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While most of Scotland voted against leaving the European Union, whisky makers have quietly been raising a wee dram to a side-effect of the Brexit vote -- a plunge in the value of the Pound.

The currency devaluation has made exports cheaper, generating a bump since 90 per cent of Scotch whisky is sold outside Britain, although the industry warns the longer-term outlook is far more cloudy.

David Williamson, communications director for the Scotch Whisky Association, said: &quot;Because of the relative strength of the pound we&#39;re certainly getting anecdotal reports back from our member companies that has helped to boost exports.&quot;

And Tony Reeman-Clark, who runs the Strathearn Distillery in Perthshire -- a relative newcomer to the market -- said: &quot;I have been talking to people from bigger distilleries who said there has been a lot of interest, and a lot of sales, because of the weak pound.&quot;

Reeman-Clark, who is also the founder of the Scottish Craft Distillers Association, said Strathearn began producing whisky three years ago and its first 100 bottles were auctioned off on 1 December.

The first sold for 4,150 pounds to an Italian buyer, far exceeding Reeman-Clark&#39;s expectations.

He said he had received bids from as far away as &quot;Auckland, Beijing, Hong Kong, Israel, Germany, America, all over the world&quot;.

Since the shock June vote the Pound has tumbled about 15 per cent against the greenback and Graham Hutcheon, the operations director of distiller Edrington, said the industry was having a &quot;jamboree time&quot;. However, he urged the government to provide clarity on Brexit, Bloomberg news agency reported.

&quot;We don&#39;t know the questions to ask, let alone answer,&quot; said Hutcheon, whose company makes whiskies such as Macallan and The Famous Grouse.

More than 10,000 people are now directly employed in the industry -- up six per cent in the past three years - while a further 30,000 people are employed in its supply chain from bottling to distribution.

The main markets in the first half of this year were the US (357.4 million pounds), France (193.1 million pounds) and Singapore (99.6 million pounds), with total exports equivalent to 533 million bottles of whisky.

More than 500 million bottles worth around 1.7 billion pounds are exported from Britain every year. The full impact of Brexit is not expected to be revealed until distillers complete their annual returns in early 2017.

(AFP)

The Pound's devaluation has made exporting Scotch whisky cheaper, and 90% is sold outside Britain, but the long-term forecast is uncertain

While most of Scotland voted against leaving the European Union, whisky makers have quietly been raising a wee dram to a side-effect of the Brexit vote -- a plunge in the value of the Pound. The currency devaluation has made exports cheaper, generating a bump since 90 per cent of Scotch whisky is sold outside Britain, although the industry warns the longer-term outlook is far more cloudy. David Williamson, communications director for the Scotch Whisky Association, said: "Because of the relative strength of the pound we're certainly getting anecdotal reports back from our member companies that has helped to boost exports." And Tony Reeman-Clark, who runs the Strathearn Distillery in Perthshire -- a relative newcomer to the market -- said: "I have been talking to people from bigger distilleries who said there has been a lot of interest, and a lot of sales, because of the weak pound." Reeman-Clark, who is also the founder of the Scottish Craft Distillers Association, said Strathearn began producing whisky three years ago and its first 100 bottles were auctioned off on 1 December. The first sold for 4,150 pounds to an Italian buyer, far exceeding Reeman-Clark's expectations. He said he had received bids from as far away as "Auckland, Beijing, Hong Kong, Israel, Germany, America, all over the world". Since the shock June vote the Pound has tumbled about 15 per cent against the greenback and Graham Hutcheon, the operations director of distiller Edrington, said the industry was having a "jamboree time". However, he urged the government to provide clarity on Brexit, Bloomberg news agency reported. "We don't know the questions to ask, let alone answer," said Hutcheon, whose company makes whiskies such as Macallan and The Famous Grouse. More than 10,000 people are now directly employed in the industry -- up six per cent in the past three years - while a further 30,000 people are employed in its supply chain from bottling to distribution. The main markets in the first half of this year were the US (357.4 million pounds), France (193.1 million pounds) and Singapore (99.6 million pounds), with total exports equivalent to 533 million bottles of whisky. More than 500 million bottles worth around 1.7 billion pounds are exported from Britain every year. The full impact of Brexit is not expected to be revealed until distillers complete their annual returns in early 2017. (AFP)

In pro-EU Scotland, whisky makers cheer Brexit boon

India-born former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, who is arguing in appeal that the government lacked evidence to show he &quot;received even a penny&quot; for passing insider information, has disagreed with a US Supreme Court ruling that sharing corporate secrets is illegal even if the tipsters did not receive anything in return.

In a landmark ruling earlier this month relating to the insider trading conviction of Illinois resident Bassam Yacoub Salman, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that sharing corporate secrets with friends or relatives is illegal even if the insider providing the tip doesn&#39;t receive anything of value in return.

68-year-old Gupta is a free man now after completing a prison term on insider trading charges but is not giving up his legal battle to overturn his conviction, arguing that he served two years in jail for conduct that is not criminal even though the government lacked evidence to show he &quot;received even a penny&quot; for passing confidential boardroom information to now jailed hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam.

In May, Gupta&#39;s team of lawyers had argued in papers before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that the judgement of the Manhattan district court finding Gupta guilty of insider trading &quot;should be reversed&quot; and his &quot;conviction should be vacated&quot;.

Gupta&#39;s appeal comes on the back of a ruling by the Manhattan appeals court that for an insider trading conviction prosecutors must show that a defendant received a personal benefit for passing illegal tips. Gupta&#39;s lawyers have cited the ruling that led to the reversal of insider convictions of hedge-fund managers Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson in December, 2014.

In fresh court papers following the verdict in Salman&#39;s case, Gupta said there is &quot;a fatal inconsistency&quot; and he was &quot;substantially prejudiced by the invalid theory of benefit pursued at trial; and that his entitlement to relief is in no way affected&quot; by the verdict in the Salman case.

&quot;The issue on this appeal is whether the government&#39;s benefit theory (that Gupta tipped to maintain a good relationship with Rajaratnam), and the district court&#39;s instruction that the benefit could be modest, intangible and non-financial, are fatally inconsistent with Newman&#39;s quid pro quo requirement: an exchange of a tip for a benefit that is &#39;objective, consequential, and at least potentially pecuniary&#39;,&quot; Gupta&#39;s lawyers said in court papers.

The government said Gupta&#39;s appeal lacked merit even under the Newman ruling and the Salman verdict &quot;confirms the validity of the District Court&#39;s jury instructions and thus defeats Gupta&#39;s claim of error at the outset&quot;.

(PTI)

Ruling hinges on whether sharing corporate secrets is illegal, even if the insider providing the tip doesn't receive anything of value

India-born former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, who is arguing in appeal that the government lacked evidence to show he "received even a penny" for passing insider information, has disagreed with a US Supreme Court ruling that sharing corporate secrets is illegal even if the tipsters did not receive anything in return. In a landmark ruling earlier this month relating to the insider trading conviction of Illinois resident Bassam Yacoub Salman, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that sharing corporate secrets with friends or relatives is illegal even if the insider providing the tip doesn't receive anything of value in return. 68-year-old Gupta is a free man now after completing a prison term on insider trading charges but is not giving up his legal battle to overturn his conviction, arguing that he served two years in jail for conduct that is not criminal even though the government lacked evidence to show he "received even a penny" for passing confidential boardroom information to now jailed hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. In May, Gupta's team of lawyers had argued in papers before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that the judgement of the Manhattan district court finding Gupta guilty of insider trading "should be reversed" and his "conviction should be vacated". Gupta's appeal comes on the back of a ruling by the Manhattan appeals court that for an insider trading conviction prosecutors must show that a defendant received a personal benefit for passing illegal tips. Gupta's lawyers have cited the ruling that led to the reversal of insider convictions of hedge-fund managers Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson in December, 2014. In fresh court papers following the verdict in Salman's case, Gupta said there is "a fatal inconsistency" and he was "substantially prejudiced by the invalid theory of benefit pursued at trial; and that his entitlement to relief is in no way affected" by the verdict in the Salman case. "The issue on this appeal is whether the government's benefit theory (that Gupta tipped to maintain a good relationship with Rajaratnam), and the district court's instruction that the benefit could be modest, intangible and non-financial, are fatally inconsistent with Newman's quid pro quo requirement: an exchange of a tip for a benefit that is 'objective, consequential, and at least potentially pecuniary'," Gupta's lawyers said in court papers. The government said Gupta's appeal lacked merit even under the Newman ruling and the Salman verdict "confirms the validity of the District Court's jury instructions and thus defeats Gupta's claim of error at the outset". (PTI)

India-born ex Goldman Sachs director fights US Supreme Court's insider trading ruling

India is likely to produce surplus sugar in 2017/18 as farmers have increased cane-growing area, a leading industry body said on Monday.

The world&#39;s biggest consumer of sugar is unlikely to import the sweetener in the 2016/17 marketing year that started on October 1, as the country has ample carry forward stocks from&nbsp;last year, Abinash Verma, director-general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.

The country is likely to produce 23.4 million tonnes of sugar in 2016/17, down around 7 per cent from a year ago as back-to-back droughts ravaged the crop in top-producing western state of Maharashtra.

(Reuters)

India is unlikely to import the sweetener in the 2016/17 marketing year as the country has ample carry forward stocks from last year

India is likely to produce surplus sugar in 2017/18 as farmers have increased cane-growing area, a leading industry body said on Monday. The world's biggest consumer of sugar is unlikely to import the sweetener in the 2016/17 marketing year that started on October 1, as the country has ample carry forward stocks from last year, Abinash Verma, director-general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. The country is likely to produce 23.4 million tonnes of sugar in 2016/17, down around 7 per cent from a year ago as back-to-back droughts ravaged the crop in top-producing western state of Maharashtra. (Reuters)

India to produce surplus sugar in 2017/18

Finance Ministry on Wednesday exuded confidence that the supply of new currency notes would considerably improve in next 2-3 weeks even as it asked the RBI and banks to &quot;countercheck&quot; the data regarding the deposit of now-defunct currency notes to ensure there is no double counting.

The RBI has already pumped in Rs 5 lakh crore worth 500 and 2,000 rupee notes and by the month end about 50 per cent of the Rs 15 lakh crore worth demonetised currency would be injected into the system, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters here.

&quot;Finance Ministry, RBI and enforcement agencies are working in tandem so that situation eases out.&nbsp;Situation has considerably improved. And going forward, I would expect in next 2-3 weeks situation&nbsp;will considerably ease out with the supply of more new 500 rupee notes,&quot; he said, adding that&nbsp;condition would not &quot;worsen&quot; after December 30.

He said the government has stepped up printing of 500 rupee notes and as its circulation increases,&nbsp;people would also take out the 2,000 rupee notes they were hoarding so far.

More than 2 lakh ATMs have already been recalibrated against 2.20 lakh ATMs and it has come to the&nbsp;ministry&#39;s notice that some banks in order to ensure that they are in a position to service their&nbsp;own customers, prefer to give cash through their branches.

&quot;We have advised banks that they should continue to replenish cash in ATMs and not to starve ATMs. We are&nbsp;monitoring it regularly,&quot; Das said.

As per RBI data, over Rs 12.44 lakh crore worth defunct 500 and 1000 rupee notes have been deposited&nbsp;till December 10.

&quot;RBI has given a figure of Rs 12.5 lakh crore which has been received back. There are lot of areas&nbsp;where we feel there could be double counting. So we have identified those areas and we have&nbsp;requested RBI and banks to again double check.

&quot;So a process of correction, checking, counter checking of the figure, due diligence is being done&nbsp;to see there is no double counting of figure.... We think there is scope for double counting and&nbsp;therefore the scope for verification of those figures are going on,&quot; Das said.

He said three times the total number of lower denomination notes -- 100, 50, 20 and 10 -- which RBI&nbsp;supplies in a year has been supplied over the last five weeks.

About Rs 1.60 lakh crore worth 100 rupee notes were in circulation before November 8 and more than&nbsp;Rs 80,000 crore worth of this notes have been supplied to the market over past five weeks.&nbsp;

The DEA Secretary further said that more number of 50, 20 and 10 rupee notes has also been&nbsp;circulated in the system.

&quot;Roughly about almost 50 per cent of the notes which were in circulation would be supplied in the&nbsp;next 10-15 days,&quot; Das said, adding that seized notes are being put back to circulation as soon as&nbsp;possible.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes,&nbsp;and replaced by new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes. The demonetised notes accounted for 86 per cent of currency in circulation or Rs 15.4 lakh crore.

&quot;More and more production lines have been diverted in printing 500 rupee notes because we have&nbsp;enough number of 2000 rupee notes that have been supplied and there is enough stock available. But&nbsp;now the printing of the 500 rupee notes have been significantly stepped up.

&quot;It has been pushed into the market so that the supply of 2000 rupee notes becomes more mobile. So&nbsp;with increased supply of 500 rupee notes, the 2000 rupee notes which people were hoarding till now&nbsp;will come back to the system,&quot; Das said, adding notes are being airlifted to areas facing shortage. 
 
He further said that the security features and design of the new notes were indigenously developed&nbsp;and hence the possibility of counterfeiting it is far far lower.

Das also promised to sort out issues faced by Nepal and Bhutan due to non-availability of 500 and&nbsp;2,000 rupee notes.

&quot;As far as Nepal is concerned we have already examined the report, so we will be taking some action,&nbsp;whatever action govt will take is under examination.

As far as Bhutan is concerned, the RBI has made necessary arrangements for supply of cash required&nbsp;by Bhutan authorities because Indian rupee is accepted in Bhutan. So the RBI has given necessary&nbsp;instructions to connected banks to give necessary cash required by Royal Monetary Authority of&nbsp;Bhutan,&quot; he said.

