Profit Top 10: Infosys faces US visa woes; TCS Q4 beats Street

• TCS Q4 net up 1.6%, beats street expectation
• Infosys facing US visa woes; investors grumble
• 2G: TRAI announces reserve price for auction, allows spectrum trading
• Sensex falls 277 points; ADAG stocks, Infosys slump
• SBI cuts deposit, car loan rates
• Basel III implementation to put banks’ earnings under pressure: RBI Deputy Governor
• Why Reliance shares have gained despite muted Q4 earnings
• Nestle to buy Pfizer nutrition for $11.9 bn
• China manufacturing PMI improves to 49.1
• Spain back in recession as economy contracts

TCS Q4 net up 1.6%, beats Street expectation

Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software services exporter, reported a 1.6% rise in net profit at Rs 2932.4 crore for the quarter ended March 2012.

The company was expected to report a decline of 2 per cent to Rs 2,827.50 crore against Rs 2,886.60 crore in the December 2011 quarter. TCS reported consolidated revenue of Rs 13259.3 crore for the March 2012 quarter, a marginal increase over the preceeding quarter. (Read More)

Infosys facing US visa woes; investors grumble

Last week, a technology analyst at Credit Lyonnais Securities, a foreign brokerage associate of French bank Credit Lyonnais, wrote an open letter to Infosys CEO S D Shibulal highlighting three major investor concerns - loss of market share, reduced business predictability and lack of a clear roadmap for cash usage. Here are five reasons why investors are miffed with Infosys.

Meanwhile, the company is facing a review by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has found errors in the I-9 forms the company filed with the Department. (Read more here: Infosys under US authorities scanner)

Infosys (-4%), India's no 2 software services exporter, was the biggest drag on the Sensex, contributing 55 index points on the downside due to the investigation in the US over erroneous employee verification forms. Most other IT stocks closed with deep cuts. The IT index (-2.9%) on the BSE was among the worst performers. (Read More)

2G: TRAI announces reserve price for auction, allows spectrum trading

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Monday fixed the reserve prices for auction of spectrum. The reserve price for 900 MHz has been fixed at Rs 7244 crore while that for 1800 MHz has been fixed at Rs 3622 crore. (Read More)

TRAI also recommends that spectrum to be assigned through auction shall be liberalized. This means that spectrum in any band can be used for deploying any services in any technology. However, sources told NDTV Profit that operators are contemplating legal action against TRAI recommendations stating that the regulator has exceeded its brief on its recommendations.

Sensex falls 277 points, ADAG stocks, Infosys slump

The BSE Sensex closed near the lowest point of the day indicating weakening sentiments on the Street. It declined 277 points or 1.6% to 17,096.68 while the broader Nifty index managed to close at 5,200 mark, falling 90 points. (Read More)

Also Read: Rupee depreciation good for earnings, bad for markets, says BoAML

SBI cuts deposit, car loan rates

State Bank of India on Monday said it would cut car loan rates by 0.25 per cent to 11.25 per cent and loans to small and medium enterprises by up to 2 per cent. The cut in car loans would make SBI the cheapest lender for such loans. The bank also announced it will cut retail term deposit rates across various tenors in the range of 0.25 per cent to 1.00 per cent. However, it said it is unlikely to cut the base rate immediately. (Read More)

Basel III implementation to put banks’ earnings under pressure: Anand Sinha

Earnings of banks are likely to come under pressure due to the higher capital requirements for the implementation of new global risk mechanism, the Basel III norms, Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Anand Sinha said. "There is going to be pressure on banks' earnings, not only in India but across the world. That's why Basel III implementation has been made longer, so that there will be least disruption," he said. (Read More)

Why Reliance shares have gained despite muted Q4 earnings

Reliance Industries, India's biggest company by market cap, reported muted numbers for the March quarter on Friday. However, shares of the company traded with gains in a weak market today. (Here’s why) Most brokerages retained their positive call on Reliance Industries though they cut the target price on the stock. (Here is why analysts say)

Also Read: Mukesh Ambani keeps promise; Reliance becomes debt free

Meanwhile, the corporate giant has stopped lobbying with US lawmakers for the last two quarters, while the Indian government incurred an expense of Rs 3.7 crore for such activities during the last financial year ended March 31. (Read More)

Nestle to buy Pfizer nutrition for $11.9 bn

Swiss food group Nestle said on Monday it would buy U.S. drugmaker Pfizer's infant nutrition business for $11.85 billion, beating out French rival Danone as both sought to gain pre-eminence in the lucrative baby food market. Shares in the Indian unit of Pfizer rose 4.53 per cent in early morning trade on expectations the company would announce a special or one-time dividend. (Read More)

China manufacturing PMI improves to 49.1

China's factories stabilized in April as output ticked higher, new business rose from multi-month lows and export orders perked up, though not sufficiently for a private sector survey of purchasing managers to flag a return to expansionary territory.

The HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index, the earliest indicator of China's industrial activity, recovered slightly to 49.1 in April from a final reading of 48.3 in March, but still remained below the 50 mark that signifies contracting economic activity for the sixth month running. (Read More)

Also Read: Global crisis not over, China reforms to go on: Wen Jiabao

Spain back in recession as economy contracts

Spain's central bank said the country is now in a technical recession as the economy contracted 0.4% in the first quarter of the year. The drop, published in a Bank of Spain report on Monday, follows a 0.3% quarterly decline in the fourth quarter of the last calendar year. A technical recession is commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction. (Read More)

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