COST Financial News

Sobha Ltd are among examples of companies that are diversifying their presence. Both the stocks saw impressive gains of over 130% each in the last year.

US sanctions crimped trade with Russia and forced processors to look elsewhere for supply. State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Indian Oil Corp., along with top private refiner Reliance Industries Ltd., have purchased about 7 million barrels of April-loading US crude so far this month, said traders who asked not to be identified.

February marked the second consecutive month of decline in the proportion of delayed projects, as the proportion of delayed central government projects declined to a 25-month low of 41.2% compared with 42.8% in the previous month, according to the ministry of statistics and programme implementation report. The ratio of cost overrun in large central government projects also declined in February to a three-month low of 18.19%, compared with 18.41% in the previous month. The anticipated cost of these 1,902 projects was nearly Rs 5 lakh crore higher than the original cost of Rs 27.08 lakh crore.

alcohol beverages industry is poised for margin improvement and higher sales in the fiscal year 2025, according to ICRA, a credit rating agency. ICRA projects a revenue growth of 8-10% for its sample set of domestic alcohol beverages (alcobev) companies in FY2025. Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) companies are anticipated to witness revenue expansion of 11-13%, driven by a preference for premium products alongside a volume growth of approximately 3-5%. Beer companies are expected to experience a revenue increase of 9-11% year-on-year, primarily due to a 4-6% rise in volumes.

market slowdown, the Financial Times reported. The firm will streamline its primary business divisions from five to four, a source told the paper. These include the audit and assurance, strategy, risk and transactions, technology and transformation, and tax and legal units.

Pro tip: Leave room for flexibility, as spontaneous plans can sometimes make the best memories! Having a FASTag on your car makes your drives seamless and cost-effective. Did you know you need to pay twice the toll if you choose to pay via cash and not FASTag? If you are worried aboutregistration woes and transactional issues associated with a FASTag, leave it to Airtel Payments Bank. Getting a NETC FASTag with Airtel Payments Bank is a breeze.

AU Small Finance Bank, in October last year, announced the merger scheme with Fincare Small Finance Bank Ltd, which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved earlier this month. The merger will take effect on April 1 and all branches of Fincare Small Finance Bank will function as branches of AU Small Finance Bank from that date.

Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland on Tuesday said it has signed a strategic alliance with Minus Zero aimed at developing tailored autonomous trucking solutions in the country. Bengaluru-based Minus Zero is an autonomous driving technology startup and this partnership aims to revolutionise commercial trucking through autonomous solutions at scale. The initial focus of this collaboration will be on developing autonomous trucking solutions for ports, factory operations and corporate campuses, the city-based heavy commercial vehicle maker said in a company statement. With global regulations and infrastructure evolving to support autonomous driving, this collaboration can extend to offer joint product offerings to international markets.

graphite. Graphjet Technology said it can turn palm kernels into graphite — an essential component in EV battery anodes — from its facility in Malaysia, one of the world’s top producers of palm oil. The company, which started trading on Nasdaq Friday, expects to begin producing the ingredient in the second quarter, targeting an annual capacity of 3,000 tons, according to Chief Executive Officer Aiden Lee. Synthetic graphite, which accounts for most of global production, is typically made from petroleum coke, in an expensive and carbon-intensive process. Graphjet says its process cuts the carbon footprint by 83% while reducing costs by 80%.

By Leika Kihara

By Selena Li and Xie Yu

A pair of anti-ESG laws Texas passed in 2021 are costing the state hundreds of millions in lost economic activity and more than 3,000 full-time jobs, a new study found.

Advisors ignoring the rise in crude oil may be missing out on a gusher of profits for their clients.

Investing.com — Stock buybacks among S&P 500 companies climbed by nearly a fifth in the fourth quarter from the prior quarter, with Apple leading the way, buying $22.7 billion of its stock during the quarter, the ninth highest level of share repurchases in S&P 500 history. 

Canada’s federal budget, due next month, is likely to allocate billions of dollars for investing in building homes and low cost housing programs, Housing Minister Sean Fraser said on Monday.

The chief executives of Canada’s three largest telecom companies stressed that phone and internet prices are coming down during an appearance before MPs on Monday, citing increased data usage, high spectrum costs and regulatory conditions as some reasons Canadians may feel otherwise.

Investing.com — Hertz Global Holdings (OTC:HTZGQ) first-quarter results are likely to be more «challenging» than expected, underscore by the rental car company's recent leadership change as it pivots away from electric vehicles.    

February may have been a “relatively uneventful” period in Canada’s housing market, but the national real estate association thinks the slow month could be the calm before a spring storm.

ALSO READ: Joe Biden roasts Donald Trump at Washington dinner:‘One candidate is mentally unfit and the other is…' | Top 6 quotes In the filing, Trump said that he has approached about 30 surety companies through 4 separate brokers to reach his estimate that “a bond requirement of this enormous magnitude" could require “cash reserves approaching $1 billion." Trump didn’t explain where he got the figure, but surety companies can require collateral far exceeding a verdict to ensure they don’t face any risk. “Diligent efforts since that time, including countless hours negotiating with one of the largest insurance companies in the world have proven that obtaining an appeal bond in the full amount of the judgment is not possible under the circumstances presented," Trump said.

The housing crisis in this country has hit all Canadians but no one as hard as renters, argues a new report from Royal Bank of Canada.

Homebuyers who are already pre-approved for a mortgage should enter the housing market now instead of waiting for interest rates to go down, according to one industry expert.