Month: March 2018

Coca-Cola announces its first-ever alcoholic drink

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Coca-Cola is launching the first alcoholic drink in its history with a canned liquor product in Japan.

The drinks giant will experiment with a canned beverage called Chu-Hi, made up of distilled Japanese drink shochu, sparkling water and flavoring.

“This is unique in our history. Coca-Cola has always focused entirely on non-alcoholic beverages, and this is a modest experiment for a specific slice of our market,” said Jorge Garduno, president of Coca-Cola’s Japan business unit, in a post on the company’s website.

Japan is a fiercely competitive market, Garduno added, with Coca-Cola launching 100 products a year in the country. “Experimentation is almost like a day-to-day ritual here. You can’t fall behind the rapid product cycle in Japan,” he said.

The company’s sodas only made up about 25 percent of product sales by volume in Japan in 2016, while tea made up 27 percent of Japan’s overall beverage consumption in the same year.

Coca-Cola also owns Georgia Coffee in Japan, which it claims is the world’s highest-grossing canned coffee drink, making more than $1 billion in annual sales. The country has a Food for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU) government certification, in light of its ageing population and fiber-fortified drink Coca-Cola Plus was FOSHU-approved in 2017.

Having certain drinks at particular times of day is more of an entrenched ritual in Japan than in other part of the world, said Khalil Younes, EVP of marketing and new businesses for Coca-Cola Japan, in a blog post. People might drink green tea with sushi, but opt for oolong tea with fattier Chinese food, for example.

Because of the nature of the Japanese drinks market, it’s unlikely Chu-Hi drinks will launch in other countries, Garduno said. “While many markets are becoming more like Japan, I think the culture here is still very unique and special, so many products that are born here will stay here.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Stocks in Asia gain after news of potential US tariff exemptions

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Markets in Asia clawed back some gains on Thursday after sliding in the last session on trade-related fears. Gains in the region came after US stocks closed above session lows on fresh developments related to planned metals tariffs.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.89 percent and the Topix was up 0.73 percent, with all but two of its 33 sub-indexes gaining in the morning.

The Topix Iron & Steel index rose 1 percent as steel producers edged higher. Kobe Steel rose 3.02 percent, Nisshin Steel edged up by 0.07 percent and JFE Holdings traded flat.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.59 percent, with strength seen in automakers and tech names. Shipbuilders also put in a strong showing, with Samsung Heavy rising 4.86 percent and Hyundai Heavy Industries climbing 5.11 percent.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 tacked on 0.35 percent after declining 1.01 percent in the last session. Most of the index’s sub-indexes notched gains, although the materials, gold producers and energy sectors traded in the red after commodities struggled in the last session.

Possible US tariff exemptions

US stock indexes, which had initially tumbled following Gary Cohn’s resignation from the Trump administration, pared some early losses after the White House hinted that Mexico and Canada could be exempt from planned metals tariffs.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Thursday said recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could include “potential carve-outs … based on national security.” The president is expected to sign off on the tariff plan this week, she said.

While that was positive news for Canada and Mexico, trade-related concerns were unlikely to completely evaporate.

“[T]he potential for more, rather than less tariffs for China and Europe, remains the key risk,” said Rodrigo Catril, a senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank, in a morning note.

Cohn, Trump’s top economic advisor and a free trade advocate, had resigned after the president announced last week that tariffs of 25 percent and 10 percent would be implemented on steel and aluminum imports, respectively.

The greenback edged up against a basket of currencies overnight, with the dollar index standing at 89.637 at the end of the last session.

Against the yen, the dollar last traded at 106.17, not far from Wednesday’s close of 106.08. The US currency had slipped from the 106.1 handle to levels around 105.5 on the back of Cohn’s resignation during Wednesday Asia hours.

Meanwhile, oil pared some losses after tumbling in the previous session due to trade concerns. US West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.28 percent to trade at USD 61.32 per barrel after settling 2.3 percent lower on Wednesday. Brent crude futures, which had yet to trade, erased 2.2 percent to settle at USD 64.34 per barrel in the last session.

On the data front, fourth-quarter gross domestic product in Japan was revised higher to 1.6 percent from an initial estimate of 0.5 percent, Reuters said. That was also above the 0.9 percent increase projected in a Reuters poll.

What’s on tap

Here’s the economic calendar for Thursday (all times in HK/SIN):

8:30 a.m.: Australia January balance of trade
11:00 a.m.: China February balance of trade

The Bank of Japan also begins its monetary policy meeting on Thursday.

Ahead, the European Central Bank will announce its rates decision during European hours.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Company will generate cash surplus for next two years: Sanghi Ind

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Sanghi Industries’ board has approved issuing non-convertible debenture (NCD) as part of their fund-raising plans. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Bina Engineer, the Director of Sanghi Industries spoke about the latest happenings in her company and sector.

