Nadella effect: Microsoft surpasses Exxon, becomes world's second most valuable company

November 15, 2014

Nadella effectSan Francisco, Nov 15: The bull run in Microsoft's stock this past year has helped the tech giant surpass Exxon Mobil and seize the rank of the second most valuable company, behind Apple Inc.

Under new CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has worked to overcome its reputation as a clumsy behemoth struggling to keep up with new tech trends and consumer habits. Nadella has cut expenses — and jobs — while pledging to refocus the company on mobile technology and cloud computing. His efforts have fueled a stock surge that drove Microsoft's total market value above $410 billion on Friday. That leapfrogged Exxon's value of $404 billion, which has been dinged by the drop in oil prices.

"Microsoft has made a strategic change,'' said Daniel Ives, a tech analyst at FBR Capital Markets. He said Nadella still faces challenges with a company that's heavily reliant on the declining personal computer market. But compared with other longtime tech stalwarts, such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Oracle, "Microsoft has done the best job of trying to skate where the puck is going,'' Ives said.

Apple is currently the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalization of more than $668 billion. That's more than the $616 billion that Microsoft was worth when it was No. 1 in December 1999. Microsoft shares fell sharply the next year.

But the Redmond, Washington company has earned greater cachet on Wall Street over the last 18 months. Its stock has risen nearly 70 percent since April 2013, when activist investment firm ValueAct Capital announced it had taken a $2 billion stake in the company and would scrutinize its strategy. Within a few months, longtime CEO Steve Ballmer announced plans to retire. The move was described as unrelated.

Since then, Nadella has announced new initiatives to expand in cloud computing, which promises to be more lucrative than the traditional model of selling software that is installed on clients' computers. Microsoft has also promised a redesign of its flagship Windows operating system and released versions of other popular software for smartphones and tablets, including devices made by competitor Apple.

Microsoft shares have outperformed the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index, which gained about 45 percent in the same 18-month period. The stock hit $50.04 on Friday, its highest point since early 2000, before slipping to the $49.50 range in afternoon trading.

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News Network
March 3,2020

Chennai, Mar 3: The Madras High Court has ruled that if a working woman gives birth to a child in the second delivery after twins in the first, she is not entitled to maternity benefits as it should be treated as third child.

"As per existing rules, a woman can avail such benefits only for her first two deliveries. Even otherwise it is debatable as to whether the delivery is not a second delivery but a third one, in as much as ordinarily when twins are born they are delivered one after another, and their age and their inter-se elderly status is also determined by virtue of the gap of time between their arrivals, which amounts to two deliveries and not one simultaneous act," the court said.

The first bench, comprising Chief Justice A P Sahi and Justice Subramonium Prasad stated this while allowing the appeal from Ministry of Home Affairs.

It set aside the order June 18 2019 order of a single Judge, who extended 180 days of maternity leave and other benefits to a woman member of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) under the rules governing the Tamil Nadu government servants.

The issue pertains to an appeal moved by the ministry, which contended that the leave claim is by a member of CISF to whom the maternity rules of Tamil Nadu would not apply.

She would be covered by the maternity benefits as provided under the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, the ministry said.

When the appeal came up for hearing, the bench said it found that a second delivery, which, in the present case, resulted in a third child, cannot be interpreted so as to add to the mathematical precision that is defined in the rules.

The admissibility of benefits would be limited if the claimant has not more than two children, the bench said "This fact therefore changes the entire nature of the relief which is sought for by the woman petitioner, which aspect has been completely overlooked by the single judge", the bench said.

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News Network
March 9,2020

New Delhi, Mar 9: The Delhi Police Special Cell on Monday arrested a PFI member Danish from UP''s Moradabad for allegedly spreading fake propaganda during anti- CAA protests.

"Danish was the head of the Counter Intelligence Wing of PFI and has been actively participating in the anti-CAA protest across the city," sources in the Delhi Police Special Cell said.

Sources further claimed that his arrest has given clues regarding the Information war by the Popular Front of India (PFI).

The FIR related to the protest was filed by the Crime Branch but since the larger conspiracy regarding the Delhi riots is being probed by the Cell, the matter has been transferred to them.

Delhi Police Special Cell had on Sunday arrested a Kashmiri couple from Okhla for alleged links with Islamic State (IS) Khorasan module.

The couple have been identified as Jahanjeb Sami (husband) and Hinda Bashir Beg (wife). The police have seized some objectionable material from them and were interrogating them.

When asked about the couple, the sources said, "Officers of CERT-In are analysing the Eight Mobile phones and Laptop of the couple to question them further."

The couple being an active member of ISJ&K was operating from the Valley but later shifted their base to Delhi post internet clampdown.

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Agencies
August 8,2020

New Delhi, Aug 8: Former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Saturday said that it is unfair and unfortunate to blame the pilots or the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the Kerala place crash which took place on Friday evening.

"It is very unfortunate and unfair when experts come under television channel and they try to put blame on the Airports Authority of India or the pilots. Airport authority in an institution which has had survived various tests of time for the last 65 to 70 years, or pre-independence, so it is unfair to blame them," he said.

While speaking to news agency, Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that the 737 Boeing aircraft is reliable and the pilots were experienced, and it was wrong to blame them.

He further said that there are many possibilities on what could have happened, and said, "It is an accident and we need to find the facts."
Rajiv Pratap Rudy also expressed his deepest condolences to the family members of those who lost their lives in the plane crash. "This accident is terrible and heart-rending. 

I offer my deepest condolences to the family members of the captain and first officer, and the families of passengers who died and were injured," he said.

At least 18 people died when a plane carrying 190 passengers came from Dubai met with an accident at Karipur airport in Kozhikode on Friday evening, as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

"Eighteen people, including two pilots, have lost their lives. It is unfortunate. 127 people are at hospitals, others have been released," said Puri on the Air India Express flight that crash-landed on Friday evening.

Air India Express Dubai-Kozhikode IX-1344 flight, carrying 190 people on board from Dubai under the Vande Bharat Mission, skidded off the runway at Karipur Airport in Kozhikode at 7.41 pm on Friday in which several people sustained injuries.

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