Page 2593 - Business Finance

Global Markets: Asian shares on slippery slope as Trump ups ante in trade war

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares started the week in the red on Monday, faltering for the eighth straight day while the dollar climbed as U.S. President Donald Trump raised the stakes in the heated trade dispute with China.

Oil prices climb as U.S. drilling stalls, Iran sanctions loom

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Monday as U.S. drilling for new production stalled and as the market eyed tighter conditions once Washington's sanctions against Iran's crude exports kick in from November.

Alibaba's Jack Ma to step down in one year, Zhang to become chairman

BEIJING (Reuters) - Jack Ma, the charismatic co-founder of China's largest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, will step down as chairman in exactly one year on Sept. 10, 2019, the company said.

Japan Q2 GDP posts fastest growth since 2016 on stronger-than-expected capex

TOKYO (Reuters) - Heavy capital spending in the second quarter drove Japan's economy to grow much more quickly than first estimated to hit its fastest pace since 2016, although global trade tensions and a string of natural disasters pose risks to the outlook.

Gold holds losses on rate hike views, trade worries

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold held on to a small loss from the previous session on Monday, as the dollar firmed amid expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike in September and fears of escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.

Indonesia's Rupiah Woes: How will India be affected

Singapore, Sept 10 (ANI): In the past week, in all likelihood, the central banks of India and Indonesia pumped in billions of dollars to support their respective currencies with the Indian Rupee touching record lows against the US dollar and the Rupiah reaching its lowest level since the Asian financial crisis of 1998. This is an effort to prevent their currencies from freefalling and impacting their economies negatively.Lately, there has been a lot of concern with regards to the growing economic problems in emerging markets with the economies of Turkey, Argentina and South Africa in crisis and whether there will be a contagion effect on other emerging markets and even major economies. This coupled with the ongoing Trump trade war with Canada and China has made many investors nervous.The Indonesian stock market fell as much as 6 per cent in the middle of the week compared with Monday's opening but recovered to end the week down just 2.2 per cent.Besides intervening in the foreign ...

Tata Motors in focus after announcing JLR sales figures

Tata Motors subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported 4.9% fall in total retail sales to 36,629 vehicles in August 2018 over August 2017. Jaguar retail sales were 11,802 vehicles in August, up 7.7% year on year, driven by the introduction of the E-PACE and I-PACE, as well as XE long wheelbase sales in China. Land Rover retailed 24,827 vehicles in August, down 9.9% compared to August 2017 as increased sales of the Velar and the refreshed Range Rover were offset by the impact of the lower sales in China on Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport in particular. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 7 September 2018.

Alibaba CEO Zhang to succeed Jack Ma as Chairman

Chinese e-tailer Alibaba Group's Chief Executive Daniel Zhang will be the new chairman, succeeding its co-founder Jack Ma from September 10, 2019, the global firm announced on Monday.

Alibaba chairman Jack Ma to step down in 2019: company

Alibaba co-founder and chairman Jack Ma will step down as head of the e-commerce giant on September 10, 2019, the company said on Monday. Ma is staying on as executive chairman for 12 months to "ensure a smooth transition" before handing over his role to chief executive officer Daniel Zhang, Alibaba said in a statement.

Despite Trump tweet, Ford says it won't make hatchback in US

Ford won't be moving production of a hatchback wagon to the United States from China despite President Donald Trump's claim Sunday that his taxes on Chinese imports mean the Focus Active can be built in America. Citing Trump's new tariffs, Ford on August 31 said it was dropping plans to ship the Focus Active from China to America. Trump took to Twitter Sunday to declare victory and write: "This is just the beginning. This car can now be BUILT IN THE U.S.A. and Ford will pay no tariffs!" But in a statement Sunday, Ford said "it would not be profitable to build the Focus Active in the US" given forecast yearly sales below 50,000. For now, that means Ford simply won't sell the vehicle in the United States. Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automotive Research said that Ford can make Focuses "in many other plants around the world, so if they decided to continue to sell a Focus variant in the U.S. market, there are several options other than building it in the United States." In April, ...

Rajasthan slashes VAT on petrol, diesel by 4%

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Sunday announced that the state will reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel and petrol prices by four per cent.

Rajasthan CM announces a 4-pc reduction in VAT on petrol, diesel

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje announced a four-per cent reduction in value-added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel on Sunday, which will reduce their prices by Rs 2.5 per litre in the state. VAT on petrol will be reduced from 30 to 26 per cent and on diesel from 22 to 18 per cent, Raje announced at a public meeting organised in Rawatsar in Hanumangarh district as part of her 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra'. The revised rates will be effective from this midnight. The decision will cost the exchequer Rs 2,000 crore and will provide the people a relief of Rs 2.5 per litre on petrol and diesel. "We have decided to reduce VAT on diesel and petrol by 4 per cent, which will provide much-needed relief to the people of the state, be it farmers or women or others," Raje told reporters in Rawatsar after making the announcement. Petrol and diesel prices set new records Sunday as they continued their upward march on fall in rupee and surge in global crude oil rates. The opposition Congress has ...

