ITC extends rally; surges over 15% from 52-week low

Shares of ITC were trading 8% higher at Rs 319, rallied nearly 19% from its 52-week low on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).   Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

The stock of cigarettes makers touched a 52-week low of Rs 268 on Monday in intra-day trade, following the increase in excise duty on cigarettes in the Union Budget.

The counter has seen huge trading volumes with a combined 14.68 million shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE till 10:00 AM.   Indian stock market astrology prediction

The Union Budget announced on Monday an increase in additional excise duty (AED), which forms a very small portion of the overall excise duty on filter cigarettes while kept the Basic Excise Duty (BED) unchanged for FY17.  Commodity Market Astrology Tips

According to Antique Stock Broking, this development as quite positive from ITC's point of view as after 5 years of incessant increase in excise today rates (2x in 5 years across all lengths), the legal cigarette industry was given a relief in the form of a benign increase of 10% in Total Excise Duty (TED).      Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips

“We also see this as an indication for not so harsh tax environment for ITC going forward as the current budget announcements take cognizance of the rampant growth in illegal trade in cigarettes. Illegal trade (tax evaded) has grown to be around 20% of total trade volumes from 10% 5 years ago, leading to loss of revenues for the exchequer, loss of volumes for the legal industry and no material reduction of smoking in India,”  Nifty Trading Tips

Larsen & Toubro gains on winning orders worth Rs 2,213 crore

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is trading higher by 3% to Rs 1,115 on the BSE after the company announced that it has won orders worth Rs 2,213 crore across its various businesses.

The transportation infrastructure business has bagged new orders worth Rs 1,078 crore from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the construction of the Kerala/TamilNadu –Villikuri -Kanyakumari sections of NH-47 and NH 47B under NHDP Phase-3 in the state of Tamil Nadu on EPC mode.   Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog
The company’s power transmission & distribution business has bagged new orders worth Rs 1,001 crore across domestic and international markets. The buildings & factories business has secured engineering, procurement and construction order worth Rs 134 crore from the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development    Sensex Astrology 
At 10:28 am, the stock was trading at Rs 1,111 on the BSE. A combined 865,013 shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so far.  Stock Market Trading Tips

Budget 2016: Infra, rural push may boost core sector

An increased outlay for infrastructure at Rs 221,246 crore, social economic programmes and rural push could have a beneficial effect on companies in the cement, steel, consumer goods and automobile sectors.  Indian stock market astrology prediction
Consumer goods companies get 30-50 per cent of sales from rural India, where demand has been hit by consecutive years of deficit rain. Core sector companies have seen volumes drop to single digit in the first nine months of FY16. "The Union Budget is rightly focused on rural and infrastructure sectors. The planned investment in these will create jobs and give impetus to demand generation and growth," said Krish Iyer, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Walmart India. (MIGHT  IN MAKING)     Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips
Cement companies say the Budget will help their demand, with the higher allocation to roads, highways and affordable housing. "With 85 per cent of road projects coming back on track and 50,000 km of state highways to be taken up for upgrade as national highways, we expect a boom in demand for cement. Besides, the focus on giving a boost to the rural economy through agriculture and related sectors will give rise to demand in the long run," said Amandeep, CEO at OCL and Dalmia Cement.    Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Steel companies, facing both lower prices and cheaper import, will also benefit. Infrastructure projects would require more steel. Similarly, the rural push could aid demand for tractors and consumer products. "The government is continuing the rural focus, looking at enhancing allocation to MGNREGS (the rural job guarantee), beside focusing on skill development for the populace. These would help promote entrepreneurship, add jobs and put more disposable income with the rural consumer, ensuring continued rural demand for branded consumer goods," said Sunil Duggal, CEO at Dabur India   Nifty Trading Tips

Household budget: Cars, branded clothes, air travel to cost more

Planning to buy a car, jewellery or branded clothes? Do it now. From April 1, the prices of these goods might see an increase. Indian stock market astrology prediction

Similarly, aerated drinks, mineral water, travel packages, coaching classes and beauty parlour services might also cost more, as the Budget has proposed increasing service tax and cess on such items.  Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog
 
"There is an estimated net rise in tax revenue by almost Rs 20,000 crore," said Rajeev Dimri, leader-indirect tax, BMR & Associates LLP. "This will come from the multiple cesses and will add to the cost of transaction for consumers."  Sensex Astrology 

A new cess called the Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC) has been introduced on all taxable services at 0.5 per cent. This will effectively increase the service tax rate to 15 per cent. "But, this is not uniform and one has to see what the exemptions are," said M S Mani, senior director, Deloitte in India.

