Page 10 - Business Finance

Australia Market trades softer ahead of G20 Summit

The main event this week (Fri-Sat) is the G20 meeting in Japan and in particular the potential meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines. The two leaders are expected to discuss the protracted trade fight between their two countries. China and the U.S. have already slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of each other's goods over the past year. In May, the two economic powerhouses hiked tariffs targeting some goods. The Trump administration has said previously that Trump is ready to raise tariffs on all Chinese imports into the U.S. if the two countries fail to arrive at a deal.

Canada cryptocurrency exchange founder stole funds before death: audit

A trustee's audit of bankrupt Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX has discovered that its late founder siphoned millions of dollars from clients and spent it on himself and his wife. Court-appointed monitor Ernst & Young said in a report that QuadrigaCX's late president Gerald Cotten had transferred the funds from customers' accounts to other cryptocurrency exchanges and then used the money to buy luxury goods, real estate and travel -- and to cover his trading losses. According to the report, "significant volumes of cryptocurrency were transferred off platform outside Quadriga to competitor exchanges into personal accounts controlled by Mr. Cotten." "It appears that user cryptocurrency was traded on these exchanges and in some circumstances used as security for a margin trading account established by Mr. Cotten," it said. "In addition, substantial amounts of cryptocurrency were transferred to wallet holders whose identity the monitor has been unable to confirm." Cotten's .

Sensex regains 39,000 in volatile trade

A bout of volatility was seen in early trade as the key benchmark indices cut losses soon after a weak start to the day's trading session. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 107.70 points or 0.28% at 39,015.26. The Nifty 50 index was down 28.05 points or 0.24% at 11,671.60. The Sensex regained the psychological 39,000 level after falling below that level in early trade.

Reliance Communications Ltd Slides 4.96%

Reliance Communications Ltd has lost 45.75% over last one month compared to 3.06% gain in S&P BSE Tech index and 1.07% drop in the SENSEX

Oil & Natural Gas Corpn Ltd Spikes 1.51%

Oil & Natural Gas Corpn Ltd has lost 3.81% over last one month compared to 4.39% fall in S&P BSE Oil&Gas index and 1.06% drop in the SENSEX

Japan Nikkei trades lower, eye on G-20

Total 22 subsectors out of 33 subsectors of the Topix's index declined, with Mining, Securities & Commodities Futures, Oil & Coal Products, Electric Power & Gas, and Construction issues being notable losers, while Pulp & Paper, Warehousing & Harbor Transportation Services, Land Transportation, and Nonferrous Metals issues were notable gainers.

Aarti Industries fixes record date for composite scheme of arrangement

A) 04 July 2019 as 'Record Date 'A', to determine the members of 'Aarti Industries' (as per the scheme Demerged Company 'A'), to whom Equity Shares or Redeemable Preference Shares of 'Arti Surfactants' (as per the scheme Resultant Company 'A') to be allotted pursuant to part 'C' of the Scheme.

Market may open in positive zone

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 18 points at the opening bell.

Infosys in focus on partnership with Toyota Material Handling

Infosys announced a long term strategic partnership with Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE). As IT services partner, Infosys will help TMHE in its digital transformation journey by facilitating transformation to a scalable digital hybrid cloud platform, providing application services, digital workplace, infrastructure management and a dedicated data center operation. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 24 June 2019.

Trade negotiators hold talks ahead of Xi-Trump meeting: state media

Top Chinese and US trade negotiators have held telephone talks ahead of a crunch meeting between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump at the G20 summit this week, Chinese state media said Tuesday. Vice Premier Liu He -- Xi's pointman in the trade war -- spoke with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday and they "exchanged opinions on economic and trade issues," according to the official Xinhua news agency. The call took place "at the request of the US side" and the officials agreed to continue to maintain contact, Xinhua said. Trump's highly anticipated meeting with Xi will take place on Saturday, the second day of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, according to a US official. The two leaders agreed to meet after negotiations broke down last month and both sides exchanged steep increases in tariffs on $260 billion in two-way trade. Trump has since moved to blacklist China's top telecommunications company, Huawei. Beijing has ...

