Apr 03, 2018 12:39 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com
News Live: Modi govt withdraws press release over fake news
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.
Top
highlights
Fraud rap for cryptocurrency promoted by DJ Khaled, Mayweather
'Indian companies dramatically reduce H-1B visa filing'
Lacklustre demand drags March PMI to 5-month low
Formula 1-inspired electric cars are coming to India
RBI drops Axis Bank from list of bullion importers
4 PSUs file IPO papers with Sebi
RBI allows banks to spread treasury losses over 4 quarters
Here’s what Warren Buffett says to do when the market tanks
It hurt when country looked at Tata Motors as a failing co: Ratan Tata
Prices of 869 formulations to rise 3.44%: NPPA
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said prices of 869 formulations, including antibiotics, cancer and cardiovascular disease treatment drugs and two types of coronary stents, have gone up by 3.44%, reports PTI.
Core sector growth up 5.3% in Feb vs 6.1% in Jan
Direct tax mop up at Rs 9.95 lakh cr in FY18
Essar Steel auction: ArcelorMittal puts in bid, along with Japan's NSSMC in second round
Tatas to pay Rs 35,200cr cash for Bhushan Steel, to convert remaining debt to equity
Govt rules out excise duty cut to cushion fuel prices
Ex-ICICI Bank chief defends Chanda Kochhar, says Rs 3,250cr was total exposure to Videocon
US designates Hafiz Saeed's MML as terrorist outfit
Paytm Mall gets Rs 2,900cr from SoftBank, Alibaba
Journalist accreditation could be permanently cancelled for fake news: Govt
Dow ends down 459 points, after dropping 758 points intra-day
Winnie Mandela, tainted anti-apartheid figurehead, dies at 81
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed that the press release regarding fake news be withdrawn and the matter should only be addressed in the Press Council of India, reports ANI.
Fraud rap for cryptocurrency promoted by DJ Khaled, Mayweather
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has laid charges over a fraudulent cryptocurrency fundraiser that boxer Floyd Mayweather and rapper DJ Khaled touted on social media. Neither celebrity is accused in the scheme which the SEC said raised more than $32 million from thousands of investors, reports AFP.
Facebook needs 'a few years' to fix problems: Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook will likely need ‘a few years’ to fix the problems uncovered by the revelations on the hijacking of private user data, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said. Speaking to the news site Vox, Zuckerberg maintained that one of Facebook's problems was that it was ‘idealistic,’ focusing on the positive aspects of connecting people and that "we didn't spend enough time investing in, or thinking through, some of the downside uses of the tools."
Here are the top headlines at 12 pm from Moneycontrol News' Anchal Pathak
'Indian companies dramatically reduce H-1B visa filing'
Indian IT companies have dramatically reduced their H-1B visa filings and foreign nationals are exhibiting reluctance to make the jump to a US company due to the Trump administration's hard-line anti-immigration stance, reports Silicon Valley newspaper San Francisco Chronicle.
JMC Projects bags orders worth Rs 942cr
Civil engineering and EPC firm JMC Projects (India) said it had secured road projects worth Rs 942 crore from National Highways Authority of India. The order is for four-laning of Madurai-Chettikulam section of NH 785 in Tamil Nadu on EPC basis for Rs 486 crore. It has also received two orders for construction of flyovers on NH 53 in Maharashtra for Rs 456 crore. JMC Projects is an arm of Kalpataru Power Transmission.
Change ridiculous immigration laws: Trump to Congress
US President Donald Trump attacked Congress for not passing tough immigration laws and described the present system of prosecution and deportation of illegal immigrants as ‘a whole big wasted procedure’, reports PTI. In a series of tweets, he said US laws do not easily allow the government to send those crossing the southern border back where they came from.
Sensex trades lower, Nifty below 10,200
The market is currently off the day’s high points and is trading in the red. The Nifty has breached the 10,200-mark. Some correction is seen in IT names, with the Nifty IT index falling over a percent, while other sectoral indices are largely trading higher. PSU banks are trading strong, with gains of over a percent. HPCL, Indiabulls Housing, Yes Bank and IndusInd Bank have gained the most, while Wipro, Adani Ports, and Tech Mahindra are the top losers.
American Tower Corporation has completed its Rs 3,800 crore deal to purchase the mobile towers of Vodafone India.
Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day following opposition uproar after several new members take oath.
UK MHRA completes inspection of Lupin's Goa plant
Lupin said the UK health regulator has completed inspection of its Goa facility without making any critical observations.
The Delhi High Court has disposed of the defamation suit filed by Arun Jaitley against Arvind Kejriwal for remarks made by AAP leaders' former lawyer Ram Jethmalani. The court closed the defamation suit after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tendered an apology and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley accepted it.