For instance, in case of tour operators, the abatement on service tax was either 60 per cent or 75 per cent, which has now been rationalised at 70 per cent. So the rates might go up in some cases and come down in others. Personal Numerology

Similarly, the abatement on service tax in case of residential units under construction has been rationalised at 70 per cent. Earlier it was 75 per cent for houses with carpet area of more than 2,000 sq ft or costing more than Rs 1 crore. It was 70 per cent for houses less than 2,000 sq ft or less than Rs 1 crore.  Stock Market Trading Tips

Market players get mixed bag

There was some pain for investors in the stock market, with the Budget announcing an increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on options to 0.05 per cent from the existing 0.017 per cent. And, imposed an additional Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) of 10 per cent on payout in excess of Rs 10 lakh.  Indian stock market astrology prediction

However, the increase in STT takes effect only when one sells the option and will be charged on the premium value, not the contract value. At present, STT on normal option trades done on exchanges is 0.017 per cent of the selling side of the premium value. STT on buy option positions that get exercised is 0.125 per cent of the entire contract value. There is no change in STT for the latter. For example, if you were to buy four lots of Nifty options at Rs 100 and sold these back at Rs 100, the break-even on this trade would now be Rs 100.05 instead of Rs 100.017. "This does not make any material difference to active traders but the fact that STT has been raised does not send the right signal to market participants," said Nithin Kamath, founder, Zerodha, an online discount stock brokerage.             Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips
Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016
"On average, if one considers the daily options premium turnover for the entire market to be around Rs 3,000 crore, the overall impact of the hike in STT will be about Rs 100 crore for the entire year or Rs 50 lakh a day," said Siddharth Bhamre, head, equity derivatives and technicals, Angel Broking.

He believes the impact on high net worth individuals (HNIs, meaning the wealthy) and retail participants will be negligible. "It won't reduce trading volumes but some of the jobbers and arbitrageurs will see a slight increase in cost."  Share Market Astrology
 
The levy of a 10 per cent DDT for those earning annual dividend income of Rs 10 lakh or more is targeted mostly at promoters who pay hefty dividends and ultra HNIs. "This measure could prove counter-productive, as it might compel promoters with higher holding in companies to distribute less," said Deven Choksey, managing director,Investment Manager Personal Numerology

Budget proposes options and index futures in commodities

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has cleared the way for market regulator Sebi to consider the introduction of new products in the commodities derivative segment.

This means the much awaited options and index futurestrading can now be taken up by the regulator. Last year’s amendment in Securities and Contract Regulation Act had cleared the legal hurdle in introduction of these products.
Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016  Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Sources close to the development said Sebi will begin the consultation process for these products before allowing exchanges to introduce them. Sebi will make it a pre-requisite for commodity exchanges to upgrade their risk management standards in line with those of the stock exchanges.

Soon a consultation paper will be issued to seek stakeholders’ views on new products. The FM has however not said anything on allowing new set of participants like banks, mutual funds etc in the commodities derivatives. Indian stock market astrology prediction

Sources also explained that for index futures, Sebi will have to prescribe standard index making norms. It will also have to decide in which segments or commodities such products will be introduced. Experts believe the depth and liquidity would determine the commodities in which, “New products can be introduced.” Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

Ameer Shah, MD & CEO of NCDEX said, “Announcement by the finance minister asking Sebi to introduce new commodity derivative products is much awaited and will increase depth of themarkets with better risk management products for hedgers.”

The Budget shows the government's commitment to using technology in bringing about transparency and efficiency in agricultural markets and helping connect the smallest farmer to the markets, he added.

