Market regulatory SEBI (Representative image: Reuters)
The Indian market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is currently investigating allegations made by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group, a conglomerate headquartered in India that deals in ports-to-power businesses.
Bloomberg reported on February 28 that the SEBI is examining both parties' accusations, but has not yet found any irregularities, according to insiders familiar with the situation. As of the time of the initial report, no official statement had been issued by the SEBI.
The SEBI is scrutinizing the compliance of Adani Group's listed firms and all aspects of trading in their shares, according to the insiders. However, they emphasized that the SEBI's actions should not be construed as a formal investigation.
Adani Group and Hindenburg Research did not react to the report so far.
Notably, nine listed entities of Adani have cumulatively lost over Rs 12 lakh crore since January 24, when Hindenburg released a report alleging "stocks manipulation" and "accounting fraud" by the company.
In response, the Adani Group had accused Hindenburg of committing a "calculated securities fraud", and that its report was "an ulterior motive" to "create a false market".
"This is not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India," the Gautam Adani-led company had said.
Hindenburg, undeterred by the charges, challenged the Adani Group to initiate a legal battle against it. “Regarding the company’s threats of legal action, to be clear, we would welcome it. We fully stand by our report and believe any legal action taken against us would be meritless," the short-seller had tweeted.
Mumbai: Market regulator on Tuesday issued interim orders in a case of alleged front-running at Axis Mutual fund, while issuing show cause orders to the mutual fund and related entities.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) directed that 21 entities be barred from the capital markets until further orders.
It identified Rs 3050 lakh ($3.7 million) as wrongful gains accrued due to the alleged front-running activities and directed that this amount be impounded from the entities. SEBI has not passed any directions against the fund house and its operations will not be impacted by it.
The regulator conducted a probe in a case of front running in trades of Axis Mutual Fund between September 2021 and March 31, 2022. Front running is a market malpractice of trading in securities ahead of large client orders for personal gains.
"Viresh Joshi, the then chief dealer of Axis MF, was observed to have traded in different securities ahead of the impending orders placed on behalf of the big client (Axis Mutual Fund)," SEBI said in the order.
Email queries sent to the fund house by Reuters and text message sent to Joshi's cell number were not immediately answered.
The regulator alleged Joshi conceived a 'fraudulent scheme' in 'collusion' with other 'unscrupulous entities' to front run trades of Axis MF. SEBI in its order concluded that it was Joshi, working as the head dealer, who had the discretion to decide as to when the orders of Axis MF would be placed. Further front-running trades were executed from trading accounts of the entities and persons indirectly connected to Joshi.
Shares of Vedanta slumped 9% in intraday trade on Tuesday amid negative investor sentiments and heavy volumes. As many as 30 million shares changed hands on the NSE so far today.
The stock was trading at Rs 268.40 apiece on NSE, down 6.59% from the previous day's close. In the last five days, the stock has lost 12%.
Sentiments were muted on the stock after the government opposed Vedanta's proposal to sell its international zinc business to Hindustan Zinc for $2.98 billion over valuation concerns.
The government has threatened to take legal action to stop the sale of the Africa-based assets to Hindustan Zinc, in which it holds a 29.54% stake. The opposition to the deal comes as a blow to billionaire Anil Agarwal's plans to trim down the mining giant's $7.7 billion net debt.
Hindustan Zinc in January agreed to buy THL Zinc Mauritius from its parent, Vedanta, for $2.98 billion in phases over 18 months. Vedanta holds a 64.92% stake in Hindustan Zinc, an integrated producer of zinc, lead and silver.
Earlier this month, S&P Global Ratings stated that Vedanta's credit ratings might "come under pressure" if it is unable to raise $2 billion and/or sell its international zinc assets.
Vedanta Resources had earlier said it had slashed net debt by $2 billion in the last 11 months to $7.7 billion.Hindustan Zinc CEO Arun Misra had said last week that the company is planning to get in touch with the mines ministry to resolve the differences over the acquisition of overseas assets of holding company Vedanta.
Vedanta's sale of its zinc assets in South Africa and Namibia to Hindustan Zinc is critical to ensuring liquidity at parent company Vedanta Resources.
Analysts have said the deal was unfavourable to Hindustan Zinc's minority shareholders on valuations.
"Vedanta has broken important support levels like 320, and 280. The next support level comes in at 247. Having said that, it is oversold in huge volumes today. A corrective bounce cannot be ruled out sometime down the line, but the technical setup is (13:52) for not only Vedanta, but the entire metals pack," Hemen Kapadia of KRChoksey Securities said.
"So honestly I would stay away. If I were to trade, there will be a very strict stop loss and also looking at the stock at sub-250 sometime down the line. I would not be surprised if we are at 220 a couple of months down the line," Kapadia added.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
In the April-June quarter, GDP growth stood at 13.5 percent.
For Q3FY23, experts predict moderation in the growth momentum as the economic activity in the quarter remained distinctly uneven. Although, among key sectors, agriculture is likely to see reasonable improvement.
Here’s what experts say:
India's economic growth likely slowed to 4.7% in the December quarter from 6.3% in the preceding three months, according to the median of estimates by 20 economists polled by Mint.
Radhika Rao, an economist at DBS Bank, said the growth data, due for release on 28 February, 2023, is likely to point to “further strengthening in the growth momentum".
“Our mix of high-frequency data points to a sequential improvement in the quarter, even as y-o-y growth is set to moderate on base effects," said Radhika Rao, an economist at DBS Bank.
With continued uncertainties on the global front and sticky core inflation trends, the growth prospects in the coming quarters are not very encouraging, said Jyoti Prakash Gadia, Managing Director at Resurgent India, pegging the Q3FY23 GDP growth rate in the range of 4% to 4.5 %.
