Top 10 business headlines: RBI rate cut, Jet clears Dec salary, and more

From RBI's monetary policy review to Jet Airways clearing pending salaries, Business Standard brings you top 10 business stories that made news on Saturday

Market, economists see a rate cut in RBI's April 4 monetary policy review

Economists and bank treasurers are almost certain that the six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will cut the policy repo rate by at least a quarter percentage point in its April 4 review meeting. Read here

Global bond market's soaring performance leave investors nervous

The global bond market’s soaring performance has left investors queasy about the ride ahead.

The Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate index has earned 2.3 per cent through March 28, its best quarter since mid-2017. But with yields sinking across major sovereign markets, investors now face a dilemma. Buying government bonds at these levels is perilous because economic data may improve, while taking more risk could leave investors nastily exposed to a global downturn. Read more

Jet Airways clears pending December salary

Jet Airways on Saturday cleared the pending salaries for December, but pilots maintain they would stop flying from April 1 if full dues are not settled. The pilots’ union has called for a meeting on Sunday to decide further steps. More details

IPO activity sees a slump in FY19; fund raising via IPOs down 82%

The initial public offering (IPO) market witnessed a huge slump during 2018-19 (FY19). Funds raised by the way of IPOs were down 82 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 14,674 crore. The number of issues to hit the market were just 14 — the lowest since FY15 — compared to 45 in FY18. The slump in primary market activity came even as the benchmark indices gained the most in four years, at 17 per cent. More details

Sebi slaps Rs 94.5-lakh fine on 17 entities for fraudulent trade practices

Capital markets regulator Sebi slapped Rs 94.5 lakh penalty on 17 entities for indulging in fraudulent trade practices in illiquid stock options segment on the BSE. The regulator, during the course of investigation between April 2015 and September 2015, found that 81.38 per cent of all the trades executed in the stock options segment involved reversal of buy and sell positions by the clients and counter-parties in a contract on the same day. Read more

Gold cheaper by Rs 2K over past 5 weeks due to low demand, cash crunch

Gold prices fell sharply on Friday, hurt by low consumer demand and a cash crunch among traders. A strengthening rupee following a sharp surge in the inflow of foreign money from investors and “illegal imports” were among the other reasons for the fall, say experts. More details

Rising cotton price to hit margins of textile companies

Rising cotton prices are set to hit profit margins of textile and apparel players due to their inability to pass on the high production cost on to consumers as seasonal demand is weak. Read here

General Atlantic, Varde Partners check into PNB Housing Finance

State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Friday said it is selling a 13% stake in mortgage lender PNB Housing Finance Ltd to private equity (PE) firms General Atlantic and Varde Partners for ₹1,851 crore, or $268 million, reports Livemint

India wants EU to relax sampling norms for fish exports, reduce clearance time

India has asked the European Union (EU) to make its market friendlier for Indian exporters of fisheries by reducing the sampling frequency of exports to 10 per cent from 50 per cent, allowing the de-listed establishments that have improved their practices to be listed again and reducing the clearance time for marine exports at the Customs, reports The Hindu BusinessLine

Will jobs actually be top of mind when India casts its vote this summer?

What is the top issue dominating the minds of voters this critical election season? 

Multiple surveys have thrown up a unanimous answer— jobs, or more precisely, the lack of them. Surveys by Pew Research, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Times Now have revealed unemployment as the top issue. The ADR survey, which queried 2.7 lakh people, said employment is the top priority for voters, and they ranked the incumbent government’s performance in this area at an abysmal 2.15 on a scale of 5 — a forgettable performance appraisal, reports Economic Times.