Silver edges higher even as retail investor euphoria wanes

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

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Silver prices attempted to rally on Wednesday after a more than 8 percent slump in the previous session that halted a social media-inspired buying spree that began last week. Spot silver rose 0.6 percent to USD 26.76 an ounce by 0937 GMT, having earlier risen as much as 2.1 percent.

Prices surged to USD 30.03 on Monday, their highest since February 2013, after retail investors turned their attention to silver in a bid to replicate a rally in GameStop shares.

”The trigger for the reversal was the hike in the margins by the CME Group … it underpins that this rally was driven by short term speculators in the futures market and not by longer-term investors in the physical market,” said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke.

”Another reason why silver struggled is that gold failed to move higher.”
Silver’s plunged of more than 8 percent on Tuesday came after CME Group raised maintenance margins on silver futures by 17.9 percent on Monday to tackle market volatility.

The retail buying spree that started last Thursday left silver dealers scrambling to find supplies for retail buyers, while one billion ounces of silver was traded in London on Monday.

”Silver prices are now finding an equilibrium that better reflects supply-demand fundamentals, with the WallStreetBets mania having simmered down,” said FXTM market analyst Han Tan.

As global economy attempts a recovery, silver can showcase a more organic and orderly run-up to the psychologically-important USD 30 mark, he added.
Holdings in iShares Silver Trust, the largest silver-backed ETF, jumped by a record 57.8 million ounces, data showed on Tuesday. Analysts expect some volatility to continue even though posts on WallStreetBets, the Reddit forum that fuelled the retail frenzy, urged traders to steer clear of silver.

Spot gold fell 0.1 percent to USD 1,836.36 per ounce. US gold futures added 0.2 percent to USD 1,836.50. Platinum was steady at USD 1,093.96 and palladium fell 0.6 percent to USD 2,229.24.

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

Cipla India expects to regain 10-12% growth as volumes return

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

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Cipla reported strong Q3 earnings with revenues beating estimates. Umang Vohra, MD and Global CEO at Cipla in conversation with CNBC-TV18 said, “COVID drugs are at about 5 percent of our total mix on a nine-month period, which would roughly be the COVID portfolio for India. From a key trend perspective, we are looking at the resumption of healthcare practitioners across India. We are beginning to see volume growth return, which is significant.”

On India’s growth, Vohra said, “I would believe that the market should move back towards its 10-12 percent growth that it has been showing. Cipla will try and beat market growth.”

He added, “We had strong growth across three therapies. On our prescription business, we have seen the growth of almost 25 percent, and generic business is showing robust growth of 8 percent. The consumer healthcare business is on an overdrive considering the brands that are switching.”

Speaking about Albuterol, Vohra said, “Albuterol market is split into three categories. Perrigo operates in ‘ProAir’ category. We operate in a different category, there are three variants of Albuterol in the market. We don’t have a guidance on the market share.”

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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

Power engineers, employees stage nationwide protest against privatisation

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

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Power engineers and employees on Wednesday staged a nationwide protest against privatisation policies of the central government and demanded to scrap the process to privatise discoms in states and Union territories.

“Power engineers and employees observed nationwide protest against privatisation policies of the government of India and demanded the withdrawal process of privatisation of electricity from the public sector to private companies in states and Union territories without further delay,” All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) spokesperson V K Gupta said.

Thousands of power sector employees and engineers under the banner of the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers held protest meetings, seeking withdrawal of Electricity Amendment Bill 2021, which has been listed for introduction in the budget session of Parliament, according to a statement by AIPEF. “We do not now know what amendments have been introduced in the original draft bill 2020,” Gupta said.

In a rally in Chandigarh, AIPEF Chairman Shailendra Dubey said the Chandigarh electricity department is the best-managed power department and is making profit for the last five years and there is no justification for privatising the same since it has low losses, low tariff, and good consumer service. The privatisation move has been started to benefit a few industrialists of the country, he alleged.

Padamjit Singh Chief Patron AIPEF said the finance minister in her budget speech mentioned that there will be competition in power distribution. In the case of Chandigarh privatisation proposal, there is 100 per cent sale of the electricity department, then where will be the competition, he quipped.

