HUL, Nestle India, Britannia, Godrej Consumer Products, Marico, Dabur, Emami, Jyothy Labs et al: What’s weighing on the FMCG sector and is demand recovery in sight?

HUL, Nestle India, Britannia, Godrej Consumer Products, Marico, Dabur, Emami, Jyothy Labs et al: What’s weighing on the FMCG sector and is demand recovery in sight?

While globally, FMCG/ consumer non-discretionary sectors are viewed as defensive plays, in India, for over a decade, they also served as aggressive growth bets. Why not, when GDP was growing consistently in mid- to high-single digits pulling up millions of people out of poverty and pushing them into the consumption class! On top of this, … Read more

IDFC First Bank reports a sharp 58% drop in Q4FY25 standalone net profit at ₹304 crore

IDFC First Bank reports a sharp 58% drop in Q4FY25 standalone net profit at ₹304 crore

IDFC First Bank reported a sharp 58 per cent year-on-year (yoy) drop in fourth quarter (Q4FY25) standalone net profit at ₹304 crore, with the bottomline being dragged by a jump in provisions, including towards deliquent assets in the microfinance portfolio. Sharply lower tax expenses, to an extent, acted as a counterweight to the aforementioned provisions, … Read more

China to achieve 5% growth target despite trade tensions: Finance Minister

China to achieve 5% growth target despite trade tensions: Finance Minister

 Lan Fo’an, Minister of Finance of the People’s Republic of China | Photo Credit: Bloomberg China will take measures to achieve its annual economic growth target of around 5 per cent despite escalating trade tensions and uncertainties, the country’s finance minister said in Washington earlier this week.  “China will adopt more proactive and effective macro … Read more

Axis Bank DMD Rajiv Anand to retire in August

Axis Bank DMD Rajiv Anand to retire in August

DMD Rajiv Anand  | Photo Credit: SHASHI ASHIWAL Private sector major Axis Bank today announced that its deputy MD Rajiv Anand will be retiring from his post effective August 3. “Rajiv Anand has been associated with the Bank since 2009. He is currently serving as the Deputy Managing Director of the Bank since December 27, … Read more

Wisconsin judge arrested for aiding immigration evasion; DOJ charges obstruction

Wisconsin judge arrested for aiding immigration evasion; DOJ charges obstruction

Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County circuit judge | Photo Credit: MIKE DE SISTI/Reuters U.S. officials arrested a Wisconsin judge on Friday and charged her with helping a man evade immigration authorities in what appeared to be a dispute between President Donald Trump’s administration and local officials over immigration enforcement. In a criminal complaint, the U.S. … Read more

Tamil Nadu IT exports from ELCOT SEZ’s surge 21% y-o-y in FY25

Tamil Nadu IT exports from ELCOT SEZ’s surge 21% y-o-y in FY25

Palanivel Thiagarajan, Tamil Nadu Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services | Photo Credit: Siva Saravanan S Tamil Nadu’s Information Technology (IT) services exports from the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Special Economic Zones (ELCOT SEZs) stood at ₹33,268 crore in FY25, a growth of 21 per cent year-on-year.  ELCOT has established 8 SEZs in … Read more

Chinese AI startup Manus scores funding at $500 million value

Chinese AI startup Manus scores funding at 0 million value

While AI agents require a certain amount of hand-holding, Manus co-founder and chief scientist Ji Yichao has said its product is “truly autonomous.”  The Chinese startup behind Manus AI secured a round of financing led by US venture firm Benchmark, scoring capital to explore the use of artificial intelligence agents to replace everyday tasks. The … Read more

PREVIEW: RIL Q4 operating profit seen flat, revenue to dip

PREVIEW: RIL Q4 operating profit seen flat, revenue to dip

Retail and digital revenues are expected to grow in low single digits Reliance Industries is seen reporting flat operating profit sequentially in the March quarter due to weak earnings in its dominant oils-to-chemicals business and also muted growth in its retail business. A sequential decline is expected in gross refining margin driven by weaker Singapore … Read more