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Oct 21, 2017 08:22 PM IST IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com
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highlights
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company, has joined the bidding race for stressed steel assets in the country by expressing interest to acquire Bhushan Steel, reports The Economic Times. The LN Mittal-led ArcelorMittal has submitted an expression of interest (EoI) for Bhushan Steel, which has been referred to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. This provides ArcelorMittal, which failed to make much headway in setting up greenfield steel projects in India, an opening to pick up good steel assets in the country at what is widely believed to be reasonable prices, sources said.
Bhushan Steel has a significant presence in auto steel categories with a 5.6-million tonne integrated steel unit, including a cold rolled facility, in Odisha. The company owes nearly Rs 42,000 crore to lender banks and was admitted into NCLT in July 2017. It is one of the two biggest companies to have been admitted under insolvency proceedings this year along with Essar Steel.
The Spanish government decided on Saturday to sack the secessionist leadership of Catalonia and force the region into a new election, saying it had to take the unprecedented step to prevent the region pushing ahead with independence, reports Reuters. The plan, which still requires the approval of the upper house Senate, seeks to resolve Spain’s worst political crisis in four decades but risks an angry reaction from independence supporters, who plan street protests later in the day. In outlining the cabinet’s decision, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the Catalan economy, which accounts for a fifth of the national economy, was already in worrying shape as a result of the regional’s government push for independence.
Search engine giant Google on Saturday celebrated the 187th birth anniversary of intrepid Himalayan explorer Nain Singh Rawat, the first man to survey Tibet, with a special doodle, reports PTI. Born in 1830, Rawat hailed from the Johar Valley of Kumaon in present-day Uttarakhand and was one of the first Indians who explored the Himalayas for the British. He was part of a select group of indigenous surveyors in the second half of the 19th century, also known as pandits, who explored regions to the north of India.
The value of corporate deals with sovereign wealth fund (SWF) participation halved in the third quarter as oil-driven funds continued to take a back seat. Asian funds GIC of Singapore and CIC of China made all the running. According to Thomson Reuters data, SWFs participated in deals worth just $14.1 billion, down from a revised $28.3 billion April-June, even though the number of deals rose to 38 from 31 quarter-on-quarter. The second quarter’s total, however, was swollen by China Investment Corp’s (CIC) whopping $13.7 billion acquisition of warehouse firm Logicor, Europe’s biggest ever private equity real estate deal. In a continuation of the previous quarter’s trend, CIC and GIC remained the most acquisitive funds, with CIC involved in 14 deals and GIC 10.
RBI clarifies that linking Aadhaar to bank accounts is mandatory
Clearing the air on media reports that suggested the linking of Aadhaar to bank accounts was not mandatory, the central bank on Saturday clarified that such a linkage was mandatory under government laws. "The Reserve Bank clarifies that, in applicable cases, linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017 published in the Official Gazette on June 1, 2017," RBI said in a statement on its website. "These rules have statutory force and, as such, banks have to implement them without awaiting further instructions," RBI added.
Nobody explained the consequences of Brexit to the British people: Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron told CNBC on Friday that the problem that UK Prime Minister Theresa May has is that nobody explained to the British people the consequences of a Brexit vote. When asked if the European Union would be able to make some verbal concessions to allow May to sell a Brexit deal at home, Macron said that there's no room for such unofficial compromises.
"There are concessions to make from both negotiating teams during phase one, but we aren't going to make concessions based on discourse," he said. "The objectives are fixed, they're conducted from the European side by Michel Barnier, and we have to respect that," Macron said, referring to the EU's approach of discussing citizens' rights, financial settlement and the Irish border, before moving on to talks on trade. "I believe the problem that Theresa May has is that those who defended Brexit have never explained to the British people what the consequences are," he stated.
Pyongyang does not plan to hold any talks with Washington about its nuclear program, a senior North Korean diplomat said on Friday, declaring that possessing nuclear weapons was a matter of life and death for North Korea, the RIA news agency reported. Choe Son-hui, director-general of the North American department of North Korea’s foreign ministry, told a non-proliferation conference in Moscow Washington would “have to put up” with North Korea’s nuclear status. “This is a matter of life and death for us. The current situation deepens our understanding that we need nuclear weapons to repel a potential attack. We will respond to fire with fire.”
