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Donald Trump impeachment to go to Senate Monday, launching trial - Moneycontrol

While the transmission of the article launches the trial proceedings, the schedule ahead remains uncertain as the Senate, now in Democratic control, is also working to swiftly confirm President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees and tackle the new administration's …

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to send the article of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, launching the start of the former president's trial on a charge of incitement of insurrection over the deadly Capitol riot. There will be a trial, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in making the announcement Friday. "It will be a full trial, it will be a fair trial. Trump is the first president to be twice impeached and the first to face a trial after leaving office. While the transmission of the article launches the trial proceedings, the schedule ahead remains uncertain as the Senate, now in Democratic control, is also working to swiftly confirm President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees and tackle the new administration's legislative priorities. Biden says the Senate can do both and Schumer said he also speaking to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell about the timing and duration of the proceedings ahead. Yellen vote in US Senate committee to test support for Biden economic plan Senate Republicans strongly believe we need a full and fair process, McConnell said after Schumer spoke. On Thursday he proposed delaying the start of Trump's trial to February to give the former president time to prepare and review his case. Trump is still assembling his legal team.. House Democrats who voted to impeach Trump last week for inciting the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot say a full reckoning is necessary before the country and the Congress can move on. The timing and details ahead rests on negotiations between Schumer and McConnell, who are also in talks over a power-sharing agreement for the Senate, which is narrowly-split, 50-50, but in Democratic control because the vice president serves as a tie-breaking vote. Under an extended timeline as McConnell proposed, the president's defense team and House prosecutors would have two weeks to file briefs. Arguments would likely begin in mid-February. A trial delay could appeal to some Democrats, as it would give the Senate more time to confirm Biden's Cabinet nominees and debate a new round of coronavirus relief. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a key ally of the president's, told CNN that Democrats would consider a delay if we are making progress on confirming the very talented, seasoned and diverse" team Biden has nominated. Pelosi said Trump doesn't deserve a get-out-of-jail card just because he has left office and Biden and others are calling for national unity. Facing his second impeachment trial in two years, Trump began to assemble his defense team by hiring attorney Butch Bowers to represent him, according to an adviser. Bowers previously served as counsel to former South Carolina Govs. Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina helped Trump find Bowers after members of his past legal teams indicated they did not plan to join the new effort. Trump is at a disadvantage compared to his first trial, in which he had the full resources of the White House counsel's office to defend him. Pelosi's nine impeachment managers, who will be prosecuting the House case, have been regularly meeting to discuss strategy. Shortly before the Jan. 6 insurrection, Trump told thousands of his supporters at a rally near the White House to fight like hell against the election results that Congress was certifying. A mob marched down to the Capitol and rushed in, interrupting the count. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died in the mayhem, and the House impeached Trump a week later, with 10 Republicans joining all Democrats in support. Pelosi said it would be harmful to unity to forget that people died here on Jan. 6, the attempt to undermine our election, to undermine our democracy, to dishonor our Constitution. Trump was acquitted by the Republican-led Senate at his first impeachment trial. The White House legal team, aided by Trump's personal lawyers, aggressively fought the House charges that he had encouraged the president of Ukraine to investigate Biden in exchange for military aid. This time around, Pelosi noted, the House is not seeking to convict the president over private conversations but for a very public insurrection that they themselves experienced and that played out on live television. This year, the whole world bore witness to the president's incitement, Pelosi said. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said it was still too early to know how long a trial would take or if Democrats would want to call witnesses. But he said, You don't need to tell us what was going on with the mob scene we were rushing down the staircase to escape. McConnell, who said this week that Trump provoked his supporters before the riot, has not said how he will vote. He told his GOP colleagues that it will be a vote of conscience. Democrats would need the support of at least 17 Republicans to convict Trump, a high bar. While a handful of Senate Republicans have indicated they are open to conviction, most have said they believe a trial will be divisive and questioned the legality of trying a president after he has left office. Graham said that if he were Trump's lawyer, he would focus on that argument and on the merits of the case and whether it was incitement under the law. I guess the public record is your television screen, Graham said. So, I don't see why this would take a long time.

