Kaushik Khona's second innings at GoAir will be more challenging than the first. Globally, the aviation industry is in deep distress because of the pandemic, reports Aneesh Phadnis.
The company, which already has around 66 per cent market share in the hatchback segment and about 50 per cent in the overall domestic passenger vehicle segment, currently sells Vitara Brezza and S-Cross in the SUV segment. In an interaction with PTI, MSI managing director and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa acknowledged that there was some lag in launching new products due to the pandemic but the company is now on track regarding new model launches.
While foreign currency rating was retained at Baa2 -- the second-lowest investment grade score -- Moody's also projected a fiscal deficit of 3.7 per cent of gross domestic product in the year through March 2020, a breach of the government's target of 3.3 per cent.
'We all need the blessings of the gods at a time when we are just breathing free again after the pandemic.'
In India, domestic airlines have not secured any relief from the government and are reporting 50-55 per cent loads as domestic air travel resumed on May 25 after two-month suspension.
Shortages of chips will impact the car market
Automobile dealers' body FADA on Tuesday expressed concern that the chip shortage issue could derail passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales during the festive season, as automakers are struggling with an adequate supply of vehicles to dealers due to production challenges. Terming semiconductor shortage as a "full-blown crisis", the industry body warned of a lacklustre festive season, especially for the passenger vehicle dealer fraternity, with low inventory levels and non-availability of the fast-moving model variants ahead of the peak festive period.
The sentiment in the real estate industry turned optimistic during October-December 2020 and the outlook for the next six months is positive on the back of revival in demand for both residential and office properties, according to a survey by Knight Frank India-FICCI-Naredco. The 27th edition of 'Real Estate Sentiment Index Q4 2020 survey' of developers, banks, financial institutions and private equity players operating in the sector was released on Monday in a video-conference. As per the report, the 'Current Sentiments Score', for the first time in 2020, entered the optimistic zone at 54 points in Q4 (October-December) 2020, a significant jump of 14 points over the previous quarter.
Led by Trent, which hit its lifetime-high recently, apparel retailers have gained between 10 per cent and 36 per cent over the past three weeks. Given the network of physical stores, these stocks shall be major beneficiaries of the unlock theme, with most states doing away with Covid restrictions. Amid improving footfall, analysts expect the sector to post double-digit growth in FY23.
Fresher hiring sentiment is highest in India, with 17 per cent employers keen on recruiting fresh graduates in the July to December 2021 period against 6 per cent globally. According to the Career Outlook Report by TeamLease EdTech, conducted across 18 sectors and 14 cities, the hiring sentiment in the country has registered a 2 percentage point increase over the February-April 2021 period. In terms of sectors, those that have been able to withstand the impact of the pandemic and witnessed a stronger hiring sentiment are information technology (31 per cent), telecommunication (25 per cent) and technology start-ups (25 per cent).
Moody's Investors Service on Friday projected India's growth at zero per cent for the current fiscal and said the negative outlook on sovereign rating reflects increasing risks that GDP growth will remain significantly lower than in the past. The outlook also partly shows weaker policy effectiveness to address economic and institutional issues, it noted in the update to its November 2019 rating forecast.
Weak consumer sentiment across urban and rural markets due to slow farm inflows, subdued agri-commodity prices, rising cost of ownership as a result of regulatory changes including safety, emissions, vehicle registration, along with a rise in interest cost/EMI, have impacted demand.
The Adani group has the maximum number of companies in the trillion club at five, followed by the Tata group (four).
The second wave of COVID-19 may have a more lasting damage on the Indian economy and exports will once again be the foundation for recovery, Moody's Analytics said on Monday. In its report titled 'APAC Economic Outlook: The Delta Roadblock', Moody's Analytics said social distancing is weighing on the current quarter, but economic recovery will resume by the year-end. The Delta variant of COVID-19 is among factors now adversely affecting economies of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, but the economic hit from the current round of movement restrictions in the region will not be as severe as the recessions in the second quarter of last year.
Only 13 per cent employers in India have hiring plans in the July-Septermber quarter, says a survey.