Bitcoin surged to a record high of more than $6,000 on Friday, pushing its market capitalisation to $100 billion at one point, as investors continued to bet on an asset that has a limited supply and has paved the way for a whole slew of crypto-currencies, reports Reuters. The original virtual currency has gained over 500% this year, more than any other tradable asset class. Bitcoin though is very volatile - posting gains and losses as high as 26% and 16%, respectively, on any given day. On Friday, bitcoin hit a record peak $6,000.10 on the BitStamp platform, and was last at $5,964.24, up 4.7% on the day.
President Donald Trump is considering nominating Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell and Stanford University economist John Taylor for the central bank’s top two jobs, in an apparent bid to reassure markets and appease conservatives hungry for change, reports Reuters. Under that scenario, either Powell or Taylor would take the reins from Fed Chair Janet Yellen when her term expires in early February, and the other would fill the vice chair position left vacant when Stanley Fischer retired this month.
China economy on track to hit 2017 growth target: State planner
China's economy is on track to meet the official growth target for 2017, the head of the state planning agency said today, according to Reuters.
"We expect to achieve the full-year growth target of about 6.5 percent," He Lifeng, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told a briefing on the sidelines of China's Communist Party Congress.
Most economists believe actual growth should easily beat the target. The economy grew 6.8 percent in the third quarter of the year, and 6.9 percent in the first half.
Even as banks are on an overdrive to push customers to link their Aadhaar numbers to bank accounts on the threat of suspending accounts, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has told us that it has never issued any such directions. This was in response to a Right to Information (RTI) Act application filed by MoneyLife. The RBI’s emphatic RTI response makes it clear that the decision is entirely that of the central government.
Responding to a specific query on providing copy of the file along with file notings regarding mandatory linking of Aadhaar number with bank accounts, the Reserve Bank stated it "has not issued any instruction so far regarding mandatory liking of Aadhaar number with bank accounts." When explicitly asked if RBI had taken permission from the Supreme Court for mandatory linking of bank accounts with Aadhaar number, especially when the apex court had restricted its usage for six schemes, the Reserve Bank stated that is has not filed any petition before the SC.
Also read: Four deadlines for Aadhaar linking that you must not miss
Regulator Sebi has banned Grass Root Finance & Investment Company (India) and 13 others from the capital markets for raising funds without complying with the public issue norms, reports PTI. A probe by Sebi found that the company had issued equity shares to 9,321 people between 1995-96 and 2006-07 and raised Rs 6.80 crore through such issuance.
Since these shares were issued to more than 50 investors by the company, it qualified as a public issue under the norms, which required compulsory listing on recognised stock exchanges. Among others, the firm was also required to file a prospectus, which it failed to do. In an interim order passed on October 18, Sebi said that Grass Root is prima facie in breach of the provisions of the Companies Act in connection with the allotment of shares.
The festive days in the run-up to Diwali gave motorcycle-specialist Bajaj Auto a 25% bump-up in retail volumes. A chunk of it came from low-end, budget bikes like CT100 and Platina. But for Bajaj Auto, which prides itself on the 20% EBITDA margin every quarter, both the bikes generate single-digit margin. In fact, the CT100 is EBITDA negative, according to the company’s chief financial officer. So why does this Pune-based, India’s fourth largest two-wheeler maker, continue to produce a loss-making product? Read here to find out
CIA director Mike Pompeo has warned that North Korea is on the cusp of being able to hit the US with a nuclear missile, reports BBC. He stressed Washington still preferred diplomacy and sanctions but said military force remained an option. North Korea claims it already has the capability to strike the US.
North Korea is "close enough now in their capabilities that from a US policy perspective we ought to behave as if we are on the cusp of them achieving that objective," Pompeo said at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, a conservative Washington think tank. "They are so far along in that, it's now a matter of thinking about how do you stop the final step."