Axis Bank moves away from bell curve system

After information technology companies, banks are also now moving away from the bell-curve system of employee appraisal. Axis Bank, the country's third-largest private sector lender, has decided to follow a new method of assessment called "Acelerate" and ditch the old system from this financial year onwards Indian stock market astrology prediction

"We have been looking at our internal process and decided that without losing focus on meritocracy, productivity how can we look at a slightly more inclusive approach than say bell curve. We have changed our entire performance management system to look at capability that we will build and what that capability will deliver to us," said Rajesh K Dahiya, group executive, Axis Bank.

An email regarding this has been sent out to employees, which states now the bank will be focusing on an integrated performance management and capability development system as it moves away from the bell-curve system. Typically, the bell curve segregates all employees into distinct baskets - top, average and bottom performers -with the vast majority being treated as average performers.

According to the new system, the lender said it would focus more on learning and development and use that too as a tool to measure performance. This focus on learning is also being used by the bank as a retention tool to battle attrition. With the coming of the new small finance banks and payments banks, Axis Bank has become one of the top poaching grounds, says a human resources consultant. And therefore to battle this, the bank has also been looking at investing more in its employees Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

"We are losing people and we are aware of that. Axis Bank has been the port of first call. Consultants do tell us that every new bank wants people from our bank and so it is both a threat to us and a compliment. And therefore much more work has to be done by us to retain people. We are looking at investing in people and we already have such training programmes in place. We are trying to ring-fence our employees by giving them learning opportunity," Dahiya said.

With this in mind, Axis Bank has also tied up with Coursera, an educational technology company that offers online courses to train about 12,000 employees in the first phase. The bank has selected the first batch of employees on the basis of performance over the last two-three years, their role, supervisor recommendations etc.

As a part of this, while a majority of the course structure would be decided by the human resources teams, the employees will be given the liberty to select a few courses based on their needs. The lender will be focusing on courses such as customer focus, learning the new digital world, basics of banking for new joinees, data analytics etc Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Standard & Poor's (S&P) on Tuesday said the capital thatpublic sector banks would need to set aside upfront forbad loans was likely to shoot up, leaving them exposed to possible downgrades.

"We believe Indian public sector banks are in a weaker position on the capitalisation front than their private sector peers," said S&P's credit analyst Deepali Seth in a report Stock Market Trading Tips

It warned that many public sector banks could face deterioration in their stand-alone credit profiles (SACPs) and downgrades if these were unable to raise the required capital over the next few months. The lenders could then breach the regulatory minimum capital requirement or theirrisk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio might deteriorate.

Any sharp deterioration in asset quality could further weaken banks' credit profiles. "We have a negative outlook on the ratings on Syndicate Bank and Bank of India, while we have Indian Overseas Bank on CreditWatch with negative implications," S&P said.

Additionally, downside risk for IDBI's SACP was rising on account of its weak asset quality and consequent deterioration in capital Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

The Reserve Bank of India had advised banks to recognise select weak loans as non-performing loans (NPLs) over the quarters ended December 2015 and March 2016, and shore up provisions for bad loans. The increase in NPLs and the higher provisioning had led to a sharp fall in profitability - and in several cases losses - for many Indian banks in the quarter ended December 2015."

"Indian public sector banks might find it difficult to raise capital, given their currently weak operating performance, which made it difficult for them to access the equity capital markets," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Deepali Seth.

These banks would, therefore, have to rely more on government support for capital infusions. The agency will watch the government's approach to increasing outlay for capital injection Indian stock market astrology prediction

More young professionals have lifestyle disorders, inadequate health cover

A survey conducted by Bajaj Allianz General InsuranceCompany recently revealed a high level of lifestyle disorders among young working professionals. What is even more troublesome is the inadequacy of health coveramong these professionals. The survey covered 1,100young professionals aged 23-35 belonging to nine cities. Below we look at the findings of the survey and also offer a few remedies, as suggested by experts Stock Market Trading Tips

High incidence of lifestyle disorders

45% of the respondents were found to suffer from one lifestyle disorder or the other. The most common were chronic body pain (40%), obesity (20%), hypertension (18%), respiratory disorders (10%), frequent digestive disorders (8%) and high blood sugar levels (4%). 

