Business
ECB sets ‘moderately lower pace’ for bond buying
The European Central Bank (ECB) decided to leave its key interest rates unchanged and set a “moderately lower pace” for the Covid-19 pandemic-related bond buying.
“Based on a joint assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook, the Governing Council judges that favourable financing conditions can be maintained with a moderately lower pace of net asset purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase program (PEPP) than in the previous two quarters,” the ECB said in a statement on Thursday.
Earlier this year, after its March and June meetings, the ECB decided that purchases under the PEPP in the second and third quarters would be conducted at a significantly higher pace than during the first months of the year, reports Xinhua news agency.
Thursday’s announcement came as eurozone inflation surged to three percent in August, the highest in ten years, according to a flash estimate published last week.
The ECB also left other policy measures largely unchanged.
Eurozone key interest rates will remain at record low levels, with the base interest rate, marginal lending rate and deposit rate unchanged at 0.00 per cent, 0.25 per cent and minus 0.50 per cent, respectively.
The PEPP, first rolled out in March last year to cushion the impact from the pandemic and expanded twice thereafter, has a total envelope of 1.85 trillion euros ($2 trillion) and is set to run until at least the end of March 2022.
The 3 per cent rise in eurozone headline inflation in August, together with a jump in core inflation to 1.6 per cent, had largely exceeded analysts’ expectations.
At a press conference on Thursday, ECB President Christine Lagarde reiterated that the surge in inflation is expected to be temporary.
“Summing up, the euro area economy is clearly rebounding. However, the speed of the recovery continues to depend on the course of the pandemic and progress with vaccinations. The current rise in inflation is expected to be largely temporary and underlying price pressures will build up only gradually,” Lagarde told reporters.
According to the ECB, the inflation upswing mainly reflects the strong increase in oil prices since around the middle of last year; the reversal of the temporary value-added tax (VAT) reduction in Germany; delayed summer sales in 2020; and cost pressures due to supply chain issues — all of which should ease or fall out of the year-on-year inflation calculation over the course of 2022.
If supply bottlenecks last longer and feed through into higher than anticipated wage rises, price pressures could be more persistent, Lagarde said.
The ECB’s latest projections expect annual inflation in the eurozone to be 2.2 per cent in 2021, 1.7 per cent in 2022 and 1.5 percent in 2023, all revised upwards compared with the forecasts three months ago.
Lagarde also said policymakers believe that the eurozone’s growth will be back to the 2019 pre-pandemic level at the end of this year, which is two quarters earlier than initially anticipated.
The latest ECB staff projections foresee the eurozone’s real GDP to grow 5 per cent this year, 4.6 per cent in 2022 and 2.1 per cent in 2023.
Dutch bank ABN Amro said there was a little relief in the market that Thursday’s move is a slowdown rather than a taper.
It expects the PEPP to end in March 2022.
However, policy rates are likely to remain on hold through 2024, given the ECB’s symmetric 2 per cent inflation target and subdued inflation outlook in the medium term, according to the bank.
Business
ED arrests 2 former executives of Reliance Anil Ambani Group, company responds (Lead)

Mumbai, June 13: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested two former executives of the Reliance Anil Ambani Group under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Mumbai, according to officials.
The probe agency took transit remand of Satish Seth and Gautam Doshi, who previously served as directors of Reliance Telecom Ltd.
The CBI had booked and raided the premises of the duo in March as part of its investigation into an alleged loan fraud worth Rs 114.98 crore at the State Bank of India (SBI).
Seth has previously served as Vice Chairman of Reliance Infrastructure. He will be produced in a Delhi court for further custody.
In a statement, a Reliance Group spokesperson said that “Satish Seth (age 70 years) and Gautam Doshi (age 73 years) are not associated with the Group”.
“Seth served the Group as a Group Managing Director and as a Director on the Boards of several companies. Seth left the Group in 2025. Gautam Doshi served the Group as a Group Managing Director and as a Director on the Boards of several companies, both within and outside the Group. Doshi left the Group six years ago, in 2020,” the spokesperson added.
The SBI was a member of the consortium of 11 banks which had sanctioned a total of Rs 735 crore Term Loan facility to Reliance Telecom Ltd, the CBI had said. The ED is understood to have taken cognisance of this CBI complaint and is investigating the roles of Seth and Doshi in this bank loan fraud case.
Earlier in June, the CBI had arrested Reliance Communications’ former Group Managing Director, Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, in connection with the loss of Rs 2,929.05 crore caused to the SBI by the company in alleged loan fraud, officials said. He was produced before the court, following which the CBI formally arrested him.
Meanwhile, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday admitted a plea filed by the SBI and initiated personal insolvency resolution proceedings against industrialist Anil Ambani in his capacity as a personal guarantor for loans extended to Reliance Communications (RCOM) and Reliance Infratel Ltd (RITL).
Reacting to the decision, a spokesperson for Anil Ambani said that the order, once available, will be reviewed by his legal team and challenged through appropriate legal remedies, as advised. “Mr Ambani remains confident of vindicating his position before the appropriate forums,” the spokesperson added.
Business
Nifty, Sensex post notable gains this week over hopes of US-Iran peace pact

