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India´s economy to grow at 7.2% in ´18; 7.4% in 2019 India´s economy is projected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2018 and 7.4 per cent in 2019, despite a slow down observed this year and the lingering effects from the note ban, the UN has said. The outlook for India remains largely positive, underpinned by robust private consumption and public investment as well as ongoing structural reforms, despite the slowdown observed in early 2017 and the lingering effects from the demonetisation policy, the United Nations said. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 13th December 2017

Bond yields likely to climb more India´s bond investors seem have gotten tired of the incessant supply of fixed income papers time when regulatory requirement them are reducing progressively.And, with inflation rising, chances of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cutting rates have almost nullified. As a result, bond yields have been rising and this should beacause for concern for everyone as the 10 year bond yield is considered the benchmark interest rate of the economy.Bond yields and prices move in opposite direction.The 10 year bond yield rose to as high as 7.22 per cent in the morning trade, but climbed back to close at 7.19 per cent, marginally higher than its previous close of 7.18 percent But if we expand the time frame, the bond yields have risen from 6.4 per cent level in August.That way, the rise in yields is quite dramatic even as the central bank cut its repo rate once in August.Oil prices have started climbing up and at near Rs 65 a barrel, it would put upward press...

Big investors press major companies to step up climate action More than 200 institutional investors with Rs 26 trillion in assets under management said on Tuesday they would step up pressure on the world´s biggest corporate greenhouse gas emitters to combat climate change. Two years to the day since 195 governments adopted the Paris climate agreement, investors including Pacific Investment Management Co, Amundi, Legal &General Investment Management, Northern Trust and Aegon said they aimed to work with the 100 biggest polluting companies to curb emissions under a five year plan. That, they said, would be more effective than threatening to pull the plug on their investments in such companies, which include Coal India, Gazprom, Exxon Mobil and China Petroleum &Chemical Corp. "We will be asking companies to curb emissions and bring them down in line with the Paris goals," said Anne Simpson, investment director of sustainability at the California Public Employees´...

Govt may allow pre-GST stocks to have revised MRP stickers till March The government is expected to allow use of stickers to display revised maximum retail price (MRP) on unsold pre-GST stocks for three months until March 31, a senior official said "The department of consumer affairs will most likely extend it, and will issue a directive next week," the government official told ET. The department had earlier extended the deadline from September 30 to December 31. Recent changes in GST rates again created a problem of goods carrying old prices printed on them. When the goods and service tax (GST) was implemented on July 1, the government had allowed marketers to display details of the revised MRP on pre-GST stocks b way of stamping, putting sticker, or online printing. Also, from April 1 onward, manufacturers will not have to display details of GST on packaged commodities. They will need to display only the revised MRP, the official said Manufacturers will still need...

Surge in retail inflation in November brings RBI’s fears to reality A higher than expected retail inflation in November has upset RBI’s statistics, and the prospect of a rate hike is looking much closer now The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation surged to 4.88% in November, the fastest month-on-month increase in 16 months, driven by soaring vegetable prices and a rise in fuel inflation.Vegetable prices jumped 22.48% year-on-year, the steepest since the double-digit inflation episode in early 2013. Considering prices of vegetables had fallen 10% in November last year, there is a statistical base effect here. Food inflation doubled to 4.41% in November from 2.26% in October and the pickup in price rise was reflected in almost all categories except pulses, prices of which continued to fall. Vegetables may well be the main culprit but the quickening of inflation is not restricted to the food segment alone The recent surge in global crude oil prices was reflected in the ri...

Sebi sets up department to address issues firms face in bankruptcy court Sebi has created a separate debt department to look at debt instruments such as REITs, InvITs, securitised assets and corporate bonds, says chairman Ajay Tyagi The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has formed a new department that will review company filings for debt raising and address issues that listed companies face in bankruptcy court. This follows greater government and regulatory focus on tackling stressed assets, said two people aware of the matter, including the Sebi chairman. “Talking about work bifurcation, we have created a separate debt department which is looking at debt instruments such as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), securitised assets and corporate bonds,” Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi said at an event organized by the Association of Investment Bankers of India in Mumbai on Tuesday. “The department was made in the last week of N...