Big Four on anti-trust radar, expats eye India for career boost, and more news

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The Competition Commission of India could soon investigate Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG for antitrust activities, Reuters reports. That's because the government feels the Big Four's dominance could be creating entry barriers for new players and thwarting competition. Data from NSE Infobase shows the four audit firms cater to almost 60% of the top 500 companies trading on the National Stock Exchange. But they are going through a period of increased scrutiny: last year, PwC’s India unit was banned for two years for its role in the Satyam saga while Deloitte and a KPMG affiliate are being probed for failing to unearth discrepancies at IL&FS.

Overseas professionals are increasingly moving to India to fast-track their careers, shows an HSBC survey of over 18,000 expats in 163 markets. Over 29% of the respondents said they received rapid promotions after relocation while six in 10 believed India is a good place to pick up new skills. Also, nearly one in two expats felt a greater sense of fulfilment after moving to India. There are material gains, too: expats’ gross annual personal income rose 24% upon relocation, with nearly a third of the respondents earning $100,000 annually. 

Air India has been told to freeze promotions and fresh appointments ahead of its stake sale, an unnamed official told PTI. The move comes in the backdrop of the national carrier’s precarious finances: media reports said the airline won’t be able to pay its employees beyond October. DNA says the government has also asked the airline’s management to go cautious on starting new flights and weigh the commercials exhaustively. Air India – which has a debt burden of over ?50,000 crore – is again on the block after a failed attempt to sell 76% stake in 2018. Here's what people are saying.

Also: Etihad Airways and Hinduja Group may jointly bid to resurrect the bankrupt Jet Airways. The two sides are reviewing the funding requirements and holding talks to repay creditors, an unidentified source said.

Disney’s classic remake “The Lion King,” which raked in ?13 crore on its opening day in India, has clocked ?55 crore in its first weekend. Analysts say that’s the third-best opening weekend for a Hollywood movie in India, after “Avengers: Endgame” and its prequel “Avengers: Infinity War”. The film has released across 2,140 screens in the country and in four languages: English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Globally, “The Lion King” has earned $531 million so far and overtaken “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” to become the biggest July grosser in the US. 

Employers at big companies have found new tools to snoop on their workers' texts, emails, chats and meetings, The Wall Street Journal reports. Dozens of new workplace analytics tools have come into use following advances in artificial intelligence and natural language processing technology, and companies don't always reveal what they are tracking. Proponents say such data-sharing can allow managers to better spot problem employees, wasted time and high performers, while others are concerned the tools might be used unfairly or breach trust and privacy. Here's what people are saying.

Idea of the Day: “Have you ever struggled to make a certain conversation productive?” asks Julie Zhuo, VP of Product Design at Facebook.

“When you make room to have a conversation about the conversation, it can help you break out of the patterns that got your conversation stuck in the first place.”

- LinkedIn Editors India/Share this using #DailyRundown