News Highlights: SAT grants more time to Sebi to pass final order in Mallya case

Telecom major Bharti Airtel today said it will deploy a pre-5G-technology at IPL match venues that can enhance its network capacity by up to seven times and provide high speed connection to its subscribers.

"Airtel will deploy the advanced Massive MIMO Pre-5G technology across IPL match venues. Massive MIMO expands existing network capacity by five to seven times over existing spectrum. Customers will be able to experience superfast data speeds on Airtel's 4G network despite the very large number of concurrent users on the network sites at the venue," the company said in a statement.

21:52 RBI asks banks to submit `true data' for SLBC websites

Manual intervention in data reporting by banks on loan disbursements at the state level is leading to integrity issues, the Reserve Bank said today.

The Central bank asked lenders to submit the true data as reflected in their core banking system (CBS) on the state-level banking committee's website.

21:13 SAT grants more time to Sebi to pass final order in Mallya case

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has allowed markets regulator Sebi to pass the final order by May-end in the case of fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

The regulator had sought more time from the tribunal as personal hearing in the matter was completed only on March 23.

"Since personal hearing etc in the matter was completed only on March 23, 2018, and therefore extension of time is required to complete the proceedings and pass the final order," Sebi told the tribunal.

20:45 RBI issues notification on data storage by payment companies

The RBI today asked all payment system operators in the country to store all data, including full end-to-end transaction details and information collected, within India to ensure security of users' information.

The operators have been asked to comply with the instructions within six months, the central bank said in a notification.

RBI noted that "not all system providers" store the payments data in India.

20:10 Sugar tax on soft drinks comes into force in UK

Britons may have to shell out more for their soft drinks, as a so-called "sin tax" or "sugar tax" came into force in the UK today as part of the government's plan to combat obesity and sugar related disease.

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy was announced by former UK Chancellor George Osborne in 2016 and is based on the levels of sugar in the drinks, with the most sugary drinks paying the highest tax.

Drinks containing five grams of sugar per 100ml taxed at 18 pence per litre, and those with more than eight grams per 100ml taxed at 24 pence per litre. The levy will be applied to manufacturers in Britain and whether they pass it on to consumers or not will be up to them. (PTI)

19:38 No hacking of websites: National cybersecurity chief

Government websites, including those of defence and home ministries, have not come under any cyber attack, but suffered a hardware-related glitch, National Cyber Security Coordinator Gulshan Rai said on Friday.

Explaining the outage, he said the websites have been down since afternoon after it was noticed that there was a "storage area networking system" failure.

"The same is being addressed. It is only a hardware failure," Rai, who has been working in the field of cybersecurity since 1998, said. "There is no hacking or cyber attack," Rai, who heads the cybersecurity unit, said. (PTI)

18:55 TDP MPs demand special status for AP, hold protest inside Lok Sabha Speaker's chamber 

TDP MPs again held protests for special category status for Andhra Pradesh inside Parliament even after the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, reports PTI. The party's MPs, including those from the Rajya Sabha, held the protests inside Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's chamber as the party's no-confidence notice against the government was not taken up for discussion. (ANI)
18:33 U.S. sanctions Russians over 'malign activity' 

The United States sanctioned 24 Russian people, including oligarchs and government officials, and 14 groups on Friday over what it called a range of malign activities by Moscow to subvert Western democracies, the Treasury Department said. (Reuters)

18:24 US job gains smallest in six months, wage growth picks up

The US economy created the fewest jobs in six months in March as the boost from mild temperatures faded, but a pickup in wage gains pointed to a tightening labor market, which should allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates further this year.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 103,000 last month as construction and retail sectors shed jobs, the Labor Department said on Friday. That was the smallest amount since September and followed a 326,000 surge in February. (Reuters)
18:19 Startups raised 80% more funds in January-March quarter as against a year ago 

The first quarter of the calendar year remained bullish for the startup ecosystem with the sector raising over USD 1.8 billion funding. This is a whopping 80 percent growth as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year when the sector raised USD 982 million, according to Tracxn data exclusively shared with Moneycontrol.

This excludes debt and grants given to the startups and here Tracxn has taken into account all the deals upwards of USD 5 million.

