Agriculture ministry ask states to desist from giving bonuses above MSP

The ministry of agriculture has asked state governments to desist from giving bonuses above the minimum support price of food grains. The move comes after Chattishgarh and Madhya Pradesh governments announced a bonus above the MSP. MSP is the price at which the government buys grain from farmers. According to ministry officials at the Centre, such bonus distorts the procurement process and leads to more losses for the Food Corporation of India, especially at a time when food prices are moderating due to a downside in global food prices. The Centre has said that procurement of food grains will be less in states that offer bonuses above the MSP. FCI has to pay taxes apart from the MSP and bonus, thereby making losses in the procurement process. This has resulted in higher subsidies for the government. The ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution has also created a committee to recommend ways to restructure FCI and reduce the functional and cost inefficiencies in the organization. Restructuring FCI will primarily entail separating the procurement, storage and distribution activities of FCI to reduce wastage. It will also suggest measures, within three months, to reorient FCI’s role in minimum support price (MSP) operations and look into efficient storage models, low-cost options of moving grains and upgrading of technology.

Asian markets ended mostly in red on Thursday

Asian markets ended mostly in red on Thursday, with Japanese stock rising as yen fell to a seven-year low against the dollar after minutes of the Federal Reserve highlighted a divergence in global monetary policy. In China, the flow of data was again disappointing as an early reading on HSBC/Markit’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a drop to a six-month low of 50.0 in November, from 50.4 in October. A cooling property sector, erratic foreign demand and overcapacity have weighed on its manufacturers and the broader economy this year despite a steady stream of stimulus measures. China’s annual growth slowed to 7.3% in the third quarter, leaving 2014 on track to be slowest in 24 years. Japanese exports grew in October at the fastest pace in eight months, an encouraging sign that global demand could help the country recover from recession and support the central bank’s optimistic economic outlook. The 9.6% annual rise in exports in October was more than double the 4.5% gain expected. Japan’s trade balance rose to a seasonally adjusted -0.98T, from -1.07T in the preceding month. In another sign that the world’s third-largest economy is regaining its footing, a private flash survey showed that factory output grew in November at the fastest pace since March.

Asian Indices	Last Trade	Change in Points	Change in %
Shanghai Composite	2452.66	1.67	0.07
Hang Seng	23349.64	-23.67	-0.10
Jakarta Composite	5093.57	-34.37	-0.67
KLSE Composite	1822.29	-2.10	-0.12
Nikkei 225	17300.86	12.11	0.07
Straits Times	3315.60	-18.96	-0.57
KOSPI Composite	1958.04	-8.83	-0.45
Taiwan Weighted	9078.87	115.63	1.29

Apollo Hospitals rises on buzz of inking pact with Fiji National University

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise is currently trading at Rs 1237.35, up by 30.35 points or 2.51% from its previous closing of Rs 1207.00 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs 1205.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs 1242.75 and Rs 1205.00 respectively. So far 16903 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1219.55 on 27-Aug-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 817.00 on 19-Dec-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1215.80 and Rs. 1091.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 17220.22 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 34.35% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 45.79% and 19.11% respectively.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise has reportedly entered into agreement with Fiji National University for healthcare collaboration. The agreement is for developing healthcare infrastructure in Fiji and providing better access to high quality care for the people of Fiji using telemedicine facilities. It also facilitates patients to be referred to Apollo Hospitals for serious ailments.

A clinic with outpatient specialist consultation services, diabetes management services and diagnostic facility will be established under the agreement.

Apollo Hospitals is the leading private sector healthcare provider in Asia and owns and manages a network of speciality hospitals and clinics, a chain of Pharmacy retail outlets across the country, and provides Consultancy Services for commissioning and managing the Speciality Hospitals.

NTPC to raise $500 million through Notes issue

NTPC has launched an issue of $500 million Fixed Rate Unsecured Notes due 2024 which were priced on November 19, 2014. The Notes carry a coupon of 4.375% p.a. payable semi-annually and are of 10 years tenor. The Notes are expected to be settled by November 26, 2014. The Notes represent unsecured obligations of the Issuer and will rank pari passu with all its other existing and future unsubordinated obligations. The Notes will be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The proceeds will be used for capital expenditure purposes in accordance with the RBI guidelines and regulations. NTPC is the largest power generating company in the country. It has also diversified into hydro power, coal mining, power equipment manufacturing, oil & gas exploration, power trading & distribution.

