Business News

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (91) bid adieu to the Rajya Sabha today, marking the end of his remarkable three-decade-long tenure. AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge paid tribute to Singh's dedicated service, expressing admiration for his unwavering commitment to the nation. Kharge in a post on X wrote, "As you retire today from the Rajya Sabha after having served for more than three decades, an era comes to an end. Very few people can say they have served our nation with more dedication and more devotion than you. Very few people have accomplished as much as you for the nation and its people."Prime Minister Narendra Modi some time back had also lauded his role as a member of the upper house and said his contributions would never be forgotten. Modi also said that Singh sometimes came to vote while being on a wheelchair, and that he did to strengthen democracy.Singh, who first entered the Rajya Sabha in 1991, served multiple terms and faced a brief hiatus in 2019 before being re-elected from Rajasthan. He held the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 1998 to 2004. Manmohan Singh's journey as a Rajya Sabha member began in 1991 following his tenure as the Finance Minister in the Rao government. He secured re-election in 1995, 2001, 2007, and 2013. Despite an unsuccessful attempt in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from South Delhi, where he was defeated by BJP's Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Singh maintained his presence in the Rajya Sabha.Representing Assam for five consecutive terms from October 1, 1991, to June 14, 2019, Singh later resumed his tenure in the House from Rajasthan. Since August 20, 2019, he has represented Rajasthan, with his current term slated to conclude on April 3, 2024. During his tenure, Singh served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from March 21, 1998, to May 21, 2004. He has often been accused by the BJP for running a government that was marred by corruption. The party had also termed "MaunMohan Singh", alleging he did not speak out against corrupt leaders in his cabinet. Singh had, however, hoped that "to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition parties in Parliament".Of late, he has has not been keeping good health and has often been seen attending the Rajya Sabha proceedings, especially during crucial voting, on a wheelchair.

Equity indices snapped the three-day winning run on Tuesday amid weak trends in US markets. The 30-share Sensex declined 110 points to settle at 73,903 and the broader Nifty closed lower by 8 points at 22,453.Stocks that were in focus included names like AB Capital, which jumped 10.5%, Aster DM, which rose 0.5%, and Vodafone Idea, whose shares declined nearly 3% on Tuesday.Here's what Viral Chheda, Sr Technical Analyst, SSJ Finance & Securities, recommends investors should do with these stocks when the market resumes trading today.AB CapitalAfter making the low around 155 in Dec 2023, price has given a sharp upside move to make an all time high of 199.6 odd levels. Price has given almost 28% returns from its lower level as Bulls were having upper hand over bears.The stock is currently making a higher top higher bottom pattern. It is moving in Bull Run and closing above its previous all time high level of 199 indicates further upside till 250-280. On the lower side it has support at 165 odd levels, until these lows are intact we can see new highs.The Stochastics Oscillator is moving in an upward trend along with an increase in volume indicating upside movement with limited downside risk. Hence one can buy at current level and more at dips of 180 with SL of 165 on weekly closing basis and upside can be seen till 280-320 in next 10-12 months.Aster DMAfter making an all time high around 495 in Feb 2024, price has witnessed a bear run to make the low of 402 odd levels. Price has given almost 93 points correction as sellers were having upper hand over bulls.The stock is currently facing more selling pressure and can see further downside to test the previous lows of 380 levels. On the higher side once the 420 level is taken out we can see some recovery till 440-470 odd levels.Currently one should avoid buying this stock and can wait for some further dip till 380. The Stochastics Oscillator is moving in a downward trend indicating downside movement with limited upside move. Hence one should avoid buying at current level and can buy at dips of 380 with SL of 340 on weekly closing basis and upside can be seen till 450-500 in next 10-12 months.Vodafone IdeaIn the daily we can see that after making the double top around 18.4 in Feb 2024, price has given a correction to make the low of 11.75 odd levels.The price has given almost 40% corrections as Bears were having full control over price. At lower level after taking support of 200 DMA around 11.60 price has given some pull back to make the high of 14.25. Currently the price is moving sideways, having support around 12.50 and resistance around 14.50. Breakouts on either side can witness a sharp move.Stock is good for the long term but at current level one should wait for stock to move above 14.5 odd levels. Hence one should wait to buy above 14.5 and then more at dips of 12.5 with SL of 11 on weekly closing basis and upside can be seen till 18-22 in next 10-12 months.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Mumbai: Non-banking finance companies have raised the cost of borrowing for stock brokers by 25-30%, according to four industry officials familiar with the matter. The move will make margin funding - a short-term loan that brokers extend to investors for buying shares they cannot afford otherwise - costlier for clients, the officials said. Brokers borrow from NBFCs to finance their margin trading facility (MTF).Brokers' borrowing costs from NBFCs for margin funding have surged to 10-11% from 8-8.50% earlier. Industry officials ET spoke to attributed the decision to increase loan rates to brokers to two reasons. One is that the Reserve Bank of India nudged NBFCs to do so amid concerns about elevated leverage in the stock market.An email query to RBI went unanswered till print time.The other is that finance companies voluntarily raised borrowing costs for brokers as part of their risk-tightening measures following the central bank's recent crackdown on JM Financial Products.The total quantum of margin funding was around ₹57,000 crore at the end of March.A senior official from an NBFC told ET that they have raised interest rates on loans to brokers by 250 basis points following a recent crackdown on a few lenders due to regulatory non-compliance and governance issues.108987920Stock brokers use various sources of funding to finance their margin funding facility. These include using their own funds, borrowing funds from scheduled commercial banks or NBFCs regulated by the RBI, and borrowing funds through the issuance of commercial papers (CPs) in the debt market.The Margin Trading Facility (MTF) book for the stockbroking industry has increased to ₹29,500 crore in January 2023, from ₹7,100 crore in February 2020. The primary reason for the increase in margin funding is the outperformance of the market, particularly in mid-cap and small-cap stocks, which led to more individual investors taking a loan and buying shares to maximise returns.With the stock market considered overheated after the recent run-up, various market participants worry that equities could be more vulnerable to any sharp selloff. Some brokers have begun increasing interest rates on margin funding ahead of the elections."A few brokerages have already raised margin funding rates in anticipation of heightened volatility ahead of the elections, while the rest are expected to follow suit soon," said Prasad Sawant, advisory head at IIFL Securities. "This move is a precautionary measure aimed at allowing retail investors to deleverage their positions ahead of the elections to mitigate any potential crises." According to Ashish Nanda, joint - digital business, Kotak Securities, brokerages increase margins and reduce leverage during such periods to guard against volatility which increases closer to the election results."While we haven't changed any risk parameters currently, we monitor volatility closely and we will take appropriate actions if the need arises."

