US-China Trade war, Gold prices, Fly board and Automobile

What’s happening this week

• Jeff Bezos sold 530,000 Amazon shares worth $990 million
• India revokes special status of Kashmir
• Parliament passed Consumer Protection Bill, 2019
• 60,000 rubber ducks race in Chicago River to raise funds for Special Olympics Illinois

Hey!

Fossil of largest ever parrot found in New Zealand and India bids final adieu to former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

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Trade Man

Once upon a time… Worried about US trade deficits Donald Trump announced tariffs on its trade partners in 2018… US’s largest trade partner — China retaliated by imposing tariffs on US products. This was followed by a series of counter-tariffs imposed by each country. And hence commenced the Trade War. Until now the US has imposed tariffs on USD 250 billion worth of Chinese goods, and China has applied tariffs on US goods worth USD 110 billion.

Things are going south… The slow US growth rate influenced the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates last week after a decade. On Monday the Chinese Yuan fell to 7 against the USD, the lowest in 11 years. The US labels China as a ‘Currency Manipulator’ since this makes Chinese goods cheaper. Globally, trade war worries nudged India, Thailand and New Zealand to cut interest rates.

All that shines is Gold…The gold prices reached a 6 year high on Tuesday. The investors seem to be moving towards traditional and safe-haven assets like Gold. Markets have become volatile and share prices are falling. Do you trade in stocks? In case you had losses, Keep these in mind while filing your ITR:

• You can carry forward & set off the losses in the next financial year
• Claim a deduction for brokerage, transaction and clearing charges, Securities Transaction Tax i.e. STT paid as a business expense
• Get your books of accounts audited if your turnover is more than 1 crore and profit or loss is less than 6% or 8% of turnover

Confused? Check if you are liable for a tax audit.

File your ITR for free on Quicko and get the maximum refund.

First Man

Humans are flying now… French Investor Franky Zapata became the first person to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered flyboard. It took him 22 minutes to complete the 22-mile journey on the flyboard that was powered by a kerosene-filled backpack. The biggest challenge was to refuel by switching to another backpack during the crossing. In his previous attempt, he fell into the water before reaching the boat to refuel. The defense industries are interested in this flying vehicle.

Is air the new highway? Japan’s “Flying Car” has successfully made its first test flight, it was powered by a battery and hovered about 3 meters above the ground for a minute. It can be compared to a large drone, with four propellers with an ability to carry people. Japan is aiming to become the leader in the flying car technology and let people ride in these vehicles by 2030.

Honk Honk… Traffic congestion is a growing problem in multiple cities across the globe. With ride-hailing companies, transport has become easier. Uber and Lyft have been claiming that they have the potential to make cities better by easing traffic. But reports suggest the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) has increased, indicating the rise in transit and traffic congestion. As a means to for growth and tackle traffic congestion, ride-hailing companies are also looking at selling public-transport services like train and bus tickets.

Take a cab… aren’t they convenient? The ownership in personal vehicles has reduced and the automobile sector is struggling in India. The automobile sector contributes 7% to India’s GDP Carmakers have put their production facilities on hold due to slow demand. 3.5 Lakh layoffs are feared by the slowing down of the auto industry.

Drive the world green…The automobile industry is becoming sensitive to the environment. Electric Vehicles (EV) is now a key interest area for companies, the government is also incentivizing EVs by offering tax-breaks, exemption from customs duty on the import of certain parts of EV, lowering of GST rate, etc. With the struggling automobile sector and layoffs, the tax benefits on EVs are expected to have a dent on the government’s treasury.

Byte of the Day

‘Sirji, Its Electric… Gives shock’ — Anand Mahindra