Gold Gains in London as Investors Weigh Ukraine Against U.S.

Gold rose for a second day in London as investors weighed haven demand from tension over Ukraine against signs the U.S. economy is improving.

Geopolitical unrest helped gold gain 7.5 percent this year. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his government to respond to U.S. and European sanctions as Poland said yesterday a renewed buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine’s border raises the specter of a possible invasion.Israel withdrew troops from the Gaza Strip on the first day of a 72-hour cease-fire.

Prices have retreated from a three-month high set July 10 amid signs the U.S. economy is strengthening. The dollar traded near a five-month high versus 10 major currencies after Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said yesterday U.S. policy makers were becoming more “hawkish” and data showed factory orders and service activity increased.

“With the Russians once again massing troops on the Ukraine border and the world watching to see if Israel/Hamas keep to the cease-fire, I doubt many people will want to short gold here,” David Govett, head of precious metals at Marex Spectron Group in London, said in a note today. Still, a stronger dollar curbed the appeal of precious metals, he said.

Gold for immediate delivery rose 0.2 percent to $1,291.81 an ounce by 8:51 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. It’s rebounded from $1,279.30 on Aug. 1, the lowest since June 19. Gold for December delivery gained 0.6 percent to $1,292.70 on the Comex in New York.

Futures trading volume was 50 percent below the average for the past 100 days for this time of day.

Facebook joins Cellular Operators Association of India as an associate member

 GSM industry body COAI today said it has inducted social networking giant Facebook as an associate member of the association. 

COAI's associate membership comprises of companies that manufacture or support the functioning, promotion, research development and evolution of mobile communications services. 

The Cellular Operators Association of India's (COAI) other associate members include Alcatel Lucent India, Cisco Systems India, Ericsson India, IBM India, GTL Infrastructure, Huawei Technologies, Indus Towers, Intel Corporation, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Qualcomm India and ZTE India. 

Facebook has more than 1.32 billion monthly active users globally, including over 100 million monthly active users in India. 

Adani Ports Q1 profit up 36 per cent on higher cargo

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone reported a consolidated profit of Rs. 568 crore for the quarter ended June, compared with Rs 417.50 crore during the same quarter last year, helped by a strong cargo volume growth. 

Analysts, on an average, were expecting earnings of Rs. 512.7 crore on revenue of Rs. 1250 crore, according to a poll conducted by Bloomberg. Net sales for the quarter fell 14 per cent to 1261.6 crore. 

the company reported a net profit of Rs. 505.10 crore, down 24 per cent in the corresponding quarter. 

Adani Ports handled 33.83 million tonnes of cargo on consolidated basis during the quarter, up 27 per cent from the same quarter last year. Consolidated cargo includes volumes from flagship Mundra port and its ports at Hazira and Dahej. 

Shares of the company were trading up 1.6 per cent at Rs. 270.95 per share on BSE on Wednesday. 

IDBI Bank Q1 net profit at Rs. 1.05bn

Total Income has decreased from Rs. 74.45 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 to Rs. 72.31 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2014

IDBI Bank Ltd has announced the following results for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. The Unaudited Standalone results for the Quarter ended June 30, 2014. The Bank has posted a Net Profit of Rs. 1048.10 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 as compared to Rs. 3069.50 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Total Income has decreased from Rs. 74454.20 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 to Rs. 72313.70 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Piramal Enterprises Q1 net profit at Rs28963.20 mn

Total Income has increased from Rs. 10842.10 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 to Rs. 12829.00 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Piramal Enterprises Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs. 28963.20 mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 as compared to Net Loss of Rs. (1466.60) mn for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Total Income has increased from Rs. 10842.10 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 to Rs. 12829.00 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Bhushan Steel tumbles to 52-week low

Bhushan Steel was locked in 20% lower circuit at Rs 304.60 at 12:55 IST on BSE, with the stock resuming fall after a seeing a small recovery on Tuesday, 5 August 2014.

Shares of Bhushan Steel had dropped 4.23% to Rs 378.15 on Monday, 4 August 2014 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday, 2 August 2014 arrested the now-suspended Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Syndicate Bank SK Jain, after he allegedly demanded Rs 50 lakh from Bhushan Steel in exchange for providing extensions on loans to the company that had defaulted on payments. Apart from SK Jain, CBI had taken eight others into custody on Saturday, 2 August 2014 including an alleged representative of Bhushan Steel, two employees from another private firm, and some middlemen, reports added. Shares of Bhushan Steel rose 0.69% to Rs 380.75 Tuesday, 5 August 2014.