Yes Bank reports Q3 net profit at Rs 147 crore; COVID ups stressed assets - Moneycontrol.com

The bank, which had cash recoveries of nearly Rs 1,500 crore during the reporting quarter, is aiming to recover another Rs 2,000 crore in the fourth quarter, Kumar said.

Private sector lender Yes Bank on January 22 reported consolidated net profit of Rs 147 crore for the December quarter and a jump in asset quality stress due to COVID-19. The bank had posted a loss of Rs 18,564 crore in the year-ago period, when it recognised all the hidden stress in the balance sheet, while the same number stood at Rs 120 crore in the quarter-ago period. The private lender had to be bailed out by a consortium led by SBI last March on troubles with the loan book. It's MD and chief executive Prashant Kumar told reporters that this is the third straight quarter where the bank has shown a rise in profits and it continues with its de-risking strategy, which led to a marginal rise of only 1.7 percent in advances to Rs 1.69 lakh crore. Kumar said Rs 8,000 crore of assets had to be restructured and another Rs 7,000 crore are standstill non-performing assets, which would have had to be classified as NPAs if not for a Supreme Court order not to classify certain assets as NPAs, and stressed that the issues are because of COVID-related stress even though the accounts may be old. If one adds the newly created stressed pool of restructuring and standstill NPAs to the reported gross NPAs of 15.36 percent, the stressed pool comes to 20 percent, which is higher than what the bank had experienced in the year-ago period after the accelerated recognition of stress, he admitted. However, Kumar said over 15 percent of the stress is temporary, arising because of the COVID in legacy accounts, and pointed out that the sticky NPAs are only 4 percent of the reported GNPAs. The level of the GNPAs seems higher at 20 percent because of shrinkage in the book, he added. With the increase in stressed assets, its provisions or the money set aside to take care of reverses on loans also went up. Its overall provisions stood at Rs 2,198 crore as against Rs 1,187 crore in the quarter-ago period, and included over Rs 765 crore for COVID-related provisions, he said. Kumar said the bank is carrying adequate provisions at present, and the COVID-related buffer is Rs 2,683 crore as of December 31, 2020. "Out of the restructured book, we are not seeing any risk at all. This would be standard restructuring. The NPAs are not sticky NPAs, more temporary. The improvement will happen very fast," he said. The bank, which had cash recoveries of nearly Rs 1,500 crore during the reporting quarter, is aiming to recover another Rs 2,000 crore in the fourth quarter, Kumar said. He added that its overall recoveries most of them are from corporates in the first nine months of the fiscal stand at Rs 2,900 crore and over Rs 2,430 crore have been written back as profits. The net interest income of the lender came at Rs 1,197 crore which was up by nearly 70 percent when compared to the September quarter. But Kumar said part of it will have to written-back once the Supreme Court judgement on standstill accounts comes in. During the quarter, it disbursed over Rs 12,000 crore to retail and small business segments as against Rs 6,800 crore in the September quarter, while the corporate disbursements stood at Rs 2,000 crore consisting majorly of working capital for mid-sized companies. The bank looks at the disbursements being at a similar level in the fourth quarter, Kumar said, raising questions over the demand in the economy. The bank is targeting for a credit growth of 12 percent in FY22, which will be driven largely by a 20 percent growth in retail, Kumar said, adding that a larger share of the incremental advances will keep going to retail, which now forms 28 percent of the overall book as of December. The net interest margin came at 3.4 percent, but the same is not sustainable as once the SC ruling on standstill accounts comes in, there will be interest outgo, Kumar said, adding that it targets to maintain the number above 3 percent in FY22. The expenses reduced by 13 percent on the back of specific strategies, Kumar said, adding that it has formulated a work from home plan for employees, which will save Rs 20 crore per year of rental expenses at the corporate office alone. The bank scrip slipped 1.45 percent to Rs 17 apiece on the BSE. The bank scrip slipped 1.45 percent to Rs 17 apiece on the BSE.

