News Live: Bank of Baroda fails to sell Bhushan Steel, Essar Steel loans
Here's wishing you a Happy New Year. This blog will keep track of key global and local developments impacting business and markets through the day. Important local and global political developments will also find resonance here.
Bank of Baroda last week failed to sell bad loans amounting to Rs 2,300 crore due from Bhushan Steel and Essar Steel as the reserve price was above market rates and only overseas investors and private equity funds were allowed to bid, two senior bank executives told The Economic Times. "As many as 22 foreign and private investors had shown interest in the loan but did not seal the deal,'' bankers said, adding: “This only shows that the reserve price is unrealistic." Of the assets, the Bhushan Steel dues amounted to Rs 1,300 crore loan while those of Essar Steel were Rs 1,000 crore. The bank had set the reserve price at 50% in cash for Bhushan Steel and 60% in cash for Essar Steel.
The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported a 10.3% YoY increase in total sales at 1,30,066 units in December 2017 compared to 1,17,908 units in the same month of 2016. The company's domestic sales stood at 1,19,286 units, up 12.1% YoY from 1,06,414 units in December 2016, MSI said in a statement.
Sales of mini segment cars, including Alto and WagonR, witnessed a 2% rise to 32,146 units during the month under review from 31,527 units in December 2016. The auto major further said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Dzire and Baleno jumped by 23.2% to 53,336 units last month as against 43,295 units in the year-ago month.
MSI said sales of mid-sized sedan Ciaz declined by 35.8% YoY to 2,382 units during the month. Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara, Ertiga, S-Cross and compact SUV Vitara Brezza increased by 19.9% YoY to 19,276 units in December, from 16,072 units in the same month of 2016.
Sales of vans - Omni and Eeco - increased by 23.8% to 11,420 units last month as against 9,224 units in the year-ago period. Exports in December were down 6.2% YoY to 10,780 units as compared with 11,494 units in the same month last year, MSI said.
He said the move was part of a reorganisation of the armed forces’ hierarchy and structure. Prince Faisal was head of the royal air force and deputy chief of staff, while Prince Ali had for years been in charge of the royal guards responsible for the king’s protection. Talal Bin Mohammad, a Sandhurst graduate who was an officer in the elite special forces, was also sent into retirement. They were all given honorary promotions.
A palace statement on Sunday said it would pursue legal measures against those who propagated “lies and false claims” in social media and online websites with the goal of driving a wedge between the royal family and ordinary Jordanians. “These fabricated news circulated recently are aimed at undermining Jordan and its institutions,” the statement said.
"Most restaurants are saying business is about 40% less than last year. The spirits are low. Kamala Mills was Mumbai's finest restaurant hub and there is no water or electricity there because of the knee-jerk demolition drive," said Riyaaz Amlani, CEO of Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality and former president of the National Restaurant Association of India. "With water and electricity supplies cut off for multiple restaurants, they were not sure if they would be able to operate and people cancelled reservations."
Train services too have been severely hit in Delhi and several other parts of north India. 56 trains headed towards the capital are late and 20 have been rescheduled. 15 trains have been cancelled, said the Northern Railways. Five domestic flights and seven international flights in Delhi were delayed, according to news agency ANI. One flight has been cancelled.
Bank of Baroda fails to sell Bhushan Steel, Essar Steel loans
Bank of Baroda last week failed to sell bad loans amounting to Rs 2,300 crore due from Bhushan Steel and Essar Steel as the reserve price was above market rates and only overseas investors and private equity funds were allowed to bid, two senior bank executives told The Economic Times. "As many as 22 foreign and private investors had shown interest in the loan but did not seal the deal,'' bankers said, adding: “This only shows that the reserve price is unrealistic." Of the assets, the Bhushan Steel dues amounted to Rs 1,300 crore loan while those of Essar Steel were Rs 1,000 crore. The bank had set the reserve price at 50% in cash for Bhushan Steel and 60% in cash for Essar Steel.
Jan 01, 11:59 AM (IST)
#FLASH: Two managers of '1-Above' pub arrested in connection with Kamala Mills Fire tragedy, confirms Mumbai Police. pic.twitter.com/neoFBYNkDK
Ishrat Jahan, one of the petitioners in the triple talaq case, has joined the BJP, the party's state unit general secretary Sayantan Basu said. "Ishrat Jahan joined the BJP at our Howrah office on Saturday," Basu told PTI. Sources said Ishrat was felicitated by the Howrah BJP unit on Saturday and inducted into the party. Basu said a state-level programme to felicitate her was yet to be organised.
Ishrat was one of the five petitioners in the triple talaq case. Her husband had divorced her over the phone from Dubai in 2014 by uttering 'talaq' thrice. The controversial Islamic practice was struck down by the Supreme Court on August 22.
Jan 01, 11:51 AM (IST)
Hyundai sales up 10% YoY in Dec at 62,899 units
Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) reported a 10% YoY increase in total sales at 62,899 units in December. The company had sold 57,164 units in December 2016, HMIL said in a statement. Domestic sales of the company, however, rose marginally to 40,158 units last month as compared to 40,057 units in December 2016.
Exports grew by 32.9% in December at 22,741 units as against 17,107 units in December 2016. For the calendar year 2017, the company posted domestic sales of 5,27,320 units, up 5.4% from 5,00,539 units in 2016.
