Switzerland and the Netherlands have signed a protocol to their double tax agreement that will bring it into line with international standards.

The European Commission and the Swiss Federal Council have each approved proposals to link their emissions trading systems, meaning formal signature of a new agreement could take place by the end of the year.

The European Council on November 10 authorized the signing of an agreement with Switzerland to link their emissions trading systems.

The Swiss Federal Council is consulting on proposed changes to the CO2 Ordinance, which would link the Swiss and EU emissions trading systems.

Switzerland and the EU are to link their emissions trading systems from next year, after the Swiss Federal Council approved revisions to the country's Ordinance on the Reduction of CO2 Emissions.

On March 23, 2020, the Turkish Government published a resolution in the official gazette to temporarily reduce the rate of VAT on air passenger transport to one percent.

Indian share markets ended their trading session on a positive note today.

Benchmark indices edged higher, tracking overnight gains in the US market and positive Asian stock markets.

Further, talks of an economic stimulus for small businesses battered by the coronavirus outbreak improved sentiment.

Reportedly, the government may unveil fiscal stimulus amounting to 0.3% of the country's gross domestic product, focusing on small and medium sized businesses, real estate firms and banks.

At the closing bell, the�BSE Sensex�stood higher by 199 points (up 0.6%) and the�NSE Nifty�closed higher by 52 points (up 0.6%).

SGX Nifty�was trading at 9,260, up by 64 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap�index ended up by 0.1%, while the�BSE Small Cap�index ended the day down by 0.5%.

On the sectoral front, gains were seen in the energy sector and FMCG sector, while power stocks witnessed selling pressure.

Asian stock markets�finished on a strong note as of the most recent closing prices.

The�Hang Seng�was up 1% and the Nikkei was trading higher by 2.6%. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.8%.

European markets were trading on a positive note. The DAX was trading up by 0.8%, while the CAC 40 was trading up by 0.7%.

The rupee was trading at 75.55 to the US$ at the time of writing.

Gold prices�are currently trading up by 0.2% at Rs 46,274.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, Indian stock markets have seen a stunning recovery over the last 5 weeks.

From its all-time high levels of 42,274 touched on January 20 this year, the Sensex crashed 39% to a multi-year low at 25,639 on March 23. Later, the index made a rapid recovery till April 30 as it added 4,250 points.

Thereafter, in just two sessions of this month, Sensex lost 7%.

Excluding this week's 7% fall, of all the rebounds after a 35%-40% fall in the market, the current one has been the biggest by a distance.

This is evident from the chart below:

Sensex: From Bear to Bull in 30 Days

While the Sensex has rebounded sharply, there are still many stocks out there that are trading at attractive valuations.

Co-head of research at�Equitymaster, Rahul Shah, believes this is a good time to get into stocks, even if you missed the rally because the market is fairly valued.

History has shown that after years like the one we had just now, the next 3 years are good for the markets. In fact, these corrections are the rare times when you find businesses with solid fundamentals at reasonable valuations.

If you can�find good businesses�that can survive the current crisis, you will do well in the long run.

Moving on, market participants were tracking�Shree Cement share price,�TCI Express share price, and�SBI Cards and Payment Services share price�as these companies announced their March quarter results (Q4FY20) today.

You can read our recently released Q4FY20 results of other companies here:�Ambuja Cement,�IndusInd Bank,�Axis Bank,�Tech Mahindra,�Reliance Industries,�Marico,�Kansai Nerolac,�NIIT Technologies,�Persistent Systems,�SKF India.

In news from the banking sector, RBL Bank share price was in focus today.

The private lender on Thursday reported a 54% decline in its March quarter net profit to�Rs 1,143 million on the back of higher provisions.

The bank's total provisions trebled on a year-on-year (YoY) basis and stood at�Rs 6.1 billion in Q4FY20. It holds�Rs 1,079.5 million of provisions in excess of what RBI has mandated for covid-19 related moratorium.

The lender logged a 37% YoY growth in its operating profit at Rs 7.7 billion compared to Rs 5.6 billion a year ago.

