Why the world's riskiest assets suddenly seem a whole lot more appealing. Emerging markets look to be in a sweet spot. Developing-nation assets roared back Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said policymakers are “listening carefully” to markets, denting the dollar and boosting the allure of riskier investments. Leading the charge among currencies was the Turkish lira, one of last year’s biggest losers. It posted its best one-day gain against the greenback since October and every major emerging-market currencies advanced. The global economic outlook also received a boost from a better-than-expected US jobs report. While a one-day rally may well be just that, bulls say developing-nations assets are close to a pivot point. Bank of America’s Bull & Bear Indicator, a gauge that told investors to sell right before emerging markets tanked a year ago, just flashed its first buy signal for risky assets since the Brexit vote in June 2016.
Chinese Support It wasn’t just currencies. For now, 2019 is looking pretty upbeat for the developing world. As GST non-compliance rate rises 3-fold, govt set to strike at defaulters. GST compliance has steadily declined over the past one year as 28.75 per cent of regular taxpayers did not file returns in November 2018 compared to 10.56 per cent in the November 2017, which is an almost three-fold increase in non-filers, a written reply by MoS Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla in Lok Sabha shows. Among composition taxpayers, the non-filers has increased to 25.37 per cent in the July-Sept period of 2018-2019 from 15.03 per cent in the July-Sept of 2017-2018.
GST compliance. Table: Lok Sabha The composition scheme allows businesses to pay taxes at a concessional rate and makes compliance easy under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime which was rolled out on 1 July 2017. Businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs 1 crore can opt for the scheme. Fake invoices to claim input tax credit increased from only 4 cases involving Rs 9.75 crore in 2017-18 to 499 involving Rs 3894.94 crore in 2018-19, the reply said.
Fiscal repercussions. PNB scam a civil transaction, being blown out of proportion: Nirav Modi. Vijay Mallya first businessman to be declared 'fugitive economic offender' A special court in Mumbai Saturday declared absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya a fugitive economic offender (FEO) on a plea of the Enforcement Directorate. Mallya has become the first businessman to be declared EFO under the provisions of the new Fugitive Economic Offenders Act which came into existence in August last year. The ED had requested the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court that Mallya, who is currently in the UK, be declared a fugitive and his properties be confiscated and brought under the control of the Union government as per the provisions of the new FEO Act. Special judge MS Azmi declared Mallya an FEO under Section 12 of the Act after hearing extensive arguments from the lawyer of Mallya and the ED counsel.
Mallya, accused of defaulting on loan repayments and money laundering, had left India in March 2016. Rafale debate LIVE: Sitharaman 'ran away' from my questions, says Rahul. Business Standard | Add Blocker. India's handset industry may go past the 300-mn unit mark in 2019. Gold rally hits speed bump as US payrolls data registers 'monster' growth. Defiant Fed chief Powell says wouldn't resign even if Trump asked him to.
No liability if e-wallet users report fraud within three days, says RBI. Nestle in damage control, to launch media blitz on safety of Maggi noodles. FMCG major Nestle India is planning a media blitz to tell consumers that instant noodles Maggi is safe for consumption, a company official said Friday. The move comes in the wake of the Supreme Court Thursday reviving the government case in National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) against Nestle India seeking damages of Rs 640 crore for alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements of its Maggi noodles. In the campaign, Nestle would publish a series of advertisements in all leading national newspapers informing the consumers about the safety of Maggi Noodles and the outcome of the lab test reports, which had cleared it for consumption, a Nestle India spokesperson said.
"Our approach as a credible, trustworthy and responsible company is to always communicate with consumers on facts, in a simple, clear and transparent tone and manner. "What you will see in the print ads to be released over the next few days is just that," the spokesperson added. With spectrum deal stalled, RCom, Reliance Jio seek clarity on govt's stand. 27 economic offenders fled India in past 5 yrs: Govt informs Parliament. Twenty-seven defaulting businessmen and economic offenders have fled the country in the last five years, Parliament was informed on Friday. Interpol has been approached to issue red corner notices (RCNs) against 20 persons out of these 27, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
He further said Interpol has already issued RCN against eight persons who have fled the country and extradition requests have been sent in the case of six. As per the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), applications under Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, have been filed against seven persons out of these 27, the minister said. Shukla informed the House that Westminster Magistrates' Court in London has recommended extradition of Vijay Mallya from the Uk to India. Jet Airways to meet SBI officials to discuss debt plan on Jan 8: Sources. India's debt-laden Jet Airways is close to reaching a deal with State Bank of India for a fresh loan of 15 billion rupees ($215 million) to meet its working capital needs, two sources aware of the matter told Reuters.