New Delhi:The government has resumed talks with public sector banks (PSBs) on offering stock options to eligible employees, rekindling hope for this longstanding demand of the lenders.The proposal to offer employee stock ownership plans or ESOPs, has been on the backburner for a while but it may advance after the Lok Sabha polls, said people familiar with the development. “There have been talks with government last month on issues pertaining to PSBs, including ESOPs,” abank executive said, adding that lenders will soon present a framework to the government.A government official told ET that discussions were preliminary and any decision on the proposal would be taken after polls."Bankers informed us that they had appointed consultancy firm Deloitte to give them suggestions on this matter…We will wait for banks to come up with a structured framework and then discuss it further," the official said.The framework would consider various factors impacting staterun banks with employee ESOPs being a longstanding demand of PSBs. They believe this will help them attract and retain talent amid intense competition from private lenders.Experts opine that stock options have a proven track record in the private economy space and could offer similar benefits to the PSU ecosystem as well.The government had held some discussions on the ESOP issue in 2020, but the proposal did not gain traction. The same year, the Economic Survey also made a case for giving ESOPs to PSB employees, saying it would enable them to become owners of the banks and incentivise them to embrace risk-taking and innovation.In 2015, the government’s Indradhanush framework for transforming PSBs also recommended ESOPs for the top management.The previous UPA government had in 2013 allowed PSBs to offer shares to employees at a discounted price under the Employee Share Purchase Scheme. In the last few years, most lenders offered this option to their employees, but it failed to garner much interest.

OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday launched a C$6 billion ($4.42 billion) Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to accelerate the construction and upgrading of housing.WHY IT'S IMPORTANTCanada faces a housing affordability crisis as a rapidly increasing immigrant population has far outpaced the number of available homes, leading to increases in prices and rents. High inflation and 22-year high interest rates have also driven up mortgage costs.The opposition has slammed the government for being slow to build more homes and the crisis is seen as one of the reasons for a slump in Trudeau's polling numbers.CONTEXTThe fund is one of the many schemes proposed by the government to spur construction of houses and will be a part of the upcoming budget on April 16.The government will allocate around one-fifth of the money to municipalities to build critical infrastructure around houses and the rest will go to provinces and territories to build houses for the middle class.KEY QUOTES"We need more affordable homes, and we need the infrastructure to help build these homes. That's why in Budget 2024, we're building more infrastructure, building more homes, and helping more Canadians find a place to call their own," Trudeau said."Since we launched the Housing Accelerator Fund last year, we have cut enough red tape to build 750,000 new homes over the next decade. It is working, so we are investing another$400 million," Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said.BY THE NUMBERSC$1 billion to be allocated to municipalities to support urgent infrastructure needs such as water, sanitation etc. The remaining C$5 billion will be for agreements with provinces and territories to support long-term priorities. The government also announced topping up of the C$4 billion housing accelerator fund launched last year by C$400 million.