Category: Business

Morgan Stanley has downgraded India’s economic growth forecast for the next two fiscal years, saying global recession, rising oil prices and weak domestic demand will affect Asia’s third-largest economy.

Gross domestic product growth will be 7.6% for FY 2023 and 6.7% for FY 2024, down 30 basis points from previous estimates, the brokerage said in a note on Tuesday.

The cut reflects a clear economic impact from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has driven up crude prices, pushing retail inflation in India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, to a 17-month high.

Upasana Chachra, Morgan Stanley’s chief economist for India, said: “The main channels of influence are likely to be high inflation, weak consumer demand, tight financial conditions, adverse impact on business sentiment and delay in recovery of CapX.”

He added that both inflation and the country’s current account deficit could probably be exacerbated by broad-based price pressures and record-high commodity prices.
In a move to curb uncontrolled inflation, the central bank raised its core lending rate to a record low at an off-cycle meeting in early May. Markets are seeing the Reserve Bank of India raise its key rates further in the coming months as inflation remains high.

The country is also importing oil at a discounted rate from sanctions-ridden Russia to ease the pressure on rising crude prices, which recently reached 139 139 a barrel.

India meets about 80% of its oil demand through imports and rising crude prices increase the country’s trade and current account deficit, as well as hit the rupee and boost imported imports.

Google I / O 2022 Events Live Update, Streaming: Google I / O 2022, Google’s Annual Developers Conference, is set to begin today. The conference will begin at 10 AM PDT (10:30 PM) with a keynote address by Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc. and will run until 12 May (Thursday).

If you are interested and want to join this google event, you can first register yourself at io.google/2022. You can stream Google I / O Keynote on Google’s YouTube channel and Google I / O’s website. G Business will cover the event live and you can visit our website to get the latest updates.

Link: https://io.google/2022/program/8e80903f-955f-4a5b-9118-b0ce4acdb0e6/

Google will announce updates to its cloud infrastructure and other platforms and tools such as Flutter, Firebase, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) based platforms. Google will also announce updates on its consumer-centric offerings, which include Android OS, Chrome OS, Google Play and Maps, BGR India said.

The company also opened a poll on its official Android handle on Twitter to ask users “Which update are you most excited to see on May 11-12?” Options include – security updates, messaging updates, cross device updates and new partnerships.

Google has already shared a temporary timeline of the launch for its upcoming Android 13 mobile operating system. The company last month shared the first beta preview of Android 13 OS. It is possible that the company used the platform to release the second beta version of the OS and talked a little more about the key features of the Android 12 successor, BGR India reports.

Android 13 will also feature a new photo picker that allows users to securely share photos and videos with other apps. Google will also introduce a new feature in Android 13 that will allow users to be notified.

Google usually uses Google I / O to launch its mid-budget smartphones. The company is expected to maintain this trend with the launch of the Pixel 6A smartphone in 2022. This smartwatch can come with a round design, body crown and Fitbit integration. Additional features include SPO2 tracker, sleep apnea detection, heartbeat alert, stress tracking and calorie tracking among other things.

In addition, the company is expected to introduce updates to its virtual assistant – Google Assistant – Chrome OS, Google Play Store and Google Maps at the event.

Even sixty years after her death, Marilyn Monroe continues to rule the hearts and minds of Americans. Kim Kardashian broke all records at Monday’s auction, from wearing an iconic Marilyn dress to her iconic portrait of Metgala, not stopping Marilyn Monroe.

Andy Warhol’s 1964 portrait of Marilyn – dubbed ‘Shot Sage Blue Marilyn’ – a 40-inch piece of artwork painted by Warhol two years after Monroe’s death, sold for a record-breaking $ 195 million at Christie’s New York auction on Monday. The work, a 1953-film, is based on a promotional photograph in Niagara, part of a set of four portraits, each with a different background.

“Tonight was a historic night for Christie’s and the entire contemporary art market. The record-breaking sale of Marilyn’s iconic portrait of Warhol from the collections of Thomas and Doris Amman is a testament to the strength, vitality and overall excitement of the art market today. The sale demonstrates Andy Warhol’s vast potential as well as his long-standing legacy in the art world, popular culture and society, “said Alex Ritter, Christie’s chairman of 20th and 21st Century Art, in a statement.

The sale broke the record for the most expensive piece of 20th-century artwork sold at auction by Pablo Picasso’s “Les Fames D’Alzer (version O)”, which sold for $ 179.4 million in 2015. It also broke the record for the most expensive. Andy Warhol painting last sold in 2013 for 5 105.4 million.

Proceeds from the collection of Swedish art collectors Thomas and Doris Amman will go to charities that provide medical and educational services for children. 36 lots in total collection and total $ 317.8 million.

The sale was 98 per cent on a price basis, indicating strong demand from collectors and confidence in the market. The sale attracted the participation of bidders from 29 countries, with 68 per cent of the lots being sold above the high estimate. Additional highlights from the sale include record prices for six artists. Francesco Clement’s The Fourteen Station, No. 11, sold for গ 1.8 million, three times the previous record, with bids from at least nine bidders. Anne Craven’s I Was Not Sorry, 2003 achieved eight times the previous record, earning $ 478,800 through a competition of 15 bidders.

Other records include: Mike Bidlow (previous record three times), Mary Hellman, Martin Diesler and Ross Bleckner. After Warill’s Marilyn, the top lots were untitled by Sai Tumbley, who earned $ 21 million; Untitled by Robert Ryman, which sold for 20.1 million; And Venere Sopra Gaeta of Cy Twombly, 16.9 million.

