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<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Warren Buffett Smarter happy Richer [/INST] BQ Blue Exclusive news. Title: Warren Buffett Wants to Make You Happier, Smarter and Richer. Short_description: The billionaire riffed on tech shares, stock picking & his mistakes at Berkshire Hathaway, but didn’t want to talk Bitcoin.. Description: There was no digital confetti, and no free stock for joining either. Nevertheless, the Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger show out in Los Angeles proved to be good theatre — filled with wit and wisdom from two of the world’s most successful investors., The occasion was the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. annual meeting — a virtual affair this year — and Buffett, 90, and Munger, his 97-year-old longtime business partner, set out to be voices of reason and sanity in an investment landscape looking more surreal by the day (, , anyone? Maybe with , thrown in?)., Here are some of the takeaways from Saturday’s event that apply to the investing world and beyond.,  The reason: Incredibly low rates on short-term government debt, or Treasuries — which are “the risk-free yardstick against which other values are measured,” said Buffett., “Interest rates basically are to the value of assets what gravity is to matter” — and the rate on short-term Treasuries is really nothing today, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman said., If Treasury rates are really supposed to be this low, those high-flying tech shares are a bargain, Buffett said (and that is one big “if”). That view contrasts with the prevailing wisdom in the market, which is that tech-stock valuations are extreme., “The Googles and Apples are incredible in terms of what they earn on capital,” Buffett said. “They don’t require a lot of capital, and they gush out more money.”,  Buffett put up a slide of the 20 stocks from around the world with the largest market capitalizations. Five of the six were U.S. companies — Apple Inc. at the top, at about $2 trillion, with Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc. holding the No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 slots. (No. 2 was Saudi Aramco.), Then Buffett asked the audience to think about how many of those companies they would expect to be around in 30 years — maybe five, maybe eight? Then he showed a slide with the same information — but from 30 years ago. None of the stocks from the 2021 slide were on it., “I would guess that very few of you would have said zero, and I don’t think it will be, but it’s a reminder of what extraordinary things can happen,” he said. “The world can change in very dramatic ways.”, Even if you understand the promise of an industry — like the birth of the automobile — you need to choose the winner in that industry. “There’s a lot more to picking stocks than figuring out what’s going to be a wonderful industry in the future,” said Buffett. “I do not think the average person can pick stocks.”, “American corporations have turned out to be a wonderful place for people to put and save their money but they also make terrific gambling chips,” Buffett said., He suspects that a lot of the short-term options trading in Apple’s stock comes from young traders on ,  Buffett isn’t saying gambling itself is shameful — he called it a “very human instinct” — but he said “I don’t think you’d build a society around doing it.”, As more people enter the casino than leave it, “it creates its own reality for a while and nobody tells you when the clock is going to strike 12 and it all turns to pumpkins and mice,” he said., The fact that it’s so hard to predict what kind of tremendous change there will be in the world is a great argument for diversified index funds, Buffett said., The billionaire has advised the trustee of his will that when he passes, 90% of his bequest to his wife — now in Berkshire stock — should be in a stock index fund like the S&P 500, and 10% in Treasury bills.,  Or at least, in what you know best. And no one knows Berkshire’s intrinsic value better than Buffett., With a cash pile of more than $145 billion at the end of the 2021’s first quarter, Buffett bought back some $6.6 billion in Berkshire shares during the first quarter. The pace of buybacks has been decelerating from prior quarters, however., Buffett used to describe share buybacks as basically an accounting gimmick, as something done in order to goose a stock price, and often done without enough price discipline. He’s typically wanted to deploy cash in big acquisitions or stock purchases., But in 2018 he loosened his buyback policy as Berkshire’s cash kept growing. “We can’t buy companies as cheap as we buy our own and we can’t buy stocks as cheap as our own,” Buffett said., Buffett stayed largely away from tech stocks for many years, saying he didn’t understand their business models. Now Apple is a huge holding — Berkshire owns just over 5%., Even so, Buffett doesn’t describe Apple in tech-y terms. “I feel that I understand Apple and its future with consumers around the world,” he said., “Apple has fantastic management — Tim Cook was under appreciated for a long time, and he has a product that people absolutely love,” he said. “There’s an installed base of people and they get satisfaction rates of like 99%.”, There were , . Buffett admitted that it likely was a mistake to sell some Apple stock last year, and that he learned a lot of lessons from a failed healthcare venture with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Amazon. , Buffett has been a Bitcoin skeptic., When asked for his views on cryptocurrency at the annual meeting, he dodged the question. “We’ve probably got , , and we’ve probably got two people that are short,” he said. “So we have a choice of making 400,000 people mad at us and unhappy, or making two people happy, and that’s just a dumb equation.”, Munger, however, let it rip. “I don't welcome currency that is so useful to kidnappers and extortionists,” he said., One questioner asked if Buffett’s famed portfolio managers at the company, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, might have a higher public profile in the future. “They are assets of Berkshire, and there is no reason for them to be out there educating other people on how to compete with us,” he said., Buffett is a pretty cheery person, often extolling the virtues of capitalism. He recommends a sort of even keel approach to life: “In 62 years, Charlie and I have never gotten into an argument, never got mad at each other,” Buffett said., Studies have shown that optimists have a better quality of life than pessimists, and people high in optimism have a better quality of life than those less optimistic. The only problem with this observation? Charlie Munger is 97, and his world view can sometimes be bleak. But his views on Berkshire and Buffett? Very optimistic., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Suzanne Woolley. Date Created: 03 May 2021, 7:00 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Retail Auto sale Covid Resurgence BQ survey April [/INST] BQ Blue Exclusive news. Title: Retail Auto Sales Seen Plunging In April On Covid Resurgence: BQ Survey. Short_description: Here’s what BloombergQuint’s survey of 10 dealers reveals about auto sales in April…. Description: Car and two-wheeler dealers saw one of the steepest declines in retail sales in April as a renewed surge in coronavirus cases lead to fresh curbs across the country, according to a BloombergQuint survey of 10 dealers., “In four-wheelers, the demand is down 25-30% month-on-month, but in two-wheelers, the demand has plunged 50-60% (month-on-month) wherever the dealerships are open,” Vinkesh Gulati, president of Federation of Automobile Dealers Association, told BloombergQuint over the phone., Year-on-year data isn’t comparable since this time last year India had announced a complete nationwide lockdown, stalling production and washing out sales., Now, as India again reports a record spike in Covid-19 infections and deaths daily, auto dealers are witnessing a slowdown. The surge has already prompted states such as Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka to announce stringent restrictions or partial lockdowns in April, leading to low footfalls at dealerships., The second wave of the virus halted a nascent recovery in automakers that were grappling with the worst slowdown in more than two decades before the pandemic. Up until March, sales , aided by a pick-up in economic activities after India eased the nationwide stay-at-home curbs, demand for personal mobility and festive push despite supply-side constraints., For two-wheelers, however, the higher cost of ownership due to costly fuel and price hikes to counter commodity inflation , the uptick in sales led by an increase in rural demand on account of good monsoon, bumper crops and government’s spending to boost the economy. That caused an inventory pile-up., Four-wheelers, according to dealers, fared better as a , of semi-conductors slowed production, lowering inventory, evident from , for such vehicles., The only saving grace for us is we are sitting at low stock, and already have a pipeline of pending orders, a Bengaluru-based dealer for Hyundai, Honda and Ford told BloombergQuint over the phone. April is going to be a slow month for sales. Last 10 days we have had virtually no business, he said on the condition of anonymity out of business concerns., A Gujarat-based dealer for Tata Motors Ltd. expects sales to remain flat over March, and is worried over how things will pan out going ahead., While the average inventory period for cars was around a month or less, it was twice that level for two-wheelers, the dealers said., “March was a good month, but [sales in] April is almost 50% down over the previous month,” Pradeep Agarwal, managing partner at JMG Automobiles, which runs an authorised dealership of Hero MotoCorp Ltd. in Cuttack, said. To ease the burden on dealers and manage the supply chain, the nation’s largest two-wheeler maker announced a , across its manufacturing facilities in a staggered manner from April 22 to May 1., A Honda Motorcycle and Scooter dealer in Kolkata also expects sales in April to fall by half over the preceding month due to lower footfalls. The slowdown led to an inventory period of 50 days., The situation isn’t any different for two-wheeler dealers in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat., “Already the two-wheeler segment was struggling to revive from the first wave. Now with the second wave impact, they are de-growing further and is creating a big problem for the two-wheeler market,” FADA’s Gulati said.. Publisher: Nishant Sharma. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 9:49 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Indian Solar Farms New Headache Chinese Vendors Pandemic [/INST] BQ Blue Exclusive news. Title: Chinese Vendors Give Indian Solar Farms A New Headache During Pandemic. Short_description: India's solar power producers face a cost bump as Chinese vendors renege on contracts.. Description: India’s solar power producers face an unexpected increase in costs during the pandemic as Chinese module makers want to renegotiate prices., China’s Longi Green Technology Co., the world’s biggest producer of solar cells, said in a statement that suppliers were renegotiating contracts as prices of modules have surged 35% as the cost of polysilicon, glass and silver paste rose. Higher freight rates due to shortage of shipping capacity during the pandemic also fuelled hikes., The clarification came after multiple media reports, including from the Economic Times, said that Chinese suppliers unilaterally cancelled contracts with Indian power producers. The problem is that Indian solar firms have bid and won projects from the Solar Energy Corporation of India quoting lowest possible fixed tariffs., Solar modules account for nearly half the, cost of a power project. And imports from China meet about 80% of the demand in India. The nation, home to some of the world’s most polluted cities, has been focusing on increasing the share of solar and wind power in its energy mix., Chinese vendors renegotiating contracts is extremely worrisome for the industry, especially projects to be commissioned between July 2021 and March next year as this would lower yields, said a senior executive at one of the largest renewable power producers in India—he didn't want to be identified out of business concerns. Lack of alternatives means the producers will have to take a hit on their margins, he said, adding that Chinese firms have increased prices by at least 15-20%., Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, chief executive officer at industry lobby National Solar Energy Federation of India, admitted that the sudden surge in module prices has disrupted Indian supply chain when local firms are already under pressure during the pandemic. While the association will soon approach the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, he said Chinese vendors seeking higher prices has the potential to cause a big dent for the industry, which will be forced to pass on the burden to utilities and eventually to consumers., Indian power producers continue to be heavily dependent on Chinese makers for solar modules; and if not modules, then wafers—a thin slice of semiconductor used for the fabrication of integrated circuits and, in photovoltaics, to manufacture solar cells, SL Agarwal, managing director at Websol Energy Systems Ltd., a maker of solar cell that imports components from China., Most of the Chinese vendors shut units over the last two-three years due unviability, giving a few players the pricing power. Together with costlier raw materials, that has increase prices of modules by more than 35-50%, he said., The cost of the solar power project cost works around Rs 3.7 crore per megawatt, according to Rohit Natrajan, associate vice president, Antique Stock Broking. Typically, photovoltaic modules represent 40-45% of the overall project cost, he said. , While solar module manufacturing is nascent in India, the government is looking to boost domestic production. Under the production-linked incentive scheme, it approved Rs 4,500 crore for high-efficiency solar photovoltaic modules. It also imposed imposed 40% basic customs duty on solar modules and 25% on solar cells from April 1, 2022. Companies like Adani Group, Tata Power Ltd., Websol, and Jupiter have already announced plans to start manufacturing solar cells and modules in India., Chinese products are still cost effective for an Indian developer, according to Natarajan. The domestic modules are currently priced at 29-30 cents per watt-peak, while imported modules cost 23-24 cents, he said., Rahul Gupta, managing director of Indosolar Ltd., which has filed for corporate insolvency, said China owns 90-95% of the overall world’s capacity. India, he said, is still a few years away to be self-sufficient given patchy policy, a rather long timeline and an uncertain demand portfolio., A potential game-changer would come when public sector companies like Gail India Ltd. and Coal India Ltd. undertake renewable energy business in a serious way, Gupta said., Chinese players, however, are also considering manufacturing in India. Longi has been planning to set up a production base in India and preliminary preparations are underway, according to its statement. The company has already acquired land.. Publisher: Nickey Mirchandani. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 10:05 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to BQEdge | Stock Infosys Eye [/INST] BQ Blue Exclusive news. Title: BQEdge | Why You Should Keep An Eye On Infosys’ Stock . Short_description: Niraj Shah and Kannan Singaravelu share technical insights on which direction the stock of Infosys may move next.. Description: nan. Publisher: BQ Research. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 8:25 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Middle Class Today India [/INST] BQ Blue Exclusive news. Title: Who Is ‘Middle Class’ In India, Today?. Short_description: Why most people in India, whether they barely pay taxes, or they make over a crore a year, describe themselves as ‘middle class’.. Description: Whether it is the union budget or electoral forecasting, it is common for analysts and political commentators to invoke the “great Indian middle class”. However, one piece of analysis that is entirely missing in the popular discourse is the precise definition and characterisation of ‘middle class’, and the number of people who belong to it. This is because the manner in which incomes are distributed doesn’t allow for such easy answers., The Income Tax department puts out data every year on the distribution of incomes of income tax filers, along with the taxes paid by people in each income bucket. The , we have is for the 2016-17 financial year (2017-18 tax assessment year), which shows that 4.7 crore individuals together paid a total of Rs. 2.73 lakh crore in income taxes., The first thing to notice is that this number of 4.7 crore taxpayers—which includes people with zero taxable income—is far less than the total number of workers in India, which was , at around 48 crore. In other words, less than a tenth of our total workforce pays income taxes, indicating that the rest of the workers either work in the so-called ‘informal economy’ or in sectors such as agriculture where income is not taxed. This analysis ignores any unaccounted income., That is the first challenge with precisely characterising the middle class – we simply don’t have data on the income of over 90 percent of our workforce. One way to treat it is to assume that people belong to this ‘unaccounted 90 percent’ all have incomes lower than the taxable limit of Rs. 1.5 lakh, in which case the middle class would have to be defined to lie entirely within this ‘unaccounted 90 percent’., Another approach is to assume that the middle class lies within the set of people whose income is known, i.e. those who file taxes. Here the assumption is that we don’t know anything about the incomes of the 90 percent of the workers who don’t file income tax returns. Here again, the analysis is not so straightforward., The conventional view is that income follows something like a ‘normal distribution’ or a bell curve, with a thick middle class where most of the people are located with a few people who make less (the poor) and a few who make more (the rich). As it happens with quantities that display network effects, income follows a ‘power law distribution’., The basic feature of a power law distribution is that it is self-similar – where a part of the distribution looks like the entire distribution., This ratio is in a remarkably narrow range – thus confirming that the distribution of incomes in India follows a power law., And the quirk of the power law is that even though there is a peak in the distribution, there is a rather long right tail. The chart below shows the distribution of individual incomes in India, but it had to be drawn with a logarithmic X axis so that the entire distribution is visible., The first impression upon seeing this distribution is that there is a ‘thick middle’ (notwithstanding the logarithmic scale), which suggests that anybody who files taxes but makes less than Rs 10 lakh per annum is middle class. In fact, this is precisely the class targeted by the tax cuts of the recent interim budget, where a tax rebate meant that people who make less than Rs 5 lakh per annum no longer need to pay income tax., However, a strict definition of the middle class based on this distribution can be problematic., In fact, the shape of the distribution including the long right tail implies that it would be problematic to describe a precise point beyond which we can call someone ‘rich’., It is reasonable to assume that most people have some friends who make less money than them and some friends who make more. Even if people hang out with others similar to themselves—and who lie not far from them on the income distribution—there is an important distinction between friends who make less and friends who make more., Unless you are at the far right tail of the distribution (among the richest people in India), it is likely that you have friends whose incomes are an order of magnitude (or two) more than yours., When you know people who make ten or a hundred times as much as you, it is virtually impossible to describe yourself as ‘rich’. So most people in India, whether they barely pay taxes, or they make over a crore a year, describe themselves as ‘middle class’. Some take a middle ground and call themselves ‘upper-middle class’., Back in 2011, a movement called Occupy Wall Street began in New York, targeting the rich and aiming to highlight the problems of economic inequality. These protests were against the so-called “1 percent”, who made a disproportionate share of income and owned a disproportionate share of America’s wealth., Based on income tax data, the income required to be a “one percenter” in India is about Rs 35 lakh per annum. It would be an interesting exercise to do a survey of people earning about that much asking where in the income distribution they fall., My money, based on the power law distribution of income in India, is on most of them describing themselves as ‘middle class’.. Publisher: Karthik Shashidhar. