Month: October 2018

Canada, US reach deal to update NAFTA

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The United States and Canada reached a deal to update NAFTA and keep it a trilateral pact with Mexico, beating a midnight deadline with agreements to boost U.S. access to Canada’s dairy market and protect Canada from possible U.S. autos tariffs, two Canadian sources with direct knowledge of the talks said on Sunday.

Word of the deal came as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened a 10 pm (0200 GMT Monday) Cabinet meeting to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement talks.

A US official said a few minutes earlier that the United States and Canada were “very close” to a deal.

US president Donald Trump’s administration has said Canada must sign on to the text of the updated NAFTA by a midnight Sunday deadline (0400 GMT Monday) or face exclusion from the pact. Washington has already reached a bilateral deal with Mexico, the third NAFTA member.

Trump blames NAFTA for the loss of American manufacturing jobs and wants major changes to the pact, which underpins $1.2 trillion in annual trade. Markets fear its demise would cause major economic disruption.

Negotiators from both sides spent two days talking by phone as they tried to settle a range of difficult issues such as access to Canada’s dairy market and US tariffs.

The Canadian source said Canada had agreed to a cap on its automotive exports to the United States in the event that the Trump administration imposes global autos tariffs on national security grounds. The quota would allow for some growth in tariff-free automotive exports from Canada above current production levels, the source said.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, in Ottawa for the negotiations, scrapped plans to give her country’s annual address to the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, a spokesman said.

Separately, Mexico’s Economy Ministry tweeted that it would hand the Mexican Senate the updated NAFTA text later on Sunday. If there was an agreement with Canada, the text would be trilateral. If not, it would be bilateral, the ministry said.

As part of any agreement, Canada looks set to offer increased access to its highly protected dairy market, as it did in separate pacts with the European Union and Pacific nations.

The influential Dairy Farmers of Canada lobby group – which strongly opposes the idea – said in a statement that it insisted “any final NAFTA deal should have no further negative impact on the dairy sector.”

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and White House adviser Jared Kushner have been updating Trump throughout Sunday on the talks, a US source said.

US business groups oppose turning NAFTA into a bilateral deal because the three nations’ economies have become closely intertwined since the original pact came into force in 1994.

Officials have blown through several deadlines since the talks started in August 2017.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

FPI outflow hits 4-month high of Rs 21,000 crore in September

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Overseas investors pulled out a massive Rs 21,000 crore ($3 billion) from the capital markets in September, making it the steepest outflow in four months, on widening current account deficit amid global trade tensions.

The latest withdrawal comes following a net infusion of close to Rs 5,200 crore in the capital markets (both equity and debt) last month and Rs 2,300 crore in July.

Prior to that, overseas investors had pulled out over Rs 61,000 crore during April-June.

According to the latest depository data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a net sum of Rs 10,825 crore from equities in September and Rs 10,198 crore from the debt market, taking the total to Rs 21,023 crore ($3 billion).

This was the highest outflow since May, when FPIs had pulled out Rs 29,775 crore. FPIs never fully returned to the Indian equity markets after pulling out net assets worth Rs 61,000 crore during the quarter ended June 2018.

Although they net bought assets to the tune of Rs 7,500 crore cumulatively in July and August, the quantum of inflows was much lower than what was seen in the past when they invested with full conviction.

This indicates that there has been a fair bit of uncertainty and cautiousness among FPIs investing in the Indian equity markets in the recent times, experts said.

The outflow in September was due to global trade tensions, widening current account deficit on the back of surge in oil prices, depreciating rupee, concerns over the government’s ability to meet fiscal deficit targets and lower than expected GST collection, said Himanshu Srivastava, Senior Research Analyst at Morningstar.

“All these factors deteriorated the country’s macro environment. It has also cast a doubt on the sustainability of the economic growth which is closely watched by the FPIs. This coupled with expensive valuation triggered a sell-off from FPIs in September,” he noted.

Additionally, given the global trade tensions, there has been risk-aversion among foreign investors which explains their cautious stance towards emerging markets like India, which are considered to be riskier than their developed counterparts, he added.

So far this year, FPIs have pulled out over Rs 13,000 crore from equities and more than Rs 48,000 crore from the debt markets.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Top stocks to watch out for on October 1: IL&FS, LIC, Bandhan Bank

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Indian stock market is likely to open negative on Monday following Asian cues, concerns revolving a possible RBI repo rate hike and the rising crude prices.

