Sachin P Mampatta, Krishna Kant And Shine Jacob

Stories by Sachin P Mampatta, Krishna Kant And Shine Jacob

10 Most Popular Stocks

10 Most Popular Stocks

Rediff.com   2 May 2022

10 stocks which are most popular with brokerages right now and are expected to deliver maximum upside over the next 12 months.

Boom Motors recalls Corbett ebikes, halts production after fatal accident

Boom Motors recalls Corbett ebikes, halts production after fatal accident

Rediff.com   30 Apr 2022

So far at least eight incidents of EV fires have been reported in just over a month's time.

LIC to join league of top global insurance firms

LIC to join league of top global insurance firms

Rediff.com   29 Apr 2022

When Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India gets listed on the bourses next month, it will be among the biggest listed life insurers globally in terms of market capitalisation (m-cap), assets, and revenue, but will also be among the least profitable and capitalised among its peer group. A big gap between LIC's m-cap, profits, and networth (shareholder capital) will make it one of the priciest insurers globally, in terms of price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple and price-to-book value (P/B) ratio. LIC also lags behind its Indian listed peers in terms of profit and networth.

Vande Bharat gets back on track after myriad controversies, vigilance probe

Vande Bharat gets back on track after myriad controversies, vigilance probe

Rediff.com   27 Apr 2022

On August 15 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort that the Indian Railways would launch 75 Vande Bharat Express trains by August 2023. Later, in her 2022 Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that 400 Vande Bharat trains will be manufactured in the next three years, which are expected to cost between Rs 40,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore. Those upbeat announcements come after a series of cancelled tenders, vigilance actions against officials and interdepartmental rivalry that delayed the addition of these iconic trains developed entirely indigenously by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai.

Stalin comes into his own in a year, national role next?

Stalin comes into his own in a year, national role next?

Rediff.com   26 Apr 2022

The Tamil Nadu government saw an increase in foreign direct investment by 41.5 per cent during the April-December period.

Why Ola decides to recall 1,441 units of S1

Why Ola decides to recall 1,441 units of S1

Rediff.com   25 Apr 2022

Ola Electric became the latest among electric scooter (e-scooter) makers to have started the exercise of recalling a specific batch of its model after a rap on the knuckles by the government. Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday advised electric vehicle (EV) companies to act responsibly by identifying and recalling defective batches without waiting for orders or guidelines from the ministry. The Bengaluru-based start-up is conducting pre-emptive diagnostics and health check on 1,441 scooters, it said in a statement on Sunday.

Ambuja Cements-ACC deal likely to propel buyer to No. 2 position

Ambuja Cements-ACC deal likely to propel buyer to No. 2 position

Rediff.com   22 Apr 2022

The possible acquisition of Holcim India business will be one of the biggest inbound corporate deals in the country. Currently, Walmart Inc.'s $16-billion acquisition of Flipkart Online Services in 2018 remains the biggest acquisition of an Indian asset by any acquirer, followed by BP plc acquisition of 30 per cent stake in Reliance Industries' 23 oil and gas production blocks in 2011 for $7.2 billion. Bloomberg reported late on Wednesday night that Holcim - the world's biggest cement maker - is considering a potential sale of its India business and gauging interest in its controlling stake in Ambuja Cement.

India's bond slump worse than others, issuance value down 10.1%

India's bond slump worse than others, issuance value down 10.1%

Rediff.com   19 Apr 2022

Indian issuers are borrowing lesser through bonds compared to their global peers. The total value of bond issuances was down 10.1 per cent on a rolling 4-quarter basis in March 2022, compared to a similar period in March 2019, shows an analysis of data from tracker Refinitiv, a London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) business. The four quarters ended March 2019 marked the last full financial year before the pandemic took hold.

Punjab Alkalies' MD saw 6,279% jump in salary in FY21

Punjab Alkalies' MD saw 6,279% jump in salary in FY21

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2022

Despite Covid downturn, CEO salaries went up by an average of 19% in FY21.

Why BPCL divestment is on the slow track

Why BPCL divestment is on the slow track

Rediff.com   12 Apr 2022

In December 2019, the India arm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu surprised many with its ultra-competitive bid to become the transaction advisor for the country's largest strategic divestment in Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL). The multinational major quoted just Rs 1; the second-highest bidder, SBI Caps, reportedly quoted Rs 15-17 crore. For Deloitte, the motivation was to bag a prestigious deal adding a national energy company to its portfolio. No doubt, it expected BPCL to go to a marquee buyer in quick time.

