Page 2624 - Business Finance
FM non-committal on cutting excise duty as petrol, diesel prices hit fresh high
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday remained non-committal on cutting excise duty to cushion spiralling petrol and diesel prices, which touched an all-time high, saying international oil prices are volatile and have not shown any linear movement. Jaitley defended criticism that he and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as opposition leaders had mounted against the previous UPA government on the issue saying inflation during those times was in double-digit and they would have failed in their duties if they had not criticised the government of the time for its failure to curb fuel prices contributing to further price rise. India, he said, is a net buyer of oil and is adversely impacted when rates go up "temporarily". He termed such movement as "an external factor". "There is no straight line movement of global crude oil prices. They go up, they come down. In April and May, there was a lot of pressure. In June, they came down. In July, they came down and in August, there is ...
Rupee has not weakened against dollar: Jaitley
Reacting on unprecedented fall of the Indian rupee against the US dollar, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that the rupee has not weakened.In a media briefing, Jaitley said, "We must bear in mind that dollar has strengthened against almost every currency. The Rupee has either consistently strengthened or remained in a rage, not weakened. Most of the other currencies of the world, compared to what it was 4-5 yrs ago, Rupee is better off.""RBI (Reserve Bank of India) is certainly doing whatever is necessary. I don't think there is any need for the world's fastest-growing economy to come out with panic and knee-jerk reactions," he added.The Finance Minister also said that reasons behind the devaluation of the Indian rupee against the dollar were global."If you look at the domestic economic situation and global situation, there are not domestic reasons attributable to this, but all reasons are global," he said.The Indian Rupee continued to decline further against the .
Britain's Lloyds bank cuts 380 jobs, also adds new roles
LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group has cut 380 jobs as part of a re-organisation that will also see it create 435 new roles, the bank said on Wednesday, as it gears up to better compete in a market increasingly built around online and mobile services.
Bulgaria invited to take part in 'Make in India' initiative
India on Wednesday invited the Central European nation of Bulgaria to take part in its 'Make in India' initiative as the two sides signed four memorandums of understanding (MoUs), including in the area of civil nuclear cooperation.
Facebook, Twitter slam Nasdaq as tariff woes weigh on Wall Street
(Reuters) - The Nasdaq sank more than 1 percent on Wednesday, with social media companies leading technology stocks lower as Twitter and Facebook executives faced U.S. Congress over what lawmakers see as a failure to combat foreign efforts to influence U.S. politics.
Argentine peso halts slide as government seeks new IMF deal
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's peso stopped its slide against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday as markets waited for clarity on whether the International Monetary Fund would back the government's request for early cash disbursements in an emergency financing deal.
Jubilant Life Sciences raises Rs 350 cr via NCDs
Jubilant Life Sciences Wednesday raised Rs 350 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on private placement basis for repayment of its existing debt and reduce the overall cost of borrowing. In a regulatory filing, the company said it has issued 3,500 NCDs of Rs 10,00,000 each for cash at par. The NCDs will have maturity period of 2 to 4 years and have been offered at an interest rate between 8.95 and 9.26 per cent per annum. The NCDs will be redeemed on maturity, it added.
Grade A office space absorption likely to reach 700mn sqft by
With the Indian economy moving back on the recovery mode, demand for Grade A office space is likely to grow significantly with absorption expected to surpass 700 million sqft by 2022, a recent survey said. According to a study jointly conducted by JLL and FICCI, Grade A office space absorption, which is currently at 530 million sqft, is expected to reach 700 million sqft by 2022. As of January-June 2018, India's Grade A completed stock in the retail segment stood at 77 million sqft, and is expected to reach nearly 103 million sqft by 2022. Among the major metros, Delhi-NCR is likely to witness highest absorption during 2018-2020, closely followed by Hyderabad, while the absorption levels in Mumbai and Kolkata to surpass the supply during 2018-2020. Mumbai to lead rental growth trends with other markets witnessing marginal rise, it said. "India's real estate sector is at an inflection point and the evolutionary trends in the sector are paving the way towards sustainable ..
Schneider's deal to acquire L&T's electrical, automation biz to boost manufacturing: Prabhu
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu Wednesday said acquisition of Larsen & Toubro's electrical and industry automation division by Schneider Electric will spur growth in domestic manufacturing in line with the 'Make in India' initiative of the government. He said this in a meeting with Jean Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and Chief Executive Office, Schneider Electric here today. This project, combined with Schneider Electric's digital know-how, will result in greater domestic production, increased exports, reduced imports and effectively provide a wide range of product offerings at competitive prices, the commerce ministry said in a statement quoting the minister. It said that Schneider Electric has entered into an agreement to acquire Larsen & Toubro Electrical and Industry Automation division. Prabhu also said the project will be one of the largest ever investments in manufacturing sector by a French company in the country. With the project, India will become the third ..
Das invites Chines companies to invest in Jharkhand
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das Wednesday invited the Chinese companies to invest in food processing industry in the state. According to an official release, Das called on the secretary of the Communist Party of China of the Henan province, Wang Guoshang, and invited the Chinese industry people to invest in the food processing sector in Jharkhand as it has vast opportunities for the investors in the sector. Das informed Guoshang that Jharkhand is organising Global Agriculture and Food Summit on November 29 and 30 this year in which companies of the agriculture and food processing sector from across the world are participating. About 30,000 companies are working in the food processing sector in the Henan sector and they have big investment possibilities in Jharkhand. Welcoming Das, Guoshang highlighted the growing Sino-India relationship and underlined that the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, had three one-to-one meetings with the Chinese president this year, .
No need to panic over rupee devaluation: Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said there is no need to worry over the steep fall in the Indian rupee's value against the US dollar as the inherent strength of the country's economy will aid in arresting the downtrend.
Bharti Infra to take annual hit of Rs 780 cr from Vodafone Idea exit
Telecom infrastructure firm Bharti Infratel said Wednesday its consolidated revenue, including that from Indus Towers, is expected to take around Rs 780 crore hit on annual basis, due to exit of Vodafone and Idea Cellular from co-located mobile towers. Following completion of Vodafone-Idea merger, the companies have served exit notices to Bharti Infratel and its subsidiary Indus Towers from 27,447 co-located mobile towers on consolidated basis. "The aforesaid co-locations contribute to 13.7 per cent of the total co-locations basis as on June 30, 2018. This is likely to result in a net reduction of consolidated service revenue of approximately Rs 60-65 crores per month with effect from September 1, 2018," Bharti Infratel said in a regulatory filing. It added that the adverse impact on revenue will be mitigated by exit charges and incremental revenues on account of anticipated new network rollouts by the operators going forward. Bharti Infratel and Vodafone own around 42 per cent stake .
U.S. trade deficit surges to five-month high as exports fall
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit rose to a five-month high in July, with the politically sensitive gap with China hitting a record high, which economists said could embolden the Trump administration to aggressively pursue its "America First" agenda.
Devaluation of rupee not attributable to domestic factors: Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday attributed the fall in rupee to global factors and stressed that the domestic unit was better off as compared to other currencies. The rupee's unabated fall continued for the sixth straight session Wednesday as it hit yet another closing low of 71.75 against the US dollar, tumbling 17 paise. The battered rupee has lost 165 paise in the last six trading sessions. "If you look at the domestic economic situation and the global situation, there are virtually no domestic reasons which are attributable to this. The reasons are global," he told reporters on the falling value of rupee. He further said the dollar has strengthened against almost every other currency and added that the rupee has consistently either strengthened or remained in a range. "It has not weakened...the rupee is better-off," he said, adding that the rupee has strengthened against other currencies like the British Pound and the Euro. The minister further said the government has ...
Lithium producer Albemarle eyes buying rival if IPO stumbles: source
(Reuters) - Albemarle Corp, the world's largest lithium producer, could buy FMC Corp's lithium division if the smaller rival's initial public offering stumbles this fall, a senior executive told investors at an event in June, according to a source who attended.
Global Markets: Emerging markets lead global equities decline, sterling rises
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets around the world fell on Wednesday and declines in emerging markets accelerated as a deadline in the U.S.-China trade conflict loomed and U.S.-Canada trade talks were due to resume.
Unilever beauty unit kisses 10 frogs for every prince or princess
(Reuters) - Unilever's beauty and personal care unit only closes on one-tenth of the M&A deals it looks at, the unit's boss said on Wednesday, illustrating how many upstart brands have flooded the market vying for attention.
Halliburton shares fall 5 percent after CEO warns about third-quarter profit
(Reuters) - Shares of oilfield services provider Halliburton Co fell 5 percent on Wednesday after its chief executive officer warned that third-quarter earnings could be hurt by 8 cents to 10 cents per share from moderating activity in the Permian Basin and a slower-than-expected ramp-up of new Middle East contracts.
Argentine peso falls as government hammers out new IMF deal
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's peso lost nearly 1 percent against the U.S. dollar early on Wednesday as government officials met with the International Monetary Fund in Washington to try to secure early cash disbursements under an emergency financing deal.
Oil demand to hit 100 million bpd sooner than projected: OPEC's Barkindo
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - World oil consumption will reach 100 million barrels per day (bpd) later this year, hitting that level much sooner than previously forecast, OPEC's secretary-general said on Wednesday.