He warned Pyongyang's missile expertise was now advancing so quickly that it was hard for US intelligence to be sure when it would succeed. "When you're now talking about months our capacity to understand that at a detailed level is in some sense irrelevant," he said. (Picture courtesy: Reuters)
Australia’s Prime Minister has dismissed an extraordinary letter from North Korea to the Australian Parliament and other countries as a “rant” against President Donald Trump and a sign that Pyongyang is “starting to feel the squeeze” of escalated sanctions, reports AP. The letter from the North Korean Foreign Affairs Committee attacks Trump over his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month in which the president threatened to “totally destroy North Korea” if provoked.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told Melbourne Radio 3AW on Friday the letter was sent to “a lot of other countries” as well as Australia. The letter says that if Trump thinks that he will bring North Korea “to its knees through nuclear war threat, it will be a big miscalculation and an expression of ignorance.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address promises a lot of development for the state of Uttarakhand and the Himalayan region. Here are some of the takeaways —
Tourism pitch: The PM suggested that the Himalayan region be utilised to its fullest potential by developing infrastructure to boost tourism.
Eco-friendliness: Modi asked Uttarakhand’s citizens to abandon use of chemicals and artificial elements. He urged the hill state to adopt green ways in its pursuit of development. “I want Uttarakhand to be the best tourist destination,” Modi said.
Infra development: The PM promised to work on the development of Mandakini Ghats; better and wider roads in Uttarakhand. He also promised sufficient funds for reconstruction of Kedarpuri.
Ambit Capital expects Budget 2018 to be pro-poor, anti-elite
Saurabh Mukherjea, CEO of Ambit Capital, expects Budget 2018 to be pro-poor and anti-elite. “I expect the 2018 budget to be pro-poor (a step up in subsidies which haven’t grown at all under this NDA regime) and anti-rich (new taxes on the rich).” He sees the Bankruptcy Code, the Benami Transactions Act and a broader crackdown on black money used to parade wealthy tax evaders in front of the media.
In the run to general elections, he feels that any measure that positions the government as being aligned with the interests of the business class will be shot down. “This is the reason why we still don’t have a recapitalisation of public sector banks in spite of the obvious need for it.”
Samvat 2074 started off to a muted start with the market ending lower on Thursday in a brief session of special “muhurat” trading for the festival of Diwali. Banking stocks such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank declined the most. The trading session, which lasted for about an hour, saw the Sensex close down 0.6% at 32,389.96, while the Nifty ended 0.63% lower at 10,146.55. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank fell 2.1% and 1.3%, respectively. “Muhurat” means auspicious in Hindi, and many traders believe gains made during this session bring prosperity and wealth in the year ahead. Regular market trading will resume on Monday.
Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular gained over 3% each after Reliance Industries’ telecoms arm Jio revised tariff offers ahead of the festival season. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) share price was locked at the 5% upper circuit for the sixth consecutive session on Thursday. The stock rallied 5% to close at Rs 6.17 on the BSE on Thursday. It surged 53.5% in six straight sessions, especially after its deal with Bharti Airtel for sale of consumer telecom business.
Bitcoin is not the new gold: Goldman Sachs
Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are not the "new gold," Goldman Sachs said, advising investors that precious metals "remain a relevant asset class" in portfolios. In a note to clients earlier this week, Goldman detailed the benefits of holding gold in a portfolio, reports CNBC. "The use of precious metals is not a historical accident – they are still the best long-term store of value out of the known elements," the investment bank said.
But it also addressed the rise of cryptocurrencies. Many commentators have dubbed bitcoin "digital gold" because of the fact it has a finite supply and has at times seen price rises due to geopolitical tensions. Goldman concluded that bitcoin is not a good store of value versus gold. "Gold wins out over cryptocurrencies in a majority of the key characteristics of money," Goldman said.
It said that digital wallets, where people can store cryptocurrencies, are vulnerable to hacking, and virtual currencies also have "significant regulatory risks." Goldman also said that cryptocurrencies are subject to network or infrastructure risk during a crisis.