Here are the top stocks to watch out for 

Lakshmi Vilas Bank: The bank is planning to raise around Rs 2,000 crore in fresh equity capital before the end of the current financial year, and has appointed JP Morgan Chase for advice on the process, a top official said on Sunday.

Indian Hotels Company: The firm on Friday won the e-auction at 32.5 percent of gross turnover of the property, by beating ITC Group to operate the luxury hotel Taj Mansingh in New Delhi.

IL&FS: LIC and Orix Corp and SBI on Saturday announced they would subscribe to the proposed Rs 4,500 crore rights issue of the company.

CGPL: Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (CGPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power, completed refinancing of ECB loans amounting to $770 million.

NOFHC: The Bank was not able to bring down the shareholding of Non Operative Financial Holding Company (NOFHC) to 40 percent as required under the licensing condition.

Bandhan Bank: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has pulled up Bandhan Bank for its failure to reduce promoter stake to 40 percent as per guidelines, withdrawing permission to open new branches automatically and stopping the remuneration of the MD and CEO until further notice, the bank informed the stock exchanges on Friday.

Karur Vysya Bank: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore on Karur Vysya Bank for non-compliance of its directives.

Yes Bank: In his first comments after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut short his term, Yes Bank managing director and chief executive officer, Rana Kapoor, said he will not sell his shares, adding that in the leadership transition, he continued to remain committed to the interests of the bank and all its stakeholders.

SBI: The bank lowered its ATM cash withdrawal limit to Rs 20,000 a day, from Rs 40,000. The limit will be effective from October 31, The Economic Times reported.

Bharti Airtel: With its Africa business seeing steady signs of growth, Bharti Airtel is all set to encash on that. CNBC-TV18 learns from sources that the management of the telecom giant has internally finalised a two pronged strategy to monetise its Africa business.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Anisha Jain’s market update on October 1: Sensex, Nifty likely to open weak; LIC, Indian Hotels Company, IL&FS in focus

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Indian equity markets looked to open weak on Monday following weak Asian cues, concerns revolving a possible RBI repo rate hike and rising crude prices.

At 07:10 AM, SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50’s trend in India, rose 0.03 percent to 10,962.50, indicating a mildly higher opening for the Indian market today.

About MarketBuzz

The CNBCTV18.com podcast on the big themes, vital news and key events that you should know before the opening bell, powered by CNBC-TV18 anchors.

MarketBuzz is your daily morning briefing by CNBC-TV18 research analysts and anchors Sonia Shenoy, Ekta Batra, Anisha Jain, Nigel D’Souza and Mangalam Maloo to jumpstart your stock market investing.

Subscribe to our free podcasts on Audioboom or listen on the featured podcast page on CNBCTV18.com.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Canadian dollar up on NAFTA hopes, Asian shares off to slow start

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso rose on Monday on hopes of progress in negotiations over a renewed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal, but Asian shares got off to a slow start amid further signs of weakness in China.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.1 percent in early trade, led by fall in Australia, though activity is likely to be slow due to holidays in China including Hong Kong.

Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.25 percent though the Topix, broader and better gauge of the market, was down 0.2 percent.

Casting a shadow in Asia, two surveys showed on Sunday that growth in China’s manufacturing sector sputtered in September as domestic and export demand softened..

The private Caixin/Markit factory Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 50.0, the lowest reading since May 2017, in a stark reminder that the trade disputes are starting to have real consequences on the economy.

“The escalation of trade tensions between the US and China recently has likely weighed on purchasing managers’ sentiment as reflected by softer readings in trade-related sub-indices,” wrote economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“Deterioration of PMI in September is in line with our expectation that coincident growth indicators will get worse before getting better. As US-China trade conflict intensifies, we expect China’s policymakers to step up monetary and fiscal easing to soften the blow from higher tariffs,” they added.

The world’s share markets had rallied in September on hopes that China and the United States will eventually work out a deal on trade, but talks proposed for around the end of the month collapsed after the two sides launched more tit-for-tat tariffs.

MSCI’s broadest gauge of the world’s shares covering 47 markets rose for the third straight month in September.

In the currency market, the Canadian dollar rose about 0.5 percent to a four-month high of C$1.2838 to the US dollar.