The airline has scheduled a meeting on January 8 with its vendors and lessors, many of whom are getting increasingly concerned over non-payment of dues, and officials from State Bank of India (SBI) to discuss the debt restructuring plan, the first source with direct knowledge said. The bankers are being called to the meeting to reassure the creditors, some of whom are expected to come to India from overseas, that Jet is working toward securing funding and has a repayment plan which it will share with them, said the first source.
Jet, India's biggest full-service carrier by market share, owes money to pilots, lessors, banks and vendors. Its problems have been exacerbated by higher oil prices and intense pricing competition in the domestic market. Ericsson India moves SC, seeks contempt action against Anil Ambani & others. Ericsson India Pvt Ltd on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking initiation of contempt proceedings for the second time against Chairman of Reliance Communication Ltd (RCom) Anil Dhirubhai Ambani for allegedly not complying with its order to clear dues of Rs 550 crore. Besides seeking contempt proceedings against RCom chairman and two others, Ericsson has also sought that they be "detained in civil prison" unless they purge themselves by making the payment.
It also sought directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs to prevent Ambani, Reliance Telecom Ltd chairman Satish Seth and chairperson of Reliance Infratel Ltd Chhaya Virani from leaving the country. "The contemnor named above having committed and guilty of contempt of court be directed to be detained in civil prison unless the aforesaid contemnors purge themselves by making payment of Rs 550 crores along with interest thereon in terms of the order dated October 23, 2018", the plea said. Maggi fiasco returns to haunt Nestle India as SC revives class action suit. More than three years after the Maggi ban, the ghost of the 2015 fiasco seems to be back to haunt Nestlé India, the maker of Maggi noodles.
The Supreme Court on Thursday revived a class action suit filed by the Union government against the Swiss food major for allegedly selling noodles that were unfit for consumption. The quality of the widely sold instant noodle is again expected to be under the scanner of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). On Thursday, while the Supreme Court allowed the class action suit by the NCDRC, it upheld Nestlé’s stand by not allowing any further sampling or testing exercise. Any further probe, it said, will proceed on the basis of the old report filed by the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore. The CFTRI had found lead at a level lower than what the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country’s apex food regulator, permitted.
The CFTRI is a government accredited laboratory. Parliamentary panel asks RBI to review rules on banks' capital needs. A parliamentary panel on Thursday asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ease its rules on capital requirements for banks so that they can increase lending. "Such stringent norms stipulated by the RBI for our banks ... is unrealistic and unwarranted," said a report tabled in parliament by the Parliamentary Committee on Finance. The report comes after the government and some of the board members of the RBI have put pressure on the central bank to relax capital requirements for banks as they seek to boost credit and economic growth. Former RBI governor Urjit Patel, who quit last month, opposed the government's demand for lowering capital requirements and warned about the need for a cushion to offset unexpected risks.
Indian banks are required to maintain a minimum capital to risk weighted asset ratio (CRAR) at 9 percent, against the global Basel-III requirement of 8 percent. However, it did announce its intention to review capital regulations. iPhone prices to India: Apple's 5 ways to fuel earning but only one works. If it weren’t for that darn trade war, Apple Inc. might just have squeaked through. In the three years or so since it became clear that global smartphone sales were slowing, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has deployed five key strategies to maintain earnings growth. After Wednesday’s cut to the sales outlook, it’s clear that only one has unquestionably succeeded.
ALSO READ: Apple cuts revenue forecast citing fewer iPhone upgrades, low China sales Higher iPhone prices As unit sales slowed, Apple has kept revenue ticking up by boosting the iPhone’s average sales price. Services Apple’s services have been the brightest spot of the past few years, averaging 26 percent annual growth since 2014. It’s also unclear whether Apple gets the same revenue from traffic acquisition payments in China that it does elsewhere. ALSO READ: Apple's Tim Cook faces toughest test yet navigating iPhone slowdown India Cook has long talked up India as Apple’s next great source of growth.
New technologies Buybacks. Two years after its launch, India stops printing new Rs 2,000 notes: Report. The government of India has stopped printing Rs 2,000 currency notes in order to gradually stop their circulation, ThePrint reported. According to The Print, the decision has been taken on the back of suspicion in the government that the currency note was being used for hoarding, tax evasion and money laundering. ALSO READ: ATM cash crisis: The silence on Rs 2,000 notes is too loud to miss The Rs 2,000 note was introduced in November 2016 after demonetisation. To counter the massive cash shortage, the government introduced new Rs 2,000 notes. As of March 2018, the total value of the currency in circulation was Rs 18.03 trillion, of which Rs 6.73 trillion, or 37 per cent, was in Rs 2,000 notes, and Rs 7.73 trillion, approximately 43 per cent, in Rs 500 notes.