Jan 01, 11:46 AM (IST)
Maruti December sales up 10.3% YoY at 1,30,066 units
The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported a 10.3% YoY increase in total sales at 1,30,066 units in December 2017 compared to 1,17,908 units in the same month of 2016. The company's domestic sales stood at 1,19,286 units, up 12.1% YoY from 1,06,414 units in December 2016, MSI said in a statement.
Sales of mini segment cars, including Alto and WagonR, witnessed a 2% rise to 32,146 units during the month under review from 31,527 units in December 2016. The auto major further said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Dzire and Baleno jumped by 23.2% to 53,336 units last month as against 43,295 units in the year-ago month.
MSI said sales of mid-sized sedan Ciaz declined by 35.8% YoY to 2,382 units during the month. Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara, Ertiga, S-Cross and compact SUV Vitara Brezza increased by 19.9% YoY to 19,276 units in December, from 16,072 units in the same month of 2016.
Sales of vans - Omni and Eeco - increased by 23.8% to 11,420 units last month as against 9,224 units in the year-ago period. Exports in December were down 6.2% YoY to 10,780 units as compared with 11,494 units in the same month last year, MSI said.
Jan 01, 10:29 AM (IST)
Pope, in year-end message, says 2017 was marred by war and lies
Pope Francis in his year-end message said that 2017 had been marred by war, lies and injustice, and he urged people to take responsibility for their actions, reports Reuters. At his last public event of the year, an evening vespers service in St Peter’s Basilica, the pontiff said that humanity had “wasted and wounded” the year “in many ways with works of death, with lies and injustices”.
While war was the most obvious sign of “unrepentant and absurd pride”, many other transgressions had caused “human, social and environmental degradation”. “We must take responsibility for everything before God, our brothers and our creation,” he said. While the pope did not mention any specific events from 2017, he had made his voice heard on many of the world’s biggest issues over the course of the year.
Jan 01, 10:14 AM (IST)
Here are the top headlines at 10 am from Moneycontrol News' Sakshi Batra
Jan 01, 10:08 AM (IST)
WhatsApp messaging service returns after global outage
WhatsApp, a popular messaging service owned by Facebook, suffered a global outage for about an hour on Sunday before the problem was fixed, reports Reuters. “WhatsApp users around the world experienced a brief outage today that has now been resolved”, a WhatsApp spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. The cause of the outage, about an hour long, was not immediately known.
In India, its biggest market with about 200 million of its billion-plus users, the app was down just a few minutes past midnight into the New Year. Users in other countries also complained of outages on social media.
Jan 01, 10:06 AM (IST)
Colorado deputy killed in barrage of gunfire at apartment complex
A gunman opened fire on sheriff’s deputies at an apartment complex near Denver on Sunday, killing one officer before the suspect was shot and killed, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office told Reuters. Four other deputies and two civilians were shot and wounded by the suspect, identified as 37-year-old Matthew Riehl, who had had numerous run-ins with the law, according to Sheriff Tony Spurlock.
It was not immediately clear why the incident had escalated, Spurlock said. “All of them were shot very, very quickly and they all went down almost within seconds of each other,” Spurlock said, calling it an “ambush-type” attack. President Donald Trump said on Twitter: “My deepest condolences to the victims of the terrible shooting in Douglas County @dcsheriff, and their families.”
Jan 01, 09:50 AM (IST)
Sensex begins 2018 on negative note, down 18 points
Stock markets opened on a subdued note on the first trading day of 2018, with the benchmark BSE Sensex declining over 18 points in early trade on profit-booking after recent gains. The 30-share index, which had gained 208.80 points in the previous session, fell 18.19 points, or 0.05%, to 34,038.64 in early trade today.
Technology, power and metal stocks were leading the fall in early trade. Major losers were Wipro, Hindustan Unilever, TCS, NTPC, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto, falling up to 0.88%. However, L&T, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, ITC, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys and Asian Paint were trading in the positive zone.
The broad-based NSE Nifty was down 12.70 points, or 0.12%, to 10,518. Traders said profit-booking emerged in stocks that logged gains recently in absence of cues from other Asian markets that were closed for public holiday today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.48% down on the final day of 2017 on Friday.
Jan 01, 09:30 AM (IST)
Saudi Arabia hikes gasoline prices
Saudi Arabia was set to raise local gasoline prices on Monday, state news agency SPA reported. The initiative, aimed at more efficient energy use, coincides with an ambitious reform plan to boost sources of revenue and wean the world’s top crude exporter away from oil.
It said Octane 91 will sell for 1.37 riyals a litre, up from 0.75 riyals, while Octane 95 will sell for 2.04 riyals a litre, up from 0.90 riyals. Diesel rates for trucks were left unchanged. The kingdom will slow plans to eliminate subsidies for a wide range of energy products, according to a new long-term fiscal plan in the 2018 state budget released last month.
Jan 01, 09:17 AM (IST)
Jordan royal palace denies rumours about dismissal of princes
Jordan’s royal palace warned it would take legal measures against anyone spreading what it said were lies about the ruling family, just days after King Abdullah relieved his brothers from top army posts in a major shakeup, reports Reuters. The king, a staunch US ally, said on Tuesday that his brothers Prince Ali and Prince Faisal and his cousin Prince Talal - who all had high military ranks - would be retiring from the armed forces.