Pradeep Metals gains on plan to install 2.1 MW Wind Power Plant for captive use

Pradeep Metals is currently trading at Rs 60.50, up by 0.90 points or 1.51% from its previous closing of Rs 59.60 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 62.60 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 62.60 and Rs. 58.00 respectively. So far 8094 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'B ' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 65.00 on 18-Nov-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 14.35 on 26-Nov-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 65.00 and Rs. 47.50 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 105.26 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 67.38% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 0.08% and 32.54% respectively. Pradeep Metals has received an approval to install 2.1 MW Wind Power Plant for captive use at project cost of about Rs 14 crore and invest about Rs 16.80 crore in a joint venture (JV) to be formed in USA for acquiring a CNC Machine Shop. These will be financed from permissible bank loans and internal accruals. The board of directors at their meeting held on November 12, 2014 has approved for the same. Pradeep Metals is engaged in manufacturing of forgings for the defence, automobile, engineering and petrochemical industries, both for domestic and international markets.

Tata Motors aims to treble commercial vehicle exports by 2018-19

Tata Motors, the country's largest automaker by revenues, is aiming to treble its commercial vehicles exports by 2018-19. The company, which currently exports products to markets, including Middle East and Africa, is planning to increase despatches to existing and new markets to achieve the target.

Meanwhile, the company is expecting a major push in various markets, including Russia and the ASEAN regions. At present, the company is exporting trucks, buses, pick-up truck Xenon XT and mini truck Ace to various markets overseas. The company is also planning to start exporting its light commercial vehicle 'Ultra' next year.

Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, is the leader in commercial vehicles in each segment, and among the top in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. It is also the world's fourth largest truck and bus manufacturer.

Tech Mahindra surges on launching internal social networking site

Tech Mahindra is currently trading at Rs. 2653.00, up by 26.90 points or 1.02% from its previous closing of Rs. 2626.10 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 2650.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 2659.95 and Rs. 2624.65 respectively. So far 19240 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 2690.00 on 14-Nov-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1643.30 on 21-Nov-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 2690.00 and Rs. 2573.10 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 62429.80 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 35.99% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 50.27% and 13.74% respectively. Tech Mahindra has launched an internal social networking site, to aid communication and collaboration with its nearly 1 lakh employees, and is looking to pitch the platform to customers in the next few months. Enterprise social networking has boomed over the last few years, as companies look to gain the benefits of internal collaboration without the danger of proprietary information being leaked onto public social networking platforms. Tech Mahindra’s move mirrors that of Tata Consultancy Services, which built its internal social networking platform called ‘Knome’, and is also marketing it to clients. Tech Mahindra is a leading provider of solutions and services to the telecommunications industry with a majority stake owned by Mahindra & Mahindra. The company, since 2002 has operations in China with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou.

Crude oil futures trade lower on weak Asian cues

Crude oil futures traded lower on MCX as speculators reduced exposures amid a weak trend in Asian trade. The sentiments weakened further as the dealers anticipating Gulf members of the OPEC cartel to reject production cuts unless they are guaranteed market shares. The contract for December delivery was trading Rs 4665.00, down by 0.38% or Rs 18.00 from its previous closing of Rs 4683.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 16711.00 lots. The contract for January delivery was trading at Rs 4699.00, down by 0.38% or Rs 18.00 from its previous closing of Rs 4717.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 1133.00 lots on MCX.

OTC trade data of government securities as on Nov 19

As per the OTC data of Nov 19, 8.40% GS 2024, maturing on 28-Jul-2024 was in maximum demand with 20 number of trades and total volume of Rs 820.00 crore, at last traded price of Rs 101.55 and last traded YTM of Rs 8.16. Followed it was,8.60% GS 2028, maturing on 02-Jun-2028 with 17 trades of total volume Rs 671.00 crore, at last traded price of 102.88 and last traded YTM of Rs 8.24.

Ramco Systems shines on entering into partnership with TrustSphere

Ramco Systems is currently trading at Rs. 441.00, up by 16.55 points or 3.90% from its previous closing of Rs. 424.45 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 426.90 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 441.85 and Rs. 426.90 respectively. So far 517 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 530.25 on 09-Sep-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 108.37 on 20-Nov-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 449.95 and Rs. 415.10 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 1071.64 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 69.64% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 6.32% and 24.05% respectively.

Ramco Systems, a leading Human Capital Management (HCM) IT solutions provider, has entered into partnership with TrustSphere. Ramco will add TrustSphere's analytics tools, which allow rich insights on staff behaviour without breaching privacy, to its suite of services for HCM clients to improve HR management with the ease of cloud-based mobile applications.

Ramco's HCM solution is already used by many multinational corporations to manage talent, benefits and payroll. The partnership with TrustSphere will allow clients access to detailed visual maps of relationships within the organisation, between staff and customers and partners.

