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[ad_1] Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister, Delhi has announced the launch of start-up policy, under which start-ups would get collateral-free loans and other benefits. The Delhi Cabinet has approved the the implementation of the Delhi Start-up Policy. The government would empanel agencies to aid start-ups. During an online briefing, Kejriwal announced that entrepreneurship classes and a ‘Business Blasters’ program would be introduced at college-levels after their grand success in schools. The start-up policy has been formulated after studying similar policies from across the world. “The government would help start-ups get collateral-free loans which would be interest-free for a year. Chartered accountants, lawyers and experts would be empanelled to aid the start-ups for free, and their service charges would be borne by the government,” Kejriwal said. “We would ease out procurement norms to help start-ups but not bargain with the quality of our products. Students building start-ups while studying in Delhi government colleges would be able to seek one to two years of leave,” Kejriwal added. Presenting the policy framework in the Cabinet, the industries department mentioned it seeks to enable Delhi to emerge as a global innovation hub and the most preferred destination for start-ups by 2030 by creating an enabling ecosystem for innovation-based economy and fostering entrepreneurial spirit through a robust support mechanism. According to Kejriwal, the Delhi government would provide both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to youngsters who want to build their own start-ups. “For instance, the Delhi government would pay up to 50% of the rent of a start-up’s office lease. Similarly, we would pitch in for a portion of the salaries that these start-ups would pay to their employees. We would further reimburse their patent, copyright and trademarking costs and help with internet bills among other provisions. We would also offer collateral-free loans, interest-free loans and incentivise incubation centres and fabrication labs,” the chief minister said. “The bigger picture, however, is when youngsters want to build their businesses, they give 10% of their time to these business and 90% to paperwork and official formalities. We would overcome this problem by empanelling agencies and professionals to aid these start-ups for free,” Kejriwal said. The whole policy will be taken care of by a task-force, comprising of one government official and the rest will be academics, experts and industry representatives. The policy aims to encourage, facilitate and support 15,000 start-ups by 2030. A monitoring committee will be formed to oversee the Delhi Start-up Policy which will be headed by the finance minister of the Delhi government. With inputs from PTI. Read also: Punjab to run double shifts in schools with higher strength of students [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] Oil rises, defying stock market falls as supply concerns persist [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] By Saugata Bhattacharya The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), in a rare off-cycle review meeting on Wednesday, initiated a strong response to control inflation. The members unanimously voted to raise the policy repo rate by 40 bps (stronger than the conventional 25 bps), from 4% to 4.4%. The policy stance was retained, “with a focus on withdrawal of accommodation” from an ultra-accommodative mode. In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for banks was also raised by 50 bps, from 4% of banking Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) to 4.5%; this will drain Rs 87,000 crore from system liquidity from May 21. The CRR is considered to be more a liquidity management instrument rather than a monetary policy one, but given the rising concerns about the levels of surplus liquidity contributing to aggregate demand, it has become increasingly difficult to separate the effects on inflation. These policy actions mark the formal start to the “tightening” process, although the communication indicates that the MPC still considers the actions as normalisation back to the pre-pandemic levels. While there are many proximate reasons for the urgency of the off-cycle meeting, the exact one are still not very clear; there is little doubt that concerns regarding inflation getting entrenched in goods and services are now increasingly pertinent. To begin with, the March CPI inflation printed at 6.95%, much higher than the consensus 6.35%, and very broad based, with 66% of the Core CPI components printing above 6%. The April print is expected to be about 7.4%. The accompanying graphic shows the evolving inflation forecasts since February 2021. Inflation getting embedded is even greater a worry in the case of household and business inflation expectations, with fears of these expectations getting un-anchored, setting the stage for wage inflation and an inflationary cycle. There were also some early warning signals, where we failed to connect the dots. For instance, RBI analytics infer that “every percentage point increase in surplus liquidity above 1.5% of NDTL causes average inflation to rise by 60 basis points in a year”, concluding that the large surplus liquidity overhang has to be withdrawn. Currently, surplus liquidity is above Rs 5.3 lakh crore, while 1.5% of NDTL is just over Rs 2.5 lakh crore; this implies that, post the higher CRR deposit, another Rs 1.7 lakh crore will need to be drained from the surplus to get to a neutral level of liquidity. Add to this RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra’s observation in the minutes of the April MPC meet that “irrespective of whether supply bottlenecks are the driver or pent-up demand, it will become more difficult to tame inflation the longer the fight is delayed”. Whatever the reasoning behind the front-loading, a couple of issues now need to be addressed. First, what might be the path (and extent) of the tightening cycle? Second, what are the implications for the range of interest rates on both market and banking and as a corollary, for the effect on credit flows to business and retail segments? On the first, the evolution of macroeconomic trade-offs will determine the extent of tightening required. There are some signs that the “output gap” is closing. RBI survey showed capacity utilisation in manufacturing as of December 2021 at 72%, and this will only have gone up in March 2022. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das noted that “persisting high growth in non-oil, non-gold imports reflects a durable revival in domestic demand”. There are other signs of companies increasingly passing on their higher input costs to end-consumer prices in varying amounts. There has been talk about taking the real repo rate from the current deeply negative range upto zero or slightly above. This entails a view on inflation about a year ahead, and remains a dynamic metric. In any case, the repo needs to be taken up at least to the pre-Covid level of 5.15%. Given our understanding of the expected economic environment, MPC will probably choose a steady, pre-set hiking path to take the repo up to 5.25%, and, thereafter, increase to a “neutral” and terminal rate in a data- and evidence-driven response. The accompanying graphic shows the cycles in the RBI repo rate juxtaposed against the US Federal Reserve Funds target rate. On the second issue of transmission, market interest rates have already gone up in anticipation of the policy rate hikes; the 10-year benchmark sovereign bond yield has risen from 6.2% around November 2021 (when VRRR rates started rising) to 7.2% now, pricing in almost the entire expected normalisation of the repo rate. Bank deposit rates have also started rising, together with the overall cost of funds. Given that over 40% of floating rate loans of banks are now External Benchmark Rate (mainly to repo) linked, these too will shortly start moving up. India’s external financial conditions are likely to tighten sharply, with the steady increase in G-10 central bank rates. How best to calibrate domestic policy tightening “to ensure that inflation remains within the target, while supporting growth” will need all of RBI and MPC’s demonstrated agility. The author is Executive vice president and chief economist, Axis Bank Views are personal [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. must convince regulators that the $13.1 billion mega-deal announced on Wednesday to acquire Black Knight will not harm competition in the mortgage tech solutions market.  The software and data company also needs approval from Black Knight’s shareholders to move forward with the transaction, which valued the business at $85 per share, a 23% premium compared to the current price.  With such a complex mission ahead, the company doesn’t expect the deal to be completed until the first half of 2023. But what are the chances of approval? And once it happens, what will be the consequences for mortgage lenders and servicers? Top executives at both companies told analysts on Thursday morning that the businesses are complementary: ICE focuses on tech solutions for originators while Black Knight is focused on servicers and the secondary market.  “Obviously it’s a large deal, so we expect it to take time for regulators to understand the complementary nature of our two businesses,” said Ben Jackson, president at ICE. “Black Knight had legal counsel look at this in detail and came to the conclusion that these are 100% complementary businesses that service different parts of the mortgage ecosystem.” However, not everyone is so sure the deal will get approved.  Analysts who cover mortgage tech companies said that, based on Black Knight’s current share price at around $72 on Thursday afternoon, the market appears to be ascribing a 60% to 70% probability of a deal closing.   “While difficult to precisely quantify, we believe that some discount (in the stock price) is warranted based on antitrust risks given the combined market share of ICE and BKI’s various businesses,” a team of analysts from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said in a report. “While it is unclear at this stage how regulators will evaluate the proposed combination, we think divestitures could help the odds of a deal closing, particularly Black Knight’s loan origination system Empower.” Founded in 2014, Black Knight is estimated to have a market share between 10% to 15% in the overall mortgage software market, according to one analyst who prefers not to be identified.  The company, however, says it is the leader in the mortgage servicing software space, with a market share of 56% as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to a 10k document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company provides servicing software for 36 million active first and second lien mortgage loans. From Black Knight’s total of $387.2 million in revenue reported in the first quarter of 2022, 57% came from the servicing software, 30% from the origination software and the remaining was from data and analytics.  Meanwhile, Intercontinental Exchange, whose mini-empire includes ICE Mortgage Technology, has focused on increasing its loan origination offering over the last four years, neglecting the post-closing activities such as servicing and the secondary market.  