National Bank of Canada quarterly profit rises 7%

(Reuters) – National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) reported a nearly 7% rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by growth across segments.

Net income rose to C$604 million ($454.10 million), or C$1.67 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Oct 31, from C$566 million, or C$1.52 per share, a year earlier.

Sensex, Nifty close higher ahead of RBI policy decision

Among the Sensex stocks, Tata Motors emerged as the top gainer, rising by 7 per cent. Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Vedanta Ltd and Tata Steel were among the gainers.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Indian equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty staged a fag-end recovery to close higher on Wednesday ahead of the Reserve Bank’s policy meet outcome.

At the closing bell, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled with gains of 174.84 points or 0.43 per cent at 40,850.29.

The index swung between a high of 40,886.87 and a low of 40,475.83 during the day.

The 50-scrip NSE Nifty closed 43.10 points or 0.36 per cent higher at 12,037.30.

Among the Sensex stocks, Tata Motors emerged as the top gainer, rising by 7 per cent.

Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Vedanta Ltd and Tata Steel were among the gainers.

On the other hand, L&T, Reliance Industries, Maruti, Asian Paints and Bajaj Auto dropped.

Sectorally, BSE metal index rose the most by 1.66 per cent, followed by bankex and IT indices.

BSE capital goods and energy led the losers’ chart.

Asian stocks were trading sharply lower as investors turned more anxious seeing no breakthrough coming soon in US-China trade deal logjam.

Nearly half of Zimbabweans face hunger, starvation

Natural and man-made disasters have combined to create some of the worst conditions Zimbabwe has seen in about a decade.

Natural and man-made disasters have combined to create some of the worst conditions Zimbabwe has seen in about a decade.

Nearly half of its people face severe hunger and starvation.

Al Jazeera’s Priyanka Gupta reports.

National Bank of Canada Q4 adjusted earnings of C$1.69 per share

National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) announced a profit for its fourth quarter that rose from the same period last year.

The company’s profit totaled C$590 million, or C$1.67 per share. This compares with C$550 million, or C$1.52 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.

Excluding items, National Bank of Canada reported adjusted earnings of C$612 million or C$1.69 per share for the period.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 6.1% to C$1.92 billion from C$1.81 billion last year.

National Bank of Canada earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q4): C$612 Mln. vs. C$566 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q4): C$1.69 vs. C$1.52 last year.
-Revenue (Q4): C$1.92 Bln vs. C$1.81 Bln last year.

Sensex, Nifty close higher ahead of RBI policy decision

NSE Nifty closed 43.10 points higher.

Indian equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty staged a fag-end recovery to close higher on Wednesday ahead of the Reserve Bank’s policy meet outcome.

At the closing bell, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled with gains of 174.84 points or 0.43% at 40,850.29. The index swung between a high of 40,886.87 and a low of 40,475.83 during the day.

The 50-scrip NSE Nifty closed 43.10 points or 0.36% higher at 12,037.30.

Among the Sensex stocks, Tata Motors emerged as the top gainer, rising by 7%. Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, Vedanta Ltd and Tata Steel were among the gainers.

On the other hand, L&T, Reliance Industries, Maruti, asian Paints and Bajaj Auto dropped.

Sectorally, BSE metal index rose the most by 1.66%, followed by bankex and IT indices.

BSE capital goods and energy led the losers’ chart.

Asian stocks were trading sharply lower as investors turned more anxious seeing no breakthrough coming soon in US-China trade deal logjam.

Turkish lira's real effective exchange rate rises to 77.35 in November -cenbank

ISTANBUL, Dec 4 (Reuters) – The consumer price index-based real effective exchange rate of the Turkish lira rose to 77.35 in November from 76.94 a month earlier, central bank data showed on Wednesday.

In 2018, the rate fell below 80 for the first time since the central bank started publishing the data in January 2003 and hit a record low of 62.51 in September 2018.

The rate, announced by the central bank, measures the weighted average of domestic prices relative to those of Turkey’s trading partners. (Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen Editing by Ece Toksabay)

Leaders gather for NATO's 70th birthday

Leaders meet outside London on Wednesday to mark 70th anniversary of NATO.

Before the summit, the French and United States presidents displayed differences publicly ahead of the summit.

In a final communique, NATO allies will recommit to their pledge to defend each other.

The United Kingdom is also expected to put six warships, two fighter squadrons and thousands of troops at NATO’s disposal to meet a US demand for European armies to be more combat-ready.

Al Jazeera’s James Bay reports live from Watford.

Coffee consumption will exceed production in the 2019/20 coffee year: ICO

Coffee consumption will exceed production in the 2019 to 2020 coffee year, creating a global deficit of about 502,000 bags, the International Coffee Organization (ICO) said in its November report. "Despite a slowdown in growth, consumption is predicted to overtake production during the course of the year," said the report. Brazil’s smaller off0year Arabica crop and bad weather in parts of Central America and Asia could continue to affect prices in the coming weeks," it said. "However, the impact of these factors may be muted due to the recent weakness of the Brazilian Real as well as the upcoming on-year crop in Brazil," it said. Coffee prices as measured by the ICO Composite Indicator remained above 100 cents/lb in November for the first time in the last 12 months, said the report. Global exports fell 13.4% to 8.91 million bags in October from the year-earlier period.