The development was led by big-ticket funding raised by companies such as BigBasket, Zomato and Swiggy.

Read the full story here.
18:16 Lookout notice issued against Chanda Kochhar, reports India Today  

Lookout notices have been issued against ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar, and Venugopal Dhoot, India Today reports.
18:05 Bank of Baroda raises benchmark lending rate by 0.1% 

A day after RBI opted for status quo in its monetary policy, state-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) hiked benchmark lending rate by 0.1 percent or 10 basis points, making loans expensive.

The bank has raised marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 0.1 percent to 8.40 percent for 1-year tenure, BoB said in a statement.

Similar cut has been made effective in other tenures, it said.

The revised MCLR benchmarks are effective April 7, it added.
18:03 Honda Grazia crosses one lakh unit sales mark 

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) today said its 125cc scooter Grazia has crossed one lakh unit sales mark in less than five months of launch.

The company had launched the model on November 8 last year with price starting from Rs 58,133 (ex-showroom, Delhi). (PTI)

17:41  Congress to hold a protest fast of its own on April 9

In a counter-offensive, the Congress today said its workers would hold a day-long fast at all state and district headquarters on April 9 to expose the BJP's "lies" on various issues, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a fast by BJP MPs on April 12 to protest the impasse in Parliament for which he blamed the opposition party.

Hitting back at the BJP, the Congress said it was the government which was responsible for not letting Parliament function and termed as a "gimmick" and "drama" the move by NDA MPs to forgo their salary for 23 days when Parliament did not function. (PTI)

17:30 Action is initiated after the hacking of MoD website: Nirmala Sitharaman 

The website shall be restored shortly, the Defence Minister said. (ANI)

17:25 SEBI to take action against 14,720 entities for 'non-genuine trades'

SEBI will take action in a phased manner against 14,720 entities for "non-genuine trades" through illiquid stock option segment as it clamps down on fraudulent activities in the securities market.

Adjudication proceedings have been initiated against 567 entities involved in such trades in the first phase, according to a SEBI order dated April 5.

The markets regulator came across violations by 14,720 entities while it was probing 59 entities in a case related to alleged trading irregularities in stock options segment of the BSE. (PTI)
17:20 Facebook says up to 2.7 million EU users affected by leak

The European Union says that Facebook has told it that up to 2.7 million people in the 28-nation bloc may have been victim of improper data sharing involving political data-mining firm Cambridge Analytica.

EU spokesman Christian Wigand said today that EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova will have a telephone call with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg early next week to address the massive data leaks. (PTI)

16:47 Ministry of Defence website hacked, Chinese characters appear on the website homepage: CNN-News18 

Image: ANI
16:47 CBI questioning RBI's former Deputy Governor in PNB fraud case

The Central Bureau of Investigation is questioning HR Khan, the former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. This is for the first time that the CBI is examining a top RBI official. Khan was in-charge of micro-economic policy and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) from 2011-16.

A source told Moneycontrol, "We have called former RBI deputy governor HR Khan who was in charge of regulation, micro-economic policy and Foreign Exchange Management Act from 2011-16 for questioning." Another source said that this is in continuation of Thursday’s probe where three chief general managers and a general manager were called in for questioning.

An RBI official told Moneycontrol that Khan had been called for explaining the policies and regulatory guidelines about the technical aspects relating to the PNB case.

16:29 Budget session least productive since 2000
The Budget session of Parliament, which ended today, was the least productive since the year 2000, a legislative research body PRS Legislative Research said. According to data provided by Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth Kumar, the productivity of the Lok Sabha was 134%, and that of the Rajya Sabha around 96% during the brief Part I of session. The Part I of the session had seven LS and eight RS sittings. But Part II of the session which began from March 5 saw productivity taking a nose dive due to daily disruptions and adjournments. The productivity of the LS was 4% and that of the RS 8%, the minister said.

16:26 NCLAT allows RCom to execute asset sale
Anil Ambani-led telecom firm Reliance Communications (RCom) said the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has passed an interim order to allow the company to execute its Rs 25,000-crore asset monetisation programme, reports PTI.

