A study published in Acta Psychologica journal has found that the sound of a person's name can cause bias when an employer is hiring them for a job. The researchers revealed that participants would pick "smoother" sounding names like Liam over names like Tate, which sounds "abrupt" for jobs looking for a person "high in honesty-humility, emotionality, agreeableness and openness".

Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an internal probe revealed he was involved in an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate. The KitKat and Maggi maker said the CEO's relationship with the employee breached its "code of business conduct". Freixe, who had worked at Nestlé for almost 40 years, was named CEO in August last year.

Flipkart announced acquiring a major stake in Pinkvilla India Private Limited, a digital infotainment platform. The acquisition aims to expand its reach and "deepen engagement with Gen Z audience", stated Flipkart Senior Vice President Ravi Iyer. The deal has been finalised and is subject to closing conditions, with both companies expecting to close the transaction soon.

Games24x7, the parent company of fantasy sports platform My11Circle, has begun layoffs following online real-money gaming (RMG) ban in India. Laying off nearly 400 individuals, the company plans to retain some employees and shift focus towards free-to-play gaming segments. This marks the second round of layoffs for Games24x7 within a year after letting go about 180 employees in May 2025.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, in an episode of 'The Logan Bartlett Show', said the American cloud-based software company cut 4,000 jobs due to AI agents. "I was able to rebalance my headcount on my support...I've reduced it from 9,000 heads to about 5,000...because I need fewer heads," he said. He added AI agents enhance productivity by handling untapped sales leads.

US President Donald Trump has once again claimed India has "offered to cut tariffs (on US goods) to nothing", days after Trump's penalty tariffs on India came into effect. He, however, added, "But it's getting late. They (India) should've done so (cut tariffs) years ago." Trump also said US is India's "biggest client" but America sells "very little" to India.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq's state-owned oil companies, Saudi Aramco and SOMO, have halted the sale of crude oil to India's second-biggest refinery Nayara Energy in July over EU sanctions, Reuters reported. This reportedly means that the Russia-backed refinery's crude oil imports in August were entirely from Russia. EU had sanctioned Nayara Energy as part of its sanctions package against Russia.

The ₹945 crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme has backed 204 ventures via over 300 incubators, fuelling startups in tech, social impact, and space. While success stories like Corover.ai and Fuselage emerge, founders flag delays, opaque incubator processes, and uneven access. Strong networks, incubator ties, and DPIIT recognition remain critical to securing early-stage support.

For Indian founders, investors prioritise revenue traction, growth rates above 20% monthly, and strong unit economics with a 3:1 LTV:CAC ratio. High retention, large TAM with defensible moats, and gross margins of 75-85% in SaaS matter. Clear runway discipline and authentic founder-market fit turn financial clarity into conviction, boosting chances of securing VC backing.

Deutsche Bank AG is set to sell its Indian retail banking assets and has invited bids from domestic and foreign lenders in India, reported Reuters. In March 2025, the bank announced that the headcount at its retail bank will be cut by almost 2,000 people, with reduction in branch numbers. Deutsche wants to sell all 17 branches, claimed source.