Spiralling prices pinched the pocket of consumer as edible oil, fuel and many other commodities turned dearer this year amid pandemic-induced disruptions but the inflationary pressure is anticipated to ease, though marginally, in the coming months. As consumers, at retail as well as wholesale levels, are willy-nilly learning to live with the new normal of curbs to contain the spread of coronavirus infections, experts are of the view that elevated inflation is likely to stay longer. After dealing with the devastating blows from the second COVID wave, especially during the April-June period, the economy is well on the revival path but the emergence of Omicron might unsettle the recovery trajectory in the short term.
Come October, life insurers may have to tighten their underwriting standards further for retail term plans at the behest of one of the largest reinsurers in the Indian insurance market, Munich Re. According to a source aware of the development, "Munich Re has been studying long-term mortality trends for the past few years, and has suggested some tightening in the underwriting process." "As far as financial underwriting is concerned, the reinsurer has suggested that insurers should ask for additional documents. "For example, apart from income proof, they can ask for bank statements of the prospective customer before issuing policies," added the source.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out Rs 17,696 crore from the Indian markets in December so far amid uncertainty due to a new coronavirus strain, Omicron, and expectations of faster tapering by the US Federal Reserve. According to the depositories data, FPIs took out Rs 13,470 crore from equities, Rs 4,066 crore from the debt segment and Rs 160 crore from hybrid instruments between December 1-17. In November, FPIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,521 crore in Indian markets.
'We were taking the Starbucks experience from the store to the home.'
Despite the demonetisation of 2016 and the rise in digital transactions that followed, the economy's dependence on cash has remained as high as ever. So when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced a pilot project of its version of digital cash - called the central bank digital currency (CBDC) - on December 1, many questions were asked. Can the CBDC replace physical cash, even partially? Can it match cash in terms of convenience? Are CBDC transactions truly anonymous?
The Chinese dependence is far from over, industry players are also citing a shortage of electronic toys in the country.
PepsiCo has tie-ups with KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Burger King, and Subway in India, while Coca-Cola has a partnership with McDonald's only
Immunity boosting foods and drinks. Sustainable fashion. Beauty products with natural ingredients. There was always a market for these, and the pandemic has only made it bigger. Within beauty, brands have recorded a greater demand for ayurveda products.
'We plan to touch Rs 1 trillion of Amul brand's turnover in the next five years.'
ITC Ltd on Friday reported a 23.09 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,070.09 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022, helped by growth momentum across its operating segments. The diversified company had posted a net profit of Rs 4,118.80 crore during the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal, ITC said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations was up 3.56 per cent to Rs 19,020.65 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 18,365.80 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
'Strong regulations are crucial for the orderly development of the market.'
In the early part of 1800, a 30-acre plot next to Fort Gloster on the banks of river Hooghly in Howrah district of Bengal was the nerve centre of industrial activity; it housed India's first steam-powered cotton mill, Bowreah Mills, which was set up by a British merchant and went on to become a hub of factories - a rum distillery, foundry, cotton yarn factory, an oil mill and a paper mill, et al. Spearheaded by Dwarkanath Tagore, the industrialist grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore, the commercial complex was possibly the first of its kind in the country. Close to 200 years later, after much ebb and flow of history, the hub is set for a resurgence of sorts.
The Chinese smartphone maker's focus on offline retail has helped it overtake Samsung in top 50 cities in India.
India's manufacturing sector activities improved in September as companies benefited from strengthening demand conditions amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, a monthly survey said on Friday. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) improved from 52.3 in August to 53.7 in September, indicating a stronger expansion in overall business conditions across the sector. The September PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the third straight month. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
Sustaining positive momentum for the 14th straight month, equity mutual funds attracted a net sum of Rs 15,890 crore in April amid heightened volatility in stock market and consistent selling by foreign portfolio investors. This was much lower compared to a record net inflow of Rs 28,463 crore seen in the preceding month, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Tuesday. The lower quantum of net inflow from the previous month could be attributed to investors going slightly cautious given the ongoing challenges to the investment environment, Himanshu Srivastava, associate director - manager research, Morningstar India, said.
India's services sector activities improved further and expanded at strongest rate in over 11 years in May, supported by a substantial pick-up in new business growth, even as input cost inflation climbed to a record high, a monthly survey said on Friday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index jumped to 58.9 in May, up from 57.9 in April, amid better underlying demand and strong inflows of new work. For the tenth straight month, the services sector witnessed an expansion in output.
L&T Housing Finance on Thursday announced selling L&T Investment Management (LTIM) to HSBC Asset Management (India) at $425 million. LTIM is the investment manager of the mutual fund business of L&T. The divestment of the mutual fund business is in line with the strategic objective of L&T Finance Holdings of unlocking value from its subsidiaries to strengthen its balance sheet, it stated in a press release. The data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) shows L&T Mutual Fund (MF) has average assets under management (AAUM) worth Rs 78,273.80 crore, while HSBC MF has AAUM of Rs 11,314.32 crore as in the July-September quarter.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Women of Big Bazaar SOS group said: "Future Retail and Reliance had entered into an arrangement through which Future's retail stores will continue to be operated by Reliance. Reliance has also committed to clear all debts and dues owed by Future Retail to suppliers and vendors."
