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Zydus Healthcare, a subsidiary of Cadila Healthcare, today said it has acquired two Abbreviated New Drug Applications&nbsp;(ANDAs) from Teva Pharmaceutical in the US for an undisclosed sum. 
 
An ANDA contains data which when submitted to FDA&#39;s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Office of Generic Drugs, provides for the review and ultimate approval of a generic drug product. 
 
&quot;Zydus has strengthened its US portfolio with the acquisition of two ANDAs from Teva that are being divested by Teva as a pre-condition to its acquisition of Allergan&#39;s generic business,&quot; Cadila Healthcare said in a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing. 
 
It further said: &quot;The acquisition of these ANDAs is contingent on the closing of the Teva-Allergan Genercis transaction and approval by the US Federal Trade Commission. Financial details of the transaction are undisclosed.&quot; 
 
The company said these ANDAs have been acquired by its 100 per cent subsidiary, Zydus Worldwide DMCC, and will be financed through the group&#39;s internal accruals. 
 
Giving details about the ANDAs, the company said: &quot;The acquired portfolio comprises an ANDA which is already commercialised and one pipeline ANDA which is a transdermal patch. The estimated market size of the two ANDAs put together is nearly US$ 200 million.&quot; 
Shares of Cadila Healthcare were trading 1.09 per cent higher at Rs 316.75 on BSE. 
(PTI) 
&nbsp;

Zydus Healthcare estimates that the market size of the two ANDAs put together is nearly US$ 200 million

Zydus Healthcare, a subsidiary of Cadila Healthcare, today said it has acquired two Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) from Teva Pharmaceutical in the US for an undisclosed sum. An ANDA contains data which when submitted to FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Office of Generic Drugs, provides for the review and ultimate approval of a generic drug product. "Zydus has strengthened its US portfolio with the acquisition of two ANDAs from Teva that are being divested by Teva as a pre-condition to its acquisition of Allergan's generic business," Cadila Healthcare said in a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing. It further said: "The acquisition of these ANDAs is contingent on the closing of the Teva-Allergan Genercis transaction and approval by the US Federal Trade Commission. Financial details of the transaction are undisclosed." The company said these ANDAs have been acquired by its 100 per cent subsidiary, Zydus Worldwide DMCC, and will be financed through the group's internal accruals. Giving details about the ANDAs, the company said: "The acquired portfolio comprises an ANDA which is already commercialised and one pipeline ANDA which is a transdermal patch. The estimated market size of the two ANDAs put together is nearly US$ 200 million." Shares of Cadila Healthcare were trading 1.09 per cent higher at Rs 316.75 on BSE. (PTI)

Indian pharma company buys 2 ANDAs from US drug maker

Oil rallied on Monday, lifted by a wave of investor confidence and a weaker dollar after polls showed a diminishing chance that Britain may vote to leave the European Union later this week. 
 
August Brent crude futures were up 90 cents at $50.07 a barrel by 0843 GMT, set for a gain of 6 per cent in two trading days. New York Mercantile Exchange crude for July delivery, which expires on Tuesday, was up 80 cents at $48.78 a barrel. 
 
Campaigning for Britain&#39;s vote on EU membership resumed on Sunday after a three-day hiatus prompted by the killing of a pro-EU lawmaker. 
 
Three opinion polls ahead of Thursday&#39;s vote showed the &#39;Remain&#39; camp recovering some momentum, although the overall picture remained one of an evenly split electorate. 
 
Perceived safe havens such as gold, the US dollar, German bonds and the Swiss franc came under pressure, while oil looked set for its largest two-day rise in a month and the likes of copper and equities rallied. 
 
&quot;For oil as a risky asset, what we&#39;ve seen are intraday gyrations that are coming from the spillover effects of &#39;risk-on/risk-off&#39; moves that follow the poll numbers,&quot; BNP Paribas global head of commodity strategy Harry Tchilinguirian said. 
 
The pound climbed 1.6 per cent to $1.4589, extending a recovery from last Thursday&#39;s more than two-month trough of $1.4013. 
 
&quot;With Brexit dominating the market headlines, there might be moves in the US dollar that drive the oil market at least until we get that out of the way,&quot; said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s likely to be a nervous and skittish week&#39;s trading.&quot; 
 
Oil prices continued to recover despite data showing US energy firms adding oil rigs for a third week in a row, suggesting higher production to come. 
 
Oil services firm Baker Hughes reported nine rig additions in the week to June 17. 
 
Aside from Brexit concerns, the market is likely to be caught in a range as any gains would likely be limited by the return of more shale drillers in the United States, McCarthy said. 
 
&quot;Capping market gains at the moment is the potential for those very agile US producers to jump back into production should we see any further substantial rises,&quot; he said.

August Brent crude futures were up 90 cents at $50.07 a barrel

Oil rallied on Monday, lifted by a wave of investor confidence and a weaker dollar after polls showed a diminishing chance that Britain may vote to leave the European Union later this week. August Brent crude futures were up 90 cents at $50.07 a barrel by 0843 GMT, set for a gain of 6 per cent in two trading days. New York Mercantile Exchange crude for July delivery, which expires on Tuesday, was up 80 cents at $48.78 a barrel. Campaigning for Britain's vote on EU membership resumed on Sunday after a three-day hiatus prompted by the killing of a pro-EU lawmaker. Three opinion polls ahead of Thursday's vote showed the 'Remain' camp recovering some momentum, although the overall picture remained one of an evenly split electorate. Perceived safe havens such as gold, the US dollar, German bonds and the Swiss franc came under pressure, while oil looked set for its largest two-day rise in a month and the likes of copper and equities rallied. "For oil as a risky asset, what we've seen are intraday gyrations that are coming from the spillover effects of 'risk-on/risk-off' moves that follow the poll numbers," BNP Paribas global head of commodity strategy Harry Tchilinguirian said. The pound climbed 1.6 per cent to $1.4589, extending a recovery from last Thursday's more than two-month trough of $1.4013. "With Brexit dominating the market headlines, there might be moves in the US dollar that drive the oil market at least until we get that out of the way," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. "It's likely to be a nervous and skittish week's trading." Oil prices continued to recover despite data showing US energy firms adding oil rigs for a third week in a row, suggesting higher production to come. Oil services firm Baker Hughes reported nine rig additions in the week to June 17. Aside from Brexit concerns, the market is likely to be caught in a range as any gains would likely be limited by the return of more shale drillers in the United States, McCarthy said. "Capping market gains at the moment is the potential for those very agile US producers to jump back into production should we see any further substantial rises," he said.

Oil rallies as polls show diminished chance that Britain will vote to leave the EU

Embattled German auto giant Volkswagen will face the wrath of its shareholders at its annual meeting on Wednesday as it struggles to steer itself out of an unprecedented engine-rigging scandal. 
 
Nine months after the &quot;Dieselgate&quot; affair, when it emerged VW had installed emissions-cheating software into 11 million diesel engines worldwide, the former paragon of German industry is still nowhere near drawing a line under its deepest ever crisis. 
 
The costs of the affair are still incalculable, and it is not yet known whether VW&#39;s own internal investigation will pinpoint the major culprits behind the scam. 
 
But small shareholders are likely to use the upcoming AGM in the northern city of Hanover to let off steam at the way management has handled the affair, even if the power those shareholders wield remains limited. 
 
They hold just 11 per cent of the voting rights in VW, while the founding families Porsche and Piech hold 52 per cent, the regional state of Lower Saxony 20 per cent and the Emirate of Qatar 17 per cent. 
 
Ulrich Hocker, head of the DSW association of small shareholders, told AFP he has been attending the company&#39;s AGMs for the past 20 years and he expects this one to be &quot;very different, very contentious&quot;. 
 
&quot;There will be very little discussion about the group&#39;s operating performance. It will focus almost solely on the diesel engine scandal and claims for compensation,&quot; he predicted. 
 
VW, which owns 12 brands ranging from Volkswagen and Porsche to Audi and SEAT, is facing regulatory fines, as well as a myriad of lawsuits from shareholders and car owners. 
 
Shareholders accuse management in particular of dragging their feet in informing them about the scam, which led to a reeling 40-per cent drop in the company&#39;s share price last autumn. 
 
The stock has since recovered somewhat, but is still 26 per cent below the levels before the scandal broke last September. 
 
List of grievances&nbsp; 
 
Shareholder meetings in Germany tend to be long and drawn out as mom-and-pop investors stand up to have their say, but this one could stretch late into the evening. 
 
A number of shareholder lobby groups, such as DSW and SdK, are demanding special enquiries into who should be held responsible for the affair, arguing that an investigation being carried out by US consultants Jones Day is not sufficiently independent. 
 
Shareholders can also voice their discontent by withholding their formal &quot;approval&quot; of management actions over the course of the past year, normally only a formality at German AGMs. 
 
But any such vote in the case will remain symbolic as VW&#39;s biggest shareholders are likely to give their support to the management. 
 
The issue of the management board&#39;s pay is also likely to rile many, since the shareholders are seeing their annual dividend slashed to just 0.17 euro per share from 4.86 euros a year earlier, while board members are likely to still pocket generous bonuses. 
 
The dividend proposal &quot;will come under heavy fire,&quot; said Metzler bank analyst Juergen Pieper, while DSW&#39;s Ulrich Hocker slammed it as &quot;ridiculous&quot;. 
 
VW was compelled to set aside 16 billion euros in provisions to cover the costs of the affair so far, pushing it into a net loss of 1.6 billion euros, the carmaker&#39;s first loss in 20 years. 
(AFP) 
 
&nbsp;

In what is known as the 'Dieselgate' affair, VW had installed emissions-cheating software into 11 million diesel engines worldwide

Embattled German auto giant Volkswagen will face the wrath of its shareholders at its annual meeting on Wednesday as it struggles to steer itself out of an unprecedented engine-rigging scandal. Nine months after the "Dieselgate" affair, when it emerged VW had installed emissions-cheating software into 11 million diesel engines worldwide, the former paragon of German industry is still nowhere near drawing a line under its deepest ever crisis. The costs of the affair are still incalculable, and it is not yet known whether VW's own internal investigation will pinpoint the major culprits behind the scam. But small shareholders are likely to use the upcoming AGM in the northern city of Hanover to let off steam at the way management has handled the affair, even if the power those shareholders wield remains limited. They hold just 11 per cent of the voting rights in VW, while the founding families Porsche and Piech hold 52 per cent, the regional state of Lower Saxony 20 per cent and the Emirate of Qatar 17 per cent. Ulrich Hocker, head of the DSW association of small shareholders, told AFP he has been attending the company's AGMs for the past 20 years and he expects this one to be "very different, very contentious". "There will be very little discussion about the group's operating performance. It will focus almost solely on the diesel engine scandal and claims for compensation," he predicted. VW, which owns 12 brands ranging from Volkswagen and Porsche to Audi and SEAT, is facing regulatory fines, as well as a myriad of lawsuits from shareholders and car owners. Shareholders accuse management in particular of dragging their feet in informing them about the scam, which led to a reeling 40-per cent drop in the company's share price last autumn. The stock has since recovered somewhat, but is still 26 per cent below the levels before the scandal broke last September. List of grievances Shareholder meetings in Germany tend to be long and drawn out as mom-and-pop investors stand up to have their say, but this one could stretch late into the evening. A number of shareholder lobby groups, such as DSW and SdK, are demanding special enquiries into who should be held responsible for the affair, arguing that an investigation being carried out by US consultants Jones Day is not sufficiently independent. Shareholders can also voice their discontent by withholding their formal "approval" of management actions over the course of the past year, normally only a formality at German AGMs. But any such vote in the case will remain symbolic as VW's biggest shareholders are likely to give their support to the management. The issue of the management board's pay is also likely to rile many, since the shareholders are seeing their annual dividend slashed to just 0.17 euro per share from 4.86 euros a year earlier, while board members are likely to still pocket generous bonuses. The dividend proposal "will come under heavy fire," said Metzler bank analyst Juergen Pieper, while DSW's Ulrich Hocker slammed it as "ridiculous". VW was compelled to set aside 16 billion euros in provisions to cover the costs of the affair so far, pushing it into a net loss of 1.6 billion euros, the carmaker's first loss in 20 years. (AFP)

Volkswagen to face shareholder wrath in engine-rigging scandal

As taxi hailing giant Uber enters Pakistan, a little-known local competitor is counting on a mix of new ideas and old technology to tap what could be a big chunk of the market: low-income residents who travel in rickshaws, not cabs. 
 
Known as Rixi, the Lahore-based service hails rickshaws instead of cars. Its platform is not smartphones, but older SMS phone messaging that allows nearby drivers to bid for any user&#39;s business. 
 
Pakistan has more than 130 million cellphone subscriptions, but only 21 per cent subscribe to data packages, and&nbsp;while the proportion is rising, there are opportunities across emerging economies in Asia to tap a relatively low-tech customer base. 
 
In Thailand, Taxi Radio uses calls and text messages to put cabs and people in touch and is popular with those without smartphone apps, and HeyKuya!, an SMS-based service provider in the Philippines, was recently acquired by Indonesia&#39;s YesBoss. 
 
Rixi founder Adnan Khawaja says his company works with more than 1,000 rickshaw drivers in Lahore, where many people rely on small, noisy three-wheelers that are well suited to beating traffic in the eastern city&#39;s crowded streets. 
 
