Market

India has been our best market for investment in the world: Blackstone CEO

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a productive meeting with Blackstone chief executive officer (CEO) Stephen Schwarzman as part of his meetings with the global CEOs for potential investment in India, sources said. Prime Minister Modi said that there is huge scope for further expansion of Blackstone’s partnership in India and elaborated on the reforms done in India, sources said. PM Modi specifically spoke about Asset Monetization and Bad Bank. According to sources, Schwarzman said that he is very optimistic about India’s potential and added that it is one of…

Volkswagen drives in Taigun, eyes 10% share of mid-sized SUV market

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

German auto major Volkswagen (VW) is targeting to corner around 10 per cent of the fast growing mid-sized SUV market in India by next year as it launches its new model Taigun, according to a senior company official. The company on Thursday launched the Taigun at an introductory price range of Rs 10.49-17.49 lakh, to take on the likes of market leader Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. The Taigun is VW’s first product under its India 2.0 project, through which the VW group had in 2018 announced a target of…

Bajaj Finserv market cap nears Rs 3 trillion; stock zooms 228% in 1 year

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Shares of Bajaj Finserv hit a new high of Rs 18,702 as they rallied 6 per cent on the BSE in Thursday’s intra-day trade on the back of heavy volumes. The holding company for the various financial services businesses of the Bajaj Group is set to join elite list companies that have a market capitalization of Rs 3 trillion. At 11:39 am, Bajaj Finserv was up 5.4 per cent at Rs 18,557, with a market cap of Rs 2.96 trillion, the BSE data shows. At the same time, the S&P…

OPEC nations warn of oil market turbulence from gas crisis

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

As the global natural gas crunch hits suppliers and consumers alike, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) nations are warning of the knock-on impact for oil markets. Iraq expects higher demand for crude as the shortfall of gas forces consumers to look for alternative fuels, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said on Wednesday. The head of Nigeria’s state oil firm, Mele Kyari, predicted that petroleum demand could be boosted by 1 million barrels a day, with prices potentially gaining $10 a barrel over the next six months. While the…

Market yet to respond to rate cuts on home loans, share prices unaffected

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

The housing finance majors are trying to create demand during the festive period by cutting interest rates. Mortgage major HDFC has cut its minimum mortgage rate to 6.7 per cent. The NBFC is responding after cuts from State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Punjab National Bank (PNB). Most are offering rates between 6.5 per cent and 6.9 per cent. Every lender is looking at the mortgage market as a relatively safe stream. Mortgage defaults are rare and, at least in theory, a recoverable asset…

ITC regains Rs 3-trillion market cap; stock hits 21-month high

September 23, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

ITC’s market capitalization returned to Rs 3 trillion-mark on Wednesday after the stock of the biggest cigarette and second largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company hit a 21-month high on the bourses. The stock hit an intra-day high of Rs 244.70, up 1 per cent on the BSE today, and was trading at its highest level since December 2019. In the past one week, ITC has outperformed the market by surging 13 per cent on expectations of an improvement in the company’s businesses. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex…

Facebook Portal Go to create market for mobile video-chat device

September 22, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Facebook Inc. introduced a portable version of its Portal video-chat device, looking to provide a more mobile alternative to Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa hardware and other so-called smart speakers. The product, called the Portal Go, has a 10-inch screen, 12-megapixel front camera and speakers. It also has a rechargeable battery so it doesn’t need to stay plugged into a wall, a first for the nearly three-year-old Portal lineup. That suggests the Portal is tiptoeing into the market for Apple Inc.’s iPad and other tablets, but Facebook maintains that the device’s main…

Greater automation may lead to slack in the labor market: Das

September 22, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Need to guard against a post-pandemic ‘digital divide’, cautions RBI Governor A major challenge to inclusiveness post pandemic would come from the fillip to automation provided by the pandemic, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das noted on Wednesday. “Greater automation would lead to overall productivity gain, but it may also lead to slack in the labor market. [This] calls for significant skilling of our workforce,” Mr. Das said, speaking virtually at an annual convention of the All India Manufacturers Association. “We also need to guard against any emergence of…

Semiconductor market may see glut in 2023: IDC

September 22, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Amid severe worldwide shortage of semiconductors, research firm IDC on Wednesday said that the global semiconductor industry will see normalization and balance by the middle of 2022, with a potential for overcapacity in 2023 as larger scale capacity expansions begin to come online towards the end of 2022 . IDC added that it expects the worldwide semiconductor market to grow by 17.3% in 2021 versus 10.8% in 2020. The growth is driven by mobile phones, notebooks, servers, automotive, smart home, gaming, wearables, and Wi-Fi access points, with increased memory pricing.…

US private sector adds 517,000 jobs in March on labor market recovery

September 22, 2021 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑

Private companies in the US added 517,000 jobs in March, indicating continued labor market recovery, payroll data company Automatic Data Processing (ADP) said in a report. The employment growth was mainly in the service-providing sectors, which added 437,000 jobs in the month, according to Wednesday’s report, which was produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. “Job growth in the service sector significantly outpaced its recent monthly average, led with notable increase by the leisure and hospitality industry,” Xinhua news agency quoted Nela Richardson, chief economist of…