QBiz: Inflation Crosses RBI’s Tolerance Level, Telcos War and More
Read the top business headlines from the country in QBiz.
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1. Inflation Breaches RBI’s Tolerance Level: Livemint
Only days after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hinted upside risks to the inflation target, the country’s retail inflation breached the upper tolerance level of 6 percent, which was set jointly by the government and the central bank.
According to data released on Friday, this has happened for the first time in 23 months in July.
Rising food prices despite better-than-expected monsoon resulted in an acceleration in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 5.77 percent in June to 6.07 percent in July.
Source: Livemint
2. Contrasting Fortunes for Grasim, Nuvo Stock: ET
After the Aditya Birla Group announced the merger of its companies AB Nuvo and Grasim, leading brokerages expressed concern on Friday over the corporate restructuring move. Shares of the two companies, however, enjoyed contrasting fortunes.
While AB Nuvo shares sharply tumbled, Grasim’s investors enjoyed a recovery of its shares after two days of losses.
Source: The Economic Times
3. Telcos Rapped for Voicing Displeasure with TRAI: ET
In an attempt to put an end to a raging battle in the telecom sector, the Centre on Friday rapped India’s leading telecom companies for making their dispute with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) public.
TRAI was accused of adopting “unfair policies” towards new entrants by the Cellular Operators Association of India. Telecom minister Manoj Sinha assured that the government does not work with any “biased.”
Talking about the same, an official said:
4. SC Lifts Ban on Sale of Diesel cars in Delhi, Imposes 1% Green Cess: Livemint
In what came as good news for automobile manufacturers, the Supreme Court on Friday lifted an eight-month-old ban on the registration of large Diesel vehicles in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR).
The apex court, however, made it mandatory on manufacturers to pay a levy for polluting the city’s air. Automobile makers would have to pay a “levy equal to 1 percent of the ex-showroom price of diesel vehicles with an engine capacity above 2000cc,” it said.
Source: Livemint
5. Goldman Sachs-Led Consortium to Invest $220 m in Essel Highways: ET
In one of the largest fundraising exercise in the sector, a Goldman Sachs-led consortium of investors is all set to to invest $220 million in Essel Highways, Subhash Chandra-controlled Essel Group’s, through a structured debt transaction.
The company said that the funds will be used to “finance new projects and strategic acquisitions.” Goldman, which is also the lead investor, has already pumped in an initial $85 million, in exchange for debentures.
Source: The Economic Times
6. Indian Stocks Climb to Erase Weekly Decline as Lenders Advance: BQ
As overseas investors extended their purchases of local assets, Indian stocks on Friday climbed up on the markets, with the benchmark gauge erasing a disappointing weekly decline.
While the country’s largest lender, State Bank of India surged to an eight-month high, Axis Bank Ltd. rallied to a one-year high and ICICI Bank Ltd. rose for a second day. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Tata Motors Ltd. were among the top performers on the S&P BSE Sensex.
Source: BloombergQuint
7. SBI Q1 Profit Falls 32% on Higher Provisions: Livemint
State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday reported that its net profit for the quarter that ended on 30 June fell 31.73 percent from a year ago on account of higher provisions. Profits dropped from Rs 3,692.43 crore last year to to Rs 2,520.96 this quarter.
This happened despite the fact that rise in fresh NPAs (non-performing asset) was down significantly from the January-March period. The bank reported a Rs.1 trillion gross NPA number for this quarter.
Source: Livemint
8. Cipla Names Samina Vajiralli as Executive Vice Chairman, Umang Vhora as Global CEO: BQ
Cipla Ltd. on Friday announced Samina Vaziralli as the Executive Vice Chairman of the company. Vaziralli was the Executive Director and Head of Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions at the company after she joined five years ago.
As Subhanu Saxena steps down on 31 August, the company also named Umang Vohra, currently the Chief Operating Officer at the company, as Global CEO and Managing Director.
Source: BloombergQuint
9. Myntra Buys Majority Stake in Hrithik Roshan’s Fashion Brand HRX: Livemint
In a move to strengthen its private brands businesses, Flipkart-owned Myntra acquired a majority stake in actor Hrithik Roshan’s fashion brand HRX. The quantum of the stake or the cost of the acquisition was not specified.
Source: Livemint
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