Month: December 2018

Investors become poorer by Rs 7.25 lakh crore in 2018

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Investor wealth eroded by Rs 7.25 lakh crore in 2018 amid volatile broader market conditions.

The market capitalisation (m-cap) of the BSE-listed companies slumped by Rs 7,25,401.31 crore to Rs 1,44,48,465.69 crore this year.
The BSE benchmark Sensex has gained 2,011.5 points, or 5.90 percent, in 2018.

From its all-time peak of 38,989.65 scaled on August 29 this year, the Sensex has fallen by 2,921.32 points, or 7.5 percent, to 36,068.33.

“In stark contrast to the bullish opening today, the last trading session of the calendar year, market closed on a flattish note. Mixed cues from global markets, lack of any fresh trigger, ensured that the session remained uneventful,” said Joseph Thomas, head research, Emkay Wealth Management.

The 30-share BSE index fell 8.39 points to finish at 36,068.33 on the final trading session of 2018.

Marketmen said the later part of the year has been challenging for the equity markets due to both global and domestic triggers.
“In 2019, immediate attention could be on the impending general elections, but the basic direction of the market would be, to a large extent, determined by the interest rate policy of the Fed and the RBI, direction of oil prices, as also further developments in the context of the US-China tariff war, and fears of a hard Brexit,” Thomas added.

“The ongoing volatility may continue in the near-term, due to premium valuation, slowdown in the domestic economy, muted earnings growth in the next two quarters, cascading effect of liquidity crunch in the urban and rural market, short-term effect of national election with risk of populist measures and global effect of current uncertainties, impacting the performance during the initial part of 2019,” Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit said.

However, as 2019 matures, the above mentioned factors are likely to stabilise and provide a better investment horizon in the long-term, Nair added.

From the 30-share pack, 15 stocks ended lower Monday led by Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp and NTPC.

Reliance Industries Ltd is the country’s most valued firm with a m-cap of Rs 7,10,584.48 crore, followed by TCS Rs 7,10,532.81 crore, HDFC Bank (Rs 5,77,309.35 crore), Hindustan Unilever Ltd (Rs 3,93,544 crore) and ITC (Rs 3,44,934.39 crore) in the top five order.

On the BSE, 1,503 stocks advanced, while 1,105 declined, and 192 remained unchanged on Monday.

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

Sebi lays framework to make physical settlement mandatory

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Sebi has issued a framework for making physical settlement of stock derivatives mandatory in a phased manner, a move that could bring much needed balance between equity cash and derivative segments.

Stock derivatives, which are currently being cash-settled, would move to physical settlement in a prescribed manner, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular.

According to the regulator, stocks that are being cash-settled shall be ranked in descending order based on daily market capitalisation averaged for December 2018.

Based on the ranking arrived, the bottom 50 stocks would move to physical settlement from April 2019 expiry onwards, the next 50 stocks from the bottom would move to physical settlement from July 2019 expiry onwards, and the remaining stocks would move to physical settlement from October 2019 expiry onwards, it added.

Sebi said derivatives introduced on new stocks, meeting the enhanced eligibility criteria specified by the regulator, would also be physically settled.
Derivatives in financial markets typically refer to a forward, future, option or any other hybrid contract of pre- determined fixed duration, linked for the purpose of contract fulfilment to the value of a specified real or financial asset or to an index of securities.

Broadly, there are two types of derivative contracts — futures and options. A futures contract means a legally binding agreement to buy or sell the underlying security on a future date, while options contract gives the buyer or holder of the contract the right (but not the obligation) to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price within or at the end of a specified period.

Earlier in April, the markets regulator had decided that physical settlement will be made mandatory for all stock derivatives.

In September, Sebi had issued a consultation paper asking market participants to submit their views on whether physical settlement should be done in a phased manner starting with stock options followed by stock futures

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

Subsidised LPG price cut by Rs 5.91; non-subsidised rate reduced by Rs 120.50

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Domestic cooking gas (LPG) price was cut by Rs 5.91 per cylinder on Monday, the second straight reduction in a month’s time due to tax impact on reduced market rate of the fuel.

A 14.2-kg subsidised LPG cylinder will cost Rs 494.99 in the national capital from midnight tonight as against Rs 500.90 currently, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s largest fuel retailer, said in a statement.

This is the second straight monthly reduction in LPG rate. On December 1, subsidised LPG price was cut by Rs 6.52 per bottle.

That price cut had come after six consecutive monthly hikes in rates since June. The two price reductions have mostly negated the Rs 14.13 per cylinder increase in rates between June and November.

IOC said non-subsidised or market priced LPG rates have been cut by a steep Rs 120.50 per cylinder “due to fall in price of LPG in international market and strengthening of US dollar-rupee exchange rate.”

It will now cost Rs 689 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi.

