L&T Q1 net soars 46% to Rs 893 cr. Engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) reported 46% jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 893 crore for the quarter ended June 2017 as against Rs 610 crore a year ago, boosted by higher revenue from its infrastructure business.
Total income rose 10% to Rs 24,375 crore as compared to Rs 22,180 crore in June 2016. Consolidated order book stood at Rs 2.63 lakh crore at quarter end. International order book constituted 26% of total order book for June quarter. The company is optimistic about growth in medium term as economic outlook improves. Revenue from the infrastructure segment, which accounted for about 44% of the company's total income in the quarter, rose 15.5% to Rs 10,728 crore. On Friday, the company stock on BSE closed 2% lower at Rs 1,159. Axis-FreeCharge deal to ignite hopes of turnaround: Snapdeal's Kunal Bahl.
Bidding adieu to his staff in Freecharge, Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl, hinted at being hopeful of a turnaround in the e-commerce company, fuelled by the $60 million buyout of the online mobile wallet by Axis Bank.
Bahl and co-founder Rohit Bansal have been for long trying to convince the Snapdeal board to go for their "Plan B", which is all about trimming the company further and finally heading for an IPO. Talks with Flipkart to buy Snapdeal have been going on for the last five months. In a mail to Freecharge employees, Bahl made it clear that the new management intended to retain the whole staff and invest behind the brand to leverage the 'world class technology platform to the fullest'. "In all my interactions with the leadership team of Axis Bank, I have found a team which is deeply committed to the digital payments space, and is willing to invest significantly behind it," he wrote in the internal mail to employees.
Amazon's Jeff Bezos becomes world's richest person, surpasses Bill Gates. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Thursday took away the mantle of world's richest person from Bill Gates.
Bezos achieved the feat after a 1 percent pop in the shares of Amazon.com, which accounts for the vast majority of Bezos' wealth. The Forbes now estimates Bezos' wealth Amazon's chief executive, at about $90.6 billion, compared with $90 billion for Gates, The New York Times reports. According to the New York Times, Bezos holds nearly 81 million shares of Amazon - almost 17 percent of the company. Forbes also estimates the value of his other investments - including his ownership of The Washington Post and the rocket company Blue Origin - and cash from the sale of securities as part of its wealth calculations. Markets bet on surge in earnings growth. India has the most aggressive earnings growth forecast among the world's major stock markets, and that is probably why the Sensex and the Nifty are continuously scaling new heights.
The combined net profit of the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty is expected to rise around by 45 per cent in the next two years in constant currency terms, beating most other markets by a wide margin. Bulls have raised their earnings expectations despite India Inc’s poor earnings growth in the last few years. The combined earnings (in dollar terms) of Nifty companies were down 0.8 per cent cumulatively in the last three years, while the earnings of Sensex companies were 5.4 per cent lower during the period. The UK’s FTSE 100 is expected to top the growth chart with its underlying earnings rising 74 per cent by the end of December 2018 from their current level. No benefit for farmers in Rajasthan's Bundi district from PMFBY. For many farmers in Rajasthan's Bundi district, the 2017 southwest monsoon season hasn’t been particularly impressive so far with rains being above normal in just two of the past seven weeks.
Just like in many other parts of the country, the main crops grown in the district are exposed to the vagaries of weather. In the event of any loss to the standing crop, the newly-launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) would have come to the rescue of farmers in the region. However, if studies conducted by the not-for-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) are to be believed and if the trend seen in 2016's Kharif season is any indication, the scheme is a non-starter for thousands of farmers in Bundi. The main reason for this is the low sum insured as compared to the scale of finance in Rajasthan. Monsoon might enter a lull period from July end. India’s south-west monsoons might enter a brief lull period by late July or early August, giving much-needed respite to areas reeling under floods and excess showers.
Washington Post being used as lobbyist weapon by Amazon: Trump. US President Donald Trump has attacked The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, alleging that the daily is being used against Congress for mounting pressure on politicians so that they do not look into the e-commerce giant's alleged tax-monopoly.