Why fire at Serum Institute of India's Pune plant has sent jitters across vaccine industry - Moneycontrol

The companies that are making COVID-19 vaccines can be highly vulnerable targets for cyber attacks and other sophisticated attempts of sabotage, say experts.

Even as the investigation is underway to find out the reasons for the breakout of fire on January 21 at Serum Institute of India (SII) vaccine factory in Pune that killed at least five people and gutted equipment worth hundreds of crores of rupees, experts and industry executives have expressed shock and called the fire incident of this scale  "unusual". The fire broke out at a building that makes Rotavirus and BCG vaccines, near the company's existing production plant at Manjri, a Pune suburb, where vaccine manufacturing equipment was being installed for the upcoming production of non-COVID vaccines. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of SII, told CNBC-TV18 that new product launches will be hit, and there will be major equipment damage and more than Rs 1000 crore in revenue loss over the next one to two years due to the fire. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray tweeted that an "electrical fault" caused the fire at the plant. To be sure, SII is the largest vaccine maker in the world by volume, with a strong track record of regulatory and quality compliance and industrial safety. "If you have a facility where let's say an expansion or construction is going on then one can understand that it is new facility, but this is a facility which has been producing rotavirus vaccine --  there could be some renovation, repair or expansion that might have been going on; we don't have exact details, but this (fire) is quite unusual," said Davinder Gill, former CEO of Hilleman Laboratories. Gill was previously global head of Biotherapeutics at Pfizer. Gill explains that unlike the pharmaceutical industry, especially bulk drug units that have chemical reactors involving risky chemical reactions that are prone to fire accidents, vaccine facilities have bioreactors to grow microorganisms and are generally safe from a fire standpoint. But they also have tanks that hold solvents and buffers. "The inflammable thing that vaccine manufacturing uses is ethanol (alcohol), and the manufacturers are trying to limit or eliminate the use of it," Gill said. Ethanol is used as a solvent in certain vaccines like Haemophilus influenzae type B HIB, for precipitation of  DNA (or washing) in vaccine manufacturing. Another top executive of a vaccine company who didn't want to be named said that he was surprised at the intensity of the fire. "We still don't have details, electrical fault is claimed as a possible reason. Electric short circuits or build-up of static electricity can happen, but are rare," the executive said. "This isn't any old legacy plant; it is a newly built state-of-the-art manufacturing site making WHO prequalified vaccines - there will be a fire safety plan. Even the workers couldn't escape from fire to safety is both sad and bizarre," the executive added. Accident or Sabotage? Experts say the companies that are making COVID-19 vaccines can be highly vulnerable targets for cyber attacks and other sophisticated attempts of sabotage. "I think we have to be careful not to rush to conspiracy theories, but those investigating should examine the angle of sabotage, given the circumstances that we live in," Gill said. The vaccine executive quoted above said that when he saw the visuals of the fire at the SII plant on TV, the first thing he did was to immediately call his relevant department head and instructed him to beef up the security at the plants. "Security and surveillance at vaccine manufacturing plants are taken very seriously because we deal with biohazard material," the executive said.

Microsoft updates Edge browser with new features and themes - Moneycontrol.com

Microsoft Edge update marks a year of the new Chromium-based version of the browser after it ditched its in-house rendering engine in favour of the one that power’s Google’s Chrome.