Ramco Systems is a leading software company focused on consulting, product and managed services business. The company focuses on providing innovative business solutions that can be delivered quickly and cost-effectively in complex environments.

State Bank of India trades higher on the bourses

State Bank of India (SBI) is currently trading at Rs. 296.00, up by 4.86 points or 1.67% from its previous closing of Rs. 291.14 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 294.40 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 298.70 and Rs. 291.05 respectively. So far 2083910 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 298.70 on 20-Nov-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 145.60 on 14-Feb-2014.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 298.70 and Rs. 269.59 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 220910.98 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 58.60% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 31.25% and 8.03% respectively.

State Bank of India (SBI), the nation’s biggest lender, has launched a new customer facility ‘Easy Collect’ as a pilot project at its Bandra-Kurla Complex branch. This new facility enables collection of the correct amount of premium from policyholders and real-time remittance of the same to SBI Life Insurance Company. The Policy holders can also get receipts for the cash / cheque payment.

SBI has registered 30.54% jump in its net profit at Rs 3100.41 crore for second quarter ended September 30, 2014 as compared to Rs 2375.01 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the bank has increased 12.46% at Rs 41833.36 crore for Q2FY15 as compared Rs 37199.92 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.

MCX eyeing to launch new agri-commodities contracts

Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), the country’s largest commodity exchange, is planning to launch some more agri-commodities contracts by end of this financial year. The exchange currently offers future contracts in six agri-commodities-- crude palm oil, kapasia khalli, kapas, cotton, mentha oil and cardamom. It is eyeing to start contracts in at least one new agri-commdity by end of current fiscal.

The total turnover of exchange in current fiscal so far, stood at Rs 30.66 lakh crore out of which Rs 29.95 lakh crore was from non-agri commodities while remaining Rs 71,268.7 crore was contributed from agri-commodities.

In non-agri commodities, the exchange offers contracts in gold, silver, aluminium, copper, lead, nickel, zinc. Besides these, the exchange also offers contracts in crude oil and gas.

OECD ups India’s growth outlook; lower inflation forecasts

In an encouraging development for the country, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pointed that economy is coming out of its worst slowdown in a quarter-century and implementation of new reforms held the key for putting the economy on a strong and sustainable growth path of 8%.

The Paris-based think-tank pegged India’s growth rate, which languished at below 5% for the last two fiscal due to high interest rates, stubborn inflation and weak investment to grow by 6.6% in 2015-16, up from its last forecast of 5.7% growth in May and to edge higher to 6.8% in 2016-17.

It, however, emphasized to achieve 8% growth rate, the economy would have to undertake sweeping reform measures, like switching subsidy spending to social and physical infrastructure, bringing in tax reforms, cleaning up the banking system to free up funds for infrastructure and reducing structural barriers for job creation by bringing in labour reforms among other things.

The Paris-based think-tank also pushed for early implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) to improve public finances and also stressed on the need for India to improve the quality of its fiscal consolidation both by the Centre and the states.

In yet another positive, the OECD, in its latest forecast, pegged inflation to fall to 5.4% in 2015-16 and nudge higher to 5.6% the following fiscal year, after 6.9% in 2014-2015. In May, it forecast that inflation would remain above 6 percent over the next few years.

Notably, OECD in its key recommendations suggested that India to Improve the macroeconomic framework by introducing flexible inflation targeting, pursuing fiscal consolidation and implementing a national value-added tax and strengthening banking oversight. OECD also added that it could boost manufacturing jobs by simplifying labour laws, improving access to education, accelerating approvals for infrastructure projects and improving the business climate.

Ranbaxy Laboratories trades with traction on the bourses

Ranbaxy Laboratories is currently trading at Rs. 619.35, up by 16.70 points or 2.77% from its previous closing of Rs. 602.65 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 596.65 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 625.00 and Rs. 587.00 respectively. So far 382460 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 697.50 on 10-Nov-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 306.05 on 27-Jan-2014.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 686.00 and Rs. 596.60 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 26425.42 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 63.37% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 21.49% and 13.73% respectively.

Ranbaxy Laboratories has filed a complaint against the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in D.C. federal court and has also asked the Court for a temporary restraining order to prevent any further action by USFDA until Ranbaxy’s case is decided. The pharma major has filed a complaint following, and in response to, the revocation of Ranbaxy’s tentative approvals for Ranbaxy’s ANDAs for esomeprazole magnesium delayed-release capsules and valganciclovir hydrochloride tablets.

