Putin speeds up Russian political shake-up, details new power centre

By Ritu, Capital Sands President Vladimir Putin accelerated a shake-up of Russia’s political system on Monday, submitting a constitutional reform blueprint to parliament that will create a new centre of power outside the presidency. Putin also replaced Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika, who had held the role since 2006, a move suggesting his planned changes could […]

Fines for European privacy breaches reach 114 million euros: report

By Ritu, Capital Sands European regulators have imposed 114 million euros ($126 million) in fines for data breaches since tougher privacy rules came into force in mid-2018, with approaches varying widely from country to country. A report by law firm DLA Piper said France has imposed the biggest single fine – of 50 million euros […]

BJP’s OBC meet to begin in Patna today, all eyes on Mahagathbandhan vote bank

By Ritu, Capital Sands   After wooing upper caste voters by bringing a law to provide 10 per cent reservation to economically weaker section amongst the forward caste, the Bharatiya Janata Party is now eyeing to make inroads into the OBC vote bank of the Mahagathbandhan ahead of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The […]

Oil gains after U.S.-China trade deal, rise in inventories

By Ritu, Capital Sands   Oil prices rose on Thursday after the signing of an initial Sino-U.S. trade deal that sets the stage for a surge in Chinese purchases of American energy products, while U.S. crude inventories fell more than expected. Brent  was 45 cents, or 0.7%, higher at $64.45 a barrel, while U.S. crude was up […]

Michael Patra appointed deputy governor of RBI for a three-year term

By Ritu, Capital Sands Michael Debabrata Patra, 59, has been appointed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor for three years. The post fell vacant after Viral Acharya resigned on July 23 last year. Patra, as executive director of the central bank, was the principal advisor to the Monetary Policy Department since July 2012. […]

Asian Markets Rise as U.S. Drops China’s Currency Manipulator Label

By Ritu, Capital Sands Asian stocks rose in morning trade on Tuesday after the U.S. dropped China’s currency manipulator label, saying that it has made “enforceable commitments” not to devalue the yuan. China’s Shanghai Composite inched up 0.1%, while the Shenzhen Component gained 0.3%. “China has made enforceable commitments to refrain from competitive devaluation, while promoting transparency and accountability. […]

Economic Calendar – Top 5 Things to Watch This Week

By Ritu, Capital Sands U.S. and China to bury the trade hatchet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit Washington to sign the Phase 1 trade deal with the U.S. on Wednesday, which will deescalate the trade war between the two sides. But no deadline has been set for the next phase of talks to begin […]

USD/JPY Technical Analysis: Weekly close beyond 109.70/75 will be a call to bulls

By Ritu, Capital Sands USD/JPY trades positive near the two-week high, on a five-day winning streak. Bullish engulfing on the weekly chart confronts 109.48/52 resistance confluence. 200-week SMA adds to the resistance. USD/JPY takes the bids to 109.55 during the initial trading session on Friday. In doing so, the pair registers a bullish candlestick formation on the […]

Swiss franc holds gains, yen steady as traders eye Iran

By Ritu, Capital Sands The Swiss franc held gains against the dollar on Tuesday as traders sought save-havens amid heightened anxiety about potential Iranian retaliation to a U.S. drone strike that killed its most prominent military commander. The yen, another safe-haven currency, pulled back from a three-month high versus the dollar, but sentiment remains fragile […]

BNP Joins JPMorgan in Setting Up Singapore Currency Trading Hub

By Ritu, Capital Sands BNP Paribas  is planning to join JPMorgan Chase  & Co. and Citigroup Inc . by setting up an electronic currency trading and pricing platform in Singapore. The facility will support electronic trading of 50 currencies in spot, forward, swaps, non-deliverable forwards and options, according to a company statement. It will also […]