Tuesday, 25 July 2017

Regulatory blues: India's 1st private reinsurer mulls licence surrender-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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25 July 2017
 
Insurance (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)
Finding the reinsurance regulations illogical and an uneven playing field for a whopping investment of Rs 500 crore, India's first private reinsurance company, ITI Reinsurance Ltd (ITI Re) is even ready to surrender its licence, officials said.

ITI Re is promoted by the listed Fortune Financial Services (India) Limited (FFSIL) which in turn is promoted by Sudhir Valia. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

"We are willing to surrender our licence if the division of obligatory cession continues to be skewed and other regulations are not suitably changed," Valia told IANS over phone from Mumbai. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

As per IRDAI stipulations, primary insurers can insure with a domestic reinsurer having a credit rating that signifies financial stability for the past three years.

"How can a new company like ours have credit rating for three years," said R. Raghavan, Chief Operating Officer. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

"The regulation is not only illogical but also anti-competitive," D Varadarajan, Supreme Court advocate specialising in company/competition/insurance laws told IANS.

"The primary objective of the regulator is to develop the insurance market in India in an organised manner. But its reinsurance regulation is contrary to that objective," Varadarajan said.

Varadarajan said Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India(IRDAI) issues the licence to operate after proper due diligence.

It beats the logic when IRDAI stipulates three year credit rating for a domestic reinsurer licensed by it after asking the investor to pump in Rs 500 crore start-up capital when the statutory limit is Rs 200 crore, Varadarajan added. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Varadarajan sees no impediment for ITI Re exiting as it has not underwritten any risk till date since it got the licence in December 2016.

Reinsurance is an insurance for primary insurers -- those who sells policies to the public.

The main source of business for Indian reinsurers are from two streams -- obligatory cession of five per cent by the primary insurers and the remaining 95 per cent market business.

Till the entry of ITI Re and branches of foreign reinsurers, government owned General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) was the sole reinsurer in India.

With the objective of preventing flight of reinsurance premium overseas and to nurture GIC the Indian primary insurers were initially asked to place compulsorily 30 per cent of their reinsurance business with GIC. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Over the years the obligatory cession got reduced and now it stands at five per cent.

Raghavan and Valia agreed that the fight for the five per cent obligatory cession is between GIC and ITI Re alone and the primary insurers can reinsure with both of them or give the entire five per cent to ITI Re itself. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

However, they argued that the playing field is not even as GIC is a dominant player in the domestic market and primary insurers may place in full the obligatory business with GIC, considering their other non-obligatory reinsurance contracts.

"Hence there is a need for the central government/IRDAI to reserve a portion of that in favour of domestic new reinsurers," Valia said. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Globally, reinsurers earn a premium that is three times their networth.

The Rs 500 crore equity based ITI Re, seeks a reservation of Rs 1,500 crore of obligatory cession to itself. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Raghavan said the Indian reinsurance market is Rs 28,900 crore of which almost Rs 10,000 crore goes to overseas reinsurers and insurance pools resulting in outgo of foreign exchange.

According to Raghavan, many primary insurers, particularly with overseas partners, display reluctance in placing business with new entrants, seeking shelter under their internal risks transfer guidelines. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

"Unless a nurturing policy for new entrants is implemented for obligatory cessions, building up of domestic reinsurance capacity will continue to be a mirage that it has been for last 17 years or so," Raghavan said. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions


He also added that the government/IRDAI should remove the three year credit rating criteria for new reinsurers to get business from primary insurers.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

GM 2Q Net Earnings Fall On Loss From Sale Of European Unit-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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25 July 2017 

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General Motors' second-quarter net profit fell more than 40 percent as the company lost money on the sale of its European unit and took charges for restructuring in India and selling its business in South Africa. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The company posted net income of $1.66 billion, compared with a record $2.87 billion a year ago. But when the European loss and one-time items are stripped out, GM still made $2.4 billion from continuing operations, or $1.89 per share. That's down 12 percent from last year but still easily beat Wall Street estimates. Analysts polled by FactSet expected only $1.68 per share.

