Page 1659 - Business Finance
Wall Street jumps at open on trade truce optimism
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks leapt at open on Monday, driven by strong gains in trade-sensitive industrial and technology stocks after the United States and China agreed upon a temporary trade detente.
Unilever swallows GSK's Indian Horlicks business for $3.8 billion
LONDON (Reuters) - Unilever is to buy GlaxoSmithKline's Horlicks nutrition business for $3.8 billion, boosting the Anglo-Dutch group's position in India by adding the popular malted drink.
US needs to see 'something concrete' from China in 90 days: Mnuchin
The US will need to see "something concrete" from China on trade in the next 90 days to build a real agreement, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in Buenos Aires on Saturday evening for three hours and had "very specific discussions" on steps to defuse the trade conflict, Mnuchin said on CNBC. He said for the first time there was "a clear path" to reduce the US trade deficit with China to zero. "There was a significant commitment from both leaders on what needs to be done over the 90 days and instructions to both teams to negotiate and turn this into a real agreement with specific action items, deliverables and time frames," Mnuchin said. Trump and Xi agreed to call a cease fire in the trade confrontation that involves hundreds of billions in bilateral trade and had roiled world markets for months. Trump agreed to hold off on his threat to slap 25 per cent tariffs on USD 200 billion worth of Chinese goods from ...
Punitive action against Reliance firm, Navy encashes bank guarantee in vessel deal
In a punitive action, the Navy has encashed a bank guarantee given by the Reliance Naval Engineering Ltd due to inordinate delay in supplying five offshore patrol vessel, and said Monday the deal is being looked into. "There is no preferential treatment being given to RNEL. Its bank guarantee has been encashed. Punitive action has been taken against it. The process is being taken forward," Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said at a press conference. The Navy Chief was asked about huge delay in delivery of the vessels by the company and whether Navy is under any pressure to not initiate any action against the company. Admiral Lanba said the deal is not being cancelled at the moment but added that it is being looked into, indicating that government may take a call on the issue. The Navy chief also said that the company is undergoing corporate debt restructuring. There was no immediate reaction from RNEL about the Navy Chief's comments. Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence has been at the ...
Irdai proposes changes in registration norms for insurance marketing firms
Regulator Irdai Monday proposed to relax norms for registration of insurance marketing firms with an aim to improve penetration of insurance products in the country. Insurance marketing firms (IMFs) are registered by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) to solicit or procure insurance products. Earlier this year, the regulator had constituted a committee for review of IMF regulations. Based on the recommendations of the panel, Irdai has proposed several changes in the existing framework governing IMFs. As part of the proposed changes, Irdai is considering to reduce the net worth requirement to Rs 5 lakh for applicants opting for an aspirational district. The NITI Aayog has designated 117 districts in 28 states as aspirational districts. The current capital requirement for registration as an insurance marketing firm is minimum Rs 10 lakh. Irdai has also proposed expansion of the basket of products which can be solicited or procured by an IMF to include ...
Royal Enfield sales down 6 per cent to 65,744 units in Nov
Royal Enfield, the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors, Monday reported a six per cent drop in sales to 65,744 units in November. The automaker sold 70,126 bikes in November 2017, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales declined four per cent to 65,026 units in the previous month as against 67,776 units in the year-ago month, it said. Exports during the month under review plunged a massive 69 per cent 718 units from 2,350 units shipped out in November 2017, as per the statement.
Nissan's external board to meet Tuesday, discuss Ghosn replacement: source
TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan's three independent board members are set to meet on Tuesday to discuss a replacement for arrested former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, a source familiar with the matter said.
India registers 10% growth in containerised trade in Q3 2018:Maersk
India's containerised trade with the world grew by 10 per cent year-on-year in the July-September quarter, a report by global container shipping company Maersk said Monday. The demand for India-made goods such as vehicles and mechanical appliances as well as refrigerated cargo such as onions, meat, seafood, and pharmaceuticals have driven exports, the company said. "Increasing competitiveness of Indian exports, coupled with improved demand in various destination countries, has propelled exports to grow at 10 per cent year-on-year.... Simultaneously, imports have risen 9 per cent year-on-year, largely dominated by a heavy inflow of paper, metal and white goods," the report said. Overall, the containerised market has displayed strength, with far less fluctuation compared to the previous year. Commenting on the healthy containerised growth, Steve Felder, Managing Director for Maersk Line South Asia said, "The upward movement in global commodity prices, depreciation of the Indian rupee ..
Sensex, Nifty end flat; rupee loses 80 paise (Roundup)
The key equity indices managed to register a gain for the sixth straight session on Monday as the market settled on a flat-to-positive note with people holding on to their investments pending results of state assembly elections.
RBI likely to maintain repo rate in Wednesday's review
The RBI is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged at its
Jet Airways removes free meals from 2 more economy class fare
Cash-crunched Jet Airways has decided to do away with complimentary meals for economy class passengers travelling on domestic routes under two more fare categories as the full-service airline looks to trim costs. The revision in fare offerings will be effective for tickets booked from December 21, for travel starting January 7, Jet airways said in a release Monday. The carrier currently offers five fare options in the economy class - light, deal, saver, classic and flex - for customers booking flights on domestic routes. "In addition to the light and deal categories introduced earlier, Jet Airways will offer two more categories under economy travel saver and classic," Jet Airways said in a release. The latest revision in complimentary meals would be availably only for economy passengers who booked their tickets under the flex option, the release said. The airline will continue to offer complimentary meals across saver and classic fare options to those passengers who ...