Earlier this month, the USFDA withdrew its decision to grant tentative approvals to Ranbaxy for the two generic drugs citing the compliance status of Ranbaxy production facilities. The regulator had stated that its original decisions were in error because it found Ranbaxy’s plants at the time were not compliant with the regulatory norms.

Ranbaxy Laboratories is an integrated, research based, international pharmaceutical company producing a wide range of quality, affordable generic medicines, trusted by healthcare professionals and patients across geographies.

KDDL’s arm opens showroom in Mumbai

KDDL’s subsidiary company - Ethos has opened its showroom at Linking Road, Khar, Mumbai. This store is a Rado Boutique and has been set up in collaboration with the Swatch Group. The store area is about 905 square feet and will exclusively retail watches and accessories of the prestigious ‘Rado’ brand. KDDL, formerly known as Kamla Dials and Devices, established in 1988 is a diverse company focusing on the business of Watches and Precision Engineering.

Rupee hits nine month low on state owned bank’s dollar demand for making Iran payments

Indian rupee extending its depreciating streak for sixth straight session, weakened to nine-month low level on Thursday, tracking dollar’s strength against the basket of other major currencies, while weak local equities also weighed on the sentiment. Additionally, state owned bank’s dollar demand for Iran payments also added to negative milieu. However, Indian currency recovery from day’s low level, which was 62.25/$ level reportedly on the back of RBI’s intervention. On the global front, dollar hit a fresh seven-year high against the yen on Wednesday, and held near a 14-month peak versus sterling, as investors added favourable bets ahead of Federal Reserve minutes that could highlight policy divergence with its peers.

The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 62.09, weaker by 13 paise from its previous close of 61.96 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 62.25 and 62.03 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 61.82 and for Euro stood 77.42 on November 19, 2014. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 52.71, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 96.5568. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai.

Date	1US$	1GBP
November 19, 2014	61.82	96.5568
November 18, 2014	61.80	96.7666

(RBI-Reference Rate)

Call rates in line with repo level in the first week of reporting cycle

Interbank call rates were trading higher at 8.00%/8.05% against Wednesday’s close of 7.50%/7.60%, more or less in with the repo level as banks continued to demand more for fulfilling their product cycle requirements, in order to avoid the volatility of rates going further. The banks via Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) borrowed Rs 8881 crore through repo auction on November 19, 2014, while banks via LAF facility borrowed Rs 10914 crore through repo window and parked Rs 1915 crore through reverse repo auction on November 18, 2014. The overnight borrowing rates touched a high and low of 8.10% and 6.75% respectively. According to the Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL), the weighted average rate (WAR) in the call money market was at 8.03% on Thursday and total volume stood at Rs 26810.17 crore, so far. As per CCIL data, WAR in the CBLO (Collateralized Borrowing and Lending Obligation) market was at 7.98% on Thursday and total volume stood at Rs 39170.95 crore, so far. The indicative call rates which closed 7.50/7.60% on Wednesday were contributions made from Andhra Bank, AXIS Bank, Bank of America, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, J P Morgan Chase, Citibank N.A., Corporation Bank, Credit Agricole Bank, Indusind Bank, ICICI Bank, ICICI Securities, IDBI Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Punjab National Bank, RBS, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered, so far.

Deccan Gold Mines gains on receiving approval to raise $6 million

Deccan Gold Mines is currently trading at Rs. 36.25, up by 0.40 points or 1.12% from its previous closing of Rs. 35.85 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 37.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 37.45 and Rs. 36.05 respectively. So far 61,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 41.25 on 11-Nov-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 16.15 on 26-Mar-2014.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 37.45 and Rs. 32.50 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 214.00 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 42.13% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 3.05% and 54.82% respectively.

Deccan Gold Mines has received an approval for raising of funds of up to $6 million through a Rights Issue. The board of directors at their meeting held on November 19, 2014 has approved for the same. The ratio and pricing of the Rights Issue would be decided by the Board at an appropriate time.

Deccan Gold Mines has been actively engaged in the exploration for gold in some of the most promising gold mineralized blocks in India. It has been successful in identifying several smaller potential gold-bearing zones within these blocks, worthy of detailed investigation.

Cipla’s arm inks distribution pact with Serum Institute of India

Cipla’s wholly owned subsidiary, Cipla Europe NV has signed a distribution agreement with Serum Institute of India (SII), a global leader in the production of vaccines. Under the agreement, SII will develop and manufacture paediatric vaccines, while Cipla will seek European Medicines Agency approval and market the products in Europe.

