Maldives' top judge arrested as state of emergency declared
The Maldives' top judge was arrested as security forces stormed the Supreme Court at dawn, in a deepening confrontation with President Abdulla Yameen who has declared a state of emergency in the troubled honeymoon islands, reports AFP. The detention of Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another Supreme Court judge raised the stakes in a dramatic clash after Yameen refused to comply with an order to release nine political dissidents.
Police said both men were under investigation for corruption and that the court's top administrator had also been detained. Yameen has presided over an escalating crackdown on dissent that has battered the image of the upmarket holiday paradise, and left almost all the political opposition jailed since he came to power in 2013.
On Monday he even ordered the arrest of his estranged half-brother and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had sided with the main opposition.
Here are the top headlines at 10 am from Moneycontrol News' Anchal Pathak
Rupee drops 29 paise against dollar at 64.36
The rupee dropped 29 paise to trade at 64.36 against the dollar on frenetic dollar demand from importers and banks. Dealers said early losses in domestic equity markets and fresh foreign fund outflows weighed on the rupee. Yesterday, the rupee had ended with a mere fall of one paisa at Rs 64.07 against the American currency.
Stock exchanges may call for early margin if sell-off intensifies
Stock exchanges may call for early margin funds if the sell-off in the market intensifies, sources told Moneycontrol News Tarun Sharma. Stock exchanges collect a margin on outstanding positions as a risk management measure. The amount varies depending on the risk perception of the exchange on a particular stock/derivative or on the market as a whole. The stocks which have a history of sharp moves on either side are subject to higher margins compared to those which are comparatively steadier.
Ahead of the Budget, the stock exchanges had raised margin requirements by 18-20% on futures and options contracts. This was done to curb excess leveraged positions in the market. Today exchanges may call for early margins from large brokers who have huge outstanding positions in the market.
An exchange official said: “We have been collecting adequate margins and so there is no fear of default by any broker. However, we may call early margin if we will see any major fall in the market”. Brokers normally have to deposit margin money with the exchanges at 12 noon. In case the exchanges feel the market condition could worsen, they may call for margin funds ahead earlier than that.
Trade, investment, energy security to be key features during PM's three-nation tour
Ramping up co-operation in trade, investment and energy security will be the crucial areas of discussion when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Palestine, the UAE and Oman from Friday, reports PTI. During his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman, Modi will meet the CEOs of various companies in the Gulf region, Mridul Kumar, Joint Secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said.
India is the Guest of Honour country at the sixth World Government Summit to be held in Dubai. Modi will be addressing the summit with a focus on technology for development. This, Kumar said, would also provide a platform to the prime minister to engage with the world community. Modi's three-nation visit will conclude on February 12.
On February 10, he will reach Palestine, where he will hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He will also visit the Yasser Arafat Museum and lay a wreath there. Five-six MoUs are expected to be signed during the prime minister's visit to Ramallah.
On February 10 itself, Modi will arrive in the UAE and address the sixth World Government Summit in Dubai. This will be Modi's second visit to the UAE. He had first visited the country as prime minister in August, 2015. Modi will also hold talks with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
RIL, BP venture to start LNG imports soon
BP and Reliance Industries are likely to soon start joint import of LNG into India as they look to step up marketing of natural gas to meet demand of the growing economy, a top official told PTI. India Gas Solutions Pvt - the 50:50 joint venture of BP and RIL - has already started efforts to gauge appetite of Indian consumers for imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), its newly appoint CEO Vinod Tahiliani said.
The exercise is in parallel to the firm's effort to solicit interest in 12 million standard cubic meters per day of gas that RIL-BP plan to produce from R-Series fields in KG-D6 block by 2020, he said. "We are marketing it (LNG) alongside R-Series gas," he said. "Ultimately, customer wants reliable and competitively priced supplies." IGS was formed in 2011 when BP bought 30% stake in RIL's gas producing KG-D6 and 20 other blocks for $7.2 billion.
Tata Motors, Warburg Pincus call off $360m Tata Tech deal
Tata Motors said its $360 million (around Rs 2,320 crore) deal to sell 43% stake in Tata Technologies to Warburg Pincus has been called off due to non-receipt of regulatory nod and missing of internal performance target by its Singapore-based arm. As per the transaction announced on June 15, 2017, Warburg Pincus was to acquire approximately 43% stake in Tata Technologies from Tata Motors and other Tata entities.
"However due to delays in securing regulatory approvals as well as due to the recent performance of the company not meeting internal thresholds because of market challenges, the parties to the transaction have mutually decided not to proceed with the closure of the transaction," Tata Motors said in a BSE filing.
Jerome Powell sworn in as 16th chairman of Federal Reserve
Jerome Powell was sworn in on Monday as the 16th chairman of the Federal Reserve in a brief ceremony in the Fed's board room, reports AP. In a video message, Powell pledged to support continued economic growth and a healthy job market while remaining "vigilant" to any emerging economic risks.
Powell took the oath of office one day after his 65th birthday from Randal Quarles, the Fed's vice chairman for supervision, in a ceremony that was attended by Fed staff and Fed board member Lael Brainard. Powell succeeds Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the nation's central bank in its 100-year history.
In his video message, Powell did not mention the current turbulence in financial markets, which sent stocks plunging on Friday. But he said he and the other Fed officials will "remain vigilant and we are prepared to respond to evolving risks."