When the Rs 2,000 note was introduced, the Narendra Modi government was criticised for bringing out a note of such a high denomination considering it had cancelled the Rs 1,000 note. Airlines' 8% fare hike comes a cropper as Indians refuse to pay more to fly. In October, worried over the red marks in airline balance sheets, top officials of the government summoned airline bosses. Junk the price war and make some money was the advice given. It was a rare demand from the government which has portrayed exponential growth in air passengers as one of its achievements. The government had a reason to worry. “Excessive competition has led to decline in tariffs affecting GST collections from the telecom and airline industries,” finance minister Arun Jaitley said in a recent interview.
The airlines did try. Data suggests that Indian flyers now used to a low fare environment are simply not ready to pay more for air travel. Data from aviation regulator DGCA shows that number of passengers fell in 12 out of top 15 routes in the peak traffic season of November. “Airlines in India have been unable to commoditize air travel. Airline executives are divided over this trend of passenger behaviour. Rafale LIVE: Why was debt-laden firm made offset partner, asks Trinamool MP. How a bad loan farce gets another rerun after U-turn in RBI's philosophy. A new year, a new central bank governor.
Yet the first salvo to come out of the Reserve Bank of India’s policy arsenal in 2019 is an encouragement of good old “extend and pretend” lending. Banks and shadow banks are being allowed a one-time restructuring of loans of up to 250 million rupees ($3.6 million) to micro, small and medium enterprises that were in default on January 1, without having to mark them as nonperforming, the RBI said on Tuesday. Lenders are being given an extension of 15 months (up to March 31, 2020) to pretend that these stressed loans are standard. All they have to do is to make an additional 5 per cent loss provisions. Classifying restructured loans as nonperforming is a standard prudential requirement. ALSO READ: Banks recover Rs 404 bn of bad loans from defaulters in FY18: RBI report However, the temporary palliative became a perennial crutch.
Even before that day arrived, there was enormous lobbying by banks at the behest of powerful corporate borrowers. N.S. BoB finalises share swap ratio for merger of Vijaya Bank, Dena Bank. Bank of Baroda (BoB) Wednesday finalised the share swap ratio for merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with itself. As per the Scheme of Amalgamation, shareholders of Vijaya Bank will get 402 equity shares of BoB for every 1,000 shares held.
In case of Dena Bank, its shareholders will get 110 shares for every 1,000 shares of BoB. The government in September last year had announced merger of state-owned Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, with larger peer Bank of Baroda, aiming to create the third largest lender after SBI and ICICI Bank. Cabinet clears merger of Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank with Bank of Baroda. Exclusive: State oil firms have stopped taking margin hit on petrol and diesel sales. By Aftab Ahmed and Nidhi Verma NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian state-owned fuel retailers have stopped absorbing a government-mandated cut of 1 rupee (0.014 U.S. cents) a liter in their marketing margins on the sale of petrol and diesel due to a steep fall in global oil prices, sources said.
In October, India's finance ministry had cut its production tax on the two fuels by 1.50 rupees a litre and had asked state-owned fuel retailers to reduce their marketing margins by 1 rupee a litre to insulate consumers from a surge in global oil prices at the time. But oil prices have slumped in recent weeks allowing the marketing margin to be restored to its former levels, said a source privy to the matter. In October, companies were told to gradually recover the reduction in the margins if crude prices fell, two finance ministry officials said. "Now that the oil prices have come down they are now able to compensate the losses," one of the officials said. (Editing by Martin Howell) Urjit Patel's resignation to Ram temple: PM Modi speaks on key issues. RBI vs government in 2018: A 'husband-wife' relation that turned stormy. Tata Motors report 8% decline in domestic sales to 50,440 units in December. ATF price slashed by 14.7% in biggest cut ever, costs less than petrol.
December total GST collection at Rs 94,726 cr vs Rs 97,637 cr in November. Sebi takes aim at 'extremist' speculators, volatility with derivative rule. 'Come before sunshine': What PM Modi told surgical strike soldiers. Congress' loan waivers 'political stunts', don't help most farmers: PM Modi. Ordinance on Ram Temple can be considered only after SC verdict: PM Modi. Urjit Patel wanted to quit as RBI governor months before decision: Modi.
