Page 3859 - Business Finance
Wall Street opens lower as optimism over trade talks recedes
(Reuters) - Wall Street slipped at the open on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump cast fresh doubts over current U.S.-China trade talks and investors awaited a Federal Reserve report for cues on pace of future interest rate hikes.
Oil stocks under pressure; slip up to 8%
Shares of oil companies tumbled up to 8 per cent today on worries that the government may ask them to share the burden of higher petrol and diesel prices. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation plunged 8.06 per cent, Bharat Petroleum Corporation 6 per cent and Indian Oil Corporation slipped 4.89 per cent on BSE. Shares of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) also fell by 4.75 per cent. There was a 19-day freeze in revising rates before Karnataka went to polls, and since the time hiatus ended on May 14, rates have gone up by Rs 2.54 a litre in case of petrol and Rs 2.41 in diesel. The BJP-led government had in June last year junked a 15-year old practice of revising rates every fortnight and introduced daily revisions, which worked well except periods immediately preceding an election. Meanwhile, state-owned HPCL today reported 4 per cent drop in its March quarter net profit on lower refining margins and inventory gains.
Bajaj Finserv offers Rs.50L top-up on home loan balance transfer
Bajaj Finance Ltd., the lending arm of Bajaj Finserv, is offering its customer the facility to avail an additional top-up amount of up to Rs. 50 Lakhs when they transfer their home loans from other financial institutions to Bajaj Finserv.Customers can maximise savings on their home loans above Rs 50 Lakhs, when they transfer them to Bajaj Finserv, as the company is offering the facility at an interest rate of 8.40 percent, which is one of the lowest in the market.The top-up amount can be used by the customers for any purpose of their liking including home renovation, wedding expenses, holiday expenses or even buying a new property. This unique proposition of home loan balance transfer along with a top-up loan can help the customers meet their urgent financial requirements and reduce their EMI burden at the same time. This would enable the customers to manage their finances efficiently and maximise their savings as well.Some of the key benefits that customers can expect from Home Loan .
Adani Group to provide customised solutions to entrepreneurs
The Adani Group has invested Rs. 500 cr in Adani Capital, it's financial arm, in a bid to offer customised solutions to new entrepreneurs.From farmers to small businessmen, ventures of different scales could benefit from this tech-driven endeavour.The move comes amid widespread caution among public sector banks over the recent spate of towering bad loans.Started just over a year ago, the Adani Capital has accomplished an impressive footprint with 200 employees across 19 branches, comprising a healthy mix of Tier 2 cities and rural locations such as Nashik, Kolhapur, Himmatnagar and Mehsana."Our aim is to provide customised solutions to entrepreneurs, be it a farmer or a small businessman, by leveraging technology," said Gaurav Gupta, Chief Executive of Adani Capital."Entrepreneurs are the backbone of the economic growth and they are our target customers markets. We find a void in the existing scheme of things, which would be a customised solution for entrepreneurs," he added.The ...
Home Credit India raises Rs.6 bn to support business growth
Home Credit India Finance Pvt. Ltd., one of India's fastest growing non-banking finance company, today announced that it has raised over Rs. 6 billion (Rs. 600 crore) through a mix of innovative securitisation transactions, terms loans, and non-convertible debenture (NCD) issue during January - Mar 2018.The funds will be primarily utilised for supporting the rapid growth of business and expanding operations across India. Of the total amount raised, nearly Rs. 2.8 billion (Rs. 280 crore) has been raised through securitization of consumer durables and cross-sell personal loans. The balance financing of 3.2 billion (Rs. 320 crore) has been raised through multiple term loans and a NCD.While the securitisation issues were subscribed by investors like DCB Bank and Hinduja Leyland Finance Limited, term loans were raised from a clutch of leading financial institutions such as IFMR Capital, Tata Capital, and JM Financial. The tenor of these transactions ranges from five months to three ...
Equity indices slump around 1% on weak global cues, depreciating rupee (Roundup)
Persistent outflow of foreign funds along with weak global cues and a depreciation in the rupee led to the key Indian equity indices plunging on Wednesday.
Vedanta Resources operating profit up 27% to $4.1 bn in FY'18
Diversified global natural resources giant Vedanta Resources today reported a 27 per cent surge in operating profit to USD 4.1 billion for 2017-18 on higher output and increase in prices. The LSE listed company, which produces aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, silver, iron ore, oil and gas and commercial energy, had registered group EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of USD 3.2 billion in the financial year 2016-17, it said in a statement. Its revenue increased by 33 per cent to USD 15.4 billion driven by firmer commodity prices and volume ramp-ups. The gross debt at USD 15.2 billion saw a reduction of USD 3 billion in 12 months which included repayment of USD 1.2 billion of temporary borrowing at Zinc India, the company said. Vedanta Resources Plc Chairman Anil Agarwal said: "...increased volumes and prices underpinned a 33 per cent increase in revenues to reach USD 15.4 billion, as well as a 27 per cent growth in EBITDA to USD 4.1 billion." Agarwal ...
