Page 1125 - Business Finance
Monsanto India Q3 net falls 38.50 pc to Rs 39 cr
Seed firm Monsanto India Friday posted a 38.50 per cent drop in standalone net profit to Rs 38.95 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2018. The company had reported net profit of Rs 63.34 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Total income stood at Rs 161.1 crore in the October-December period of 2018-19. It was Rs 187.65 crore in the year-ago period, Monsanto India said in a BSE filing. In June last year, German chemical and pharma major Bayer AG completed the acquisition of US-based biotech major Monsanto in USD 63 billion mega-deal to create the world's biggest agro-chemical and seed company. Shares of the company closed at Rs 2,556 a piece, 1.96 per cent lower, on the BSE.
Budget day: Sensex ends 212 pts higher; auto, consumption stocks rally
Benchmark Sensex ended over 212 points higher in see-saw trade Friday after the government presented a farm-friendly, consumption-oriented Budget ahead of the general elections. After rallying over 500 points to hit the day's high of 36,778.14, the 30-share index gave up all gains and sank to 36,221.32 in late-afternoon trade. It finally ended 212.74 points, or 0.59 per cent, higher at 36,469.43. Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty jumped 62.70 points, or 0.58 per cent, to close at 10,893.65. Auto and consumption stocks buzzed as investors welcomed incentives for the agriculture sector and middle class in the budget, traders said. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal proposed to double the threshold tax exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh and increased the standard deduction to Rs 50,000 from Rs 40,000. The proposal will benefit 3 crore middle-class tax payers, Goyal said while unveiling the budget proposals for 2019-20. As widely expected, the finance minister also announced the Pradhan Mantri Kisan
Jet Airways has agreed to Etihad's bailout terms, says report, boosting shares
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Jet Airways Ltd has agreed to most conditions set by shareholder Etihad Airways for offering a lifeline to the debt-laden Indian carrier, the Business Standard newspaper said, sending Jet's shares soaring as much as 18 percent on Friday.
Euro zone inflation falls, though core rate inches higher
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Euro zone inflation dipped as expected last month, falling further from the European Central Bank's target and providing yet another reason for the bank to slow down in removing stimulus.
China kicks off consumption drive with sweeteners for Beijing shoppers
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's push to stoke spending in the sluggish retail sector began on Friday with Beijing households given subsidies to buy electrical appliances, in the first of what is expected to be a barrage of incentives to revive private consumption.
Market logs modest gains after interim budget
Key indices logged modest gains as finance minister Piyush Goyal presented interim budget. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 212.74 points or 0.59% at 36,469.43, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 62.70 points or 0.58% at 10,893.65, as per the provisional closing data. Intraday volatility was high.
Coriander dips 0.14% on subdued demand
Coriander prices fell 0.14 per cent to Rs 6,596 a quintal in futures market Friday as participants cut down positions amid muted domestic as well as export demand. Besides, rising arrivals from major producing regions and profit-booking at higher levels weighed on the sentiment. At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, coriander price for delivery in April declined by Rs 9, or 0.14 per cent, to Rs 6,596 per quintal with an open interest of 9,460 lots. On similar lines, coriander for May was trading down by Rs 6, or 0.09 per cent, at Rs 6,660. The open interest of the contract stood at 22,240 lots. Analysts attributed the fall in coriander futures to subdued demand in the physical market against adequate stocks position on increased supplies from producing regions.
Allocation for sports increased by over Rs 200 crore in 2019-20 interim budget
The government on Friday increased the sports budget by Rs 214.20 crore for the financial year 2019-2020, including a hike in funds for the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and incentives for sportspersons. In the interim budget presented by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, the overall sports budget for 2019-2020 was increased from Rs 2002.72 (2018-2019) crore to Rs 2216.92 crore. The significant gainers in the interim sports budget are SAI, the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) and the corpus meant for giving incentives to sportspersons. The allocation to SAI has been increased by Rs 55 crore. From Rs 395 crore, the allocation has been increased to Rs 450 crore in the fresh proposals. The SAI is the nodal organisation to manage nationals camps, provide equipment and other logistics to the country's sportspersons. Besides, the allocation for NSDF has increased from Rs 2 crore to Rs 70 crore. The Finance Minister also proposed an increase in the incentive fund for the sportspersons,
Sri Lanka to borrow USD one billion from China for highway project
Sri Lanka, which last year handed over a strategic port to a Chinese firm for a 99-year lease as a debt swap, will soon sign a USD 1 billion consessional loan agreement with Beijing to fund a major highway project linking Colombo to the hill resort of Kandy. The construction of the first phase of the road linking Colombo with Kandy had been delayed for more than two years due to a lack of funding. Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Karunasena Kodituwakku, was quoted by the official media here on Friday as saying that the USD one billion will be used for the first stage of the central highway. The second stage will be financed by Sri Lankan consortiums and the third by Japanese loans. Earlier, the chief of Sri Lanka's central bank said the country will receive a sovereign loan of USD one billion from the Bank of China in the first quarter of this year, and it will be used to meet repayments in the coming months. Kodituwakku did not confirm if it was the same loan and whether it is linked ..
Disappointing factory activity threatens global growth
LONDON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Factory activity was at its weakest in years across much of the world during January, adding to worries trade tariffs, political uncertainty and cooling demand poses an increasing threat to global growth.
