Aurobindo Pharma gains on aiming $2 billion turnover in FY15

Leveraging on its large state-of-the-art manufacturing infrastructure for APIs and formulations, wide and diversified basket of products and confidence of its customers, Aurobindo Pharma is targeting to achieve $2 billion turnover during the current financial year. The city-based drug maker is also hoping to seek approvals for nine more injectables from US FDA.

The consolidated revenue (net) from operations was higher over the previous year by 38.3% at nearly Rs 8,100 crore ($1.4 billon at Rs 58 per dollar) during 2013-14 as against Rs 5,855 crore in the previous year.

The company has achieved a remarkable milestone of 300 submissions to the US FDA at the end of 2013 and as at end of March 2014 the submissions totaled 336 ANDA filings.

Aurobindo Pharma manufactures generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company’s robust product portfolio is spread over 6 major therapeutic/product areas encompassing Antibiotics, Anti-Retrovirals, CVS, CNS, Gastroenterologicals, and Anti-Allergics, supported by an outstanding R&D set-up.

Sanofi India gains 2% on partnership with Emcure Pharma

Sanofi India has entered into a marketing and distribution agreement with Emcure Pharmaceuticals for its oncology portfolio in India.

Healthcare firm  Sanofi India  gained nearly 2 percent on Wednesday after it has entered into a marketing and distribution agreement with Emcure Pharmaceuticals for its oncology portfolio in India. As per the agreement, while Sanofi will continue to own its oncology range (comprising four brands namely Taxotere, Jevtana, Fludara and Fasturtec), Emcure will market and distribute these brands through its specialty unit.

"Realising that managing the complexities of cancer necessitates the availability of a wide range of products and supporting therapies, we found that combining our efforts and product range with that of Emcure Oncology, makes immense sense for both companies," said Shailesh Ayyangar, vice president - South Asia and Managing Director - Sanofi India Limited and Sanofi – Synthelabo (India). Sanofi will continue to provide strong scientific and medical support to Emcure’s already well-established and fast growing Oncology business, he added.

Rupee falls to near 5-month low; foreign funds pull out money

 The rupee fell to 61.33/34 after hitting 61.41, its lowest since March 14 and weaker than its 60.8450/8550 close on Tuesday.

Good dollar buying was seen from foreign banks likely on behalf of clients looking to exit their equity and debt investments in India.

The Nifty was down 0.2 percent and will be watched for cues on fund flows.

The pair is seen moving in 61.10 to 61.40 range during the rest of the session.

Most Asian currencies were also trading weaker compared with the dollar.

Infosys gets share buyback demand from ex-CFOs

Report stated that three former senior employees believe company must do so because there is a "dramatic valuation disconnect"

Three former senior employees of Infosys -former chief financial officers T V Mohandas Pai and V Balakrishnan and former senior vice-president D N Prahlad - have written to the company's board to "immediately" consider a buyback of shares, according to reports.

Report stated that three former senior employees believe company must do so because there is a "dramatic valuation disconnect" between the shares of Infosys and its peers.

Earlier, Timothy D Cook, who succeeded Steve Jobs as the CEO of Apple, had to go for a massive share buyback programme - of around $14 billion - soon after taking over, following pressure from shareholders.

Brent rebounds towards $105; US oil stocks eyed

Brent crude rose towards $105 a barrel on Wednesday, bouncing off a nine-month low hit in the previous session after industry data showed a large drop in U.S. crude stocks last week. 

The rebound came after oil prices tumbled on Tuesday as investors grew increasingly nervous about weak seasonal demand and poor refinery margins in a well-supplied global market. 

The Brent oil contract for prompt delivery advanced 20 cents to $104.81 per barrel by 0506 GMT, after settling on Tuesday at its lowest since Nov. 7 last year. 

U.S. crude for September delivery gained 10 cents to $97.48 a barrel after falling to as low as $97 on Tuesday, its weakest point since early February. 

Oil prices have fallen more than $10 a barrel over the past month and a half. Global supply has been running above demand, creating a glut in the Atlantic Basin and Asia. 

China's yuan hits 4-1/2-month high

China's yuan firmed against the dollar for the third straight day on Wednesday, trading at its highest level since mid-March, despite the central bank setting a weaker guidance rate. 