In a major update to the companys web browser, Edge, (that comes included in Windows 10), Microsoft has added tons of new features to improve user experience. The update marks a year of the new Chromium-based version of the browser after it ditched its in-house rendering engine in favour of the one that powers Googles Chrome. The first change and likely one that will please a lot of desktop auteurs are the 24 new themes that come with the update. These include themes based on Microsofts lineage with takes on The Halo franchise, Gears franchise, Forza, Sea of Thieves and more. These themes can be applied to the new tabs page while the rest of the browser matches its colour scheme. For the tinkerers among you, Microsoft has also added support for vertical tabs, which are currently in testing. Microsoft has also changed the browsers icon to be more rounded and smoother looking. The company calls this Fluent design and says that people will see a lot more of it in other products once it begins rolling them out. To improve performance, Edge now has a feature called sleeping tabs. The browser will now intelligently manage open tabs, reducing the load on active tabs i.e. the tabs which you are currently browsing more by siphoning power away from the inactive ones, reducing sluggishness. Another feature aimed at security is the new password manager, which functions as a repository for multiple passwords across services and can generate new passwords if you are signing up for a service for the first time or changing your password. The manager will also get other improvements over time such as the ability to see if your password is currently on the list of leaked credentials. Sidebar search has also been improved with it now available across the browser. Simply highlight a word, right-click on it and press search. The browser will now display a side panel with web results neatly organised, so you wont have to switch away from your current tab. History and tab sync is now available worldwide after previously being constricted to a few countries. You can now use one profile to sync up your browser history between devices which means you can now open a tab in Edge PC and the Edge browser on your phone will mirror what you currently have open, making it seamless to switch devices on the fly. Edge now also aggregates classifieds from across various sources on the web, making it easier to look at job opportunities on the fly. Microsoft has also beefed-up security options by giving users the ability to control which sites use your location data, in addition to monitoring camera and microphone access by sites. For a more detailed look at these features, head on over to Microsofts blog page.

Taking Stock | Profit-booking drags Nifty below 14,400, Sensex plunges over 700 pts - Moneycontrol.com

Axis Bank, Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries and SBI were among major losers on the Nifty, while gainers included Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Eicher Motors, HUL and TCS.

After hitting record highs in the previous session, benchmark indices fell for the second day in a row on January 22 on the back of selling seen in the metal and banking names. At close, the Sensex was down 746.22 points or 1.50% to 48,878.54, and the Nifty was down 218.50 points or 1.50% to 14,371.90. "Markets traded weak on Friday with profit-booking in metals & financials. The key highlight of the day, however, was the strong appetite for auto stocks which coupled with the IT biggies kept the optimism alive on a weak day as the street awaits the earnings of RIL," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities. Among sectors, Nifty Bank, metal and PSU bank indices shed 3 percent each, while energy, pharma and infra sectors fell 1 percent each. On the other hand, the auto index added over 1 percent. Broader markets outperformed the main indices with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling 1 percent each. Axis Bank, Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Hindalco Industries and SBI were among top losers on the Nifty, while gainers included Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Eicher Motors, HUL and TCS. Stocks & sectors Except for Auto and IT, all other BSE sectoral indices ended in the red. The BSE metal, bank and realty indices fell 3 percent each. Oil & gas, power and healthcare indices shed over 1 percent each, however, BSE auto index added 1.5 percent. A volume spike of more than 100 percent was seen in Biocon, Adani Ports and TVS Motor. Long buildup was seen in Bajaj Auto, TCS and UltraTech Cements, while short buildup was seen in GMR Infra, L&T and Biocon. Over 200 stocks including JK Tyre, Indosolar and GTL Infrastructure hit a fresh 52-week high on the BSE. Technical View Nifty formed a Bearish candle on the daily scale and a Doji with long upper shadow on the weekly scale which indicates that selling pressure is seen at higher zones. The index may continued to remain highly volatile ahead of Monthly expiry and Union Budget 2021. "Till the time Nifty remains below 14500 zones, weakness could pull it towards 14,250 levels while on the upside key hurdle exists at 14,600 and 14,750 levels," said Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Coronavirus update: India records 14,545 new cases; recovery rate at 96.78% - Moneycontrol

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,02,83,708 pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate of 96.78 percent, while the COVID-19case fatality rate stands at 1.44 percent.