On December 1, price of non-subsidised LPG was cut by Rs 133 per bottle.
All LPG consumers have to buy the fuel at market price. The government, however, subsidises 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each per households in a year by providing the subsidy amount directly in bank accounts of users.

This subsidy amount varies from month to month depending on the changes in the average international benchmark LPG rate and foreign exchange rate.

When international rates move up, the government provides a higher subsidy. And when they come down, subsidy is cut.

As per tax rules, GST on LPG has to be calculated at the market rate of the fuel. The government may choose to subsidise a part of the price but tax will have to be paid at market rates.

So, with the fall in market price or non-subsidised LPG price, the tax incidence on subsidised cooking fuel has also come down, leading to the current price reduction.

“Accordingly, the upfront cash payment by the consumer of domestic LPG will also reduce by Rs 120.50 per cylinder. Domestic LPG consumer will now be required to make upfront cash payment of Rs 689 a cylinder in place of Rs 809.50 per cylinder,” IOC said.

Subsidised cooking gas consumers will get Rs 194.01 per cylinder subsidy in their bank accounts for the month of January. The subsidy transfer in the customer’s bank account has been reduced from Rs 433.66 in November and Rs 308.60 in December.

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 crude rises over $1, but set for first yearly drop since 2015

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Oil prices rose more than 2 percent on the final day of the year, mirroring gains in stock markets, but were on track for their first annual decline in three years as concerns of a persistent supply glut lingered.

Hints of progress on a possible US-China trade deal, with US President Donald Trump saying he had a “very good call” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, helped bolster sentiment for oil.

Brent crude futures were up $1.53 cents at $54.74 a barrel by 1205 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $46.40 a barrel, up $1.07 cents, from their last close.

Both contracts are down more than a third this quarter, the steepest decline since the fourth quarter of 2014.

For most of 2018, oil prices were on the rise, driven up by healthy demand and supply concerns, especially around the impact of renewed US sanctions against major producer Iran, which were introduced in early November.

Brent crude, seen as a global benchmark for oil prices, rose by almost a third between January and October, to a high of $86.74 per barrel.

That was the highest level since late 2014, the start of a deep market slump amid bulging global oversupply, and many leading analysts and traders at the time said they expected crude to hit $100 per barrel again by the end of 2018.

Instead, Brent prices have wiped out all of 2018’s gains, plunging by almost 40 percent from the year’s high, in what has been one of the steepest oil market sell-offs of the past decades.

The slump came after Washington gave unexpectedly generous sanction waivers to Iran’s biggest oil buyers and as concerns over a global economic slowdown amid the Sino-American trade dispute dented the outlook for oil demand.

“It was the bailout of Iran that really pricked the bubble that was the crude oil market,” said Sukrit Vijayakar, director of energy consultancy Trifecta.

“For the immediate future, in the absence of anything new, the first pressure point for oil markets would come around May 2019 or a month or so earlier when the ‘extensions of (Iran)waivers’ would be discussed.”

A Reuters poll showed a bearish 2019 outlook on Monday. A survey of 32 economists and analysts forecast an average Brent price of $69.13 a barrel next year, compared with $71.76 in 2018.

The current downward pressure on oil prices should likely taper off from January, analysts said, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia start curbing production by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd).

The market, however, might still remain under some pressure from swelling production in the United States, which has emerged as the world’s biggest crude producer this year, pumping 11.6 million bpd.

“The key swing producers within OPEC+ do have meaningful spare capacity and are able to use it if they deem it necessary. That said, it is nonetheless a difficult tool to use correctly in a world where forecasters tend to routinely underestimate US production by several hundred thousand barrels per day,” JBC Energy consultancy said in a daily note.

Outside the United States, production in Russia and Saudi Arabia also hit record levels this year.

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

AI could be first ‘resident’ of Mars, hints Elon Musk

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Tech billionaire and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wants to establish a base on Mars, and he has indicated the first resident on the planet could be Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Responding to a tweet that asked Musk what his thoughts were on the first Martian being an intelligent machine rather than a human, he replied: “30%.”

How Musk came up with this percentage remains a mystery, however, many people are wondering what this AI “resident” could look like, according to the Geek.

“It’s possible that it could be a rover-like bot that explores the planet, or a stationary device that makes observations and conducts experiments without human assistance,” the Geek report added.

Currently, manned Mars missions are completely hypothetical.

Companies such as SpaceX and scientific bodies around the world have been working towards inventing technologies to allow humans to venture beyond Earth’s moon but it could still take a decade or perhaps several decades before that is attempted.

Musk had told the media in November that there is “70 per cent chance that he will go to Mars”, despite a “good chance” of him not surviving either on the way or after landing. It is only very likely that only a few people might be willing to join Musk in this journey – either because of the risk or the cost involved.