ECB says bitcoin isn't 'mature' enough to regulate
Cryptocurrencies are not "mature" enough to be considered by the European Central Bank (ECB) for regulation, Mario Draghi said. "With anything that's new, people have great expectations and also great uncertainty. Right now we think that especially as far as bitcoins and cryptocurrencies are concerned, we don't think the technology is mature for our consideration," Draghi told CNBC.
He expressed caution and said that while innovation should be "cherished for its potential benefits," it should also be "critically assessed" for risks. "One of the lessons of the great financial crisis is that financial innovation, in this case it's financial and technology innovation... should be embraced with lots of attention to its potential risks," Draghi stated.
China's central bank just warned of a sudden collapse in asset prices
China will fend off risks from excessive optimism that could lead to a "Minsky Moment", central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said, adding that corporate debt levels are relatively high and household debt is rising too quickly, reports CNBC. A Minsky Moment is a sudden collapse of asset prices after a long period of growth, sparked by debt or currency pressures. The theory is named after economist Hyman Minsky.
"If there are too many pro-cyclical factors in the economy, cyclical fluctuations are magnified and there is excessive optimism during the period, accumulating contradictions that could lead to the so-called Minsky Moment," Zhou said, adding: "We should focus on preventing a dramatic adjustment."
China will control risks from sudden adjustments to asset bubbles and will seriously deal with disguised debt of local government financing vehicles, Zhou said. Still, China's overall debt levels could decline as long as authorities keep a tight control on credit, he stated.
Pyongyang's ongoing nuclear aggression may potentially result in South Korea and Japan hosting nuclear weapons on their own turf, a scenario that would have wide-ranging negative consequences, Singapore's leader has warned. "What's different this time is that North Korea has more nuclear weapons ... so the risks are higher," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview with CNBC. The current North Korea tensions carry long-term consequences for the region, he warned, adding that if South Korea and Japan acquire nuclear weapons as protection against a potential attack, Asia's security balance will change.
The US Senate voted on Thursday to approve a budget blueprint for the 2018 fiscal year that will pave the way for Republicans to pursue a tax-cut package without Democratic support. By a 51-to-49 vote, the Republican-controlled Senate approved the budget measure, which would add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade in order to pay for proposed tax cuts.
US President Donald Trump risks driving Iran towards nuclear proliferation and worsening a standoff with North Korea if Washington ends a nuclear deal with Iran, former Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday. Kerry, who negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, was speaking a week after Trump refused to certify that Tehran was in compliance, amid growing tensions with Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, reports Reuters. “If you want to negotiate with (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un, and your goal is to avoid war and try to be able to have a diplomatic resolution, the worst thing you can do is first threaten to destroy his country in the United Nations,” Kerry said.
North Korea has sent a letter to Australia’s parliament, warning it is a nuclear power and will not be cowed by US President Donald Trump’s threats to destroy it, according to a copy of the letter published in an Australian newspaper on Friday. “If Trump thinks that he would bring the DPRK, a nuclear power, to its knees through nuclear war threat, it will be a big miscalculation and an expression of ignorance,” said a facsimile of the letter, published by the Sydney Morning Herald and verified by Australia’s foreign ministry. “Trump threatened to totally destroy the DPRK ... it is an extreme act of threatening to totally destroy the whole world.” A spokeswoman for Australia’s Foreign Minister told Reuters the Herald report was accurate and the paper’s copy of the letter, dated September 28, was genuine. (Picture courtesy: CNBC)
Top Headlines:
1. RBI clarifies that linking Aadhaar to bank accounts is mandatory
2. Having nuclear weapons 'matter of life and death' for North Korea, says RIA
3. Spain will sack Catalan government, call regional election, reports Reuters
4. Trump considers Jerome Powell, John Taylor to lead Federal Reserve, reports Reuters
5. China economy on track to hit 2017 growth target of 6.5%, reports Reuters
6. Macron says nobody explained the consequences of Brexit to the British people, reports CNBC
7. Bitcoin soars to record high above $6,000, reports Reuters
8. ArcelorMittal joins race to acquire Bhushan Steel under bankruptcy code, reports The Economic Times
Barcelona will offer Lionel Messi a lifetime contract at the club, CEO Oscar Grau said on Saturday. Messi, 30, agreed a four-year deal with Barcelona in July, although has not officially signed it yet, reports Reuters. Grau, speaking at the club’s annual general meeting, said the Argentine forward would be offered a similar deal to the one Barca’s Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta signed this month. “Messi signed a four-year deal in June, but the club will offer him a lifetime contract,” Grau told club members. “The idea is for Leo, who has been here since he was little, to stay here for life, as he is an icon. After he finishes playing we want him to remain linked to the club.” (Picture courtesy: Business Insider)
Navratna CPSE National Aluminium Company is faced with coal shortage leading to closure of three units of the company's captive power plant and curtailment of production, reports PTI. While the aluminium major required at least 17,500 MT of coal everyday, it is getting only 13,000 MT from Bharatpur mines of Mahanadi Coalfields.