He said the move was part of a reorganisation of the armed forces’ hierarchy and structure. Prince Faisal was head of the royal air force and deputy chief of staff, while Prince Ali had for years been in charge of the royal guards responsible for the king’s protection. Talal Bin Mohammad, a Sandhurst graduate who was an officer in the elite special forces, was also sent into retirement. They were all given honorary promotions.
A palace statement on Sunday said it would pursue legal measures against those who propagated “lies and false claims” in social media and online websites with the goal of driving a wedge between the royal family and ordinary Jordanians. “These fabricated news circulated recently are aimed at undermining Jordan and its institutions,” the statement said.
Jan 01, 09:03 AM (IST)
Mumbai New Year hotel bookings slip 50%
A mega demolition drive by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation that destroyed illegal structures in about 100 restaurants and pubs following the fire at Kamala Mills in Mumbai took its toll on New Year Eve celebrations with hoteliers and restaurateurs saying business on the last day of the year had slumped by 40% to 50% as people cancelled their reservations and bookings increasingly as the day progressed, reports The Economic Times.
"Most restaurants are saying business is about 40% less than last year. The spirits are low. Kamala Mills was Mumbai's finest restaurant hub and there is no water or electricity there because of the knee-jerk demolition drive," said Riyaaz Amlani, CEO of Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality and former president of the National Restaurant Association of India. "With water and electricity supplies cut off for multiple restaurants, they were not sure if they would be able to operate and people cancelled reservations."
Jan 01, 08:56 AM (IST)
Fog disrupts Delhi airport operations on New Year's Day, passengers stuck
For the second consecutive day, operations at the Delhi airport have been suspended on Monday morning after the visibility level on the runways dropped below 50 metres, reports NDTV. Thick fog covered many parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region leading to slow moving traffic on Day 1 of 2018.
Train services too have been severely hit in Delhi and several other parts of north India. 56 trains headed towards the capital are late and 20 have been rescheduled. 15 trains have been cancelled, said the Northern Railways. Five domestic flights and seven international flights in Delhi were delayed, according to news agency ANI. One flight has been cancelled.
Jan 01, 08:45 AM (IST)
Kim calls on North Korea to mass-produce nukes, missiles
Kim Jong-Un urged North Korea to mass-produce nuclear warheads and missiles in a defiant New Year message suggesting he would continue to accelerate a rogue weapons programme that has stoked international tensions, reports AFP. Pyongyang dramatically ramped up its efforts to become a nuclear power in 2017, despite a raft of international sanctions and increasingly bellicose rhetoric from the United States.
"We must mass-produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles and speed up their deployment," said Kim in his annual address to the nation, reiterating his claims that North Korea had achieved its goal of becoming a nuclear state. "(The North) can cope with any kind of nuclear threats from the US and has a strong nuclear deterrence that is able to prevent the US from playing with fire," Kim said today.
Kim Jong Un declares North Korea a nuclear power, says 'button' is on his desk
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the United States should be aware that his country's nuclear forces are now a reality, not a threat, reports AP. Kim was speaking in his annual New Year's Day address. He said the country had achieved the historic feat of "completing" its nuclear forces and added that he has a "nuclear button" on his desk. The customary New Year's address was broadcast Monday morning on North Korean state television.
Jan 01, 07:54 AM (IST)
First draft of NRC published with 1.9 crore names
The much-awaited first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was on Sunday published with the names of 1.9 crore people out of the 3.29 crore total applicants in Assam recognising them as legal citizens of India, reports PTI. The rest of the names are under various stages of verification, Registrar General of India Sailesh said at a press conference held at midnight where he made the draft public.
"This is a part draft. It contains 1.9 crore persons, who have been verified till now. The rest of the names are under various stages of verification. As soon as the verification is done, we will come out with another draft," he said. NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela said those people whose names have been excluded in the first list need not worry. "It is a tedious process to verify the names. So there is a possibility that some names within a single family may not be there in the first draft," said Hajela. "There is no need to panic as rest of the documents are under verification," he said.
Asked about the possible timeframe for the next draft, the RGI said it will be decided as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court -- under whose monitoring the document is being prepared -- in its next hearing in April. The entire process will be completed within 2018, Sailesh said. The application process started in May, 2015 and a total of 6.5 crore documents were received from 68.27 lakh families across Assam.
Jan 01, 07:47 AM (IST)
A robin flies to a suet cake that hangs on a tree in Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday. AP
Jan 01, 07:46 AM (IST)
Fireworks explode over Sydney Harbour during New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia. AP
Jan 01, 07:44 AM (IST)
The 185th battalion camp of the Central Reserve Police Force which was stormed by the militants on the foot hills of Wastoorwan at Lethpora in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Sunday. Five CRPF personnel and two fidayeen attackers were killed so far while as three CRPF jawans were injured. PTI
Jan 01, 07:43 AM (IST)
Jan 01, 07:42 AM (IST)
Jan 01, 07:42 AM (IST)
Jan 01, 07:19 AM (IST)
FPIs withdraw Rs 5,900cr from equities in Dec, infuse over Rs 51K cr in 2017
Overseas investors have pulled out close to Rs 5,900 crore from domestic equities in December, with widening fiscal deficit and higher crude prices making market participants cautious on macro-economic front. In spite of December performance, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) ended 2017 with a net inflow of over Rs 51,000 crore. According to the depositories data, FPIs withdrew a net Rs 5,883 crore from equities during December.