Das said the RBI has a particular plan of action with regard to currency supply. &quot;With regard to&nbsp;remonetisation process, it would be as per requirement and also government has given a big push to&nbsp;digital transaction. There is very significant growth of digital transaction and therefore the&nbsp;requirement of cash will be measured and based on requirement the cash will be remonetised.&quot;

He said the CBDT is taking &quot;surgical action&quot; on data provided by the Financial Intelligence Unit&nbsp;(FIU) and the Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) filed by banks for detecting illegal&nbsp;accumulation of new currency.

&quot;Further action is being taken by the tax department and it is not an aimless fishing expedition,&quot;&nbsp;Das said.

With regard to the impact of demonetisation on the sowing of the Rabi crop in winter, Das said the total sowing area so far was almost at par with last year and whatever shortfall had happened would be made good in the coming weeks.

(PTI)

More than 2 lakh ATMs have been recalibrated, 2.2 lakh to go

Finance Ministry on Wednesday exuded confidence that the supply of new currency notes would considerably improve in next 2-3 weeks even as it asked the RBI and banks to "countercheck" the data regarding the deposit of now-defunct currency notes to ensure there is no double counting. The RBI has already pumped in Rs 5 lakh crore worth 500 and 2,000 rupee notes and by the month end about 50 per cent of the Rs 15 lakh crore worth demonetised currency would be injected into the system, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters here. "Finance Ministry, RBI and enforcement agencies are working in tandem so that situation eases out. Situation has considerably improved. And going forward, I would expect in next 2-3 weeks situation will considerably ease out with the supply of more new 500 rupee notes," he said, adding that condition would not "worsen" after December 30. He said the government has stepped up printing of 500 rupee notes and as its circulation increases, people would also take out the 2,000 rupee notes they were hoarding so far. More than 2 lakh ATMs have already been recalibrated against 2.20 lakh ATMs and it has come to the ministry's notice that some banks in order to ensure that they are in a position to service their own customers, prefer to give cash through their branches. "We have advised banks that they should continue to replenish cash in ATMs and not to starve ATMs. We are monitoring it regularly," Das said. As per RBI data, over Rs 12.44 lakh crore worth defunct 500 and 1000 rupee notes have been deposited till December 10. "RBI has given a figure of Rs 12.5 lakh crore which has been received back. There are lot of areas where we feel there could be double counting. So we have identified those areas and we have requested RBI and banks to again double check. "So a process of correction, checking, counter checking of the figure, due diligence is being done to see there is no double counting of figure.... We think there is scope for double counting and therefore the scope for verification of those figures are going on," Das said. He said three times the total number of lower denomination notes -- 100, 50, 20 and 10 -- which RBI supplies in a year has been supplied over the last five weeks. About Rs 1.60 lakh crore worth 100 rupee notes were in circulation before November 8 and more than Rs 80,000 crore worth of this notes have been supplied to the market over past five weeks. The DEA Secretary further said that more number of 50, 20 and 10 rupee notes has also been circulated in the system. "Roughly about almost 50 per cent of the notes which were in circulation would be supplied in the next 10-15 days," Das said, adding that seized notes are being put back to circulation as soon as possible. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, and replaced by new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes. The demonetised notes accounted for 86 per cent of currency in circulation or Rs 15.4 lakh crore. "More and more production lines have been diverted in printing 500 rupee notes because we have enough number of 2000 rupee notes that have been supplied and there is enough stock available. But now the printing of the 500 rupee notes have been significantly stepped up. "It has been pushed into the market so that the supply of 2000 rupee notes becomes more mobile. So with increased supply of 500 rupee notes, the 2000 rupee notes which people were hoarding till now will come back to the system," Das said, adding notes are being airlifted to areas facing shortage. He further said that the security features and design of the new notes were indigenously developed and hence the possibility of counterfeiting it is far far lower. Das also promised to sort out issues faced by Nepal and Bhutan due to non-availability of 500 and 2,000 rupee notes. "As far as Nepal is concerned we have already examined the report, so we will be taking some action, whatever action govt will take is under examination. As far as Bhutan is concerned, the RBI has made necessary arrangements for supply of cash required by Bhutan authorities because Indian rupee is accepted in Bhutan. So the RBI has given necessary instructions to connected banks to give necessary cash required by Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan," he said. Das said the RBI has a particular plan of action with regard to currency supply. "With regard to remonetisation process, it would be as per requirement and also government has given a big push to digital transaction. There is very significant growth of digital transaction and therefore the requirement of cash will be measured and based on requirement the cash will be remonetised." He said the CBDT is taking "surgical action" on data provided by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) filed by banks for detecting illegal accumulation of new currency. "Further action is being taken by the tax department and it is not an aimless fishing expedition," Das said. With regard to the impact of demonetisation on the sowing of the Rabi crop in winter, Das said the total sowing area so far was almost at par with last year and whatever shortfall had happened would be made good in the coming weeks. (PTI)

Demonetisation: Significant number of Rs 500 notes being printed, says Indian government

Tightening the noose around people who misused banking channels to park unaccounted money, the Reserve Bank today imposed certain restrictions on withdrawal if more than Rs 2 lakh has been deposited after November 9 in an account which has a balance of over Rs 5 lakh.

As per a RBI notification, withdrawal or transfer of funds will not be permitted in accounts without quoting of PAN or submission of Form 60 (persons who do not have PAN).

The Reserve Bank also said monthly withdrawal limit of Rs 10,000 will be maintained even if a &#39;small account&#39; has witnessed increase in annual permissible deposit of Rs 1 lakh.

The notification follows after it was brought to the notice of the RBI that &quot;strict compliance&quot; with KYC (Know Your Customer) provisions is not being ensured in some cases.

In respect of KYC compliant accounts where the required Customer Due Diligence (CDD) procedure has been complied with, RBI said banks and NBFCs should ensure compliance regarding quoting of PAN/obtaining of Form 60 for all transactions.

&quot;No debit transaction, transfer or otherwise shall be allowed in accounts which do not comply with the above mentioned requirements.

&quot;To begin with, this rule shall be strictly applied in accounts where both the thresholds listed -- (i) balance of rupees five lakh or more; and (ii) the total deposits (including credits by electronic or other means) made after November 9, 2016, exceed rupees two lakh,&quot; RBI said.

RBI further said if any account is rendered ineligible for being classified as a small account due to credits/balance in the account exceeding the permissible limits, withdrawals may be allowed within the limit prescribed for small accounts.

The monthly limit for withdrawal and transfer from a small account is Rs 10,000. Also, aggregate of all credits in a financial year cannot exceed Rs 1 lakh.

Basic Savings Bank Deposit Accounts (Jan Dhan accounts are akin to BSBDAs), which are not KYC compliant accounts are to be treated as &#39;small accounts&#39;, the RBI added.

Government demonetised old Rs 500/1000 from November 9.

Earlier, RBI had asked banks to strictly follow norms while allowing deposits in dormant accounts. 
There have been reports some people misused Jan Dhan and dormant accounts to deposit unaccounted money following demonetisation.&nbsp;

(PTI)

RBI imposed withdrawal restrictions if more than Rs 2 lakh has been deposited after November 9 in an account with balance of over Rs 5 lakh

Tightening the noose around people who misused banking channels to park unaccounted money, the Reserve Bank today imposed certain restrictions on withdrawal if more than Rs 2 lakh has been deposited after November 9 in an account which has a balance of over Rs 5 lakh. As per a RBI notification, withdrawal or transfer of funds will not be permitted in accounts without quoting of PAN or submission of Form 60 (persons who do not have PAN). The Reserve Bank also said monthly withdrawal limit of Rs 10,000 will be maintained even if a 'small account' has witnessed increase in annual permissible deposit of Rs 1 lakh. The notification follows after it was brought to the notice of the RBI that "strict compliance" with KYC (Know Your Customer) provisions is not being ensured in some cases. In respect of KYC compliant accounts where the required Customer Due Diligence (CDD) procedure has been complied with, RBI said banks and NBFCs should ensure compliance regarding quoting of PAN/obtaining of Form 60 for all transactions. "No debit transaction, transfer or otherwise shall be allowed in accounts which do not comply with the above mentioned requirements. "To begin with, this rule shall be strictly applied in accounts where both the thresholds listed -- (i) balance of rupees five lakh or more; and (ii) the total deposits (including credits by electronic or other means) made after November 9, 2016, exceed rupees two lakh," RBI said. RBI further said if any account is rendered ineligible for being classified as a small account due to credits/balance in the account exceeding the permissible limits, withdrawals may be allowed within the limit prescribed for small accounts. The monthly limit for withdrawal and transfer from a small account is Rs 10,000. Also, aggregate of all credits in a financial year cannot exceed Rs 1 lakh. Basic Savings Bank Deposit Accounts (Jan Dhan accounts are akin to BSBDAs), which are not KYC compliant accounts are to be treated as 'small accounts', the RBI added. Government demonetised old Rs 500/1000 from November 9. Earlier, RBI had asked banks to strictly follow norms while allowing deposits in dormant accounts. There have been reports some people misused Jan Dhan and dormant accounts to deposit unaccounted money following demonetisation. (PTI)

Demonetisation: RBI imposes restrictions on withdrawal from certain bank accounts

India&#39;s surprise move to abolish high-value rupee notes has undermined the central bank&#39;s reputation for competence and independence, even as it remains a credible institution, Standard &amp; Poor`s director Kyran Curry said on Wednesday.

The comments come as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government face criticism for their implementation of the demonetisation initative in November, abolishing 500 and 1,000 rupee notes ($7.41-$14.82), which accounted for 86 per cent of the currency in circulation. 
&nbsp; 
The slow replacement of the abolished bills has sparked a shortage of cash that has hit large parts of the economy, and the RBI and government have had to subsequently announce a series of ad hoc measures to ease the impact of the measure. 
&nbsp; 
At the same time some policy makers, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, now part of the opposition, has also questioned the RBI&#39;s independence for agreeing to implement the action without much preparation.&nbsp;

Curry, in a teleconference with media, said demonetisation had undermined confidence in the predictability and effectiveness of policymaking in India, including of the RBI.

&quot;Demonetisation has cast a shadow over the RBI&#39;s competence and independence,&quot; Curry said.

However, he also noted that &quot;we still think this institution is a very credible one, and in terms of the conduct of monetary policy, it&#39;s a very mature institution.&quot;

The RBI under Governor Urjit Patel has also been criticised recently after surprising investors by keeping interest rates on hold last week, the second time in a row it has wrong-footed investors with its monetary policy decision. 
&nbsp; 
(Reuters)

It remains a credible institution, said Kyran Curry

India's surprise move to abolish high-value rupee notes has undermined the central bank's reputation for competence and independence, even as it remains a credible institution, Standard & Poor`s director Kyran Curry said on Wednesday. The comments come as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government face criticism for their implementation of the demonetisation initative in November, abolishing 500 and 1,000 rupee notes ($7.41-$14.82), which accounted for 86 per cent of the currency in circulation. The slow replacement of the abolished bills has sparked a shortage of cash that has hit large parts of the economy, and the RBI and government have had to subsequently announce a series of ad hoc measures to ease the impact of the measure. At the same time some policy makers, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, now part of the opposition, has also questioned the RBI's independence for agreeing to implement the action without much preparation. Curry, in a teleconference with media, said demonetisation had undermined confidence in the predictability and effectiveness of policymaking in India, including of the RBI. "Demonetisation has cast a shadow over the RBI's competence and independence," Curry said. However, he also noted that "we still think this institution is a very credible one, and in terms of the conduct of monetary policy, it's a very mature institution." The RBI under Governor Urjit Patel has also been criticised recently after surprising investors by keeping interest rates on hold last week, the second time in a row it has wrong-footed investors with its monetary policy decision. (Reuters)

Demonetisation undermined RBI reputation: S&P director

21st Century Fox said Thursday that Sky had agreed to a takeover offer worth $14.8 billion as tycoon Rupert Murdoch bids to create a global media giant.&nbsp;

Murdoch&#39;s Fox group said in a statement &quot;that it has reached agreement with Sky plc on the terms of a recommended pre-conditional cash offer&quot; to buy the rest of the European pay broadcaster, beyond the 39 percent it already owns.&nbsp;

The deal is worth &pound;10.75 ($13.40)&nbsp;per Sky share, or $14.8 billion (14.2 billion euros ) in total for the cash purchase, the statement said.

&quot;As the founding shareholder of Sky, we are proud to have participated in its growth and development,&quot; 21st Century Fox said in its statement.

&quot;The enhanced capabilities of the combined company will be underpinned by a more geographically diverse and stable revenue base,&quot; the company said.

&quot;It will also create an improved balance between subscription, affiliate fee, advertising and content revenues. This combination creates an agile organization that is equipped to better succeed in a global market.&quot;

21st Century Fox is one of the world&#39;s largest entertainment companies, with a vast portfolio of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets across six continents.

Its broadcasting and cable properties include including FOX, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, National Geographic Channels, STAR India, 28 television stations in the United States and more than 300 international channels.

(AFP)

The acquisition is another step for Fox owner Rupert Murdoch in his pursuit to build a global media giant

21st Century Fox said Thursday that Sky had agreed to a takeover offer worth $14.8 billion as tycoon Rupert Murdoch bids to create a global media giant. Murdoch's Fox group said in a statement "that it has reached agreement with Sky plc on the terms of a recommended pre-conditional cash offer" to buy the rest of the European pay broadcaster, beyond the 39 percent it already owns. The deal is worth £10.75 ($13.40) per Sky share, or $14.8 billion (14.2 billion euros ) in total for the cash purchase, the statement said. "As the founding shareholder of Sky, we are proud to have participated in its growth and development," 21st Century Fox said in its statement. "The enhanced capabilities of the combined company will be underpinned by a more geographically diverse and stable revenue base," the company said. "It will also create an improved balance between subscription, affiliate fee, advertising and content revenues. This combination creates an agile organization that is equipped to better succeed in a global market." 21st Century Fox is one of the world's largest entertainment companies, with a vast portfolio of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets across six continents. Its broadcasting and cable properties include including FOX, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, National Geographic Channels, STAR India, 28 television stations in the United States and more than 300 international channels. (AFP)

21st Century Fox announces $14.8 bn deal to take over Sky

Wall Street stocks tumbled and the US dollar rallied Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for only the second time in a decade.

