Tuesday, November 26
Advance tax collections have increased by nearly 20% to over Rs 6.2 lakh crore, sustaining the growth momentum of the current fiscal year. The data shows that corporate tax accounts for nearly 77% of the advance tax collections. The good festival season and expected good third quarter performance for companies have contributed to the positive corporate performance. The government is on track to achieve the fiscal deficit target of 5.9% of GDP and has restricted spending to meet higher spending requirements ahead of the Budget.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament that Google has removed 2,500 apps from the Play Store that offered fraudulent loans. Only apps approved by regulated entities can be hosted on the platform. The government and regulators, such as RBI, are actively working to control fraudulent loan apps. RBI issued digital lending guidelines and shared a whitelist with the government. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre has flagged certain apps. The government has also blocked funds siphoned off from bank accounts and is considering blocking phones used for frauds.
Ambuja Cements, controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, will invest $723 million to build 1,000 MW of renewable power projects. The projects include solar and wind power plants in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The company aims to increase green energy usage to 60% of its planned capacity. Adani Group plans to invest $100 billion in green energy transition over the next decade, with five firms aiming to become net zero emitters by 2050. Adani and Mukesh Ambani are champions of renewable energy projects.
Goldman Sachs plans to expand its credit business in India, targeting the nation's wealthy diaspora as global investors shift focus to the fastest-growing major economy. The investment bank aims to broaden its range of loans through its shadow banking unit and obtain a license to scale up currency trading. Indian markets have benefited from the shift of emerging market equity flows from China. Goldman Sachs is also looking to serve Indian entrepreneurs who have moved abroad during the pandemic from offices in Singapore, London, and Dubai.
As of now, the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have made a net investment of around Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the Indian equity markets and around Rs 60,000 crore in the debt market. Collectively, they pumped over Rs 2 lakh crore into the capital market, according to data available from the depositories. Of Rs 1.5 lakh crore net equity market inflow, close to Rs 43,000 crore have been invested in the first two weeks of December following the enhanced political stability, owing to the BJP's success in recent elections
Activision Blizzard, a videogame maker, will pay around USD50 million to settle a lawsuit by a California regulator. The lawsuit alleged that the company discriminated against women employees, denying them promotion opportunities and underpaying them. The settlement agreement states that the Civil Rights Department will withdraw the allegations and dismiss its systemic harassment-related claims. Activision also stated that no investigation substantiated allegations of systemic or widespread sexual harassment at the company. Additionally, Activision previously agreed to pay up to USD18 million to settle similar claims made by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The sensex capped a strong winning week with a 970-point rally on Friday to close above the 71,000-mark for the first time in history. It closed at 71,484 points as software exporters led the rally. The US central bank's announcement late Wednesday that it could start cutting interest rates in 2024 in the world's largest market led to a global rally which continued Friday. In the domestic market, foreign funds remained net buyers with a Rs 9,239-crore net inflow Friday that took the month's tally to about Rs 52,000cr.
US stocks end higher as Dow Jones hits record close for second day; optimism about lower borrowing rates next year lifts market; Apple reaches intra-day record high; Tesla shares surge, turnover double that of Nvidia; underperforming sectors like energy and real estate also rise; S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes climb; heavy volume on US exchanges; semiconductor and smaller company indexes reach record highs; Federal Reserve leaves interest rates unchanged; Adobe stock falls after revenue forecast miss; US retail sales unexpectedly rise in November, alleviating recession fears.
The Asian Development Bank has revised India's growth forecast for the current financial year to 6.7%, citing stronger-than-expected second-quarter performance. The RBI also revised its growth estimate last week, raising it to 7% from the earlier projection of 6.5% for FY24. This alignment in growth projections by two influential financial institutions underscores a positive outlook for India's economic trajectory. Looking ahead to the next financial year, FY25, the ADB maintains its growth forecast for India at 6.7%.
