Dollar gains on U.S. May employment report, ECB move

Investing.com - Investing.com - The dollar traded higher against most major currencies on Friday after a solid May jobs report kept market expectations firm that the Federal Reserve will continue to wind down its $45 billion bond-buying program, the latest in a series of stimulus programs rolled out since the 2008 financial crisis to spur U.S. recovery.

In U.S. trading on Friday, EUR/USD was down 0.12% at 1.3645.

The U.S. Labor Department reported earlier that the economy added 217,000 in May, close to market expectations for a 218,000 increase, after a 282,000 rise in April, whose figure was revised down from a previously estimated 288,000 gain.

The private sector added 216,000 jobs last month, exceeding expectations for a 210,000 gain, which drew market applause and firmed the dollar.

The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.3% last month compared to expectations for a rise to 6.4%.

The data, viewed by markets as not exceptionally robust, was still strong enough to keep expectations firm for the Federal Reserve to continue winding down its monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar by suppressing long-term interest rates.

The Federal Reserve's current bond-buying program, the third since the 2008 financial crisis, has swelled the U.S. central bank's balance sheet to more than $4 trillion today from $2.9 trillion in late 2012.

The euro, meanwhile, continued to come under pressure after the European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate on Thursday to a record-low 0.15% from 0.25%, cut its deposit rate to -0.1% and said it will support the banking sector to spur lending via targeted long-term credit injections.

Elsewhere on Friday, official data revealed that Germany's trade surplus widened to €17.7 billion in April from €15.0 billion in March, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated surplus of €14.8 billion. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to widen to €15.2 billion in April.

The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.11% trading at 102.52 and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.23% at 0.8934.

The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.07% at 1.6808.

The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.07% at 1.0931, AUD/USD down 0.06% at 0.9334 and NZD/USD down 0.06% at 0.8495.

The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.09% at 80.45.

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U.S. stocks rise on solid U.S. May jobs report; Dow up 0.52%

Investing.com - Investing.com - U.S. stocks rose on Friday after data revealed the U.S. economy added more than 200,000 new nonfarm payrolls in May for a fourth consecutive month.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 rose 0.52%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.46%, while the NASDAQ Composite index rose 0.59%.

The Volatility S&P 500 index, which measures market volatility, was down 7.76% at 10.75.

The U.S. Labor Department reported earlier that the economy added 217,000 in May, close to market expectations for a 218,000 increase, after a 282,000 rise in April, whose figure was revised down from a previously estimated 288,000 gain.

The private sector added 216,000 jobs last month, exceeding expectations for a 210,000 gain, which drew market applause.

The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.3% last month compared to expectations for a rise to 6.4%.

U.S. stocks continued to applaud the European Central Bank's decision to cut its benchmark interest rate on Thursday to a record-low 0.15% from 0.25%, cut its deposit rate to -0.1% and said it will support the banking sector to spur lending via targeted long-term credit injections.

Many U.S. companies are significantly exposed to European markets.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), up 2.27%, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), up 2.24%, and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), up 1.86%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), down 1.16%, The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), down 0.64%, and McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD), down 0.51%.

European indices, meanwhile, ended the day higher.

After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.76%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.71%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.40%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 0.66%.

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Jammu Kashmir Bank plans to exit PNB MetLife Insurance

Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Mushtaq Ahmed had last October said the lender was considering to fully exit the investment.

Jammu & Kashmir Bank  is planning to exit PNB MetLife Insurance by selling its 5 percent stake in the life insurance joint venture, an official said today. "Initial talks to fully exit the insurance business by selling the entire 5 per cent stake in PNB MetLife Insurance are on and it may help raise over Rs 500 crore," the official told PTI.

Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Mushtaq Ahmed had last October said the lender was considering to fully exit the investment. He had hinted the bank would wait for the right pricing to sell out. Ahmed was not immediately available for comment on the possible stake sale.

PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife) is a joint venture between MetLife International Holdings Inc. (MIHI), Punjab National Bank Limited (PNB), Jammu & Kashmir Bank Limited (JKB), M. Pallonji and Company Private Limited and other private investors, with MIHI and PNB being the majority shareholders.