India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,06,25,428 with 14,545 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, while the recoveries have surged to 1,02,83,708, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The death toll increased to 1,53,032with 163 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,02,83,708 pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate of 96.78 percent, while the COVID-19case fatality rate stands at 1.44 percent. The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 2 lakh for the third consecutive day. There are 1,88,688 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprise 1.78 percent of the total caseload, the data stated. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7,30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and50 lakh onSeptember 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28,70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29,90 lakh onNovember 20 and surpassed theone-crore mark on December 19. According to the ICMR, 19,01,48,024 samples have been tested up toJanuary 21 with 8,00,242 samples being tested on Thursday.

H-1B visa: President Joe Biden’s proposed immigration bill could bring relief for Indian techies, IT... - Moneycontrol

One of the provisions of the bill was to provide US citizenship to 11 million undocumented immigrants, including 500,000 from India, in an eight-year time frame. But there was more in store for H-1B workers and students who would like to pursue education in t…

US President Joe Biden on January 20 signed immigration bill that would reverse Donald Trumps protectionist immigration policies. One of the provisions of the bill was to provide US citizenship to 11 million undocumented immigrants, including 500,000 from India, in an eight-year time frame. But there was more in store for H-1B workers and students who would like to pursue education in the US as well. What did the bill address? Clearing green card backlogs for employment based category. This bill clears employment-based visa backlogs, recaptures unused visas, reduces lengthy wait times, and eliminates per-country visa caps, according to a statement that detailed the immigration reform. The bill will also improve access to green cards for workers in lower-wage sectors and eliminate other unnecessary hurdles for employment-based green cards, the statement added. This would help Indians on H-1B visa, who are waiting to get their hands on green card for a long time. There are about 8 lakh Indians on employment visas like H-1B visa in the green card queue, a large number of whom have been waiting to get their hands on the coveted green cards for more than a decade. Work authorisation of H-4 visa holders, dependents of H-1B The bill provides dependents of H-1B visa holders work authorization, which was first introduced when Barack Obama was the President in 2015. This benefited a large number of Indians, who accounted for about 1.06 lakh of H-4 visas as of FY19. This would continue, bringing relief to thousands of Indians in the US. Students The bill makes it easier for graduates of US universities with advanced STEM degrees to stay in the US, the statement read. This is good news for students who would like to stay back in the US under Optional Practical Training (OPT), a gateway to get H-1B visa in the US. The Trump administration wanted to remove OPT programme, which allows foreign STEM graduates to work in the US for three years temporarily. Final Rules Over the last few weeks, in a last-ditch attempt to push its immigration agenda, the Trump administration passed three final rules that would impact H-1B visa workers. These would impact Indian techies and IT firms, who are one of the largest beneficiaries of the visa. This included H-1B selection based on wages instead of lottery, wage hikes for H-1B employees and mandate to initiate H-1B visa from both employers and clients. Of the three rules, mandate to initiate H-1B visa from both employers and clients is unlikely to be implemented as it was never published in the Federal register.  The other two rules will not come into effect immediately and could see a delay as agencies review these rules. The executive order signed on January 20, 2021 read, the heads of agencies shall promptly take steps to rescind any orders, rules, regulations, guidelines, or policies, or portions thereof, implementing or enforcing the Executive Orders as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, including the Administrative Procedure Act. If in any case such rescission cannot be finalized immediately, the Director and the heads of agencies shall promptly take steps to provide all available exemptions authorized by any such orders, rules, regulations, guidelines, or policies, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, the order read. What does it mean for Indians and IT firms? They can be relieved as the bill address issues related to STEM talent and has put on hold rules that would impact the H-1B visas. Indian IT industry body NASSCOM said in a statement, President Biden has pledged a new approach on Trade and Immigration, as well as a renewed and revitalized interest in Science and Technology. We appreciate President Bidens commitment to review and make necessary changes to harmful regulatory policies put in place by the outgoing Administration. Most IT firms initiate H-1B visas for their employees to work for their clients in the US. So far, clients did not have to take part in the H-1B application process. The new rule intend to changes that. With the rule yet to be published in the Federal register, this will not come into effect. It is yet to be seen what would happen to the wage-based rules as they can be challenged in courts or could be revoked by the Biden administration. V Ramakrishnan, CFO, TCS, in an earlier interaction with Moneycontrol on January 11 referring to H-1B selection based on wages, said, We dont know even if these changes will survive. Some of the changes that happened they were successfully legally challenged. Having said that our own dependency on these has come down significantly. So while these may create disruptions, these are part of the business model and we will be able to handle it whichever way the changes happen, he added.