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 12:00 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Deadly Dam Collapse Mining Industry Brazil [/INST] BQ Blue Exclusive news. Title: Brazil’s Deadly Dam Collapse Could Force the Mining Industry to Change. Short_description: For years the industry has depended on these dams to contain the sometimes toxic, often dangerous, waste from mining. . Description: (Bloomberg Businessweek) -- The , that killed at least 169 in Brazil last month, with 141 still missing, was by no means an isolated incident. There’ve been at least 50 dam failures globally in just the last decade, according to one tally, with 10 considered major., For years the industry has depended on these dams to contain the sometimes toxic, often dangerous, waste from mining. But the latest failure, which could end up as the deadliest in more than half a century, has the industry struggling to contain the consequences., On Feb. 19, BHP Group Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie, citing the need for a “nuclear level of safety,” said his company would welcome an international and independent body to oversee the integrity of all the dams. Mining CEOs will meet in Miami next week, he said, to consider the problem. It won’t be an easy task. While many of the spills have been in the news, they range across so many countries and their causes vary so widely that they aren’t often considered as a whole. What data exist are spotty at best, collected by a jumble of mining and engineering organizations, environmental watchdogs, and academics., David Chambers, a geophysicist who’s assembled one of the most complete lists of the failures, says at least 9 of 50 he’s tracked are “Severity Code 1,” a classification that includes disasters that killed people, freed more than 1 million cubic meters of , , the industry term for a slurry of ground rock and effluents from mining, over at least 20 kilometers (12.4 miles). Last month’s incident, involving Brazil’s Vale SA, raised the count to 10., “We don’t know how many dams there are, we don’t know how many have failed, and we don’t know why they’ve failed,” says Chambers, founder of the , , a nonprofit based in Bozeman, Mont. “The basic information that we’re lacking is the real issue.”, The , will continue to grow, Chambers and others say, as long as the mining industry continues to rank cost ahead of safety in designing, operating, and maintaining tailings dams. The Brazil dam failure, for instance, involved the “upstream” method of construction, typically the cheapest by far among the techniques available and widely seen as the least stable. Under that system, part of the wall containing the pond is constructed of tailings, and it’s designed to grow as more and more waste is pumped in., Meanwhile, climate change and aging mines have made the problem more pressing, with rainfall increasing in many parts of the world, and the need to grind through more and more rock in older properties to extract profitable ore, leaving more waste., Mining laws vary widely from country to country, and the industry is largely self-policed. Global best practices endorsed by voluntary industry associations aren’t legally binding. Thirty large-scale mining companies scored an average grade of just 22 percent when it came to tracking, reviewing, and taking action to reduce tailings risk, according to a report released this month by the , (RMF), a nonprofit funded by the Dutch and Swiss governments, as well as some small philanthropic organizations., The same report cites research predicting 14 serious failures this decade. It counts 11 as having already occurred, with two of the worst having taken place in Brazil. The biggest known spill by volume in a century occurred there in 2015. The RMF is calling for an international database of tailings dams and more independent audits, two seemingly modest requests that have proved difficult to achieve., In the past week, Brazil has said it will ban the kind of dam used by Vale. If other countries follow suit, the impact on global mining will be enormous. The question is whether, this time, the industry will preempt government regulation with meaningful change of its own., The International Council on Mining and Metals, a London-based industry group that will hold next week’s meeting on the failures, said in a statement dated Feb. 1 that it’s “considering a range of actions,” which it didn’t identify. Comments from individual companies largely have been sparse on details., Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-largest miner by market value, on Wednesday said it has 100 active tailings facilities including 21 upstream dams.The company is "again reviewing its global standard and, in particular, assessing how we can further strengthen the existing external audit of facilities," said Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques, in a statement. , “We fully support the need for greater transparency which is why today we disclosed detailed information on our tailing facilities and how they are actively managed,” Jacques said. “We will add to this over time.”, Anglo American Plc, meanwhile, says it wants to reach a point where it can operate without liquid tailings, but it’s given no timetable for that to occur. The company is developing new ways to crush ore that generate less waste, CEO Mark Cutifani said at an industry conference in Cape Town in early February., “We’ve got to change. Whether it’s technology, better management, better design, whatever it takes, we need to lift our game as an industry,” Sandeep Biswas, CEO of Newcrest Mining Ltd., which experienced a tailings dam failure last year, said in a Feb. 14 interview., Despite the collective call for action, the status quo may well reassert itself. That’s more or less what happened in Canada after a dam at the Mount Polley copper and gold mine failed in 2014, dumping almost 24 million cubic meters of slurry into pristine glacial lakes and rivers nearby., An independent panel convened by provincial authorities to look into the incident noted the mining industry’s storage practices had “not fundamentally changed in the past hundred years.” Among the panel’s recommendations: Wherever possible, tailings should be stored dry, though it acknowledged retrofitting existing tailings impoundments isn’t always possible and can have risks. At Mount Polley, mining waste is still pumped into ponds., While the two dams that failed in Brazil over the past three years were constructed using the upstream method, there are other, more expensive techniques available. One prebuilds the pond’s walls and insulates them. Experts tend to prefer it as safer, but there’s no absolute guarantee of stability. The most expensive technique, costing as much as 10 times the cheapest method, dries out the tailings and stacks them, typically underground., Only three countries in the world ban upstream dams—Chile, Peru, and now Brazil. Chile, the world’s top copper producer, also regulates the minimum distance between dams and urban centers. But the nation still has 740 tailings deposits, only 101 of which are active, with the rest abandoned or inactive, according to data from government mining agency Sernageomin. “No one can say we’re completely safe,” says Raul Espinace, a professor at Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso in Chile., Many mining companies would argue that banning upstream tailings dams is a step too far. Norilsk Nickel and Polyus, Russia’s two biggest miners, have 11 such dams combined. Both companies say the dams are safe, citing Russian laws that forbid active tailings storage in areas where flooding could affect villages., In Brazil, Vale could face damages of as much as $7 billion from last month’s disaster, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, in addition to the $1.3 billion the company says it will have to spend to decommission 19 other upstream dams in the country. The question remaining: whether the consequences—both moral and financial—mark a turning point for the industry, forcing those companies that can afford to change their practices to do so while driving others out of business., “If mining waste cannot be disposed of responsibly, we need to evaluate whether that mine should continue to be an operation or should be built in the first place,” says Payal Sampat, mining program director at industry watchdog Earthworks. “That is the question that a lot of these mining companies are afraid of. What happens if you don’t make the cut?” , To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net, Cristina Lindblad, ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Danielle Bochove, . Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 3:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Securities Markets Code Desirable Design India [/INST] BQ Blue Exclusive news. Title: Securities Markets Code: A Desirable Design For India. Short_description: Design the Securities Market Code on four pillars: territoriality, longevity, transparency, and efficacy, writes Umakanth Varottil. Description: It was only a sentence in the Finance Minister’s Budget 2021 speech, but it may have the effect of radically altering the face of the securities law regime in India. The government’s proposal is “to consolidate the provisions of SEBI Act, 1992, Depositories Act, 1996, Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and Government Securities Act, 2007 into a rationalised single Securities Markets Code.” The justification for such a measure is understandable. The current securities law is dispersed across different legislation that has led to some inconsistencies and possible regulatory arbitrage. Moreover, the legislation was drafted to suit the times when they were enacted and have been subject to piecemeal amendments periodically, thereby making them unwieldy., Since the emergence of a Single Securities Markets Code is a , , what remains on the table for discussion is the actual shape the Code will take. Here it might be useful to visualise the contours and content of the Code across four parameters: territoriality, longevity, transparency, and efficacy., The regulatory architecture for the financial markets generates considerable complexity, and multiple models have been experimented with around the world to define the territory of the securities regulator. At one end of the spectrum, there is a multi-regulator approach, a fragmentation of sorts, which is followed in countries such as the United States. At the other end of the spectrum is a consolidated regulator model, along with the lines of what the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission recommended in India. A middle path is the ‘twin peaks’ approach with two distinct regulators, one for prudential regulation and the other for market conduct, followed in countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom., This does not help overcome issues surrounding regulatory overlaps and turf wars of the type that Indian markets periodically witness. Examples include the intersection of regulatory oversight of listed companies between the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs; and other highly-publicised regulatory tugs-of-war between SEBI and the insurance regulator involving unit-linked policies and between SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India regarding foreign portfolio investments into the securities markets. The government has taken measures to engender synchronisation of regulatory measures through the Financial Services Development Council, but that does not seem to have received the required impetus., In these circumstances, the Securities Markets Code would do well to address such territorial issues and instill a mechanism for regulatory coordination and information sharing into the legislation itself (similar to the position in the UK) rather than to leave it to informal mechanisms (as has historically been the case in Australia). Experts have already identified a thorn in the flesh with the proposed Code. While three of the four laws are capable of being integrated rather seamlessly, the Government Securities Act is a stark outlier as it is within the purview of the Reserve Bank of India. Questions of territoriality are bound to arise in the drafting of the Code itself, thereby increasing the likelihood that the route to consolidation and rationalisation will be arduous., The success of any code is usually judged by its endurance, something that must at the top of the framers’ minds. It is common in such circumstances to recall the Indian Penal Code of 1860 or the Indian Contract Act of 1872 that have withstood the test of time for about a century and a half. Viewing comparatively, it is quite natural to refer to the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in the United States, wherein the antifraud regime under section 19(b) of the latter legislation and the rule thereunder have constituted the principal regulatory tool., This might mean adopting a principles-based approach, which requires enacting an all-encompassing and somewhat skeletal legislation. As experience has shown, the securities markets are dynamic, and the legislation must be capable of capturing innovations that are likely to occur constantly, whether they be newer forms of securities instruments such as initial coin offerings or other developments in fintech., Under such a model, the details are to be contained in regulations issued by the securities regulator from time to time on individual aspects of the securities markets. This would be more functional, as it remains closer to the pulse of the market and does not require Parliament to be activated each time there is a new development that escapes the legislation., In a model that involves the regulator issuing subsidiary legislation in the form of regulations, the success of the Securities Code depends upon the stewardship role the regulator performs. As an unelected body whose actions have a significant impact on the markets, it must be beyond reproach. This would necessitate a more streamlined process when the regulator issues regulations or other forms of instruments, which includes an elaborate consultation process that also displays transparency on how the feedback has been assimilated into the regulation-making process. Some advanced economies have also adopted mechanisms for regulatory impact assessments, which are worth considering., Although the current securities law framework in India does not provide the precise mechanics by which SEBI should engage in consultation with various stakeholders, it has nevertheless gone above and beyond its mandate to establish a process. At the same time, there is scope for improvement. Regulators such as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority, and the Telecom Regulatory Authority have arguably instituted more elaborate mechanisms either through statute or regulations., Even the judiciary has been seized of the issue surrounding regulatory transparency. In , (2016), the Supreme Court called attention to the concept of “openness in governance” and stated that “it would be a healthy functioning of our democracy if all subordinate legislation were to be ‘transparent’”. The Court even exhorted “Parliament to take up this issue and frame a legislation along the lines of the U.S. Administrative Procedures Act” that provides for due consultation with all stakeholders., Transparency is a key factor in obtaining a ‘buy in’ from all stakeholders, which will naturally lead to a greater level of compliance and reduced constraints in enforcement., Any code would be only as good as it is implemented efficaciously. The burden would be on the regulator, based of course on the power conferred upon it by the Code. This will require the Code to offer effective enforcement tools to the regulator. In SEBI’s case, the enforcement tools have had to be built up gradually over time by way of amendments to the SEBI Act. At the same time, there have been concerns about the manner in which SEBI has been exercising its powers and functions. Its track record is replete with instances whereby its orders have been called into question by the Securities Appellate Tribunal and the Supreme Court. Similarly, criminal enforcement, which can be a useful deterrent against market misconduct, has been used successfully only in limited circumstances. Ultimately, the design of the enforcement mechanism under the proposed Code as well as actions by the regulators must smoothen the rough edges within the system., The proposed enactment of the Code is not only a matter of external impact on the market but also an opportunity for the securities regulator to assess internal organisational considerations. For example, experts have pointed to how the number of employees per listed company it oversees is much less than that found in advanced economies. This might require constant capacity building in terms of both the quality and quantity of SEBI’s resources. In order to make the enforcement regime effective, the facilitative nature of the legislative provisions must work hand in hand with institutional vigour displayed by the regulator., In all, the government’s move towards a Single Securities Markets Code is a laudable one but, as they say, the devil lies in the detail. The design for codification and the roadmap for accomplishing the same will hopefully be revealed in the near future.. Publisher: Umakanth Varottil. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 8:06 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Shankar Sharma Flags indian market Concerns [/INST] BQ Blue Exclusive news. Title: Shankar Sharma Flags Two Concerns For Indian Markets. Short_description: Shankar Sharma doesn’t see Covid-19 second wave as a big risk for Indian markets.. Description: Indian markets will be able to overcome uncertainty as a severe second surge of the pandemic overwhelms Asia’s third-largest economy, according to veteran investor Shankar Sharma. But he sees two other concerns: higher commodity prices and rising benchmark yields., “You may not see a repeat of what happened in March 2020 [stock selloff]. 2020 was a surprise. A 30% fall was not on the cards but a 5-10% fall was, given the magnitude of the unfolding problem last year,” Sharma, co-founder of investment advisory First Global, said in BloombergQuint’s series Navigating Through Uncertainty. “My sense is the markets will say, ‘okay, we have a script of what happened last year, markets fell, recovered and the fall was almost as if it didn't happen’.”, The NSE Nifty 50 index has gained 5.4% year-to-date, compared with the benchmark index's 15% rally in 2020., According to Sharma, there are non-Covid factors that may affect the medium-term outlook for the market. While fiscal expansion, even though conservative, puts India on a growth path, it’s accompanied by some clouds on the horizon. The commodities bull market, he said, has come at a “very wrong time, because post the expansionary budget, India would have wanted lower commodity prices so that it can get away with lower yields to be paid on its debt”., The focus on growth despite the deficit, in the interim, leads to a strain on the balance sheet, Sharma said. And the government’s borrowing programme is already pushing yields higher, not good news because markets typically like low bond yields, he said., And it’s not about U.S. yields or their impact, according to Sharma. For the U.S., 10-year yields of 1.5% or 1.6% are not high even as these have risen since last year, according to Sharma. Nobody should believe that 60, 70 or 90-basis-point yields are supposed to be normal and even a 2% or 2.25% U.S. benchmark yields would not be anything out of the ordinary, he said., A 2% bond yield should support a price-to-equity multiple of 50 times for stock markets, and when adjusted for risk, stocks trading at 30-40 times their earnings are not expensive. But investors who have parked money in second- and third-tier tech stocks in the U.S. can get hurt by higher yields., Within India, Sharma is investing in global cyclicals but not in domestic cyclicals as First Global’s risk-adjusted stance doesn’t allow them to buy something that may see disruptions in the year ahead., First Global is bullish on information technology with a preference for midcap firms in the category. A $100-million deal doesn't move the needle for a Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. or an Infosys Ltd. but can completely alter the growth trajectory for a second- or a third-tier company, Sharma said. Unlike small caps in other industries, mid caps in IT are still very good companies in terms of pedigree and governance, he said., "The biggest challenge you have with small- and mid caps of other industries is you don't know what's going to happen. In IT, you have companies which are very well managed, with a great system, a great structure, good boards and good accounting,” he said. You will not have a risk that tomorrow they will just blow up in your face like many other mid-caps do.", How you see the current scenario, considering that we seem to be on a repeat template with a more severe undertone on the Covid front but there is a vaccine around?, If you look at it on a global basis, U.S., which really messed up on the healthcare front last year, there were a lot of horror stories coming out of the U.S. and how badly broken the healthcare system was, but it seems under the new administration they’ve got a handle, at least on the remedial part— which is the vaccine part. So, now U.S. is I think 40 or maybe 45% coverage of the vaccine which is really staggering considering the size and the spread of the country. So for a large population country it is right up there. They have gotten their act together on the vaccine front... I think just the U.S. just stands out completely in this whole vaccination game. U.K. has done very well too but of course it’s a smaller country but a large country like the U.S., they are streets ahead and nobody’s even close. Of course, China being the home of the virus you can see it is already covered because I think when the virus was discovered or made or whatever happened to the virus, there are many theories at least they have a remedy already in place, the Sinopharm vaccine has been around and is widely used. So, China also seems to be in a good shape. So, two large, populous countries have probably figured out the solution to the problem. The third populous country, there’s one in the middle which is Brazil, which was also in a bit of strife in the last several months and there also the cases seem to be declining. So that also seems to have put some kind of a lid on the problem. The fourth populous country, it’s obviously the most populous but talking to other sequences, India, where everything has just gone south and just keeps going south and what we are seeing unfolding here, beyond the lens of the stock market which I never regard highly from a maturity perspective, but this has become a totally dystopian nightmare. Every day it is reached, everybody’s home. My sister was diagnosed with it a few days back and I have heard the same story everywhere across India. That really should bother all of us beyond just looking at the market and saying the Sensex is very indecisive. I think India is in a bit of a pickle on this without any doubt., Do you think the markets will worry about it a lot or will the markets look forward the way they did the last time? The only disconnect is that right now the markets are no longer at the valuations that they were when we were at 7,500 on the Nifty., My sense is that the markets will look through this. Therefore, you may not see a repeat of what happened in March 2020. 