NMDC raises lump ore rate by Rs 150 a tonne
Country's largest iron ore miner NMDC today said it has raised the price of lump ore by Rs 150 to Rs 3,050 per tonne. The rate of fines was also hiked by Rs 100 to Rs 2,660 per tonne. On April 18, the state-run firm had fixed the rate of lump ore at Rs 2,900 per tonne and of fines at Rs 2,560 per tonne. The new rates are with effect from May 23, 2018, NMDC said in a BSE filing. The current prices exclude royalty, DMF (District Mineral Fund), NMET (National Mineral Exploration Trust), cess, forest permit fee and other taxes, it said. Iron ore is the main ingredient for making steel. NMDC produces about 30 million tonne of iron ore from three fully mechanised mines. The company is involved in the exploration of wide range of minerals including iron ore, copper, rock phosphate, limestone, dolomite, gypsum, bentonite, magnesite, diamond, tin, tungsten, graphite, beach sands etc.
GDPR presents golden opportunity for India: Microsoft
European Union implementing GDPR later this week presents "golden opportunity" for India to build capabilities and create new lines of consulting businesses, and drive thought leadership in the global market, tech giant Microsoft said today. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into effect from May 25, will bring in strict data privacy laws that aim to strengthen and protect the data of individuals within the EU and also deals with export of personal data outside the region. "The GDPR is the biggest change in European data protection laws in more than 20 years... It designates individual choice as a priority over everything else...It will govern how organisations within and outside the EU will collect, manage, process and protect personal data while respecting individual choice," Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari said in a blogpost. He added that in February 2017, the Redmond-based company had said it would be GDPR compliant across its cloud services by the .
Wall Street to open lower as optimism over trade talks fades
(Reuters) - Wall Street was headed to open lower on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump cast fresh doubts over current U.S.-China trade talks and ahead of a Federal Reserve report that would be watched for cues on pace of future interest rate hikes.
Deutsche Bank looking to cut 10,000 jobs: WSJ
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank is planning to cut 10,000 jobs, or about a tenth of its global workforce, as part of efforts to reduce costs, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Telephone subscribers increased by 2.24% in March
The number of telephone subscribers in India rose from 1,179.83 million at the end of February to 1,206.22 million at the end of March, a monthly growth rate of 2.24 per cent, data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said on Wednesday.
SBI shares continue to gain, up nearly 4 pc
Shares of State Bank of India (SBI) extended its gaining streak for the second straight session today, rising nearly 4 per cent, amid positive guidance by the company. The stock gained 3.56 per cent to end at Rs 263.20 on BSE. During the day, it surged 6.11 per cent to Rs 269.70. On NSE, shares of the company moved up by 3.76 per cent to settle at Rs 263.45. "PSU banks did well as SBI gaining another 3.6 per cent today after the management forecast a better picture for March 2020," said VK Sharma, Head Private Client Group and Capital Market Strategy, HDFC Securities. The stock was the biggest gainer on both the key indices. In terms of equity volume, 47.57 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 7 crore shares changed hands on the NSE during the day. Shares of SBI yesterday rose by nearly 5 per cent, adding Rs 16,154.14 crore to its market valuation in two days. "PSU bank outperformed and prevented the market from a nosedive correction. Investors expect that the worst .
IYC activists protest against rise in petrol, diesel prices
Youth Congress activists today staged a protest against the steep rise in petrol and diesel prices near the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas here, blaming the BJP-led Centre for the same. The protest, led by Indian Youth Congress National General Secretary Sitaram Lamba and National Secretary Khushboo Sharma, was organised by the Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress. The activists planned to march from the IYC to Shastri Bhawan, which houses the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, but police did not allow them to proceed by erecting barricades few meters away from the ministry office. Terming the hike in petrol and diesel price "historic", IYC's national spokesperson Amrish Ranjan Pandey said, "The steepest fuel price hike will have cascading effects on other essential commodities effecting people already suffering from the exhaustive policies of the NDA government." More than a week after state-owned oil firms ended a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus on revising fuel prices, petrol ..
