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1:11 AM

S&P 500, Dow sink to September lows

The S&P 500 and the Dow slumped on Wednesday to their lowest levels since late September, as coronavirus cases climbed globally and investors also worried about the possiblity of a contested US presidential election next week.

 

A spiraling pandemic and the failure to approve new fiscal stimulus before the Nov. 3 election put the blue-chip Dow on track to close at its lowest since early August. All three major indexes fell about 3 per cent.

1:02 AM

Trump win can spur US stocks, dent Asia assets: JPMorgan

A surprise election victory by President Donald Trump next week could benefit US equities and the dollar while hampering Asian assets, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
 

That’s based on market moves after Trump unexpectedly won the vote in 2016, according to strategists including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou. Democrat nominee Joe Biden is currently leading in polls but Wall Street firms have recently cautioned against assuming he will beat Trump.
 

The JPMorgan strategists said it’s reasonable to expect an echo of the fallout from four years ago if Trump wins, such as a favorable market reaction for American equities compared with non-US stocks, a decline in Asian currencies and the underperformance of Asian shares relative to global peers. They also see the potential for a rise in a trade-weighted gauge of the dollar. “Asian assets are likely to be sensitive to a continued Trump Presidency as it would likely mean further US/China conflict on trade, technology and investments,” the strategists wrote.

11:42 PM

Over 60 pc schoolchildren have access to smartphones, three-fourth receive family support: Report

Almost three quarter of all children receive some form of learning support from family members while schools are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2020, launched on Wednesday.

 

The report pointed out that among enrolled children, more than 60 per cent live in families with at least one smartphone.

 

"This proportion has increased enormously in the last two years, from 36.5 per cent to 61.8 per cent among enrolled children. The percentage point increase is similar in households of children enrolled in government and private schools.

 

"States that show an increase of more than 30 percentage points in the proportion of children whose families own a smartphone include Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura," it said.

11:41 PM

India extends $1 billion for developmental projects in central Asia

India on Wednesday announced extending $1 billion line of credit for "priority" developmental projects in central Asian countries while vowing to further expand cooperation with the resource-rich region including confronting the common challenges of terrorism and extremism.

 

The announcement on the quantum of the financial assistance was made by India during the second meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue which also discussed a plethora of key issues as well as ways to expand cooperation between the two sides.

 

The virtual meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and it was attended by his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. While the Kyrgyz Republic was represented by its first deputy foreign minister, the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan too attended it as a special invitee.

11:19 PM

Blowout US economic growth in summer is already fading

Americans may feel whiplashed by a report Thursday on the economy's growth this summer, when an explosive rebound followed an epic collapse.

 

The government will likely estimate that the economy grew faster on an annualized basis last quarter than in any such period since record-keeping began in 1947. Just be forewarned: The sizzling pace won't last.

 

The economy is weakening and facing renewed threats. Confirmed viral cases are surging. Hiring has sagged. Government stimulus has run out. And even last quarter's outsize growth will leave the economy far below its level before the pandemic struck in March.

10:55 PM

India strongly deplores personal attacks on French President Emmanuel Macron

India on Wednesday strongly deplored the personal attacks against French President Emmanuel Macron following his tough stance on radical Islam, calling it a violation of the most basic standards of international discourse.

 

In a strongly-worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also condemned the brutal terrorist attack that took the life of a French teacher in a gruesome manner and asserted that there is no justification for terrorism for any reason or under any circumstance.

 

"We strongly deplore the personal attacks in unacceptable language on President Emmanuel Macron in violation of the most basic standards of international discourse," the MEA said.

10:49 PM

Tourism sector hit hardest by pandemic: Prahlad Patel at BRICS Tourism Ministers' meet

9:57 PM

Rajnath Singh says that while the troops are standing firm in eastern Ladakh, the ongoing talks for peaceful resolution of crisis will continue

9:56 PM

Govt focused on enhancing combat capability and ensuring welfare of soldiers: Rajnath Singh

9:56 PM

It is our national responsibility to ensure availability of best weapons, equipment and clothing to our troops: Rajnath Singh

9:56 PM

Actions of Indian Army truly ensure integrity and sovereignty of our great nation: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Army Commanders' Conference

9:43 PM

Govt doing politics of obstinacy: Congress on amendments to J&K land laws

9:36 PM

Bullet train: L&T wins Rs 25,000-cr order for Gujarat stretch

Engineering major Larsen and Toubro on Wednesday said it has won a Rs 25,000-crore order from the government to execute a portion of the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project.

