Mumbai:
1) Rupee hits new lifetime low; RBI seen to intervene
For the second time in as many days, the rupee fell to a record low against the dollar on Thursday as global risk assets remained largely under pressure. Traders claimed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened again to check the rupee’s volatility. The rupee slumped to 54.60 to the dollar, surpassing the previous low of 54.52. (Read More)
Also Read: Rupee - What exactly is RBI intervention?
2) Markets: Sensex, Nifty rises 0.25% after choppy trade
The BSE Sensex managed to close in the green after a choppy session Thursday. Markets opened higher and gained strength tracking higher Asian stocks. However, profit booking set in post noon, following weakness in European markets, and the benchmarks closed near the day's low.
The Sensex edged up 40 points or 0.25 per cent to end at 16,070.48, off 170 points from the intraday high of 16,240. The Nifty gained 11.95 points or 0.25 per cent to close at 4,870. It had touched an intraday high of 4,922 in early trade. (Read More)
Also Read: Why tumbling Sensex, Nifty could be good news for you
3) Why it may be too late to subscribe to the Facebook IPO
Investors who want Facebook Inc shares when the world’s largest online social network goes public later this week may have lost the opportunity. TD Ameritrade and Fidelity's brokerage arm both stopped accepting orders of Facebook shares as of Tuesday evening, according to representatives of the brokerages. (Read More)
Also Read: As Facebook grows, millions say 'no, thanks'
Meanwhile, its breakneck growth in Asia may be slowing as it moves beyond desktop users to those who access the Internet largely or solely from a mobile phone. In March, Facebook revised its own SEC filings to scale back its scope for further growth in India - its third-biggest user base and the largest population it currently has access to. (Read More)
4) India in talks for higher rating with Fitch: finance ministry official
India is trying to press for a ratings upgrade with officials of Fitch Ratings agency, who are in New Delhi to take stock of the economy, a finance ministry official said on Thursday. "We pitched for an upgrade," a finance ministry official, told reporters after the meeting. (Read More)
Foreign direct investment and portfolio flows into India remain strong, finance ministry officials told global ratings agency Fitch on Thursday, while making a pitch for a ratings upgrade. (Read More)
5) Earnings Central: Vedanta, Wal-Mart, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra Satyam
Vedanta, Wal-Mart, Bajaj Auto and Mahindra Satyam announced their earnings for the March to January quarter on Thursday. Mahindra Satyam beat the Street with a net profit of Rs 534.21 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012. Meanwhile, Vedanta posted a 13 per cent rise in full-year core profits, boosted by recent acquisition - Cairn India.
Bajaj Auto outdid its auto industry counterparts with a 20.6 per cent rise in its fourth-quarter profit margin and maintained its industry-leading profit margins in its fiscal fourth quarter as robust sales growth helped offset rising commodity prices. Wal-Mart Stores too posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit with a 2.6 per cent rise in sales, as warm weather and an earlier Easter enticed shoppers to spend.
6) Bajaj Auto's mini-four wheeler RE60 commercial launch by FY13 end
Bajaj Auto today said it will launch its mini four-wheeler commercial vehicle RE60 for intra-city urban transportation by the end of this fiscal. "The commercial production of RE60 will begin by the end of this fiscal and the launch will also happen at the same time," Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) Senior Vice-President (Business Development) S Ravikumar told PTI. (Read More)
7) Volkswagen puts on hold Rs 2,000 cr investment due to VAT refund issue
German auto major Volkswagen AG said it has put on hold the proposed Rs 2,000 crore investment plan in India as the VAT refund issue with the Maharashtra government remains unresolved. "The normal investments required for usual operations of the company is going on but the big plans for the future have been put on hold at the moment," Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India John Chacko told PTI. (Read More)
8) Oil prices fall to 7-month low as supplies grow
The price of oil continued to decline on the expectation that world markets will be flush with extra supply this year. Benchmark US crude, which fell by $1.17 to finish at a seven-month low of $92.81 per barrel on Wednesday, improved up 26 cents to $93.07, on hopes that reversing flow on the Seaway oil pipeline would help reduce a supply glut at the landlocked delivery point at Cushing, Oklahoma. Brent futures were, however, subdued below $110, having hit a four-month low earlier. Oil prices are down nearly 13 per cent since the beginning of May. (Read More)
9) Spain beset by bank crisis, recession, bond pressure
Spain's borrowing costs shot up at a bond auction on Thursday, after economic data confirmed the country is back in recession and reports that nationalized Bankia SA had suffered an outflow of deposits hammered its share price. The Spanish Treasury had to pay around 5 per cent to attract buyers of three- and four-year bonds. The longer-dated paper sold with a yield of 5.106 per cent, way above the 3.374 per cent the last time it was auctioned. (Read More)
10) Pfizer drug effective in rare children's cancer: Study
A lung cancer drug from global pharma giant Pfizer appears to be a highly effective treatment for children with a rare but aggressive type of lymphoma and other cancers, according to data from an early stage study released on Wednesday. The drug, crizotinib, was able to stall tumor growth and in some cases eradicate all signs of particularly aggressive cancers with minimal side effects, researchers said. (Read More)
- Rupee hits new lifetime-low; RBI seen to intervene
- Markets: Sensex, Nifty rises 0.25% after choppy trade
- Why it may be too late to subscribe to the Facebook IPO
- India in talks for higher rating with Fitch: finance ministry official
- Earnings Central: Vedanta, Wal-Mart, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra Satyam
- Bajaj Auto's mini-four wheeler RE60 commercial launch by FY13 end
- Volkswagen puts on hold Rs 2,000 cr investment due to VAT refund issue
- Oil prices fall to 7-month low as supplies grow
- Spain beset by bank crisis, recession, bond pressure
- Pfizer drug effective in rare children's cancers: Study
1) Rupee hits new lifetime low; RBI seen to intervene
For the second time in as many days, the rupee fell to a record low against the dollar on Thursday as global risk assets remained largely under pressure. Traders claimed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened again to check the rupee’s volatility. The rupee slumped to 54.60 to the dollar, surpassing the previous low of 54.52. (Read More)
Also Read: Rupee - What exactly is RBI intervention?