Revenue was $37 billion excluding Europe, falling short of analyst estimates of $40.3 billion.

Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens called it a strong quarter with pretax earnings of $3.7 billion. That's down $100 million from a year ago, due largely to a $270 million drop in North America that Stevens attributed to production cuts as the company ramps up to launch new Silverado and Sierra full-size pickup trucks. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

GM's bottom line includes a $770 million loss as GM prepares for the sale of its European Opel and Vauxhall brands to France's PSA Group, owner of Peugeot and Citroen. It also includes $654 million in one-time items from restructuring in India, the sale of GM's South Africa business and lingering legal costs from an embarrassing ignition switch recall. Stevens said the sale to PSA is on track to close by the end of the year. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Pretax profits in North America, GM's most lucrative region, fell 14 percent for the quarter to $3.48 billion. But profits in International Operations, including China, nearly doubled to $340 million. GM also narrowed its loss in South America from $118 million to $23 million. Profits at its loan-making unit rose 67 percent to $357 million. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

GM made a strong profit in the U.S. even though sales were down 4 percent for the quarter. That's because much of the sales drop came from lower-profit cars, which were down 19 percent. Truck and SUV sales rose 3 percent, and that pushed up GM's average sales price per vehicle up 3 percent to $39,118, according to Edmunds.com. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions


Shares of GM rose just over 1 percent to $36.25 in premarket trading Tuesday.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Global Stocks Mostly Higher Amid Earnings Reports-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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25 July 2017
South korea financial markets (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Stock markets turned higher on Tuesday as investors monitored a slew of corporate earnings reports. A meeting of the Federal Reserve and caution over potential twists and turns in U.S. politics kept most indexes trading within a narrow range. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

KEEPING SCORE: Germany's DAX climbed 0.7 percent to 12,297 and the CAC 40 of France added 1.3 percent to 5,192. The FTSE 100 of Britain jumped 1 percent to 7,449. Shares looked set to drift higher on Wall Street, with Dow futures up 0.4 percent and S&P futures up 0.2 percent.

CORPORATE EARNINGS: General Motors posted a net profit of $1.66 billion, down from a record $2.87 billion a year ago but better than analysts were expecting. Later in the day, investors will be looking at results from the likes of McDonald's, Caterpillar and Eli Lilly for signs of improvement in business at a time when the global economy is doing relatively well but facing uncertainties, such as over the future of U.S. reform policies. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

FEDERAL RESERVE: The Federal Reserve's policymaking committee begins a two-day meeting on Tuesday, following its decision last month to raise short-term interest rates for the third time since December. The central bank also announced plans to start gradually paring its bond holdings later this year, a move that could cause rates to rise. Most investors expect the Fed to hold rates steady at this week's meeting and possibly raise them one more time this year.

ANALYST VIEWPOINT: "The summer period can often be a very quiet one for the markets but with the major central banks across the globe waking up from years of extreme accommodation, this has certainly not been the case so far," Craig Erlam of OANDA said in a commentary.

SOUTH KOREA: The government announced a new economic plan promising to boost incomes and improve the country's sagging social safety net. But despite an upgrade in the growth forecast for Asia's fourth largest economy, to 3 percent from 2.6 percent, shares fell as investors cashed in profits after a long spate of record-high closes driven by optimistic expectations for corporate earnings.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.1 percent to 19,955.20 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was unchanged at 26,852.05. South Korea's Kospi sank 0.5 percent to 2,439.90. Australia's S&P ASX 200 gained 0.7 percent to 5,726.60 and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.2 percent to 3,243.69. India's Sensex added 0.1 percent to 32,261.85. Shares in Southeast Asia were mixed.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 81 cents to $47.15 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 57 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $46.34 per barrel on Monday. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, rose 85 cents to $49.45 a barrel.


