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Consumer confidence in India has gone down: Nielsen survey
RBI has done enough on rate hikes: Rajan
Sensex ends at all-time high of 21,033, soars 105 points |
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NSEL member Mohan India to pay
Rs 771 cr under settlement
Infosys agrees to pay $34 mn to settle visa row with US
Govt hikes tariff value on imported gold
India third worst in resolving commercial disputes: Report
Bharti Airtel Q2 net down 29% to Rs 512 crore OBC Q2 profit dips by 17% JSPL Q2 net drops 49.62% IDBI Bank Q2 net dips to Rs 192 cr ICICI Lombard posts Rs
359 cr profit in H1
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Consumer confidence in India has gone down: Nielsen survey
New Delhi, October 30 Consumer confidence score in India in the third quarter was at 112 compared with 118 in the previous quarter. Top two consumer market as per the survey are Indonesia and Philippines with a score of 120 and 118. “Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism," Nielsen said in a statement. As per the survey, 76% of online respondents indicated that India is going through an economic recession this quarter, up 25 percentage points from last quarter (51%). Commenting on the survey findings, Nielsen India president Piyush Mathur said: "Consumer sentiment in the country has been adversely affected by the devaluing rupee, inflation and negative reports on the economy." However, despite a fall in consumer confidence, discretionary spends have gone up. "The economic pressures are telling on the consumers, though their discretionary spending is high, largely owing to the festival season. This is complemented by deals and discounts that manufacturers and retailers activate during this time period, and thus ease their spending concerns,” the survey said. The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, established in 2005, measures consumer confidence, major concerns, and spending intentions among more than 30, 000 respondents with Internet access in 60 countries. The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index was unchanged in the third quarter from the previous three months at 94, up 2 points from the same period a year earlier. In the latest round of the survey, conducted between August 14 and September 6, 2013, consumer confidence increased in more than half (57%) of global markets measured by Nielsen, compared to 45% in the previous quarter. — PTI
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RBI has done enough on rate hikes: Rajan
Mumbai, October 30 “We think we have done enough on rate hikes given what we know about the economy to wait and watch and see what happens,” Rajan told analysts in a customary post-policy conference call. Rajan said the RBI does not have a target interest rate. “I won’t say that we have a set of rate hikes in mind. It is not that we are trying to take baby steps towards some long-term interest rate goal that we have in mind," he said. Since taking over at the RBI on September 4, Rajan has hiked the repo rate at which it lends to banks to 7.75%, seeking to tame inflation. The rate went up by 25 basis points each on September 20 and October 29. The RBI has increased its estimate for wholesale price inflation to over 6% and consumer price inflation to over 9% for the end of the financial year. A better way of describing what the RBI is doing on interest rates is that "when there is lot of uncertainty you may move a little less than what everybody thinks may be necessary...and also because there are forces that you can’t quite estimate which may come in and help or hinder your effort," Rajan said. On the rupee, Rajan said he would consider the local currency to be stable only when dollar demand from oil companies returns to the market. Oil companies currently have a special swap window provided by the central bank to meet their dollar requirements, a facility that Rajan said would be tapered gradually. The Governor said the RBI does not have any value for the rupee. The RBI yesterday calibrated the window between the repo rate (7.75%) and marginal standing facility (8.75%) to 100 basis points, as stated in the September 20 mid-quarter review. "Once there is adequate liquidity, the price of money in some sense will move down from the MSF to the repo very quickly," the RBI Governor said. — PTI
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Sensex ends at all-time high of 21,033, soars 105 points New Delhi, October 30 The Sensex surged nearly 105 points to sail past the 21k mark and close at an all-time high of 21,033 points, bettering the mark of 21,004 in November, 2010. The 30-share bluechip index’s intra-day high of 21,206.77 was hit on January 10, 2008. Bharti Airtel shot up by 5.23% after the firm posted better-than-expected operating performance. Ravi Shenoy AVP-Midcaps Research, Motilal Oswal Securities, said the Sensex ended at a record high led by optimism on the back of good results, higher liquidity provision for the banking system in the RBI credit policy and possible delay of the US Fed tapering to the next calendar year. Today’s rally was lead by companies that have reported good quarterly results. The financial results have given more positive surprises than negative ones in the last few days. Other contributors to the Sensex were ITC, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Dr Reddy's Lab, TCS and Bajaj Auto. The advance-decline ratio favoured the bulls. On the BSE, 1,272 stocks advanced against 1,160 declining stocks, while 177 remained unchanged. Shrikant Chouhan, Head-Technical Research, Kotak Securities said today’s level is an all-time highest closing on a daily basis for the Sensex. “It’s a broad base rally that we came across since the start of this month and ending on a happy note on the day of expiry. Chances of hitting all time highest levels are bright in the near future above 21210 mark. However, to sustain above will require some solid reasons on the macro economy front,” he said.