The bank's total revenue jumped 33% YoY to Rs 15.2 billion from Rs 11.5 billion reported in Q4FY19.

RBL Bank's net interest margin (NIM) stood at 4.93% in the March quarter. Its net interest income (NII) grew 38% YoY to�Rs 10.2 billion in Q4FY20.

The bank's deposits fell 1% to�Rs 578.1 billion in Q4FY20. Current and savings account (Casa) deposits grew 17% and 2% sequentially to�Rs 171.1 billion in the March quarter.

The private lender's advances increased 7% to�Rs 580.2 billion.

For the financial year 2019-20, the bank's total income stood at Rs 55.4 billion, up 39% YoY from Rs 39.8 billion, while its operating profit jumped 42% YoY to Rs 27.5 billion.

To know more, you can read RBL Bank's Q4FY20 result analysis on our website.

Moving on to news from the pharma sector, shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories rallied 8% today to hit a 52-week high of Rs 4,132, after the company received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from US health regulator for its manufacturing plant at Srikakulam.

In a regulatory filing, the company said it has received EIR from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), for the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) manufacturing plant at Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh (CTO VI).

The site was issued warning letter in November 2015 after the inspection in 2014, and was under "Official Action Indicated" classification till now.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories share price ended the day up by 3.8%.

In other news, Laurus Labs share price witnessed selling pressure today. Stock of the company�slipped 10% today after more than 30 million equity shares of the pharmaceutical company changed hands via multiple block deals.

As much as 19.1 million shares were traded on BSE, while on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), about 15.3 million shares changed hands.

Last week, the company had reported its consolidated net profit at Rs 1.1 billion, which more than doubled from Rs 430 million reported in the year-ago quarter.

The company's board also recommended for the sub-division of equity shares of the company from existing face value of Rs 10 each to face value of Rs 2 each, subject to regulatory approvals.

Speaking of the pharma sector, in December 2019, co-head of Research at�Equitymaster, Tanushree Banerjee had predicted that pharma could be the sector to see a�big rebound in 2020.

And rightly so, most�pharma companies�have re-emerged as the safer bets for investors in the ongoing market turmoil. Last month, the Indian rupee touched a new record low of Rs 76.92 against the US dollar. Most�pharma companies�generate their revenues through exports. Hence, a depreciating rupee is a positive development for them.

As per Tanushree, in a�post Covid-19 world, healthcare expenditures globally will see a big rejig.

Tanushree has her eyes on an exciting tech stock. The company in question is developing its medical division. It's focusing on telemedicine, which Tanushree believes will be a huge growth driver in a post Corona world.

Looking at the potential upside in the stock, over a period of five to ten years, Tanushree believes investors could become a�One Stock Crorepati.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent�share market updates here.

Switzerland's Federal Tax Administration has announced the exchange of information on millions of financial accounts with 75 partner countries.

The Swiss Government has said that from January 31, individuals and legal entitles domiciled in Germany will be able to use an online Swiss application to request a refund of Swiss withholding tax.

Under complete lockdown less than a quarter of India's $2.8 trillion economy is functional. We are expected to lose over Rs 32,000 crore ($4.5 billion) every day during the lockdown

Representatives of the European Free Trade Association - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland - and the Philippines signed a free trade agreement in the Swiss capital of Bern on April 28.

Tax regime instability has been cited by Greek shipping companies as a reason why they would consider switching to an alternative jurisdiction, according to a report by EY.

Having endorsed the deal, the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has forwarded on a bill to ratify the free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association states to the Senate.

Singapore has announced that it has activated automatic exchange of information relationships with a total of 61 territories, as part of global efforts to tackle tax evasion and fiscal crime.

Switzerland's agreements for the automatic exchange of financial account information with Hong Kong and Singapore have entered into force.

The remaining eleven signatories to the Trans Pacific Partnership pact have agreed to seek an accord without the United States.

The IMF has welcomed Luxembourg's efforts to meet international tax standards but cautioned that international tax reform could hit the country's tax base.

