Latest news with #Rajappa
The Hindu
30-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Corporation councillors blame officials for not solving underground drainage issues for over three years
Cutting across party lines, the councillors from the ruling and opposition stood together and blamed the officials for not implementing the underground drainage (UGD) project in Dindigul city on Friday. As a result, the members said that the people faced hardships due to sewer flowing on the roads and in low lying areas, the gutter entered dwellings posing health hazards to the residents. The Mayor Illamathi presided in the presence of Deputy Mayor Rajappa and Commissioner Senthil Murugan. Senior officials from the Health, Town Planning, Engineering and other departments were present. The DMK members Janakiraman, Venkatesan and among others joined with the AIADMK member Baskaran, CPI (M) Ganesan and BJP's Dhanapal, who raised the UGD issues faced by the people in the city and with specific problems from their wards. As the pressure mounted unanimously from the elected representatives, the Executive Engineer Karuppiah intervened to say that the Corporation has taken a survey of the wards, where the UGD was functioning. 'We have noted the problems such as pipeline burst, leak in the UGD and incomplete works in the wards. An estimate has been prepared to the tune of Rs 38 crore. As and when the proposals were given approval, works would start within about two months. This would be a permanent solution to the UGD issue,' he summed up. Taxes should be lowered, uniform Though the then AIADMK government announced Dindigul and Thanjavur as Corporations in 2014, the tax slabs were different. While Dindigul residents were slapped with 27 % and it was 7 % for people in Thanjavur city, said councillor Subashini (DMK). The Commissioner said that taxes were decided by the government and not the officials. It is a policy matter to collect taxes on property, water, UGD and among others, he explained. Not convinced, the councillors again said that Dindigul had not got any funds from the Smart City Programs, while many other cities in the State enjoyed the funds from the Union government. The AIADMK and DMK members locked horns for a short period over the non-implementation of basic amenities and infrastructural facilities in the city. There were also heated arguments over the non-functioning of street lights in RM Colony 80 ft Road, Nehruji Nagar and others by Rajmohan (AIADMK). The officials said that it would be replaced soon. The councillors suggested the Mayor to send the minutes of the meeting in advance to them as it would help to prepare and familiarise with the subject. Except the resolution on the UGD, 29 other items tabled in the meeting were passed.
Business Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
US: Stocks end higher, shrugging off Moody's downgrade
[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks edged higher on Monday after shrugging off a spike in US Treasury bond yields following Moody's downgrade of the US credit rating. But yields subsequently eased as markets concluded Moody's analysis contained no surprises. After the knee-jerk reaction, 'the market settles down and focuses on the economic fundamentals,' said Subadra Rajappa, Head of US rates strategy at Societe Generale. The downgrade reflects serious concerns about the US' fiscal picture, but they were well known prior to the Moody's downgrade, Rajappa said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.3 per cent higher at 42,792.07. The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.1 per cent to 5,963.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added less than 0.1 per cent at 19,215.46. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Monday's session was the first since Moody's late Friday announced the downgrade, citing rising levels of US government debt and interest payment ratios 'to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.' On Monday, the yields on 10- and 30-year US bond surged above the levels in early April when President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff announcements sent markets spiraling. But in comparison with that turbulent period, a closely-watched volatility index remained relatively stable. Stocks have rallied since Trump suspended many of his most onerous tariff measures. Still, JPMorgan chief executive officer Jamie Dimon during an investor day characterised the remaining levies as 'pretty extreme tariffs,' suggesting stocks are overvalued in light of lingering risks. 'I think that's an extraordinary amount of complacency,' Dimon said of overall market sentiment. Among individual companies, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals rose 0.4 per cent after announcing it will buy genetic testing company 23andMe out of bankruptcy for US$256 million, a deal that provides the US biotech company with data on millions of clients. Novavax soared 15 per cent after US health regulators gave final approval to Novavax's Covid vaccine after an unusual delay. The drug has been approved for use in only two categories of patients: people aged 65 years and up, and those aged 12 to 64 who have at least one underlying health condition that puts them at high risk from Covid. AFP
Straits Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
US stocks end higher, shrugging off Moody's downgrade
A television broadcasts Moody's US credit downgrade news on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on May 19. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks edged higher on May 19 after shrugging off a spike in US Treasury bond yields following Moody's downgrade of the US credit rating. But yields subsequently eased as markets concluded Moody's analysis contained no surprises. After the knee-jerk reaction, 'the market settles down and focuses on the economic fundamentals,' said Ms Subadra Rajappa, head of US rates strategy at Societe Generale. The downgrade reflects serious concerns about the US' fiscal picture, but they were well known prior to the Moody's downgrade, Ms Rajappa said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.3 per cent at 42,792.07. The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.1 per cent to 5,963.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added less than 0.1 per cent at 19,215.46. May 19's session was the first since Moody's on May 16 announced the downgrade, citing rising levels of US government debt and interest payment ratios 'to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.' On May 19, the yields on 10- and 30-year US bond surged above the levels in early April when President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff announcements sent markets spiraling. But in comparison with that turbulent period, a closely-watched volatility index remained relatively stable. Stocks have rallied since Mr Trump suspended many of his most onerous tariff measures. Still, JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon during an investor day characterised the remaining levies as 'pretty extreme tariffs,' suggesting stocks are overvalued in light of lingering risks. 'I think that's an extraordinary amount of complacency,' Mr Dimon said of overall market sentiment. Among individual companies, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals rose 0.4 per cent after announcing it will buy genetic testing company 23andMe out of bankruptcy for US$256 million (S$333 million), a deal that provides the US biotech company with data on millions of clients. Novavax soared 15 per cent after US health regulators gave final approval to Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine after an unusual delay. The drug has been approved for use in only two categories of patients: people aged 65 years and up, and those aged 12 to 64 who have at least one underlying health condition that puts them at high risk from Covid-19. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
