‘Draft of norms to check misleading ads soon’

Consumer authority to be enforcer

As a forerunner to the introduction of an advertising code in the country, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs will soon release a draft regulation aimed at checking misleading advertisements, for consultation and comments from stakeholders, including industry watchdog Advertising Standards Council of India, consumers and advertisers, said Leena Nandan, Secretary, Consumer Affairs.

“The regulation for misleading advertisements will be notified after the due process of consultations,” she told The Hindu. The draft, which will be uploaded on the Ministry’s website, will be the first step towards this. The government will notify the regulations on misleading ads under the Consumer Protection Act while the Central Consumer Protection Authority will be the enforcing agency.”

The authorities, she said, had taken up the advertising code earlier as well. However, the law was not stringent enough for consumer protection until new regulation brought in legal backing for action to be taken against misleading advertisements.

Ten-Year Note Auction Attracts Modestly Below Average Demand

The Treasury Department continued this week’s announcements of the results of its long-term securities on Wednesday, revealing that the sale of $38 billion worth of ten-year notes attracted modestly below average demand.

The ten-year note auction drew a high yield of 0.677 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.41.

The Treasury sold $29 billion worth of ten-year notes last month, drawing a high yield of 0.653 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.62.

The bid-to-cover ratio is a measure of demand that indicates the amount of bids for each dollar worth of securities being sold.

The ten previous ten-year note auctions had an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.47.

Looking ahead, the Treasury is due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $26 billion worth of thirty-year bonds on Thursday.

Uber says new driver ruling would force it to shut down in California

Uber would be forced to shut down its ride-hailing operations in California if a court ruling that blocks it from classifying its drivers as independent contractors goes into effect, the company said in a court filing.

A California judge on Monday granted the state’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking Uber and rival Lyft from classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.

Several hundred thousand “gig” workers, including many at ride-hailing companies and app-based food delivery services, are affected by the law known as Assembly Bill 5, which took effect Jan. 1.

The shutdown would irreparably harm Uber and the people who rely on its rides operations to generate income, the company said in its court filing Tuesday.

“If the court doesn’t reconsider, then in California, it’s hard to believe we’ll be able to switch our model to full-time employment quickly,” Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi was quoted as saying by CNBC on Wednesday.

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Options traders bet on even more pain for Lyft after earnings

After a flurry of bullish activity highlighted Lyft's options activity last week, Uber's disappointing earnings report has pushed the market in a decidedly more bearish direction. 

"We saw puts out-trade calls by [a ratio of] about 3-to-2, and right now, the options market is implying a move of about 11% [in either direction]," Optimize Advisors CIO Michael Khouw said Tuesday on "Fast Money."

That would be quite a move for Lyft to make between its report after the bell on Wednesday and Friday's close, but over the last eight quarters, the stock has averaged a move of about 10% in either direction after reporting. Tuesday's options activity was firmly in the bearish camp, as far as which way that implied move will shake out. 

"The most active options were the 30-strike puts, the ones that expire at the end of this week," said Khouw. "Over 2,500 of those traded for about $1.35, so buyers of those puts are betting that there could be additional pressure on the stock following earnings by the end of the week."

Those contracts break even about 8.5% lower than where Lyft closed Tuesday's session, leaving plenty of room for profitability even if Lyft moves slightly less than what the options market is implying. 

Lyft shares were trading about 1.5% higher in Wednesday's session. 

Disclaimer

Pedestrian killed in hit-and-run on Parker Road in Aurora

Aurora police are searching for the driver of a pickup truck on Tuesday night who struck a pedestrian and fled the scene.

The pedestrian, a 56-year-old man, died at a hospital, according to an Aurora Police Department news release. The man was crossing Parker Road near South Peoria Street around 10:30 p.m. when he was hit.

The pickup driver kept driving on Parker Road toward Interstate 225, the news release said.

Aurora police traffic investigators ask anyone who may have witnessed this crash, has dash camera footage or has any information about the fatality to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-7867.

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