Gupta said the government is simply privatising the power sector at the cost of the state sector in the name of reforms. The last three decades of market-oriented power sector reforms have exposed the inefficiency of the central government’s reform programme, he added.

The present set of reforms is nothing but a desperate attempt by the government to cover up the policy miscalculations of the past decades, while simultaneously protecting the interests of private power generators at the cost of state distribution companies, AIPEF said. The protesting engineers and employees demanded scrapping of electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and standard bidding document for total privatisation of distribution of electricity.

“The draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill in its current form is unacceptable. The proposed reforms should be discussed with engineers and employees to see whether they will address challenges or aggravate them,” Gupta said in the statement.

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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

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Decoding Tax Planning with Mutual Funds

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

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The right approach to tax planning with mutual funds can reduce your tax liabilities significantly. Investments in tax-saving mutual funds can help you fulfill not just your wealth creation goals but, they can also help you save taxes. On this budget special episode of Smart Investor, Santosh Nair, Editor – CNBCTV18.com and Chintan Haria, Head – Product Development & Strategy – ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company, discuss if investors should revisit their complete financial planning and investments amid the pandemic shedding light on the recommended investment for ELSS for better returns while planning taxes.

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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

Arvind Fashions reports Q3 net loss of Rs 65.62 cr

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

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Arvind Fashions Ltd (AFL) on Wednesday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 65.62 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2020. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 48.26 crore in the year-ago period, AFL said in a BSE filing.

Its net sales during the period under review was at Rs 911.13 crore. It was Rs 1,062.28 crore in the year-ago period. Commenting on the results AFL MD and CEO J Suresh said with better than expected sales recovery through improved footfalls during the festival period which has resulted in significantly improved profitability and a cash breakeven for continuing business in Q3 FY21.

”Our focus on digital and omni-channel initiatives and a deep cost focus continue to deliver robust outcomes. At the back of strong Q3, we expect H2 FY21 to be significantly better in terms of sales & profitability growth, he added. Arvind Fashions said its board has also approved issue of equity shares for an amount up to Rs 200 crore on rights basis.

”The board evaluated various options and was of the view that rights issue would be an equitable mode of fundraising as it gives its shareholders an equal opportunity to participate in the growth of the company. ”The company intends to utilise the funds to meet its objectives of strengthening its balance sheet and for general corporate purposes, including working capital for growth,” the company added.

Shares of Arvind Fashions Ltd were trading 2.05 percent lower at Rs 146 apiece on BSE.

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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

Adani Enterprises Q3 consolidated profit declines 10% to Rs 343 cr

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

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Adani Enterprises on Wednesday reported a 10.39 percent fall in its consolidated profit to Rs 343.17 crore for the third quarter ended December 2020. The Gautam Adani-led company had clocked a consolidated profit of Rs 382.98 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, it said in a regulatory filing.

Its consolidated total income for the latest quarter rose to Rs 11,787.82 crore from Rs 11,075.32 crore in the year-ago period. The total expenses increased to Rs 11,303.97 crore in the December quarter compared to Rs 10,635.16 crore in the same period previous fiscal.

”Consolidated Total Income for the quarter increased by 6 percent at Rs 11,788 crore owing to increased sales in Solar Manufacturing business. The EBIDTA for the quarter increased by 6 percent to Rs 939 crore owing to increased sales in Domestic Content Requirement segment in Solar Manufacturing business, leading to better margin,” the company said in a statement. The profit after tax (PAT) attributable to owners for Q3 FY21 was Rs 297 crore as against Rs 426 crore a year ago, owing to exceptional write-off of exploration block on termination by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Adani Enterprises continued its journey towards laying the foundation for several new businesses that the Group is venturing into. These include Airports, Data Centers, Roads, and Water.

”The fact that Adani Enterprises was able to grow its Revenue and EBIDTA through a year of crisis is a reflection of the resilience of India’s economy as well as our confidence and commitment to continue to invest to build our nation’s infrastructure,” Gautam Adani, Chairman Adani Group, said. Adani Enterprises is the flagship company of Adani Group.

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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