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☆ India's outsourcing giants cut hiring; disheartening for economy, students
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Navamya Ganesh Acharya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

There are pockets of optimism elsewhere in the services sector - especially in accounting, where there is a surge in hiring. NLB sees a 20-25% drop in IT employee additions in the first half of the current financial year, while TeamLease Digital expects a 40% decrease for the entire year. Nasscom declined comment on the hiring slowdown. That has "surely left applicants concerned about future prospects", said staffing firm Xpheno's co-founder Kamal Karanth, who highlighted how current hiring activity was "under a third of what was recorded in the buoyant peak". Pai highlighted sectors such as financial services, consumer goods, specialised manufacturing, medicine, law, chartered accounting and other services as more viable options.

Persons: Rohit Azad, Azad, Rishad Premji, Sakshi Gupta, Sachin Alug, NLB, Nilanjan Roy, Nasscom, Gautam, Xpheno's, Kamal Karanth, LTIMindtree, Karanth, Siana, Siddharth Pai, Pai, Dhanya Skariachan, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: New, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Wipro, HDFC, Apple, Citigroup, American Express, Europe's Credit Suisse, UBS, NLB Services, TeamLease, IT, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Reuters Graphics, Sethuraman, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Punjab

☆ Binance.US suspends USD deposits, pausing fiat withdrawal channels
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 8 (Reuters) - Binance.US said on Thursday the company is suspending USD deposits while notifying customers that their banking partners are preparing to pause fiat (USD) withdrawal channels as early as June 13. The move comes as the U.S. financial regulators supported a freeze on Binance's assets earlier in the day. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's take on cryptocurrency is "extremely aggressive and intimidating, Binance.US said in a tweet, adding that it has created challenges between the exchange and its banking partners. loadingTrading, staking, deposits and withdrawals in crypto would remain fully operational, Binance.US said in a notice to its customers. Reporting by Rahat Sandhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Binance.US, Rahat Sandhu, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ StanChart trimming roles as part of cost cuts - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 7 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered (STAN.L) is starting to lay off employees across Singapore, London, and Hong Kong hubs as part of an existing plan to cut costs by more than $1 billion through 2024, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. The British bank had previously said that it aims savings of $1.3 billion under a cost-efficiency program. "It is part of normal business activity to review our role requirements on an ongoing basis across the bank," a spokesperson for the British lender told Reuters in an emailed statement. Goldman Sachs is expected to reduce just under 250 jobs in the coming weeks, while JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) is cutting about 500 employees, Reuters reported in May. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Mrinmay Dey, Jose Joseph, Subhranshu Sahu, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Bloomberg, Reuters, JPMorgan Chase &, Chartered, Jordan Investment Bank, Thomson Locations: Singapore, London, Hong Kong, Africa, Bengaluru

☆ Diageo's long-time boss Ivan Menezes dies after brief illness
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 7 (Reuters) - Diageo (DGE.L) on Wednesday said long-time boss Ivan Menezes, who held the CEO role at the world's biggest spirits company for 10 years, had died after a brief illness. The 63-year-old, who was set to retire at the end of this month, was in hospital receiving treatment for conditions including a stomach ulcer, the Johnnie Walker whisky maker announced this week. British-American national Menezes, born in the Indian city of Pune, joined Diageo after its formation through the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The executive, who was behind the "Keep Walking" campaign for Johnnie Walker when he was marketing head, previously held roles at Whirlpool and Nestle. Menezes, who was awarded a knighthood this year, is survived by his wife and two children.

Persons: Ivan Menezes, Johnnie Walker, Debra, Menezes, Ivan, Javier Ferrán, Julio, Arvind Subramanian, Subramanian, Menzes, Eva Mathews, Sinchita Mitra, Dhanya Skariachan, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, David Evans Organizations: Diageo, American, Guinness, Grand Metropolitan, Whirlpool, Nestle, Government of, Indian Institute of Management, Thomson Locations: Indian, Pune, Government of India, Ahmedabad, India, Bengaluru

☆ India cabinet approves $11 bln revival plan for state-owned BSNL
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Rama Venkat | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A man speaks on his mobile phone as he walks past a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) advertisement painted on a wall outside its office in Kolkata, India, August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Rupak De ChowdhuriBENGALURU, June 7 (Reuters) - India's cabinet on Wednesday approved an 890.47 billion rupee ($10.79 billion) revival package for loss-making Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to help the state-owned telecom operator deploy 4G and 5G services in a market dominated by private players. "With this revival package, BSNL will emerge as a stable telecom service provider focused on providing connectivity to remotest parts of India," the cabinet said in a statement. Debt-laden BSNL, grappling with poor infrastructure, has been posting losses for the past 12 years. The losses narrowed to 69.82 billion rupees in the year ended March 2022 from 74.41 billion rupees a year ago.

