1. India’s Nation Brand Value Increases 5% in 2018; US, China Dominate Most Valuable Nation Brands List
India lost one spot to rank as the 9th most valuable nation brand in the world, falling for the second consecutive year in the list of most valuable nation brands, despite its brand value rising 5 percent from the previous year, according to Brand Finance’s annual Nation Brands 2018 report.
During the year 2018, the total national brand value of India was reported at $2,159 billion from $2,046 billion in 2016, the report showed.
The US grabbed the first spot in the list again with a brand value of $25,899 billion, which rose 23 percent from the past year as the US economy grew at a rapid pace and the growth is also expected to continue in the coming months, the report noted.
Apart from GDP, construction orders, consumer sales, car output and other indicators all show growth.
(Source: The Financial Express)
2. ArcelorMittal Picked As Winning Bidder For Essar Steel
The committee of creditors tasked with the resolution process of Essar Steel Ltd has picked ArcelorMittal as H1 Resolution Applicant, or preferred bidder, for the insolvent asset. The final bid price will be negotiated over the weeks to come, the Luxembourg-based company said in a statement.
The company will now enter into further final negotiations with the CoC, statement by ArcelorMittal on 19 October 2018.
This comes two weeks after the Supreme Court directed both Numetal Mauritius and ArcelorMittal to pay up past debts to be eligible to bid for insolvent Essar Steel Ltd. Of the two, only one met the Supreme Court directive – ArcelorMittal. Numetal failed to do so within the two-week deadline laid down by the apex court, which expired on Friday, 19 October.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
3. RBI Opens Banking Tap to Ease Liquidity Crunch at NBFCs
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, 19 October, incentivised bank lending to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) by easing liquidity norms and increasing the ceiling for lending to a single NBFC until 31 December.
The central bank allowed banks to use government securities as level 1 high quality liquid asset (HQLA) equivalent to the bank’s incremental lending to NBFCs and housing finance companies (HFCs) after 19 October 2018. This will be limited to 0.5% of the bank’s net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) or its total deposits. The central bank’s measure is expected to facilitate additional lending of ₹59,000 crore to NBFCs.
This steps take the total carve-out from statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) for computing liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) to 13.5%.
(Source: Livemint)
4. Uncertainty over Tatas’ Plan to Pick a Stake in Jet Airways
At the moment, there is little clarity on whether Tata Sons will acquire a stake in Jet Airways though sources confirm intermediaries from the two companies have engaged in consultations.
Analysts say that at the moment everything is ‘up in the air’ with everyone sniffing around to for opportunities. They also feel that there is a “20-to-25 percent” chance that Tata Sons will take a stake in Jet Airways. Under Natarajan Chandrasekaran as the Chairman of the Tata Sons’ board, the company has shown a keen interest in the aviation sector.
Tata Sons has a 51 percent stake in Vistara Airlines with Singapore Airlines having the rest of the 49 percent stake. Tata Sons also has a stake in Air Asia India, a low-cost airline.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
5. Inflation-Purist MPC Awaits Impact Of Past Rate Hikes Before Taking Further Action
India’s monetary policy committee’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged at its October meeting was based on lower-than-expected readings of inflation and the need to let the economy adjust to past rate hikes.
Discussion around factors like the role of interest rates in the currency markets or the impact of the recent turmoil across non-bank lenders was limited, showed minutes of the MPC meet released on Friday, 19 October.
After two consecutive interest rate hikes, the MPC kept interest rates unchanged at its October meeting with a 5-1 vote. The committee, however, moved its stance from ‘neutral’ to ‘calibrated tightening’ to demonstrate its commitment towards bringing inflation down to the 4 percent mid-point of its inflation target of 4 (+/- 2) percent.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
6. Govt Gold Bond Scheme Closes Today. 10 Things to Know
The new series of sovereign gold bonds closes for subscription today. The government has fixed the price at Rs 3,146 per gram for the 2018-19 Series II sovereign gold bond scheme. Under the scheme, gold bonds will be issued on 23 October. Sovereign gold bonds will be issued every month from October 2018 to February 2019, the RBI had said earlier. The next tranche will be open from November 5-9 and issuance will be on 13 November.
(Source: Livemint)
7. ED Files Money-Laundering Cases in Air India Deals
In fresh trouble for embattled state-run carrier Air India, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered multiple criminal cases to probe allegations of irregularities and money laundering in at least four deals signed during the UPA rule including the controversial merger of Air India and Indian Airlines.
The agency has filed at least four Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs), the ED equivalent of a police FIR, officials told PTI on Friday, 19 October.
The ECIRs have been registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
8. Facebook Hires Former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg as Head of Global Affairs
Facebook Inc has hired former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to lead its global affairs and communications team, as the social network deals with a number of scandals related to privacy, fake news and election meddling.
The appointment makes Clegg, former leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats and deputy to David Cameron in the 2010-2015 coalition government, the most senior European politician ever in a leadership role in Silicon Valley.
Facebook said Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg were closely involved in the hiring process, and started talking to Clegg over the summer.
(Source: The Financial Express)
9. India’s Forex Reserves See Steepest Weekly Fall In Nearly 7 Years
India’s foreign exchange reserves saw the steepest weekly fall in nearly seven years as the central bank stepped in to slow the fall in the rupee.
Forex reserves fell by $5.14 billion during the week ended 12 October, shows data released by the Reserve Bank of India. This took reserves down to $394.46 billion compared to the peak of $426 billion in April. The last time reserves fell by more than $5 billion in a week was in November 2011.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
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