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Taxman may invoke Benami Act for unexplained credits, investments, says report
The Income Tax Department is scrutinising all unexplained credits and investments in personal as well as corporate income-tax filings and is looking to invoke the Benami Act in many cases, sources told The Economic Times. Unexplained credits, in the books of a company or bank accounts of individuals, have so far been treated as black money, attracting a higher tax of up to 80%.
Now, tax officers are examining whether such unexplained credits are benami, which means assets or transactions carried out at the behest of another person and seeking information on the source of such credits and transactions. Assessment officers are being particularly strict this year in the wake of the government’s demonetisation drive, sources said. The number of transactions with unexplained credit has gone up this year, they said.
Have riots in India declined over the past three years?
Last week, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) published data on major crimes in India recorded by police departments across states till 2016. At first glance, the data suggests a sharp drop in riots in the country over the past three years. But this impression is partly a statistical artefact, caused by changes in how NCRB classifies riots data.
A Mint analysis of the crime data suggests that while riots and civil disturbances have indeed declined in 2016, this followed a marginal rise in such incidents in 2014 and 2015. The rate of such incidents has declined in the past two years, after it rose marginally in 2014, and is now back to levels witnessed last in 2013. However, what is worrying is that the rate of convictions in riot cases has declined marginally even as the overall conviction rate has climbed up in the country.
The analysis is based on a reconstructed time series of riots data, taking into account the reclassification of crime categories by NCRB as well as adjusting for methodological inconsistencies in how NCRB has normalised population figures across years. To compound problems further, till 2014, NCRB provided aggregate data under three related crime heads—riots, unlawful assembly, and offences promoting enmity between groups—together under the category of “riots”. Since then, the NCRB has begun providing the data for the three sub-categories separately, without providing a back series of such sub-categorisation.
Japan's Oxford-educated crown prince to bring global view to Chrysanthemum Throne
Japan’s Oxford-educated crown prince, Naruhito, looks set to bring a more global outlook to the ancient imperial institution while carrying on Emperor Akihito’s legacy of promoting peace and reconciliation with Asia when he ascends the throne in 2019, reports Reuters. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet on Friday signed off on an April 30, 2019 date for the octogenarian Akihito’s retirement - the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in two centuries.
Akihito, who turns 84 on December 23, has spent much of his nearly three decades on the throne trying to heal the wounds of a war fought in his father Hirohito’s name and highlighting the needs of the vulnerable in society. He said in August 2016 that he feared age would make it hard to fulfil his duties. “As an Oxford-educated scholar and well-travelled crown prince, Naruhito can draw on a wealth of international experience in carrying out the duties his father pioneered,” said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University Japan.
Naruhito, 57, is an advocate for environmental causes, and has taken part in international conferences on clean water. He defied palace officials to marry Masako Owada, a Harvard- and Oxford-educated diplomat who has suffered from stress-related illness brought on by the demands of palace life and pressure to bear a royal heir.
China's Nov yuan-denominated exports up 10.3% YoY, imports up 15.6%
China’s exports denominated in yuan rose 10.3% in November from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday. Yuan-denominated imports rose 15.6% year-on-year in November, which produced a trade surplus of 263.6 billion yuan.
Merge 10 old EPF accounts at one go with EPFO's new service
Retirement fund body EPFO has opened a new facility for its over 4.5 crore members that will allow consolidation or merger of their multiple provident fund accounts with the current universal portable account number (UAN), reports PTI. Under this facility, subscribers of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) can merge as many as 10 previous accounts with their UAN at one go.
Currently, the EPFO subscribers are required to file separate transfer claims online using UAN on the EPFO's UAN portal. But to avail of the facility, they are required to activate their UAN that is seeded with bank accounts and other details such as Aadhaar and PAN. Those subscribers without UAN activation can also do so online through the transfer claim portal facility of the EPFO.
Brexit Irish border deal possible within hours
The United Kingdom and Ireland could reach agreement in hours on how to run their post-Brexit Irish land border, paving the way for a deal that would remove the last obstacle to opening free-trade talks with the European Union, reports Reuters. A carefully choreographed attempt to showcase the progress of Brexit talks collapsed at the last minute on December 4 when the Northern Irish party which props up Prime Minister Theresa May’s government vetoed a draft deal already agreed with Ireland.