German union accepts ThyssenKrupp-Tata guarantees
German workers approved their union's results in talks with India's Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp's steel division ahead of a planned merger - but the vote does not remove all obstacles to the tie-up, reports AFP. Some 92.2% of IG Metall members polled agreed to executives' guarantee not to slash jobs or close major sites until at least September 2026 if the fusion succeeds, the union said in a statement.
"We managed to clear up important points in favour of the employees," said Detlef Wetzel, who sits on ThyssenKrupp Steel's supervisory board as a worker representative. Nevertheless, workers' acceptance of the guarantees does not mean the deal can immediately go ahead.
Tata Motors net income up at Rs 1,215cr, JLR drags
Tata Motors reported a tepid set of numbers post market hours on Monday, with a net income of Rs 1,215 crore. Poor show by its cash-cow JLR due to the Brexit jitters and the diesel uncertainties across the continent, negated the strong performance by its domestic unit. Purely from a percentage perspective, net income of Rs 1,215 crore for the three months to December is an 11-fold spike from the year-ago when it has booked only Rs 111.6 crore net due to massive losses at the domestic unit.
Consolidated income rose 16.1% to Rs 74,156 crore, the company said in a statement. On a standalone basis, Tata Motors India returned to the black with a net of Rs 183.65 crore on a revenue of Rs 16,102 crore, up 59%. Against this, it had net loss of Rs 1,052.13 crore in the year-ago period and a net loss of Rs 295.30 crore in September quarter.
Its cash-cow, the British marquee JLR, numbers printed lower with a pre-tax profit of GBP192 million, down from GBP255 million pounds a year ago, which had included an $85 million insurance recovery. Revenue rose 4.3% to GBP 6.3 billion. Had it not for this one-time gain, the bottomline would have been much lower.
After Dow plunges, White House says it's focused on 'long-term economic fundamentals'
The White House said it is worried about the US stock market sell-off. "We're always concerned when the market loses any value, but we're also confident in the economy's fundamentals," an official told CNBC. After Monday's market close, the White House said that President Donald Trump is focused on the country's "long-term economic fundamentals, which remain exceptionally strong."
Earlier in the afternoon, White House spokesman Raj Shah said "markets do fluctuate. Short-term we all know that." Shah added the "fundamentals of the economy are strong," referencing evidence of wage growth and unemployment numbers at their lowest in nearly two decades.
Govt to bar cryptocurrencies from its payments system
India is planning steps to ensure cryptocurrencies are illegal within its payments system, while at the same time appointing a regulator to oversee unregulated exchanges that trade in “crypto assets,” a finance ministry official said on Monday. A panel set by the government to look into issues relating to cryptocurrencies is expected to submit its report in the current fiscal year, ending on March 31, SC Garg, Economic Affairs Secretary, told CNBC TV18.
“The government will take steps to make it illegal as a payment system,” he said, adding the trading of “crypto assets” at the unregulated exchanges would be regulated. “We hope now within this financial year the committee will finalise its recommendations…certainly there will be a regulator,” Garg said.
Bitcoin extends slide, falls below $7,000
Digital currency bitcoin fell more than 15% on Monday to a nearly three-month low amid a slew of concerns ranging from a global regulatory clampdown to a ban on using credit cards to buy bitcoin by British and US banks, reports Reuters. On the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, bitcoin fell as low as $6,853.53 in early afternoon trading in New York. That marked a fall of more than half from a peak of almost $20,000 hit in December.
Bitcoin has fallen in six of the last eight trading session. The currency, which surged more than 1,300% last year, has lost about half its value so far in 2018, as more governments and banks signal their intention for a regulatory crackdown. Last week bitcoin suffered its worst weekly performance since 2013.
At 7:34 am, the SGX Nifty is trading at 10,370, down 3.04% or 325.50 points.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falls 3.2% — more than 1,000 points — as sell-off continues into Asia
Asian indexes tumbled early on Tuesday, mirroring massive losses seen stateside in the last session when the Dow fell more than 1,100 points and the S&P saw its worst day in six years, reports CNBC. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 4.95% as stocks across sectors pulled back. Automakers, financials and technology names were lower in the morning, with Toyota down 3.77%.
Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi declined 2.26%. Blue chip technology names were lower, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix down 1.63% and 1.85% early in the session. Among automakers, Hyundai Motor traded briefly in positive territory, but later slipped 0.63%. The Hang Seng Index was down 3.15% in early trade. On the mainland, the Shanghai composite slid 1.52% and the Shenzhen composite lost 1.78%.
Dow, S&P 500 slumps over 4% each
US stocks plunged in highly volatile trading on Monday, with both the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials indices slumping more than 4%, as the Dow notched its biggest intraday decline in history with a nearly 1,600-point drop and Wall Street erased its gains for the year, reports Reuters.
The declines for the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were the biggest single-day percentage drops since August 2011, a period of stock-market volatility marked by the downgrade of the United States’ credit rating and the euro zone debt crisis.
With Monday’s declines, the S&P 500 erased its gains for 2018 and is now down 0.9% in 2018. The Dow is down 1.5% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,175.21 points, or 4.6%, to 24,345.75, the S&P 500 lost 113.19 points, or 4.1%, to 2,648.94 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 273.42 points, or 3.78%, to 6,967.53. At one point, the Dow fell 6.3% or 1,597 points, the biggest one-day points loss ever.
On Monday, the S&P 500 ended 7.8% down from its record high on January 26, with the Dow down 8.5% over that time. The declines come after the Dow and S&P posted their biggest weekly percentage drops since January 2016 last week, and the Nasdaq posted its biggest weekly drop since February 2016.