Singapore extends $5.8 billion stimulus to cushion blow from pandemic
Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced additional support measures of S$8 billion ($5.8 billion) to cushion the blow from the coronavirus pandemic, extending wage subsidies and aiming to shore up the hard-hit aviation and hospitality sectors.
The new set of measures, announced almost three months after the last package, adds to Singapore’s total pledged pandemic aid of almost S$100 billion, Heng, who is also finance minister, said in a taped speech aired Monday. The measures will be financed in part by unused expenditures from earlier budgets, and won’t require additional funds.
2:37 AM
Google attacks Australian govt, says users could lose access to free search
Google warned on Monday that the Australian government’s plans to make digital giants pay for news content threatens users’ free services in Australia and could hand users’ data to media organisations.
The US-based company’s warning, contained in what it called an Open letter to Australians, comes a week before public consultations close on Australian draft laws that would make both Google and Facebook pay for news siphoned from commercial media companies.
2:37 AM
China injects $101 billion to ease liquidity, holds interest rate
China’s central bank supplied liquidity to commercial lenders on Monday to help them manage upcoming government bond sales, while leaving the price of the money unchanged as the economy recovers.
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) added 700 billion yuan ($101 billion) of one-year funding via the medium-term lending facility.
The central bank said Friday that today’s operation is meant to offset the 400 billion yuan in loans coming due Monday and another 150 billion yuan maturing on August 26.
2:37 AM
Covid-19 impact: GDP to contract 16.5% in first quarter, says SBI report
SBI Research has projected gross domestic product (GDP) contraction at 16.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2020-21, against a 30 per cent decline estimated earlier.It attributed the revision mainly to smaller gross value added (GVA) degrowth by listed companies for the quarter.
SBI Group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh said in principle revenue decline of listed companies had been far outstripped by cost rationalisation, thereby not impacting margins. The worrying part of the story is that there has been a rapid surge in Covid cases in the rural heartland. The numbers for Q1 are slated to be released by this month end.
12:36 AM
Delegation of South Korean electric vehicle maker meets UP CM, expresses desire to invest in state
12:34 AM
Trump counters Biden with law and order message in Minnesota
Declaring it's crunch time for the upcoming election, President Donald Trump zeroed in on Midwest battleground states on Monday with a tough, law and order message to counterprogram former Vice President Joe Biden's show at the Democrats' national convention.
In Mankato, Minnesota, Trump is expected to step up his rhetoric against Biden.
This election is about the survival of our nation. Joe Biden is the puppet of left-wing extremists trying to erase our borders, eliminate our police, indoctrinate our children, vilify our heroes, and replace American freedom with left-wing fascism, Trump said in remarks prepared for delivery. But the proud people of Minnesota will not let this happen.
11:56 PM
Trump looked at banning further Chinese apps in addition to TikTok: Report
11:55 PM
Rajasthan CM directs officials to make all arrangements to handle any flood-like situation
11:52 PM
President gives assent for changing name of HRD Ministry to Ministry of Education: Official notification
11:18 PM
Himachal Pradesh University postpones its examinations scheduled for tomorrow
10:51 PM
L&T Finance divests 8.4% stake in CG Power
L&T Finance on Monday divested 8.4 per cent stake in CG Power and Industrial Solutions through open market transactions on stock exchanges.
According to block deal data available on the exchanges, L&T Finance Ltd sold a total of5.26 crore shares, or 8.4 per cent stake, inCG Power for over Rs 73 crore.
On BSE, L&T Finance offloaded 4,12,93,778 shares at an average price of Rs 13.97 per share, valuing the deal at about Rs 57.69 crore.
10:24 PM
BJP MP in war of words with IT Parliamentary panel chief Tharoor, Moitra
A Twitter duel erupted on Monday between BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Opposition MPs Shashi Tharoor, who heads the parliamentary standing committee on Information Technology, and Mahua Moitra over the prospect of the panel seeking views of Facebook about a media report claiming that it refused to apply hate speech rules to certain ruling party politicians.
In the report published on Friday, US newspaper Wall Street Journal cited interviews with unnamed Facebook insiders to claim that one of its senior India policy executives intervened in internal communication to stop a permanent ban on a BJP MLA from Telangana after he allegedly made communally charged posts.
Reacting to the development, Tharoor said on Sunday that the panel would like to hear from Facebook about the report and what they propose to do about hate-speech in India.
10:14 PM
PM Modi chairs meet to review preparations for master plan for multi-modal connectivity to economic zones
10:14 PM
Bihar flood situation grim; CWC warns likely flashfloods, landslides in some hill districts in north
10:13 PM
3 RJD MLAs join JD(U) ahead of Bihar polls
Three RJD MLAs joined the JD(U) on Monday, months ahead of the Bihar elections.
Maheshwar Prasad Yadav who represents the Gaighat assembly segment in Muzaffarpur, Prema Choudhary who is the MLA of Patepur in Vaishali, and Ashok Kumar Kushwaha, the legislator of Sasaram in Rohtas, switched sides.
They joined the Nitish Kumar-led party in presence of senior leader and states Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav at the JD(U) office here.
Latest news today live updates: The flood situation in Bihar remained grim, affecting 81.56 lakh people in 16 districts with the water level in Ganga continuing to rise on Monday. The water level of the river increased by 5-24 cm in Buxar, Munger, Bhagalpur, Kahalgaon, and at Digha Ghat in Patna, as per a bulletin issued by the state Water Resources Department.
The condition of Pranab Mukherjee continues to be critical and the former president is being closely monitored, news agency ANI reported on Monday citing the Indian Army’s Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi. The hospital in the Delhi Cantonment area also said the vital and clinical parameters of Mukherjee, who is on ventilatory support, are stable.
The 84-year-old Mukherjee was admitted to the hospital last Monday and underwent a critical brain surgery to remove a clot in his brain after he suffered a fall at his Rajaji Marg residence a day before. He has also tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
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