The Southwestern Railway Zone of Indian Railways is taking huge steps towards becoming a ‘Green Railway’ network. In this regard, Shravanabelagola railway station may be the first carbon-neutral station in Karnataka to meet 100 per cent energy requirements through solar energy, Southwestern Railway Financial Express Online has confirmed. According to Zonal Railway, 7.9 kWp solar panels have been installed at Shravanabelagola railway station. The plant was commissioned on 6 January. It is currently operating in ‘off-grid’ mode and in 3 to 6 months, it will be synchronized with the grid. 24 solar panels have been installed at the railway station.

According to Southwestern Railway, the solar plant is producing approximately 5 units per day and approval has been obtained from Sescom to synchronize the plant with the grid. It can export about 25 units per day. In addition, a solar tree with a capacity of 1 kW has been installed at the railway station. Also, five HP solar pumps have been introduced at the railway station, Zonal Railway said.

A few days ago, Southwest Railway said it had installed a total of 4656.60 KWp solar panels in major station and service buildings. South Western Railway has supplied solar panels on the roofs of 120 railway stations (SSS covers all major railway stations in the zone including Hubbali, Mysuru, KSR Bangalore, Jashwantpur etc.) as well as seven service buildings (Zonal Headquarters Railway Building, DRM Office) – Hubli, DRM Office – , DRM Office – Mysuru, Railway Hospital – Hubli, Railway Hospital – Bangalore, Parcel Office Bangalore). Also, solar roof top plants have been installed in both SWR (Mysuru Workshop and Hubli Workshop) and both sheds (Hubli EMD Shed and Krishnarajapuram Diesel Shed). Apart from these, 295 level crossing gates have also been provided with solar panels. In 2022-23, SWR aims to install solar panels at 26 more railway stations.

Paint stock in focus: The silent March quarterly earnings of Asian Paints and Kansai Nerolac did not yield good results for the stocks as counters on the BSE fell 3.4 percent and 6.5 percent on Wednesday.

The stock movement can also be blamed for the sluggish performance of the overall market as the benchmark BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 traded in red. There was also weakness in the larger market.

Sentiment fell on other paint stocks, including Indigo Paints, Berger Paints, Shalimar Paints and Akzo Nobel India.

Individually, Nerolac fell the most among its peers, and fell 6.5 percent to touch a 52-week low of Rs 403 per share. Indigo Paints and Akso Nobel India also retreated to their 52-week lows of Rs 1421.05 and Rs 1780, respectively, after falling nearly 3 and 2 per cent on the BSE intraday, respectively.

Shalimar Paints was another big loss, with shares falling nearly 4 percent to touch a day low of Rs 131.05. It followed shares of Asian Paints, which lost about 3.5 per cent to Rs 2,980 on the BSE intraday.

Similarly, shares of Berger Paints fell nearly 3% to a low of Rs 656.55 per share on the BSE Intraday. By comparison, the BSE Sensex is down 1.4 percent at around 01:40 PM.

Crude oil prices have risen sharply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year. This will continue to weigh on profitability in the near term as paint players can only influence price increases to ensure that price sensitive customers are not transferred to unorganized players. Crisil rating said.

Shaunak Chakraborty, Associate Director, CRISIL Rating, said, “Significantly, the final normalization of crude prices may result in margin recovery as the full benefits of lower raw material prices may not go to consumers.” By adjusting for an average of-85-90 per barrel of crude oil in fiscal year, margins could expand to 16.5-17% by 150-200 bps. ”

Yes Securities believes that demand for paints is expected to remain strong in the medium term and Asian Paints is in a sweet spot to capture a large portion of the growing demand. It stays bullish on the stock and considers the premium valuation to be fair.

The brokerage FY22-24E expects revenue / EBITDA / PAT CAGR 18% / 34% / 39% respectively and maintains a buy rating with a target price of Rs 3,708 (20% upward) per share, valued at 60x FY24 EPS.

CRPF personnel, who will be deployed for the Amarnath journey to Jammu and Kashmir, are being sensitized to the threat posed by the “sticky bomb”, a senior official said on Wednesday, adding that vigilance was the best way to deal with the problem. .

In the first such seizure in February last year, the Border Security Force (BSF) confiscated a consignment dropped from a drone along the international border in Samba district that contained 14 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), including a built-in magnet.

They can be used as “sticky bombs” by being stuck in vehicles and controlled using a timer and remotely placed devices.

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Deputy Inspector General, Hiranagar Range, Devendra Yadav said caution was key to dealing with the “sticky bomb” threat.

“There is no way to deal with the problem without caution. In our area of ​​responsibility, security deployments will be alerted and troopers will be sensitized about the threat, “he told reporters after the inauguration of the CRPF unit’s inter-battalion weightlifting competition here.

The 43-day pilgrimage to the Himalayan Temple is scheduled to begin on June 30 on the twin route – the traditional 48-km Nunwan in Pahalgam in south Kashmir and the 14-km short Baltal in Ganderbal in central Kashmir – after two breaks. Years due to the Kovid epidemic.

Security alerts have thwarted several more attempts by terrorists to carry out attacks over the past year, the last of which was the timely detection of an IED on the Sidhara bypass on the outskirts of Jammu on April 26. .

Earlier, in August and September last year, four IEDs each planted with sticky bombs were seized from Punch district.

The CRPF officer said that security arrangements were being made for the Amarnath Jatra and all agencies were playing their role. “Like last year, we will ensure a successful completion of the journey,” Yadav said.