Rupee drops to record low of 79.62 against US dollar
Mumbai(PTI): The rupee depreciated by 3 paise to close at a record low of 79.62 (provisional) against the US currency on Wednesday following a firm dollar in overseas markets and losses in the domestic stock markets.
Crude oil prices trading near USD 100 per barrel level, however, supported the local unit, forex dealers said.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened strong at 79.55 against the greenback but could not hold on to gains and slipped in the negative territory. It witnessed an intra-day high of 79.53 and a low of 79.68.
It finally settled at 79.62 (provisional), down paise over its previous close of 79.59.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.09 per cent to 108.17.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 372.46 points or 0.69 per cent lower at 53,514.15, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 91.65 points or 0.57 per cent to 15,966.65.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.21 per cent to USD 100.69 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, offloading shares worth Rs 1,565.68 crore, as per exchange data.
Retail inflation dropped marginally to 7.01 per cent in June mainly due to a slight easing in prices of vegetables and pulses, though it remained above the Reserve Bank's comfort level for the sixth month in a row.
The consumer price index (CPI) based inflation stood at 7.04 per cent in the preceding month of May and 6.26 per cent in June 2021.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