Rixi works by bypassing poor smartphone penetration in the low-income rickshaw market by polling drivers&#39; locations using cellphone towers and matching passengers&#39; messaged locations to points on Google Maps. 
 
&quot;If you look at Uber&#39;s operational model, they will be depending on the smartphones,&quot; said Khawaja. &quot;In countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, that population is growing, but it&#39;s still smaller compared to the vast market.&quot; 
 
Uber declined to comment on Rixi&#39;s business model, and said that while it had tested SMS-based services, there were no immediate plans to deploy such a service in Pakistan. 
 
&quot;We continue to explore products that would stimulate demand ... and better service the city, whether that is a motorbike, whether that is a rickshaw, whether that is a chopper,&quot; said Zohair Yousafi, Uber&#39;s head of expansion in Pakistan. 
 
To entrepreneurs like Shehmir Shaikh, who recently launched errand start-up Scooty Bhejo in Lahore, Uber is missing a trick over Pakistan&#39;s digital divide and its large, low-income transport market. 
 
&quot;Abroad&nbsp;Uber has made waves because of the readily available technology that people are using&nbsp;like iPhones in their hands,&quot; he said. &quot;We don&#39;t have that here. (And) the major form of transport is not cars.&quot; 
 
Roadblocks to success 
 
Adam Ghaznavi, a technology entrepreneur who has studied the rickshaw market, thinks Pakistan will not necessarily be a large market for taxi ride hailing apps like Uber, but it could be very lucrative for an equivalent app for rickshaws. 
 
&quot;If somebody can figure that out, the potential is huge,&quot; he said. 
 
So far, Rixi says it has registered about 100,000 rides since it launched in late 2013, and is averaging about 100 rides a day. That&#39;s just a fraction of the roughly 200,000 trips that rickshaws in Lahore take every day, according to the Awami Rickshaw Union. 
 
&quot;Rickshaw drivers do not know anything about these (online apps),&quot; said Majeed Ghauri, head of the union, which represents the drivers of 60,000 of Lahore&#39;s roughly 80,000 registered rickshaws. &quot;They simply want their daily wages.&quot; 
 
Ghauri said market dynamics and consumer behaviour in the low-income market were markedly different from those in the taxi ride sharing arena. 
 
Moreover, Rixi&#39;s location-tracking, reliant as it is on imprecise cellphone tower triangulation and Google Maps, has thrown up some major kinks. 
 
Several customers complained that Rixi&#39;s service was unable to deliver on its promised 15-minute service delivery time. 
 
&quot;Even in the most densely populated cities in the country, the accuracy is no more than a few hundred metres, which is not good enough for a driver looking for a passenger,&quot; said Danielle Sharaf, a technology entrepreneur whose company provides value-added services for cellphones. 
 
Rixi says it has an error rate of only three per cent, and says mismatches are because of its reliance on external services such as Google Maps. 
 
Ghaznavi said a major hurdle to adoption in the Pakistani market is the lack of literacy, both traditional and digital, among rickshaw drivers and passengers, compared to those using taxi ride hailing apps. 
 
&quot;The rise of the middle class is the key to resolving the rickshaw situation. Right now, the middle class is not travelling on a rickshaw, the lower middle class is,&quot; he said. 
 
(Reuters)

The app also allows nearby drivers to bid for a ride through a Short Message Service (SMS)

As taxi hailing giant Uber enters Pakistan, a little-known local competitor is counting on a mix of new ideas and old technology to tap what could be a big chunk of the market: low-income residents who travel in rickshaws, not cabs. Known as Rixi, the Lahore-based service hails rickshaws instead of cars. Its platform is not smartphones, but older SMS phone messaging that allows nearby drivers to bid for any user's business. Pakistan has more than 130 million cellphone subscriptions, but only 21 per cent subscribe to data packages, and while the proportion is rising, there are opportunities across emerging economies in Asia to tap a relatively low-tech customer base. In Thailand, Taxi Radio uses calls and text messages to put cabs and people in touch and is popular with those without smartphone apps, and HeyKuya!, an SMS-based service provider in the Philippines, was recently acquired by Indonesia's YesBoss. Rixi founder Adnan Khawaja says his company works with more than 1,000 rickshaw drivers in Lahore, where many people rely on small, noisy three-wheelers that are well suited to beating traffic in the eastern city's crowded streets. Rixi works by bypassing poor smartphone penetration in the low-income rickshaw market by polling drivers' locations using cellphone towers and matching passengers' messaged locations to points on Google Maps. "If you look at Uber's operational model, they will be depending on the smartphones," said Khawaja. "In countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, that population is growing, but it's still smaller compared to the vast market." Uber declined to comment on Rixi's business model, and said that while it had tested SMS-based services, there were no immediate plans to deploy such a service in Pakistan. "We continue to explore products that would stimulate demand ... and better service the city, whether that is a motorbike, whether that is a rickshaw, whether that is a chopper," said Zohair Yousafi, Uber's head of expansion in Pakistan. To entrepreneurs like Shehmir Shaikh, who recently launched errand start-up Scooty Bhejo in Lahore, Uber is missing a trick over Pakistan's digital divide and its large, low-income transport market. "Abroad Uber has made waves because of the readily available technology that people are using like iPhones in their hands," he said. "We don't have that here. (And) the major form of transport is not cars." Roadblocks to success Adam Ghaznavi, a technology entrepreneur who has studied the rickshaw market, thinks Pakistan will not necessarily be a large market for taxi ride hailing apps like Uber, but it could be very lucrative for an equivalent app for rickshaws. "If somebody can figure that out, the potential is huge," he said. So far, Rixi says it has registered about 100,000 rides since it launched in late 2013, and is averaging about 100 rides a day. That's just a fraction of the roughly 200,000 trips that rickshaws in Lahore take every day, according to the Awami Rickshaw Union. "Rickshaw drivers do not know anything about these (online apps)," said Majeed Ghauri, head of the union, which represents the drivers of 60,000 of Lahore's roughly 80,000 registered rickshaws. "They simply want their daily wages." Ghauri said market dynamics and consumer behaviour in the low-income market were markedly different from those in the taxi ride sharing arena. Moreover, Rixi's location-tracking, reliant as it is on imprecise cellphone tower triangulation and Google Maps, has thrown up some major kinks. Several customers complained that Rixi's service was unable to deliver on its promised 15-minute service delivery time. "Even in the most densely populated cities in the country, the accuracy is no more than a few hundred metres, which is not good enough for a driver looking for a passenger," said Danielle Sharaf, a technology entrepreneur whose company provides value-added services for cellphones. Rixi says it has an error rate of only three per cent, and says mismatches are because of its reliance on external services such as Google Maps. Ghaznavi said a major hurdle to adoption in the Pakistani market is the lack of literacy, both traditional and digital, among rickshaw drivers and passengers, compared to those using taxi ride hailing apps. "The rise of the middle class is the key to resolving the rickshaw situation. Right now, the middle class is not travelling on a rickshaw, the lower middle class is," he said. (Reuters)

Rickshaw-hailing app 'Rixi' taps into Pak's low-income market, gives Uber reason to worry

The European Union&#39;s banking watchdog will move from London to another European capital if Britain decides to quit the bloc in a referendum this week, its chairman said in an interview published on Sunday. 
 
Britain votes on June 23 on whether to stay in the 28-member bloc, a choice with far-reaching consequences for politics, the economy, defence and diplomacy on the continent. 
 
The London-based European Banking Authority (EBA), founded in 2011 as a reaction to the global financial crisis, operates as a pan-EU regulator, writing and coordinating banking rules across the bloc. 
 
&quot;If the British should decide to leave the EU, we actually would have to move to another European capital,&quot; Andrea Enria, head of the EBA, told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. 
 
While betting odds have consistently indicated a vote to remain in the EU, opinion pollsters have so far painted contradictory pictures of how Britons will vote. 
 
The EBA is currently working on an EU single rulebook aimed at ensuring a level playing field for all banks across the 28-country bloc&#39;s capital market. 
 
&quot;This work needs to be completed irrespective of the result of the referendum,&quot; said Enria, an Italian national. &quot;We must ensure that there are no different rules between the countries that have the euro and those that do not have it.&quot; 
 
Enria said the European banking sector was more stable now than five years ago, but there was still need for consolidation. 
 
&quot;If you look at the balance sheets of banks, you could actually ask yourself whether such low profitability and such low return on investment are sustainable in the long term,&quot; he said. 
 
Banks should speed up their efforts to deal with non-performing loans and change their internal business culture in order to avoid future scandals and fines, Enria said. 
 
That banks have hardly made any progress in these two areas is the reason why the European Central Bank (ECB) is struggling to boost lending and generate more growth despite its bond-purchase programme, he added. 
(Reuters)

European Banking Authority is making arrangements to shift head office in case Britain opts out of the European union, says EBA's chairman

The European Union's banking watchdog will move from London to another European capital if Britain decides to quit the bloc in a referendum this week, its chairman said in an interview published on Sunday. Britain votes on June 23 on whether to stay in the 28-member bloc, a choice with far-reaching consequences for politics, the economy, defence and diplomacy on the continent. The London-based European Banking Authority (EBA), founded in 2011 as a reaction to the global financial crisis, operates as a pan-EU regulator, writing and coordinating banking rules across the bloc. "If the British should decide to leave the EU, we actually would have to move to another European capital," Andrea Enria, head of the EBA, told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. While betting odds have consistently indicated a vote to remain in the EU, opinion pollsters have so far painted contradictory pictures of how Britons will vote. The EBA is currently working on an EU single rulebook aimed at ensuring a level playing field for all banks across the 28-country bloc's capital market. "This work needs to be completed irrespective of the result of the referendum," said Enria, an Italian national. "We must ensure that there are no different rules between the countries that have the euro and those that do not have it." Enria said the European banking sector was more stable now than five years ago, but there was still need for consolidation. "If you look at the balance sheets of banks, you could actually ask yourself whether such low profitability and such low return on investment are sustainable in the long term," he said. Banks should speed up their efforts to deal with non-performing loans and change their internal business culture in order to avoid future scandals and fines, Enria said. That banks have hardly made any progress in these two areas is the reason why the European Central Bank (ECB) is struggling to boost lending and generate more growth despite its bond-purchase programme, he added. (Reuters)

EU banking watchdog to leave London in case of Brexit

Rupee slipped to its weakest in nearly a month, while stocks fell and bond yields rose after Reserve Bank of India&#39;s (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan&#39;s surprise announcement over the weekend that he would quit after his term ends in September. 
 
The central bank was spotted selling dollars to curb the fall in the local currency, three traders said. 
 
The rupee in India was trading at 67.47 to the dollar at 0404 GMT, after hitting 67.70 to the dollar, its weakest since May 24. The currency had closed at 67.08/67.09 to the dollar on Friday. 
 
Rajan&#39;s unexpected decision comes at a time when investors had been bracing for heavy volatility from global markets as Britain is due to vote on Thursday on whether to leave the European Union. 
 
Though analysts had speculated Rajan could decide not to pursue a second term after a major regional newspaper reported last month he did not want to remain at the central bank, few had foreseen an announcement would come in the form of a letter to staff. 
 
The focus will now shift to Rajan&#39;s successor and analysts said they did not expect any long-term impact to markets as long as his replacement is seen as credible and somebody who can defend the central bank&#39;s autonomy at a critical juncture in its history. 
 
&quot;If you were to see someone come in who has very different set of policies, then the market will question if something has changed. That would not be my base case. If that were to happen, that would make me reassess how we thought about India,&quot; said Josh Crabb, head of Asian equities at Old Mutual Global Investors in Hong Kong with $37.3 billion under management. 
 
&quot;If the system shows a willingness, a continuation of those policies, irrespective of the individual involved, that&rsquo;s quite a large vote of confidence.&quot; 
 
Rajan, a former International Monetary Fund chief economist, has been popular with foreign investors for his efforts to tackle inflation and helping to rescue India from its worst crisis in more than two decades when he took the helm in 2013. 
 
The benchmark 10-year bond yield was up 3 basis points to 7.53 per cent. 
 
The one-year OIS rate was bid at 6.71-6.73 per cent while the five-year OIS rate was bid at 6.84 per cent, traders said. The one-year swap closed at 6.68 per cent and five-year at 6.77 per cent on Friday. 
 