16:18 Buy retail-focussed banks, select NBFC, consumer themes: Axis MF
From branded underwear to passenger cars, consumer goods are India’s best stock market bets. And they’re ones you can make money in even when the shares aren’t cheap. That’s the view of Axis Mutual Fund in Mumbai, whose long-term equity portfolio holds 26% in consumer discretionary and staples companies, together the second largest holding after financials.

“If you want to play India, you need to invest in stories that are directly linked to consumer spending in some form,” Jinesh Gopani, who as head of equities at Axis Asset Management Co helps oversees about $5.1 billion, said in an interview to Bloomberg. “In that parlance, even retail-focused banks and select non-bank finance companies are a part of the consumer sector for us.”

16:05 Tit for tat trade measures by US, China may lead to mkt volatility: S&P, Moody's
The competing tariff proposals announced by the US and China will weigh on investor sentiment, and such ‘tit for tat’ measures could lead to more financial market volatility in the coming months, global ratings agencies said. S&P Global Ratings said a greater threat is the dispute expanding beyond tariffs on goods. Moody's Investors Service said the rising uncertainty and political risk accompanying these ‘tit for tat measures’ will likely have economic and financial impact beyond that which is transmitted through direct trade channels.

16:01 Dabur completes acquisition of 2 personal care products firm in South Africa
FMCG major Dabur India said it has completed acquisition of two South Africa-based companies - D&A Cosmetics Proprietary and Atlanta Body & Health Products Proprietary - through its subsidiary. The company had last year announced that it will acquire the two personal care products companies in South Africa for a total cash consideration of about Rs 25 crore.

16:00 Market ends flat amid US-China trade war fears
The market ended Friday’s rangebound session on a flat note amid a trade stand-off between US and China. The broader markets outperformed front-liners, with the Nifty Midcap index rising half a percent. The Lupin counter is the biggest gainer, rising 3% after receiving an establishment inspection report for Pithampur Unit-I from the US drug regulator.

15:39 Mkt volatility reminiscent of 1987 crash: Veteran trader Art Cashin
UBS Financial Services Managing Director Art Cashin said this year's market volatility reminds him of the 1987 stock market crash, reports CNBC. Cashin, now one of six executive floor governors at the New York Stock Exchange, was referring to the volatile market that began on October 19, 1987, in Asia before spreading to Europe and then the United States later in the day.

15:28 Trade war greatest threat to world eco, says JP Morgan
A trade war between the US and China represents the greatest threat to the world economy, Jacob Frenkel, the Chairman of JP Morgan Chase International, told CNBC.

15:21 See recession and 40% plunge in stocks ahead: Guggenheim
Guggenheim Chief Investment Officer Scott Minerd sees a tough road ahead for the US market and economy, with a sharp recession and a 40% decline in stocks looming Moneycontrol News’ Prince Mathews Thomas. He warned clients that the market is on a ‘collision course with disaster,’ expects the worst of the damage to start in late 2019 and into 2020. Minerd expects the Fed to intervene to stem the crisis, but says that will only make matter worse.

15:09 HRD Ministry warns CBSE students against 'fake leak mafias'
The Human Resource Development Ministry has warned students and parents against ‘fake leak mafias’, saying a purportedly leaked political science paper is doing rounds on social media, reports PTI.

15:04 Trains delayed, traffic hit as BJP workers pour in for rally
Several trains arrived late in Mumbai after BJP workers, being ferried in special services for the party's 38th Foundation Day rally at BKC, insisted on unscheduled halts enroute, Western Railway officials told PTI.

14:52 Facebook sent a doctor on a secret mission to ask hospitals to share patient data
Facebook has asked several major US hospitals to share anonymised data about their patients, such as illnesses and prescription info, for a proposed research project, reports CNBC. Facebook was intending to match it up with user data it had collected, and help the hospitals figure out which patients might need special care or treatment. The proposal never went past the planning phases and has been put on pause after the Cambridge Analytica data leak scandal raised public concerns over how Facebook and others collect and use detailed information about Facebook users.

