Good afternoon, Otter community.

Today’s edition spices up your midweek: Why economics cares about Taylor Swift fans; First stocks giving T-0 settlement; Kejriwal’s arrest piques diplomatic interest; Tik Tok is leaving no stones unturned; Gold Tokens hit Hong Kong retailer investors

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

• India summons US and German diplomats over comments on Kejriwal’s arrest 🗣️💼; Will repudiate any outside interference 🇮🇳

• RBI builds forex reserves to shockproof economy 🏦💰; US dollar absorption prevents sharp rupee appreciation

• Indian equities dropped 📉 by 1.6% in March from fund outflows, weakened sentiment in small and mid-caps 💁‍♂

• 25 stocks eligible for same-day settlement for trade execution 🔄 till 1:30 pm; Includes Bajaj Auto, SBI, and Bharat Petroleum

• DGCA delays implementation of new pilot duty rules 🧑‍✈, after mounting FIA pressure; 🛬✈️ Cites need for consultation

THE BIGGER PICTURE

“The Taylor Swift Phenomenon”

A Cultural and Economic Force

Got a sluggish economy? Just. Invite. Taylor. 👱🏻‍♀

Dubbed the next “gold rush”, sold-out Taylor Swift's “The Eras Tour” concerts are now saving economies worldwide… well, temporarily. 

Her fiercely loyal fan base is notoriously famous for blowing cash on 🧳 travel, 💎 swag, and costumes (because who wouldn't want to rock a sparkly unicorn outfit? ✨🦄), local economies won the lottery when Taylor Swift's tour rolled into town bringing an average spending of $1,300 per concert goer! 

The ongoing music world tour began on March 17, 2023, and will conclude on December 8, 2024, in 🇨🇦 Canada. And that last stop wasn’t even part of the original itinerary. But, when Justin Trudeau personally sends you a very public invite on X, you don’t refuse!

Can you blame him for being a “Swiftie”? Do applaud the man for what was a 💯 strategic economic move. Ergo…

Swiftonomics 101

Yes, Tay Tay is an Economics curriculum now being taught in high schools and colleges.

Why? 😈

Because everything Taylor Swift touched in 2023 turned to GOLD.

To be fair, Taylor also had divine help that worked in her favor, namely -

1. Steadily declining inflation 📉 

2. Tighter job markets together 👨🏾‍💼👩‍💼 led to

3. Accelerated consumer spending 🛍, driven by

4. Pent-up demand for experiential entertainment 🎭

And here is what she made from non-concert sales:

• Traditional album sales in US = 5 million copies

• Vinyl albums sales = 3.48 million

• Spotify earnings = $100 million

If you thought the ongoing Taylor Swift ‘Eras’ Tour crossing $1 billion in revenues was stupendous, guess what? In the US alone, it brought $5.7 billion in consumer spending!!!

And it’s not even over yet.

Each concert is a nearly 3.5 hours long show featuring hits from 10 different eras of her career. Eras was later turned into a 🍿 $200 million concert film in history 🎥, leading to a 12% increase in the stock of its distributor, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., post-release.

Time Magazine’s Person of the Year even crossed the bounds of industry differences and shared her magic touch with the NFL. Even American sports did not know they were ready for it.

Swift Effect on NFL Business 🏈

Did you know? At least 1 in 3 middle-aged Americans are self-identified “Swifties”! The division between her male and female fans is almost equal. Now, imagine the fan crowd she is drawing to the NFL!

• Rating bumps from more viewers, particularly young women, and Gen Z, tuning in to watch the NFL 👭

• NFL games broadcasts added 7% new viewers in 2023. Many Swifties who didn’t take much interest in football before Taylor started dating Travis, are now throwing elaborate themed game-viewing parties.

• NBC Sunday Night Football attracted a massive audience of 27 million viewers, with an additional 2 million women tuning in compared to last year, marking a significant 22% increase in viewership.

• To profit from its younger viewership, more Super Bowl ad slots are being picked up by 💄 beauty, health and 🧃 beverage brand versus the standard pre-election political campaigns or the big names in liquor, auto, tech and CPG.

Why the NFL needed this? For a business that solely survives on the number of its spectators, must we even ask?

Capturing newer & younger audiences = Business Longevity + More Profits

The City Chief’s ‘Love Story’

• Swift’s association with the City Chief’s games has generated 🏟increased merchandise sales, social media, and news coverage

• Her appearances from September to January at all NFL games to support Travis Kelce is worth an estimated USD 331.5 million in brand value generated through all the 📹 media frenzy over their relationship, across platforms 📡

• She even brought her A-lister friends. Hey! Who is counting?

