (equated monthly installments), and now that layer has been peeled away.” NBFCs have been gripped by a liquidity squeeze for about a year now, following the IL&FS default.Absence of discountsAnother reason is the absence of discounts.“Earlier, there was a lot of competition in fashion, for instance. We have seen a consolidation there and ecommerce companies don’t need to discount anymore to get customers,” Mariwala said. She said these companies are focussing on unit economics, which is why deep discounts have been withdrawn.“However, we are heading into the peak season as far as shopping is concerned, and are optimistic that the sector will bounce back in the second half,” said Kantar’s Mehta.As ET had reported earlier, Flipkart and Amazon India are maintaining aggressive targets, and hope to clock combined gross merchandise value (GMV) — or sales — of about $5 billion in October.Walmart-owned Flipkart said it hadn’t seen a downturn.“At Flipkart, we’ve been seeing good growth. As a value player in ecommerce marketplace, we continue to bring lakhs of sellers across the country to over 150 million consumers pan India,” a company spokesperson said. “We continue to remain very excited with the growth that we are seeing, especially in the upcoming festive season.”An Amazon spokesperson said the contribution of phones above Rs 15,000 had increased significantly in the past two quarters. “Our customers continue to show a strong response to the great offers from our brand and seller partners, including those for premium smartphones,” the company said.India introduced clarifications to its foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for online retail through Press Note 2 in December last year. The rules, which affected the working of large ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart, barred online marketplaces and their group companies from owning vendors and prohibited them from controlling the inventory sold on their platforms.FMCG, Groceries: Resilient but under pressureFastmoving consumer goods, the third-largest category in terms of buyers, weathered the impact better than most, the report indicated. The number of online shoppers in the segment saw a 17% increase over 2018 with spending increasing 91% during this period. Discounting in the space also more than halved over the past year in line with other categories.“However, the fact remains that consumers consider FMCG purchases to be more essential to daily living than non-essentials like new electronics, fashion items or mobile phones,” the report said.Customers may buy smaller sizes of products, but will buy essentials, said K Ganesh, cofounder, Growth Story, which has had invested in companies like grocery company BigBasket.“Also, one must remember that online shopping constitutes a very small part of the overall market, so you will see growth because people will continue to shop and buy more,” he said. “The new economy is usually decoupled from the macro trends, especially in the FMCG and grocery sector.”Ecommerce companies have generally been able to buck slowdown trends primarily due to their ability to guarantee better prices than offline retailers. According to a Forrester report, despite a steady slowing of Brazil’s GDP, which can be compared with India in size and user behaviour, ecommerce grew by about 18% in 2017-18, while the economy grew 2.4%. from Economic Times https://ift.tt/31qXTtE

KOLKATA: Integration of technology platforms will remain the key challenge for the merger of Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India, senior executives at these banks said, even as the government has selected the merger partners on the basis of their IT compatibilities instead of geographic reach.Harmonising human resource issues will be another key aspect of these mergers, as was seen in the past.“Asymmetrical entities are coming together, so there is bound to be some challenges,” Ashok Kumar Pradhan, chief executive of UBI, said in Kolkata on Saturday at an interactive meeting involving the three banks and customers.PNB, OBC and UBI use Infosys’ Financle software for their core banking solutions, while Allahabad Bank and Indian Bank are on TCS’ BaNCS software, prompting the government to stitch these alliances for a smoother transition.Similarly, Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank are on the same iFlex platform. Union Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank are again on the Finance platform.UBI and OBC use Finance-7 while PNB uses Financle-10. So, UBI and OBC need to upgrade their software solutions to have a seamless integration.On the HR issues, Pradhan said that the best available benefits from the three banks will be passed on to employees. “There will not be any retrenchment or voluntary retirement scheme,” he said.These banks have formed 23 committees covering every aspect of the merger, such as IT, HR, and product offerings, to ensure success of the exercise.Chief executives of all the 10 public sector banks, which are selected as merger candidates, had a meeting at the Bank of Baroda headquarters in Mumbai on September 4 to get a lowdown on the merger experience.“Bank of Baroda has given us a template on the merger and the likely challenges in this exercise. It was a great learning,” UBI’s Pradhan said.PNB board has already approved the merger while the UBI and OBC will consider it at their respective board meetings – both scheduled for September 18.The merger is expected to take shape from April 1, 2020. The merged entity will become the convenor of state level bankers’ committee in the states of Haryana, Punjab, Tripura and West Bengal, and union territories of Delhi and Chandigarh. from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2O9Czou

This is for the first time in recent history that the leaders of the two largest democracies would be addressing a joint rally anywhere in the world; this would also be the first time that an American president would be addressing thousands of Indian-Americans at one place in the U.S. from The Hindu - National https://ift.tt/302UFzV

Centre’s nod will help them plan their winter schedule from The Hindu - National https://ift.tt/34LpeZr

Fox News Breaking News Alert Ric Ocasek, lead singer of influential new-wave band The Cars, found dead in NYC, police say 09/15/19 5:41 PM

Forty-six people were feared dead on Sunday in one of the worst riverine tragedies in the country in recent times when a private ferry carrying tourists to the picturesque Papikonda hills in Andhra Pradesh capsized midstream in the Godavari flowing at the danger mark on Sunday afternoon. from Times of India https://ift.tt/31on9AE

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