Persons: Vivekanand Subbaraman, Sakshi Dayal, Rama Venkat, Krishna N, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Nigam Ltd, REUTERS, Sanchar Nigam Ltd, BSNL, Tata Consultancy Services, 5G, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Das, Thomson Locations: Kolkata, India, Chowdhuri BENGALURU, New Delhi, Bengaluru

☆ Kraken says systems operational after issue with crypto gateways
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 6 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken said on Tuesday that it had resolved an outage that affected several funding gateways including Bitcoin, Ether and ERC20s. "All systems operational," Kraken said on its status page, without giving details on what caused the issue. Kraken had earlier said deposits and withdrawals were delayed, without providing additional details. Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kraken, Nilutpal, Andrew Heavens, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) ended 0.4% lower after a survey showed the U.S. services sector barely grew in May, while factory orders rose less than expected. "There's a bit of profit taking after some of the moves we've had recently," said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. "The economic reports that we've gotten around the world (signal) a somewhat slowing economy." Shares of Indivior Plc (INDV.L) jumped 7.8% to top the STOXX 600 index after the drugmaker agreed to pay $102.5 million to settle a lawsuit for its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone. Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: we've, Steve Sosnick, Christine Lagarde, Joachim Nagel, Shreyashi Sanyal, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Richard Chang Organizations: PMI, Interactive, U.S . Federal, European Central Bank, Amazon.com Inc, Indivior Plc, Trendyol, Viaplay, Volvo, Copenhagen Stock Exchange, Thomson Locations: U.S, Alibaba, Swedish, Sweden, Bengaluru

☆ Morgan Stanley sees slump in US earnings in 2023, sharp rebound next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 5 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley warns of a 16% drop in profit for S&P 500 companies this year, followed by a sharp rebound in 2024 when analysts say the Federal Reserve's policy will become more accommodative. Strategists led by Michael Wilson said in a note on Monday that they expect earnings to rebound sharply, with a 23% jump next year. The Wall Street bank warned that the EPS of S&P companies could slip to $185 from $195 in 2023 before recovering to $239 next year. Morgan Stanley predicted the index to rebound to 4,200 levels in 2024 while keeping its 2023-end target unchanged at 3,900. A slew of positive news, with expectations of a Fed pivot, persistent improvement in liquidity, and AI-related tailwinds to mega-cap names such as Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), have buoyed indexes so far, Morgan Stanley said.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Michael Wilson, Wilson, Roshan Abraham, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Nvidia Corp, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon to visit Taiwan after China trip - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 1 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon is planning to visit Taiwan after wrapping up his trip to China, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, Mrinmay Dey, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: JPMorgan Chase &, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, China, Bengaluru

☆ EQT to take UK's Dechra Pharma private in about $6 bln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 2 (Reuters) - Swedish investment firm EQT will take Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH.L) private in a deal with an enterprise value of 4.88 billion pounds ($6.16 billion), the British veterinary drugmaker said on Friday. ($1 = 0.7923 pounds)Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: EQT, drugmaker, Eva Mathews, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Rupee to rise more after dollar's biggest fall in a month
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, June 2 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is expected to open higher on Friday after the dollar index saw its worst session in almost a month on upbeat risk and wagers that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not raise rates at the June meeting. Non-deliverable forwards indicate rupee will open at around 82.30-82.32 to the U.S. dollar compared with 82.4050 in the previous session. The rupee on Thursday had its best day in almost two months, led by a surprisingly strong domestic GDP reading. The dollar index on Thursday dropped 0.6% to near 103.50, the worst session since May 3. "A strong jobs reading.. could easily swing things back in favour of a hike," ING Bank said in a note.

