Top headlines: FPIs sell $6 bn in 2022; coal crisis builds up again

After a brief respite at the year's start, FPIs have dumped shares worth more than $5.7 billion. More on that in our top headlines.

A complex coal demand-supply mismatch is emerging in the country. Commercial banks continue improving asset quality. More on those stories in top headlines this morning.

FPI selling nears $6 billion in 2022 as interest rate hikes loom 

This is the worst start to a year when it comes to sell-off from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). After a brief respite at the year’s start, FPIs have dumped shares worth more than $5.7 billion (Rs 42,596 crore), taking the cumulative net outflows since October to $10.5 billion (Rs 78,466 crore), and adding to the volatility on the bourses. The figure would have been a lot worse had it not been for net purchases to the tune of $5.7 billion in the primary market from October to date. “FPIs seem to be gearing up for a number of eventualities,” said U R Bhat, ... Read more

Kashmir post: From KFC to Toyota, global firms scramble for damage control 

The South Korean Foreign Minister, Chung Eui-yong, dialled his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, in New Delhi on Tuesday. His government, he said, “regretted the offence caused to the people of India”. 

A day earlier, India had summoned the South Korean ambassador to express its “strong displeasure" over “an unacceptable social media post”. As the storm stirred up by a social media message (now deleted) from an unverified account by a Pakistan distributor of Seoul-headquartered Hyundai, which indicated support for separatists on the so-called Kashmir ... Read more

Coal shortage crisis in power generation, non-power sector escalates again 

A complex coal demand-supply mismatch is emerging in the country with both power generation and the non-power sector (manufacturing units) claiming that the supply is below optimum levels. They also allege that national miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) is supplying bad quality coal. Read more

Banks' bottom line gets a booster shot as bad loans continue to fall 

Commercial banks in the country continued with their improving asset quality trend in the October-December 2021 quarter with slippages remaining under control coupled with healthy recoveries and upgradation of asset classification. The 28-listed banks reported improvement in bottom line with net profits rising 64.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) and 21.5 per cent sequentially. Read more

Introduce another slab to tax the super-rich, says C Rangarajan 

Former chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council and ex-governor of the Reserve Bank of India C Rangarajan tells Indivjal Dhasmana that the Budget 2022-23 has erred on revenue projections on the lower side. He says nominal economic growth would be close to 13 per cent instead of 11.1 per cent assumed in the Budget even as real GDP growth may be 7-7.5 per cent instead of 8-8.5 per cent projected in the Economic Survey. Read more