14:45 State refiners plan to nearly double Iranian oil imports, says report
State refiners plan to almost double oil imports from Iran in FY19, drawn by incentives offered by Tehran, sources told Reuters. Tehran recently deepened freight discount to firms in India, its second-biggest oil client after China, in return for higher volumes. In FY19, Indian Oil Corporation, Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum plan to import 396,000 barrels per day (bpd) Iranian oil, sources added.

14:37 SC dismisses plea of firm linked to Robert Vadra in I-T case
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition filed by Sky Light Hospitality - a hospitality firm linked to Robert Vadra - challenging an Income Tax Department notice to it for re-assessment of its profits from land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan for 2010-11.

14:33 Former Mt Gox CEO is no longer a Bitcoin believer
Mark Karpeles, the former chief executive officer of the once-largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt Gox, said he no longer is a Bitcoin believer, and sounded pessimistic about cryptocurrencies in general, reports Bloomberg. “The technology is definitely here to stay, but Bitcoin may have trouble evolving and keeping up,” Mark Karpeles said in a chat on the online message board Reddit.

14:28 CBI questions ICICI Bank MD's brother-in-law Rajiv Kochhar
The Central Bureau of Investigation questioned Rajiv Kochhar, ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar's brother-in-law, for the second day in connection with the bank's Rs 3,250 crore loan to Videocon Group in 2012, reports PTI.

14:21 Lok Sabha adjourns sine die, fails to take up no-confidence notices
The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die with the House unable to take up notices for no-confidence motion against the government and bringing to close a tumultuous Budget session that witnessed repeated disruptions.

14:20 Rajya Sabha adjourned sine die
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die, bringing to an end the Budget session that was marked by continuous disruptions that saw 120 working hours being wasted.

14:06 Lok Sabha lost over 127 hours due to disruptions in Budget session
Disruptions led to loss of more than 127 hours of the Budget session in the Lok Sabha with just about 0.58% of starred questions answered during 29 sittings before the House adjourned sine die today. Protests by members from various parties on diverse issues marred proceedings almost every day during the two-phase Budget session. The second leg of the session, that started on March 5, had 22 sittings that were mostly disrupted.

Excl: As pressure on market share mounts, Bajaj Auto quietly phases out five bikes
Bajaj Auto, India’s fourth largest two-wheeler maker, has discontinued at least five bikes, including four models from the Pulsar brand, as rivals mount pressure on the Pune-based company, reports Moneycontrol News’ Swaraj Baggonkar. The company's market share has also seen a sharp decline in recent times.

12:55 German industrial output slumps as protectionism angst grows
German industrial output fell by the most in more than two years in February and the sector is losing momentum, the Economy Ministry said, as factories in Europe’s largest economy throttle back in the face of the rising threat of protectionism. Output fell by 1.6% after rising by a revised 0.1% in January, reports Reuters.

12:45 PNB fraud: HC seeks ED reply on plea by Mehul Choksi's firm
The Delhi High Court sought the Enforcement Directorate's response on a plea by diamantaire Mehul Choksi's firm Gitanjali Gems in a money laundering case in connection with the over Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, reports PTI.

12:40 BJP MPs to fast on Apr 12 to protest impasse in Parliament: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the opposition of divisive politics and announced that BJP MPs will observe a fast on April 12 to protest the impasse in Parliament, for which he blamed the Congress.

12:36 BJP Foundation Day: PM credits workers for taking party to new heights
On the BJP's 38th Foundation Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi credited party workers for taking the organisation to new heights, reports PTI. The BJP is the party of ‘a New India’ and his party "believes in India's diversity, its unique culture and the strengths of 125 crore Indians", he said.

12:35 Lupin gets EIR from USFDA for Pithampur facility
Drug firm Lupin said it has received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US health regulator for its Pithampur, Unit 1 manufacturing facility in Madhya Pradesh.

12:34 Domestic air travel demand soars to 22.9% in Feb: IATA
India’s domestic air passenger demand surged 22.9% in February, more than two-fold of the global average, propelled by the launch of new flights and routes by the local airlines during the period, reports PTI. February was also the 42nd month of double-digit YoY growth on a trot, with a record more than 90% occupancy on aircraft operated by the domestic airlines, airlines global body, IATA said.