This collaboration with SII enables Cipla to enter into the vaccines segment, continuing our commitment to inclusive healthcare for the world. The vaccines will be manufactured in Serum’s world class production facilities approved by World Health Organisation (WHO).

Cipla has emerged as one of the most respected pharmaceutical names in India as well as across more than 170 countries. Its portfolio includes 2000 products in 65 therapeutic categories with one quality standard globally.

Soyabean futures edge down on profit taking

Soyabean futures traded down on NCDEX due to profit taking as arrivals of the main summer oilseed crop picked up in major spot markets. Further, sluggish domestic and export demand too supported soyabean prices’ downtrend. The contract for November delivery was trading at Rs 3238.00, down by 0.31% or Rs 10.00 from its previous closing of Rs 3248.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 9350 lots. The contract for December delivery was trading at Rs 3288.00, down by 0.45% or Rs 15.00 from its previous closing of Rs 3303.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 124770 lots on NCDEX.

Asian markets trade mostly lower in early deals on Thursday

Most of the Asian equity benchmarks are trading lower in morning deals on Thursday due to a weak close on Wall Street on account of a slightly negative reaction to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting. On the regional front, the Japanese stock market rose as the yen fell to a seven-year low against the dollar after minutes of the Federal Reserve highlighted a divergence in global monetary policy. On the economic front, Japan had a merchandise trade deficit of 709.995 billion yen in October. That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 1,027.0 billion yen following the revised 960.6 billion yen deficit in September. Chinese Shanghai Composite dropped as industrial companies declined after a gauge of factory output slid to a six-month low, countering an advance in brokerages. Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea are notably lower, while Shanghai and Malaysia are down marginally. Taiwan is up sharply, while Hong Kong is modestly higher. KOSPI Index contracted 11.71 points or 0.60% to 1,955.16, Straits Times slipped by 11.15 points or 0.33% to 3,323.41, Jakarta Composite declined by 46.46 points or 0.91% to 5,081.47, Shanghai Composite decreased by 2.34 points or 0.10% to 2,448.65 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 2.65 points or 0.15% to 1,821.74. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 gained 5.63 points or 0.03% to 17,294.38, Hang Seng spurted by 15.64 points or 0.07% to 23,388.95 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 101.65 points or 1.13% to 9,064.89.

CARE reaffirms rating of Cenlub Industries’ bank facilities

Credit rating agency, CARE has reaffirmed ‘BB’ rating to Cenlub Industries’ long term bank facilities worth Rs 14 crore and ‘A4’ rating to company’s Short term Bank Facilities worth Rs 3 crore. The ratings assigned to the bank facilities of Cenlub Industries (CIL) continue to remain constrained by its small scale and working capital-intensive nature of operations and its presence in the highly fragmented and competitive lubrication industry. The ratings also take into cognizance the decline in total operating income and profitability margins in FY14 (refers to the period April 1 to March 31). Cenlub Industries is engaged in the field of design, manufacture and supply of Centralised Lubrication System for various machines, plants and equipments. The company has 10 offices all over India to take care of sales and service i.e. Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kolkata , Ludhiana, Mumbai, Panchkula, Pune, and Visakhapatnam.The company is having 3 manufacturing units as under, which are totally independent.

ICRA assigns ‘A1+’ rating to HDFC’s short term debt programme

Credit rating agency, ICRA has assigned ‘A1+’ rating with a stable outlook to the Rs 35,000 crore short term debt programme (enhanced from Rs 25,000 crore) of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC). The rating agency also has a issuer rating of ‘AAA’ outstanding on Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) of Rs 1,13,365 crore and Subordinated Debt Programmes of Rs 7000 crore of the company. Further, ICRA has ratings of ‘MAAA’ outstanding on the fixed deposit programme and issuer rating of ‘IrAAA’ on the company.

The ratings factor in HDFC’s strong franchise with demonstrated ability to grow in a competitive mortgage finance market, consistent profitable operations on the back of strong interest margins and supported by low provisions on account of sound asset quality and robust solvency indicators.

HDFC offers a whole gamut of products like loans to individuals, loans to corporates, construction finance, and lease rental discounting. The financial conglomerate has subsidiaries and associates in insurance (general and life), asset management, education finance, venture funds and banking services.

Wipro features in the 'Winner's Circle' in the HfS Blueprint Report on SAP Services

Wipro, a leading global information technology, consulting and business process Services Company, has been positioned in the 'Winner's Circle' for its SAP Services capabilities by the leading analyst firm HfS Research - for the second successive year. Wipro's leadership position was included in HfS Research's September 2014 report titled 'Blueprint Report on SAP Services. The research highlights Wipro's co-innovation efforts with SAP to build end-to-end capabilities across the full spectrum of SAP technology stack spanning - Big Data, Cloud, SAP HANA and Mobility. It also recognizes Wipro's deep investments in expanding geographical footprints and building offerings like Managed Mobility & ServiceNXT- a next generation managed services platform. 

