TMS Ep263: Fuel price, privatisation, logistics stocks, Henley Passport

The price of Brent crude oil fell by another 2% on Monday. From $124 in March, it has come down below $90 now. And it has been below the psychological $100 mark for almost a month now. And add it with the cheap oil imports from Russia, the retail prices of fuel should have come down now by now. But it’s not. Find out why.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited is a leading oil and gas producer in India. The government has been trying to sell its stake in the Mumbai-headquartered firm for years. But the disinvestment is on hold now. The plan to privatise Pawan Hans and Central Electronics has also run into rough weather. And, about 18 months after the budget announcement, there is little progress towards privatisation of two state-owned banks. Barring Air India, the government has made little progress on the disinvestment front. But why? Our next report offers a peek into the government’s disinvestment drive and tells why it is in the slow lane?  

Let us move on to markets now. Logistics stocks traded mixed on Monday after the government announced national logistics policy over the weekend. The new policy aims to integrate and develop a technologically- enabled logistics ecosystem in the country. While some analysts expect logistic stocks to reap benefits from the new policy in the medium-to-long term, others remain cautious from a near-term 

There are several indicators to gauge the might of a country -- like the size of its economy or that of its financial markets. Travel freedom enjoyed by its citizens is also one such measure which reveals a lot about a country’s standing in the world. Every year, London-based immigration consultancy ‘Henley & Partners’ comes out with a ranking of 199 passports. It is called the Henley Passport Index. Find out more about it in this episode of the podcast.