Trump accused The Post of filing incorrect stories. "Is fake news Washington Post being used as a lobbyist weapon against Congress to keep politicians from looking into Amazon no-tax monopoly? " he said in a series of tweets late last night. "So many stories about me in the @washingtonpost are Fake News. They are as bad as ratings challenged @CNN. H-1B visas: Relief for Indians as US allows fast processing of applications. In what can be perceived as a sigh of relief for Indians looking to move to or already reside in the United States, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) notified that it will resume premium and fast processing for certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions, effective immediately.
The H-1B visa has an annual cap of 65,000 visas each financial year. Shipbuilders go through grim scenario; Cochin S... Shipbuilders go through grim scenario; Cochin Shipyard IPO to open on Aug 1. Realignments in the domestic shipbuilding industry over the past four years have not improved business prospects for key players in the sector.
While state-owned Cochin Shipyard is coming up with its initial public offering, August 1 to August 3, efforts made by private shipbuilders to revive their businesses have been largely in vain. “The government is trying to boost the domestic shipbuilding sector for some time now. It is due to this IPO that the sector has come into the limelight,” Hitesh Avachat, deputy manager, CARE Ratings, said.
“Otherwise prospects for the shipbuilding industry continue to remain dull in the short to medium term.” Cochin Shipyard, the country’s largest public sector shipyard, will see a 10 per cent disinvestment by the government and a 20 per cent fresh issue of shares. Gold Flakes pack of 10 costs Rs 150: ITC raises cigarette price due to GST. ITC has raised prices of select cigarette brands to pass on the 6-7 per cent hike in the additional cess on cigarettes.
Sameer Deshmukh, a research analyst with Reliance Securities, said the price hikes were 6-15 per cent across brands with the average hike coinciding with the 6-7 per cent rise in effective taxes under the goods and services tax. An ITC statement said prices of its Classic and Gold Flake brands had been increased to Rs 150 for a pack of 10. The price of Wills has been raised to Rs 94 for a pack of 10. Panama leaks:These countries are conduits for world's biggest tax havens. First came the Panama Papers, then the BahamasLeaks.
Journalists continue to shed light on and raise a public outcry over the offshore financial centres that corporations use to reduce their tax bill – something that is still being challenged in court. A new study has now uncovered all the world’s corporate tax havens and, for the first time, revealed the intermediary countries that companies use to funnel their money into these places. Published on July 24 in the academic journal Scientific Reports, the paper Uncovering Offshore Financial Centers: Conduits and Sinks in the Global Corporate Ownership Network shows that offshore finance is not the exclusive business of exotic, far-flung places such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom also play a crucial – although a heretofore obscure – role in the tax-avoidance game, acting as conduits for corporate profits as they make their way to tax havens.
Madras HC makes Vande Mataram mandatory in Tamil Nadu's schools, offices. The Madras High Court on Tuesday ruled that 'Vande Mataram' must be sung schools, educational institutes and government offices. Justice M V Muralidharan said that schools must be made to follow it at least once a week either on Monday or Friday, whereas, the national song must be sang in offices once a month. "Vande Mataram is of Sanskrit origin, and written in Bengali which is ought to be sung in every school and college," Muralidharan added. He further directed the Director of Public Information to upload and circulate the translated version of Vande Mataram in Tamil and English, thereby making it available in the government websites and also in the social media. "Let a copy of this order be marked to the chief secretary of the Tamil Nadu government, who shall issue appropriate instructions to the concerned authorities," he asserted.
"The youth of this country are the future of tomorrow. Salasar Techno makes stellar debut; lists at 140% premium against IPO price. Mr Gadkari, allowing driverless cars will generate more high-paying jobs. Nagpur, the home town of Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, is now a laboratory to test electric vehicles for public transport in India. Cab aggregator Ola is testing a model that uses electric auto rickshaws, cars, and buses to make adoption of electric vehicles for mass transport viable. If the Nagpur experiment succeeds, Ola will execute the promise by its investor, Japanese internet firm Softbank, of running over a million electric vehicles across India.
This vision requires massive investments in cars, buses, and the charging infrastructure. In addition, investments are also required in batteries, which India currently imports. Nifty at 10,000: 16 stocks zoom over 4000% in a decade. Nifty hit a fresh record high of 10,011.30 in intra-day deals on Tuesday, crossing historical 10,000 mark first time. On September 27, 2007, the Nifty hit 5,000 levels in intra-day deals for the first time as well as on closing levels.