The National Stock Exchange of India (Nifty) was flat after falling as much as 0.77 per cent. 
(Reuters)

The rupee fell to its lowest in nearly a month

Rupee slipped to its weakest in nearly a month, while stocks fell and bond yields rose after Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan's surprise announcement over the weekend that he would quit after his term ends in September. The central bank was spotted selling dollars to curb the fall in the local currency, three traders said. The rupee in India was trading at 67.47 to the dollar at 0404 GMT, after hitting 67.70 to the dollar, its weakest since May 24. The currency had closed at 67.08/67.09 to the dollar on Friday. Rajan's unexpected decision comes at a time when investors had been bracing for heavy volatility from global markets as Britain is due to vote on Thursday on whether to leave the European Union. Though analysts had speculated Rajan could decide not to pursue a second term after a major regional newspaper reported last month he did not want to remain at the central bank, few had foreseen an announcement would come in the form of a letter to staff. The focus will now shift to Rajan's successor and analysts said they did not expect any long-term impact to markets as long as his replacement is seen as credible and somebody who can defend the central bank's autonomy at a critical juncture in its history. "If you were to see someone come in who has very different set of policies, then the market will question if something has changed. That would not be my base case. If that were to happen, that would make me reassess how we thought about India," said Josh Crabb, head of Asian equities at Old Mutual Global Investors in Hong Kong with $37.3 billion under management. "If the system shows a willingness, a continuation of those policies, irrespective of the individual involved, that’s quite a large vote of confidence." Rajan, a former International Monetary Fund chief economist, has been popular with foreign investors for his efforts to tackle inflation and helping to rescue India from its worst crisis in more than two decades when he took the helm in 2013. The benchmark 10-year bond yield was up 3 basis points to 7.53 per cent. The one-year OIS rate was bid at 6.71-6.73 per cent while the five-year OIS rate was bid at 6.84 per cent, traders said. The one-year swap closed at 6.68 per cent and five-year at 6.77 per cent on Friday. The National Stock Exchange of India (Nifty) was flat after falling as much as 0.77 per cent. (Reuters)

Rajan leaves surprisingly and unsurprisingly the rupee and markets fall

The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) today welcomed the Centre&#39;s decision to allow up to 74 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in pharmaceutical sector under the automatic route. 
 
With the objective of promoting the development of this sector, it has been decided to permit up to 74 per cent FDI under automatic route in brownfield pharmaceuticals and government approval route beyond 74 per cent will continue. 
 
&quot;We welcome (the) government&#39;s decision to make changes to the FDI policy. We believe that this will provide an impetus to employment and job creation in the country,&quot; OPPI director general Kanchana TK said. 
 
&quot;The decision will augur well with our members who are constantly exploring ways of ensuring new drugs and medicines are made available to Indian patients,&quot; Kanchana added. 
 
Under the existing policy in the sector, 100 per cent FDI is allowed under automatic route in greenfield pharma and up to 100 per cent under government approval in brownfield pharma. 
 
The new norms will enable enhanced investments (in the form of M&amp;A activity) from the multi-national companies which believe in the growth potential of the domestic industry. 
 
&quot;We remain positive on the sector, maintaining our recommendations,&quot; Angel Broking VP Research- Pharma Sarabjit Kour Nangra said.&nbsp; 
(PTI)

The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India claims it will increase employment and job creation

The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) today welcomed the Centre's decision to allow up to 74 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in pharmaceutical sector under the automatic route. With the objective of promoting the development of this sector, it has been decided to permit up to 74 per cent FDI under automatic route in brownfield pharmaceuticals and government approval route beyond 74 per cent will continue. "We welcome (the) government's decision to make changes to the FDI policy. We believe that this will provide an impetus to employment and job creation in the country," OPPI director general Kanchana TK said. "The decision will augur well with our members who are constantly exploring ways of ensuring new drugs and medicines are made available to Indian patients," Kanchana added. Under the existing policy in the sector, 100 per cent FDI is allowed under automatic route in greenfield pharma and up to 100 per cent under government approval in brownfield pharma. The new norms will enable enhanced investments (in the form of M&A activity) from the multi-national companies which believe in the growth potential of the domestic industry. "We remain positive on the sector, maintaining our recommendations," Angel Broking VP Research- Pharma Sarabjit Kour Nangra said. (PTI)

New law allows foreign direct investment of up to 74% in certain Indian pharmaceutical companies

Volkswagen&#39;s former boss Martin Winterkorn is under investigation for having allegedly manipulated the market by holding back information about emissions cheating at the automobile giant, German prosecutors said today. 
 
&quot;The initial suspicion of market manipulation is directed against two former board members of the VW Group. Among them is the former chief executive of the Volkswagen group, Professor Dr Martin Winterkorn,&quot; said prosecutors in a statement. 
 
Investigators in Brunswick, in Lower Saxony state where VW is based, did not name the second suspect but said the individual was not the group&#39;s current chairman. 
 
Listed companies are required to disclose information that could affect market prices immediately. 
 
But VW complied with its disclosure obligation only on September 22, 2015, prosecutors said, four days after US regulators went public that they were charging the company for fitting devices designed to skew emissions data in their vehicles. 
 
&quot;There are sufficient indications suggesting that the obligation to make a disclosure statement could have been met at an earlier date,&quot; prosecutors said. 
 
Shares in VW plunged 17.14 percent on Monday September 21, 2015 the first trading day after the US charge was made public. 
 
They sank another 19.82 percent on Tuesday, wiping out 25 billion euros in market capitalisation in two days.

Investigators in Brunswick, in Lower Saxony state where Volkswagen is based, did not name the second suspect

Volkswagen's former boss Martin Winterkorn is under investigation for having allegedly manipulated the market by holding back information about emissions cheating at the automobile giant, German prosecutors said today. "The initial suspicion of market manipulation is directed against two former board members of the VW Group. Among them is the former chief executive of the Volkswagen group, Professor Dr Martin Winterkorn," said prosecutors in a statement. Investigators in Brunswick, in Lower Saxony state where VW is based, did not name the second suspect but said the individual was not the group's current chairman. Listed companies are required to disclose information that could affect market prices immediately. But VW complied with its disclosure obligation only on September 22, 2015, prosecutors said, four days after US regulators went public that they were charging the company for fitting devices designed to skew emissions data in their vehicles. "There are sufficient indications suggesting that the obligation to make a disclosure statement could have been met at an earlier date," prosecutors said. Shares in VW plunged 17.14 percent on Monday September 21, 2015 the first trading day after the US charge was made public. They sank another 19.82 percent on Tuesday, wiping out 25 billion euros in market capitalisation in two days.

VW ex-boss probed for market manipulation: prosecutors

The Indian government today allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in trading of food products, including through e-commerce, to provide a boost to the country&#39;s food processing sector. 
 
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 
 
&quot;It has now been decided to permit 100 per cent FDI under government approval route for trading, including through e-commerce, in respect of food products manufactured or produced in India,&quot; an official statement said. 
 
The government had in Budget this year announced that 100 per cent FDI would be allowed through FIPB route in marketing of food products produced and manufactured in India. 
 
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said that 100 per cent FDI has been allowed in marketing of food products without any condition. 
 
Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had earlier demanded that foreign players looking to invest in the sector should mandatorily invest a portion of their investments in building infrastructure at the farm gate level. 
 
The minister was pitching for a condition that 25 per cent of the foreign inflows should be invested in creating agri-infrastructure. 
 
The food processing sector has attracted USD 5.2 billion FDI during April 2012 to December 2015 period. 
 
Badal had recently said that the foreign direct investment in the food processing sector could cross USD 1 billion in the next two years, helped by reforms in FDI space and streamlining of regulations by food safety regulator FSSAI. 
 
The government is making efforts to double the food processing level of fruits and vegetables, which currently stands at only 10 per cent. 
 
&quot;Price fluctuation in vegetables like tomato can be controlled effectively if we strengthen entire chain of food processing,&quot; minister of state for agriculture Sanjeev Balyan said, adding that the government has allowed 100 per cent FDI in this sector as more investment is required. 
(PTI)

Food processing minister says reforms would help FDI in the food processing sector cross USD 1 billion in the next two years

The Indian government today allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in trading of food products, including through e-commerce, to provide a boost to the country's food processing sector. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "It has now been decided to permit 100 per cent FDI under government approval route for trading, including through e-commerce, in respect of food products manufactured or produced in India," an official statement said. The government had in Budget this year announced that 100 per cent FDI would be allowed through FIPB route in marketing of food products produced and manufactured in India. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said that 100 per cent FDI has been allowed in marketing of food products without any condition. Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had earlier demanded that foreign players looking to invest in the sector should mandatorily invest a portion of their investments in building infrastructure at the farm gate level. The minister was pitching for a condition that 25 per cent of the foreign inflows should be invested in creating agri-infrastructure. The food processing sector has attracted USD 5.2 billion FDI during April 2012 to December 2015 period. Badal had recently said that the foreign direct investment in the food processing sector could cross USD 1 billion in the next two years, helped by reforms in FDI space and streamlining of regulations by food safety regulator FSSAI. The government is making efforts to double the food processing level of fruits and vegetables, which currently stands at only 10 per cent. "Price fluctuation in vegetables like tomato can be controlled effectively if we strengthen entire chain of food processing," minister of state for agriculture Sanjeev Balyan said, adding that the government has allowed 100 per cent FDI in this sector as more investment is required. (PTI)

India permits 100% FDI in trading of food products

India&nbsp;is seeking the participation of mining companies Rio Tinto and Anglo American&#39;s De Beers to explore for diamonds and gold, part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s ambition to make the country a major mineral producer, the mines secretary said. 
 
Balvinder Kumar told Reuters on Monday that the&nbsp;Indian government will start to auction the rights to up to 70 diamond and gold exploration zones to mining companies this year. 
 
India&nbsp;stopped producing diamonds years ago and produces only a small amount of gold, although it is the world&#39;s second-biggest consumer of the yellow metal. Modi&nbsp;wants&nbsp;to revive the sector, with most of the exploration and production conducted by the private sector. 
 
The blocks that will go on sale are among 100 mineral zones identified by the state-run Geological Survey of&nbsp;India&nbsp;following an aerogeophysical assessment. 
 
&quot;We need resources to expand our mineral wealth and that&#39;s why we want private companies to carry out exploration of deep-seated minerals,&quot; Kumar said in an interview. &quot;So far we haven&#39;t been able to do detailed exploration, but this proposal is a win-win for all.&quot; 
 
However, he said diamond producer De Beers and Rio Tinto, which has already discovered a cluster of eight &quot;diamondiferous pipes&quot; in central&nbsp;India, have been cold to the latest exploration idea, citing high risks of failure. 
 
To allay those concerns, Kumar said the government will reimburse companies&#39; exploration costs if their blocks do not throw up commercially viable mineral reserves. 
 
The blocks, which each cover over 100 square kilometres, are located in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan among others, Kumar said, adding it was difficult to estimate reserves without detailed exploration. 
 
Companies that win the exploration rights will be able to transfer those rights to another party within three years if they wish, and the rights will then be auctioned again for actual mining. The exploration company will get a percentage of sales as royalty for 50 years from the company that wins the mining rights, if it does not participate or loses out. 
 
It will be the first time&nbsp;India&nbsp;has allowed private companies to just explore for minerals, with the mining rights auctioned separately. 
 
State-run SBI Caps is advising the mines ministry on the proposal, which is expected to be cleared by Modi&#39;s cabinet ahead of a two-day government mining conclave in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh that begins on July 4, Kumar said. 
 
De Beers said it continued to engage with the mines ministry but had no current plans to resume any exploration in&nbsp;India. 
 
&quot;There has been no change to the current situation since our exploration activity there closed in December 2015, with no prospecting activity planned for the foreseeable future,&quot; De Beers&#39; spokeswoman Lynette Gould said in an email. 
 
Rio Tinto&#39;s&nbsp;India&nbsp;head, Nik Senapati, did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment. 
 
India, which produced the Koh-i-Noor Diamond that is now in Britain, is a diamond polishing hub, polishing 14 out of every 15 rough diamonds in the world. 
 
(Reuters)

The Geological Survey of India has identified 100 mineral zones which will be divided into blocks to go up for sale

India is seeking the participation of mining companies Rio Tinto and Anglo American's De Beers to explore for diamonds and gold, part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambition to make the country a major mineral producer, the mines secretary said. Balvinder Kumar told Reuters on Monday that the Indian government will start to auction the rights to up to 70 diamond and gold exploration zones to mining companies this year. India stopped producing diamonds years ago and produces only a small amount of gold, although it is the world's second-biggest consumer of the yellow metal. Modi wants to revive the sector, with most of the exploration and production conducted by the private sector. The blocks that will go on sale are among 100 mineral zones identified by the state-run Geological Survey of India following an aerogeophysical assessment. "We need resources to expand our mineral wealth and that's why we want private companies to carry out exploration of deep-seated minerals," Kumar said in an interview. "So far we haven't been able to do detailed exploration, but this proposal is a win-win for all." However, he said diamond producer De Beers and Rio Tinto, which has already discovered a cluster of eight "diamondiferous pipes" in central India, have been cold to the latest exploration idea, citing high risks of failure. To allay those concerns, Kumar said the government will reimburse companies' exploration costs if their blocks do not throw up commercially viable mineral reserves. The blocks, which each cover over 100 square kilometres, are located in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan among others, Kumar said, adding it was difficult to estimate reserves without detailed exploration. Companies that win the exploration rights will be able to transfer those rights to another party within three years if they wish, and the rights will then be auctioned again for actual mining. The exploration company will get a percentage of sales as royalty for 50 years from the company that wins the mining rights, if it does not participate or loses out. It will be the first time India has allowed private companies to just explore for minerals, with the mining rights auctioned separately. State-run SBI Caps is advising the mines ministry on the proposal, which is expected to be cleared by Modi's cabinet ahead of a two-day government mining conclave in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh that begins on July 4, Kumar said. De Beers said it continued to engage with the mines ministry but had no current plans to resume any exploration in India. "There has been no change to the current situation since our exploration activity there closed in December 2015, with no prospecting activity planned for the foreseeable future," De Beers' spokeswoman Lynette Gould said in an email. Rio Tinto's India head, Nik Senapati, did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment. India, which produced the Koh-i-Noor Diamond that is now in Britain, is a diamond polishing hub, polishing 14 out of every 15 rough diamonds in the world. (Reuters)

India looks at private sector to explore for diamonds and gold

Foreign investors, barring overseas airlines, can now have up to 100 per cent stake in local carriers, the Indian government today said unveiling significant reforms. 
 
