The former director of sales and marketing for Pacific Consolidated Industries LP (PCI) pleaded guilty today to charges related to the bribery of a U.K. Ministry of Defense (UK-MOD) official in order to obtain lucrative equipment contracts with the U.K. Royal Air Force, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Terra Industries Inc., one of the nation’s largest producers of nitric acid and nitrogen fertilizers, has agreed to pay $625,000 in civil penalties to settle alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act at nine of its plants in Iowa, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

ReadyOne Industries Inc. has agreed to pay $5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false certifications regarding the annual percentages of direct labor hours performed by people with severe disabilities.

Kolon Industries Inc. and several of its executives and employees have been indicted for allegedly engaging in a multi-year campaign to steal trade secrets related to DuPont’s Kevlar para-aramid fiber and Teijin Limited’s Twaron para-aramid fiber. The indictment seeks forfeiture of at least $225 million in proceeds from the alleged theft of trade secrets from Kolon’s competitors.

"By allegedly conspiring to steal DuPont’s and Teijin’s intellectual property, Kolon threatened to undermine an economic engine at both companies. We cannot, and we will not, stand idly by in the face of such flagrant alleged conduct," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Martin Marietta Materials Inc. to divest one Oklahoma quarry and two Texas rail yards in order to proceed with its proposed $2.7 billion acquisition of Texas Industries Inc.

Valensa International announced today a joint venture agreement between Valensa’s parent company EID Parry and Synthite Industries Ltd., expanding plans to lead development and distribution of value-added microalgae extracts.

There is going to be a time in the not too distant future, when the fuller picture of the healthcare impacts of COVID-19 come into sharper focus. When that happens, it is not likely to be pretty. In large part, … Continue reading →

Yokogawa Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6841) announces that it has entered into a strategic alliance framework agreement to accelerate collaboration with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), ranked among the world's largest petrochemical manufacturers. The agreement includes selection of Yokogawa as a preferred supplier of control systems.

Canada is having a moment. In a world where talent is mobile and technology central, Canada stands out with its vibrant democracy, growing tech clusters, and unparalleled openness to the world’s migrants. Yet there is a problem: Despite the nation’s many strengths, Canada’s economy faces serious structural challenges, including an aging population and slowing output…

On June 26, Brookings Metro Senior Fellow and Policy Director Mark Muro testified to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship about the need for the reauthorization of the Small Business Administration (SBA), and particularly on the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, to be better positioned to further support America’s advanced industry sector.…

Architects, engineers, landscape architects and urban planners all have a role to play and should be acting now.

And we thought it was all about symbolism...

When Governor Sonny Perdue of the US State of Georgia filed a legal complaint and then formally asked for the support of the Bush Administration to force the US Army Corps of Engineers to stop releasing water from Atlanta's Lake Lanier, perhaps he did

As alternatives to Big Oil and Big Coal emerge, it would be a mistake for executives to rely on loyalty or love from the public.

Movie theaters, fitness centers, commercial real estate and pay TV could be among the industries that are vulnerable in prolonged quarantines.

Jake Klein of Evolution Mining explains why gold companies are faring better than most sectors during this time of extended uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It seems like when you get down to the nitty gritty of just about any industry, there are some shady parts of it that no one wants to talk about. Even the most fun and simple seeming industries like avocados or tropical fish have seriously dark sides. When it comes to how a company treats it's employees, there are some definitered flags when it comes to looking for a job.

Industrial units in rural areas will be allowed to function from April 20 provided they follow social distancing norms while all kinds of public transport will be barred and public places closed till May 3, according to guidelines issued on Wednesday to enforce the second phase of the lockdown.

Wearing masks/face covers in public places is now compulsory across the country. Besides, strict ban enforced on the sale of liquor, gutka, tobacco etc under the new Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines that come a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3.

The PM also said necessary activities will be allowed from April 20 in identified areas of the country. Laying out the dos and don'ts for phase two of the pan India lockdown, the guidelines state that all work places should make adequate arrangements for temperature screening and must provide sanitisers at convenient places.