In the last one decade, 77 stocks listed on the NSE have rallied more than 1,000% or more than 11 times. The companies, or initial public offers (IPO), which got listed after September 27, 2007 were not considered for the study. Of these total 77 stocks, 16 stocks have zoomed more than 4000%, 10 between 2000% and 3,700% and 12 in the range of 1500% to 3000%. Among individual stocks, Ajanta Pharma, Eicher Motors, Somany Ceramics, Can Fin Homes, Bajaj Finance, Vakrangee, Indo Count Industries, Natco Pharma, Kajaria Ceramics and KRBL are the 48 stocks that currently feature in Nifty 500 index and have rallied more than 4000%. MARKETS LIVE: Nifty pares gains to turn flat after hitting 10,000-mark. 1:01 PM Nifty at 10,000 It took 592 trading days for the Nifty to scale 1000 points to hit the 10,000 mark in intraday trade. CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART 12:28 PM Idea Cellular surged 7% to Rs 98.30 on BSE on back of heavy volumes after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday approved the merger with Vodafone India.
Analyst view. Ram Nath Kovind sworn in as President, pledges to uphold Constitution. Ram Nath Kovind, a former BJP member and an RSS activist, was on Tuesday sworn in as the 14th President of India. Nifty makes history, hits 10,000: The bull run decoded. It’s been a dream run for the world markets and specifically the Indian markets since the last seven months, especially post the Union Budget on 1st February 2017. India seems to have all the ingredients for a multi-year bull run since the elections of 2014 – whether it’s the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the various policy measures taken up by the government from time to time, the excellent and unprecedented PR exercise internationally that possibly has projected India as the most favoured destination.
Nifty touches 10,000: Where should you invest now? Wrong targets: Modi govt skills training programme wasted public funds. India’s goal of skilling 400 million people under the National Skills Development Programme 2015 is too large, unnecessary and unattainable, a government-appointed committee has found. Pay gap: Indian CEOs earn up to 1,200 times more than the average employee. An analysis of remuneration disclosures made by top listed companies forming part of the blue-chip index Sensex - under directions of the capital markets regulator Sebi -- shows that the pay packages of senior-most personnel such as CEOs and executive chairmen continue to remain high and rose further at most private sector firms during 2016-17.
IMF retains India's growth projections at 7.2%, ups China's. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has retained India's economic growth projections at 7.2 per cent in 2017-18, up slightly from 7.1 per cent in the previous year. However, the growth would accelerate to 7.7 per cent in 2018-19, IMF said while also maintaining the growth rate level projected in April. Yatra acquires Air Travel Bureau to expand corporate travel business. Leading online travel company Yatra has acquired corporate travel service provider company Air Travel Bureau (ATB) for an undisclosed amount. Tata to prune portfolio, sell underperforming firms: N Chandrasekaran. England beat India in ICC Women's World Cup: Women cricketers hit sixes too. The England women’s cricket team will be met by a sell-out crowd of 26,500 people as they walk through the Long Room and out onto the pitch at Lord’s for their World Cup final clash against India on July 23.
Analysis: Mukesh Ambani is dialling new Bharat with Reliance JioPhone. LIVE: Nifty at fresh record high, hits crucial 9,950 mark; RIL, ITC lead. From Cogknit to Light: 8 deep tech Indian start-ups to watch out for. Women's World Cup 2017: England beat India by 9 runs. Foreign money in Indian realty doubles to $7.6 bn in 3 years, US top source. Few takers for simple tax for small businesses: A look at Composition Scheme under GST. Reliance Jio 4G handset is virtually free for users; what's the game plan?
We are considering changing financial year to Jan-Dec, says Arun Jaitley. LIVE: Markets pare morning gains to turn flat; RIL up 3% post AGM. Six big telcos understated revenues by more than Rs 61,000 crore: CAG. Reliance AGM: Ambani rattles telcos again by unveiling free 4G handset. Nandan Nilekani warns of digital colonisation ahead of Aadhaar hearing. E-commerce to get bigger focus at RCEP talks. Another smog season looms: India must act soon to keep Delhi from gasping. Flipkart to test market online groceries service, launches pilot project. 1 of 5 Indians to share personal data for free Wi-Fi. Telcos remain divided over IUC charge. Right to Privacy: 9-judge Bench will decide on Aadhaar issue today.