Besides, the norms for foreign direct investment in brownfield airports have been relaxed. 
 
Aimed at attracting more funds into the aviation sector which has high growth potential, the National Democratic Alliance&#39;s latest measure comes less than a week after the unveiling of the National Civil Aviation Policy. 
 
The announcement also comes against the backdrop of persisting concerns over ownership and control at local carriers where foreign players have a substantial stake. 
 
Now, 100 per cent foreign investment will be allowed in &quot;scheduled air transport service/domestic scheduled passenger airline and regional air transport service&quot;, an official release said. 
 
Only non-airline players will be allowed to bring in 100 per cent foreign direct investment in local carriers. 
 
Under the new set-up, 49 per cent will be through the automatic route and for anything beyond, a nod from the government will be required. At present, up to 49 per cent FDI is permitted in scheduled airlines. 
 
&quot;For NRIs, 100 per cent FDI will continue to be allowed under the automatic route,&quot; the release said. 
 
&quot;However, foreign airlines would continue to be allowed to invest in capital of Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air-transport services up to the limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital and subject to the laid-down conditions in the existing policy,&quot; it added. 
 
Maintaining the status quo, foreign airlines will be allowed to invest only up to 49 per cent in Indian carriers. 
 
The decision to relax FDI norms was taken at a meeting chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi here today. 
 
Interestingly, a proposal to hike the FDI limit from 49 per cent in local airlines in the draft civil aviation policy did not find a place in the final document, which was approved by the Cabinet on June 15. 
 
With regard to airports, the government has permitted 100 per cent FDI in brownfield projects through automatic route. 
 
Currently, 100 per cent FDI is allowed through the automatic route in greenfield airport projects while it is 74 per cent in brownfield ones. 
 
&quot;With a view to aiding in modernisation of the existing airports to establish a high standard and help ease the pressure on the existing airports, it has been decided to permit 100 per cent FDI under automatic route in brownfield airport projects,&quot; the release said. 
 
Back in 2012, the UPA government had permitted 49 per cent FDI in domestic airlines by foreign carriers. The move paved the way for setting up of two new airlines -- Vistara and AirAsia India -- and investment by Etihad Airways in Jet Airways. 
 
(PTI)

49% will be through the automatic route, anything more, and a nod from the government will be required

Foreign investors, barring overseas airlines, can now have up to 100 per cent stake in local carriers, the Indian government today said unveiling significant reforms. Besides, the norms for foreign direct investment in brownfield airports have been relaxed. Aimed at attracting more funds into the aviation sector which has high growth potential, the National Democratic Alliance's latest measure comes less than a week after the unveiling of the National Civil Aviation Policy. The announcement also comes against the backdrop of persisting concerns over ownership and control at local carriers where foreign players have a substantial stake. Now, 100 per cent foreign investment will be allowed in "scheduled air transport service/domestic scheduled passenger airline and regional air transport service", an official release said. Only non-airline players will be allowed to bring in 100 per cent foreign direct investment in local carriers. Under the new set-up, 49 per cent will be through the automatic route and for anything beyond, a nod from the government will be required. At present, up to 49 per cent FDI is permitted in scheduled airlines. "For NRIs, 100 per cent FDI will continue to be allowed under the automatic route," the release said. "However, foreign airlines would continue to be allowed to invest in capital of Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air-transport services up to the limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital and subject to the laid-down conditions in the existing policy," it added. Maintaining the status quo, foreign airlines will be allowed to invest only up to 49 per cent in Indian carriers. The decision to relax FDI norms was taken at a meeting chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi here today. Interestingly, a proposal to hike the FDI limit from 49 per cent in local airlines in the draft civil aviation policy did not find a place in the final document, which was approved by the Cabinet on June 15. With regard to airports, the government has permitted 100 per cent FDI in brownfield projects through automatic route. Currently, 100 per cent FDI is allowed through the automatic route in greenfield airport projects while it is 74 per cent in brownfield ones. "With a view to aiding in modernisation of the existing airports to establish a high standard and help ease the pressure on the existing airports, it has been decided to permit 100 per cent FDI under automatic route in brownfield airport projects," the release said. Back in 2012, the UPA government had permitted 49 per cent FDI in domestic airlines by foreign carriers. The move paved the way for setting up of two new airlines -- Vistara and AirAsia India -- and investment by Etihad Airways in Jet Airways. (PTI)

India allows FDI in aviation sector, barring foreign airlines

<div>Reserve Bank of India chief Raghuram Rajan on Monday defended his record in fighting inflation, and made a case for the&nbsp;monetary policy reforms he has championed, in his first public appearance since announcing that&nbsp;he will step down at the end of his tenure in September. 
 
In a speech, the outgoing&nbsp;governor of India&#39;s central bank, Reserve Bank of India,&nbsp;addressed critics who have accused him of keeping interest rates too high, saying they cannot &quot;have it both ways, want lower inflation as well as lower policy rates.&quot; 
 
 
&quot;The fact that inflation is fairly close to the upper bound of our target zone today suggests we have not been overly hawkish&nbsp;and were wise to disregard advice in the past to cut more deeply,&quot; Rajan said.</div>

<div> 
Consumer inflation hit a near two-year high of 5.76 per cent in May, or the upper end of the central bank&#39;s inflation target of 2 per cent to 6 per cent. 
 
Rajan also strongly defended the upcoming introduction of a monetary policy panel to set interest rates,&nbsp;a policy he has championed,&nbsp;saying &quot;the rewards will be many&quot;, including a more stable policy framework. 
 
(Reuters)</div>

Tells critics of his monetary policy reforms they can't have it 'both ways'

Reserve Bank of India chief Raghuram Rajan on Monday defended his record in fighting inflation, and made a case for the monetary policy reforms he has championed, in his first public appearance since announcing that he will step down at the end of his tenure in September. In a speech, the outgoing governor of India's central bank, Reserve Bank of India, addressed critics who have accused him of keeping interest rates too high, saying they cannot "have it both ways, want lower inflation as well as lower policy rates." "The fact that inflation is fairly close to the upper bound of our target zone today suggests we have not been overly hawkish and were wise to disregard advice in the past to cut more deeply," Rajan said. Consumer inflation hit a near two-year high of 5.76 per cent in May, or the upper end of the central bank's inflation target of 2 per cent to 6 per cent. Rajan also strongly defended the upcoming introduction of a monetary policy panel to set interest rates, a policy he has championed, saying "the rewards will be many", including a more stable policy framework. (Reuters)

Out not down: Indian central bank governor Raghuram Rajan defends his record

India&#39;s move to clean up the books of its banks saddled with $120 billion of sour loans will be largely unaffected by the decision of central bank chief Raghuram Rajan to step down, say bankers and government officials. 
 
As banks struggle with record levels of distressed assets, Rajan had set an ambitious March 2017 deadline for them to fully reveal the problem loans and make adequate provisions. 
 
An unprecedented asset quality review of banks ordered by the central bank led to reported bad loans surging more than 70 per cent in the six months to March. 
 
Rajan&#39;s decision to bow out in September has, however, raised questions on the fate of a clean-up seen as crucial to reviving new lending to support a nascent recovery in Asia&#39;s third-largest economy. 
 
Bankers and government officials said Rajan&#39;s successor may be less aggressive in fighting bad loans, but the general direction will remain the same. 
 
&quot;Having worked with eight (RBI) Governors, I have not seen any new incumbent turn an earlier policy, particularly relating to banks, on its head,&quot; said G. Padmanabhan, a former executive director at the RBI who currently chairs the board of third-biggest state-run lender, Bank of India. 
 
&quot;Second, and more important, this was not a one man decision and had the support of government as well,&quot; he said, although there could be some tweaks as the timeline was &quot;aggressive&quot; and banks&#39; capital needs had to be factored in. 
 
Shares in top lender State Bank of India have gained about 16 per cent since it reported March-quarter earnings on May 27, on hopes that the worst was behind it in terms of bad loans. The second biggest state-run bank, Bank of Baroda, is up about 12 per cent during that period. Two dozen lenders majority-owned by the Indian government hold the bulk of the soured loans. 
 
Deputy finance minister Jayant Sinha said recently it was prudent for the Reserve Bank of India to pursue its asset quality review of the banks, signalling government support for the clean-up. 
 
&quot;Investors of course like it. What Rajan and the RBI did was generally good, but I would say they were a bit too harsh,&quot; said one senior public sector banker, who still sees no clarity on how bad loans will be resolved. 
 
Others agree that the mechanics of resolving the issue still need to be clarified. 
 
In the absence of a strong system to buy bad loans from banks, deciding on haircuts and government capital infusion in banks may hobble resolution of the issue, said another senior banker with a state-run bank. 
 
Despite this, most remain confident that the RBI has already gone too far to reverse course. 
 
A senior policymaker who works closely with Rajan said the bank clean up exercise had been &quot;institutionalised&quot; and was on auto-mode, playing down any impact from Rajan&#39;s exit. 
 
&quot;He (Rajan) expedited things, but it was on the RBI&#39;s agenda,&quot; the official said, adding the clean-up was long overdue. 
(Reuters)

Indian banks remain unaffected by the country's central bank chief's sudden exit and focus on fixing sour loans worth $120 billion

India's move to clean up the books of its banks saddled with $120 billion of sour loans will be largely unaffected by the decision of central bank chief Raghuram Rajan to step down, say bankers and government officials. As banks struggle with record levels of distressed assets, Rajan had set an ambitious March 2017 deadline for them to fully reveal the problem loans and make adequate provisions. An unprecedented asset quality review of banks ordered by the central bank led to reported bad loans surging more than 70 per cent in the six months to March. Rajan's decision to bow out in September has, however, raised questions on the fate of a clean-up seen as crucial to reviving new lending to support a nascent recovery in Asia's third-largest economy. Bankers and government officials said Rajan's successor may be less aggressive in fighting bad loans, but the general direction will remain the same. "Having worked with eight (RBI) Governors, I have not seen any new incumbent turn an earlier policy, particularly relating to banks, on its head," said G. Padmanabhan, a former executive director at the RBI who currently chairs the board of third-biggest state-run lender, Bank of India. "Second, and more important, this was not a one man decision and had the support of government as well," he said, although there could be some tweaks as the timeline was "aggressive" and banks' capital needs had to be factored in. Shares in top lender State Bank of India have gained about 16 per cent since it reported March-quarter earnings on May 27, on hopes that the worst was behind it in terms of bad loans. The second biggest state-run bank, Bank of Baroda, is up about 12 per cent during that period. Two dozen lenders majority-owned by the Indian government hold the bulk of the soured loans. Deputy finance minister Jayant Sinha said recently it was prudent for the Reserve Bank of India to pursue its asset quality review of the banks, signalling government support for the clean-up. "Investors of course like it. What Rajan and the RBI did was generally good, but I would say they were a bit too harsh," said one senior public sector banker, who still sees no clarity on how bad loans will be resolved. Others agree that the mechanics of resolving the issue still need to be clarified. In the absence of a strong system to buy bad loans from banks, deciding on haircuts and government capital infusion in banks may hobble resolution of the issue, said another senior banker with a state-run bank. Despite this, most remain confident that the RBI has already gone too far to reverse course. A senior policymaker who works closely with Rajan said the bank clean up exercise had been "institutionalised" and was on auto-mode, playing down any impact from Rajan's exit. "He (Rajan) expedited things, but it was on the RBI's agenda," the official said, adding the clean-up was long overdue. (Reuters)

India seen pressing ahead with bank clean-up despite Rajan's exit

Burgeoning cases of non-performing assets (NPAs) and piling loan frauds have led banks to private detectives for conducting &#39;undercover&#39; operations to unearth hidden data against defaulters who have cheated them of crores of rupees before vanishing into thin air. 
 
With these cases having gained prominence recently in the wake of some huge defaults like those by Kingfisher Airlines and its owner Vijay Mallya, banks have brought out advertisements and approached private detective agencies to mine information against fraudsters. 
 
As per official records, a number of banks have sought empanelment of detective agencies with their assets recovery divisions to not only &quot;locate the missing/absconding NPA defaulter&quot; but also to &quot;ascertain their present occupation, income streams among others&quot;. 
 
A large public sector bank recently sought help to tackle the NPA menace and wants private sleuths to &quot;unearth uncharged properties of the defaulter for recovery action with the help of documentary evidences&quot;. 
 
&quot;We have been helping the banks on these issues for quite a few years now but this time there is pressure on them to catch not only the small but also the big fish. Private detective agencies are working on thousands of such case across the country. 
 
&quot;In order to ensure that the banks get vital information on defaulters and absconders, our agents are conducting undercover operations as we cannot go and just knock on the doors to obtain such information in these cases,&quot; Chairman of the Association of Private Detectives of India (APDI) Kunwar Vikram Singh told PTI. 
 
He said despite the job requiring special skills to conduct covert operations, the APDI&#39;s collective success rate in tracing bank defaulters has been as much as 90. He said absconders and fraudsters many a time exist &quot;right under the nose&quot; but under a changed identity. 
 
