U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday said his administration will scrutinize what he called “abuses” of visas amid speculation that he intends to restrict the flow of skilled workers into his country. In a two-minute video posted on YouTube, Mr. Trump for the first time since the Nov. 8 election articulated to the public what he plans to do during his first 100 days in office. “On […]
Farmers in India are enjoying a privilege denied to the rest of their countrymen–permission to use old 500-rupee currency notes to buy seed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month announced the replacement of high-denomination bank notes worth 500 rupees ($7.33) and 1,000 rupees ($14.66), to get rid of corruption, eliminate counterfeit money and make people pay taxes. The move has led to a cash shortage, with […]
Nov 24, 2016 10:04 am IST NEW DELHI—Unable to spend or deposit their sackfuls of large bank notes amid India’s crackdown on hoarding cash, business owners across the country are paying employees months of salary in advance, ringing up bogus sales and even buying gold they can smuggle overseas to get rid of stashed money or conceal its source. Such illegal workarounds are threatening to undercut Prime […]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s request for feedback on his move to scrap large denomination notes has sent his app to the top of the charts. Mr. Modi on Tuesday asked users of his app, which allows citizens share their views and get news about the leader of the world’s largest democracy, to rate his decision to replace 500 and 1000-rupee notes that was aimed at cutting corruption […]
Amid increasing social unrest, a collapsing currency (against the dollar), and an economy at a standstill, there has been another growing fear in India that has spooked many around the world. The rumors and speculation of an Indian gold import ban (or even an outright ban on gold ownership) have sparked panic-buying of the precious metal sending retail premia soaring at local jewelers. In an effort to […]
Nov 25, 2016 11:33 am IST Another day, another set of late-evening twists in India’s experiment in warp-speed currency replacement. Indians can no longer exchange their voided 500- and 1,000-rupee bills for newly minted currency at banks and post offices, after the Ministry of Finance tightened its crackdown on cash Thursday night. Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi abruptly invalidated the big bank notes this month, millions […]
Nov 25, 2016 12:35 pm IST We’re going to be live on Facebook at 9.30 a.m. India time Monday discussing India’s ongoing cash crunch and want your questions. The government’s crackdown on the hoarding of notes has left many Indians hungry for cash, and some with sackfuls of large bills they are unable to spend or deposit. Others have found inventive ways to get around the shortage. […]
Tata has replaced Cyrus Mistry as chairman of its steel subsidiary, as it seeks to reassert control over its operating companies in the midst of India’s biggest boardroom battle. In a statement to the Mumbai Stock Exchange, Tata Steel said that “in view of the current situation” its board had voted by a majority to replace Mr Mistry as chairman with immediate effect and elected Mr O […]
The relentless rise of the dollar scorched emerging market currencies on Thursday, sending China’s renminbi to its weakest level in eight years, while India’s rupee plumbed a record low. Broad currency weakness against the dollar came as the bond market fully expects policy tightening by the Federal Reserve at its December meeting. Investors are also looking to next year and trying to gauge the extent of further […]
While most global equity markets were subdued due to the US Thaksgiving holiday, the FX world was very busy overnight, marked by the relentless dollar surge on expectations of a rate hike not only in December but further in 2017, sending Asian currencies to the weakest level in 7 years: the Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index reached 103.32, the lowest level since March 2009. The regional FX plunge […]
The vicious battle roiling India’s once-admired Tata Group has escalated further with Cyrus Mistry, the recently deposed chairman, saying the conglomerate’s ill-fated $12bn acquisition of Corus in 2007 was mainly to satisfy the “ego” of his predecessor Ratan Tata. In his latest salvo, Mr Mistry — who is resisting attempts to force him off the board of several Tata operating companies — also claimed Tata Consultancy Services […]
Talking over a scratchy telephone line from Mumbai, Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt sound relaxed as they discuss their new film, Dear Zindagi (Dear Life), which is due out tomorrow (November 24) in the UAE. The superstar and young actress have been working tirelessly to promote the film, and spent a whole day last week talking to reporters, whose time slots were queued up, but, like […]