The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.1681 per dollar prior to market open, down 0.04 percent from the previous fix. The spot rate is currently allowed to trade 2 percent above or below the midpoint. 

The spot market opened at 6.1719 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.1690 by midday, 0.04 percent stronger from the previous close. 

The spot rate and the midpoint continued to converge, with the spot only 4 points above the midpoint fixing at midday, representing the closest level the two rates have been trading since the central bank widened the trading band to 2 percent in the mid-March. 

NHPC quarterly profit slumps 14% to Rs 616 cr

The company's finance costs went up to Rs 322.10 crore in the latest quarter under review compared to Rs 116.06 crore in the year-ago period.

Hydel power producer  NHPC reported a 14 percent decline in net profit at Rs 616.03 crore in the three months ended June, mainly on account of higher finance costs. The state-owned company had a net profit of Rs 719.26 crore. In the first quarter of current financial year, total income from operations rose to Rs 2,054.85 crore from Rs 1,619.60 crore in the same period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing. The company's finance costs went up to Rs 322.10 crore in the latest quarter under review compared to Rs 116.06 crore in the year-ago period. According to the filing, borrowing cost of Rs 101.88 crore related to Subansiri Lower project has been charged to the statement of profit & loss. Besides, administration and other costs of Rs 35.91 crore with regard to this project have also been charged. The work at 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower project has been stalled since December 2011 on account of protests by anti-dam activists and the central government is pursuing the matter.

Rupee opens weaker tracking broad dollar rise

 The rupee is trading at 61.11/12 versus its Tuesday's close of 60.8450/8550, tracking broad gains in the dollar.

The Nifty is trading down 0.3 percent in preopen trade. Shares to be watched for cues on fund flows.

The rupee/dollar pair is seen moving in 60.90 to 61.30 range during the session.

Most Asian currencies are trading weaker compared with the dollar.

Asian stocks slip while the U.S. dollar holds firm after a slump on Wall Street and tensions over Ukraine instil a mood of risk aversion across markets.

Canadian Dollar Weakens to 3-Month Low on Crude Oil Drop

Canada’s dollar weakened to the lowest level in three months versus its U.S. counterpart as crude oil fell and concern increased that economic growth is accelerating faster in the nation’s largest trading partner.

The currency declined against most of its major peers after a report showed U.S factory orders rose 1.1 percent in June versus a revised 0.6 decline in the previous month. Crude oil, Canada’s biggest export, fell to a six-month low.

“General risk-off sentiment has people buying U.S. dollars,” Greg Anderson, New York-based head of global foreign-exchange strategy at Bank of Montreal, said in a phone interview. “Normally when the dollar rallies, the Canadian dollar is somewhere in the middle of the pack. Today, it was towards the bottom of the pack.”

The loonie, as the Canadian currency is nicknamed for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, depreciated to as low as C$1.0977 per U.S. dollar, the weakest since May 5, before trading down 0.5 percent at C$1.0962 at 4:31 p.m. in Toronto. One loonie buys 91.23 U.S. cents.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against 10 major counterparts,climbed 0.3 percent to 1,023.17 and rose to 1,024.01, the highest level since Feb. 13.

Canada’s dollar lost 2.2 percent in July, the biggest monthly decline since January. The American economy climbed 4 percent at an annual rate in the second quarter, data showed last month.

If the loonie weakens past C$1.10 this week, “there should be very good resistance,” Anderson said. A move past that level will be the result of a weaker-than-forecast jobs report due Aug. 8, he said.

Canadian employers added 20,000 jobs in July, economists in a Bloomberg survey forecast before the report. U.S employers added 209,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Aug. 1.

Crude futures declined 0.8 percent to $97.53 a dollar in New York, the least since Feb. 5.

BlackBerry closes chapter on workforce reduction

BlackBerry Ltd has concluded a protracted and painful restructuring process and is back on a growth footing, according to an internal memo to all its employees viewed by Reuters. 

"We have completed the restructuring notification process, and the workforce reduction that began three years ago is now behind us," said the memo from BlackBerry's Chief Executive John Chen that was sent out on Friday. 

BlackBerry has shrunk its workforce by roughly 60 per cent over the last three years as it attempts to reinvent itself. The company that dominated the smartphone market in its infancy has seen its sales dramatically eroded over the last four years by Apple's iPhone and a slew of rival devices powered by Google Inc's Android operating system.