News digest: IL&FS crisis, fresh import curbs, Nobel Prize, and more

From IL&FS to trade war, Business Standard brings you top stories for today to keep up with the latest news

IL&FS jitters erode 12.5% of MF assets

The crisis linked to Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has hit the mutual fund (MF) industry hard, with 12.5 per cent, or Rs 3.16 trillion, of industry assets getting shaved off in a single month. Total assets under management (AUM) shrunk to Rs 22.04 trillion in September from Rs 25.2 trillion at the end of August. Read More ...
 
Fresh import curbs soon to frame response to trade war

The government is mulling a second set of duty hikes to reduce the risk of dumping from China and curb the widening trade deficit. Business Standard has learnt from multiple sources across central ministries that metals and minerals are being considered now. These will include certain grades of iron ore, copper ore, aluminum scrap and zinc. Some other items including finished electronic, especially those for which China is a major manufacturer, are also being considered. Read More ..

 
4,000 cancelled NBFCs under I-T lens

The income-tax (I-T) department is probing more than 4,000 non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) whose licences have been cancelled by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). According to I-T sources, the department is looking into the origin of assets in the balance sheets of these NBFCs, and whether they were disclosed. Read More ..

Auto, consumer durables buyers will see rise in their instalment outgo

Besides slowing car and two-wheeler sales in the past few months, rising interest rates are likely to further dent demand for manufacturers. Buyers of consumer goods, too, are seeing an impact of rising rates along with higher input costs as companies raise prices. While lenders including non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and banks have already hiked interest rates, others are monitoring the situation closely and may do it soon, given the tightening liquidity. If anything, the recent crisis at Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services would put pressure on the interest costs of NBFCs, which in turn would mean higher interest rates for buyers, said executives at these firms. Read more ..

 
Nordhaus, Romer win economics Nobel for climate, innovation

The 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science was awarded on Monday to a pair of American economists, William D Nordhaus and Paul M Romer, for their work highlighting the importance of government policy in fostering sustainable economic growth. Read More ..