General
1. Amid the Opposition uproar in the Lok Sabha over allegations of corruption in the UPA government, the National Food Security Bill was taken up for consideration on Monday.
THE HINDU
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Economy
2. Indian exporters are hoping to increase shipments to Iran this fiscal by more than half to $5 billion as both countries have stepped up efforts to expedite deals to offset part of the oil payment owed to the sanction-hit country.
BL
3. Indian services growth eased dramatically during April as new orders came in at a much slower pace, prompting firms to rein in hiring plans, a business survey showed on Monday. The HSBC Services Purchasing Managers’ Index, based on a survey of around 400 companies, fell to 50.7 last month, its lowest since October 2011 and the weakest reading in the current expansion cycle. The index had stood at 51.4 in March. It was the third straight month of decline and took the index dangerously close to the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction.
FE
4. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from Mauritius seem have made a comeback this year. They accounted for 43 per cent of total FDI flows in April-February 2012-13 against 33 per cent in the same period last year.
BL
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Business of Brands
5. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare has signed a brands-swap deal with its associate company GSK Pharmaceuticals as part of a strategy to cross 1-billion pound, or Rs 8,000-crore, revenue mark by 2016.
ET
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Corporate / Industry
6. Jindal Poly Films has surged 10 per cent to Rs 169 after the company engaged in commodity chemicals business announced the acquisition of global biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) business of ExxonMobil Chemical for $235 million (about Rs 1,265 crore). “ExxonMobil is the world’s largest company in terms of revenues and is into oil & gas, as well as chemicals business. The transaction is expected to be closed by July 2013,” Jindal Poly Films said in a press release.
BS
7. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the country’s largest car maker, will introduce two new models in a year’s time to replace those that aren’t selling too well as it seeks to regain market share in the world’s second fastest growing automobile market.
MINT
8. National carrier Air India (AI) will lower the free baggage allowance to 15 kg from 20 kg on domestic flights and start charging a flat rate of about Rs 200-250 per kg on excess baggage from next week, sources said on Monday.
ET
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Money & Banking
9. The rupee on Monday closed down by 24 paise at a nearly one-week low of 54.18 against the dollar on the American currency demand from importers and banks on the back of a firm dollar overseas.
FE
10. The State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday said it will consider merger of five associate banks in the second quarter of the fiscal. “It is a collective decision. We have to consult the government also. May be, in July-August, we will start working on this (amalgamation of associate banks),” SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said.
FE
11. The South Indian Bank on Monday reported a 26% jump in net profit to Rs 153.83 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, mainly on the back of an improved net interest margin. The private sector bank’s net profit stood at Rs 121.95 crore in the year-ago period.
FE
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Markets
12. The benchmark BSE S&P Sensex rebounded from previous session’s loss to add 98 points, or 0.5%, to close at 19,673.64 on Monday. Late buying in blue-chip stocks such as RIL, TCS, ICICI Bank and Infosys amid sustained capital inflows helped the Sensex end in the green. Metal, IT, Consumer durables, auto, teck and refinery stocks witnessed last-minute buying.
FE
13. Reliance Industries on Monday overtook ITC to become the third most valued company after TCS and ONGC. At the end of the trade, RIL commanded market value of Rs 2,65,814 crore. This is about Rs 7,978 crore more than ITC’s m-cap of Rs 2,57,836 crore.
ET
14. Many mid-cap stocks on Monday jumped 10-20% in anticipation of better quarterly numbers and gradually rising investor interest because of a widening valuation gap between these scrips and their large-cap peers. The BSE Midcap index, comprising 249 stocks, gained 1.17% on Monday, outperforming the 30-share Sensex which closed up half a percent. Stocks like HEG, REI Agro, Jindal Poly Films and Finolex have risen by 10-20%. The mid-cap index has underperformed the benchmark Sensex by 11% in the calendar year through April. The Sensex has risen by half a percent in the year to date.
ET
15. Despite a third consecutive fall in services PMI in April, large-to-mid-sized IT stocks rallied on Monday as traders cheered better-than-expected US employment data, a prominent market for the IT service providers.
FE
16. Keen to woo a new class of younger retail investors, a dozen BSE brokers are gearing up to launch Facebook apps that will allow clients to execute stock trades on the BSE platform from the familiar comfort of their Facebook accounts.
ET
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Rights Issue
17. Godrej Properties today said its board of directors will meet on May 9 to consider the issue of equity shares to existing shareholders on a rights basis. Godrej Properties, the realty arm of Godrej group, had launched its IPO in December 2009 to raise Rs 468 crore.
BL
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Mutual Funds
18. It is likely India’s equity mutual fund sector recorded a good performance in April, thanks to a decline in redemption requests and better inflows. In April, equity fund managers didn’t seem under heavy pressure to liquidate holdings to meet redemptions, as was seen till February. According to Securities and Exchange Board of India data, overall net selling by equity fund managers stood at Rs 1,423 crore, against Rs 1,613.6 crore in March. Executives said this meant in April, when benchmark stock indices rose 3.5 per cent, inflows in equity schemes improved and redemptions were less.
BS
19. MUTUAL fund houses have increased their exposure to sectors like banks, software and finance while reducing their holdings in consumer non-durables, ferrous metals, capital goods and auto in March this year compared to the year-ago period.
FE
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Commodities
20. OIL rose above $105 a barrel on Monday to its highest in nearly a month as an Israeli air strike on a Syrian military facility refocused attention on West Asia supply risks, although prices pared gains after weak European economic data.
FE
21. Both the precious metals, gold and silver, rose in the national capital today on fresh buying by stockists to meet the ongoing marriage season demand amid a firm global trend. While gold rose by Rs 120 to Rs 27,870 per 10 grams, silver gained Rs 200 to Rs 46,200 per kg on increased offtake by jewelers and industrial units.
FE
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Communications
22. Reliance Communications (RCom) on Monday said it has hiked mobile call rates for both its GSM and CDMA pre-paid customers by up to 30% to improve profits.
ET
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Information Technology
23. Canada has joined the US in tightening the visa regime for foreign workers, a move that could be detrimental for Indian IT service companies with operations in that country.
BL
24. Public cloud services market in India is forecast to grow 36% in 2013 to total $443 million, research firm Gartner on Monday said. Cloud computing facilitates sharing of technological resources, software and digital information. It operates on a pay-per-use model, helping companies to cut costs as they do not have to invest heavily in infrastructure. The public cloud services market stood at $326 million in 2012, Gartner said in a statement.
ET
25. Goldman Sachs Private Equity will invest up to $110 million in digital cable operator Den Networks for a 17% stake, and also raise $50 million through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) of shares, the company informed the stock exchange on Monday.
ET
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Variety
26. Worried about what you dog is chewing on when you’re at work, or whether your home is secure while on vacation? New apps can transform old smartphone into remote security cameras for home monitoring systems. Presence, which was launched late last month, converts a spare Internet-connected iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch into a free video camera with real-time video and audio streaming, and motion detection and notifications.
ET
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International
27. French finance minister Pierre Moscovici declared the era of austerity over after his German counterpart offered flexibility on deficit cutting amid renewed bickering between Europe’s two biggest economies.
MINT
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