Trump Media tells shareholders how to block their DJT stock being loaned to short sellers

 Trump Media tells shareholders how to block their DJT stock being loaned to short sellers

 Dubai flooding hobbles major airport's operations as "historic weather event" brings torrential rains to UAE

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The desert nation of the United Arab Emirates attempted to dry out Wednesday from the heaviest rain ever recorded there after a deluge flooded out Dubai International Airport, disrupting travel through the world's busiest airfield for international travel. The state-run WAM news agency called the rain Tuesday "a historic weather event" that surpassed "anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949." 

The rains began late Monday, soaking the sands and roadways of Dubai with some 0.79 inches of rain, according to meteorological data collected at Dubai International Airport. The storms intensified around 9 a.m. local time Tuesday and continued throughout the day, dumping more rain and hail onto the overwhelmed city.

Flooding impacts Dubai International Airport

By the end of Tuesday, more than 5.59 inches of rainfall had soaked Dubai over 24 hours. An average year sees just 3.73 inches of rain fall at Dubai International Airport, a hub for the long-haul carrier Emirates.

At the airport, standing water lapped on taxiways as aircraft landed. Arrivals were halted Tuesday night and passengers struggled to reach terminals through the floodwater covering surrounding roads.

TOPSHOT-UAE-BAHRAIN-OMAN-WEATHER-FLOOD 
Motorisits drive along a flooded street following heavy rains in Dubai, early on April 17, 2024.

The airport said in a series of social media posts that all operations were halted for about 25 minutes on Tuesday afternoon and that all arrivals would be diverted after that "until the weather conditions improve." Late Wednesday morning, the airport and the flagship carrier Emirates were still warning travelers not to come to the airport unless absolutely necessary, saying all flight check-in was still suspended.

"Flights continue to be delayed and diverted. Please check your flight status directly with your airline," the airport said in a tweet. "We are working hard to recover operations as quickly as possible in very challenging conditions." 

One couple, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in a country with strict laws that criminalize critical speech, called the situation at the airport "absolute carnage."

"You cannot get a taxi. There's people sleeping in the Metro station. There's people sleeping in the airport," the man said Wednesday.

They ended up getting a taxi to near their home some 18 miles away, but floodwater on the road stopped them. A bystander helped them over a highway barrier with their carry-on luggage, the bottles of gin they picked up from a duty-free store clinking away.

Passengers wait at a flight connection desk at Dubai International Airport, April 17, 2024, amid flight delays and cancelations caused by flash flooding brought by a historic rain storm.

Paul Griffiths, the airport's CEO, acknowledged continued issues with flooding Wednesday morning, saying every place an aircraft could be safely parked was taken. Some aircraft had been diverted to Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, the city-state's second airfield.

"It remains an incredibly challenging time. In living memory, I don't think anyone has ever seen conditions like it," Griffiths told the state-owned talk radio station Dubai Eye. "We are in uncharted territory, but I can assure everyone we are working as hard as we possibly can to make sure our customers and staff are looked after."

Did "cloud-seeding" contribute?

Rain also fell in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. However, the rains were acute across the UAE. One reason may have been "cloud seeding," in which small planes flown by the government go through clouds burning special salt flares. Those flares can increase precipitation.

Several reports quoted meteorologists at the National Center for Meteorology as saying they flew six or seven cloud-seeding flights before the rains. The center did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday, though flight-tracking data analyzed by the AP showed one aircraft affiliated with the UAE's cloud-seeding efforts flew around the country Sunday.

The UAE, which relies heavily on energy-hungry desalination plants to provide water, conducts cloud seeding in part to increase its dwindling, limited groundwater.

Flooding closes schools across UAE

Schools across the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, largely shut ahead of the storm and government employees were largely working remotely if they could. Many workers stayed home as well, though some ventured out, with the unfortunate ones stalling out their vehicles in deeper-than-expected water covering some roads.

Cars are seen on a flooded street during a rainstorm in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 16, 2024.

Authorities sent tanker trucks out into the streets and highways to pump away the water. Water poured into some homes, forcing people to bail out their houses.