Singh said his detective firm Lancers Private Limited is at present working with banks like SBI, Bank of India and Bank of Patiala on such cases many of which have come to it in the recent past. 
 
A banker at a leading institution said a number of banks have sought help of the APDI in this regard in the recent past. 
 
&quot;The banks are up against some of the smartest brains when it comes to non-payment of loans and huge defaults. There is not much 
staff with any of us to physically get information against such entities and hence private detectives hold the key to this problem. 
 
&quot;It is ensured that when we bring on board a detective agency we enter into a confidentiality agreement with them called the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) which mandates that such snoop information about the defaulter will be protected from any public disclosure,&quot; he said. 
(PTI)

The detectives have to locate the missing Non Performing Asset defaulters as well as determine their current occupation and income sources

Burgeoning cases of non-performing assets (NPAs) and piling loan frauds have led banks to private detectives for conducting 'undercover' operations to unearth hidden data against defaulters who have cheated them of crores of rupees before vanishing into thin air. With these cases having gained prominence recently in the wake of some huge defaults like those by Kingfisher Airlines and its owner Vijay Mallya, banks have brought out advertisements and approached private detective agencies to mine information against fraudsters. As per official records, a number of banks have sought empanelment of detective agencies with their assets recovery divisions to not only "locate the missing/absconding NPA defaulter" but also to "ascertain their present occupation, income streams among others". A large public sector bank recently sought help to tackle the NPA menace and wants private sleuths to "unearth uncharged properties of the defaulter for recovery action with the help of documentary evidences". "We have been helping the banks on these issues for quite a few years now but this time there is pressure on them to catch not only the small but also the big fish. Private detective agencies are working on thousands of such case across the country. "In order to ensure that the banks get vital information on defaulters and absconders, our agents are conducting undercover operations as we cannot go and just knock on the doors to obtain such information in these cases," Chairman of the Association of Private Detectives of India (APDI) Kunwar Vikram Singh told PTI. He said despite the job requiring special skills to conduct covert operations, the APDI's collective success rate in tracing bank defaulters has been as much as 90. He said absconders and fraudsters many a time exist "right under the nose" but under a changed identity. Singh said his detective firm Lancers Private Limited is at present working with banks like SBI, Bank of India and Bank of Patiala on such cases many of which have come to it in the recent past. A banker at a leading institution said a number of banks have sought help of the APDI in this regard in the recent past. "The banks are up against some of the smartest brains when it comes to non-payment of loans and huge defaults. There is not much staff with any of us to physically get information against such entities and hence private detectives hold the key to this problem. "It is ensured that when we bring on board a detective agency we enter into a confidentiality agreement with them called the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) which mandates that such snoop information about the defaulter will be protected from any public disclosure," he said. (PTI)

Rising loan frauds drive banks to become detectives' alley in India

<div style="text-align: justify;">If Britons vote to take their country out of the European Union on June 23, no corner of the global financial market complex will emerge unscathed. 
The invisible thread that links assets as diverse as gold, bank stocks, the Japanese Yen and government bonds would be yanked sharply by Brexit, an event the Bank of England said on Thursday risks &quot;adverse spill-overs to the global economy&quot;. 
With global interest rates and bond yields the lowest on record, central banks running low on crisis-fighting tools and the post-2008 economic recovery flagging, that thread could quickly unravel, with serious consequences for all markets.&nbsp; 
So why will the will of one country&#39;s people in one referendum have such a profound impact on global markets? 
The answer is partly how inter-connected global markets are, and partly timing - the world economic cycle is already very long in the tooth and central banks have far fewer options open to them after nearly a decade of extraordinary policy support. 
Interest rates, yields 
 
Global interest rates are their lowest for 5,000 years, according to Bank of America, but central banks could still cut them further. That could mean the US&nbsp;Federal Reserve reversing its slow-starting tightening cycle, and European Central Bank and Bank of Japan rates going deeper into negative territory. 
Lower rates would also depress bond yields even further, tightening the screw on central and commercial banks. 
 
Over $8 trillion worth of sovereign bonds already carry a negative yield, according to JP Morgan. This means holders of Japanese, German and Swiss debt are paying these governments for the privilege of lending to them, in some cases out to 20 years. 
 
They are willing to accept they will not get all their money back. Even deeper negative yields would increase these losses, raising further doubt that these are truly &quot;safe haven&quot; assets. 
 
But the immediate economic and political uncertainty after a Brexit vote would likely be so great that demand for these bonds would rise anyway, pulling yields even lower. Yield curves, the difference between short- and longer-dated bond borrowing costs, would flatten further. 
 
They are already their flattest for years around the developed world, meaning the premium investors expect for holding longer-dated bonds is shrinking. This is often an ominous signal of low inflation or deflation, and slowing economic growth or possibly recession. 
 
If &quot;core&quot; bond yields would likely fall, yields on lower-rated and riskier bonds would likely rise, widening the spread between the two. This would increase the financing pressure on a wide range of companies around the world and governments in euro zone &quot;periphery&quot; countries like Greece, Italy and Spain. 
 
Banks - Central and Commercial 
 
Flat yield curves are bad news for banks, who make money from borrowing short-term at low rates and lending longer-term at higher rates. Financial stocks have been hit hard this year as the curve flattening has accelerated. 
 
Euro zone banks are down 30 per cent this year, Japanese banks 35 per cent, UK banks 20 per cent, and US banks 10 per cent. 
 
Banks are also being squeezed by negative deposit rates. The ECB, Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank all charge banks for depositing cash. 
 
It may even become cheaper for banks to put billions of yen, Euros or Francs of their customers&#39; cash in vaults- a possibility German lender Commerzbank is examining. 
 
As for central banks, any move deeper into the uncharted world of negative interest rates would be taken reluctantly. 
 
In the case of the ECB, declining yields would further cut the amount of bonds eligible for purchase as part of its quantitative easing stimulus programme. That would make its inflation target of just under 2 per cent much harder to achieve, in turn putting its credibility under even greater scrutiny. 
 
Financial Planning 
 
Just as the 2007-08 financial crisis was caused by unprecedented stress in the banking system, analysts fear Brexit fallout could again threaten to block the global financial system&#39;s plumbing. 
 
Banks have recovered from 2007-08, but stresses are already appearing in more obscure pockets of dollar-based FX and rates markets that are hitting levels more associated with periods of crisis. The premium for Dollars over Yen in the cross currency basis market is its highest in years. 
 
Spreads between Libor rates and overnight index swap (OIS) rates, broadly a measure of investors&#39; perception of credit risk in the banking system, are also widening. In normal conditions, Libor/OIS spreads should be virtually zero. 
 
Stocks 
 
World stocks are in their longest bull run in history that began on March 9, 2009. But Wall Street&#39;s peak was reached over a year ago, profit growth has slumped, and companies are reluctant to reinvest their record cash piles. 
 
European stocks are down 13 per cent this year, Japan down 20 per cent, and Wall Street is flat. Would they be able to withstand the political, economic and investment shock a Brexit would likely deliver, especially with risk appetite so fragile? 
 
Currencies 
 
Like 2008, a vote for Brexit would almost certainly increase demand for the pre-eminent currency in global trade, banking and financial market trading: the Dollar. 
 
Dollar credit to non-US banks stands at almost $10 trillion, according to the Bank for International Settlements, of which $3.3 trillion is in emerging markets. A stronger Dollar will increase the overall debt burden for these companies, and many emerging market countries, who would be forced to draw down their FX reserves to counter the expected capital outflow and downward pressure on their currencies. 
 
Japan&#39;s Yen, another safe-haven currency, would probably rise too, perhaps as much as 14 per cent, according to Goldman Sachs. This would not be welcome in Tokyo, where policymakers are struggling to kill off deflation once and for all, stoke inflation, reflate the economy and heal the banking system. A higher exchange rate would be damaging on all those fronts. 
 
(Reuters)</div>

World stocks are in their longest bull run in history that began on 9 March, 2009

If Britons vote to take their country out of the European Union on June 23, no corner of the global financial market complex will emerge unscathed. The invisible thread that links assets as diverse as gold, bank stocks, the Japanese Yen and government bonds would be yanked sharply by Brexit, an event the Bank of England said on Thursday risks "adverse spill-overs to the global economy". With global interest rates and bond yields the lowest on record, central banks running low on crisis-fighting tools and the post-2008 economic recovery flagging, that thread could quickly unravel, with serious consequences for all markets. So why will the will of one country's people in one referendum have such a profound impact on global markets? The answer is partly how inter-connected global markets are, and partly timing - the world economic cycle is already very long in the tooth and central banks have far fewer options open to them after nearly a decade of extraordinary policy support. Interest rates, yields Global interest rates are their lowest for 5,000 years, according to Bank of America, but central banks could still cut them further. That could mean the US Federal Reserve reversing its slow-starting tightening cycle, and European Central Bank and Bank of Japan rates going deeper into negative territory. Lower rates would also depress bond yields even further, tightening the screw on central and commercial banks. Over $8 trillion worth of sovereign bonds already carry a negative yield, according to JP Morgan. This means holders of Japanese, German and Swiss debt are paying these governments for the privilege of lending to them, in some cases out to 20 years. They are willing to accept they will not get all their money back. Even deeper negative yields would increase these losses, raising further doubt that these are truly "safe haven" assets. But the immediate economic and political uncertainty after a Brexit vote would likely be so great that demand for these bonds would rise anyway, pulling yields even lower. Yield curves, the difference between short- and longer-dated bond borrowing costs, would flatten further. They are already their flattest for years around the developed world, meaning the premium investors expect for holding longer-dated bonds is shrinking. This is often an ominous signal of low inflation or deflation, and slowing economic growth or possibly recession. If "core" bond yields would likely fall, yields on lower-rated and riskier bonds would likely rise, widening the spread between the two. This would increase the financing pressure on a wide range of companies around the world and governments in euro zone "periphery" countries like Greece, Italy and Spain. Banks - Central and Commercial Flat yield curves are bad news for banks, who make money from borrowing short-term at low rates and lending longer-term at higher rates. Financial stocks have been hit hard this year as the curve flattening has accelerated. Euro zone banks are down 30 per cent this year, Japanese banks 35 per cent, UK banks 20 per cent, and US banks 10 per cent. Banks are also being squeezed by negative deposit rates. The ECB, Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank all charge banks for depositing cash. It may even become cheaper for banks to put billions of yen, Euros or Francs of their customers' cash in vaults- a possibility German lender Commerzbank is examining. As for central banks, any move deeper into the uncharted world of negative interest rates would be taken reluctantly. In the case of the ECB, declining yields would further cut the amount of bonds eligible for purchase as part of its quantitative easing stimulus programme. That would make its inflation target of just under 2 per cent much harder to achieve, in turn putting its credibility under even greater scrutiny. Financial Planning Just as the 2007-08 financial crisis was caused by unprecedented stress in the banking system, analysts fear Brexit fallout could again threaten to block the global financial system's plumbing. Banks have recovered from 2007-08, but stresses are already appearing in more obscure pockets of dollar-based FX and rates markets that are hitting levels more associated with periods of crisis. The premium for Dollars over Yen in the cross currency basis market is its highest in years. Spreads between Libor rates and overnight index swap (OIS) rates, broadly a measure of investors' perception of credit risk in the banking system, are also widening. In normal conditions, Libor/OIS spreads should be virtually zero. Stocks World stocks are in their longest bull run in history that began on March 9, 2009. But Wall Street's peak was reached over a year ago, profit growth has slumped, and companies are reluctant to reinvest their record cash piles. European stocks are down 13 per cent this year, Japan down 20 per cent, and Wall Street is flat. Would they be able to withstand the political, economic and investment shock a Brexit would likely deliver, especially with risk appetite so fragile? Currencies Like 2008, a vote for Brexit would almost certainly increase demand for the pre-eminent currency in global trade, banking and financial market trading: the Dollar. Dollar credit to non-US banks stands at almost $10 trillion, according to the Bank for International Settlements, of which $3.3 trillion is in emerging markets. A stronger Dollar will increase the overall debt burden for these companies, and many emerging market countries, who would be forced to draw down their FX reserves to counter the expected capital outflow and downward pressure on their currencies. Japan's Yen, another safe-haven currency, would probably rise too, perhaps as much as 14 per cent, according to Goldman Sachs. This would not be welcome in Tokyo, where policymakers are struggling to kill off deflation once and for all, stoke inflation, reflate the economy and heal the banking system. A higher exchange rate would be damaging on all those fronts. (Reuters)

Tracing global market thread that could be unraveled by Brexit

Increased technology usage and digitisation of the economy have escalated cyberattacks in India, and nearly 70 per cent of Nifty 50 companies are vulnerable to hackers, reveals a PwC survey. 
 
According to the report, out of the 50 companies studied, 34 (or 68 per cent) had identified vulnerabilities in at least one or more of their Internet-facing properties. 
 
The PwC survey about transgressions in Indian cyberspace of these companies further said, 525 email addresses belonging to the 34 companies were compromised, meaning hackers had access to those email addresses. 
 
&quot;Cybersecurity is no more restricted to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) or Chief Security Officers (CSOs) but needs serious attention of the higher management,&quot; Sivarama Krishnan, the leader of cyber security at PwC India said. 
 
Furthermore, 200 IP addresses belonging to the 34 companies were blacklisted by various Internet Service Providers (ISPs), implying that the ISPs found these IPs to be involved in spreading malicious traffic on the Internet, sending spam emails, or acting as a botnet in large cyber attacks, the report noted. 
 
