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IMD has rainfall warning for these states

1 month 3 weeks ago
The India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rainfall in some places in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand over the next few days. The IMD said that a cyclonic system is located over the western part of Vidarbha, while a trough or disturbance in the wind pattern extends from southern Tamil Nadu to western Vidarbha. Another trough runs from Jharkhand to the northern coast of Andhra Pradesh in the lower layers of the atmosphere. Meanwhile, an anti-cyclonic circulation is situated over the West Central region and the adjacent Northwest Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha in the lower troposphere.Due to these weather conditions, scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall is highly probable over Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha from the 19th to the 21st of March. Isolated thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds are likely during this period, with the possibility of hailstorms and squalls with speeds reaching 50-60 kmph on the 19th of March, 2024, IMD said. Telangana is expected to experience scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall with isolated thunderstorms and lightning from the 19th to the 20th of March, with the possibility of hailstorms on the 18th and 19th. Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam are also likely to experience similar weather conditions from the 19th to the 21st of March, 2024. Isolated heavy rainfall is also anticipated over these areas on the 20th of March, 2024.Similar weather patterns are anticipated over Jharkhand, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, and East Madhya Pradesh till 20th of March, with Bihar experiencing these conditions from the 18th to the 21st of March, 2024. Isolated hailstorms are also expected over Vidarbha, East Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh on the 18th and 19th, and over Jharkhand on the 19th of March, 2024. Thundersqualls with speeds reaching 50-60 kmph are likely over East Madhya Pradesh on the 18th and 19th of March.Weather Forecast for TelanganaExpect light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning, with winds reaching 50-60 kmph at some places on the 18th and 19th of March, according to IMD. On the 20th of March, anticipate gusty winds at a few spots, with speeds reaching up to 40-50 kmph. There's a possibility of heavy rainfall at isolated places on the 20th of March, along with hailstorms at some locations on the 18th and 19th of March.Weather Forecast for Andhra PradeshSimilar to Telangana, there will be light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, with wind speeds reaching 50-60 kmph at isolated places on the 18th and 19th of March. Gusty winds are expected at a few spots on the 20th of March, with speeds reaching up to 40-50 kmph. Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places on the 20th of March, IMD said. Weather Forecast for OdishaAnticipate light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places, along with gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph. On the 20th of March, expect gusty winds at many locations with speeds up to 40-50 kmph, according to IMD. There's a chance of light to moderate rainfall at isolated places on the 21st and 22nd of March. Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places on the 19th and 20th of March.

Kamala Harris brands Trump a "democracy threat"

1 month 3 weeks ago
US Vice President Kamala Harris has called former US President Donald Trump a "threat" to democracy and fundamental freedoms and vowed to restore Roe v Wade, protect voting rights and address gun violence issues.In a post on X, Kamala Harris stated, "Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy and fundamental freedoms. President @JoeBiden and I will restore Roe, protect voting rights, and finally address our gun violence epidemic. The contrast could not be clearer."US President Joe Biden's campaign spokesperson, James Singer, said that former President Donald Trump "wants another January 6" after Trump on Saturday said that there would be a 'bloodbath' in the country if he lost the upcoming polls, reported CNN.Condemning his statement, Singer emphasised that the US people would not make him win the presidential elections."American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge," Singer said.Addressing a rally near Ohio's Dayton, Trump said, "We're going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you're not going to be able to sell those guys if I get elected," Trump said in Vandalia, Ohio. "Now, if I don't get elected...it's going to be a bloodbath for the country," Politico reported.It was not clear what Trump exactly meant by his remarks, as the former US President was complaining about the automobile industry. Addressing the crowd, he said China will not be able to sell any vehicles imported to the US if he gets re-elected, Politico reported.US Vice President's statement comes days after Joe Biden and Donald Trump have secured the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, respectively, setting up a rematch with each other, according to CNN. Trump clinched the Republican nomination for president and Biden secured the Democratic nomination.On March 7, Biden vowed to restore Roe v Wade as the law of the land. In his State of the Union address, he said, "If you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again."He called on US lawmakers to guarantee the right to IVF across the nation. He thanked Kamala Harris for defending reproductive freedom. Biden blamed former US President Donald Trump for overturning Roe v Wade."To my friends across the aisle, don't keep this waiting any longer. Guarantee the right to IVF. Guarantee it nationwide. Like most Americans, I believe Roe v Wade got it right. I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader defending reproductive freedom and so much more," Biden said."My predecessor came to office determined to see Roe v Wade overturned. He's the reason it was overturned, and he brags about it. Look at the chaos that has resulted," he added.In his State of the Union address, Biden spoke on curbing gun violence. He said, "I did do something by establishing the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the White House, that the Vice President is leading the charge. Thank you for doing it.""Meanwhile, my predecessor told the NRA he's proud he did nothing on guns when he was President," Biden added.

