India hitting US “very hard” on trade; will talk business with PM Modi: Trump

India has been hitting the US “very hard” on trade for many years with high tariffs, according to President Donald Trump who said he will “talk business” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his first visit to the country.

President Trump and First Lady Melania are scheduled to travel to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.

“I’m going to India next week and we’re talking trade. They’ve been hitting us very hard for many, many years,” Trump said at a ‘Keep America Great’ rally in Colorado on Thursday.

Trump told thousands of his supporters that he “really likes” Prime Minister Modi and they would be talking business.

“We’ve got to talk a little...We’ve got to talk a little business. It’s been hitting us hard. They give us tariffs, one the highest in the world is India,” he said. PTI

World’s second-biggest control centre for goods trains set to roll

The world’s second-biggest Operation Control Centre for goods trains, built in India by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) is ready to begin operations, and is likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the end of this month, a senior company official said on Thursday.

The centre, built at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, will be the ‘nerve-centre’ of the over 1,800 km-long eastern dedicated freight corridor, the corporation’s MD Anurag Sachan said on Thursday.

The control centre has a theater which measures 1560 sq m, with a video wall of more than 90 m and will be used as a one-stop shop for controlling and monitoring rail systems, including train operations and the power supply system.

Asian markets fall on fears over spreading virus

A spike in new virus cases outside China spooked Asian markets Friday after Wall Street pulled back from record highs as more companies warned earnings could be hurt by the epidemic.

More than 2,200 people have died from the novel coronavirus, which has infected over 75,000 people, mostly in China, and spread panic around the world.

While Beijing claims its epidemic control efforts are working, the rising death toll and number of new infections abroad have rattled investors.

A batch of warnings from companies over the impact of the virus on bottom lines -- including Danish ship operator Maersk and Air France-KLM -- also fanned anxiety and dented hopes it would have only a short-term impact on earnings and economic growth. PTI

Axis Bank inks pact with Max Life to raise stake

Private sector lender Axis Bank is exploring the possibility of increasing its stake in Analjit Singh-led Max Life Insurance and has signed an agreement with the insurer and its parent Max Financial Services for the same.

“Axis Bank, Max Financial Services Limited (MFS) and its subsidiary Max Life Insurance Company Limited (Max Life) today signed a confidentiality and exclusivity arrangement to explore the possibility of Axis Bank entering into a long-term strategic partnership with Max Life,” the bank said in a statement.

Max Financial Services now holds a 72.5% stake in Max Life while Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and Axis Bank hold 25.5% and 2% stake, respectively.

US urges Europe to exclude Huawei from 5G networks

A senior US diplomat said here that European nations and telecom operators should exclude Chinese tech giant Huawei from any involvement in the development of 5G networks.

“That 5G toolbox for the European Union (EU) says that a high—risk vendor should not be providing critical or sensitive components to these networks,” Robert Strayer, the US State Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy, said at a forum in Madrid.

The EU guidance, he added, likewise says that “what had traditionally been viewed as the edge, the periphery, of the network will now have very important computing functions”, reports Efe news

“Even the edges of the network, where there’s computing going on, are going to be highly sensitive and those parts should not be provided by high—risk vendors,” Strayer said. IANS

Govt may seek balance between SC order, telcos health

With the telecom sector reeling under severe financial stress and Vodafone Idea staring at bankruptcy in case it is made to pay its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, the government is considering options to stick to the Supreme Court’s directive but with least possible impact on the financials of the stressed operators.

According to people in the know, the government will try to ensure that its action regarding AGR dues takes care of all the perspectives, firstly, compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, then, ensuring minimum impact on the health of the telcos along with making sure that the consumers are not impacted adversely.

The government, among other options, is considering to set up a fund to facilitate operations of telcos post the payment of their AGR dues, sources said.

