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Tesla’s Elon Musk, SEC ordered by U.S. judge to try to settle

Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves Manhattan federal court
Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves Manhattan federal court after a hearing on his fraud settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in New York City, U.S., April 4, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

April 4, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday ordered the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Elon Musk to meet over the next two weeks to try to resolve matters underlying the regulator’s contempt motion against the Tesla Inc chief executive.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan said she may rule on whether to hold Musk in contempt if both sides are unable to reach an agreement.

The SEC accused Musk of contempt over a Feb. 19 Twitter post that it said violated his October 2018 fraud settlement with the regulator.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: OANN

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Facebook removes more accounts citing ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior’

FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of laptop users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration
FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of laptop users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

March 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it has removed more accounts from Iran, Russia, Macedonia and Kosovo, citing what it described as “coordinated inauthentic behavior.”

A total of 2,632 pages, groups and accounts were removed from Facebook and Instagram for operations linked to the above mentioned countries, the social media platform said.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

Source: OANN

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Stock futures slightly higher ahead of inflation data

Traders work on the floor at the post where Boeing is traded at the NYSE in New York
FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor at the post where Boeing is traded at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

March 12, 2019

By Amy Caren Daniel

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures inched higher on Tuesday, taking cues from global stocks which rose after last-minute tweaks to Britain’s deal to leave the European Union that eased some fears of a no-deal Brexit, and as investors waited for inflation data.

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said he agreed to an updated Brexit deal with British Prime Minister Theresa May to make the agreement more palatable to UK lawmakers but warned they would not get a third chance to endorse it.

The S&P 500 index has risen nearly 19 percent off its December lows, when markets were roiled by concerns of Sino-U.S. trade frictions, slowing economic growth and uncertainty about Brexit.

A reduced likelihood of crashing out of the EU with no Brexit deal helped inject some appetite for riskier assets, potentially eliminating one of the three major concerns of global investors.

British lawmakers who rejected May’s withdrawal agreement in January are due to vote on the Brexit deal again at around 3:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT).

Boeing Co fell 2.1 percent, extending a fall from the previous session after many airlines grounded the company’s best-selling line of jets after a second fatal crash in just five months.

Boeing as well as Coca-Cola Co’s fall in pre-market trading pressured the Dow futures.

The world’s largest planemaker, which is the best performing Dow component this year by a wide margin, fell as much as 13.4 percent on Monday and weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial average.

However the blue-chip Dow pared losses, and all three indexes ended Monday higher boosted by a tech-led rally. Wall Street had posted five straight sessions of declines in the previous week, their biggest fall since 2018-end.

At 6:38 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 29 points, or 0.11 percent. S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.06 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 12 points, or 0.17 percent.

Coca-Cola dipped 0.3 percent after HSBC downgraded the soda maker’s stock.

On the economic front, the Labor Department is expected to show that the seasonally adjusted consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2 percent in February, after remaining unchanged for a third straight month in January.

Core CPI is seen increasing 2.2 percent year-on-year, unchanged from January. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.

(Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

Source: OANN

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Sudanese call for renewed protests to pressure military

Sudanese activists are calling for nationwide protests to press the military to hand over power to a civilian authority after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir earlier this month.

Railway workers and other protesters are gathering in Atbara, the northern transport hub where the uprising began in December, and will travel by train to the capital, Khartoum.

The call by the Sudanese Professionals Association comes amid heightened tensions with the military council that seized power earlier this month. The protesters have called for an immediate move to civilian rule and say they will announce their own transitional council on Thursday.

The SPA has also vowed to maintain a mass sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, after the military called for the reopening of roads and the removal of barricades.

Source: Fox News World

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Chipotle receives subpoena related to Ohio illness incident

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Chipotle Mexican Grill is seen at the Chipotle Next Kitchen in Manhattan
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Chipotle Mexican Grill is seen at the Chipotle Next Kitchen in Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

April 25, 2019

(Reuters) – Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc said on Thursday it received another subpoena from U.S. federal prosecutors, seeking information related to an outbreak that left hundreds of people sick last year in an Ohio restaurant.

Over the past three years, the company has faced a number of subpoenas regarding sicknesses linked to its restaurants following an E. Coli, salmonella and norovirus outbreaks at the company’s outlets dating back to late 2015 that affected hundreds across several states.

The latest subpoena is the fourth and is part of an ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Central District of California.

