Tag: Donald Trump

Rupee falls 8 paise against US dollar in early trade

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The rupee depreciated by 8 paise to 65.19 against the US dollar in early trade today on sharp losses in global equity markets after US President Donald Trump imposed $60 billion of tariffs on Chinese imports.

Trump yesterday directed the US trade representative to level tariffs on about $60 billion worth of Chinese imports after a seven-month investigation into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations.

Yesterday, the rupee had ended 10 paise higher to close at 65.11 against the US currency on foreign fund inflows after the US Federal Reserve stuck to its outlook of three rate hikes this year.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 161.11 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases worth Rs 409.89 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

The benchmark BSE Sensex cracked below the 33,000-mark by plunging 471.44 points, or 1.42 per cent, to 32,534.83, while the broader NSE Nifty dipped below the 10,000 in opening trade.

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

Asian shares slump on fears of trade war between US, China

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Asian stock markets slumped Friday after Beijing responded to the Trump administration’s tariff hikes by saying it may slap higher import duties on a range of U.S. goods, ratcheting up fears of a trade war.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged 3.8 percent to 20,765.74 and South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 2.3 percent to 2,439.53. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 3.4 percent to 30,001.57 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China sank 2.9 percent to 3,169.19. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 skidded 1.9 percent to 5,824.50.

TRADE WAR: China unveiled a list of U.S. goods including pork, apples and steel pipe that it may hit with higher import duties in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff hike on steel and aluminum. The Commerce Ministry urged Washington to negotiate a settlement, saying U.S. tariffs undermine the global trading system. Hours earlier, Trump set in motion a new round of sanctions that include tariffs on $48 billion worth of Chinese imports, which he said was in response to theft of American technology. The U.S. Trade Representative identified 1,300 product lines as potential targets, including aerospace, information and communication technology, and machinery, but further details were scant.

ANALYST INSIGHT: “Markets are looking immensely fragile today. Strap in as a tit-for-tat tariff tiff is about to start,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asian trading at OANDA.

WALL STREET: The S&P 500 index skidded 2.5 percent to 2,643.69. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 2.9 percent to 23,957.89. The Nasdaq composite gave up 2.4 percent to 7,166.68.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 104.87 yen from 105.28 yen in late trading Thursday. The euro rose to $1.2332 from $1.2302.

ENERGY: Oil futures rallied. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 95 cents to $65.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract shed 87 cents, or 1.3 percent, to close at $64.30 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 92 cents to $69.30 a barrel in London.

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

Trump Organization’s real estate partner accused of fraud

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Indian Real Estate Development Company that partnered with The Trump Organization for an office tower project in India, is now making headlines. The company is accused of defrauding its foreign investors of at least $147 million.

A criminal complaint was filed in New Delhi last month by two global investment companies named Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Axon Partners against IREO, accusing the managing director Lalit Goyal, co-founder Anurag Bhargava of “illegally siphoning off money”.

However, both the firms declined to comment.

Donald Trump Jr. called IREO “truly a fantastic group” when the companies announced the project in 2016.

Goyal and Bhargava, U.S. residents founded the IREO group of funds in 2004. The objective was to infuse foreign capital into then relatively untested real ­estate market. It now manages more than $1.6 billion from sovereign wealth and university endowment funds, a portfolio of 1,485 acres in the Delhi area and in the state of Punjab, and 18 million square feet of commercial and residential projects in development.

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

Commodity Champions: Experts explain the impact of tariff wars

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Despite favorable fundamentals, metals were pulled down thanks to the tariff war by US. It all started with US imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum. The Trump administration imposed 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports.

This unsettled the major exporters like China, Japan, and South Korea. While their industry called for a retaliation, it was detrimental for the metals prices as steel prices went down by 7 percent on a weekly basis while aluminum was down 2 percent this week.

China, the country that produces half of world’s steel said that they will assess the damage caused by the move and will firmly defend their legitimate rights and interests.

However, the NAFTA countries were helped by the exemptions granted to them.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Jonathan Barratt, Economist and CIO at Ayers Alliance and David Lennox, Resource Analyst at Fat Prophets spoke about how the trade war will impact the metals going further.

For full interview, watch accompanying videos…

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

Crude price rises on Trump-Kim Jong meeting in May

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Crude prices rose on Friday after U.S. President, Donald Trump and North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un agreed to hold a meeting in May.

The global benchmark for crude, Brent was trading at $63.84 per barrel while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was trading at $60.29 per barrel at 0851 GMT.

The crude prices rose on the speculations of the meeting that would take place at a place and date which will be announced later, the White House said, as reported by Reuters.

The North Korean leader said that it will refrain from any kind of nuclear missile testing till the meeting, South Korea’s national chief said after a meeting between Seoul and Pyongyang.

Despite the rise in the prices, both the benchmarks are on a 1 percent and 1.6 percent weekly decline.

United States has emerged as the largest crude exporting country, surpassing Saudi Arabia with its increased shale production.

“It seems only a matter of time before the U.S. becomes the biggest oil producer in the world. The main question which keeps investors busy is when exactly this will be reached,” Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at Dutch bank ABN Amro, said in a note to investors, as reported by Reuters.

However, the demand for crude will slowdown eventually due to the weather conditions in the Northern Hemisphere and will help in the rise of the crude prices.

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

India GDP growth moving towards 7.5-7.7%; RBI unlikely to hike rates in H1: Morgan Stanley

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

As fears of a global trade war spook economies around the world, steel prices have taken a beating. However, US President said that he will exclude the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries like Canada and Mexico.