Durga Raghunath to join Zomato as Senior Vice President
Food delivery app Zomato on Monday announced that Durga Raghunath, currently Chief Executive Indian Express Digital Media Services, will be joining Zomato as Senior Vice President - Growth, effective December 21.
OnePlus announces first R&D facility in India at Hyderabad
Premium smartphone brand OnePlus Monday outlined plans for its first research and development facility in India at Hyderabad, which it said will grow to become its biggest such centre globally in three years. The company is hopeful that the facility will play a crucial role in development of artificial intelligence and machine learning in OnePlus products and also drive innovations that are centric and relevant to its Indian users, it said in a statement. OnePlus zeroed in on Hyderabad as the site for its R&D centre, as the city houses active startup ecosystem and offers a sizeable talent pool. "We plan to re-focus our R&D efforts on a large scale and drive innovations in India for the global product, especially on the software side with special emphasis on artificial intelligence and machine learning, OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau said. Hyderabad is among the fastest growing markets for OnePlus, and the company is in the process of expanding its offline presence in the ...
Japanese state-backed fund in executive pay dispute
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's relationship with state-backed Japan Investment Corp (JIC) has been damaged by excessive pay demands, an economy ministry official said on Monday.
Jet Airways to stop free meals for most domestic economy passengers
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Jet Airways Ltd, India's biggest full-service carrier, will stop providing free meals to most domestic economy class passengers from January, in the debt-laden airline's latest move to cut costs and boost revenues.
Two Himachal highways seek WB funding for expansion
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has sought the World Bank financial assistance for upgrading two national highways in Himachal Pradesh, an official said on Monday.
NMDC cuts iron ore prices by Rs 300 a tonne
The country's largest iron ore producer NMDC has slashed prices of high grade iron ore (lumps) by Rs 300 to Rs 3,550 per tonne for the current month. The state-run firm has also cut the prices for iron ore fines, which are inferior grade ore, by Rs 200 to Rs 3,110 per tonne for December 2018. The revised prices exclude royalty, DMF (District Mineral Fund), NMET (National Mineral Exploration Trust), cess, forest permit fee and other taxes. For November, the company had fixed the lump ore prices at Rs 3,850 a tonne and rates of fines at Rs 3,310 a tonne. Iron ore is the main ingredient used in making steel. NMDC produces about 30 million tonne of iron ore from three fully mechanised mines. The company is involved in the exploration of wide range of minerals including iron ore, copper, rock phosphate, limestone, dolomite, gypsum, bentonite, magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite, beach sands etc.
Punjab to set up Dera Baba Nanak Development Authority
The Punjab government has decided to set up the Dera Baba Nanak Development Authority for the development and beautification of the area in and around Dera Baba Nanak ahead of 550th celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev. A decision to this effect was taken at the Cabinet meeting on Monday, which was chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.The Cabinet also passed a resolution, welcoming the opening of Kartarpur corridor as a historic step to mark the auspicious occasion. "With the laying of the foundation stone for the corridor, a long-pending demand of the people in the state was fulfilled, thus paving the way for the opening of the way for devotees to visit the historic Kartarpur Gurdwara, close to the Line of Control," said an official statement issued after the Cabinet meeting.The Cabinet also approved the draft of Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Bill, 2018, aimed at ensuring judicious, equitable and sustainable utilisation and management of the state's ...
Govt clears Rs 91,149 cr GST refunds to exporters so far; Rs 6,053 cr still pending
The finance ministry Monday said Rs 91,149 crore has been issued so far to exporters as GST refunds, which are 93.77 per cent of total claims with the tax authorities. In a statement, the ministry said Rs 6,053 crore worth GST refund is still pending with the government and that is being "expeditiously processed". "Total GST refunds to the tune of Rs 91,149 crore have been disposed by CBIC and state authorities out of the total refund claims of Rs 97,202 crore received so far. Thus, the disposal rate of 93.77 per cent has been achieved," the ministry said. Giving break-up for the refund figures, the ministry said that Rs 48,455 crore of IGST refunds have been disposed of as on November 28, which is 95 per cent of the total such claims. As much as Rs 2,473 crore worth of IGST refund claims are held up on account of "various deficiencies" which have been communicated to exporters for remedial action. With regard to refund of input tax credit claims, the ministry said of the total claims
Shares in demat form: Sebi extends deadline to April 1
Markets regulator Sebi Monday extended the deadline for transfer of shares of listed companies only in demat form to April 1. The last date has been extended after taking into consideration representations from shareholders as the initial deadline was to end on December 5. Shares in the demat form will help in maintaining a transparent record of shareholding at companies amid rising concerns over beneficial ownership of entities In March, Sebi's board decided that except in case of transmission or transposition of securities, requests for effecting transfer of securities will not be processed unless the securities are held in the dematerialised form with a depository. This measure was to come into effect from December 5. "Subsequently, the regulator has received representations from shareholders for extension of the date of compliance. In view of the same, the deadline has been extended and the aforesaid requirement of transfer of securities only in demat form shall now come into ...