In 2012, the bank had cut its stake to 5 percent by selling 6 percent in the insurance venture and raised Rs 190 crore. State-run Punjab National Bank holds 26 percent in the venture, while US-based MetLife has 26 percent stake. The Srinagar-headquartered lender, held majorly by the state government, acts as a corporate agent selling policies of the life insurer.

Also Read: Hidden stressed loan story absolutely false, says J&K Bank

JK Bank stock price

On June 05, 2014, Jammu and Kashmir Bank closed at Rs 1569.75, up Rs 26.15, or 1.69 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1995.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 995.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 243.92 per share as per the quarter ended March 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 6.44. The latest book value of the company is Rs 1247.41 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.26.

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India to be in one of our top 10 markets: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz India today announced the local production of the new S-class 350 CDI from its manufacturing facility in Chakan, Pune.  In an interview to CNBC-TV18, managing director and CEO Eberhard Kern spoke about the company's upcoming plans. The luxury car market in India registered growth even as the rest of the passenger car market skidded to its worst performance in years.

Continuing the upbeat tone, he said that the company is optimistic about the future and the sentiment has improved with the new government in place. He added that the luxury car market is doing better now and the company has plenty of launches lined up for India in the coming years.

India is likely to be in one of its top 10 markets and Mercedes-Benz has no plans to export out of India yet, he added. 

Further, Kern sees potential for strong demand pick up in coming years.

Also Read: Mahindra launches 'XUV500 Sportz' at Rs 13.68 lakh

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview.

Q: The luxury car market in India registered growth even as the rest of the passenger car market skidded to its worst performance in years. So, now that we are seeing sings of a pick up in the economy in general are you feeling a lot more confident and optimistic about growth in the luxury car space?

A: Generally it is true of course the automotive car business in the last 1.5-2 years went through a very bumpy period of time. The luxury car market was doing better and is doing better now as well. We have a kind of optimistic outlook for the months to come and for the years to come. When we ask our dealers and talk to our dealers, since the election results are out and it is clear that there is a stable government with maturity and probably not only government being able to make decisions but as well to execute we get the feedback that sentiment is now better again; the mood is better. There is lot of expectation around and going for any investment, going for luxury car or whatever it is not only a rational decision it as well a decision based on emotions and with more positive emotions around we believe that the car business and especially the luxury car business can do better in the months to come.

Shereen: So you are saying that things will look better but quantify for me what you mean by strong growth and where will that take India? Is India likely to be in your bucket of one of the fastest growing markets, is it likely to be in your top five markets for Mercedes globally given the kind of growth rate that you expect?

A: This is not so easy to answer. What we see since mid of May there are more visitors in our showrooms, the number of enquiries went up, the interest in buying a Mercedes-Benz is higher, so this makes us kind of optimistic that a more positive time will be ahead of us. As I shared with you earlier India is one of the focus markets for Mercedes Benz globally. It is one of the markets we developed a strategy, Mercedes Benz 2024. We expect that India's importance in the overall global setup of Mercedes Benz is further growing. It could even be that India develops into one of the top 10 markets of Mercedes Benz for the passenger cars. The focus is there and all the support by Mercedes Benz headquarters in Germany as well is there. We follow our strategy, we take it forward and today is a very important day for us because a much awaited model we are going to launch into the market; it is the S Class diesel, the S350 CDI and given the fact that four out of five Mercedes today in India equipped with diesel engine you can imagine that we are quite happy to have this car now available as well. So, let us see if these expectations what are there in India could be backed by concrete actions. If this happens we believe that India is on a very good way.

For complete interview, watch video

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Secretaries term meeting with PM Modi as 'morale booster'

This meeting gives an idea on how the Modi government is going to function over the next 5 years. With his mandate of less government and more governance, it is extremenly important to have all secretaries on the same page. Many secretaries feel Modi's speech was a morale booster.

Prime minister Narendra Modi in a three-hour long meeting on Wednesday met secretaries of all departments to talk about governance and policy issues.

As many as 80 secretaries were present at the meeting.