Since then, May has been scrambling to clinch a deal on the new UK-EU land border in Ireland that is acceptable to the European Union, Dublin, her own lawmakers and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which keeps her government in power. May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker could meet early on Friday to seal a border deal, the European Commission’s chief spokesman said.
Japan Oct price-adjusted wages mark first rise since Dec 2016
Japanese wages rose 0.2% in October from a year earlier after adjustment for inflation, the Labour Ministry said on Friday, marking their first rise since December 2016 in a sign a tight job market may finally be leading to higher salaries, reports Reuters. The data will be welcome news for the government, which has been urging companies to spend their massive cash reserves on wage increases to help spur consumer spending.
The Bank of Japan has been asserting that the tightest job market in four decades will push up incomes and eventually help consumer inflation reach its target rate of 2%. Wage earners’ nominal cash earnings rose 0.6% compared with the same month last year, up for a third straight month. Special payments, which include bonuses, slipped 0.5% YoY in October, the data showed. Regular pay, which determines base wages, rose 0.7% from a year earlier. Overtime pay, a barometer of strength in corporate activity, increased 0.2%.
Japan's Q3 2017 GDP growth at 2.5%, outlook brightens
Japan’s economy grew twice as fast as originally estimated in the third quarter thanks to big gains in capital expenditure, revised data showed on Friday, with expansion seen to continue thanks to buoyant exports, reports Reuters. The capital expenditure component of gross domestic product was revised to a rise of 1.1% from the previous quarter, well over the forecast 0.4% growth, and soaring above the preliminary 0.2% reading. The economy grew an annualised 2.5% in July-September, more than the median estimate for 1.5% annualised growth and more than the preliminary reading of a 1.4% percent annualised expansion.
US Congress averts government shutdown for now
The US Congress moved rapidly on Thursday to send President Donald Trump a short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown this weekend, leaving fights over budget priorities and a range of other controversial issues for the coming weeks, reports Reuters. The House of Representatives, working against a Friday midnight deadline, approved legislation in a 235-193 vote to fund a wide range of federal programs through December 22.
The Senate followed up by approving the bill 81-14. The White House has said Trump will sign it into law. The measure creates more time for a reckoning between Republicans and Democrats about budget differences, which Trump discussed in a meeting with leading lawmakers at the White House earlier in the day.
The White House said negotiations would resume on Friday. Leaders now have about two weeks to find common ground on a host of thorny issues for the next government funding bill in order to prevent a partial government shutdown on December 23.
Goldman Sachs to clear bitcoin futures
Goldman Sachs Group is planning to clear bitcoin futures for some clients as the new contracts go live on exchanges in the coming days, a spokeswoman for the bank told Reuters. The bank, which helps clients buy and sell derivatives, is “evaluating the specifications and risk attributes for the bitcoin futures contracts as part of our standard due diligence process,” Tiffany Galvin, the Goldman Sachs spokeswoman said.
Bitcoin tops record $19,000, then plunges in wild 2-day ride
Bitcoin rocketed above $19,000 for the first time on Thursday before falling sharply from its record high, reports CNBC. In trading on the Coinbase exchange, the digital currency hit a high of $19,340 before falling more than 20% from that level to $15,198.63. At 2:38 am, the cryptocurrency traded at $16,362.99. The price on Coinbase is often at a premium over other exchanges. Coinbase is one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges accounting for a third of bitcoin trading volume.
Despite its wild ride, bitcoin now has a market value of more than $270 billion, meaning it would rank among the 20 largest stocks in the S&P 500. The latest swing higher came as bitcoin topped $12,000 on Wednesday in a rapid recovery from a 20% drop last week. Between 3:30 and 4:30 pm on Wednesday, bitcoin jumped past $15,000, and the day's wild ride began. The digital currency began the year below $1,000 and its gains have accelerated as investor interest grows.