The company grew in the mortgage space via the acquisition of other businesses, such as Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems in 2018 and Ellie Mae in 2020. The latter brought in Encompass, estimated by analysts to be the loan origination system (LOS) leader in the country, which is why the combination of that with Black Knight’s LOS raises antitrust questions.   But the downturn in the mortgage industry is hurting ICE’s earnings in the mortgage segment. On Thursday, ICE reported that its origination technology revenue, representing 66.2% of the total, was down 20% year-over-year.  Closing solutions revenue remained $79 million, while data and analytics increased 6% to $20 million. In total, the mortgage technology segment revenue reached $307 million from January to March, down 13% year over year. The Black Knight deal gives ICE the opportunity to fully digitize the mortgage origination and servicing experience from start to finish. The transaction expands ICE’s total addressable market (TAM) to $14 billion, the company claims.  A valuable piece of Black Knight is the product and pricing engine Optimal Blue, which could become the largest player in the mortgage software space, at least double the size of the next largest competitor, according to analysts.  Also, the target company adds tech solutions in the servicing space. More lenders are beginning to retain their mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) to recapture previous customers and reduce their acquisition costs – important in a market that saw overall per-loan production expenses climb to $8,664 in 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).   “The combined entity will become the largest player in the space and will be at least two to four times the size of their next biggest competitor,” said the analyst who prefers not to be identified. “From a client perspective, a fully integrated soup-to-nuts digital offering for mortgage origination and servicing should significantly reduce the cost of originating and servicing a mortgage.” The KBW analysts team estimates the potential cost reduction to lenders and originators by possibly as much as 50% over the long term.   The post What will happen if ICE and Black Knight join forces? appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] A few months ago, I asked on my Facebook Page for people to share one “weird” thing they do to save money. I loved reading the responses and compiled a list of some of my favorites — and some of the most shared suggestions. 1. Cut the End Off Is the toothpaste tube or lotion tube almost gone? Cut the end off of tubes of lotion or toothpaste with scissors and you can get quite a bit more out! I do this for my face moisturizer and face wash can usually get a full extra week’s worth of uses just by this simple hack. (You can store it in a ziptop baggie once you cut the end off so it doesn’t dry out.) 2. Make Your Own Foaming Soap One way to save a lot of money on hand soap is to make your own foaming hand soap. It takes literally less than 60 seconds to make and is so much less expensive than buying foaming hand soap or hand soap! Here’s the super simple details on how to make it. 3. Add Water Want to get that last little bit of shampoo or dish soap or body wash or laundry detergent out? Add some water and shake and you’ll have at least enough for another use or two! You can also add broth or water to the pasta sauce jar and shake so you don’t waste any or do the same with milk in the salad dressing bottle. 4. Ask for a Discount Vanessa said: “I ask service providers (mechanics, plumber, air conditioner repair, etc.), ‘Is that the best you can do?’ Almost always, they knock some money off the bill.” 5. Think in Terms of Hourly Wage Whenever I’m considering trying a new money-saving tactic, I analyze how much money it will save me per hour. For instance, let’s say that by making my own foaming soap it takes one minute to make and it saves me $1 from buying a container of foaming soap. That’s like saving $1 per minute or $60 per hour — which is a really good hourly wage. Plus, it’s tax free money! So, it’s totally worth my time. But, on the other hand, let’s say there’s another money-saving tactic that would only save me $1.50 for 15 minutes of work. That’s like saving only $6 per hour — which, depending upon your season of life and bank account — may or may not be worth your time. 6. Make Your Own Cleaners Jerica says: “Soap, vinegar, bar keepers friend, and bleach pretty much cover everything I need, and are all extremely cheap.” (Check out this post for some homemade cleaner recipes.) 7. Don’t Buy Paper Towels We stopped buying paper towels a number of years ago. It’s such a simple thing, but it does add up to a lot of savings — and we don’t really even notice that we don’t buy or use them! (Except when we have guests over and they ask for a paper towel!!) I share more details here on what we use instead of paper towels. 8. Avoid the Stores One of the best ways to save money is to stay home. Not only does this save on wear and tear on your car and gas money, but it also means you’ll likely spend less money… well, unless you turn to online shopping instead! (If that’s a temptation to you, set some good boundaries — like unsubscribing from emails or not visiting sites that make you tempted to spend money you don’t have or haven’t budgeted for that purpose!) 9. Scan Your Receipts Earn a little cash back every time you buy gas or groceries or other items by scanning your receipts on GetUpside, Fetch, and CoinOut. You’ll earn points each time you scan a receipt and you can then cash in those points for gift cards! 10. Eat from the Pantry Challenge yourself once a month or once every few months, to skip going to the grocery store for a few days longer than normal and eat up what you already have on hand instead. You might be surprised at how creative you can get with what you already have… and maybe you can make it longer than you think without going to the store! 