&quot;There is a perceptible shift in the way modern threats are carried out, and the types of responses needed, and the surge in cyber crimes, manifests how these attackers are extensively-equipped with resources besides having a high technical skill set,&quot; Krishnan added. 
 
Sectorwise, media &amp; entertainment, automobiles, consumer goods and energy had the highest number of vulnerabilities. 
 
&quot;Hackers today are just not the tech enthusiasts, but are more sophisticated and organised in their approach to probe their targets and companies need to, more than ever before, adopt sophisticated security analytical tools to prevent such crimes,&quot; Krishnan said. 
 
According to the report, transgressions in Indian cyberspace have more than doubled over the past year to 6,284 incidents per respondent. The average number of attacks in India is fast catching up with the global average of 6,853 incidents per respondent. 
(PTI)

Transgressions in Indian cyberspace have more than doubled over the past year, a PricewaterhouseCoopers report says

Increased technology usage and digitisation of the economy have escalated cyberattacks in India, and nearly 70 per cent of Nifty 50 companies are vulnerable to hackers, reveals a PwC survey. According to the report, out of the 50 companies studied, 34 (or 68 per cent) had identified vulnerabilities in at least one or more of their Internet-facing properties. The PwC survey about transgressions in Indian cyberspace of these companies further said, 525 email addresses belonging to the 34 companies were compromised, meaning hackers had access to those email addresses. "Cybersecurity is no more restricted to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) or Chief Security Officers (CSOs) but needs serious attention of the higher management," Sivarama Krishnan, the leader of cyber security at PwC India said. Furthermore, 200 IP addresses belonging to the 34 companies were blacklisted by various Internet Service Providers (ISPs), implying that the ISPs found these IPs to be involved in spreading malicious traffic on the Internet, sending spam emails, or acting as a botnet in large cyber attacks, the report noted. "There is a perceptible shift in the way modern threats are carried out, and the types of responses needed, and the surge in cyber crimes, manifests how these attackers are extensively-equipped with resources besides having a high technical skill set," Krishnan added. Sectorwise, media & entertainment, automobiles, consumer goods and energy had the highest number of vulnerabilities. "Hackers today are just not the tech enthusiasts, but are more sophisticated and organised in their approach to probe their targets and companies need to, more than ever before, adopt sophisticated security analytical tools to prevent such crimes," Krishnan said. According to the report, transgressions in Indian cyberspace have more than doubled over the past year to 6,284 incidents per respondent. The average number of attacks in India is fast catching up with the global average of 6,853 incidents per respondent. (PTI)

Rising cyberattacks affect majority of India's big companies

A sustained government spending on infrastructure like roads, railways, power and housing will propel India into the league of top global steel consuming nations in the next 10 years, said&nbsp;a top official of domestic steel giant SAIL&nbsp;. 
 
&quot;If you look at the massive infrastructure push by the government, even going by conservative estimates, steel demand will grow a lot. India will equal the global per capita consumption&nbsp;in 10 years,&quot; SAIL Chairman P K Singh told PTI. 
 
Per capita steel consumption in India, the world&#39;s third largest producer of the metal, stood at 59.4 kg per person in 2014, against a global average of 216.6 kg, data from industry body World Steel Association showed. 
 
The chief of India&#39;s largest steel producer added the country is at a &quot;take-off stage&quot; and all the &quot;requisite ingredients&quot; are in place, only a little push from the government was needed, which is now on its way. 
 
&quot;Look at the road sector, more highways are being built, which means more steel will be used. Similarly, in Railways more tracks are to be laid and we expect a huge jump in spending there. Power sector is also expanding, which again will boost demand for the metal,&quot; Singh said. 
 
According to him, the government&#39;s &#39;Housing for all&#39; is a novel initiative that will give impetus to steel demand. In automobiles, too, demand is rising for commercial vehicles as well as passenger cars which will further aid steel sector. 
 
According to a report by the Working Group on Steel for the 12th Five Year Plan period, the potential of raising per capita steel consumption in India is being supported by several factors. 
 
An estimated infrastructure investment of USD 1 trillion, projected growth in manufacturing at 11-12 per cent, rise in urban population, emergence of rural market for steel buoyed by projects such as Bharat Nirman, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana are prominent ones among them, it had said. 
 
Singh, however, cautioned against the rising overcapacity in steel across the globe, especially in China. 
 
&quot;We have to be cautious about the excess capacity in the world and in China. Some countries are dumping their products in India at cheaper rates and adversely impacting the health of domestic producers. Steel industry is of strategic importance and is the barometer of growth,&quot; he said. 
 
India is the &quot;only growth area&quot; globally and everyone is trying to get a &quot;share of this pie&quot;, Singh said adding that government needs to watch out for dumping of steel products so that domestic firms can participate with full vigour in the &#39;Make in India&#39; programme. 
 
He welcomed the imposition of a provisional minimum import price (MIP) on 173 steel products and hoped that government will continue with it beyond August, when it expires. 
 
As per government data, steel imports declined by 41 per cent to 0.546 million tonnes (MT) in May this year compared to the year-ago period. This was triggered by MIP and other measures like safeguard and anti-dumping duty. 
 
In April too, steel imports were down 15.5 per cent year- on-year at 0.654 MT 
 
(PTI)

Per capita steel consumption in India, the world's third largest producer of the metal, stood at 59.4 kg per person in 2014

A sustained government spending on infrastructure like roads, railways, power and housing will propel India into the league of top global steel consuming nations in the next 10 years, said a top official of domestic steel giant SAIL . "If you look at the massive infrastructure push by the government, even going by conservative estimates, steel demand will grow a lot. India will equal the global per capita consumption in 10 years," SAIL Chairman P K Singh told PTI. Per capita steel consumption in India, the world's third largest producer of the metal, stood at 59.4 kg per person in 2014, against a global average of 216.6 kg, data from industry body World Steel Association showed. The chief of India's largest steel producer added the country is at a "take-off stage" and all the "requisite ingredients" are in place, only a little push from the government was needed, which is now on its way. "Look at the road sector, more highways are being built, which means more steel will be used. Similarly, in Railways more tracks are to be laid and we expect a huge jump in spending there. Power sector is also expanding, which again will boost demand for the metal," Singh said. According to him, the government's 'Housing for all' is a novel initiative that will give impetus to steel demand. In automobiles, too, demand is rising for commercial vehicles as well as passenger cars which will further aid steel sector. According to a report by the Working Group on Steel for the 12th Five Year Plan period, the potential of raising per capita steel consumption in India is being supported by several factors. An estimated infrastructure investment of USD 1 trillion, projected growth in manufacturing at 11-12 per cent, rise in urban population, emergence of rural market for steel buoyed by projects such as Bharat Nirman, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana are prominent ones among them, it had said. Singh, however, cautioned against the rising overcapacity in steel across the globe, especially in China. "We have to be cautious about the excess capacity in the world and in China. Some countries are dumping their products in India at cheaper rates and adversely impacting the health of domestic producers. Steel industry is of strategic importance and is the barometer of growth," he said. India is the "only growth area" globally and everyone is trying to get a "share of this pie", Singh said adding that government needs to watch out for dumping of steel products so that domestic firms can participate with full vigour in the 'Make in India' programme. He welcomed the imposition of a provisional minimum import price (MIP) on 173 steel products and hoped that government will continue with it beyond August, when it expires. As per government data, steel imports declined by 41 per cent to 0.546 million tonnes (MT) in May this year compared to the year-ago period. This was triggered by MIP and other measures like safeguard and anti-dumping duty. In April too, steel imports were down 15.5 per cent year- on-year at 0.654 MT (PTI)

India to equal world per capita steel consumption in 10 years

Iran and US aerospace giant Boeing have reached a deal for the purchase of 100 aircraft to renew the country&#39;s ageing fleet, the head of Tehran&#39;s civil aviation authority announced today. 
 
&quot;We have 250 planes in the country, 230 need to be replaced,&quot; said Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the civil aviation body, adding that the deal still needed approval from the US government. 
 
(AFP)

Iran and US aerospace giant Boeing have reached a deal for the purchase of 100 aircraft to renew the country's ageing fleet, the head of Tehran's civil aviation authority announced today. "We have 250 planes in the country, 230 need to be replaced," said Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the civil aviation body, adding that the deal still needed approval from the US government. (AFP)

Iran, Boeing reach deal on purchase of 100 planes: Tehran

The IMF has warned Brexit could deal the British economy a &quot;negative and substantial&quot; blow as Vladimir Putin suggested David Cameron was trying to &quot;blackmail&quot; Europe with the EU referendum. 
 
Meanwhile The Times newspaper came out&nbsp;Saturday&nbsp;in favour of Britain staying in the European Union, five days ahead of the vote on whether the UK should stay in the bloc or leave. 
 
The pound rallied as investors leaned towards a Remain outcome from&nbsp;Thursday&#39;s&nbsp;closely-contested referendum. 
 
IMF warns of contagion&nbsp; 
 
With less than a week until the referendum, the International Monetary Fund warned that a so-called Brexit would harm the British economy while &quot;contagion effects&quot; could hit markets worldwide. 
 
In the worst-case scenario, the UK economy would sink into recession next year and overall economic output would be 5.6 per cent lower than otherwise forecast by 2019, with unemployment rising back above six per cent, it said today. 
 
&quot;While there is much uncertainty about the precise economic effects of an exit from the EU, they are likely negative and substantial,&quot; the Washington-based global crisis lender revealed in its annual British economic check-up. 
 
&quot;An exit would precipitate a protracted period of heightened uncertainty that could weigh on confidence and investment and increase financial market volatility.&quot; 
 
In addition, &quot;contagion effects could result in spillovers to regional and global markets, although the primary impact would be felt domestically&quot;. 
 
While in a &quot;limited impact&quot; scenario the IMF said the economy would only lose 1.4 per cent from the current outlook by 2019, the report gave one of the starkest pictures yet of the impact of Brexit. 
 
Putin wades in&nbsp; 
 
Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested British Prime Minister David Cameron had called the referendum to &quot;blackmail&quot; and &quot;scare&quot; Europe. 
 
&quot;Why has he set up this referendum? To blackmail Europe? Or to scare it? What is the purpose if he himself is against Britain leaving the EU,&quot; Putin said today during a meeting with representatives of news agencies. 
 
&quot;Some experts say a Brexit will be to the detriment of Europe. But others say that the EU will be more stable,&quot; Putin said, pointing to the example of British fishermen. 
 
&quot;They explain how hard it is to live with the restrictions on fishing. But there are advantages in other sectors.&nbsp;If you consider all these things, it&#39;s very complicated to choose,&quot; he added. 
 
The What UK Thinks average of the last six opinion polls puts the Remain camp on 52 per cent to 48 per cent for the Leave campaign, excluding undecided voters. 
 
Times&#39; &#39;pragmatic&#39; Remain case 
&nbsp; 
The Times swung behind the Remain camp&nbsp;on Saturday, in opposition to its stablemate The Sun, Britain&#39;s biggest-selling newspaper, which is backing a Leave vote. 
 
&quot;The best outcome of next week&#39;s referendum would be a new alliance of sovereign EU nations dedicated to free trade and reform, led by Britain,&quot; it said in a 2,000-word editorial. 
 
The Times said voting to stay was a &quot;pragmatic rather than enthusiastic choice&quot;. 
 
&quot;Brexit is unquestionably economically riskier than a vote to remain,&quot; the daily said. 
 
&quot;On balance we believe Britain would be better off leading a renewed drive for reform within the EU rather than starting afresh outside it.&quot; 
 
The pound rallied&nbsp;Friday&nbsp;as investors swung their bets towards Britain voting to stay in the EU, in part due to the three-day suspension of campaigning over Cox&#39;s murder. 
 
&quot;The shocking news was seen, at least on the margin, as hurting public sentiment toward the Brexit move,&quot; said Omer Esiner of Commonwealth Foreign Exchange. 
 
Long-running fears of a pro-Brexit vote had been hammering the pound, and they were heightened in recent weeks as the &quot;Leave&quot; campaign pulled ahead in the polls. 
 
The pound surged about one per cent against the dollar to $1.4348. It was up 0.5 per cent against the euro at 78.62 pence. 
 
Meanwhile French National Front leader Marine Le Pen, enthused by the British referendum, addressed a 2,000-strong Vienna rally of far-right European &quot;patriots&quot;. 
 
