Page 2346 - Business Finance
U.S. job growth cools; unemployment rate drops to 3.7 percent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth slowed sharply in September likely as Hurricane Florence depressed restaurant and retail payrolls, but the unemployment rate fell to near a 49-year low of 3.7 percent, pointing to a further tightening in labor market conditions.
Most ind associations want govt to pursue defensive approach in FTA negotiations: Prabhu
Most of the industry associations want the government to pursue a defensive approach and raise customs duties while negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs), Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said Friday. He said this while releasing a study by the Department of Commerce on India-China trade. "Most industry associations want the government to pursue a defensive approach to FTAs and raise tariffs on the doctrine of domestic markets for domestic producers," the department said in a statement quoting Prabhu. Protectionist policies are on the rise globally, he said adding the global use of protectionist measures in 2018 was unprecedented with the trade wars looming between two of the largest economies of the world. In an FTA, two trading partners significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they liberalised norms to promote trade in services and promote investments. The department said the report has tried to ...
Wall Street hit as bond yields climb after jobs data
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks dropped on Friday, weighed down by rising Treasury yields after data showed job growth slowed in September, while wage increases were not enough to fan worries over rising inflation or faster interest rates hikes.
India's forex reserves down $1.3 bn
India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined $1.26 billion during the week ended September 28, official data showed on Friday.
People will pay for this government's follies: Chidambaram
Targeting the Narendra Modi government, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Friday said that people will have to pay a "heavy price" for the government's "follies".
Sebi bans Celestial Biolabs, 2 others from the capital mkts for 10 yrs
Regulator Sebi Friday barred Celestial Biolabs as well as its chairman A N Singh and wife Padma Singh from the capital markets for 10 years for fabricating the company's sales figures and making false disclosures. Besides, the capital markets watchdog has restrained Celestial Biolabs' statutory auditor Lakshmi Purna & Associates for not being cautious and careful while certifying the annual accounts of the firm. The regulator carried out a probe to ascertain whether books of accounts of the company were manipulated by way of fictitious transactions to project a rosy picture of the company to the shareholders in 2010-11 and 2011-12 and to see whether there was any violation of the provisions of PFTUP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) norms. Sebi found that the company employed deceptive devices by projecting inflated sales in Bio-IT and had adopted dubious and inconsistent practices in drawing up accounts for manipulating the financial results of the firm to ...
J.P. Morgan to settle allegations of violating sanctions: U.S. Treasury
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - J.P. Morgan Chase Bank has agreed to pay $5.3 million to settle allegations it violated Cuban Assets Control Regulations, Iranian sanctions and Weapons of Mass Destruction sanctions 87 times, the U.S. Treasury said on Friday.
'Group buying' to contribute 25-30 pc of revenues in FY19: Grofers
Online grocery platform Grofers Friday said it is scaling up its 'group buying programme' (GBP) pan-India and expects the initiative to contribute 25-30 per cent of its revenue this fiscal. Grofers, which competes with BigBasket and large e-commerce players like Flipkart and Amazon, started a pilot for GBP in Bengaluru in July this year and has been expanding it to other cities like Delhi, Mumbai and others. "Based on insights, we found buyers taking screenshots of the products and price listed on our platform, and then sharing that within their WhatsApp groups. Especially in the lower middle class families in India, there is behaviour around committees and kitty, so we thought of mimicking that behaviour online," Grofers co-founder and CEO Albinder Dhindsa told PTI. Under GBP, if there are numerous people ready to buy a particular product, Grofers will give them better prices, he said, adding that the average cart size is about Rs 1,100 for such purchases. The online group buying ...
Jet Airways assures pilots of paying Aug salary dues by Oct 9
Jet Airways, which has partially paid August salaries to its pilots and engineers along with senior management, has assured the pilots of paying the balance amount by October 9, an airline source said Friday. The assurance came following a meeting between the Jet Airways management and its domestic pilots' union, National Aviator's Guild, at the airline's headquarter here. The two side also decided to meet again next week to discuss the salary and other issues, the source said. "Management has committed that 25 per cent balance amount of August salary will be paid on Tuesday," the source privy to the meeting told PTI. On September 6, the airline had informed that its senior management, pilots and engineers will receive their salaries in two instalments till November. The August salary was to be paid in two instalments - half by September 11 and the other half by September 26. Though the airline paid the first tranche on time, it could make only partial payment of the ...