The company had to close down three units of its captive power plant, a Nalco official said adding that each of the units has a production capacity of 120 MW. "The coal crunch is affecting Nalco and its profitability," Nalco CMD Tapan Kumar Chand said on the sidelines of a function here. He said he has sought immediate solution to the coal crisis. The company is able to run its refinery by borrowing 120 MW power from GRIDCO.
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company, has joined the bidding race for stressed steel assets in the country by expressing interest to acquire Bhushan Steel, reports The Economic Times. The LN Mittal-led ArcelorMittal has submitted an expression of interest (EoI) for Bhushan Steel, which has been referred to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. This provides ArcelorMittal, which failed to make much headway in setting up greenfield steel projects in India, an opening to pick up good steel assets in the country at what is widely believed to be reasonable prices, sources said.
Bhushan Steel has a significant presence in auto steel categories with a 5.6-million tonne integrated steel unit, including a cold rolled facility, in Odisha. The company owes nearly Rs 42,000 crore to lender banks and was admitted into NCLT in July 2017. It is one of the two biggest companies to have been admitted under insolvency proceedings this year along with Essar Steel.
'I am being sacked', Cyrus Mistry texts wife. A new blog post by former Tata Sons executive Nirmalya Kumar traces the chain of events on the day Cyrus Mistry was sacked.
A war of words on Saturday broke out between the BJP and the Congress over Rahul Gandhi's rising popularity on Twitter after news agency ANI suggested 'bots' or web robots that can produce automated mass retweets were behind it. Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani took to the microblogging website to suggest that the retweets were from fake accounts abroad.
"Perhaps @OfficeOfRG planning to sweep polls in Russia, Indonesia & Kazakhstan ?? #RahulWaveInKazakh," she said in a tweet which tagged the media report. Questioning whether automated bots were mass retweeting Gandhi's tweets, the report said that on October 15, 'OfficeofRG' retweeted US President Donald Trump's tweet praising American-Pakistani relations with a caption 'Modi ji quick, looks like President Trump needs another hug'.
The tweet quickly reached 20,000 retweets and currently has touched 30,000, the report claimed, adding a close analysis of this tweet showed that these alleged 'bots' with a Russian, Kazakh or Indonesian characteristic were routinely retweeting the Congress vice president's tweets.
The Spanish government decided on Saturday to sack the secessionist leadership of Catalonia and force the region into a new election, saying it had to take the unprecedented step to prevent the region pushing ahead with independence, reports Reuters. The plan, which still requires the approval of the upper house Senate, seeks to resolve Spain’s worst political crisis in four decades but risks an angry reaction from independence supporters, who plan street protests later in the day. In outlining the cabinet’s decision, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the Catalan economy, which accounts for a fifth of the national economy, was already in worrying shape as a result of the regional’s government push for independence.
Here is purportedly the clip of the Mersal video which has got BJP supporters all riled up.