Indian paper industry growing at 6-7pc, says industry official

The Indian paper industry is expanding at a rate of 6-7 per cent which would drive the growth of Century Pulp and Paper, the company said Sunday. The company, one of the largest paper manufacturing companies, is making a foray into retail tissue paper segment and is launching a campaign to create awareness among masses about benefit of using tissue paper mainly in tier II cities, Century Pulp and Paper CEO JP Narain said. At present in India the per capita consumption of tissue paper is low at 123 grams compared to other countries, he explained. Indian paper industry has growing by 6-7%, which put a positive impact on our company's growth as well. said Alok Prakash, Chief Sales Officer of Century Pulp and Paper.

Second round bids from three bidders for Essar Steel to be opened tomorrow

The RP, overseeing the auction of Essar Steel to recover over Rs 490 bn of unpaid loans, sent emails to all the three bidders to be present tomorrow for the opening of the second round of bids

Afghan agri exporters to showcase products at trade show in Mumbai

More than 50 agriculture exporters from Afghanistan will showcase products like fruits, nuts and spices, at a trade show Mumbai later this week. The 'Passage to Prosperity: India-Afghanistan International Trade and Investment Show' is being organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Mumbai from September 12-15, 2018, the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement. The trade show is the second annual event designed to boost Afghan exports in India. Last year, a similar number of Afghan agri exhibitors had participated in the show. "The show is now being organised in Mumbai to create greater awareness among India's southern and central states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Orissa, and Telangana. Afghan producers and exporters of fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, spices and juices will be showcasing their all high value natural products to develop partnerships with Indian importers, wholesalers, ..

Indian insurance to be $280 bn industry by 2019-20: Assocham

The Indian insurance industry is expected to grow to $280 billion by 2019-20, aided by the Centre's Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, industry chamber Assocham said on Sunday, citing a joint study conducted with research firm APAS.

20 parties to join Congress in 'Bharat Bandh'

Scores of leaders belonging to 21 political parties will take part in 'Bharat Bandh' called by the Congress party on September 10 against the fuel price hike, and decline in rupee value against the United States dollar.The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Samajwadi Party (SP), among others, have extended support to the nationwide shutdown."Congress party has called for a nationwide 'Bharat bandh' against the continuous rise in petrol and diesel prices and the drop in rupee's value against US dollar. The 'bandh' will be violence-free. We request all the businessmen to support us in this," Congress leader Ajay Maken said at a press conference on Sunday."In last four years, excise duty has increased by 211.7 percent on petrol and 443 percent on diesel. In May 2014, excise duty on petrol was Rs 9.2, while now it is Rs 19.48. Similarly, on diesel excise duty was Rs 3.46 in May 2014, however, it is now Rs 15.33," he added.The Congress leader also ..

Home Credit India expects break even this fiscal

Consumer finance firm Home Credit India, a subsidiary of PPF Group of the Czech Republic, hopes to earn a profit during the current financial year on the back of growing customer base and fast business expansion. "Usually, it takes 4-5 years to break even. We have so far invested 304 million euro (about Rs 2,520 crore in the business in India," PPF Group shareholder Jean Pascal Duvieusart told PTI. "We are almost there ... we expect to break even during this financial year," he said. He said the company will pump in capital to expand its footprint in India, but did not disclose the investment size. Home Credit India has been expanding operations since its foray in 2012, he said, adding the company's operations are now spread over 175 cities and 29,000 Point of Sales across various states. The company had a customer base of nearly 6 million and last year alone it added another 3.5 million customers, he said. He further said, "We see a lot of potential for growth because of the scale of

Bring diesel, petrol under GST: Cong to Centre

Senior Congress leader Selja Kumari Sunday demanded petrol and diesel be brought under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax. She said petrol, diesel and LPG gas cylinder prices were skyrocketing due to heavy imposition of tax and the government should take immediate steps to provide relief to the people. Selja, a former union minister, claimed that in last 52 months the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has earned more than Rs 11 lakh crore from tax imposed on petrol and diesel. Increase in the prices of products (in general) has disturbed the budget of every household. Inflation is on the rise under Modi rule and people will not forgive the government for 'fuel loot' and will give a befitting reply in the upcoming elections, she told reporters at the party's state office here. A day before the Bharat Bandh called by opposition parties against fuel price hike, Selja said the price of crude oil in international market was $ 107.09 per barrel on May 16, 2014, which today

Fuel price hike: Petrol hits record high of Rs 80.50 in Delhi

The high cost of global crude oil and a weak rupee took the petrol price in Delhi to a record Rs 80.50 per litre on Sunday.