Here is a list of market-moving macro stories that you may like to read. The same has been prepared from newspaper and wire feeds

Tsunami kills 222 in Indonesia
A tsunami killed at least 222 people and injured hundreds on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra following an underwater landslide believed caused by the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, officials and media said on Sunday. Hundreds of homes and other buildings were “heavily damaged” when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait late on Saturday, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said.

Tax refund for IT, ITeS firms?
IT and ITeS companies would now be able to avail refunds on taxes paid on inputs used in servicing global contracts jointly with their foreign outfits. The Goods and Services Tax Council has agreed to allow input tax credit to service providers even if the contract is part delivered by group entity outside India, in a move seen to boost the business process outsourcing industry. “It has been decided that wherever RBI permits, the transaction input tax credit would be allowed,” said a government official, privy to the deliberations of the GST Council meeting.

Incentivise angel investors: Kant
The government needs to incentivise angel investors eyeing startups and not tax them to give a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Startup India initiative, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said. “We need to incentivise domestic funding in our startup movement, not tax them. This is necessary as we do not tax venture capital (VC) funds,” Kant told ET even as many startups and angel investors have been served notice by the incometax department, demanding tax on investments.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's allies are making plans that would keep her in office for more than two years after Brexit, the Sunday Times reported, citing a senior cabinet minister it didn't name. The plans being floated would allow May to hang on to power until autumn 2021, when she would be replaced by a new Conservative party leader less than a year before the next scheduled general election in 2022, according to the report

Centre's push in SC for Ayodhya resolution
The Centre’s top law officers, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, are likely to make a determined push for resolution of the Ram Janmabhoomi title suit in the Supreme Court when it takes up the case in January, arguing that the dispute has been languishing in the apex court since 2010 while the contending claims date back to events soon after independence.

Cement GST to be cut soon
The government is expected to lower goods and services tax (GST) on cement before next summer’s general elections, while lowering the burden on homebuyers opting for underconstruction apartments to 5% when the GST Council meets in January. Cement currently faces a 28% levy and a decision on the issue was postponed on Saturday as the Centre and states did not want to take an annual hit of Rs 13,000 crore.

NABARD asks states to clear bank dues
Amid a flurry of farm loan waivers, financial institution Nabard has written to states advising them to ensure that dues of banks that actually write off the loan are immediately cleared to ensure that the credit cycle is not broken.

GST shortfall in states below 10%
States have seen the “shortfall” in the “GST collection target” halve to 10% during the first eight months of the current financial year with the north-eastern states reporting sharp improvement, while Goa, Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu saw a deterioration. The Centre has promised that it will compensate states if their annual revenue growth is under 14%.

India Inc raised Rs 6 lakh cr in 2018
Indian companies have raised nearly Rs 6 lakh crore from equity and debt instruments in 2018, but volatile market conditions brought down the kitty by 30%. Additionally, political uncertainties ahead of the 2019 general elections may again cast a shadow on fundraising activities in the first half of the new year.

BJP-JDU-LJP tie-up sealed
After some initial hiccups, Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP on Sunday reached a seat-sharing agreement with allies BJP and JDU in the Capital. As per the deal, the LJP will contest six of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar and Paswan will be given a Rajya Sabha ticket. The BJP and JDU will contest 17 seats each in the state as announced in October.

Trump lets Mattis go early
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was replacing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis two months earlier than had been expected, a move officials said was driven by Trump’s anger at Mattis’ resignation letter and its rebuke of his foreign policy.

QUICK TAKES FROM FINANCIAL MARKETS

- Oil prices dipped on Monday ahead of the Christmas holiday break, adding to last week’s steep losses on concerns about a global oversupply. Brent crude futures fell 27 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $53.55 a barrel at 0106 GMT. Brent touched $52.79 on Friday, its lowest since September 2017. WTI crude futures eased 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $45.51 a barrel. WTI hit its lowest since July 2017 on Friday at $45.13.

Breaking four-day rising streak, the rupee slipped by 48 paise against the dollar to close at 70.18 on Friday, on month-end dollar demand and sharp losses in domestic equities. Increased dollar demand from importers mainly oil companies weighed on the rupee sentiment, traders said. Despite losses on Friday, the rupee gained 172 paise or 2.4 per cent on weekly basis.

FPIs have pumped in close to Rs 4,000 crore in Indian capital markets this month so far on strengthening rupee and easing global crude oil prices. This follows a 10-month high net inflow of over Rs 12,266 crore in the capital markets (equity and debt) in November. FPIs infused a net Rs 1,332 crore in equities and Rs 2,552 crore in the debt, totalling Rs 3,884 crore during December 3-21.