Page 2740 - Business Finance

Rays Power enters retail solar segment, plans 70 stores by 2020

Announcing its entry into B2C retail segment, solar plant builder Rays Power Infra on Thursday said its group company Rays Future Energy will launch 70 operational stores across the country by 2020.

CEO's of Novartis, WhatsApp meet Telangana Minister

Two eminent corporate honchos- CEO of Whatsapp and Novartis, separately met the Telangana Minister for IT and Industries KT Rama Rao here today. According to an official release, Novartis Chief Executive Officer of Vas Narasimhan met Rao and discussed life sciences ecosystem in the state and the vision of the state government for the sector. The minister explained the initiatives taken by the state government to Narasimhan and emphasised on leveraging the vibrant scientific and industrial ecosystem in the city for the improvement of pharma and biosciences sector, it said. He highlighted that about 700 new investment proposals, including 100 R&D units, have been approved during the last four years. The Minister also stated that during the last four years, the Life Sciences product exports in the state grew at 2.41 times, as compared to the national average of 1.18 times. The Minister handed over a docket to Narasimhan explaining the marquee initiatives taken by the ...

Dual control on PSBs by RBI, Centre should be resolved: Reddy

Raising the issue of controlling the public sector banks (PSBs) by the Reserve Bank of India and the central government, A Y.V. Reddy, former RBI governor, on Thursday said the problem of "dual control" has to be resolved.

British Airways to suspend flights between London and Tehran

British Airways today said it would suspend its London to Tehran service from next month as it was no longer "commercially viable". "We are suspending our London to Tehran service as the operation is currently not commercially viable," said the flagship carrier. The last outbound flight to Tehran will be on September 22, and the last inbound flight from Tehran will be on September 23, it added. The airline said the decision had nothing to do with US President Donald Trump's imposition of new sanctions on Iran, which has affected foreign businesses operating in the country, with many pulling out altogether. Dutch carrier KLM said last month that it was also suspending Tehran flights due to "negative results and financial outlook". The airline said it was in discussions with partner airlines to offer customers rebooking options, or would offer full refunds.

Exclusive: Hutchison to get EU okay for Wind Tre deal - source

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - CK Hutchison is set to win EU approval for its 2.45 billion euro ($2.8 billion) deal to buy out Veon from an Italian joint venture after reaffirming a pledge to help rival Iliad's business in Italy, a person familiar with the matter said.

Global Markets: Oil, copper slip as U.S.-China trade row escalates

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil and copper prices slipped on Thursday as the U.S.-China trade dispute escalated while global equity markets traded slightly lower as gains in U.S. technology shares offset declines in commodity and trade-sensitive shares.

Britons living in EU could lose access to UK bank services in no-deal Brexit

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons living in the European Union could lose access to their UK bank account services and businesses on the continent could be cut off from investment banks in London if there is a no-deal Brexit, the British government said on Thursday.

Mines Ministry asks states to start auction of mining leases expiring in 2020 by July next year

The Centre has asked all states to begin the auction of mining leases expiring in the next two years by July 2019 to avert any shortage of minerals. In a meeting of coordination-cum-empowered committee (CCEC) of 21 mineral-rich states held last month, the Mines Ministry asserted that "all states must start auction of mining leases expiring in 2020 by July 2019 to avoid any shortage of minerals and ensure seamless transition of mines from existing leaseholder to the new leaseholder to whom lease will be granted through auction," according to the minutes of the meeting. The Mines Ministry was also of view that exploration for all mining leases expiring in 2020 must be completed by December and in case any help is needed, Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) and Geological Survey of India (GSI) should be approached, the minutes said. A total of 348 non-captive mining leases will expire on March 31, 2020. The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) had earlier expressed ...

Wall Street drops as trade worries weigh

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, hurt by declines in commodity-related sectors and trade-sensitive companies as new trade tariffs came into effect in the U.S.-China trade war, although gains in technology shares helped limit losses.

Russia's Rosatom starts heat treatment course for Indian engineers

Russia's state-run atomic energy corporation Rosatom on Thursday announced that it has started an advanced training course in Ranchi on heat treatment for Indian engineers in collaboration with India's public sector undertaking Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC).

