Worldwide PC shipments fall 8.3% in Q4 FY’15: Gartner

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 75.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 8.3 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2014, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. For the year, 2015 PC shipments totaled 288.7 million units, an 8 percent decline from 2014. “The fourth quarter of 2015 marked the fifth consecutive quarter of worldwide PC shipment decline,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. “Holiday sales did not boost the overall PC shipments, hinting at changes to consumers’ PC purchase behavior. On the business side, Windows 10 generally received positive reviews, but as expected, Windows 10 migration was minor in the fourth quarter as many organizations were just starting their testing period.” “All regions registered a decrease in shipments. Currency devaluation issues continued to impact EMEA, Latin America and Japan,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “Collectively EMEA, Japan and Latin America saw their markets reduced by nearly 10 percent in 2015.” Gartner’s outlook for PC shipments in 2016 is for a decline of 1 percent compared with 2015, with the potential for a soft recovery in late 2016. Ms. Kitagawa said the PC market is still in the middle of structural change which will reduce the PC installed base in the next few years. In the fourth quarter of 2015, Lenovo registered a worldwide PC shipment decline for the third consecutive quarter. However, Lenovo declined less than the industry average, and it extended its lead in the market. Lenovo accounted for 20.3 percent of worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2015 (see Table 1). Lenovo did particularly well in North America to offset shipment declines in EMEA, Latin America and Japan.

CIL to make biggest tech changes in 4 decades to curb theft

State run Coal India Ltd has said that it is planning to make its biggest tech changes in four decades to check extensive theft. As per reports, the state-run company's monopoly had allowed it to delay the use of modern technology common in international mining, but it cannot afford to wait any longer as the Government is set to soon announce a plan to allow private competitors like Adani Group to mine and sell coal. Coal India's productivity is estimated at just one-eighth of its technologically advanced rivals in the United States, and as much as a fifth of its annual output is stolen, costing the company up to USD 1 billion each year. As per reports, the upgrade is expected to cost around 3.5 billion rupees (USD 52 million) initially, but the attraction of working with the world's largest coal mining company and the promise of follow-on business is luring some major companies.

FM rejects Railways plea for Rs 32,000 cr: Reports

Finance Ministry has said that it has rejected the request of Railways for Rs 32,000 cr as revenue grant, sought to tide over the impending impact of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations on the public transporter. Commenting on the issue, a senior Railway Official told the media, “Finance Ministry has categorically rejected the Rs 32,000 cr demand expressing its inability to provide the grant, and has asked the public transporter to raise its own resources to manage the finance.” As per reports, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had written a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley seeking Rs 32,000 crore as grant from the exchequer's for implementation of the Commission recommendations and had cited the difficult financial position that the railways was passing through. According to the 7th Pay Commission report, the annual financial impact on Railways will be approximately Rs 28,450 crore in addition to the normal growth which will require to be built into the Railway Budget 2016-17.

India's foreign reserves eased in December: DBS Bank

India’s foreign reserves eased to USD 350 billion by the end of December last year, down about USD 5 billion from its record peak seen in mid-2015, according to a report published on Tuesday by a leading Singapore-based bank, said the PTI report. Currency valuations and the authorities’ active presence to contain rupee volatility likely influenced the pace of reserve accumulation, DBS Bank said in its Tuesday's report on Asian economies. The report said despite the modest pullback, the current stock is comfortable on domestic metrics, especially with regard to the import cover (10x) and adequacy to cover short-debt external debt levels. But the coverage falls short when compared to the total external debt position and as a percentage of gross domestic product vis-a-vis regional counterparts. “Looking ahead, we expect the focus on higher reserves to persist even as the pace of accumulation slows,” DBS said. Foreign inflows into India's debt and equity markets lost momentum last year. In the calendar year 2015, foreign equity inflows narrowed to USD 3.2 billion, a fourth of the USD 16 billion registered the year before. Debt flows also moderated to USD 7.4 billion from a strong USD 26 billion in 2014. “These flows are off to a slow start so far this year,” it said. Given the backdrop of heightened external risks and slower global growth, incremental portfolio flows into the domestic markets will slow, the report said. “This will lower the need for the central bank to mop-up liquidity aggressively. Additionally, authorities will be less interventionist if the rupee weakens gradually in sync with its regional trading partners, stepping in only to minimise volatility,” said DBS. DBS Bank is the largest bank in South East Asia by assets and among the larger banks in Asia.

Reliance Industries hit 52 week highs

Shares of Reliance Industries surged nearly 4 per cent, hitting 52-week high, on the Bombay Stock Exchange after media report suggested that its subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) has received approval from the government’s green panel to build the Indian part of the Asia-Africa-Europe One (AAE-1) submarine cable under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). According to Financial Express report, this license authorises RJIL to provide all telecommunication services except Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite Service. The company is scheduled to hold a meeting of the board of directors of the company on January 19, 2016, to consider and approve the standalone and consolidated unaudited financial results of the for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015. Tracking firm trend in broader market, shares of the company jumped 3.85 per cent and touched 52-week high in intra-day trade to Rs 1085.40 a piece on Bombay Stock Exchange. In a similar trend, stocks of the company advanced 3.57 per cent in intra-day trade to Rs 1,082.75 a piece on National Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, the broader benchmark BSE Sensex was trading at 24,833.25, up 151.22 points, or 0.61 per cent, at 14:35 hours.