Barriers in trade have fallen due to NDA govt's reforms: US corporate body

Barriers in trade have fallen and many processes have been simplified as a result of the series of key reforms instituted by the Indian government, a top corporate body from Silicon Valley has said. The Bay Area Council, in its latest report on India, said that sustained economic growth and national strategies that push digitisation across a range of sectors and services are creating unique synergies with the Bay Area that open the door to new opportunities, as Bay Area companies expand their global footprint and diversify their market presence in Asia. "India remains a complex place to do business, but with reforms instituted by the Modi government, barriers have fallen and many processes have been simplified. The re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a second term in May 2019 assures that these reforms will continue," the Bay Area Council has said. The report 'The Bay Area-Silicon Valley and India: Convergence and Alignment in the Innovation Age', said that as with any ...

Fraudulent trade: Sebi imposes Rs 10 lakh fine on four individuals

Markets regulator Sebi Monday imposed a total fine of Rs 10 lakh on four individuals for manipulating the share price of Shree Shaleen Textiles Ltd. Anjana Arun Karwa, Jayeshkumar Narottamdas Gandhi, Bharati Jayesh Gandhi, Deval Jayesh Gandhi are the four facing the penalty, as per Sebi's separate orders. The regulator had conducted probe from March 2012 to March 2013 relating to the trading activity of the four individuals in the scrip of Shree Shaleen. Pursuant to the investigation, the regulator found that the four deliberately increased the price of the scrip by placing orders higher than the last traded price (LTP) and created misleading appearance of trading in the scrip. "...the scheme, plan, device and artifice employed by the Noticees (four individuals) in this case of executing minuscule trades above the LTP in the scrip at irrational prices, tantamount to fraud on the securities market," the regulator said in two separate, but similar worded orders. By doing so, the four ..

LIC cuts 2 pc stake in Axis Bank

State-owned LIC has sold over 5.25 crore shares, representing about 2 per cent stake, of Axis Bank through open market transaction. With the sale of these shares, stake of LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India) in the private sector bank has now come down to 10.2 per cent from 12.21 per cent earlier, as per the BSE filing by Axis Bank. LIC sold 5,25,06,202 shares through open market, the filing said without disclosing the sale value. The total sale value could not be ascertained as the the insurer sold the shares over a period of time. The bank's shares closed at Rs 762.85, a piece on BSE, down 1.18 per cent.

Zimbabwe ends foreign currency use as inflation spirals

Zimbabwe announced on Monday that it would abandon the use of foreign currencies which replaced the local dollar that was wiped out by hyperinflation ten years ago. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has promised to introduce a new national currency soon, in the latest attempt to turn around an economy wrecked under his predecessor Robert Mugabe. Zimbabweans have recently endured another bout of sharply rising prices, with official inflation now at nearly 100 per cent -- the highest since the hyperinflation era. The central bank said that legal tender would be only be the new "Zimbabwe dollar", which would be made up of the two local currencies -- bond notes and "RTGS" -- that were introduced as US dollar banknotes dried up. The US dollar, South African rand and other foreign currencies will "no longer be legal tender alongside the Zimbabwe dollar in any transactions," the bank said in a statement. "Bond notes and RTGS dollars are at par with the Zimbabwe dollar." Bond notes were introduced

US Fed like a 'stubborn child': Trump

US President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve, saying the central bank's reluctance to cut interest rates was standing in the way of blowout economic expansion. The Fed last week left benchmark US lending rates untouched but signaled it could ease them soon if the economic outlook deteriorates. "Despite a Federal Reserve that doesn't know what it is doing... we are on course to have one of the best Months of June in US history," Trump tweeted, arguing that lower rates would have driven GDP growth rates as high as five percent. "Now they stick, like a stubborn child when we need rate cuts & easing, to make up for what other countries are doing against us. Blew it!" Last week, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell opened the door to a rate cut, saying persistent trade friction and slowing global growth, among other factors, had "strengthened" the case for looser monetary policy. A single member of the Fed's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee pushed for .

