Finance minister Niramala Sitharaman is currently on an official trip to the US. On Tuesday (Monday in the US), Sitharaman spoke on a wide range of topics ranging from free trade agreements to cryptocurrencies.

Sitharaman said that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) needs to be more progressive and must give space to countries that have something different to say. She also said that India wants globalisation to be more transparent.

On free trade agreements (FTAs)

While talking at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Sitharaman said that India is in talks with UK, European Union and Canada for free trade agreements (FTAs). She said FTAs are being signed in "faster" way nowadays and that the India-UK FTA negotiations are "going on as we speak."

"Free Trade Agreements are being signed in a much faster way nowadays. We've just concluded one with Australia. Earlier we concluded with UAE, Mauritius and with ASEAN. We have extended quota-free and tariff-free regime to Least Developed Countries," she said.

On globalisation

Sitharaman said that India is not seeking to reverse the benefits of globalisation, but is asking that it be made more transparent.

"It's not to say that we have to reverse the benefits of globalisation. It is more to say, make globalization more transparent," she said in response to a question.

"We have a big play. We also don't import final consumer goods, which we are capable of manufacturing. However, when you have price discrepancies or price competitiveness affecting your purchasing decisions, you end up buying those which you can produce because they come at a far more, cheaper rate," she said.

"So, Indians have always had this difficulty in having to come back to producing certain things which are your day-to-day domestic necessities, but you are unable to produce because you find cheaper imports coming or the very same requirement. But now we've seen that there is an opportunity which lies, one from the consumer point of view, that even within India, there's enough purchasing power. And many of these goods which can be produced in India will have a definitive large consumer base within the country," she added.

So, catering to the domestic market itself has become now attractive for many of those producers who wouldn't have produced such things which were otherwise available for cheap from outside, she noted.

On cryptocurrency

Sitharaman said that cryptocurrencies are a very important part of the discussion under India's G20 presidency.

"Given so many collapses and shocks in cryptocurrencies. We seek to develop a common framework for all countries to deal with this matter," she said in a roundtable meeting on the theme 'Investment opportunities for the long term: India on the Rise' with business leaders and investors.

It was hosted by industry body CII, US India Business Council and US Chamber.

The finance minister also highlighted India's robust digital public infrastructure such as Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and Account Aggregator platform, which have enabled small entrepreneurs to access credit and other digital services.

In a world full of post-pandemic challenges, she said that India offers policy certainty, skilled manpower, high digital tech adaption rate resulting in a host of opportunities for investment.

Sitharaman exhorted the participants to become part of India's exciting transformational journey towards greater prosperity, better standards of living for its citizens and higher returns for investors.

On WTO

Sitharaman said India wants the WTO to be more progressive and listening to other countries. She asserted that the WTO needs to give more space to the countries which have something different to say and not just hear.

"I would like the WTO to be a lot more progressive, a lot more listening to all countries, to be fair to all members," Sitharaman said.

"I, fortunately, unfortunately spent some time with the WTO in my capacity as a commerce minister of India between 2014 and 2017. It has to give more space to hear voices of countries which have something different to say and not just hear, but also somewhat heed because today's message for the WTO should be to have greater openness," she added.

"In fact, I'm not quoting, in the context of WTO, but it might be useful to recall the words of US Commerce Secretary (sic), Katherine Tai. She had recently spoken and I was very, very impressed, if I can use that word, about what exactly is the traditional trading approach. What exactly is liberalizing the market? What would it actually mean in terms of tariff reduction?" she said.

"It is true now, countries do look at it. It is a time when countries are looking at what extent to which you would want to have market liberalization. It has had cost repercussions for the US economy, and that's exactly what the US Secretary Commerce has said. And if that's something which the United States Commerce Secretary feels, I felt the same in 2014 and 2015. Probably my articulation was never getting a space in global media. But many of the global south countries do have the same feeling," she said.

"What exactly is this? How far is liberalization? To what extent tariff reduction? We in India for all the less developed countries, the global South, if you would ask them would have a similar opinion as the US Commerce Secretary. But in India, we've already extended to all the least developed countries, quota-free, tariff-free trading policy," she said.

(With agency inputs)

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Cryptocurrency to FTA: Nirmala Sitharaman discusses range of issues in US - Business Standard

House Deputy Speaker and Las Pias City lone district Rep. Camille Villar (Facebook)

Noting that aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are being duped left and right, House Deputy Speaker and Las Pias City lone district Rep. Camille Villar is eying a congressional inquiry into the proliferation of scammers offering dubious and non-existent jobs abroad.

