Sources said after a meeting of the top Congress leadership at the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the government would explain to Trinamool Congress ministers the circumstances under which these decisions were taken
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi tells Business Standard that foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail will cause job losses and the state doesn't want it. Edited excerpts:
Patience can be rewarding. 'Post-listing, sanity often returns to valuations of newly-listed businesses within six to nine months. Buy then.'
The Walmart chief stated that the values of the two companies were "very much aligned"
It has been waiting in line with other global retailers like Carrefour and TESCO to tap the growing and lucrative Indian market.
In what will be a historic decision, the Union Cabinet is likely to clear a policy paper that seeks to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail trading and 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail on Thursday.
Growing concerns over slower-than-expected margin recovery, amid weak deposit growth have caught HDFC Bank's investors off guard. HDFC Bank's stock on Wednesday plunged nearly 9 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,527 on the BSE after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings in the third quarter (October - December) of the current financial year (Q3FY24). The shares of India's biggest private lender closed at Rs 1,536.9, down 8.46 per cent.
"We will raise Rs 300 crore via bonds of two-, three- and five-year tenures. This will be our maiden bond issuance and is part of our effort to widen funding sources," says Vimal Bhandari, executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), Arka Fincap. The firm, a subsidiary of Kirloskar Oil, is only five years old and small (assets of around Rs 5,000 crore with an "AA" rating), but the response to this float will be closely watched: It would be the first by a non-banking finance company (NBFC) after Mint Road upped the risk weights on bank exposures to them by 25 percentage points. The move by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has caught NBFCs off guard even though the issue had been flagged by Governor Shaktikanta Das with their corner-room occupants (and that of banks) in July and August 2023 - on consumer credit and the dependency on bank borrowings.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said the decision to tweak policy rates was not in his hand as he himself is driven by the situation on the ground. In April, the Reserve Bank in a surprise move hit the pause button and decided to keep the key benchmark policy rate at 6.5 per cent. Prior to it, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was on a rate hiking spree, raising the repo rate by 250 basis points since May 2022.
Indian non-store market set to touch Rs 57,500 crore by the end of the year.
Observing that India has a low foodgrain productivity and inefficient distribution, he said increasing the scale of investments in organised retail is one way to increase productivity and distribution efficiency.
United Progressive Alliance's second largest partner Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday demanded reconsideration of the decision to allow FDI in the multi-brand retail sector and said it would back any opposition-sponsored resolution that may be brought on the issue in Parliament.
"We will oppose the decision of the government both at the Centre and by the state governments. The decision of the government would not only affect our domestic retail sector but would also destroy domestic manufacture because the foreign companies would be able to buy products from other countries and flood our markets with imported goods made available at these retail chains," said a senior BJP leader who is among the policy makers in the party.
Jewellery retailer Damas is mulling quitting India, the world's biggest gold market, drawing curtains on its plans to float a major joint venture and open 100 stores across the subcontinent.
An online company would show a particular price to the customer and then quickly increase the cost after analysing consumer behaviour or detecting any kind of desperation.
Infosys was the only large-cap IT player to report sequential constant currency (cc) revenue growth for the June quarter (1 per cent ), which was ahead of analyst expectations, but the company's sharp downward revision in its growth guidance took most brokerages by surprise. In line with the cut in its FY24 revenue guidance (cc) to 1-3.5 per cent, brokerages have unanimously reduced FY24 EPS estimates for the company in the range of 2-4 per cent, though the Street is likely fearing even further downside, they say. Global brokerages Macquarie and Nomura downgraded Infosys to underperform and reduce ratings, respectively, with the latter cutting the target price to Rs 1210 from Rs 1260.
Among index funds, the most popular products are funds tracking the Nifty 50 and Sensex, says Dwaipayan Bose, and explains the finer points of selecting the right index mutual fund.
Longer-tenure FDs generally give higher returns. Nonetheless, going for a tenure higher than two to three years is not advisable.