HDFC to sell 24.48% stake in Good Host for Rs 232.81 crore - Moneycontrol

"The corporation has today entered into a share purchase agreement for sale of 47,75,241 equity shares of Re 1 each, representing 24.48 percent of the issued and paid-up share capital of Good Host," Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) said in t…

Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd has signed an agreement to sell its 24.48 percent stake in Good Host, a company engaged in the business of managing student housing facilities, for Rs 232.81 crore, according to a regulatory filing. "The corporation has today entered into a share purchase agreement for sale of 47,75,241 equity shares of Re 1 each, representing 24.48 percent of the issued and paid-up share capital of Good Host," Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) said in the late night regulatory filing on Wednesday. HDFC said the aggregate sale consideration for the sale shares is Rs 232.81 crore which is subject to various customary adjustments as agreed between the parties, and the final sale consideration shall be calculated accordingly. Good Host, which is engaged in providing hostel services, guest house services, service apartments and leasing of property for hostel service, had reported a turnover of Rs 112.60 crore for fiscal 2019-20. Subsequent to the above sale, Good Host would cease to be an associate company of the corporation, HDFC said. The mortgage lender, however, did not give details about the buyer. HDFC had acquired 25.01 percent stake in Good Host in August 2018 for Rs 69.5 crore.

RIL share price rises nearly 2% on SEBI approval to Future Group deal - Moneycontrol.com

In August 2020, Kishore Biyani-led Future Group had entered into a Rs 24,713-crore agreement to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehouse businesses to Reliance Retail Retail Ventures.

Share price of Reliance Industries (RIL) rose nearly 2 percent in the early trade on January 21 after the company got the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board  (SEBI) for its deal with Kishore Biyani-led Future Group. In August 2020, Biyani had entered into a Rs 24,713 crore agreement with Reliance Retail, an arm of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehouse businesses to Reliance Retail Retail Ventures (RRVL). The market regulator gave the nod to the deal on January 20. Also Read: Future Group-Reliance Industries deal gets SEBI approval "The company shall ensure that the shares of the transferee entity issued in lieu of the locked-in shares of the transferor entities are subjected to lock-in for the remaining period post scheme," the SEBI said. "For the last couple of months, Reliance Industries had been trading within a narrow consolidation range on the daily timeframe. On January 18, the stock finally witnessed a consolidation breakout, trading above its trendline support. In this recent price spurt, the stock has given a breakout about its 21 and 50-day moving averages on a daily timeframe, which is extremely positive for the counter," said Rohan Patil, Technical Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio. Momentum oscillator RSI (14) has given a horizontal trendline breakout, placed near 50 levels, and is currently reading above 55 levels with a bullish crossover on the daily scale, he said. "Buy the stock with a target price of Rs 2,175 and stop loss of Rs 1,990," Patil added. At 0924 hours, Reliance Industries was quoting at Rs 2,080.50, up Rs 25.80, or 1.26 percent, on the BSE. The share touched its 52-week high Rs 2,368.80 and 52-week low Rs 867.45 on 16 September, 2020 and 23 March, 2020, respectively. It is trading 12.17 percent below its 52-week high and 139.84 percent above its 52-week low. Disclosure: Reliance Industries (RIL), which is the parent company of Reliance Retail, JioMart and Reliance Market, is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust that controls Network18 Media & Investments which publishes Moneycontrol.

