Category: Finance

David Stockman says coronavirus is sparking a financial crisis, warns ‘Wall Street is toast’

Loknath Das

Main Street may be more resilient than Wall Street during the coronavirus crisis. Former Office of Management and Budget director David Stockman warns the pandemic is exposing risky speculation and shaky market fundamentals. “Wall Street is toast,” he told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Thursday. “It’s going to end as a financial crisis because the illusion that central banks always have your back and the economy would keep expanding and growing forever and ever … was complete nonsense.” Stockman, who served under President Ronald Reagan, has been forecasting an epic market…

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Tata Motors, two group finance firms accused of antitrust violations in India: Sources

Loknath Das

India’s competition regulator is examining allegations that Tata Motors and two finance firms of its $100 billion parent group abused their market position while selling commercial vehicles, according to three sources and legal documents seen by Reuters. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is reviewing a complaint which alleges the country’s biggest seller of trucks dictated terms around the quantity and type of vehicles its former dealer in northern India – Varanasi Auto Sales – should stock. More than a dozen lawyers representing the three Tata companies attended a private hearing at…

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Muthoot Finance shares jump over 7% on strong Q3 results; NIM at 17.1% highest in 12 quarters

Loknath Das

Shares of Muthoot Finance ltd jumped over 7 percent on Monday, buoyed by a strong third quarter performance. The gold finance company’s shares quoted at Rs 792.35 apiece, up 6.3 percent on BSE at 9.36 am. The stock opened at Rs 774, up over 3.5 percent from its Friday’s close of Rs 746.60. The stock surged to a new 52-week high of Rs 801.70 per share. So far this year, the stock has gained nearly 3 percent, while the one year return on the stock is more than 50 percent…

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Copilot is a subscription personal finance tracker aiming to kill Mint

Loknath Das

When Intuit acquired Mint more than a decade ago, mobile was in a different place — as were tech-enabled financial services. There hasn’t been much progress for the personal finance tracker app category in the meantime. Mint has stumbled along with integration issues and tiresome data misclassifications. For many, the best alternative has been firing up a spreadsheet. Copilot is a new personal finance-tracking app from a former Googler that seems like it could garner a following based on its slick design and ease of use. The subscription iOS app lets…

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Finance ministry asks tax officials to identify evaders through data analytics

Loknath Das

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (Photo: Reuters) In a bid to meet ambitious tax target, the finance ministry on Friday held a review meeting with tax officials directing them to make special efforts to identify and book tax evaders through data analytics and information sharing. The meeting chaired by Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey. He was accompanied by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) officials. Officials were also told to communicate with taxpayers that they must genuinely file their taxes before…

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rules out quick recovery for economy

Loknath Das

NEW DELHI : India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it was too early to say if the slowdown in the economy had bottomed out. Companies are planning new investments after $20 billion worth of corporate tax cuts announced in September, Sitharaman told reporters in New Delhi Friday. Actual investments may take some time to materialize, she said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has unveiled several steps since August to revive economic growth from the weakest pace since 2013. The surprise decision to lower taxes for companies raised concerns about India’s fiscal discipline, with Moody’s Investors…

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Finance Ministry dismissed RBI’s warning on electoral bonds: report

Loknath Das

The Reserve Bank of India had warned the government on the perils of electoral bonds and its effect on the country’s currency just before its announcement on Budget 2017. However, the Finance Ministry overlooked it stating the apex bank had not “understood the proposed mechanism”. According to a report by HuffPost India, four days before Budget 2017, a senior tax official flagged an issue with electoral bonds the government was planning to announce. He wrote to his superiors in the finance ministry. The report states that on the same day…

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KPMG, NIIT launch finance academy

Loknath Das

NEW DELHI : KPMG in India and NIIT Limited announced on Thursday the launch of the KPMG NIIT Finance Academy in India to build new skills and talent in the finance sector. The academy proposes to offer programs in finance to fresh graduates and experienced finance professionals, to address new skill requirements that digital transformation has brought about in the finance sector. According to KPMG International’s recently-released ‘Future Ready Finance Survey 2019′ report, future finance teams will not only require traditional finance competencies but also process management and exceptional management skills…

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Venkaiah Naidu nominates Manmohan Singh to parliamentary standing committee on finance

Loknath Das

Manmohan Singh was the country’s finance minister between 1991 and 1996. (Photo: PTI) Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu has nominated Former Prime Minister and senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh to the parliamentary standing committee on finance in place of party colleague Digvijaya Singh. Digvijaya Singh has now been nominated to the parliamentary standing committee on urban development by the chairman of the Upper House, according to a Rajya Sabha bulletin. “The Rajya Sabha chairman has nominated Manmohan Singh, member, Rajya Sabha, to be a member of the committee on finance…

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