1:58 AMTrump calls off US coronavirus relief talks with Democrats
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called off negotiations with Democratic lawmakers on coronavirus relief legislation until after the election, even as cases of the virus are on the rise across much of the country before flu season.
"I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business," Trump wrote on Twitter a day after emerging from a hospital stay for COVID-19 treatment.
Trump's surprise move came after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday said during an interview with NBC's "Face the Nation" that progress was being made in her negotiations with the Trump administration on a bill to build on the more than $3 trillion in coronavirus aid enacted into law earlier this year.
Earlier on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told a business conference the US economic expansion was "far from complete" following the deep contraction stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.
A failure by the United States to provide further relief, Powell warned, "would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses." Following Trump's announcement breaking off negotiations, US stocks were down more than 2 percent in late afternoon trading.
In recent days, financial markets were hopeful progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine and another round of economic stimulus from Congress would boost the US economy, which has been showing signs of renewed weakness.
1:56 AMUS financial markets sour as Trump ends coronavirus relief negotiations
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called off negotiations with Democratic lawmakers on coronavirus relief legislation until after the election, even as cases of the virus are on the rise across much of the country before flu season.
"I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business," Trump wrote on Twitter a day after emerging from a hospital stay for COVID-19 treatment.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump's decision to pull the plug on negotiations showed that the White House was in "complete disarray." Trump's surprise move came after Pelosi on Sunday said during an interview with NBC's "Face the Nation" that progress was being made in her negotiations with the Trump administration on a bill to build on the more than $3 trillion in coronavirus aid enacted into law earlier this year.
Earlier on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told a business conference the US economic expansion was "far from complete" following the deep contraction stemming from the pandemic.
A failure by the United States to provide further relief, Powell warned, "would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses." Among the provisions that were being discussed by Pelosi and the Trump administration was a new round of direct payments to individuals like the $1,200 checks dispatched earlier this year amid huge job losses.
Following Trump's announcement breaking off negotiations, US stocks reversed course to close lower on Tuesday.
10:14 PMRemove 'flaws' in new farm legislations, says Maharashtra CM
There is a need to do away with "lacunas" in the Centres new farm laws, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday and maintained that suggestions made by peasant bodies will be considered before the state decides its policy on the contentious issue.
The CM said his government was not against the Centre, but it can not support these laws blindly.
According to an official statement, Thackeray made the remarks during a meeting with representatives of farmer organisations called to discuss the three laws related to the agriculture sector whose passage in Parliament last month triggered protests in part of the country.
Thackeray said all should come together in the interest of farmers irrespective of party affiliation, the statement said.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Ministers Balasaheb Thorat, Ashok Chavan, Chhagan Bhujbal, Jayant Patil and others.
9:54 PMApple announces date of special event, new iPhones expected
Apple Inc on Tuesday said it would hold a special event on Oct. 13, which most analysts believe will be used to unveil new iPhones with 5G capabilities.
9:01 PMJaishankar, Pompeo review Covid-19 efforts, affirm Indo-Pacific cooperation
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday reviewed efforts by the two countries to combat the Covid-19 pandemic while stressing on the need to work together to advance security in the Indo-Pacific region, according to State Department Deputy Spokesperson Cale Brown.
Meeting on the sidelines of the India-US-Japan-Australia Quadrilateral Consultations in Tokyo, "They reaffirmed the strength of the United States-India relationship, reviewed our efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, and asserted the need to work together to advance peace, prosperity, and security in the Indo-Pacific and around the globe," Brown said in a statement.
Read on... 8:57 PMCovid-19 crisis: Canada's exports, imports fall 1% in August, shows data
Canada's exports and imports both fell in August, hinting that the momentum of the recovery from the Covid-19 crisis could have slowed more than anticipated, data from Statistics Canada showed on Tuesday.
Imports fell 1.2 per cent, while exports were down 1.0 per cent. Canada's trade deficit, meanwhile, narrowed slightly to C$2.45 billion ($1.85 billion), missing analyst expectations of C$2.0 billion.
Statscan revised July's trade deficit to C$2.53 billion from an initial C$2.45 billion.
"The slowdown in trade showed up earlier than we had anticipated, and the drop in export volumes suggests that the recovery's momentum could have slowed more than anticipated in August," said Royce Mendes, senior economist at CIBC Economics, in a note.
8:47 PMCovid-19: S&P Global sees US, European corporate default rates doubling
The Covid-19 shock will double company default rates across the United States and Europe over the next 9 months, ratings agency S&P Global said on Tuesday, although it noted that the record downgrade pace of recent months was now slowing.
S&P predicted U.S. corporate default rates would rise to 12.5% from 6.2% and saw Europe's rate going to 8.5% from 3.8%.
This year's crisis has already seen more than 2,000 companies' or countries' ratings or 'outlook' scores cut and nearly $400 billion worth of debt drop into 'junk' territory, but in the months ahead focus will shift to defaults and survival.
Alexandra Dimitrijevic, S&P's Global Head of Research, said that with the number of firms on downgrade warnings at record levels -- 37% of the companies S&P rates and 30% of the banks -- and credit quality dropping, default rates are set to jump.
