The economic impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on emerging economies will depend on a mix of government restrictions, public comfort with social interactions, and capacity of governments and central banks to provide additional policy support to the private sector, Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday. The emergence of the new variant poses new risks to the global economic growth and inflation outlook, as concerns mount about the variant's health risks and several countries have imposed new travel restrictions in recent days. These restrictions will likely increase over the coming weeks until scientists learn more about the variant, it said.
India's economy is unlikely to see double-digit growth and may grow between 8 per cent and 9 per cent this fiscal year (2021-22, or FY22), against the estimated 11.5 per cent, according to leading economists and rating agencies. The downward revision of growth projections to as low as 10 per cent is mostly on account of stringency in restrictions by states, relatively slow vaccination pace, and the possibility of a third wave of the pandemic. However, they say the impact will not be as severe as the first wave, and expect the first quarter to see positive growth.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan are bankers for the bonds
Wiping off nearly Rs 4 lakh crore of investors' wealth during the day, benchmark Sensex crashed on Friday.
It's unfair to over-emphasise Urjit Patel's shy and reticent image.
India's economy is likely to grow at the slowest rate in a decade this year.
The record contraction in the growth rate of eight core sectors will have its impact on IIP.
After touching a fresh all-time low against the US dollar on Thursday, the rupee jumped 27 paise to end at 68.46.
In addition, he will have to move swiftly to control any damage that may have been caused to the bank's image and investor confidence due to the loan controversy
Bajaj Finance was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tanking up to 8 per cent, followed by M&M, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, ONGC, HDFC Bank and Kotak Bank. On the other hand, TCS, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Axis Bank and ITC were the top gainers.
Among Sensex constituents, Vedanta fell 3.40 per cent, followed by SBI 3.17 per cent, Yes Bank 3.11 per cent, Axis Bank 1.68 per cent, ONGC 1.60 per cent, Power Grid 1.52 per cent and HDFC 1.48 per cent.
Politically, it will not be easy for Modi to take hard decisions such as raising fuel prices in the first budget, given the risk of higher inflation.
The IMF on Tuesday cut India's economic growth forecast by 0.5 percentage points to 9 per cent for the current fiscal year, with its chief economist Gita Gopinath saying that the slight downgrade is mainly due to the impact of the spread of the Omicron variant. "If you look at the 2021-22 fiscal year, we have a slight downgrade of -0.5 percentage points and for the next fiscal year 2022-23 we have a slight upgrade of 0.5 percentage points. So, growth for the previous fiscal year is now nine per cent and for this year now is at nine per cent. We moved it up slightly," Gopinath told reporters during a news conference in Washington. In its latest update of World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund has cut India's economic growth forecast to 9 per cent for the current fiscal year ending March 31, joining a host of agencies which have downgraded their projections on concerns over the impact of the spread of Omicron on business activity and mobility.
Financial stocks led by Axis Bank, SBI and ICICI Bank hogged the limelight, rising by up to about 9 per cent.
In the global market, the US dollar made a minor rise against the Japanese yen today, following the previous day's rally for the Japanese currency after Bank of Japan didn't expand stimulus measures.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
The battered rupee is likely to trade in the range of 54-56 against dollar in the current fiscal with a possibility of widening of this band depending on strengthening of the US unit, Citi Research said.
.jpg)
Amid fears of a downgrade from ratings agencies, the finance ministry is gearing up for a visit of Japan Credit Rating Agency officials on September 6.
Wockhardt, the Mumbai-based leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology company that is struggling to repay its nearly Rs 900-crore
The finance ministry has already raised the fiscal deficit target to a more acceptable level of 5.3 per cent.
Tata Steel, the world's sixth largest steel-maker, will raise Rs 3,000 crore through non-convertible debentures to prepay the debt of its UK subsidiary, Tata Steel UK. The issue is Rs 1,000 crore higher than originally planned.
Global Finance announced its 20th Annual Ranking of the World's 50 safest banks.
Moody's Investors Service has changed the outlook for the long-term foreign currency deposit ratings of a number of Indian banks -- currently rated Ba2 -- from 'negative' to 'stable' for India.
India's growth outlook has weakened sharply this year, with a crunch that started with the non-banking finance institutions spreading to retail businesses, car-makers, home sales and heavy industries.
Only five Indian companies would be in a position to choose most available redemption options for their foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), due for redemption this year, according to a report by Fitch. The rating agency said of the $7 billion FCCBs, 20 per cent were likely to face a default, owing to the stressed liquidity position of the companies.
Balmer Lawrie Van Leer Ltd said Fitch India Ratings has awarded F1 to the company for raising of short term funds through a Rs 50-million commercial paper.
The local currency recovered some ground after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was said to have stepped in through state-run banks, helping the rupee to end at 64.30, a fall of 110 paise or 1.74 per cent.
However, the number of confirmed cases reported by states rose by over 500 to cross 3,000 with at least 90 dead. While Maharashtra, Telangana and Delhi disclosed several new cases of the deadly virus infection, government officials said the numbers have risen in last few days mostly due to one event -- referring to the Tablighi Jamaat's religious gathering in the national capital attended by thousands of people last month.
The central bank measures though are also taking a toll on the banking sector, which is heavily reliant on short-term money markets for capital.
Global rating agency Fitch on Tuesday said the imminent entry of Reliance Jio into the telecom space will see a likely 20 per cent fall in data tariffs, but will not have any impact on the credit profile of the top four incumbents in the medium term as their revenue is on an uptick on rising voice tariffs and improving regulatory environment.
Will demonetisation lead to a rate cut, leading to higher quantum of lending?
For 2021-22, it projected the economy to clock a growth of 10.6 per cent.
The RBI governor-designate may be economical with spoken words, but is known for his sharp and critical writings
Market breadth remained strong with 1,581 advances over 1,018 declines on the BSE
Auto component sales in the country are likely to rise in 2010 on the back of positive outlook for cars sales but overseas demand will continue to be sluggish, global rating firm Fitch said.
Sensex ended strong, Tata Steel, HUL climb higher.
Over the last weekend, the central bank has tried to address the biggest near-term concern for property companies --bankruptcy -- says a CLSA report. The one-time move, which will allow banks not to classify commercial real estate loans as non-performing loans, will reduce the near-term risks for some property firms.
The FATF continuing Pakistan in the 'Grey' list means its downgrading by IMF, World Bank, ADB, EU and also a reduction in risk rating by Moody's, S&P and Fitch.