Heavy reliance on employer-provided cover

While 75% of the respondents had health insurance, 60% of those who were covered had only an employer-provided cover. Experts say that to depend on an employer-provided cover alone is risky. “What if you fall ill when you are in between jobs or get laid off?" asks Ankur Kapur of Ankur Kapur Advisory. 

Experts say it is imperative that you buy a personal policy and not depend on the employer-provided cover alone. “Later in life, you may decide to turn into an entrepreneur Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

Companies may not be willing to cover you at an advanced age. If you have already contracted some diseases, those will not be covered, or you will have to cross a waiting period before they are covered,” adds Kapur. 

Perceive health insurance to be expensive

Among those who do not possess health insurance, 46% said that it is an expensive cover. But given the high and rising cost of treatment of major illnesses, the annual premium on health insurance is a small price to pay. 

Too young to need a cover

22% of those who did not have a personal health insurance policy said they were too young to need such a cover. The high incidence of lifestyle disorders among the young, as revealed by this survey, is evidence enough that one needs adequate health cover from a young age Indian stock market astrology prediction

Health insurance primarily for tax gain

The Income Tax (I-T) Act provides deduction on health insurance for self, spouse and dependent children up to Rs 15,000. 76% of those respondents who had a personal health cover said they had bought it primarily for the tax benefit and not so much for protection against illnesses. 

The problem with such tax-saving purchases is that they are typically made in haste towards the end of the financial year to avail of the tax benefit. The buyer often does not examine closely the product he is buying. Instances of mis-buying and mis-selling are common. A person could, for instance, buy a critical illness plan instead of a mediclaim plan, which should be the first level of cover. 

Employer’s cover regarded as sufficient

The professionals who did not have a personal cover believed that the health cover provided by their employer was adequate. This may not necessarily be so. The sum assured may not be adequate, especially if you live in a metro, where health care costs are high. Many companies no longer include parents. More may drop them from the ambit of coverage in the future to curtail costs Share Market Astrology

“The employer-provided cover might not meet your individual health insurance requirements in terms of coverage, number of dependants, definition of family, and your state of health. It is therefore advisable to always have an individual health insurance plan," says Suresh Sugathan, head-health insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company.

If a person does not want to buy a personal mediclaim policy, one option (which is not optimal, however) is to buy a top-up plan. The employer-provided cover then becomes your base plan, and the top-up plan comes into play when your hospitalisation expenses exceed the cover provided by the employer’s plan. Top-up plans are less expensive than general mediclaim plans Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Apex court asks RBI to furnish list of defaulters

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to furnish within six weeks details of all defaulters who have outstanding dues of Rs 500 crore and above. The list should be across public sector (PSU) banks and all financial institutions, the court emphasised Stock Market Trading Tips

The order passed by the Bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said the central bank should also include details of restructured assets and names of institutions whose debts have been written off in the past five years. The court has asked for the list to be submitted in a sealed envelope.

According to RBI’s estimates, as of September 2015, the gross plus restructured and written off assets amounted to 14.1 per cent of bank loans. For PSU banks, the share was 17 per cent. If the December quarter numbers are added, this could shoot up further. Most of the stress has come from the medium industries segment, which accounted for 31.5 per cent of bad loans, according to a presentation by RBI Deputy Governor S S Mundra.

However, experts say banks might not be able to recover most of the dues, even if there is a question of wilful default.

In most cases, the personal guarantees of promoters are not adequate.

In fact, the value of projects against which loans have been given have fallen drastically since these were taken Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

For example, because of the fall in commodity prices and cheaper imports, steel and power projects are worth far less than the loans raised against these.

Though the court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed in 2003 by the Centre for PIL against HUDCO, the court widened its scope to include PSU banks and other financial institutions. The court also noted the recent revelations by the Indian Express, which listed the amounts due and written off by banks, obtained through a Right to Information application. According to it, Rs 1.14 lakh crore was written off in the previous three financial years.

Despite RBI not being a party to the case, the judges asked its lawyer H S Parihar, who was present in court, to take notice. This is the second time in recent months the Supreme Court has instructed RBI to take steps against defaulters.

