Daily Financial News Analysis – 21st Dec’19

Table of Contents

Rise in Prices

FMCG firms: cost of commodities such as wheat, edible oil and sugar have gone up by 12-20%.
This will force companies to hike prices or reduce pack sizes.
Milk prices that were raised earlier this week by Amul & Mother Dairy.
Due to new stringent energy-rating rules cost has gone up for electronics.
Cost pressure has came at a wrong time, at present, consumers are reeling under food inflation.

92nd Annual Convention of FICCI
To become a $5 trillion economy India must increase its share in global trade to around 8-10%.
Government was making policies keeping in mind import substitution for local industries to grow.
China contributes around 17% to global trade while India’s contribution is 6%.
India was spending Rs 7 lakh crore every year on crude oil import.
The country has the potential to reduce this bill by ₹2 lakh crore by shifting to alternative fuels.
Ethanol Methanol Bio-CNG Electric
Government policy + industry: hould be focussed on creating opportunities in the rural and backward areas.

12 key economic ministries will present their roadmap for the next 5 years to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Goal: $5 trillion economy
The meeting comes ahead of the budget and will firm up the road map for the long term.
Modi said ₹100 lakh crore will be spent for building infrastructure and another ₹25 lakh crore on rural economy.

Piyush Goyal: flag the countries that are placing non-tariff barriers on Indian exports.
He promised to take retaliatory action against such countries.
India needs to get more competitive, and stressed on addressing the problems of the entire value chain, be it inverted duties, dumping, or unfair subsidies.
The government will have to play the role of an enabler and facilitator and end harassment faced at the lower ends.
Stating that the government and industry can together work on certain issues.
We desire to work with the world on an equal and reciprocal terms.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has cancelled a meeting with US lawmakers, including Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
Pramila Jayapal is sponsoring a resolution on Kashmir in the House of Representatives.
“I have an interest in meeting people who are objective and open to discussion but not the people who already made up their minds.” – MEA
The minister said the situation in Kashmir was briefly discussed during his bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
According to him, the US lawmakers, in separate meetings, had inquired about the amended Citizenship Act. “I gave them a more accurate picture than they have been getting from what they read,” he said.

House Energy & Commerce Committee: it oversees online privacy issues.
Google and Facebook would face limits on the online tracking and data sharing
These are the things that power their advertising businesses.
It would also allow consumers to opt out of receiving advertising from companies.
This could diminish companies’ ability to monitor users across the web and require them to get permission to share their customers’ data with others.