The elites of Europe &quot;are scared that the United Kingdom is regaining its liberty, its freedom to trade with whom it pleases,&quot; she said. 
(AFP)

'While there is much uncertainty about the precise economic effects of an exit from the EU, they are likely negative and substantial'

The IMF has warned Brexit could deal the British economy a "negative and substantial" blow as Vladimir Putin suggested David Cameron was trying to "blackmail" Europe with the EU referendum. Meanwhile The Times newspaper came out Saturday in favour of Britain staying in the European Union, five days ahead of the vote on whether the UK should stay in the bloc or leave. The pound rallied as investors leaned towards a Remain outcome from Thursday's closely-contested referendum. IMF warns of contagion With less than a week until the referendum, the International Monetary Fund warned that a so-called Brexit would harm the British economy while "contagion effects" could hit markets worldwide. In the worst-case scenario, the UK economy would sink into recession next year and overall economic output would be 5.6 per cent lower than otherwise forecast by 2019, with unemployment rising back above six per cent, it said today. "While there is much uncertainty about the precise economic effects of an exit from the EU, they are likely negative and substantial," the Washington-based global crisis lender revealed in its annual British economic check-up. "An exit would precipitate a protracted period of heightened uncertainty that could weigh on confidence and investment and increase financial market volatility." In addition, "contagion effects could result in spillovers to regional and global markets, although the primary impact would be felt domestically". While in a "limited impact" scenario the IMF said the economy would only lose 1.4 per cent from the current outlook by 2019, the report gave one of the starkest pictures yet of the impact of Brexit. Putin wades in Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested British Prime Minister David Cameron had called the referendum to "blackmail" and "scare" Europe. "Why has he set up this referendum? To blackmail Europe? Or to scare it? What is the purpose if he himself is against Britain leaving the EU," Putin said today during a meeting with representatives of news agencies. "Some experts say a Brexit will be to the detriment of Europe. But others say that the EU will be more stable," Putin said, pointing to the example of British fishermen. "They explain how hard it is to live with the restrictions on fishing. But there are advantages in other sectors. If you consider all these things, it's very complicated to choose," he added. The What UK Thinks average of the last six opinion polls puts the Remain camp on 52 per cent to 48 per cent for the Leave campaign, excluding undecided voters. Times' 'pragmatic' Remain case The Times swung behind the Remain camp on Saturday, in opposition to its stablemate The Sun, Britain's biggest-selling newspaper, which is backing a Leave vote. "The best outcome of next week's referendum would be a new alliance of sovereign EU nations dedicated to free trade and reform, led by Britain," it said in a 2,000-word editorial. The Times said voting to stay was a "pragmatic rather than enthusiastic choice". "Brexit is unquestionably economically riskier than a vote to remain," the daily said. "On balance we believe Britain would be better off leading a renewed drive for reform within the EU rather than starting afresh outside it." The pound rallied Friday as investors swung their bets towards Britain voting to stay in the EU, in part due to the three-day suspension of campaigning over Cox's murder. "The shocking news was seen, at least on the margin, as hurting public sentiment toward the Brexit move," said Omer Esiner of Commonwealth Foreign Exchange. Long-running fears of a pro-Brexit vote had been hammering the pound, and they were heightened in recent weeks as the "Leave" campaign pulled ahead in the polls. The pound surged about one per cent against the dollar to $1.4348. It was up 0.5 per cent against the euro at 78.62 pence. Meanwhile French National Front leader Marine Le Pen, enthused by the British referendum, addressed a 2,000-strong Vienna rally of far-right European "patriots". The elites of Europe "are scared that the United Kingdom is regaining its liberty, its freedom to trade with whom it pleases," she said. (AFP)

Brexit could harm British economy and hit markets worldwide, IMF warns

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), India&#39;s second-most valuable company, said on Friday that it took exception to media reports which suggested the company&#39;s top officials had armtwisted politicians for business gain.&nbsp; 
 
The media reports are based on phone taps allegedly made by another Indian company &ndash; the Essar Group. The taps were recorded over a six-year period by a former Essar employee and now make up a 29-page complaint submitted to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a Supreme Court lawyer, Suren Uppal, who says he represents the former Essar employee. 
 
&ldquo;We are shocked at reports which suggest that we have been victims of unauthorised and illegal tapping of our telephones. Conversations attributed to us are false and appear to have been doctored by someone who seeks to defame us,&rdquo; said a statement released by the RIL spokesperson. 
 
The media reports allege the tapped conversations reveal businessmen soliciting favours from politicians, the widespread peddling of influence in the corridors of power, &ldquo;corruption in the business milieu&rdquo;, and the blurring of lines between business and government. 
 
The list of people tapped is a lit who&#39;s who and include current Indian railway minister Suresh Prabhu, current Indian minister of state for power with independent charge Piyush Goel, former national security adviser Brajesh Mishra, prominent politician Mulayam Singh Yadav, film actor Amitabh Bachchan, bureaucrats and, of course, RIL chief Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil Ambani. 
 
The statement released by the company said that it had, at all times, abided by the law of the land &ndash; in letter and in spirit &ndash; &ldquo;in all our actions and business activities and any suggestion of any wrongdoing was plainly false&rdquo;.&nbsp; 
 
The company demanded that action be taken against these &ldquo;malicious falsehoods&rdquo; and that the alleged violation of their privacy be taken seriously. It added that it would cooperate fully with the authorities in the matter. 
&nbsp; 
The main Indian opposition party the Congress meanwhile demanded that the tapes be made public, and that the people would be the &ldquo;best judge&rdquo; of their veracity. &ldquo;The allegations are serious and multifaceted implications, but most importantly if those tapes exist, they need to be made public because the people need to know as to what is going on,&rdquo; Congress leader Manish Tewari told ANI. 
(WION)

Reliance Industries LImited added that it would cooperate with authorities to get to the bottom of the matter

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), India's second-most valuable company, said on Friday that it took exception to media reports which suggested the company's top officials had armtwisted politicians for business gain. The media reports are based on phone taps allegedly made by another Indian company – the Essar Group. The taps were recorded over a six-year period by a former Essar employee and now make up a 29-page complaint submitted to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a Supreme Court lawyer, Suren Uppal, who says he represents the former Essar employee. “We are shocked at reports which suggest that we have been victims of unauthorised and illegal tapping of our telephones. Conversations attributed to us are false and appear to have been doctored by someone who seeks to defame us,” said a statement released by the RIL spokesperson. The media reports allege the tapped conversations reveal businessmen soliciting favours from politicians, the widespread peddling of influence in the corridors of power, “corruption in the business milieu”, and the blurring of lines between business and government. The list of people tapped is a lit who's who and include current Indian railway minister Suresh Prabhu, current Indian minister of state for power with independent charge Piyush Goel, former national security adviser Brajesh Mishra, prominent politician Mulayam Singh Yadav, film actor Amitabh Bachchan, bureaucrats and, of course, RIL chief Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil Ambani. The statement released by the company said that it had, at all times, abided by the law of the land – in letter and in spirit – “in all our actions and business activities and any suggestion of any wrongdoing was plainly false”. The company demanded that action be taken against these “malicious falsehoods” and that the alleged violation of their privacy be taken seriously. It added that it would cooperate fully with the authorities in the matter. The main Indian opposition party the Congress meanwhile demanded that the tapes be made public, and that the people would be the “best judge” of their veracity. “The allegations are serious and multifaceted implications, but most importantly if those tapes exist, they need to be made public because the people need to know as to what is going on,” Congress leader Manish Tewari told ANI. (WION)

India's 2nd richest company says it takes exception to news reports that its officials armtwisted politicians

The US Justice Department has dropped plans to sue the former head of Countrywide Financial, a driver of the subprime mortgage debacle behind the 2008 financial crisis, his lawyer said today. 
 
Los Angeles attorney David Siegel said that the Justice Department had informed him that Angelo Mozilo, who built and ran what became the country&#39;s largest mortgage issuer before the market collapsed in 2006, is no longer under investigation. 
 
&quot;We are pleased and gratified with the news that the DOJ has closed its investigation without further litigation,&quot; Siegel said. 
 
The Justice Department declined to comment on the issue. 
 
With the Obama administration under pressure to punish bankers and mortgage companies responsible for the crisis that spurred the 2008-2009 Great Recession, two years ago the Justice Department opened a civil investigation into Mozilo&#39;s role at Countrywide. 
 
In the housing boom in the early 2000s, Countrywide issued and sold millions of mortgages to home buyers. 
 
Many of those were low-quality loans that were fraudulently labeled good investments and packaged into securities that eventually failed, at a huge cost to investors. 
 
The 2014 Justice Department civil investigation into Mozilo&#39;s role was opened after a previous criminal probe was abandoned. 
 
Mozilo has not gone untouched by the fallout from the crisis. In 2010 he and others were ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay $67.5 million in fines and disgorged profits for related issues of substandard mortgages used in mortgage bonds. 
 
Bank of America, which purchased Countrywide in 2008, agreed in 2014 to pay $17 billion in fines, restitution and borrower relief over subprime mortgages issued by Countrywide and other units, and the damages homeowners suffered as a result to the market crash. 
 
Last month a US appeals court threw out a nearly $1.3 billion penalty against Bank of America, concluding the bank had not committed fraud amid the housing bust. 
(AFP)

Key driver of 2008 financial crisis goes unpunished despite pressure to target bankers and mortgage companies responsible for the collapse

The US Justice Department has dropped plans to sue the former head of Countrywide Financial, a driver of the subprime mortgage debacle behind the 2008 financial crisis, his lawyer said today. Los Angeles attorney David Siegel said that the Justice Department had informed him that Angelo Mozilo, who built and ran what became the country's largest mortgage issuer before the market collapsed in 2006, is no longer under investigation. "We are pleased and gratified with the news that the DOJ has closed its investigation without further litigation," Siegel said. The Justice Department declined to comment on the issue. With the Obama administration under pressure to punish bankers and mortgage companies responsible for the crisis that spurred the 2008-2009 Great Recession, two years ago the Justice Department opened a civil investigation into Mozilo's role at Countrywide. In the housing boom in the early 2000s, Countrywide issued and sold millions of mortgages to home buyers. Many of those were low-quality loans that were fraudulently labeled good investments and packaged into securities that eventually failed, at a huge cost to investors. The 2014 Justice Department civil investigation into Mozilo's role was opened after a previous criminal probe was abandoned. Mozilo has not gone untouched by the fallout from the crisis. In 2010 he and others were ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay $67.5 million in fines and disgorged profits for related issues of substandard mortgages used in mortgage bonds. Bank of America, which purchased Countrywide in 2008, agreed in 2014 to pay $17 billion in fines, restitution and borrower relief over subprime mortgages issued by Countrywide and other units, and the damages homeowners suffered as a result to the market crash. Last month a US appeals court threw out a nearly $1.3 billion penalty against Bank of America, concluding the bank had not committed fraud amid the housing bust. (AFP)

Countrywide Official ex-CEO Mozilo no longer under fraud investigation

While mass shooting attacks are on the rise, smaller US businesses remain reluctant to invest in more physical security measures such as metal detectors or extra guards even though events like the Orlando massacre prompt a surge in interest, industry executives said. 
 
Major attacks like the one at a gay nightclub in Orlando, which left 49 people dead, often prompt a flurry of inquiries from potential customers to security companies. But the calls fail to translate into meaningful sales as owners tally the cost of the equipment and the extra personnel needed. 
 
&quot;With past mass shooting events people want to know how much additional security costs. Then they go, &#39;Gulp&#39; ,&quot; said Bruce McIndoe, chief executive of risk advisory firm iJet International Inc. 
 
Those include upfront expenses like equipment and training as well as ongoing costs such as wages for guards. For nightclubs, minor sports venues, shopping malls and smaller college campuses, the financial burden can be too great. 
 
The trend stands in contrast to Europe, where companies say sales can spike after a major incident, such as the coordinated attacks on restaurants, a concert hall and football stadium in Paris in November that killed 130 people. 
 
The very next day, privately held First Texas Products sold 18 walk-through metal detectors that can cost up to $5,000 each to another stadium in France, said Tom Walsh, the company&#39;s chief executive. 
 
However, Walsh and other industry executives say the scope of the Orlando attack may lead more US businesses, especially big ones, to invest in physical security measures already in place at sports stadiums, government buildings and airports. 
 
This week, a large US retailer contacted First Texas Products to launch a test of its hand-held security wands, which start at around $100 each, in 50 stores. &quot;They specifically mentioned the Orlando shootings,&quot; Walsh said in an email. He declined to name the client. 
 
Michael Gips of ASIS International, an association that represents more than 35,000 security professionals worldwide, said many businesses &quot;roll the dice&quot; over physical security. 
 
U.S. movie theatres have generally not installed metal detectors following the 2012 slaying of 12 people at a theatre in Aurora, Colorado, because &quot;it could drive customers away,&quot; he said. But he expects consumer concerns will change that calculus. 
 
&quot;Over time, I think people will expect a better degree of security if we continue to see shootings like this and that&#39;s what will drive change,&quot; Gips said. 
 
&nbsp;ASIS International estimates US private sector spending on security goods and services jumped 18 per cent to $377 billion in 2015 from 2013 and is &quot;pushing $400 billion&quot; this year, Gips said. 
 
Much of that growth has been driven by spending on surveillance equipment and on cyber protections following high-profile data breaches, such as the one that hit retailer Target Corp &lt;TGT.N&gt; in 2013. 
 
Metal detectors debuted at US airports in the early 1970s after a series of airplane hijackings. Government buildings and large public venues began installing them following the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. 
 
Metal detectors are now mandatory at all major league US football, baseball, basketball, hockey and football games. But their use has been slow to spread elsewhere, even though many security consultants see metal detectors as an effective first-line deterrent. &quot;The harder a target you make yourself appear, the more likely potential attackers will go elsewhere,&quot; said Jason Porter, regional managing director for risk management firm Pinkerton. Smaller venues need to weigh their options carefully, said Luca Cacioli, director of US operations for Italian firm CEIA, one of the world&#39;s largest metal detector manufacturers. 
 
