opinion

US Presidential Elections – What should Indian equities expect?

At the very least, after the election results are out the number of unknowns would reduce in today’s highly uncertain investing scenario

Hospital occupancy picking up at Fortis, but business normalisation some time away

Occupancy at hospitals improving after a sharp fall in April-June. While diagnostic business is seeing faster rebound, postponement of hospital visits by patients can weigh on recovery

How the wealthy world has failed poor countries during the pandemic

Despite pledges for debt relief and expanded programmes, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have delivered meagre aid, say economists

Early private bank earnings offer hope on asset quality; sustainability is key

The course of COVID-19 and its impact on the economy remain a big variable on how asset quality deterioration is arrested. The large pool of stressed accounts is a red flag

MGR and BJP’s Vetrivel Yatra | Will the lotus bloom in Tamil Nadu?

The BJP has shifted its strategy and moved to soft-Dravidian line in Tamil Nadu. State BJP leaders who used to flay Periyar and his ideology have been sidelined

Chart of the Day | PMI shows acceleration in manufacturing recovery in October

Despite the upturn in production, employment is yet to pick up

Stricter punishments for online defamation is a step too far

The available remedies against online disinformation and mischief are proportionate to the crime. Anything further will only result in suppression of free speech and stifling criticism of the government

How foreign ecommerce giants pose a threat to Aatmanirbhar Bharat

India needs a new e-commerce draft policy to address the concerns on data usage, predatory pricing and monopoly power of entities such as Amazon and Flipkart

China can no longer rely on its old development model, nor can India

India’s exports/GDP ratio was slightly higher than China’s in 2019

Long-term forces stack up against the dollar

Low rates combined with rising trade and budget deficits put pressure on the currency

Measuring governance through number crunching

Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (in that order) have emerged as the best governed large states in the country and Uttar Pradesh is the worst, preceded by Odisha and Bihar

Plug the tax leak in natural gas

The government should bring the fuel under GST as soon as possible to give a boost to its clean energy drive

Gadkari’s caustic remarks alone won’t fast-track road projects, consistent policy will

A key issue that plagues the road sector is the lack of consistency in the approach to road construction

The Reading List: October 30, 2020

A selection of articles and social media gems from the world of economy, business and finance

Economy’s big rebound leaves a shortfall as progress slows

The rebound was fuelled in part by trillions of dollars in federal assistance to households and businesses. That aid has since dried up

A Biden win could renew a Democratic split on trade

The split is falling along familiar lines between moderates — who see trade agreements as critical to US peace and prosperity — and left-wing Democrats, who blame trade deals for hurting US workers in favour of corporate interests

Big Tech shows its resilience to pandemic and politics

The combined sales of the four big tech companies leapt 18 per cent year on year in the latest quarter, 4 per cent higher than expected while their after-tax profits jumped by 31 per cent

Despite economic distress, central government spending lower than last year in first half

Central government expenditure in the first half of 2020-21 was 99 percent of spending in same period of the last fiscal year.

Bihar Election 2020 | Turnout, undecided voters and hawa will play a crucial role

Bihar Election 2020: A lower turnout is good for the incumbent. It shows that people who are unhappy with the government’s performance are not angry enough to go out and vote against the incumbent

Road construction — Mind the potholes

Tweaks in construction models need to be supplemented with efforts to iron out other irritants

SEBI’s new capital adequacy plan is a meaningless one

Capital adequacy requirements are generally needed for a company in the lending business. A broker whose role now has been restricted to be a platform provider for the traders or investors is not providing his money to his clients.

Earnings in the time of coronavirus: the dissonance of blowout profits

Measures of economic activity recorded their largest declines ever in the second quarter. Yet earnings for many big listed businesses have been robust

Why Pidilite glued Araldite to its portfolio

Pidilite's acquisition of Huntsman’s consumer adhesives business does not come cheap but that has not stopped the company

Dr Reddy’s revs up product launches after costs recalibration, execution key

New product launch momentum is gathering pace at Dr Reddy’s Laboratories with the company targeting to introduce 30 drugs in the US this fiscal. While the company is also working on COVID-19 medicines, success is contingent on positive research outcomes