Weight of FMCG cos in Nifty50 lowest in a decade

Weight of FMCG cos in Nifty50 lowest in a decade

Rediff.com   11 Apr 2022

Consumer stocks remain the biggest laggard on the bourses. The Nify50 weighting of FMCG stocks declined to a decade low of 9.9 per cent at the end of March this year, down 150 basis points from 11.4 per cent a year ago. At their peak in March 2013, major FMCG stocks, such as Hindustan Unilever, ITC, and Asian Paints, together accounted for 15 per cent of the Nifty50. But now together with automobile stocks, the consumer goods sector accounts for only 14.7 per cent of the index, down 200 basis points in the past 12 months and 37 per cent from the record high weighting of 23.4 per cent at the end of March 2014.

Why Are India's Rich Reluctant Givers?

Why Are India's Rich Reluctant Givers?

Rediff.com   8 Apr 2022

A sudden surge in wealth because of stock market gains after the pandemic could be one of the factors behind the relatively lower share of philanthropy in total wealth.

How safe are India's electric scooters?

How safe are India's electric scooters?

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2022

The government-appointed expert committee, which probes incidents of Ola Electric's S1 Pro and Okinawa vehicles catching fires, has added the latest case of fire involving PureEV electric scooter to its investigation, a senior government official told Business Standard. "A team comprising experts from Indian Institute of Science (IISC) and Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) are investigating the cases. "As soon as the report is submitted, we shall take appropriate action," said Giridhar Aramane, secretary at the ministry of road transport and highways.

Ruble becomes best-performing currency in March

Ruble becomes best-performing currency in March

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2022

The ruble has recouped most of its losses and become the top-performing currency globally. It continues to gain and is up 60 per cent against the US dollar from its lows in the first week of March. The ruble appreciated to 83 to the dollar intraday on Tuesday against a record low of 139 on March 7.

MFs invest in more stocks amid volatility

MFs invest in more stocks amid volatility

Rediff.com   29 Mar 2022

Mutual funds (MFs) are investing in more stocks despite the recent volatility. The industry invested in 824 companies across the listed universe as of October, according to primemfdatabase.com. The S&P BSE Sensex hit its all-time high of 62,245 that month. The index has since corrected to 57,864, around 7 per cent below the peak.

Jail inmates-generated sales rival India's largest companies

Jail inmates-generated sales rival India's largest companies

Rediff.com   27 Mar 2022

Jail inmates produced goods generating gross sales worth Rs 223.4 crore in 2020, according to the government's annual Prison Statistics India report. The amount ranks at 496th place if compared with the latest net sales numbers of S&P BSE 500 companies, reports Sachin P Mampatta.

India may import 15 mn barrels of cheap Russian oil

India may import 15 mn barrels of cheap Russian oil

Rediff.com   24 Mar 2022

Taking advantage of a Russian offer to sell its crude oil cheap and bear the cost of insurance and transportation, India may import as much as 2 million tonnes (mt), or roughly 15 million barrels of crude, from the sanctioned nation in 2022, Business Standard has learnt. This comes after reports that Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) bought 3 million barrels of Russian Urals from trader Vitol for May delivery. This will be on cost, insurance and freight (CIF) model, where the seller incurs the costs and pays the freight, including insurance charges.

TCS' $50-bn goal below its growth standards

TCS' $50-bn goal below its growth standards

Rediff.com   22 Mar 2022

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - the largest information technology (IT) services provider in India and the second-largest globally - recently set an ambitious goal of $50 billion in revenue by 2030. The growth required to reach this goal, however, is lower than the company's own standards. In the past decade, TCS revenues, or net sales in US dollar terms, have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5 per cent, from $10.2 in 2011-12, to an expected $25.3 billion during 2021-22 (FY22), based on its revenue trend in the first nine months of FY22.

A big challenge to EPFO returns

A big challenge to EPFO returns

Rediff.com   18 Mar 2022

There is widening gap between what the government's premier retirement fund makes on its investments and what it offers to employees. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) makes the bulk of its investments in government-related securities. In other words, it lends to central and state governments and related entities. The interest it gets from these instruments is largely what it uses to pay interest to its subscribers.

How crude oil prices and stock valuations seesaw

How crude oil prices and stock valuations seesaw

Rediff.com   15 Mar 2022

A sharp sell-off in the Indian equities markets after a spike in crude oil prices should not be surprising. Historically there is a negative correlation between stock valuations in India and the price of Brent crude oil, which is the benchmark for the Indian crude oil basket. Between 2011 and 2014, crude oil traded above $100 a barrel for an extended period, the Sensex-trailing price/earnings (P/E) was 18X, on average, during the period, nearly 22 per cent lower than the current index P/E of 23X.