1. 7.5% Q4 GDP Growth May be Revised Downward on Poor Corp Numbers - TOI
The high January-March GDP growth figure of 7.5%, which elevated India to the position of the fastest growing large economy in the world, even ahead of China for the comparable period, may be short-lived as there is a high probability of its downward revision in about three months. This is partly because under the new method to calculate India’s GDP , the government captures revenue and profit numbers of about 5 lakh companies registered with the ministry of corporate affairs. Compared to this, the earlier practice was to capture data from a sample of about 2,000 companies only from RBI’s quarterly survey of industries.
For example, the day Q4 GDP data was disclosed by the government, three of the largest Indian corporates and Sensex constituents -L&T, Sun Pharma and M&M -announced their results. L&T announced a 27% drop in Q4 net profit, while Sun Pharma’s net was down 44% and M&M’s net fell 39%. It’s evident these drop in numbers were not captured by the Q4 GDP but when they are included in the revised estimates, it would impact the GDP growth numbers negatively.
Read the rest of the Times of India article here.
2.Jet Terminates Contracts of 50 Expat Pilots
Jet Airways has prematurely terminated the contracts of 50 expatriate pilots as part of a major cost-cutting exercise. The airline’s loss was Rs 2,097 crore in FY15 and Rs 4,130 crore in FY14. After the sacking, Jet now has 1,120 pilots of whom 88 are foreign pilots.
3.Puma is Having a Good Run– ET
Puma, which made its India debut in 2006, said it posted Rs 766.75 crore in the 2014 calsales of calendar year, inching closer to companies such as Adidas and Nike that entered the country earlier. The company has built on the advantage it took of a gap in the market when Reebok India took time out to deal with an alleged fraud in 2012.
Puma has 340 stores, of which 40 are run by the company.
Read the rest of the Economic Times article here.
4.RIL’s Mukesh Ambani is Richest Indian Again as Sun Pharma Stock Crashes 9% - ET
Sun Pharma owner Dilip Shanghvi’s net worth falls to $18.8 billion, from $20.3 billion on Friday following the company’s weaker-than-expected fourth quarter results, helping Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani re emerge as the richest Indian. Ambani’s networth was $21.2 billion on Monday, as per Times of India.
Read the rest of the Economic Times article here.
5.RIL, Pioneer Sell Shale Gas Asset for $2.15 billion – BS
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Pioneer Natural Resources have entered into an agreement with North
America-based Enterprise Products Partners to sell their stakes in Eagle Ford Shale (EFS) Midstream for $2.15 billion.
Pioneer owned 50.1 per cent in the venture,
while RIL had the remaining 49.9 per cent. RIL has
sold its stake for a consideration of about $1.07 billion. Pioneer had
initiated the sale of EFS Midstream last November.
Read the rest of the Business Standard article here.
6.SBI Cuts Interest Rate on Car Loans for Women Borrowers – PTI
The country’s largest lender State Bank of India said it has reduced interest rates on car loans by 25 basis points for its women home loan borrowers. The bank is offering the concession under the ‘Her Ghar Her Car’ loyalty scheme.
Under this, ‘Her Ghar’ borrowers can go in for a ‘Her Car’ loan at reduced rate of 10 percent per annum.
7.Retail Broker Count Shrinks Further – BS
Brokers catering to the retail segment are fast exiting the sector, as participation fails to catch up with the rising markets and compliance costs increase. As of April, the number of brokers in the cash segment stood at 3,195, down from 6,147 the previous month, according to data provided by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The community has been seeing a decline in the number of those catering to the cash segment and retail investors.
Read the rest of the Business Standard article here.
8.Bring Out Your Denims, Says Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka – FE
Infosys has ushered in a dress code change for its employees. From now, they can choose to wear smart business casuals right through the week as CEO Vishal Sikka takes more steps to remain connected with his workforce.
In an e-mail addressed to employees, Sikka said, “From Monday, June 1, 2015, you can flaunt your smart business casuals all week long! Yes, you can read it right! Your favorite pair of jeans teamed with t-shirt you love can now be worn every day, going forward. This was a change that many of you had voiced and requested on various platforms, so we are really excited that it is official now!”
The earlier Infosys dress code had formals as routine, with a tie for the first two days of the week; the next two days had formal wear without ties; and on Fridays people could wear casuals.
Read the rest of the Financial Express article here.
9.Private Banks Can Pay Up to Rs 10 Lakh to Non-Executive Directors: RBI – PTI
In a bid to attract professional talent, the RBI on Monday allowed private sector banks to pay up to Rs 10 lakh per annum as compensation to non-executive directors besides sitting fee for attending board meetings. It has asked private banks to prepare a comprehensive compensation policy for non-executive directors other than part-time non-executive chairman.
Such compensation, however, shall not exceed Rs 1 million ( Rs 10 lakh) per annum for each director.
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