| Weekly Capsule (Nov20–Nov24) |
- The President signs ordinance to amend the Bankruptcy Bill
|
- The primary focus of the amendment will be to legally prevent the defaulters from taking control of the company
- The amendment also seeks to overcome constraints pertaining to CCI approvals and open offers
|
- Promoters likely to approach the courts against the promoter ban in IBC
|
- Many analysts are of the view that barring promoters may vastly reduce the chances of a stressed asset being sold
- However, the argument of these promoter groups is unlikely to stand up to scrutiny in a court of law
|
- Winter session of Parliament to commence on December 15th
|
- The winter session was postponed considering the upcoming Gujarat elections in early December
- The ordinance signed by the President on the IBC will be taken up for approval but that is likely to be a formality
|
- The race for the elections in Gujaratis graduallyheating up
|
- The battle for Gujarat could be much tighter than originally envisaged due to Hardik Patel supporting the Congress
- The BJP has been in power in the state of Gujarat for more than 20 years and it will be seen as a referendum on 2019
|
- Gold prices inched up after Fed members gave dovish signals
|
- The Fed minutes released hints at more members expressing serious concerns over inflation remaining at low levels
- Inflation at around 2% is a key criterion for a rate hike and any delays in rate hikes will mean a weaker dollar
|
- Infosys stock hits a 3-month highahead of the buyback date
|
- The Infosys buyback at a price of Rs.1150 commences on November 30th and there is buying interest in the stock
- The buyback is at a steep premium to the market price and that could be an incentive to try and cash out
|
- Government puts strict curbs on the exports of onions
|
- The government has imposed strict curbs on onion exports after the prices crossed Rs.70/kg
- Onions have always been a politically sensitive commodity and the BJP will not want to take chances ahead of polls
|
- Edelweiss plans to expand its retail credit book substantially
|
- In fact, Edelweiss expects its retail credit book to constitute over 50% of its overall book by the year 2020
- Leading brokers like Edelweiss are already deriving a chunk of their revenues from fund-based businsses
|
- FMCG companies passing on most of the GST cuts to end consumers
|
- In the last GST meet, the Council had aggressively cut rates on 75% of the products in the peak 28% bracket
- This is likely to be positive for demand and is likely to benefit stocks like HUVR, ITC, Dabur and Marico
|
- Government imposes price controls on Hepatitis and cancer drugs
|
- A total of 51 drugs for treating diseases like Hepatitis, Cancer and Haemophilia have come under price control
- That is not great news for the already beleaguered pharma sector which is facing pressure in the US markets too
|
- Airtel has expressed interest in buying a stake in RCOM
|
- This will be an extension to the telecom properties already acquired by telecom major Airtel in the last few months
- For RCOM, it may come as a whiff of fresh air as banks are trying to encircle the company for initiation liquidation
|
- Government to probe if promoters exaggerated power project costs
|
- The government view has been that the problem was aggravated by promoters overstating project costs
- This becomes all the more relevant in the light of the government tightening the IBC rules by an ordinance
|
- Centre to sanction a total of Rs.100,000 crore for Tamil Nadu infrastructure
|
- This money is largely likely to be used for highways and port related projects to give a big boost to the TN economy
- This move assumes added importance in the light of the recent political developments in Tamil Nadu
|
- Government has exempted oil & gas mergers from CCI approvals
|
- The CCI normally has to approve any merger that is likely to create a near monopoly situation in the industry
- However, in case of oil & gas this merger is not market driven but driven more by scale and oil security considerations
|
- Government clarifies that there is no proposal to withdraw cheque books
|
- A few newspapers had carried this report as a measure to promote the concept of digital banking in a bigger way
- However, with limited clearing facilities, inadequate manpower and time lags, it was always impractical
|
- By FY20, NBFCs may hold 20% of the total loan book as per a report
|
- NBFCs have moved in rapidly to bridge this large gap in funding due to PSU banks lagging in credit growth
- NBFCs are less regulated and hence they have greater flexibility in structuring solutions
|
- Havmor exits ice-cream business and sells out to Lotte of South Korea
|
- The consideration of Rs.1020 crore will only include the ice creambusiness and the restaurants will continue
- Havmor was already under pressure after the aggressive sales plans of AMUL and Vadilal in Gujarat
|
- Indian refiners processed record crude in the month of October
|
- Nearly 5.2 million barrels per day of crude were processed during the month of October by Indian refineries
- India has already emerged as the third largest oil consumer and this has given substantial clout in negotiations
|
- Government may accord to special infrastructure status to logistics
|
- Logistics is likely to be the one key sector to benefit in the post-GST scenario due to revamped logistics networks
- Infrastructure status will enable easier funding at lower cost of credit as well as interest from PE investors
|
- India may cut back on its annual health budget by $5 billion
|
- This is being seen as a huge cut for an economy that is already struggling to improve its social indicators
- That is approximately 25% cut in the overall health budget and intended to contain the fiscal deficit
|
- Trade deficit for first 7 months up by 60% on a YOY basis
|
- The trade deficit for Apr-Oct period touched a level of $88 billion, sharply higher than last year
- Strong rupee has helped rupee to strengthen leading to a surge in imports and weak export performance
|
