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GSTN infrastructure upgraded to handle up to 300,000 users concurrently

Besides, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has introduced auto-populated sales return form GSTR-3B in PDF form which will be available from October 2020 tax periods onwards.

The complete PDF with auto-population of input tax credit will be available on the common portal (GSTN) from November 12, 2020, GSTN said in a statement.

GSTN said it has augmented the capacity of the gateway from 150,000 to 300,000 concurrent logged in taxpayers to handle the expected sharp surge in the indirect tax-related activities on the portal after easing of lockdown.

India records 45,903 new COVID-19 cases, 490 more deaths

The total number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 79,17,373, pushing the national recovery rate to 92.56 per cent while the case fatality rate stands at 1.48 per cent.

The number of active cases of COVID-19 remained below 6 lakh for the 11th consecutive day. There are 5,09,673 active cases of the coronavirus infection in the country as on date which comprises 5.96 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

Global Markets: Risk assets cheer Biden win, dollar nurses losses

“The best opportunities now lie within segments of emerging markets, in particular China and North Asia. I believe earnings momentum and valuation put China in a very attractive risk/reward position.”

Chinese shares started higher with the blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 up 2.2% on hopes of better Sino-U.S. trade relations under Biden.

U.S. crosses 10 million COVID-19 cases as third wave of infections surges

More than 237,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 since the illness caused by the coronavirus first emerged in China late last year.

The daily average of reported new deaths in the United States account for one in every 11 deaths reported worldwide each day, according to a Reuters analysis.

The number of reported deaths nationwide climbed by more than 1,000 for a fifth consecutive day on Saturday, a trend last seen in mid-August, according to a Reuters tally.

Investors bet vaccine sparks revival in beaten down stocks

As the market hype around the U.S. election ebbs, investors are now preparing for good vaccine news, which they believe is a matter of when, not if.

“It’s going to be absolutely massive,” said Stuart Oakley, head of cash currency trading at Nomura in London. “If we get a vaccine, we’re going to see all that pent up demand coming out.”

Of the roughly 45 vaccines undergoing human trials, those from Pfizer and Moderna are seen as possibly winning regulatory approval this year, with AstraZeneca not far behind.

Investors are looking beyond an expected “excitement rally” and at longer-term beneficiaries and short-selling opportunities.

Nissan plots digital course for car sales in a post-pandemic world

The operating chief, Ashwani Gupta, told the board meeting in late July that Nissan was racing to create a “complete, end-to-end digital journey”, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

He said this would allow consumers to research cars online, have models delivered to their homes for test drives and make purchase plans without ever having to visit a dealership, if they chose not to do so, the sources told Reuters.

Pfizer’s Covid vaccine prevents 90% of infections in large study

“Today is a great day for science and humanity,” Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive, said.

“We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen,”he said.

Cinven and Singapore’s GIC to acquire specialist insurance broker Miller

Headquartered in London, it places  £2 billion worth of premiums annually.

Founded in 1902, Miller is a leading specialist insurance and (re)insurance broker operating in the UK, Lloyd’s and internationally. It employs more than 640 people through its offices in London, Ipswich, Brussels, Paris, Singapore and Geneva, covering the world’s major insurance hubs.

Q&A: Where are we in the COVID-19 vaccine race?

The World Health Organization has recommended a minimum standard for effectiveness of at least 50%. The United States and some other regulators are following that guideline – which means there must be at least twice as many infections among volunteers who received a placebo as among those in the vaccine group. The European Medicines Agency has said it may accept a lower efficacy level.

Pfizer said its vaccine is more than 90% effective against COVID-19.

Top $5 trillion investor group pushes firms to cut out thermal coal

In a report seen by Reuters ahead of its release on Monday, the alliance said all companies owned by the group needed to develop their own plans to transition away from thermal coal.

“If no long-term carbon footprint reduction can be produced the members will need to escalate and ultimately divest,” Günther Thallinger, Member of the Board of Management, Investment Management, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) at Allianz, said.

EU urges online platforms to gird for new wave of COVID consumer scam

“We know from our earlier experience that fraudsters see this pandemic as an opportunity to trick European consumers,” Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said in a statement.

“We need to be even more agile during the second wave currently hitting Europe,” he added after a meeting with platform executives at which he encouraged them to join forces to strengthen their response to would-be fraudsters.

English judge blocks $6.6 billion Brazil lawsuit against BHP over burst dam

The case is the latest battle to establish whether multinationals can be held liable for the conduct of subsidiaries abroad.
The collapse of the Fundao dam, which is owned by the Samarco joint venture between BHP and Brazilian iron ore mining giant Vale VALE3.SA, killed 19 and sent a torrent of mining waste into communities, the Doce river, and the Atlantic Ocean, 650 kilometres (400 miles) away. It was Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.
The ruling comes about 18 months after the UK Supreme Court ruled that nearly 2,000 Zambian villagers could sue miner Vedanta in England for alleged pollution in Africa because substantial justice was not obtainable in Zambia.