Sephora To Launch Here?

• Bugged Out. It was revealed that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had sought a secret inquiry after he suspected his offices might have been bugged. Mukherjee had written to the Prime Minister last September after an electronic sweep found adhesives, which might have been used to plant listening devices in the offices of Mukherjee, his advisor Omita Paul and his private secretary Manoj Pant. A subsequent search, however, did not find any devices. [The Times of India]

• Failing Grade. A list by Foreign Policy magazine showed that India’s neigbours—Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka—rank high in a list of the world’s 60 most failed states. While African countries dominated the list, Pakistan ranked at number 12, Bangladesh at 25, Nepal at 27, and Sri Lanka at 29. [Economic Times]

• Cosmetic Upgrade. Reliance Brands, the privately held firm of Mukesh Ambani, is reportedly in talks to launch beauty giant Sephora, owned by luxury company LVMH. According to industry sources the company has been scouting for locations for both Sephora and French clothing brand BCBG. Sephora, with over 700 stores around the world, sells several high-end cosmetic lines from YSL to NARS. [The Times of India]