Experts Financial News

Databricks is in talks to raise up to $8 billion from investors that would value the data analytics company at $55 billion, in one of the largest fundraises in Silicon Valley, according to a source familiar with the matter. Most of the new funding would be in the form of a secondary share sale, where early investors and employees are allowed to cash out some of their stock holdings, the source said. It would also be used to cover the tax cost associated with the share sales, which could cost billions. Such deals can boost employee morale, since stock-based payouts typically comprise a big chunk of the compensation at startups, while allowing the company to sidestep an initial public offering under a deadline before the stock unit expires.

NTPC Green Energy's market capitalisation breached the Rs 1 lakh crore mark on Wednesday as the stock shot up 10% following a lacklustre listing. NTPC's renewable energy arm was listed at Rs 111.50 on the NSE, a 3.2% premium over the issue price of Rs 108. The stock generated considerable interest on its opening day with over 26 crore shares changing hands around 1:15 pm.

Jeevan Pramaan is a biometric-enabled digital service for pensioners. Pensioners of the Central government, State government or any other government organization can take benefit of this facility. A digital life certificate aims to shorten the process to get a life certificate, making it more convenient for pensioners. With this initiative, pensioners will no longer need to be physically present at the disbursing agency or certifying body, to continue receiving pension. Few days left to submit life certificate: What happens if pension life certificate not submitted by Nov-end? Pensioners in India submit their Digital Life Certificate (DLC) or Jeevan Pramaan every year in November to continue receiving their pensions.

«We expect pickup in government-led spending and easing of liquidity, which will start aiding growth from next quarter onwards. Last 18 months to 24 months, we have seen a lot of stock run up and sectors run up in Indian markets,» says Satish Kothari, SageOne Investment Advisors. In the last two months, we have seen a 3000 points correction in the benchmark and a recovery of nearly 1000 points from the lows. So, how are you positioning yourself amidst such volatility? What is your market view at current juncture if you could just take us through that? Satish Kothari: The Indian markets have cooled off in the last two months primarily driven by Q2 FY25 earnings, which were quite weak and FIIs selling and rising geopolitical uncertainties. The broader outlook for near-term continues to be a bit uncertain, driven by external global environment and investors will watch out for how Q3 FY25 earnings pans out for corporate India. However, when we look at Indian macro environment, it continues to be strong and stable.

Marico Ltd. traded 2.68 per cent at Rs 645.45 at 02:01PM (IST) on Wednesday, even as BSE benchmark Sensex 333.4 points to 80337.46. The stock had settled at Rs 628.55 in the previous session. The stock quoted a 52-week high and 52-week low of Rs 719.80 and Rs 486.75, respectively.

Bitcoin has experienced significant volatility, dipping to an intraday low of $90,770 before recovering to $93,500 on Wednesday. Its market dominance dropped to 57.36% amid profit-taking and market turbulence fueled by Trump’s trade policy announcements. At 12:19 p.m., Bitcoin traded 0.6% lower at $93,461 over the last 24 hours, while Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 0.46% to $3,426. «The recent price drop has been attributed to the expiry of options and reduced term premiums from U.S. Treasury bonds, which somewhat decreased the appeal of using Bitcoin as a hedge against the traditional market,» said Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin.

But there could be exceptions to this under the new Telecommunications Act to serve public interest, or to perform government function or where auction of spectrum is not the preferred mode of assignment due to technical or economic reasons, minister of state for communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said Wednesday in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Towards this, the telecom department has sent a reference to the telecom regulator for recommendations on the terms and conditions of spectrum assignment, including spectrum pricing, for licensees who want to provide satcom services, while factoring in a level playing field with terrestrial access services, the minister said.

Federal Bank Ltd. traded 0.18 per cent at Rs 213.15 at 02:08PM (IST) on Wednesday, even as BSE benchmark Sensex 382.97 points to 80387.03. The scrip had settled at Rs 213.55 in the previous session. The stock quoted a 52-week high price of Rs 214.40 and 52-week low of Rs 139.45, respectively. As per BSE data, total traded volume on the counter till 02:08PM (IST) stood at 151412 shares with a turnover of Rs 3.21 crore.

Indian companies, as 91 per cent companies are planning to reduce their tax and finance budgets, reflecting the impact of financial strain on corporate operations, said a EY report. The survey by the professional services firm highlights that cost pressures are the top concern of the companies for the first time, with inflation and cost-cutting eroding tax and finance budgets. At the same time, the survey highlights that tax functions face an increasing urgency to manage more complex and data-heavy tax responsibilities. New reporting requirements like BEPS 2.0's Pillar Two rules, are expected to have a significant bearing on the burden of tax and finance functions, it added.