Search engine giant Google on Saturday celebrated the 187th birth anniversary of intrepid Himalayan explorer Nain Singh Rawat, the first man to survey Tibet, with a special doodle, reports PTI. Born in 1830, Rawat hailed from the Johar Valley of Kumaon in present-day Uttarakhand and was one of the first Indians who explored the Himalayas for the British. He was part of a select group of indigenous surveyors in the second half of the 19th century, also known as pandits, who explored regions to the north of India.
The value of corporate deals with sovereign wealth fund (SWF) participation halved in the third quarter as oil-driven funds continued to take a back seat. Asian funds GIC of Singapore and CIC of China made all the running. According to Thomson Reuters data, SWFs participated in deals worth just $14.1 billion, down from a revised $28.3 billion April-June, even though the number of deals rose to 38 from 31 quarter-on-quarter. The second quarter’s total, however, was swollen by China Investment Corp’s (CIC) whopping $13.7 billion acquisition of warehouse firm Logicor, Europe’s biggest ever private equity real estate deal. In a continuation of the previous quarter’s trend, CIC and GIC remained the most acquisitive funds, with CIC involved in 14 deals and GIC 10.
Top Headlines at 17:15
1. RBI clarifies that linking Aadhaar to bank accounts is mandatory
2. Having nuclear weapons 'matter of life and death' for North Korea, says RIA
3. Spain will sack Catalan government, call regional election, reports Reuters
4. Trump considers Jerome Powell, John Taylor to lead Federal Reserve, reports Reuters
5. China economy on track to hit 2017 growth target of 6.5%, reports Reuters
6. Macron says nobody explained the consequences of Brexit to the British people, reports CNBC
7. Bitcoin soars to record high above $6,000, reports Reuters
RBI clarifies that linking Aadhaar to bank accounts is mandatory
Clearing the air on media reports that suggested the linking of Aadhaar to bank accounts was not mandatory, the central bank on Saturday clarified that such a linkage was mandatory under government laws. "The Reserve Bank clarifies that, in applicable cases, linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017 published in the Official Gazette on June 1, 2017," RBI said in a statement on its website. "These rules have statutory force and, as such, banks have to implement them without awaiting further instructions," RBI added.
Nobody explained the consequences of Brexit to the British people: Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron told CNBC on Friday that the problem that UK Prime Minister Theresa May has is that nobody explained to the British people the consequences of a Brexit vote. When asked if the European Union would be able to make some verbal concessions to allow May to sell a Brexit deal at home, Macron said that there's no room for such unofficial compromises.
"There are concessions to make from both negotiating teams during phase one, but we aren't going to make concessions based on discourse," he said. "The objectives are fixed, they're conducted from the European side by Michel Barnier, and we have to respect that," Macron said, referring to the EU's approach of discussing citizens' rights, financial settlement and the Irish border, before moving on to talks on trade. "I believe the problem that Theresa May has is that those who defended Brexit have never explained to the British people what the consequences are," he stated.
The Spanish cabinet was meeting on Saturday to prepare to impose direct rule on Catalonia and thwart a drive by the autonomous region to breakaway from Spain, reports CNBC. It will be the first time in Spain's four decades of democracy that Madrid has invoked the constitutional right to take control of a region and rule it directly from Madrid. Independence supporters were due to rally in the Catalan capital Barcelona on Saturday afternoon. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy insists that Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who heads the wealthy northeastern region's government, has broken the law several times in pushing for independence, thus justifying the imposition of central government control. (Picture courtesy: BBC)
Cyclical stocks lifted European shares on Friday, recovering some losses as well-received earnings reports boosted shares in Volvo and Ericsson, though ongoing political malaise held back Spanish equities, reports Reuters. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1%, rebounding from its lowest closing level so far in October. Spain's benchmark IBEX was in negative territory, however, down 0.2% ahead of a Saturday’s special cabinet meeting which could see Spain suspending Catalonia's autonomy. While the IBEX is still up around 9% so far this year, it has lagged the STOXX 600 in October, down around 1.7% since Catalonia’s independence referendum on October 1.
