Government

The NFO for Edelweiss CRISIL IBX 50:50 Gilt Plus SDL Short Duration Index Fund opened on January 27. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on February 3 set a coupn rate of 7.26 percent for the new 10-year benchmark government bond maturing in 2033, raising Rs 12,000 crore. The coupon set on the new benchmark bond is similar to the coupon set on the previous 10-year benchmark bond. “This could be due to easing yields on the bonds after the budget,” said a dealer with a state-owned bank who spoke on condition of anonymity. Also read: Government bond yield eases post expected market borrowing figures The 10-year benchmark government bond is the pricing benchmark for the sovereign bond yield curve and is usually the most liquid paper in the secondary market for government debt. Read More Government bonds are the pricing reference for a vast variety of credit products in the economy, including corporate debt. Prior to this auction, the RBI has set 12 paise … [Read more...] about RBI sets 7.26% coupon rate for new 10-year benchmark government bond

The yield on the benchmark government bond is likely to ease in the coming months with uncertainty over domestic conditions lifting and lower-than-expected borrowing numbers announced in the Union Budget, experts said. The yield on the 7.26 percent 2032 paper may range from 7.10 percent to 7.30 percent in the months ahead, they said. “I expect the 10-year benchmark yield range to drift lower to 7.10-7.20 percent. The yield will slowly trend towards 7 percent in the coming two-three months,” said Sandeep Bagla, chief executive officer of Trust Mutual Fund. “Budget is behind us, giving us clarity on the borrowing. Headline inflation is declining and the rate hike cycle has come to an end. Hence, we feel that over a period of six months to one year, yields will decline,” said Marzban Irani, chief investment officer – of debt, LIC Mutual Fund. Bagla said demand from insurance companies, banks, foreign institutional investors, and the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation will … [Read more...] about Budget 2023: Government bond yield set to trend towards 7%, say experts

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline The debate over gas stoves is coming to the Senate after Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced legislation Thursday to bar the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from using federal funding to ban gas stoves, following a weeks-long debate over the “hidden hazard” of gas stoves. Key Facts The bipartisan legislation aims to prevent the commission from imposing or enforcing a new safety standard that would lead to prohibiting the use or sale of gas stoves. Manchin publicly announced he was introducing the legislation during a Senate hearing Thursday saying in part, “I’ll tell you one thing, they’re not taking my gas stove.” In a letter to CPSC last week, Cruz said if a total or partial ban on gas stoves were enacted it would “constitute government overreach.” Separately, on Wednesday the Department of Energy (DOE) proposed new standards for consumer cooking … [Read more...] about Senators Cruz And Manchin Introduce Legislation To Stop Federal Government From Banning Gas Stoves

The returns on the investment in listed bonds are likely to be impacted in the coming days as the government in the Union Budget 2023 has removed the exemption from tax deduction at source (TDS) on these securities, experts said. In the Finance Bill 2023, the government announced the omission of clause (ix) under section 193 of the Income Tax Act, which provides an exemption from TDS on interest payments on listed bonds. So accordingly, now all bondholders have to pay TDS on their returns, which will reduce their returns. “The returns of investors will decrease because of TDS applicable now on all interest on securities be it listed or unlisted,” said Umesh Kumar Tulsyan, Managing Director, Sovereign Global. “It affects the returns. A bit of illiquidity will crop up due to this. Held-to-maturity (HTM) investors or those who have exemptions from tax like mutual funds, insurance companies, and provident funds, among others, shall not be impacted as such,” said Ajay … [Read more...] about Budget 2023: TDS on listed bonds may hit investor returns; here’s what experts say

Blinken reiterated that the US is confident this is a Chinese surveillance balloon. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said the first task at their disposal is to ensure that the Chinese surveillance balloon which is hovering over its sky is out of its territory, as he defended his decision to postpone his planned trip to Beijing. "Job one is getting it out of our airspace. We continue to believe that having open lines of communication is important. Indeed, this incident only underscores the importance, and that’s why we will maintain them. That’s why, when conditions permit, I plan to go to China. But the most important thing right now is to see that this surveillance asset gets out of our airspace, and we’ll take it from there," Blinken told reporters at a news conference here. At the joint news conference with the visiting South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, Blinken said it was very important to emphasize that the presence of this surveillance balloon over … [Read more...] about Job one is getting Chinese surveillance balloon out of US airspace: Antony Blinken