The country's hereditary rulers offered no overall damage or injury information for the nation, as some people slept in their flooded vehicles Tuesday night. In Ras al-Khaimah, the country's northernmost emirate, police said a 70-year-old man died when his vehicle was swept away by floodwater.

Fujairah, an emirate on the UAE's eastern coast, saw the heaviest rainfall Tuesday with 5.7 inches falling there.

Authorities canceled school and the government instituted remote work again for Wednesday.

Rain is unusual in the UAE, an arid, Arabian Peninsula nation, but occurs periodically during the cooler winter months. Many roads and other areas lack drainage given the lack of regular rainfall, causing flooding.

Meanwhile in neighboring Oman, a sultanate that rests on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, at least 19 people were killed in heavy rains in recent days, according to a statement Wednesday from the country's National Committee for Emergency Management. That includes some 10 schoolchildren swept away in a vehicle with an adult, prompting condolences from rulers across the region.

Exchanges' poor communication and not RBI's circular causing losses in currency-derivatives, say sources

 Exchanges' poor communication and not RBI's circular causing losses in currency-derivatives, say sources : 

Leading exchange issued circulars in this regard to brokerages only on April 1, which was just few days before the earlier deadline.

Traders and brokers told Moneycontrol that they were told to expect a rollback from the regulators.

Retail traders have been hastily exiting their currency-derivative positions, incurring significant losses, after brokers alerted them to an impending RBI circular just days before its implementation deadline. However, experts said that the requirement outlined in the circular is not new and has been in place since at least 2020.

The recent circular merely underscored this requirement and mandated exchanges to inform traders accordingly, they said.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had sent out a circular on January 5, asking stock exchanges to inform users that they must be able to establish (if required) that they have an underlying exposure to a currency—for example as an importer or exporter—before they can trade in the currency's derivative. The circular's directive was to come into effect from April 5.

In a circular issued on April 4, the central bank said that they have extended the deadline to May 3.

The January circular was followed by an uproar from various quarters claiming that the central bank has effectively killed the currency derivatives market. But legal experts and market insiders told Moneycontrol that the central bank's position on this derivative segment has not changed significantly for years, atleast when it comes to retail traders.

In the April 4 circular, the RBI stated, "it is emphasised that the regulatory framework for ETCDs has remained consistent over the years and that there is no change in the RBI’s policy approach."

The experts and insiders explained that the only additional directive in the January circular, which could impact retail traders, was that exchanges were asked to inform traders of an existing regulatory requirement.

This is where a large lapse seems to have occurred, which led to traders having to exit their positions at whatever price. Leading exchange issued circulars in this regard to brokerages only on April 1, which was just few days before the earlier deadline of April 5.

'No clarity given'

Market insiders, including traders and dealers, told Moneycontrol that there was no clear communication from the exchanges or the brokerages on this matter till few days before the deadline.

A currency dealer, who spoke on condition of anonymity to Moneycontrol, said, "We have been asking for clarity on RBI's circular since January 15 but no one from the exchanges or the brokerages told us anything definitively. They kept telling us that the regulatory requirement could be reversed or the deadline (April 5) might be extended."

The dealer said that they have been squaring off positions of their clients for the past two days.

The option premiums have been shooting up, with some option premiums even going up by 100x in a few minutes, but the dealer said that the traders have no choice but to exit at whatever price they can find.

Another trader said that some of the brokerages hinted that this directive may come into force but then assured that there will be a roll back done by RBI or by the market regulator. A broker, on condition of anonymity, seconded this. The roll back was never made. The central bank only gave an extension of the deadline, which is now May 3.

Not a new regulatory requirement

The regulatory requirement, that users have to establish contracted or anticipated currency-risk exposure, is not new. It was there even from 2020, said legal experts.

The dealer said that they have been squaring off positions of their clients for the past two days.

The option premiums have been shooting up, with some option premiums even going up by 100x in a few minutes, but the dealer said that the traders have no choice but to exit at whatever price they can find.

Another trader said that some of the brokerages hinted that this directive may come into force but then assured that there will be a roll back done by RBI or by the market regulator. A broker, on condition of anonymity, seconded this. The roll back was never made. The central bank only gave an extension of the deadline, which is now May 3.

