Pakistan's first digital transport system to be launched in Rawalpindi

Morning! Newsflash: you don't have to read this newsletter anymore.

You can now listen to it by clicking the ‘listen online’ option in the email header, and you'll be taken straight to the website where you can find the audio transcript at the top of the post.

This means that now you can catch up on all the news while giving your scrolling thumb a well-deserved break 🎧.

In this week’s edition:

- The Itla Squad 💼

Business

Global 🌎️

Should’ve been a pod-caster..

Making money from chatting into a mic while lounging in your couch is not going away anytime soon.

Alex Cooper, the host of the wildly popular relationship and sex advice podcast "Call Her Daddy," just signed a massive $125 million deal with SiriusXM. NFL star Travis Kelce with his NFL brother also scored a new $100 million podcast partnership.

Key takeaways:

• But if these huge numbers and deals leave you confused—especially after Spotify laid off a big chunk of its podcast team in 2023 due to low revenue —you're not alone. The key is a big change happening in the industry right now.

• Companies like SiriusXM are moving away from the high-stakes, exclusive content deals that Spotify gambled on (like paying Alex Cooper $60 million in 2021 and spending millions on shows with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle). These deals didn’t deliver the expected boom in subscribers or ad revenue ( or the industry didn’t become the billion-dollar industry quickly like Spotify expected).

• Now, the focus has shifted. Instead of paying big money to make a podcast exclusive to their platform, they now prefer to manage where the podcast is shared and handle its ads. This means they still get to share and advertise popular podcasts, but without the huge upfront costs. This new strategy reduces financial risks and allows them to reach a larger audience.

Moving ahead: So, while the big deals are still happening, they come with new rules to tap into a huge market and still make profit. Podcasting ad revenue was up by 22% this year, and total revenue projected to surpass $2 billion in 2024.

TLDR: Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" just landed a $125 million deal with SiriusXM, and NFL star Travis Kelce scored a $100 million podcast deal. The podcast industry is moving away from exclusive, high-cost deals that didn’t yield expected returns. Instead, companies are now focusing on managing distribution and ad sales, reducing risks and expanding reach. Podcast ad revenue rose 22% this year, with total revenue set to surpass $2 billion in 2024.

What else is new in news

✶ The World Bank has increased India's growth forecast for the current year to 7%, up from 6.6%, due to strong government infrastructure investments and a booming manufacturing sector. Despite a recent slowdown due to weaker agriculture and services, India's growth outlook remains positive, with projected growth of 6.7% for FY26 and FY27.

Local 🇵🇰

Pak went from C rating to a …C

It wasn’t your budgeting skills that improved last month; it was the inflation rate that dropped.

In August 2024, Pakistan's inflation rate fell to 9.6%, the lowest it’s been in 34 months. This is a big drop from 11.1% in July and 27.4% last August.

Main Takeaways

• Inflation in August was 9.6%, down from 11.1% in July and 27.4% a year ago. The monthly rate went up slightly by 0.39% from July to August.

• Inflation was higher in cities at 11.7% and lower in rural areas at 6.7%.

• For the first two months of this fiscal year, the average inflation rate is 10.36%, which is much lower than 27.84% in the same period last year. This shows that inflation is being controlled better now.

• Moody’s, credit rating agency, upgraded Pakistan’s local and foreign currency ratings to Caa2 from Caa3.

Moving ahead: These metrics mean we are finally getting some breathing room from the inflation spike for the last few years but the 9.6% inflation rate isn’t something to celebrate either (the Federal Open Market Committee considers a 2% inflation rate ideal for maximum employment and price stability).

TLDR: In August 2024, Pakistan's inflation dropped to 9.6%, the lowest in 34 months, down from 11.1% in July and 27.4% last August. Urban inflation was higher at 11.7% compared to 6.7% in rural areas. Moody’s upgraded Pakistan’s credit rating to Caa2, slightly better than Caa3, but still considered "low credit quality" with a high risk of default.

