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Maruti Suzuki India is gearing up for a strong SUV push with at least six out of ten new models planned for the next three years starting FY25 being sports utility vehicles (SUVs), reinforcing the Japanese carmaker's strong intent to sharpen focus on the vehicle body type amid a rapid shift in buyer preference.The new launches will expand the model line-up at the maker of Grand Vitara and Brezza SUVs to about 30, said people privy to the company's plans. This will be the first major step by Suzuki Motor's Indian subsidiary to double annual production to 4 million vehicles by the turn of the decade.Through new SUV introduction and growing sales of existing SUV models, India's largest carmaker aims to sell 540,000-560,000 SUVs in FY26 compared with an estimated 440,000 units this fiscal.A spokesperson for Maruti Suzuki said the company "doesn't give any guidance on future models."Mirroring the strategy it once adopted in the passenger car market of straddling all segments with models at multiple price points, Maruti is likely to cover "all white space" in the SUV segment including micro SUVs, compact SUVs, and compact electric SUVs as well as two new four-metre SUV models, which will be pitted against Mahindra & Mahindra's bestselling XUV700 model, said one of the persons aware of the company's plans.108215386In the works are four EVs with the first set to be the company's debut electric SUV with an expected launch this October. To be positioned in the premium end of the market, the model is likely to be priced between ₹20 and ₹25 lakh. This will be followed by a seven-seater electric SUV in March 2025, a small EV in May 2026 and an electric MPV derivative of its maiden e-SUV in October 2026.Maruti is also developing a micro-SUV, a small SUV and a three-row MPV that are likely to go on sale sometime in FY26 and FY27, said the people cited above.Maruti is also preparing to launch a new generation Swift/Dzire, Fronx facelift and new generation Baleno in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively. Most of the models priced up to ₹12 lakh will also be offered with Suzuki's affordable hybrid technology which is currently under development. "With electrification catching pace, all the new generation models from Maruti's existing lineup will have a hybrid option even as the company continues to pursue pure EVs," a second person said.Share of SUVs in India's passenger vehicle market climbed to 53% in December 2023 from 44% a year earlier. Strong demand for vehicles with high ground clearance and high seating stance coupled with launches of new SUV models helped Maruti grow the share of SUVs in its overall sales to 25% in December 2023 from less than 10% two years ago. To be sure, except for the Jimny which was pitted against the Mahindra Thar and hasn't taken off, most of its new launches in the segment have added to overall volumes.The higher share of SUVs has helped the company expand its average realization per unit and support margins despite rising discounts, showed ETIG analysis. It has improved Maruti's average selling price by 6.6% to ₹6.6 lakh per vehicle. Consequently, the operating margin before depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda margin) expanded by 198 basis points to 11.7% even though the average discount per vehicle increased by ₹5,000 year-on-year to ₹23,300 in the December quarter.

ET Intelligence Group: The stock of CreditAccess Grameen has underperformed the benchmark and sector indices since January 19 when it declared the third quarter results, reporting pressure on the asset quality due to floods in the key market of Tamil Nadu (TN), muted customer additions and disbursements amid upgrading of core banking facilities. The stock has lost over 14% during the period compared with around 3% return in each of the S&P BSE Sensex and S&P BSE Financial Services indices amid the scheduled general elections and uncertainties over the government’s stance over loan waivers. However, the country’s largest listed microfinance lender is expected to deliver strong performance in the medium term amid normalisation of business activities in TN. Analysts have raised target prices citing business momentum in new markets, strong capital base, and efficient cost control measures.The microfinance lender operated 1,894 branches across 16 states and one union territory at the end of December 2023. Given the efforts to expand in new markets, the share of top four states including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh in the gross loans fell to 79.5% in the December quarter from 83.1% a year ago. 108218597The monthly disbursements fell to Rs 1,418 crore in November 2023 from Rs 1,679 crore in the previous month while customer additions dropped to 63,000 from 1,02,000 by similar comparison. The management stated that the business momentum returned to normal in December after the successful completion of the core banking project resulted in Rs 2,247 crore of disbursements and an addition of 1,20,000 customers.The lender’s gross loan portfolio increased by 31.5% year-on-year to Rs 23,382 crore in the December quarter while disbursements rose by 10.3% to Rs 5,344 crore. The gross nonperforming assets (GNPA) ratio increased by 20 basis point from the previous quarter to 0.97% due the TN flood impact. According to the management, the business and recoveries have returned to normalcy in the affected areas of the state in December. On a year-on-year basis, GNPA fell by around 70 basis points.CreditAccess maintained operating efficiency despite asset quality pressure. The cost-income ratio fell to 29.5% in the December quarter from 31.7% in the previous quarter and 36.3% a year ago. This helped in keeping the net interest margin (NIM) stable at 13.1% from the quarter ago and higher than 11.9% in the year-ago quarter.Motilal Oswal Financial Services noted in a report that the company’s robust execution has been vindicated by its resilience across various credit cycles and external disturbances. “With a strong Tier-I capital position of around 24%, the company can very well navigate any potential disruptions in the future and also capitalize on the growth opportunity over the medium term,” the brokerage said.ICICI Securities believes the stock would continue to trade at a premium valuation given its time-tested business performance to ensure above 20% return on equity (RoE) between FY24 and FY26. “We maintain BUY with a revised target price of Rs 1,950 from earlier Rs 1,600 as we roll over the estimates to September 2025, valuing the stock at 3.4 times expected book value,” the brokerage mentioned in a report.