Wipro is a leading provider of analytics and information management solutions - enabling customers to derive actionable business insights from data to drive growth, enhance cost management and strengthen risk management.

Tata Steel’s arm JUSCO wins ‘ABP News Emerging Brand Excellence Award’

Tata Steel’s 100% subsidiary - Jamshedpur Utilities & Services Company (JUSCO) has been conferred with the ABP News Emerging Brand Excellence Award 2014 under the Emerging Brand Category. The award was given to JUSCO in the light of the experience and expertise in integrated city management for over 100 years along with the effort for inclusive growth through the citizen’s campaign. The ABP News Brand Excellence Awards is an independent brand recognition exercise initiated to give recognition to those brands and marketers who have achieved extraordinary success from innovative and effective marketing practices, with regard to the particular circumstances of different industries, budgets and the diversity of marketing programs. Tata Steel, the flagship company of the Tata group is the first integrated steel plant in Asia and is now the world’s second most geographically diversified steel producer and a Fortune 500 Company.

Physical Rubber prices display mixed trend on Wednesday

Physical Rubber prices showed a mixed trend on Wednesday. Spot prices for RSS-4 variety remained unchanged at Rs 116/ kg; while the RSS-5 variety improved to Rs 111/ kg compared to its previous closing of Rs 110.50/ kg.

In the futures market, contract of December delivery improved marginally to Rs 115.80 compared to its previous closing of Rs 115.78, while January delivery closed at Rs 116 compared to its previous close of Rs 115.92 on the National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE).

Coal Ministry issues draft guidelines for e-auction of 74 coal blocks

The Coal Ministry has finally issued much-awaited draft guidelines for e-auction of 74 coal blocks of the 204 odd coal blocks that had been cancelled by the Supreme Court. Out of these, 32 will be new blocks and 42 blocks are currently operational. The draft rules seek stakeholders comments by November 24. The Centre will issue an order to the Nominated Authority specifying which coal mines are to be auctioned and which are to be allotted to the government companies.

Coal Secretary Anil Swarup detailing about the draft guidelines said that government will auction coal blocks, whose allocation was cancelled by the Supreme Court. As per Coal Secretary separate teams were discussing options to deal with various issues. A mechanism would be put in place to protect power consumers. He further elaborated that only companies with specified end-use plants for producing power steel, cement or sponge iron would be eligible to bid. Companies engaged in specified end-use, including companies with coal linkage or pending application for linkage, will also be eligible to bid for one of the 42 producing mines if they have already invested 80% of the cost of the end-use plant. Even companies with plants based on imported coal would be eligible to bid for a block. The government could also allot any block out of the 204 to a company that has been awarded a power project based on competitive tariff bid on the power ministry's recommendations.

The ministry is looking at inviting requests for proposals from prospective bidders on December 22 and inviting bids by February 3. Bids will be in two stages - technical and financial. The first phase of auction bidding for the coal blocks will take place on February 11, 2015. The reserve price will be announced by late December and coal blocks could be awarded by March 16.

It has also been stated that all the penalty levied should be paid by cancelled block allottees before bidding and the second set of the coal block allocations will take place as per Centre's dispensation. The exercise of auction of the coal blocks was necessitated after the Supreme Court in September cancelled allocation of 204 blocks.

RBI increases FII limit in Pennar Industries to 24%

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased foreign institutional investors' (FIIs) investment limit in Pennar Industries to 35% of its paid-up capital. RBI has notified that the foreign share holding by FIIs/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) in the company has gone below the revised threshold limit stipulated under the extant FDI Policy. Hence, the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares of the above company are withdrawn with immediate effect.

The company has already passed resolutions at its Board of Directors’ level and a special resolution by the shareholders, agreeing for enhancing the limit from 24 per cent to 35 per cent for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs.

Pennar Industries is engaged in the manufacturing of Cold Rolled Steel Strips (CRSS) and value-added products under Cold Rolled Formed Sections (CRFS) like precision tubes, engineered components, road safety systems, parts of railway coaches and Electro Static Precipitators (ESP).