The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to increase the key federal funds rate to a range of 0.5 to 0.75 per cent, but repeated that the world&#39;s biggest economy likely will require only &quot;gradual&quot; rate increases going forward.

The move was expected but was coupled with a projection that central bankers now expect three interest rate increases in 2017 instead of the previously forecast two.

The decision put the brakes -- at least for now -- on the Dow&#39;s march towards the 20,000-point landmark. The blue-chip index fell 0.6 per cent to close at 19,792.53, halting a seven-day streak of record closes.

The Fed&#39;s decision also led to sharp increases in the yield of the 10-year US Treasury and strengthening of the dollar against other major currencies.

Many analysts expect the central bank will have to raise rates faster if President-elect Donald Trump&#39;s promised infrastructure spending plans and tax cuts are implemented and fuel inflation.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen agreed such policies can change decisions by central bankers, but cautioned against any premature guessing games.

&quot;I really can&#39;t tell you what the Fed&#39;s response would be to any policy changes that are put into effect,&quot; she said at a news conference.

However, FTN Financial chief economist Chris Low said the Fed&#39;s overall stance was a reality check on runaway enthusiasm about the possibilities for the US economy after Trump&#39;s win.

&quot;We&#39;ve been pricing in faster growth, bigger job gains, tax cuts -- all these positive steps,&quot; Low said. &quot;Today we were reminded that if all that happens, borrowing costs are going to have be a little higher.&quot;

&quot;It&#39;s a reminder you never get unmitigated good outcomes.&quot;

European equities retreated ahead of the Fed announcement. London drifted 0.3 percent lower while Frankfurt shed 0.4 per cent and Paris 0.7 per cent on the day. &nbsp;

Technology shares were mixed as Trump met with a group of industry leaders for the first time since the election. Amazon lost 0.7 percent, while Tesla Motors added 0.3 percent. Google parent Alphabet, Apple and Facebook were little changed.

General Motors dropped 3.8 percent on reports that its China joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp is being investigated for possible antitrust violations. A Bloomberg article citing unnamed people familiar with the matter said some dealerships were being probed over retail pricing practices.

Key figures around 2200 GMT

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,792.53 (close)

New York - S&amp;P 500: DOWN 0.8 percent at 2,253.28 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.5 percent at 5,436.67 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,949.19 points (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.4 percent at 11,244.84 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 4,769.24 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,217.80

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 19,253.61 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP less than 0.1 percent at 22,456.62 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,140.53 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0533 from $1.0628 Tuesday

Dollar/yen: UP at 117.08 yen from 115.16 yen&nbsp;

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2559 from $1.2665

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN $1.94 cents at $51.04 per barrel

Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN $1.82 at $53.90 per barrel

(AFP)

 
&nbsp;

The Fed's decision also led to the strengthening of the dollar against other major currencies

Wall Street stocks tumbled and the US dollar rallied Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for only the second time in a decade. The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to increase the key federal funds rate to a range of 0.5 to 0.75 per cent, but repeated that the world's biggest economy likely will require only "gradual" rate increases going forward. The move was expected but was coupled with a projection that central bankers now expect three interest rate increases in 2017 instead of the previously forecast two. The decision put the brakes -- at least for now -- on the Dow's march towards the 20,000-point landmark. The blue-chip index fell 0.6 per cent to close at 19,792.53, halting a seven-day streak of record closes. The Fed's decision also led to sharp increases in the yield of the 10-year US Treasury and strengthening of the dollar against other major currencies. Many analysts expect the central bank will have to raise rates faster if President-elect Donald Trump's promised infrastructure spending plans and tax cuts are implemented and fuel inflation. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen agreed such policies can change decisions by central bankers, but cautioned against any premature guessing games. "I really can't tell you what the Fed's response would be to any policy changes that are put into effect," she said at a news conference. However, FTN Financial chief economist Chris Low said the Fed's overall stance was a reality check on runaway enthusiasm about the possibilities for the US economy after Trump's win. "We've been pricing in faster growth, bigger job gains, tax cuts -- all these positive steps," Low said. "Today we were reminded that if all that happens, borrowing costs are going to have be a little higher." "It's a reminder you never get unmitigated good outcomes." European equities retreated ahead of the Fed announcement. London drifted 0.3 percent lower while Frankfurt shed 0.4 per cent and Paris 0.7 per cent on the day. Technology shares were mixed as Trump met with a group of industry leaders for the first time since the election. Amazon lost 0.7 percent, while Tesla Motors added 0.3 percent. Google parent Alphabet, Apple and Facebook were little changed. General Motors dropped 3.8 percent on reports that its China joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp is being investigated for possible antitrust violations. A Bloomberg article citing unnamed people familiar with the matter said some dealerships were being probed over retail pricing practices. Key figures around 2200 GMT New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,792.53 (close) New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.8 percent at 2,253.28 (close) New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.5 percent at 5,436.67 (close) London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,949.19 points (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.4 percent at 11,244.84 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 4,769.24 (close) EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,217.80 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 19,253.61 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP less than 0.1 percent at 22,456.62 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,140.53 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0533 from $1.0628 Tuesday Dollar/yen: UP at 117.08 yen from 115.16 yen Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2559 from $1.2665 Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN $1.94 cents at $51.04 per barrel Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN $1.82 at $53.90 per barrel (AFP)

Dow winning streak ends as Fed hikes interest rates

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday and signalled a faster pace of increases in 2017 as the Trump administration takes over with promises to boost growth through tax cuts, spending and deregulation.

The rate increase, regarded as a virtual certainty by financial markets in the wake of a string of generally strong economic reports, raised the target federal funds rate 25 basis points to between 0.50 per cent and 0.75 per cent.

&quot;In view of realized and expected labour market conditions and inflation, the committee decided to raise the target range,&quot; the central bank&#39;s policy-setting committee said in its unanimous statement after a two-day meeting.

&quot;Job gains have been solid in recent months and the unemployment rate has declined,&quot; the Fed said, noting that market-based measures of inflation compensation had moved up &quot;considerably.&quot;

More significant was a fresh batch of Fed policymaker forecasts that indicated the current once-a-year pace of rate increases will accelerate next year.

With President-elect Donald Trump planning a simultaneous round of tax cuts and increased spending on infrastructure, central bank policymakers shifted their outlook to one of slightly faster growth, lower unemployment and inflation just under the Fed&#39;s 2 per cent target.

The Fed&#39;s median outlook for rates rose to three quarter-point increases in 2017 from two as of September. That would be followed by another three increases in both 2018 and 2019 before the rate levels off at a long-run &quot;normal&quot; 3.0 per cent.

That normal level is slightly higher from three months ago, a sign that the Fed feels the economy is still gaining traction.

The Fed continued to describe that pace as &quot;gradual,&quot; keeping policy still slightly loose and supporting some further improvement in the job market. It sees unemployment falling to 4.5 per cent next year and remaining at that level, which is considered to be close to full employment.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET (1930 GMT) to elaborate on the decision.

Trump impact

US bond yields had already begun moving higher following the election and as expectations of the Fed rate increase solidified. By the start of this week, trading in fed funds futures assigned a greater than 95 per cent likelihood to a rate hike, according to data compiled by the CME Group.

All 120 economists in a recent Reuters poll had expected a rate hike on Wednesday.

In the weeks following Trump&#39;s November 8 victory, Fed policymakers have said his proposals could push the economy into a higher gear in the short run. Even though the details of the Republican businessman&#39;s plans remain uncertain, Wednesday&#39;s statement marked a rare case in the post-crisis era in which the Fed moved its interest rate outlook higher.

Risks to the outlook remain &quot;roughly balanced&quot; between factors that could slow or accelerate the economy beyond what the central bank anticipates, the Fed said, no change from the November assessment.

The rate increase was the first since last December and only the second since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when the Fed cut rates to near zero and deployed other tools such as massive bond purchases to stabilise the economy.

(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

The rate increase from the previous range of 0.25 to 0.50% is the first hike since December 2015 and only the second in a decade

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday and signalled a faster pace of increases in 2017 as the Trump administration takes over with promises to boost growth through tax cuts, spending and deregulation. The rate increase, regarded as a virtual certainty by financial markets in the wake of a string of generally strong economic reports, raised the target federal funds rate 25 basis points to between 0.50 per cent and 0.75 per cent. "In view of realized and expected labour market conditions and inflation, the committee decided to raise the target range," the central bank's policy-setting committee said in its unanimous statement after a two-day meeting. "Job gains have been solid in recent months and the unemployment rate has declined," the Fed said, noting that market-based measures of inflation compensation had moved up "considerably." More significant was a fresh batch of Fed policymaker forecasts that indicated the current once-a-year pace of rate increases will accelerate next year. With President-elect Donald Trump planning a simultaneous round of tax cuts and increased spending on infrastructure, central bank policymakers shifted their outlook to one of slightly faster growth, lower unemployment and inflation just under the Fed's 2 per cent target. The Fed's median outlook for rates rose to three quarter-point increases in 2017 from two as of September. That would be followed by another three increases in both 2018 and 2019 before the rate levels off at a long-run "normal" 3.0 per cent. That normal level is slightly higher from three months ago, a sign that the Fed feels the economy is still gaining traction. The Fed continued to describe that pace as "gradual," keeping policy still slightly loose and supporting some further improvement in the job market. It sees unemployment falling to 4.5 per cent next year and remaining at that level, which is considered to be close to full employment. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET (1930 GMT) to elaborate on the decision. Trump impact US bond yields had already begun moving higher following the election and as expectations of the Fed rate increase solidified. By the start of this week, trading in fed funds futures assigned a greater than 95 per cent likelihood to a rate hike, according to data compiled by the CME Group. All 120 economists in a recent Reuters poll had expected a rate hike on Wednesday. In the weeks following Trump's November 8 victory, Fed policymakers have said his proposals could push the economy into a higher gear in the short run. Even though the details of the Republican businessman's plans remain uncertain, Wednesday's statement marked a rare case in the post-crisis era in which the Fed moved its interest rate outlook higher. Risks to the outlook remain "roughly balanced" between factors that could slow or accelerate the economy beyond what the central bank anticipates, the Fed said, no change from the November assessment. The rate increase was the first since last December and only the second since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when the Fed cut rates to near zero and deployed other tools such as massive bond purchases to stabilise the economy. (Reuters)

US Fed raises key interest rate by 0.25 points, signals more increases

Indian banks have so far taken back a total of 12.44 trillion rupees ($184.24 billion) in old 500- and 1,000-rupee notes that the government did away with last month, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor R Gandhi said Tuesday.&nbsp;

The figure represents 80 per cent of the 15.44 trillion rupees in old notes that were in circulation before Prime Minister Narendra Modi them on November 8&nbsp;in a bid to target &quot;black money&quot;.

Analysts had earlier said that only about 13 trillion of the abolished notes would be deposited in banks as people with black money would be wary of coming under the scanner of tax authorities.&nbsp;

People can turn in their old notes till December 31.

Reuters reported that Economists have said the total deposits can be between 13 trillion to 13,5 trillion rupees by the deadline.&nbsp;

&quot;The old notes of 500 and 1000 rupees which have been returned back to the Reserve Bank and the currency chest amounted to 12.44 trillion rupees as of Dec. 10, 2016,&quot; Gandhi said in a news briefing.&nbsp;

Gandhi added that the RBI has printed some 1.7 billion new 500- and 2,000-rupee notes, to replace the abolished notes.The figure is a fraction of the 24 billion individual notes that were withdrawn.&nbsp;

 
(WION with inputs from Reuters)

 
&nbsp;

The RBI has printed some 1.7 billion new 500- and 2,000-rupee notes, a fraction of the 24 billion individual notes that were withdrawn

Indian banks have so far taken back a total of 12.44 trillion rupees ($184.24 billion) in old 500- and 1,000-rupee notes that the government did away with last month, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor R Gandhi said Tuesday. The figure represents 80 per cent of the 15.44 trillion rupees in old notes that were in circulation before Prime Minister Narendra Modi them on November 8 in a bid to target "black money". Analysts had earlier said that only about 13 trillion of the abolished notes would be deposited in banks as people with black money would be wary of coming under the scanner of tax authorities. People can turn in their old notes till December 31. Reuters reported that Economists have said the total deposits can be between 13 trillion to 13,5 trillion rupees by the deadline. "The old notes of 500 and 1000 rupees which have been returned back to the Reserve Bank and the currency chest amounted to 12.44 trillion rupees as of Dec. 10, 2016," Gandhi said in a news briefing. Gandhi added that the RBI has printed some 1.7 billion new 500- and 2,000-rupee notes, to replace the abolished notes.The figure is a fraction of the 24 billion individual notes that were withdrawn. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Demonetisation: RBI says $184 billion, 80% of old notes, back in banks

The US Fed is expected to hike interest rates tonight, with most analysts saying the hike is expected to be between 0.25-0.5%. &nbsp;

The Fed had cut interest rates by 0.25% back when the 2008 crash had taken place, to try and increase spending in the US economy. Since then, the interest rates have remained unchanged.&nbsp;

A lower interest rate is indicative of a fragile economy. The lower rate was capitalised on by emerging markets across Asia, including India; investors saw better potential in emerging markets.&nbsp;

The interest rates in emerging markets were higher than the rates in&nbsp;U.S. economy, resulting in flow of capital to the emerging markets for better returns.&nbsp;

The US economy has since improved, and analysts says a rate hike is likely.&nbsp;

In which case, how will emerging markets -- and India -- be impacted?&nbsp;

With the interest rate hike in U.S., experts say there may be capital outflows from emerging markets, and an increase&nbsp;in debt and equity investments in the US.&nbsp;A tight monetary and loose fiscal policy could enhance government spending, strengthening the US economy.