CURRENCIES: The euro rose to $1.1672 from $1.1644. The dollar climbed to 111.44 Japanese yen from 111.10 yen and the British pound climbed to $1.3066 from $1.3007.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Monday, 24 July 2017

Nifty, Sensex on an Uptrend- Monday closing report-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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24 July 2017

I The major indices of the Indian stock markets were range-bound on Monday and closed with gains over Friday’s close. The trends of the major indices in the course of Monday’s trading are given in the table below: The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
 
Major Indices (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

The key equity indices -- the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty -- traded at record highs during the mid-afternoon session on Monday, with the wider Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) trading close to the 10,000-level. According to market observers, investors' sentiments were boosted by hopes of healthy quarterly results from index heavyweights such as Ambuja Cements and HDFC Bank, and buying in consumer durables, banking, IT (information technology)  and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) stocks. On the NSE, there were 807 advances, 860 declines and 308 unchanged. Reliance Industries hit new all-time high, with shares of the Mukesh Ambani-led firm up as much as 2.4%.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday introduced a bill under which the Centre may authorise the Reserve Bank of India to direct banks to initiate recovery proceedings against loan defaulters. The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill will replace an ordinance that earlier enabled this. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The recovery proceedings would be under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 that provides for a time-bound process to resolve defaults. The S & P BSE Bankex closed at 27,634.67, up 0.50% on the BSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

With global economic recovery remaining on track on the back of better performing emerging economies, growth in India is expected to pick up further in 2017 and 2018, the IMF has said. "Growth in India is forecast to pick up further in 2017 and 2018, in line with the April 2017 forecast," the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report on Monday. "Pick-up in global growth anticipated in the April World Economic Outlook remains on track," the IMF report said. "While activity slowed following the currency exchange initiative, growth for 2016 -- at 7.1% -- was higher than anticipated due to strong government spending and data revisions that show stronger momentum in the first part of the year," it said, referring to India's demonetisation measure as well as to the base year revisions in GDP calculations made by the Central Statistics Office. "Growth out-turns in the first quarter of 2017 were higher than the April WEO forecasts in large emerging and developing economies. “Inflation in advanced economies remains subdued and generally below targets; it has also been declining in several emerging economies such as Brazil, India and Russia," it added. Market analysts forecast a long term bull market in Indian stock markets based on projected growth in the Indian economy over the next two years.

Financial services major Reliance Capital on Monday said its shareholders have approved the demerger scheme for Reliance Home Finance. According to the company, the demerger scheme -- which will facilitate in the independent listing of Reliance Home Finance -- was approved by 99.59%  votes in favour of the "Scheme of Arrangement" at the Tribunal-convened General Shareholders Meeting held on Monday. "The demerger will facilitate the independent listing of Reliance Home Finance on the stock exchanges in the next few months," said Anmol Ambani, ED, Reliance Capital. "The proposal will unlock substantial value for our shareholders, who will be allotted one share free of cost in Reliance Home Finance for every share held in Reliance Capital," he added. As per the scheme, Reliance Capital will hold 51% stake in Reliance Home Finance, and will be adequately capitalised to grow the lending book multi-fold in the next 18 months. Reliance Capital shares closed at Rs650.30, down 0.02% on the BSE.

Hinduja Group's flagship company Ashok Leyland on Monday said that it has bagged an order for 3,019 buses worth Rs650 crore. According to the company, the order has come from the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). "This order, one of the largest from a state transport undertaking for a single OEM (original equipment manufacturer), would be executed in the current financial year, which would help Ashok Leyland in furthering its leadership position in buses," the company said in a statement. Ashok Leyland shares closed at Rs104.05, up 0.87% on the BSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

State-run Vijaya Bank Ltd on Saturday reported a Rs255 crore net profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2017-18, registering a 57% annual growth from Rs162 crore in the same period a year ago. Sequentially, net profit grew 25% from Rs204 crore a quarter ago. Operating profit for the quarter under review (Q1) also zoomed 64% annually to Rs753 crore from Rs459 crore in the like period a year ago but only 7% sequentially from Rs703 crore a quarter ago. "Total income, however, grew 6.5% yearly to Rs3,510 crore in Q1 from Rs3,295 crore in the same period year ago and was flat sequentially (0.14%) from Rs3,505 crore quarter ago," said the bank in a statement here. The bank's provisioning for non-performing assets (NPAs) shot up 63 per cent annually to Rs411 crore in Q1 from Rs253 crore in the like period a year ago and 19% sequentially from Rs345 crore a quarter ago. CASA deposits increased 30% annually to Rs36,318 crore, with Current Accounts forming Rs7,998 crore and Saving Accounts Rs28,320 crore during the quarter under review. "Focus on assets quality resulted in net NPA declining marginally to 5.24% from 5.42% a year ago," added the statement. Vijaya Bank shares closed at Rs72.70, down 0.82% on the BSE. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The top gainers and top losers of the major indices are given in the table below:
 