In December last, the court dismissed RBI’s appeal against an order of the Central Information Commission to disclose information about defaulters. The court reproached the bank for trying to “cover up” the “underhand actions” of banks from public gaze. The judgement ruled that RBI was bound by law to give information regarding private and public banks under RTI Indian stock market astrology prediction

“RBI is supposed to uphold public interest and not the interest of individual banks. We have surmised that many financial institutions have resorted to such acts which are neither clean nor transparent. The RBI in association with them has been trying to cover up their acts from public scrutiny,” the court had stated then.

RBI in recent times has instructed banks to purge their balance sheets of hidden bad debts, disclosing the numbers and providing adequate money against those debts. As a result, third quarter results of all banks have thrown up ugly numbers and big lenders have reported record losses. While State Bank of India’s profit fell more than 60 per cent, Bank of Baroda’s loss was a record Rs 3,342 crore. Banks are now moving decidedly against defaulters, but are far from open about revealing names of big defaulters. On Tuesday, though, Punjab National Bank named Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd, a wilful defaulter. SBI had also declared Mallya a wilful defaulter in the recent past. Mallya owes banks around Rs 9,000 crore in bad debts.

Gross bad debt of all public sector banks rose 50 per cent year-on-year to about Rs 3.96 lakh crore in the quarter ended December 2015 from Rs 2.64 lakh crore in December 2014 Share Market Astrology

RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, though, has acknowledged that most of the NPAs could be genuine stress. But, wherever there is a hint of malpractice by a promoter, “it is extremely important that the full force of the law is brought against him, even while banks make every effort to put the project, and workers who depend on it, back on track.”

In Tuesday’s arguments, Prashant Bhushan cited reports by the Central Vigilance Commission and RTI revelations to assail the rampant misuse of loan facilities by HUDCO. Even companies that have been declared wilful defaulters were granted loans, over the heads of some executives, he said. He quoted an instance of a farmer whose five acres were seized for defaulting on a loan of Rs 12,000 and auctioned for Rs 50,000 while the market value was Rs 5 lakh.

Bhushan termed the strategic debt restructuring (SDR) and 5/25 loan schemes a fraud, as loans get repriced and refinanced every five years Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips

United Breweries (Holdings) dips after Punjab National Bank declares it wilful defaulter

United Breweries (Holdings) dipped 10% to Rs 20.50 on the BSE after the company said that Punjab National Bankhas declared the company as a “wilful defaulter”.

“Punjab National Bank vide its letter dated February 11, 2016, received by the Company on February 15, 2016, has declared the Company as a ‘Wilful Defaulter’,” United Breweries (Holdings) said in a statement. Indian stock market astrology prediction

“The company is in consultation with its legal counsels to challenge the decision by taking appropriate legal action that may be required in this regard,” it added.

Earlier, in November last year, State Bank of India (SBI) had declared industrialist Vijay Mallya a 'wilful defaulter' for defaults on nearly Rs 7,000 crore loans to the long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL STORY. 

At 10:49 AM, the stock was down 7.7% at Rs 20.95 on the BSE. A combined 396,161 shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE. Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

Meanwhile, United Breweries (down 6% at Rs 756) and United Spirits (down 4% at Rs 2,273) have touched their respective 52-week lows on the BSE in intra-day trade.

Currently, United Breweries and United Spirits were down by 2% each at Rs 784 and Rs 2,328 respectively. Stock Market Trading Tips
 

Foreign investors unlikely to return to EM in a hurry: Geoff Lewis

Indian markets have tumbled over 10 per cent thus far in the calendar year 2016 (CY16) on the back of domestic and global factors, with the foreign institutional investors withdrawing over $2 billion during this period. Hong Kong - based Geoff Lewis, senior strategist (Asia), Manulife Asset Management, which has around $301 billion in assets under management globally, tells Puneet Wadhwathat CY16 will likely be another year of net FII outflows for EM overall, though the pace of outflows should subside by mid-year. Edited excerpts  Indian stock market astrology prediction

Are the global equity markets strongly in a bear grip or can there be a silver lining as we move ahead into 2016?