Maharashtra state has decided to extend the deadline for filing of audited accounts by specified trusts who are registered under the Maharashtra Public Trust Act (earlier known as Bombay Public Trust Act). The deadline has been extended to December 31, 2024, for FY 2023-24. The state government announced the extension in a circular dated November 26, 2024. In Maharashtra, trusts are required to file audited statements of accounts with the assistant charity commissioner's office if their annual income exceeds a specified limit. Once the accounts are prepared, they need to be audited by a chartered accountant. It can be uploaded/ filed on the charity.maharashtra.gov.in website only after this auditing is complete.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. traded 0.21 per cent up at Rs 136.70 at around 01:31PM (IST) on Wednesday. The stock had closed at Rs 137.00 in the previous session. Equity benchmark Sensex traded 364.35 points at 80368.41 around the same time.

Bank of Baroda 0.24 per cent to Rs 248.00 in Wednesday's trade as of 01:42PM (IST). The stock hit a high price of Rs 249.75 and low of Rs 244.65 during the session. The return on equity (ROE) for the stock stood at 15.67 per cent. Traded volume on the counter stood at 01:42PM shares and turnover at Rs 6.59 crore around that time. The stock of Bank of Baroda quoted a 52-week high price of Rs 298.45 and 52-week low prices of Rs 193.00, respectively.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s journey from mere Rs 5,000 to a staggering Rs 40,000 crore, is a stuff of legends. At its heart lies Rare Enterprises—named after Rakesh and his life partner, Rekha—a true testament to the partnership that powered his rise as India’s “Big Bull.” The meeting that would forever change Rekha and Rakesh’s lives was nothing short of providential. Rekha, in an interview to The Economic Times newspaper, recalled how the alliance wasn’t even meant for her. “Actually, Rakesh’s marriage proposal was for my cousin,” she said. But fate, it seemed, had other plans. The matchmaker urged Rakesh to meet Rekha first, and from that moment on, the stars aligned. “The rest,” she added, “is history.”

SBI Funds Management has announced the appointment of Nand Kishore as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Nand Kishore, Deputy Managing Director of State Bank of India, takes over as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SBI Funds Management from Shamsher Singh. Prior to his current deputation at SBIFM, Kishore served as Deputy Managing Director (Global Markets) at SBI’s Corporate Centre in Mumbai, where he oversaw the bank’s treasury operations.

Ashwini Vaishnaw has flagged land acquisition delays in Kerala, which are affecting the development of railway projects in the state. According to Vaishnaw's letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, just 64 hectares (Ha) of land could be acquired by the state against a requirement of 470 Ha. This is despite the centre making a payment of over Rs 2,100 crore to the state for land acquisition needed to complete crucial rail projects. According to Vaishnaw, railway infrastructure projects worth Rs 12,350 crore are progressing in Kerala. «The highest ever budget outlay of Rs 3,011 crore has been allotted for the financial year 2024-25. However, most of the railway projects in Kerala are not progressing due to the non-availability of requisite land,» his letter said, adding that the Indian Railways has initiated efforts for the acquisition of land for most of the sanctioned railway projects but could not succeed.

Swiggy climbed as much as 8.1% on Wednesday to Rs 499 on BSE, with the stock surging nearly 16% in the past two sessions after UBS became the latest brokerage to initiate coverage on the food delivery major with a “Buy” rating, highlighting Swiggy's promising growth in India's food delivery and quick commerce markets. Brokerage firms — HDFC Securities, Motilal Oswal and JM Financial — were the first ones to initiate coverage on Swiggy with particularly bullish views.

Lupin Ltd. 0.66 per cent to Rs 2022.05 in Wednesday's trade as of 11:47AM (IST). The stock hit a high price of Rs 2040.00 and low of Rs 2012.95 during the session.

SRF Ltd. 0.86 per cent to Rs 2251.00 at 10:43AM (IST) in Wednesday's trade. The stock hit a high of Rs 2275.00 and low of Rs 2224.70 so far during the session. The stock had closed at Rs 2231.80 in the previous session. The counter had a total traded volume of 10:43AM shares so far with a turnover of Rs 0.31 crore on BSE. The stock traded at a price-to-earnings multiple of 59.20 and a price-to-book ratio of 6.63.

space exploration. However, despite the exciting prospects, mining this celestial body remains a long-term goal due to significant technological and economic hurdles.

Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company Ltd. 1.37 per cent to Rs 1282.05 at 10:47AM hours (IST) on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the stock saw a gap down start to the session. As per data available on BSE, total traded quantity on the counter stood at 8,643 shares with a turnover of Rs 1.10 crore till 10:47AM (IST). The stock traded at a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 27.96, while the price-to-book value ratio stood at 4.96.

mutual funds have multiplied investors’ SIP investments by over three times in the last seven years. Seven small cap and mid cap funds, two flexi cap funds, a multi cap, contra, and an ELSS fund multiplied investors’ SIP investment by more than three times in the last seven years. The top schemes in the list were from the small cap category. Quant Small Cap Fund and Nippon India Small Cap Fund multiplied investors’ SIP investments by 4.19 and 3.88 times respectively in the last seven years.