Page 2056 - Business Finance

Sensex, Nifty end flat amid choppy trade; rupee recovers (Roundup)

India's main equity indices ended on a flat-to-negative note in Thursday's trade which was marked by volatility as investors remained cautious ahead of quarterly earnings results along with brewing tensions between the government and the Reserve Bank.

HDFC Q2 standalone net profit up 25%

Mortgage lender HDFC on Thursday reported a rise of 24.71 per cent in its standalone net profit during the second quarter of 2018-19.

Tata Motors Oct sales jump 18%

Sells 57,710 units

Tata Consultancy Services acquires W12 Studios

W12 Studios will be part of TCS Interactive, further strengthening that already impressive array of creative and experience services it offers. TCS Interactive is the digital design division within TCS' Business & Technology Services organization, and a leader in addressing challenging business problems through design thinking, creativity, contextual knowledge and the innovative use of technology.

World stocks start month firmer as risk sentiment rebounds

LONDON (Reuters) - Global stocks began the new month buoyantly on Thursday after a brutal October while the pound rallied on reports that Britain and the European Union were close to a post-Brexit deal on financial services.

RBL Bank appoints Vikas Muttoo as CEO of Swadhaar Finserve

Private sector lender RBL Bank Thursday announced the appointment of Vikas Muttoo as the chief executive of its subsidiary Swadhaar Finserve. Muttoo joins from microlender Bharat Financial where he was the chief business officer, it said in a statement. ******************** Tech Mahindra, Bionest tie up for pharma, biotech research * Fifth largest software services exporter Tech Mahindra Thursday tied up with state-run Bionest to drive research and co-innovation in pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. Tech Mahindra will help with digital technologies to develop new platforms and solutions in the space, an official statement said. Bionest is a bio-incubator formed with the support of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Government of India enterprise under the Department of Biotechnology. ******************** Greaves Cotton Q2 net flat at Rs 49 cr * Engineering solutions major Greaves Cotton Thursday reported a flat net profit at Rs 49 ..

Vandana Knitwear announces change in directorate

With effect from 01 November 2018

UK, EU close to Brexit deal on financial services: UK official

LONDON (Reuters) - The United Kingdom and the European Union have made progress on a deal to give London's dominant financial centre basic access to EU markets after Brexit, two British officials said, but no agreement has yet been clinched.

New York Times adds more digital subscribers, tops profit estimates

(Reuters) - The New York Times Co signed up thousands of digital subscribers in the third quarter, helping the newspaper publisher top Wall Street profit forecasts and driving its shares 12.5 percent higher on Thursday.

Sonalika Tractors posts 38% sales jump in October

Sonalika International Tractors Thursday reported a 38 per cent jump in sales volumes at 14,760 units in October, driven by a massive rise in exports. The company had sold 10,673 tractors in October 2017. The domestic market saw a volume growth of 34 per cent and the international market clocked a 103 per cent growth, a release said. This was the highest-ever monthly sale by the company, it added. "We are delighted to register highest-ever sales of 14,760 tractors in October just after achieving the best sales in September one month prior to the festive month," said Raman Mittal, executive director, Sonalika group. The phenomenal sales is driven by Sikander range of tractors, which meets all the requirements of a farmer, he said.

Wall Street set for third day of gains in buoyant start to November

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks were on pace for third straight day of gains on Thursday, leaving behind a brutal October, as improving risk sentiment globally was further boosted by a string of robust earnings reports.

Marico Q2 net up 18% to Rs 218 cr

FMCG firm Marico Thursday posted a 17.95 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 218.26 crore for the second quarter ended September. The company that makes Parachute oil, had reported a net profit of Rs 185.04 crore in the year-ago period. Its revenue from operations in the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,836.82 crore, compared with Rs 1,536.29 crore in the same period last year, a statement said. Advertising and sales promotion spends stood at 9.6 per cent of sales at Rs 175.82 crore, against Rs 158.50 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. The company's FMCG business in the country achieved a turnover of Rs 1,439 crore, a growth of 20 per cent over the same period last year, it said. "Volume growth during the quarter was 6 per cent, lower than the medium term aspiration, largely due to a significant decline in CSD (canteen store departments) sales. Volume growth ex-CSD was 7 per cent. Value growth for the quarter was driven by price hikes taken in the ...

