The Slack Discussions
The Slack group at Capital Mind Premium has been extremely active and if you haven’t been there, pop us a note by replying to this email. (If you’re a trial member this probably sound like Greek to you; it will be available when you sign up!)
A brief summary of some of the interesting things discussed there in the last few days:
#general: Bloomberg said to be in talks with Raghav Bahl for joint venture
Deal estimated to be worth more than Rs.100 crore, will include launch of co-branded TV channel and online portal.
#general: State-run oil firms plan refinery to rival Reliance
Indian Oil Corp., will build a 60 million-metric-ton-a-year oil refinery in Maharashtra together with Bharat Petroleum Corp., Hindustan Petroleum Corp. and Engineers India Ltd.
#general: Finance ministry seeks banks’ view on more capital infusion
The government estimates that state-run lenders would require Rs 1.8 trillion over the next four years.
#macronomics: Devastating’ Brexit will consign Europe to a second rate world power, warns Deutsche Bank
The implications of the UK not being in the EU will be truly devastating for Europe” says David Folkerts-Landau.
#macronomics: China Goes after George Soros
China’s state press is warning George Soros not to bet against its currency after the hedge fund star-turned philanthropist predicted a “hard landing” for its economy last week.
“Soros’ challenge against the renminbi and Hong Kong dollar is unlikely to succeed, there is no doubt about that,” the overseas edition of People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s main mouthpiece, said Tuesday.
#macronomics: Three Major Reasons for Gold in 2016
#general: Snapdeal plans to lend Rs 1k crore in six monthsto attract sellers
In an attempt to attract more merchants to sell on its platform, online marketplace Snapdeal is looking to disburse loans worth Rs 1,000 crore over the next six months to its sellers.
To make the disbursal process quick and efficient, Snapdeal has done away with cumbersome paperwork such as financial statements and collaterals. Instead, the Softbank-backed e-commerce company has developed an industry-first credit rating engine on the lines of CIBIL that uses big data algorithms to detect risk behaviour and payback capability of borrowers by tracking their transaction history and customer feedback.
#stocks: SEBI reviews risk systems in choppy markets
The markets regulator has told top exchange officials and brokers to track markets to ensure there is no foul play.
#general: Queue Of the Unemployed in E-City Is an India Story
The scene in front of HCL Technologies on a January Sunday morning provided the big picture of the growing disenchantment among the educated youth.
#general: Is the worst over for rural economy?
Four of the 6 large states have seen uptick in rural wages, following equally sharp increase in coverage of the rural employment guarantee scheme.
#macronomics: China GDP Growth Could Be as Low as 4.3%, Chinese Professor Says
As growth in the world’s second-largest economy slows, the spotlight has intensified over the accuracy of China’s growth figures. This week, Xu Dianqing, an economics professor at Beijing Normal University and the University of West Ontario, joined the debate with an estimate that China’s gross domestic product growth rate might just be between 4.3% and 5.2%.
#general: Maruti Swift sales take a hit as Baleno shines
Average monthly sales of Swift has fallen to 13,252 units from 17,800, while Baleno has clocked nearly 20,000 units in the last two months.
#general: German investor Rocket Internet may close down FabFurnish; looks for Indian partner
Rocket Internet is planning to pull the plug on two of its online businesses as it grapples with challenges facing its bouquet of ventures in India, including flagship Jabong.
#stocks: Aurobindo Pharma Gets USFDA Nod for Fungal Infections Pills
Aurobindo Pharma has received approval from the US health regulator to manufacture and market generic Voriconazole tablets used for the treatment of fungal infections.
The company has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Voriconazole tablets in the strengths of 50 mg and 200 mg.
#stocks: Power Grid Q3 profit rises 31% to Rs1, 613 crore
Total income rose from Rs4, 486 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2014 to Rs5, 504 crore in the third quarter of fiscal 2016.
#stocks-from the past: Himatsingka withdraws case against HDFC Bank
Himatsingka Seide, the Bangalore-based Rs 1,000 crore silk fabrics manufacturer and exporter, which had sued HDFC Bank over foreign exchange derivative losses, has withdrawn the case. The company instead has opted to settle the dispute out-of-court. As per the terms of the settlement, Himatsingka has paid Rs 9.23 crore to the bank, sources in the company said.