Hot Stocks: 3 stocks which can give returns between 29-40%

1 month 3 weeks ago
ET looks at some of the latest stock recommendations by analysts. These stocks are expected to return between 29% and 40% as per analysts’ price targets.One 97 Communications BROKERAGE: YES SECURITIES Price Target: Rs 505 CMP: Rs 389.4 Upside: 29.8% Upgrade stock to 'buy' for the fi rst time since its listing Market currently pricing in an acute scenario for the firm which will not transpire Client loss due to reputational damage and on-ground confusion will be containedManappuram FinanceBROKERAGE: MORGAN STANLEY Price Target: Rs 235 CMP: Rs 167.4 Upside: 40% See significant re-rating opportunity Diversification away from gold is in right direction for earnings growth Deregulation of loan pricing for the microfinance industry should help subsidiary AsirvadGlenmark Pharma BROKERAGE: DAM CAPITAL Price Target: Rs 1,257 CMP: Rs 939 Upside: 33.9% In second-half of FY24, the firm will use Glenmark Life stake sale proceeds to fix legacy issues Leveraged balance sheet, cash flow generation challenges, and limited returns on R&D spends drags on firm valuations Expect investor focus to now shift towards Glenmark’s business prospects

Amber, Ambuja Cement, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel among Jefferies' top picks

1 month 3 weeks ago
Mumbai: Amber Enterprises, Ambuja Cement, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, JSW Energy, L&T, Macrotech Developers, Max Healthcare Institute, SBI, TVS Motors and Zomato are among brokerage Jefferies' top stock picks for the next five years. The firm expects these stocks to return 15-25% on a compounded basis by March 2029. Jefferies said these stocks are expected to benefit from various themes such as capex cycle, government's manufacturing push, consumerism and financialisation of savings.108599950"India's capex cycle has turned from its FY20 bottom, and should last another five-plus years as the housing and corporate capex cycle play out," it said.

I-T recovers ₹73,500 cr in pending bills

1 month 3 weeks ago
The income tax department has recovered ₹73,500 crore of pending dues in this financial year up to March 15, on the back of a targeted recovery plan drawn up as part of efforts to step up collection of outstanding tax arrears, officials said.Of the total, pending corporate tax dues amount to ₹56,000 crore, ₹16,500 crore is personal income tax and ₹50 crore is undisclosed income from foreign assets, said a senior official."We have recovered about ₹73,500 crore and the number may go up further," the official told ET on condition of anonymity. The department had collected over ₹52,000 crore in FY23.108597133 The official said while it was difficult to give year-wise details of outstanding dues, the collection averaged 8% of annual outstanding till 2021-22, which went up to 10.78% in 2022-23 and is about 17% in this fiscal so far. Pending tax arrears, which had crossed ₹21.94 lakh crore in January 31, 2023, from ₹15 lakh crore in April 2021, have been a key area of concern for the tax department.The department had drawn up a roadmap to help it recover outstanding dues more efficiently, including identification of cases where recovery was possible, use of technology to track untraceable defaulters and handing out zone-wise targets to field formations."This year the recovery is much better and in the last two-and-a-half months only we have recovered ₹37,000 crore," said the official cited earlier. In some cases, arrears date to assessment years 2003-04 and 2004-05, for which the department tracked defaulters through the use of technology. In some cases, though taxes had been paid, they were not reflecting in their system and effort was on to update the database, the official said.

Biyani offers Rs 476 cr for a Mumbai mall

1 month 3 weeks ago
Mumbai: Kishore Biyani has made a surprise Rs 476-crore offer to lenders led by Canara Bank for a one-time settlement (OTS) of the Rs 571 crore debt of Bansi Mall Management Co (BMMCPL), which owns SOBO Central Mall in Mumbai's Haji Ali area. The Biyani offer comes just days after creditors had approved a Rs 475-crore bid from Runwal Group for the asset through an auction process, multiple people familiar with the development said.Lenders led by Canara Bank initiated Sarfaesi proceedings and received a bid of Rs 475 crore to take over the mall earlier this month, but last week Biyani approached the debts recovery tribunal (DRT) challenging the lenders' decision offering to settle the debt himself, these people said."Biyani has been in touch with lenders but has become more active after this bid from Runwal was accepted by lenders. He has offered to now beat the Runwal bid and approached the court for the same. Lenders are now waiting for what the court says in a hearing slated for later this month," said a person familiar with the offer.To be sure, lenders have already received Rs 47.5 crore or 10% of the bid amount from Runwal last week. But Biyani's plea in the DRT has delayed that process. The Runwal Group declined to comment.SOBO Central mall has no tenants except a McDonald's joint which was launched when it was inaugurated in 1999. It is Mumbai's oldest mall with a total leasable area of 150,000 square feet. But the emergence of new shopping places within the city and in the suburbs followed by the Covid shock meant that it never recovered from the slump. To add to it all, almost all its real estate was given out to Future Group companies which themselves were under stress.Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank (PNB) are the two primary charge holders in the account as they are direct lenders to the company. Canara Bank is the lead lender with Rs 131 crore of loans outstanding, while PNB has primary dues of Rs 90 crore.PNB, along with Union Bank of India, also has a secondary charge over the company's assets because they had together lent Rs 350 crore to a group company, Future Brands, with lease rental discounting of BMMCPL as collateral.Lead lender Canara did not reply to an email seeking comment."Biyani's bid is backed by a large real estate and retail developer which probably sees potential in the development of this commercial property in South Mumbai. Since lenders already have a serious bidder in the queue, Biyani will have to put some cash on the table before his offer is considered serious enough," said a second person aware of the details.Biyani did not respond to calls and messages on his phone.Lenders are hoping that the redevelopment potential for the four-storey commercial building could attract real estate investors and help banks in recovery.Banks have lost more than Rs 33,000 crore to the Future Group, as the flagship Future Retail went into liquidation while Future Enterprises is undergoing a second resolution process after the first one failed to get a buyer. If successful, this recovery could be a rare one for lenders from the Biyani-led Future Group.
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