Top Gainer (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

The closing values of the major Asian indices are given in the table below: The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
Asian Indices (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

Government introduces Banking Regulation Bill -The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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24 July 2017

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday introduced a bill under which the Centre may authorise the Reserve Bank of India to direct banks to initiate recovery proceedings against loan defaulters. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill will replace an ordinance that earlier enabled this. 

The recovery proceedings would be under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 that provides for a time-bound process to resolve defaults. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy opposed the introduction of the Bill. "It is a desperate step by a desperate government," Roy said. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

"The same RBI is being authorised to regulate banks which has till date not been able to give (the total) amount of money deposited in banks after demonetisation," Roy said.

He demanded the bill to be sent to a parliamentary committee.

Jaitley responded saying that the objections raised by Roy had nothing to do with the introduction of the bill. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions


"The issues raised by him can be discussed when the bill comes up for discussion," the Minister said, after which it was introduced in the House.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Government nominees on RBI MPC to get Rs 1.5 lakh a meeting -The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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24 July 2017

The government nominees on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) are to be paid Rs 1.5 lakh per meeting along with air travel and other reimbursements, according to a decision taken by the RBI. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The six-member MPC, constituted last year, has three persons appointed by the government while the others, including the Governor, are from the RBI. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The central government appointed members would "receive a remuneration of Rs 1,50,000 for devoting time and work for each meeting of the committee which they attend, and other expenses relating to air travel, local transportation and accommodation as may be decided by the central board from time to time," according to the RBI's latest regulations on the MPC's functioning.

The regulations stipulated that all the MPC members will need to observe a "silent period" seven days before and after the monetary policy review meeting for "utmost confidentiality".

"Members shall observe a silent or blackout period starting seven days before the voting/decision ray and ending seven days after the day policy is announced. During this period, they will avoid public comment on issues related to monetary policy other than through the MPCs communication framework," the regulations said. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Moreover, members cannot reveal outside the committee any confidential information accessed during the monetary policy deliberations, the RBI said. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The three government nominees to the panel are Chetan Ghate, Professor at the Indian Statistical Institute, Pami Dua, Director at the Delhi School of Economics, and Ravindra H. Dholakia, Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

The RBI also asked MPC members to be mindful of any conflict between their personal and public interest while interacting with profit-making organisations or making personal financial transactions,

"While interacting with profit-making organisations or making personal financial decisions, they shall be mindful of, and weigh carefully, any scope for conflict between personal interest and public interest," it said. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

All members need to disclose their assets and liabilities and update this information once a year.

The RBI normally holds its monetary policy review once every two months and the latest regulations said the schedule of the MPC meetings for the entire financial year needs to be announced in advance. 

Normally, at least 15 days of notice is required for convening a meeting, but an emergency meeting can be called with 24 hours notice for each member, while technology-enabled arrangements need to be made for meetings called at even shorter notice. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

In this connection, the central bank has earlier said that the decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes was taken by the RBI board at 5.30 p.m. on November 8, which was less than three hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the measure to the nation.

