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MARKET UPDATE

• BSE SENSEX : ₹60,571.08 (+0.76%)

• NIFTY 50 : ₹18,070.05 (+0.75%)

• NIFTY BANK : ₹40,873.10 (+0.74%)

• USD/INR : ₹79.515 (+0.10%)

• MCX GOLD : ₹50,130.00 (-0.99%)

• BRENT OIL : $93.15 (-0.40%)

• FII Net Cashflow : + ₹1957 crores

•  DII Net Cashflow : - ₹1268 crores

(Market data as of 11:00 PM on 13th September 2022)

ECONOMY

State's Borrowing costs see a fourth consecutive weekly fall

Key Facts:

• The state's borrowing costs are reduced by 6 basis points at the weekly auction on Tuesday.

• 10 states raised Rs 10,500 crores of development loans.

• 10 year G-secs yield declined to 7.08% from 7.14% this week.

• Weighted Average cut-off of 10-year state bonds decreased to 7.45% from 7.53%. this week.

The Story:

A fourth consecutive weekly fall in borrowing costs was witnessed as the state's borrowing costs reduced by 6 basis points to 7.46 at the weekly auctions held on Tuesday.

Ten states raised 1.5% more capital than indicated in the borrowing calendar for the first time in recent years. The states have been borrowing lower amounts for the past two years because of higher grants from the center.

The tax devolution for July was 20,000 crores was higher than that from the first quarter. The center approved special assistance of Rs 31.500 crores for capital expenditure to 10 states during July. 

A declining trend is seen in the 10-year G-secs yield. The weighted average cut-off also decreased by 0.08%. Consequently, the spread between the weighted average 10-year state debt and new 10-year G-secs yield dipped to 37 bps from 39 bps.

AGRI

Excess output hits onion-garlic farmers

Key Facts:

• Maharastra is highest onion producing state while Madhya Pradesh grows the most garlic.

• A ride in cost of production leading to decreased margins is expected due to heavy rainfall

The Story:

Onion and garlic farmers are facing losses due to a multitude of factors such as excess production, lower demand, lower exports and excess rainfall. Wholesale garlic prices have been going around the Rs 10-40/kg mark for the past two months which is compromising the farmer's margins.

In Madhya Pradesh, which is the largest garlic growing state, the government has been forced to explore markets in other states due to high cost of production.

Although prices of tomatoes have risen this week, farmers are still anticipating losses due to persisting rainfall

AUTOMOTIVE

BMW to set up auto parts manufacturing plant in Punjab, says CM.

Key Facts:

• This will be the second plant, since one such unit is already operational in Chennai.

• Auto car expo to be held from January 13-18, 2023, at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh).

• BMW launches new F 900 XR in India tagged at Rs 12.3 lakh.

The Story:

According to a state government announcement issued here on Tuesday, the German luxury vehicle manufacturer BMW has committed to locate its auto part manufacturing facility in Punjab. Tuesday's visit by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to the BMW headquarters in Germany resulted in a decision to this effect, the statement said. In an effort to attract investors, Mann is currently in Germany. His government is promoting Punjab as the best place to do business. BMW agreed to establish its auto component facility in the state after the CM demonstrated the state government's outstanding efforts to encourage industry during the visit, the report claimed.

This will be the company's second plant in India, as one such unit was previously functioning in Chennai, according to an official release citing Mann. He said that this will significantly accelerate the state's economic growth and create new job opportunities for young people. The CM also invited BMW to work with the government on e-mobility initiatives. He was informed that the auto industry behemoth places a lot of emphasis on e-mobility and plans to have completely electric vehicles account for 50% of its global sales by 2030. The state's e-mobility industry is predicted to enter a new age as a result of Punjab's EV Policy, according to the chief minister.

TECH

Twitter shareholders approve Musk's $44 billion takeover bid

Key Facts :

• Twitter shareholders voted Tuesday to approve Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid to buy the company and take it private.

• The vote comes as Musk is seeking to back out of the deal, leading to Twitter suing him for allegedly breaking the agreement

The Story :

Twitter’s shareholders have voted to approve a proposed $44 billion acquisition by Elon Musk.

Musk proposed a buyout of Twitter in April. Twitter has encouraged investors to accept it since then, even as Musk has filed numerous requests to terminate the agreement. Today’s vote lets Twitter continue with a lawsuit intended to make Musk close the acquisition.

The approval means that Musk and Twitter will proceed to an October trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Musk is set to argue that Twitter concealed important facts about its internal operations, including an alleged undercount of spam and bot accounts on the platform as well as details revealed by former Twitter security head Peiter “Mudge” Zatko. Twitter will push to close the deal regardless, alleging that Musk’s complaints are merely a pretext for backing out.

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Uranus will vanish during 'lunar occultation' Wednesday night.

You could be able to watch Uranus vanish on Wednesday night, September 14, depending on where you are in the world. (Don't worry; it'll return in a few hours.)

The sixth planet from the sun will appear to pass straight behind the moon on Wednesday, disappearing entirely from view for three and a half hours. Around 4:41 p.m., the big disappearing act—also referred to as the lunar occultation of Uranus—begins. by 8:11 p.m. ET (2041 GMT). ET (on September 15, 00:11 GMT), according to In-the-sky.org. However, spectators must be in Europe, northern Africa, or western Asia to see the illusion operate.

Since Uranus is not visible to the unaided eye planet, viewers in these areas will still require binoculars or a telescope to watch the display.

Don't worry if you don't live in one of those locations or don't own a telescope; the Virtual Telescope Project will webcast the occultation live from Rome starting at 4:45 p.m. ET (2045 GMT).

Any astronomical occurrence when one object appears to be concealed behind another is referred to as an occultation. An eclipse, which happens when one thing casts its shadow directly over another, like when the moon's shadow passes over Earth during a solar eclipse, is slightly different from this event.

Due to the moon's prominence in our sky, lunar occultations are the most frequently observed from Earth. But depending on where on the world you are viewing from, the moon's position in the sky may appear slightly different due to its proximity to Earth. As a result, only a tiny portion of the world's population that just so happens to have the ideal viewing angle can see any lunar occultations.

Fortunately, they happen frequently, so another lunar disappearing act is never far away. Last month, on August 18, Live Science's sister site Space.com revealed that the final moon occultation of Uranus that was visible from North America took place. That night, Uranus triumphed, and tomorrow it will undoubtedly do the same.