Page 1325 - Business Finance
December trade deficit narrows to 10-month low of $13.08 billion
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's trade deficit narrowed to $13.08 billion in December, the lowest in 10 months, due to a fall in gold imports, the trade ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
India's services export rises 8.3% in November 2018
India's services trade surplus improves 15.6% to US$ 51.78 billion in April-November 2018
IOC to raise USD 900 mn via bonds issue
State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) Tuesday said it will raise USD 900 million through an overseas bonds issue to meet its working capital requirements. In a regulatory filing, IOC said it has launched an international bonds issue of USD 900 million, carrying a coupon of 4.75 per cent. The Notes are expected to be settled by January 16, 2019. "The Notes carry a coupon of 4.75 per cent per annum payable semi-annually. The Notes will mature in 2024 and all the principal and interest payments will be made in US Dollars," it said. IOC said the proceeds of the issue will be used to fund working capital requirements for the normal course of business. The bonds will be listed on the Singapore Exchange. Bookrunners for the issue are Citigroup, DBS Bank, SBICAP Securities, Standard Chartered Bank and Westpac Banking. IOC is buying back shares and is paying an interim dividend for the fiscal 2018-19, aggregating to Rs 11,000 crore. The board of IOC last month approved buyback of up to 29.76 crore
Oil prices rise over one percent, but global slowdown looms
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday after tumbling the previous session, although a darkening economic outlook may soon weigh on growth in fuel demand.
Each rail division gets Rs 20 cr to make one 'model station' under it by March
Each division of the Indian Railways has been given a corpus of Rs 20 crore to develop one station under it as a model station by March this year, sources told PTI Tuesday. The divisional railway managers of 68 railway zones have been instructed to identify and develop a station of their choice in areas of passenger amenities and infrastructure like provision and maintenance of lifts, foot-over-bridge, seats, platforms, availability of drinking water. "All 68 divisions have been asked to develop the railway station of their choice in the next two months. These stations will then be a model to develop other stations in the division. Each will be developed at a cost of Rs 20 crore," the source said. The idea, the source said, is to develop railways stations across the network in phases. With the DRM empowered to not only choose the railway station but also decide on the works to be completed, the onus is on the division to complete the works within the given timeline. The divisions have
Zee Entertainment net profit up 50.5% to Rs 562.76 cr in December quarter
Media firm Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) Tuesday reported a 50.56 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 562.76 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2018, driven by good performance of broadcast business. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 373.77 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, ZEEL said in a BSE filing. Total income stood at Rs 2,252.75 crore, up 19.43 per cent, compared with Rs 1,886.11 crore a year ago. "We have delivered yet another quarter of strong performance across all our businesses. ZEEL is scaling up in line with our expectations and is on course to become India's number one digital entertainment platform," said ZEEL Chairman Subhash Chandra. The company's total expenses stood at Rs 1,441.82 crore, up 7.72 per cent as compared with Rs 1,338.38 crore in the year-ago period. The advertising revenue grew by 21.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,462.6 crore. "The 20.6 per cent growth in domestic advertising
Rupee slips further, settles below 71-level against USD
The Indian rupee Tuesday plunged by another 13 paise to close at one-month low of 71.05 against the US dollar amid strengthening greenback and surging crude oil prices. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened weaker at Rs 70.79 then lost further ground and fell to a low of 71.15 against the American currency. The domestic unit, however, gained some strength and finally settled at 71.05 a dollar, down 13 paise over its previous close. This was the third straight session of loss for the rupee. The domestic currency Monday plunged by 43 paise to close at nearly one-month low of 70.92 against the US dollar. The Indian unit has lost 64 paise in these three sessions. Forex traders attributed the rupee plunge to rising crude prices. However, heavy buying in domestic equities and fresh foreign fund inflows restricted the fall in the local unit to some extent. Stronger dollar against its key rival currencies impacted the rupee trading pattern, they said. The dollar index, which ...
Govt mulling import duty hike on iron ore
The government is considering raising import duty on iron ore, a key raw material used in steel making, with a view to protecting the domestic industry, sources said. "The matter is under discussion among different ministries including steel," they added. The development assumes significance as recently Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding issues of the sector in the state and sought a hike in the import duty on the mineral. The chief minister had stated that steel companies are importing a huge quantity of iron ore at a time when the country is facing the problem of large trade deficit. Seeking the prime minister's intervention, Kumaraswamy had requested to suitably raise the import duty on iron ore and pellets. The low import duty of 2.5 per cent encourages steel players to go for import rather than utilising the local ore, he had said. Earlier, apex mineral body Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) too had urged the ...
PG&E restructuring highlights arcane California legal rule
(Reuters) - PG&E Corp's chances of emerging from bankruptcy proceedings hinge in part on an arcane California legal rule that threatens to keep the utility owner perpetually on the hook for liabilities from catastrophic wildfires even beyond the more than $30 billion the company expects to face from recent blazes.
Gold steady on Fed rate pause hopes, stronger equities
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Tuesday, supported by market expectations of fewer interest rate hikes in the year by the U.S. Federal Reserve, while a bounce in Chinese equities stoked interest in riskier assets.