However, such investors had put in Rs 2,350 crore in the debt markets during the period under review. The outflow comes following an eight month high inflow of Rs 19,728 crore in November, mainly on account of the government's plan to recapitalise PSU banks and surge in India's ranking in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business. This also marked the highest net investment by FPIs since March, when they had poured in Rs 30,906 crore in the equity market.
Jan 01, 07:19 AM (IST)
Mutual funds invest Rs 1 lakh cr in stocks in 2017
Domestic mutual funds pumped in a staggering over Rs 1 lakh crore in the stock market during 2017. Mutual funds invested Rs 1.2 lakh crore in equities in 2017, much higher than over Rs 48,000 crore infused in 2016 and more than Rs 70,000 crore pumped in during 2015, latest data with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed.
Jan 01, 07:17 AM (IST)
Delhi-bound Indigo flight returns to Goa due to technical glitch
A Delhi-bound IndiGo flight from Goa, carrying 183 passengers and three infants on board, was forced to return and make an emergency landing at the Dabolim airport on Sunday, due to low oil pressure in one of its engines, a source told PTI. The flight - 6E 724 - which took off from the Dabolim airport for New Delhi at 5.50 pm, returned soon to the airport after its pilot reported the oil-pressure problem in one of the engines of the Airbus 320 aircraft, the source added.
IndiGo confirmed the incident and said it had been reported to the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). "IndiGo's Goa-Delhi flight was involved in an air turnback due to low oil pressure in engine two," the airline said in a statement. The aircraft was carrying 182 passengers and three infants on board, it added.
Jan 01, 07:07 AM (IST)
Rahul hits out at BJP over 'empty promises', 'non-utilisation' of Smart City funds
Congress president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the BJP over its "empty promises" and targeted the Centre as only "seven per cent" of the funds meant for its Smart City project was used so far, reports PTI. He also said job creation should be the focus area of the government as China was "out-competing" India.
"Dear Modi bhakts, Out of 9,860 crores for the Smart Cities only 7% has been used. China is out competing us while your master gives us empty slogans. Please watch this video and advise him to focus on what matters- job creation for India #BJPEmptyPromises (sic)," the Congress leader said on Twitter.
Along with the tweet, he also shared a video, showing how China was fast moving forward as far as technological advancements and job creation were concerned. Rahul Gandhi has been targeting the BJP-led central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issues of job creation and lack of employment opportunities for the youth.
highlights
Bank of Baroda fails to sell Bhushan Steel, Essar Steel loans
Bank of Baroda last week failed to sell bad loans amounting to Rs 2,300 crore due from Bhushan Steel and Essar Steel as the reserve price was above market rates and only overseas investors and private equity funds were allowed to bid, two senior bank executives told The Economic Times. "As many as 22 foreign and private investors had shown interest in the loan but did not seal the deal,'' bankers said, adding: “This only shows that the reserve price is unrealistic." Of the assets, the Bhushan Steel dues amounted to Rs 1,300 crore loan while those of Essar Steel were Rs 1,000 crore. The bank had set the reserve price at 50% in cash for Bhushan Steel and 60% in cash for Essar Steel.
Triple talaq petitioner Ishrat Jahan joins BJP
Ishrat Jahan, one of the petitioners in the triple talaq case, has joined the BJP, the party's state unit general secretary Sayantan Basu said. "Ishrat Jahan joined the BJP at our Howrah office on Saturday," Basu told PTI. Sources said Ishrat was felicitated by the Howrah BJP unit on Saturday and inducted into the party. Basu said a state-level programme to felicitate her was yet to be organised.
Ishrat was one of the five petitioners in the triple talaq case. Her husband had divorced her over the phone from Dubai in 2014 by uttering 'talaq' thrice. The controversial Islamic practice was struck down by the Supreme Court on August 22.
Maruti December sales up 10.3% YoY at 1,30,066 units
The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported a 10.3% YoY increase in total sales at 1,30,066 units in December 2017 compared to 1,17,908 units in the same month of 2016. The company's domestic sales stood at 1,19,286 units, up 12.1% YoY from 1,06,414 units in December 2016, MSI said in a statement.
Sales of mini segment cars, including Alto and WagonR, witnessed a 2% rise to 32,146 units during the month under review from 31,527 units in December 2016. The auto major further said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Dzire and Baleno jumped by 23.2% to 53,336 units last month as against 43,295 units in the year-ago month.
MSI said sales of mid-sized sedan Ciaz declined by 35.8% YoY to 2,382 units during the month. Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara, Ertiga, S-Cross and compact SUV Vitara Brezza increased by 19.9% YoY to 19,276 units in December, from 16,072 units in the same month of 2016.
Sales of vans - Omni and Eeco - increased by 23.8% to 11,420 units last month as against 9,224 units in the year-ago period. Exports in December were down 6.2% YoY to 10,780 units as compared with 11,494 units in the same month last year, MSI said.