8:46 PMI was too fat like UK economy, says Boris Johnson in rousing party speech
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday likened his own health with that of the country's economy, which was superficially healthy but had some chronic underlying conditions which were exposed by Covid-19.
Johnson, who was hospitalised after testing positive for coronavirus earlier in the year, has often spoken about his struggle to lose weight in order to ward off an added risk from the deadly virus.
Addressing delegates of the ruling Conservative Party for its annual conference, being held virtually in keeping with the coronavirus guidelines for large meetings, the Tory party chief set out his vision for a post-Covid British economy in a rousing speech, even as he hit back at critics who have questioned if his bout of COVID had somehow robbed him of his "mojo".
I have to admit the reason I had such a nasty experience with the disease is that although I was superficially in the peak of health when I caught it, I had a very common underlying condition. My friends I was too fat, he said, claiming that he has since lost nearly 12 kgs
8:31 PMED arrests Cox & Kings former CFO in YES Bank money laundering probe
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Anil Khandelwal, the former chief financial officer of Cox and Kings, and internal auditor Naresh Jain in connection with YES Bank money laundering case.
Khandelwal and Jain, who have been remanded to seven days' ED custody, allegedly created disparities in the books of the outbound travel firm between FY2015 and FY2019.
Read on... 8:17 PMUS trade deficit jumps to largest in 14 years in August as imports grow
The US trade deficit surged in August to the largest in 14 years with imports climbing again, suggesting that trade could be a drag on economic growth in the third quarter.
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday the trade deficit jumped 5.9% to $67.1 billion, the widest since August 2006.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the trade gap widening to $66.1 billion in August.
Imports increased by 3.2% to $239 billion. Goods imports rose $6.5 billion to $203 billion. Exports increased 2.2% to $171.9 billion. Goods exports rose $3.5 billion to $119.1 billion.
8:05 PMUS trade deficit jumps to largest in 14 years in August as imports grow
The US trade deficit surged in August to the largest in 14 years with imports climbing again, suggesting that trade could be a drag on economic growth in the third quarter.
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday the trade deficit jumped 5.9% to $67.1 billion, the widest since August 2006.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the trade gap widening to $66.1 billion in August.
Imports increased by 3.2% to $239 billion. Goods imports rose $6.5 billion to $203 billion. Exports increased 2.2% to $171.9 billion. Goods exports rose $3.5 billion to $119.1 billion.
7:33 PMAmazon to host month-long Great Indian Festival starting October 17
E-commerce giant Amazon India on Tuesday revealed the timeline of its flagship sale event of the year ‘Great Indian Festival’ (GIF) which will commence from October 17. This is going to the biggest event for Amazon India till date as it will go on for at least a month. The event would allow hundreds of thousands of small and medium businesses (SMBs) to offer unique selection to customers. Amazon said the event would help the enterprises rebuild and accelerate their business in these tough times.
“This year’s Great Indian Festival is an opportunity for our sellers and partners to reach millions of customers across the country. Our sellers are excited and expect this to help them in accelerating their business,” said Manish Tiwary, vice president, Amazon India. “For our customers, our aim is to help them find everything they need during the festive season and deliver it safely to them.”
Read more... 7:26 PMNDA backs Nitish in Bihar, snubs Chirag; JD(U) gets 122 seats, BJP 121
The ruling NDA in Bihar on Tuesday announced its seat-sharing formula for the assembly elections under which JD(U) will contest on 122 seats and BJP 121 out of a total of 243 seats.
BJP backed Chief Minister Nitish Kumars leadership to the hilt and rebuffed LJP chief Chirag Paswan who has raised a banner of revolt.
At a joint press conference of top leadership of the JD (U) and the BJP, where Kumar who heads the former was also present, it was declared that the two partners have clinched a deal where both will have an almost equal share of the pie.
"The JD(U) has got 122 seats out of which we have set aside seven for the Hindustani Awam Morcha (headed by former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi).
"The BJP has got the remaining 121 wherein new entrant Vikassheel Insaan Party of Mukesh Sahni will be accommodated", Kumar told reporters.
7:01 PMADIA to invest Rs 5,512.5 cr in Reliance Retail for 1.2% stake
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) will invest Rs 5,512.50 crore in Reliance Retail for a 1.2 per cent stake, the Indian company said in a statement.
The investment values Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd at pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 trillion.
"With this investment, RRVL has raised Rs 37,710 crore from leading global investors, including Silver Lake, KKR, General Atlantic, Mubadala, GIC, TPG and ADIA in less than four weeks," the statement said.
6:51 PMGoyal invites startups to register at GeM to provide goods, services to govt agencies, PSUs
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday invited startups to register at public procurement portal GeM and offer goods as well as services to government organisations and PSUs.
He said that about 4,000 startups have already registered at Government e-marketplace (GeM).
The commerce ministry launched GeM in August 2016 to create an open and transparent procurement platform for the government, which runs in several lakh crore.
"I invite all startups to list their products and start offering goods and services to government organisations, PSUs, state government bodies, hospitals, schools, and colleges run by the government," Goyal said at the National Startup Awards 2020 event.
 "apple, iphone, foxconn, smartphone")