Following the RBI's latest policy review last month, Governor Urjit Patel told reporters here that the RBI Monetary Policy Committee had turned down the Finance Ministry's invite for a discussion ahead of the panel's policy review meeting. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions


The RBI maintained its key interest rate at 6.25 per cent for its fourth successive monetary policy review, dashing the government's hopes of a reduction.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

Europe Concerned At Impact Of US Energy Sanctions On Russia-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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24 July 2017

European Union officials are "activating all diplomatic channels" to press home their concerns that looming U.S. energy sanctions against Russia could affect Europe's energy supplies, a spokesman said Monday. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
U.S. lawmakers are scheduled to consider the sanctions package as early as Tuesday, and the bill could be sent to President Donald Trump before Congress breaks for the August recess. The measures are aimed at punishing Moscow for meddling in the presidential election and its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
EU member states Germany and Austria have criticized the penalties, saying they could affect European businesses involved in piping in Russian natural gas. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
In a joint statement last month, Austria's Chancellor Christian Kern and Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel cited a section of the sanctions bill that calls for the United States to continue to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would pump Russian gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea.
European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said Monday that the EU's executive arm is "following this process with some concern regarding the European Union's energy independence and our energy security interests." The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
He would not speculate on any possible EU retaliation should European businesses be hurt by U.S. sanctions. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
"We in the European Union will have interests in this discussion and we expect this interest to be addressed by the ongoing pre-legislative process" in the United States, Schinas said.

His comments came despite senior Republicans saying Saturday that revisions to the package have resolved fears that the sanctions could have unintentionally complicated Europe's access to energy resources outside of Russia.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

US Stock Indexes Dip Ahead Of Busy Earnings Week-The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

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24 July 2017
U.S. stock markets (The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions)

U.S. stock indexes dipped Monday, ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings reports and a meeting of the Federal Reserve. Global stock markets were mixed, while the price of oil rose.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,468, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 69 points, or 0.2 percent, to 21,511. The Nasdaq composite dipped 1 point, or less than 0.1 percent, to 6,386.
If the S&P 500 ends the day lower, it would mark the first three-day losing streak for the index in a month. The recent declines have been mostly modest though, and the S&P 500 remains within a quarter of a percent of its record close. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
EARNINGS WAVE: More than a third of the companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to report their second-quarter earnings this week, including many big technology names.
Analysts are expecting another round of strong reports this quarter and are calling for overall growth of 7.5 percent in earnings per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. They've been ratcheting up their forecasts in recent weeks - the call was for 6.1 percent growth a month ago - due to higher forecasts for technology and industrial companies.
If the stronger earnings do come through, it would help justify the big move stock prices have made to record highs this year. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
FED FACTOR: The Federal Reserve's policymaking committee begins a two-day meeting on Tuesday, following its decision last month to raise short-term interest rates for the third time since December. The central bank also announced plans to start gradually paring its bond holdings later this year, a move that could cause rates to rise. Investors in recent weeks have questioned whether the European Central Bank will begin to tap the brakes on its own stimulus for the economy.
NERFED: Hasbro fell $10.32, or 8.9 percent, to $105.63 for the deepest loss among stocks in the S&P 500, despite reporting stronger-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter. The stock had already been up nearly 50 percent for the year before the earnings release, and analysts said some investors may have been nervous after Hasbro cited some softness in its Brazil and U.K. markets.
IMF'S FORECASTS: The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for economic growth this year in Europe, Japan and China. But it also cut its outlook for the United States after Washington has had a more difficult time than expected in pushing through corporate tax cuts and other pro-business legislation. On the whole, the IMF left its forecast for worldwide economic growth at 3.5 percent.
MARKETS ABROAD: Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.6 percent, and South Korea's Kospi inched up 0.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 percent, and India's Sensex added 0.7 percent.
In Europe, France's CAC 40 rose 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX fell 0.2 percent and the FTSE 100 in London dropped 1.2 percent. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
COMMODITIES: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 59 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $46.36 per barrel. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, rose 49 cents to $48.80.
Natural gas fell 7 cents to $2.91 per 1,000 cubic feet, while heating oil and wholesale gasoline were both close to flat. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
Gold rose $1.50 to $1,256.40 per ounce, silver gained 3 cents to $16.4 per ounce, and copper added a penny to $2.73 per pound. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions
YIELDS: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was close to flat at 2.24 percent, and the two-year yield held steady at 1.34 percent. The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions

CURRENCIES: The euro dipped to $1.1647 from $1.1677 late Friday, and the British pound rose to $1.3030 from $1.3007.The Total Investment & Insurance Solutions