Pope, in year-end message, says 2017 was marred by war and lies
Pope Francis in his year-end message said that 2017 had been marred by war, lies and injustice, and he urged people to take responsibility for their actions, reports Reuters. At his last public event of the year, an evening vespers service in St Peter’s Basilica, the pontiff said that humanity had “wasted and wounded” the year “in many ways with works of death, with lies and injustices”.
While war was the most obvious sign of “unrepentant and absurd pride”, many other transgressions had caused “human, social and environmental degradation”. “We must take responsibility for everything before God, our brothers and our creation,” he said. While the pope did not mention any specific events from 2017, he had made his voice heard on many of the world’s biggest issues over the course of the year.
Saudi Arabia hikes gasoline prices
Saudi Arabia was set to raise local gasoline prices on Monday, state news agency SPA reported. The initiative, aimed at more efficient energy use, coincides with an ambitious reform plan to boost sources of revenue and wean the world’s top crude exporter away from oil.
It said Octane 91 will sell for 1.37 riyals a litre, up from 0.75 riyals, while Octane 95 will sell for 2.04 riyals a litre, up from 0.90 riyals. Diesel rates for trucks were left unchanged. The kingdom will slow plans to eliminate subsidies for a wide range of energy products, according to a new long-term fiscal plan in the 2018 state budget released last month.
Jordan royal palace denies rumours about dismissal of princes
Jordan’s royal palace warned it would take legal measures against anyone spreading what it said were lies about the ruling family, just days after King Abdullah relieved his brothers from top army posts in a major shakeup, reports Reuters. The king, a staunch US ally, said on Tuesday that his brothers Prince Ali and Prince Faisal and his cousin Prince Talal - who all had high military ranks - would be retiring from the armed forces.
He said the move was part of a reorganisation of the armed forces’ hierarchy and structure. Prince Faisal was head of the royal air force and deputy chief of staff, while Prince Ali had for years been in charge of the royal guards responsible for the king’s protection. Talal Bin Mohammad, a Sandhurst graduate who was an officer in the elite special forces, was also sent into retirement. They were all given honorary promotions.
A palace statement on Sunday said it would pursue legal measures against those who propagated “lies and false claims” in social media and online websites with the goal of driving a wedge between the royal family and ordinary Jordanians. “These fabricated news circulated recently are aimed at undermining Jordan and its institutions,” the statement said.
Mumbai New Year hotel bookings slip 50%
A mega demolition drive by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation that destroyed illegal structures in about 100 restaurants and pubs following the fire at Kamala Mills in Mumbai took its toll on New Year Eve celebrations with hoteliers and restaurateurs saying business on the last day of the year had slumped by 40% to 50% as people cancelled their reservations and bookings increasingly as the day progressed, reports The Economic Times.
"Most restaurants are saying business is about 40% less than last year. The spirits are low. Kamala Mills was Mumbai's finest restaurant hub and there is no water or electricity there because of the knee-jerk demolition drive," said Riyaaz Amlani, CEO of Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality and former president of the National Restaurant Association of India. "With water and electricity supplies cut off for multiple restaurants, they were not sure if they would be able to operate and people cancelled reservations."
Fog disrupts Delhi airport operations on New Year's Day, passengers stuck
For the second consecutive day, operations at the Delhi airport have been suspended on Monday morning after the visibility level on the runways dropped below 50 metres, reports NDTV. Thick fog covered many parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region leading to slow moving traffic on Day 1 of 2018.
Train services too have been severely hit in Delhi and several other parts of north India. 56 trains headed towards the capital are late and 20 have been rescheduled. 15 trains have been cancelled, said the Northern Railways. Five domestic flights and seven international flights in Delhi were delayed, according to news agency ANI. One flight has been cancelled.
Kim calls on North Korea to mass-produce nukes, missiles
Kim Jong-Un urged North Korea to mass-produce nuclear warheads and missiles in a defiant New Year message suggesting he would continue to accelerate a rogue weapons programme that has stoked international tensions, reports AFP. Pyongyang dramatically ramped up its efforts to become a nuclear power in 2017, despite a raft of international sanctions and increasingly bellicose rhetoric from the United States.
"We must mass-produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles and speed up their deployment," said Kim in his annual address to the nation, reiterating his claims that North Korea had achieved its goal of becoming a nuclear state. "(The North) can cope with any kind of nuclear threats from the US and has a strong nuclear deterrence that is able to prevent the US from playing with fire," Kim said today.
Kim Jong Un declares North Korea a nuclear power, says 'button' is on his desk
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the United States should be aware that his country's nuclear forces are now a reality, not a threat, reports AP. Kim was speaking in his annual New Year's Day address. He said the country had achieved the historic feat of "completing" its nuclear forces and added that he has a "nuclear button" on his desk. The customary New Year's address was broadcast Monday morning on North Korean state television.
FPIs withdraw Rs 5,900cr from equities in Dec, infuse over Rs 51K cr in 2017
Overseas investors have pulled out close to Rs 5,900 crore from domestic equities in December, with widening fiscal deficit and higher crude prices making market participants cautious on macro-economic front. In spite of December performance, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) ended 2017 with a net inflow of over Rs 51,000 crore. According to the depositories data, FPIs withdrew a net Rs 5,883 crore from equities during December.