JMC Projects rallies 19% in two days on order win worth Rs 596 crore. Atul Auto surges 17% following December sales figures. Realty developers struggle to sell homes, but boom in office space segment. E-commerce FDI norms should be applied on domestic players also: CAIT. Trump paves way for stronger US-India ties, signs Indo-Pacific legislation. From foldable devices to smarter assistants, technology to expect in 2019. Amazon's deal with Future Retail stuck on new e-commerce FDI norms. Govt turns down airlines' demand for alternative airports in major cities. New GST rates: 23 goods and services to get cheaper from January 1. MARKETS LIVE: Sensex down 100 pts, Nifty below 10,850 weighed by financials. India's core sector growth drops to a 16-month low of 3.5% in November. Situation could be serious for banks if top group borrower defaults: RBI. Modi govt falls short of target: 1 million homes continue to be in the dark. Banking system getting back to health as NPAs on the decline: RBI report.
How e-com giant Amazon is reinventing itself to win in booming rural India. You won't be able to use WhatsApp on these iOS, Android devices in 2019. New rules for e-commerce portals will not hurt smartphones' growth in 2019. Awaiting clearance, RCom, Jio extend asset sale pact's validity to June 28. IL&FS puts commercial, residential properties up for sale. BSE-listed firms lost Rs 7.25 trillion in mcap in 2018; Sensex gained 5.9% Business Standard | Add Blocker. CCTV footage shows men transporting Saudi 'Jamal Khashoggi body parts'
HC sets aside ED's order attaching Rs 8.22-bn deposits of Tech Mahindra. India exempts rupee payments for Iran oil imports from hefty taxes: Report. Non-subsidised LPG cylinder cost cut by Rs 120, subsidised price by Rs 5.91. Core sector growth hits 16-month low at 3.5% in Nov due to oil, fertilisers. MARKET WRAP: Sensex slips 8 points on last day of CY18; gains 6% YoY. Business Standard | Add Blocker. Sajjan Kumar surrenders before Delhi court, to be lodged in Mandoli jail. 2019 polls: Govt planning monthly income support, cash handout for farmers. Nirav Modi effect? Bank frauds more than double to Rs 412 bn in 2017-18. 8 start-up firms turn into unicorns in 2018, more likely in 2019. Over 400 million millennials to decide India's fate in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. PM pays tribute to tsunami victims in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Netflix pays content chief Sarandos like a mogul with 50% raise. Congress to block passage of triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
United Insurance in financial strain, situation is precarious: Chairman. UP Police constable killed in stone pelting after PM's rally in Ghazipur. With record capital raising, 2018 was year of transformation for start-ups. Your financial calendar for 2019: Follow a single goal every month. The last 747: Airlines dump the jumbo jet. Incumbents' minimum ARPU plans will result in 50 mn customer base erosion. How Indian banks fare on capital adequacy ratio against global peers. Internal accruals to fund $8-bn investment in various verticals: Vedanta. Here's a peek at Xi Jinping's 'uniquely Chinese model' for world domination. RBI says haste in easing norms for banks harmful to economy. Infibeam, Snapdeal terminate Unicommerce deal worth Rs 1.2 billion. AgustaWestland case: Christian Michel named 'Mrs Gandhi', ED tells court. New draft policy on e-commerce market could slow down job creation. From TCIL to RCIL, Cabinet okays listing of seven PSUs on stock exchanges.
RBI says haste in easing norms for banks harmful to economy. Small companies struggle to stay afloat as bigger peers race ahead. Rs 3 trn loan waiver among 3 options Modi considering for farmers: Report. Over 6,000 PSB officers held responsible for bad loans in FY18: Jaitley. Three Indians to be sent to space for 7 days under Rs 100-bn Gaganyaan plan. E-commerce firms Amazon, Flipkart, others pad up to save private labels biz.
Banks may take more than $3 billion hit from PNB fraud case: I-T Dept. Cabinet approves plan to list 6 state-owned firms, dilute stake in one. RBI says haste in easing norms for banks harmful to economy. Wife can seek maintenance even after agreeing not to claim it: Bombay HC. Hindustan Unilever plans legal battle against anti-profiteering authority. Asian debt defaults likely to rise on shadow banking crackdown, rate hikes. HDFC group most valuable domestic biz house, overtakes Tatas in m-cap. ISIS module case: Court sends 10 arrested to 12-day NIA custody. MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh farm loan waivers to cut states' capex: Report.