It wasn't a monologue, secretaries were first asked to share their view on governance first and then PM Modi spoke to them in a free flowing speech.

Also Read: PM meets secretaries to outline his policy priorities

Amitabh Kant, DIPP secretary tweeted: "First time in my career - free, frank and fearless interaction with the prime minister of the country. Highly motivating! Great flow of ideas!"

This meeting gives an idea on how the Modi government is going to function over the next 5 years and the kind of ideas that he has. With his mandate of less government and more governance, it is hence extremely important to have all secretaries on the same page. Many secretaries feel Modi's speech was a morale booster and it was great to hear the prime minister talk about his ideas on governance.

Over the next week, secretaries may be individually called in to give 10 minute presentations on their respective departments.

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Despite opposition, support pours in for Tata-SIA airlines

Pilots, engineers, non-profit organizations and even state airline Air India is not opposing the Tata's re-entry into aviation.

The Tata Group's plan to launch a full-service carrier with Singapore Airlines may not find support among its rivals but, support is pouring in for the airline from all corners, reports Tarun Shukla, reporter, Livemint.

Pilots, engineers, non-profit organizations and even national carrier Air India is not opposing the Tata's re-entry into aviation.

Also Read: Tata-SIA airline to lease 20 A-320 planes to launch flights

Only the lobby group of Federation of Indian Airlines, which includes IndiGo, Jet Airways ,  SpiceJet and GoAir is opposing the move.

Lots of pilots and engineers have infact been writing to the regulator DGCA to give go ahead to Tata-SIA as it is going to give them jobs. After Kingfisher Airlines went down a lot of pilots and engineers are left without jobs.

Going ahead, because the matter is already with DGCA, it will review the comments received so far. Tata-SIA is expecting a launch by October.

The opposition from lobby group FIA is not expected to have much of an impact and Tata-SIA is likely to sail through unless it runs into legal hurdles.

Jet Airways stock price

On June 04, 2014, Jet Airways closed at Rs 257.70, up Rs 1.15, or 0.45 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 499.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 210.25.

The latest book value of the company is Rs -350.63 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was -0.73.

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Dr Reddys Laboratories' fixes book closure for dividend AGM

The Register of Members & Share Transfer Books of Dr Reddys Laboratories will remain closed from July 15, 2014 to July 18, 2014 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of Payment of Dividend & Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company to be held on July 31, 2014.

Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd has informed BSE that the Register of Members & Share Transfer Books of the Company will remain closed from July 15, 2014 to July 18, 2014 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of Payment of Dividend & Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company to be held on July 31, 2014.Source : BSE

Read all announcements in Dr Reddys Labs

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Exotic Coal: Change in directorate

Exotic Coal has informed that Mr. Vinayak Trimbak Sarkhot And Mrs. L Onia have been co opted as additional directors of the Company.

Exotic Coal Ltd has informed BSE as under :- Mr. Alex Loli Kape Expired on April 27, 2014 whose services has put on record.- Mr. Vinayak Trimbak Sarkhot And Mrs. L Onia have been co opted as additional directors of the Company.Source : BSE

Read all announcements in Exotic Coal

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Visesh Infotech: Outcome of board meeting

Visesh Infotecnics has informed that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on June 02, 2014, considered and approved the appointment of Mr. Manoj Jain and Mr. Brahm Dutt Sharma as the Additional Directors of the Company w.e.f. June 02, 2014.

Visesh Infotecnics Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on June 02, 2014, considered and approved the appointment of Mr. Manoj Jain and Mr. Brahm Dutt Sharma as the Additional Directors of the Company w.e.f. June 02, 2014.Further the Board also accepted the resignation submitted by Mr. Anil Jindal from the office of director with effect from June 02, 2014.Source : BSE

Read all announcements in Visesh Infotech

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B.A.G. Films and Media's fixes book closure for AGM

The Register of Members & Share Transfer Books of B.A.G. Films and Media's will remain closed from June 19, 2014 to June 25, 2014 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company to be held on June 25, 2014.

