What will be the key challenges for Dr. Urjit Patel? The suspense over the next RBI governor is finally over and Dr. Urjit Patel will be taking over from Rajan on September 04. While Dr. Rajan leaves behind a robust and stable economy, the new governor will have 3 key challenges to contend with. Inflation…
For Diesel engines, this may be the beginning of the end… The problems at Volkswagen last year and Indian states trying to ban diesel cars this year seem to be largely unrelated. But there is a common link between the two. Both are indicative of a larger shift that the world automobile industry is making…
What Janet Yellen is indicating to the world on rates? In the aftermath of the Jackson Hole Symposium of central bankers, Janet Yellen was hawkish along expected lines. Janet Yellen has admitted that the macros make a very strong case for a rate hike as early as September. So what are the key influencing factors…
Why not just leave it alone; as it is… SEBI has recently brought out a discussion paper on algorithmic trading and has sought feedback from market participants. The idea is to provide a level-playing field to small and medium investors; which is definitely laudable. The problem is that controls on algorithmic trading may not be…
Why it could be a bigger worry for policymakers… The WPI inflation for July 2016 doubled to 3.55% on a month-on-month basis. Combined with CPI inflation coming in at 6.07%, there is a real concern that food inflation may be driving overall inflation higher. Consensus estimates had placed WPI inflation at 2.50% and the actual…
How SBI will actually benefit from the mega merger… The merger of 6 subsidiaries into SBI has finally been given formal shape. The merger ratio is likely to be as follows: SBI/SBBJ 28:10, SBI/SBM 22:10, SBI/SBT 22:10 and SBI/BMB 4.42:100. Since SBH and SBP are wholly owned subsidiaries of SBI, there will be no swap…
Is GST likely to be inflationary in India? There has been a general belief that GST will add to inflation in the initial years. While the quantum of the impact of inflation cannot be predicted, the global experience is that the inflation rate does creep up by 0.5% to 1% annually in the…
As usual, the policy was pragmatic and data driven… The August 09th monetary policy had the stamp of Dr. Rajan written all over it. It was pragmatic and as usual the RBI governor was driven more by the reality of the situation. The next policy will be announced by the new governor on…
Need to simplify the business and unlock value… The much awaited restructuring of the Birla Group came in this week. As part of the merger, Aditya Birla Nuovo Ltd (ABNL) will be merging into Grasim in the ratio of 10:3. Shareholders of ABNL will get 3 shares of Grasim for every 10 shares…
Greater clarity on the GST Bill will emerge once the revenue neutral rate (RNR) is fixed by the Council and the specific GST rates for various goods and services are laid out. However, assuming that the GST RNR will be in the range of 17-18% one can broadly draw conclusions about how various sectors will…
