ET NEWS

RBI halts Rs 2,000 note exchange/deposit

1 hour 4 minutes ago
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stated that the exchange or deposit of Rs 2,000 banknotes will not be possible on Monday, April 1, 2024, at its 19 issue offices across the country. This temporary halt is due to operations linked with the annual closing of accounts. The facility will resume on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, according to the RBI's announcement."The facility of exchange/deposit of Rs 2,000 banknotes will not be available on Monday, April 1, 2024 at the 19 issue offices of the Reserve Bank of India due to operations associated with the annual closing of accounts," it said.The RBI had earlier declared the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation on May 19, 2023. As of February 29, nearly 97.62 per cent of the Rs 2,000 banknotes have been returned to the banking system. Only about Rs 8,470 crore worth of the withdrawn notes are still in the possession of the public.Individuals holding Rs 2,000 banknotes can deposit or exchange them at the 19 RBI offices situated across the country. They can also opt to send these banknotes through India Post from any post office to any of the RBI issue offices for credit to their bank accounts in India.Initially, the public and entities holding such notes were required to either exchange or deposit them in bank accounts by September 30, 2023. This deadline was later extended to October 7, 2023. Deposit and exchange services at bank branches were discontinued on October 7.Since October 8, 2023, individuals have been provided with the option of either exchanging the currency or having the equivalent sum credited to their bank accounts at the 19 offices of the RBI.The 19 RBI offices where the exchange or deposit of the banknotes is facilitated are located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram.The Rs 2,000 banknotes were introduced in November 2016, following the demonetisation of the then Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes.

Many people and companies have made millions on Trump media's stock

1 hour 17 minutes ago
Shares of former President Donald Trump's social media company continued to surge Wednesday, extending the gains on its first official trading session on the Nasdaq the day before. After another double-digit percentage gain, the parent of Truth Social approached $9 billion in market value, a windfall for insiders awarded shares in the company. The biggest beneficiary is Trump, the company's largest shareholder, whose stake is worth more than $5 billion, on paper. No other shareholder comes close, according to regulatory filings, but many of Trump Media's executives have seen their net worth swell this week, in some cases by many millions of dollars. Devin Nunes Trump Media stake: More than $7 million The former Republican congressman from California who became CEO of Trump Media in 2022. Phillip Juhan More than $30 million A former fitness company executive who serves as Trump Media's chief financial officer and has the biggest holding among the company's leaders. Vladimir Novachki About $3 million The company's chief technology officer, formerly an executive at Cosmic Development, a Canadian IT support services company. Andrew Northwall More than $1 million The chief operating officer who was a previous executive at Parler, a social networking service. Scott Glabe More than $1 million The general counsel, previously an acting undersecretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security serving Trump. Eric Swider More than $12 million The CEO of the public shell company known as Digital World that merged with Trump Media this week; he is now a member of Trump Media's seven-member board of directors. The bullishness around Trump Media has been driven by the enthusiasm of individual investors and Trump supporters, rather than investment firms and hedge funds. The company's lofty valuation stands in contrast to its relatively small operations, with $3.3 million in revenue in the first nine months of last year. Other major shareholders include the earliest promoters of the merger deal. The original sponsor of Digital World and its initial public offering, investment firm ARC Global, holds a stake worth more than $700 million. ARC Global is headed by Patrick Orlando, a former CEO of Digital World. ARC Global has a mix of investors, none of whom have been publicly disclosed. But a regulatory filing in August by Digital World showed that non-U.S. citizens had a roughly 17% stake in the firm. The filings noted that ARC Global includes investors from Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, Peru and Mexico. Orlando, for a time, had been a senior adviser to ARC Group, a Hong Kong-based financier that had been an adviser to Digital World when the special purpose acquisition company was being established. It is not clear if any of the principals of ARC Group has a financial interest in ARC Global. United Atlantic Ventures holds a stake in Trump Media worth about $500 million. The firm is controlled by Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky, former contestants on Trump's reality television show "The Apprentice," who approached the former president in early 2021, shortly after he left the White House, about starting a social media company. They were early participants in talks that ultimately led to the merger of Trump Media and Digital World. Orlando, Litinsky and Moss are in court fighting over their stakes in Trump Media. Orlando has said that he and the shell company's sponsor group are entitled to more shares. Litinsky and Moss have filed a lawsuit claiming Trump Media is trying to diminish their stake. Both lawsuits are pending in Delaware Chancery Court. Trump and other major Trump Media shareholders are barred from selling their shares for at least six months, or pledging them as collateral for loans. Trump Media's board, which is filled with loyalists to Trump, including his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., could waive those restrictions. Any significant selling of shares by Donald Trump or other big shareholders has the potential to depress Trump Media's share price and cut the value of the sellers' holdings. Major investors or institutions that own less than 5% of a public company are not required to disclose stock sales and purchases until 45 days after the end of a quarter. That means any major institutions that traded shares of Digital World or Trump Media over the past few weeks would not be required to publicly disclose their holdings until the middle of May. At the end of December, the biggest institutional investor in shares of Digital World was Susquehanna International Group, a Wall Street trading firm owned by Jeffrey Yass, a billionaire investor and major Republican donor. His firm owned about 2% of Digital World's shares at the end of last year. It is unclear whether Susquehanna still owns shares in the company that became Trump Media. Susquehanna has said that it serves as a market maker -- facilitating the trading of stocks -- and "has zero economic interest in Trump Media." This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Tech View: Nifty forms long wick candle. What should traders do on Monday

