Shares of the two state-owned banks Bank of Baroda and Corporation Bank were turned ex-stock split today. Both these banks had subdivided the face value of their equity shares to Rs 2 from Rs 10.

Bank of Baroda and Corporation Bank has fixed January 23, 2015 as Record Date for determining the shareholders of the banks, who are entitled to receive the equity shares of the banks upon the sub division/ reduction in the face value of one existing equity share of Rs 10 each fully paid up into five equity shares of Rs 2 each fully paid up.

India’s equity markets on Wednesday registered new record highs for a consecutive day, led by strong buying from foreign investors. The benchmark BSE Sensex gained 104.19 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 28,888.86, while the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty added 33.9 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 8,729.5.

The indices advanced despite shares of top-weight ITC ending five per cent lower, making 123-point negative contribution to the index. ITC’s rival Hindustan Unilever gained five per cent and was the biggest gainer on the Sensex, followed by Bharti Airtel (four per cent) and HDFC (2.7 per cent).

L&T Finance Holdings Limited is considering putting its hat into the ring for a payment bank licence.

Y M Deosthalee, chairman and managing director, said, "We have evaluated the payment bank option. It will take some more time for us to arrive at a decision."

As companies are moving towards automation, Infosys Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vishal Sikka on Wednesday said there would be temporary replacement of jobs and lower information technology (IT) costs.

Sikka, who was speaking as a panelist in a session on ‘Inclusive Growth in the Digital Age’ at the World Economic Forum here, said the companies should move towards automation as it would be better in terms of cost.

Tata Motors, the country’s biggest automobile maker, has received the votes needed for paying its executive directors (ED) according to plans that were earlier contested by shareholders and proxy advisory firms.

Remuneration to executive directors Ravindra Pisharody and Satish Borwankar, has been approved not only for the past financial year but for the current and next year. Remuneration to late managing director Karl Slym for last year has also been approved. Voting was carried out through a postal ballot for the special resolution.

Missing Street expectations the tobacco-to-hospitality giant ITC reported a net profit growth of 10.4 per cent at Rs 2,635 crore in the December quarter against Rs 2,385 crore in the year-ago period.

The below-par performance was a consequence of slow growth in the cigarette business. Revenue in ITC's cigarette segment grew 0.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,142 crore. Analysts said ITC's decision to increase prices of cigarettes after the excise duty on these was raised pulled down sales volume by 15 per cent year-on-year.

Automobile major Maruti Suzuki and consumer durables maker Lloyd Electric have signed as on-air sponsors for the Cricket World Cup beginning February 14, sources say. When contacted, officials at STAR Sports, which will broadcast the tournament, confirmed this.

Through the tournament, Lloyd will promote its Lloyd Air Conditioners brand.

New York/London: Wipro Ltd, an Indian information-technology (IT) consulting firm that counts energy companies among its clients, said some of those customers have cut back on awarding contracts amid a record decline in oil prices.

In recent weeks, Wipro has seen a drop in IT contracts linked to large capital projects in the energy sector, chief executive officer T.K. Kurien said in an interview on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland. While Kurien didn’t identify the projects on hold, he said they were mostly those that hadn’t yet broken ground.

Nasa has released a 1.5 billion-pixel image of the Andromeda Galaxy (or M31 as Nasa scientists call it) which was captured by Nasa/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and is actually made up of 411 images. To look at the whole image, one needs to have a 600 HD television screen. It shows over 100 million stars, also travels more than 40,000 light years.

It is the largest and sharpest image ever taken of the galaxy which requires 4.3 GB of disc space. Andromeda is nearest galactic neighbour which is over 2 million light-years away from earth, according to The Hubble Space Telescope that is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency.

The BSE Sensex breached the 28,900-mark and the NSE Nifty touched a new peak of 8,730.45 in early trade on Wednesday on sustained fund inflows, driven by the encouraging corporate earnings coupled with pre-budget optimism among participants.

Rising for the fifth straight day, the 30-share index rose by 155.25 points, or 0.53 per cent, to hit a new peak of 28,939.92.

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