She said that globally various agencies are predicting a downward revision of the growth projections for most of the major economies which will also impact India.
“Although agriculture is expected to perform reasonably, the overall demand growth is not adequate and as a result, the Q3 growth rate of GDP is expected to be lower in the range of 4% to 4.5 %. While the overall full-year growth prospects are converging towards 6.5 % to 7.%, the Q3 and Q4 rates are also likely to be impacted by the 'Base Effect ', thereby resulting in growth expectations. The next financial year may, however, bode well on the GDP front with positive outcomes of infrastructure and logistics development being emphasized by the Government," said Jyoti Prakash Gadia, Managing Director at Resurgent India.
ICRA has projected the year-on-year (YoY) growth of GDP in Q3 FY2023 at 5.1%, a base effect-led moderation from the 6.3% recorded in Q2 FY2023. However, the growth in GDP over the pre-Covid levels is expected to improve further to 11.6% in Q3 FY2023 relative to the 7.6% seen in the previous quarter, boosted by continued recovery in the services sector, it said.
“Economic activity in Q3 FY2023 remained distinctly uneven, amid the upsides offered by the robust demand for contact-intensive services and upbeat sentiment during the festive season. Trends in Government spending were disparate, with a healthy revenue spending by the Government of India (GoI) amid a base effect led contraction in its capital spending. Similarly, while the services sector exports posted a sharp 25% YoY expansion, non-oil merchandise exports contracted by 8.2% in the same quarter. The advance estimates of kharif production, too, indicate a mixed trend in crop output, with a YoY rise in sugarcane, cotton, coarse cereals and oilseeds, and a decline in rice and pulses. Amid continuing input price pressures for certain sectors, we project the GDP growth in Q3 FY2023 at 5.1%," said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, Head-Research & Outreach, ICRA Ltd.
The yearly rise in gross value added (GVA) at basic prices (at constant 2011-12 prices) is anticipated to moderate to 4.9% in Q3 FY2023 from 5.6% in Q2 FY2023.
While the growth in the services sector would display a base-effect led moderation (to +7.4% from +9.3%, respectively), it would outpace the rise in agriculture, forestry and fishing (+4.0% in Q3 FY2023) and industry (+1.0% in Q3 FY2023), ICRA noted.
“The YoY performance of 12 of the 14 high frequency indicators of the services sector expectedly worsened in Q3 FY2023 relative to Q2 FY2023, on a normalising base, even as some contact-intensive sectors saw their performance recovering close to the pre-Covid levels in Q3 FY2023. The YoY growth of the combined revenue expenditure of 22 state governments, for which data is available[1], eased to 5.4% in Q3 FY2023 from 15.9% in Q2 FY2023. However, led by higher release of subsidies, especially to the fertiliser sector, the GoI’s non-interest revenue expenditure expanded by 13.4% in Q3 FY2023 after having contracted by 1.4% in Q2 FY2023. Overall, ICRA projects the GVA growth of the services sector at 7.4% in Q3 FY2023," said ICRA.
Investment activity was buoyant in Q3 FY2023, with an improved performance of several investment-related indicators relative to Q2 FY2023, such as the output of capital goods (to +8.8% from +6.9%) and infrastructure/construction goods (to +7.3% from +5.3%) and the value of new project announcements (to a three-quarter high of Rs. 6.6 trillion in Q3 FY2023 from Rs. 4.4 trillion in Q2 FY2023).
While the aggregate capital outlay of the aforesaid 22 state governments rose by 7.8% YoY during Q3 FY2023, the absolute rise was small (Rs. 85 billion). In contrast, the GoI’s capex contracted by 9.4% YoY in Q3 FY2023 (+42.4% in Q2 FY2023), partly on account of a high base related to Air India’s equity infusion in December 2021 (Rs. 0.6 trillion).
ICRA estimates the industrial GVA to have reverted to a YoY growth of ~1.0% in Q3 FY2023 after the mild 0.8% contraction seen in Q2 FY2023, aided by an improvement in all the four sub-sectors, namely manufacturing (to -3.0% from -4.3%), mining and quarrying (to +5.0% from -2.8%), electricity, gas, water supply and other utilities (to +7.0% from +5.6%) and construction (to +7.0% from +6.6%). Manufacturing volumes in Q3 FY2023 were partly constrained by the ongoing slowdown in external demand and lag in domestic demand for consumer durables relative to pre-Covid levels, as seen in the decline in output for segments such as textiles, leather products, electrical equipment, etc. Nevertheless, the demand for other goods such as automobiles was robust during the festive season. Some sectors continued to witness margin pressure in Q3 FY2023, with commodity prices appreciably higher than the year-ago levels, which is likely to have weighed on GVA growth.
Based on the mixed trend in the production of kharif crops indicated in the 2nd Advance Estimates for FY2023, ICRA estimates the agri-GVA growth at 4.0% for Q3 FY2023, a slight downtick from the 4.5-4.6% seen in the previous two quarters.
The RBI had projected the real GDP growth for 2022-23 at 6.8 per cent, and for the third quarter at 4.4 per cent.
In December last year, Bernard Arnault, CEO of the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton, dethroned the Tesla and Twitter CEO from the top rank. Mr Musk was at the second spot for more than two months. According to Bloomberg, a surge in Tesla stock has sent Mr Musk back to the top of the Billionaires Index.
According to the estimates, as of Monday, after the markets closed, Mr Musk's net worth was approximately $187.1 billion, surpassing Mr Arnault's $185.3 billion fortune.
However, Tesla chief's net worth fell by over $200 billion between November and December last year, which was regarded as one of the largest losses of wealth in recent history.