Higher tax receipts helped Switzerland to another surplus in 2019, with withholding tax and direct federal tax performing particularly well.

The Seychelles says that the OECD has found the territory to have made sufficient reforms to comply with its BEPS Action 5 standard on harmful tax regimes.

On August 5, 2019, the US Department of Justice announced that Swiss bank LLB Verwaltung (Switzerland) AG has agreed to pay a penalty of USD10.6m to resolve a case in which it was accused of helping US clients to conceal income.

A high 'star rating' for a mobile medical app doesn't necessarily reflect medical accuracy or value, observe Johns Hopkins researchers. The research

Dengue virus can be eliminated by injecting Wolbachia bacteria in mosquitoes. Researchers are still finding ways to spread Wolbachia in an urban mosquito population.

People who are infected by Zika virus are less likely to fall ill if they had dengue fever before than individuals with Zika virus who never had dengue, reveals a new study.

Dengvaxia, the first vaccine for dengue was approved in 19 countries and European Union by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent dengue

Highlights: Staying indoors during COVID-19 lockdown can wreak havoc on your child's mental health Keeping

Highlights: People with mental disorders are more likely to develop other health conditions Mapping the

Ontario's new government has scrapped the province's cap-and-trade carbon pricing regime, effective July 3.

Canada's federal Government has announced that it will impose a carbon price in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan in 2019.

An investigational drug vericiguat offers new hope for patients with worsening heart failure, reports a new study. Patients with worsening heart failure

In heart disease patients, taking evolocumab in addition to a statin to achieve extremely low levels of cholesterol do not show higher incidence of neurocognitive

Switzerland and Italy are to amend the customs status of the Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia.

Spain's acting Economy Minister, Nadia Calvino, said the Government will seek approval of legislation to introduce a digital services tax at the earliest opportunity.

A delegation from the European Parliament's PANA Committee will travel to Switzerland to discuss the efforts being taken to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax offences.

Greens/EFA members of the European Parliament have called on the EU Code of Conduct Group to be more transparent about the criteria it used to create the EU's new blacklist of non-cooperative territories and how it will manage it going forward.

Switzerland's agreements for the automatic exchange of financial account information with Hong Kong and Singapore have entered into force.

The Swiss Government on September 20, 2019, announced that it has exchanged instruments of ratification with the United States to bring into force a Protocol to their double tax agreement.

The Swiss Federal Council will bring into force legislation on the implementation of recommendations made by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

Switzerland's Federal Tax Administration has announced the exchange of information on millions of financial accounts with 75 partner countries.

The Swiss Government has welcomed Switzerland's removal from the EU's list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, and said that the country meets and implements international tax standards.

On October 22, 2019, the Swiss Federal Finance Department uploaded a series of publications concerning the value-added tax rules for those participating in and organizing sporting events.

Switzerland and the EU are to link their emissions trading systems from next year, after the Swiss Federal Council approved revisions to the country's Ordinance on the Reduction of CO2 Emissions.

Switzerland is to amend its domestic framework for the automatic exchange of information, in line with recommendations made by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

On November 25, 2019, Switzerland and Bahrain signed a double tax agreement that caps maximum withholding tax rates and provides for the exchange of information.

The Swiss Federal Tax Authority has released new English-language guidance for foreign businesses on their obligations under Swiss VAT law.

Liechtenstein and Switzerland have agreed a new cooperation pact in the area of value-added tax administration and enforcement.

The Swiss Government has released new legislation governing Switzerland's application of provisions in its network of double tax agreements.

Switzerland and Italy are to amend the customs status of the Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia.

Switzerland is due to introduce its new corporate tax regime from the beginning of 2020.

The Swiss Government has said that from January 31, individuals and legal entitles domiciled in Germany will be able to use an online Swiss application to request a refund of Swiss withholding tax.

The advisory board tasked with reporting on the state of Switzerland's financial center has recommended that the country overhaul its withholding tax system to improve its capital market offering.