Russia's VTB Group continues to be interested in Essar Steel
Russia's VTB Group said Friday it intents to pursue investing in Essar Steel for which its backed Numetal is locked in a bitter contest with the world's largest steel producer ArcelorMittal. VTB Group head Andrei Kostin said the firm continues to be "interested" in Essar Steel. "Our goal remains the same. Yesterday, the Supreme Court made certain decisions, lawyers are now studying (them). Depending on the decision we will determine our future strategy and tactics. The finalisation of the transaction depends on the decision of the Indian courts, so this saga will continue for some time," he told reporters here. The Supreme Court had on Thursday granted one more opportunity to ArcelorMittal and VTB Group-backed NuMetal to bid for Essar Steel, provided they clear bank outstanding of their associated delinquent firms. Initially, Numetal offered Rs 37,000 crore to buy out Essar Steel. This amount was higher than ArcelorMittal's first round of offer. Later, ArcelorMittal revised the bid to
Gold rises as dollar softens after weaker U.S. jobs data
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold rose slightly on Friday as the dollar softened after data showed U.S. job growth slowed in September, easing concerns about a large run-up in inflation.
Danske shares slide as U.S. criminal inquiry spooks investors
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danske Bank's deepening money laundering scandal dragged its shares to a four-year low on Friday as Denmark's biggest bank sought to calm investors over the impact of a U.S. criminal investigation into its Estonian branch.
Bruised euro zone bond markets take fresh beating, Italy yields soar
LONDON (Reuters) - Bond markets in the euro area were heading for their worst week in months on Friday, with fears about tighter central bank monetary policy pushing borrowing costs to new highs.
Stocks fumble globally amid U.S. jobs data, Treasury yields rise
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets sagged around the world on Friday after the release of U.S. jobs numbers signaled a continued tightening of the labor market and increased inflation pressures, while longer-dated Treasury yields rose.
Teleperformance completes USD 1 billion Intelenet acquisition
French outsourcing firm Teleperformance announced Friday it has completed the acquisition of business process solutions company Intelenet. In June this year, Teleperformance had said it will acquire BPO firm Intelenet from Blackstone for a total consideration of USD 1 billion. The transaction was approved by regulatory authorities, the company said in a statement Friday. Intelenet financial accounts will be consolidated by Teleperformance as of October 1, 2018, it added. "By acquiring Intelenet, a high-end business services and digital transformation solutions provider, Teleperformance is significantly strengthening its added-value specialised services business," it said. Intelenet, which was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Mumbai, had posted revenue of USD 449 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. For fiscal 2019, the company had forecast significant additional revenue growth of at least 10 per cent and increased profitability. Blackstone had first invested in ...
UNICEF, NSE stress on investment in education, skills training
UNICEF and National Stock Exchange (NSE) Friday stressed on the need for urgent investment in education and skills training to meet the skill gap among the rapidly growing global population of adolescents and young people. During a panel discussion, panellists discussed how businesses can collaborate with organisations such as UNICEF and the NSE to create solutions for children and young people. "Businesses don't need to profit at the expense of communities - but they can profit because the communities in which they operate, and the people who live there, are well-served and well-supported by the local business community, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said at Ringing the Closing Bell' ceremony which was jointly organised by NSE and UNICEF. UNICEF and NSE stressed "the need for investing in children and young people." as investing in young people are important on practical grounds as it yields positive benefits to economies and societies. Vikram Limaye, MD & CEO, NSE ...
Vistara to operate spl flight on Del-Ahd-Mum route on Oct 15
Private carrier Vistara Friday said it will operate a special flight to Mumbai from Delhi through Ahmedabad on October 15 to commemorate the 86th anniversary of Tata Air Services' inaugural flight, which was also the country's first commercial flight. JRD Tata had founded the country's first commercial airline Tata Airlines in 1932. In 1946, Tata Airlines became a public company and was renamed as Air India. On October 15, 1932, a date that made aviation history, Tata famously piloted the first-ever flight of the Tata Air Services from Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome to Mumbai's Juhu Airstrip through Ahmedabad. The aircraft was a single-engine De Havilland Puss Moth that carried airmail letters. "The special flight UK 001 will be operated with its 'retrojet' aircraft bearing the historic registration number VT-ATV, India's first-of-its kind aircraft painted in a retro-themed livery," the airline said in a release. The airline's cabin crew will also be dressed in their ...
Corrected: Julius Baer sees Brexit bet pay off as UK business grows
By Elisabeth O'Leary
RBI surprises by leaving policy rate unchanged, rupee tumbles
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) held interest rates unchanged on Friday, condemning the rupee to a record low and surprising analysts who had expected a rate rise to counter inflationary pressures arising from the weak currency and high oil prices.
RBI says it's not targeting any rupee level
MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday it has been trying to ensure the foreign exchange market remains liquid and is not targeting any particular level.