Fake Rs 2,000 note was out within 53 days of demonetisation
It didn't take long for fake notes of Rs 2,000 to start circulating after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation in November 2016, with one of its stated aims being to kill counterfeit currency, official data shows. According to the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) November 30 report, a total of 2,272 fake notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were seized in 2016, reports IANS. Since the Rs 2,000 note - along with the new Rs 500 currency - was introduced only after November 8, 2016, it means that those counterfeiting the notes got into the act very quickly.
In just 53 days between November 8 and December 31 last year, police and other government agencies seized 2,272 fake Rs 2,000 notes - at a time when people across the country were struggling to get hold of the new currency. The maximum number of these Rs 2,000 fake notes were seized in Gujarat (1,300), followed by Punjab (548), Karnataka (254), Telangana (114), Maharashtra (27), Madhya Pradesh (8), Rajasthan (6) and Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Haryana (3 each).
Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala accounted for two fake notes each. One such note was seized in Manipur as well as in Odisha. The Rs 2,000 notes were part of the 281,839 fake notes of various denominations recovered from different locations across India.
Here are the top headlines at 10 am from Moneycontrol News' Anchal Pathak
Taxman may invoke Benami Act for unexplained credits, investments, says report
The Income Tax Department is scrutinising all unexplained credits and investments in personal as well as corporate income-tax filings and is looking to invoke the Benami Act in many cases, sources told The Economic Times. Unexplained credits, in the books of a company or bank accounts of individuals, have so far been treated as black money, attracting a higher tax of up to 80%.
Now, tax officers are examining whether such unexplained credits are benami, which means assets or transactions carried out at the behest of another person and seeking information on the source of such credits and transactions. Assessment officers are being particularly strict this year in the wake of the government’s demonetisation drive, sources said. The number of transactions with unexplained credit has gone up this year, they said.
Have riots in India declined over the past three years?
Last week, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) published data on major crimes in India recorded by police departments across states till 2016. At first glance, the data suggests a sharp drop in riots in the country over the past three years. But this impression is partly a statistical artefact, caused by changes in how NCRB classifies riots data.
A Mint analysis of the crime data suggests that while riots and civil disturbances have indeed declined in 2016, this followed a marginal rise in such incidents in 2014 and 2015. The rate of such incidents has declined in the past two years, after it rose marginally in 2014, and is now back to levels witnessed last in 2013. However, what is worrying is that the rate of convictions in riot cases has declined marginally even as the overall conviction rate has climbed up in the country.
The analysis is based on a reconstructed time series of riots data, taking into account the reclassification of crime categories by NCRB as well as adjusting for methodological inconsistencies in how NCRB has normalised population figures across years. To compound problems further, till 2014, NCRB provided aggregate data under three related crime heads—riots, unlawful assembly, and offences promoting enmity between groups—together under the category of “riots”. Since then, the NCRB has begun providing the data for the three sub-categories separately, without providing a back series of such sub-categorisation.
SpiceJet’s Ajay Singh pledges 24.37% additional shares amid dispute with Kalanithi Maran
Ajay Singh, the promoter of low-fare airline SpiceJet, has pledged more shares over the past few months to help the airline’s finances even as it awaits a key verdict on a share transfer dispute with former promoter Kalanithi Maran, reports Mint. The number of promoter shares pledged rose to 24.37% of 599,450,183 total shares by the end of September from 20.19% at the end of June, according to BSE data.
During the same period, the airline saw an outgo of Rs 579 crore towards a court deposit in the ongoing dispute with Maran, which is under arbitration. The airline has deposited Rs 250 crore in a cash deposit and the balance of Rs 329 crore by way of a bank guarantee. A SpiceJet spokesman said the shares were pledged to support the “credit line of the company” and the airline did not see any additional fund requirements towards the ongoing case.
London: People walk past the Tate Britain gallery in central London decorated with Christmas lights on Thursday. With the holiday season fast approaching buildings across London are being given a festive look. AP
Bangladesh Bank, New York Fed discuss suing Manila bank for heist damages
Bangladesh’s central bank has asked the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to join a lawsuit it plans to file against a Philippines bank for its role in one of the world’s biggest cyber-heists, sources told Reuters. The Fed is yet to respond formally, but there is no indication it would join the suit.
