France's Veran: We will the COVID fight

PARIS (Reuters) – France will win its battle against the coronavirus but it is a struggle which will take time, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday.

Veran said the mental health of the French was deteriorating during the second lockdown.

Jerome Salomon, the government’s top public health official, said the virus had now killed 47, 127 people in France.

Walt Disney Q4 Results Beat Street View, Shares Up 6%

Shares of Walt Disney Co. (DIS) rose 6% on extended session on Thursday after the media and entertainment giant’s fourth-quarter results trumped Wall Street estimates.

Burbank, California-based Disney reported a fourth-quarter loss $710 million or $0.39 per share, compared with last year’s profit of $777 million or $0.43 per share.

Adjusted loss for the quarter were $0.20 per share, compared to adjusted earnings of $1.07 per share last year. On average, 22 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated a loss of $0.71 per share.

Revenues for the quarter slipped 23% to $14.71 billion from last year’s $19.12 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $14.20 billion.

The company said its results for the quarter were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, most significant impact was at the Parks, Experiences and Products segment where since the second quarter parks and resorts have been closed or operating at significantly reduced capacity and cruise ship sailings have been suspended.

Media networks segment’s revenues rose 11% to $7.21 billion, while parks, experience and products unit’s revenues tanked 61% to $2.58 billion.

Studio entertainment revenues plunged 52 percent to $1.60 billion, while direct-to-consumer and international revenues rose 41% to $4.85 billion.

DIS closed Thursday’s trading at $135.52, down $2.30 or 1.67%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, gained $8.16 or 6.02% in the after-hours trade.

RBI move on LVB to aid sector stability: S&P

‘Initiative will keep contagion at bay’.

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday said the Reserve Bank of India’s ‘swift’ move to help resolve the woes of troubled Lakshmi Vilas Bank would keep ‘contagion at bay and help maintain stability’ in the banking system.

The Reserve Bank has proposed merging Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with DBS Bank India Ltd. (DBIL).

As part of the proposal, DBIL, the wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based DBS Bank, will inject ₹2,500 crore into the merged entity to support its financial position.

S&P said the deal was positive for India’s banking sector and would bring much-needed relief to LVB, which has been struggling for many years.

The Reserve Bank had placed the private-sector lender under prompt corrective action (or under watch) in September 2019, and the search for a white knight had been on since then.

Treasury Announces Details Of 2-Year, 5-Year And 7-Year Note Auctions

The Treasury Department on Thursday announced the details of this month’s auctions of two-year, five-year and seven-year notes.

The Treasury revealed it plans to sell $56 billion worth of two-year notes, $57 billion worth of five-year notes and $56 billion worth of seven-year notes.

The results of the two-year and five-year note auctions will be announced next Monday, while the results of the seven-year note auction will be announced next Tuesday.

Last month, the Treasury sold $54 billion worth of two-year notes, $55 billion worth of five-year notes and $53 billion worth of seven-year notes.

The two-year note auction attracted modestly above average demand, while the five-year and seven-year note auctions attracted below average demand.

Perfect Diary parent shares jump in debut

(Reuters) – Shares of Yatsen Holding Limited YSG.N, the parent company of Guangzhou-based beauty unicorn Perfect Diary, soared 66% in their market debut on Thursday, after it raised about $617 million in its initial public offering.

Traffic diverted: Gas leak shuts down part of Auckland’s Dominion Rd

A suspected gas leak has closed a section of one of Auckland’s busiest roads ahead of the morning rush hour.

Auckland Transport is warning motorists to be prepared for delays after Dominion Rd was closed between St Albans Ave and Grange Rd in Mt Eden at 6.20am.

Commuters are being warned to follow the direction of workers on site and be prepared for delays.

Webinar on ‘MFs: How to get started?’

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and The Hindu BusinessLine will conduct a webinar on the topic ‘Mutual Funds: How to get started?’ at 5 p.m. on November 21.

The webinar will focus on aspects such as why should investors consider investing in MFs and how do they compare with other investments such as bank FDs, ULIPs, small savings on risk and return’

The webinar will be a conversation between Dhirendra Kumar, founder & CEO, Value Research, and Lokeshwarri SK, Associate Editor, The Hindu BusinessLine.

To register for this free webinar, log on to: https://bit.ly/ICICIMF

IFIN to sell external corporate loan book

IL&FS unit to auction ₹5,000 cr. loans

IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN), a 100% subsidiary of scam-hit IL&FS, has decided to sell its external corporate loan book.

As per the decision, corporate loans of ₹5,000 crore would be auctioned through a bidding process, IL&FS said in a statement.

“The book includes loans to over 70 companies that have turned NPAs. The public process of inviting bids will be start this week,” the company said.

The sale would be concluded on cash consideration basis, IL&FS added.

IFIN has an asset under management (AUM) of approximately ₹18,000 crore

involving external and internal loans as well as investments.

The sale of external corporate loans is a part of the resolution process to address overall debt of the infrastructure and lending firm.

IFIN is registered with the Reserve Bank of India as a ‘systemically important non-deposit accepting non-banking finance company’.