• Power Couple Appeal: More viewers fascinated with Taylor-Travis love story are tuning in to catch a glimpse of the new couple’s sighting 

‘The Lucky One’ A.K.A Travis Kelce! 👩🏼‍❤‍👨🏼💘

You know who definitely isn’t complaining? Chiefs tight-end Kelcey! His no. 87 jersey sales shot up 400% after Swift attended his first game of the season. Even best placed on him doubled!

“The Swift Effect” isn't just about love, music, and performances—it's a global economic force to be reckoned with. From boosting local economies to driving tourism, we give you a peek at how this pop icon's tour impact compares in countries across continents.

🇺🇸 United States of America 🇺🇸

Taylor Swift’s biggest economic contribution was to her home country with the tour generating over US $5 billion in consumer spending in 20 cities. Of this, $2 billion came from retail sales alone, underscoring the unwavering support of her fanbase. Overall, the popstar singlehandedly added 

• 0.03% to annual retail sales

• 0.5% annual consumption growth

• 0.2% to the real GDP of the US economy last year.

Not impressive enough? At a national scale… perhaps.

But, every local economy touched by the “Swift-lift” is rejoicing! 🎉 Chicago saw +59% in hotel revenue and +8.1% in occupancy. In Pittsburgh, restaurants and bars recorded +13% sales growth, while the humble brick-and-mortar businesses achieved +3% additional gross sales.

🇯🇵 Japan 🇯🇵

Apart from Singapore, Japan was the first and only other Asian pit stop on the Eras concert world tour. Since Japan imposes restrictions on resale prices of entertainment tickets, 🎎 Tokyo is a rather viable destination for fans looking to see Taylor in person at affordable prices. 

Now, the Japanese economy is itself worth $4.23 trillion so the Swift-effect only made a micro dent of 0.001% GDP boost, most of which benefitted Tokyo. 🏯

🇸🇬 Singapore 🇸🇬

To grab a pie of concert business for a temporary economic boost, the Singapore government clinched an exclusive touring deal with (rumored SGD 4 million per show) 🤩 a grant offer Taylor couldn’t refuse, gladly making the Lion City her only Eras stop in the southeast region. 

Given how hopeful the Philippines and Indonesia were to host Swift, did this impact its diplomatic ties with neighboring countries?

😏 You bet!

So, Why was Singapore racing to host Taylor?

The overseas tourism flocking to attend macro-scale live entertainment events means 💲💲 big business for this city-state! So, of course, Singapore knows the extent of its influence on these numbers, it hosts the Singapore Grand Prix annually.

Plus, if Taylor can concert here, so can other 🎶 global music stars! This makes Singapore an even more hospitable concert destination in the future.

Any inflationary effect of superstar events is often temporary. What goes up must come down - like hotel prices, airfare, and ride-sharing fares. What you can’t deny is the juicy leg up Ms. Swift gave to Singapore's retail scene and the estimated 0.2% boost to its first-quarter GDP.

Since exorbitant customer spending spurred by organized events is often sector-specific and localized to host destinations, its overall macro effect is often subdued. 

As Taylor continues shaking up the music scene and beyond, her “Reputation” turns industries into gold mines. So, get ready to “shake it off” because, in the world of Taylor Swift, the economy's the limit, and she's just getting started!

THE MARKET MOVEMENT

1. IT: TAC Infosec opens to a full subscription after a 735% PAT increase last year 👩‍💻

2. Finance: Bajaj Finance share price jumps 4.5% amid reports of housing finance arm’s IPO plans

3. Hotel: 🏨 Chalet Housing sees a 5% bump post board’s QIP approvals for fundraising 

4. Textiles: Century Textiles & Industries trades at 52-week high 🧶

5. Consumer: VIP Industries stocks soar 15%, to focus on premium luggage category 🧳👜

GEOPOLITICS SPOTLIGHT

1. Russia escalates attacks, launches aerial bomb strikes 💣 on Ukraine's Kharkiv; destroys institute of emergency surgery 🚀

2. US sanctions on North Korea target 2 entities based in Russia and the UAE, both subordinates of a Chinese firm aiding Pyongyang's weapons program ⚔

3. China pledges to develop strategic seaport, airport in Sri Lanka; assist debt restructuring ⛴🛫

TECH NEXUS

1. Amazon backs ChatGPT competitor Anthropic, totaling $4 bn investment for AI race gain 💰🤖

2. TikTok launches $2.1 mn ad campaign amid senate review of potential ban bill l 📱💼

3. HSBC introduces 🟡 Gold Token to HK , claims first-of-its-kind blockchain-based real-world asset 🏦🔗

4. Fetch.ai, SingularityNET, and Ocean Protocol 🤝 to partner up on a decentralized AI alliance, merge tokens to create a single ASI Token 

5. Mark Zuckerberg personally reaches out to Google’s AI talent to collaborate, recruit 👥💼