Unidentified hackers stole $81 million from Bangladesh Bank’s account at the New York Fed in February last year, using fraudulent orders on the SWIFT payments system. The money was sent to accounts at Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp and then disappeared into the casino industry in the Philippines. Nearly two years later, there is no word on who was responsible and Bangladesh Bank has been able to retrieve only about $15 million, mostly from a Manila junket operator.
Japan's Oxford-educated crown prince to bring global view to Chrysanthemum Throne
Japan’s Oxford-educated crown prince, Naruhito, looks set to bring a more global outlook to the ancient imperial institution while carrying on Emperor Akihito’s legacy of promoting peace and reconciliation with Asia when he ascends the throne in 2019, reports Reuters. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet on Friday signed off on an April 30, 2019 date for the octogenarian Akihito’s retirement - the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in two centuries.
Akihito, who turns 84 on December 23, has spent much of his nearly three decades on the throne trying to heal the wounds of a war fought in his father Hirohito’s name and highlighting the needs of the vulnerable in society. He said in August 2016 that he feared age would make it hard to fulfil his duties. “As an Oxford-educated scholar and well-travelled crown prince, Naruhito can draw on a wealth of international experience in carrying out the duties his father pioneered,” said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University Japan.
Naruhito, 57, is an advocate for environmental causes, and has taken part in international conferences on clean water. He defied palace officials to marry Masako Owada, a Harvard- and Oxford-educated diplomat who has suffered from stress-related illness brought on by the demands of palace life and pressure to bear a royal heir.
China's Nov yuan-denominated exports up 10.3% YoY, imports up 15.6%
China’s exports denominated in yuan rose 10.3% in November from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday. Yuan-denominated imports rose 15.6% year-on-year in November, which produced a trade surplus of 263.6 billion yuan.
Merge 10 old EPF accounts at one go with EPFO's new service
Retirement fund body EPFO has opened a new facility for its over 4.5 crore members that will allow consolidation or merger of their multiple provident fund accounts with the current universal portable account number (UAN), reports PTI. Under this facility, subscribers of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) can merge as many as 10 previous accounts with their UAN at one go.
Currently, the EPFO subscribers are required to file separate transfer claims online using UAN on the EPFO's UAN portal. But to avail of the facility, they are required to activate their UAN that is seeded with bank accounts and other details such as Aadhaar and PAN. Those subscribers without UAN activation can also do so online through the transfer claim portal facility of the EPFO.
Brexit Irish border deal possible within hours
The United Kingdom and Ireland could reach agreement in hours on how to run their post-Brexit Irish land border, paving the way for a deal that would remove the last obstacle to opening free-trade talks with the European Union, reports Reuters. A carefully choreographed attempt to showcase the progress of Brexit talks collapsed at the last minute on December 4 when the Northern Irish party which props up Prime Minister Theresa May’s government vetoed a draft deal already agreed with Ireland.
Since then, May has been scrambling to clinch a deal on the new UK-EU land border in Ireland that is acceptable to the European Union, Dublin, her own lawmakers and Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which keeps her government in power. May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker could meet early on Friday to seal a border deal, the European Commission’s chief spokesman said.
Japan Oct price-adjusted wages mark first rise since Dec 2016
Japanese wages rose 0.2% in October from a year earlier after adjustment for inflation, the Labour Ministry said on Friday, marking their first rise since December 2016 in a sign a tight job market may finally be leading to higher salaries, reports Reuters. The data will be welcome news for the government, which has been urging companies to spend their massive cash reserves on wage increases to help spur consumer spending.
The Bank of Japan has been asserting that the tightest job market in four decades will push up incomes and eventually help consumer inflation reach its target rate of 2%. Wage earners’ nominal cash earnings rose 0.6% compared with the same month last year, up for a third straight month. Special payments, which include bonuses, slipped 0.5% YoY in October, the data showed. Regular pay, which determines base wages, rose 0.7% from a year earlier. Overtime pay, a barometer of strength in corporate activity, increased 0.2%.