Last August, a type of bacteria found in meat and pre-cooked food left at unsafe temperatures was responsible for making hundreds of people ill in a Powell, Ohio restaurant.

The April 18 subpoena, disclosed https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1058090/000105809019000015/cmg-20190331x10q.htm in a regulatory filing on Thursday, is seeking information related to the incidents of illnesses associated with the Ohio restaurant and restaurants in California, Massachusetts, and Virginia, that were covered under previous subpoenas.

Chipotle reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit on Wednesday, driven by its new campaigns and its online ordering and deliveries initiatives.

The results were a reflection of Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol’s push to increase delivery options, create new menus and grow its loyalty program.

The company even launched a campaign earlier this year, that showcases all the fresh ingredients used in its tacos and burritos, coming after the negative publicity it received from the 2015 incident.

The company’s shares were up about a percent before the bell.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

Source: OANN

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Thousands in France march against anti-Semitism saying 'that's enough' following a string of attacks

Thousands of French people hit the streets of Paris and other cities on Tuesday with the slogan “That’s enough” in the wake of multiple anti-Semitic acts in the country.

The rally was led by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Republic Plaza and joined by former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.

Political parties across the political spectrum joined the march, though Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party held a separate event from the mainstream parties.

JEWISH GRAVES DESECRATED IN FRANCE AS PEOPLE HIT STREETS TO COMBAT 'POISON' OF ANTI-SEMITISM

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, went to Shoah Memorial, a Holocaust museum in Paris, to observe a moment of silence with other parliament leaders.

“Every time a French person, because he or she is Jewish, is insulted, threatened — or worse, injured or killed — the whole Republic” is attacked, Macron said at a news conference in Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron puts a stone on a vandalized grave in a show of respect during a visit at the Jewish cemetery in Quatzenheim, eastern France, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. French residents and public officials from across the political spectrum geared up Tuesday for nationwide rallies against anti-Semitism following a series of anti-Semitic acts, including the swastikas painted on about 80 gravestones at the Jewish cemetery overnight.

French President Emmanuel Macron puts a stone on a vandalized grave in a show of respect during a visit at the Jewish cemetery in Quatzenheim, eastern France, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. French residents and public officials from across the political spectrum geared up Tuesday for nationwide rallies against anti-Semitism following a series of anti-Semitic acts, including the swastikas painted on about 80 gravestones at the Jewish cemetery overnight. (Frederick Florin, Pool via AP)

The demonstration came after a string of incidents against the French Jewry in recent months. On Tuesday, the same day as the march, about 80 gravestones in a Jewish cemetery were desecrated with Swastikas overnight.

Macron visited the cemetery and said he felt shame seeing the gravestones desecrated. “This looks like absurd stupidity,” the French president said, promising to take action.

But in recent weeks, there has been multiple anti-Semitic incidents, prompting a reaction from lawmakers and the people.

ANTI-SEMITIC GRAFFITI SPRAYED ON PARIS BAGEL SHOP COMPARED TO SIMILAR ACTS IN NAZI GERMANY

Last weekend, police had to step in to protect the philosopher, Alain Finkielkraut, after the so-called “Yellow Vests” taunted the academic using anti-Jewish slurs.

Two teens were arrested on Friday after they allegedly fired shots at a synagogue with an air rifle in Paris and injured one Jewish man. Prosecutors reportedly said the motive was anti-Semitism.

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner touches a vandalized tombstone at the Jewish cemetery of Quatzenheim, eastern France, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. French residents and public officials from across the political spectrum geared up Tuesday for nationwide rallies against anti-Semitism following a series of anti-Semitic acts, including the swastikas painted on about 80 gravestones at the Jewish cemetery overnight.

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner touches a vandalized tombstone at the Jewish cemetery of Quatzenheim, eastern France, Tuesday Feb. 19, 2019. French residents and public officials from across the political spectrum geared up Tuesday for nationwide rallies against anti-Semitism following a series of anti-Semitic acts, including the swastikas painted on about 80 gravestones at the Jewish cemetery overnight. (Frederick Florin, Pool via AP)

A swastika was also found on street portraits of Simone Veil — a survivor of Nazi death camps and a European Parliament president who died in 2017.

The word “Juden” was painted on the window of a bagel restaurant in the capital, while two trees planted at a memorial honoring a young Jewish man tortured to death in 2006 were also vandalized, one cut down.

France is the home of the world’s largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States.

