Employers and unions have backed Victoria’s plan to lift coronavirus economic clamps as thousands of Melburnians prepare to return to work.…
M&M Financial Services’ net profit rises 21% to Rs 304 crore in Q2
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services’ net profit rose by 21 per cent to Rs 304 crore in the second quarter ended September (Q2Fy21), from Rs 252 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
The provisions and write-offs stood at Rs 619.4 crore in Q2Fy21, up from Rs 360.7 crore in the year-ago period. It made higher level of impairment provisions of Rs 433 crore during quarter through management overlay to reflect deterioration in the macroeconomic outlook.
Its loan book rose to Rs 64,389 crore at the end of Q2 from Rs 63,793 crore a year ago.
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Aurobindo Pharma to sell US-based Natrol for about Rs 4,048 crore
Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma has reached a definitive agreement to sell its US subsidiary Natrol LLC to private equity firm New Mountain Capital and its affiliate Jarrow Formulas in an all-cash transaction valued at $550 mn (about Rs 4,048 crore). This would make Aurobindo a zero-debt company and also help it repay loans, analysts said.
The deal, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to close by January.
Aurobindo said Natrol, which it acquired in December 2014, had been a “consistently profitable business” growing on all fronts. Natrol’s annual sales for the 12 months ended March 2020 were worth around $157 million.
Aurobindo’s stock reacted positively to the news, going up in morning trade but later settled flat at Rs 784.65 on the BSE. The Nifty Pharma index was down 1.6 per cent on Monday.
The US constitutes around 50 per cent of the company’s turnover, and Europe 22 per cent.
At the end of the first quarter of FY21, Aurobindo’s net debt stood at $168 million. In the June quarter, its revenue from the US business grew 15.6 per cent to Rs
Anger Over Italy Virus Rules As Curfews Enforced Around Europe
Italian officials faced a backlash on Monday after imposing coronavirus restrictions aimed at “saving Christmas” as other hard-hit countries enforced curfews in a bid to avoid fresh national lockdowns.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte ordered restaurants and bars to shut from 6:00 pm and closed theatres, cinemas and gyms for a month — much to the annoyance of business owners, opposition politicians and even some scientists, who questioned whether it would be enough to stop the virus.
“These restrictions will be the end of us,” said restaurateur Giuseppe Tonon, 70, the owner of a restaurant in Oderzo, a small village in northeastern Italy. “We’re not in a city centre, we’re in the provinces. Our customers come in the evening or during the weekend.”
A photograph of Tonon slumped in despair went viral on social media on the weekend, striking a chord not just with Italians but also with people across Europe.
Spain and France have both stiffened their rules, Slovenia has imposed border closures and even Norway, with one of Europe’s lowest infection rates, tightened its rules on social gatherings on Monday.
Funding gap could widen
Recent changes to how the federal government supports non-government schools could lead to major funding disparities, according to new research from Save Our Schools.…
Covid-19: India has potential to shape global agenda, says WEF’s Schwab
Bullish on India’s power to shape the global agenda, the WEF’s Founder and Chairman Klaus Schwab has said the country’s early policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic was strong and now its biggest opportunity lies in leapfrogging to a more digital and sustainable economy.
He further said he remains optimistic about India and as the country continues its quest to build “a stronger and more equal nation, the world will watch it for inspiration.” “With its demographic advantage and extensive diversity, India has the power to shape the global agenda and define our collective future,” Schwab told PTI in an interview from Geneva where the World Economic Forum (WEF) is based.
Schwab, who founded WEF over 50 years ago, said, “The early policy response in India to mitigate the impact of the pandemic was strong; from an early lockdown, to large-scale food rations to over 800 million people risking starvation, to collateral-free credit for small businesses.” “But what it couldn’t prevent is that this pandemic has put millions of informal workers, low-income migrant workers and daily-wage earners in a state of extreme insecurity. Protecting their lives and livelihoods is the prime concern today, as