The rapid decrease in the value of Tesla shares at the time caused the sudden crash. The company had its worst year ever on Wall Street last year, losing $700 billion because of investor apprehensions regarding the effects of Covid-19 in China and Mr Musk's contentious takeover of Twitter.
Amid all this, the Twitter CEO is making cost cuts at his newly acquired company for which he spent $44 billion. He had tweeted in November that the microblogging site was losing nearly $4 million a day.
Recently, Twitter announced its eighth round of layoffs and more than 50 people were fired by Mr Musk-led administration. This comes after the billionaire cut more than 3,700 jobs at Twitter or half of the company's workforce, a move to drive down costs following his acquisition.
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Angered by Zomato’s move to raise its commissions by a few percentage points, restaurants are looking to launch a massive pushback against the food delivery company.
The food delivery company has recently started to re-negotiate its terms with many restaurants across cities as it tries to increase its take rates and improve profitability in a low-growth environment, according to people close to developments.
Sources say that Zomato’s premise for approaching the eateries has been that the commissions were kept lower till this point to help them tide over pandemic blues and help new-to-online restaurants make the transition to food delivery. For these reasons, it had offered rates that were 4-6 percentage points lower than competitor Swiggy in many cases.
However, restaurant owners are not ready to buy such arguments.
“Any contract is exclusively between two parties. If Zomato wants to revise its rates upwards for some restaurants where it is lower than Swiggy, is it also open to revise downwards in cases it is may be higher than Swiggy?,” said the owner of a Mumbai-based restaurant.
“If they are not ready to do it both ways, then this move smacks of cartelisation. We may have to take a legal recourse once again,” he added.
To be sure, Zomato and Swiggy do not offer uniform rates to restaurants. The structure of commission may be in the broad range of 15-30 percent based on the volume of orders, average order values, strength of a restaurant brand in its category and what services it is availing of, among other things.
“It is not as if restaurants are earning a lot of money and many are still trying to make up for the hardships suffered during the pandemic,” said a Bengaluru-based restaurateur.
“It is certainly not feasible if aggregators suddenly raise rates now and there will definitely be a major pushback against it. Some have also been given subtle warnings that if the new rates are not accepted, it might hurt their discovery on the platform,” he added.
According to a source close to the developments, Zomato is planning to have the re-negotiation of terms over the next month. It is hoping to convince more restaurants to avail of its B2B grocery service Hyperpure and advertisement service which will bring down the effective commission rate from the eateries’ point of view.
At the end of the December quarter, Zomato had 209,000 active restaurants listed on its platform, compared to 191,000 a year earlier.
"We keep reconsidering our commissions to make sure they are competitive and sustainable for restaurant partners as well as Zomato," said a Zomato Spokesperson in response to queries on the matter.
Air India's CEO Campbell Wilson on Monday said that Air India's order for a record 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing will be at a list price of $70 billion.The airline plans to fund the deal with internal cash flow, equity and sale and leaseback, Wilson added. Air India has "enormous" potential and efforts are on to make the group a significant international player," Campbell further added."We have committed to a historic order of new aircraft that will start entering the fleet from the end of this year through the end of the decade, to both transform the fleet and power significant network and capacity expansion," Wilson said.
On the integration of Vistara with Air India Wilson said the process is underway and is now awaiting approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).The integration of Air India Express and AIX Connect, earlier known as AirAsia India, is also underway.
Air India has enormous potential and unprecedented opportunities. The group is working on becoming a significant international player, he said.
On February 14, Air India announced placing an order for 470 planes, including 70 wide-body aircraft.
Wilson said the funding would be through a combination of various sources.
Air India had, earlier this month, announced provisional deals for 220 planes from Boeing and 250 from Airbus in an order that would eclipse previous records for an order by a single carrier.
The airline plans to fund the order with a combination of resources, including internal cash flow, shareholder equity and sale-and-leaseback of aircraft, Wilson told reporters at a press conference.Out of the firm order for 470 planes, 250 are from Airbus and 220 from Boeing. "We don't have a timeline... will evaluate the market," Wilson said with respect to exercising the option to purchase another 370 planes.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said,"Before 2014, when Air India was discussed, it often used to be for negative news. During the Congres rule, Air India was known for scams, as a loss-incurring business model. Today, Air India is taking a new flight before the world in the form of India's new capability."
Such tools will help improve the productivity of the work, said the TCS official.(Representational)
Mumbai:
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) feels generative artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT will create an "AI co-worker" and not replace jobs.
Milind Lakkad, the chief human resources officer (CHRO) of the country's largest IT services firm that employs over 6 lakh people said such tools will help improve productivity, but not change the business models for companies.
"..it (generative AI) will be a co-worker. It will be a co-worker and that co-worker will take time for them to understand the context of the customer," Mr Lakkad said in an interview with PTI recently.
The context for a job to be executed will be industry and customer-centric, which will continue to come from the human who is being assisted in tasks by such a co-worker, Lakkad explained.
"It is not that jobs will get replaced, but the job definitions will change," he added in the comments which will assuage concerns about future of jobs in the sector which is one of the biggest recruiters of engineering talent in the country.
The introduction of platforms like ChatGPT has led to concerns on whether a trained human is needed at all to deliver the work which a technology company offers to clients. Already, there are examples of entire codes being generated through such platforms. One of the reasons for massive layoffs by big tech companies across the world is being attributed to the emergence of such intuitive platforms.
Mr Lakkad said the context in which a particular customer works is extremely important, and the need to differentiate its offerings from competition makes it essential for a customer to keep on evolving continuously.
The amount of work to be done by a human being versus the generative AI platforms will vary as per industry as well, he said.
If anything, it will reduce the need for managerial talent but the demand for workers lower down the hierarchy will continue as they will get crucial skills on the context front, he said.