JPMorgan profit rises 67 percent from a year earlier
(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co on Tuesday reported a 67 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit from a year ago, when it took a $2.4 billion charge due to an overhaul of the U.S. tax code.
Germany's Nordzucker hit by sugar price collapse
HAMBURG (Reuters) - Germany's second-largest sugar refiner Nordzucker on Tuesday was the latest European producer to report a slump in earnings following a collapse in prices.
Nokia to shed 350 jobs in Finland as part of cost cuts
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia is cutting 350 jobs in Finland as part of its plans to find savings worth 700 million euros ($800 million) by next year.
Banks expected to report higher credit growth, market share: Report
Given the upturn in non-food and industrial credit as reported by the RBI, banks are expected to report higher credit growth and market share at the cost of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and housing finance firms, a financial services firm said on Tuesday.
Indospace to invest Rs 650 cr in Gujarat to build three logistic parks
Everstone-promoted IndoSpace Tuesday said it will invest Rs 650 crore in Gujarat to develop three logistic parks over the next three years. IndoSpace has announced its foray into the state with start of construction work at its first logistic park in Bavla near Ahmedabad. The park will be spread over 47 acre with leasable area of 1 million sq ft. The park is located close to the industrial hubs of Sanand and Changodar and has easy access to Kandla and Mundra ports. With rising demand of industrial space, IndoSpace is planning to build two more logistics parks in Gujarat with a total leasable area of 1.5 million sq ft. "The Bavla industrial park not only marks our foray into Gujarat, it also shows our clear determination to strengthen our leadership in the light industrial manufacturing space. We plan to invest Rs 650 crore in new parks across Gujarat. "Upon completion, the projects are expected to generate employment for more than 10,000 people directly and indirectly," said Rajesh ...
ICICI Securities shares slump over 6% post Q3 earnings
Shares of ICICI Securities slumped over 6 per cent Tuesday after the company reported 34.3 per cent decline in consolidated profit for the third quarter ended December 31. The stock tanked 5.23 per cent to close at Rs 261.60 on BSE. Intra-day, it fell sharply by 6.28 per cent to Rs 258.70. At NSE, shares of the company tumbled 6.39 per cent to close at Rs 260.70. ICICI Securities, investment services arm of ICICI Group, Monday reported a 34.3 per cent decline in consolidated profit to Rs 101.1 crore for the December quarter. The company's profit stood at Rs 153.9 crore in the October-December quarter of 2017-18, it said in a regulatory filing. The company's total income also declined to Rs 404.7 crore, compared with Rs 493.8 crore in the third quarter of the previous fiscal.
Manu Sawhney named as ICC Chief Executive
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Manu Sawhney as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).Sawhney, the former CEO of Singapore Sports Hub and Managing Director of ESPN Star Sports, will join the organisation next month before formally taking over the reins from David Richardson in July following the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.The appointment was ratified by the ICC Board following a global search and appointment process led by ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar and the Nominations Committee."I am delighted to confirm Manu's (Sawhney) appointment today. He brings 22 years of outstanding commercial experience to the ICC and will lead the delivery of our new global growth strategy for the game. Our search produced a host of excellent candidates from around the world, but Manu stood out as the man to work with our Members and take cricket forward," ICC quoted Manohar, as saying."He has proven success in a number of leadership roles in both sport and
Nifty January 2019 futures at premium
Turnover in F&O segment rises
2019 is the best year for dollar diversification: US Freedom Capital
US Freedom Capital's Deputy CIO, Arindam Sengupta, spoke on global diversification at the Mehta Fincon Global Investor Conference, Gujarat's biggest HNI investor conference organized by Mehta Fincon Services Ltd. on January 12, 2019.The theme for the conference was 'Unveiling the Secrets of Wealth Creation' and featured some of the leading minds in the Indian financial industry, including Subramanian Swamy, Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha.The topic of focus was centred around why diversification is such an important tool for wealth accumulation. Trends have shown that while global markets, primarily equities, have created significant wealth for investors over the past five years, these markets attract a fair share of volatility risk.In fact, in Indian equity markets, volatility has been significantly higher over the past year due to a combination of global and local events such as Brexit, a hike in US interest rates coupled with a simultaneous reduction in QE, demonetization and ...
India to add 1,000 aircraft in 7-8 yrs, says official
The country is going to add 1,000 aircraft over the next 7-8 years, a top government official said Tuesday. India is the fastest growing domestic aviation market and has been registering double-digit growth for more than 50 consecutive weeks. Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said the country is an aviation locomotive for the world and provides humongous opportunities for players across the globe to grow. "We would be adding about 1,000 more aircraft in about next 7-8 years," Choubey said, adding that the country would also be having 100 more airports and one billion trips in the next 15 years. Scheduled domestic carriers have more than 600 planes in their fleets, according to the vision document released by the civil aviation ministry Tuesday. The domestic aviation has been growing at 20 per cent every year for the last four years and the growth has been sustained, Choubey said. "This growth is going to be there for at least 20 more years, if only the oil prices behave," he said ..