In the wake of rising pollution due to bursting of firecrackers, industry body Assocham on Saturday said clean environment should be a combined responsibility of the Centre, state governments, civil society and public at large, and not of the apex court alone, reports PTI. The industry body said enforcement of the Supreme court order banning sale of firecrackers should have been ensured by the Union Environment Ministry, Delhi government, the state governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in the entire NCR. Air pollution in the capital soared to alarming levels on Diwali night, reaching as much as five times over the safe limit because of bursting of firecrackers despite a Supreme Court ban on their sale in the NCR. (Photo courtesy: Reuters)
Hoping to garner support of various communities in Gujarat polls, the state Congress on Saturday invited Patidar quota stir spearhead Hardik Patel, Thakor community leader Alpesh Thakor and dalit leader Jignesh Mevani to join hands with the party to defeat the ruling BJP, reports PTI. Apart from these leaders, the Congress also hinted at forging a pre-poll alliance with Sharad Pawar-led NCP and bringing on board Chhotu Vasava, the lone JD(U) MLA from the state.
US stocks closed higher on Friday after the Senate took a step toward achieving tax reform, reports CNBC. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 165.59 points to 23,328.63, reaching intraday and closing records. The S&P 500 also notched record highs, advancing 0.5% to close at 2,575.21 as financials led advancers by rising 1.2%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4% to 6,629.05 in a record-setting session. The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq also posted weekly gains of 2%, 0.9% and 0.35%, respectively.
Pyongyang does not plan to hold any talks with Washington about its nuclear program, a senior North Korean diplomat said on Friday, declaring that possessing nuclear weapons was a matter of life and death for North Korea, the RIA news agency reported. Choe Son-hui, director-general of the North American department of North Korea’s foreign ministry, told a non-proliferation conference in Moscow Washington would “have to put up” with North Korea’s nuclear status. “This is a matter of life and death for us. The current situation deepens our understanding that we need nuclear weapons to repel a potential attack. We will respond to fire with fire.”
The US budget deficit widened to $666 billion for the fiscal year 2017 as record spending more than offset record receipts, the Treasury Department said on Friday. The 2017 deficit increased to 3.5% of gross domestic product, reports Reuters. The previous fiscal year deficit was $586 billion, with a deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3.2%.
Bitcoin surged to a record high of more than $6,000 on Friday, pushing its market capitalisation to $100 billion at one point, as investors continued to bet on an asset that has a limited supply and has paved the way for a whole slew of crypto-currencies, reports Reuters. The original virtual currency has gained over 500% this year, more than any other tradable asset class. Bitcoin though is very volatile - posting gains and losses as high as 26% and 16%, respectively, on any given day. On Friday, bitcoin hit a record peak $6,000.10 on the BitStamp platform, and was last at $5,964.24, up 4.7% on the day.
US President Donald Trump is expected to pressure China’s president when they meet next month in Beijing to do more to rein in North Korea out of a belief that Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power should give him more authority to do so, reports Reuters. Trump leaves November 3 on a trip that will take him to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. It will be his first tour of Asia since taking power in January and one with a major priority: Preventing the standoff with North Korea from spiralling out of control.
Xi is immersed in a Communist Party Congress expected to culminate in him consolidating his control and potentially retaining power beyond 2022, when the next congress takes place. Trump believes that Xi should have even more leverage to work on the North Korea problem. “The president’s view is you have even less of an excuse now,” said one official. “He’s not going to step lightly.”
President Donald Trump is considering nominating Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell and Stanford University economist John Taylor for the central bank’s top two jobs, in an apparent bid to reassure markets and appease conservatives hungry for change, reports Reuters. Under that scenario, either Powell or Taylor would take the reins from Fed Chair Janet Yellen when her term expires in early February, and the other would fill the vice chair position left vacant when Stanley Fischer retired this month.
Don't 'demon-etise' Tamil pride, Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Modi on Mersal row
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi jumped into the Mersal controversy and asked PM Narendra Modi to not try and "demon-etise" Tamil pride.
"Mr. Modi, Cinema is a deep expression of Tamil culture and language. Don't try to demon-etise Tamil pride by interfering in Mersal (sic)," tweeted the soon-to-be party president.
Read the full story here.