Future Group-Reliance Industries deal gets SEBI approval - Moneycontrol

The SEBI, in its letter issued on January 20 which approved the deal, listed a number of conditions in accordance to the Composite Scheme of Arrangement.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) granted approval to the deal between Kishore Biyani-led Future Group and Reliance Retail, an arm of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on January 20. In August 2020, Biyani had entered into a Rs 24,713 crore agreement with Reliance Retail. As part of the pact, Future Group was to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehouse businesses to Reliance Retail Retail Ventures (RRVL). The SEBI, in its letter of approval, listed a number of conditions in accordance to the Composite Scheme of Arrangement. The regulatory body has also referred to the apprehensions raised by Amazon. "Company shall ensure that the shares of the transferee entity issued in lieu of the locked-in shares of the transferor entities is subjected to lock-in for the remaining period post scheme," SEBI stated. "Company shall ensure that proceedings pending before SEBI against the entities part of the promoter/promoter group or are directors of the companies involved in the scheme, should be highlighted in the scheme document filed before National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)," it further added. The US-based Amazon has written to SEBI a number of times over the past three months, asking the regulatory body to stall the Future-Reliance deal. The company has accused Future Group of violating a pact signed by it by entering into a deal with Reliance Retail. On December 21, Amazon Inc had also filed a plea before the Delhi High Court, seeking a stay on the Future-Reliance deal. SEBI, while referring to the complaints registered by Amazon and the plea filed in Delhi HC, has asked the entities involved in the amalgamation to keep their shareholders informed about the legal dispute. "Company shall ensure that any future disputes, complaints, regulatory actions or proceedings, or orders issued therein involving the draft scheme if any, shall be brought to the notice of shareholders prior to the approval by NCLT," it added. "In light of the above, we hereby advise that we have no adverse observations with limited reference to those matters having a bearing on listing/de-listing/continuous listing requirements within the provisions of Listing Agreement, so as to enable the company to file the scheme with Honble NCLT," SEBI further said. Amazon had gained a minority stake in Future Group after taking over 49 percent stakes in Future Coupons, which serves as the promoter entity of the former. According to the Future Group CEO, his company reached out to Amazon eight times after its financial condition had weakened. The e-commerce giant, however, did not provide any major aid. "They could have provided us funds through affiliates or financial institutions by taking over loans from existing lenders but they never did despite the agreement clause and our request," Economic Times quoted Biyani as saying earlier this month. "The Reliance deal was a saviour for us and the employees, stakeholders, shareholders and creditors," he added. Disclaimer: Reliance Industries (RIL) which is the parent company of Reliance Retail, JioMart and Reliance Market is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments which publishes Moneycontrol.

Havells Q3 net profit surges 74.5% YoY on consumer business growth - Moneycontrol

Havells' backed Lloyd saw its revenue grow by 70.2 percent YoY to Rs 511.56 crore in the third quarter. This was on the back of its entry into the refrigerator segment in the country. Havells has also declared an interim dividend of Rs 3 per equity share.