B.A.G. Films and Media Ltd has informed BSE that the Register of Members & Share Transfer Books of the Company will remain closed from June 19, 2014 to June 25, 2014 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company to be held on June 25, 2014.Source : BSE

Read all announcements in BAG Films

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Qatar "vehemently denies" latest accusation of 2022 wrongdoing

By Mike Collett

LONDON (Reuters) - Qatari organisers of soccer's 2022 World Cup have "vehemently" denied accusations their successful bid was corrupt, saying its lawyers were looking into claims made by a British Sunday newspaper.

The Qataris issued the denial after Jim Boyce, a vice-president of soccer's world governing body FIFA, said he would be in favour of re-running the vote for the 2022 host nation, if the allegations in the Sunday Times could be proved.

In a report filling the first 11 pages of the newspaper, the Sunday Times claimed it had obtained millions of documents which they say show former FIFA executive committee member Mohamed Bin Hammam of Qatar made payments totalling around $5 million to football officials in return for votes for Qatar.

Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy - the nation's World Cup organising committee - said it had won the right to stage the finals with "the best bid", and that it was "time for the Middle East to host its first FIFA World Cup".

"The Qatar 2022 Bid Committee always upheld the highest standard of ethics and integrity in its successful bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup," it said.

"In regard to the latest allegations from The Sunday Times, we say again that Mohamed Bin Hammam played no official or unofficial role in Qatar's 2022 Bid Committee.

"As was the case with every other member of FIFA's Executive Committee, our bid team had to convince Mr. Bin Hammam of the merits of our bid.

"We are cooperating fully with (head of FIFA's investigation into corruption) Mr. (Michael) Garcia's on-going investigation and remain totally confident that any objective enquiry will conclude we won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup fairly.

QATAR'S BID

"We will take whatever steps are necessary to defend the integrity of Qatar's bid."

FIFA would not comment on Sunday about the report, instead

instructing Reuters to "kindly contact the office of the Chairman of the investigatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee Michael Garcia directly".

The Washington-based law firm representing Garcia was not answering its telephone, and had not replied to a request for a comment.

New York lawyer Garcia was due to meet the Qataris in Oman on Monday in a meeting scheduled before the article was published, as he continues his questioning of those involved with FIFA and other bodies.

The Sunday Times printed what it said were details and excerpts of emails, letters and bank transfers in its vast report which it says prove Bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation for nine years and a FIFA executive committee member for 15 years, had made payments from secret slush funds.

FIFA vice-president Boyce, who was not on the executive committee at the time of the vote in December 2010, said Garcia, should widen his investigation following the newspaper report.

"As a current member of the FIFA executive committee, we feel that any evidence whatsoever that people involved were bribed to do a certain vote, all that evidence should go to Michael Garcia... and let's await the report that comes back from Garcia.

"If Garcia's... recommendations are that wrongdoing happened for that vote for the 2022 World Cup, I certainly... would have absolutely no problem whatsoever if the recommendation was for a re-vote," the Northern Irishman told BBC radio.

DOGGED BY CONTROVERSY

That view was echoed by Per Ravn Omdal who served on the FIFA executive committee with Bin Hammam.

The former president of the Norway FA told Reuters: "If it can be proved that this corruption took place... I think it would be wise to put it to another vote. If there is more corruption, FIFA should re-examine the decision."

According to the newspaper, Bin Hammam bribed officials in return for their support for the bid. The 65-year-old was banned from football for life in July 2011 after being found guilty of attempted bribery surrounding his bid to beat incumbent FIFA president Sepp Blatter in that year's FIFA presidential election.

Although that ban was later annulled and he quit football, FIFA subsequently banned him for life for a second time in 2012 for "conflicts of interest" while AFC president.

A telephone number regularly used by Reuters to contact Bin Hammam was dead on Sunday.

Qatar's bid has been dogged by controversy since before winning the right to stage the finals in December 2010, after FIFA officials said temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius in the tiny Arab emirate were not conducive to staging the event.

Qatar beat off bids from Australia, Japan, the United States and South Korea. The Sunday Times alleges Bin Hammam, who was not a member of the Qatar bidding committee, lobbied on behalf of his countrymen paying out millions in cash, gifts and junkets, especially to African officials.