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French government revealed that there was a big rise in incidents of anti-Semitism last year – 541 registered incidents, up 74 percent from the 311 registered in 2017.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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War Room – 2019-Apr 11, Thursday – Breaking: Barack Obama To Be Investigated For Treason For Illegally Spying On Trump Campaign

Investigations now shift onto the Obama administration as Attorney General William Barr says there was spying and surveillance on the Trump campaign and President Trump said it was treasonous. This enters us into a new age of politics and hopefully justice and the deep state criminals are now in the cross-hairs.

Source: The War Room

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

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Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

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A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

April 26, 2019

By Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Surging global oil prices will pose a first big challenge to India’s new government, whoever wins an election now under way, especially as domestic prices have been allowed to lag, meaning consumers are in for a painful surge as they catch up.

For oil-import dependent India, higher global prices could lead to a weaker rupee, higher inflation, the ruling out of interest rate cuts and could further weigh on twin current account and budget deficits, economists warned.

But compounding the future pain, state-run fuel suppliers and retailers have held off passing on to consumers the higher prices during a staggered general election, which began on April 11 and ends on May 23, according to sources familiar with the situation.

That delay is expected to be unwound once the election is over. And there could be additional price increases to make up for losses or profits missed during the period of delayed increases, the sources said.

In some major Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, pump prices are adjusted periodically so they move largely in tandem with international crude prices.

That was what was supposed to happen in India but the election means there have been many days when pump prices have been unchanged.

In New Delhi, for example, while crude oil prices have gone up by nearly $9 a barrel, or about 12 percent, in the past six weeks, gasoline prices have only risen by 0.47 rupees a liter, or 0.6 percent.

State-controlled fuel suppliers and retailers declined to say why they had delayed price increases, or discuss whether there has been any pressure from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A government spokesman declined to comment.

The opposition Congress party said Modi’s government was violating its own policy of daily price revision by advising the state oil companies to hold prices steady.

“The government should cut fuel taxes otherwise consumers will have to pay much higher oil prices once the elections are over,” said Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior leader of the Congress party.

(GRAPHIC: India Polls: Fuel price hike lags crude surge – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XLlxik)

Nitin Goyal, treasurer at the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, representing fuel stations in 25 states, said prices were similarly held down for 19 days in the southern state of Karnataka last year, when it held state assembly elections.

Only for them to surge after the vote.

“Consumers should be ready for a rude shock of a massive jump in retail prices, similar to the level we have seen in the Karnataka state election,” Goyal said.

‘CREDIT NEGATIVE’

Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at Singapore-based consultancy FGE, said retail prices of gasoline and gasoil prices would have been up to 6 percent, or about 4 rupee, higher if they had been allowed to rise in line with global prices.

“Indian pump prices have failed to keep up with the recent uptrend in crude prices,” Paravaikkarasu said.

“With the country’s general elections underway, the incumbent government has been keeping pump prices relatively unchanged.”

India had switched to a daily price revision in June 2017 from a revision every two weeks, as the government allowed retailers to set prices.

But the government faced protests last October when retailers raised prices by up to 10 rupees a liter after the crude oil price went above $80 a barrel, forcing it to cut fuel taxes.

Global prices rose to their highest level in 2019 on Thursday, days after the United States announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers including India to stop buying Tehran’s oil. [O/R]

Higher oil prices will mean Asia’s third largest economy is likely to see growth of less than 7 percent rate this fiscal year, economists said. Growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the October-December quarter, the slowest in five quarters.

Rating agency CARE has warned that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices could increase demand for dollars, putting pressure on the rupee and widening the current account deficit.

India’s oil import bill rose by nearly one-third in the fiscal year ending March 31 to $140.5 billion, against $108 billion the previous year.

“The increase in international oil prices is a credit negative for the Indian economy,” ICRA, the Indian arm of the Fitch rating agency, said in a note.

“Every $10/ bbl increase in crude oil prices increases the fiscal deficit by about 0.1 percent of GDP.”

Any big price rise would also build a case for the central bank to keep rates steady, or even raise them.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, which cut the benchmark policy repo rate by 25 basis points this month, warned that rising oil and food prices could push up inflation.

Policymakers are worried that a sustained increase in the oil price in the range of $70-75/barrel or higher can move the rupee down by 3-4 percent on an annual basis.

The rupee has depreciated by 1.24 percent against the dollar since a year high in mid-March.

($1 = 70.1800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Martin Howell and Rob Birsel)

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