Japan's Q3 2017 GDP growth at 2.5%, outlook brightens
Japan’s economy grew twice as fast as originally estimated in the third quarter thanks to big gains in capital expenditure, revised data showed on Friday, with expansion seen to continue thanks to buoyant exports, reports Reuters. The capital expenditure component of gross domestic product was revised to a rise of 1.1% from the previous quarter, well over the forecast 0.4% growth, and soaring above the preliminary 0.2% reading. The economy grew an annualised 2.5% in July-September, more than the median estimate for 1.5% annualised growth and more than the preliminary reading of a 1.4% percent annualised expansion.
US Congress averts government shutdown for now
The US Congress moved rapidly on Thursday to send President Donald Trump a short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown this weekend, leaving fights over budget priorities and a range of other controversial issues for the coming weeks, reports Reuters. The House of Representatives, working against a Friday midnight deadline, approved legislation in a 235-193 vote to fund a wide range of federal programs through December 22.
The Senate followed up by approving the bill 81-14. The White House has said Trump will sign it into law. The measure creates more time for a reckoning between Republicans and Democrats about budget differences, which Trump discussed in a meeting with leading lawmakers at the White House earlier in the day.
The White House said negotiations would resume on Friday. Leaders now have about two weeks to find common ground on a host of thorny issues for the next government funding bill in order to prevent a partial government shutdown on December 23.
Goldman Sachs to clear bitcoin futures
Goldman Sachs Group is planning to clear bitcoin futures for some clients as the new contracts go live on exchanges in the coming days, a spokeswoman for the bank told Reuters. The bank, which helps clients buy and sell derivatives, is “evaluating the specifications and risk attributes for the bitcoin futures contracts as part of our standard due diligence process,” Tiffany Galvin, the Goldman Sachs spokeswoman said.
Bitcoin could be the biggest bubble in history – here's how from CNBC.
Bitcoin tops record $19,000, then plunges in wild 2-day ride
Bitcoin rocketed above $19,000 for the first time on Thursday before falling sharply from its record high, reports CNBC. In trading on the Coinbase exchange, the digital currency hit a high of $19,340 before falling more than 20% from that level to $15,198.63. At 2:38 am, the cryptocurrency traded at $16,362.99. The price on Coinbase is often at a premium over other exchanges. Coinbase is one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges accounting for a third of bitcoin trading volume.
Despite its wild ride, bitcoin now has a market value of more than $270 billion, meaning it would rank among the 20 largest stocks in the S&P 500. The latest swing higher came as bitcoin topped $12,000 on Wednesday in a rapid recovery from a 20% drop last week. Between 3:30 and 4:30 pm on Wednesday, bitcoin jumped past $15,000, and the day's wild ride began. The digital currency began the year below $1,000 and its gains have accelerated as investor interest grows.
Bitcoin surges to $19,000 on the Coinbase exchange from CNBC.
Fake Rs 2,000 note was out within 53 days of demonetisation
It didn't take long for fake notes of Rs 2,000 to start circulating after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation in November 2016, with one of its stated aims being to kill counterfeit currency, official data shows. According to the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) November 30 report, a total of 2,272 fake notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were seized in 2016, reports IANS. Since the Rs 2,000 note - along with the new Rs 500 currency - was introduced only after November 8, 2016, it means that those counterfeiting the notes got into the act very quickly.
In just 53 days between November 8 and December 31 last year, police and other government agencies seized 2,272 fake Rs 2,000 notes - at a time when people across the country were struggling to get hold of the new currency. The maximum number of these Rs 2,000 fake notes were seized in Gujarat (1,300), followed by Punjab (548), Karnataka (254), Telangana (114), Maharashtra (27), Madhya Pradesh (8), Rajasthan (6) and Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Haryana (3 each).
Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala accounted for two fake notes each. One such note was seized in Manipur as well as in Odisha. The Rs 2,000 notes were part of the 281,839 fake notes of various denominations recovered from different locations across India.
Moscow: A museum worker passes sculptures of Russian president Vladimir Putin of Russian president Vladimir Putin, part of the "SUPERPUTIN" exhibition at the UMAM museum in Moscow on Thursday. The 65-year old Russian leader, who has ruled the country since 2000, announced on Wednesday that he would seek his fourth term in office in March. Putin's 80% approval ratings make his victory all but certain. AP