Page 1609 - Business Finance

Prosecutors set to indict Ghosn and Nissan as CEO's role in focus: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo prosecutors are due to indict ousted Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn as well as the automaker itself on Monday, sources said, intensifying scrutiny of CEO Hiroto Saikawa's role in the financial misconduct scandal.

Japan Q3 GDP contracts at fastest pace since 2014, trade war dims outlook

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese economy contracted the most in over four years in the third quarter as capital expenditure tumbled, raising concerns about demand at home and overseas as the export-reliant nation grapples with global trade frictions.

Global Markets: Stocks extend retreat as global growth worries clobber investors

TOKYO (Reuters) - Global stocks extended their slump on Monday, with U.S. equity futures and Asian shares sliding on worries over slowing growth and fears that a fresh flare-up in tensions between Washington and Beijing could quash any chances of a trade deal.

Oil extends gains after OPEC-led group seals deal to cut supply

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Monday, extending gains from Friday when producer club OPEC and some non-affiliated producers agreed a supply cut of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from January.

World Bank shifts focus to Egypt's private sector with $1 billion loan

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - The World Bank is pushing to prise open more space for Egypt's private sector with $1 billion in new funding, part of a second phase of support that follows two years of painful economic reforms, the bank's regional vice-president said.

Mumbai airport handles record 1,004 flight movements in a day

The capacity-constrained Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) Saturday handled a record 1,004 aircraft movements in a day, bettering its earlier record of 1,003 flight movements in 24 hours in June this year. Sources said the feat was achieved in the wake of the pre-wedding bash of Isha Ambani, daughter of industrialist and India's richest person Mukesh Ambani, in Udaipur in Rajasthan. They said a host of politicians, corporate honchos and Bollywood stars flew in private jets from Mumbai to attend the celebrations that started on Friday. A Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson confirmed that the airport handled a record 1,004 arrivals and departures on Saturday, but did not divulge the factors leading to the surge in traffic movement. "Mumbai airport handled a record 1,004 flights in a single day on Saturday. The earlier best for the airport was 1,003 arrivals and departures which was achieved on June 5," the spokesperson said. As many

Increased domestic steel intake helped save Rs 5000cr:Minister

Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh Sunday said nearly Rs 5,000 crore has been saved since the new steel policy with focus on quality has come into effect. Singh, who was in the megapolis to attend an industry award function instituted by Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI), told reporters that the government plans to impose the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on all steel products. "Currently, the BIS is imposed on 86 per cent of products and we plan to take it to 100 percent," he said without putting a timeline for implementation. When asked about the impact of the imposition of the BIS so far, he said, "at present you may feel there is no impact of this. But within one year since the introduction of the steel policy to encourage domestic steel, we have saved nearly Rs 5,000 crore. With BIS, we have been able to give level playing field to the secondary market," Singh said. He said that during the last four years, the per capita steel consumption in the ..

India should brace itself for slowdown for some time: Ex-CEA

Former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian on Sunday warned the Indian economy was in for a slowdown for some time as agriculture and financial system were under stress. Speaking at the release of his book, Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy, he said both demonetisation and implementation of GST have resulted in moderation of the economy and the budget estimate of revenue collection from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) seems to be unreasonable. "To judge the GST by what the budget demands of the GST, is unreasonable. I will say it frankly, the budget has made unreasonable demands on GST. It has asked for 16-17 per cent (increase)," he said. He also said that GST design could have been much better and there should not be more than three rates going forward. The current rates are 28 per cent, 18 per cent, 12 per cent and 5 per cent. With regard to the economy, he said, "we have to brace ourself for a slowdown for some time. I say that for a combination of ...

Shell India unveils 'OX' all terrain truck

Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell's Indian arm on Sunday announced the launching of fourth generation 'flat-pack all-terrain truck 'The Ox for carrying goods, especially for people in remote areas.

GoAir flies to Phuket, Male from Bengaluru

Budget carrier GoAir on Sunday flew for the first time from Bengaluru to Phuket in Thailand and Male in Maldives, the company said.

Protesters force shutdown at Libyan El Sharara oilfield: sources

LONDON/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Tribesmen staging a protest at Libya's 315,000 barrels-a-day El Sharara oilfield are forcing workers to shut down production, two Libyan oil officials and a spokesman for the protesters said on Sunday.

Israel market regulator proposes English language option for listed companies

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - All companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange should be allowed to report in English to help them to attract more international investment, Israel's market regulator proposed on Sunday.

Demonetisation threw up political, economic puzzles: Arvind Subramanian

Drawing the link between demonetisation and GDP numbers, former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian has said the puzzle thrown up by the note ban has a dual aspect - whether its impact as seen in the GDP numbers reflects a resilient economy, and if the growth figures pose questions about the official data collection process itself.