Marksans fails inspection

Shares of Marksans Pharma fell by nearly 20 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the company's Goa plant failed to clear an inspection by the UK drug regulator, media reports said. The company got a notice of deficiency from UK MHRA related to the matter. The drug regulator is said to have found violations in goods manufacturing practices (GMP) norms in the Goa plant. Following the development, shares of the company dropped 19.96 per cent to Rs 75.80 a piece on Bombay Stock Exchange. Shares of the company dipped 19.98 per cent to Rs 75.70 a piece on National Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, the broader benchmark BSE Sensex was trading at 24,579.72, down 102.31 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 11:30 hours.

Surya Roshni ties-up with Snapdeal to enter e-commerce space

Lighting & steel tube products maker Surya Roshni Ltd on Wednesday said it has entered into a strategic alliance with Snapdeal, country’s largest online marketplace, to sell its LED bulbs via e-commerce platform. “Surya Roshni and Snapdeal partnership makes LED bulbs affordable for all,” the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on January 13, 2016. The company said that its 7 watt Surya LED bulbs will be available on Snapdeal at most affordable prices. Also, the partnership initiates a disruptive trend in energy conservation by making LED bulbs affordable and within reach of millions of people in tier 2 and 3 areas who otherwise would have found LED bulbs inaccessible and unaffordable, it further said. Surya’s eco-friendly and energy saving LED bulbs will be available for sale on the e-commerce website from January 2016, it added. Meanwhile, shares of the company were trading at Rs 152 apiece, down 6.58 per cent, from previous close on BSE at 13:43 hours.

Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital to invest Rs 600 cr for expansion

Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital chain announced that it is looking to invest Rs.600 crore for the purpose of expanding its operations in the country as well as overseas over the coming 60 months. At present, the hospital chain has 60 hospitals and is looking to l add 140 by 2020. Commenting on this, Amar Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director said, “The investment will happen in two phases. Since our debt is low, around Rs.20-25 crore, we will raise more funds through debt, internal accruals and private equity.” The chain is targeting a total of 200 hospitals with 150 in India and 50 in Africa, West Asia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. Agarwal said, “We are planning to continue our expansion in the East and West of India.” The chain recently commenced its operation in Kolkata co-branding with Peerless Hospital, a well-known hospital chain there, taking over its eye care operations. We are looking at organic and inorganic growth,” Agrawal said and added that they are looking at Gujarat, New Delhi, Maharashtra and Punjab for the next stage of development.”

Suzlon forays into solar sector with 210MW LoIs from TSSPDCL

Leading wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy Ltd on Wednesday said it has won 210MW Letter of Intent (LoIs) from the state utility, Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited (TSSPDCL) through a competitive bidding process. “Suzlon forays into solar; wins 210MW projects in Telangana,” the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on January 13, 2016. The 210-MW project consists of six different capacity projects to be located in across the state, including one project of 100 MW, one of 50 MW and four projects of 15 MW each. These projects are expected to be commissioned during financial year 2016-17, it said. These solar projects will be developed under six different special purpose vehicles of which one is an existing subsidiary of Suzlon, while five have been acquired by taking over 100 per cent shareholding. These would be used as the proposed solar special purpose vehicles for the project, it added. Meanwhile, shares of the company closed flat at Rs 20.75 apiece from previous close on BSE.

Celestial Biolabs plans to manufacture 21 Allopathic drugs

Drug maker Celestial Biolabs Ltd on Wednesday said it has decided to introduce manufacturing and marketing of 21 life saving drugs in Allopathic range. The company is already manufacturing and marketing premium products in Herbal and Nutraceuticals range. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said, “We are already manufacturing and marketing premium products in Herbal and Nutraceuticals range. In view of our established marketing & distribution network in India, we have decided to introduce manufacturing and marketing of 21 life saving drugs in Allopathic range covering - antibiotics, analgesic & anti-pyretics; antiulcerants; anti-hypertensives; anti-diabetics; anti-fungal; anti-allergic; anti-emetic; calcium supplement; steroid; immune suppressant and topical application for wound infection & neurological disorders.” “This will enhance our business sales volume & profitability in the times to come,” it added. Meanwhile, shares of the company closed at Rs 32 apiece, down 9.86 per cent, from previous close on BSE.

Agro Tech Foods completes Rs 3 cr land purchase in Howrah, WB

Agro Tech Foods Ltd on Wednesday said it has completed the purchase of 5.15 Bigha (apprx.1.7 acres) of land in Howrah (West Bengal) worth Rs 3.01 crore. The move has come as the company is planning to expand its manufacturing footprint in the eastern part of the country. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said, “The company has on January 13, 2016 completed purchase of land in Howrah (West Bengal) to an extent of 5.15 Bigha (apprx.1.7 acres) costing Rs 3.01 crore for expanding its manufacturing footprint in the eastern part of the country.” The company refines oils and agricultural raw products. It also manufactures processed and branded foods. Meanwhile, shares of the company closed at Rs 531.50 apiece, down 0.98 per cent, from previous close on BSE.