2020 was a surprise, although it wasn’t a surprise if anybody was following the news through February, we were not surprised with the fall except 30% was not on the card but a 5-10% fall was definitely on the card given the magnitude of the unfolding problem last year. This year, for one, it is isolated to India. Second, markets are no longer in a surprise mode. The data has been out there in India for the last 15-20 days and is climbing every day. In some sense the surprise element is no longer there, and markets don’t like negative surprises. If it’s something which is already priced in, the markets will look through that. So, my sense is the markets will say, okay, we have a script of what happened last year, markets fell, markets recovered and the fall was almost as if it didn’t happen. I think markets will say why even fall or why even fall so much. So, you cannot rule out a 5-10%. In any case the markets have rallied a lot. There was anywhere room for a fall for no other reason just for the fact that you should have a correction in this kind of a vertical rally but that I don’t think will be a durable fall. I think markets will look through that and markets will rally back. I think markets probably may not even get there by the looks of it. So, broadly markets have a script from the last time, look through the problem. What lies at the other end of the problem is that generally companies which were doing well, will continue doing well. So, I think markets may not react as violently as it did the last time., You always said that and it’s obviously, maybe to an extent, fairly understandable that the markets will not crack because of unknown-known, which is completely discovered, but it’s slightly a unknown-known hitherto the known-knowns would be Covid cases or the yield and the interest rate issues. What’s your stand there considering that for now that seems to be buried in the background, but you never know where it comes back. Do you reckon it will come back and haunt equities by and large?, India in its union budget for this year, which happened in February, decided to take the path which it has not taken before, which is basically a part of big fiscal expansion. So, India has typically been a very conservatively managed economy. All Indian finance ministers have always been worried about the fiscal deficit and the budget deficits through history with the time I was born. The only comments you heard prior to the budget is that there is no room for any expansionary policies, the fiscal room is limited and all that. That is a stance that Indian budget speakers have had for decades, and that is one of the reasons why India has been able to withstand global macro-crises which come once in a while. So, the 1997-1998 crisis, India managed to sail through that reasonably well. I mean it wasn’t hurt anywhere close throughout the way, Thailand was hurt and the same happened again. The dot com was a sectoral crisis, it wasn’t really a macro-crisis. In 2008 India weathered the storm the best than any other major economy and it actually emerged from the crisis—the strongest of any economy and maybe emerged from it without doing any major stimulus or adding most importantly to debt. India’s fiscal conservatism has helped it through big crises in the past. This time, the policymakers decided that look we have been too conservative and it’s time to basically, at least lessen that conservatism by adopting a stance of growth. Deficits can expand for the interim period, debt to GDP can go up but if we are rewarded with increased growth, eventually all these things will work out for the better. In a way they have borrowed from the book of China or the U.S. in particular. Both these countries which have followed similar kinds of strategies in which they said, go for growth, never mind the deficits, never mind debt and at the other end of the tunnel, if there is any growth slump, you have basically reduced your fiscal deficit because of the increased revenue and debt to GDP because of higher nominal GDP growth. India has gone down that path of China and America. Now, the question is that whether it’s a wise move. That time will tell. In the interim, the Indian balance sheet will have areas of strain and one of the areas of strain will be obviously the borrowing programme which is why you might see that it’s a shoot on the upside which is typically not such a good news for markets because markets typically like low bond yields. I mean that’s like the synagogue of a bull market, low interest rates low bond yields equity look more attractive and equities rally. Inflation is the other end and of course what is not helping is the global rally in food prices. So, if you look at corn and you look at a lot of other agri-commodities they are enjoying a significant bull run right as we speak and of course industrial commodities such as copper, oil and aluminium etc., which are all inputs for a variety of industries are all enjoying a tremendous bull market. It comes at absolutely the wrong time for India when India would have wanted lower commodity prices so that it can get away with lower yields to be paid on its debt, but life is not ideal. We have gone down the path of expansion but guess what authorities don’t know about it and they are rallying like there’s no tomorrow. All these things potentially can cause problems just to remain conservative. I’m a conservative person I’m not a straight-shoot-person-ask-questions-later kind of a fund manager. We as a house is very conservative and conservatism tells us that there are clouds out there which we need to be mindful of., Even on the global side would you reckon that yields could spoil the applecart for maybe the U.S. equities, or not quite?, The important thing is that maybe 1.5 or 1.6 are not very high in absolute terms. They’re higher relative to where they got last year. I would tend to view that more as a normalisation of an excessively low yield regime which we saw last year. Nobody believes or should believe that 60-70 basis point yields or a 90-basis points yields are supposed to be normal. That’s not supposed to be normal so even a 2% yield or 2.25% yield on the U.S. 10 years, I would not reckon them to be anything out of the ordinary. That’s why we went a couple of years back. So, we just sort of went down and then we’re coming back up to what is still a very low overall and in absolute terms key level and relative to those yields—if you just look at it, normally in a price to earnings ratio, rest everything will be equal at a 2% bond yield should support a 50 times P/E multiple. Adjust for risk it can support maybe 30 times P/E multiple or a 40 times P/E multiple. In that context, U.S. markets are not expensive, at least the non-technology part of the U.S. is not expensive. So, where you can get hurt are with the high-flying tech stocks especially the second or the third tier. Mainland stocks are fairly cheap but old economy stocks will benefit, because they don’t have much valuation compression risk. They’re already at multi-year lows in terms of their valuation multi-year lows even in case of any stocks and sectors in terms of pricing. So overall I think the U.S. is still okay, but at least at the non-technology end of the market. I don’t think that’s a problem. The problem lies for countries with relatively weaker balance sheets and India unfortunately falls in that category when it runs deficits on all fronts. China can run a big deficit on the domestic front, a big debt to GDP on the domestic front because as long as it can find enough savings to fund that debt, which is largely domestic debt, it is okay. India because of its current account deficit has reliance on foreign flows to fund tax. So, India’s situation is a bit different from the U.S. and China, but we are trying to use the same playbook as U.S. and China. Time will tell whether that playbook plays out the way we think it should., What is your playbook for India currently?, Our playbook is very simple. So, this year, as we speak right now calendar year, we had a blowout in 2020., But didn’t you guys score very highly on one of the counts, I think, a PMS AIF report, apparently placed you at the top percentile of the performers, if I’m not wrong?, I haven’t seen that report but obviously the benchmark is — us and the competition. So, this current year, year-to-date, I think we are far and away from the number one PMS in the entire industry for the multi-cap. I mean of course small-cap PMS, if small-caps will do well then obviously, but it can go south as well. On multi-cap, we are far away from number one I think we’re up about 15-17%, while Nifty 4 or 5-6%, something like that. But that is coming out of still a very conservative stance, so the point is not returns. I always repeat this that people focus excessively on the wrong end of the market which is returns and returns alone. Investing is about managing risk. There will always be risk to any investment situation. There is no world which is without risk, right? We as analysers and fund managers, we have to decide what is acceptable risk and what is unacceptable risk. Right now, the risks that we see in Indian equities tell us that is no time to be aggressively chasing stocks which derive their businesses from the real economy or the domestic economy which means that banks and financials fall in that category. They are always by nature, highly leveraged. If you were to have a market cut of some kind, you will see the branch falling squarely on the leveraged end of the market which is banks and financials. So, we’ve cut back significantly in the last couple of months on our exposure. We anyway didn’t have much cut back on that we’re quite comfortable with that. Other than that, we are fairly conservatively positioned so that, if the markets were to correct while we might get hurt like anybody else, we will not lose as much money. So, we are being conservative. Now that conservatism might prove wrong and market sails through it but we’re just going to keep going up. Remember, this is a long-term game it’s not a 50 or a 20-over cricket game. You have to make a run on every ball you cannot play investing in that passion and you need a six on every ball. Some balls need to be just played defensively out, that’s what we’re doing right now.. Publisher: BQ Research. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 7:43 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange Crypto Revolution India WazirX Kickstarted [/INST] BQ Brand Studio news. Title: How WazirX Became India’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange And Kickstarted A Crypto Revolution In India. Short_description: How WazirX became India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and kickstarted a crypto revolution in India. Description: Nischal Shetty has been a blockchain advocate and influencer with a huge social media following for many years. Famous for founding Crowdfire, a social media management tool with 20 million users after an all-night coding session, Nischal's dream was to involve as many Indians as possible in the blockchain revolution to help the country benefit from the trust and productivity gains that blockchain can drive., But he got serious about cryptocurrency (aka crypto) when centralised social networks like Twitter and Instagram started cutting off API access in 2017. He realised that users could not depend on centralised companies, since they could change the rules of the game anytime they wanted., After experimenting with Indian crypto exchanges and being repeatedly disappointed by the user experience (UX) as well as the opaqueness that was a direct contrast to the trust that blockchain stood for, Nischal decided to build WazirX in 2018., The name WazirX comes from the word 'Wazir,' the Urdu term for the Queen piece in chess, considered one of the most powerful pieces in the game. It's also ironic that WazirX was born in the same country where the great game of chess was invented. Nischal started WazirX with a goal to provide users with the most powerful crypto trading interface accessible to everyone in India, and that has been a constant since inception. So much so that within 20 months of building the platform, WazirX was acquired by the world’s biggest crypto exchange, Binance., Currently, WazirX stands tall as India’s largest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchange and is trusted by global investors as well. 2020 was a blockbuster year for the exchange since the Supreme Court of India , on crypto trading, which boosted crypto adoption in India., In the most recent quarter (January to March 2021) trading volumes were $6.1 billion, up a massive 405% from the previous quarter. WazirX now has 2 million users and doubled their user base from 1 million in a mere 78 days. The platform also boasts of the highest liquidity in the INR Market in India., Along with other key features, their exchange’s utility token called WazirX Token (WRX) is also the first token to be backed by an Indian crypto exchange and is listed on more than seven global crypto exchanges; its total supply being 1 billion! These tokens enable users to get trading fee discounts within the WazirX system and can also be used to convert dust balance on WazirX to WRX, in order to trade crypto in the WRX market at zero fee., The exchange has several other USPs:, ● Instant INR (fiat) deposit and withdrawal options, ● Smart Token Fund to help crypto investors find expert traders, and let them manage their cryptocurrency portfolio, ● The world’s first auto-matching P2P engine with high liquidity, ● 150+ market pairs, Since many investors have doubts about crypto even as they want to invest given the growth potential, WazirX is engaging in multi-pronged investor awareness programmes to promote blockchain and educate Indians on cryptocurrency as an alternate investment option. Along with a ‘Crypto Awareness Programme’ on a leading TV channel every weekend, WazirX has also invested heavily in campus outreach programmes across top-tier institutes in India. The WazirX Warriors Programme educates the masses through expert representatives, whereas young professionals and students are trained through collaborations with ed-tech start-ups under the Education Partner Programme., Foreseeing strong growth, WazirX has planned big moves in 2021 and will focus on raising awareness among even more Indians and taking the crypto revolution to them. The exchange also plans to add more features to make users’ trading experience seamless. In the same vein, WazirX also recently launched one of India’s first marketplace for Non-Fungible Tokens, a god-sent for Indian artists. It will undoubtedly pave the way for seamless exchange of digital assets and intellectual properties, and gives India creators a great boost in terms of auctioning their digital assets while earning royalty thereafter., For an entity that was established just years ago, capturing the largest market share in India is no mean feat. The youth is flocking towards cryptocurrency as a viable investment option, and WazirX has opened the gateway to enabling Bitcoin to become accessible and mainstream, especially among millennials. The convenience that WazirX offers, along with the scope of freedom that crypto offers, amid global market uncertainty, makes it a viable investment class for the youth of India., Since its inception, WazirX has strived to be at the forefront of innovation and has worked towards empowering their customers with value-added offerings. WazirX has not only been instrumental in making cryptocurrency accessible to the masses, but has also been pivotal in shaping crypto regulations in India, which opens up a lot of doors when it comes to dealing with cryptocurrency in India. With WazirX focusing on making the trading process even more seamless, the future is bright not just for cryptocurrency but also for WazirX.. Publisher: BloombergQuint Brand Studio. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 9:28 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Oil Firms Q4 earning Segment [/INST] Business news. Title: This Segment Is Expected To Boost Oil Firms’ Q4 Earnings. Short_description: Earnings of oil refiners are expected to receive a boost from their petrochemical segments amid higher product prices.. Description: Higher demand and margins for the petrochemicals segment are likely to boost the fourth-quarter earnings of oil refiners and marketers like , , , . and , Prices of industrial polymers—including high- and low-density polyethylene, and purified terephthalic acid, among others—rose between 10% and 38% on a sequential basis, according to data from JPMorgan. On an annual basis, the increase ranged between 7% and 64%., Brokerages expect the operating profit of these companies to rise., Demand for products like polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride surged across sectors after markets opened up following lockdowns last year., Polyethylene witnessed demand from packaging, medical, consumer and durables sectors, while demand for polypropylene recovered on the back of a recovery in automobile, consumer durables and food packaging industries. Usage of polyvinyl chloride rose earlier this year as construction activities resumed., Demand for polyvinyl chloride packaging is expected to further grow as Indians shop online and their preference for canned food rises., Prices of naphtha—a key petroleum product used to make industrial solvents, laundry soaps and cleaning fluids—rose 38.4% sequentially in the fourth quarter at a time when crude oil turned expensive by nearly 35.2%, according to a Motilal Oswal report., Although some polymer-naphtha spreads have declined over the last quarter, they remain above their long-term average, the brokerage said. Polyethylene and polypropylene naphtha spreads were 18-31% higher than their long-term average whereas PVC naphtha spreads were 160% higher than their long-term average in the fourth quarter., The higher spreads reflect the strong pent-up demand visible once the global economy opened up in the second half of the last fiscal., Tightened supply of petrochemicals following delayed turnaround of refineries after shutdowns and postponement of commissioning of new units because of the second wave of Covid-19, too, contributed to the high spreads., “Refineries continue to operate at lower rates across the globe due to suppressed demand for petroleum products, primarily aviation turbine fuel,” the Motilal Oswal report said. “This also reduces the supply of petchem products from refineries, supporting the upward movement in petchem product prices and spreads.”, Petrochemical product demand is expected to outpace refinery product demand, according to Jefferies. While petrochemical demand is projected to grow at an annualised rate of 4% over the next decade, the corresponding figure for refinery products is 1%., Yet, petrochemical margins may face headwinds owing to large capacity additions and likely reduction in imports by China. According to an ICICI Securities report, Chinese demand may remain strong at best for another year and its petrochemical imports are expected to decline as it adds capacity. It expects China’s imports to fall by 53% year-on-year in 2021., India’s petrochemical production rose 16% year-on-year to 43.52 million metric tonnes in 2019-20, DV Sadananda Gowda, minister of chemicals and fertilisers, said in response to a Lok Sabha query in March 2021, adding the country remains a net importer of chemicals and petrochemicals., Imports have risen in the last few years, the minister said, amid higher production cost, smaller scale of operations and domestic production failing to meet demand., The government reduced customs duty on naphtha from 4% to 2.5% in this year’s union budget to boost local production.. Publisher: Sameer Bhardwaj. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 8:06 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Outline Separation Strategy Elliott pressure Glaxo [/INST] Business news. Title: Glaxo to Outline Separation Strategy Amid Elliott Pressure. Short_description: Glaxo to Outline Separation Strategy Amid Elliott Pressure. Description: GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the U.K. drugmaker, will provide an update in June on the timing and approach to separating its consumer-health business as pressure increases to accelerate the company’s revival., Chief Executive Officer Emma Walmsley pledged to give “a clear view of the strategy and growth outlook” with 10-year sales forecasts and details on which therapy areas Glaxo aims to mine after the consumer unit split., Glaxo’s plans are in the spotlight following Elliott Management Corp.’s decision to build , in the pharmaceutical and vaccines giant. Walmsley on Wednesday faced questions from reporters on whether some shareholders would push for her to lead the consumer business, which she previously ran, rather than the drugs and vaccines operation., “I’m not a scientist, I’m a business leader,” she said. “Ultimately the CEO should be held accountable for the results, and that’s why we are extremely focused with a very committed team to delivering shareholder value. We have made an enormous amount of change in this supertanker of a company.”, Since Walmsley took charge in 2017, she’s sought to refocus the company, boost its performance and rejuvenate the pipeline of new treatments. The following year, Glaxo announced plans to combine its consumer health unit with Pfizer Inc.’s and split off the business into a separate, U.K.-listed company. That effort isn’t scheduled for completion until next year., The company is also trying to rebuild its cancer pipeline. Glaxo didn’t have any oncology drugs on the market when Walmsley started and now has three, with others in clinical trials., Glaxo said profit and sales fell in the first quarter, hurt by continuing disruption from Covid-19, while the company reiterated its earnings forecast , . Vaccine sales declined 30% due to the impact of Covid on routine immunizations. Earnings per share, excluding some costs, were broadly in line with analyst estimates., While Glaxo is , from U.S. regulators for its Covid-19 antibody treatment with Vir Biotechnology Inc., a potential blockbuster, the company has had mixed success with its Covid effort., Glaxo has opted to use its adjuvant technology -- substances that enhance the immune response to vaccines -- in partnerships with other drugmakers rather than creating its own shot. A collaboration with Sanofi , last year after a dosing error, with results from a new mid-stage trial now expected in May and the last phase set to start in June., Glaxo also has a vaccine in advanced trials with Canada’s Medicago Inc. and a partnership with Germany’s CureVac NV to develop a next-generation shot capable of tackling multiple variants of the coronavirus. The company said Wednesday it had started an early-stage Covid-19 study using its self-amplifying mRNA technology in recent weeks., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Suzi Ring. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 7:14 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Weber Apologizes Archegos Loss Urges Transparency UBS [/INST] Business news. Title: UBS’s Weber Apologizes for Archegos Loss, Urges Transparency. Short_description: UBS’s Weber Apologizes for Archegos Loss, Urges Transparency. Description: UBS Group AG’s Chairman Axel Weber apologized for the loss the Swiss bank posted on its exposure to the collapse of Archegos Capital Management while also blaming a lack of regulation and transparency regarding family offices operating in financial markets., Switzerland’s largest bank surprised investors last month when it announced an $861 million hit from exposure to Bill Hwang’s family office, weeks after peers had come clean about their losses. Weber called Archegos a very “unusual situation” and said he was “deeply sorry that it happened” during an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday., Weber said the “usual suspects” of concentration risk and high leverage were present in the Archegos situation and though banks have a lot of information when it comes to some parts of the markets, others such as family offices were deeply lacking in transparency and regulation., Read More: , If transparency is not enforced by regulators UBS will enforce it for its own clients. “If we finance activity, we want these disclosures and if clients are unwilling to give that, well there may be other banks that give them that same exposure, but it won’t be us,” Weber said. Still, the bank is not in the business of avoiding risk, but rather seeks to manage it, according to Weber., “We think what went wrong was various failures interacted as opposed to a specific point where you can point the finger,” Weber said, adding that there was no single person who was solely to blame for the incident and the bank was focusing on improving processes that were lacking., The loss has triggered an internal investigation at UBS but the bank is so far not subject to any regulator enforcements or actions. Swiss rival Credit Suisse Group AG is under scrutiny by Swiss regulator Finma, which opened enforcement proceedings at the bank after it announced a $5.5 billion hit related to Archegos., UBS kept quiet on the losses from Archegos for several weeks until the presentation of first-quarter earnings, whereas Credit Suisse had warned investors early. Morgan Stanley was criticized for only revealing its $911 million loss during a scheduled earnings release. UBS said following the earnings release that it didn’t see the need to disclose Archegos early., The bulk of UBS employees are still working from home globally, with about 20% in critical functions who’ve remained at the office throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Weber. But when the virus subsides, UBS plans to offer case-by-case flexibility to its employees, Weber said., Read More: , “We see very little need to be in a race to get back to office,” he said. The new normal will see a greater degree of people in the office but there will be no hard-and-fast rule. Weber said he expects critical roles, and procedures related to trading and controls, to likely remain in the office, adding that high-risk areas need to be monitored in person on the floor or in a similar manner., The biggest changes will be seen in back-office functions which are more easily done from a remote location. While Weber said he expects front-office roles such as advising clients to return to the office, he also said that interactions with wealth management clients were becoming more digital in a permanent way., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Marion Halftermeyer &. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 3:02 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Barclays Shareholders Reject Second Climate Change Resolution [/INST] Business news. Title: Barclays Shareholders Reject Second Climate Change Resolution. Short_description: Barclays Shareholders Reject Second Climate Change Resolution. Description: For the second year in a row, Barclays Plc shareholders rejected a proposal that would require the bank to wind down its lending to the fossil-fuel sector., Only 14% of shareholders gave their support to the idea at the bank’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, Barclays said in a statement. A group of individual investors coordinated by Australian nonprofit Market Forces filed the, in February that called on Barclays to bring its financing for coal, oil and gas companies in line with the goals of the Paris climate agreement., Adam McGibbon, U.K. campaign lead at Market Forces, said the low support for this year’s resolution meant institutional investors had “some serious questions to answer about their commitment to climate change action.”, As Europe’s biggest fossil-fuel banker, Barclays has come under fire from environmentalists and some investors for its role in bankrolling some of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Last year, 24% of shareholders , on climate goals by nonprofit ShareAction, prompting the bank to announce its own plan to cut its net greenhouse-gas emissions to zero over the next three decades., “Having seen Barclays’ climate policies fail to rein in its investments in fossil fuels in the last year, to have investor support for climate change action drop this year compared to 2020 smacks of either indifference or incompetence from many major investors,” McGibbon said., Since the Paris climate agreement was signed in December 2015, Barclays has helped arrange $95.7 billion of bonds and loans for energy companies, excluding solar, wind and other renewable producers, more than any bank in Europe, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s more than any other bank in Europe, though U.S. lenders JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. have been the biggest funders of corporate emitters, the data show., “We agree with the nature of the climate challenge, and we agree -- and I , we’ve made this very clear over the last year or so to shareholders -- that we see a continuous need to raise the bar, and improve policies as time goes on,” Barclays Chairman Nigel Higgins said at the virtual meeting, where all other resolutions passed with over 90% support. “We totally agree that this has to be about action, and not just words.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Alastair Marsh. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 8:40 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Billionaire Arsenal Owner Breakaway Fiasco [/INST] Business news. Title: Billionaire Arsenal Owner Won’t Sell After Breakaway Fiasco. Short_description: Kroenke Says No Plan to Sell Arsenal After Super League Fiasco. Description: American billionaire Stan Kroenke and his son Josh said they have no intention of selling Arsenal Football Club after fans reacted with anger to their plans to join an elite European league., “We remain 100% committed to Arsenal and are not selling any stake in the club,” Kroenke Sports & Entertainment said in a statement Tuesday. “We have not received any offer and we will not entertain any offer.”, The statement comes after a tempestuous few days for Arsenal and the other five English clubs who signed up for the aborted Super League-project eight days ago. The uproar that erupted after the announcement had led to talk that some of the owners might consider selling their teams., Spotify founder Daniel Ek said last week on social media that he’d be happy to “throw my hat in the ring” if Kroenke Sports was interested in selling. , suggested former star players Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira would be part of an Ek bid., Kroenke, who’s worth $9.7 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, owns all of the London-based team after taking it private several years ago in a deal valuing the club at $2.3 billion., Arsenal fans have long complained about his ownership as the team slipped in the Premier League. Those protests have intensified since news of the Super League and last Friday several hundred fans gathered outside the team’s north London stadium with chants of “Kroenke out.”, The project, which also included Real Madrid and Barcelona would have granted permanent membership in the new system, removing uncertainty over the European Champions League — for which teams must qualify annually or risk losing broadcasting and sponsorship revenue. Arsenal are currently outside the places to qualify for that elite competition., “Our ambition for Arsenal remains to compete to win the biggest trophies in the game and our focus remains on improving our competitiveness on the pitch to achieve this.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Amanda L Gordon &. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 11:16 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Jet Buzz Swirls Dassault Preps Market Model luxury [/INST] Business news. Title: Luxury-Jet Buzz Swirls as Dassault Preps Top-of-the-Market Model. Short_description: Dassault Targets Gulfstream, Bombardier With Bugatti of the Air. Description: Dassault Aviation SA is poised to announce its largest-ever Falcon corporate jet next week, stepping up a push to compete toe-to-toe with the swankiest offerings from Bombardier Inc. and Gulfstream., While Dassault has kept a tight lid on details, the industry is already abuzz with speculation that the plane will match or surpass rival jets in size, speed and range. Chief Executive Officer Eric Trappier, playing catch-up after an engine problem with another aircraft delayed new products, has touted the “future Falcon” on conference calls without providing specifics., The Paris-based jetmaker, which is partially owned by Airbus SE and also makes military aircraft such as the Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon, plans to formally unveil its latest plane in a mostly virtual event May 6., “It’s going to be the biggest Falcon jet ever,” said , , an aircraft consultant in Plano, Texas, who predicts deliveries of the aircraft will begin in 2025. “It’s going to compete at the very top of the pyramid.”, Dassault’s plan heralds a bigger battle at the high end of the corporate-jet market, which had been growing quickly before the coronavirus pandemic as well-heeled customers flew further and more often for international business trips. Manufacturers responded with models that are larger, faster, more comfortable -- and pricier. Bombardier’s Global 7500, which can be configured with a bedroom and shower, lists at $75 million before customary discounts., The pandemic, which curtailed international travel, has cut the world’s appetite for new aircraft and caused private-jet shipments to fall 22% to 564 last year. It will take the industry until 2025 to recover, according to Honeywell International Inc., which supplies engines, cockpit controls and other parts., Recently, demand has been strong for smaller, pre-owned planes. But large jets will again dominate the market. Honeywell’s survey of more than 1,000 private-jet operators showed that over the next decade, purchases of large aircraft will account for 42% of deliveries and 69% of market value., Dassault isn’t waiting for a full rebound. It’s betting well-heeled clients who purchase the jet equivalent of a superluxury Bugatti sports car aren’t likely to be fazed by short-term downturns in the global business cycle. Opulence aside, manufacturers say corporate aircraft are tools that save time for CEOs and other executives., New aircraft introductions are the lifeblood of sales for business-jet makers since design improvements entice high-dollar customers. Bombardier’s Global 7500, which debuted in December 2018, now holds the crown as the largest purpose-built business aircraft, surpassed only by corporate-jet versions of airliners made by Airbus and Boeing Co., Not to be outdone, Gulfstream, a division of General Dynamics Corp., is building the G700. Deliveries of that plane are scheduled to start in 2022 and will replace the G650, which competes now with the Bombardier aircraft, as Gulfstream’s flagship jet. Business planes are made specially for corporate travel, with more speed, lower operating costs and cabin pressure that’s closer to what a passenger , on the ground., Dassault fell behind Bombardier and Gulfstream after scrapping the Falcon 5X aircraft, which was initially supposed to begin deliveries in 2017. When Safran SA stumbled in the development of a new engine design, Dassault switched to Pratt & Whitney, a division of Raytheon Technologies Corp. Pratt already supplies engines for Dassault’s two largest Falcon jets., The 5X, which boasts the tallest cabin of any corporate jet at 6 feet, six inches, was repackaged as the 6X and deliveries are expected to begin at the end of next year. But the delays on that program rippled through to plans for the biggest Falcon, and the announcement of the new plane was further delayed last year by the pandemic., Dassault’s new aircraft will likely have an interior that’s similar in size to the 6X, and there’s speculation that Dassault will use that same cabin platform. The jet will probably be able to use biofuels while offering other features to mitigate emissions, said Vincent, the Texas consultant., The new Falcon probably isn’t just a stretch version of the 6X, given the company’s 2021 research and development budget of $600 million. That’s twice the level in 2016 and 2017, before the company started investing heavily in the 6X., This year, most of the spending will probably be on the new aircraft because the 6X is well along in its development, said Yan Derocles, an analyst with Oddo., “The R&D is quite significant,” Derocles said. “So, I’m more basing this on a brand new aircraft, not using or stretching the 6X fuselage.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Thomas Black. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 4:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Rooster Teeth Online Media Unit AT&T Explores Sale [/INST] Business news. Title: AT&T Explores Sale of Rooster Teeth Online Media Unit. Short_description: AT&T Explores Sale of Rooster Teeth Online Media Unit. Description: AT&T Inc. is seeking buyers for Rooster Teeth Productions LLC, a piece of its WarnerMedia division, as part of an ongoing winnowing of noncore assets by the phone giant, according to people familiar with the matter., The pandemic has complicated efforts to sell the business, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Rooster Teeth canceled its annual RTX convention last year in Austin, Texas. And in June, co-founder Burnie Burns, who served as chief executive officer, left the company. It wasn’t clear how much money AT&T is seeking for the business., The phone company has been paring assets to focus on a key areas, including its new 5G wireless business, which requires billions of dollars of investment. AT&T also is expanding its fiber-optic footprint and boosting movie and TV production to attract subscribers to HBO Max, the new streaming service run by WarnerMedia., As AT&T discovered with its DirecTV satellite-television division, declining businesses aren’t an easy sell. After seeking a buyer for that division for months, the company decided to spin it off into a joint venture with the private equity firm TPG., Even before the pandemic, Rooster Teeth was struggling. Revenue slumped to about $50 million in 2019 from about $70 million a year earlier, one of the people said. It was founded 18 years ago as a web-based video producer. The business expanded into gaming, podcasts, T-shirts and fan conferences. Today, it is best known for the animation series “RWBY.”, Other small divisions have also been unloaded. AT&T , the anime-creator Crunchyroll to Sony for $1.2 billion last year, and has also parted with its Puerto Rico phone operations, a stake in Hulu, a Central Europe media group and nearly all of its offices at New York’s Hudson Yards., Rooster Teeth was part of Otter Media, an early foray into media by Dallas-based AT&T that preceded its $85 billion takeover of Time Warner Inc. in 2018., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Scott Moritz, . Date Created: 24 Apr 2021, 12:40 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Citi Australia Retail Assets ANZ ceo Purchase [/INST] Business news. Title: ANZ CEO Not Ruling Out Purchase of Citi Australia Retail Assets. Short_description: ANZ CEO Not Ruling Out Purchase of Citi Australia Retail Assets. Description: Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. is in a strong position to make acquisitions, according to Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott., Elliott didn’t rule out the bank’s interest in Citigroup Inc.’s retail operations in Australia, saying ANZ has capital to grow. ANZ and National Australia Bank Ltd. are among contenders in discussions over the U.S. bank’s assets, Bloomberg News , on Tuesday., “ANZ is in a really strong position and we are looking for growth opportunities,” Elliott said in an interview on Bloomberg TV Wednesday. “If opportunities come along, we have the capacity managerially, which is really important, because it’s not just about the money, and we certainly have the financials to take those things seriously. We will take opportunity when it comes.”, Buying Citigroup’s credit card business would catapult ANZ to No.1 in that market, while National Australia Bank would become the second biggest credit card provider if it did the deal. Elliott said he is expecting regulatory scrutiny for any deal, but , that Citigroup is a small player in the market., Citigroup had A$3.6 billion ($2.8 billion) of credit card assets, putting it at No.5 in the market in Australia. It also had A$11.6 billion of loans and finance leases as of March, according to , from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, which oversees deposit-taking institutions in the country. The Australian retail operations are one of 13 markets the bank is looking to , ., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Nabila Ahmed &. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 5:42 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Currency Traders Cigarette Vendors Disguise Caracas [/INST] Business news. Title: Cigarette Vendors Are Currency Traders in Disguise in Caracas. Short_description: Cigarette Vendors Are Currency Traders in Disguise in Caracas. Description: , Ibiza! Costero! Malibu!, The cigarette vendors jog up and down the sidewalks and weave in and out of traffic, yelling out their wares. They sell a lot of brands you've never heard of on El Comercio, which has for years been cheap-tobacco heaven. But these days, not every patron is here for the smokes. The serious side-business on El Comercio is changing money—U.S. dollars for bolivars, the country’s ridiculously hyper-inflated currency., The cigarettes act as bluffs on the off-chance that police should happen to pass by and take umbrage at an activity that is, on the books at least, illegal. They’re also excellent laundering tools. “Cigarettes are the perfect machine to get bolivars,” said Carlos Gomez, a skinny 27-year-old in wrap-around sunglasses who was arranging his goods for display on a rickety wooden table. (His best customers: other street vendors or shopkeepers who buy cartons in bulk to resell in distant neighborhoods.), The crazy thing is that bolivars are hot commodities in a country that has for all intents and purposes adopted the legal tender of the U.S. But this dollarization of the economy was carried out in quintessential Nicolas Maduro-style—that is, haphazardly and chaotically—and as a result the bolivar was never truly killed off. It still circulates and curiously is still required to pay for certain things., The poor are hit the hardest by this glitch. For while people of means simply pay for stuff with dollars via foreign credit cards or debit cards or Zelle or cold-hard cash, the poor need bolivars to take buses and buy subsidized gasoline and shop for staples like flour and beans from merchants who are so desperate for bolivars themselves that they give big discounts for payment in that currency., And so a robust foreign-exchange market has grown up in Catia, a sprawling slum of low-slung buildings and shacks and dirt. It draws people like Rafael Vargas, 52, a security guard who is often paid in dollars and takes the bus across town to his job in a fancy apartment building in Campo Alegre., He could do his business at a bank, of course, but that would mean waiting in line for hours. And at many banks, there are daily withdrawal limits. Vargas needs at least 800,000 bolivars a day to cover the bus fare to and from his job., So he goes to El Comercio, in the middle of Catia, where he’s never happy with the exchange rate. “They end up stealing part of your money, but you can’t do anything to avoid it, because you have to go to work,” he said after changing a crumpled dollar bill. “If we don’t work, we don’t eat.”, Right now, you’ll get about about 2 million bolivars for one buck in Catia. The official government rate, for what that’s worth, is 2.8 million. (For context, 1 million is the largest new bolivar the regime just started printing in its seemingly never-ending quest to create bills in giant-enough denominations; for further context, a bottle of beer in a reasonably priced bar costs around 3 million bolivars.), The cigarette crews see all kinds, from people like Vargas to gold miners who drive 14 hours from Las Claritas in southern Venezuela and arrive with suitcases full., “There are miners who bring $10,000 or $15,000,” Gomez said. “With those dollars, we buy cartons of cigarettes.”, The vendors get them for dirt-cheap from wholesalers who import them (actually, smuggle might be the right word) from Colombia or Caribbean islands and sell them at very steep markups for bolivars, which they turn around and sell to the dollar-toting crowds. Tellingly, consumption of the not-famous cigarette brands the exchangers hawk has shot up about 300% since 2019, according to a report from Bigott, a local unit of British American Tobacco Plc., As for the miners, they're paid in dollars for the gold they illegally excavate and they need bolivars to live. Las Claritas is such a remote outpost that the economy is basically run exclusively on cash. Internet and cell signals are so weak that card transactions usually won't go through. Shops will give 50% discounts for payment in bolivars., Thus the trek to Catia, or to a few other Caracas neighborhoods, downtown or in Petare, the country's largest slum. There the subterfuge sometimes involves lollipops and coffee. “I buy, I buy, I buy,” the hardly-hidden currency exchangers shout at every corner., There are other methods for acquiring bolivars, of course. On some buses, drivers will make under-the-wheel exchanges, and people take whatever rate is offered. “It is the easiest way to get bolivars fast,” said Yajaira Meza, a 51-year-old housekeeper. “We don’t have a choice.”, As precious as bolivars are, the most valuable bill in the country is a George Washington. The single is in short supply and so desired that if you can scrounge up eight of them, someone in Catia will give you the equivalent of $10 in bolivars., Still confused by it all? Don't feel bad. Venezuelans are too., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Alex Vasquez. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 5:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Electric Vehicles sale Honda [/INST] Business news. Title: Honda Declares All Sales Will Be Electric Vehicles by 2040. Short_description: The Japanese company also said it will invest about $46 billion in research and development over the next six years.. Description: Honda Motor Co. set what it called a challenging target for all of its sales to be electric vehicles by 2040 as it tries to keep up with the global EV race and revive profits under the new leadership of Toshihiro Mibe., The Japanese company also said it will invest about 5 trillion yen ($46 billion) in research and development over the next six years, “regardless of fluctuations in our sales revenue.”, Automakers around the globe are rushing into the EV sector as the industry shifts to electrification and self-driving cars. Among them, Jaguar Land Rover has vowed to go fully , by 2025, and Volvo by , . Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged to , greenhouse gas emissions by 46% by 2030 from 2013 ahead of the global climate summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden., Sign , our Hyperdrive newsletter on the future of cars , ., “It will be an uphill struggle,” Mibe said at a news briefing Friday, noting that Honda’s EV sales are less than 1% of its total in Japan. “It’ll be about how early we can build a structure that lets us make profits.”, Honda’s new goals include EVs accounting for 40% of sales in North America and China by 2030 and 80% by 2035. It has a 20% goal for Japan by 2030 and 80% by 2035. Japan’s target is different because it is a huge consumer of hybrids, Mibe said. The carmaker wants to achieve an operating profit margin of 7% even as it shifts to EVs, he said., Toyota Motor Corp. has been able to assuage investors’ concerns on EVs with the , of its “bZ4X,” but Honda may not be able to do so just by declaring targets, said Tatsuo Yoshida, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “I wish they had more concrete plans,” he said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Shiho Takezawa. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 3:37 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to GOP Senator Blackburn Infrastructure Deal Tax Hike [/INST] Business news. Title: GOP Senator Blackburn Seeks Infrastructure Deal Without Tax Hike. Short_description: GOP Senator Blackburn Seeks Infrastructure Deal Without Tax Hike. Description: GOP Senator Marsha Blackburn said Tuesday she’s hopeful there could be a deal with Democrats on pared-down, traditional infrastructure like roads, bridges, ports, water systems, the power grid and broadband, that doesn’t rely on tax increases to pay for it., The basis for such an agreement, Blackburn said, is contained in the roughly $600 billion proposal from Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito that she’s offered to President Joe Biden. Whatever comes out of negotiations should be solely focused on traditional infrastructure projects, she said., “If you were to go out across the country, or come with me into Tennessee, and you talk to people about what they want to see in an infrastructure bill, that is what they’re wanting to see,” Blackburn, of Tennessee, said on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power” program., Biden has proposed a $4 trillion plan that would go beyond roads, bridges and ports to include social spending initiatives. He would pay for it by raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy, which Blackburn and other Republicans have rejected., Blackburn said some Democrats have been amenable to breaking off a more narrowly focused infrastructure plan from Biden’s much larger ambitions, but said it’s not clear yet if the Democratic leadership is on board., “You would have to ask Chuck Schumer, you would have to ask the president,” she said, referring to the Senate majority leader. “My , is we’re going to be able to do that.”, The White House plans to talk with Capito about the GOP proposal next week, but press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration wants the larger package to be paid for., “If people have alternative proposals that don’t raise taxes on people making less than $400,000 a year that will help pay for this we’re quite open to them,” Psaki said Tuesday at a briefing., Blackburn also spoke about her desire to overhaul the regulatory framework for tech companies and especially social media, including privacy rules requiring users to opt-in before companies can make money off of their personal information, and additional protections for children online., “This would require them to reshape their business model,” said Blackburn, who , a tech working group in the previous Congress., She also wants to overhaul Section 230 of a 1996 law which protects internet companies from liability for user content, look at tightening antitrust provisions and enact notification rules for tech platform security breaches. She also said she’s concerned by content moderators censoring content on Facebook and other platforms., “Those First Amendment rights are vitally important — freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom to peaceably assemble — and those are things that should be held to the individual, not to the social media giant that wants to censor you or block you,” she said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Steven T. Dennis &. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 12:23 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to FDA Plant Inspections product approval Pandemic [/INST] Business news. Title: Pandemic Delayed Some FDA Plant Inspections, Product Approvals. Short_description: Pandemic Delayed Some FDA Plant Inspections, Product Approvals. Description: Pandemic disruptions severely hampered U.S. regulators’ ability to inspect drug and device makers’ manufacturing plants, delaying at least 68 applications for approval to market new products, according to a Food and Drug Administration review., Seven of the delayed applications were mission-critical, meaning they represented a medical advancement, the agency said Wednesday in its report, and six of those were for new drugs. The delayed applications were among 600 where the FDA required a factory inspection before approval decisions., Inspection woes at the agency have left health investors nervous about clearances of new drugs and devices that impact companies’ bottom lines. Hobbled by travel and social-distancing restrictions during the height of the pandemic, the agency is slowly regaining the ability to conduct mostly domestic inspections and may make increasing use of virtual factory visits to fill the void, Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said., “Our report shows all the warts, here’s what happened during the pandemic, but we did a lot,” she said in an interview. “I think our people really rose to the occasion.”, Inspections for the seven delayed mission-critical applications are expected to be completed by the end of September, according to the report. FDA dind’t give the names of the delayed products. , The regulator also will have to find ways to make up about 1,000 routine surveillance inspections of drug and biologic plants it hasn’t been able to perform during the fiscal year that started in October. These inspections insure quality of products that have already been cleared., The mission-critical inspections that did occur put severe pressure on agency staff. Before Covid shots were available, inspectors traveled unvaccinated with quarantine periods on both ends of their trips. Woodcock said she didn’t know of any inspectors who came down with Covid after an inspection trip., The FDA did 59 mission-critical inspections for drugs and biologics between March 2020 and March 2021, according to the report. These included inspections for products that represent medical advancements as well as treatments for Covid-19 and follow-up based on product recalls., Some companies whose Covid shots have been authorized for emergency use are now planning to file for full approval, and among the regulator’s top priorities will be inspections of vaccine plants that haven’t recently been visited., Virtual inspections that were used increasingly during the pandemic represent a potential way to hasten the inspection process for less-critical products, Woodcock said., The agency completed 159 prioritized domestic inspections of drug and biologic facilities between March 2020 and March 2021, according to the report., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Anna Edney. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 10:44 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Battery Materials Unit EV Component Shortage SK [/INST] Business news. Title: SK’s Battery Materials Unit Sees a Shortage for EV Component. Short_description: Korean Battery Company Sees Supply Crunch for Key EV Component. Description: The battery materials unit of SK Innovation Co. said the global market for premium wet-type separators, a key component for electric vehicles, will run into a supply shortage in 2023 due to “explosive” growth., SK IE Technology Co. said in a statement Thursday that its sales of separators for EVs jumped 490% last year from 2018. The company -- part of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group -- expects separators will account for about 80% of total sales in the next three years or more, from about 55% currently., “We’ve been keeping a close track of demand and supply and it looks like supply will fall short of meeting the rising demand from 2023,” Chief Executive Officer , told reporters at a briefing in Seoul., Separators improve the output and stability of lithium-ion batteries. Wet separators are thinner and stronger than dry separators, and allow for higher capacity. While lithium-ion batteries are found in everything from laptops to , s, it’s their primary role in electric vehicles that’s creating surging demand., SK Innovation has grown into a major industry supplier. Among peers that produce wet-type separators for EVs such as Japan’s Asahi Kasei Corp. and Toray Industries Inc., SK took the biggest market share last year with 26.5%, according to the statement, citing SNE Research Inc. It expects to more than double its annual separation capacity to 2.73 billion square meters in 2024 -- equivalent to supplying 1 million EVs per year., SK was a relative latecomer to the electric-car battery industry, embracing the technology only as part of a diversification push. SK Innovation began developing lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles in 2005, and spun off SK IE Technology in April 2019. SK IE Technology plans to go public next month., While the near-term growth will remain in its separator business, the company said it plans to develop materials for solid-state batteries -- a new way of making batteries that experts think could take over from the current generation of lithium-ion cells -- and also expand its production of polyimide film that goes on flexible displays., “It’ll have to be after 2030 when the solid-state battery business gets commercialized, which means lithium-ion batteries will co-exist for some time,” Roh said. “Our parent SK Innovation is also looking into , firms with the relevant technologies to explore the areas we can take part in.”, SK is not looking beyond China, Europe and the U.S. in expanding its production capacity for now, Roh said. He said the company won’t consider building a facility in America until after 2024, as demand there is currently small compared with China and Europe and the investment and operating costs are more expensive., The company said last month it’s investing 1.1 trillion won ($987 million) to build new factories in Poland to meet growing demand amid an EV boom in Europe., SK IE Technology seeks to raise as much as 2.3 trillion won in its , . If the stock is priced at the top of the range, it would give the company a market value of around 7.5 trillion won. The company will start trading on Kospi from May 11 after setting the IPO price on April 26. The sale of new shares will go into SK’s capital expenditure until 2023, as it will need between 700 billion and 800 billion won annually, Roh said., SK posted an operating profit of 125 billion won last year, up more than 55% from April-December in 2019 when the company was spun off, while sales rose 78% to 469.3 billion won during the same period. SK’s three-year compound annual growth rate is forecast at 38%, according to Horace Chan, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst., Rho said SK Innovation’s $1.8 billion , earlier this month with LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Chem Ltd., over trade secrets removed uncertainties and created an environment where the two companies can actively engage in talks about new product models and plans to gradually increase supply. LG is one of SK’s customers in South Korea., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Heesu Lee. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 9:24 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Mental Care Elusive pretty Damn Awful Covid Long hauler [/INST] Business news. Title: ‘Pretty Damn Awful': Covid Long-Haulers Find Mental Care Elusive. Short_description: Covid-19’s physical effects are challenging enough, but the virus also has taken a toll on the mental health of survivors.. Description: William Davis knows how hard it is for his wife to hear he wanted to stick a shotgun in his mouth. Right now, he has no one else to tell. , “There’s days where you’ve got to tell somebody what’s going on in your head just to get it out of your head,” said the 50-year-old from Columbia, Tenn., Davis was already prone to suicidal thoughts as someone with bipolar disorder. Then he got the coronavirus in April 2020. Lingering effects have left him with anxiety and a depression he calls “pretty damn awful.”, He used to rely on physical strength to do custom renovations on homes and restaurants. Simple tasks exhaust him now. He can no longer work full-time as a craftsman. , “This isn’t just my livelihood,” he said. “It’s who I am.” , Dealing with Covid-19’s physical after-effects are challenging enough, but the virus is also taking a toll on the mental health of survivors with lingering symptoms, who call themselves long haulers. A research study reported in , journal found a third of Covid-19 survivors were diagnosed with a neurological or psychiatric condition in the six months after being infected; 17.4% had an anxiety disorder. , Survivors with physical conditions like heart or lung problems are often able to find in-network specialists with minimum hassle, particularly if their primary care doctor is part of a large health network. Uninsured people can seek treatment for immediate health issues at community clinics or emergency rooms. , With mental health, however, it’s often a struggle to get help at all. , Even if survivors like Davis are able to push past the stigma that’s long caused people to shy away from mental health treatment, finding a provider that’s covered by insurance and still accepting new patients can seem insurmountable. , Health experts say it illustrates how the U.S. health-care system is ill-equipped to meet the growing demand for mental health treatment., “You might have an insurance card, but actually finding a provider in-network is extraordinarily hard even for people with quote-unquote good insurance,” said Jennifer Snow, director of public policy at the National Alliance on Mental Illness., , , The Affordable Care Act requires individual- and small-group health insurance plans to cover mental health and substance use treatment, though employers with over 50 employees aren’t required to offer that benefit. , If they do, federal law requires mental health coverage to be comparable to coverage of physical health care. Still, the act says nothing about reimbursement rates, and some providers won’t take insurance because the rates are too low, Snow said., , , Most large plans have some mental health coverage, ”but even with the increased coverage we still find actually getting care is a problem for many people,” Snow said. “Many times people are forced to get care out-of-network, which can make care unaffordable.”, A behavioral health office visit is more than five times more likely to be out-of-network than a primary care appointment, according to a 2019 , commissioned by the Mental Health Treatment and Research Institute LLC, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Bowman Family Foundation. , Olga Alferez has been trying to find a therapist that’s not only covered by her My Health LA plan, but one that will work around her schedule. The mother of three from South Central Los Angeles became a widow a month into the pandemic, when her husband died alone of a heart attack in the hospital waiting for tests. Alferez is now the sole earner for her family. She says she’s exhausted, a byproduct of Covid-19 that’s been compounded by grief. , “I find myself on the phone a lot of times for hours and then I get told they don’t accept my insurance,” she said, speaking in Spanish through a translator at a community clinic where she now goes., My Health LA is for county adults 26 and older who are uninsured and don’t qualify for comprehensive public health insurance, the LA County Department of Health Services said in a statement. , Some of the more than 200 community clinics where participants receive primary care offer mental health treatment on site, “or refer participants to the LA County Department of Mental Health, where services depend on the individual and the need,” the department said., Meiram Bendat, an attorney who sues insurers for denying mental health claims, said insurance networks often don’t cover enough mental health providers. It’s largely because health insurers market cheaper plans with narrower networks that purport to be ACA compliant, he said. , The founder and president of Psych Appeal has already filed lawsuits challenging denials of coverage for mental health treatment during the Covid-19 pandemic., He has yet to see any suits brought by long haulers, but those may be coming. When they do, they could follow the same pattern of the pre-pandemic litigation—either the patient gets mired in an administrative appeals process and gives up or goes to court where the insurer often settles before trial., “Generally speaking, before you get to court, you have to exhaust appeals internally with the insurance company, and that process is private unless regulators audit the insurer,” Bendat said., But just doing the work to find a provider on an insurance network list can be overwhelming for people who are depressed and struggling with physical symptoms of Covid-19, said Elena Fernandez, chief program officer at St. John’s Well Child & Family Center, in the South Los Angeles and Compton areas. , If someone just gives up and forgoes treatment without alerting their insurance company that they can’t find an in-network provider, there wouldn’t be a denial to appeal and no case to bring, Bendat said. , And for many attorneys, these cases aren’t worth the time for the amount of money at stake. The federal law that governs private employer health plans doesn’t allow for punitive damages, so people who are denied coverage can only recover what they paid out of pocket and maybe their attorneys fees, Bendat said., Even if a therapist is in-network, insurers have to deem the treatment medically necessary before they’ll cover it. Those determinations have been a source of litigation. , A recent ruling, however, could make it harder for insurers to deny claims., A federal judge in California , United Behavioral Health in November to reprocess 67,000 claims for outpatient and residential mental health, and substance use disorder treatment it denied using pervasively flawed medical necessity criteria from 2011 to 2017., United Behavioral Health has , the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. , “This long-running case is focused on guidelines we stopped using years ago and the plaintiffs in that case never offered any evidence showing that the challenged guidelines ever caused any plan member to be wrongfully denied benefits,” Maria Gordon Shydlo, a spokeswoman for UnitedHealthcare, said in a statement. “Beyond that, the case does not reflect the work we are doing today to meet the needs of the people we serve.”, United Behavioral Health, which operates as Optum Behavioral Health within United Health Group, said the Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the need for behavioral health., “Over the past four to five years we’ve grown our network by about 50%, so now we have more than 240,000 mental health providers,” a UHC spokesperson said. , Alferez, a St. John’s patient, decided she needed to talk to someone after she was diagnosed with Covid-19 on Feb. 1, so she booked an appointment with a therapist that’s out of her My Health LA plan network. It costs $100 per visit out-of-pocket for Alferez, who has a job packaging fish. , “It’s been very, very difficult,” she said. “There are times where I don’t want to get up because I’m depressed. I’m sad. I don’t have the energy. My body just doesn’t give me the strength.”, St. John’s, in South Los Angeles and the Compton area, is a free and low-cost community health care clinic that’s been offering long-term Covid-19 care. , Though the clinic provides mental health treatment to patients who don’t have insurance, it also gets five to seven clients a week who are insured but can’t find a provider in their network, Fernandez said. Many of them are long haulers. , Some, she said, are insured but can’t find a provider with appointments readily available. , “With mental health, you can’t wait three months for an appointment,” she said. “Mental health is usually about the now. I am distressed now. I need help now.”, During the pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services relaxed rules for telehealth and agreed to reimburse online appointments at the same rate as in-person care. Most insurers followed suit. But mental health advocates wonder if the changes will last once the public health emergency subsides., “There’s lots of concern that after Covid, they are going to pay for telehealth at a lower rate, which will have an impact,” said Stephen Gillaspy, senior director of health care and healthcare finance at the American Psychological Association., UnitedHealthcare has been providing free access to online therapy through UnitedHealth Group’s Sanvello Health Inc., but that benefit may change, the company spokesperson said. , Even with telehealth, advocates say federal legislation is needed to expand access to mental health treatment and make it more affordable., Sens. Tina Smith (D-Minn.)and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) reintroduced the Tele-Mental Health Improvement Act (, ) in March. The bill requires insurers to cover mental health and substance use disorder treatment through telehealth at the same rate and cost sharing as treatment that’s provided in-person throughout the public health emergency and for 90 days after. It has yet to move out of committee., After the district court ruled against United Behavioral Health, California passed a law that requires commercial insurers to provide coverage for all mental health conditions and substance use disorder treatment that’s medically necessary. If patients can’t find a provider in-network that’s either in their area or able to offer a timely appointment, the plan has to pay for out-of-network care at no additional cost to the patient. , The law also requires insurers to cover treatment throughout the full continuum of care and follow a uniform statewide definition of medical necessity, among other things., But even if providers are available, finding the right therapist to meet a patient’s needs can still be challenging. Gillaspy said. Insurers clump providers together in lists without sorting their specializations, making it hard for Covid-19 survivors to find the right option to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression., Davis got insurance through his wife’s work in February and has started calling the providers listed in his Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas network. He’s had a hard time finding a psychotherapist that’s accepting new patients. , “So many people are just packed, “ he said., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas said it doesn’t comment on individual situations but advised members to reach out to the company directly if they’re having trouble accessing care., “The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic challenged all aspects of the healthcare system, including available behavioral health specialists,” Dr. Leslie Weisberg, market chief medical officer, said in a statement. “BCBSTX continues to provide expanded telehealth coverage for members needing to see behavioral health specialists.” , Davis got on a waiting list last week for a therapist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He’s considering seeing a therapist online in the interim. He’s also working to get a referral from his primary care doctor to be seen by Vanderbilt’s Adult Post-Acute Covid Clinic, which is focused on caring for long haulers. The clinic coordinates care across different specialties, including behavioral health, according to its website., “I really hope this clinic is what I’m looking for and that they take my insurance,” Davis said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Lydia Davenport. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 2:28 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to metal rush Marine Biologists Miners battery [/INST] Business news. Title: Battery-Metal Rush Pits Miners Against Marine Biologists. Short_description: Battery-Metal Rush Pits Miners Against Marine Biologists. Description: Controversial plans to mine the ocean floor face a key test this year when a United Nations body unveils rules that could spur the exploitation of hundreds of billions of dollars of battery metals., The International Seabed Authority is preparing to pass regulations in July that could trigger a rush to extract metals needed to power the electric-vehicle revolution. Environmentalists say that would endanger fragile marine ecosystems and fear the ISA is too closely aligned with the emergent mining industry. The conflict exposes the complex trade-offs nations face to survive on a warming planet., “It is a grand challenge of our time to reconcile humanity’s opposing interests in acquiring ocean resources -- food, minerals and energy -- with protecting these habitats,” said Will Homoky, a biochemist at the U.K.’s University of Leeds, who’s helped collect the environmental data being analyzed by miners and regulators., A half-century after the Central Intelligence Agency first piqued interest in undersea mining while covertly salvaging a Soviet nuclear submarine with the help of, , the industry is back in the spotlight. The need to supply emissions-free vehicles has put the focus more than three kilometers (1.9 miles) down in the Pacific Ocean, where cobalt and nickel reserves dwarf those found in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia, the biggest terrestrial producers of the two metals., A European research ship left San Diego in April to test mining equipment in the Clarion Clipperton Zone: an expanse of ocean between Hawaii and Mexico that’s as big as the continental U.S. Its seabed is littered with billions of tons of manganese nodules -- fist-sized rocks formed over thousands of years, which are filled with nickel and cobalt needed for lithium-ion batteries., Another vessel owned by A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S also departed this month to collect scientific data for DeepGreen Metals Inc., a Vancouver-based company that acquired the right to investigate parts of a patch of ocean floor the size of South Africa from the Pacific island nations of Nauru, Kiribati and Tonga. The exploration claims cover 225,000 square kilometers, the company said in an email., “It’s a pivotal time,” said DeepGreen Chief Executive Officer Gerard Barron. The area of ocean DeepGreen has explored contains battery-mineral reserves to power 280 million plug-in cars, he said., Valued through a blank-check company merger at $2.9 billion last month, DeepGreen is backed by Glencore Plc and Allseas Group SA. It’s just one of a new generation of ocean miners that include Lockheed Martin Corp., China Minmetals Corp. and Belgium’s Deme Group, which used a , on April 20 to retrieve minerals for the first time., Previous attempts to mine the ocean depths, including the CIA’s , and , , stalled in the 1970s. More recently, Nautilus Minerals Inc. left most investors out of pocket and incensed environmentalists by threatening to destroy coral reefs in the waters off Papua New Guinea., Some scientists remain skeptical about the environmental trade-off being presented by miners and highlight the risks to marine ecosystems., “It is a false dichotomy being proposed by the industry that if we want renewable energy and electric car batteries then we have to mine the deep sea,” said Lisa Levin, a scientist at the Scripp’s Institution of Oceanography in San Diego., There is uncertainty over how sediment plumes kicked up by mining the seabed will spread, potentially changing ocean chemistry and harming fish. Research has also shown that disturbances to the ocean floor have a lasting impact almost three decades later., While sea-floor deposits of cobalt and nickel potentially could clear bottlenecks faced by battery makers, concerns about the environmental risks prompted BMW AG, Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Samsung SDI Co. to say last month that they’re not yet willing to buy metals mined from the ocean until research shows that such activity is benign., The World Wildlife Fund is calling for a moratorium, while Greenpeace is threatening to disrupt deep-sea mining. Ocean ecosystems are already under mounting strain from acidification, plastic pollution and coral extinction., Much of the research into the ocean abyss over the past decade has been funded by miners, who are , with regulators to produce rules that make projects viable and protect the marine ecosystem. Their close relationship means the ISA’s primary objective has effectively become opening up deep-sea mining, according to Levin., Miners will be subject to annual reporting requirements and independent monitoring to verify that they’re adhering to environmental regulations, according to an ISA statement in response to questions. The body was established in 1994 under the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea to ensure the minerals located in international waters are only tapped , ., Increasing tensions between environmentalists and the mining industry mean the regulations announced in July by the Kingston, Jamaica-based ISA will be scrutinized by both sides., DeepGreen’s Barron, a veteran of the failed Nautilus venture, promises investors , margins of more than 60% from operations that could start producing metal from 2024. He says talks with Detroit carmakers about potential long-term contracts have started., Others remain more cautious, and not only about the environmental impact., “As a concept it looks interesting,” said Grant Sporre, a mining analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “But I would like to see some trial results -- both in mining and processing -- before I get too excited.