Representative image A US government arm on Tuesday announced a USD 35 million loan to domestic microlender Creditaccess Grameen (CAG), which will eventually help 5 lakh women entrepreneurs gain access to credit. The US government's Development Finance Corporation (DFC) also signed an agreement for a USD 10 million loan guarantee for Punjab Renewable Energy Systems, which will help fund the construction of seven biomass plants. The agreements were signed by DFC's visiting chief executive Scott Nathan on the first day of his visit to India, as part of the President Joe Biden administration's efforts to deepen the Indo-US ties and also help the broader causes it has committed to support. Nathan said the DFC, which has so far committed USD 3 billion of support to Indian private sector enterprises since getting formed in 2019 making the country the largest beneficiary of the programme, is committed to support financial inclusion and clean energy causes. It will also announce … [Read more...] about US govt arm lends $35 million to Creditaccess Grameen to help women entrepreneurs

Ranil Wickremesinghe The Sri Lankan government on Friday decided to prorogue Parliament till February 8 when President Ranil Wickremesinghe will make a special address on the implementation of the India-backed 13th Amendment to the Constitution and other issues concerning the minority Tamil community. The order of prorogation of parliament will come into effect from midnight on Friday, a statement said. President Wickremesinghe has ended the current session of Parliament in order to officially reopen for a brand new parliamentary session on February 8. Wickremesinghe's office said the president by issuing a special gazette has ended the current session which is the third session since its commencement on August 3 last year. "Accordingly President Ranil Wickremesinghe is scheduled to ceremonially inaugurate the 4th session of the 9th Parliament at 10 am on February 8," the release added. Read More Earlier in the day, Wickremesinghe announced his intention … [Read more...] about Sri Lankan Parliament prorogued till February 8

The U.S. economy added more than double the number of jobs expected in January, pushing the unemployment rate to the lowest since 1969 and complicating the Federal Reserve ’s effort to tame inflation. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said on Friday. January’s figures exceeded last year’s average monthly gain of 401,000, and the bureau also revised 2022’s total growth to almost 7.1 million from 6.4 million. hawkish after raising rates by just 25 basis points at its latest meeting. Yields on 10-year Treasurys , which move inversely to prices, jumped 13 basis points to more than 3.5%. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) , and hold rates higher for longer afterward. Jerome Powell , have emphasized the need to bring inflation down to the Fed’s target rate of 2%. The report came after weekly jobless claims , which are more volatile than monthly figures, fell to the lowest since April, not far above an all-time low set in 1968. The labor force participation rate and … [Read more...] about Job Growth Surged in January as Unemployment Fell to a 54-Year Low

Public sector enterprises may look appealing to investors, but not many are willing to take a bite of those in the divestment list. (Representative image) Union Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman, budget 2023, has pitched for a review of the regulations by financial sector regulators in consultation with stakeholders. Presenting the last budget before the general elections in 2024, on February 1, Sitharaman suggested different financial sector regulators to carry out a review of regulations. Highlighting the need to ease and reduce the cost of compliance, Sitharaman said that financial sector regulators will be requested to carry out a comprehensive review of existing regulations. FM said: "They will consider suggestions from public and regulated entities. Time limits to decide the applications under various regulations will also be laid down." Existing regulations Read More The existing regulatory authorities include the Reserve Bank of India … [Read more...] about Budget 2023: FM pushes for review of financial sector regulations

New fixed income scheme for women Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 did not give any updates on the crucial bank privatisation plan that was first announced in the 2021 Union Budget. More than an hour into the Budget 2023 speech, FM Nirmala Sitharaman has not touched upon any key banking sector reforms including the long-held promise of privatisation of public sector banks. The bank privatisation plan has remained on paper for many years. Except in the case of IDBI Bank, where the process is on for government exit, there is no progress on the bank privatisation plan. Ahead of the 2024 general elections and considering the politically sensitive nature of the move, the Government was expected to keep mum on the bank privatisation issue. India has 12 state-run banks post a mega-merger initiated two years ago when 10 PSBs were merged into four. The crucial Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill is yet to be tabled in Parliament. According to industry sources, … [Read more...] about Budget 2023: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman silent on PSB privatisation agenda