Here in India, there is a chance the rupee might depreciate, which might give rise to a higher current account deficit and higher inflation as the import prices will increase. But brokerages remain confident the Indian economy will hold fort in the long run and any impact will be restricted to the near term.&nbsp;

While Indian monetary policy kept repo rates unchanged, finance minister Arun Jaitley clarified that was not to brace for the impact of a rate hike by the Fed. But that the repo rate remaining unchanged could prepare India better for a hike, should it come.&nbsp;

(WION)

Street estimates say hike expected to be between 0.25-0.5%

The US Fed is expected to hike interest rates tonight, with most analysts saying the hike is expected to be between 0.25-0.5%. The Fed had cut interest rates by 0.25% back when the 2008 crash had taken place, to try and increase spending in the US economy. Since then, the interest rates have remained unchanged. A lower interest rate is indicative of a fragile economy. The lower rate was capitalised on by emerging markets across Asia, including India; investors saw better potential in emerging markets. The interest rates in emerging markets were higher than the rates in U.S. economy, resulting in flow of capital to the emerging markets for better returns. The US economy has since improved, and analysts says a rate hike is likely. In which case, how will emerging markets -- and India -- be impacted? With the interest rate hike in U.S., experts say there may be capital outflows from emerging markets, and an increase in debt and equity investments in the US. A tight monetary and loose fiscal policy could enhance government spending, strengthening the US economy. Here in India, there is a chance the rupee might depreciate, which might give rise to a higher current account deficit and higher inflation as the import prices will increase. But brokerages remain confident the Indian economy will hold fort in the long run and any impact will be restricted to the near term. While Indian monetary policy kept repo rates unchanged, finance minister Arun Jaitley clarified that was not to brace for the impact of a rate hike by the Fed. But that the repo rate remaining unchanged could prepare India better for a hike, should it come. (WION)

US Fed likely to hike interest rates tonight

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) shareholders voted to remove Cyrus Mistry, the ousted chairman of Tata Sons[TATAS.UL], as a director, according to the results of an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday.

About 93 percent of TCS shareholder who cast their vote were in favour of removing Mistry, TCS said in a regulatory filing.&nbsp;

His ouster comes as no surprise given Tata Sons majority stake in the company, about 73 percent as of September end, according to Thomson Reuters data. TCS, India`s biggest technology services firm by sales, contributes the bulk of the group`s revenue and profit.

About 43 percent of TCS`s institutional holders who voted were against the removal of Mistry, according to the filing.

Interestingly, 78 percent of voting shareholders who were not promoters or institutional holders were against Mistry`s ouster.

In a bitter boardroom coup in October, Mistry was ousted as the chairman of Tata Sons, the holding firm for the $100 billion steel-to-software conglomerate, and group patriarch Ratan Tata returned to the helm temporarily. A public power struggle has since ensued between the two sides.

Mistry, however, still sits on the boards of several group companies. Tata Sons has called shareholder meetings at these companies over the next few days to vote on his removal.

Indian Hotels Co Ltd , Tata Steel and Tata Motors will hold their shareholder meetings next week.

&quot;The fight is a matter of principle rather than facing the foregone outcome (of this meeting),&quot; Mistry said ahead of the TCS shareholder meet in an indication that he had expected to be ousted given Tata Sons` majority shareholding in TCS.

&quot;The very future of TCS hinges on good governance and ethical practices. In the past several weeks, we have seen good governance being thrown to the wind in every sense of the term, replaced by whims, fancies and personal agenda,&quot; he said.

Since his ouster from Tata Sons, Mistry has attacked the group`s corporate governance standards several times, saying that his efforts to establish stronger guidelines contributed to his removal. 
 
&quot;Whatever be the decibel level of the voice that would drown your vote, I call on you to vote with your conscience and send a signal that catalyses a larger discussion on governance reforms,&quot; Mistry said. 
 
(Reuters)

About 93 percent of TCS shareholder who cast their vote were in favour of removing Mistry, TCS said

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) shareholders voted to remove Cyrus Mistry, the ousted chairman of Tata Sons[TATAS.UL], as a director, according to the results of an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday. About 93 percent of TCS shareholder who cast their vote were in favour of removing Mistry, TCS said in a regulatory filing. His ouster comes as no surprise given Tata Sons majority stake in the company, about 73 percent as of September end, according to Thomson Reuters data. TCS, India`s biggest technology services firm by sales, contributes the bulk of the group`s revenue and profit. About 43 percent of TCS`s institutional holders who voted were against the removal of Mistry, according to the filing. Interestingly, 78 percent of voting shareholders who were not promoters or institutional holders were against Mistry`s ouster. In a bitter boardroom coup in October, Mistry was ousted as the chairman of Tata Sons, the holding firm for the $100 billion steel-to-software conglomerate, and group patriarch Ratan Tata returned to the helm temporarily. A public power struggle has since ensued between the two sides. Mistry, however, still sits on the boards of several group companies. Tata Sons has called shareholder meetings at these companies over the next few days to vote on his removal. Indian Hotels Co Ltd , Tata Steel and Tata Motors will hold their shareholder meetings next week. "The fight is a matter of principle rather than facing the foregone outcome (of this meeting)," Mistry said ahead of the TCS shareholder meet in an indication that he had expected to be ousted given Tata Sons` majority shareholding in TCS. "The very future of TCS hinges on good governance and ethical practices. In the past several weeks, we have seen good governance being thrown to the wind in every sense of the term, replaced by whims, fancies and personal agenda," he said. Since his ouster from Tata Sons, Mistry has attacked the group`s corporate governance standards several times, saying that his efforts to establish stronger guidelines contributed to his removal. "Whatever be the decibel level of the voice that would drown your vote, I call on you to vote with your conscience and send a signal that catalyses a larger discussion on governance reforms," Mistry said. (Reuters)

Cyrus Mistry ousted as TCS director after shareholders meeting

With Tata Sons seeking to remove him as director from main listed group entities, Nusli Wadia on Monday hit back saying he has been targetted for his &quot;independence of mind and action&quot; and he is not required to act in their interest as he does not not serve the Tata group in any capacity.

In a letter to the shareholders of Tata Steel -- which has convened an EGM on December 21 to consider a resolution by Tata Sons to remove Cyrus Mistry and him as directors -- Wadia said several allegations levelled against him were false, unsubstantiated and baseless.

Terming the allegation that he has acted in concert with Mistry as &quot;totally false and baseless&quot;, he wrote, &quot;My actions as an independent director are totally independent and not linked to any individual.&quot;

Stating that he is the only independent director that Tata Sons has sought to remove from Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals and Tata Motors, Wadia said, &quot;The reasons for which I am being sought to be removed as director is my independence of mind and action...&quot;

Reacting to the allegation that he was acting against the interest of the group, he said, &quot;I do not serve the Tata group in any capacity and I am not required to act in their interest. The statement is irrelevant to my position as an Independent Director of Tata Steel. It is also baseless and unsubstantiated.

&quot;I have a fiduciary responsibility to act as an Independent director in the best interest of the companies on whose board I serve, no more or less.&quot;

He further said, &quot;My independent stand has aggravated Tata Sons and my removal is being sought because I chose not to follow their diktat. My fiduciary duty is to your company and not to an unidentified Tata group.&quot;

Wadia further said Tata Sons&#39; principal allegations against him &quot;are unsubstantiated, baseless, false, motivated, defamatory and libellous and have been made with the intention of harming my reputation.&quot;

He also claimed that it was &quot;the first time in the history of corporate India that a promoter is using his muscle power with false and vindictive allegations to remove an Independent director&quot;.

&quot;Although it is my removal that you are being asked to vote upon, the real &#39;person&#39; on trial is the institution of the independent director itself and not me,&quot; he said.

Underlining his actions as an independent director, Wadia recalled that he differed &quot;strongly&quot; with Ratan Tata &quot;in the acquisition of Corus but a decision was ultimately taken by consensus&quot;.

Further, Wadia said he &quot;differed strongly providing continuous financial resources towards Tata Steel Europe from the year 2012 prior to Tata stepping down. From that date to now the capital employed in the business has risen by around Rs 25,000 crore with nil return.&quot;

Any return on investment to the shareholders of Tata Steel from its investments in Tata Steel Europe looks a near impossibility, he said.

&quot;The shareholders of Tata Steel have already suffered a serious impairment of approximately Rs 35,000 crore and are likely to have further substantial impairments in future,&quot; Wadia claimed.

Alleging violation of insider trading regulations, Wadia said, &quot;I believe that Mr Ratan Tata, Mr Noshir Soonawala and the Board of Tata Sons even post notification of the insider trading regulations (January 25m 2015) sought access to information and documents of Tata Steel, Tata Motors and other Tata companies.&quot;

Recalling that he joined Tata Steel as a director almost four decades ago when JRD Tata invited him, Wadia said at that point of time JRD encouraged freedom of thought and expression.

&quot;It is both sad and unfortunate that Tata Sons and its interim Chairman Ratan Tata are not only not practicing this great tradition but effectively destroying it,&quot; Wadia wrote.

Last month Wadia had sent a legal notice to Tata Sons stating &quot;the special notice for EGM of Tata Steel shareholders are aimed at defaming me as the content of the notice are false, frivolous, and per se defamatory, which are now established to be unsubstantiated for which I shall be compelled to initiate legal proceedings to protect my interest.&quot;&nbsp;

(PTI)

Wadia slammed Tatas for their proposal to remove him as independent director of Tata Steel

With Tata Sons seeking to remove him as director from main listed group entities, Nusli Wadia on Monday hit back saying he has been targetted for his "independence of mind and action" and he is not required to act in their interest as he does not not serve the Tata group in any capacity. In a letter to the shareholders of Tata Steel -- which has convened an EGM on December 21 to consider a resolution by Tata Sons to remove Cyrus Mistry and him as directors -- Wadia said several allegations levelled against him were false, unsubstantiated and baseless. Terming the allegation that he has acted in concert with Mistry as "totally false and baseless", he wrote, "My actions as an independent director are totally independent and not linked to any individual." Stating that he is the only independent director that Tata Sons has sought to remove from Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals and Tata Motors, Wadia said, "The reasons for which I am being sought to be removed as director is my independence of mind and action..." Reacting to the allegation that he was acting against the interest of the group, he said, "I do not serve the Tata group in any capacity and I am not required to act in their interest. The statement is irrelevant to my position as an Independent Director of Tata Steel. It is also baseless and unsubstantiated. "I have a fiduciary responsibility to act as an Independent director in the best interest of the companies on whose board I serve, no more or less." He further said, "My independent stand has aggravated Tata Sons and my removal is being sought because I chose not to follow their diktat. My fiduciary duty is to your company and not to an unidentified Tata group." Wadia further said Tata Sons' principal allegations against him "are unsubstantiated, baseless, false, motivated, defamatory and libellous and have been made with the intention of harming my reputation." He also claimed that it was "the first time in the history of corporate India that a promoter is using his muscle power with false and vindictive allegations to remove an Independent director". "Although it is my removal that you are being asked to vote upon, the real 'person' on trial is the institution of the independent director itself and not me," he said. Underlining his actions as an independent director, Wadia recalled that he differed "strongly" with Ratan Tata "in the acquisition of Corus but a decision was ultimately taken by consensus". Further, Wadia said he "differed strongly providing continuous financial resources towards Tata Steel Europe from the year 2012 prior to Tata stepping down. From that date to now the capital employed in the business has risen by around Rs 25,000 crore with nil return." Any return on investment to the shareholders of Tata Steel from its investments in Tata Steel Europe looks a near impossibility, he said. "The shareholders of Tata Steel have already suffered a serious impairment of approximately Rs 35,000 crore and are likely to have further substantial impairments in future," Wadia claimed. Alleging violation of insider trading regulations, Wadia said, "I believe that Mr Ratan Tata, Mr Noshir Soonawala and the Board of Tata Sons even post notification of the insider trading regulations (January 25m 2015) sought access to information and documents of Tata Steel, Tata Motors and other Tata companies." Recalling that he joined Tata Steel as a director almost four decades ago when JRD Tata invited him, Wadia said at that point of time JRD encouraged freedom of thought and expression. "It is both sad and unfortunate that Tata Sons and its interim Chairman Ratan Tata are not only not practicing this great tradition but effectively destroying it," Wadia wrote. Last month Wadia had sent a legal notice to Tata Sons stating "the special notice for EGM of Tata Steel shareholders are aimed at defaming me as the content of the notice are false, frivolous, and per se defamatory, which are now established to be unsubstantiated for which I shall be compelled to initiate legal proceedings to protect my interest." (PTI)

My independent stand has aggravated Tatas: Nusli Wadia hits back

Refuting allegations that he misled the selection committee set up in 2011 to find new Tata Sons Chairman, Cyrus Mistry today hit out at Ratan Tata saying his predecessor&#39;s &quot;conduct has eroded the Tata brand and values materially&quot;.

On a series of allegations leveled against him by Tata Sons in a letter to stakeholders of Tata firms, Mistry said, &quot;Repeat a lie a thousand times and hope it becomes a truth, seems to be Mr Ratan Tata&#39;s last-ditch effort to overcome a monumental disaster his actions have unleashed&quot;.

Earlier, Tata Sons today accused Mistry of misleading the selection panel to get selected as Chairman, retracting on his promises, concentrating powers and using free-hand given to him to weaken management structures.

The press statement from Tata Sons under Ratan Tata contains a &quot;regurgitation of fake innuendo that Mr Tata has resorted to through unnamed and named spokesmen in recent weeks&quot;, Mistry&#39;s office said in a statement.