"It's (generative AI) a good thing to happen for the future, but I think it will be collaboration rather than replacement," Mr Lakkad said, adding that the emergence of such tools will not change the business models.
Such tools will help improve the productivity, consistency of the work which gets delivered and reduce the need for governance, up the pace of delivery and reduce the need for peripheral functions, he said.
TCS is using such inputs in "some pockets" already, Mr Lakkad said, adding that a lot of the work will happen in these areas going forward and the entire picture will get clear only in two years' time.
There will be changes in training which will take place as a result, Mr Lakkad said, adding that the company pays a lot of attention to this aspect and typically plans in advance for requirements of the future.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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The country's largest airline IndiGo is looking at various options, including slowing down redeliveries through lease extensions, exploring the re-induction of aircraft into the fleet, and evaluating the wet lease options within the regulatory guidelines.
While the global supply chain issues continue, especially in the wake of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engine problems have been there for quite sometime. Few months back, senior civil aviation ministry officials also had discussions with the engine maker on ways to improve the supply situation.
A senior government official told PTI that there are at least 25 aircraft each of IndiGo and Go First that are on the ground due to P&W engine problems, and the engine maker is not able to ensure timely deliveries on account of supply chain disruptions.
However, according to flight tracking website flightradar24.com, as many as 39 aircraft of IndiGo, comprising 28 A320 neo and 11 A321 were on ground as on February 26.
Against the backdrop of continuing engine woes, a senior official at one of the budget carriers on the condition of anonymity told PTI that there is also a thought of changing the engine supplier for its next order to overcome the persistent problems with P&W engines.
When asked for comments about the grounding of at least 50 planes of the two carriers and steps taken to address the issues, a P&W spokesperson said it expects the "pressures to begin to ease later this year" but did not mention about the number of aircraft that have been impacted.
"Like many in the industry, we are experiencing global supply chain challenges, which are limiting the availability of structural castings and other parts and we are working mitigation strategies with our supply base and expanding MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) network capacity.
"At the same time, we're continuing upgrades to extend engine time on wing," the spokesperson said.
IndiGo has more than 300 planes in its fleet and has two engine suppliers -- P&W and CFM -- while Go First has around 61 aircraft and P&W is its lone engine supplier.
An IndiGo spokesperson said the airline is actively engaged with its Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partners to work on mitigation measures that should ensure the continuity of network and operations.
"We continue to receive new aircraft and also a supply of refreshed engines, albeit slower than what are required. Some of the other measures being evaluated include slowing down redeliveries through lease extensions, exploring the reinduction of aircraft into the fleet, and evaluating the wet lease options within the regulatory guidelines," the spokesperson said.
In an interview with PTI earlier this month, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said it is basically a stable situation with respect to AOG (Aircraft On Ground).
"We have stabilised the supply chain situation and we are talking with suppliers to have a good support in dealing with it. We have extended the leases, we have the wet lease...
"For the current fiscal year ending March, we have anticipated 17 per cent growth, probably we will end up at the high range of that number. That is a number speaking about the size and ambition of IndiGo," he had said.
Queries sent to Go First remained unanswered.
A source at the no-frills carrier said that 25 aircraft are on the ground out of the current fleet strength of 61. The airline expects deliveries of three planes as well as 17 P&W engines in March, the source added.
Earlier this month, Tata Group-owned Air India placed an order for 470 planes with Airbus and Boeing. However, P&W has not been chosen to supply engines for any of these aircraft and the engines are to be supplied by GE Aerospace, CFM and Rolls Royce.
The spokesperson for IndiGo, which operates around 1,800 flights daily, said that while the supply chain issues represent a constraint, they have not halted its growth. "We are bullish on the market opportunities and will continue to add flights in existing and new geographies in future".
Recently, aviation consultancy CAPA said that in recent months, there have been numerous cases of aircraft deliveries being delayed where the airframe was ready but engines were not available due to supply chain issues.
"The incidence of such cases is expected to ease by the end of FY2024," it said in a report.
India is the fastest growing as well as the third largest civil aviation market in the world, and the domestic air traffic is witnessing a robust recovery.
"India is an important market for us, and we continue to pursue opportunities here," the P&W spokesperson said.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) feels generative artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT will create an "AI co-worker" and not replace jobs.
Milind Lakkad, the chief human resources officer (CHRO) of the country's largest IT services firm that employs over 6 lakh people said such tools will help improve productivity, but not change the business models for companies.
"..it (generative AI) will be a co-worker. It will be a co-worker and that co-worker will take time for them to understand the context of the customer," Lakkad said in an interview with PTI recently.
The context for a job to be executed will be industry and customer-centric, which will continue to come from the human who is being assisted in tasks by such a co-worker, Lakkad explained.
"It is not that jobs will get replaced, but the job definitions will change," he added in the comments which will assuage concerns about future of jobs in the sector which is one of the biggest recruiters of engineering talent in the country.
The introduction of platforms like ChatGPT has led to concerns on whether a trained human is needed at all to deliver the work which a technology company offers to clients. Already, there are examples of entire codes being generated through such platforms. One of the reasons for massive layoffs by big tech companies across the world is being attributed to the emergence of such intuitive platforms.
Discover the stories of your interest
Lakkad said the context in which a particular customer works is extremely important, and the need to differentiate its offerings from competition makes it essential for a customer to keep on evolving continuously. The amount of work to be done by a human being versus the generative AI platforms will vary as per industry as well, he said.
If anything, it will reduce the need for managerial talent but the demand for workers lower down the hierarchy will continue as they will get crucial skills on the context front, he said.
"It's (generative AI) a good thing to happen for the future, but I think it will be collaboration rather than replacement," Lakkad said, adding that the emergence of such tools will not change the business models.