TCS trades in fine fettle on BSE

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is currently trading at Rs. 2584.95, up by 7.30 points or 0.28 % from its previous closing of Rs. 2577.65 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 2594.95 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 2594.95 and Rs. 2563.40 respectively. So far 15410 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Re. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 2834.00 on 07-Oct-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1960.00 on 13-Dec-2013.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 2625.00 and Rs. 2561.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 506556.44 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 73.90 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 21.64 % and 4.47 % respectively.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, has been inducted by Palladium Group into the Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame. The Palladium Group, Inc. has inducted TCS’ Business Process Services (BPS) unit into the 2014 Palladium Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame for Executing Strategy.

The Hall of Fame honors organizations that have achieved outstanding performance using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), a strategy management framework created by Palladium founders. Past honorees include 194 organizations from nearly 40 countries, including corporations, government entities and non-profits.

TCS is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPO, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. 

AXIS Mutual Fund files offer document for Retirement Planning Fund

AXIS Mutual Fund has filed offer document with SEBI to launch an Open Ended Retirement Benefit Scheme as Axis Retirement Planning Fund. The New Fund Offer price is Rs 10 per unit. Entry and exit load charges will be nil for the scheme. The scheme offers growth and dividend option and seeks to collect a Minimum Target Amount of Rs 10 crore. The scheme will be benchmarked against scheme Crisil Balanced Fund Index. The minimum application amount is Rs.5, 000 and in multiples of 1 thereafter The investment objective of the scheme is to provide a long term investment vehicle that can be used for retirement planning. The fund will invest in both equity and debt. The investment objective of the fund will be to generate long-term capital appreciation through investments in equity & equity related instruments along with income by investing in debt & money market instruments.

Sundaram MF introduces World Brand Fund Series II (1800 days)

Sundaram Mutual Fund has launched the New Fund Offer (NFO) of Sundaram World Brand Fund Series II (1800 days), a close ended income scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on Nov 20, 2014 and closes on Dec 02, 2014.  No entry load or exit load will be applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5,000. The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against MSCI ACWI and its fund managers are Bharath S and Dwijendra Srivastava. The investment objective of the scheme is to provide long term capital appreciation to investors by primarily investing in equity and equity related securities listed on recognized overseas stock exchanges across the world.

DSP Blackrock Mutual Fund files offer document for FMP-Series 186 to 190

DSP Blackrock Mutual Fund has filed offer document with SEBI to launch a Close ended income Schemes as DSP Blackrock FMP-Series 186 to 190. The New Fund Offer price is Rs 10 per unit.

Entry and exit load charges will be nil for the scheme. The scheme offers growth and dividend option and seeks to collect a Minimum Target Amount of Rs 20 crore.

The scheme will be benchmarked against For Schemes having maturity of up to 3 month: CRISIL Liquid Fund Index, For Schemes having maturity of more than 3 months and of up to 36 months: CRISIL Short Term Bond Fund Index and For Schemes having maturity of more than 36 months: CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index. The minimum application amount is Rs.5000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter

The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns and capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio of Debt and Money Market Securities. The Scheme will invest only in such securities which mature on or before the date of maturity of the Scheme.

Nymex crude continues its decline on rise in stockpiles

Crude oil futures continued their decline on Wednesday despite an early gain. Trade was mostly affected by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) report that showed US crude oil stockpiles to have risen more than expected last week. In early deals there was some strength on speculation the OPEC may agree to a cut in crude production at its meeting next week, in an effort to contain the price slide. Meanwhile, EIA reported that crude oil inventories increased by 2.6 million barrels in the week ended November 14. Gasoline stocks rose 1.0 million barrels last week, while Inventories of distillate, including heating fuel, dropped 2.1 million barrels last week. The EIA report showed US crude oil inventories at 381.1 million barrels, end last week. Benchmark crude oil futures for January delivery declined by $0.14 or 0.2 percent to close at $74.50 a barrel after trading in a range of $75.42 and $73.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent oil for January delivery gained 24 cents or 0.31% to $78.72 a barrel on the ICE.

