Business
ED initiates FEMA probe against Amazon
The probe is being conducted under various sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after the central probe agency recently received a communication from the commerce ministry seeking "necessary action" against e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart pertaining to certain multi-brand retail businesses and an observation made by the Delhi High Court in relation to Amazon.
Investors lose over Rs 9.56L cr as markets fall for 5th day
Domestic investors' wealth witnessed an erosion of Rs 9,56,597.82 crore as markets recorded their fifth straight session of decline.The 30-share BSE benchmark tanked 535.57 points or 1.13 per cent to close at 46,874.36 on Thursday.
Int'l flight suspension extended till Feb 28
Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral "air bubble" arrangements with selected countries since July.
India has capability to strengthen global supply chain: PM Modi at World Economic Forum
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India has braved all difficulties in fight against coronavirus pandemic and has the capability to strengthen global supply chains. Addressing the World Economic Forum's Davos Dialogue via video conferencing, Modi said that India launched 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' with the resolve of increasing the capacity of our economy.
Sensex plunges 536 pts: Top reasons behind the fall
Equity indices fell for the fifth straight session on Thursday with the benchmark BSE sensex plunging over 500 points. The 30-share BSE index dived 536 points or 1.13 per cent to close at 46,874. Sensex lost 2,918 points in just five trading session.
Robinhood restricts trading in shares including GameStop amid dizzying run-up
News/Business: The strange saga of GameStop took a new twist on Thursday, as trading brokerage Robinhood put restrictions on trading in the company's shares, a move that's sure to draw the ire of the app's merry band of stock-swapping Redditors.
What Indian industries want from Union Budget 2021
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to unveil plans to boost economic growth when she presents the 2021/2022 Union Budget on February 1. Corporates and industry lobby groups expect the government to announce greater spending on healthcare and infrastructure, as well as tax breaks for the automotive, manufacturing and tourism industries, reeling from the coronavirus crisis.
Maruti Suzuki India quarterly profit rises on festive sales
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Thursday reported a rise in third-quarter profit, as more consumers bought vehicles during the festive season and customers returned to showrooms after lockdowns eased across the country.
UAE, Gulf stocks claw back some of their losses in topsy-turvy day
Markets|: The Gulf's stock markets ended the week paring some of the steep losses from earlier in the day. The selling spell in early trades was a reaction seen elsewhere amid lingering concerns about the health of the global economy. Dubai Financial Markets closed 1.1 per cent down after recovering from a deeper red, with top lender Emirates NBD clawing back most of its losses to end the day 0.8 per cent lower. At one point, it had hit a low of 2.9 per cent. The bank, incidentally, had impressed investors on Wednesday with its forecast-beating full-year results. The rout in the global markets triggered wider losses with Emaar Properties shedding 1.8 per cent and Dubai Islamic Bank dropping 1.2 per cent. FAB's smart turn Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange traded 0.4 per cent down with Aldar shedding 2 per cent and Etisalat slipping 0.6 per cent. First Abu Dhabi Bank wiped out all its losses during the day and traded flat at end of the session. The bank had gained 2.5 per cent Wednesday after reporting strong 2020 results, which also helped it neutralise losses on Thursday. Banks disappoint Qatar Exchange's main index traded 1 per cent lower as Al Khalij Commercial Bank shed 1.9 per cent after its board of directors proposed a lower dividend payout than a year earlier despite reporting higher full-year net profits and revenues. The profit rose around 6 per cent on the back of a near 22 per cent increase in revenue, but the board recommended a marginal 0.06 Qatari riyal a share in dividends, down from 0.08 Qatari riyal paid out a year before. Qatar Commercial Bank fell more than 4 per cent at some point during the session, but recovered to settle 1.2 per cent down. The lender announced its plan to raise at least $1 billion in bonds taking advantage of positive market conditions with interest rates running low. The bank earlier in the session slipped 4 per cent as its full-year results and watered-down dividends disappointed investors. Bucking a trend Saudi Arabia's benchmark index actually gained 0.3 per cent, its third rise in the last 11 sessions. Telecoms led the way after a report that the massive NEOM City project is in talks with local and international tech firms for a cloud computing deal. Saudi Telecom rose 1.3 per cent and Zain Saudi traded higher by 0.7 per cent. However, the food group Savola pulled back 1.6 per cent after reporting a 67 per cent plunge in fourth-quarter net profit amidst lower sales and margins. Oman's 30-company index was down 0.3 per cent as National Bank of Oman dipped after announcing no dividends to shareholders and an exposure to the defaulting Darvesh Group, while Bahrain index edged back 0.4 per cent with telco Batelco retreating 0.7 per cent.
Union Budget 2021: Which are the stocks to watch
India’s annual budget will be unveiled on February 1, with expectations that the government will boost spending to reboot an economy that’s forecast to contract the most this year since 1952. Analysts believe that tax cuts, higher capital expenditure and greater spending on infrastructure, which tend to support low-income earners, hold the key to unlocking demand.
Failed private equity firm Abraaj's Arif Naqvi to be extradited to US
Markets|: London: Abraaj Group's Arif Naqvi lost a bid to fight his extradition to the US, another blow to the founder of what was once the Middle East's largest private-equity fund. Naqvi should be sent to face American charges of fraud and racketeering, a judge said in a London court Thursday. Prosecutors accuse the former executive of concealing the true position of a fund struggling with a liquidity crisis, while siphoning off hundreds of millions of dollars for his own family. Read More UAE corporate scandals require a clean up Investment firms need patience and more to unlock Gulf state's wealth flow All powerful and then Founded in 2002, Abraaj grew to become one of the world's most influential emerging-market investors. But the fund collapsed into liquidation after a group, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, sought to investigate the alleged mismanagement of money in its health-care fund. Naqvi himself was forced to surrender control after it was revealed that the firm's main revenues hadn't covered operating costs for years. While Naqvi, who suffers from poor health, has made his home in the UK since 2018, "there is no doubt that the US is where most of the loss and harm has resulted from the relevant activity," Judge Emma Arbuthnot said in her ruling. Jail time By the time of its collapse in 2018, Abraaj owed creditors over $1 billion. He faces up to 30 years in prison in the US. Naqvi has rejected the American charges, with his lawyer saying at a hearing in June that his "unshakable conviction is that he is entirely innocent of these allegations." He can appeal the decision, meaning he's unlikely to be extradited any time soon. Naqvi's lawyers couldn't immediately be reached after Thursday's ruling. Abraaj, which once managed almost $14 billion, collapsed in part because of "a deliberate attack by competitors" and following US concerns over his fund's role in selling a critical Pakistani power company to Chinese investors, according to Hugo Keith, Naqvi's attorney. The judge dismissed Naqvi's arguments that a large amount of the alleged misconduct took place in the UK. "I did not find anything of the sort," the judge said.