The U.S. Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a major victory on Monday as he campaigns to regain the presidency, overturning a judicial decision that had excluded him from Colorado's ballot under a constitutional provision involving insurrection for inciting and supporting the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The justices unanimously reversed a Dec. 19 decision by Colorado's top court to kick Trump off the state's Republican primary ballot on Tuesday after finding that the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment disqualified him from again holding public office. Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election. His only remaining rival for his party's nomination is former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. "BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!," Trump wrote on his social media platform immediately after the ruling. The 14th Amendment's Section 3 bars from office any "officer of the United States" who took an oath "to support the Constitution of the United States" and then "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof." "We conclude that states may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But states have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the presidency," the unsigned opinion for the court stated. The justices found that only Congress can enforce the provision against federal officeholders and candidates. Trump was also barred from the ballot in Maine and Illinois based on the 14th Amendment, but those decisions were put on hold pending the Supreme Court's ruling in the Colorado case. Trump's eligibility had been challenged in court by a group of six voters in Colorado - four Republicans and two independents - who portrayed him as a threat to American democracy and sought to hold him accountable for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. The plaintiffs were backed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog group. The ruling came on the eve of Super Tuesday, the day in the U.S. presidential primary cycle when the most states hold party nominating contests. As lawsuits seeking to disqualify Trump cropped up across the country, it was important for his candidacy to clear any hurdles to appear on the ballot in all 50 states. The Supreme Court resolved the Colorado ballot dispute speedily, a timeline that stands in contrast to its slower handling of Trump's bid for immunity from criminal prosecution in a federal case in which he faces charges for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss. Trump's trial has been put on hold awaiting the outcome of the Supreme Court's decision - a benefit for him as he campaigns against Biden. In the Colorado dispute, the justices agreed to take up the case a mere two days after Trump filed his appeal, fast-tracked arguments and issued the written opinion in just over two months. The justices in the immunity case in December declined a bid to speed up resolution of the matter before a lower court had weighed in, then last week agreed to take up the matter after lower courts had ruled - setting arguments to take place in late April, a much longer timeline. The Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority includes three Trump appointees. Not since ruling in the landmark case Bush v. Gore, which handed the disputed 2000 U.S. election to Republican George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore, has the court played such a central role in a presidential race. In a bid to prevent Congress from certifying Biden's 2020 election victory, Trump supporters attacked police, broke through barricades and swarmed the Capitol. Trump gave an incendiary speech to supporters beforehand, repeating his false claims of widespread voting fraud and telling them to go to the Capitol and "fight like hell." He then for hours rebuffed requests that he urge the mob to stop. The 14th Amendment was ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War of 1861-1865 in which seceding Southern states that allowed the practice of slavery rebelled against the U.S. government. In ruling against Trump, Colorado's top court cited the "general atmosphere of political violence that President Trump created" and that he aided "the insurrectionists' common unlawful purpose of preventing the peaceful transfer of power in this country." The Supreme Court heard arguments on Feb. 8. Trump's lawyer argued that he is not subject to the disqualification language because a president is not an "officer of the United States," that the provision cannot be enforced by courts absent congressional legislation, and that what occurred on Jan. 6 was shameful, criminal and violent but not an insurrection. Many Republicans have decried the ballot disqualification drive as election interference, while proponents of disqualification have said holding Trump constitutionally accountable for an insurrection supports democratic values.

Capital market regulator Sebi has approved IPOs of three companies including that of new age insurance company Go Digit, which is backed by star cricketer Virat Kohli.Digit's IPO has hit multiple hurdles over compliance issues, which delayed approval for the public offer. Sebi had returned the draft offer document twice as the regulator raised concerns over share issuance.Go Digit, which operates in the general insurance sector and counts Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa's Fairfax Group and A91 Partners among its backers, refiled its IPO papers with Sebi in March last year, which the regulator has now approved.The IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 1,250 crore ($152.1 million) and an offer for sale of 109.4 million shares, according to the draft prospectus.The insurance firm plans to utilise the net proceeds towards augmenting its capital base and maintaining the solvency levels.Go Digit has incurred an underwriting loss of Rs 1,917 crore and earned an investment income of Rs 746 crore between 2018 and 2022, implying a net operating loss of Rs 1,171 crore during this period.The company in consultation with merchant bankers to the issue may consider a pre-IPO placement aggregating up to Rs 250 crore. If such placement is completed, the fresh issue size will be reduced.ICICI Securities, Morgan Stanley India, Axis Capital, Edelweiss Financial Services, HDFC Bank, and IIFL Securities are the book-running lead managers for the IPO.Bengaluru-based Denta Water and Infra Solutions Limited, a seasoned player in the field of water engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, has also received the final observation from Sebi. The company had filed preliminary IPO papers with Sebi on December 11, 2023.The IPO, with a face value of Rs 10, is entirely a fresh issue of up to 7.5 million equity shares with no offer for sale (OFS) component.The proceeds from the fresh issue, to the extent of Rs 150 crore, will be used to meet working capital requirements.Meanwhile, KRN Heat Exchanger and Refrigeration, which had filed its draft papers in January this year, also received Sebi approval for an IPO, which is an entirely fresh issue of 1.93 crore equity shares.