Such tools will help improve the productivity, consistency of the work which gets delivered and reduce the need for governance, up the pace of delivery and reduce the need for peripheral functions, he said.
TCS is using such inputs in "some pockets" already, Lakkad said, adding that a lot of the work will happen in these areas going forward and the entire picture will get clear only in two years' time.
There will be changes in training which will take place as a result, Lakkad said, adding that the company pays a lot of attention to this aspect and typically plans in advance for requirements of the future.
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The market valuation of nine of the top 10 companies in the Indian stock exchange declined last week amid the rout in Adani Group shares.
The valuation of nine firms eroded by ₹1,87,808.26 with HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries taking the biggest hit.
The valuation of the HDFC Bank declined by ₹37,848.16 crore to ₹8,86,070.99 crore at close on Friday. Whereas the market valuation of Reliance Industries (RIL) fell by ₹36,567.46 crore to ₹16,14,109.66 crore.
Besides, valuation of the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) tumbled ₹36,444.15 crore to ₹12,44,095.76 crore and that of HDFC tanked ₹20,871.15 crore to ₹4,71,365.94 crore.
ICICI Bank's m-cap dipped by ₹15,765.56 crore to ₹5,86,154.58 crore, and State Bank of India (SBI) valuation tanked by ₹₹8,879.98 crore to ₹4,64,927.66 crore.
Infosys' m-cap plunged by ₹13,465.86 crore to ₹6,52,862.70 crore. Bharti Airtel's mcap dipped by ₹10,729.2 crore to ₹4,22,034.05 crore.
The valuation of Hindustan Unilever slipped ₹7,236.74 crore to ₹5,83,697.21 crore.
However, ITC was the only company whose market valuation increased last week. ITC added ₹2,143.73 crore taking its mcap to ₹4,77,910.85 crore.
On Friday (24 February), benchmark indices ended lower on Friday in line with weak trends in Asian markets and concerns that the US Federal Reserve might raise interest rates further to curb inflation.
The BSE Sensex declined 141.87 points or 0.24% on Friday to settle at 59,463.93 despite a firm start.
The NSE Nifty dipped 45.45 points or 0.26% to end at 17,465.80.
Besides, the majority of the Adani Group firms continued to remain weak on Friday. The stock of Adani Transmission fell 5%, Adani Green Energy slipped 5%, Adani Total Gas (5%), and Adani Enterprises (4.98%) on the BSE.
Shares of Adani Power dipped by 4.98%, NDTV dropped by 4.05% and Adani Wilmar went lower by 3.35%.
Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the exchanges after US-based short seller Hindenburg Research last month made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, against it.
All ten firm of the Adani Group has together lost ₹12,03,901.43 crore in market valuation since the US short-seller came out with its report on 24 January.
Know your inner investorDo you have the nerves of steel or do you get insomniac over your investments? Let’s define your investment approach.
The market valuation of nine of the top 10 companies in the Indian stock exchange declined last week amid the rout in Adani Group shares.
The valuation of nine firms eroded by ₹1,87,808.26 with HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries taking the biggest hit.
The valuation of the HDFC Bank declined by ₹37,848.16 crore to ₹8,86,070.99 crore at close on Friday. Whereas the market valuation of Reliance Industries (RIL) fell by ₹36,567.46 crore to ₹16,14,109.66 crore.
Besides, valuation of the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) tumbled ₹36,444.15 crore to ₹12,44,095.76 crore and that of HDFC tanked ₹20,871.15 crore to ₹4,71,365.94 crore.
ICICI Bank's m-cap dipped by ₹15,765.56 crore to ₹5,86,154.58 crore, and State Bank of India (SBI) valuation tanked by ₹₹8,879.98 crore to ₹4,64,927.66 crore.
Infosys' m-cap plunged by ₹13,465.86 crore to ₹6,52,862.70 crore. Bharti Airtel's mcap dipped by ₹10,729.2 crore to ₹4,22,034.05 crore.
The valuation of Hindustan Unilever slipped ₹7,236.74 crore to ₹5,83,697.21 crore.
However, ITC was the only company whose market valuation increased last week. ITC added ₹2,143.73 crore taking its mcap to ₹4,77,910.85 crore.
On Friday (24 February), benchmark indices ended lower on Friday in line with weak trends in Asian markets and concerns that the US Federal Reserve might raise interest rates further to curb inflation.
The BSE Sensex declined 141.87 points or 0.24% on Friday to settle at 59,463.93 despite a firm start.
The NSE Nifty dipped 45.45 points or 0.26% to end at 17,465.80.
Besides, the majority of the Adani Group firms continued to remain weak on Friday. The stock of Adani Transmission fell 5%, Adani Green Energy slipped 5%, Adani Total Gas (5%), and Adani Enterprises (4.98%) on the BSE.
Shares of Adani Power dipped by 4.98%, NDTV dropped by 4.05% and Adani Wilmar went lower by 3.35%.
Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the exchanges after US-based short seller Hindenburg Research last month made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, against it.
All ten firm of the Adani Group has together lost ₹12,03,901.43 crore in market valuation since the US short-seller came out with its report on 24 January.
Know your inner investorDo you have the nerves of steel or do you get insomniac over your investments? Let’s define your investment approach.
The 2023 Harrier starts at Rs 15 lakh and the 2023 Safari starts at Rs 15.65 Lakh ex-showroom
Tata Motors has launched the 2023 Tata Harrier and Safari with the much-anticipated ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems), six airbags, a 360-degree parking camera, etc. The regular variants of the 2023 Tata Harrier range from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 24.07 lakh, while the Safari retails from Rs 15.65 lakh to Rs 25.01 lakh.