Mumbai: RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday said India is in a better position to face the US Federal Reserve’s unwinding of its easy money policy whenever it takes place. “We are in a better position to face tapering as and when it occurs and we have shown that whatever the CAD is, we can finance it, if necessary from outside money.” — PTI
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NSEL member Mohan India to pay Rs 771 cr under settlement
New Delhi, October 30 “NSEL and one of its members, Mohan India, have reached an agreement, based on which, the latter has agreed to facilitate pay-in of Rs 771 crore over a period of one year as part of its financial closure or settlement obligations,” the exchange said in a statement. Mohan India will make a down payment of Rs 11 crore and the balance will be paid over the next one year, it said. The firm’s total outstanding was Rs 950 crore. “We are committed to pay-in and settle our dues over the next one year period, and I am happy that we have reached an understanding with NSEL,” Mohan India Director Jagmohan Garg said. Commenting on the development, NSEL CEO and managing director Saji Cherian said: “Some of the big members who have pay-in obligations are co-operating with NSEL and the various NSEL Investors’ Forum (NIF) teams. This is a positive development in the recovery process post the payment crisis.” — PTI
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Infosys agrees to pay $34 mn to settle visa row with US
New Delhi, October 30 Infosys allegedly sent employees to the US with B-1 visitor visas and not on H1-Bs permits designed for high-tech workers. To settle the case, the company agreed to pay $34 million penalty, the largest ever such fine in the outsourcing industry. It, however, denied any visa fraud and misuse. Infosys said, “It has completed a civil settlement that concludes investigation by the US Attorney’s Office for Eastern District of Texas and resolves all issues with the US Department of State, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the US Department of Homeland Security relating to I-9 paperwork errors and visa matters.” The Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorisation of individuals hired for employment in the US. “There were no criminal charges or court rulings against the company. Furthermore, there are no limitations on the company’s eligibility for federal contracts or access to US visa programmes as a result of the settlement. “In the settlement, Infosys agreed to pay $34 million to resolve all allegations, for which the company had already taken a reserve of $35 million which included attorney's fees,” Infosys said. The settlement is focused on historical I-9 paperwork errors from 2010-2011 that Infosys began correcting before the investigation began, it said. “There is no evidence that the I-9 paperwork violations allowed any Infosys employee to work beyond their visa authorisation,” it added. This settlement removes the uncertainty of prolonged litigation and allows the firm to continue to focus on delivering measurable results for its clients, it said. “Our company policy demands adherence to all laws, rules and regulations everywhere we operate and we take our compliance obligations seriously.” — PTI The Row Infosys allegedly sent employees to the US with B-1 visitor visas and not on H1-Bs permits designed for high-tech workers.
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Govt hikes tariff value on imported gold
New Delhi, October 30 The notification in this regard has been issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), an official statement said. However, the import tariff value of silver has been kept unchanged at $699 per kg. The tariff value on imported gold has been revised upward taking into account the price volatility of the precious metal in global market. In the domestic market, gold is being sold at a high premium due to supply crunch caused by government measures to restrict the import of precious metal in an effort to cut current account deficit. — PTI
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Dreamliner glitches bother Boeing
New Delhi, October 30 Boeing senior vice-president (sales, Asia-Pacific and India) Dinesh Keskar said Boeing teams were working with airlines to collect and assess the data and take corrective measures if required. He, however, said a lot of "miscommunication" was doing rounds on the incident involving the falling off of a panel in the belly of a Dreamliner aircraft at the Bangalore airport. “We are concerned (about the problems with Dreamliner). Ideally, we do not want to see it happen. But it is a safe airplane, it has never caused issues with the safety of passengers,” he said. “We have an operations control system which monitors every 787 aircraft in flight and we get to know about what is happening to every 787 in flight,” he said.