However, such investors had put in Rs 2,350 crore in the debt markets during the period under review. The outflow comes following an eight month high inflow of Rs 19,728 crore in November, mainly on account of the government's plan to recapitalise PSU banks and surge in India's ranking in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business. This also marked the highest net investment by FPIs since March, when they had poured in Rs 30,906 crore in the equity market.
Mutual funds invest Rs 1 lakh cr in stocks in 2017
Domestic mutual funds pumped in a staggering over Rs 1 lakh crore in the stock market during 2017. Mutual funds invested Rs 1.2 lakh crore in equities in 2017, much higher than over Rs 48,000 crore infused in 2016 and more than Rs 70,000 crore pumped in during 2015, latest data with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed.
Rahul hits out at BJP over 'empty promises', 'non-utilisation' of Smart City funds
Congress president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the BJP over its "empty promises" and targeted the Centre as only "seven per cent" of the funds meant for its Smart City project was used so far, reports PTI. He also said job creation should be the focus area of the government as China was "out-competing" India.
"Dear Modi bhakts, Out of 9,860 crores for the Smart Cities only 7% has been used. China is out competing us while your master gives us empty slogans. Please watch this video and advise him to focus on what matters- job creation for India #BJPEmptyPromises (sic)," the Congress leader said on Twitter.
Along with the tweet, he also shared a video, showing how China was fast moving forward as far as technological advancements and job creation were concerned. Rahul Gandhi has been targeting the BJP-led central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issues of job creation and lack of employment opportunities for the youth.
Bank of Baroda fails to sell Bhushan Steel, Essar Steel loans
Bank of Baroda last week failed to sell bad loans amounting to Rs 2,300 crore due from Bhushan Steel and Essar Steel as the reserve price was above market rates and only overseas investors and private equity funds were allowed to bid, two senior bank executives told The Economic Times. "As many as 22 foreign and private investors had shown interest in the loan but did not seal the deal,'' bankers said, adding: “This only shows that the reserve price is unrealistic." Of the assets, the Bhushan Steel dues amounted to Rs 1,300 crore loan while those of Essar Steel were Rs 1,000 crore. The bank had set the reserve price at 50% in cash for Bhushan Steel and 60% in cash for Essar Steel.
Triple talaq petitioner Ishrat Jahan joins BJP
Ishrat Jahan, one of the petitioners in the triple talaq case, has joined the BJP, the party's state unit general secretary Sayantan Basu said. "Ishrat Jahan joined the BJP at our Howrah office on Saturday," Basu told PTI. Sources said Ishrat was felicitated by the Howrah BJP unit on Saturday and inducted into the party. Basu said a state-level programme to felicitate her was yet to be organised.
Ishrat was one of the five petitioners in the triple talaq case. Her husband had divorced her over the phone from Dubai in 2014 by uttering 'talaq' thrice. The controversial Islamic practice was struck down by the Supreme Court on August 22.
Hyundai sales up 10% YoY in Dec at 62,899 units
Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) reported a 10% YoY increase in total sales at 62,899 units in December. The company had sold 57,164 units in December 2016, HMIL said in a statement. Domestic sales of the company, however, rose marginally to 40,158 units last month as compared to 40,057 units in December 2016.
Exports grew by 32.9% in December at 22,741 units as against 17,107 units in December 2016. For the calendar year 2017, the company posted domestic sales of 5,27,320 units, up 5.4% from 5,00,539 units in 2016.
Maruti December sales up 10.3% YoY at 1,30,066 units
The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported a 10.3% YoY increase in total sales at 1,30,066 units in December 2017 compared to 1,17,908 units in the same month of 2016. The company's domestic sales stood at 1,19,286 units, up 12.1% YoY from 1,06,414 units in December 2016, MSI said in a statement.
Sales of mini segment cars, including Alto and WagonR, witnessed a 2% rise to 32,146 units during the month under review from 31,527 units in December 2016. The auto major further said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Dzire and Baleno jumped by 23.2% to 53,336 units last month as against 43,295 units in the year-ago month.
MSI said sales of mid-sized sedan Ciaz declined by 35.8% YoY to 2,382 units during the month. Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara, Ertiga, S-Cross and compact SUV Vitara Brezza increased by 19.9% YoY to 19,276 units in December, from 16,072 units in the same month of 2016.
Sales of vans - Omni and Eeco - increased by 23.8% to 11,420 units last month as against 9,224 units in the year-ago period. Exports in December were down 6.2% YoY to 10,780 units as compared with 11,494 units in the same month last year, MSI said.
Pope, in year-end message, says 2017 was marred by war and lies
Pope Francis in his year-end message said that 2017 had been marred by war, lies and injustice, and he urged people to take responsibility for their actions, reports Reuters. At his last public event of the year, an evening vespers service in St Peter’s Basilica, the pontiff said that humanity had “wasted and wounded” the year “in many ways with works of death, with lies and injustices”.
While war was the most obvious sign of “unrepentant and absurd pride”, many other transgressions had caused “human, social and environmental degradation”. “We must take responsibility for everything before God, our brothers and our creation,” he said. While the pope did not mention any specific events from 2017, he had made his voice heard on many of the world’s biggest issues over the course of the year.