Denying the above allegations, the statement said, &quot;On the contrary if Tata Sons had any point at all to make, it would have complied with law to form a Committee now to logically present charges against Mr Mistry. Armed with nothing better than the limp nature of contents of today&#39;s statement, it was obviously not an option for Mr Tata.&quot;

Lashing out at the interim Chairman of Tata Sons, it said: &quot;Mr Ratan Tata&#39;s conduct has eroded the Tata Brand and values materially...Far from hurting the Tata Sons businesses intentionally, Mr Mistry is saving the Tata Group from the whimsical ineptitude of Mr Ratan Tata.&quot;

The statement further said that the Tata Trusts have done great work in the past. &quot;However some of the recent actions by Mr Ratan Tata and his coterie that now runs the Trusts have raised great concern on the ethics that surround decision-making.&quot;

On the allegations of misleading the selection committee, Mistry&#39;s office said: &quot;Unsurprisingly, Mr Ratan Tata&#39;s close personal friend Lord Kumar Bhattacharya, the constant feature of the Selection Committee, then and now, just six months ago spoke positively of Mr Mistry&#39;s performance.&quot;

On charges that Mistry gradually concentrated all power and authority and took advantage of free hand given to him, the statement said: &quot;The structure of the Tata Sons Chairman being the Chairman of key Tata Group operating companies is something that preceded Mr Ratan Tata&#39;s time, and an approach he encouraged and perpetuated.

&quot;To say that Mr Mistry concentrated power in his hands across companies is meaningless since Mr Mistry expanded the oversight over his work by focusing on better board effectiveness and getting his work overseen by over 50 independent directors.&quot;

The allegation of concentration of power is &quot;new-found wisdom being written after seven weeks of failure to come up with any reason for upstaging Mr Mistry&quot;, it added.

(PTI) 
&nbsp;

Tata Sons earlier claimed Cyrus Mistry misled selection committee to get himself elected chairman

Refuting allegations that he misled the selection committee set up in 2011 to find new Tata Sons Chairman, Cyrus Mistry today hit out at Ratan Tata saying his predecessor's "conduct has eroded the Tata brand and values materially". On a series of allegations leveled against him by Tata Sons in a letter to stakeholders of Tata firms, Mistry said, "Repeat a lie a thousand times and hope it becomes a truth, seems to be Mr Ratan Tata's last-ditch effort to overcome a monumental disaster his actions have unleashed". Earlier, Tata Sons today accused Mistry of misleading the selection panel to get selected as Chairman, retracting on his promises, concentrating powers and using free-hand given to him to weaken management structures. The press statement from Tata Sons under Ratan Tata contains a "regurgitation of fake innuendo that Mr Tata has resorted to through unnamed and named spokesmen in recent weeks", Mistry's office said in a statement. Denying the above allegations, the statement said, "On the contrary if Tata Sons had any point at all to make, it would have complied with law to form a Committee now to logically present charges against Mr Mistry. Armed with nothing better than the limp nature of contents of today's statement, it was obviously not an option for Mr Tata." Lashing out at the interim Chairman of Tata Sons, it said: "Mr Ratan Tata's conduct has eroded the Tata Brand and values materially...Far from hurting the Tata Sons businesses intentionally, Mr Mistry is saving the Tata Group from the whimsical ineptitude of Mr Ratan Tata." The statement further said that the Tata Trusts have done great work in the past. "However some of the recent actions by Mr Ratan Tata and his coterie that now runs the Trusts have raised great concern on the ethics that surround decision-making." On the allegations of misleading the selection committee, Mistry's office said: "Unsurprisingly, Mr Ratan Tata's close personal friend Lord Kumar Bhattacharya, the constant feature of the Selection Committee, then and now, just six months ago spoke positively of Mr Mistry's performance." On charges that Mistry gradually concentrated all power and authority and took advantage of free hand given to him, the statement said: "The structure of the Tata Sons Chairman being the Chairman of key Tata Group operating companies is something that preceded Mr Ratan Tata's time, and an approach he encouraged and perpetuated. "To say that Mr Mistry concentrated power in his hands across companies is meaningless since Mr Mistry expanded the oversight over his work by focusing on better board effectiveness and getting his work overseen by over 50 independent directors." The allegation of concentration of power is "new-found wisdom being written after seven weeks of failure to come up with any reason for upstaging Mr Mistry", it added. (PTI)

Cyrus Mistry, Tata Sons spar over concentration of power in hands of chairman

Japan ratifies the much-debated TPP agreement cutting down trade barriers among 12 nations. Inflation in India is expected to have cooled to a 14-month low in December on the back of demonetisation. A look at top business stories across the world

WION Wallet: Top business stories of the week

Rupert Murdoch&#39;s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.&nbsp;has proposed buying the 61 per cent of British pay-TV firm Sky Plc&nbsp;it does not already own for around $14 billion, five years after a political scandal scuppered a previous bid.

The plan is conditionally backed by Sky&#39;s independent directors and would strengthen the position of James Murdoch - who is both chief executive of Fox and chairman of Sky - in his 85-year-old father&#39;s media empire.

People familiar with the matter said the Murdochs had pounced after Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union in June has sent the pound down about 14 per cent against the US&nbsp;dollar and Sky&#39;s share price tumbling.

Owning Sky would give Fox, whose cable networks include Fox News and FX, control of a pay-TV network spanning 22 million households in Britain, Ireland, Austria, Germany and Italy.

Marrying distribution with content is becoming increasingly important in a competitive media industry. Earlier this year, AT&amp;T announced an $85.4 billion deal to buy Time Warner.

Rupert Murdoch&#39;s previous attempt to buy Sky provoked uproar from some British politicians, who said it would give the billionaire owner of The Sun and The Times newspapers too much control of the country&#39;s media.

That bid collapsed in 2011 when Murdoch&#39;s News Corp newspaper business was engulfed in a phone hacking scandal that intensified political opposition, led to a criminal trial, and to the closure of his News of the World tabloid.

Liberum analysts said Friday&#39;s proposal was likely to have an easier ride, partly because News Corp has now separated from Fox, which means the bidding firm no longer owns UK newspapers.

They also said the British government was keen to promote investment in the wake of the country&#39;s vote to leave the European Union and could present the deal as a sign of confidence in the economy.

James tightens grip

Fox&#39;s proposal of 10.75 pounds per share in cash is a 36.2 per cent premium to Sky&#39;s closing price on Thursday. It values the company at about 18.5 billion pounds ($23.2 billion) and the stake Fox does not already own at 11.25 billion pounds, according to Reuters calculations.

Sky&#39;s shares closed up 26.7 per cent at 10.35 pounds, while Fox&#39;s were down 2.9 per cent at $27.80 at 1800 GMT.

Before Friday&#39;s surge, Sky&#39;s shares had dropped 30 per cent this year in part due to concerns of an UK economic slowdown caused by Brexit.

The deal has also been made more attractive for the Murdochs by a drop in the value of sterling, which makes it cheaper for foreign companies to buy UK assets.

Long tipped as his father&#39;s successor, James Murdoch&#39;s reappointment as chairman of Sky earlier this year reignited speculation of another bid approach by Fox.

James had previously led Sky as chief executive and then chairman, helping to build it into Europe&#39;s biggest pay-TV company, before quitting during the phone hacking scandal.

Britain&#39;s takeover watchdog has set Fox a deadline of Jan. 6 to make a firm bid or walk away.

(Reuters)

Fox has proposed buying 61% of Sky Plc, five years after a political scandal scuppered a previous bid

Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. has proposed buying the 61 per cent of British pay-TV firm Sky Plc it does not already own for around $14 billion, five years after a political scandal scuppered a previous bid. The plan is conditionally backed by Sky's independent directors and would strengthen the position of James Murdoch - who is both chief executive of Fox and chairman of Sky - in his 85-year-old father's media empire. People familiar with the matter said the Murdochs had pounced after Britain's vote to leave the European Union in June has sent the pound down about 14 per cent against the US dollar and Sky's share price tumbling. Owning Sky would give Fox, whose cable networks include Fox News and FX, control of a pay-TV network spanning 22 million households in Britain, Ireland, Austria, Germany and Italy. Marrying distribution with content is becoming increasingly important in a competitive media industry. Earlier this year, AT&T announced an $85.4 billion deal to buy Time Warner. Rupert Murdoch's previous attempt to buy Sky provoked uproar from some British politicians, who said it would give the billionaire owner of The Sun and The Times newspapers too much control of the country's media. That bid collapsed in 2011 when Murdoch's News Corp newspaper business was engulfed in a phone hacking scandal that intensified political opposition, led to a criminal trial, and to the closure of his News of the World tabloid. Liberum analysts said Friday's proposal was likely to have an easier ride, partly because News Corp has now separated from Fox, which means the bidding firm no longer owns UK newspapers. They also said the British government was keen to promote investment in the wake of the country's vote to leave the European Union and could present the deal as a sign of confidence in the economy. James tightens grip Fox's proposal of 10.75 pounds per share in cash is a 36.2 per cent premium to Sky's closing price on Thursday. It values the company at about 18.5 billion pounds ($23.2 billion) and the stake Fox does not already own at 11.25 billion pounds, according to Reuters calculations. Sky's shares closed up 26.7 per cent at 10.35 pounds, while Fox's were down 2.9 per cent at $27.80 at 1800 GMT. Before Friday's surge, Sky's shares had dropped 30 per cent this year in part due to concerns of an UK economic slowdown caused by Brexit. The deal has also been made more attractive for the Murdochs by a drop in the value of sterling, which makes it cheaper for foreign companies to buy UK assets. Long tipped as his father's successor, James Murdoch's reappointment as chairman of Sky earlier this year reignited speculation of another bid approach by Fox. James had previously led Sky as chief executive and then chairman, helping to build it into Europe's biggest pay-TV company, before quitting during the phone hacking scandal. Britain's takeover watchdog has set Fox a deadline of Jan. 6 to make a firm bid or walk away. (Reuters)

Rupert Murdoch's Fox bids $14 billion for UK's Sky

Japan on Friday ratified the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade pact aimed at linking a dozen Pacific Rim nations, hoping it will one day take effect despite President-elect Donald Trump&#39;s pledge that the United States will withdraw from it.

The TPP, which aims to cut trade barriers in some of Asia&#39;s fastest-growing economies but does not include China, cannot take effect without the United States.

The deal, which has been five years in the making, requires ratification by at least six countries accounting for 85 per cent of the combined gross domestic product of the member nations.

Given the sheer size of the American economy, the deal cannot go ahead without US&nbsp;participation.

It has not been ratified by the US&nbsp;Senate and Trump last month promised to withdraw from it after he is inaugurated in January. Instead, he would replace it with bilaterally negotiated trade deals.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the TPP would be &quot;meaningless without the United States&quot;.

But by ratifying the deal in parliament on Friday, Japan is signalling it hopes the accord can be resuscitated when conditions are more favourable.

Government officials said the trade pact would essentially go into deep freeze but that they would not abandon hope of reviving it in future.

Taro Kono, a senior lawmaker of Abe&#39;s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said there was a chance that Trump would change his mind.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key joked last month that it would be fine with him to rename the agreement Trump Pacific Partnership if that would convince the president-elect to get on board, media reported.

(Reuters)

The Trans-Pacific Partnership aims to cut trade barriers in some of Asia's fastest-growing economies; it does not include China

Japan on Friday ratified the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade pact aimed at linking a dozen Pacific Rim nations, hoping it will one day take effect despite President-elect Donald Trump's pledge that the United States will withdraw from it. The TPP, which aims to cut trade barriers in some of Asia's fastest-growing economies but does not include China, cannot take effect without the United States. The deal, which has been five years in the making, requires ratification by at least six countries accounting for 85 per cent of the combined gross domestic product of the member nations. Given the sheer size of the American economy, the deal cannot go ahead without US participation. It has not been ratified by the US Senate and Trump last month promised to withdraw from it after he is inaugurated in January. Instead, he would replace it with bilaterally negotiated trade deals. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the TPP would be "meaningless without the United States". But by ratifying the deal in parliament on Friday, Japan is signalling it hopes the accord can be resuscitated when conditions are more favourable. Government officials said the trade pact would essentially go into deep freeze but that they would not abandon hope of reviving it in future. Taro Kono, a senior lawmaker of Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said there was a chance that Trump would change his mind. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key joked last month that it would be fine with him to rename the agreement Trump Pacific Partnership if that would convince the president-elect to get on board, media reported. (Reuters)

Japan ratifies TPP trade pact to fly flag for free trade

Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent will step down from that role next year and be succeeded by the company&#39;s No 2 executive, Chief Operating Officer James Quincey, the company announced today.

Quincey will take over the world&#39;s largest beverage maker at a time when more people are drinking less sugary soda, including its flagship Coke.

Quincey, who&#39;s worked at the beverage maker for about two decades, has led the company&#39;s drive to cut down sugar in its drinks and today said that he&#39;ll continue to do that as CEO.

He also said he&#39;ll push for more low-calorie beverages and to sell more soda in smaller cans and bottles.

The Atlanta-based company has been diversifying its drinks to try to adapt to changing tastes. Last year it rolled out a milk drink called Fairlife nationwide that it said had more protein and less sugar than regular milk. Despite the changes, annual revenue has fallen in the past four years and Wall Street analysts expect revenue for the current year to fall about 5 per &nbsp;cent from the year before.

In October, the Atlanta company said its third-quarter profit fell 28 per cent.

Quincey will become CEO on May 1. The 51-year-old was named president and chief operation officer last year. Kent, 64, will continue as chairman of the board after he steps down as CEO. He has been CEO for more than eight years and first joined the company nearly 40 years ago.

Wall Street analysts said they had expected Quincey to be promoted to the top job, but some thought it would be announced early next year.

Analysts at Stifel said &quot;job one&quot; for Quincey is to improve revenue growth.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whose holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc is Coca-Cola&#39;s largest shareholder, said he was pleased with the succession plans.