Villar filed for this purpose House Resolution (HR) No.899, where the House leader cited the need for a full-blown investigation to unmask those behind the illegal recruitment ring that's been victimizing young Filipinos.

There have been countless reports of Filipinos being victimized by local placement agencies for non-existent jobs abroad and syndicates offering high-paying jobs but the jobseeker ends up in a dubious cryptocurrency group, said Villar.

Reports said that the Bureau of Immigration (BI) had rescued six victims of a cryptocurrency ring operating abroad, with some of them being offered a monthly salary of P40,000 while others were offered $800 to $1,000. They had been told that they will leave the Philippines as tourists.

Information reaching Villars office revealed that some of the recruited workers who have since returned to the country were not even given their promised salaries during their stay abroad.

Stories of Filipinos being victimized into working abroad legitimately but end up working as scammers instead underscore the need for the government to aggressively pursue policies that would better protect them from illegal recruiters and international syndicates, she added.

The Philippine government, the House leader said, must ensure the protection of Filipinos and prevent these cases from happening as illegal recruitment puts the lives of our fellow Filipinos at great risk".

While it is the duty of the government to provide decent jobs for its citizens to prevent them from leaving, it is also of equal importance that the government protect its citizens seeking employment abroad from scammers and syndicates, she pointed out.

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Villar asks House to probe cryptocurrency ring that victimizes ... - Manila Bulletin

The cryptocurrency market has been on a roller coaster ride for the past year, thanks to high volatility in the most popular digital currency bitcoin (BTC) which holds a dominant position in terms of market capital.

According to CoinGecko data, the global cryptocurrency market capital stands at $1.22 trillion as of today, reflecting a year-over-year fall of 46.7%. Bitcoins market cap stands at $544 billion, accounting for 44.7% of the total crypto market cap.

The sluggish performance of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) also reflects weakness in the crypto space. In the past year, BITO has lost 39.1%.

The massive decline in the major indexes of the U.S. equity market, which has been suffering from the Federal Reserves aggressive stance to cut down the inflation rate through continued interest rate hikes, remains the prime reason behind the topsy-turvy crypto market.

The Fed raised the benchmark interest rate again by 25 basis points to 4.75-5% in the March FOMC meeting. Chairman Jerome Powell said that the higher interest regime would continue for a longer period in his testimony before the U.S. Congress. Several Fed officials estimated that the terminal interest rate should be 5.375% or more at the end of 2023.

Apart from the interest rate hikes, the crash of the crypto exchange FTX is a significant reason behind the downturn in the crypto market.

Although some signs of improvement are visible from the latest rebound in BTC, rising interest rates and tighter monetary policy continue to ignite uncertainties in the crypto space.

Against this backdrop, we advise investors looking for good investment opportunities to park their money in high-quality tech stocks.

The growing proliferation of advanced technologies like AI, Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain and augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) is constantly boosting the prospects of the technology sector.

The rapid adoption of cloud computing platforms is another positive. Rising 5G deployment, along with solid uptake of autonomous vehicles, cyber security solutions, wearables, voice assistants and other connected devices, are encouraging for the stocks offering products powered by the above-mentioned technologies.

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Given the upbeat scenario, we have selected five technology stocks (market cap greater than $20 billion) that are well-poised to grow through the rest of 2023, as these are highly reputed, fundamentally strong and financially resilient.

Apart from having solid fundamentals, the stocks have a favorable combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Per Zacks proprietary methodology, stocks with such a favorable combination offer solid investment opportunities.

Broadcom AVGO is benefiting from strength in networking and server storage. Substantial content increases at cloud and enterprise customers, which are aiding its storage connectivity business, are other positives. Solid growth from the deployment of Tomahawk 4 for data center switching at hyper-scale customers is noteworthy.

Upgrades of edge and core routing networks with Broadcoms next-generation Jericho portfolio at cloud and service providers are contributing well. The companys growing prospects from its strategic deals are other tailwinds. Its VMware acquisition will likely boost prospects in the long run. Its tie-up with Tencent to accelerate the adoption of high bandwidth co-packaged optics network switches for cloud infrastructure is another positive.