In January, Investors found themselves caught up in a perfect storm that no-one had anticipated or forewarned them against. These fears are understandable. There will inevitably be some spill over effects on the real economy from the January stock market correction. But unless markets fall a lot further in the first half (H12016) and then stay depressed, we do not think the January correction is a big enough shock to undermine our base case scenario of moderate growth and low inflation in 2016.

We simply do not foresee either a US or global economic recession within our forecasting horizon, based on the high-frequency economic data that we track and a wide variety of recession gauges. This view assumes that potentially higher US rates won't tip the US or global economy into a recession.           Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

What is your outlook regarding rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve (US Fed)?

After the first rate hike by the Fed in December, markets have now moved on to the extent/number of rate hikes next year. We expect the US yield curve to flatten given low inflation expectations. We are of the view that having raised rates once, the US Fed will be very cautious in raising them again.

Moreover, the US Fed is well aware of global deflation risks. Given the dreary economic indicators we have seen in the US so far this year, I think it is more likely the Fed will stay on hold in March.

The latest Fed dots suggest the Fed will hike rates four times by 25 basis points over the course of 2016. The markets have priced in zero rate hikes in 2016. For the latter to occur, the Fed would have to materially revise its growth and inflation forecasts downward at the March FOMC meeting. Our view is straight down the middle between the FOMC and the markets-we expect a 25bps hike in June and then one more in the second half of 2016. The greatest risk to the US economy continues to be the Fed tightening monetary policy too far, too fast. Commodity Market Astrology Tips

Sebi notifies stricter Mutual Fund norms, reduces single issuer limit

To safeguard investor interest, capital markets regulatorSebi has notified a stricter set of norms for mutual funds, wherein it has capped the investment limit in bonds of a single company at 10%.

The move comes after JP Morgan Mutual Fund got into troubles due to its exposure to debt securities of Amtek Auto, while a few other fund houses have also faced similar problems with regard to corporate bonds of other distressed firms. Stock Market Trading Tips

Under the norms, mutual fund (MF) houses will not be able to invest more than 10% of a scheme's corpus in debt securities of a single company. However, it can be extendable to 12% of net assets value (NAV) after trustee's approval. Currently, the limit is 15%. Financial Astrology

"A MF scheme shall not invest more than 10% of its NAV in debt instruments comprising money market instruments and non-money market instruments issued by a single issuer which are rated not below investment grade by a credit rating agency authorised to carry out such activity under the Act," Sebi said in a notification dated February 12. Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips

"Such investment limit may be extended to 12% of the NAV of the scheme with the prior approval of the Board of Trustees and the Board of directors of the asset management company," it added.

The investment within such limit can be made in mortgaged backed securitised debt which are rated not below investment grade by a credit rating agency registered with Sebi.

However, such limit will not be applicable for investments in government securities, treasury bills and collateralised borrowing and lending obligations. Share Market Astrology

The new norms -- Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 2016 -- has come into force from February 12, when the regulator notified it. Nifty Trading Tips

Mission incomplete: Raghuram Rajan's overhaul of RBI

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has put additional responsibility on insurance company boards to ensure that sound governance is practised as well as non-compliance is addressed quickly Stock Market Trading Tips

The regulator said the objective of the guidelines is to ensure the structure, responsibilities and functions of Board of Directors and the management of the company recognise the expectations of all stakeholders as well as those of the regulator.

The structure should take steps required to adopt sound and prudent principles and practices for the governance of the company and should have the ability to quickly address issues of non-compliance or weak oversight and controls.

IRDAI has prescribed a minimum lock-in period of 5 years from the date of certificate of commencement of business of an insurer (R3) for the promoters of the insurance company and no transfer of shares of the promoters is permitted within this period without the specific approval of the Authority Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

The board will be responsible for defining standards of business conduct and ethical behaviour for directors and senior management and also defining the standards to be maintained in policyholder servicing and in redressal of grievances of policyholders. It also said that the Board would be responsible to provide guidance for implementation of business strategy and review the same periodically.