Services provided by self-employed electricians, IT repair personnel, plumbers, motor mechanics and carpenters will be allowed from April 20. Inter-state, inter-district movement of people, Metro, bus services will be prohibited till May 3. Manufacturing, industrial units with access control in SEZs, export oriented units, industrial estates, industrial townships will also be allowed to function from that date. Educational institutions, coaching centres, domestic, international air travel, train services will remain suspended, the ministry said. Public places such as cinema halls, malls, shopping complexes, gyms, sports complexes, swimming pools and bars will be shut too till May 3.

Leave without pay for Vistara employees

Vistara chief Leslie Thng on Wednesday announced that senior employees will be going on compulsory leave without pay for up to three days between April 15 and 30 as a measure to further conserve the airline's cash flow amid lockdown to combat the COVID-19 threat. On March 27, the airline had also introduced compulsory leave without pay for up to three days between April 1 and April 14 for the same set of senior employees.

'Monsoon will be normal this year'

Southwest monsoon will be normal this year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday in its forecast for the four-month rainfall season in the country. In an online briefing, IMD Director General, M Mohapatra said the Long Period Average (LPA) of monsoon will be 100 per cent which falls in the "normal" category. "Monsoon will be normal this year," he said.

Gujarat CM Rupani goes into isolation

Gujarat Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani has decided to run the state administration without meeting anyone for the next one week after a Congress MLA whom he met tested positive for Coronavirus. Rupani's health is fine and he will run the state administration through technological facilities like video-conference, video-calling and tele-calling, Chief Minister's Office (CMO) secretary, Ashwani Kumar said on Wednesday. "No visitor will be allowed at the chief minister's residence for the next one week," Kumar said.

Doctors attacked in Moradabad

Stones were pelted at an ambulance carrying a team of medical personnel and police, which had gone to escort family members of a person who died of COVID-19 in UP's Moradabad, to a quarantine facility. "When our team boarded the ambulance a crowd started pelting stones. Some doctors are still there. We are injured," said the ambulance driver.

'Farmers will be paid in 3 days'

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Kailash Chaudhary said the farmers will be paid within three days of their crops purchased by the government. He has also asked the states to make arrangements for procurement. The government procurement of wheat in many states, including MP and Punjab, has started from Wednesday. Haryana has announced to start purchasing mustard first and then wheat from April 20.

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Share markets in India are presently trading on a positive note. Benchmark indices advanced today tracking firm global cues.

Further, talks of an economic stimulus for small businesses battered by the coronavirus outbreak improved sentiment.

Reportedly, the government may unveil fiscal stimulus amounting to 0.3% of the country's gross domestic product, focusing on small and medium sized businesses, real estate firms and banks.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 524 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 146 points.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading up by 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the energy sector and telecom sector witnessing buying interest, while power stocks are witnessing selling pressure.

The rupee is currently trading at 75.44 against the US$.

Gold prices are currently trading down by 0.1% at Rs 46,134.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, after a sharp rally in the past few weeks, the markets have turned volatile again.

You would be interested in knowing when the market will likely bottom out.

Vijay Bhambwani, editor of Weekly Cash Alerts, has the answer and he has recorded a video about it.

You can check the same here - This is When the Stock Market Will Bottom Out

Moving on, market participants are tracking Shree Cement share price, TCI Express share price, and SBI Cards and Payment Services share price as these companies are scheduled to announce their March quarter results (Q4FY20) later today.

You can read our recently released Q4FY20 results of other companies here: Ambuja Cement, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Marico, Kansai Nerolac, NIIT Technologies, Persistent Systems, SKF India.

In news from the banking sector, public sector banks (PSBs) sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore for the March-April period to 41.81 lakh accounts, according to the finance ministry.

The borrowers represented the micro small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs), retail, agriculture and corporate sectors.

Reportedly, PSB loans amounting to Rs 265 billion have been sanctioned in 2.37 lakh cases for MSMEs.

This is part of the PSB initiative to prioritise pre-approved emergency credit lines and enhanced working capital requirements to the sector.

Meanwhile, PSBs sanctioned loans worth Rs 773.8 billion to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) between March 1 and May 4.

Including the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) targeted long term repo operations (TLTRO) window, PSBs extended Rs 1.08 lakh crore of financing to ensure business stability and continuity.

The finance ministry said that the three-month loan moratorium facility announced by the RBI has been availed by 3.2 crore PSB accounts.

