Profit cues: Asian shares flat, banking amendment and more
After 2009's drought, the country had to import about 2.5 million tonnes of sugar, nearly 10 percent of the global surplus, sending international prices spiralling.
Asian benchmark indices traded flat on Friday as traders await a stimulus from the Bank of Japan. The MSCI Asia Pacific index and the Japanese Nikkei traded flat but positive. The downgrade of the Spanish debt by a rating agency capped upside in Asia. Overnight, US stocks rose on strong earnings and housing data. Shares rose for the third straight day as pending home sales rose to a two-year high in March 2012.
Idea Cellular profit falls
Idea Cellular, India's third-largest mobile phone carrier by revenue, reported a 13 per cent fall in quarterly profit in line with estimates on higher interest costs. Idea, part of the Aditya Birla conglomerate, said on Thursday consolidated net profit fell to Rs 2.39 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March, from Rs 2.75 billion reported a year earlier.
Essar Oil gets refinery boost
A major upgrading of its refinery in western India by refiner Essar Oil should boost its margins by up to $5 a barrel, its chief executive said on Thursday, adding nearly three quarters of a billion dollars to its annual revenues. Essar has just completed a $1.6 billion overhaul and expansion at the Vadinar refinery, raising capacity to around 360,000 barrels per day from 280,000 bpd and adding units that can process cheaper, heavier crude into fuels. The refinery would reach 400,000 bpd capacity in September, Managing Director Lalit Kumar Gupta said.
Sugar decontrol panel to meet on May 3
An expert committee on sugar decontrol, headed by Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan, is scheduled to meet on May 3. "The Committee is actively examining the issue and is in touch with all stakeholders. The next meeting is on May 3,"Food Secretary B C Gupta told reporters after the concluding ceremony of the 41st session of International Sugar Organisation in New Delhi.
Cabinet approves raising voting rights of shareholders in banks to 26%
The cabinet has approved raising voting rights of stakeholders in private banks to 26 per cent from 10 per cent, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said on Thursday. With the government staring at a slowing economy, triggered by a lack of reforms, the announcement could bring some cheer to investors, but needs to be cleared by parliament.
US agency revises India shale gas reserves estimates, ONGC affected
An US agency has revised downward the recoverable shale gas reserves in India, a top ONGC official said on Thursday. The United States Geological Survey (USGS), had estimated the potential shale gas reserves in India at 63 tcf's (trillion cubic feet) which was recoverable. ONGC has joined hands with US energy major ConocoPhillips for joint exploration possibilities in deep-water oil and gas blocks, besides shale gas exploration opportunities in India and abroad.
Normal monsoon forecast this year
India is likely to receive average monsoon rains this year, Earth Sciences Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said on Thursday, forecasting a third straight year without drought. Rains during the June-September season are likely to be 99 percent of the long-term average, Deshmukh said in a forecast keenly watched by traders and policymakers.
JSW Steel miss production target guidance
JSW Steel said on Thursday that it clocked 16 per cent growth in annual crude steel production at 7.43 million tonne (MT) in 2011-12. However, the Sajjan Jindal-led steel maker missed its initial production guidance of 8.75 MT due to shortage of iron ore in Karnataka, where it operates main production facility with a 10 MT per year capacity.