Malaysia's 1MDB unable to repay debts; finance ministry picks PwC for audit
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's newly appointed finance minister has asked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to be appointed as auditors for scandal-hit state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), he said on Wednesday.
SpiceJet to connect Chennai to Mangaluru; adds 10 new flights
Budget carrier SpiceJet today said it will launch flight services in the Chennai-Mangaluru sector starting June, besides enhancing frequencies on some of its existing routes in south India. The 10 new flights and additional frequencies are aimed at strengthening the airline's southern India network and will be operated with the regional Bombardier Q-400 regional jets, SpiceJet said in a release. As part of this expansion, the airline will introduce daily direct flights on the Chennai-Mangaluru-Chennai sector starting June 16, it said. Services on the Hyderabad-Rajahmundry are being enhanced with an additional evening flight from May 25, while Chennai-Kozhikode and Bengaluru-Kozhikode would have an additional evening flight and Chennai-Hyderabad a third flight, starting June 16, the airline said. "SpiceJet is on the path of a major fleet expansion which means new routes and destinations for our customers. We have introduced evening flights on key sectors which will ...
Gold extends gain on rising demand
Gold prices maintained their rising trend on the domestic bullion market here today due to consistent buying support from jewellers and retail consumers even as the metal weakened overseas. Silver remained in demand and advanced by Rs 125 to Rs 40,300 per kg from industrial units. Standard gold (99.5 per cent purity) rose by Rs 190 to end at Rs 31,290 per ten grams against Tuesday's closing level of Rs 31,100. Pure gold (99.9 per cent purity) also added a similar margin to settle at Rs 31,440 per ten grams from Rs 31,250 earlier. Silver (.999 fineness) surged by Rs 125 to finish at Rs 40,300 per kg against Rs 40,175 yesterday. Globally, gold prices slipped, pressured by a firm dollar ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserves last policy meeting. Spot gold was trading 0.1 per cent lower at USD 1,289.71 per ounce at early trade. In other precious metals, silver was little changed at USD 16.52 an ounce.
Paytm Entertainment acquires Chennai-based e-ticketing platform
Digital payment giant Paytm, owned by One97 Communications Limited, acquired Orbgen Technologies Private Limited, the entity that operates TicketNew, a Chennai-based online ticketing platform.Paytm Entertainment has increased its online penetration in India by more than 50 percent, and is working exclusively with single-screen theatres and regional multiplex chains including Suresh Productions, V Celluloid, SVC and Anusri Cinemas among others.Recently, Paytm Entertainment announced a ticketing partnership with SPI Cinemas, which owns landmark properties such as Sathyam Cinemas, Le Reve, and The Cinema, in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai."TicketNew founders have built a fantastic business in South India and share the same partnership mindset as Paytm. Under their leadership, Paytm is seeking to connect TicketNew partner cinemas to Paytm's more than 300 million customers and further invest in helping grow their occupancy and revenues," said Madhur Deora, Chief Financial Officer, and SVP,
Cabinet clears ordinance for amendments to bankruptcy code
The Cabinet today approved promulgation of an ordinance to amend the 16-month-old Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which proposes to classify home buyers as "financial creditors" at par with lenders to help them quickly get refunds from defaulting companies. The amendment comes months after a new Section 29A was added into the bankruptcy code in November, introducing four layers of ineligibility for potential bidders. The present amendment is based on recommendations of a 14-member government appointed committee that had last month suggested a slew of measures, including addressing woes of home buyers and making recoveries easier for lenders. Briefing reporters after the meeting of the Union Cabinet, Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "it's a new legislation...the Cabinet has approved it". He, however, refused to divulge further details citing constitutional provisions. Asked if the Cabinet has cleared some relief measures for home buyers as per the ...
Ramco Cements posts Q4 net profit of Rs 108 cr
Ramco Cements today reported its standalone net profit at Rs 108.59 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2018. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 134.47 crore in the January-March quarter a year-ago, Ramco Cements said in a BSE filing. Total income during the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,273.76 crore as against Rs 1,196.48 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal. Revenue from operations for the said quarter is not comparable with the year-ago period due to GST implementation. The company's total expenses stood at Rs 1,068.46 crore. For the entire 2017-18, its consolidated net profit was at Rs 563.76 crore. It stood at Rs 662.74 crore in 2016-17. Total consolidated income of Ramco Cements stood at Rs 4,616.43 crore as against Rs 4,621.96 crore in 2016-17. Meanwhile, in a separate filing, Ramco Cements informed BSE that its board today has recommended a dividend of Rs 3 per share of Re 1 each for the year ended March 2018. Shares of the company today ...