Stocks of gold jewellery retailers have been able to retain their sheen in 2023 despite volatile gold prices. Kalyan Jewellers, Titan, PC Jewellers, Thangamayil Jewellery, and Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ) have rallied 21-72 per cent so far since April as compared to a 13 per cent gain in the benchmark Sensex index. The rally gained steam on the back of gold's 6 per cen
Foreign flows into Indian equities are expected to pause in the short to medium term, say analysts. The outlook is influenced by multiple factors, including rising oil prices, actions from global central banks, climbing bond yields, and the dollar index gaining prominence. "Valuations appear rich with the markets at record highs.
Seeking to spur foreign investments, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said the Union Cabinet will decide on raising FDI caps in different sectors in the third week of this month.
The decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investments in multi-brand retail has been put on hold by the government following strong objections from the Opposition and key United Progressive Alliance allies Trinamool Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The meeting came against the backdrop of members of DMK and Trinamool Congress joining opposition in demanding rollback and a discussion in Parliament under an adjournment motion.
'If individual stocks start falling 25% to 30% or more, then I doubt how many of them will be able to withstand that (kind of selloff). That is when you'll see panic coming in.'
The Communist Party of India-Marxist would use "all options" available in the rules of business in Parliament to thwart government's attempts to implement foreign direct investment in retail, even as it welcomed the decision to hold debate on the issue in both Houses under rules entailing voting, a top leader said on Thursday.
SBI Cards and Payment Services reported numbers that met Street expectations in the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year (Q1FY24). The net profit came in at Rs 590 crore, while pre-provision operating profit grew 17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) (a little better than expectations). But provisions were hiked due to surprise stress from pre-Covid-19 period of 2018-19, and that dragged earnings.
Seeking to dismiss reports of differences in NDA over FDI in multi-brand retail, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said it was opposed to the decision in toto and indicated that it will scrap the policy if it comes to power.
Even as the Centre is working overtime to roll out FDI in retail while the real decision might rest with the states, Arvind Singhal, chairman, Technopak Advisors, often referred to as the poster boy of the Indian retail sector, said the so-called big-ticket measure was "not the most important thing"for the sector.
Citing the sharp rise in food prices, economists at a foreign bank have forecast a steeply higher retail inflation print for July, pegging it at 6.7 per cent, up 190 basis points from the previous month. Deutsche Bank India economists led by chief economist Kaushik Das, in a report on Monday ahead of the monthly inflation print and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy review, said that the July consumer price-based inflation index (CPI) is likely to print at 6.7 per cent on-year as against 4.8 per cent in June. The Reserve Bank is widely believed to leave the key interest rates unchanged for the fourth time in its upcoming bi-monthly monetary policy decision on August 10.
The S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 have hit record highs amid the poll outcome-triggered bull frenzy at the bourses. Most analysts feel that the indices are on course to rise further over the next few months - till the general elections - albeit amid intermittent corrections - largely triggered by global developments. Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) win in the three state elections of Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, analysts at Jefferies believe, reinforces the consensus expectations of a Modi win 2024 national elections with a greater likelihood of over 300 seats for the BJP.
This much needed reform will also help the consumer who is hit with an eight per cent inflation in the month of August mainly for food items and we also expect to see quality improved with products delivered to the market place and the farmers getting a bigger share of the pie, INOC (I) said in its statement.
The recent Cabinet decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investment in the multi-brand retail sector in India has deeply divided the nation's political, social and trading classes.
Inflation breached the upper end of the RBI's comfort level of 4 per cent plus-minus two percentage points.
Senior party leader and member of the national executive committee Yogendra Yadav said that the party had over 1.5 million members and it was only the opinion of the party officer bearers and spokespersons that was relevant.
Opposing a government-panel proposal to hike FDI limit in multi-brand retail, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Wednesday said such a move will hurt interest of small traders and mostly benefit large corporates.
During the month, inflation in vegetables shot up to 35.99 per cent, as against 26.10 per cent in October. Likewise, the prices of cereals and eggs grew at a faster pace of 3.71 per cent.
'India has a lot of potential, not just in commercial aspects, but also in hiring of people and sourcing of products.'
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday justified the decisions on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail and some other areas, saying these were aimed at pushing economic growth and generating employment in "difficult times".
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