AVGO currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of B. It has a market capitalization of $267.47 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Broadcoms fiscal 2023 earnings has improved 2.6% to $41.38 per share in the past 60 days.

Broadcom Inc. Price and Consensus

Broadcom Inc. price-consensus-chart | Broadcom Inc. Quote

Adobe ADBE is benefiting from strong demand for its creative products. Solid momentum across the companys Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud is a major positive. Growth in emerging markets, robust online video creation demand, strong Acrobat adoption and improving average revenue per user are other tailwinds.

The growing adoption of Premiere Pro, solid momentum across the Adobe Express platform, and benefits from the Frame.io acquisition are contributing well. Rising demand for professional service and the solid uptake of Adobe Experience Manager are other positives.

ADBE currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of B. It has a market capitalization of $176.72 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Adobes fiscal 2023 earnings has improved 1.2% to $15.40 per share in the past 60 days.

Adobe Inc. Price and Consensus

Adobe Inc. price-consensus-chart | Adobe Inc. Quote

Analog Devices ADI is riding on a growing presence across communication, consumer, industrial and automotive end markets. Solid demand for high-performance analog and mixed-signal solutions remains a tailwind.

Strong momentum across the electric vehicle space on the back of robust Battery Management System solutions is a positive. Growing power design wins are other positives.

ADI currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of B. It has a market capitalization of $99.76 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Analog Devices fiscal 2023 earnings has improved 9.2% to $10.60 per share in the past 60 days.

Analog Devices, Inc. Price and Consensus

Analog Devices, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Analog Devices, Inc. Quote

Fortinet FTNT has been benefiting from the rising demand for security and networking products amid the growing hybrid working trend. It has also been gaining from robust growth in Fortinet Security Fabric, cloud and Software-defined Wide Area Network offerings.

Increasing IT spending on cybersecurity is expected to help Fortinet grow faster than the security market. Its focus on enhancing the unified threat management portfolio through product development and acquisitions is another tailwind. Strong deal wins remain the companys key growth drivers.

FTNT currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of A. It has a market capitalization of $52.11 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fortinets 2023 earnings has improved 4.4% to $1.41 per share in the past 60 days.

Fortinet, Inc. Price and Consensus

Fortinet, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Fortinet, Inc. Quote

Mettler-Toledo MTD is benefiting from the solid momentum across the Laboratory, Food Retail and Industrial segments. The companys expanding presence across the pharmaceutical and life sciences markets is a major positive. MTDs robust automated chemistry solutions, which are aiding its momentum across the drug process development field, are contributing well to its top-line growth.

In addition, the companys portfolio strength, cost-cutting efforts, robust sales and marketing strategies, and margin and productivity initiatives are acting as tailwinds.

MTD currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of A. It has a market capitalization of $33.77 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mettler-Toledos 2023 earnings has improved 3.6% to $44.00 per share in the past 60 days.

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. Price and Consensus

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. Quote

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Avoid Cryptocurrency Downturn, Add These 5 Tech Stocks Instead - Yahoo Finance

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Bitcoin (BTC) remained firmly within the range it has held for much of the past two weeks, trading as low as about $27,200 and as high as $28,400 Monday.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was recently trading at $27,500, down over 2% from 24 hours ago. BTC is up nearly 70% for the year after a buoyant first quarter in which investors grew more optimistic about inflation and other macroeconomic issues.

Yet, BTCs price has been unable to ride above $29,000 for more than a few fleeting minutes in recent weeks as investors mull banking failures and fresh economic indicators that have been inconclusive.

Bitcoin needs a bullish catalyst to break above the $30,000 level, but until some significant use case argument is made prices could consolidate around the mid-$20,000s, Edward Moya, senior market analyst at foreign exchange market maker Oanda, wrote in an email.

Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, also slid 0.2% Monday to hover around $1,787. ETHs price jumped 48% in the first quarter. Among other altcoins, the meme-based dogecoin (DOGE) long supported by Twitter CEO Elon Musk surged 16.5% after the social media platform changed its logo to the dogecoin symbol from the usual blue bird. Payments provider Alchemy Pay's native ACH token rose 7% after a Monday report that the company has received $10 million in investment from market maker DWF Labs at a $400 million valuation.

The CoinDesk Market Index, which measures overall crypto market performance, was up 0.1% for the day.