India’s government is taking a hardline stance over renewing a trade deal with the Netherlands just days before it expires, which European officials warn could undermine business ties with the rest of the EU. The bilateral investment treaty between the two countries will end on November 30 — the first in a succession of such agreements that New Delhi has decided to terminate as it looks for more […]
The market interpretation of the US election result can be expressed in just three letters, repeated several times: “USA! USA! USA!” Amid the noise that followed last week’s election victory for Donald Trump, one signal was clear — whatever the outcome will be the US, it will be far worse for the rest of the world in general, and emerging markets in particular. Outside of financial crises, […]
Amid his display cases of gold coins and jewellery, Suresh Jain was in bullish spirits as he considered Indian households’ traditionally strong demand for the precious metal. “There is no change,” said the 55-year-old owner of BJ Jain Jewellers, in Mumbai’s Zaveri gold bazaar. “Gold is a need of the people. It is not a luxury item; it is essential.” Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is putting […]
DUBAI // Indian expatriates appealed to their government for enough time to get home and deposit the now-defunct 500 and 1,000-rupee notes. Last week the government of prime minister Narendra Modi scrapped high-denomination banknotes in an attempt to tackle corruption and tax evasion, setting a December 30 deadline to exchange old bills. India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, said those unable to deposit banknotes in […]
|By Matein Khalid| Donald Trump’s shock win will have a profound impact on the GCC economic constellation via multiple feedback loops. His economic policies mean a much higher US dollar, anathema to GCC economies since it correlates with stock/property market crashes, banking stress and oil slumps. This is the macroeconomic linkage due to the GCC US dollar peg whose lessons the region learnt the hard way in […]
As he ran for India’s highest office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wooed voters with a promise to crack down on those who had accumulated troves of “black money” — cash earned through illegal means or corruption, or simply never declared to tax authorities. Mr Modi made good on his pledge on Tuesday with a shock declaration that so-called “high value currency notes” — denominations of Rs500 and […]
|By Matein Khalid| The Federal Reserve did not disappoint the financial markets after Janet Yellen’s FOMC conference on Wednesday. The US central bank did not raise the overnight borrowing (or Fed Funds rate) to 0.5% on the eve of the November election. This triggered a wild rally in the US stock market with the Dow Jones up 163 points, gold up to $1342 and oil to $46 […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| High gold prices are threatening India’s status as a leading importer of gold and this has significant impact on Dubai gold trade. According to Indian reports, the Indian gold bazaars have seen a mass movement of people selling their gold jewelry. The market has transformed from whole sellers and brokers to individual gold sellers looking to take advantage of the high price of gold, […]
/Klaus Wille/Bloomberg/Singapore-based hedge funds outperformed Asian rivals during the first seven months of the year thanks to a greater focus on India and global markets, according to data provider Eurekahedge Pte. Funds headquartered in Singapore returned 2 percent through July, while Hong Kong-based funds declined an average 2.3 percent, Eurekahedge said in a report Tuesday. Funds based in Australia rose 1.9 percent, while Japan-based funds declined 2.5 […]
|By Matein Khalid|I had written a column two weeks ago outlining my view that US equities faced a dangerous autumn and the S&P 500 index was set for a fall of 150 points. However, even I did not expect the S&P500 index to fall 52 points on Friday (the Dow dropped 394 points and NASDAQ 133 points), its worst performance since the Brexit shock. It was even […]
|Arabian Post Special| Sale of gold jewellery for cash is emerging as one of the major sources of gold supply and is accounting for almost a third of total supplies to the market this year. According to the World Gold Council, the high price level of gold in recent times has taken its toll on the jewellery sector and conversely recycling has sparked into life. Jewellery consumers […]
|By Matein Khalid|Brexit will have a profound impact on international banking. It was no coincidence that the shares of UK, German, Swiss, Italian, Spanish and other banks fell 20-25% in a single trading session on news of Brexit. Even American money center banks and investment banks with a large footprint in the City of London fell 8 – 10% on Friday, June 24, 2016. As Deutsche Bank […]