Persons: Nimesh Vora, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: U.S . Federal, U.S, Street Journal, ING Bank, Brent, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, U.S

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, June 2 (Reuters) - The India and South Asia head of Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) cloud division, Puneet Chandok, has resigned with effect from August 31, the company said on Friday. Chandok had taken the helm of Amazon Web Services in June 2019. Vaishali Kasture, currently head of enterprise for mid-market and global businesses at AWS India and South Asia, would take on the role of interim leader of commercial business for the unit, Amazon India said. The news came over two weeks after Amazon's cloud computing unit revealed plans to invest 1.06 trillion rupees ($12.87 billion) in India by 2030, doubling down on its past investments to cater to the growing demand for such services in Asia's No. The interim provides an opportunity for other cloud companies such as Azure and Google Cloud Platform, along with homegrown players, to make aggressive bids for accounts, said Akshara Bassi, an analyst at Counterpoint Research.

Persons: Inc's, Puneet Chandok, Chandok, Vaishali Kasture, Akshara Bassi, Munsif Vengattil, Aditya Kalra, Varun, Savio D'Souza, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Sohini Organizations: NEW, Amazon Web Services, India, Amazon, Counterpoint Research, Varun Vyas, Thomson Locations: NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, India, South Asia, Amazon India, Asia's, New Delhi, Bengaluru

☆ Dollar General prunes annual outlook as shoppers curb spending; shares slide
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Savyata Mishra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Low-cost retailers like Dollar General face stiff competition from bigger retailers like Walmart in the grocery and food business, which has lifted its annual outlook as it offers lower prices on groceries compared to rivals Target Corp (TGT.N). Shares of Dollar General were set for their worst day on record, if losses hold, as it also said an earnings decline would be "most significant" in the second quarter. The Tennessee-based company's gloomy outlook echoes disappointing results at its biggest rival Dollar Tree (DLTR.O) last week, which took a hit from slowing demand for non-essentials and elevated cost pressures. The company's first-quarter same-store sales and profit were also below analysts' average estimate as customers appeared to have reduced their spending budgets. Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jeffery Owen, Michael Montani, Kelly Dilts, Savyata Mishra, Pooja Desai, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: General Corp, Walmart, Target Corp, Evercore ISI, Thomson Locations: The Tennessee, Bengaluru

MUMBAI, May 29 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India has come across instances of some banks trying to conceal the real status of their stressed assets while governance gaps have also been noticed at certain lenders, its governor said on Monday. Das also said that despite the guidelines on corporate governance, it was a matter of concern that the RBI has come across gaps in governance at certain banks, which have the potential to cause some volatility in the sector. "While these gaps have been mitigated, it is necessary that boards and the managements do not allow such gaps to creep in," he said. A robust governance structure is the most important requirement to ensure the stability of a bank and sustainable financial performance, Das added. "RBI has engaged with certain banks on the need to make suitable adjustments in their business strategies where it was observed that over-aggressive growth in certain business segments were creating avoidable vulnerabilities," Das said.

SummarySummary Companies U.S. debt limit talks to kick off at 5:30 p.m. President Joe Biden and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet for talks on Monday after their discussions almost fell apart on Friday. The fresh talks come less than two weeks before a deadline after which the Treasury warned that the federal government will struggle to pay its debts. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsAdvancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.71-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.78-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 13 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 46 new highs and 35 new lows.

☆ Krafton says India revoked ban on its battle-royale game
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The government had in July blocked Krafton's title Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), citing concerns about its data-sharing and mining in China. Following a government directive, the app was removed from Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google Play Store and Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) App Store. A Facebook page for the title says the game will be available for download soon. New Delhi had, back in 2020, banned another Krafton title, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) following which the company launched BGMI. India had ramped up scrutiny of Chinese businesses since a 2020 border clash between the neighbours that led to a ban of more than 300 Chinese apps, including TikTok.

☆ Amazon's cloud unit to invest $13 billion in India by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The latest investment will be used to build its cloud infrastructure in India and it will support over 100,000 full-time jobs annually, AWS said. AWS' total planned investment in India adds up to about $16.4 billion by 2030, the company said in a statement. The cloud platform offers more than 200 services, including storage, robotics and artificial intelligence. The country is currently in the process of drafting a cloud and data center policy to oversee the sector. A host of global companies, including Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google are ramping up cloud investments in India, betting on the rising digital consumption in one of the fastest-growing markets.