Tata’s implementation of ADAS consists of Forward Collission Warning that alerts you using audio-visual means, Automatic Emergency Braking that applies brakes automatically if required, watches out for traffic signs such as speed limits, no overtaking etc. High beam assist automatically switches from high beam to low beam when oncoming vehicles are detected. Other features are Lane Change Alert, Door Open Alert, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Collission Warning.
The regular variants of the 2023 Tata Harrier range from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 24.07 lakh ex-showroom, while the Safari retails from Rs 15.65 lakh to Rs 25.01 lakh. Both vehicles have a 2.0-litre diesel engine that’s compliant with BS6 phase-2 RDE norms. It offers 167 bhp and 350 Nm of peak torque, with either a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission.
The new Harrier also comes with a 360-degree camera, ADAS, a new 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a new fully digital instrument cluster, and a six-way power adjustable driver seat with memory and welcome function.
There are also other features such as a panoramic sunroof, ventilated front seats, wireless charging, auto-dimming IRVM, all-wheel disc brakes, EPB, iRA connected car technology, six airbags, drive modes, terrain modes, cruise control, an air purifier, automatic climate control, and more than 200 voice commands in six languages.
If you’re in the market for a mid-size SUV, the 2023 Tata Harrier and Safari are definitely worth considering. The Harrier’s rivals include the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, MG Astor, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Volkswagen Taigun, and Skoda Kushaq.
(Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:) Inc on Saturday reported its highest-ever annual operating profit, even as foreign currency losses and lower gains from investments caused fourth-quarter profit to fall.
Buffett called 2022 a "good year" for Berkshire in his annual shareholder letter after the conglomerate's dozens of businesses generated $30.8 billion of profit despite rising inflation and supply chain disruptions, including from the war in Ukraine.
Berkshire also bulked up its cash hoard, ending the year with $128.6 billion.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate sold about $16.3 billion of stocks in the fourth quarter and found better value repurchasing its own shares, buying back $2.6 billion in the quarter and $7.9 billion for all of 2022.
Berkshire shareholders "trust us to treat their money as we do our own," Buffett said in his letter. "And that is a promise we can make."
Quarterly operating profit fell 8% to $6.71 billion, or $4,596 per Class A share, from $7.29 billion.
Results included about $1.2 billion of currency losses and more underwriting losses at the car insurer Geico, which has struggled more than some rivals with accident claims and properly pricing policies to reflect risk.
Profit also fell at the BNSF railroad, while Berkshire generated more profit from its energy businesses and more income from its insurance investments as interest rates rose.
Quarterly net income fell 54% to $18.16 billion, or $12,412 per Class A share, from $39.65 billion, or $26,690 per share, a year earlier.
For all of 2022, Berkshire lost $22.82 billion, largely because of losses in its $308.8 billion common stock portfolio.
Buffett considers net income a misleading performance measure because it includes gains and losses from stock holdings such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:), regardless of what Berkshire buys or sells.
A dearth of new investments helps explain how Berkshire boosted its cash stake despite having spent $11.5 billion in the fourth quarter to buy the insurance company Alleghany (NYSE:) Corp.
That purchase helped Berkshire boost insurance "float," which reflects premiums collected up front before claims are paid and help fund growth, 12% last year to $164.1 billion.
"We're delighted to see the growth in float," said Thomas Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Quinn who helps invest $8 billion, about 17% of which is in Berkshire stock. "Buffett often describes float as more important than cash."
Berkshire also spent $8.2 billion on Jan. 31 to boost its stake in truck stop operator Pilot Travel Centers to 80% from 38.6%.
Berkshire's share price rose 4% in 2022, far outpacing the which fell 18% including dividends, and reflecting Berkshire's status as a defensive investment in rocky markets.
The shares have fallen 1.5% in 2023, while the index is up 3.4%.
Between May 2022 and February 2023, Air India hired over 1,900 cabin crew.
New Delhi:
Air India announced today that it will hire over 900 pilots and 4,200 cabin crew trainees in 2023 as part of its big expansion plan.
Earlier this month, the Tata-owned airlines had announced that it has signed multi-billion dollar deals with France's Airbus and American plane-maker Boeing to buy 470 passenger aircraft in the largest shopping event in commercial aviation history. The price for the entire 470-aircraft deal would be between $70 and $80 billion.
It has already announced plans to lease 36 aircraft of which two Boeing 777-200LR have already joined the fleet.
The cabin crew will be recruited from around the country and will undergo a 15-week training program. Between May 2022 and February 2023, Air India hired over 1,900 cabin crew.
"With a sizeable aircraft order that was announced earlier in the month, more flights on international and domestic networks, and re-alignment of domestic routes with AIX connect, cabin crew will play a decisive role in shaping the present and future of the Air India group. Addition of fresh talent will also accelerate the pace of cultural transformation at Air India, which is an integral part of our Vihaan.AI transformation program. We are also looking to step up hiring of more pilots and maintenance engineers," said Sandeep Verma, head of Air India's inflight services.
To cope with India's growing air traffic, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday said that the aviation body will undergo extensive upgradation.
"We have already discussed the expansion plan to upgrade and strengthen DGCA. We are also planning to open six new regional offices in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Agartala, Amritsar, Nagpur, and Dehradun," said Arun Kumar, Director General of DGCA, as quoted by news agency ANI.
The DGCA is also recruiting additional staff to boost regulatory oversight, Mr Kumar said.
NR Narayana Murthy has some advice for young professionals.
NR Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys, is not an advocate of remote work. Neither does he condone moonlighting -- holding dual jobs.
At the Asia Economic Dialogue in Pune on February 23, he spoke about the need to build an honest work culture, emphasising that "laziness" had to dealt with.
He added that there was only a "small section" of hardworking and honest people in India.
