A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan early on Saturday, killing at least 19 people, injuring hundreds more and trapping people in collapsed buildings, barely a day after a quake killed 10 people in the same region.

Rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings and mud and debris on Saturday to try and reach those trapped, but continued aftershocks hindered rescue efforts and fuelled fears of more powerful quakes. "We have already seen of several of the mid to upper 5 plus magnitude range, and over the next several days and weeks, we would not be surprised to see more earthquakes of this size," said John Bellini, a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Mahindra & Mahindra expects tractor sales to grow in double digits this year, if monsoon forecasts are proved right. The company, which met analysts earlier this week, said that tractor sales could grow 10 per cent in FY17, if the rainfall is normal this season. The tractor segment, which has declined for two consecutive years, could see some recovery due to pent-up demand in the system. Tractor sales have declined 13 per cent in FY15 and 10 per cent in FY16. Emkay Global, in a note, says: "After a successful launch of the Arjun brand tractors in the 50+hp range, the management is hopeful the recent launch of the 30-50 hp Yuvo range should further help market share."

After halting tobacco production for 15 days following a new ministerial directive calling for covering 85 per cent of the cigarette package area with health warning, cigarettes to FMCG company ITC will soon resume production of cigarettes, the company said.

In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said the decision follows a ‘High Court order passed in favour of the company’ whereby it will “soon resume manufacture of cigarettes in its factories”.

Infosys on Friday said it would raise the salaries of its employees in India by 6-12 per cent while for employees at onsite locations, it would be 1.5-2 per cent, depending on the region.

For employees below the managerial level, the hike in salaries would come into effect from April 1, while for the rest it would be effective from July 1, the country's second largest information technology (IT) services firm said. Vishal Sikka, chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys, said the hikes were not limited to 12 per cent and would be much higher for star performers.

A joint venture led by Reliance Industries and BG Group has agreed to hand drilling infrastructure from an abandoned gas field to ONGC, their junior partner, helping the state-run group develop a large gas reserve nearby, two company sources said.

Executives from Reliance, BG and ONGC signed an agreement in New Delhi on Tuesday night — providing respite in a months-long battle between the partners over the cost of closing the Tapti field off India's west coast.

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is looking at ways to limit the advantages of co-location and high-frequency trading (HFT), according to two people familiar with the developments.

Discussions to create a level-playing field for those not using algorithmic trading (algo trading), which have been going on for more than a year now, could lead to the regulator introducing ‘non-disruptive restrictions’ on such trading.

Managing disgruntled employees and launching new flights, including one to Washington in August, are among Air India’s priorities this financial year, the state-run airline’s chairman has said in an internal note.

Instances of strange and sometimes indisciplined behaviour by some of the airline’s employees continue to surface—the most recent being a pilot refusing to fly till he had his choice of co-pilot.

In an unusual turn of events, L&T Infotech Ltd on Monday withdrew the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) it filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and filed it afresh on Tuesday. According to investment bankers, this was necessary because the estimated size of the issue has been cut by more than 10%. As it turns out, the estimated size of the issue has been cut by almost 30% to around $200 million, according to news reports.

KOLKATA: The diversified ITC group is embracing the online marketplace route to push its lifestyle retail business, especially its apparel brand John Players, which it plans to expand into newer categories.

Atul Chand, ITC's chief executive for lifestyle retailing business, said the company is considering introducing the John Players brand in categories such as footwear, eyewear, backpacks and bags, all of which will be sold through online marketplaces.

The market on Wednesday opened on strong note building hopes for a good monsoon. The Sensex rolled up 301.24 points or 1.2% at 25446.83, and the Nifty gained 82.80 points or one per cent at 7791.75.

At 1059 hours the Sensex was up 412.63 points or 1.64% at 25,558.22. While on NSE at 1101 hours was up 125.65 points or 1.63% at 7,834.60.

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