11. Don’t Use Dryer Sheets Just like we don’t use paper towels, we also don’t use dryer sheets. If the thought of not buying dryer sheets just isn’t your thing, a simple way to save is by cutting them in half instead of using a full sheet per load. I’ve heard that it works just as well. 12. YouTube It Christy says: “YouTube is the real MVP though. I’ve saved thousands over the years by simply looking up the issue and learning if it’s within our skill set, rather than hiring a professional.” What’s something “weird” you do to save money? I’d love for you to add your ideas to my list in the comments! [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] GameFi News: Tilting Point partners with Polygon Studios, and LootRush raises $12M [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] I will be 72 this year, but I often tell people I am nearly 100, which, in a sense is true—I am closer to 100 than I am to 40, for instance. But, I acknowledge that 80 is probably a more reasonable approximation, and these days it is beginning to look like that for the rupee as well. RBI’s surprise off-meeting rate hike on Wednesday was clearly timed to protect the rupee from any untoward movement later that day when the US Fed’s widely telegraphed rate hike was expected, and, indeed, was delivered. In the event, the rupee actually strengthened because while the US rate hike was already built into market expectations, the rise in rupee interest rates was a surprise. Nonetheless, the sense of nervousness shown by RBI—the suddenly awakened rhetoric about prices when just a month previously they were quite sanguine about inflation—suggests that it is likely that its intervention in the FX market was getting more and more difficult. FPIs had pulled around $25 billion out since November last year—incidentally, bringing total FPI flows to the same level as October 2019 —and reserves had fallen by $45 billion since then. This was the largest decline in reserves since the 2008 crisis, when reserves fell by nearly $70 billion in about 6 months, representing over 20% of our then stock of reserves. While the current loss of reserves (around 8%) is much less threatening, the reality is that this crisis is not yet over. So, the question is whether the rupee will finally fall through the 77 level that RBI has so lovingly set up and head towards 80, or whether it will, once again, defy the odds and climb back towards 74 or 75? Given the tragic state of the world and the volatility in global financial markets, I believe the odds must be in the favour of a weaker rupee. First of all, the rupee has already been holding relatively firm against the raging bull dollar—the dollar index (DXY) is up by over 14% since January 2021, while the rupee has fallen only about 4.5%, largely, of course, due to RBI’s efforts. At some point, the rupee will have to catch up with the market. More importantly, though, the forces that have pushed the dollar higher remain ever actively in play. Putin’s war continues to spread destruction in Ukraine, increasing panic in its European neighbors—energy and commodity prices are soaring and, truth be told, nobody knows how—or when—this will end. Putin is crazy enough to actually use nuclear weapons, and while that would certainly end the war, the fallout from that is as incomprehensible as it is horrible. Thus, today at least, the dollar as a safe haven stands alone. Perhaps more directly, US inflation is far from being tamed. The Fed stands ready, it says, for at least two more 50 bp hikes at its next meetings, but it is well recognised and widely acknowledged that the Fed is struggling to stay on top of the inflation ball. Thus, while the equity markets reacted positively to the rate hike, it is hard to believe they will remain in a good mood as rates continue to rise, particularly if, as I expect, inflation proves difficult to contain.Thus, equity markets will weaken but the dollar will remain strong till such time as markets see a sustained slowdown in growth, at which time, I would expect the dollar to weaken as well. I note that US growth was negative 1.4% in the last quarter, well below expectations of 1.1%, but markets, surprisingly, did not seem to see this as something to be particularly concerned about. Inflation is clearly the bigger bugbear, indicating that inflation expectations are already lit; there is a greater focus on the employment numbers and wage increases than on business performance and growth. There is a broad sense that the world is slipping into stagflation—a prolonged period of higher inflation and sub-optimal growth, a la the 1970s and 1980s. India is, of course, in a difficult place. Growth is holding on, but with commodity prices high and unlikely to come down any time soon, it is only a matter of time before we, too, see growth slipping. Exports are doing well but imports are growing even more strongly—commodity price inflation is a big player in both these numbers. There are doubtless more interest rate hikes on the cards, but given our weaker financial sector linkages, RBI’s ability to control inflation is weaker than the Fed’s. Indian interest rates will rise less—and, possibly, much less—than US rates over the next 12-18 months, which translates to more pressure on the rupee and RBI. Rupee volatility has already risen but is still reasonable, courtesy RBI. If the off-meeting rate hike does, indeed, indicate that RBI is having difficulty managing its intervention, we could see volatility spike and, perhaps, we could ultimately be looking downwards towards 80. The author is CEO, Mecklai Financialhttp://www.mecklai.com [ad_2] Source link

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