Indian Pepper and Spice Trade Association (IPSTA),one of the oldest pepper exchange in the world to trade in pepper futures, ceased to exist from January 10 th with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) granting an exit order. The regional exchange formed in 1957 decided to request for an exit order with no trading for more than one year, officials of IPSTA told FE. After the launch of national multi commodity futures exchanges, IPSTA has seen volumes dwindle and members have stayed away from trading in the past few years.

The US dollar fell to a more than three-year low against the euro on Friday, extending recent losses on expectations European Central Bank policymakers are preparing to reduce stimulus, while US stocks continued to rally and marked record closing highs. Optimism about fourth-quarter earnings boosted stocks. Bank shares climbed following quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo. A global stock index registered an eighth straight week of gains.

The country’s largest IT services exporter, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) continued its momentum of bagging multi-billion dollar deals with a multi-year contract from Transamerica worth over $2 billion, the company announced on Friday. Just last month, TCS had entered into a $2.25-billion IT outsourcing contract with Nielsen, a global TV rating measurement company. TCS said it will digitise the life insurance and annuities business of Transamerica, which is a leading provider of life insurance, retirement and investment solutions in the US.

The country’s second largest IT services exporter, Infosys registered a 37.6% sequential rise in net profit for the third quarter of FY18 boosted by a tax reversal of $225 million following a recent agreement with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS); sans this, the company’s bottom line would have actually dipped. Infosys reported a net profit of $796 million for the third quarter compared with $578 million in the second quarter of the fiscal, even as it recorded a sequential dollar revenue growth of 1% (0.8% in constant currency) to $2.75 billion.

Shares of Facebook Inc fell more than 4 percent on Friday and were on track for their worst session in more than three months after Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced changes that he said would hit user engagement in the near term. Zuckerberg said late on Thursday the world’s largest social network would adjust its centerpiece News Feed to prioritize what friends and family share, while reducing the amount of non-advertising content from publishers and brands. A warning by Zuckerberg that people could spend less time on Facebook in the short term as a result of the changes sent the company’s stock $8.29 lower to $179.47.

Post steep hike in non coking coal FSA prices by CIL, we lift our FY18-19E EPS 6-40%. We upgrade CIL to Buy from Hold as the price hike along with recent evacuation charge should more than offset wage hike and lead to margin expansion. Restocking at power plants should drive offtake growth near term. We expect EPS to grow at 30% EPS CAGR over next two years. At 6.8x Ebitda ex OBR, valuations appear attractive. Stock also offers 5% dividend yield potential. Price revision to lift average FSA realisation by 10% CIL has raised FSA prices for lower grade coal (3300-4300 kcal/Kg) by 15-18%, while it has cut prices for high grade coal (over 6400 Kcal/kg) by 2-5%.

Despite a drop of as much as 0.8% from the day’s high following news of a controversial press meet held by four senior judges of the Supreme Court to highlight their discomfort with the internal functioning of the apex body, the benchmark indices recovered and ended the session at a fresh record high. The Sensex ended the session up 88.90 points at 34,592.39, a rise of 0.26%, while Nifty rose by 30.05 points or 0.28% to end the session at 10,681.25.

GoI's decision to allow 49% foreign airline equity in Air India is good news. The rules were changed last year permitting 100% foreign equity in Indian carriers, restricting foreign airlines holding to 49% — excluding Air India. The move will attract better valuation for the national carrier.

The news that the Tatas have shown interest to bid for Air India, along with Singapore Airlines, after the Union Cabinet amended the rules has spread cheer.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday invited expressions of interest (EoI) in three categories of commercial partnership for the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL).

Applicable for a minimum of three years, the categories for which the rights are up for grabs include official partner, strategic time-out partner and umpire partner. The official partner section has the maximum of six spots up for sale while the other two categories have one each.

One blue surgical drape at a time, the patient disappeared, until all that showed was a triangle of her shaved scalp. “Ten seconds of quiet in the room, please,” said David J Langer, the chairman of neurosurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, part of Northwell Health. Silence fell, until he said, “OK, I’ll take the scissors.”

His patient, Anita Roy, 66, had impaired blood flow to the left side of her brain, and Langer was about to perform bypass surgery on slender, delicate arteries to restore the circulation and prevent a stroke.

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