At the same time, he said, &quot;the cost of not doing anything or implementing ineffective solutions is certainly a key consideration.&quot; 
(Reuters)

While mass shooting attacks are on the rise, smaller US businesses remain reluctant to invest in more physical security measures such as metal detectors or extra guards even though events like the Orlando massacre prompt a surge in interest, industry executives said. Major attacks like the one at a gay nightclub in Orlando, which left 49 people dead, often prompt a flurry of inquiries from potential customers to security companies. But the calls fail to translate into meaningful sales as owners tally the cost of the equipment and the extra personnel needed. "With past mass shooting events people want to know how much additional security costs. Then they go, 'Gulp' ," said Bruce McIndoe, chief executive of risk advisory firm iJet International Inc. Those include upfront expenses like equipment and training as well as ongoing costs such as wages for guards. For nightclubs, minor sports venues, shopping malls and smaller college campuses, the financial burden can be too great. The trend stands in contrast to Europe, where companies say sales can spike after a major incident, such as the coordinated attacks on restaurants, a concert hall and football stadium in Paris in November that killed 130 people. The very next day, privately held First Texas Products sold 18 walk-through metal detectors that can cost up to $5,000 each to another stadium in France, said Tom Walsh, the company's chief executive. However, Walsh and other industry executives say the scope of the Orlando attack may lead more US businesses, especially big ones, to invest in physical security measures already in place at sports stadiums, government buildings and airports. This week, a large US retailer contacted First Texas Products to launch a test of its hand-held security wands, which start at around $100 each, in 50 stores. "They specifically mentioned the Orlando shootings," Walsh said in an email. He declined to name the client. Michael Gips of ASIS International, an association that represents more than 35,000 security professionals worldwide, said many businesses "roll the dice" over physical security. U.S. movie theatres have generally not installed metal detectors following the 2012 slaying of 12 people at a theatre in Aurora, Colorado, because "it could drive customers away," he said. But he expects consumer concerns will change that calculus. "Over time, I think people will expect a better degree of security if we continue to see shootings like this and that's what will drive change," Gips said. ASIS International estimates US private sector spending on security goods and services jumped 18 per cent to $377 billion in 2015 from 2013 and is "pushing $400 billion" this year, Gips said. Much of that growth has been driven by spending on surveillance equipment and on cyber protections following high-profile data breaches, such as the one that hit retailer Target Corp <TGT.N> in 2013. Metal detectors debuted at US airports in the early 1970s after a series of airplane hijackings. Government buildings and large public venues began installing them following the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. Metal detectors are now mandatory at all major league US football, baseball, basketball, hockey and football games. But their use has been slow to spread elsewhere, even though many security consultants see metal detectors as an effective first-line deterrent. "The harder a target you make yourself appear, the more likely potential attackers will go elsewhere," said Jason Porter, regional managing director for risk management firm Pinkerton. Smaller venues need to weigh their options carefully, said Luca Cacioli, director of US operations for Italian firm CEIA, one of the world's largest metal detector manufacturers. At the same time, he said, "the cost of not doing anything or implementing ineffective solutions is certainly a key consideration." (Reuters)

Orlando attacks renew focus on security at smaller US businesses

Apple said today&nbsp;it will continue to sell its iPhones in China pending an appeal of a ruling which said the smartphones violated a patent of a Chinese manufacturer.

An Apple spokesman said in a statement&nbsp;that &quot;iPhone&nbsp;6&nbsp;and&nbsp;iPhone&nbsp;6Plus as well as&nbsp;iPhone&nbsp;6s,&nbsp;iPhone&nbsp;6S Plus and&nbsp;iPhone&nbsp;SE models are all available for sale today in China.&quot;

&quot;We appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month and as a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court,&quot; the statement said.

A May 19 ruling said Apple violated design patents of Chinese maker Shenzhen&nbsp;Baili for its iPhone6 and&nbsp;iPhone&nbsp;6&nbsp;Plus, and would be barred from selling those models.

The news comes with China an increasingly important market for Apple as it deals with a slowdown in global&nbsp;smartphone&nbsp;sales. 
(AFP)

Company had been ordered to stop sales after a tribunal said it violated design patents of Chinese phone maker Shenzhen?Baili

Apple said today it will continue to sell its iPhones in China pending an appeal of a ruling which said the smartphones violated a patent of a Chinese manufacturer. An Apple spokesman said in a statement that "iPhone 6 and iPhone 6Plus as well as iPhone 6s, iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone SE models are all available for sale today in China." "We appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month and as a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court," the statement said. A May 19 ruling said Apple violated design patents of Chinese maker Shenzhen Baili for its iPhone6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and would be barred from selling those models. The news comes with China an increasingly important market for Apple as it deals with a slowdown in global smartphone sales. (AFP)

Apple says it will continue to sell the iPhone 6 in China

The US&nbsp;Department of Justice on Friday dismissed all criminal charges against FedEx Corp (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FDX.N">FDX.N</a>) in a case where the company was accused of shipping packages from illegal online pharmacies despite repeated warnings, according to a court filing.

Trial had begun earlier this week in San Francisco federal court, and FedEx faced a potential $1.6 billion in penalties.

A justice department spokesman declined to comment on the reasons for the abrupt dismissal.

In a statement, FedEx spokesman Patrick Fitzgerald said the company has always been innocent and the case should never have been brought.

&quot;The government should take a very hard look at how they made the tremendously poor decision to file these charges,&quot; Fitzgerald said. &quot;Many companies would not have had the courage or the resources to defend themselves against false charges.&quot;

According to the indictment, FedEx was warned &quot;on no less than six different occasions&quot; that illegal Internet pharmacies were using its services to distribute prescription drugs. Senior managers were among those who received warnings, the filing said.

However, in court this week US&nbsp;District Judge Charles Breyer said FedEx was &quot;factually innocent&quot; and had offered to cooperate with the government during its investigation, according to the Recorder, a California legal publication. 
(Reuters)

The company had been accused of shipping packages from illegal pharmacies despite repeated warnings

The US Department of Justice on Friday dismissed all criminal charges against FedEx Corp (FDX.N) in a case where the company was accused of shipping packages from illegal online pharmacies despite repeated warnings, according to a court filing. Trial had begun earlier this week in San Francisco federal court, and FedEx faced a potential $1.6 billion in penalties. A justice department spokesman declined to comment on the reasons for the abrupt dismissal. In a statement, FedEx spokesman Patrick Fitzgerald said the company has always been innocent and the case should never have been brought. "The government should take a very hard look at how they made the tremendously poor decision to file these charges," Fitzgerald said. "Many companies would not have had the courage or the resources to defend themselves against false charges." According to the indictment, FedEx was warned "on no less than six different occasions" that illegal Internet pharmacies were using its services to distribute prescription drugs. Senior managers were among those who received warnings, the filing said. However, in court this week US District Judge Charles Breyer said FedEx was "factually innocent" and had offered to cooperate with the government during its investigation, according to the Recorder, a California legal publication. (Reuters)

US drops $1.6 billion criminal case against FedEx

TOKYO: Mitsubishi Motors said Friday it will post a $480 million special loss for the current fiscal year to pay compensation to customers over years of cheating on fuel-economy tests. 
 
Mitsubishi first admitted in April it had been falsifying the tests, manipulating data to make cars seem more efficient than they were. 
 
Since the scandal emerged, its sales in Japan have slumped and the company last month said its president would resign. 
 
The scandal -- reported to cover almost every model sold in Japan since 1991 -- also includes mini-cars produced by Mitsubishi for Nissan as part of a joint venture. 
 
&quot;We will post a special loss of 50 billion yen ($480 million)&quot; for the year to March 2017, the automaker said in a statement, &quot;as costs for payments to customers of our company and Nissan Motor&quot;. 
 
It has already booked 15 billion yen in payments to customers for the year ended in March. 
 
It was Nissan that first uncovered problems with the fuel economy data, but Mitsubishi has said the company had no part in the cheating. 
 
Yokohama-based Nissan last month threw a lifeline to Mitsubishi as it announced plans to buy a one-third stake in the crisis-hit automaker for $2.2 billion, forging an alliance that will challenge some of the world&#39;s biggest auto groups. 
 
For the past year to March, Mitsubishi posted a net loss of 72.6 billion yen and operating profit of 138.4 billion yen on sales of 2.27 trillion yen. 
 
Following the scandal, it has been slow to give a full-year earnings forecast for the current fiscal year, with the company now &quot;estimating other (future) costs&quot; related to the cheating, Mitsubishi said in the statement. 
(AFP)

Losses caused by payments to be made to customers for cheating on fuel economy tests -- since 1991

TOKYO: Mitsubishi Motors said Friday it will post a $480 million special loss for the current fiscal year to pay compensation to customers over years of cheating on fuel-economy tests. Mitsubishi first admitted in April it had been falsifying the tests, manipulating data to make cars seem more efficient than they were. Since the scandal emerged, its sales in Japan have slumped and the company last month said its president would resign. The scandal -- reported to cover almost every model sold in Japan since 1991 -- also includes mini-cars produced by Mitsubishi for Nissan as part of a joint venture. "We will post a special loss of 50 billion yen ($480 million)" for the year to March 2017, the automaker said in a statement, "as costs for payments to customers of our company and Nissan Motor". It has already booked 15 billion yen in payments to customers for the year ended in March. It was Nissan that first uncovered problems with the fuel economy data, but Mitsubishi has said the company had no part in the cheating. Yokohama-based Nissan last month threw a lifeline to Mitsubishi as it announced plans to buy a one-third stake in the crisis-hit automaker for $2.2 billion, forging an alliance that will challenge some of the world's biggest auto groups. For the past year to March, Mitsubishi posted a net loss of 72.6 billion yen and operating profit of 138.4 billion yen on sales of 2.27 trillion yen. Following the scandal, it has been slow to give a full-year earnings forecast for the current fiscal year, with the company now "estimating other (future) costs" related to the cheating, Mitsubishi said in the statement. (AFP)

Mitsubishi Motors to post USD 480m loss for the year

Gold inched up on Thursday on the back of a weaker dollar, as investors assessed whether the latest set of US&nbsp;economic data will boost the prospect of an early interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Bullion had turned negative on Wednesday after the greenback got some cushion as data showed US&nbsp;manufacturing activity expanded for a third straight month in May.

Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $1,214.61 per ounce by 0629 GMT. It fell 0.2 per cent on Wednesday to close at $1,212.40. US&nbsp;gold gained 0.2 per cent to $1,217.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.1 per cent on Thursday. A weaker dollar makes gold less expensive for buyers in other currencies.

The safe-haven metal has been taking a beating over the past couple of weeks as senior US&nbsp;central bank officials, including Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen, indicated that a rate rise may be on the cards sooner rather than later.

&quot;We expect the Fed to move in June rather than in July, in which case gold could be closer to bottoming out, since we see the dollar weakening after the move is out of the way,&quot; INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said.

Gold is sensitive to interest rates, gains in which raise the opportunity cost of holding the non-interest-yielding asset.

Spot gold is biased to revisit its May 30 low of $1,199.60 per ounce, as it has failed to break a resistance at $1,219, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

&quot;We do not think $1,200 is a bottom. Before Fed&#39;s July conference, gold will touch a new bottom of perhaps $1,130-1,140 in the following one and a half months,&quot; said Jiang Shu, chief analyst at Shandong Gold Group, the parent of Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd.

&quot;Overall though, because prices have been higher in the first half of the year, the second half may not be as good for gold long investors,&quot; Shu added.

Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world&#39;s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.24 per cent to 870.74 tonnes on Wednesday, the highest since November 2013.

Among other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.3 per cent to $15.99 per ounce. Silver had slipped to $15.77 on Wednesday, its lowest since April 12.

US gold rises up by 0.2 per cent after dollar falls by 0.1 per cent on Thursday, as was indicated by the US central bank

Gold inched up on Thursday on the back of a weaker dollar, as investors assessed whether the latest set of US economic data will boost the prospect of an early interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Bullion had turned negative on Wednesday after the greenback got some cushion as data showed US manufacturing activity expanded for a third straight month in May. Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $1,214.61 per ounce by 0629 GMT. It fell 0.2 per cent on Wednesday to close at $1,212.40. US gold gained 0.2 per cent to $1,217. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.1 per cent on Thursday. A weaker dollar makes gold less expensive for buyers in other currencies. The safe-haven metal has been taking a beating over the past couple of weeks as senior US central bank officials, including Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen, indicated that a rate rise may be on the cards sooner rather than later. "We expect the Fed to move in June rather than in July, in which case gold could be closer to bottoming out, since we see the dollar weakening after the move is out of the way," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said. Gold is sensitive to interest rates, gains in which raise the opportunity cost of holding the non-interest-yielding asset. Spot gold is biased to revisit its May 30 low of $1,199.60 per ounce, as it has failed to break a resistance at $1,219, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. "We do not think $1,200 is a bottom. Before Fed's July conference, gold will touch a new bottom of perhaps $1,130-1,140 in the following one and a half months," said Jiang Shu, chief analyst at Shandong Gold Group, the parent of Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd. "Overall though, because prices have been higher in the first half of the year, the second half may not be as good for gold long investors," Shu added. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.24 per cent to 870.74 tonnes on Wednesday, the highest since November 2013. Among other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.3 per cent to $15.99 per ounce. Silver had slipped to $15.77 on Wednesday, its lowest since April 12.

Gold inches up as Dollar eases