The Supreme Court will hear the Centre's plea seeking to review the March 20 verdict putting safeguards on arrest under the stringent SC/ST Act at 2 pm today. The apex court agreed to hear the review petition after Attorney General KK Venugopal referred to large scale violence and loss of lives and property during Monday’s Bharat Bandh. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra agreed to constitute the original bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit at 2 pm to hear the review plea. The AG said it is an emergency situation as large scale violence has taken place and sought urgent hearing of the review petition today itself.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on April 9 the Centre's plea for clarification on the Cauvery water dispute verdict, reports PTI. The Centre in its plea has referred to divergent views of concerned states on setting up of the Cauvery management scheme.
Here are the top headlines at 11 am from Moneycontrol News' Sakshi Batra
US blasts 'unfair' Chinese tariffs on 128 products
The United States has blasted as ‘unfair’ Chinese tariffs imposed on 128 US imports worth $3 billion, including fruit and pork, in the latest tit-for-tat over US duties on steel and aluminium, reports AFP.
MiG 17 chopper crashes near Kedarnath
A MiG 17 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed near Kedarnath at 8:10 am, reports PTI. All persons on board are safe, officials said.
Lacklustre demand drags Indian March factory growth to 5-month low: PMI
Activity in India’s manufacturing sector expanded at its weakest pace in five months in March as order and production growth slowed, discouraging firms from hiring. The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 51 last month from February’s 52.1.
Here are the top headlines at 10 am from Moneycontrol News' Anchal Pathak
Formula 1-inspired electric cars are coming to India
Tycoon Sanjeev Gupta could start building Formula 1-inspired electric vehicles in India and Australia early next decade, adding automobiles to a roster of global businesses that span steel-making to banking, reports Bloomberg. Gupta’s GFG Alliance, which aims to model the budget, lightweight city cars on a design developed by former McLaren Racing and Brabham technical director Gordon Murray, will build EV plants as part of his worldwide push into the auto supply chain.
RBI drops Axis Bank from list of bullion importers
The Reserve Bank has dropped Axis Bank from a list of banks it has cleared to import gold and silver in FY19. It was unclear why Axis, one of India’s leading importers of bullion, did not feature in the list that was released late on Monday, reports Reuters. Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia were among the 16 banks allowed to import bullion. Two other small banks Karur Vyasa and South Indian Bank, were also dropped from the RBI list.
Facebook CEO defends advertising-supported business model
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that an advertising-supported business model is the only way that the service can survive because not everyone would be able to pay for Facebook if it charged a fee, reports AP. His defence comes after Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company wouldn't be in Facebook's situation because Apple doesn't sell ads based on customer data the way Facebook does.
Sensex, Nifty continue to trade flat despite weak global cues
Shrugging off global weakness, the market began the day on a flat note, with the Nifty holding on to the 10,200-mark. The Street is looking past the global selloff on the back of a rally in banks as well as robust GST collections. The government mopped-up Rs 89,260 crore in February via GST collections.
Almost all sectoral indices are trading in the green, led by Nifty PSU bank, auto and Bank Nifty. There are some cuts visible in the metals space, with the frontline index down around a percent. Midcaps, meanwhile, are trading one-third of a percent higher.
Among stocks, State Bank of India, Yes Bank and HPCL are the top gainers, while Wipro and Adani Ports have lost the most. Shares of VST Tillers Tractors added 5.5% in early trade on the back of strong growth in March sales figures.
4 PSUs file IPO papers with Sebi
Four state-owned firms, including Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Rail Vikas Nigam, have filed draft papers with markets regulator Sebi to float initial public offerings. Railway infrastructure firm Ircon International and warship maker Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers are the other two firms which have filed IPO papers, reports PTI.
Govt levies 10% import duty on key smartphone components
The government has imposed a 10% duty on import of key smartphone components like camera module and printed circuit board assembly, with a view to boost domestic manufacturing, reports PTI.
RP submits Vedanta offer for Electrosteel to NCLT
The Resolution Professional (RP) has submitted Vedanta’s offer for bankrupt Electrosteel Steels before the Kolkata bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for approval, reports PTI. Vedanta's offer is pegged around Rs 4,500-5,000 crore.
RBI allows banks to spread treasury losses over 4 quarters
With a view to help banks spread losses incurred on bond yield movements, Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to spread the provisioning they need to make for these losses over a maximum of four quarters. But banks will have to create an Investment Fluctuation Reserve to protect against an uptick in yields in the future.
Here’s what Warren Buffett says to do when the market tanks
Worries of a trade war and rising social unrest in the country has left many investors worried and wondering what to do. During times of stress and uncertainty, Oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett recommends keeping a level head and that buy-and-hold is still the best strategy, reports CNBC.
It hurt when country looked at Tata Motors as a failing co: Ratan Tata
Tata group Chairman Emeritus Rata Tata asked employees of Tata Motors to plan on becoming leaders again, saying it hurt him when the auto maker lost market share in the last four-to-five years and the country looked at it as a 'failing company', reports PTI.
Prices of 869 formulations to rise 3.44%: NPPA
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said prices of 869 formulations, including antibiotics, cancer and cardiovascular disease treatment drugs and two types of coronary stents, have gone up by 3.44%, reports PTI.