This year, the US space agency NASA also firmed up its plans to return humans to the Moon and use its lunar experience to prepare to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s.

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

Foreign tourists can now fly directly to Andamans

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Foreign tourists can now directly fly to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as the government has designated Port Blair airport as an authorised immigration check post for entry into and exit point from India.

The decision to open up the Andaman and Nicobar Islands directly for foreign tourists came after it was found to be the most sought-after tourist destination in the country receiving an average four lakh tourists, including several thousand foreigners, annually.

“….the central government hereby designates Port Blair airport of Union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as an authorised immigration check post for entry into/exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers,” a Home Ministry notification said.

The Superintendent of Police (CID) of the Island has been designated as the “civil authority” for the immigration check post at Port Blair airport with effect from Monday.

According to data available with the Home Ministry, more than 16 lakh tourists visited the Andaman and Nicobar Islands between 2015 and October this year to enjoy the natural beauty, beaches, flora and fauna and historically-significant landmarks in around 38 inhabited islands out of the 572 islets.

The archipelago has received 4,02,393 tourists, including 11,818 foreigners, till October 2018, while it received 4,87,229 tourists, including 15,310 foreigners, in 2017.

In 2016, as many as 4,00,019 tourists, including 15,467 foreigners, had visited the Andaman, and in 2015, a total of 3,11,358 tourists, including 14,674 foreigners, had gone to the union territory, the data revealed.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory and comes under the administrative control of the Home Ministry.

The island was under global spotlight recently after the killing of a 27-year-old American national by members of a highly protected tribe, Sentinelese, in prohibited North Sentinel Island in November.

The archipelago has been inhabited for several thousand years, at the very least.

The earlier archaeological evidence so far documented goes back some 2,200 years. However, indications from genetic, cultural and linguistic isolation studies point to habitation going back 30,00060,000 years, well into the Middle Palaeolithic period, according to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands tourism Department.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced renaming of three islands of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago as a tribute to freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

The Ross Island was renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, the Neil Island as Shaheed Dweep and the Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep.

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

Memes emerge as social media art, comment and empowerment tool

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

It’s all about art — when M F Husain took brush to canvas, when Satyajit Ray got behind the camera and even when a clever somebody logs in to inscribe astute comment on image to produce what has come to be known as a meme.

And when India’s twin obsessions cinema and politics combine, you get a meme that is not just just humour but a biting comment on contemporary times and also a tool of empowerment and expression.

According to Ramit Verma, creator of social media account ‘Official PeeingHuman’, memes are “time capsules” representing the culture prevailing at a particular point.

Like when a cow replaced antagonist Ganesh Gaitonde in a defining scene from Netflix’s India original “Sacred Games”, based on a book by author Vikram Chandra on Mumbai’s underworld.

It was a sure-shot viral meme — a bovine standing amidst the burning mountain of Mumbai’s trash in self-deified glory with the dialogue “kabhi kabhi lagta hai apun hee bhagwan hai” (it often feels that I am god) inscribed on it.

Bulls eye for the creator who used the pop culture medium to make a devastating comment on the current political climate and issues related to the cow and cow slaughter. The viewer may or may not have seen “Sacred Games” but the message hit straight home.

Memes were used to drive home other messages in 2018.

Films such as “Padmaavat”, “Manmarziyaan” and “Kedarnath” and the controversies they raised blurred the lines between cinema and politics. And memes used India’s obsession with the two and turned them into instant social media art.

What makes current affairs and entertainment industry gel is that both are articles of mass consumption and, in the age of internet, people need everything that is a touch away, said the man behind ROFL Gandhi, a popular parody account of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, requesting anonymity.,

“We don’t have the time and patience to read or even go through something as concise as a tweet. A meme is something you read with your eyes but don’t have to apply much mind to,” Vyshnav Vinod, one of the content creators of the Bengaluru-based “Unofficial Sacred Games”, told PTI.

The viral cow meme was shared on Facebook by ‘Unofficial Sacred Games’.
According to Vinod, the relatability of content, powered by the ‘share’ option, make memes an important part of the internet culture.

In 2018, memes gave due attention not just to incidents of mob lynching over alleged cow slaughter, credibility of leaders ahead of the 2019 general elections but also other issues.

“Shows like ‘Sacred Games’ and ‘Mirzapur’ have interesting dialogues, cusswords and gruesome footage which is perfect material for the meme community. It’s like either you make it or somebody else will make it,” Vinod said.

According to ‘ROFL Gandhi’, memes lifted from a movie or a web series are tailor-made for political commentary and satire.

“Movies and web series are a mass thing. If you look at Bollywood, we expect people to know about an upcoming movie and even if you are not going to watch the movie, you will at least watch the trailer. People on social media are creating memes out of trailers,” ROFL Gandhi, who wishes anonymity but prefers being called a “visionary troll”, told PTI.