&quot;I know James and like him,&quot; Buffett said in a statement, &quot;and believe the company has made a smart investment in its future with his selection.&quot;

Shares of The Coca-Cola Co rose USD 1.12, or 2.7 per cent, to USD 42.10 in midday trading today.

(PTI)

Muhtar Kent will, however, continue as the chairman of the board

Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent will step down from that role next year and be succeeded by the company's No 2 executive, Chief Operating Officer James Quincey, the company announced today. Quincey will take over the world's largest beverage maker at a time when more people are drinking less sugary soda, including its flagship Coke. Quincey, who's worked at the beverage maker for about two decades, has led the company's drive to cut down sugar in its drinks and today said that he'll continue to do that as CEO. He also said he'll push for more low-calorie beverages and to sell more soda in smaller cans and bottles. The Atlanta-based company has been diversifying its drinks to try to adapt to changing tastes. Last year it rolled out a milk drink called Fairlife nationwide that it said had more protein and less sugar than regular milk. Despite the changes, annual revenue has fallen in the past four years and Wall Street analysts expect revenue for the current year to fall about 5 per cent from the year before. In October, the Atlanta company said its third-quarter profit fell 28 per cent. Quincey will become CEO on May 1. The 51-year-old was named president and chief operation officer last year. Kent, 64, will continue as chairman of the board after he steps down as CEO. He has been CEO for more than eight years and first joined the company nearly 40 years ago. Wall Street analysts said they had expected Quincey to be promoted to the top job, but some thought it would be announced early next year. Analysts at Stifel said "job one" for Quincey is to improve revenue growth. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whose holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc is Coca-Cola's largest shareholder, said he was pleased with the succession plans. "I know James and like him," Buffett said in a statement, "and believe the company has made a smart investment in its future with his selection." Shares of The Coca-Cola Co rose USD 1.12, or 2.7 per cent, to USD 42.10 in midday trading today. (PTI)

Kent steps down as Coca-Cola CEO, to be replaced by Quincey

The 6-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the RBI met for the second time since its inception to decide on the key monetary policy indicators of India. The decision taken by the MPC comes as a shock to many as one of the key rates i.e. the repo rate has been kept unchanged at 6.25%. 
&nbsp; 
Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow from the RBI. 
&nbsp; 
Most of the experts, economists and bankers had predicted that the repo rate would be cut by 25 to 50 basis points at the back of slowdown of consumer price index (CPI) and a potential slowdown of the economy due to demonetisation.

CPI is a number that refelects the average price of a basket of consumer goods such as transportation, food and medical care. It is one of the most frequently used statistics for identifying periods of inflation or deflation.

Economics behind cut in the repo rate 
&nbsp; 
If the repo rate is cut, then the banks would be able to borrow at a lesser rate and then, they can pass this to the end-consumers by reducing the lending rates. Reduced lending rates would encourage people to take loans for businesses, education, buying a house and other personal needs, thus increasing the GDP of the country and subsequently the economic growth as well. 
&nbsp; 
However, there is another side to the story. If people are borrowing more, this implies that there are higher investments in the economy. High investments imply&nbsp;increased employment and thus,&nbsp;rise in the demand for goods and services, increasing the price level in the economy.

Whenever the MPC meets, they always have to face this dichotomy of chosing between higher economic growth versus high price levels. 
&nbsp; 
Current decision of MPC 
&nbsp; 
According to the statement of India&rsquo;s central bank, Reserve Bank of India&#39;s governor Urjit Patel, the reason behind keeping the repo-rate unchanged is to meet the&nbsp;inflation targets of 5% (with a plus-minus of 2%) for the last quarter&nbsp;of the&nbsp;financial year 2016-17. 
&nbsp; 
It seems that the inflation targeting took precedence over any other consideration while deciding the repo rate. Three main reasons that seem plausible for such hawkish approach are:

<ul>
	<li>Implementation of seventh pay commission recommendations can lead to rise in inflation &nbsp;</li>
	<li>Rise in domestic food prices</li>
	<li>Rise in crude oil prices after OPEC&rsquo;s decision to cut production</li>
</ul>

&nbsp; 
In the past couple of weeks, post demonetisation several experts and prominent organisations have cut down the GDP forecast for Indian economy. Even the RBI today cut the growth forecast for this fiscal from 7.6% to 7.1%. &nbsp;Thus, experts believed that RBI would cut the repo-rate to stimulate the economy and achieve the growth targets. 
&nbsp; 
However, it is believed that with the deposit of Rs 11.55 crore in banks post-demonetisation, there is excess liquidity in banks which would anyways encourage the banks to reduce their lending rates whether the repo rate cut happens or not. 
&nbsp; 
Some private banks like ICICI, Axis bank and Bank of Baroda have already reduced their lending rates in the past week before the meeting of MPC. 
&nbsp; 
No sweat over liquidity crunch 
&nbsp; 
Post-demonetisation, the Indian economy is reeling under liquidity crunch with thousands of people queuing outside ATMs and banks each day to withdraw money.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
During the press conference, RBI officials showed fair amount of confidence and said that the situation is under control as far as the liquidity is concerned. According to RBI officials, the remonetisation exercise is in full throttle with all the five printing presses of both RBI and government working to full capacity to print new notes. From November 10th to December 5th, RBI has printed currency worth Rs 4 lakh crore of higher denominations like the Rs 500 and Rs 2000 and during the same period, around 19.1 billion pieces of Rs 100, Rs 50 and Rs 20 denomination notes were printed. 
&nbsp; 
The RBI officials also mentioned that they may reduce the number of notes being printed as people are increasingly moving towards digital modes of payment. &nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Clear distinction between monetary and fiscal policy 
&nbsp; 
Going by the textbook, the main monetary policy indicators are price level and money supply and the monetary policy lies in the domain of the central bank of a country, in this case, RBI. 
&nbsp; 
The fiscal policy is the domain of the government of a country and both the monetary and fiscal policy have to work in tandem for the future growth and economic stability of a country.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
Today, it can be observed that the RBI stuck to its side of the policy mandate, focusing completely on inflation targeting and trusting the government to work on the GDP front.

In the coming months, one should be on the lookout for the figures of the major economic indicators to get a sense of how the demonetisation policy has worked for India.

(WION)

 
&nbsp;

Most experts, economists and bankers had predicted the repo rate would be cut by 25 to 50 basis points

The 6-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the RBI met for the second time since its inception to decide on the key monetary policy indicators of India. The decision taken by the MPC comes as a shock to many as one of the key rates i.e. the repo rate has been kept unchanged at 6.25%. Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow from the RBI. Most of the experts, economists and bankers had predicted that the repo rate would be cut by 25 to 50 basis points at the back of slowdown of consumer price index (CPI) and a potential slowdown of the economy due to demonetisation. CPI is a number that refelects the average price of a basket of consumer goods such as transportation, food and medical care. It is one of the most frequently used statistics for identifying periods of inflation or deflation. Economics behind cut in the repo rate If the repo rate is cut, then the banks would be able to borrow at a lesser rate and then, they can pass this to the end-consumers by reducing the lending rates. Reduced lending rates would encourage people to take loans for businesses, education, buying a house and other personal needs, thus increasing the GDP of the country and subsequently the economic growth as well. However, there is another side to the story. If people are borrowing more, this implies that there are higher investments in the economy. High investments imply increased employment and thus, rise in the demand for goods and services, increasing the price level in the economy. Whenever the MPC meets, they always have to face this dichotomy of chosing between higher economic growth versus high price levels. Current decision of MPC According to the statement of India’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India's governor Urjit Patel, the reason behind keeping the repo-rate unchanged is to meet the inflation targets of 5% (with a plus-minus of 2%) for the last quarter of the financial year 2016-17. It seems that the inflation targeting took precedence over any other consideration while deciding the repo rate. Three main reasons that seem plausible for such hawkish approach are: Implementation of seventh pay commission recommendations can lead to rise in inflation Rise in domestic food prices Rise in crude oil prices after OPEC’s decision to cut production In the past couple of weeks, post demonetisation several experts and prominent organisations have cut down the GDP forecast for Indian economy. Even the RBI today cut the growth forecast for this fiscal from 7.6% to 7.1%. Thus, experts believed that RBI would cut the repo-rate to stimulate the economy and achieve the growth targets. However, it is believed that with the deposit of Rs 11.55 crore in banks post-demonetisation, there is excess liquidity in banks which would anyways encourage the banks to reduce their lending rates whether the repo rate cut happens or not. Some private banks like ICICI, Axis bank and Bank of Baroda have already reduced their lending rates in the past week before the meeting of MPC. No sweat over liquidity crunch Post-demonetisation, the Indian economy is reeling under liquidity crunch with thousands of people queuing outside ATMs and banks each day to withdraw money. During the press conference, RBI officials showed fair amount of confidence and said that the situation is under control as far as the liquidity is concerned. According to RBI officials, the remonetisation exercise is in full throttle with all the five printing presses of both RBI and government working to full capacity to print new notes. From November 10th to December 5th, RBI has printed currency worth Rs 4 lakh crore of higher denominations like the Rs 500 and Rs 2000 and during the same period, around 19.1 billion pieces of Rs 100, Rs 50 and Rs 20 denomination notes were printed. The RBI officials also mentioned that they may reduce the number of notes being printed as people are increasingly moving towards digital modes of payment. Clear distinction between monetary and fiscal policy Going by the textbook, the main monetary policy indicators are price level and money supply and the monetary policy lies in the domain of the central bank of a country, in this case, RBI. The fiscal policy is the domain of the government of a country and both the monetary and fiscal policy have to work in tandem for the future growth and economic stability of a country. Today, it can be observed that the RBI stuck to its side of the policy mandate, focusing completely on inflation targeting and trusting the government to work on the GDP front. In the coming months, one should be on the lookout for the figures of the major economic indicators to get a sense of how the demonetisation policy has worked for India. (WION)

Why the RBI kept interest rates unchanged despite demonetisation

The EU&#39;s top anti-trust regulator on today slapped fines on banks HSBC, JP Morgan and Credit Agricole for rigging the Euribor interest rate benchmark used for a wide range of financial instruments.

The European Commission, the EU&#39;s executive arm, fined the banks &quot;a total of 485 million euros (USD 520 million) for participating in a cartel in euro interest rate derivatives,&quot; according to a statement.

The decision is the latest example of authorities trying to punish malpractice by the world&#39;s biggest banks in the years running up to the financial crisis in 2008.

The three banks had held out from a settlement with the EU in 2013 that saw Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale and Royal Bank of Scotland accept responsibility in the case.

&quot;Today&#39;s message sends a clear message: banks and all companies have to respect EU rules,&quot; said the EU&#39;s competition chief Margarethe Vestager at a news briefing.

The Euribor case is one of many involving the complicated business of setting benchmark rates, such as the Libor or the Yen Libor, that are used everyday to set the price of a wide range of assets including mortgages or student loans.

In recent years about a dozen of the world&#39;s biggest banks have admitted widespread collusion to fix the rates illegally and were slapped with huge fines and even prison terms.

Four former Barclays bankers were jailed by a British court in July for manipulating the Libor interest rate between 2005 and 2007.&nbsp;

(AFP) 
&nbsp;

EU fined HSBC, JP Morgan and Credit Agricole a total of 485 million euros for manipulating the Euribor interest rate

The EU's top anti-trust regulator on today slapped fines on banks HSBC, JP Morgan and Credit Agricole for rigging the Euribor interest rate benchmark used for a wide range of financial instruments. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, fined the banks "a total of 485 million euros (USD 520 million) for participating in a cartel in euro interest rate derivatives," according to a statement. The decision is the latest example of authorities trying to punish malpractice by the world's biggest banks in the years running up to the financial crisis in 2008. The three banks had held out from a settlement with the EU in 2013 that saw Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale and Royal Bank of Scotland accept responsibility in the case. "Today's message sends a clear message: banks and all companies have to respect EU rules," said the EU's competition chief Margarethe Vestager at a news briefing. The Euribor case is one of many involving the complicated business of setting benchmark rates, such as the Libor or the Yen Libor, that are used everyday to set the price of a wide range of assets including mortgages or student loans. In recent years about a dozen of the world's biggest banks have admitted widespread collusion to fix the rates illegally and were slapped with huge fines and even prison terms. Four former Barclays bankers were jailed by a British court in July for manipulating the Libor interest rate between 2005 and 2007. (AFP)

EU fines three major banks over interest rate rigging

Taking markets by surprise, RBI Governor Urjit Patel today kept short term lending rate unchanged even as the central bank lowered GDP growth rate to 7.1 per cent and short term disruption in economic activities due to demonetisation.

Patel-led 6-member Monetary Policy Committee, which had in its first policy review cut interest rate by 0.25 per cent in October, belied expectations to keep benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.25 per cent unanimously.

In view of disruption in economic activities due to demonetisation, RBI lowered growth forecast from 7.6 per cent to 7.1 per cent for the current fiscal.

The headline inflation is projected at 5 per cent by the fourth quarter of 2016-17 with risks tilted to the upside but lower than in the October policy review.

The fuller effects of the house rent allowances under the Seventh Pay Commission award are yet to be assessed, pending implementation, and have not been reckoned in this baseline inflation path, the fifth bi-monthly monthly monetary policy said.

On demonetisation, it said, the withdrawal of old high value currency notes could transiently interrupt some part of industrial activity in November-December due to delays in payments of wages and purchases of inputs, although a fuller assessment is awaited.

&quot;In the services sector, the outlook is mixed with construction, trade, transport, hotels and communication impacted by temporary old currency notes effects, while public administration, defence and other services would continue to be buoyed by the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) award and one rank one pension (OROP),&quot; it added.

The central bank also said that almost Rs 12 lakh crore out of total Rs 14.5 lakh crore in scrapped notes have already been deposited in banks.

RBI has also withdraw 100 per cent incremental Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) from December 10, a move that would allow banks to retain the deposits coming to them as part of demonetisation.