The newspaper said Bin Hammam had intended to create a groundswell of support for Qatar, a tiny country with no football heritage and very little infrastructure.

The issue now for FIFA, whose annual congress starts on June 10 in Sao Paulo, is how it is going to handle this latest barrage of accusations against Qatar, and a growing campaign for the vote to be re-run.

Blatter last month said it had been "a mistake" to award the finals to the country, but quickly backtracked saying his quote in French had been mistranslated.

(Reporting by Mike Collett; Editing by Ossian Shine)

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Pele's son sentenced to 33 years in prison

RIO DEIRO (Reuters) - The son of former Brazil striker Pele has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for laundering money earned from drug trafficking, Brazilian media reported.

Edinho, who played as a goalkeeper for his father's former club Santos, served a jail sentence for drug trafficking between 2005 and 2006. At the time, he admitted to being a drug addict but denied trafficking charges.

He was found guilty of money-laundering on Friday by a judge in the beachside city of Praia Grande. Four other men accused of being part of the same gang received similar sentences.

Edinho, whose real name is Edson Cholbi do Nascimento, is expected to appeal against the judge's decision but must hand over his passport to the authorities. He may be preventively arrested while a higher court considers his appeal.

Edinho, 43, currently works as a goalkeeping coach for Santos. His lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

Pele, widely regarded as the best footballer of all time, helped Brazil win the World Cup three times.

Brazil is hosting this year's World Cup from June 12-July 13.

(Reporting by Walter Brandimarte, editing by Ed Osmond)

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Madhya Pradesh experiencing heat wave; Northeast remains cool

Just as temperatures drop a little in parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha snatched its position of the hottest region. On Friday thunderstorm activity was observed over north Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and parts of west Uttar Pradesh.

According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, moisture laden south westerly winds favoured the abating of heat wave from most parts of Rajasthan but such conditions prevailed at a few places over Gujarat, Rajasthan, east Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha.

Maximum temperature of 46°C or more has been recorded at several places including Nowgong, Chandrapur, Kota, Damoh, Khajuraho, Wardha and Brahmapuri.

Weather in Northeast India and West Bengal

Meanwhile, West Bengal and Northeast India continues to remain cool and comfortable with maximums hovering around 32°C. Silchar in Assam received 14 mm, while Cherrapunji  received 21 mm of rain on Friday.

In West Bengal, Bankura received 34.4 mm of rain, Asansol received 10.6 mm, Burdwan 33 mm, Sriniketan 28 mm, Bahrampur 21 mm, Malda 24 mm of rain. In most of the places temperatures have come down to comfortable levels. Thundershowers will continue in the state and Northeast India for the next 48 hours.

According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, the cyclonic circulation over Gangetic West Bengal and a trough extending from the system up to Telangana is responsible for bringing such heavy showers.

By: Skymetweather.com

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Cadila recalls over 10K bottles of anti-allergy drug in US

Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA, a unit of the company, is recalling 10,200 bottles of promethazine hydrochloride tablets that contain foreign tablets, according to information on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.

Cadila Healthcare is recalling over 10,000 bottles of an anti-allergy drug in the US because of a mix-up in tablets.

Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA, a unit of the company, is recalling 10,200 bottles of promethazine hydrochloride tablets that contain foreign tablets, according to information on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.

The recall is due to the "presence of atenolol 25 mg tablet mixed into promethazine 25 mg tablet bottles," the FDA said. The nationwide recall was initiated on May 8. The 25-mg tablets in 100-count bottles were manufactured by Cadila Healthcare and distributed in the US market by Zydus Pharmaceuticals, it added.

The withdrawal was classified as a Class-II recall, which the FDA defines as "a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically
reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote."

Comments from Cadila Healthcare could not immediately be obtained.

Cadila Healthcare shares today closed at Rs 931.40 on the BSE, up 0.37 per cent.

Cadila Health stock price

On May 12, 2014, Cadila Healthcare closed at Rs 1000.25, up Rs 7.80, or 0.79 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1079.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 631.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 43.13 per share as per the quarter ended March 2014. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 23.19. The latest book value of the company is Rs 186.33 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 5.37.

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