Page 2077 - Business Finance
Guv denies levelling any allegation against J&K Bank recruitment process
Governor Satya Pal Malik Wednesday denied making any allegation on his own against the recent recruitment appointments in J&K Bank and said he had only repeated what he was told by bank officials and aspirants. "I have not levelled any allegation against it (J&K Bank). I repeated what I was told by the aspirants who had come to me (with complaints about recruitment in the bank)," he added. The Jammu and Kashmir governor was replying to reporters' queries on a controversy over allegation that an entire list of 582 selected candidates was "changed" to pave way for the appointment of relatives of politicians and their workers during the previous BJP-PDP government's tenure. The governor was reported to have earlier told a private television news channel that he got this information from the J&K Bank chairman. The governor had purportedly told the news channel that the chairman had told him this in response to his query about the complaints of 40 youths, who had qualified in ..
Strengthen NFRA to better regulate audit firms: Panel
A government-appointed panel on Wednesday recommended strengthening of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) to "address contemporary challenges in relation to auditors, audit firms and networks operating in India".
Tech resurgence, earnings lift mood at end of brutal month
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday, as investors snapped up beaten-down technology favorites and strong results for General Motors and a host of other companies lifted spirits at the end of a torrid month for global equities.
Corrected: Musk shakes up SpaceX in race to make satellite launch window - sources
(Corrects to remove Kim Schulze from paragraph 15. The company said Schulze is still employed by SpaceX)
Exclusive: PDVSA ships $35 million oil cargo to pay dividends to ONGC - sources
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run PDVSA has shipped a crude cargo valued at $35 million as partial payment to Indian oil company ONGC Videsh Ltd for overdue dividends from a joint venture, according to two people familiar with the matter.
India can now hope to be in top 50: Jaitley on ease of doing biz ranking
Enthused by 23 notches jump in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley exuded confidence that India can now hope to achieve the target of breaking into top 50 rank in the coming years. Narendra Modi led government when came to power had set target of reaching 50th rank in the Ease of Doing Business Index. The target points for improvement are registering property, starting a business, Insolvency, taxation and enforcement of contract, he said. "Legislation is already in place with regard to Enforcement of Contract, Taxation and Insolvency...starting business, central government and state governments have to work together... "If we work in focussed manner in these areas, then coming below the 50th rank target is not out of reach. Therefore, it can be achieved. Ultimately, Ease of Doing Business is to maximise the governance with minimum government and procedure," Jaitley said. The impact of this would be visible on investment environment in the long term, he
Capital crunch scare wipes 40 billion euros from Italian banks
MILAN (Reuters) - Italian banks have lost nearly 40 billion euros ($45 billion) of market capitalisation since May, with small and mid-sized lenders worst-hit by a sell-off on concerns that Rome's budget crisis will lead to a capital crunch in the third-largest euro zone economy.
GM offers buyouts to cut costs after strong quarterly profit
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Wednesday stepped up efforts to cut costs in response to tariff and market pressures, even as it reported third-quarter profit that blew past Wall Street expectations.
Black gold, white knuckles: Oil refiners face rollercoaster ride as fuel margins seesaw
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil product margins have been tossed around on a wild rollercoaster ride in October, as factors like impending Iran sanctions, the China-U.S. trade war and upcoming shipping regulations yank fuel profits up, down and back again.
Taco Bell, KFC power Yum Brands quarterly results
(Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit on Wednesday, as strong sales at KFC and Taco Bell more than made up for further weakness at Pizza Hut, sending its shares up as much as 5 percent.
Oil prices steady as U.S. crude stocks rise for a sixth week
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were mixed in volatile trade on Wednesday as strong U.S. demand for fuel helped offset a sixth straight week of crude builds and evidence of rising global supply despite sanctions that are already curbing Iranian crude exports.
Future Lifestyle Fashions Q2 net rises marginally to Rs 25 cr
Future Lifestyle Fashions Wednesday reported a marginal rise in its net profit for the September quarter at Rs 25.54 crore, as against Rs 23.39 crore in the year-ago period. The company's total income from operations rose to Rs 1,230.08 crore during the quarter under review, from Rs 1,027.63 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. However, its total expenses also increased to Rs 1,191.01 crore, from Rs 993.19 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY18, the company said in a BSE filing. The company's scrip rose 1.04 per cent to close at Rs 370.15 on the BSE.
U.S. Stocks: Tech rebound, earnings lift mood at end of torrid month
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday, as investors snapped up technology favorites and strong results for General Motors and a host of others lifted spirits at the end of a torrid month for global equities.
Amrapali affairs run by a syndicate: Forensic auditor tells SC
The Supreme Court was on Wednesday told by forensic auditors that affairs of the real estate major Amrapali group of companies were being run by a "syndicate" and that group's former Chief Financial Officer and statutory auditor were part of it.