US markets closed lower on FOMC minutes

The US markets closed lower on Wednesday, as Fed minutes revealed scant little insights about the US central bank’s policy plans. A number of Federal Reserve officials pushed their colleagues to say more publicly about the pace of coming rate increases, according to minutes from the October meeting released, suggesting that the central bank still believes it is on track to raise rates next year despite low inflation and a weak global economic outlook. By a 9-1 vote, the Fed on October 29 ended its asset purchase program and repeated that rates are likely to stay near zero for a considerable time, adding language that the first move could come sooner if the economy surprises to the upside. The Fed expects rates to remain below what the Fed views as normal given the aftermath of the crisis. According to the minutes of the October 28-29 meeting, a couple of Fed officials think it is time to change this language. They see risks of keeping rates below their longer-run values for an extended period. And Fed officials agreed to take another crack at developing a consensus forecast. At the moment, each top Fed official presents his own forecast for the economy and the likely path of interest rates. On the economy front, construction started on new US homes fell 2.8% in October, led down by volatile apartment building. The annual rate of total housing starts declined to 1.01 million last month from 1.04 million in September. The October starts rate in buildings with at least five units dropped 15.5%. Meanwhile, construction starts for single-family homes rose 4.2% to hit the highest pace since November 2013. Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.09 points or 0.01 percent to 17,685.73, Nasdaq was down by 26.73 points or 0.57 percent to 4,675.71 while, S&P 500 ended lower by 3.08 points or 0.15 percent to 2,048.72.   The Indian ADRs closed mostly in red on Wednesday; Tata Motors was down 0.46%, HDFC Bank was down by 0.19% and Wipro was down 0.13%. On the other hand, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was up 0.53% and ICICI Bank was up 0.10%.

Brigade Group rolls out customer portal

Brigade Group has rolled-out its customer portal that allows its residential buyers to access details of the home they purchased. With the portal, a first by a Bangalore based developer; customers of Brigade Group will be able to access their statement of accounts, dues, overdues, payments status and tracking of payments. Also to access and upload their property-related documents, options to view property papers and guidelines, view status of construction of property, etc.

The portal has been rolled out to customers of one of its flagship projects, Brigade Exotica and will be gradually rolled out of its other under-construction projects in the next couple of months.

Brigade Group has significant presence in southern India, including cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi etc. and is known for their high standards and quality of development across various facilities. 

Indiabulls Securities gains as its arm acquires 100% stake in India Land and Properties

Indiabulls Securities is currently trading at Rs. 26.45, up by 1.45 points or 5.80% from its previous closing of Rs. 25.00 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 25.65 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 27.25 and Rs. 25.60 respectively. So far 5,06,000 shares were traded on the counter. The BSE group 'B ' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 30.65 on 06-Jun-2014 and a 52 week low of Rs. 16.05 on 27-Nov-2013. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 27.25 and Rs. 24.65 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 689.00 crore. The promoters holding in the company stood at 30.62% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 0.29% and 69.07% respectively. Indiabulls Securities wholly owned subsidiary - Indiabulls Distribution Services, has acquired 100% of the share capital of India Land and Properties for a consideration of Rs 600 crore. India Land and Properties owns a commercial complex of 3 towers with a total constructed area of 2.4 million square feet and leasable area of 2 million square feet. The total land area of the complex is over 10 acres. Currently a portion of the towers are leased to RBS, Kone, Britannia Industries, Ajuba, Covenant, Telebuy, IBoxand others. The park has been designed in compliance to the National Building Codes by the internationally acclaimed ZAHA HADID, UK, ‘Laureate Pritzker’ Prize Winner (2004). The building complex is renamed as One Indiabulls Park, Chennai.

SEBI tightens the rule for insider trading in markets

Market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has tightened the noose around the Insider Traders and has announced measures to improve the integrity of the capital markets by enlarging the definition of those who could qualify to be charged under the law for insider trading, making it tougher for anyone with access to unpublished price sensitive information to make illegitimate gains. The new rules announced by SEBI based on a report by Justice N K Sodhi, a retired chief justice of Karnataka and Kerala high court, that was finalized in December 2013 and was put up for public comments, make it tougher for people in addition to promoters, directors and some top officials, having price-sensitive information to trade in the market for quick gains. Sebi’s new rules on insider trading now also include all people who are in possession of information which are generally not available to public and which may impact the price of a stock, called unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI). Sebi further said that insiders having access of UPSI round the year can have a pre-scheduled trading plans that should be disclosed to stock exchanges and should be adhered to strictly. Immediate relatives of people with access to UPSI will be presumed to be connected persons, though as a safeguard they have been given a right to rebut the presumption. However SEBI said that the requirement of communication of UPSI in the case of legitimate business transaction is recognised in law and a carve-out with safeguards has been provided. The market regulator has also made the delisting rules stricter and said that for a delisting to be considered successful, shareholding of the acquirer together with shares tendered by public shareholders must reach at least 90 percent of the total share capital of the company. The second condition to be fulfilled is that at least 25 per cent of the public shareholders tender their shares in a reverse book building process. SEBI has reduced the timeline for completing the process of delisting to 76 working days from 117 working days. Sebi’s board has also given its nod to the proposal to review the policy that can restrict a company, its promoters or directors who are categorized as wilful defaulters from raising capital. The policy may be accepted after going through a public consultation process.