All the six members of Monetary Policy Committee headed by the RBI Governor voted in favour of the today&#39;s decision. 
In the view of the Committee, this bi-monthly review is set against the backdrop of heightened uncertainty.

&quot;Globally, the imminent tightening of monetary policy in the US is triggering bouts of high volatility in financial markets, with the possibility of large spillovers that could have macroeconomic implications for emerging markets,&quot; it said.

While supply disruptions in the backdrop of currency replacement may drag down growth this year in India, it is important to analyse more information and experience before judging their full effects and their persistence, RBI said, adding that short-term developments that influence the outlook disproportionately warrant caution with respect to setting the monetary policy stance.

&quot;On balance, therefore, it is prudent to wait and watch how these factors play out and impinge upon the outlook. Accordingly, the policy repo rate has been kept on hold in this review, while retaining an accommodative policy stance,&quot; it said.&nbsp;

 
Highlights of RBI&#39;s fifth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, 2016-17:

<ul>
	<li>&nbsp;Repo rate unchanged at 6.25%, Reverse Repo at 5.75%</li>
	<li>&nbsp;Cash reserve ratio or CRR unchanged at 4%</li>
	<li>&nbsp;Cuts growth forecast to 7.1%, from 7.6% for this fiscal</li>
	<li>&nbsp;Inflation target remains 5% for March 2017, upside risk</li>
	<li>&nbsp;Demonetisation to lower prices of perishables</li>
	<li>Could reduce inflation by 10-15 basis points by December</li>
	<li>&nbsp;All MPC members voted in favour of status quo in policy</li>
	<li>&nbsp;Demonetisation to result in short-run disruptions in Cash-intensive sectors</li>
	<li>Crude price volatility, surge in financial market</li>
	<li>Turbulence could put March end inflation target at risk</li>
	<li>&nbsp;Foreign exchange reserve rose to all-time high of</li>
	<li>USD 364 billion on December 2</li>
	<li>&nbsp;RBI injected Rs 1.1 lakh crore liquidity through OMO purchases this fiscal</li>
	<li>Next monetary policy on February 8</li>
</ul>

(PTI)

The RBI's monetary policy committee voted 6-0 to leave the repo rate unchanged, after cutting it by 25 basis points (bps) last October

Taking markets by surprise, RBI Governor Urjit Patel today kept short term lending rate unchanged even as the central bank lowered GDP growth rate to 7.1 per cent and short term disruption in economic activities due to demonetisation. Patel-led 6-member Monetary Policy Committee, which had in its first policy review cut interest rate by 0.25 per cent in October, belied expectations to keep benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.25 per cent unanimously. In view of disruption in economic activities due to demonetisation, RBI lowered growth forecast from 7.6 per cent to 7.1 per cent for the current fiscal. The headline inflation is projected at 5 per cent by the fourth quarter of 2016-17 with risks tilted to the upside but lower than in the October policy review. The fuller effects of the house rent allowances under the Seventh Pay Commission award are yet to be assessed, pending implementation, and have not been reckoned in this baseline inflation path, the fifth bi-monthly monthly monetary policy said. On demonetisation, it said, the withdrawal of old high value currency notes could transiently interrupt some part of industrial activity in November-December due to delays in payments of wages and purchases of inputs, although a fuller assessment is awaited. "In the services sector, the outlook is mixed with construction, trade, transport, hotels and communication impacted by temporary old currency notes effects, while public administration, defence and other services would continue to be buoyed by the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) award and one rank one pension (OROP)," it added. The central bank also said that almost Rs 12 lakh crore out of total Rs 14.5 lakh crore in scrapped notes have already been deposited in banks. RBI has also withdraw 100 per cent incremental Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) from December 10, a move that would allow banks to retain the deposits coming to them as part of demonetisation. All the six members of Monetary Policy Committee headed by the RBI Governor voted in favour of the today's decision. In the view of the Committee, this bi-monthly review is set against the backdrop of heightened uncertainty. "Globally, the imminent tightening of monetary policy in the US is triggering bouts of high volatility in financial markets, with the possibility of large spillovers that could have macroeconomic implications for emerging markets," it said. While supply disruptions in the backdrop of currency replacement may drag down growth this year in India, it is important to analyse more information and experience before judging their full effects and their persistence, RBI said, adding that short-term developments that influence the outlook disproportionately warrant caution with respect to setting the monetary policy stance. "On balance, therefore, it is prudent to wait and watch how these factors play out and impinge upon the outlook. Accordingly, the policy repo rate has been kept on hold in this review, while retaining an accommodative policy stance," it said. Highlights of RBI's fifth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, 2016-17: Repo rate unchanged at 6.25%, Reverse Repo at 5.75% Cash reserve ratio or CRR unchanged at 4% Cuts growth forecast to 7.1%, from 7.6% for this fiscal Inflation target remains 5% for March 2017, upside risk Demonetisation to lower prices of perishables Could reduce inflation by 10-15 basis points by December All MPC members voted in favour of status quo in policy Demonetisation to result in short-run disruptions in Cash-intensive sectors Crude price volatility, surge in financial market Turbulence could put March end inflation target at risk Foreign exchange reserve rose to all-time high of USD 364 billion on December 2 RBI injected Rs 1.1 lakh crore liquidity through OMO purchases this fiscal Next monetary policy on February 8 (PTI)

Reserve Bank of India keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.25%

In a letter to the shareholders, Tata Sons interim Chairman Ratan Tata today sought support for a special resolution to remove Cyrus Mistry as director of Tata group companies.&nbsp;

Ahead of the Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) of six Tata group firms, Ratan Tata said that the continued presence of the ousted executive in respective boards is a serious &quot;disruptive influence&quot; and can make the companies &quot;dysfunctional&quot;.

He said the decision to remove Mistry as the Chairman of Tata Sons was taken as the board had lost confidence in him and his ability to lead the conglomerate.&nbsp;

He also said the &quot;deliberated action&quot; to remove Mistry by the Tata Sons board was taken after relationship with him steadily deteriorated and &quot;several attempts to remediate went unheeded&quot;.

He further said Mistry was offered an opportunity to step down voluntarily from the Chairman position, which he rejected.

&quot;The right step would have been for him to resign as director. Unfortunately, he has not yet done so and his continued presence as a director is a serious disruptive influence on these company boards, which can make the company dysfunctional, particularly given his open hostility towards the primary promoter, Tata Sons,&quot; Tata wrote.

Following special resolution moved by Tata Sons to remove Mistry as director, TCS has called an EGM on December 13, Indian Hotels Co Ltd on December 20, Tata Steel on December 21, Tata Motors on December 22, Tata Chemicals on December 23 and Tata Power on December 26.

(WION with inputs from PTI)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Interim Chairman Ratan Tata said the group had offered Mistry an opportunity to step down voluntarily, which he had rejected

In a letter to the shareholders, Tata Sons interim Chairman Ratan Tata today sought support for a special resolution to remove Cyrus Mistry as director of Tata group companies. Ahead of the Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) of six Tata group firms, Ratan Tata said that the continued presence of the ousted executive in respective boards is a serious "disruptive influence" and can make the companies "dysfunctional". He said the decision to remove Mistry as the Chairman of Tata Sons was taken as the board had lost confidence in him and his ability to lead the conglomerate. He also said the "deliberated action" to remove Mistry by the Tata Sons board was taken after relationship with him steadily deteriorated and "several attempts to remediate went unheeded". He further said Mistry was offered an opportunity to step down voluntarily from the Chairman position, which he rejected. "The right step would have been for him to resign as director. Unfortunately, he has not yet done so and his continued presence as a director is a serious disruptive influence on these company boards, which can make the company dysfunctional, particularly given his open hostility towards the primary promoter, Tata Sons," Tata wrote. Following special resolution moved by Tata Sons to remove Mistry as director, TCS has called an EGM on December 13, Indian Hotels Co Ltd on December 20, Tata Steel on December 21, Tata Motors on December 22, Tata Chemicals on December 23 and Tata Power on December 26. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Mistry removed as Tata Sons lost confidence in him: Ratan Tata

India&#39;s important monitory policy decision over rate cut will be made on Wednesday by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Today&#39;s announcement will be a crucial one, given that demonetisation has wiped out liquidity from the market while infusing additional liquidity in banks.

The&nbsp;six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) will be guiding the RBI on the rate cut. Most experts and analysts predict a 25 basis points rate cut on the back of the slowdown in the economy post the demonetisation move by the government.

RBI governor Urjit Patel who will be addressing the media today, will not only have to deal with questions on the rate cut but also the implementation of the demonetisation move as he will speak to media for the first time since the surgical strike on black money. The key lending rate could be reduced by 25 to 50 basis points.

The current repo rate stands at 6.25 per cent&nbsp;after the RBI governor cut the lending rate by 25 basis points in October.

The decision of the central bank will have multiple effects.

The 25 basis point repo rate cut is likely to be influenced by inflationary pressure on the&nbsp;economy, a&nbsp;possible slowdown, fall in consumer discretionary spending and&nbsp;rupee depreciation to the dollar.

The currency drain out impacts the consumer discretionary spending. Most brokerage reports have given a 1 per cent downgrade on the GDP outlook for India post demonetisation. India has clocked in 7.3 per cent growth in July-September -&nbsp;a number that reflects growth pre-demonetisation.

Whether India can continue the rate of growth&nbsp;remains to be seen. A cut in repo rate will enable banks to borrow at lower interest rates and the banks can transfer the benefits to the end consumer. Even the rising oil prices pose a threat to the economy, impacting the RBI&#39;s decision on the repo rate cut.

The central bank&nbsp;will also have to consider the movement in the rupee, as a sharp depreciation of the rupee has ensured withdrawals from the FCNR&nbsp;(Foreign Currency Non-Residential) deposits. A higher demand for dollar depreciates the value of the rupee.

The US Fed rate hike, expected this month at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), will be closely monitored.&nbsp;If the Fed decides to hike rates, it will make the United States a more attractive destination for investors to park their funds compared to the other emerging markets, especially India.

This has a direct impact on the Indian currency and experts feel it could depreciate the rupee further. Amidst these concerns that loom large, the RBI will have to be extremely careful on the extent to which it slashes the repo rate, as inflation and rupee depreciation&nbsp;pose to be major deterrents.

(WION)

This could mean banks lending at lower interest rates, transferring the benefits to the end consumer

India's important monitory policy decision over rate cut will be made on Wednesday by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Today's announcement will be a crucial one, given that demonetisation has wiped out liquidity from the market while infusing additional liquidity in banks. The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) will be guiding the RBI on the rate cut. Most experts and analysts predict a 25 basis points rate cut on the back of the slowdown in the economy post the demonetisation move by the government. RBI governor Urjit Patel who will be addressing the media today, will not only have to deal with questions on the rate cut but also the implementation of the demonetisation move as he will speak to media for the first time since the surgical strike on black money. The key lending rate could be reduced by 25 to 50 basis points. The current repo rate stands at 6.25 per cent after the RBI governor cut the lending rate by 25 basis points in October. The decision of the central bank will have multiple effects. The 25 basis point repo rate cut is likely to be influenced by inflationary pressure on the economy, a possible slowdown, fall in consumer discretionary spending and rupee depreciation to the dollar. The currency drain out impacts the consumer discretionary spending. Most brokerage reports have given a 1 per cent downgrade on the GDP outlook for India post demonetisation. India has clocked in 7.3 per cent growth in July-September - a number that reflects growth pre-demonetisation. Whether India can continue the rate of growth remains to be seen. A cut in repo rate will enable banks to borrow at lower interest rates and the banks can transfer the benefits to the end consumer. Even the rising oil prices pose a threat to the economy, impacting the RBI's decision on the repo rate cut. The central bank will also have to consider the movement in the rupee, as a sharp depreciation of the rupee has ensured withdrawals from the FCNR (Foreign Currency Non-Residential) deposits. A higher demand for dollar depreciates the value of the rupee. The US Fed rate hike, expected this month at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), will be closely monitored. If the Fed decides to hike rates, it will make the United States a more attractive destination for investors to park their funds compared to the other emerging markets, especially India. This has a direct impact on the Indian currency and experts feel it could depreciate the rupee further. Amidst these concerns that loom large, the RBI will have to be extremely careful on the extent to which it slashes the repo rate, as inflation and rupee depreciation pose to be major deterrents. (WION)

Reserve Bank of India likely to cut repo rate by 25-50 basis points

Cairn India will invest Rs 30,000 crore ($4.5 billion) in the next three years to produce an additional 1,00,000 barrels per day of oil and oil equivalent gas, primarily from its prolific Rajasthan fields, said its mining billionaire promoter Anil Agarwal.

He also said the merger of the cash-rich Cairn with its parent Vedanta Ltd is likely to be completed by March-end.

&quot;We have committed to investing Rs 30,000 crore to add 100,000 barrels per day of oil and oil equivalent gas over the next three years,&quot; he told PTI.

Cairn produced 206,230 barrels per day of oil equivalent in the second quarter ended September. Bulk of the production came from its Rajasthan block that gave 167,699 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). The Ravva field in the Bay of Bengal produced 18,823 boepd and Cambay another 9,877 boepd.

&quot;India has been very less explored and we believe there is enough resources below the ground that can be produced,&quot; he said.

Cairn India has been operating for more than 20 years playing an active role in developing India&#39;s oil and gas resources. Till date, Cairn India has opened 4 frontier basins with numerous discoveries, 37 in Rajasthan alone, he said.

The Mangala field in Barmer, Rajasthan, discovered in January 2004, is the largest onshore oil discovery in India in more than two decades. Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields -- major discoveries in the Rajasthan block -- have a gross ultimate oil recovery of over 1 billion barrels from primary, secondary and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods.

&quot;Out of the $50 barrels per day of price, the government gets USD 43 (in taxes, royalty, cess and profit petroleum) and the company gets USD 7. There cannot be any better Make in India,&quot; he noted.

