Posts

Showing posts from September 30, 2019

Dollar supported as fears of ramp up in Sino-US trade war ease.

The Businessline September 30, 2019 The dollar was supported on Monday in cautious trade as worries of an immediate widening of the Sino-US trade war eased and markets awaited the latest Chinese manufacturing data for a glimpse into the health of the world's second-largest economy. The greenback was steady against most major currencies, rising marginally against the Japanese yen to buy 107.94 yen, flat against the euro and slightly weaker on British pound, to trade at $1.0936 per euro and $1.2292 per pound. The New Zealand dollar was knocked by diving business confidence, while its Australian counterpart drifted lower as dovish expectations build ahead of a central bank meeting on Tuesday. Three sources had told Reuters on Friday that the US Administration was mulling de-listing Chinese companies from US stock markets. The reports initially sent major stock indices and the Chinese yuan slipping, but losses were pared as it became clearer that a decision on such move

Soya rises despite new crop arrivals.

The Businessline September 30, 2019 Even as new crop has started hitting local mandis, soyabean continued to trade higher at the mandis in Indore with its prices at ₹4,150-4,200 a quintal. Similarly, plant deliveries, too, were higher at ₹4,200. According to Sanjay Agrawal, a local trader, the ongoing rally in soyabean may end once arrival of new crop gathers momentum. Soya oil ruled stable at ₹756-758 for 10 kg, while soya solvent ruled at ₹715-720. Soyameal fetched ₹34,500-35,000 a tonne. Reference :  https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/soya-rises-despite-new-crop-arrivals/article29557555.ece

China to send top trade negotiator to US for talks.

The Businessline September 30, 2019 China’s top trade negotiator will lead an upcoming 13th round of talks aimed at resolving a trade war with the United States, a senior Chinese official said on Sunday.  Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington for the negotiations, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said. He didn’t give exact dates, but said the talks would be after China’s National Day holiday, which runs through October 7. “The two sides should find a solution through equal dialogue in accordance with the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,” Wang said at a news conference with other officials, including Commerce Minister Zhong Shan.  The Trump administration first imposed tariffs on Chinese imports last year in a bid to win concessions from China, which responded with tit-for-tat tariffs. The escalating dispute between the world’s two largest economies has depressed stock prices and poses a threat to the global economy. Both sides have ma

Shoppers From Smaller Towns Help Amazon And Flipkart Sales Buck The Economic Slowdown.

New 18.com September 30, 2019 The ongoing festive sales on Amazon and Flipkart have bucked the trend of sluggish sales and a tentative market sentiment. The economic slowdown which has hit various sectors of the Indian economy over the past few quarters seemed nowhere to be found with the Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale and the Flipkart Big Billion Days Sale rolling out great offers and consumers lapping them up. Amazon and Flipkart are both suggesting that they have clocked record sales in the first couple of days of the sales going Live, and a significant increase in traction across categories compared with the sales at the same time last year. According to numbers shared by Amazon, they sold over Rs 750 crores worth of premium smartphones in the first 36 hours of the sale. The Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale went Live on Saturday noon for the Prime subscribers and was available for everyone 12 hours later. A large chunk of the premium smartphone sales includes phones

With the data-protection bill in limbo, these policies contravene the right to privacy.

The Caravan September 30, 2019 n 24 August 2017, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the right to privacy is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. The verdict, in Justice KS Puttaswamy vs Union of India, stated that the right to privacy is an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty, as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. Puttaswamy, a retired high court judge, had challenged the government’s decision to make the biometrics-based Aadhaar cards mandatory for access to state welfare schemes. The government had argued that the Constitution does not grant specific protection for the right to privacy—a contention that the apex court overruled. The ambit of the judgement—autonomy over personal decisions, bodily integrity as well as the protection of personal information—has far reaching implications for any data that is part of the state’s multiple databases with details of India’s citizens. The governme

“We feel suffocated”: Kashmiri mothers on bearing the brunt of their sons’ detentions.

