Except for Westlife Foodworld (Westlife), a weak 2022-23 (FY23) January-March (fourth quarter, or Q4) quarter performance and a muted near-term outlook led to a downward revision of earnings estimates for quick-service restaurant (QSR) players. Brokerages have slashed estimates by as much as 10 per cent for 2023-24 (FY24) and 2024-25 (FY25). The downward revisions have weighed on the performance of listed players, who have underperformed the market with low single-digit returns over the past month.
'If Trudeau chooses to repeat his allegations in his UN speech on Friday, it would create a whole new escalation.'
With Housing Development Finance Corporation's (HDFC's) merger with HDFC Bank becoming effective on July 1, the merged entity is set to become the top weight in the benchmarks S&P BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty indices, dislodging the country's most valuable company, Reliance Industries (RIL), from its perch. HDFC will stop trading after July 13. At present, RIL has a weighting of close to 12 per cent in the Sensex and 10.3 per cent in the broad-based Nifty. Meanwhile, HDFC Bank and HDFC have weights of 9.9 per cent and 6.8 per cent in the Sensex and 8.8 per cent and 6 per cent in the Nifty, respectively.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) will invest nearly $4.4 billion (Rs 36,000 crore) in India by 2030 and support more than 48,000 jobs externally through a new regional service launched on Tuesday, said the on-demand Cloud computing company. AWS Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) is the company's second infrastructure region in India, six years after it opened its first Cloud region in Mumbai in 2016. The Hyderabad region will give customers access to AWS technologies for data analytics, security, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
BCCI has summoned 20 potential all-rounders for a near three-week camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
According to 'Asia's Hot Growth Companies' list, prepared by US-based financial magazine BusinessWeek, India is home to a higher number of such companies than China, whose presence is limited to just eight firms. Besides, India is next only to Taiwan and Japan, which have been represented by 24 and 18 firms respectively.
Equity benchmark Sensex declined over 410 points to close below the 61,000-mark on Thursday, tracking weakness in M&M, Bajaj Finserv and Reliance Industries amid widespread selling pressure in global markets. A depreciating rupee also put pressure on domestic equities, traders said. In a subdued session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 419.85 points or 0.69 per cent lower at 60,613.70.
Eight members the Indian team, including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on Sunday left for Colombo to participate in the Asia Cup starting June 15. The eight cricketers, who had assembled in Chennai for a two-day camp ahead of tournament, flew to the Lankan capital on Sunday morning.
The Sensex ended over 51 points lower on Monday while the Nifty settled flat amid a weak trend in global markets and continuous foreign fund outflows. Markets are awaiting the November inflation data to be announced later in the day, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 51.10 points or 0.08 per cent to settle at 62,130.57. During the day, it tumbled 505.52 points or 0.81 per cent to 61,676.15. The broader NSE Nifty ended at 18,497.15, marginally higher by 0.55 points.
Equity benchmark Sensex and Nifty ended marginally down on Tuesday tracking losses in metal, banking and financial stocks. Investors also remained concerned over persistent foreign fund outflows, traders said. Falling for the fifth consecutive session, the 30-share BSE index ended 37.70 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 57,107.52. Similarly, the NSE Nifty shed 8.90 points or 0.05 per cent to close at 17,007.40.
The only real solution to the jobs crisis, whether in India or abroad, is to direct tech innovation towards job enhancing sectors, and disincentivising job-replacing ones, observes R Jagannathan.
India is ranked lower than all its BRICS peers -- Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa
Despite the recent turmoil in the Indian markets after a scathing report on the Adani group from Hindenburg Research, American private equity major Blackstone is "bullish" on the India growth story and plans to invest more in the country's infrastructure and real estate projects. "We have a long-term view on India, as growth will be higher here. We have invested half of our Asia exposure in India. "Our extraordinary performance in India has made us bullish," said Jonathan Gray, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone.
Growth in India is expected to slow to 6.3 per cent in FY 2023/24 (April-March), a 0.3 percentage point downward revision from January, the World Bank said Tuesday but noted there is an unexpected resilience in private consumption and investment and robust growth in the services. The World Bank made these points in its latest edition of Global Economic Prospects according to which global growth is projected to decelerate from 3.1 per cent in 2022 to 2.1 per cent in 2023. In Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) other than China, growth is set to slow to 2.9 per cent this year from 4.1 per cent last year. These forecasts reflect broad-based downgrades.
Most airlines have fattened their profits, turned the corner, or cut their losses, except AirAsia India.
By changing the nation's name from India to Bharat, would this landmass overnight lose the emotional and cultural linkage that had been built over generations, centuries and millennia, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Air India Group has started vacating its offices, which are currently being operated from government-owned properties, from this month, as part of its strategy to consolidate workspaces across the country. The loss-making Air India and its international budget arm Air India Express were taken over by the Tata Group on January 27 this year, after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8, last year. Besides these two airlines, Tata Group also holds a majority 51 per cent stake in Vistara, its joint venture airline with Singapore Airlines (SIA), and a 83.67 per cent stake in budget carrier, AirAsia India.
Most of the senior players are set to return to the Indian squad when the national selection committee headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth meet in Capital to pick the team for the Asia cup in Sri Lanka.
The Indian office real estate market, which had recovered significantly in early 2022, began to slow down in the latter half due to macroeconomic problems in the developed world. Rental yields are likely to be stable at best in FY24.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought unity among Asian countries and said they must work as Asians to shape the world and reform the global institutions of governance, including the United Nations.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said India and China will account for half of the global economic growth in 2023, as the multilateral agency retained its growth forecast for Asia's third-largest economy for 2023-24 (FY24). "India remains a bright spot. Together with China, it will account for half of global growth this year, versus just a tenth for the US and euro area combined," the IMF said in its latest update to the biannual World Economic Outlook. Growth in India is set to decline from 6.8 per cent in 2022 (FY23) to 6.1 per cent in 2023 (FY24) before picking up to 6.8 per cent in 2024 (FY25), the global lender said while citing "resilient domestic demand despite external headwinds".
