Bolivian police chief says there is no warrant for arrest of Morales: TV

LA PAZ (Reuters) – There is no warrant for the arrest of President Evo Morales, a Bolivian police chief said on Sunday in comments aired on a local television channel.

Morales, who resigned on Sunday amid backlash over the disputed Oct. 20 election, denounced in an earlier statement on Twitter what he called an “illegal” police warrant for his arrest and saying that “violent groups” had attacked his home.

At least 22 hurt as Baghdad protesters targeted by army

At least 22 people were injured as security forces fired tear gas at anti-government protesters in Baghdad following weeks of unrest.

One person died in hospital of wounds sustained in clashes the previous day.

Security forces had pushed protesters back from bridges they had sought to control during the week.

The riots erupted in Baghdad with protests over lack of jobs and services and have spread across much of southern Iraq.

Security forces have used live ammunition and tear gas against mostly unarmed protesters, killing 280 people.

Rupee depreciates 8 paise against US dollar

However, weakness in the US dollar against other currencies overseas and easing crude oil prices supported the domestic unit and capped the fall.

The Indian rupee depreciated 8 paise to 71.34 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday tracking uncertainty over the US-China trade deal and subdued opening of the domestic equity market.

However, weakness in the US dollar against other currencies overseas and easing crude oil prices supported the domestic unit and capped the fall.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 71.36 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 8 paise over its previous closing.

On Friday, the local unit had closed an over three-week low of 71.28 against the US dollar.

Domestic bourses opened on a weak note on Monday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 126.40 points down at 40,197.21 and Nifty slipping 28.50 points to 11,879.65 ahead of the release of monthly industrial production data.

Foreign institutional investors purchased shares shares worth ₹ 932.20 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell marginally by 0.01 per cent to 98.34.

Crude oil benchmark, Brent Futures, eased 0.86 % to $ 61.97 per barrel.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.55 % in morning trade.

On the global front, US President Donald Trump said he has not agreed to roll back tariffs on Chinese imports, dampening recent optimism for a major de-escalation in the US-China trade war.

Police called to Pilbara lithium mine to investigate ‘incident’

WA police have been called in to investigate an incident at Pilbara Mineral's Pilgangoora lithium mine this morning that prompted the miner to enter a trading halt on the ASX.

The ASX on Monday morning announced a trading halt on shares of Pilbara Minerals until Wednesday, pending an announcement from the lithium and tantalum miner over an incident at the site.

Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora lithium mine.

Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety director mines safety Andrew Chaplyn said the department was aware of the incident at the mine and WA police were investigating.

"Given this is a police matter, DMIRS cannot provide further comment," he said.

The West Perth-based company operates the Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project and Mount Francisco, both in WA.

Shares of the miner were down as much as 3 per cent in early trade, before the halt was placed.

with Reuters

Roche : Phase II Study On Proliferative Lupus Nephritis Meets Primary Endpoint

Roche (RHHBY) said that the phase II NOBILITY study met the primary endpoint with Gazyva, in combination with standard of care. The study investigated the safety and efficacy of Gazyva or obinutuzumab for adults with proliferative lupus nephritis.

Lupus nephritis is a severe and potentially life-threatening manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus resulting from inflammation of the kidneys, with proliferative lupus nephritis being the most severe form and associated with high-risk of end-stage renal disease and death.

The phase II NOBILITY showed 40% of patients treated with Gazyva plus standard of care achieved complete renal response at Week 76, compared to 18% of patients treated with placebo plus standard of care.

Gazyva additionally met key secondary efficacy endpoints showing improved overall renal response and serologic markers of disease activity as compared to placebo.

The company said it plans to initiate enrollment in a phase III programme.

Malaysia Central Bank Unexpectedly Cuts Reserve Requirement

Malaysia’s central bank lowered its statutory reserve requirement ratio in an unexpected move on Friday, to improve liquidity in the domestic financial market.

Bank Negara Malaysia decided to reduce the SRR to 3.00 percent from 3.50 percent, effective from November 16.

“This will continue to support the efficient functioning of the domestic financial markets and facilitate effective liquidity management by the banking institutions,” the bank said.

The BNM added that SRR is an instrument to manage liquidity and is not a signal on the stance of monetary policy.

The central bank had left its key interest rate unchanged for a third policy session in a row, early this week. The overnight policy rate remains at 3.00 percent.

The previous change in the rate was in May, which was the first cut since July 2016.

Prakash Sakpal, an economist at ING, said the SRR cut is viewed as a clear precursor to the deteriorating growth outlook.

Today’s move raises confidence in forecasts of an additional 50 basis point interest rate cut in the current easing cycle, Sakpal added. The move will happen in the first quarter of 2020.

The third quarter GDP data is due on November 15. The economy had expanded 4.9 percent in the second quarter.

The central bank expects growth to come in the range of 4.3-4.8 percent this year.