ASIA: Facebook will buy a 10% stake in the digital business of Reliance Industries for 5.7 billion USD, as the social media firm looks to leverage its highly popular WhatsApp chat service to offer digital payment services. The deal will help the Reliance Industries cut debt that has piled up in its expensive push to […]

ASIA: India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), temporarily eased some fund-raising regulations for listed entities to give them easier and faster access to capital markets. To allow more companies to avail fast-track rights issuances, SEBI reduced the required average market capitalization of public shareholding required to 1 billion rupees from […]

ASIA: India has pitched for enhancing the emergency assistance of the National Development Bank to $10 billion from $1 billion. The issue was flagged by union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the annual meeting of the board of governors of the National Development Bank (NDB) via video conference on Monday. NDB has so far approved […]

QUESTION #1: Dear Mr. Armstrong, I’ve been following your blog for quite a while, and have a Basic subscription to Socrates. Wish I could have been able to attend a WEC, but so far that’s not been possible. Also wish I understood everything in Socrates so much better, but my old brain isn’t what it used […]

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; Do you disagree with Trump blaming China for this virus leaking from their lab? HB ANSWER: I do not care if it was a mistaken leak from China’s lab or it was sent here by aliens intending to invade the planet. The source is irrelevant. There are also conspiracy theories that it […]

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I am a new reader. I was wondering if you agree with Trump that the stock market will make new highs. Thank you for your time JA ANSWER: The market will make new highs, just not this instant. However, it will not make new highs because the economy will be strong. It […]

ASIA: The total number of coronavirus cases in India has gone up to 13,387, while the death toll has risen to 437, according to the latest figures from the Health Ministry. In the past 24 hours, 1,007 fresh COVID-19 infections and 23 deaths were reported. India’s gold consumption in 2020 could fall as much as […]

ASIA: India identified 170 districts as hotspots including major metros – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a set of guidelines that informs which services and practices are permitted in these areas during the next phase of lockdown which will continue till May 3, 2020. India has agreed […]

ASIA: India laid out plans for the gradual reopening of its economy that will permit some manufacturing, agricultural work, and other activities to resume on a limited basis after April 20, provided they are not in designated coronavirus hotspots. India’s top-down approach to implementing the initial countrywide lockdown was critical in slowing the rapid spread […]

ASIA: India has extended its national lockdown until May 3, 2020. Prime Minister Modi announced this decision today in a televised address to the nation. After April 20, some states that have avoided outbreaks may be allowed to resume. The country has at least 10,363 reported cases, including 339 deaths, according to the Ministry of […]