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.
'It is requested that listed equity shares or units of equity-oriented fund schemes be exempted from capital gains tax (LTCG) if equity shares or mutual funds units are held for at least three years.'
A single format and simpler, uniform rules would have kept the service going. In other parts of the world including in the US, managing demand and capacities along with ensuring preventive measures were an issue, but there was hardly any administrative hurdle anywhere.
The cooking oil national industry body -- Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) of India has suggested immediate initiation of government to government (G2G) dialogue with Indonesia on the proposed palm oil export ban from April 28 by them as it would have an adverse repercussions in India. Indonesia, which is the world's largest producer of palm oil and meets nearly 50 per cent of the total palm oil requirement in India annually, had announced to ban exports till further notice apparently to contain edible oil prices in their domestic market. "We have suggested our government initiate dialogue with Indonesian counterparts at the highest diplomatic level on the cooking oil export ban.
'The heart is to honour all who have been struck by Covid and the map signifies that as a country, we can win this together.'
Passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales rose to 184,134 units last month against 85,733 units in May this year as the COVID-19 situation improved across the country. According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), which collected vehicle registration data from 1,295 out of the 1,498 regional transport offices (RTOs), two-wheeler sales rose to 930,324 units last month as compared to 410,757 units in May.
Retail investors seem to have dipped into their mutual fund savings to meet pre-festival spending. According to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), investors pulled out Rs 6,578 crore from their systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts in September, the highest in the last 11 months. The redemptions were on the higher side during the previous festive season as well.
India's services sector activity expanded at the second-fastest pace in more than a decade during November, driven by sustained rise in new work and improvement in market conditions, a monthly survey said on Friday. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index was at 58.1 in November, fractionally down from 58.4 in October. The November figure points to the second-fastest rise in output since July 2011. For the fourth straight month, the services sector witnessed an expansion in output.
Continuing their selling spree for the sixth consecutive month, foreign investors pulled out a massive Rs 41,000 crore from the Indian equity market in March on anticipation of rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and deteriorating geopolitical environment amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Further, flows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are expected to remain volatile in the near term given the headwinds in terms of elevated crude prices and inflation, experts said. According to data available with the depositories, FPIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 41,123 crore in the equity market last month.
Systematic investment plans (SIPs) of mutual funds (MFs) have seen a spike in demand with new registrations touching a five-year high already this year. Around 19.5 million new SIPs have been registered till December end, as against 14.1 million in the whole of financial year 2020-21 (FY21). Market participants say increasing investor awareness and positive experiences have spurred this increase.
Roles ranging from digital marketing to wealth management are some of the emerging roles, notes Sekhar Garisa, CEO, foundit, a job search app.
Besides Jeff Bezos-led Amazon, Walmart-owned Flipkart is also facing a threat from Asia's richest man and RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, who is also betting big to grab a share of the country's e-commerce market.
Continuing their massive selling spree for the ninth consecutive month, foreign investors dumped Indian shares worth Rs 50,203 crore in June -- the highest net outflow in over two years -- amid aggressive rate hike by the US Federal Reserve, elevated inflation and relatively higher valuation of domestic equities. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have now pulled out around Rs 2.2 lakh crore from domestic equities in the first six months of 2022 -- the highest-ever net withdrawal by them. Before that, FPIs withdrew Rs 52,987 crore in the entire 2008, data with depositories showed.
Continuing its heavy selling spree for the eighth consecutive month, foreign investors pulled out nearly Rs 40,000 crore from the Indian equity market in May on fears of an aggressive rate hike by US Federal Reserve that dented investor sentiments. With this, net outflow by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from equities reached at Rs 1.69 lakh crore so far in 2022, data with depositories showed. Going ahead, FPI flows will remain volatile in the emerging markets on account of rising geo-political risk, rising inflation, tightening of monetary policy by central banks, among others, Shrikant Chouhan, Head - Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities said.
Despite various challenges, the past year was a good one, says Bruce Cleaver, chief executive officer of the De Beers Group, the global corporation that has been the leading one in all aspects of the diamond trade for over a century.
With infrastructure claiming a larger share, movement and distribution of cement is bound to change.
The country's leading automakers Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor reported a decline in dispatches to dealers in March as shortage of electronic components impacted production. On the other hand, Tata Motors, Skoda and Kia India posted their highest ever monthly wholesales last month. Toyota Kirloskar Motor said its dispatches in March were the highest in the last five years while Mahindra & Mahindra also reported a robust increase in its passenger vehicle dispatches in March.
The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index rose from 45.4 in July to 56.7 in August, as the reopening of several establishments and increased consumer footfall boosted sales. The services sector witnessed the first expansion in output in four months and a rebound in business confidence.
But there are challenges, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
286 dealers closed down in 18 months, 32,000 jobs impacted. Maharashtra leads with 84 closures, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi. The worst-hit is the passenger car segment.
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