12:03 IOC acquires Shell's 17% stake in Oman oilfield for $329m
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said it has acquired Royal Dutch Shell's 17% stake in the Makhaizna oilfield in Oman for $329 million. Mukhaizna oilfield is the single largest producing individual oilfield in Oman, contributing about 13% of total Omani crude oil production of 120,000 barrels per day.

Exclusive: Dr Lal Pathlabs eyes buyouts in West, South India
Dr Lal Pathlabs, the country’s largest diagnostic chain, said it is actively scouting for acquisitions as it plans to expand outside its stronghold of North India, reports Moneycontrol News’ Viswanath Pilla. The company is sitting on a cash pile of Rs 500 crore and since its growth is plateauing, investors want it to move beyond the North. It is looking at buyouts in West and South India where it is marginal player.

11:54 Market rangebound, pharma outperforms
The market continues to consolidate as investors after digesting the Reserve Bank’s policy await corporate earnings that will start from next week. Pharma stocks outperformed, with the Nifty Pharma index rising a percent led by Lupin stock that has gained 4% after receiving an establishment inspection report for Pithampur unit from the US drug regulator.

11:28 1.5bn sensitive documents on open internet, says researchers
Some 1.5 billion sensitive online files, from pay stubs to medical scans to patent applications, are visible on the open internet, reports PTI. Researchers from the cybersecurity firm Digital Shadows said a scanning tool used in the first three months of 2018 found mountains of private data online from people and companies across the world. The unprotected data amounted to some 12 petabytes, or four thousand times larger than the ‘Panama Papers’ document trove which exposed potential corruption in dozens of countries.

11:24 Salman Khan bail appeal reserved for Saturday
Actor Salman Khan's bail appeal has been reserved for 10:30 am on Saturday. This means the actor will have to spend another night in jail.

11:12 Binani Industries files application to terminate insolvency proceedings of Binani Cement
Binani Industries said it has filed application for termination of insolvency resolution process of its debt-ridden subsidiary Binani Cement, reports PTI.

11:03 Samsung Electronics flags record $14.7bn Q1 operating profit
Samsung Electronics flagged a first-quarter operating profit of 15.6 trillion won ($14.7 billion), a record for any three-month period, as it benefited from soaring demand for its memory chips for mobile devices, reports AFP. Sales for January to March are expected to reach 60 trillion won.

10:53 HCL Technologies acquires C3i Solutions for $60m
Software services firm HCL Technologies has acquired C3i Solutions for $60 million, a move aimed at accelerating the Indian IT firm's growth in life sciences and consumer services. C3i Solutions is a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Merck & Co. It provides multi-channel customer engagement services for life sciences and consumer packaged goods industries.

10:42 No jobs, no vote, Rajasthan town warns Modi ahead of 2019 polls
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s failure to create tens of millions of jobs for the country’s youth - a promise which helped him secure the largest mandate in three decades in 2014 - would be the biggest threat to his bid for another term in a general election due by May, 2019, reports Reuters. That seems the case in Kasba Bonli, a market town in Rajasthan state on the edge of sprawling wheat fields, which voted overwhelmingly for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at assembly elections in 2013 and the general election in 2014.

Exclusive: Govt likely to push mega PSU insurers' merger to next year
The much-touted merger of the three public sector general insurance companies - National Insurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance - has been pushed to FY20, reports Moneycontrol News’ M Saraswathy. Sources said companies will function as separate entities this financial year and the merger will be implemented from the next financial year as the timeline for the process has been extended.

09:59 Market consolidates after Thursday's sharp rally
The market is trading mildly lower amid consolidation, with the Nifty hovering around 10,300 levels following muted Asian cues. The Sobha stock zooms 9% on strong sales growth in the March quarter as well as FY18 The trend among sectors is also mixed, with Nifty PSU Bank index falling over a percent after an alleged banking fraud was unearthed in Diamond Power Infrastructure to the tune of Rs 2,654 crore.

