The government is nowhere close to coming up with a solution for distressed state-owned banks. It could consider merging some of them to cut costs, but, a year ahead of the elections, it would be hard to convince the trade unions as this would need to be accompanied by big layoffs. Moreover, without a big dose of capital, a merger would not really serve the purpose, and the government is very short on resources.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has put up for sale its 3.33% stake in ratings agency Icra, according to a sale document. The bank has appointed PNB Investment Services the merchant banker for the sale. The last date for submission of bids is June 27.

Shares of Tata Motors closed in the red on Monday wiping out more than Rs 5,000 crore from its market valuation, partly because brokerages raised concerns over the firm’s free cash flows due to the higher-than-expected capex and lower volumes. Moreover, US President Donald Trump’s tweet on June 22 escalated the worries of investors. Trump threatened to impose a 20% tariff on all US imports of cars assembled in Europe unless it removed import duties and other barriers to US goods.

Over 1,500 ‘benami’ properties worth Rs 43 billion have been attached in the past 18 months by the Income Tax Department.

The properties have been attached in wake of the ‘benami legislation’ that was passed during the same time. According to a Business Standard report, Jaipur and Mumbai top the list, with attachments of 200 properties each.

US trade protectionism is the new normal and will continue to be so in the near future with Trump threatening the world with trade sanctions.

While China has been the biggest victim, even countries like Japan, Mexico, Canada and EU have fallen prey to the trade war. All the major trading partners of US have reacted by threatening to retaliate by imposing counter tariffs on US.

The Union government doesn't see any stress in land acquistion for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project and is planning another high-speed rail project.

"The environmental and social impact studies are either complete or are near completion. I personally don't see any stress in getting the land," Union railway minister Piyush Goyal said on the sidelines of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) annual meeting.

Bajaj Auto’s performance in fiscal 2018 could have been much better had it not been for declining motorcycle sales in the domestic market, chairman Rahul Bajaj wrote in a letter to shareholders in the company’s 11th annual report.

“This was not on account of the market as a whole, nor due to an overall lack of demand for all types and makes of motorcycles. Indeed, fiscal 2018 saw domestic sales of motorcycles grow by 13.7 per cent in volume,” wrote Bajaj, while expressing his concern.

The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India, plans to rope in a strategic advisor to conserve capital, increase return on assets and optimise the balance sheet. This comes in the backdrop of a decline in net loss to Rs 65.47 billion in 2017-18 due to a sharp rise in provisions for bad loans.

According to SBI executives, the aim is to do things efficiently with an eye on profitability, and get a feedback on areas, including which business to enter and which to exit.

The boards of Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals (MRPL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) are set to take up the proposal for merger of the two companies by August. After the acquisition of majority stake in the HPCL by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), it was expected that ONGC may look at further synergy in business by merging the two subsidiaries.

KOLKATA: Coal India plans to offer a mix of 30 million tonnes of thermal and coking coal at its recently announced fourth tranche of long-term supply contract for the non-power sector.

In the auction, the offer price for the coal would be the notified price for the non-power sector. Notified price for non-power is almost 20% higher than price fixed for the power sector.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.