Go-Jek raises $1 bilion in round led by Google, Tencent, JD
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek has raised around $1 billion in a funding round, led by Alphabet Inc's Google, JD.com Inc and Tencent Holdings, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Union Steel Minister Birender Singh terms budget as 'Kisaan Budget'
Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh Friday termed the Budget for 2019-20 as a 'Kisaan Budget' saying it reflected the vision of doubling farmer's income. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal Friday made "historic announcements for our farmers," Singh said and welcomed the Rs 6,000 per year cash support to small and marginal farmers. "it is a 'Kisaan Budget' and reflects the vision of doubling farmer's income and will help youngsters take up farming as a career as it will no longer be a loss-making business," Singh told PTI. Seeking to address distress in farm sector, Goyal Friday announced a 2 per cent interest subvention for farmers hit by natural calamities, while offering 3 per cent more to them for timely loan payment. Goyal, also announced 2 per cent interest subvention for farmers involved in animal husbandry and fishery. In a bid to provide relief to distressed farm sector, Goyal also announced Rs 6,000 per year cash support to small and marginal farmers that will cost the ..
Dr Reddys PAT up 45% to Rs 485 cr in Q3
Dr Reddys Laboratories Limited Friday announced a 45 per cent increase in its profit after tax for the quarter ended December 31 at Rs 485 crore against Rs 334 crore in the third quarter of FY18. Revenues from the quarter under review was up by one per cent to Rs 3,850 crore, accordig to a press release by the city-based pharma major. It was Rs 3,806 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. "We continued to improve our performance in the third quarter of FY 19, supported by significant growth in emerging markets and India, pickup in new product launches, and improvements in cost structure. We are on track towards delivering sustainable and profitable growth," company CEO and Co-chairman G V Prasad said. Revenues from global generics segment in Q3 was reported at Rs 3,135 crore, a year-on-year growth of four per cent over the same quarter last year, primarily driven by contributions from emerging markets and India. Revenues from North America declined by eight per cent to ..
EV 2030 Challenge: Manufacturers seek immediate action plan
Electric vehicle manufacturers on Friday said the government should come up with a concrete action plan and its time-bound implementation if the country aspires to become a leader in transport revolution through electric vehicles (EVs). "We hope the government would soon announce a concrete plan of action with its time-bound implementation in order to fulfil its stated vision," Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) Director General Sohinder Gill said in a statement. SMEV strongly feels that an initial high dose of incentives and actions must be taken in the next 1 or 2 years to relaunch the electric mobility mission that has run out of steam in recent years due to flip flop of policies, he added. SMEV's reaction comes after Finance Minister Piyush Goyal Friday said India would lead the world in transportation sector, with EVs and energy storage devices set to play a leading role in the segment. Presenting the interim budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha, Goyal also said .
Copper futures dip 0.32 pc on weak spot demand
Copper prices fell 0.32 per cent to Rs 436.20 per kg Friday as speculators trimmed positions amid low demand at the domestic spot markets. At the Multi Commodity Exchange, copper to be delivered in this month eased by Rs 1.40, or 0.32 per cent, to Rs 436.20 per kg in a business turnover of 12,569 lots. Analysts said off-loading of positions by traders amid muted demand at the domestic spot markets, led to the fall in copper prices at futures trade. Globally, however, at the London Metal Exchange (LME), three-month delivery of the metal surged 0.54 per cent to USD 6,169 per tonne.
Dr. Reddy's third-quarter profit surges on strong growth in emerging markets
(Reuters) - Indian generic drugmaker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd posted a 65.3 percent surge in quarterly profit on Friday, handily beating market expectations, helped by strong growth in emerging markets.
Big cash holdings in Europe signal unease over stock market outlook
MILAN (Reuters) - Stocks may have started the new year on a better footing but equity investors in Europe are hanging on to unusually big cash piles, signalling growing unease over the market's prospects.
Oil prices fall on doubt over U.S.-China trade talks
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday as the resolution of trade talks between the United States and China remained in doubt, and data from China stoked further concerns over an economic slowdown that could dent fuel demand.
More state-of-the-art rail coaches in the offing with 64 pc hike in rolling stock allocation
Rail passengers are in for some faster, fancier and state-of-the-art coaches and trains in the coming fiscal with Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in his first Budget increased the allocation for railways' rolling stock by 64 per cent. The term rolling stock in rail transport refers to any vehicle that moves on rail tracks. It includes coaches, wagons and train sets. The railways' plan of exporting its coaches and be a part of the USD 200 billion rolling stock market worldwide will get a huge impetus by allocation of Rs 6,114.82 crore in the Budget. In 2018-2019, budgetary allocation in this regard was Rs 3,724.93 crore. Buoyed by the success of the indigenous Train-18 (named recently Vande Bharat Express) which has hit a maximum speed of 180 kmph during trials, the new air-conditioned rakes, rakes for the metros and other such coaches and train sets, the railways has already drawn a blueprint till 2021 to increase production in its factories. According to officials, if the target set by
Asian markets mixed as China, US agree to further trade talks
Asian markets mostly rose Friday, with investors treading carefully as China-US trade talks ended with no deal but with both sides sounding notes of optimism and setting up more high-level meetings later this month. After the much-anticipated gathering, Donald Trump hailed "tremendous progress" between the world's top two economies but warned the "hard deadline" of March 1 remained in place, after which US tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods will be imposed. For its part, Beijing said they held "candid, specific and fruitful" discussions and had agreed to increase cooperation on intellectual property -- a major source of White House anger with China -- and boost imports of US goods. Trump's top two economic officials will visit Beijing later this month, after which he said he will meet his counterpart Xi Jinping to hammer out the final deal. While the negotiations ended with no agreement, Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA, said: "For the markets, which are ...