Sebi to introduce alternative payment mechanism for retail IPO investors from Jan

Sebi Thursday said it will launch Unified Payments Interface as an alternative payment option for retail investors, buying shares in a public issue, in a phased manner from January 1 next year, which will cut listing time for an IPO to three days from six at present. The new mechanism will increase the efficiency of the existing system and curtail the need for manual intervention. UPI is an instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It allows instant transfer of money between any two person's bank accounts using a payment address which uniquely identifies a person's bank account. As a part of the continuing efforts to further streamline the process, Sebi has decided, in consultation with the stake holders to introduce the use of UPI as a payment mechanism with Application Supported by Block Amount (ASBA) for applications in public issues by retail investors through intermediaries. "The proposed process would increase efficiency, eliminate ...

Rupee vaults 50 paise to 73.45 vs dollar on improving macro sentiment

The rupee rallied by 50 paise to close at 73.45 against the US dollar Thursday, posting its biggest single-session spurt in three weeks on increased selling of the greenback by exporters, softening crude oil prices and upbeat economic numbers. Easing of concerns over the rift between the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also supported the rupee's recovery, forex dealers said. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit opened higher at 73.88, then gained further ground and settled for the day at 73.45, registering a jump of 50 paise. On Wednesday, the rupee had plunged 27 paise to close at a nearly three-week low of 73.95 as the dollar strengthened against major global currencies amid steady capital outflows. The Finance Ministry Wednesday said the government has "nurtured and respected" autonomy of the central bank and has been holding extensive consultations with it on many issues. On the economy front, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) ...

BT's recovery makes progress as CEO heads for exit

LONDON (Reuters) - Smartphone sales and cost savings helped BT beat market expectations for first-half earnings on Thursday, with its departing chief executive saying his recovery plan was working.

New York Times revenue jumps 8 percent as digital subscriptions rise

(Reuters) - The New York Times Co's third-quarter revenue climbed 8.2 percent as the newspaper publisher signed up more digital subscribers.

India under UPA most difficult to do business with: Jaitley

Attacking the Congress, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday hailed India's 23 places jump in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings and said the country had come a long way from the UPA era when it was the most difficult country to do business with.

IPO income boosts HDFC bottomline by 25% to Rs 2,467 cr

Mortgage leader HDFC Thursday reported a 25 per cent rise in standalone net income at Rs 2,467.08 crore in the three months to September, boosted by investment income from part-selling its stake in the mutual fund arm during the quarter through an IPO, coupled with robust loan demand. Vice-chairman Keiky Mistry said the company has no issue liquidity issues, despite the crisis in the system and also that it has no exposure to the crippled IL&FS group's debt instruments. "We've some indirect exposure to the IL&FS group by way of funding a building in the BKC area of the city, but that is fully secured with lease-rentals, which are being paid on time. Though the asset is standard, we have made a 37 per cent provision for the same," Mistry told reporters during the earnings presser. Mistry said strictly speaking the numbers are not comparable as the quarter saw little dividend coming in from the banking arm, as it had paid Rs 585.85 crore dividend in the June ...

U.S. productivity growth slows in the third quarter

WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - U.S. worker productivity slowed in the third quarter and unit labor costs rebounded after posting their biggest drop in nearly four years.

Hero MotoCorp sells 7.34 lakh units in October 2018

Coming immediately after the Company's highest-ever monthly sales (769,138 in September 2018), the growth provides a positive outlook on the industry, which has witnessed a sub-par festive season sales thus far this year.