India certainly not a 'tariff king', says World Bank official on Trump's remarks
The World Bank does not agree with US President Donald Trump's claim that India is a "tariff king" and feels that the Indian taxation system and economy is much more liberalised than it was a few decades ago, a top official of the international financial institution said Wednesday. Earlier this month, Trump described India as a "tariff king" as he reiterated his allegations that New Delhi has a high tariff rate on various American goods. "That (India being a tariff king) certainly is not what we find in our data," Shanta Devarajan, the World Bank's Senior Director for Development Economics and Acting Chief Economist, told PTI in an interview when asked about Trump's statement. "India has some tariffs, but by no means it's not (tariff) king," said Devarajan, who earlier was chief economist for South Asia at the World Bank. Even in South Asia India did not have the highest tariffs, he said referring to the experience he had in his previous capacity in the World Bank. "And they (tariffs .
Railways increases freight rates for major commodities by almost 9 per cent
The railways has effected a 8.75-per cent increase in freight rates for major commodities such as coal, steel, iron ore, and raw materials for steel plants, according to an official statement on Wednesday. "The decision to rationalise freight rates will result in additional revenue generation for Indian Railways to the tune of Rs 3,344 crore. The additional revenue will further help enhance various aspects of Railways including safety, service, punctuality," the statement said. The freight rates for food grains, flours, pulses, fertilisers, salt and sugar have not been increased, keeping in mind farmers and the common man. Freight rates for cement and petroleum products, including diesel, have also not been increased. Haulage charges for containers have been increased by 5 per cent and freight rates of other small goods have been increased by 8.75 per cent.
Gammon Infra reports Rs 3 cr loss in Jul-Sep qtr
Gammon Infrastructure Projects Wednesday said it has incurred a loss of Rs 3.05 crore during the quarter ended September 30. The company had reported a profit of Rs 3.13 crore during the same quarter a year ago, Gammon Infra said in a BSE filing. Its total revenue during the said quarter stood at Rs 13.97 crore, lower from Rs 39.40 crore in the same period last fiscal. Shares of the company today ended 1.69 per cent up at Rs 0.60 apiece on BSE.
CCI approves Malaysia's IHH acquisition of Fortis Healthcare, Fortis Malar
Competition watchdog CCI has approved Malaysia-based IHH Healthcare's proposed acquisition of Fortis Healthcare and Fortis Malar Hospital. In August, Fortis Healthcare shareholders gave their nod for the deal. Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved "acquisition of Fortis Healthcare Ltd and Fortis Malar Hospital Ltd by Northern TK Venture Pte Ltd," the regulator said in a tweet Wednesday. In July, the board of Fortis Healthcare approved a Rs 4,000-crore offer from IHH Healthcare for buying 31.1 per cent stake in it. The proposal had valued the cash-strapped firm at Rs 8,880 crore. Shareholders had also approved reclassifying members of promoter/promoter group to public shareholder category and classification of Northern TK Venture Pvt Ltd as a promoter.
Vedanta Q2 net profit drops 34% to Rs 1,343 cr as finance cost spikes
Metals and mining giant Vedanta Ltd Wednesday reported a 34.32 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,343 crore for the July-September quarter due to higher finance cost and expenses. The Anil Agarwal-led company had clocked a profit of Rs 2,045 crore during the corresponding quarter previous fiscal. Its total income during the quarter rose to Rs 23,297 crore as against Rs 22,509 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Total expenses also rose to Rs 20,999 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 18,854 crore in the year-ago period. The company said in a statement that its balance sheet was strong and the net debt reduced by Rs 3,553 crore in the second quarter of FY2019. Net debt was at Rs 26,357 crore at September-end, down quarter-on-quarter on account of cash generation from operations and working capital release. The finance cost during the quarter was at Rs 1,571 crore, higher by Rs 144 crore year-on-year mainly due to increase in borrowings on ...
HEG Jul-Sep PAT jumps to Rs 889 cr
Graphite electrode maker HEG Wednesday said its profit after tax (PAT) during July-September quarter jumped manifold to Rs 889 crore. The company had clocked Rs 114 crore PAT during the same quarter a year ago, HEG Ltd, part LNJ Bhilwara Group, said in a statement. Graphite electrodes are used to melt scrap in electric arc furnaces to produce new steel. During the said quarter, the firm's revenue was at Rs 1,794 crore, higher from Rs 410 crore in second quarter of 2017-18 fiscal. The profits were higher as fresh steel making capacities based on the electric arc furnace (EAF) route came on-stream globally and domestic steel makers pushed up production in under used plants, HEG said. Ravi Jhunjhunwala, Chairman & Managing Director, HEG Ltd said, "We continue to experience robust demand for electrodes on the back of strong growth in global EAF steel sector. In addition, the domestic steel industry expanded by 6.1 per cent in the first nine months of the year. Moreover, the ongoing ...