Here are the top headlines at 10 am from Moneycontrol News' Sakshi Batra
WhatsApp messaging service returns after global outage
WhatsApp, a popular messaging service owned by Facebook, suffered a global outage for about an hour on Sunday before the problem was fixed, reports Reuters. “WhatsApp users around the world experienced a brief outage today that has now been resolved”, a WhatsApp spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. The cause of the outage, about an hour long, was not immediately known.
In India, its biggest market with about 200 million of its billion-plus users, the app was down just a few minutes past midnight into the New Year. Users in other countries also complained of outages on social media.
Colorado deputy killed in barrage of gunfire at apartment complex
A gunman opened fire on sheriff’s deputies at an apartment complex near Denver on Sunday, killing one officer before the suspect was shot and killed, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office told Reuters. Four other deputies and two civilians were shot and wounded by the suspect, identified as 37-year-old Matthew Riehl, who had had numerous run-ins with the law, according to Sheriff Tony Spurlock.
It was not immediately clear why the incident had escalated, Spurlock said. “All of them were shot very, very quickly and they all went down almost within seconds of each other,” Spurlock said, calling it an “ambush-type” attack. President Donald Trump said on Twitter: “My deepest condolences to the victims of the terrible shooting in Douglas County @dcsheriff, and their families.”
Sensex begins 2018 on negative note, down 18 points
Stock markets opened on a subdued note on the first trading day of 2018, with the benchmark BSE Sensex declining over 18 points in early trade on profit-booking after recent gains. The 30-share index, which had gained 208.80 points in the previous session, fell 18.19 points, or 0.05%, to 34,038.64 in early trade today.
Technology, power and metal stocks were leading the fall in early trade. Major losers were Wipro, Hindustan Unilever, TCS, NTPC, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto, falling up to 0.88%. However, L&T, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, ITC, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys and Asian Paint were trading in the positive zone.
The broad-based NSE Nifty was down 12.70 points, or 0.12%, to 10,518. Traders said profit-booking emerged in stocks that logged gains recently in absence of cues from other Asian markets that were closed for public holiday today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.48% down on the final day of 2017 on Friday.
Saudi Arabia hikes gasoline prices
Saudi Arabia was set to raise local gasoline prices on Monday, state news agency SPA reported. The initiative, aimed at more efficient energy use, coincides with an ambitious reform plan to boost sources of revenue and wean the world’s top crude exporter away from oil.
It said Octane 91 will sell for 1.37 riyals a litre, up from 0.75 riyals, while Octane 95 will sell for 2.04 riyals a litre, up from 0.90 riyals. Diesel rates for trucks were left unchanged. The kingdom will slow plans to eliminate subsidies for a wide range of energy products, according to a new long-term fiscal plan in the 2018 state budget released last month.
Jordan royal palace denies rumours about dismissal of princes
Jordan’s royal palace warned it would take legal measures against anyone spreading what it said were lies about the ruling family, just days after King Abdullah relieved his brothers from top army posts in a major shakeup, reports Reuters. The king, a staunch US ally, said on Tuesday that his brothers Prince Ali and Prince Faisal and his cousin Prince Talal - who all had high military ranks - would be retiring from the armed forces.
He said the move was part of a reorganisation of the armed forces’ hierarchy and structure. Prince Faisal was head of the royal air force and deputy chief of staff, while Prince Ali had for years been in charge of the royal guards responsible for the king’s protection. Talal Bin Mohammad, a Sandhurst graduate who was an officer in the elite special forces, was also sent into retirement. They were all given honorary promotions.
A palace statement on Sunday said it would pursue legal measures against those who propagated “lies and false claims” in social media and online websites with the goal of driving a wedge between the royal family and ordinary Jordanians. “These fabricated news circulated recently are aimed at undermining Jordan and its institutions,” the statement said.
Mumbai New Year hotel bookings slip 50%
A mega demolition drive by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation that destroyed illegal structures in about 100 restaurants and pubs following the fire at Kamala Mills in Mumbai took its toll on New Year Eve celebrations with hoteliers and restaurateurs saying business on the last day of the year had slumped by 40% to 50% as people cancelled their reservations and bookings increasingly as the day progressed, reports The Economic Times.
"Most restaurants are saying business is about 40% less than last year. The spirits are low. Kamala Mills was Mumbai's finest restaurant hub and there is no water or electricity there because of the knee-jerk demolition drive," said Riyaaz Amlani, CEO of Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality and former president of the National Restaurant Association of India. "With water and electricity supplies cut off for multiple restaurants, they were not sure if they would be able to operate and people cancelled reservations."
Fog disrupts Delhi airport operations on New Year's Day, passengers stuck
For the second consecutive day, operations at the Delhi airport have been suspended on Monday morning after the visibility level on the runways dropped below 50 metres, reports NDTV. Thick fog covered many parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region leading to slow moving traffic on Day 1 of 2018.
Train services too have been severely hit in Delhi and several other parts of north India. 56 trains headed towards the capital are late and 20 have been rescheduled. 15 trains have been cancelled, said the Northern Railways. Five domestic flights and seven international flights in Delhi were delayed, according to news agency ANI. One flight has been cancelled.
