| News Announcement | Impact Analysis |
| Government announces Rs.20 trillion package for post-COVID reviva | The package will be a mix of monetary measures by RBI and fiscal measures by the government The package is being rolled out in phases with focus on MSMEs, agriculture, farmers and migrant labour done |
| Actual fiscal impact of the revival package will be much smaller | The Rs.20 trillion package includes monetary and fiscal measures, including the ones that are completed Even in the fiscal measures, most of the outlays are in the form of banks loans, bank guarantees and taxes foregone |
| India crosses China in terms of overall COVID-19 afflictions | The spread of the pandemic has become sharper with Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu worst affected However, the casualties in India are less than 3,000 and well below the number of casualties in China |
| April exports shrink by 60% and so does imports on the merchandise front | The overall trade volumes are down nearly 60% from the levels achieved one year back After a long time, India has reported trade surplus overall including the services surplus for April |
| Vedanta proposes to delist from the Indian exchanges at Rs.87.50 | This is in line with the group policy after Vedanta PLC was also de+B1listed from the London Stock Exchange in 2018. Experts have argued that the price offered may be too low and the ideal price should be double the current price |
| Reliance goes ex-rights on 13 May leading to a crack in prices | RIL will accept only 25% of the rights tranche in the first phase and issue partly paid up rights shares against that That means; in the first phase the rights will generate a little over Rs.13,000 crore for the company |
| United States puts severe restrictions on allies dealing with Huawei | This will include putting pressure to stop the supply of semiconductors to Huawei and restrict their 5G testing The US has taken these measures to retaliate against China’s tacit involvement in the spread of the Coronavirus |
| Multiplexes lock horns with Amazon over OTT release of movies | Multiplex giants like PVR and INOX were irked by the decision of Amazon Prime to launch 7 movies on its OTT platform Ø Multiplexes are already under strain due to the lockdown, which is expected to continue till the end of June |
| Fate of six funds of Franklin Templeton continues to be extremely hazy | Templeton has been willing to liquidate the fund and repay the residual value, subject to majority approval Ø However, if the approvals do not come through, then the only option would be for Templeton to approach SEBI for guidance |
| Jerome Powell warns that US recession could be sharper than anticipated | The remark had a negative ripple effect across the US and Asian markets, leading to weakness in Indian markets too The Fed chair has warned that the COVID-19 recession could be as bad as the Second World War situation |
| Indian wheat harvest may have become a problem of plenty | Late rains in September last year had filled up the reservoirs ahead of the Rabi crop, resulting in bumper output Ø However, the COVID-19 lockdown means that despite record wheat output, farmers are not able to move it |
| Rahul Bhatia of Indigo likely to make a bid for Virgin Australia | This announcement came after Virgin Australia had to file for bankruptcy after operations became unviable Ø Rahul Bhatia sees that as a gateway to the lucrative Asia Pacific market but financing the deal may be the constraint |
| Gold prices scaled an all time peak of Rs.46,879/10 grams in India | This was a result of escalating trade tensions between the US and China leading to another flight to safety The $19 trillion global rescue package is also likely to weaken currencies making gold a preferred asset class |
| Gilead has licensed five companies to produce Remdesivir for COVID-19 | These include 1 Pakistani pharma company, US based Mylan and Cipla, Jubilant and Hetero Drugs from India Being a pandemic drug, it can be manufactured and sold globally without paying any license fee or royalty |
| India Cements stock spikes up after Damani family stake touched 20% | This stake was taken jointly by the two brothers viz. Radhakishan Damani and Gopikishan Damani Radhakishan Damani is India’s wealthiest retailers who owns the marquee D-Mart brand through his Avenue Supermarts |
| Goldman Sachs pushes ahead with 1400 fresh hires in India | The volume of hiring is quite surprising at a time when most of the BFSI companies are withdrawing campus offers Most of the recruitments are for their technology centre located in Bengaluru, which is their new hub |
| India’s fiscal deficit likely to more than double to 7.9% of GDP for FY21 | This is sharply higher than the revised fiscal deficit target of 3.5% approved in the Union Budget 2020 This is likely to put pressure on the rupee value and also on the external sovereign ratings of India |
| Domestic aviation sector may require rescue package of Rs.35,000 crore | This will be for the five private airlines viz. Indigo Airways, Go Air, Spice Jet, Vistaara and Air Asia These companies jointly have a debt of Rs.46,000 crore and capacities have been idling since mid March 2020 |
| Indian companies get downgraded at the fastest pace in history | On an average there have been 11 downgrades for every 1 upgrade in the month of April with reference to INR debt This is indicative off the strain due to businesses being shut down and the problem appears to be more systemic |
| IIP for March comes in sharply lower at (-16.5%) on lockdown woes | The IIP was largely driven down by a (-20%) fall in manufacturing IIP due to weak capacity utilization Ø The early indications of weak IIP was already there in the core sector number which came in at (-6.5%) for March |
| Large parts of India likely to move into Lockdown 4.0 from May 17th | The lockdown almost appears certain in red zones like Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Delhi etc However, most of the business establishments may return to normal in other zones |