Meanwhile, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha has reportedly ordered an internal inquiry after his team did not arrest Bhushan Steel vice-chairman Neeraj Singhal during searches at his residence in the Syndicate Bank bribery case, despite clear instructions to pick him up. Neeraj Singhal is on the run from the time of the raid and the CBI has been trying to trace him since, so that he can be arrested, reports added. Neeraj Singhal has filed an anticipatory bail application in a local court which will come for hearing today, 6 August 2014.

Bhushan Steel reported net loss of Rs 19.57 crore in Q4 March 2014 as compared to net profit of Rs 280.21 crore in Q4 March 2013. Net sales fell 10.9% to Rs 2399.73 crore in Q4 March 2014 over Q4 March 2013.

Bhushan Steel is one of the leading prominent player in steel industry. The company is now India's 3rd largest secondary steel producer company with an existing steel production capacity of 2 million tonne per annum (approx.).

Government plans Rs 500-crore outlay to develop five tourist circuits

Government plans to develop five tourist circuits with an investment of Rs 500 crore in current fiscal, Rajya Sabha was informed today. 

Tourism Minister Shripad Naik said during Question Hour that these circuits will be developed around specific themes. 

He said the government also proposed to spend Rs 100 crore to beautify and improve amenities and infrastructure at pilgrimage centres of all faiths. 

"...a National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) has been announced and an amount of Rs 100 crore has been proposed in this year's Budget," he said. 

, Naik said there was no proposal before the government to revise the National Tourism Policy, 2002, which was formulated after consulting industry associations, ministries concerned at the Centre, state governments and other stakeholders. 

City Union Bank Q1 PAT up 10% at Rs 99.5 cr

The company's gross NPA rose by 100 bps at 1.91 percent versus 1.81 percent and net NPA was up 30 bps at 1.28 percent versus 1.23 percent, Q-o-Q.

City Union Bank  's April-June quarter (Q1FY15) net profit was up 10 percent at Rs 99.5 crore against Rs 90.3 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. NII was down marginally at Rs 186.7 crore versus Rs 187.3 crore, Y-o-Y. The company's gross NPA rose by 100 bps at 1.91 percent versus 1.81 percent and net NPA was up 30 bps at 1.28 percent versus 1.23 percent, Q-o-Q.

The provisions increased by 44 percent at Rs 42.7 crore versus Rs 29.6 crore, Q-o-Q and shown a rise of 108 percent against Rs 20.5 crore, Y-o-Y. The capital adequacy ratio (Basel III) stood at 14.51 percent versus 15.01 percent, Q-o-Q.

LIC may invest Rs 60,000 crore in equities in FY15: Chairman SK Roy

The Life Insurance Corporation ( LIC) of India is likely to invest around Rs 60,000 crore in equities in the current financial year, said the financial behemoth's chairman SK Roy.

Roy said, "FY15 has started on a high note. We see further upside for the market in this financial year." Roy is on the opinion that infrastructure and real estate sectors will be the top gainers. 

LIC's overall investments in 2014-2015 may cross Rs 3 lakh crore, Roy said. Roy also said that he does not see the impact of poor monsoon on the economy. "Fear of poor monsoon has reduced."Asked about RBI's decision to hold key rates, Roy said, "This is positive for the markets."

Indian stock markets may need to brace for more turbulence over the next few months as rich valuations and global uncertainties could prompt investors — mainly foreign institutions — to lock in some profits.

Gold rises on safe-haven bids as Ukraine tensions hurt equities

Gold ticked up slightly on Wednesday and could benefit from a bout of market risk aversion as fears of increasing military action along the Ukraine border put global equities under pressure.

Asian stocks slipped on Wednesday while the U.S. dollar held near a 11-month high, after Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Russia has gathered military forces at the border with Ukraine to either put pressure on the neighbouring country or to enter it.

Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,291.80 an ounce by 0623 GMT, after closing flat in the previous session. U.S. gold was up about $7 to $1,292.70.

Geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East have largely been responsible for gold's 7 percent gain this year.

Gold, often seen as alternative investment to riskier assets such as equities, could gain if stocks fall further.

Bullion investors continued to keep an eye on economic data, after a Tuesday report showed new orders for U.S. factory goods rose more than expected in June.

Recent U.S. data pointing to strengthening economic activity has weighed on gold's appeal on fears that monetary policy could soon be tightened.

The physical markets have failed to provide support to prices recently due to the seasonally quiet summer period.

Premiums in top buyer China have been stuck at $2-$3 an ounce and demand is much weaker than last year, dealers said.

Chinese gold jewellery demand fell for the first time in eight years in the second quarter and could drop as much as 20 percent in the full year, a leading precious metals consultancy said last week.

Among other precious metals, silver ticked up after dropping to a seven-week low in the previous session on strong U.S. data and a higher dollar.