Kim calls on North Korea to mass-produce nukes, missiles
Kim Jong-Un urged North Korea to mass-produce nuclear warheads and missiles in a defiant New Year message suggesting he would continue to accelerate a rogue weapons programme that has stoked international tensions, reports AFP. Pyongyang dramatically ramped up its efforts to become a nuclear power in 2017, despite a raft of international sanctions and increasingly bellicose rhetoric from the United States.
"We must mass-produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles and speed up their deployment," said Kim in his annual address to the nation, reiterating his claims that North Korea had achieved its goal of becoming a nuclear state. "(The North) can cope with any kind of nuclear threats from the US and has a strong nuclear deterrence that is able to prevent the US from playing with fire," Kim said today.
Kim Jong Un declares North Korea a nuclear power, says 'button' is on his desk
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the United States should be aware that his country's nuclear forces are now a reality, not a threat, reports AP. Kim was speaking in his annual New Year's Day address. He said the country had achieved the historic feat of "completing" its nuclear forces and added that he has a "nuclear button" on his desk. The customary New Year's address was broadcast Monday morning on North Korean state television.
First draft of NRC published with 1.9 crore names
The much-awaited first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was on Sunday published with the names of 1.9 crore people out of the 3.29 crore total applicants in Assam recognising them as legal citizens of India, reports PTI. The rest of the names are under various stages of verification, Registrar General of India Sailesh said at a press conference held at midnight where he made the draft public.
"This is a part draft. It contains 1.9 crore persons, who have been verified till now. The rest of the names are under various stages of verification. As soon as the verification is done, we will come out with another draft," he said. NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela said those people whose names have been excluded in the first list need not worry. "It is a tedious process to verify the names. So there is a possibility that some names within a single family may not be there in the first draft," said Hajela. "There is no need to panic as rest of the documents are under verification," he said.
Asked about the possible timeframe for the next draft, the RGI said it will be decided as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court -- under whose monitoring the document is being prepared -- in its next hearing in April. The entire process will be completed within 2018, Sailesh said. The application process started in May, 2015 and a total of 6.5 crore documents were received from 68.27 lakh families across Assam.
A robin flies to a suet cake that hangs on a tree in Frankfurt, Germany on Sunday. AP
Fireworks explode over Sydney Harbour during New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia. AP
The 185th battalion camp of the Central Reserve Police Force which was stormed by the militants on the foot hills of Wastoorwan at Lethpora in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Sunday. Five CRPF personnel and two fidayeen attackers were killed so far while as three CRPF jawans were injured. PTI
FPIs withdraw Rs 5,900cr from equities in Dec, infuse over Rs 51K cr in 2017
Overseas investors have pulled out close to Rs 5,900 crore from domestic equities in December, with widening fiscal deficit and higher crude prices making market participants cautious on macro-economic front. In spite of December performance, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) ended 2017 with a net inflow of over Rs 51,000 crore. According to the depositories data, FPIs withdrew a net Rs 5,883 crore from equities during December.
However, such investors had put in Rs 2,350 crore in the debt markets during the period under review. The outflow comes following an eight month high inflow of Rs 19,728 crore in November, mainly on account of the government's plan to recapitalise PSU banks and surge in India's ranking in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business. This also marked the highest net investment by FPIs since March, when they had poured in Rs 30,906 crore in the equity market.
Mutual funds invest Rs 1 lakh cr in stocks in 2017
Domestic mutual funds pumped in a staggering over Rs 1 lakh crore in the stock market during 2017. Mutual funds invested Rs 1.2 lakh crore in equities in 2017, much higher than over Rs 48,000 crore infused in 2016 and more than Rs 70,000 crore pumped in during 2015, latest data with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed.
Delhi-bound Indigo flight returns to Goa due to technical glitch
A Delhi-bound IndiGo flight from Goa, carrying 183 passengers and three infants on board, was forced to return and make an emergency landing at the Dabolim airport on Sunday, due to low oil pressure in one of its engines, a source told PTI. The flight - 6E 724 - which took off from the Dabolim airport for New Delhi at 5.50 pm, returned soon to the airport after its pilot reported the oil-pressure problem in one of the engines of the Airbus 320 aircraft, the source added.
IndiGo confirmed the incident and said it had been reported to the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). "IndiGo's Goa-Delhi flight was involved in an air turnback due to low oil pressure in engine two," the airline said in a statement. The aircraft was carrying 182 passengers and three infants on board, it added.
Rahul hits out at BJP over 'empty promises', 'non-utilisation' of Smart City funds
Congress president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the BJP over its "empty promises" and targeted the Centre as only "seven per cent" of the funds meant for its Smart City project was used so far, reports PTI. He also said job creation should be the focus area of the government as China was "out-competing" India.
"Dear Modi bhakts, Out of 9,860 crores for the Smart Cities only 7% has been used. China is out competing us while your master gives us empty slogans. Please watch this video and advise him to focus on what matters- job creation for India #BJPEmptyPromises (sic)," the Congress leader said on Twitter.
Along with the tweet, he also shared a video, showing how China was fast moving forward as far as technological advancements and job creation were concerned. Rahul Gandhi has been targeting the BJP-led central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issues of job creation and lack of employment opportunities for the youth.