According to sources in the know, the dues which have to be paid to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) would have to be put in the telecom fund, and can then be lent to the companies at lower interest. This will allow companies to maintain their going concern status and continue operations without running to banks to raise funds. IANS

India faces low downside risk, global coronavirus impact is buying opportunity: JP Morgan currency chief

India’s financial market faces low downside risk from coronavirus’ impact on supply chains, will instead continue trading on domestic triggers and the current global health scare represents a “buying opportunity”, according to Luis Oganes, JP Morgan’s head of currencies, commodities, and emerging market research.

“I would say that the things to watch are the turning point in the coronavirus episode, I think that it can lead to a big rebound in emerging market equities,” Luis Oganes told IANS in New York.

Oganes is predicting that the next few months are going to be “very interesting” for markets and recommending investors turn to local currency bonds. Emerging market central banks may cut interest rates further and the dollar will remain strong, he said. IANS

ICRA revises outlook on Indian pharma industry to ‘negative’

Credit rating agency ICRA has revised the outlook on the Indian pharmaceutical industry from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’ as it does not rule out the possibility of lockouts in parts of China — due to the outbreak of COVID-19 — impacting profitability of drugmakers in India.

ICRA said the industry was highly dependent on imports. Over 60% of its active pharmaceutical ingredients’ requirement are met through imports and in some specific Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) like cephalosporins, azithromycin and penicillin, the dependence is as high as 80-90%. Of the total imports of APIs and intermediates into India, China accounted for around 65-70%.

Oil falls as coronavirus spread beyond China heightens demand fears

Oil prices fell on Friday amid concerns over fuel demand as the coronavirus epidemic spread further beyond China, while major crude producers stood pat on any early action to cut output to support the market.

Brent crude was down 28 cents, or 0.5%, at $59.03 a barrel by 0332 GMT, while U.S. crude was also off by 28 cents, or 0.5%, at $53.60 a barrel. Reuters

Financial markets to remain shut for Mahashivratri

Domestic stock, bond and forex markets will remain closed on Friday on account of Mahashivratri. PTI

Three rating agencies downgrade Vodafone Idea in 2 days

Telecom major Vodafone Idea’s survival is under serious doubt as the company’s ratings have been downgraded by three major rating firms within a span of just two days. Shares of Vodafone Idea (VIL), however, closed 5 per cent higher at Rs 4.40 a share on the BSE.

After India Ratings, Brickwork Ratings and Crisil on Thursday downgraded Vodafone Idea’s rating on non—convertible debentures of Rs 3,500 crore citing lower likelihood of any relief from the government after the Supreme Court did not grant any relief in respect to the modification request filed by the telcos.

According to official sources, VIL paid Rs 1,000 crore to the Department of Telecom on Thursday. The company has dues worth Rs 53,000 crore, which includes up to Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and another Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee. IANS

Coronavirus impact: Durables, drugs, electronics to run out of steam with 70% import dependence, says Crisil

The coronavirus epidemic that has stalled large parts of China, if not contained quickly will jeopardise many domestic sectors which are heavily dependent on Chinese inputs warn analysts at Crisil. In terms of shipments from China, imports of solar panels stand at 75 per cent, bulk drugs ingredients 69 per cent, electronics 67 per cent and consumer durables 45 per cent being the worst hit.

The epidemic has already killed over 2,110 in China alone and infected close to 75,000 there, as 60 million Chinese are suffering from Beijing-ordered shutdown across more than two dozen cities.

However, though dependence is low in percentage terms, the consumer durables industry will be in trouble as neither it has the inventory nor the legroom to ramp up capacity in short time. PTI

Economic activity remains weak: RBI rate setting panel minutes

Economic activity remains weak and high frequency indicators do not point to “bottoming out” of the downturn, the RBI Monetary Policy Committee noted while keeping the key interest rate unchanged earlier this month.

According to the minutes of the MPC released by the central bank on Thursday, member and RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra observed that economic activity remains weak.

”... there are indications of the momentum of growth stabilising, with sector-specific upticks underlying this guarded optimism, but they are far from gaining economy-wide traction. In some sectors, the slowdown is deep, and activity is stalled by sizable slack in demand. PTI