| News Announcement |
Impact Analysis |
| Crude oil prices end with losses for the sixth straight week |
- The first triggers for a fall in oil price came from global slowdown fears and later by dilution of Iran sanctions
- Crude has lost nearly $20/bbl after touching a peak of $86/bbl in the first week of October
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| Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal revoke general consent for CBI probe |
- CBI inquiries require state consent but state generally give a blanket consent as a standard practice
- Fearing CBI raids ahead of elections, Mamata and Naidu have taken a surprising step in this direction
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| Tata Sons have confirmed it is yet to make a formal proposal to Jet Airways |
- Markets have been rife with the possibility of Tatas taking over Jet to bail out the airline and expand its franchise
- Tatas had apparently been approached by the government to help bail out Jet, which is in the midst of a financial crisis
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| Moody’s expects to fall in credit available in India after NBFC crisis |
- Moody’s has pointed out that the IL&FS crisis could pose a genuine problem for NBFCs trying to access credit
- In its Global EM Outlook, Moody’s has also underlined the advantages for India due to low external debt
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| Morgan Stanley has a sell trade on the US dollar as it expects the end of the rally |
- MS expects a weakening of the dollar as credit spreads rise and equity prices fall and bond yields also start falling
- Dollar spot index has already gained 8% since April this year and that had led to weakness in other currencies
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| RBI forex reserves drop further to $393 billion for the week ending Nov 09th |
- The dip in currency assets has been marginal and can be attributed to routine currency management by the RBI
- Over the last 4 months, the forex chest had declined from a high of $430 billion on dollar selling to hold rupee value
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| Government agencies may now get to use commodity derivatives platform |
- Agencies who need to support the minimum support price (MSP) can now use derivatives to manage the same
- This would also be useful for farmers who will be able to buy put options on the commodity and be relaxed
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| Rupee recovers sharply during the week to Rs.71.93/$ |
- The sharp revival in the rupee was triggered by a sharp fall in crude oil prices and reduced fears of a trade war
- The rupee had gone as low as 75/$ before recovering sharply in the last 6 weeks after crude started falling
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| GAIL could buy the wind energy assets of the beleaguered IL&FS group |
- This may be small but will be an important step in monetizing the assets of IL&FS
- The company started defaulting on loans and ICDs in August and has been downgraded to Junk status by rating agencies
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| RBI meet on 19th Nov could ease the transfer of surplus funds |
- In the midst of the stand-off with the government, the RBI may agree to provide more funds to the government
- Also, the RBI may be a little more lenient on a fund of NBFCs and on allowing PCA banks to start lending
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| Government looks to PSU share buyback to meet divestment targets |
- In the first seven months of the fiscal, the government has only mopped up 20% of its full-year target of Rs.80,000 crore
- Already PSU companies have announced buyback to the tune of Rs.4400 crore and one can watch for cash surplus PSUs
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| Tire makers may benefit from multiple triggers |
- Tire makers are likely to benefit from lower prices of crude and rubber, both critical inputs for tire companies
- Rubber prices are down 11% from the peak and crude oil is down 20% from its peak prices
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| The trade deficit for October comes in higher at $17.13 billion |
- This is sharply higher than the $13.98 billion trade deficit reported in the month of September
- Despite higher exports growth and lower gold imports, crude oil continued to play the spoilsport
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| FPIs cut their stake in 123 Indian companies in the second quarter |
- FPIs cut their stake in companies like Manpasand Beverages, PC Jewellers, Balrampur, PNB and Vodafone Idea
- FPIs also increased their stake in AU Small Finance Bank, Greaves Cotton, Mahanagar Gas, and Tejas Networks
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| Dalmia Bharat approaches Supreme Court after NCLAT order on Binani |
- This was a day after the NCLAT order had ruled in favor of Ultratech taking over Binani Cements at Rs.7950 crore
- Dalmia had emerged as the highest bidder but later Ultra-Tech had put in a higher bid, which Dalmia had objected to
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| IDBI Bank reports record net losses of Rs.3602 crore in the second quarter |
- Gross NPAs of the bank went up sharply from 24.98% last year to 31.78% in the current year
- The bank’s capital adequacy has fallen to 6.22%, well below the statutory minimum of 9% for Indian banks.
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| Vodafone Idea reports Q2 losses of Rs.4973 crore on write-offs |
- Apart from the depreciation of Rs.3005 crore, the merged entity also get hit by ARPUs falling to a low of Rs.88
- The British parent, Vodafone PLC, had taken reported a loss of €7.8 billion, which includes an India write-off of €3.5 billion
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| Ministry of Company Affairs announces super-regulator for auditors |
- National Financial Reporting Authority will oversee the accounting and audit activity in India
- While ICAI will still make suggestions, the NFRA will formulate accounting policies, audit rules, and audit oversight
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| SEBI tightens norms for credit rating agencies |
- Rating agencies will have to explain upgrades and downgrades in much greater and elaborate detail
- The onus will be on the rating agencies to evaluate all the primary and secondary variables for the rating
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| CPI inflation came in sharply lower at 3.31% for October |
- The retail inflation was pushed lower by negative food inflation at -0.86% which is a concern for MSP
- However, the non-core inflation is still above the 6% mark and that could be a concern for the RBI
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| Government plans to sell 149 small and medium oil fields of ONGC |
- This will enable ONGC to concentrate on the large and mega fields that offer economies of scale
- Auction will be based on government share assurance, and last time ONGC had stalled this auction
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