Month: April 2019

Here are the highlights of Sebi’s order in NSE co-location case

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

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Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), which has been probing the alleged misuse of high-frequency trading offered through  National Stock Exchange’s co-location facility, on Tuesday directed the leading stock exchange to disgorge more than Rs 625 crore. The exchange has also been barred from the securities market for 6 months.

The order said that the NSE did not exercise due diligence while putting in place Tick-by-Tick (TBT) architecture and directed the exchange to frequently carry out system audits.

Besides, Ravi Narain and Chitra Ramkrishna, two former chief executive officers of NSE, have been asked to disgorge 25 percent of their respective salaries drawn during a certain period.

>>NSE co-location case: Here is how some trading members manipulated the system

Here are the highlights from the order:

• NSE shall disgorge Rs 624.89 crore with 12 percent interest from April 01, 2014 onwards to the Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF) within 45 days.
• NSE will be prohibited from accessing the securities market, directly or indirectly, for six months.
• NSE shall re-form its Standing Committee on Technology at regular intervals and frame a clear policy on administering whistleblower complaints.
• Ravi Narain shall disgorge 25 percent of the salary drawn for FY 2010-11 to 2012-13, to the IPEF within 45 days.
• He will be prohibited from associating with a listed company or a Market Infrastructure Institution or any other market intermediary for 5 years.
• Chitra Ramkrishna shall disgorge 25 percent of the salary drawn for FY 2013-14, to the IPEF within 45 days.
• Ramkrishna will be prohibited from associating with a listed company or a Market Infrastructure Institution or any other market intermediary for 5 years.
• NSE shall initiate an enquiry under its Employees Regulations against Mahesh Soparkar (head of NSE’s Project Support and Management (PSM) team during 2009-13) and Deviprasad Singh (head of NSE’s Project Support and Management (PSM) team during 2013-16) and submit a report to Sebi within 6 months.

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

Oil tops $73/bbl then pares gains as Venezuela’s Maduro claims support

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

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Oil prices rose on Tuesday above $73 a barrel but then eased off the session high after Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro said military leaders remained loyal to his government despite an attempted coup that could further threaten the OPEC producer’s oil exports.

Prices rose after opposition leader Juan Guaido called for military backing to end Maduro’s rule, but pared gains when Maduro countered with a statement military leaders he had spoken to showed him “their total loyalty.”

Reuters witnesses said several armed men in military uniforms accompanying Guaido clashed with soldiers supporting Maduro at a protest outside a Caracas air base. But witnesses said the incident fizzled out.

“With the military backing Maduro, we’re stuck with the conditions before the coup attempt,” said Gene McGillian, vice president of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “The concern about hostilities is starting to come out of the market.”

Brent crude futures hit a session high of $73.27 per barrel and traded 58 cents higher at $72.62 a barrel by 10:18 CST (1518 GMT), while U.S. crude futures were at $63.32, down 18 cents a barrel.

Last week, Brent hit a six-month high above $75.

OPEC member Venezuela’s oil exports have been hit by U.S. sanctions on state oil company PDVSA and an economic crisis, helping bring OPEC’s production to a four-year low, according to a Reuters survey.

Earlier, crude prices drew support from comments by Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, who said a deal between producers to cut output could be extended to the end of 2019. US President Donald Trump has pressured OPEC to raise output as Washington has tightened sanctions against Iran.

“It’s a direct reaction to President Trump talking about how OPEC needs to raise production, and it’s a sign Saudi Arabia isn’t on board,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “It gave oil a boost.”

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other allies led by Russia have agreed to cut output by around 1.2 million bpd until the end of June. The group meets in Vienna on June 25-26 to decide on next steps.

Belarus said on Tuesday that months of work would be needed to restore clean oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.

US crude oil stockpiles were expected to have risen last week, while refined products were expected to have fallen, a preliminary Reuters poll showed. Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release its data for the latest week at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due to report at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.

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

Gold firms on as dollar weakens with Fed policy meet in focus

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

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Gold prices firmed on Tuesday as the dollar slipped to a one-week low, making bullion more attractive, with investors awaiting Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision this week to gauge the outlook for US monetary policy.

Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,282.96 per ounce as of 1:04 p.m. EDT (1704 GMT). US gold futures were also up 0.3 percent at $1,284.90 an ounce.

“The dollar index backed off and is seeing some significant loss today after hitting a two-year high last Friday and that is supporting the metals market,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst with Kitco metals.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against major currencies, fell to its lowest since April 23.

The US currency is down 0.4 percent, which could be its biggest daily percentage decline in more than three weeks.

Investors are looking to the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting for clues on the outlook for US interest rates. A decision on rates will be announced on Wednesday.

The US central bank last month abandoned expectations of any rate hikes this year.

“The Fed meeting could be interesting because if they say there is no change in their position or their dovish language gold could move a bit higher,” said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.

“But if they tweak their language a bit … then gold could come under pressure as dollar would go up in that case. Everyone is on hold til” Wednesday, he added.