The Caravan September 28, 2019 On 5 August, a 30-year-old Kashmiri businessman was headed to a pharmacy near Srinagar’s Lal Chowk area to pick up medicines for his mother. On the way, “there is a CRPF camp,” his mother told me, referring to the Central Reserve Police Force. “As he began to walk by the area, astation house officer,” of the Jammu and Kashmir police, “detained him, and kept him imprisoned in the local police station.” She said her son was booked under the Public Safety Act, which allows preventive custody for two years without trial or charges. The businessman is one of thousands of young men arrested in Kashmir over the last month. The Valley has been in a state of lockdown since 5 August, when the government effectively abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted Jammu and Kashmir a special status, and downgraded the state into two union territories. The government’s announcements were followed by a heavy security clampdown, a communications bla

Imran ‘bloodbath’ speech at UN appears to echo JeM, LeT words.

Hindustan Times September 30, 2019 When Pakistan’s National Security Adviser, Naseer Khan Janjua, met his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, in Bangkok on December 26, 2017, he told him that Rawalpindi GHQ had given a green signal to wage jihad after the Americans had convinced Islamabad that the Soviet Red Army’s main aim behind the 1979 occupation of Afghanistan was to capture the warm water port of Karachi. Janjua, a former Quetta Corps commander, said that Pakistan, without much ado, took up arms at America’s call. Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, repeated the same Army line in his September 27 address the UN General Assembly, exculpating home-grown jihadists of crimes. PM Khan’s speech predicting a “bloodbath” in the Valley, did not appear much different from the words used by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Mufti Rauf Asghar or Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Talha Saeed routinely from Shaheed Chowk in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. On September 13, at a

Amid Price Hike, Govt Bans Export of Onion With Immediate Effect.

The Quint September 30, 2019 The Central government on Sunday, 29 September, banned the export of onions to increase availability of the commodity in the domestic market and contain rising prices.  Stock limits have been imposed on onion traders to facilitate release of stocks in the market and prevention of hoarding by traders. For retail traders, the stock limit is of 100 quintals and for wholesale traders it is 500 quintals, PTI reported. “The reported export below Minimum Export Price to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be immediately stopped and strict action will be initiated against those who are found to be violating this decision of the Central government,” Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said. “Export of all varieties of onions...is prohibited with immediate effect,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), an arm of the commerce ministry which deals with exports and import related issues, said in a notification. The DGFT

Must Defend US Constitution First: Pelosi on Fear of Losing Polls.

The Quint September 29, 2019 US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who launched an impeachment inquiry against US President Donald Trump, said on Saturday, 28 September, that “it doesn’t matter” if she loses the House elections in 2020.  Pelosi formally launched the inquiry earlier this week amid a confrontation between Congress and the White House over a whistleblower complaint regarding Trump's explosive 25 July call with Ukraine's newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky, trying to arm-twist him into investigating one of his main 2020 political rivals, Joe Biden. While speaking at a journalism event hosted by Texas Tribune on Saturday, Pelosi said that public opinion is now shifting in support of an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, after the release of new information about his conversation with Zelenskiy.  President Donald Trump, on Saturday, warned supporters that "our country is at stake like never before." The video message posted on T

No trade deal, no Kashmir win, no investment but BJP celebrating Modi return from US.

The Print September 29, 2019 Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday returned home to a rousing welcome from BJP party workers and supporters despite not having secured the much-touted trade deal with the US. Also, the issue of Kashmir became further complicated between him and US President Donald Trump despite a massive spectacle of bonhomie between the two leaders at ‘Howdy, Modi!’. Prime Minister Modi scored clear nil in the most contentious issue of trade during his weeklong trip to America. Trade has undoubtedly become an unavoidable stumbling block in the relationship, even as both sides continue to fiercely fight out trade disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO). While it is true that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal continues to brainstorm along with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington DC, a so-called ‘limited’ trade deal remains as elusive as it was before Modi’s visit. When the Modi government came back to power for the