Citing “Mirzapur” as an example, he said no one initially cared for the crime thriller from Amazon Prime Video.

“Only a handful had watched the series. But after the memes, the appeal of ‘Mirzapur’, which caters to the middle class, suddenly caught on. It started being viewed as a mass entertainment series. In two weeks, all social media platforms were flooded with ‘Mirzapur’ memes,” he said.

Memes sometimes also fuse past and present.

Veteran actor Amrish Puri’s dialogue Aao kabhi haveli pe from the 1986 fantasy film Nagina was used in a meme last year. And this year, “Stree”, one of 2018’s blockbusters, featured a song titled “Aao kabhi haveli pe”, which honoured its genre of horror comedy and and was also lauded for its subversion of the ‘witch’ concept to question prejudices.

Using “Waah Modiji Waah Waah” as an outro in video memes to lifting the “Banda ye bindaas hai” song from the film “Aks” as a tool to critique the government, Verma of ‘Official PeeingHuman’ described a meme as a unit of culture.

“The content is so relatable because most creators are individuals drawing experiences, emotions and inspiration for such content from their personal life and that of others around them…,” Verma told PTI.

He believes Indian politics and films go perfectly together.

“Since we are a film obsessed nation, I try to pick up filmy things from other content on the internet to use in my videos every now and then because it increases the shareability and relatability quotient,” he said.

ROFL Gandhi predicts a short lifespan for memes, which may last for over a year or two.

“Seeing the history of social media, there is a time till when things will work. It’s a phase. Maybe we’ll find something more interesting to express ourselves,” he said.

But Verma is optimistic about memes playing a longer innings in pop culture.
“The term ‘meme’ might phase out in the future, but the kind of content it represents is not a fad. It is too empowering for the common person to give up on,” Verma said.

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 not seeking RBI reserves to meet fiscal deficit, says Arun Jaitley

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said the government was not seeking Reserve Bank surplus to meet fiscal deficit but to utilise them for
accelerating poverty alleviation programmes and recapitalising the state-owned banks.

Replying to a debate on the second batch of supplementary demands for grants in the Lok Sabha, the minister said that the Modi government has the best track record of keeping fiscal deficit under check.

The House later passed supplementary demand for grants for the current fiscal to provide additional expenditure of Rs 85,948.86 crore, about half of which is for capital infusion in public sector banks.

Referring to the issues concerning the Economic Capital Framework (ECF) of RBI, Jaitley said that central banks of most of the countries keep a reserve of 8 percent, while some conservative central banks maintain 14 percent reserves.

The RBI was maintaining a reserve of 28 percent, he said, adding the expert committee will decide on the appropriate reserve of the central bank so that surplus funds could be utilised for funding poverty alleviation programmes and recapitalising the state-owned banks.

“This government has the best track record than any other previous government in managing fiscal deficit. We do not need RBI reserves to manage the fiscal deficit, Jaitley said. He said the Modi government has brought down fiscal deficit and kept inflation and the Current Account Deficit
(CAD) under check, while India retained the fastest growing economy tag for 5 years.

The finance minister further said that it was only during the Modi government tenure that India became the fastest growing major economy in the world, ahead of China. Jaitley also said that demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has helped increase the tax base and allocate more funds for poverty alleviation and social sector programmes.

The number of Income Tax return filers have gone up from 3.8 crore during the UPA regime, to 6.86 crore currently. When the NDA government completes its five-year term in 2019, the number would double from 3.83 crore, he added. With regard to concerns expressed by some members over the agrarian situation, Jaitley said the government will take all steps to support the farmers.

“Whatever steps need to be taken at the end, the government will take it,” he said, amid sloganeering by Congress over the Rafale issue.

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

Allahabad Bank, SBI Life join hand for bancassurance partnership

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

State-owned Allahabad Bank has tied up with SBI Life Insurance to sell the policies of the insurer from over 3,200 branches.

Allahabad Bank and SBI Life Insurance came together and signed a bancassurance pact, to offer a holistic financial planning solution to consumers, SBI Life said in a release.

The tie-up, one of the largest Bancassurance partnerships in the country, will see 3,238 branches of Allahabad Bank across the country offer SBI Life’s range of protection, wealth creation and savings products to its customers, it said.

This will empower the consumer to address their complete financial needs under one roof.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Allahabad Bank Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mallikarjuna Rao and SBI Life MD & CEO Sanjeev Nautiyal.

Rao said Allahabad Bank’s objective is to offer wider choices of life insurance products to the customers under one roof and also augmenting on non-interest income of the bank.

“Consumers will now have a direct access to SBI Life’s range of protection, wealth creation and savings products, providing a holistic financial planning solution,” said Nautiyal.

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