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India third worst in resolving commercial disputes: Report Washington, October 30 In comparison, it takes just about five months to resolve a commercial dispute in Singapore, the world’s best place to do business, as per a latest global report on ease of doing business. Providing details about ease of doing business in India, a separate report said it takes 1,420 days for resolving commercial disputes in the country, placing it at 186th spot in terms of enforcing contract, among 189 economies. The report released by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation ranks countries on the basis of 10 factors, including enforcing contracts that looks at how efficiently commercial disputes are resolved through courts. Of the 1,420 days for resolving a dispute, time to file and serve the case is 20 days, a trial and judgment 1,095 days and enforcement of the judgment takes 305 days. Moreover, an entity has to follow a total of 46 procedures to resolve a business dispute in India compared to only 21 procedures required in Singapore, the study said. According to the report on India, "courts are essential for entrepreneurs because they interpret the rules of the market and protect economic rights". — PTI
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Sonia third most powerful woman in Forbes list New York, October 30 German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff were the only women who figured ahead of the 66-year-old Gandhi in the list of 72 politicians, heads of state and business leaders. Gandhi was also ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who came in seven slots below her. In a separate list of the world's 100 most powerful women, Forbes ranked Gandhi in the ninth position. "As president of Indian National Congress, Gandhi heads the ruling political party of the world's second largest population," read her brief profile on the Forbes website. "Rumours persist of a rift between her and soft-spoken Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, with many expecting Singh to leave office before the 2014 general elections," it said. The profile noted Rahul, described as the "heir apparent in the nation's most famous political dynasty", had recently "snubbed Singh publicly". — PTI
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Corporate Results
New Delhi, October 30 Profit dropped to Rs 512 crore in the quarter ended September 30 from Rs 721.2 crore a year earlier, mainly on account of increase in finance costs and forex losses due to rupee depreciation, the company said in a BSE filing. "The continued depreciation of the Indian rupee has resulted in forex restatement and derivative losses of Rs 342 crore versus Rs 25 crore loss for Q2 FY13," the company said. "We are seeing some kind of positive movement on the Indian front and it continues to be a very dynamic industry," Bharti's Group Chief Financial Officer Sarvjit Singh Dhillon said. OBC Q2 profit dips by 17%
State-owned Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) today posted a 16.8 per cent decline in its net profit at Rs 251.41 crore for the second quarter ended September on account of rise in provisioning for bad loans. The state-owned bank had a net profit of Rs 302.19 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. The net profit of bank has declined on account of rise in provision against bad debts, less recovery and loss in treasury operation, OBC chairman and managing director SL Bansal said. JSPL Q2 net drops 49.62%
Jindal Steel and Power today reported a 49.62 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 452.07 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013- 14, largely due to subdued sales and rise in finance costs. The Naveen Jindal led company had reported net profit of Rs 897.28 crore in the July-September quarter of the previous fiscal, 2012-13. Net sales of the company were up 7.43 per cent to Rs 4,949.03 crore during Q2, 2013-14 vis-a-vis Rs 4,606.93 crore in the year-ago period, JSPL said in a filing to the BSE. IDBI Bank Q2 net dips to
Rs 192 cr
IDBI Bank today reported a 60 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 192.27 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013-14. The bank had net profit of Rs 483.53 crore in the July- September quarter of 2012-13 fiscal. The total income of the bank rose to Rs 7,114.44 crore in Q2, 2013-14, from Rs 6,880 crore in the year-ago period, IDBI Bank said in a filing to the BSE. IDBI bank scrip closed at Rs 65.90, down 3.94 per cent, on the BSE. ICICI Lombard posts
Rs 359 cr profit in H1
Private player ICICI Lombard General Insurance has reported nearly a two-fold jump in profit to Rs 359 crore for the first half of the 2013-14 fiscal. Its net profit was Rs 184 crore during the April- September period of the previous fiscal, 2012-13, the company said in a release. — PTI |
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Rupee up 8 paise at 61.23 vs dollar
Three coal blocks allocated to PSUs Govt cuts wheat MEP to $260 a tonne
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The stock markets are rejoicing as the BSE Sensex today closed at an all-time high of 21,033 points on the back of expectations that the US Federal Reserve will delay its monetary tapering, infusion of liquidity by the RBI in the credit policy and good financial results by index heavyweights.
Amid the short supply of gold in domestic market during the festival season, the government today hiked the import tariff value of gold to $442 per 10 gram in line with tts global prices. The tariff value, the base price at which the customs duty is determined to prevent under-invoicing, stood at $418 per 10 gram for gold during the last fortnight.
