Krishna Kant, Shine Jacob &Amp;Amp; Sachin P Mampatta

Stories by Krishna Kant, Shine Jacob &Amp;Amp; Sachin P Mampatta

Demand For Choppers Soar As Elections Near

Demand For Choppers Soar As Elections Near

Rediff.com   30 Oct 2023

In the months to come, the skies above promise to be a captivating theatre of action, where helicopters play starring roles, ferrying leaders, and echoing the pulse of democracy.

Early birds' Q2 profit soars, top line a worry

Early birds' Q2 profit soars, top line a worry

Rediff.com   30 Oct 2023

The combined net profit of "early bird" companies, those that have declared their quarterly results, rose for the third consecutive quarter in July-September 2023 (Q2FY24). But the figures suggest a continued slowdown in revenue growth and stagnation in earnings over recent quarters. This slowdown is severe for companies in the manufacturing and non-financial service sectors.

IMEC: Project Biden Thinks Hamas Targeted

IMEC: Project Biden Thinks Hamas Targeted

Rediff.com   26 Oct 2023

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu termed it the 'largest cooperation project in our history', one that would 'change the face of the Middle East, Israel, and impact the entire world'.

At 1.3 million, two-wheeler sales cross pre-Covid figs of September 2019

At 1.3 million, two-wheeler sales cross pre-Covid figs of September 2019

Rediff.com   26 Oct 2023

The two-wheeler segment is, however, still far from its H1FY19 peak of 9.7 million units

IT Sector Slump To Impact Consumer Demand

IT Sector Slump To Impact Consumer Demand

Rediff.com   25 Oct 2023

'A cutback in hiring and compensation growth by IT companies will have a significant impact on consumer demand, especially in the urban sector of the economy.'

Number of women in blue-collar jobs increasing across manufacturing sector

Number of women in blue-collar jobs increasing across manufacturing sector

Rediff.com   20 Oct 2023

"Lady candidates need not apply." So read the postscript in a job notice from Telco (now Tata Motors) on a notice board in the corridors of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (now Bengaluru), in 1974. Irked, Sudha Murty, who was then pursuing her masters in computer science at the institute, wrote a postcard to JRD Tata, expressing her surprise at this gender discrimination, especially since the Tata Group were pioneers on many fronts. Shortly, Murty became the first woman on the firm's shop floor.

India Inc's Q2 show may fail to dazzle

India Inc's Q2 show may fail to dazzle

Rediff.com   16 Oct 2023

India's corporate sector is likely to report a slowdown in revenue growth and earnings for the July-September 2023 period (Q2FY24), according to earnings estimates by brokerages, after the country's top listed companies posted higher than expected profits for the first quarter. The combined net profit of Nifty50 companies, based on brokerage estimates, is expected to have grown by 19.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1.75 trillion in Q2FY24 - a sharp deceleration from 37.6 per cent Y-o-Y growth in the combined earnings of index companies in the April-June 2023 period. According to estimates, the combined earnings in the second quarter would be down 8.8 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis and the lowest in the past three quarters.

Israel trade with India doubled after Covid-19 pandemic

Israel trade with India doubled after Covid-19 pandemic

Rediff.com   16 Oct 2023

India's trade ties with Israel have only strengthened in the years after 2019. The total value of trade rose to $10.5 billion on a rolling four-quarter basis in June 2023 from $5.5 billion in the same month in 2019, shows a Business Standard analysis of data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). A rolling four-quarter number provides a comparable figure across different time periods.

Select unsecured loans up by nearly Rs 7 trillion since 2019

Select unsecured loans up by nearly Rs 7 trillion since 2019

Rediff.com   16 Oct 2023

People are availing far more of certain kinds of unsecured loans than was the case before the pandemic. Bank lending for buying consumer durables and funding of credit cards and other personal loans have risen by Rs 6.9 trillion between August 2019 and August 2023, shows a Business Standard analysis of data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These loans are typically unsecured, which means they are provided without collateral.

