Profit Top 10: Supreme Court rejects review petitions on licence cancellation

• 2G: Supreme Court rejects all review petitions filed by Telecom companies
• Ratan Tata's Vision 2020: Expect big bang acquisitions
• Property demand: Bangalore, Chennai and Gurgaon hot, Mumbai cold
• Sensex falls 111 points, Kingfisher soars 11%
• Essar Oil review petition dismissed in Supreme Court
• Kingfisher asked to pay Rs 60 cr service tax: CBEC
• 5 things to know before Infosys reports Q4 numbers
• Wary of markets, 13 companies call off IPO in March quarter
• Services PMI slips to 5-month low of 52.3
• Facebook fixation guides Larry Page’s first year as Google CEO

2G: Supreme Court rejects all review petitions filed by Telecom companies

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected review petitions filed by all private companies in the 2G licence cancellation case. However, it has admitted the government's review plea against the 2G licence cancellation order, which will be heard on April 13. The government is seeking clarification whether auctioning of natural resources applies to other sectors.

At least seven companies, including S-TEL, Videocon, and Idea Cellular, had filed review pleas. (Read More)

Ratan Tata's Vision 2020: Expect big bang acquisitions

Cyrus P. Mistry, deputy chairman of Tata Sons, and who takes over as chairman from Ratan Tata at the end of this year, has his task cut out. His mandate over the next 10 years is to take the Tata Group to $ 500bn from the present $83bn turnover.

Achieving that task is impossible unless key companies make strategic acquisitions. While India is a significant market for all Tata Group companies, the majority of the group’s revenue now comes from outside India. Be it TCS, Tata Motors or Tata Steel or even Tata Global Beverages, the group is known as an Indian group with significant global operations.

Here is a list of Tata companies that will continue to hunt for acquisitions to meet the 2021 target set.

Property demand: Bangalore, Chennai and Gurgaon hot, Mumbai cold

The sluggish property market in Mumbai is not an indicator of the boom witnessed in the rest of India. If the absorption rate of property is anything to go by, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon are witnessing a significant demand for residential property.

Here are trends that could help you comprehend the trend in each city. 

Sensex falls 111 points, Kingfisher soars 11%

The BSE Sensex snapped the three day winning streak Wednesday. The Sensex declined 111 points or 0.6% to 17,486 while the broader Nifty index ended 35.60 points lower at 5,322.90. Markets owed weakness to global factors though the fall in Indian equities was comparatively less. (Read More)

5 things to know before Infosys reports Q4 numbers

Information technology major Infosys will kick off the March quarter earnings season when it reports numbers on 13 April. Infosys' earnings guidance has for long been regarded as the software industry's benchmark. However, the company has failed to meet the upper end of its guidance over the last few quarters. 

Here are five things to know before IT companies report their Q4 numbers, based on Barclays’ preview of IT services earnings.

Kingfisher asked to pay Rs 60 cr service tax: CBEC

Beleaguered carrier Kingfisher Airlines has been asked to pay Rs 60 crore at the earliest to clear service tax dues, a top finance ministry official said on Wednesday. "There is no question of leeway to Kingfisher on payment of service tax," S.K. Goel, chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs, said. (Read More)

Meanwhile, it has paid its ground staff one month's salary as promised in the letter written by Kingfisher Airlines chief and promoter Vijay Mallya on 2 April. (Read More)

Wary of markets, 13 companies call off IPO in March quarter

Corporate India has lost out on at least Rs 5,603 crore in new equity in the first three months of this calendar year due to expired initial public offers, a report from SMC Capital points out.

At least 13 firms decided not to go ahead with planned IPOs, for which they had already received clearance from capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India. (Read More)

Essar Oil review petition dismissed in Supreme Court

The Supreme Court dismissed Essar Oil’s review petition seeking reconsideration of the court's earlier order for payment of Rs 6,300 crore as sales tax to Gujarat government. Essar Oil is 87 per cent owned by London-listed Essar Energy Plc. Shares plunged 5% post the ruling while BSE Sensex index was merely down 0.63 per cent.  (Read More)

The company is also likely to cease fuel oil exports as early as May after starting a new delayed coker unit (DCU) at its 375,000 barrels per day Vadinar refinery last week, industry sources said on Wednesday. (Read More)

Services PMI slips to 5-month low of 52.3

Growth in the Indian services sector slipped to a five-month low in March as optimism about the business outlook in the coming year faded to its weakest level since 2009, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The HSBC Markit Business Activity index fell sharply to 52.3 in March from 56.5 the previous month, though it remained above the 50 level that divides growth from contraction for a fifth month. (Read More)

Facebook fixation guides Larry Page’s first year as Google CEO

Google co-founder Larry Page has a Facebook fixation. When he replaced his mentor Eric Schmidt as Google's CEO last April, Page insisted that the company had to be more aggressive about countering the threat posed by Facebook's ever-growing popularity.

Page responded with a social networking crusade that is still reshaping Google Inc. as he marks his one-year anniversary as chief executive on Wednesday.  (Read More)

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