Bolstered by bullish investor sentiments, India witnessed companies mopping up a whopping $9.7 billion through initial share sales in the first nine months of 2021, the highest amount for the nine-month period in two decades, says a report. As many as 72 initial public offerings (IPOs) hit the stock market during the January-September period this year in India and strong sentiments were visible in the global markets as well, according to leading consultancy EY. EY, in its latest report, said the global IPO market continued to boom through Q3 2021 resulting in the most active third quarter by deal numbers and proceeds in the last 20 years.
The country's largest insurer LIC on Tuesday listed its shares at a discount of 8.11 per cent at Rs 872 per share on the NSE. On the BSE, the shares got listed at Rs 867.20 apiece, down 8.62 per cent over the issue price of Rs 949 a share. LIC had fixed the issue price of its shares at Rs 949 apiece after a successful initial public offering, which fetched Rs 20,557 crore to the government.
CEOs expect to finish the ongoing March quarter with positive growth as the corporates get back to work in full strength.
Fitch Ratings has revised India's GDP growth estimate to 12.8 per cent for the fiscal year beginning April 1 from its previous estimate of 11 per cent, saying its recovery from the depths of the lockdown-induced recession has been swifter than expected. In its latest Global Economic Outlook (GEO), Fitch said revision is on the back of "a stronger carryover effect, a looser fiscal stance and better virus containment." "India's second half of 2020 rebound also took GDP back above its pre-pandemic level and we have revised up our 2021-2022 forecast to 12.8 per cent from 11.0 per cent," it said. "Nevertheless, we expect the level of Indian GDP to remain well below our pre-pandemic forecast trajectory."
'They say 'a picture paints a thousand words', so seeing Rishi Sunak PM at the door of Number 10 can never be taken from us.'' 'It is a symbol that will go down in the history books.' 'It is the very embodiment of me saying to my boys, "You can be who you want to be",' notes James Salins in this must-read feature.
The Nifty Bank index has come off 15 per cent from its peak in February, underperforming the benchmark Nifty which is down 6%.
'For equities, inflation trending upwards but within the range of expectations can actually be a big positive as it helps earnings and may shift flows from bonds to equities.'
Automobile retail sales in India increased by 37 per cent in April on a low base of COVID-hit April last year, automobile dealers' body FADA said on Thursday. Total sales across categories rose to 16,27,975 units in April, as compared to 11,87,771 units in the year-ago period. On a year-on-year basis, all vehicle categories including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers were up as compared with April last year.
'In the short term, we may see some disruptions due to Covid, but in the medium-to-long term, we should keep an eye on US inflation and 10-year bond yields.'
The industry said if the policy was announced, it would have taken 28 million vehicles bought before March 2005 off the road.
'We spent considerable time re-skilling all the employees, and then we created a new focus called the 'One Infosys'.'
HDFC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and Titan.
'Think of the poorest retail investor before you decide to go for an IPO'
Nepal's decision to ban the import of non-essential items amid depleting forex reserves may hit Indian exports. The country's central bank - Nepal Rastra Bank - last week instructed commercial banks not to open letters of credit (LCs) for importing non-essential items. This is to prevent further decline of the country's foreign exchange reserves. However, it has not issued any formal communication yet.
Adapting to the new hybrid normal of remote and office work, cautiously optimistic corporate are looking to hire more people and provide better appraisals in the new year as they step out of the pandemic-ravaged 2020. The coronavirus pandemic emerged as the biggest inflection point for the Indian job landscape. For the corporates, work-from-home and remote workers became the new normal and for the professionals, online learning and digital skills took centrestage.
As per a Knight Frank FICCI Naredco report, a majority 69% of the stakeholders say that the residential sales will remain tepid or may even go down further in the coming six months.
Passenger vehicle wholesales in India slipped to a 10-year low in the April-December this fiscal, and the industry will have to work hard to regain better volumes and business health, industry body SIAM said on Thursday.
According to experts in human resources, even joining of new graduates is likely to be staggered as companies are expected to onboard staffers after gauging the demand scenario.
The report suggests that one of the major impacts of COVID-19 on the media and entertainment industry is the instability caused and the downfall in the advertising revenues across all media segments