2016 we had raised NCD at 15.5 percent for the equal amount. The old NCDs were carrying a cost of 15.5 percent and new NCDs are carrying a coupon of about 10.5 percent, she said.

Primary the objective was to redeem the debt and this is not an additional debt, she added.

Company is well-funded for the capacity expansion plan, said Engineer.

Company will generate a cash surplus for the next two years, she further mentioned.

For full interview, watch accompanying video…

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

BJP may emerge as single largest party in 2019: Shobhana Bhartia

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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There have been a lot of victories and negatives for the ruling coalition. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson & Editorial Director of Hindustan Times spoke about how will the math add up to 2019 elections.

Bhartia said that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-Samajwadi Party (SP) combine will surely rejuvenate opposition, but will see how long it lasts.

She further said that resurgence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in northeast is a worrying factor for the opposition.

According to her, results in the recent past indicate resurgence in Congress for sure.

However, Congress did pretty well in Gujarat and did well in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (MP) bypolls.

Talking about 2019 elections, she said BJP may emerge as single largest party in 2019.

For entire interview, watch accompanying video.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Expect next year to be better than the current year: Godrej Agrovet

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Godrej Agrovet stock has been moving higher, boosted by a hike in the import duty of palm oil to 44 percent from 30 percent earlier. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Balram Yadav, Managing Director of Godrej Agrovet spoke about the latest happenings in his company and sector.

The increase in oil palm duty will increase the oil prices in the country and we will be benefited because of higher oil prices, he said.

Margin in palm oil business will remain around 20 percent going around, he added.

We are expecting next year to be better than the current year. We just need an average monsoon with good spatial and temporal distribution, said Yadav.

For full interview, watch accompanying video…

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Power is a stressed sector for entire banking space, says SBI

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The power minister has said that State Bank of India is “worried” about its exposure to the Mundra power projects of both Adani Power and Tata Power. He also went on to express concerns over stressed assets in the power sector as a whole. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Sunil Srivastava, Deputy MD of SBI spoke about the same.

Srivastava said that power is a stressed sector for the entire banking sector.

He further said that there is a problem related to distribution and DISCOMS’ (Distribution Companies) health.

“Addressing these issues in a short possible time of six months is going to be very-very difficult,” said Srivastava.

According to him, there are 34 thermal power plants under stress.

DISCOMS looking at buying cheap power over exchange than honouring their contract, he added.

Srivastava also mentioned that Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is taking time in revising tariffs.

There are still a few power plants that could be classified as non-performing assets (NPAs). However, not all gas-based power plants are under stress, he said.

For entire interview, watch accompanying video.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Stock ideas to trade for today by market experts

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Watch the interview of Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com, Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com, Mitessh Thakkar of mitesshthakkar.com, Rajat Bose of rajatkbose.com, Deven Choksey of KRChoksey Securities and Manoj Murlidharan of Religare Securities with Latha Venkatesh, Sonia Shenoy and Anuj Singhal on CNBC-TV18, in which they shared their reading and outlook on technicals, fundamentals and Futures and Options (F&O) side of the market as well as specific stocks and sectors.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Closing Bell: Benchmark indices recover in last hour, Sensex closes at 33351 & Nifty at 10233 points

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

‘Every one out of three Indian women receives sexual calls or messages’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Out of the 586 million women in India, about 78% receive harassment calls and 82% receive ‘inappropriate and sexual’ content in the form of videos and pictures at least once a week, reveals a report by Truecaller. The research which has been conducted in collaboration with an independent market research company states that every one out of three women receives ‘sexual and inappropriate’ calls or SMS’.

According to the report, 50% of these calls and texts were anonymous whereas, 11% were the from stalkers. While, 3% of them were from the ones who knew the receiver. Jaipur has the highest number of women receiving ‘offensive and sexual’ images or videos every week with 90% of respondents reporting the cases.

As per the report, women in India receive 18% more unwanted calls than men which indicates a rise by 5% from last year’s 13%.

72% of the women received calls from fraudsters with an objective to collect payments or their personal data at least once a week. Out of these, 4% received counterfeit calls almost daily.

81% of the women who participated in the survey termed blank calls as ‘harassment’. Blank calls were defined as “an anonymous phone call made with the intention to threaten, harass or offend a caller, without a sales- or phishing-related objective” in the survey.

Though most of these women take actions against these calls, the report found that 38% women still remain silent about it. Out of the 62% who have taken measures against the harassment calls, more than half chose to block the harasser and 90% of them use Truecaller to block the harasser. While only 10% registered a complaint to the police. 7% used social media to name and shame the person.

On an average, every Truecaller user in India receives 22.6 spam calls per month, making it the highest in the world.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow