Netflix continued healthy after-market trade in the US on October 19 after rallying to a record high a day earlier on higher-than-expected quarterly results. Gregory K. Peters, Netflix’s co-CEO, mentioned in the earnings call the steady flow of hit titles from countries such as India.

Along with mentioning the country that flaunts a massive regional catalogue, Peters talked about Thailand and South Korea, stressing the “decade-plus investment in those creative communities, working with local storytellers there and making sure that they have the capability to tell their stories in a compelling way.”

Earlier this week, Netflix announced the return of Emmy-award winner comedian Vir Das to the fore with a new untitled special. “This special will be an unapologetic direct shot of happiness to the heart… I’m honoured to be able to showcase Indian comedy on a global stage,” said Das in the official Netflix statement.

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The streaming giant’s India arm also dropped a trailer for ‘Do Patti’. This debut directorial by Shashanka Chaturvedi reunites Dilwale costars Kajol and Kriti Sanon, with the former in a career-first role as a police inspector. “This being the first time I play a police officer, I can’t wait for my fans to see me in this new avatar,” noted Kajol in a statement.

‘Do Patti’ is slated for an October 25 release, while Das’s special is yet to get an official date for streaming. Other notable titles include Anupam Kher’s ‘Vijay 69’ releasing on November 8, and Raj & DK’s much-awaited action-fantasy series, ‘Rakt Bramhand – The Bloody Kingdom’.

On October 18, Netflix posted a profit of USD 5.40 (Rs 454) per share on revenue of USD 9.8 billion (Rs 82,388 crore) for the quarter, above the market estimates, despite continued subscriber growth. The global streaming giant added just 50.7 lakh subscribers this quarter, as opposed to 87.6 lakh subscribers in the same period last year. Net additions have steadily declined in the financial year.

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Netflix India has not made significant hikes to its plan in quite a while, with its standard subscription receiving a price hike back in January 2022. However, research firm Jefferies recently noted that the streaming platform may increase the price of its select plans in the country by the end of this year.

A communications satellite designed and built by embattled aerospace giant Boeing has broken up in orbit.

The satellite’s operator, Intelsat, has confirmed the “total loss” of iS-33e, which has affected customers in Europe, Africa and parts of the Asia-Pacific region.

Intelsat also says it has taken steps to complete “a comprehensive analysis” of the incident.

Boeing has been facing crises on multiple fronts, with a strike at its commercial plane business and issues with its Starliner spacecraft.

“We are coordinating with the satellite manufacturer, Boeing, and government agencies to analyse data and observations,” Intelsat said.

Boeing did not comment directly on the incident, referring BBC News to Intelsat’s statements.

The US Department of Defense’s space-tracking website, SpaceTrack, also confirmed the incident.

An alert on the platform said the US Space Forces also said it is “currently tracking around 20 associated pieces” of the satellite.

Separately, two astronauts have been stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) after the Boeing Starliner capsule they arrived on in June was deemed unfit to make the return flight.

They are due to travel back to Earth on a spacecraft made by Elon Musk’s SpaceX next year.

Since last month, Boeing has also been dealing with a strike involving more than 30,000 workers at its commercial plane making operation.

Union members are set to vote on the company’s latest offer on Wednesday.

The new offer includes a 35% pay rise over the next four years.

Last week, Boeing announced it was seeking up to $35bn (£27bn) in new funding. It also said it would start laying off 17,000 employees – about 10% of its workforce – from November.

In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and to pay at least $243.6m after breaching a 2021 deferred prosecution deal.

The agreement was in relation to two 737-MAX planes that were lost in nearly-identical accidents that cost 346 lives more than five years ago.

Asian currencies weakened against a resurgent US dollar on Wednesday morning, with Japan’s yen extending a slide past ¥150 amid uncertainty over the pace of future Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The yen shed 0.4 per cent to ¥151.60 and South Korea’s currency dropped 0.4 per cent to Won1,383.1. The Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah also declined against the dollar.

In equity markets, Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index rose 0.6 per cent, leading gains, while China’s CSI 300 index trailed the region as it edged down 0.2 per cent.

Gold declined 0.4 per cent to $2,742 per troy ounce, slightly down from recent record highs. Brent crude futures, the international oil benchmark, edged down 0.3 per cent to $75.78 per barrel.

Several private sector lenders reported their quarterly earnings on Saturday. On the one hand, while larger lenders HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank reported a rise in net profit in the July-September quarter, smaller rival RBL Bank saw profits slump. While deposit growth has been strong, all three lenders saw some sequential deterioration in asset quality.

HDFC Bank reported strong results on Saturday, with the net profit beating street expectations. HDFC Bank’s standalone net profit in the July-September quarter rose over 5 per cent from a year ago to Rs 16,820 crore (versus analysts’ expectations of around Rs 16,570 crore). The net interest income was up 10 per cent from a year ago to Rs 30,110 crore in the second quarter.

The country’s largest private sector bank also saw deposits growing at a much faster clip than credit growth.

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Over the past several quarters, banks have been facing challenges to shore up deposits even as credit growth has been strong. Deposit growth consistently lagging credit growth had even the regulator Reserve Bank taking note, with RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das noting in August that alternative investment practices becoming more attractive to retail investors.

HDFC Bank reported a 15 per cent year-on-year rise in deposits and its total deposits stood at Rs 25 lakh crore in the July-September. In contrast, gross advances at the lender rose 7 per cent from a year ago to Rs 25.19 lakh crore.

Rival Kotak Mahindra Bank also reported a 5 per cent rise in quarterly net profit at Rs 3,344 crore. However, that was slightly lower than a CNBC-TV18 poll of analysts forecasting around Rs 3,513 crore. The bank’s net interest income was up 11 per cent to Rs 7,020 crore.

It saw a 16 per cent rise in deposits in the second quarter; its average deposits stood at Rs 4.46 lakh crore, while advances rose 17 per cent to Rs 4.19 lakh crore.

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Elsewhere, smaller rival RBL Bank saw its net profit slump 24 per cent to around Rs 223 crore, even as net interest income rose 9 per cent from a year ago to Rs 1,615 crore.

The lender also reported a good 20 per cent growth in deposits at Rs 1.08 lakh crore, while advances were up 15 per cent to Rs 87,882 crore. All three lenders have generally seen their asset quality worsen slightly when compared on a sequential basis.

HDFC Bank’s gross non-performing assets (NPA) stood at 1.36 per cent in September quarter, up from 1.33 per cent in June. Kotak Bank’s gross NPAs, meanwhile, rose to 1.49 per cent from 1.39 per cent in the same period. RBL Bank’s gross NPAs also rose quarter-on-quarter to 2.88 per cent in September from 2.69 per cent in June.

Labelling petrostates as unfit hosts is a hypocrite’s game (“COP29 and the greenwashing of Azerbaijan”, FT View, October 14). When Azerbaijan hosts COP29 next month, it will be the 28th time the climate summit has been held in an oil and gas producer. Every host — bar Switzerland — has been involved in extraction. Every country in the world — bar none — is a fossil fuel consumer.

Instead, it’s wiser to ask how a country came to host, what they plan to achieve and why. Azerbaijan never anticipated playing host this year; we expected our bid to be vetoed by neighbour Armenia, which had occupied almost a fifth of our territory for 30 years. Yet in an unprecedented deal last December, Armenia agreed to back Azerbaijan as host as part of ongoing peace talks.

Negotiations continue and substantial progress has been achieved. Border delimitation commissions are active. Armenia’s commission has recently accepted the Alma-Ata Declaration — a commitment to the sovereignty of borders among post-Soviet states agreed in the 1990s.

Many would wish to see an official peace agreement signed before COP, but this is a very different proposition from two sides agreeing a deal in the negotiating room. Armenia’s constitution still contains a revanchist claim on Azerbaijani territory. The speed at which we can finalise a peace deal largely depends on how quickly Armenia can move on the issue. Critics calling this stalling should ask if they would sign a peace deal while their former adversary still claims their territory. Yet regardless of whether one is signed by the time COP begins, it will still be a COP of peace because of how it emerged. This year’s COP will focus on increasing the finance target — the New Collective Quantified Goal — to turn the global transition from fossil fuels into reality. Furthermore, Azerbaijan has seeded a climate fund, into which we expect other oil and gas producing nations and companies to invest.

Azerbaijan is demonstrating how an oil and gas producer can transition. We are not only implementing the region’s largest renewable projects but shifting from fossil fuel to electricity exports. In partnership with the EU, Azerbaijan is developing an electricity cable beneath the Black Sea to link Caspian Sea wind power to the continent. While we can’t influence the demand that drives foreign energy markets, we are reshaping the supply side.

Azerbaijan is hosting COP because we are walking the path to peace. At COP, we will advocate for new funds to finance a just transition from fossil fuels to renewables, a shift we are already actively pursuing ourselves.

Hikmet Hajiyev
Foreign Affairs Adviser to the President of Azerbaijan, Baku, Azerbaijan