 

"We have won our biggest-ever and the most prestigious of contracts in our long history from the government a few hours back today. This Rs 25,000-crore order is the single largest for us and also the single largest contract the government has awarded so far," S N Subrahmanyan, chief executive and managing director of L&T, told reporters during the earnings call this evening.

 

He said the order mandates them to complete the project in four years.

 

"We are confident of our ability to meet the deadline and complete the project on time. And we will complete it to the full satisfaction of our client," he added without sharing more details.

8:59 PM

Delhi's daily coronavirus infection tally crosses 5,000 for first time

Delhi's daily coronavirus infection tally crossed the 5,000-mark for the first time on Wednesday as the national capital witnessed a sudden spike in cases in the past few days.

 

According to a health department bulletin, the national capital recorded 5,673 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike here till date, taking the total caseload to over 3.7 lakh.

 

Forty new fatalities were recorded, pushing the death toll in the national capital to 6,396, the bulletin said, adding that the fresh figure included one death which had occurred in August. The previous highest single-day spike of 4,853 cases was recorded on Tuesday.

8:54 PM

ISRO to launch earth observation satellite EOS-01 on Nov 7

India would launch its latest earth observation satellite EOS-01 and nine international customer spacecraft onboard its Polar rocket PSLV-C49 from the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on November 7, ISRO said on Wednesday. This is the first launch by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since the COVID-19 induced lockdown came into force in March.

 

ISRO Chairman K Sivan had said in June that ten space missions being prepared for launch this year have been 'disturbed' due to the lockdown. EOS-01 is intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support, the city- headquartered ISRO said.

 

"The launch is tentatively scheduled at 3.02 pm on November 7 subject to weather conditions" from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, it said in a statement.

8:44 PM

Coronavirus LIVE updates: India Covid-19 cases cross 8 million-mark

8:42 PM

SpiceJet sea plane to take off on Saturday, one-way fare at Rs 1,500

SpiceJet will launch its first sea plane service between Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad and Statue of Unity in Kevadia, Gujarat from Saturday with oneway fares starting Rs 1,500. The airline will operate two daily flights on the route using wet leased Twin Otter aircraft from Maldivian Aero. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate and travel on the first flight.

 

The aircraft can seat 14 passengers who will be entitled to carry upto seven kilograms of luggage per person. An airline employee will make safety announcements and assist passengers on board.

 

SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh said that the sea plane service will cut down the travel time between Ahmedabad and Kevadia to thirty minutes and help boost tourism. Currently the travel time by road is around four hours. READ ON...

8:26 PM

Bihar election 2020 LIVE updates: 53.54% polling recorded in first phase

8:24 PM

Latest News LIVE: ED chargesheets 13 in disproportionate asset case

The Enforcement Directorate has named nine individuals and four firms in its charge sheet in a case relating to disproportionate assets accumulated by public servants, according to an IANS report.

 

Rajasthan Health and Medical Department employee Mahesh Chand Sharma and his wife Meena Devi, son Mohit Sharma and Ankit Sharma and other individuals, namely Radhe Shyam Sharma, Sumer Chand Sharma, Kishan Lal Saini, Rajendra Prasad Saini, and Dr Lal Chand Morani were named in the prosecution complaint filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Jaipur.

 

The agency also named Swastik Seva Sansthan, Safe Infracon Pvt Ltd, Saket Health Education Centre Pvt Ltd, and RAG Memorial Trust in the charge sheet.

7:59 PM

I-T refunds of Rs 1.26 trillion issued to 3.9 million taxpayers till Oct 27

The Income Tax department has issued refunds worth over Rs 1.26 lakh crore to over 39 lakh taxpayers this fiscal so far. This include personal income tax (PIT) refunds amounting to Rs 34,532 crore and corporate tax refunds amounting to Rs 92,376 crore during this period.

 

Rs 1,26,909 crore tax refunds issued. 39.14 lakh taxpayers got refunds. Income tax refunds of Rs 34,532 crore have been issued in 37,21,584 cases. Corporate tax refunds of Rs. 92,376 crore have been issued in 1,92,409 cases (till 27th Oct,2020), the Office of Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur tweeted.