On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Indian economy is poised to recover from the recent crisis brought upon by the coronavirus pandemic with PSB sanctioning loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore in just two months.

Speaking of the banking sector, the low access to credit for micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) tells us there is a huge opportunity for lenders.

This is evident from the chart below:

India's Huge Lending Opportunity

Of the 60 million MSMEs in India, only 11% had access to credit from organised lenders. Most of them are self-financed or get credit from unorganised sources.

Here's what Tanushree Banerjee wrote about this in one of the editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

• Self-financing limits the growth of these MSMEs. On the other hand, high interest rates from unorganised sources makes it difficult for them to earn profits.
  
  The Modi government is looking at various ways to correct this problem. Mudra loans, online loans facilities are being made available to MSMEs.
  
  Slowly but surely, lenders are sensing the huge opportunity that lies ahead for this sector.
  
  Banks and other financial firms with prudent lending practices and strong distribution networks will benefit from this megatrend.

Tanushree is counting on 7 top stocks from the Indian stock market that will benefit from this megatrend.

As per her, now is the right time to buy these stocks to profit from the Rebirth of India. You can read about them here.

Moving on to news from the FMCG sector, shares of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) rose 4% today after institutional investors bought stake in the company via open market on Thursday.

The NSE bulk deal data showed that foreign portfolio investor Societe Generale, a French multinational investment bank and financial services company, bought 129 million shares of HUL at an average price of Rs 1,902.

UK-based Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) offloaded its stake in HUL via block deals, yesterday.

According to the term sheet, over 133 million shares were offered in the range of Rs 1,850-1,950 to investors through a special block window.

The deal is valued roughly between Rs 246 billion to Rs 259 billion.

Note that last week, HUL reported a 7% decline in volumes in Q4FY20. The company's profit before tax fell 10.6% to Rs 19.9 billion, while net profit declined 1.2% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 15.2 billion.

HUL share price is presently trading up by 3%.

To know more about the company, you can HUL's latest result analysis on our website.

And to know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

Stock specific action was seen in index heavyweight Reliance Industries gained 3.43% to Rs 1,558 on BSE after PE firm Vista Equity Partners said it would invest Rs 11,367 crore into Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.

Shares of Asian Paints closed 1.01 per cent lower at 1,577against previous close of Rs 1593 on BSE

On April 24, 2020, the French Government announced that it has decided to extend tax and other financial support to companies in sectors most affected by the COVID-19 lockdown measures, including catering, tourism, events, sports, and cultural activities.

Ester Industries Limited has informed the Exchange regarding 'Resumption of manufacturing operations of Engineering Plastic Segment'.......

Mohit Industries Limited has informed the Exchange regarding 'Certificate in the matter of Regulation 74(5) of Securities and Exchange Board of india (Depositories and participants) Regulations, 2018 for the Quarter and......

Greenlam Industries Limited has informed the Exchange regarding 'This is to inform that as required under Regulation 74(5) of the SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations, 2018, Registrar and Share Transfer Agent......

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and US global conglomerate GE on Thursday announced a global partnership in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) space to boost digital transformation.

When companies involve stakeholders, such as local communities, in their decision making, it enables them to identify, and account for the impacts of their activities, and contribute to positive social and economic development. To address the challenges raised when engaging with stakeholders, the OECD is preparing a user guide on how to undertake due diligence in engaging with stakeholders for mining, oil and gas enterprises.

Imports of Chemical & Allied Industries Products in South Africa increased to 9913.50 ZAR Million in March from 9806.22 ZAR Million in February of 2020. Imports of Chemical & Allied Industries Products in South Africa averaged 9515.36 ZAR Million from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 13357.99 ZAR Million in October of 2018 and a record low of 7160.89 ZAR Million in June of 2014. This page includes a chart with historical data for South Africa Imports of Chemical & Allied Industries Products.

This document presents the new 2013 set of the OECD Regulatory Impact (REGIMPACT) indicator. It measures the impact of regulatory barriers to competition in non-manufacturing sectors on all industries, through intermediate inputs.

Knowing who gains and loses from regulatory reform is important for understanding the political economy of reform. Using micro-level data from 26 countries, this paper studies how regulatory reform of network industries, a policy priority in many advanced economies, influences the labour market situation of workers in network industries.