Nifty fails to hold above 9,900; BSE Midcap, Smallcap hit fresh highs. Xiaomi to double India sales, eyes 30% from brick and mortar outlets. Ganga's plight is no different from that of the 'holy cow' ITC gains 1.2% after worst fall in two decades. Is the worst over? Satyam case: Sebi to soon pass order on Price Waterhouse. New industrial policy on anvil, stakeholders being consulted: Sitharaman. RIL crosses Rs 5 lakh cr market-cap for first time in its trading history. Can't make public the names of big defaulters: RBI to SC. VVIP Choppers case: ED arrests woman director of Dubai firm under PMLA. Nokia unveils Nokia 105 model for Rs 999 in India. Prez poll: Close to 99% voting, the highest ever. Deloitte picks up BMR's tax division after 2 years of sell-off talks. Gujarat HC dismisses Essar Steel plea against RBI in bankruptcy case.
Cigarettes get costlier: GST Council decides to increase cess over 28% tax. Venkaiah Naidu: The meat lover in a vegetarian political party. Venkaiah Naidu named NDA candidate for Vice-Presidential election 2017. How Wimbledon winner Roger Federer went from Mr Angry to Mr Perfect. Colo, IPO challenges beckon Vikram Limaye as first outsider to head NSE. Smart or dumb? The real impact of India's plan to build 100 smart cities. At Reliance AGM, Jio financials, 4G feature phone would be the focus. EU's antitrust war on Google and Facebook uses abandoned American playbook. No taxes please: Why GST will trigger a shift to unorganised used-car market.
Why some are applauding Donald Trump Jr's 'win at all costs' attitude. Want to save on tax? Here are deductions you can use while filing ITR. LIVE: Nifty above 9,900; RIL's market-cap crosses Rs 5-lakh crore mark. Monsoon session begins today: Govt to face heat over lynchings, China, J&K. UP's abattoir shutdown: Butchers, farmers, traders hit while big biz gain. 2011 World Cup Final: India vs Sri Lanka match was fixed, says Ranatunga.
ICICI Lombard files for first IPO by non-life insurer, to dilute 19% equity. Sikkim standoff: 'China didn't foresee India stepping in to defend Bhutan' 'JD (U), Nitish Kumar won't tamper with mahagathbandhan, it's their baby' Exports up for 10th month, but at slower rate of 4.4%, to $23.6 bn in June. Internet-based apps contributed Rs 1.4 lakh cr to GDP in 2015-16: Study. Q1 results: Infosys outshines TCS on growth front. US House approves bill on defence co-operation with India. Mumbai cops register FIR against AIB for insulting PM Modi in tweet. Relief! No GST on sale of old gold jewellery, cars by individuals. Why the EU's $2.7 billion fine on Google defies logic. June WPI inflation drops to 14-month low as food prices ease. LIVE: Nifty eyes 10,000 mark; Infosys results key. Nifty IT falls post TCS, Infosys results; sector to underperform. Infosys Q1 profit up 1.4% to Rs 3,483 cr, co raises dollar revenue guidance.
Coal to account for over two-third of commercial energy output in 2022. Paytm makes gold storage more accessible with free locker facilities. Mithali Raj creates history, becomes highest scorer in women's ODI. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat calls Modi competent contractor of social welfare. Closure of 43 McDonald's in Delhi will not impact brand: US licence agency. Tribunal reduces FIU's Rs 1.66-cr penalty on NSEL. Essar Steel knew of insolvency move: RBI to Gujarat High Court. L&T, Britannia, Bajaj Finance: Ambit Capital's super bloopers. Censor board tells Amartya documentary maker to mute 'cow', 3 other words. 24 global destinations: Can IndiGo digest Air India's international operations?
Sensex ends above 31,800, Nifty over 9,800 for first time ever; ONGC up 2% Mining, manufacturing drag May IIP to 1.7% from 8% a year go. June consumer inflation eases to 1.54%, lowest in new series.