7:52 PM

BJP manifesto for Madhya Pradesh bypolls promises free Covid-19 vaccine

After Bihar, the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh has promised free coronavirus vaccine to every resident of the state in its manifesto for the November 3 Assembly byelections. The party came out with a separate 'Sankalp Patra' or manifesto for each of the 28 poll-bound constituencies on Wednesday.

 

"Mostly, local issues have been included in each manifesto," said MP BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal.

 

But free COVID-19 vaccine and restart of the schemes closed by the previous Congress government are common promises, he said. "As far as free vaccination is concerned, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has already announced it," he said. The BJP's promise of free vaccine in Bihar had drawn flak from opposition parties.

7:42 PM

Rupee drops by 16 paise to over 1-month low on strong dollar demand

The rupee depreciated by 16 paise to settle at more than one-month low of 73.87 against the US currency on Wednesday due to month-end dollar demand from importers and the greenback's gains against major currencies.

 

Losses in domestic stock markets and uncertainty ahead of expected fresh stimulus measures also weighed on the investor sentiment.

 

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened on a positive note at 73.70 against the greenback, but soon pared gains to touch an intra-day low of 73.93.

 

The local unit finally settled at 73.87, registering a decline of 16 paise over its previous close of 73.71. This is the lowest closing level since September 24 when the rupee had settled at 73.89.

7:33 PM

Toyota launches PRO Service Centres for customers in smaller cities

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Wednesday announced the launch of multiple PRO Service Centres to cater to the increasing number of customers in smaller cities and towns across the country. Currently, TKM has 396 outlets and 79 dealer partners pan-India.

 

The newly set-up PRO Service Centers, which are dedicated service facilities but have no sales operations, are coming up in cities and towns that did not have Toyota Service Centres so far, TKM said in a release.

 

TKM had set up a pilot PRO Service Centre at Jorhat in Assam in January this year, according to a PTI report.

7:19 PM

52.24% voter turnout till 5 pm in Phase I of Bihar assembly polls, says CEC Sunil Arora

The voter turnout in the phase one of Bihar assembly polls was 52.24 per cent till 5 pm, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said on Wednesday. In a break from the past, the CEC attended the poll panel briefing here and made opening remarks. In the 2015 assembly polls, the turnout in the phase one was 54.94 per cent, he said. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the corresponding turnout was 53.54 per cent, he said.

 

A total of 71 assembly constituencies of Bihar went for polls on Wednesday in the first phase of three-phase elections amid tight security and with COVID-19 guidelines in place.

 

The polling began at 7 am and ended at 6 pm. Of the nearly 2.15 crore electors eligible to exercise the franchise, 1.12 crore are male, 1.01 crore female and 599 are categorised as third gender, according to data provided by the Election Commission.

7:04 PM

Latest News LIVE: 15-year-old girl raped in UP's Barabanki

A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki, police said on Wednesday. The incident took place on Tuesday when the girl went out for some work, they said.

 

Upon hearing the screams of the girl, locals rushed to the spot and caught hold of the accused, identified as Punna alias Rakesh (38). Later, they handed him over to police, SHO Manoj Sharma said.

 

The minor was sent for a medical examination and an FIR was registered in the matter against the accused on the basis of a complaint lodged by the girl's father, Sharma added.

7:01 PM

52.24% voter turnout till 5 pm in Phase I of Bihar assembly polls, says CEC Sunil Arora

6:59 PM

Air bubble arrangement has been established between India and Tanzania

6:46 PM

India, UK to set up a bilateral Sustainable Finance Forum

The finance ministry on Wednesday said India and the United Kingdom have agreed to establish a bilateral Sustainable Finance Forum. This was discussed during the 3rd session on infrastructure and sustainable finance during the 10thIndia-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD).

 

During the meeting through virtual medium, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's USD 1.4 trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline and the City of London are working together to ensure flow of sustainable finance.

 

This partnership is helping set up a Project Preparation Support Facility cum Centre of Excellence for PPP (public private partnership) projects, the finance ministry said in a series of tweets.

6:42 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Union Minister Smriti Irani tests positive for Covid-19

5:57 PM

Voter turnout of 51.68% recorded till 5 pm in first phase of Bihar Polls: Election Commission of India