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
Deepening the funding crisis that startups have been witnessing for some time, the October inflows plunged 75 per cent on-year to $3.3 billion across 75 deals, including six large deals worth $2.2 billion, according to an industry report. Exits touched half of the inflows at $1.6 billion across 15 deals in the reporting months, a significant improvement over the previous month which saw just $653 million worth of exits across 24 deals, but 69 per cent lower on-year basis, according to the numbers collated by EY for the Indian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, the umbrella body the PEs and VCs. However, the report said, on a month-on-month basis, the inflows continued to grow, clipping at 60 per cent over the September numbers.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday left for Cambodia to attend the ASEAN and East Asia Summits which will provide an opportunity for India to enhance its economic cooperation against the backdrop of crisis in the western world.
Benchmark BSE Sensex gained 130 points on Friday after gains in index majors Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Tata Steel ahead of the release of inflation and factory output data. Recovering from its early losses, the 30-share BSE index ended 130.18 points or 0.22 per cent higher at 59,462.78 in a range-bound trade. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 39.15 points or 0.22 per cent to close at 17,698.15.
Demonetisation makes its presence felt at the Sonepur cattle fair.
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has been at the forefront of climate action and saving the environment campaigns - whether plogging at a beach in Mahabalipuram in 2019 or wearing a sky-blue 'sadri' jacket to Parliament made of material recycled from plastic bottles. Made by Karur-based sustainable fashion brand EcoLine Clothing (EcoLine), a brand of Shree Renga Polymers, front runner in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle recycling and sustainable textiles in India run by IITians, the company recycles PET bottles and upcycles them into value-added products, such as garments. Three months on, the phone lines of Senthil Sankar, managing partner at Shree Renga Polymers and EcoLine, have been ringing non-stop since the jacket made out of recycled plastic at Karur, Tamil Nadu's textile capital, was worn by the PM to Parliament on February 8.
AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes began talks with bankers to take Asia's number one budget airline private after a plunge in its stock price put $200 million worth of loans borrowed against AirAsia's shares at risk.
As it winds down its retail bank in the country, American lender Citi on Tuesday said it will be hiring 80 bankers in India over the next three years for its commercial banking vertical. The move is part of a plan to hire 350 bankers in Citi Commercial Bank Asia Pacific over the next three years, as per a statement. As per reports, the bank, which had taken a decision to exit the retail banking business in most of the markets globally, is in advanced stage of selling the business in India, with Axis Bank leading the race.
TPG was one of the first global private equity firms to enter Asia, opening a Shanghai office in 1994.
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended over 1 per cent higher on Friday, helped by heavy buying in Infosys and banking stocks amid a rally in global stock markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 684.64 points or 1.20 per cent to settle at 57,919.97. During the day, it rallied 1,199.79 points or 2.09 per cent to 58,435.12.
Be it a terrorist attack, mass tragedy or police verification, this bank can be of great use for security agencies and doctors. Combining Biometric, anthropology and information technology together, Asia's first human DNA Bank has been set up in Biotech Park of Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow.
Equity benchmarks ended modestly higher on Friday after the Reserve Bank raised the key interest rate in an effort to cool stubbornly high inflation and defend the rupee. Continuous foreign fund inflows into the capital markets and softening crude oil prices also helped the bourses regain momentum, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 89.13 points or 0.15 per cent higher at 58,387.93 after facing volatility during the fag-end of trade. During the day, it climbed 350.39 points or 0.60 per cent to 58,649.19. The broader NSE Nifty went up by 15.50 points or 0.09 per cent to finish at 17,397.50.
'Indian equity valuations, although not very expensive, are not cheap either.'
Zee Entertainment last week witnessed shareholder activism that saw an open call for the ouster of promoters and the incumbent management led by Punit Goenka. Besides, Dish TV also faced a similar call earlier this month. The trouble at Zee Entertainment can be gauged from the fact that this is a unique company wherein the promoters own just 3.99 per cent, but fully control the firm.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher by more than half a per cent on Wednesday following buying in IT, financial and oil stocks after the RBI slowed down the pace of interest rate hikes. Ending its two-day slide, the 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded by 377.75 points or 0.63 per cent to close at 60,663.79 with 24 of its constituents posting gains. The broader Nifty of the NSE spurted by 150.20 points or 0.85 per cent to settle at 17,871.70, riding on a rally in Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and HDFC Life.
Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended on a mixed note on Wednesday as the euphoria about the Budget fizzled out, with investors going for profit-taking ahead of the Fed interest rate decision. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 158.18 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 59,708.08 after it trimmed most of the intra-day gains. During the day, it had zoomed 1,223.54 points or 2 per cent to 60,773.44.
The outbreak of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and unprecedented lockdowns in China have roiled its equity market and also that of Hong Kong. After the crisis-hit Sri Lanka, China and Hong Kong are the worst-performing stock markets in Asia on a year-to-date basis.
According to a report by Hong Kong-based human resources consultancy major ECA International released on Wednesday, Mumbai has recorded second highest annual growth of 21 per cent in residential rental after 33 per cent for Singapore in 2007. Mumbai has now become Asia's third and the world's sixth most expensive location to rent a three-bedroom apartment. This makes it costlier than places like Seoul, Singapore, Paris, Shanghai, Dubai, Beijing, St Petersburg and Amsterdam.