When companies involve stakeholders, such as local communities, in their decision making, it enables them to identify, and account for the impacts of their activities, and contribute to positive social and economic development. To address the challenges raised when engaging with stakeholders, the OECD is preparing a user guide on how to undertake due diligence in engaging with stakeholders for mining, oil and gas enterprises.

GDP From Mining in Singapore increased to 77466.90 SGD Million in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 77053.30 SGD Million in the third quarter of 2019. GDP From Mining in Singapore averaged 30460.05 SGD Million from 1975 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 77466.90 SGD Million in the fourth quarter of 2019 and a record low of 4246.90 SGD Million in the first quarter of 1975. This page provides - Singapore Gdp From Mining- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

GDP From Mining in Iran decreased to 370000 IRR Billion in the second quarter of 2018 from 443000 IRR Billion in the first quarter of 2018. GDP From Mining in Iran averaged 81084.11 IRR Billion from 1988 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 444000 IRR Billion in the third quarter of 2017 and a record low of 6309.34 IRR Billion in the second quarter of 1989. This page provides - Iran Gdp From Mining- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

GDP From Services in the United States increased to 13286.30 USD Billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 13201.10 USD Billion in the third quarter of 2019. GDP From Services in the United States averaged 11217.12 USD Billion from 2005 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 13286.30 USD Billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 and a record low of 9734.70 USD Billion in the first quarter of 2005. This page provides - United States Gdp From Private Services Producing Industries- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Imports - Machines & Devices To The Service Industries in Switzerland increased to 1069.53 CHF Million in March from 902.37 CHF Million in February of 2020. Imports - Machines & Devices To The Service Indust in Switzerland averaged 1073.81 CHF Million from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 1395.77 CHF Million in November of 2017 and a record low of 856.27 CHF Million in August of 2015. This page includes a chart with historical data for Switzerland Imports of Machines & Devices to The Service Indu.

Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco is making a high stakes investment in India as the world’s largest crude oil exporter seeks to deepen its ties with the fastest growing energy consumer. Tom O’Sullivan discusses the proposed investment, announced by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, with Benjamin Parkin and Anjli Raval.

Contributors: Tom O’Sullivan, deputy analysis editor, Benjamin Parkin, Mumbai correspondent, and Anjli Raval, senior energy correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Unfortunately, the world doesn’t have a constant quantity of problems, and while governments and most private businesses are focused on tackling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, companies like Genecis Bioindustries are working on technologies to solve another major problem: climate change. For over a decade, sustainability advocates and entrepreneurs have been searching for a way to […]

1. Does India need industries to restart at the cost of diluted labour laws?  Moneycontrol.com
2. Migrants run over by train, labour laws put on hold: Covid-19 news today  Hindustan Times
3. Three states ease labour laws to boost investment, jobs  Times of India
4. Ease labour laws now: UP gets it right, but relaxation must become permanent  The Financial Express
5. Karnataka Govt Says No Action Against Firms Not Paying April Wage as Industry Heads Seek Eased Labour Law...  News18
6. View Full coverage on Google News

A rights issue is an invitation to existing shareholders to buy more shares at a discount to the market price. RIL's investors can subscribe to the right to own one new share for every 15 held in the company at ₹1,257 per share, 14% below Thursday’s (April 30) closing price. Even if you expect that RIL shares will be worth a lot more in the future, if the share falls to ₹1,257, or below, investors can buy the shares from the market instead of subscribing to the rights.The rights issue announced by one of India's most valued company, Reliance Industries (RIL), will have to conclude by the end of June, as declared by the company. The company owned by Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, plans to mop up ₹53,125 crore from shareholders. RIL's investors can subscribe to the right to own one new share

Hundreds of thousands of UK jobs in the tourism, fast food, retail, and leisure sectors could be axed within weeks because of coronavirus (pictured, BA logo on aircraft at London Heathrow Airport).

PI Industries, UPL are better placed, given pick-up in global demand after a two-year downturn

Price band fixed at Rs 55 to Rs 60 per share

Receives bids for 39.24 lakh shares

The remaining manufacturing plants of JK Tyre in India and Mexico are in preparatory mode and will resume operations subsequently.