Electrical goods firm Havells posted a 74.5 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in its Q3FY21 (December quarter) consolidated net profit at Rs 350.14 crore. This was on the back of a strong growth in its topline, lead by Lloyd, electrical consumer durables and switchgears business. Total income grew by 40 percent YoY in Q3 to Rs 3,214.24 crore. Meanwhile, Lloyd revenue grew by 70.2 percent YoY to Rs 511.56 crore in the third quarter. Havells-backed Lloyd, widely known for its air-conditioners, entered the refrigerator category at the end of September 2020. Among the other business segments, switchgears saw a 32 percent YoY growth to Rs 437 crore in Q3. Electrical consumer durables saw a 46 percent YoY growth to Rs 783 crore. Lighting/fixtures business saw a 28 percent Yo growth to Rs 353 crore. The EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) margin improved to 16 percent in Q3FY21 compared to 11.8 percent in the year-ago period. This is because EBITDA grew to Rs 508 crore in Q3, showing an 89 percent YoY growth. In its investor presentation, Havells said that the encouraging business performance with growth across divisions and regions led by an improvement in consumer sentiment and festive season. It added that there was an increased penetration in smaller towns and a higher rural reach. The supply chain disruption faced by suppliers with high import dependence have further supported market share gains, added the company. Havells has also declared an interim dividend of Rs 3 per equity share. This will be payable to all those shareholders whose names appear in the register of members as on January 21, 2021.

After The Bell: Sensex, Nifty hit record highs; what should investors do on Thursday? - Moneycontrol.com

Ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration as President, the US market is on an upbeat mood with high expectations of a big US stimulus, said Vinod Nair

Tracking positive global cues, bulls remained in firm control of the markets pushing benchmark indices to fresh record highs in the second half of the trading session on January 20. The S&P BSE Sensex hit a high of 49,9874 while the Nifty50 inched closer towards 15,000 to hit a high of 14,666. Sectorally, the action was seen in auto, IT, energy, industrials, and consumer discretionary stocks while profit-taking was seen in FMCG, and telecom space. More than 250 stocks hit a fresh 52-week high which includes MRF, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, TCS, Apollo Hospitals, and Tata Elxsi. Positive global cues and stable Q3 earnings revived the bullish sentiment on D-Street after two sessions of declines in the last four sessions. "An optimistic western market aided the Indian market to touch lifetime highs with new buying in segments like Auto, IT and PSU Bank. So far, the Q3 results are better than forecasted and this has led to continued buying across sectors, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services told Moneycontrol.Here is what experts think that investors should do on January 21: Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities The market has witnessed a complete reversal formation by closing above the high of the previous day, which was at 14,459/49,122. On Wednesday, all the sectors except FMCG closed in positive territory. The market breadth was extremely encouraging. An unusual surge in the Hang Seng helped other Asian markets to trade higher. Along with Asian markets, todays performance of US markets would decide the next course of action for our markets. Gaurav Dua, Sr Vice President, Head Capital Market Strategy & Investments, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas Sensex is at the doorstep of an important milestone of 50K mark. What a journey it has been for the benchmark index from 100 mark (on April 1979) to 50,000 mark in January 2021, which amounts to a compounded annual returns of just shy of 15.5 percent over the period of last 43 years. Clearly, equities as an asset class have exceeded returns from all other asset classes over the last four decades and the journey highlights the importance of equities as an essential component of all investor portfolios. We are at a cusp of a new economic cycle and business uptrend in India. The pillars of the long-term equity rally are in place, i.e., low-interest rates, bank balance sheets on a mend, significant policy reforms along with the recent focus on attracting foreign investments and developing the Indian manufacturing sector. S Hariharan, Head - Sales Trading, Emkay Global Financial Services:   Cash market volumes have shrunk this week as indecision has set in among institutional investors. The Union Budget is the next major event that traders would be focusing on. PSU Banks and Capital Goods sectors have attracted fund flows, in anticipation of announcements for these sectors. IT sector results beat expectations but existing long positioning acted as an overhang. In the meantime, FII flows which had been the primary driver of price performance, have slowed and appear poised to stay muted for the next couple of weeks. Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities "One more positive session along with that index made fresh levels today and closed the day at 14,645 with gains of nearly one percent forming a bullish candle for the second consecutive day. Now, a good base is created around 14,560 followed by 14500 zone. If index holds above the said levels, it can show some more positive move towards 14700-14750 zone. Also, any dip near 14500 zone will be again buying opportunity. In Nifty bank, a strong hurdle is still at the 32700 zone. Any decisive break above 32700 zone can quickly push the index to the 33k zone. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.