"By and large this is not the predominant nature," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Murthy had some advice for young professionals
"Please don't fall into this trap of I will moonlight, I will do work from home, I will come to office three days in a week," the tech leader said.
Work modes have become a divisive topic in the COVID-19 era. With infections waning, many employers are mandating return to offices. Others want to give staff the flexibility to work however they want, but in most places, attending office at least two days a week has become compulsory.
Other topics that have been the subject of heated discussions are trends like moonlighting -- secretly holding a second job in addition to one's full-time role.
In India, one of the most vocal opponents of this practice has been Wipro's Rishad Premji. He had described moonlighting as "cheating" in one of his tweets in 2022.
Wipro had also sacked 300 employees for moonlighting with a rival company.
Infosys had also told employees it won't accept moonlighting. In an email to staff, the company said it would amount of a violation of employment agreements, which could lead to termination.
Purchases of daily groceries and essentials rose 2.4% in the October-December period, halting a five-quarter run of declines in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment. The quantity of FMCG goods bought, or volumes, went up 1.3%in rural markets and 3.6% in cities from a year earlier, when both had fallen, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel, a global consumer research firm owned by communications and advertising giant WPP.
The pace is lower than in the December quarter of 2020 when urban volumes rose 4.4% and rural expanded 6.6%, indicating only a partial revival. "We are seeing early signs of recovery in rural markets," said Neeraj Khatri, chief executive, Wipro Consumer Care, India and Saarc.
Growth to be price-led: FMCG cos
"Recovery is better in the south and west markets and started in the October-December quarter, but we have to wait for the March quarter to understand if it sustains."
Kantar tracks household consumption and also has a higher number of items from the unorganised end of the business, unlike NielsenIQ and companies' earnings data that take into account sales to retailers and distributors.
"The data indicates to us that there is a turnaround happening," said K Ramakrishnan, South Asia managing director of Kantar. "Urban is poised for a turnaround barring any rude shocks at the macro level. There are expectations of a bumper wheat harvest in 2023, and as such even rural could see better growth rates than what it was seeing till now."
However, NOAA, the US government's weather agency, has indicated the possibility of an El Nino year.
In the December quarter, growth in the broader FMCG market was across categories, with personal care expanding 4.8% and food and beverage (F&B) growing 2.5% despite a slowdown in atta.
"If you look at the last six months, every month there was a sort of a sequential decline, which has now gotten arrested. We are coming out of that worst high level of inflation," Marico managing director Saugata Gupta said on an investor call on February 3. "I am not saying it's going to be a hockey stick recovery but a gradual one. But the worst of commodity inflation and volatility is over."
A few key commodities such as palm oil have softened as year-on-year inflation is moderating gradually from the peak, but prices of some items such as milk, barley and soda ash have gone up again. As a result, companies saw people downtrading to lower-priced products, a trend that could taper off now. Most firms also said growth will continue to be price-led as volumes are likely to remain under pressure.
Apart from imposing a monetary penalty, the CCI had also directed Google to cease and desist from participating in anti-competitive practices and directed it to modify its conduct within a defined timeline.
The Commission examined various practices of Google in relation to licensing of the Android mobile operating system and several of its mobile applications such as the Play Store, Google Search, Google Chrome, YouTube etc.
Based on its assessment, the Commission found Google to be dominant in all the relevant markets.
The competition watchdog said that Google's multiple agreements governing the rights and obligations of smart device OEMs result in a significant competitive to the US tech giant.
The underlying objective of Google in imposing various restrictions the agreements was to protect and strengthen its dominant position in general search services, and thus, its revenues via search advertisements, the Commission concluded.
It added that the markets should be allowed to compete on merits and the onus was on the dominant players to show that its conduct does not impinge this competition on merits.
"By virtue of the agreements discussed above, Google ensured that users continue to use its search services on mobile devices which facilitated un-interrupted growth of advertisement revenue for Google," it had held.
Google does not exclude third party browsers; CCI levied ₹1,337 crore fine without analysis or reason: Google to NCLAT - Bar & Bench - Indian Legal News Read More
The NSE has got the greenlight from the capital markets regulator to launch its Social Stock Exchange, the bourse said in a release today.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had given an in-principle approval to National Stock Exchange (NSE) for setting up the exchange last December.
The idea of a social stock exchange was first mooted in the Union Budget 2019-20 to enable entities involved in social activities such as charitable trusts and non-profit organisations (NPO) to access the capital market for funds.
NPOs and even for-profit social enterprises (FPE) will need to register on the exchange and mobilise funds through instruments such as zero coupon zero principal (ZCZP) through a public offering or even a private placement.
"For eligible NPOs, the first step for onboarding starts with the registration on the Social Stock Exchange segment. Post registration, NPOs can initiate the fund mobilisation process by issuance of instruments such as Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) via a public issue or private placement," the NSE said in a statement.
"To bring in awareness, we have been conducting various events and hand-holding social enterprises currently at various stages of onboarding on the exchange," it said.
The minimum issue size stands at Rs 1 crore now and the minimum application size for subscription is Rs 2,00,000. Subscription to such issues would be considered as philanthropic.
The idea of social stock exchange gained currency during the pandemic in the wake of growing need for capital for social enterprises at reasonable cost.
A framework for the Social Stock Exchange was provided by a working group constituted by the Sebi. Enterprises will have to be engaged in 16 broad areas of social activity prescribed by the working group to qualify for listing on the exchange.
Corporate foundations, trade associations, political and religious organisations, infrastructure companies are not eligible to list on social stock exchange.
At a time when tech companies are cutting costs to increase their profitability, e-commerce major Flipkart has decided to restrict annual increment of salaries to only 70 percent of its employees, which means that around 5,000 of its senior staff won’t get any hikes this year.