As an integral part of proper implementation of the business strategy, the Board will be required to establish appropriate systems to regulate the risk appetite and risk profile of the Company. It will also enable identification and measurement of significant risks to which the company is exposed in order to develop an effective risk management system Indian stock market astrology prediction

Further, it also advised advises insurers that it is mandatory to establish Committees for Audit, Investment, Risk Management, Liability-Asset Management (for life insurers), Policyholder Protection, Nomination and Remuneration, Corporate Social Responsibility (only for insurers earning profits).

The regulator said that the Board of Directors and Key Management Persons should understand the operational structure of the insurer and have a general understanding of the lines of business and products of the insurer, more particularly as the insurer grows in sise and complexity.

It added that insurers are required to have a minimum of three Independent Directors, and those with less than that have to comply within one year of these guidelines being notified. tion of shares is in compliance with the above provisions of the Act, Regulations and circulars issued by IRDAI from time to time Commodity Market Astrology Tips

SBI to auction Kingfisher House on March 17

A State Bank of India-led  consortium has decided to auction Kingfisher House in Mumbai on March 17 in a bid to recover a part of Rs 6,963 crore debt due from the now grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

The e-auction will be done under Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002. SBICAP Trustee Company Ltd, which took possession of the property last year, will do an e-auction of the 2,401.70-square-metre property on March 17 Indian stock market astrology prediction

The trustee company has kept a reserve price of Rs 150 crore and the bid increment amount is Rs 5 lakh, a public notice said.

The earnest money deposit for this auction has been fixed at Rs 15 lakh.

According to the notice, the borrower is Kingfisher Airlines and guarantors are United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd and Vijay Mallya.

It can be recalled that Kingfisher Airlines, started by liquor baron Mallya in May 2005 with much fanfare, went on to become the second largest in its heyday even though it never made a single penny in profit. As cash flow issues mounted on the airline, it has remained grounded since October 2012, and the airline lost its flying licence two months later Commodity Market Astrology Tips

The SBI-led consortium had taken over the Kingfisher House near the city airport in February 2015 worth around Rs 150 crore, after winning a case in the local court.

They have also taken over the Kingfisher Villa in Goa, worth around Rs 90 crore.

So far, the lenders have recovered around Rs 1,600 crore from their original exposure of Rs 6,900 crore by selling pledged shares and other monetisable collaterals.

The banks have moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Bengaluru and the Karnataka High Court and the company said it is contesting their claims.

Banks are now charging 15.5 per cent compounded interest on this principal amount, which have not been serviced since January, 2013 Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips

SBI has the highest exposure of Rs 1,600 crore to the beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines.

Other banks that have exposure to the airline include Punjab National Bank and IDBI Bank (Rs 800 crore each), Bank of India (Rs 650 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 550 crore), Central Bank of India (Rs 410 crore).

UCO Bank has to recover Rs 320 crore, Corporation Bank (Rs 310 crore), State Bank of Mysore, (Rs 150 crore), Indian Overseas Bank (Rs 140 crore), Federal Bank (Rs 90 crore), Punjab & Sind Bank (Rs 60 crore) and Axis Bank (Rs 50 crore) Share Market Astrology

Paytm to announce payments bank top management in March 2016

Paytm, a payment-wallet-to-e-commerce company, is in a fast track mode to launch its payments bank. The company will announce names of all top executives of the payments bank in the first week of March and is in the process of putting together the board for the bank Stock Market Trading Tips

"A lot of people have shown interest in joining our payments bank. Many of them are those who have left India and want to come back. So I have people from banks like Barclays who have joined," said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, chief executive and founder of Paytm, at the Nasscom summit. Our core team will not be more than 50-60 people but there will be a lot of associates and teammates, added Sharma. He believes the bank needs people who believe they can change the Indian banking sector. He said though there was a slight delay in launching the payments bank, the central bank has been friendly and is helping them drive the timeline.

When asked about what will be the key factor differentiating Paytm payments bank from its peers, Sharma said they would leverage the marketplace customer as well as data insights for the bank.