09:53 SFIO receives plaint against L&T, co rubbishes it as baseless
The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has received a complaint against Larsen & Toubro alleging ‘thousands of crores’ of financial irregularities, including money laundering and tax evasion, a charge that the infrastructure giant rubbished as ‘baseless’, reports PTI. Acting on the complaint received, SFIO's Mumbai regional office has written to the head-office here stating that it ‘is a fit case to be investigated’ as it will “help in unearthing wrong doings of L&T group, in terms of misappropriation of money, money laundering and tax evasion"

09:40 Arvind to demerge and list engineering, apparel businesses by Sept: Kulin Lalbhai
Arvind will demerge, and list, its apparel and engineering businesses by September, as the textile major presses the accelerator on its ambitious target to reach a topline of Rs 20,000 crore, from the present Rs 11,000 crore, in 4-5 years. The demerger, Arvind’s Executive Director Kulin Lalbhai hopes, will ‘unleash the animal spirit’ in these units. “We believe our growth rates will move from 5-6% today, to 10-12% on our Rs 11,000-crore aggregate topline,” Lalbhai said in an interview to Moneycontrol News’ Prince Mathews Thomas.

09:30 IndiGo says to opt out of race to acquire Air India
Interglobe Aviation, which operates under the IndiGo brand, said it was opting out of a race to acquire state-run Air India as the terms set by the government would not suit it, reports Reuters.

09:24 Salary breakup, GST ID to be furnished in new ITR forms
The new Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for the assessment year 2018-19 mandates salaried class assessees to provide their salary breakup and businessmen their GST number and turnover. All the seven ITRs are to be filed electronically except for some category of taxpayers, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.

The most basic - ITR-1 or Sahaj - is to be filled by the salaried class of taxpayers. The form this time seeks an assessees salary details in separate fields and in a breakup format such as allowances that are not exempt, value of perquisites, profit in lieu of salary and deductions claimed under section 16.

09:17 China launches WTO challenge against US intellectual property tariffs
China has launched a World Trade Organisation challenge against Washington's proposal to slap $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports over Beijing's alleged theft of intellectual property and technology, reports AFP.

09:11 Numetal, ArcelorMittal rightly disqualified: Essar Steel RP
The resolution professional handling the Essar Steel case informed the NCLT that Numetal and ArcelorMittal were rightly disqualified from the bidding to acquire the steel firm, even as bankers said the law permits them to invite more bids to get the best price, reports PTI.

08:56 Japan household spending posts biggest drop in nearly a year as wages fall
Japan’s household spending suffered the biggest annual decline in nearly a year in February as inflation-adjusted wages continued to fall, suggesting the economy’s longest run of growth since the 1980s asset bubble has peaked, reports Reuters. Household spending fell 0.9% in February from a year earlier, government data showed.

08:18 J&J loses trial over claims linking cancer to asbestos in talc
Johnson & Johnson suffered its first trial loss in a lawsuit claiming its talc-based products including Johnson’s Baby Powder contain cancer-causing asbestos, with a New Jersey jury ordering J&J and another company to pay $37 million in damages, reports Reuters. The verdict of liability in Middlesex County Superior Court in New Brunswick came as J&J fights thousands of cases claiming its talc products can also cause ovarian cancer.

08:12 BlackRock to offer gun-free investment strategies, ETFsBlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said it will offer new investment strategies and exchange-traded funds that exclude civilian firearms producers and retailers, following through on plans it outlined last month after a Florida high school massacre, reports Reuters.

07:52 US fund investors pull $11.6bn from stocks in week: Lipper
Investors pulled $11.6 billion from US-based equity funds during the latest week, marking the third straight week of withdrawals for those products, Lipper data showed. Taxable bond funds attracted $3.5 billion during the week ended Wednesday.

07:50 US willing to talk trade with China, no session set yet
The United States is willing to negotiate with China on trade, but only if talks are serious, as previous attempts produced little progress, a senior US official told Reuters, adding that no formal negotiating sessions have been set.

07:37 Trade fight mounts as Trump threatens $100bn more in China tariffs
President Donald Trump said he had instructed US trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs against China, reports Reuters. The further tariffs were being considered ‘in light of China’s unfair retaliation’ against earlier US trade actions, which included a proposed $50 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods, Trump said in a White House statement.