It was communicated to employees through an email on February 22 that those who are at Grade 10 and above levels won't get any hikes. However, bonus payouts and employee stock option allotments are on track as planned for the employees of the Walmart-owned company, according to a person aware of the developments.
While the company’s annual appraisals have been completed, the increments are due to kick in from April 1.
“Given the current macroeconomic situation, we want to be prudent in managing our resources while keeping our employees’ best interests in mind. In line with this, about 70 percent of our employee base will continue to get an increase in their compensation,” Flipkart said in a statement.
“Additionally, our stock option allocation and bonus exercise will continue as is for those who are eligible. We stay committed to enhancing value for all our employees through employee-centric policies, continued skilling and training programs, regular promotion cycles, wealth creation for ESOP holders, and enhanced benefits, including medical insurance,” it said.
Moneycontrol had reported earlier that Flipkart will buy back employee stock options worth about $700 million from employees as a part of its move to separate full ownership of payments and financial services unicorn PhonePe, as the e-commerce giant looks to hire and retain talent at a time when most startups in the country are undertaking layoffs due to the ongoing funding winter.
This massive payout is expected to take place in the next few months after the paperwork for the separation of Flipkart and PhonePe is completed, according to people close to the developments.
One of the highlights of Walmart in the quarter ending January (Q4) was that its international business saw operating income drop 72 percent in constant currency terms to $300 million, primarily due to the re-organisation of Flipkart and PhonePe as separate businesses.
Flipkart’s contribution margin is positive and continues to expand and it accounts for a large portion of Walmart's international e-commerce sales, top executives of the US retail major said in an earnings call on earlier this week.
They also said that the Indian e-commerce marketplace is benefitting from investments in infrastructure made in the last three years and riding on India’s strong economic prospects.
In the past few months, tech giants like Amazon and Google have decided to lay off 18,000 and 12,000 employees to focus on profitability. Moreover, unicorns like Byju’s, Sharechat, Swiggy, Zomato and others have also cumulatively let go thousands of tech workers as they try to prune costs and restructure their businesses in a tough macro environment.
The merger between media behemoths Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. and Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. has come to a standstill after the insolvency court admitted Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. to insolvency on Wednesday.
According to IBC, once a company is admitted to insolvency, moratorium kicks in barring any transfer of assets.
Options available with Zee Entertainment are meager, Ajay Shaw, partner at DSK Legal, told BQ Prime. The only way Zee can go ahead with the merger would be to get the insolvency petition withdrawn, he said.
Besides Section 12A that allows for withdrawal of an insolvency application, the only other option available with Zee is to get an order setting aside the admission from the appellate tribunal, Divyanshu Pandey, partner at S&R Associates, said. "Although the chances are slim, it does have a slight chance to succeed owing to Vidarbha Industries judgment," he said.
In this case, the apex court concluded that Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code does not aim to penalise solvent companies, which have temporarily defaulted on payment of its financial debts. And that NCLTs have discretion in admitting insolvency applications.
The bigger question, according to Pandey, is if Sony will be willing to wait while Zee goes through the appeal or settlement process.
Punit Goenka, chief executive officer of Zee Entertainment, told BQ Prime that the company is committed to conclude the merger.
In August last year, Zee had approached the NCLT seeking approval for its merger with Sony. Its board of directors approved the scheme in December 2022, and 90% of the secured creditors had given the company a no-objection-certificate for the merger. Basis this, the tribunal had dispensed with the requirement of creditors' meet under company law.
Zee currently owes 90% of its secured debt to two major secured creditors, HDFC Bank Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. However, the debt is minor, totaling less than Rs 33 crore as on Dec. 31, 2021.
The merger application is currently in at the second stage before the NCLT. It will be taken up on March 9. In the second stage of mergers, the court decides the date for the final hearing and disseminates the information to all the stakeholders through a public notice. Any objections against the merger are also invited at this stage.
In the last hearing, the court was unable to move ahead with the process on account of objections from major creditors of Zee, including Axis Finance Ltd., IndusInd Bank Ltd., IDBI Bank Ltd., and IPRS.
Besides NCLT, all necessary regulatory approvals—including the approval of the Competition Commission of India—has been granted for the merger.
NEW DELHI: The crisis in Adani Group stocks deepened further on Wednesday, with all 10 stocks from billionaire Gautam Adani's empire under selling pressure. Today's loss in market valuation was worth around Rs 40,000 crore.
Since the release of the Hindenburg report on January 25, the combined market capitalisation of all 10 Adani stocks have so far lost around Rs 11.5 lakh crore to Rs 7.69 lakh crore. In less than a month, Adani stocks have lost 60% of their value.
Wall Street short-seller Hindenburg Research had warned against price manipulation and accounting fraud by the group. Market regulator Sebi, which is already probing allegations made against the Adani Group, has now sought details of all ratings of local loans and securities of group companies from credit rating firms.
Sebi told rating companies last week to share information, which would include all outstanding ratings, outlook, and possible updates from any discussions with officials of the business group, according to a report in ET.
Under fire from several quarters in the aftermath of the Hindenburg report, Adani has been trying to soothe investor nerves by prepaying loans and focusing on cash conservation.
Adani Transmission has told investors that it will announce debt refinancing plans in a few weeks, while Adani Ports plans to prepay Rs 1,000 crore in commercial papers maturing in March.In a 106-page long report on January 25, Hindenburg alleged that Adani was pulling the largest con in corporate history with a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme. Adani Group, in its defence, has described all allegations as "a calculated attack on India".
In a compendium filed with exchanges, the conglomerate said it has “no material refinancing risk and near-term liquidity requirement as there is no near-term significant debt maturity.” Citing rating affirmation from international and domestic rating agencies, it also said: “signifies the underlying credit quality with an adequate financial profile.”