2) Markets: Sensex, Nifty rises 0.25% after choppy trade
The BSE Sensex managed to close in the green after a choppy session Thursday. Markets opened higher and gained strength tracking higher Asian stocks. However, profit booking set in post noon, following weakness in European markets, and the benchmarks closed near the day's low.
The Sensex edged up 40 points or 0.25 per cent to end at 16,070.48, off 170 points from the intraday high of 16,240. The Nifty gained 11.95 points or 0.25 per cent to close at 4,870. It had touched an intraday high of 4,922 in early trade. (Read More)
Also Read: Why tumbling Sensex, Nifty could be good news for you
3) Why it may be too late to subscribe to the Facebook IPO
Investors who want Facebook Inc shares when the world’s largest online social network goes public later this week may have lost the opportunity. TD Ameritrade and Fidelity's brokerage arm both stopped accepting orders of Facebook shares as of Tuesday evening, according to representatives of the brokerages. (Read More)
Also Read: As Facebook grows, millions say 'no, thanks'
Meanwhile, its breakneck growth in Asia may be slowing as it moves beyond desktop users to those who access the Internet largely or solely from a mobile phone. In March, Facebook revised its own SEC filings to scale back its scope for further growth in India - its third-biggest user base and the largest population it currently has access to. (Read More)
4) India in talks for higher rating with Fitch: finance ministry official
India is trying to press for a ratings upgrade with officials of Fitch Ratings agency, who are in New Delhi to take stock of the economy, a finance ministry official said on Thursday. "We pitched for an upgrade," a finance ministry official, told reporters after the meeting. (Read More)
Foreign direct investment and portfolio flows into India remain strong, finance ministry officials told global ratings agency Fitch on Thursday, while making a pitch for a ratings upgrade. (Read More)
5) Earnings Central: Vedanta, Wal-Mart, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra Satyam
Vedanta, Wal-Mart, Bajaj Auto and Mahindra Satyam announced their earnings for the March to January quarter on Thursday. Mahindra Satyam beat the Street with a net profit of Rs 534.21 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012. Meanwhile, Vedanta posted a 13 per cent rise in full-year core profits, boosted by recent acquisition - Cairn India.
Bajaj Auto outdid its auto industry counterparts with a 20.6 per cent rise in its fourth-quarter profit margin and maintained its industry-leading profit margins in its fiscal fourth quarter as robust sales growth helped offset rising commodity prices. Wal-Mart Stores too posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit with a 2.6 per cent rise in sales, as warm weather and an earlier Easter enticed shoppers to spend.
6) Bajaj Auto's mini-four wheeler RE60 commercial launch by FY13 end
Bajaj Auto today said it will launch its mini four-wheeler commercial vehicle RE60 for intra-city urban transportation by the end of this fiscal. "The commercial production of RE60 will begin by the end of this fiscal and the launch will also happen at the same time," Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) Senior Vice-President (Business Development) S Ravikumar told PTI. (Read More)
7) Volkswagen puts on hold Rs 2,000 cr investment due to VAT refund issue
German auto major Volkswagen AG said it has put on hold the proposed Rs 2,000 crore investment plan in India as the VAT refund issue with the Maharashtra government remains unresolved. "The normal investments required for usual operations of the company is going on but the big plans for the future have been put on hold at the moment," Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India John Chacko told PTI. (Read More)
8) Oil prices fall to 7-month low as supplies grow
The price of oil continued to decline on the expectation that world markets will be flush with extra supply this year. Benchmark US crude, which fell by $1.17 to finish at a seven-month low of $92.81 per barrel on Wednesday, improved up 26 cents to $93.07, on hopes that reversing flow on the Seaway oil pipeline would help reduce a supply glut at the landlocked delivery point at Cushing, Oklahoma. Brent futures were, however, subdued below $110, having hit a four-month low earlier. Oil prices are down nearly 13 per cent since the beginning of May. (Read More)
9) Spain beset by bank crisis, recession, bond pressure
Spain's borrowing costs shot up at a bond auction on Thursday, after economic data confirmed the country is back in recession and reports that nationalized Bankia SA had suffered an outflow of deposits hammered its share price. The Spanish Treasury had to pay around 5 per cent to attract buyers of three- and four-year bonds. The longer-dated paper sold with a yield of 5.106 per cent, way above the 3.374 per cent the last time it was auctioned. (Read More)
10) Pfizer drug effective in rare children's cancer: Study
A lung cancer drug from global pharma giant Pfizer appears to be a highly effective treatment for children with a rare but aggressive type of lymphoma and other cancers, according to data from an early stage study released on Wednesday. The drug, crizotinib, was able to stall tumor growth and in some cases eradicate all signs of particularly aggressive cancers with minimal side effects, researchers said. (Read More)
