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🗓️ Morning, folks and Happy Fridayyyy! ☀️
The runner’s best friend is now also doing community service.
Strava, the fitness app people use to track their runs and bike rides, is slowly turning into a “where should I live?” map.
A Strava heatmap of Chicago recently went viral after users noticed that it seemed to mirror the city’s wealth and class divide.
And the joke became a life hack: want to move to a new city? Check Strava first.
Why does it work? Millions of users record where they run, walk and cycle, creating glowing maps of the routes people actually use.
Those patterns can reveal more than just popular running spots, they can hint at neighbourhoods with parks, good sidewalks, trails, safety and enough leisure time and money for people to exercise.
It’s not a perfect measure, of course population density also plays a big role but the app’s running routes can sometimes reveal a city’s social and infrastructure divides surprisingly well.
Moving on, Markets did not seem to be in the mood for a bull run this week.
The Nifty and Sensex ended lower, giving up early gains as IT and FMCG stocks dragged the benchmark indices.
Meanwhile, realty and banking stocks outperformed, limiting the broader decline.
The rupee strengthened to a two-month high, while oil prices remained above $95 a barrel.
💡 Spotlight: India-Belgium bonhomie 🥳
PM Modi met Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who is on a three-day visit to India, the first by a Belgian Prime Minister in two decades.
Both countries aim to expand their partnership beyond traditional sectors into defence, clean energy and other strategic areas.
They plan to work together on modern defence equipment, including the Zorawar light tank, as well as a major green ammonia project being developed in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.
The most important part: trade remains at the centre of the India-Belgium relationship. Bilateral trade crossed $13 billion in 2025-26, compared with $15.07 billion in 2023-24.
Let’s hit it! 💪🏻
1 Big Thing: Global deals pouring in 🤝
Shares of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) gained after it signed multiple agreements with global maritime organisation DNV and Netherlands-based Damen Technical Cooperation B.V. to strengthen its capabilities in advanced shipbuilding and dredging.
What’s brewing: GRSE will combine its expertise in warship design, shipbuilding and marine engineering with DNV’s capabilities in classification, certification, technical assurance, sustainability and maritime advisory services.
Separately, GRSE has also signed an agreement with Damen Technical Cooperation B.V. to explore the design and construction of advanced dredgers in India.
Not the first time: the agreement builds on an existing partnership between the two companies, which includes a 1,000-cubic-metre dredger currently being built for the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).
Why it matters: India currently accounts for less than 1% of the global shipbuilding market, leaving significant room to scale up.
The sector is also crucial to India’s blue economy, with maritime trade handling around 95% of the country’s trade by volume.
The government is also backing the sector through a ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund, while domestic shipbuilding could support more coastal jobs, improve global trade connectivity and boost India’s growing cruise tourism industry.
2. Why global bond yields are surging? 🙀
Global bond markets are witnessing a sharp sell-off, pushing yields across several G7 economies to multi-year highs. In fact, global bond yields have climbed to levels not seen in nearly two decades.
What’s driving the sell-off: the US-Iran war has sent crude prices higher, adding to concerns that inflation could remain elevated. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has maintained a tough stance on inflation, raising expectations of further rate hikes.
Sounds like a lot of financial jargon.
What exactly are bonds, why are yields suddenly shooting up, and why should any of this matter to you? 👇🏻
3. Adobe does a lil’ shopping 🛍️
Adobe has acquired Indian AI startup Rilo, less than a year after it launched. Rilo will shut down, while its six-member team joins Adobe.
What does it do: Rilo built an AI tool that lets users create and run workflows simply by describing what they need in plain English.
The startup had raised close to $1 million from investors including Peak XV Partners, DeVC and Day Zero Ventures, and had attracted more than 10,000 users within months of its launch.
Why Adobe wants it: for Adobe, Rilo is less about one flashy new feature and more about adding AI-powered automation to its marketing tools.
Its technology could help businesses automate repetitive marketing tasks, while giving Adobe a ready-made team that already knows how to build these AI workflows.
A bigger AI shopping spree: companies like Canva, Google, Amazon and Meta are all racing to bring AI into marketing, and increasingly, they’re buying smaller startups to get there faster.
In 2023, it acquired AI video startup Rephrase.ai. Rilo follows the same logic: find a small team solving a specific problem, buy the technology, and plug it into a much bigger ecosystem.
4. Can old TV serials work as micro-dramas? 👀
Sun TV is turning old TV serials into two-minute dramas.
It has 65,000 hours of content sitting in its library. Now, it is re-editing that content for the Reels generation. Old shows, newer audiences, and much cheaper than starting from scratch.
5. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
What went up ⬆️
🌬️ Inox Wind rose close to 4% after it secured a ₹755 crore order from Indian Oil Corporation for a 100 MW wind project.
😎 Welspun Corp gained over 4.5% after Jefferies initiated ‘Buy’, highlighting its global line pipe leadership and strong US-West Asia prospects.
🙇🏼♀️ ICICI Bank ended in the green as it acquired an additional 2% stake in ICICI Prudential Life for ₹1,470 crore, raising its holding to around 52.8%.
🟢 Axis Bank and HDFC Bank climbed after RBI’s overseas capital-raising measures attracted a stronger-than-expected $127.2 billion in foreign currency inflows.
😮💨 SML Mahindra surged 7.5% as the company targets 10-12% commercial vehicle market share by FY31 and over 20% by FY36.
🌞 Saatvik Green Energy went up after its subsidiary secured a ₹297.5 crore solar module order from two independent power producers/EPC players.
What went down ⬇️
👀 Persistent Systems fell after its board approved raising up to $1.25 billion through debt, including external commercial borrowings and debentures.
🫤 Hexaware Technologies tumbled nearly 3% after appointing Vivek Jetley as CEO-designate, succeeding Srikrishna Ramakarthikeyan, who is stepping down after 12 years.
🫡 Godrej Consumer Products slipped close to 3% despite retaining FY27 guidance for double-digit consolidated revenue and EBITDA growth at its analyst meeting.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
📈 Services growth: India’s services PMI rose to 54.1 in August, while hiring growth hit a 15-month high.
💵 Dollar inflows: RBI’s FCNR-B deposit facility attracted over $127 billion, far exceeding market estimates after measures to boost foreign capital inflows.
✈️ Engine delivery: HAL received 3 more GE F404 engines for the Tejas Mk1A, taking total deliveries to 10 engines.
🚀 Deal done: Bharat Forge’s KSSL partnered with FN Herstal to explore Indian production of small arms, weapon systems and counter-drone solutions.
🚕 Pink slips: Uber is cutting 3,300 jobs and exiting Nigeria and Uganda, as it redirects resources towards robotaxis and autonomous vehicles.
🛒 Shopping spree: Nvidia is buying AI startup Hugging Face for $13 billion, with $1 billion set aside to retain employees joining Nvidia.
And that’s a wrap. Pour yourself an extra one this weekend. 😎
We’ll be back like clockwork on Monday!
Hit that 💚 if you liked this issue.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational and research purposes only. Nothing here should be considered financial, investment, legal, or professional advice.
