Here are the top personal finance news of the day..
Shares of Adani group stepped on the gas on bourses. Adani Enterprises shot up 19%. Most of other group companies also closed in green on Monday. The reason being reports that Adani group is mulling raising cash through real estate monetisation. A report of the Supreme Court panel had earlier mentioned it was not possible to conclude if there had been regulatory failure on stock price manipulation allegations. The Supreme Court had given time till August 14, 2023 to file its final investigation report on Hindenburg’s allegations against the Adani Group
EPFO working on change in pension formula
According to a media report, there is a proposal to change the formula for monthly pension under EPS (95). According to the current formula, average salary of the last 60 months is multiplied by the pensionable service and is divided by 70. But EPFO may take average salary of entire service period instead of last 5 years. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization is considering a change in the current formula for determining monthly pensions. But if this new formula is implemented, then, it may reduce employees pension.
PAN must for deposit of Rs 50K or more of Rs 2K notes
The Reserve Bank of India has said people will have to submit PAN details if they are depositing 50,000 rupees or more with 2,000 rupees denomination. Although, no form is required to exchange these notes up to a limit of 20,000 rupees at a time. Further, no identity proof is also required to be submitted by the person who has gone to the bank to exchange the rupee notes. Also, one can stand any number of times in queue to exchange the notes. Plus, the apex bank has also advised banks to provide appropriate infrastructure like shaded waiting space, drinking water facilities, etc considering the ongoing summer season.
Instagram to roll out Twitter like text-based app
After the introduction of paid subscriptions for Twitter’s “Blue Ticks” and fall non-verified accounts, users have started to express their discontent with Twitter. Now, Meta which is formerly known as Facebook is taking advantage of this situation by launching a new text-based app for Instagram. It will be similar to Twitter. It will be completely free to use. According to media reports, Meta has already started testing this new platform with celebrities and influencers. It is said that this app might be made available to select creators in the coming months. This is somewhat like an Instagram photo app. It is being said that users will be able to integrate their Instagram posts with it. It will provide users with the ability to attach photos, videos, and links to their posts. While around 1.628 billion people using Instagram worldwide, the number of Twitter users is approximately 373 million. On Monday users around the world reported inability to use Instagram as the app was down for most part of the day!
Sebi proposes IPO listing on third working day
Sebi has proposed a change in rules of listing an IPO. Until now, companies were given six days time for listing. But in the proposed changes, Sebi has now cut that time frame to three days. Now what this proposed change will bring in is that the company listing the IPO would get capital faster and grow the business. At the same time, investors who have not been alloted shares will get their refunds quick.
Sebi mulling big reforms in F&O segment
Next news is for those who invest in futures and options contracts in the share market. According to SEBI’s latest proposals, the lock-in period or cooling off period of shares will increase from current 15 minutes to up to 1 hour after a share gets locked in lower or upper circuit of 20%. This will control extreme market volatility and aid in containing worst-case single-day price movement in the scrip. Apart from this, SEBI is going to implement several other changes that would change the way retail investors trade futures and options contract in the stock market. Sebi is going to implement the changes to protect investor interest and deepen liquidity in derivatives segment.
TaMo drives in Altroz iCNG at Rs 7.55 lakh
Tata Motors on Monday launched CNG version of its premium hatchback Altroz at all-India ex-showroom price of 7.55 lakh rupees. The Altroz iCNG comes in six variants. The powertrain is packed with advanced features such as voice-assisted electric sunroof, wireless charger and air purifier, among others. Customers get larger boot space on iCNG variants of vehicles of Tata Motors. Tiago and Tigor already come with iCNG variants. And now, people will also get this variant in Altroz model. Customers now have four variants of Altroz to choose from which are petrol, diesel, iturbo and iCNG. Tata Motors expects personal segment buyers to strongly consider the iCNG version of its premium hatchback Altroz.
FY23 formal job creation reached 4 year high level
And India’s job market continues to face roadblocks. Creation of new jobs as of FY23 end has still not reached pre-covid levels. Nevertheless, there are signs of recovery in the economy. The number of new subscribers that joined the Employees’ Provident Fund has reached 4 months high of 1.14 crore by FY23 end. New jobs created or net payroll addition has also increased to 1.38 cr. Most of the new jobs created in FY23 were grabbed by freshers. Rise in creation of formal jobs will help address problem of rising unemployment in the country. Plus, it will enable poor families to eventually come out of poverty.
FMCG Cos see volume trend surging
According to industry experts, FMCG companies are back to their normal growth cycle after going through after five quarters of volume decline. FMCG firm Marico has said rural India is showing some convincing signs of having bottomed out after going through a rough phase ever since Covid-19 pandemic had hit the country. FMCG firms are now looking to increase grammage and cut prices. Analysts have given positive outlook for the sector as high raw material prices are beginning to cool-off from record high levels. In such a scenario, investors can get handsome returns in FMCG stocks like HUL, Dabur, Godrej, Marico, etc.
FIIs inflows continuously increasing since March, 2023
And FPIs’ bullishness on India’s growth story continues. FIIs inflow has been continuously increasing since Mach, 2023. And now even in May so far, they have infused a little more than 30,000 crore rupees. Plus, FII inflow for current calendar year has also turned net positive. According to stock market analysts, FPIs have been consistent buyers in a host of sectors such as autos and auto components, capital goods, FMCG, health care, telecom, realty and oil & gas. According experts, FPIs have increased inflows because of strong macroeconomic fundamentals, prospect of reducing interest rates, positive earnings outlook and falling valuations of stocks. Sonam Srivastava, Founder of Wright Research, said, India an attractive investment destination. She added, Indian equities, were currently trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than the historical averages.