"Paytm has built a dominance in payments and we can continue to get most of the payments business portion. That is the edge that we have. Marketplace allows us to get access to merchants who are are critical customer base for our BFSI services. It also provides us valuable consumer insights for both consumers as well as merchants. We will create our products based on this information," added Sharma Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

The company is getting aggressive in its banking venture and will soon make an announcement on the upcoming bank's distribution strategy. The company has named its efforts to roll the bank as project Pokhran. "We probably will start our payments bank from Meerut where India started its revolution for freedom. We will first go around that area and then expand to north east and central India," said Sharma.

In response to a question on Paytm's fundraising plans, Sharma said that the company has cash for the next eight years. "Our focus is on launching payments bank for now. Post which we may relook at our funding requirements," he added Indian stock market astrology prediction

New ICAI chief wants panel for bank audit appointments

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is recommending a revamp of the auditor appointment system for banks, both for central statutory and branch-level audits, its new President, M Devaraja Reddy, said Stock Market Trading Tips

Reddy, who assumed office on Friday after emerging victorious in the institute’s intensely fought annual elections, said the current system, wherein the management of a bank directly selects and appoints the auditor from a list provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), could have indirectly caused the current  non-performing assets (NPAs) crisis.

NPAs reported by public sector banks have ballooned after RBI tightened provisioning norms in December. According to a recent news report in The Indian Express, 29 state-owned banks wrote off a total of Rs 1.14 lakh crore of bad debt between financial years 2013 and 2015, much more than they had done in the preceding nine years.

“There is a concern that independence of auditors is eroding. It is a delicate issue. Everybody is not virtuous,” Reddy said. A fellow member of the institute, Reddy has 28 years’ professional experience and has held several positions in the ICAI hierarchy. He was vice-president for 2015-16 Himanshu Tiwari Astrologer Blog

The Hyderabad-based chartered accountant said ICAI was recommending the formation of a panel with representatives from RBI, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Indian Banks Association and the institute. According to him, such a committee would be in a better position to assess which auditor would suit which bank, going into the capabilities of the auditor and size and complexity of the task involved. “This will improve the quality of audit. We are expecting a positive response from the government,” Reddy said.

On the recent proposal by a government-appointed panel on company law recommending the formation of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) as an independent regulatory body for the profession, Reddy maintained the profession’s stated line that such a body was not necessary. “The decision (to form NFRA) was taken in a hurry based on the issue in one company — Satyam.” Reddy said the entire ICAI council was unanimous in representing to the government that outsiders cannot judge the work. “A surgery done by a doctor can be assessed only by another doctor. Similarly, only a singer can appreciate another. Same for the auditor Indian stock market astrology prediction

Reddy was of the opinion that NFRA would only duplicate the QRB (Quality Review Board) process, which is already available under the ICAI framework. Yet, Reddy and the newly elected council, which included his deputy, Nilesh S Nikamsey, would go into what the composition of NFRA should be, if it becomes a reality. The council would also consider other recommendations of the panel such as rotation of auditors.

Acknowledging that the trust in the profession had taken a beating in recent years, Reddy said restoring trust in the profession among all stakeholders, including the larger public, would be one of his priority areas. He plans to introduce a compulsory peer review mechanism, wherein accounts of listed companies would be scrutinised by peers, once every three years Commodity Market Astrology Tips

The new ICAI chief admitted that penalties slapped on the errant members needed a review. At present, the maximum penalty stands at Rs 5 lakh, an amount levied on Satyam auditors too, apart from other measures. “We are forming a committee to review the penalty,” Reddy said.

Recalling his humble beginnings in an agriculturist family in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, Reddy is also conscious of the institute’s role towards the student community. Under his tenure, the institute is gearing up to put up the new curriculum for public comments. “The curriculum is being vetted by the government. We will be putting it up for public comments in the next few weeks. It will be applicable from May 2017.”

ICAI would look into playing a more active role in placements of the students and is gunning for more work in government. Reddy identified defence and railways as key areas, where the community can make a significant contribution. “Since independence, we are following a single-entry system in defence. If CAs are given a role, defence may not require this much of funds.” He said due to the efforts of Railway Minister and fellow CA Suresh Prabhu, reforms have started in the Indian Railways’ finances. A pilot project is currently underway in Ajmer division, the results of which would be known soon, Reddy said Jackpot Stocks Trading Tips