Mumbai, June 13: The Indian equity benchmarks posted notable gains this week after two weeks of consecutive losses, over investor optimism about potential US-Iran peace agreement, and decline in Brent crude prices.
Nifty added 1.10 per cent during the week and gained 1.99 per cent on the last trading day to reach 23,622. At close, Sensex was up 1,695 points or 2.30 percent at 75,527. It added 1.73 per cent during the week.
The Indian equities showed structural resilience in a turbulent week, marked by global headwinds and continued uncertainty surrounding the US Fed’s policy trajectory, analysts said.
Large-cap stocks outperformed broader markets, while mid- and small-cap segments witnessed profit booking following their recent strong rally.
While US bond yields eased during the week, persistent inflationary pressures and resilient labour market data are keeping the expectations of a delayed rate-cut cycle intact, an analyst said.
“Indian equities traded in a range-bound manner with a mild negative bias, witnessing a modest recovery toward the end of the week,” he added.
Meanwhile, domestic bond yields moderated, supported by RBI policy measures that improved liquidity conditions and attracted foreign inflows into the debt market.
On the sectoral front, financials emerged as the top performers, led by private banks after favourable regulatory developments and a defensive rotation away from higher-beta growth segments. FMCG stocks also advanced on expectations of sustained pricing power.
IT sector continued its decline and metal stocks were weighed down by softer commodity prices amid muted demand expectations from China.
Market participants said that a slowdown in FII selling or improved visibility on the Federal Reserve’s policy direction could serve as a trigger, for domestic capital unloading in the secondary market.
Cumulative FII selling during the week stood at approximately Rs 15,300 crore, continuing to act as a key headwind for domestic equities, although the pace of outflows moderated in the latter part of the period.
In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained strong buyers, recording net inflows of around Rs 24,000 crore.
Broad market indices performed in line with benchmark indices, as Nifty Midcap100 gained 0.98 per cent, while Nifty Smallcap100 edged up 0.48 per cent during the week.
Nifty 50 is expected to see the 23,800 zone as a crucial resistance area. The 23,550–23,500 region is expected to act as immediate support, market participants said.
In Bank Nifty, immediate resistance is placed around the 56,900–57,000 zone and the 56,500–56,400 zone continues to act as an immediate support zone.
Investors remain keen on key macroeconomic data points, including domestic WPI inflation, China’s industrial output, and the upcoming US Fed decision.
Business
Gold, silver gain up to 2 pc amid optimism over West Asia peace talks

Mumbai, June 12: Gold and silver prices traded higher on Friday, with precious metals surging by up to 2 per cent amid hopes of a peace deal in the ongoing West Asia conflict.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), gold futures (August) increased as much as 1.11 per cent or Rs 1,668 to hit an intraday high of Rs 1,50,600 as of around 11:30 am.
The yellow metal was trading at Rs 1,49,916, up 0.66 per cent or Rs 948. It touched an intraday low of Rs 1,49,569, a gain of 0.42 per cent or Rs 637 from the previous close.
Meanwhile, silver futures (July) traded at Rs 2,42,143, higher by Rs 2,490 or 1 per cent.
The white metal touched an intraday high of Rs 2,44,817, jumping 2.15 per cent during the session so far. It recorded an intraday low of Rs 2,41,601, up 0.81 per cent or Rs 1,948 from the previous close.
Earlier in the day, gold and silver began the session at Rs 1,50,595 and Rs 2,42,776, respectively, on the commodity exchange.
According to commodity market experts, bullion remained under pressure overall and was headed for a second consecutive weekly decline as persistent inflation concerns and growing expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate hike continued to weigh on sentiment.
Analysts said precious metals rebounded sharply from six-month lows after US President Donald Trump indicated that the US and Iran could reach a peace agreement as early as this weekend.
However, gains remained limited amid continued uncertainty over the negotiations, with Iranian officials denying that a final agreement had been reached, according to them.
Optimism around a potential diplomatic breakthrough eased concerns over global energy supplies, triggering a decline in crude oil prices and improving broader market risk appetite, experts added.
Market participants will now track developments in US-Iran negotiations and upcoming commentary from the Federal Reserve for further direction in precious metal prices.
In international markets, COMEX silver traded at $66.94, up more than 4 per cent, while COMEX gold rose over 2 per cent to $4,203.70 per ounce.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices declined sharply, with US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude falling roughly 3 per cent to $85 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude declined 1.59 per cent to $88.94 per barrel.
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