The earnings and orders miss in 1HFY16 might suggest that nothing is going right for L&T; however, we believe that after a weak FY16F, L&T is well placed for an earnings recovery and improving RoE on the back of:

Management’s decision to change the company’s focus to asset light businesses and unlocking value from its subsidiaries/JVs over the past two years and going forward (real-estate, Dhamra & Kattupalli ports, L&T Finance, L&T Infotech).

Oil prices fell on Monday after the long Christmas weekend, with US crudes defending a newly gained premium over internationally traded Brent contracts in quiet trading ahead of the end of the year.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were trading at $37.87 per barrel at 0311 GMT, down 23 cents from their last settlement.

After three years, sale of branded petrol and diesel is getting back to normalcy for the three government-owned oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPC).

The government OMCs say the price differential between branded and non-branded fuel has come down, though the sales in branded petrol are better than for branded diesel. Branded fuels are regular fuels with additives supposed to enhance a vehicle's performance.

Markets have gained strength in the morning trades well supported by the buying in index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, and Infosys.

At 10:30 AM, 30 share Sensex was at 25,967 levels, up by 130 points while the Nifty50 was at 7,899 levels, up by 38 points.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and ITC, two of the biggest consumer goods companies in India, are set to square off in health care, a category that is rapidly gaining traction. Kolkata-based ITC, which acquired antiseptic liquid brand Savlon from Johnson & Johnson last year, is now launching what is possibly its biggest offensive against its Mumbai-based rival HUL.

Savlon Double Strength soap, launched in select geographies recently, will slowly but steadily be extended across markets, say officials in the know. Additionally, ITC will use its cigarette distribution network to push both Savlon soap and antiseptic liquid into rural areas.

NEW DELHI: Lanco Infratech Ltd today said the board will meet next week to consider the proposal for issuing compulsory convertible debentures (CCDs).

"A meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on December 30, 2015, inter alia, to consider the proposal for issuance of Compulsory Convertible Debentures (CCDs) through preferential issue not exceeding 35 crore CCDs of Rs 10 each and seek shareholders' approval for the same," Lanco Infratech said in a regulatory filing.

Minister of State for Culture and Tourism and Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma on Saturday said that recent circular by Air India has been misinterpreted and there is no change in the previous orders and only some upgradations have been made.

"It has been misinterpreted. The real truth is that in short halt flights where the time span is between 60-90 minutes, we used to serve sandwiches and snacks which used to be vegetarian. Only thing was that there was a long demand that there should be some hot food as well," Sharma told ANI.

New Delhi, Dec. 25 (PTI): Diversified group GMR Infrastructure today said agreements had been executed for the proposed restructuring of holdings in GMR Airports Ltd (GAL).

Under the pacts, GMR Infrastructure will be entitled to purchase the "equity securities" held by the private equity investors in GAL before June 5, 2017.

Moscow: State-owned Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) and Oil India Ltd. (OIL) on Thursday signed an agreement with Russian oil firm Rosneft to explore the possibility of picking up a stake in the Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha oilfield in East Siberia.

The two Indian firms signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rosneft for cooperation in geologic survey, exploration and production of hydrocarbons in select onshore assets in the Russian Federation, IOC said in a statement.

New Delhi: ITC Ltd is building an exclusive supply chain for online retailers that will leverage the company’s extensive network of retailers and wholesalers to drastically cut the time to deliver its products, according to two company executives familiar with the development.

Trials for the model are already underway and it is expected to be rolled out by early next financial year.

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