Page 95 - Business Finance
G-20 talks trade, finance as Japan readies for Osaka summit
Trade and economy ministers of the Group of 20 major economies met Sunday in Japan to discuss ways to reorder trade rules and finances in an era of technological change and protectionism. The meetings of financial leaders in the southern city of Fukuoka and of economic ministers in Tsukuba, near Tokyo, are aiming to forge a consensus on a range of issues to be endorsed by leaders who will meet in late June in Osaka. The central bank governors and other financial regulators meeting in Fukuoka flagged risks from upsets to the global economy as Beijing and Washington clash over trade and technology. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a tweet that he had met with his Japanese counterpart, Finance Minister Taro Aso, and discussed "the ongoing close cooperation between the U.S. and Japan across a number of economic and security issues." Japan, the world's third-largest economy, is hosting the G-20 for the first time since it was founded in 1999. The venue for the annual financial .
SaffronStays expects 600 homes on its platform by 2020; eyes global foray
SaffronStays, network of private vacation homes, is looking to have 600 properties on its platform by 2020-end, as it plans international foray going forward, a top company official has said. The company, currently, has 100 villas across 40 destinations in India on its platform. "We plan to have a total of 600 homes on our platform by the end of 2020. At our current growth rate, adding 500 homes don't look like a distant dream. This includes villas meant for couples, families, friends and large group outings," SaffronStays Co-Founder Devendra Parulekar told PTI. In a major move, the company is also planning to foray into international markets. Out of the 600 homes, the company said 500 homes will be in India and 100 from international markets. "We will follow the Indian traveller and go where he goes. For the time being, we are looking at exotic destinations like Bali, Sri Lanka, Dubai and London as our target locations and planning to expand in these countries within a span of two ...
Now weather forecasters shield India Inc from rainy days
A myriad of meteorological firms are empowering India Inc with superior climatic predictions to turn this once erratic factor into an all-weather ally.
Pakistan misses all key economic targets: Survey
Pakistans economic growth in the financial year ending in June is expected to hit 3.3 per cent, well below the target of 6.3 per cent set by the previous government, as the government has failed to meet targets in nearly all sectors, according to the Economic Survey.
Come, gamble with me on big ideas: Jeff Bezos
From using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to deliver packages faster to helping developers build capabilities based on Machine Learning (ML) to delight its customers, Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has an advice for dreamers and builders: Come to me if you are willing to play the gamble with me on disruptive ideas.
Alternative meat seen as potentially juicy business
No longer at the food fringes, plant-based meats are selling well in supermarkets and emerging as a hot commodity for fast food chains, industrial food companies and Wall Street investors. JPMorgan Chase has estimated the market for plant-based meat could easily top USD 100 billion in 15 years. Barclays says the "alternative meat" market could account for around 10 percent of all global meat sales, or up to USD140 billion in 10 years. Among big restaurant chains, Burger King has been testing since April a vegetarian version of its flagship "Whopper," while McDonald's has unveiled a meatless burger in Germany. Kentucky Fried Chicken is studying non-meat options for its menu. Alternatives to meat are not new, of course, but startups and other growing players in the business have taken advantage of newer technologies to simulate the taste and texture of authentic meat more comprehensively. At the same time, more consumers are opting for plant-based products out of concern for the ...
Assocham proposes to raise taxpayers' exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh
Industry body Assocham on Saturday said it has proposed to raise the basic exemption limit for individual income taxpayers in its pre-Budget memorandum to the government.
Pradhan to urge PM Modi for Puri tourism package
Union Mininster Dharmendra Pradhan Saturday said he and his ministerial colleague Pratap Sarangi will urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a special package to develop the tourism sector in Puri, which was badly hit by cyclone Fani last month. The two Union ministers took stock of the situation in the pilgrim town and discussed about the steps needed for restoration of the sector. "We will insist the prime minister and Union finance minister to announce a special package for tourism development in Puri. "The members of the hotel association have requested us to ensure loans at low interest for restoration of the hospitality industry. We will apprise the requirements to Centre," Pradhan told reporters. Pradhan asked banks to develop a blue print for the economic revival of the affected areas by leveraging the power of MUDRA loans. He also urged banks to increase the loan docket and support new projects to rebuild the tourism ecosystem of Puri. Pradhan said agencies such .
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal participates in G20 ministerial meeting in Japan
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, on Saturday participated in the G20 ministerial meeting on Trade and Digital Economy, held in the Japanese city of Tsukuba.The meeting focused on the ways to promote trade and cooperation among the G20 countries in order to harness the potential of the digital economy.Taking to his official Twitter handle after the meeting, Goyal wrote, "Attending the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Trade & Digital Economy in Japan, graced with presence of Trade & Digital Economy Ministers of member countries. Participated in discussions relating to increasing trade & cooperation to harness the potential of digital economy."Earlier in the day, the Commerce minister held bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit in order to sensitize India's core interests in trade and investment issues and build a coalition with like-minded countries for defending the interests of developing countries.In a series of tweets through the day, ...
VP concerned over political discourse reaching a new low
: Vice PresidentM Venkaiah Naidu Saturday expressed concern over political discourse reaching a new low in recent years and called for reversing the trend at the earliest. "It is a matter of concern that political discourse is reaching a new low in recent years.We should reverse this trend at the earliest. A credible opposition is an essential prop for a healthy democracy. People in public life should understand that they are only rivals, not enemies. I have often been quoting Pranab Da's (former President Pranab Mukherjee) mantra-- 'Discuss, Debate and Decide but not Disturb'," he said. Naidu, who was speaking at the Hyderabad Management Association's 46th Annual Awards function here, also expressed concern over frequent disruptions in Parliament and state legislatures, an official release quoted him as saying. The Vice President said legislatures beingreduced into 'disruptive platforms' was a clear negation of the vision of those who framed the Constitution. "In a way,
Centre to help Odisha be global hub of ancillary steel industry: Pradhan
Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday that the Centre in cooperation with the state government will try to develop Odisha as a global hub of ancillary industry in the steel sector.
RBI to focus on governance reforms in banks, non-banking sector in coming months: Das
Attributing frauds in the banking sector to absence of effective controls, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das Saturday said focus of the central bank in coming months will be on corporate governance reforms in the banking and non-banking space to improve transparency and accountability. The set of corporate governance reforms proposed by Das include streamlining of the board-level appointment process, development of effective risk management systems, creation of a pool of independent directors and setting up mechanism to evaluate the performance of senior functionaries. "it has been observed that most bank frauds can be traced to absence of effective controls. An essential element of an effective system of internal control is a strong control mechanism. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors and senior management to emphasise the importance of internal control through their actions and words. "Banks should regularly reorient and train their personnel so that they fully ...
Lyft files lawsuit to block San Francisco from allowing other bike sharing companies
Ride-sharing company Lyft, which entered the San Francisco Bay Area bike-share market last year has reportedly filed a lawsuit to block the city from granting bike share permits to other companies.According to Cnet, the lawsuit is asking for a temporary restraining order against the city and county of San Francisco, prohibiting the city from issuing permits to other companies which would jeopardise its exclusive rights to operate a bike-share program in the area.The company spokesperson said that the city must honour its 10-year contract with the San Franciso Municipal Transportation Agency under which it has exclusivity in providing bike-sharing services in the area.
Need for fresh look at NBFC supervision; norms soon on liquidity risk mgmt: Das
Concerned over stress in the NBFC sector, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das Saturday said there is a need to have a fresh look at the regulation as well as supervision, and the central bank will come out with guidelines on liquidity risk management framework shortly. Addressing 15th Annual Convocation of Post Graduate Diploma in Management at National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) here, he said, fine tuning and improving supervision and regulation are continuous exercise. In this direction, he said, the RBI has reduced the period of the NBFC supervision to 12 months from 18 months earlier. He also expressed hope that the Board of Directors of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to act diligently and take necessary action based on Reserve Bank's supervision reports. Further, Das said, "Our objective is to harmonise the liquidity norms between banks and NBFCs, taking into account the unique business model of the NBFCs vis-a-vis banks. In this context, the final guidelines on the ...
Mumbai: 3 firms respond to Rs 2.5k cr Filmcity upgrade plan
Three bidders have come forward for a Rs 2,550 crore proposal to redevelop and upgrade Filmcity City in Goregaon, officially called the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari, a senior official said Saturday. The Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) plan has been in the works since 2011 and global tenders were floated on July 19 last year, the bidding deadline for which was extended till April this year. "So far three bidders, namely Reliance Industries, Reliance Entertainment and Bhanot Infra Venture have responded to the project. The bidding criteria includes fixed lease rent for a 60-year period and revenue sharing," said Chandrakant Kolekar, Deputy Engineer, Filmcity. "The bidder sharing the maximum revenue on its gross income will win. The government's investment will only be handing approximately 450 acre land to the private company (winning the bid)," he added. "The companies have raised some issues related to tender conditions and fixed lease rent which are being looked into. If
J&K CMD sacked; office, residence raided by ACB
In a sudden development, Jammu and Kashmir Bank Chairman-cum-Managing Director Parvez Ahmed was sacked on Saturday and soon after his office and residence were raided by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
'Registered valuers should not go wrong in discovering price of assets'
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairperson M S Sahoo on Saturday said markets could go wrong in discovering price of assets but a "registered valuer" should not be wrong even as the government said a lack of valuation standards and regulations is hurting the system.
Demonetisation, Aadhaar spurred digital payments growth: RBI
After the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in 2016 pushed digital payments, Aadhaar-enabled electronic know your customer (eKYC) resulted in an exponential growth of such payments in the country, according to a new report by the Reserve Bank of India.
Mahindra & Mahindra to observe 'No Production Days' in first quarter of FY 2020
The Management does not envisage any adverse impact on availability of vehicles in the market due to adequacy of vehicle stocks to serve the market requirements.
With Mexico deal done, US urges China to resume trade talks
One down, still others to go. President Donald Trump claimed a victory after Washington and Mexico agreed on measures to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States. Trump called off plans to impose a 5 per cent tax on Mexican exports, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking to reporters Saturday in Fukuoka on the sidelines of a meeting of financial leaders of the Group of 20 major economies, urged China to follow suit and return to stalled negotiations. Mnuchin said he planned to have a private conversation with the head of China's central bank, Yi Gang. In a G-20 group meeting later in the day, the two were seen exchanging friendly remarks, but there were no fresh signs Beijing is ready to compromise in the dispute over trade and technology. "From our perspective of where we are now, it is a result of them backtracking on significant commitments," Mnuchin said. "I don't think it's a breakdown in trust or good or bad faith. ... If they want to come back .