Cairn is investing in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and improved oil recovery (IOR) scheme to sustain production from the oil fields as also develop the Raageshwari Deep Gas (RDG) project. It is looking to increase gas production to 40-45 million standard cubic feet per day (mscfd) by 2017 and 100 mscfd by 2018-19.

Natural gas production from RDG went up to 33 mscfd in the second quarter of 2016-17, from 28 mscfd in the first quarter, amounting to 3 billion cubic feet (bcf).

Agarwal added that the merger of Cairn India with Vedanta Ltd will be completed by March-end. &quot;We are on track. There is no problem. The merger will be completed by March,&quot; he said.

While the shareholders of the two companies have approved the merger, it is awaiting nod of high courts and other regulatory bodies.

Through the merger, Agarwal is looking to create India&#39;s largest diversified natural resources firm, which can compete with BHP Billiton and Vale SA.

Cairn India shareholders in September had approved merger of the company after Cairn Energy of the UK voted in favour of the sweetened merger ratio. LIC, which holds 9.06 per cent stake in Cairn India, skipped the vote. Cairn Energy Plc, the erstwhile owner of Cairn India which sold a majority stake in the company to Vedanta, has 9.82 per cent.

In a bid to salvage the merger, Vedanta had in July this year sweetened the deal by offering three additional preference shares with the hope of winning over minority shareholders.

In the revised offer, Vedanta will give minority shareholders of Cairn India one share and four redeemable preference shares with a face value of Rs 10 ($0.147) each. The preference shares will carry a coupon of 7.5 per cent and tenure of 18 months.

In June last year, Vedanta had offered shareholders of Cairn India one ordinary share and 7.5 per cent redeemable preference share with a face value of Rs 10 each.

Vedanta is said to be keen on using Rs 23,290 crore ($3.4 billion) cash lying with Cairn to pay off part of its Rs 77,952 crore ($11.4 bn) debt.

(PTI)

Cairn India has been operating for more than 20 years playing an active role in developing India's oil and gas resources

Cairn India will invest Rs 30,000 crore ($4.5 billion) in the next three years to produce an additional 1,00,000 barrels per day of oil and oil equivalent gas, primarily from its prolific Rajasthan fields, said its mining billionaire promoter Anil Agarwal. He also said the merger of the cash-rich Cairn with its parent Vedanta Ltd is likely to be completed by March-end. "We have committed to investing Rs 30,000 crore to add 100,000 barrels per day of oil and oil equivalent gas over the next three years," he told PTI. Cairn produced 206,230 barrels per day of oil equivalent in the second quarter ended September. Bulk of the production came from its Rajasthan block that gave 167,699 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). The Ravva field in the Bay of Bengal produced 18,823 boepd and Cambay another 9,877 boepd. "India has been very less explored and we believe there is enough resources below the ground that can be produced," he said. Cairn India has been operating for more than 20 years playing an active role in developing India's oil and gas resources. Till date, Cairn India has opened 4 frontier basins with numerous discoveries, 37 in Rajasthan alone, he said. The Mangala field in Barmer, Rajasthan, discovered in January 2004, is the largest onshore oil discovery in India in more than two decades. Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields -- major discoveries in the Rajasthan block -- have a gross ultimate oil recovery of over 1 billion barrels from primary, secondary and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods. "Out of the $50 barrels per day of price, the government gets USD 43 (in taxes, royalty, cess and profit petroleum) and the company gets USD 7. There cannot be any better Make in India," he noted. Cairn is investing in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and improved oil recovery (IOR) scheme to sustain production from the oil fields as also develop the Raageshwari Deep Gas (RDG) project. It is looking to increase gas production to 40-45 million standard cubic feet per day (mscfd) by 2017 and 100 mscfd by 2018-19. Natural gas production from RDG went up to 33 mscfd in the second quarter of 2016-17, from 28 mscfd in the first quarter, amounting to 3 billion cubic feet (bcf). Agarwal added that the merger of Cairn India with Vedanta Ltd will be completed by March-end. "We are on track. There is no problem. The merger will be completed by March," he said. While the shareholders of the two companies have approved the merger, it is awaiting nod of high courts and other regulatory bodies. Through the merger, Agarwal is looking to create India's largest diversified natural resources firm, which can compete with BHP Billiton and Vale SA. Cairn India shareholders in September had approved merger of the company after Cairn Energy of the UK voted in favour of the sweetened merger ratio. LIC, which holds 9.06 per cent stake in Cairn India, skipped the vote. Cairn Energy Plc, the erstwhile owner of Cairn India which sold a majority stake in the company to Vedanta, has 9.82 per cent. In a bid to salvage the merger, Vedanta had in July this year sweetened the deal by offering three additional preference shares with the hope of winning over minority shareholders. In the revised offer, Vedanta will give minority shareholders of Cairn India one share and four redeemable preference shares with a face value of Rs 10 ($0.147) each. The preference shares will carry a coupon of 7.5 per cent and tenure of 18 months. In June last year, Vedanta had offered shareholders of Cairn India one ordinary share and 7.5 per cent redeemable preference share with a face value of Rs 10 each. Vedanta is said to be keen on using Rs 23,290 crore ($3.4 billion) cash lying with Cairn to pay off part of its Rs 77,952 crore ($11.4 bn) debt. (PTI)

Cairn India lines up $4.3 bn to add 100,000 barrels per day of oil

The Euro briefly fell to a 20-month low against the Dollar on Monday after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation following a crushing defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform.&nbsp;

The 19-nation currency slumped to $1.0506 at around 8:20 am (2320 GMT) in Tokyo trading, the lowest since March 2015 and down from $1.0664 late Friday.

The unit later rebounded to $1.0585.

Meanwhile, the Yen, which is often bought as a safe haven in times of uncertainty, picked up in early deals with the dollar fetching 112.88 Yen, against 113.51 Yen in New York on Friday.

But the Dollar quickly recovered to sit at 113.71 Yen.&nbsp;

Italians voted against proposed reforms that would have curtailed the size and powers of the Senate and transferred powers from regions to the national government.

Opposition parties had denounced the proposed amendments to the constitution as dangerous for democracy because they would have removed important checks and balances on executive power.

Interior Ministry projections suggested the No camp, led by the populist Five Star Movement, had been backed by 59.5 per cent of those who voted.

The defeat and Renzi&#39;s departure threatens to plunge Italy into a new phase of political uncertainty and possible economic turmoil.

Some analysts fear a deeper crisis of investor confidence that could derail a rescue scheme for Italy&#39;s most indebted banks, triggering a wider financial crisis across the eurozone.

&quot;His defeat in the face of populist moves will spawn concerns over the rest of Europe,&quot; said Yunosuke Ikeda, chief currency strategist at Nomura Securities in Tokyo.

&quot;But given the fact that this had been predicted beforehand, it&#39;s not a surprise in the same way as the Brexit vote or (Donald) Trump&#39;s election victory.&nbsp;

&quot;As Prime Minister Renzi has now resigned, some investors might think all the bad news is out now.&quot;

The impact on the euro may also have been mitigated by a vote in Austria where anti-immigration and eurosceptic Norbert Hofer&#39;s bid to become the European Union&#39;s first far-right president was resoundingly rejected.

In Italy, President Sergio Mattarella will be charged with brokering the appointment of a new government to run the country until the next general election, which is due to take place by the spring of 2018.

Market players were now looking ahead to a European Central Bank meeting later this week and whether President Mario Draghi comments on the Italian referendum.

&quot;The ECB is holding a governing council meeting on Thursday. If president (Mario) Draghi makes dovish remarks in consideration of instability risks (from the vote), the euro would fall,&quot; Nomura&#39;s Ikeda said.

(AFP)

The 19-nation currency slumped to $1.0506 at around 8:20 am (2320 GMT) in Tokyo trading, the lowest since March 2015

The Euro briefly fell to a 20-month low against the Dollar on Monday after Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation following a crushing defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform. The 19-nation currency slumped to $1.0506 at around 8:20 am (2320 GMT) in Tokyo trading, the lowest since March 2015 and down from $1.0664 late Friday. The unit later rebounded to $1.0585. Meanwhile, the Yen, which is often bought as a safe haven in times of uncertainty, picked up in early deals with the dollar fetching 112.88 Yen, against 113.51 Yen in New York on Friday. But the Dollar quickly recovered to sit at 113.71 Yen. Italians voted against proposed reforms that would have curtailed the size and powers of the Senate and transferred powers from regions to the national government. Opposition parties had denounced the proposed amendments to the constitution as dangerous for democracy because they would have removed important checks and balances on executive power. Interior Ministry projections suggested the No camp, led by the populist Five Star Movement, had been backed by 59.5 per cent of those who voted. The defeat and Renzi's departure threatens to plunge Italy into a new phase of political uncertainty and possible economic turmoil. Some analysts fear a deeper crisis of investor confidence that could derail a rescue scheme for Italy's most indebted banks, triggering a wider financial crisis across the eurozone. "His defeat in the face of populist moves will spawn concerns over the rest of Europe," said Yunosuke Ikeda, chief currency strategist at Nomura Securities in Tokyo. "But given the fact that this had been predicted beforehand, it's not a surprise in the same way as the Brexit vote or (Donald) Trump's election victory. "As Prime Minister Renzi has now resigned, some investors might think all the bad news is out now." The impact on the euro may also have been mitigated by a vote in Austria where anti-immigration and eurosceptic Norbert Hofer's bid to become the European Union's first far-right president was resoundingly rejected. In Italy, President Sergio Mattarella will be charged with brokering the appointment of a new government to run the country until the next general election, which is due to take place by the spring of 2018. Market players were now looking ahead to a European Central Bank meeting later this week and whether President Mario Draghi comments on the Italian referendum. "The ECB is holding a governing council meeting on Thursday. If president (Mario) Draghi makes dovish remarks in consideration of instability risks (from the vote), the euro would fall," Nomura's Ikeda said. (AFP)

Euro falls after Italy's Renzi quits on referendum defeat

Apple has revealed it is investing heavily in autonomous vehicles in a letter asking the government to make it easier to develop self-driving cars.

The company is &quot;excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation,&quot; Apple said in a November 22 letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offering Apple&#39;s opinion about draft regulations for the sector.

&quot;Apple looks forward to collaborating with NHTSA and other stakeholders so that the significant societal benefits of automated vehicles can be realized safely, responsibly, and expeditiously,&quot; the company&#39;s director of product integrity Steve Kenner wrote.

Apple issued the letter because it is &quot;investing heavily in machine learning and autonomous systems,&quot; an Apple spokesman said in an email to AFP.

&quot;There are many potential applications for these technologies, including the future of transportation, so we want to work with NHTSA to help define the best practices for the industry.&quot;

Rumours about Apple&#39;s ambitions in the sector have circulated for years.

The company has a separate organisation called &quot;Project Titan&quot; that is developing automotive projects.

Although Apple has never officially confirmed the project, several of CEO Tim Cook&#39;s comments have fuelled speculation.

After a $1 billion investment in a Chinese ride-hailing service called Didi Chuxing, he spoke of &quot;some strategic things that the companies can do together over time.&quot;

However, in early September, The New York Times reported that the group had narrowed its ambitions, laying off dozens of staff as part of the project&#39;s &quot;reboot.&quot;&nbsp;

Instead of designing and producing a complete self-driving car, the group will now concentrate on developing underlying technologies for autonomous vehicles.

In its letter, Apple urges the NHTSA not to penalise new participants in the sector by restricting the testing of cars under development on public roads, for which established automakers generally have exemptions.

&quot;To maximise the safety benefits of automated vehicles, encourage innovation, and promote fair competition, established manufacturers and new entrants should be treated equally,&quot; it says.

Apple also encourages data sharing, particularly for accidents, saying that would enable the industry to &quot;build a more comprehensive dataset than any one company could create alone.&quot;

Most major auto manufacturers and many technology groups are currently developing autonomous vehicles, considered to be the future of the automobile, along with electric power, with first production models promised for around 2020.

(AFP)

In a letter to the US govt, it said it was 'excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation'

Apple has revealed it is investing heavily in autonomous vehicles in a letter asking the government to make it easier to develop self-driving cars. The company is "excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation," Apple said in a November 22 letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offering Apple's opinion about draft regulations for the sector. "Apple looks forward to collaborating with NHTSA and other stakeholders so that the significant societal benefits of automated vehicles can be realized safely, responsibly, and expeditiously," the company's director of product integrity Steve Kenner wrote. Apple issued the letter because it is "investing heavily in machine learning and autonomous systems," an Apple spokesman said in an email to AFP. "There are many potential applications for these technologies, including the future of transportation, so we want to work with NHTSA to help define the best practices for the industry." Rumours about Apple's ambitions in the sector have circulated for years. The company has a separate organisation called "Project Titan" that is developing automotive projects. Although Apple has never officially confirmed the project, several of CEO Tim Cook's comments have fuelled speculation. After a $1 billion investment in a Chinese ride-hailing service called Didi Chuxing, he spoke of "some strategic things that the companies can do together over time." However, in early September, The New York Times reported that the group had narrowed its ambitions, laying off dozens of staff as part of the project's "reboot." Instead of designing and producing a complete self-driving car, the group will now concentrate on developing underlying technologies for autonomous vehicles. In its letter, Apple urges the NHTSA not to penalise new participants in the sector by restricting the testing of cars under development on public roads, for which established automakers generally have exemptions. "To maximise the safety benefits of automated vehicles, encourage innovation, and promote fair competition, established manufacturers and new entrants should be treated equally," it says. Apple also encourages data sharing, particularly for accidents, saying that would enable the industry to "build a more comprehensive dataset than any one company could create alone." Most major auto manufacturers and many technology groups are currently developing autonomous vehicles, considered to be the future of the automobile, along with electric power, with first production models promised for around 2020. (AFP)

Apple 'interested' in, could build self-driving cars