2 hours 38 minutes ago
Nifty on Thursday ended 203 points higher to form a reasonable bull candle with a long upper shadow on the daily chart, reflecting selling pressure near all-time highs around 22,500 levels.The near-term uptrend of the Nifty remains intact with high volatility. The next upside levels to be watched are around 22,500-22,600 in the next week. Immediate support is at 22,250-22,200 levels, said Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities.Today’s session marks the end of the financial year 2023-24 for traders as the market would be shut on Friday on account of the Good Friday holiday.What should traders do? Here’s what analysts said:Rupak De, LKP SecuritiesNifty has rallied significantly, surpassing the 22,500 mark after maintaining momentum beyond 22,100. Furthermore, there's a clear breakout in consolidation on the daily timeframe, signaling rising optimism. Nevertheless, Nifty encountered initial resistance near its previous swing high of 22,526. Consequently, to sustain a continued rally, it must surpass the 22,525 level decisively. On the downside, 22,200 could serve as short-term support.Tejas Shah, Technical Research, JM Financial & BlinkXNifty continued to exhibit outperformance and closed above the crucial resistance zone of 22,200-250, which is a positive sign. A level of 22,200 is an immediate support to watch out for in the Nifty, while the bigger support zone stands at 21,950-22,000. On the higher side, immediate resistance for Nifty is at 22,400-425 levels and the next crucial resistance zone is at 22,500-550 levels. Overall, Nifty is likely to remain volatile within the 22,000 – 22,500 range in the near term with a positive bias and the bulls should continue to have the upper hand going forward.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Holy cities like Ayodhya drawing retail giants

4 hours 12 minutes ago
With rising spiritual tourism, retail brands are expanding their presence in cities like Ayodhya, Varanasi, Amritsar, Puri, Tirupati, and Ajmer, and also offering products to cater to the needs of pilgrims, according to CBRE. Real estate consultant CBRE on Thursday released a report 'Decoding Real Estate through the Spiritual Tourism Lens', highlighting that retail chains are capitalising on the surge in spiritual tourism across 14 key cities in India. The report identifies Amritsar, Ajmer, Varanasi, Katra, Somnath, Shirdi, Ayodhya, Puri, Tirupati, Mathura, Dwarka, Bodh Gaya, Guruvayur, and Madurai as key cities witnessing this retail boom. The consultant noted that retail brands are strategically adapting their offerings in both established mall clusters and high-street locations to cater to the growing tourist population. In Ayodhya, Manyavar, Reliance Trends, Raymonds, Market99, Pantaloons, Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Reliance Smart have opened their retail stores, the report said. Manyavar, Reliance Trends, Zudio, Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop, Burger King, Domino's, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Spencer's, Reliance smart, Croma and Reliance Digital are present in Varanasi. Anshuman Magazine Chairman & CEO, India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, said, "The rapid expansion of spiritual tourism in India is driving the growth of the country's faith-based tourism market." The government initiatives to promote tourism and improve connectivity between pilgrimage sites are further boosting this growth, he added. "The rise of online retail platforms offering easy access to faith-based products and services is also a key factor," Magazine said. Retail brands across segments, including fashion & apparel, food & beverage, hypermarkets, homeware & department stores, and consumer electronics brands, are expanding by tailoring the offerings to the pilgrim's needs. Ram Chandnani, Managing Director, Advisory & Transaction Services, CBRE India, said, "Driven by the growing popularity of spiritual tourism, investors are flocking to capitalise on the market's potential. Guided by a commitment to cater to the unique needs of spiritual travellers, these investments aim to deliver high-quality accommodations, bolster infrastructure, safeguard heritage sites, and ultimately drive regional economic growth." This trend has created opportunities for the hospitality and retail sectors to thrive in these destinations, he added.

2 IPOs, backed by Vijay Kedia and Ashish Kacholia, booked over 10x each on Day 2

5 hours 7 minutes ago
Continuing the positive trend seen on the first day, the SME IPOs of TAC Infosec and Radiowalla Network, backed by marquee investors Vijay Kedia and Ashish Kacholia, respectively, were subscribed over 10 times on the second day of the bidding process.Here's a look at all the details:TAC Infosec IPOThe IPO of TAC Infosec, in which Vijay Kedia has invested, sailed through on the first day of the bidding. The issue picked up momentum even on the second day with an overall subscription of 17 times so far.The company has fixed a price band of Rs 100-106 per share.Investors can bid for 106 shares in one lot and then in multiples. The cybersecurity company's public offer comprises a fresh equity issue of 28.2 lakh shares.The issue is being made through the book-building process, wherein 50% of the offer is reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 15% for non-institutional investors and 35% for retail investors.TAC Infosec is engaged in the business of providing risk-based vulnerability management and assessment solutions, cybersecurity quantification and services of penetration testing to organisations of any scale, size, and business through the SaaS model.Also Read: SRM Contractors IPO marching towards 50x subscription on final day. Check GMP and other detailsRadiowalla Network IPOAce investor Ashish Kacholia-backed Radiowalla Network, one of the leading providers of B2B customer engagement services, has also seen its IPO get over 10x subscriptions on the second day of the bidding.As of the RHP, Kacholia holds about 10.6% equity in the company.The company is aiming to raise Rs 14.25 through this IPO, which will close on April 2. The issue size is up to 18.75 lakh shares at face value of Rs 10 each.The IPO is priced in the range of Rs 72-76 per share, where investors can bid for 1,600 shares in one lot and then in multiples.In the IPO, around 5.26 lakh shares will be allocated to anchor investors, around 3.53 lakh shares are reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 6.17 lakh shares for retail investors and the rest for non-institutional investors.Radiowalla Network specialises in B2B-focused customer engagement services. The company offers a comprehensive range of solutions, including in-store radio, corporate radio services, and a variety of audio and visual advertising options.
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