Ministry sends new industrial policy for Cabinet approval: Prabhu

The commerce and industry ministry has sent the final proposal of new industrial policy to the Cabinet for approval, Union minister Suresh Prabhu said. "We have sent the final Cabinet note. We have also prepared an action plan for the implementation of the policy," Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu told PTI. The new industrial policy aims at boosting manufacturing sector growth, promote foreign technology transfer and attract overseas investments. The policy would have some financial implications as the government may provide incentives for use of frontier technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet of things, and robotics. It aims at promoting emerging sectors and modernising existing industries. It will also look to reduce regulatory hurdles, cut paper work and support emerging and new sectors. The ministry would be setting up an elaborate machinery including a steering committee for effective implementation of the policy. As part of the policy, industrial health

TCS developed PAN system for I-T in 1977, Charan Singh was not impressed: Book

India missed a golden opportunity to implement a fully computerised tax administration system way back in the late '70s as a proposal by TCS was rejected by the then finance minister Charan Singh, claims a new book. Management strategist-researcher Shashank Shah has come out with the book titled "The Tata Group: From Torchbearers to Trailblazers", coinciding with the completion of 150 years of The Tata Group and the death anniversary of JRD Tata on November 29. According to the author, after nationalisation of banks by the Indira Gandhi government in 1969, there was declining business with banks as the Centre did not want computers in India. "It believed that computerisation would lead to mass unemployment. It is contextual to mention a fact that few know," he claims. Shah says that it was TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) that had developed the now ubiquitous permanent account number (PAN) system for the income tax department in 1977. "Impressed by the output, the company was given an .

Embassy to invest Rs 2,000-cr on ongoing housing projects; looking for expansion in major cities

Realty firm Embassy Group will invest about Rs 2,000 crore to complete its ongoing housing projects and is looking to buy land or form joint ventures for expanding its presence in Bengaluru as well as other major cities, a senior company official said. Bengaluru-based Embassy Group's President (Residential Business) Reeza Sebastian said the company is also considering entering the senior living housing segment and adopting pre-fab construction technology. Embassy Group, which is India's leading developer of commercial real estate, has completed 12 million sq ft of housing projects and is currently developing around 10,000 units across six projects, of which five are in Bengaluru and one in Chennai. Sebastian said five projects would be completed by 2019-20 while the nearly 300 acre township 'Embassy Springs' in Bengaluru would take another five years for development. Asked about the investment, she said the total cost for the ongoing projects is more than Rs 5,000 crore, of which ...

Reverse bidding: Five players get nod to supply 12,000 rail wagons

Stepping up its wagon procurement, Indian Railways has selected five players through the reverse-auction method -- a first for the wagon sector -- to manufacture and supply over 12,000 wagons worth about Rs 4,000 crore.

Niti Member says farm loan waivers benefit only a section of farmers

Amid growing demands for farm loan waivers, Niti Aayog Member and agriculture policy expert Ramesh Chand said he is not in favour of debt waivers as this help only a small fraction of farmers. The country recently witnessed agitations by farmers in key farm states in support of their demands ranging from farm loan waiver to clearing of dues by sugar mills and higher prices for crops. "The biggest problem with loan waiver is that it will benefit only a small fraction of farmers...I am not at all in favour of loan waiver," Chand, who has been involved in policy formulation for the last 15 years, told PTI in an interview. He also observed that in poorer states only 10-15 per cent of farmers are benefited from loan waiver as few number of farmers get institutional loans in such states. When asked about implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, he said Narendra Modi-led NDA government has implemented most of the recommendations of the Commission. Chand further said the minimum ..

Qatar finance minister says budget for 2019 will project surplus

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's national budget for 2019 will show a forecast for a surplus, its Finance Minister Ali Shareef al-Emadi told a conference on Sunday.

Barcelos to add 12 restaurants in India by FY'20

South African restaurant chain Barcelos is looking to add 12 more to its kitty in India by the end of 2019-20 as part of an expansion plan, a senior company official said. The company has one restaurant each in Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Chennai and two in Mumbai. "We plan to add 12 more restaurants across the country by the end of next fiscal year," Barcelos Business head India Rohit Malhotra told PTI. The new restaurants would be in Bengaluru, Pune, Goa, Chandigarh, Kochi, Puducherry, Mumbai, among others, he added. The company is also planning to rename all its big restaurants (area of 1,500 square feet or above) by March next year, Malhotra said. Barcelos is also looking to open between 10 to 12 smaller outlets in food courts in the country. Such outlets will have area between 300-500 square feet, he added. When asked about the business model Barcelos follows in India, Malhotra said: "All the outlets are franchise owned. Barcelos works through franchise model in .