☆ Amazon's cloud unit to invest $12.7 billion in India by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 18 (Reuters) - Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing division of Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), said on Thursday it plans to invest $12.7 billion in India by 2030 to build its cloud infrastructure. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK equities rise on upbeat global mood, BT Group tumbles on weak cash flow
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"There's clearly a lack of real strategy and it's not enough to just say we're going to cut costs. Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L) earlier this week said it would cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years after it warned that a poor performance in its biggest market Germany would hit cash flow. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.6%, reflecting an upbeat mood in global markets on hopes that Washington is edging closer to a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avert a default. Among other movers, luxury group Burberry Group Plc (BRBY.L) fell 6.2% as continued weakness in the United States overshadowed a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter sales driven by a rebound in China. EasyJet Plc rose 1% after the airline posted a first-half loss in line with its guidance.

☆ Bullish view on Indian rupee thwarted by wall of cenbank intervention
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI, May 15 (Reuters) - The bullish outlook on the Indian rupee that several foreign banks have is facing a tough test from the Reserve Bank of India's persistent intervention to shore up reserves. Barclays projected the rupee to hit 80 per dollar by next March, while BofA Securities expected a move to 79.5 by then. The rupee currently is down slightly from its March 31 level, at 82.34 to the dollar. There is little doubt that the RBI will persist with its two-way intervention strategy to keep a check on the rupee volatility, chief dealer at another public sector bank said. "Broadly, I agree with what the public sector banks are saying, that RBI reckons the need to continue intervention and build reserves," said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank.

☆ Under Armour expects dull annual sales, profit as demand slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 9 (Reuters) - Under Armour Inc (UAA.N) forecast annual sales and profit below Wall Street expectations on Tuesday in a sign that persistent inflation was hampering demand and higher discounts were eating into profit margins, sending its shares down 5% before the bell. Footwear sales jumped 27%, while apparel rose just 1% and accessories fell 1%. The company expects fiscal 2024 net sales to be flat to slightly up, compared with analysts expectations of 3.7% growth. Under Armour also expects diluted earnings per share to be between 47 cents and 51 cents in 2024. Its net revenue rose 7.5% to about $1.40 billion in the quarter ended March 31 compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.36 billion.

☆ Under Armour sees 2024 sales, profit below estimates as demand slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 9 (Reuters) - Under Armour Inc (UAA.N) forecast annual sales and profit below Wall Street expectations on Tuesday in a sign that stubborn inflation was discouraging shoppers from spending on its athletic clothes and footwear. The company expects fiscal 2024 net sales to be flat to slightly up, compared with analysts expectations of 3.7% growth. Under Armour also expects diluted earnings per share to be between 47 cents and 51 cents in 2024. Analysts were expecting a profit of 61 cents, according to Refinitiv data. Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

MUMBAI, May 9 (Reuters) - India's national pension scheme offers "exceedingly good" returns of 9-12%, compared to most benchmarks, a top official at the pension fund regulator said on Tuesday. The National Pension Scheme, adopted in 2004, has recently come under criticism for inadequate returns, leading to a few state governments reverting to an earlier pension plan considered fiscally unviable. States that have decided to move back to a so-called old pension scheme include Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The old pension scheme offered assured returns to pensioners without any contribution from the employees, which made it fiscally unsustainable for the government. Economists warned that the return to a scheme with assured returns could hurt India's attempts to improve government finances and reduce debt.

☆ Japan's Mitsubishi Electric to build India plant for $231 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BENGALURU, May 9 (Reuters) - The Indian arm of Japan's Mitsubishi Electric Corp (6503.T) said on Tuesday that it will invest 18.91 billion rupees ($231.2 million) to set up a manufacturing facility in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Mitsubishi Electric India will employ 2004 people for this project, it said in an official statement. ($1 = 81.7800 Indian rupees)Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India's Go Airlines asks tribunal to urgently pass order on insolvency plea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of GoAir airline on an A320neo aircraft in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, November 15, 2019. REUTERS/Regis DuvignauBENGALURU, May 8 (Reuters) - Go Airlines (India) on Monday asked the country's company law tribunal to urgently pass an order on its insolvency plea, citing lessors' efforts to take back planes, per the court hearing. The push comes less than a week after the cash-strapped Indian airline filed for bankruptcy, blaming "faulty" Pratt & Whitney engines for the grounding of about half its fleet. On Monday, Go First lawyers told the tribunal to urgently pass an order on the airline's insolvency plea, saying its lessors had moved to repossess the planes even as bankruptcy proceedings were ongoing. Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney told a New Delhi arbitrator hearing its dispute with Go that the Indian airline’s claim of defective engines causing its demise was “astounding” and without evidence.

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