Not a new regulatory requirement

The regulatory requirement, that users have to establish contracted or anticipated currency-risk exposure, is not new. It was there even from 2020, said legal experts.

 

RBI defers implementing FX derivatives rules to May 3

RBI had tightened rules on currency derivatives with the aim of curbing speculative trading. This would offer some short-term relief as market participants feared that the implementation of the new rules could dent trading volumes significantly in the segment.

MUMBAI - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has deferred the implementation of currency derivative regulations by a month to May 3. This is in view of the feedback received from the market and the recent developments, the central bank said in a release.

RBI had tightened rules on currency derivatives to curb speculative trading.

This would offer some short-term relief as market participants feared that the implementation of the new rules could dent trading volumes significantly in the segment.

In January, RBI issued a circular stating that forex derivative contracts involving the rupee can be used only for hedging contracted exposure.

The central bank had directed stock exchanges to inform users that trading in currency derivatives up to $100 million equivalent across all currency pairs can be done only if they have exposure to a valid underlying contracted exposure.

While the implementation has been deferred, RBI reiterated that its policy approach on forex derivatives remains unchanged.

“It is emphasised that the regulatory framework for ETCDs (exchange traded currency derivatives) has remained consistent over the years and that there is no change in the RBI’s policy approach,” the central bank said.

The revised rules still align with the RBI’s broader foreign exchange management policy as the central bank is taking measures to ensure no major swings in the rupee in the run-up to the inclusion of India’s bond in global indexes from June.

The rupee has been one of the least volatile currencies among emerging market currencies globally.

Taking Stock: Sensex, Nifty close at new highs, all eyes on RBI policy

 Taking Stock: Sensex, Nifty close at new highs, all eyes on RBI policy

 The Sensex and Nifty also hit fresh all-time highs of 74,501.73 and 22,619 early in the day but pared some of the gains as the session progressed.

The Indian benchmark indices climbed to record highs, squandered some of the gains but still managed to close in the green in a volatile session of trade on April 4, a day ahead of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy announcement.

The Sensex ended 350.81 points, or 0.47 percent, higher at 74,227.63 and the Nifty 80 points, or 0.36 percent, at 22,514.70, their best close ever

Market started the session gap-up at record highs with the Sensex hitting 74,501.73 and the Nifty 22,619 but they erased the gains in the initial hours to gyrate between gains and losses throughout the session.

Top Nifty gainers were HDFC Bank, Eicher Motors, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra and Titan Company, while losers were ONGC, Shriram Finance, Adani Ports, BPCL and Bharti Airtel.

Among sectors, bank, power, information technology were up 0.5-1 percent, while the PSU bank and oil & gas index were down 0.7-1.6 percent.

The BSE midcap index ended flat, while the smallcap index added 0.5 percent.

Among individual stocks, a volume spike of more than 300 percent was seen in Dabur India, Ipca Lab, Exide Industries.

A long build-up was seen in Ipca Lab, Vedanta and Bandhan Bank, while a short build-up was seen in Dabur India, Colgate Palmolive and HPCL.

More than 200 stocks touched thier 52-week high including Aditya Birla Capital, Adani Power, Ajmera Realty, Anup Enginerring, Avenue Supermarts, Canara Bank, GE Power India, Genesys International, Glenmark Pharma, Grasim Industries, Indian Hotels, Ipca Labs, JSW Energy, Jubilant Pharmova, KEC International, L&T Technology, Laurus Labs, M&M, Muthoot Finance, NTPC, Quess Corp, Reliance Power, Shriram Finance, UNO Minda, Vardhman Textile, Vedanta, Voltas, among others.

Markets traded volatile for yet another session and gained nearly half a percent. After the initial uptick, Nifty slipped sharply lower in the early hours however strength in heavyweights, especially from banking and IT majors, helped the index to recoup losses and inch higher. Eventually, Nifty settled at 22,514.65 level; up by 0.4%. Meanwhile, a mixed trend continued on the sectoral front wherein FMCG and energy closed in the red. The buoyancy continued on the broader front wherein smallcap gained nearly half a percent.

We expect the prevailing tone to continue however the pace of advance would largely depend upon the performance of banking and IT majors. Participants should continue with the “buy on dips” approach and focus more on stock selection.