Tata Sons comes to rescue of Tata Play as it faces growth headwinds

Tata Sons comes to rescue of Tata Play as it faces growth headwinds

Rediff.com   14 Oct 2023

The reported buyback of Temasek's 20 per cent stake in Tata Play by Tata Sons will be the third instance of Tata Group providing an exit to a foreign partner in recent years. In 2018, Tata Sons paid $1.27 billion to DoCoMo to buy back 26 per cent of the group's telecommunication venture, Tata Teleservices. This was followed by Tata Sons acquiring AirAsia Berhad's 49 per cent stake in AirAsia India in two tranches to make it a wholly owned subsidiary.

Metal stocks rally defies global peers, not backed by fundamentals

Metal stocks rally defies global peers, not backed by fundamentals

Rediff.com   11 Oct 2023

Metal and mining companies, such as Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hindalco, and Coal India, have been among the top-performing sectors on the bourses in recent months. The S&P BSE Metal Index is up 13 per cent in the past three months, rallying 29 per cent in the past year, outperforming the broader market. For comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex has only seen a 1.7 per cent increase in the past three months, with a 15 per cent gain since the end of September last year.

Indian Wheels for Vande Bharat Trains

Indian Wheels for Vande Bharat Trains

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2023

India's iconic Vande Bharat train project may finally find a solution to its two Russian-related issues.

Higher oil prices threaten India Inc's profit margins

Higher oil prices threaten India Inc's profit margins

Rediff.com   4 Oct 2023

The recent surge in crude oil prices could shave off the gains made by India Inc in profit margins in the past few quarters. Worse, it comes at a time when consumer demand in the country is slipping and major global economies are witnessing a slowdown. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the margin expansion accounted for three-fourths of the rise in the listed firms' operating profit between the April-June quarter (Q1) of FY23 and Q1FY24, and only a quarter of profits gains came from revenue growth.

10 Largecaps Stocks To Lead Bulls Charge

10 Largecaps Stocks To Lead Bulls Charge

Rediff.com   3 Oct 2023

These stocks offer the best combination of maximum 'buy' recommendations from brokerages and share price upside over the next 12 months.

India-US bond yield spread at 17-year low

India-US bond yield spread at 17-year low

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2023

JP Morgan's decision last week to include Indian government bonds in its Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) index and the index suite from June 2024 may be a sort of blessing for India, as the move is estimated to result in an inflow of $25 billion of foreign portfolio investments into the country. The development comes at a time when the spread between the benchmark 10-year government of India bond and the 10-year US government bond has declined to its lowest level in more than 17 years. Low yield spreads make Indian bonds less attractive to foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).

NSE makes more money than 98% of companies listed on it

NSE makes more money than 98% of companies listed on it

Rediff.com   22 Sep 2023

The stock exchange on which they are traded boasts higher profits than most of the companies whose shares are hitting new highs. Only 37 of approximately 2,000 listed companies with comparable data for 2022-23 (FY23) reported higher profits, while the rest had lower profits. Despite rising corporate profitability, the universe of companies that outperform the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in terms of profitability has been shrinking of late, according to an analysis of companies with comparable data over the past seven years.

Nipah Is Keeping Kerala Tourists At Bay

Nipah Is Keeping Kerala Tourists At Bay

Rediff.com   21 Sep 2023

The tourism industry expects a short-term impact, as it is counting on the state's proven expertise in managing such crises.

Why Odds Are Against New Mutual Funds

Why Odds Are Against New Mutual Funds

Rediff.com   21 Sep 2023

Meaningful market share would go to those who have the distribution strength to push their products, such as banks.

Govt in talks with SII for Nipah antibody, may put imports on hold

Govt in talks with SII for Nipah antibody, may put imports on hold

Rediff.com   21 Sep 2023

Given the recurring outbreaks in the last five years, the government is considering domestic manufacturing of monoclonal antibodies for treating Nipah virus infections and is in talks with Serum Institute of India, report Shine Jacob and Sohini Das.

This is how Kerala brought Nipah under control in no time

This is how Kerala brought Nipah under control in no time

Rediff.com   20 Sep 2023

Kerala is the only state, other than West Bengal (2001 and 2007), in India to have reported Nipah virus cases. Kerala is the only state, other than West Bengal (2001 and 2007), in India to have reported Nipah virus cases. The previous outbreaks in the state were in May 2018, June 2019 and September 2021. This explains the anticipation and readiness this year, reports Shine Jacob.