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jonathan Tirone. Date Created: 25 Apr 2021, 9:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New York MTA Demands Workers Subways Cops [/INST] Business news. Title: New York MTA Demands More Cops on Subways as Workers Attacked. Short_description: New York MTA Demands More Cops on Subways as Workers Attacked. Description: The heads of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its largest labor union are asking Mayor Bill de Blasio to send more cops to the city’s subway system after an off-duty transit worker was slashed in the face., Assaults and harassment on the system have increased during the pandemic, putting riders and transit workers at risk. MTA officials have been seeking additional policing to address the problem and boost customer confidence in the system., “This is happening every day,” said Sarah Feinberg, interim president of MTA’s New York City Transit, which manages its subways and buses. She spoke Thursday during a press briefing outside the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, where the employee is in critical care after the morning incident on the J train in Queens. “Everyday this is happening. And it’s outrageous.”, Crime on the subway system is undermining the MTA’s push to get riders back onto its network of subways, buses and commuter rail lines as more people consider returning to offices after more than a year of working from home. The largest mass-transit provider in the U.S. plans to restart 24-hour subway service on May 17, two days before the city is set to fully reopen. More than half of New York adults have gotten at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot, and de Blasio , 80,000 city workers back to their offices this week., New York City needs a safe and reliable transit system to get people around the city and help it come out of the pandemic, Pat Foye, the MTA’s chief executive officer, said during the briefing. He was joined by TWU Local 100 President Tony Utano., “As the city returns from Covid-19, people need to be safe and they need to , safe while riding subways, buses and commuter rails, period,” Foye said. “Or they won’t come back to transit, which means not coming back to New York City.”, The MTA needs an additional 500 police officers, Foye said earlier Thursday on Bloomberg Radio., The MTA’s focus on crime is discouraging people from riding mass transit, Mitch Schwartz, a spokesperson for de Blasio, said in an email., “The transit force is thousands strong -- hundreds of additional officers have surged to the areas that need it most,” Schwartz said. “It’s truly outrageous to lie to discourage people from using the subways, and it’s time for the MTA and the governor to stop publicly rooting against New York City’s economic recovery.”, The pandemic decimated ridership on the subway, which is now carrying only about one-third of its pre-pandemic passengers. The MTA needs to bring back riders to help restore its finances. While the agency will get $14.5 billion of federal aid to cover lost revenue, it faces budget deficits as soon as 2024., A recent survey conducted by the MTA found 72% of active customers are very concerned with crime and harassment on the system, surpassing worries about health safety. For people who have stopped taking public transit, 36% have done so because of safety concerns., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Michelle Kaske. Date Created: 07 May 2021, 2:48 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to deadly Car Bomb Detonates Logar Province Afghanistan [/INST] Business news. Title: Deadly Car Bomb Detonates in Afghanistan’s Logar Province. Short_description: Powerful Car Bomb Kills Dozens in Afghanistan’s Logar Province. Description: An explosive-laden vehicle detonated in the eastern region of Afghanistan, killing almost two dozen, as U.S. troops have just begun to withdraw from the country after two decades., The blast took place around 7 p.m., when Afghans break Ramadan fasts in Pul-e-Alam city of Logar province just nearby the country’s capital, Kabul, according to Ministry of Interior Affairs spokesman Tariq Arian. The bomb claimed the lives of 21 and wounded 91, with the casualties all civilians, Arian said. Law enforcement forces were on the scene to help the injured, he said., The U.S. plans to pull out its remaining 2,500 troops from the country by Sept. 11. President Joe Biden’s decision to unconditionally leave the country will remove the military support to the Afghan government and is said to strengthen Taliban positions in the battlefields., No group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s blast yet, including the Taliban, which control or contest more than of half of the country. The Afghan government blamed the Taliban for the bomb., Peace talks between the administration of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban are stalled and the Taliban refused to attend a U.S.-facilitated peace conference in Istanbul, which had been scheduled on April 24, aimed at ending the war., Attacks in the country , by 37% in the first quarter of the year as 643 civilians were killed and 1,395 others wounded, according to Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, citing U.S. officials., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Eltaf Najafizada. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 11:26 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to bank Earn Big Green Bonds Fossil Fuel [/INST] Business news. Title: Banks Earn Big on Green Bonds But Really Clean Up With Fossil Fuel. Short_description: Banks Earn Big on Green Bonds But Really Clean Up With Fossil Fuel. Description: , While investment bankers are on pace to earn record fees this year from selling green bonds, they still make far more money arranging debt issues and loans for , ., The numbers speak for themselves: $887 million of revenue from , , compared with $1.4 billion from fossil-fuel clients., The imbalance remains despite CEOs of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and other major banks repeatedly talking up the importance of protecting the environment. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon mentioned the word “climate” at least 10 times in , ., JPMorgan is the top financier to energy companies since the clinching of the Paris climate agreement in 2015, and ranks as the No. 2 underwriter of green bonds behind France’s Credit Agricole SA., “We are dedicated to addressing climate and sustainability around the world,” Dimon wrote. He added however that he considers the issue complex, because “we need to acknowledge that the solution isn’t as simple as , .”, “We will need resources such as oil and natural gas until commercial, affordable and low-carbon alternatives can be developed to meet all of our global energy needs,” Dimon wrote. “This is where business and government leaders need to focus their time and attention.", In the past four-plus years, New York-based JPMorgan earned about $903 million of revenue from working with non-renewable energy companies, compared with $228 million from advising on , for companies and governments, according to data compiled by Bloomberg., By comparison, Credit Agricole collected $227 million from fossil-fuel companies and $212 million from green bond customers in the same period, Bloomberg data show., Achieving , will require “a massive amount of capital directed at decarbonizing the economy,” which is something only the financial-services sector can facilitate, said Emily Kreps, global director of capital markets at , , an environmentally-focused nonprofit, in a report published last week., Financial institutions that don’t currently measure their financed emissions must start doing so now to understand their overall climate impact and the risks they face, Kreps said., There is some hope however that Wall Street might actually start putting its , : 2021 is shaping up to be a whopper for green bond underwriters., The fees earned in the first four months of 2021 were more than triple what banks pocketed during the same period of 2020, with companies and governments issuing more than $150 billion of green bonds, Bloomberg data show. The current record for full-year fees from green-bond issuance was the $1.3 billion earned in 2020., JPMorgan is this year’s leading arranger of green bond sales, followed by BNP Paribas SA, Credit Agricole, Citigroup and HSBC Holdings Plc, according to Bloomberg data., Still, banks are garnering about 40% more in fees , , and it’s a trend that—while narrowing—shows no sign of ending anytime soon., “This is a significant opportunity for banks to play a leading role in driving the net-zero transition,” Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO of , , said in a recent report. “With five years already elapsed since the Paris Agreement, talking the talk must be replaced with walking the walk.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Tim Quinson. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 3:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Sanjeev Gupta Approaches Buyers Potential Sale Engineering Assets [/INST] Business news. Title: Sanjeev Gupta Approaches Buyers for Potential Sale of Engineering Assets. Short_description: Sanjeev Gupta Approaches Buyers for Potential Sale of Engineering Assets. Description: Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance approached buyers for the potential sale of some engineering assets, people familiar with the matter said, signaling he may not be able to keep his embattled business empire intact., Since the industrialist’s main financier Greensill Capital collapsed in March, Gupta has been in a race to find new sources of cash, though has insisted he’ll find new lenders to replace about $5 billion he’d borrowed from the supply chain finance firm., But in recent days, GFG’s advisers contacted potential buyers for parts of its engineering business that’s largely based in the U.K., according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The talks are at an early stage and there’s no guarantee of a deal, one of the people said., GFG declined to comment., It’s not clear exactly which assets he may be willing to sell. His Liberty Engineering Group Pte has assets in several countries including the U.K., France and United Arab Emirates, according to the Singapore entity’s financial report for the year ended March 2019, the latest available. The units include assets Gupta took over from administration, such as businesses that used to be part of Caparo Industries Plc in the U.K. and vehicle converter Durisotti in France., Gupta’s empire employs some 35,000 people worldwide, with steel and aluminum plants in the U.S., U.K., France, Romania and Australia. As he fights to stave off insolvency, he’s benefiting from , and aluminum prices., “I’m confident that we will achieve refinancing,” Gupta said in a , for employees earlier this month. “Because our business is so spread out across the world, and each business is different and separately funded, it takes time to get things done. But one by one we’ll get to all of them.”, Still, he acknowledged that the future was bleak for some of his businesses, with the U.K. one of the “challenged spots within our alliance.” Some of GFG’s units in France were put in , proceedings earlier this month, Bloomberg has reported., Last month, GFG asked the U.K. government for a 170 million-pound ($237 million) bailout, a request that was rebuffed. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng , a parliamentary committee this month that it would be irresponsible to give taxpayers’ money to the group, describing it as “very, very opaque” and having “liabilities that nobody seems to have got to the bottom of.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Irene Garcia Perez &. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 5:15 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to home Sales Surpass Pre Covid Levels [/INST] Business news. Title: Home Sales Surpass Pre-Covid Levels. Short_description: A quick check on homes sales, prices and inventory levels across top cities.. Description: Home sales in India’s top cities have surpassed pre-pandemic levels in the quarter ended March, aided by record-low interest rates, lower statutory levies in key markets and discounts offered by developers., Reports by Anarock Property Consultants, Liases Foras and Knight Frank Research showed an increase in housing sales and new launches in the top cities. All three found that inventory fell., That signals a return to normalcy in a sector grappling with a prolonged slowdown even before the pandemic. While reopening of the economy after a strict lockdown last year kick-started a recovery, the raging second wave of Covid-19 infections threatens to disrupt it., To be sure, while the three property consultants point to similar overall trends, their findings vary because of different methodologies., Combined housing sales in the top seven cities rose to 58,290 units in the first quarter of 2021, according to its March 25 report. That’s a 29% increase during the same period a year ago., The property consultant reported a higher 44% rise in combined sales in the seven cities at 71,963 units., Total sales rose 9% across eight cities to 69,697 units, according to its report., “Demand boosters like stamp duty cuts, further reductions in home loan rates by most banks (to 6.70%) and ongoing developer discounts and offers helped the residential sector stage a convincing comeback in Q1 2021,” Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock Property Consultants, said., The Knight Frank’s April 5 report said, “Considering this is the second consecutive quarter to cross the 2019 quarterly sales average, we believe the market is recovering well, if not having done so already.”, All three consultants reported housing sales growth across top cities except three., Prices in the top cities, according to the three reports, ranged between a small contraction to a marginal increase., Average property prices in all top seven cities barring Kolkata, according to Anarock, rose between 1% and 2% in the first three months of 2021 over the same period a year ago. Prices in NCR—India’s largest property market—and Bengaluru rose 2% during the year., Average price across tier I cities rose 2%., Average prices on an year-on year-basis have decreased for most cities except NCR and Hyderabad. On a sequential basis (quarter-on-quarter), housing prices have remained stable in most cities and recorded an increase in the case of the southern cities of Chennai and Hyderabad., According to Knight Frank, increasing sales volumes have arrested the intensity of the year-on-year fall in residential prices of most markets., “The incidence of developers giving indirect discounts or freebies has been a key factor in spurring sales in 2020 but this has been observed to have reduced significantly in Q1 2021,” it said. “In fact, on a sequential basis, housing prices have remained stable in most cities and recorded an increase in the case of Chennai and Hyderabad.”, New launches in the top seven cities jumped more than 33% to 62,130 units in January-March., Rising sales encouraged developers to launch fresh projects. New units launched during the quarter rose 38% year-on-year to 76,006 units., Anarock and Knight Frank reported a growth in launches across most cities barring two., Maharashtra’s decision to cut statutory levies on real estate boosted launches and sales in Mumbai and Pune, said Knight Frank. “These two markets benefited from significant regulatory impetus in the form of discounts in stamp duty charges that led to significant improvement in sales velocity.”, Liases Foras didn’t share new launches data., While unsold units remained largely unchanged on a sequential basis across the top eight cities at 9.15 lakh units, according to Liases Foras, they declined over the previous year in most cities, led by Ahmedabad., Months taken to sell inventory fell 26% sequentially and declined 15% over a year earlier, it said. “It’s the lowest in Hyderabad at 25 months and highest in Chennai at 63 months.”, Overall unsold stock in the first three months of 2021 over a year ago was negligible as new supply between Q4 of 2020 and Q1 2021 outpaced overall absorption numbers., Mumbai Metropolitan Region witnessed the highest yearly reduction in unsold inventory of 8%, while Bengaluru and Kolkata witnessed yearly reductions of 7% each, Anarock said. In contrast, unsold stock increased by 81% in Hyderabad in the same period, due to considerable new supply hitting this city in the last two quarters., Homebuyers are more inclined to acquire ready or near-ready inventory to minimise completion risk. This is reflected in the average age of inventory staying at 16.7 quarters in January-March 2021 compared with 15.9 quarters a year earlier, it said., The recent spike in Covid-19 cases in the country must be factored in for the future, said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India. “We’re yet to understand the complete impact of the ‘second wave’ on the economic activities and resulting wealth creation.”, The state with the largest demand—Maharashtra—has introduced strict curbs for April and first half of May, which apart from the fact that stamp duty has been reverted to its previous levels, will also lead to severe restrictions of public life, he said. “The sector will have to tread carefully to maintain the recently acquired momentum.”. Publisher: Ashwini Priolker. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 12:41 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Key Rate Time Low Downside risk Malaysia [/INST] Business news. Title: Malaysia Holds Key Rate at All-Time Low, Sees Downside Risks. Short_description: Malaysia Holds Key Rate at All-Time Low, Warns of Downside Risks. Description: , Malaysia kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low Thursday as a fresh surge in coronavirus infections threatens to further delay an economic recovery., Bank Negara Malaysia held the overnight policy rate at 1.75% for a fifth straight meeting, a decision expected by all 21 economists in a Bloomberg survey., “Latest indicators point to continued improvements in economic activity in the first quarter and into April,” the central bank said in a statement Thursday. “While the recent re-imposition of containment measures in select locations will affect economic activity in the short term, the impact will be less severe as almost all economic sectors are allowed to operate.”, Still, the statement , that “the balance of risks to the growth outlook remains tilted to the downside,” due to uncertainty over the course of the pandemic and potential challenges for the country’s vaccine rollout., The decision comes as Malaysia suspended a domestic travel bubble and tightened movement curbs in Kuala Lumpur and in Selangor, its richest state, to contain a surge in infections that has left some , on ICU beds. Daily cases last week topped 3,000 for the first time since February., The ringgit was largely unchanged on the day at 4.1215 per dollar as of 4:38 p.m. Stocks erased earlier losses to trade little changed on the day., Bank Negara Malaysia “spoke about how the current monetary policy stance remains appropriate, and how the virus curbs are less severe than before,” said Wellian Wiranto, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp in Singapore. “From those alone, it does not look like a central bank that is laying the groundwork for any cut in the near term.”, Further containment measures could undo recent strides the economy has made. The April manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index hit a record high, while March exports registered the strongest year-on-year growth in almost four years. Manufacturing sales rose at their fastest pace in nearly four years in March, while an index of industrial production showed its strongest gains in March since July 2013., “Downside risks from the pandemic keep the door open for more rate cuts. Our base case, though, remains that BNM will leave its policy rate unchanged this year. This assumes global demand continues to recover, supporting commodity prices and market sentiment. The distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, albeit slow, should help to steadily lower new virus cases, allowing Malaysia’s social distancing measures to be pared back.”, -- Tamara Mast Henderson, Asean economist, Consumer prices surged to an almost three-year high in March, driven partly by a low base effect from last year, when tight movement restrictions pushed the country into deflation. The central bank expects headline inflation to average , this year., “The fact that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) left its policy rate on hold at 1.75% today despite the worsening economic outlook means any further loosening is unlikely,” Alex Holmes, Asia economist at Capital Economics Ltd., wrote after the decision. “With the recovery set to be slow and fitful, we think BNM will leave interest rates at their current low until at least the end of 2022.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Anisah Shukry. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 12:31 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Amtrak train Infrastructure push Biden [/INST] Business news. Title: Biden Promises Faster Amtrak Trains in Infrastructure Push. Short_description: Biden Promises Faster Amtrak Trains in Infrastructure Push. Description: President Joe Biden urged Congress to revitalize Amtrak as part of his plan to rebuild infrastructure, calling train service essential to the economy and environmental protection as he recognized the 50th anniversary of the U.S. passenger rail system., “For years I fought efforts to cut funding for Amtrak because cutting funding for Amtrak would be a disaster for our environment and our economy,” Biden said Friday at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. “We have to invest.”, Increasing spending on trains, he said, could lead to faster and more efficient transportation between scores of U.S. cities, including Washington and New York. He said that adjustments to “three curves” on the route between the two cities could reduce travel time to an hour and 32 minutes, and also indicated support for the proposed Gateway rail tunnel under the Hudson River., “Imagine a two-hour train ride between Atlanta and Charlotte going at speeds of 220 miles an hour,” he said, and “faster and more regular trips between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, a route that I imagine could be pretty popular on Fridays.”, The president’s sweeping $2.25 trillion infrastructure package would provide the passenger rail system $80 billion to upgrade and expand service., Biden is a well-known Amtrak passenger who picked up the nickname “Amtrak Joe” due to 36 years of daily commutes on the rail system between his home in Delaware and Washington, when he served in the U.S. Senate., “Amtrak wasn’t just a way of getting home,” Biden said, recounting several stories from his travels, including large parties he hosted for the train service’s employees. “It provided me, and I’m not joking, an entire other family.”, He continued to take the train occasionally as vice president. But security requirements of the presidency forced him to fly to Philadelphia, rather than ride the rails., Biden’s trip to Philadelphia is part of a nationwide tour by the president and other administration officials to boost popular support for spending plans that Biden laid out in a Wednesday address to a joint session of Congress., Biden held a rally Thursday in an Atlanta suburb and plans to travel Monday to Yorktown, Virginia. In addition to the infrastructure and jobs proposal, Biden detailed a $1.8 trillion measure on education, child care and family leave., Biden’s infrastructure plan would dedicate $621 billion to improve roads, bridges, railways and public transit. The Amtrak funding -- long sought by the beleaguered rail system -- would go toward clearing its multibillion-dollar repair backlog, speeding up service in its busy Northeast Corridor and expanding routes across the country., After the plan was announced, Amtrak said it would create 30 new routes and add trains on as many as 20 existing routes over the next 15 years. Cities that have no Amtrak service -- including Las Vegas; Nashville, Tennessee; Phoenix; and Columbus, Ohio -- would get it if Congress approves Biden’s plan., Lawmakers representing the New York metropolitan area are pressing to add funding for a long-stalled rail tunnel to the infrastructure bill. The project, known as Gateway, would build a new tunnel under the Hudson River linking New York and New Jersey and relieve a bottleneck on the nation’s busiest rail corridor. Officials in the region faced opposition to the project during Donald Trump’s presidency., Biden called the tunnel a “critical job” and said its construction should have begun during the Obama administration., “When I was vice president with Barack, he allowed me to put together a budget for Amtrak and it had money for high speed rail at 200 miles an hour from Charlotte, another line going in Florida down to Tampa,” Biden said. “If we had moved, Gov, we’d have that tunnel fixed in New York now.”, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said last month that Biden’s infrastructure plan shows “this administration is willing to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to moving forward with the new Gateway rail tunnel” and said it is “ripe for funding from the president’s jobs plan.”, The Covid-19 pandemic battered Amtrak. The rail system said ridership dropped in 2020 by more than 80% compared to the year prior, as lock downs curbed Americans’ travel. Amtrak received roughly $1.5 billion in aid from the pandemic relief law passed earlier this year, following another round of aid last year, which allowed the service to stop furloughs and, s., But Amtrak still faces financial hurdles, including an estimated $31 billion maintenance backlog in the Northeast Corridor alone., Senate Republicans have offered their own slimmed-down $568 billion infrastructure plan, which would spend $20 billion on railways. Biden spoke on Thursday with the bill’s author, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jordan Fabian, . Date Created: 01 May 2021, 1:04 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to active Subscribers Reliance Jio July [/INST] Business news. Title: Reliance Jio Adds Most Active Subscribers In July. Short_description: Reliance Jio Infocomm added 61.4 lakh active subscribers in July.. Description: Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. surpassed , as India's largest telecom operator by active users for the first time this year., The Mukesh Ambani-controlled telecom operator added as many as 61.4 lakh active subscribers in July, compared to its six-month average accretion of 20.7 lakh, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India., On the other hand, Bharti Airtel added 23.2 lakh active subscribers compared to its six-month average subscriber accretion of 24.7 lakh., continued to lose active subscribers, but reduced the churn to 33.3 lakh in July. The numbers stood at 70.4 lakh and 48.8 lakh in May and June, respectively., The active subscriber base of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel rose 1.8% and 0.7%, respectively over the preceding month, whereas Vodafone Idea’s fell 1.38%., Bharti Airtel: 34.60 crore., Vodafone Idea: 23.84 crore., Reliance Jio: 34.65 crore., Bharti Airtel's active subscriber market share improved by eight basis points in July over the preceding month., After deteriorating in January and February, Reliance Jio witnessed an improvement on this count since March, while Vodafone Idea continued to lose its share., The telecom industry gained 60.1 lakh gross subscribers in July—the highest in four months. Reliance Jio gained 3.4 times more subscribers than Bharti Airtel. The Mukesh Ambani-controlled operator added more such users than Bharti Airtel for the sixth straight month., Vodafone Idea's gross subscriber loss narrowed in July, losing 14.3 lakh users compared to its one-year average monthly loss of 28.1 lakh., Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio saw their gross subscriber base rise 0.6% and 1.5% over the preceding month, respectively, in July 2021. Vodafone Idea’s gross subscriber base fell 0.5%., Bharti Airtel: 35.4 crore., Vodafone Idea: 27.19 crore., Reliance Jio: 44.32 crore., After declining in May and June, the Indian telecom industry’s active subscribers rose in the month of July. The user count rose 45.5 lakh two months ago compared to net addition in the last six months of 15.6 lakh., Bharti Airtel’s inactive user count narrows in July after widening in the preceding two months, while Reliance Jio’s inactive subscriber base widened for the seventh month on the trot. Vodafone Idea’s count of non-active users rose for the sixth straight month marginally in July over the preceding month.. Publisher: Sameer Bhardwaj. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 8:17 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to COO Munoz Record April Chip Strategy Hyundai [/INST] Business news. Title: Hyundai’s Record April Aided by Chip Strategy, COO Munoz Says. Short_description: Hyundai’s Record April Aided by Chip Strategy, COO Munoz Says. Description: Hyundai Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Co. kept ordering semiconductors last year even after the pandemic crushed auto sales. Both were rewarded with record April deliveries., South Korea’s Hyundai sold 77,523 units last month, up 128% from a year ago. The Japanese auto giant’s U.S. sales grew 183% to 239,311 vehicles, including the Toyota and Lexus brands., Automakers around the world idled plants a year ago as part of the broader shutdown to curb Covid 19. Many carmakers slashed orders for semiconductors to keep a lid on costs. Now, with auto demand roaring back and consumer-electronics companies gobbling up all the excess chipmaking capacity, they’ve been caught flat-footed., Last week, Ford Motor Co. said it would have to cut production by half in the second quarter due to chip shortages., “Most of our competitors decided to cut the orders,” Jose Munoz, Hyundai’s global chief operating officer, said in an interview. “We saw the market differently.”, Hyundai’s deliveries are up 48% for the year, led by the new Tucson compact sport utility vehicle and redesigned Elantra sedan., The automaker hasn’t been completely unscathed by the shortage -- its Korean plants have lost about 45,579 units as of April 30, according to researcher AutoForecast Solutions., But the company’s sole U.S. plant in Montgomery, Alabama, which makes the Sonata and Elantra sedans and the Santa Fe SUV, hasn’t had to halt production, the data show., Toyota, which also , its decision to keep plenty of chips on hand, likewise reported record U.S. sales in April. Most automakers reveal deliveries on a quarterly basis only., Foreign brands may be especially keen to keep their U.S. plants running, said , president of AutoForecast., “Foreign-based manufacturers competing in North America need to maintain their current foothold to keep customers as loyal as possible,” McCabe said. “If they don’t have the inventory to get it done, then they’re at a high risk of losing market share.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Gabrielle Coppola. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 2:43 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to climate target Biden [/INST] Business news. Title: We Basically Already Know How to Meet Biden’s Climate Targets. Short_description: We Basically Already Know How to Meet Biden’s Climate Targets. Description: At his Earth Day climate summit, President Joe Biden made official what had been expected for weeks: The U.S. would pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% from 2005 levels by 2030., Up until then, the White House’s strategy of linking climate change mitigation to job growth—a theme Biden repeated in his first address to Congress last week—had generated minimal drama. But as soon as the number became public, suddenly it was the end of American life as we know it., People went berserk in predictable ways. The claims about the pledge ranged from the outrageous—a , article asserting that Americans could be forced to spend $55,000 on electric vehicles and only be allowed one hamburger per month, which was then picked up by Fox News, leading to a public correction—to the merely inaccurate., While no one should underplay how much change needs to occur to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in the next decade, it’s also important not to overplay the difficulty of getting there. “These reductions can be met with technologies that are tried and true,” said Dan Lashof, the U.S. director of the World Resources Institute, who has also been pushing back against naysayers on Twitter. “It is ambitious, but it’s not something that will turn people’s world upside down.”, For starters, a lot of the work has already been done. “We basically have spent the last decade bringing forth the technologies to decarbonize power, vehicles and light trucking,” explained Jesse Jenkins, a Princeton University engineering professor who studies energy systems. “Those can deliver the bulk of the emission reductions over the next decade.” Just retiring the remainder of U.S. coal plants, he said, would account for nearly 1 billion annual tons of carbon emissions, or almost 17% of total 2019 U.S. greenhouse emissions. Most of these plants are nearing the end of their lives and will have to be replaced regardless., Other important transformations most Americans won’t even notice. For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency is set to issue a new proposed rule in September setting stricter limits on methane emissions, Administrator Michael Regan told a House committee last week, just one day after the Senate voted to reinstate methane rules dumped by the Trump administration. Methane—the primary component of natural gas—is a juicy target for the administration because it’s both extremely potent and shorter-lasting than carbon dioxide, meaning that the effects of cutting emissions will be felt more immediately. New satellite technology is making it easier to spot methane leaks from gas pipelines, which is fine with gas companies, which would rather make money off it than release it into the air for free., What about EVs, you ask? It’s true that ideally half of all cars sold in the U.S. will be electric by 2030. Still, this emphatically does not mean that the government will start forcing people to buy luxury Teslas. For one, there are now several EVs on the market for less than $40,000, which by many life-cycle assessments means they’re already cheaper than your average new car since EV owners don’t pay for gas. Tax rebates make them cheaper still. Meanwhile, the costs of EV batteries has declined 90% in the last decade and is still going down, which means that electric cars could soon be on par with or cheaper than traditional engines just based on the sticker price., OK, but now the real question: Will we have to give up hamburgers? Nothing in Biden’s plan mentions curtailing beef consumption. Yes, there will be changes to agriculture policy, but in the short term, these will likely look more like incentives for farmers to plant trees at the edges of their properties—kind of a win-win for everyone., I myself have dramatically reduced my beef consumption for climate reasons. Feel free to join me—it’ll make hitting our emissions goals easier—but to be clear, you don’t have to. “Some people may choose to do that, but is a 100% voluntary consumer choice,” said Lashof. “We can meet the target without it.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Leslie Kaufman. Date Created: 03 May 2021, 3:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Best Restaurants Pandemic closure Washington Michelin [/INST] Business news. Title: Michelin Picks Best Restaurants in Washington Despite Pandemic Closures. Short_description: The pandemic might have shuttered more than 110,000 restaurants across the country, but Michelin is looking on the bright side.. Description: The pandemic might have shuttered more than 110,000 restaurants across the country, but Michelin is looking on the bright side. , On April 22, the French-based restaurant rating company announced its star ratings for Washington, D.C.-area dining spots. It’s the first U.S. city to receive them , ., The top of the list looks similar to years past: , , in Washington, Va., which uses dressed-up mannequins to fill seats with their current dining capacity of 50%, retained its three-star status., Two two-star places also held their rank: Minibar, the modern counter spot from José Andrés, and Aaron Silverman’s , , a modern American spot. Both are currently closed. “If the restaurant was temporarily closed for the pandemic, we did retain them,” said the chief inspector of Michelin’s North America team, who spoke on condition of anonymity, in a phone interview., Traditionally the U.S. rankings have come out in the fall. “The entire calendar year of 2020 was devoted to the new selection, while respecting local and state dining guidelines,” said Michelin Guide international director Gwendal Poullennec in an e-mail. He maintains that during the pandemic, inspectors were “sensitive to each market in the U.S. and are in close contact with restaurants to stay informed on openings/closures, new menu changes, etc.” Inspectors began visiting “when it seemed appropriate based on the individual establishment and their circumstances,” added Poullennec.  , “I’ve always trusted Michelin’s process and their support of our industry for almost a century,” said Inn at Little Washington chef-owner Patrick O’Connell, when asked about the viability of evaluating restaurants in the midst of a pandemic., New to the list is the two-star , , the ambitious tasting menu place from Ryan Ratino, whose menu is dotted with luxury dishes such as caviar with white asparagus and buttermilk, and Dungeness crab with truffle., Michelin inspectors also added four new one-star restaurants, including , , which highlights the food of Colombia, and , , with a globally influenced menu from chef-owner Yuan Tang, a former Uber driver. “New openings were successful and impressive despite the challenges of the past year,” Poullennec said. Among the one-stars that stayed on the list are , in the Trump International Hotel. , Inspectors did not change their criteria, he added, evaluating quality of products and technique, flavor combinations and consistency. But their dining experiences evolved, according to the chief inspector. “We did take advantage of outdoor dining and we bundled up when it was cold outside,” says the chief inspector.  “We had service with masks, and 90 minute meals.” , One thing the inspectors are not paying attention to is race and gender.  There are no female chefs or Black chefs running any of the starred restaurant kitchens., This year’s list has 23 starred spots, up from 18 in the 2020 guide., This increase occurred even though , , with a loss of 28,900 jobs. The city was affected by the events of 2020 more than most others around the country: In addition to the hit of the pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests shut down large swaths of Washington, as did the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Indoor dining in the city is currently capped at 25% capacity., For the first time, the Michelin Guide has dispensed with its signature red volumes and moved to a digital-only app format. It also introduced a new category, a green star for restaurants with sustainable sourcing practices and environmentally-conscious operations. The inaugural one went to the Inn at Little Washington in recognition of its garden and other local produce providers., On April 20, Michelin announced its value-dining destinations. Bib Gourmands are defined as “quality restaurants that have menu items that offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less,” a criterion that most people who eat out will find increasingly hard to meet. There are 40 spots this year, down from 44. , Here is the full list of Washington’s Michelin-starred restaurants and Bib Gourmands. An asterisk (*) denotes a new entry., The Inn at Little Washington, *Jônt, Minibar, Pineapple and Pearls, Bresca , *Cranes, The Dabney, *Elcielo D.C., Fiola, Gravitas, Kinship, Komi, Little Pearl, Masseria, Maydan, Métier, Plume, *Rooster & Owl, Rose’s Luxury, Sushi Nakazawa, Sushi Taro, Tail Up Goat, *Xiquet, American Son, Astoria DC, Bidwell, Cane, Chercher, China Chilcano, Chloe, Das, *Elle, Fancy Radish, Hanumanh, Hazel, *Hitching Post, Ivy City Smokehouse, Jaleo, Kaliwa, *Karma Modern Indian, Laos in Town, Lapis, *Makan, Maketto, Napoli Pasta Bar , Ottoman Taverna, Oyamel, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, Primrose, *Queens English, The Red Hen, *Residents Cafe & Bar, Sababa, Sfoglina, Stellina Pizzeria, Succotash, Taqueria Habanero, Thip Khao, Timber Pizza Co., Toki Underground, Unconventional Diner, Zaytinya, Zenebech, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kate Krader. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 6:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Delist American Depositary Shares vedanta NYSE [/INST] Business news. Title: Vedanta To Delist American Depositary Shares On NYSE . Short_description: The company said trading volumes in such instruments have remained low in the recent past.. Description: will delist its American depositary shares from the New York Stock Exchange as trading volumes in such instruments have remained low in the recent past., Trading in such securities will be suspended in 10 days after Oct. 29, when the company intends to file a form 25 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, it said in an exchange filing., As many as 4.33% of Vedanta's equity shares are in the form of depository shares, according to data available on the Nasdaq website. Vedanta has 16.11 crore shares listed as such instruments, with each ADS representing four domestic shares. The data also shows 137 institutional investors owning 38,055,720 depository shares in the mining conglomerate. , The delisting, the company said, was also prompted by the associated costs of maintaining listing and related obligations, including reporting obligations in accordance with the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934., Once the delisting becomes effective and criteria for deregistration have been satisfied, the company would submit a form 15F with the U.S. market regulator to deregister the ADSs and their underlying equity shares., Thereafter, the company’s reporting obligations under the Exchange Act will be suspended. Deregistration with the SEC and termination of Vedanta’s reporting obligations under the Exchange Act will become effective 90 days after filing of form 15F., As per procedure, Citibank, N.A. will provide a notice of termination to all ADS holders. The ADS programme will be terminated 31 days after Citibank serves a formal notice to the ADS holders. The bank will sell the company’s equity shares underlying the ADS any time after Dec. 9—or once 30 days elapse following the termination of the deposit agreement, which is Nov. 8., The ADS holders will have at least 61 days after receiving the notice of termination to decide on retaining their interest in the equity shares. They can surrender their depositary shares in exchange for underlying ordinary shares on or prior to Dec. 8.. Publisher: Nickey Mirchandani. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 10:27 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Billionaire Founders Apollo Sidelines Brawl [/INST] Business news. Title: A Brawl Between Billionaire Founders at Apollo Sidelines One of Its Own. Short_description: A Brawl Between Billionaire Founders at Apollo Sidelines One of Its Own. Description: Three months after Josh Harris made his failed pitch to take Leon Black’s crown atop a $455 billion investing juggernaut, Black’s chosen heir is in charge -- and Harris is on the outs., The behind-the-scenes drama between Apollo Global Management Inc.’s billionaire co-founders keeps brewing, with ramifications for investors as the company reconfigures its governance this year. Publicly, Harris has endorsed the decision to elevate co-founder Marc Rowan to chief executive officer. Privately, he’s being sidelined, even as he remains a “key man” in Apollo’s flagship fund -- meaning investments could stall without him., People close to the company, speaking on the condition they not be identified, said Harris has relinquished day-to-day handling of operations. He’s less involved in dealmaking than before, with underlings generally seeking his sign-off for only the largest transactions. Outside Apollo, he’s been shopping for a house in Florida to potentially serve as his primary residence, which would lower his tax bill if he starts to draw down the wealth he’s amassed at the company., Those amount to stark changes for Harris, 56, who for three decades has been known for working marathon hours and making his presence known throughout the New York-based private equity firm, running operations and pressing employees on the details of their deals. His decreased involvement has come with a sense of relief for some. When the topic arose recently, employees under Harris were heard humming their response: “Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead” from “The Wizard of Oz.”, Insiders privately predict Harris will formally take a more limited role, or even leave, in the coming year or so, devoting more time to outside business interests that include a stable of professional sports franchises., A spokesman for Harris declined to comment for this article, referring to a statement Harris issued in January, when Apollo announced plans to eventually make Rowan, 58, CEO. Harris said he would help expand the search for investor returns, develop the company’s platform and continue working with limited partners and investors., A representative for Apollo said there’s been no change to the roles and responsibilities outlined then., Many of the private equity world’s most successful firms are in the midst of trying to pass power from founding CEOs to new teams, hoping not to alarm investors concerned about maintaining historic returns. It’s a process that’s proved fraught, as executives’ ambitions derail efforts to replicate the original chemistry. At Carlyle Group Inc., for example, an attempt to hand the reins to co-chiefs Kewsong Lee and Glenn Youngkin ended with Lee taking sole control last year and Youngkin gone -- eventually running for governor of Virginia., But at the famously bare-knuckled Apollo, the process was all the more rapid and tumultuous. Black, long synonymous with its public image, faced mounting scrutiny through 2020 over his private business dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious sex offender who killed himself in jail. In January, a board review found Black had paid $158 million to Epstein for services including tax advice and estate planning., Harris had spent years positioning himself, becoming a more public face of the company at conferences and in the media, setting the stage to potentially become CEO. As the review of Black wrapped up, Harris privately expressed concern about the reputational toll the Epstein news could take on Apollo and advocated that Black step down as CEO. But Black surprised insiders in January by persuading Rowan to accept the post, mere months after Rowan had announced he was going on “semi-sabbatical.”, Rowan has since tightened his grip, taking over in March when Black, 69, sped up the handoff, citing health issues., Reducing Harris’ role is far from simple. He’s listed as a key man alongside Black and Rowan for the record-setting $24.7 billion fund raised in 2017. The loss of any two of them could potentially prevent the vehicle from making new investments until customers sign off. That status, insiders acknowledge, gives Harris leverage in deciding what role he continues to play at the company., But on other fronts he’s losing ground., Harris is still a member of the executive committee, to which the board has delegated certain authorities. In late January, Black announced plans to eliminate the panel. The company has said it will improve governance by reshaping the board -- where Harris has a seat -- so that two-thirds of its members are independent., In recent months, Apollo took the step of updating his executive biography on its website, deleting a significant line: Harris “today runs the day-to-day business of the firm.”, Harris graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1986, two years behind Rowan. They soon ended up working as dealmakers at Drexel Burnham Lambert. When the junk-bond powerhouse collapsed in a scandal, Black brought the pair along to found Apollo with a few others in 1990., Over the decades, Harris played a hand in some of Apollo’s most successful bets. In 2008, he led a $2 billion investment in failing Dutch chemicals maker LyondellBasell Industries, on which Apollo eventually reaped a windfall as the company was restructured., The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates his wealth at $6.6 billion. Some of that is at Harris’s family office, HRS Management, which has pumped money into health clubs and a Spanish airline, and helped to manage Harris’s holdings in sports teams. Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, set up with Blackstone Group Inc.’s David Blitzer, owns stakes in the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils and English soccer club Crystal Palace., But the biggest part of his fortune is still tied up in Apollo’s stock and investments., Harris and his family, who live in New York, have been renting a home in South Florida since Covid-19 infections worsened in last year’s second half, according to people familiar with the matter. He’s been considering moving his primary residence there and viewing properties, the people said., Apollo also has been considering opening additional offices in Miami and West Palm Beach. But for Harris, establishing residency in a state with no income tax would save a lot of money if he were to start unwinding his financial ties to Apollo., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Sabrina Willmer, . Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 9:31 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to U.K. Parliament Launches Inquiry Sanjeev Gupta Liberty Steel [/INST] Business news. Title: U.K. Parliament Launches Inquiry Into Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel. Short_description: U.K. Parliament Launches Inquiry Into Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel. Description: A U.K. parliamentary committee has begun an inquiry into Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel after the collapse of the company’s biggest lender pushed it to the brink., The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee will probe the financial support governments have given to the steelmaker, as well as the role of supply chain financing in its current difficulties. Liberty, a division of Gupta’s GFG Alliance, was forced to ask the U.K. for a 170 million pound ($236 million) bailout after lender Greensill Capital fell into administration. The request was , ., The inquiry, which will hold its first session in late May, will also examine whether Liberty Steel should be saved from collapse. Already three French units of the broader group have been put into , , while others in France and Belgium have sought protection from their creditors., A spokesperson for Liberty Steel said it would “fully support” the committee’s inquiry and “looks forward to contributing to the committee’s work secure a sustainable future for the U.K. steel industry.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Edward Spence. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 8:51 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Leonard Green Sale Weighs ExamWorks [/INST] Business news. Title: Leonard Green  Weighs $4 Billion Sale of ExamWorks. Short_description: Leonard Green  Weighs $4 Billion Sale of ExamWorks. Description: The owner of ExamWorks LLC is exploring a sale of the health-care services company that could value it at about $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter., Private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners is working with advisers on a potential sale of ExamWorks, which verifies illnesses and reviews medical bills for insurance companies, government agencies and legal firms, said the people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private. Leonard Green took the company private in 2016 in a $2.2 billion deal., A representative for Leonard Green declined to comment. Representatives for Atlanta-based ExamWorks didn’t respond to requests for comment. , ExamWorks is part of the health-care industry that weighs in when patients and insurance companies disagree on the type of medical care that should be covered. The firm also reviews bills and helps verify the legitimacy of claims for insurers and government programs looking to combat fraud and manage costs, and provides Medicare compliance., ExamWorks, which started operating in 2008, has made several acquisitions through the years, including , ’s peer-review and independent medical examination assets in 2020., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Michelle Davis &. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 12:51 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Libor End Nears Indian Lenders hoop Firms [/INST] Business news. Title: As Libor End Nears, Indian Lenders And Firms Have Many Hoops To Jump Through. Short_description: How well prepared is India to make the transition away from Libor?. Description: As the deadline for phasing out London Interbank Offered Rate nears, Indian banks, non-bank lenders and corporates are finding themselves at different stages of transition., While some have started work to meet the December-end deadline, others are yet to begin the process. A majority are in the initial stages of shifting existing and new contracts to alternative reference rates that will replace Libor., “Barring a few large banks that are in advanced stages of their preparation, a large segment of the market, which includes mid-sized banks and non-banking financial companies, along with most of the corporates, are either in very initial stages or yet to begin the process of remediating their existing contracts,” said Kuntal Sur, partner and leader-financial risk and regulations at advisory firm PwC India. Sur is coordinating the working group set up by the Indian Banks Association to devise methodologies for a transition away from Libor., While Libor is computed based on a poll of estimated borrowing rates and is a forward-looking rate, the new reference rates are backwards-looking based on actual transactions., The transition away from Libor began after it was found to have been manipulated for years. The Intercontinental Exchange, which is the authority responsible for Libor, said it will stop publishing one-week and two-month U.S. Dollar Libor after Dec. 31, 2021, while rates for the remaining tenors will be discontinued after June 30, 2023., Globally, , in contracts are linked to Libor. In India, the Reserve Bank of India estimated the country’s Libor exposure at $331 billion in its , ., The transition from Libor to an alternative reference rate is a complex one., The first step in this process has been to develop alternative rates. Some of these alternatives include U.S. dollar-based Secured Overnight Financing Rate, U.K.’s Sterling Overnight Interbank Average Rate, European Union’s Euro Short Term Rate, Switzerland’s Swiss Average Rate Overnight, and Japan’s Tokyo Overnight Average Rate., Since Libor is going away by December, if a lender or a company wants to transition to an alternative reference rate, it needs to do the following:, The preparedness to make the shift differs widely., With just eight more months to go, new deals linked to SOFR haven’t picked up much pace, and are only being done by some large banks through their overseas branches., In January, , and , executed their first interbank-money market transactions linked to SOFR through their Hong Kong branches, followed by the country’s first SOFR-linked overseas borrowing transaction between SBI and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. in March. , did its first SOFR-based trade finance transaction with Wells Fargo Bank in April., New dollar bond deals in the coming quarter are likely to remain pegged to Libor for most corporates, said Ganeshan Murugaiyan, head of investment banking for India at BNP Paribas., The process of shifting existing contracts is more onerous and slower., For instance, Bank of India told BloombergQuint it’s yet to move its existing contracts to SOFR, as it awaits clarity on the methodology for migrating contracts., “We’re still under preparation,” said PR Rajagopal, executive director at Bank of India. “The methodology is yet to be worked out by the IBA on how the differentials have to be captured in the agreements,” he said. “So once that methodology comes to us, then we will move our existing contracts.”, In the case of corporations, Sur said in the absence of a Libor transition plan, companies may be relying too much on banks for direction. “Corporates have to form an independent view and their own risk management strategy, otherwise they would be at mercy of the large banks— domestic and foreign, which would obviously first try to minimise the impact on their own P&L (profit and loss),” he said., A senior executive at a large public-sector firm with close to Rs 45,000 crore in external commercial borrowings, said on the condition of anonymity that works on transitioning away from Libor contracts hadn’t even begun for his company, mainly due to business challenges during the pandemic. The company, he said, is expected to begin work on a transition plan in the next two months., To be sure, there are a few genuine reasons for the delays being seen., First, hedging options are not available linked to the alternate reference rates. Second, re-negotiating and accepting the differentials between SOFR and Libor has been a contentious issue., The RBI flagged off this issue in November. Renegotiation and conversion at wide spreads, it said, could lead to the requirement of substantial pay-outs by one of the counterparties to a contract., “The transition away from Libor to a new benchmark will be full of challenges and every stakeholder—the financial sector; regulators; tax, legal and accounting systems; and real sector participants need to play a role,” the central bank had said.. Publisher: Ridhima Saxena. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 7:54 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Global Travel Braces Vaccine Revival [/INST] Business news. Title: Global Travel Braces for Vaccine-Powered Revival. Short_description: Travel companies are betting that this summer will be a big improvement over last year’s bust.. Description: Even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage in many corners of the world, places that have successfully vaccinated a substantial share of the population are plotting the next step: how to let people start traveling again, whether for beach vacations or board meetings., By early summer, countries of the European Union and beyond aim to issue , that would let those who have been inoculated freely cross borders. Some places — Australia and New Zealand, for instance, and ,  — are joining together to create “travel bubbles” that allow citizens to visit without mandatory quarantines. And governments are drawing up lists of vaccines and tests they deem sufficiently effective to permit entry., Airlines are adding flights and filling out schedules in anticipation of increasing numbers of vacationers. Hotels are airing out rooms and dusting off the furniture, hoping for at least a modest rebound after a year of little to no business. Restaurants in vacation destinations — those that have managed to survive — are restocking kitchens and bars as diners start trickling back to their tables and terraces., “There’s optimism that we're getting a little closer to seeing some form of travel this summer, especially in the trans-Atlantic market,” said John Strickland, owner of aviation advisory firm JLS Consulting in London. “Airlines have done a lot of the spade work on digital travel passports and testing, and there's a huge impetus on governments to get some travel going.”, That’s not to say things will get back to normal anytime soon. India is in the grips of the worst wave of the pandemic seen anywhere, with more than 300,000 new cases reported every day. Scores of countries have yet to inoculate even 1% of their population and new variants have emerged that threaten to render today’s vaccines ineffective. And the U.S. has put 80% of the world's countries on , ., Any opening could be slowed by the implementation of rules by some countries that allow only people with , to enter. The EU says it will guarantee access solely to those with vaccines approved by the bloc’s medical authority — though it has encouraged individual countries to accept any shot approved by the World Health Organization, according to a draft of rules seen by Bloomberg. And China will only admit people who have been inoculated with shots from its pharmaceutical companies — which haven’t been approved in Europe, the U.S., and many other places., Yet travel companies are betting that this summer will be a big improvement over last year’s bust. Airlines aim to expand capacity on international flights by a third between now and July, according to data compiled by BloombergNEF (though carriers have consistently laid out ambitious plans only to pare them back because of new travel restrictions). United Airlines Holdings Inc., for instance, is adding new , to Athens, Dubrovnik, and Reykjavik — places expected to be open to U.S. tourists this summer. American Airlines expects to fly more than 90% of its 2019 domestic seat capacity and 80% of international this summer, about double the level in the summer of 2020., The trend has given a lift to shares in airlines, with Deutsche Lufthansa AG rising as much as 5% on Monday and IAG SA, the owner of British Airways, gaining 4.9%. United Airlines advanced 1.2% in pre-market U.S. trading., With passengers still leery of cramming into coach, business class seats are becoming a more ,  for those who decide to fly. As business travel slumped over the past year, carriers reduced fares for the front of the plane, and vacationers are more often choosing them, as much for social distance as for free Champagne. “We’re going to see the emergence of the premium leisure market,” Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Shai Weiss said on Bloomberg Television. “People have saved a lot of money.”, A gauge of European travel and leisure stocks has gained more than 22% this year on expectations that economies will reopen. Still, traffic is nowhere near normal levels, and the airline industry’s chief lobbying group widened its estimate for losses this year by about a quarter, citing Covid-19 flare-ups and mutations.  , One concern is huge queues at borders due to stringent document checks that must be processed by officers, so arriving passengers can’t use the electronic gates that have been installed in recent years. London’s Heathrow Airport is reporting lines at the immigration desks of as long as six hours, and says police have had to be called in to calm travelers furious about the long waits. , By early May, the U.K. is set to announce its so-called “green list” of countries whose citizens will be allowed in with less stringent quarantine and Covid testing requirements. Airlines have been lobbying for the U.S. to be included on that list, and the governments of the two countries have been discussing a possible, that would ease restrictions on visitors.  , Though the details are still being negotiated, the EU aims to introduce vaccine passes meant to ease travel by June. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, told the New York Times that the EU plans to open its doors to American tourists who’ve been fully vaccinated. For travel within the EU, members states will issue “digital green certificates” intended to prove that holders have been vaccinated, recently undergone a negative test, or recovered from the coronavirus. And EU member states may accept vaccination certificates issued by non-EU countries. Greece, for example, allows residents of the U.S., U.K., United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Serbia to visit without a quarantine if they can show they’ve gotten any of at least nine vaccines., The International Air Transport Association said it was “encouraged” by von der Leyen’s comments, but added that the commission must work with airlines and ensure “clear, simple and secure digital processes for vaccination certificates.”, Sam Fazeli, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, cautions that whatever systems are implemented must be sufficiently secure to avoid fraud. And more important, increased travel will require relaxed rules from countries on both ends of the journey, as well as any intermediate stops., “The U.K. and EU may be happy to open their borders to fully vaccinated people from the U.S.,” Fazeli told Bloomberg Television. “But then the U.S. has to be happy for its citizens to travel to Europe.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Nikos Chrysoloras &. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 5:36 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Pandemic isolation Year border EU [/INST] Business news. Title: EU Looks to Open Borders After a Year of Pandemic Isolation. Short_description: The European Union aims to take a significant step toward a return to normalcy with plans to reopen its borders.. Description: The European Union aims to take a significant step toward a return to normalcy with plans to reopen its borders after months of pandemic-induced restrictions., Just in time for the summer travel season, Spanish, Italian and Greek beaches along with cities like Paris, Rome and Berlin would be able to welcome travelers who have been fully inoculated against Covid-19, under a proposal by the European Commission., It’s “time to revive the EU tourism industry and for cross-border friendships to rekindle -- safely,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on , ., While still battling a third wave, Europe is showing signs of gaining control of the disease, which has infected more than 30 million in the region. Lockdowns in several countries are being loosened as contagion rates ebb and inoculations ramp up., The EU’s executive arm recommended welcoming visitors from countries with relatively low infection rates as well as those who are fully vaccinated, according to a statement Monday. The proposals require approval from a weighted majority of the bloc’s 27 member states and could be adopted as soon as the end of May, according to a commission official., The new parameters would replace a blanket ban for non-essential travel to the EU for residents of all but a handful of countries. The rules have been in place for more than a year and represented a bitter blow for a region that prides itself on open borders., Under the proposal, member states would be obliged to accept proof for all shots approved in the EU -- including those produced by Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE, AstraZeneca Plc, Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson., National governments will have the discretion to accept shots that have cleared the World Health Organization emergency use listing process, but they can’t recognize other vaccines on their own. This means people inoculated with Russia’s Sputnik or the Sinopharm and Sinovac shots from China will not be allowed to travel freely to the EU solely based of their immunization status., The new rules include a so-called emergency brake, which would allow member states to restore travel bans on countries where risky new variants emerge or contagion rates spike. In such an event, only essential workers, such as diplomats and health-care staff, would be allowed entry from those countries, and even then, they would be subject to strict testing and quarantine requirements., Faced with a sector crippled by the pandemic, tourism ministers from Group of 20 nations are expected to approve guidelines on issues including safe mobility when they hold a virtual summit on Tuesday. The G-20 -- the forum that brings together the world’s major economies -- is expected to support measures for so-called vaccine passports, including the EU’s Green Digital Certificate., The next step in the EU’s approval process will happen on Wednesday when member-state representatives convene in Brussels to discuss the proposal., A commission official told reporters in Brussels that Israel will definitely be on the list of countries whose vaccinated residents are allowed to travel to the EU. Reciprocity will also be considered as a factor for easing leisure travel, the official added when asked about U.K. residents., The commission will draw up a list of approved vaccination certificates issued by non-EU countries. Discussions with Washington will hopefully lead to the introduction of a uniform certificate that meets the EU’s security and accuracy standards, the commission official said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Nikos Chrysoloras &. Date Created: 03 May 2021, 2:34 PM IST </s>