Canadian and US negotiators “made lots of progress” on Sunday on a renewed NAFTA, but had still not settled tough issues such as American tariffs and access to Canada’s dairy market, an official and sources said.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has said Canada must sign on to the text of the updated North American Free Trade Agreement by midnight on Sunday (0400 GMT Monday) or face exclusion from the pact.

Canadian media said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hold a cabinet meeting at 0200 GMT.

The yen softened to 113.85 per dollar, its lowest since mid-November last year.

On the other hand, the euro was hit by worries about rise in Italy’s fiscal deficit after the Italian government agreed to set a higher than expected budget deficit target that could put Rome on a collision course with Brussels.

The common currency traded at $1.1608, having lost 1.2 percent last week and off three-month high of $1.18155 touched a week ago.

Oil prices stayed near recent peaks, with international benchmark Brent trading near a four-year high, as US. sanctions on Tehran squeezed Iranian crude exports, tightening supply even as other key exporters increased production.

Brent crude futures rose 0.4 percent to as high as $83.07 per barrel, the strongest level since November 2014.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Closing Bell: Sensex, Nifty make sharp recovery, Nifty reclaims 11,000-mark; Yes Bank, TCS among gainers

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Fuel price hike: Petrol crosses Rs 91 mark in Mumbai

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Fuel prices continued its streak for the fifth consecutive day, with petrol prices crossing the record high of Rs 91 a litre mark in Mumbai.

Petrol prices were at an all-time high of Rs 91.08 a litre, while diesel prices inched higher to Rs 79.72 a litre, as per the data from Indian Oil Corporation.

In Delhi NCR, Chennai and Kolkata, the petrol prices were at Rs 83.73 per litre, Rs 87.05 per litre and Rs 85.53 per litre, respectively. Diesel prices in the three metros rose to Rs 75.09 a litre, Rs 79.40 per litre and Rs 76.94 per litre, respectively.

With petroleum still excluded from the GST regime, prices vary according to local taxes. Delhi has lower tax among the four major metros.

Ahead of the US sanctions, kicking in from November 4 on Iran, crude prices have been on an upward spiral with Brent prices reaching up to $80 a barrel.

Domestic fuel prices have been surging since mid-August due to various factors including rupee depreciation, high excise duty and rise in Brent crude oil rates.

International Brent crude oil was up 31 cents, or 0.4 percent at $83.04 per barrel from its last close and near the $83.07 level reached during the last session – the highest since November 2014.

Import-reliant economies are already aching under oil prices that have risen above $80 per barrel this week, the most since late 2014.

Analysts warn the inflationary combination of higher oil costs and weakening currencies such as India’s rupee could cause a global economic slowdown that would also crimp oil demand in those countries.

India-Iran Oil Ties

The Iranian Foreign Minister said Iran’s oil sales to India will continue despite the US threats of sanction pressures against Iran and its economic partner, Financial Tribune daily reported on Saturday.

India is committed to buying Iranian oil and continuing the bilateral economic cooperation, Mohammad Javad Zarif said after a meeting with his Indian counterpart in New York on the sidelines of the United Nation General Assembly.

India, Iran’s second largest oil customer after China, has not yet decided whether to completely stop purchasing Iran’s oil despite its already reduced imports, according to Financial Tribune.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Brent oil near four-year high ahead of Iran sanctions, but demand concerns loom

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Oil prices opened firmly on Monday, with Brent hovering close its highest in nearly four years ahead of US sanctions against Iran that kick in next month.

Brent crude oil futures were trading at $83.04 per barrel at 0057 GMT, up 31 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close and near the $83.07 level reached during the last session – the highest since November 2014.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 23 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $73.48 a barrel.

WTI prices were supported by a stagnant rig count, which points to a slowdown in US crude production.

Brent was pushed up by the looming sanctions against Iran, which will start targeting its oil sector from November 4.

There had been expectations China would ignore US sanctions. However, China’s Sinopec is halving loadings of crude oil from Iran this month, in a sign that pressure from Washington is having an effect.

“If Chinese refiners do comply with US sanctions more fully than expected, then the market balance is likely to tighten even more aggressively,” Edward Bell, commodity analyst at Emirates NBD bank wrote in a note published on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump called Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Saturday, discussing ways to maintain sufficient supply once Iran’s exports are hit by sanctions.

“Until sizable supply is offered up by OPEC, ultimately traders will continue to push the envelope even more,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia-Pacific at futures brokerage Oanda in Singapore.