Interest rate futures traders are currently pricing in a 61 percent chance of an interest rate cut by December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

“We continue to expect gold prices to consolidate lower, to average $1,285 per ounce in second quarter before recovering to average $1,325 per ounce in the fourth quarter, despite the market once again pricing in a rising probability of a Fed rate cut this year,” analysts at Standard Chartered wrote in a note.

Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion and weigh on the dollar, making gold cheaper for investors holding other currencies

The yellow metal, often seen as an alternative investment during times of political and financial uncertainty, earlier rose as much as 0.5 percent after disappointing factory activity data from China decreased investor appetite for higher-risk assets.

In other precious metals, silver gained about 0.2 percent to $14.93 per ounce, while platinum fell 0.9 percent to $886.

Palladium jumped 1.4 percent to $1,389 an ounce, after touching its lowest in nearly two weeks at $1,354 earlier in the session. The metal slumped more than 6 percent 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

Here’s how Sebi’s new TER structure for mutual funds will impact investors

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

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As the new lower total expense ratio (TER) regime kicks in, what are the top mutual funds you should look at?

Feroze Azeez of Anand Rathi Financial Services lists out top 10 mutual funds which will see a big impact from the SEBI’s decision.

“There is a reduction of 12-15 percent in the cost the investors were paying for the active management in the mutual fund, especially the equity side,” Azeez said.

Speaking about the TER for funds having assets under management (AUM) up to Rs 500 crore, he said, “It’s 2.25 percent for the first Rs 500 crore and then a slab-wise reduction. Above Rs 50,000 crore, there is no further reduction for any amount of extra AUM the mutual fund garners. So at Rs 50,000 crore, it will come down as little as 1.25 percent,” he added.

Speaking about what triggered the reduction in expense ratio, Azeez said, “To my mind, economies have scaled. When the industry becomes large enough, the fund management cost is not a variable cost. You have the same fund manager, you have the same analysts, maybe there could be 10-20 percent more cost. But if your AUMs in the last 17-18 years since which it has not been tampered has gone up almost 30 times, that is serious economies of scale. This cost reduction is a result of economies of scale.”

Azeez believes that the new TER structure is fair and globally competitive. “In active management if you look at the top five economies from mutual fund standpoint, the cost would be just about 5-7 percent more than the aggregate Indian mutual fund industry,” he 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

Wall Street opens mixed; Alphabet weighs on S&P 500, Nasdaq

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

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US stocks opened mixed on Tuesday, as investors parsed a barrage of earnings reports, while a slump in shares of Google-parent Alphabet weighed on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40.17 points, or 0.15%, at the open to 26,594.56.

The S&P 500 opened lower by 5.89 points, or 0.20%, at 2,937.14. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 56.94 points, or 0.70%, to 8,104.91 at the opening bell.

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

Co-location case: Sebi directs NSE to disgorge Rs 624.89 crore with 12% interest; bars exchange from securities market for 6 months

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday directed NSE to disgorge Rs 624.89 crore with 12 percent interest from April 1, 2014, and barred leading stock exchange from the securities market for 6 months in co-location case.

The order said that NSE did not exercise due diligence while putting in place Tick-by-Tick (TBT) architecture and told the exchange to frequently carry out system audits.

According to Sebi order, the disgorged amount has to be deposited in investor protection and education fund within 45 days from date of the order by demand draft.

Further, Sebi has found two former NSE managing directors Ravi Narain and Chitra Ramkrishna guilty in co-location case and prohibited both from associating with listed company/market infrastructure for a period of 5 years.

Also, Narain has to disgorge 25 percent of salary drawn for FY11 to FY13 and Ramkrishna shall disgorge 25 percent drawn for FY14.

In 2015, a whistleblower wrote a letter to Sebi alleging that NSE gave preferential access to a few high-frequency traders and brokers to the exchange’s trading platform.

The Sebi has been probing the alleged lapses in high-frequency trading offered through NSE’s co-location facility. It was also investigating whether some brokers had unfair access to the exchange’s co-location facility.

NSE’s co-location facility allows low latency and fast execution to trading members. This setup of server gives a 10: 1-speed advantage in comparison to other brokers.

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

Eight core industries show 4.7% growth in March 2019

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

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The growth of eight core sectors improved marginally to 4.7 percent in March 2019 against 4.5 percent in the same month last year.

For the full 2018-19 fiscal, the expansion rate of eight infrastructure sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — remained flat at 4.3 percent, official data released on Tuesday showed.

Coal generation growth was flat at 9.1 percent in March 2019. Natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel and cement sectors recorded positive growth rates.

Crude oil production, however, contracted by 6.2 percent in March. Electricity generation declined by 1.4 per cent during the month under review. A fall in production of crude oil and refinery products had dragged the growth of the eight core sectors to 2.1 percent in February.

The infrastructure sector growth will also have an impact on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as these segments account for about 41 per cent of the total factory output.

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