Meanwhile, market liquidity has continued to worsen. Crypto data firm Kaikos Monday report noted that both BTC and ETHs 2% market depth, a metric for assessing liquidity conditions, has dropped by 50% and 41%, respectively, since the collapse of Alameda Research, the trading arm of crypto exchange FTX in November a so-called Alameda gap. The ongoing decline has followed exchange Binances announcement that it was curbing its zero-fee trading program, Kaiko said.

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(Kaiko)

Both assets (bitcoin and ether) have suffered in the aftermath of the FTX collapse and banking crisis, with fewer market makers supplying liquidity to order books, the report said.

Equity markets were mixed Monday. The S&P 500 closed up 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 0.9%. However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 0.2%.

Traditional market movements came after OPEC+ unexpectedly announced an oil production cut of over one million barrels a day, sending oil prices higher. Meanwhile, the manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) on Monday showed that U.S. manufacturing activity in March dropped to its lowest level in nearly three years.

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Bitcoin Drops to $27.5K While Dogecoin Spikes After Twitter Logo Change - Yahoo Finance

Some of the victims affected by the 3CX supply chain attack have also had their systems backdoored with Gopuram malware, with the threat actors specifically targeting cryptocurrency companies with this additional malicious payload.

VoIP communications company 3CX was compromised by North Korean threat actors tracked as Lazarus Group to infect the company's customers with trojanized versions of its Windows and macOS desktop apps in a large-scale supply chain attack.

In this attack, the attackers replaced two DLLs used by the Windows desktop app with malicious versions that would download additional malware to computers, like an information-stealing trojan.

Since then, Kaspersky has discovered that the Gopuram backdoor previously used by the Lazarus hacking group against cryptocurrency companies since at least 2020, was also deployed as a second-stage payload in the same incident into the systems of a limited number of affected 3CX customers.

Gopuram is a modular backdoor that can be used by its operators to manipulate the Windows registry and services, perform file timestomping to evade detection, inject payloads into already running processes, load unsigned Windows drivers using the open-source Kernel Driver Utility, as well as partial user management via the net command on infected devices.

"The discovery of the new Gopuram infections allowed us to attribute the 3CX campaign to the Lazarus threat actor with medium to high confidence. We believe that Gopuram is the main implant and the final payload in the attack chain," Kaspersky researchers said.

The number of Gopuram infections worldwide increased in March 2023, with the attackers dropping a malicious library (wlbsctrl.dll) and an encrypted shellcode payload (.TxR.0.regtrans-ms) on the systems of cryptocurrency companies impacted by the 3CX supply chain attack.

Kaspersky researchers found that the attackers used Gopuram with precision, deploying it only on less than ten infected machines, suggesting the attackers' motivation may be financial and with a focus on such companies.

"As for the victims in our telemetry, installations of the infected 3CX software are located all over the world, with the highest infection figures observed in Brazil, Germany, Italy and France," Kaspersky experts added.

"As the Gopuram backdoor has been deployed to less than ten infected machines, it indicates that attackers used Gopuram with surgical precision. We additionally observed that the attackers have a specific interest in cryptocurrency companies."

3CX has confirmed its 3CXDesktopApp Electron-based desktop client was compromised to include malware one day after news of the attack first surfaced on March 29 and more than a week after multiple customers reported alerts that the software was being tagged as malicious by security software.

The company now advises customers to uninstall the Electron desktop app from all Windows and macOS systems (a script for mass uninstalling the app across networks is available here) and to switch to the progressive web application (PWA) Web Client App.

A group of security researchers has developed and released a web-based tool to detect if a specific IP address has been potentially impacted by the March 2023 supply chain attack against 3CX.

"Identification of potentially impacted parties is based on lists of IP addresses that were interacting with malicious infrastructure," the development team explains.

As BleepingComputer reported days after the incident (now tracked as CVE-2023-29059) was disclosed, the threat actors behind it exploited a 10-year-old Windows vulnerability (CVE-2013-3900) to make it appear that the malicious DLLs used to drop additional payloads were legitimately signed.

The same vulnerability has been used to infect Windows computers with Zloader banking malware capable of stealing user credentials and private information

3CX says its 3CX Phone System has over 12 million users daily and is used by over 600,000 companies worldwide.

Its customer list includes high-profile companies and organizations like American Express, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Air France, IKEA, the UK's National Health Service, and multiple automakers, including BMW, Honda, Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz.

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Cryptocurrency companies backdoored in 3CX supply chain attack - BleepingComputer