Panel estimates Rs 1,600-cr budgetary support for 5G within 4 years of rollout

The Select Committee on 5G deployment roadmap has estimated a budgetary support of around Rs 1,600 crore from the Central government in the first four years of its rollout in the country.

Comments sought on GDP back-series report

The National Statistical Commission (NSC) has invited comments on the GDP Back Series 2011 report that credited UPA regime with the fastest economic growth leading to a political slugfest between the Congress and BJP.

Bayer's Monsanto faces 8,000 lawsuits on glyphosate

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The number of U.S. lawsuits brought against Bayer's newly acquired Monsanto has jumped to about 8,000, as the German drugmaker braces for years of legal wrangling over alleged cancer risks of glyphosate-based weedkillers.

L&T proposes Rs 9,000 cr share buy back offer

Indian multinational Larsen & Toubro's (L&T) Board has approved a proposal to buy back equity shares worth Rs 9,000 crore.

Oil stabilizes, supported by bullish U.S. inventory data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Thursday, supported by a bullish U.S. inventory report from the previous session even as an escalating trade dispute between the United States and China weighed on demand expectations.

Mizuho's new leader tackles makeover of megabank

TOKYO (Reuters) - When Tatsufumi Sakai was named chief executive and president of Mizuho Financial Group this year, many bankers and investors were surprised.

Punjab to tighten law to save farmers from debt trap

In a bid to save farmers from debt trap, the Punjab Cabinet today decided to make it mandatory for the private money lenders to secure licence to run their business and limit the sum of farming loans that peasants can raise. In its meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, the Cabinet decided to provide for these and other pro-farmer measures by amending the existing Punjab Settlement of Agricultural Indebtedness Act, 2016, an official release said. The Cabinet approved the bill to amend the 2016 law and decided to introduce it in the state assembly during its upcoming session starting tomorrow, it said. To begin with, the Punjab Settlement of Agricultural Indebtedness (Amendment) of Bill, 2018, seeks to put a limit on the quantum of loan that peasants can raise against per acre of their land. It would also empower the government to regulate the interest rate on farming loans by private money lenders, who will have to secure a licence to operate in the market. The ...

Omkar gets 700 applications for 2nd phase of mixed-use project

Real estate firm Omkar Realtors and Developer has received 700 applications from homebuyers and investors for the second phase of its mixed-use project in Andheri in the city suburbs, a top company executive said. Typically, in this kind of a pre-launch exercise, a developer invites 'expressions of interest' from potential buyers along with a booking amount, after which the homes are allocated. Omkar has so far launched two phases in its 65-acre mixed-use redevelopment project, offering 1,320 apartments in total. The company, which recently carried out road shows across major metros in the country and in international markets, has managed to receive 700 applications for the second phase which involves 550 apartments, said Babulal Varma, the managing director of the company. "Out of these 700 applications, nearly 100 are from NRIs in the GCC market and Singapore, while the rest are domestic homebuyers, with nearly 75 per cent from Mumbai," he told reporters today. He ...

Building traceability will undermine end-to-end encryption: WhatsApp

WhatsApp has rejected India's demand for a solution to track the origin of messages on its platform, saying building traceability will undermine end-to-end encryption and affect privacy protection for users. Emphasising that people use its platform for all kinds of "sensitive conversations", the Facebook-owned company said the focus is on educating people about misinformation. The government has been pushing WhatsApp to find a technology solution to trace the origin of messages, a move it believes can help curb horrific crimes like mob-lynching emanating from fake news. "Building traceability would undermine end-to-end encryption and the private nature of WhatsApp, creating the potential for serious misuse. WhatsApp will not weaken the privacy protections we provide," a WhatsApp spokesperson told PTI. Sources in IT Ministry said that the government has asserted that WhatsApp should continue to explore technical innovations whereby in case of mass circulation of provocative and ...

114 gold biscuits seized in Mizoram

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 114 gold biscuits at Melthum locality in southern part of Aizawl last night, DRI officials said today. They said that Laliapa (39) and Biakliana (40) of Myanmar and R. Lalhmingmawia (40) of Aizawl were arrested in this connection. The contraband was worth around Rs 5.85 crore in the international market, the officials said.