News Flash

✶ Pakistan’s Lals Pâtisserie, a luxury chocolate shop in Karachi, won the 'Pastry Discovery Gem Award 2024' from La Liste, a famous guide for the world's best restaurants, pastry shops, and hotels.

Tech

Global 🌎️

AI will make sense of our emails

We’re finally using AI for what it was always meant to do: taking care of the work we absolutely hate, like sorting through our endless emails.

Google is launching a new feature called Gmail Q&A that uses its Gemini AI chatbot to help you manage your emails more easily and like all good things - it doesn’t come for free.

Key Takeaways:

• Gmail Q&A lets you ask Gemini AI to find details in your emails, show unread messages, or summarize conversations.

• You can activate it by tapping the Gemini button next to the search bar in your Gmail app. This opens a chat interface where you can ask questions like, “Do I have meetings scheduled today?” or “Catch me up on the emails about quarterly planning.” The chat box will expand to show answers and let you ask follow-up questions.

• It ain’t cheap to use it. To access it, you need a Google One AI Premium subscription costing $19.99 per month, or a business/education plan starting at $20 per user per month, with premium options at $30.

Moving ahead: Gmail's new Q&A feature started rolling out last week, and Google expects it to reach your Android device within the next 15 days. The rollout is being done gradually to ensure everything runs smoothly, and it will soon be available for iOS users as well.

TLDR: Google is rolling out Gmail Q&A AI chatbot to help manage your emails more efficiently. It allows you to ask questions like, “Do I have meetings today?” and get summaries of conversations. To use it, you’ll need a Google One AI Premium subscription at $19.99 per month or a business/education plan starting at $20 per user per month.

What else is new in news

✶If you see someone’s slides in office doing a bit too much next year, there’s a reason behind it.

Next year, Canva subscription prices will rise sharply due to new AI features. By sharply we mean jumping from $120 to $500 annually for US. Canva says the price hike is justified by the “expanded product experience” and added value from their new generative AI tools so maybe that sales guy might be getting his money worth on those slides.

Local 🇵🇰 

Us to govt: “Can we have decent internet speed?”

Govt: “Here’s another transport system”

Pakistan is launching its first system for a good f*cking internet for once?? digital transport and you guessed it: it’s in Punjab.

The new system will be launched in Rawalpindi to make public transportation safer and more efficient. Developed by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), this project will use modern technology to track and monitor vehicles, ensuring a better travel experience for everyone. It follows successful examples from cities like Paris, London, and the U.S.

Main Takeaways:

• A control room and e-tag system will be set up that will collect all details about vehicles, such as registration numbers, owner names, vehicle colors, fitness certificates, driver’s licenses, route numbers, and tracking information.

• The control room will monitor all vehicles entering and leaving the terminal. Only vehicles that meet safety and service standards will be allowed to leave, ensuring safer travel for passengers.

• The project is designed like the transport systems in Paris, London, and the U.S. If it works well, it will be expanded to other cities in (Karachi, look away) Punjab.

Moving ahead: In this system, people can file complaints online about public and government transport services, making it easier to solve problems quickly.

TLDR: Pakistan's first digital transport system is set to launch in Rawalpindi, Punjab, aiming to make public transportation safer and more efficient. Developed by the Punjab Information Technology Board, the system will track and monitor vehicles using a control room and e-tags, similar to systems in Paris, London, and the U.S.

Tech tour of news

✶ Two Pakistani startups, DealCart and NayaPay, have been featured on Forbes' Asia 100 To Watch 2024 list. DealCart, an online grocery platform, and NayaPay, a payments processing fintech, were recognized for grabbing investors' attention in the Asia-Pacific region. DealCart raised $3 million in July 2024 and $4.5 million in 2022, while NayaPay raised $13 million in 2022.

More interesting Itla (اطلاع) we consumed:

📖 We think we know what our next book read is going to be.

After reading this intriguing blog post from Men Who Yell at Me, featuring an interview with Sarah Manguso about her novel Liars, we’re hooked. The book offers a not-so-romantic look at power struggles in marriage (as if our generation isn’t already filled with fear of marriage).

Caution: If you’re a man with a fragile ego, you might want to scroll past this one.