“Even if they (Saudi Arabia) wanted to bend to President Trump’s wishes, how much spare capacity does the Kingdom have?” asked Innes.

“We’re going to find out very soon as approximately 1.5 million barrels (per day) of Iranian oil is effectively going offline on Nov. 4. If the market senses that Saudi Arabia capacity is tapped out at 10.5 million bpd … oil prices will rocket higher with the flashy $100 per barrel price tag indeed a reasonable sounding target,” Innes said.

Looming Slowdown?

With oil prices soaring, there are concerns over their inflationary effect on demand growth, especially in Asia’s emerging markets where weakening currencies are further adding to high fuel import costs.

Add the trade disputes between the United States and other major powers, especially China, and economic growth into 2019 could be eroded.

Growth in China’s manufacturing sector already sputtered in September as both external and domestic demand weakened, two surveys showed on Sunday.

In Japan, business confidence among big manufacturers worsened in the last quarter to hit its lowest level in nearly a year, as firms felt the pinch from rising raw material costs and as global trade conditions worsened.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Government sets up Competition Law Review Committee

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The government has formed a Competition Law Review Committee to ensure that the legislation is in tune with the changing business environment, according to an official announcement on Sunday.

A Finance Ministry release said that the committee will review the competition regulations in view of changing business environment and suggest the necessary changes.

Among the panel’s mandate is also to look into international best practices in the competition field with a thrust on anti-trust laws, merger guidelines and handling cross-border competition issues.

“In pursuance of its objective of ensuring that legislation is in sync with the needs of strong economic fundamentals, the government has constituted a Competition Law Review Committee to review the Competition Act,” it said.

“In this context, it is essential that the Competition Law is strengthened, and re-calibrated to promote best practices which result in the citizens of this country achieving their aspirations and value for money.”

The committee will also study other regulatory regimes, institutional mechanisms and government policies which overlap with the Competition Act.

The committee consists of the Corporate Affairs Secretary, Competition Commision of India Chairperson, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Chairperson, Haigreve Khaitan from Khaitan & Co, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co Advocate Pallavi Shardul Shroff, former IAS officer S. Chakravarthy, Delhi School of Economics Professor Aditya Bhattacharjea and Corporate Affairs Joint Secretary (Competition), the statement said.

The committee will submit its report within three months of the date of its first meeting, it added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

NAFTA talks run up against deadline; US tariffs remain tough issue

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

With little time left ahead of a deadline to agree to a renewed NAFTA, Canadian and US trade officials on Sunday tried to settle differences on tough issues such as protection against American tariffs.

The administration of US President Donald Trump said Canada must sign onto the text of the updated North American Free Trade Agreement by midnight EDT on Sunday (0400 GMT Monday) or face exclusion from the trilateral pact, which includes Mexico.

NAFTA underpins $1.2 trillion in annual trade and markets fear its demise would cause major economic disruption.

Two Ottawa sources directly familiar with the talks said a deal could be very close but stressed some challenging matters had yet to be solved.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Sunday said everyone involved was working in good faith and reiterated the Sunday deadline.

“It’s either going to be the text goes in with Mexico and the US or the text goes in with all three countries,” he told the Fox News Channel.

US business groups oppose turning NAFTA into a bilateral deal because the three nations’ economies have become closely intertwined since the original pact came into force in 1994.

Officials though have blown through several deadlines since the talks started in August 2017 and a third Canadian source said that if the two sides were close enough at midnight, negotiations could spill over into Monday.

Negotiators – still apart on matters such as dispute resolution and a US demand for more access to Canada’s dairy markets – are also tackling the matter of American tariffs.

Trump has already imposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel, citing national security, and is threatening similar punitive measures against auto exports. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it makes no sense to sign onto a new NAFTA only to be hit by new tariffs and is seeking safeguards.

“It’s a challenging task to figure that out and they’re spending a lot of time on that right now,” said the third Canadian source.

One solution might be to imitate the provisions of the bilateral Mexico-US deal on NAFTA.

The two nations signed a side letter allowing Washington to pursue tariffs on annual Mexican car and SUV imports of over 2.4 million vehicles, a number that significantly exceeds last year’s total. The Mexican government said the letter provided insurance that gave the auto industry scope to grow.

A fourth Canadian source directly familiar with the negotiations said any suggestion Ottawa would accept a cap or quota on autos exports was completely inaccurate.

The office of Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland did not respond to requests for comment.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow