Page 954 - Business Finance
Gold gains on Fed rate pause signals; strong equities limit gains
(Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Wednesday on more signs the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely be patient on further interest rate rises, but rallying global equities kept the metal's gains in check.
Wall Street rises on U.S.-China trade deal hopes
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks extended a rally from the prior session on Wednesday, powered by rising expectations that the United States and China could strike a deal during their ongoing trade talks, with benign inflation data also lifting sentiment.
GST brought down tax rates for real estate sector: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has brought down tax rates in the real estate sector along with easing business operations for both developers and home buyers.
Govt to start textiles trend forecasting this month
The government will start "trend forecasting" for textiles sector this month, using commercial intelligence to determine what could be in vogue in near future, as India gears up to influence global fashion trends, a top official said Wednesday. Textiles Secretary Raghvendra Singh also said the ministry along with export promotion councils was firming up schemes for apparel and made-ups sectors which are WTO-compliant. "This project has been sanctioned and will be set up around February 26, which basically means that all the commercial intelligence in this sector can be used for forecast the trends in 6 months or a year. This will lead to a big change which is the need of the hour," he told reporters. "We are actually getting influenced by international trends. The kind of punch we have in the textiles sector, it is high time that we became influencers," he added. Singh pointed out that India was unable to compete in apparel exports because of zero duty access in countries like ...
Budget to boost housing sector; builders need to improve their image: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday hard-sold his government's Budget announcements, saying they will give a fillip to the real estate sector which now has to work to improve its credibility with the masses. Addressing a real estate conference organised by CREDAI, he said the government is constructing homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) at a rapid pace to fulfil its ambitious target of providing housing to all by 2022. Modi highlighted the steps taken by his government in the last four and half years to boost the real estate sector. He said the new realty law RERA and benami property legislation have helped in bridging the trust deficit between builders and consumers. The sector has also progressed on ease of doing business and construction permits are being given at a fast pace, he said. Talking about tax incentives for the housing sector announced in the Budget, the Prime Minister said these sops will benefit both the developers and home buyers. The move to exempt .
RBI imposes Rs 5 cr penalty on four PSU banks
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday imposed penalties of Rs 5 crore on four public sector banks including SBI and Corporation Bank for violation of various banking norms. The monetary penalty on the banks has been imposed for non-compliance with various directions issued by RBI on monitoring of end use of funds, exchange of information with other banks, classification and reporting of frauds, and on restructuring of accounts, RBI said in a statement. A penalty of Rs 2 crore has been imposed on Corporation Bank and Rs 1 crore each State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India. The RBI, however, added the fines are based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the banks with their customers.
Parliamentary panel wants probe into LIC role in IL&FS case
A parliamentary committee on Wednesday recommended an inquiry into the role played by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and credit rating agencies (CRAs) in landing Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) into a debt trap.
Pakistan expects eight investment deals during Saudi prince's visit
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will announce eight investment agreements during a visit to Pakistan by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, officials said on Wednesday, a trip that is expected to set the seal on growing closeness between the historic allies.
Teva Pharmaceutical sees weaker than expected 2019, shares tumble
TEL AVIV/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries forecast lower revenue and profit for 2019 on Wednesday, missing analysts' expectations, as it faces generic competition for two key branded drugs.
Cabinet approves leasing out DMS' 1.61-acre land to set up Kisan Mandi in Delhi
The Cabinet Wednesday approved leasing out 1.61 acres of land at Alipur in the national capital to the government body SFAC for setting up a 'Kisan Mandi', a platform that will benefit farmer producer organisations (FPOs) as well as consumers. The land, owned by state-run Delhi Milk Scheme (DMS), will be leased out to the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), an official statement said. The lease will be for a period of 30 years with effect from September 10, 2014 to September 9, 2044, with the lease rent of Rs 100 per month with annual increase of 10 per cent per annum from September 10, 2014, it said. The lease rent will be payable in advance for the whole year in the beginning of the calender year latest by January 31. "Kisan Mandi will also offer direct supply through retail outlets on a franchises model," the statement said. A beginning will be made by offering staple produce such as potato and onion through selected kiosks of the DMS. The Kisan Mandi will also have ...
Cabinet approves India, Saudi Arabia MoU to boost investment in infra
The government Wednesday approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between India and Saudi Arabia on establishing a mechanism for investment in infrastructure. The MoU will be a step forward in engaging with the institutions of Saudi Arabia to attract a potential investment into the infrastructure sector, an official statement said. It will lead to boosting infrastructure development in the country, creation of more jobs, growth of ancillary industries/sectors which will lead to growth in GDP and over all economic prosperity. In another decision, the Cabinet cleared the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between India and Saudi Arabia on cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs matters. The agreement will help in making available, reliable, quick and cost effective information and intelligence for the prevention and investigation of customs offences and apprehending of customs offenders.
T-Mobile CEO defends Sprint deal in Congress
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc Chief Executive John Legere defended his company's $26 billion deal to buy rival wireless carrier Sprint Corp in Congress on Wednesday, stressing the jobs it will create and how it will benefit construction of the next generation of wireless networks.
BlackRock hires former Fed official Fischer as an adviser: memo
(Reuters) - BlackRock Inc is hiring former U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer as a senior adviser, the world's largest fund manager said in a memo on Wednesday.
SC reserves order on Ericsson's contempt plea against RCom Chairman, two others
Reliance Communication (RCom) Chairman Anil Ambani on Wednesday told the Supreme Court the Rs 550 crore dues could not be paid to Ericsson in pursuance to the undertaking as its Rs. 18,100 crore deal with the Reliance Jio did not fructify.
PNB to e-auction 4,000 properties to recover loans
Lending major Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Wednesday said that it has decided to place more than 4,000 properties all over India on e-auction as part of its loan recovery effort.
Global Markets: Optimism over U.S.-China trade deal lifts equity markets
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hopes for a resolution in a prolonged trade spat between the United States and China helped extend a week-long rally in world stock markets on Wednesday, while bond yields also climbed.
Growth has to be prudently done; currently analysing market mix: Lufthansa
Stating that growth has to be achieved "prudently", a senior official of Lufthansa on Wednesday said the airline is currently analysing the market mix of Indians travelling to Europe and US before starting operations to a new destination in India. "We are sure of a different mix where we will have sufficient Europe traffic and sufficient North American traffic, which would make newer attempts perhaps profitable. That is something that we are actually analysing. So, from our point of view, dynamics have changed," said George Ettiyil, Senior Director Sales, South Asia, Lufthansa Group Airlines. "IT companies are expanding greatly in Europe, not only in Germany. There will be a different mix if we were to start operating to a new destination in India," said Ettiyil, who has been appointed as senior sales director this month itself. Lufthansa Group's carriers 'Lufthansa' and 'SWISS' currently offer 58 flights from four Indian cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. "For a European
Ford told UK PM May it is preparing alternative production sites: The Times
(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co has told British Prime Minister Theresa May that it is stepping up preparations to move production out of Britain, The Times reported on Tuesday.
Oil rises after Saudi output pledge, declining U.S. inventories
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Wednesday after top exporter Saudi Arabia said it would cut crude exports and deliver an even deeper cut to its production, and after an industry group reported a surprise decline in U.S. oil inventories.
Wall Street moves higher on trade optimism
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks extended a rally on Wednesday, powered by rising expectations that the United States and China could strike a deal during their trade talks, with sentiment buoyed by benign inflation data that did little to change the outlook on rates.