Scandal-plagued Danske Bank fires Danish head over high fees

Danske Bank, which is struggling to restore public confidence after a huge money laundering scandal, said Monday it had fired its head of banking in Denmark over exorbitant fees charged for an investment product. Denmark's biggest bank said that Jesper Nielsen, who had been serving as interim CEO until last month, was dismissed after 87,000 customers in the country were improperly charged for the "Flexinvest Fri" product. "Danske Bank has found that customers who invested in the Flexinvest Fri product during a certain period paid fees that were too high," the bank said in a statement. Nielsen, who served as the bank's acting CEO between October 2018 and late May this year, "did not to a sufficient degree ensure that the Flexinvest Fri product was suitable for the bank's customers," Danske chairman Karsten Dybvad said. All those who invested in the product would receive compensation, which the bank expects to amount to 400 million Danish kroner (USD 61 million, 54 million euros). The ..

Trai seeks views on free spectrum allotment worth Rs 98,520 cr to Railways

Telecom regulator Trai Monday floated consultation paper on Indian Railways' demand for free allocation of 15 megahertz spectrum in premium frequency band, valued at Rs 98,520 crore, to enhance security and passenger amenities. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in the consultation paper on "allotment of spectrum to Indian Railways for Public Safety and Security Services" said that the Ministry of Railways has requested the DoT to reserve 15 MHz of spectrum in 700 MHz band for installing ultra-high speed 4G based communication network along railway routes. According to the consultation paper, the DoT has viewed that Indian Railways has sought 15 MHz (10 MHz for the time being) in 700 MHz band free of cost for enhancing safety, security and passenger amenities for unlimited period whereas the spectrum has the potential to fetch about Rs 1 Lakh crore as upfront for only 20 years at current Trai recommended reserve price. Indian Railways (IR) has sought free allocation, as it will

BNP Paribas Cardif to sell 2.5 pc stake in SBI Life for Rs 1,625 cr

BNP Paribas Cardif, the foreign partner of SBI Life Insurance, will sell up to 2.5 crore shares, representing 2.5 per cent stake in the insurance company, for at least Rs 1,625 crore through offer for sale (OFS) mechanism. The two-day OFS, for which the floor price has been fixed at Rs 650 per share, will open on Tuesday, SBI Life Insurance Company said in a BSE filing Monday. The floor price is lower than Monday's closing rate of Rs 710.45 per share on the BSE. BNP Paribas held 7.7 crore shares, representing 7.7 per cent stake in the insurance company as on March 31. The State Bank of India holds 62.10 per cent stake in the company. BNP Paribas Cardif has been gradually off-loading its stake in the company. On March 29, BNP Paribas Cardif had sold 5 crore shares of the insurance company for Rs 2,889 crore. Earlier in the same month, Carlyle Group had acquired nine per cent stake in the life insurer from BNP Paribas Cardif.

Jio, BSNL drive telecom subscriber base to 1,183 mn in April: Trai report

Wireless subscribers grew by about half a million to 1,162.30 million in April from 1,161.81 million in March

Indian telcos may need to invest Rs 1 lakh cr on optical fibre in 2-3 years for 5G: Crisil

Indian telecom companies may need to invest around Rs 1 lakh crore on optical fibre network in the next 2-3 years to support 5G services, market research and analyst firm Crisil said Monday. "5G technology dictates fiberisation levels of over 70 per cent, versus 25-30 per cent levels at present. Crisil estimates that if each player were to reach this level individually, Indian telcos may need investments of up to around Rs 1 lakh crore only in laying fibre networks over the next 2-3 years," Crisil said. It is estimated that less than 10 per cent of mobile towers in the country are connected with optical fibre and, hence, cannot support high-speed data required for 5G services. "Higher land cost and right of way approvals make fiberisation cost per kilometre as high as approximately Rs 1 crore per kilometer in metros," the report said. Crisil said fiberisation in the country will be expensive and hard for telecom companies as they are reeling under the cumulative debt of Rs 4.3 lakh ...