#stocks-from the past: SBI, ICICI, Citibank, Axis among 19 banks penalised for selling complex derivatives to companies
The State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Citibank and Axis are among the 19 banks penalized by the Reserve Bank of India for violating currency derivatives norms and selling products to companies which did not understand them, ending a three-year dispute between banks and small companies burnt by derivatives.
#macronomics: RBI Governor for Transparency
#general: Navinder Sarao didn’t cause the flash crash, study finds
The British trader accused by the U.S. government of “spoofing” didn’t cause the flash crash of 2010 that rocked markets, a study finds.
A new research paper finds that Navinder Sarao, accused of entering orders he didn’t intend on fulfilling, could not have caused the flash crash that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by about 1,000 points in four and half minutes.
#general: Foodpanda finds no takers even at $10m price tag
Rocket Internet-backed Foodpanda is desperately searching for a buyer for its troubled India operations at a lowly price tag of $10-15 million, multiple sources familiar with the development told TOI. The Samwer brothers-led Rocket Internet’s interest in its Indian portfolio has been waning with most of its flagship firms, including FabFurnish and PrintVenue, being put on the block.
#macronomics: Why a Russian-Saudi Deal on Oil Output Cut Remains Elusive
OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri called on all countries, both inside and outside the group, to join efforts to revive oil prices. “It should be viewed as something OPEC and non-OPEC tackle together,” he said on Monday.
#stocks: Tata Coffee Q3 Net Grows 66% to Rs 31 Crore
Tata Coffee today posted a 66 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 30.5 crore for the third quarter ended December.
Net profit in the same quarter last year stood at Rs 18.3 crore. Tata Coffee’s income from operations grew 9 per cent to Rs 439.4 crore in October-December of 2015-16 compared with Rs 403 crore a year ago, it said in a BSE filing.
#general: Why Indian E-commerce Is A Ponzi Scheme
#macronomics: Gold bonds worth Rs 726 crore sold in second issue
In the second tranche of sovereign gold bonds, 3.16 lakh applications were received by banks for a total subscription of 2,790 kilograms of gold amounting to Rs 726 crore, the government said today in a release.
The response is three times higher than the first tranche when applications for 917 kg gold were received. This time, the share of applicants for smaller denomination gold bonds, were also higher. The issue closed last Friday clarifying that these are initial figures.
#general: How Reliance Retail is changing the ecommerce space
A key announcement in Reliance Industries results which largely went unnoticed was its plans for the ecommerce business. In its presentation, the company has said: “The curated fashion and lifestyle e-commerce initiative is transitioning from project phase to operational phase through beta testing and has been launched on an invitation only basis.” The curated fashion website will house a private label while 60% of its products will be sourced from imported and national brands.
#general: Facebook Inc. (FB) Q4 2015 Earnings: Social Network Turns $1.5 Billion In Profit, Beats All Expectations
#general: Russia says studying proposal for global oil production cuts
Russia said on Thursday that OPEC had proposed oil production cuts of up to 5 percent in what would be the first global deal in over a decade to help reduce a glut of crude and prop up sinking prices.
It remained unclear whether Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak was referring to a month old proposal by OPEC members Venezuela and Algeria or a new proposal backed by OPEC leader Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials did not immediately comment on the proposal, and a Gulf OPEC delegate said it came from Venezuela and Algeria.
#general: U.S. Jobless Claims Declined; Robust Labor Market Continues
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell last week, evidence of continued strength in the U.S. labor market even as other sectors of the economy shows signs of cooling.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., decreased by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000 in the week ended Jan. 23, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected 280,000 new claims last week.
#backtobasics:
Latest memo from Howard Marks: What Does the Market Know?
Japan’s Debt Problem Visualized
9 Fatal Flaws in the Black-Scholes Pricing Model
10 Things Traders Need to Know about Moving Averages
Disclaimer
Nothing in this newsletter is financial advice and should not be construed as such. Please do not take trading decisions based solely on the matter above; if you do, it is entirely at your own risk without any liability to Capital Mind. This is educational or informational matter only, and is provided as an opinion.
Disclosure: The authors at Capital Mind have positions in the market and some of them may support or contradict the material given above, or may involve a direction derived from independent analysis.