Chetan Ahya, Co-Head, Global Economics & Chief Asia Economist, Morgan Stanley said that they were dealing with a scenario where there could be temporary trade disputes arising due to US tariffs. But, if there is reciprocal tax imposed as mentioned by the US President, then it would result in a protectionist scenario, which could be worse than the trade dispute scenario.

According to him, the cumulative impact of the US measures so far haven’t been very meaningful.

President Donald Trump had earlier said that the US which has nearly USD 800 billion deficit, is ready for a trade war with other countries, if they retaliated against his decision to impose 25 per cent import tariff on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum.

When asked if he expected a big slowdown in China this year, Ahya said that China’s GDP growth could go down by 30 basis points to 6.5 percent this year. “However, they are constructive considering the ability of China to be able to re-balance the economy”, he added.

The house is also constructive on emerging market growth outlook and the impact of Fed rate hike on them.

“However, if the US 10-year bonds yields were to go up significantly in short term to the tune of 50 basis points or more, then it would temporarily affect the EM asset markets and growth confidence. But underlying fundamentals of the EMs would take charge”, he said.

Talking about India, he said that the current account deficit was within the comfort zone although it had widened. “The GDP growth for the economy is heading towards 7.5-7.7 percent”.

When asked what he made of raised tariffs on number of India products in the recent Budget 2018, he said that it was not a good idea to put in tariffs unless there is some major national security issue.

He is also of the view that the Reserve Bank of India will not hike rates as growth is recovering. “Moreover, at the current juncture inflation is not a major concern for RBI”, he said.

However, they could hike in the second half of 2018.

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

JSW MD Sajjan Jindal says import tariffs will not hamper exports

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Jindal South West Group’s (JSW Group) managing director and chairman, Sajjan Jindal on Friday complimented U.S. President Donald Trump on the imposition of import tariffs on goods on Twitter.

Jindal tweeted saying that it is an importantly strategical step towards safe guarding the steel and other industries in developing and developed nations, further adding that the tariffs on imports will not hamper the exports of a country.

China has a surplus production of about 15%,which they use to disrupt the steel industry world over by dumping cheap quality steel. What @POTUS has done is something our policy makers should replicate. Infact Steel should be excluded from all FTAs @SteelMinIndia @sureshpprabhu

— Sajjan Jindal (@sajjanjindal) March 9, 2018

He also said that the domestic manufacturers should be protected come what may and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government should focus on the bigger picture instead of what the vote bank demands.

On Thursday, Anand Mahindra, chairman of India’s largest tractor maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) took to social media  website Twitter to dispel worries about tariff imposition by the U.S. on Indian ggods.

Mahindra, in a series of tweets, said that “India can stand tall in a trade war,” adding that countries with large domestic economies can easily withstand tariff threats.

“MNC’s wanting access to India’s markets will have to manufacture locally, which they will. So no danger of drifting back to a socialist, stagnant economy. I’m no believer in protectionism & enjoy competing globally but I believe India can stand tall in a trade war,” Mahindra said.

He further added that India is a free economy with innovative start-ups, access to global technology and is resource-rich having the ability to meet its commodities demand by importing from outside.

Not sure why Indian markets seem so perturbed by the threat of global tariff wars.Small, export focused countries stand to lose. Countries with large domestic economies can easily withstand tariff threats. The world needs access to the fastest-growing large economy—India.(1/3)

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 8, 2018

If India retaliates with tariffs,the effect will be very different from what it was https://t.co/fbItr5dRAL,India’s a free-market economy&can access global technology&capital to fuel its own innovative https://t.co/KTEwTlNBtb’s resource-rich&can import commodities it lacks(2/3)

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 8, 2018

The tweets come after a day the U.S. President, Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on the import of aluminum and steel.

However, the U.S. has kept Canada and Mexico out of the said tariff imposition.

Countries like China, Brazil, India, Russia, Korea, Thailand and South Africa will face the brunt of this new metal tariff blow.

Trump is already facing resistance from his own Republican government, where few lawmakers are of the opinion that this trade war may retaliate from countries like China.

In the Asian trading hours on Friday, Chinese commodities were cracking as the Shanghai Rebar extended losses, down 5 percent at 3,666 Yuan/Tonne.

The Dalian iron ore also fell 5 percent, with February Chinese iron ore imports declined 16 percent from a month ago.

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

Trump to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong by May

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

In an extremely surprising announcement, the White House and North Korean national security adviser said that American president Donald Trump had given green signals to a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The meeting will be held by May, this year.

On Thursday, the North Korean leader sent an invitation to Trump through officials from South Korea after which the US president tweeted saying, “Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!”

White House secretary, Sarah Sanders announced in a statement, “President Trump greatly appreciates the nice words of the South Korean delegation and President Moon. He will accept the invitation to meet with Kim Jong Un at a place and time to be determined. We look forward to the denuclearization of North Korea. In the meantime, all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain”.

This comes as a breakthrough because, as of Thursday, North Korea did not seem interested in taking any diplomatic steps with the US. With this stunning decision, Donald Trump will be the first ever sitting US president to meet his North Korean counterpart.

This is seen as a massive change in the approach of the US president towards North Korea considering his earlier threats to rain “fire and fury”. America earlier faced rising nuclear threats from North Korea after which Trump warned the country of any provocations and pledged that it will result into a destruction “that the world has never seen before”.

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