Sensex suffers longest losing streak in nearly 8 years: 10 things to know

• Indian markets extend losses to ninth straight day
• IT stocks TCS and Infosys lead decline

Startups get a breather from angel tax

• Startups with sales up to ₹100 crore, up from the earlier ₹25 crore, will be considered eligible for tax relief
• An entity will be considered as a startup for up to 10 years from the date of incorporation, up from the earlier seven

Sachin Bansal invests more in Ola, bringing total personal investment to $92 mn

• Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal is likely to invest more in Ola in subsequent rounds
• Bansal is not expected to take an advisory role at Ola or be involved in the company’s operations

Why Jet Airways is selling a majority stake for Re 1

• The complicated arrangement is on track to be voted through on February 21
• A group of lenders led by SBI has proposed taking a 50.1 percent stake for 1 rupee through the issuance of 114 million new shares

No family business for India Inc.'s next-gen

• Next-gen family members are now keen to start independent entities, and not carry forward past legacies
• With fewer members from next generation showing interest in the family business, a host of other issues also arise

Saab proposes to make 96 Gripen jets in India to win Air Force deal

• Saab is expected to face competition from rivals such as Boeing Co, Lockheed Martin Corp and Dassault Aviation

• The cities of Bengaluru and Hyderabad would be the "natural choice" for any plant

Fortis fraud may exceed ₹2,000 crore, says SFIO

• Six firms linked to Singh brothers were used to divert Fortis funds to Gurinder Singh Dhillon and Sanjay Godhwani
• Malvinder Singh claimed his brother Shivinder connived with Dhillon to sell these firms to RHC Holdings

Saudi Prince Salman flies back home ahead of India visit today

• A visit to New Delhi by Saudi prince, immediately after a stop in Islamabad, was not acceptable to India
• India and S. Arabia are looking to ramp up defence cooperation along with conducting joint naval exercises

Emami shares jump 15% after promoters sell stake to pare debt

• The purchasers included SBI Mutual Fund, L&T Mutual Fund, IDFC and PremjiInvest
• The stake will help reduce promoter debt

Musk-like or not, this 36-year-old CEO has Amazon riding shotgun

• Rivian had another seminal moment on Friday, when it announced a $700 million funding round led by Amazon.com
• Scaringe also is in talks with General Motors Co. on some kind of partnership with the largest US automaker, as well

GST Council meeting tomorrow, relief for home buyers likely

• GST rate on under-construction properties may be reduced to 5% without input tax credit
• Finance minister Arun Jaitley will chair the 33rd GST Council meeting tomorrow

Companies embrace new norm that splits CMD posts

• Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, Wipro and JSW Steel are among the firms that haven't yet split the CMD post
• A third of the firms that have not complied with the rule so far are public sector enterprises or state-run banks

Next round of US-China trade talks begins today

• The talks follow a round of negotiations that ended last week in Beijing without a deal 
• The talks are aimed at "achieving needed structural changes in China that affect trade between the United States and China

Can ESG funds change the way business is done?

• ESG funds invest in companies that conduct their business in a fair and ethical manner
• ESG funds also account for environmental sustainability of a company before investing

SC refuses to interfere with Nageswara Rao's appointment as CBI interim director

• The petition challenging the validity of Rao's appointment as interim director of CBI was disposed of
• The Supreme Court also refused to lay down guidelines for future appointments for the post of CBI director

IFC plans debt investment of $75 million in Manappuram Finance

• IFC’s three-year loan will provide Manappuram Finance liquidity and support asset-liability management
• Manappuram Finance will be International Finance Corporation's (IFC's) first gold loan-focused investment

Don't bundle your FD, life insurance and SIP needs in one instrument

• If you are a risk-averse investor looking for an FD, it is a good idea to stick to simple deposits
• An important factor to keep in mind is that bundled products are from group companies of the bank itself

Is Alexa recording your bedroom talk?

• Privacy threat is very much real, with more and more Indians being hooked to the always-on and Internet-connected smart home devices
•  You can delete all voice recordings associated with your account for each of your Alexa-enabled products

Is the education loan burden worth that course abroad?

• Whether or not you can afford to study abroad is a decision that can change the course of your future financial life
• The percentage of defaults on education loans rose to about 9% as of March 2018 from 7.3% in March 2016

Global trade growth will continue to slide in 2019, says WTO

• The WTO in September said it expects world merchandise trade growth will slow to 3.7% this year from 3.9% in 2018
• The estimates could be revised downward if trade conditions continue to deteriorate: WTO

Huawei can begin 5G trial within a month of Indian govt's nod: Jay Chen

• Huawei India CEO Jay Chen stressed that no country has been able to give any evidence of wrongdoing on Huawei's part
• We are in talks with all the major telecom operators in India for 5G roll-out in India, says Chen

ABB wins ₹270-crore order for train technologies from Indian Railways

• ABB's traction solution is based on the latest technology to bring more reliable trains to passengers
• This order will help to improve efficiency, so that passengers travelling will reach their destination on time and in comfort

China urges restraint by India, Pakistan on Pulwama terror attack

• On February 14, at least 40 CRPF personnel were killed in Kashmir's Pulwama district in a suicide attack
• The attack has heightened bilateral tensions with both New Delhi and Islamabad calling back their envoys for "consultations"

Finance Ministry may launch exchange traded fund of PSU bank stocks next fiscal

• The bank exchange traded fund (ETF) would be in addition to the two ETFs -- CPSE ETF and Bharat-22 ETF 
• ETF route would bring back investor confidence in the banking stocks

Huawei founder says CFO's arrest was politically motivated: Report

• The US Justice Department denied the charges were politically motivated
• Huawei CFO Meng  Wanzhou was charged with bank and wire fraud to violate American sanctions against Iran

GST Council meet: GoM favours 3% tax for affordable housing category

• GST is currently levied at 12% on premium housing and 8% on affordable housing 
• The proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) cut in cement and the GoM report are on the agenda of the meeting

One pilot killed in aircraft collision during Aero India practice 

• Two Hawk aircraft of Surya Kiran aerobatic team crashed close to the Yelahanka air force base
• The Flying Bulls, the Czech Republic based aerobatic team, had a mid-air crash in the 2015 edition of the show

FATCA declaration must for all bank account holders

• All bank account holders in India have to provide self-certification about their tax residence for Fatca compliance
•  Interest from NRE accounts is exempt from tax, once you return and your accounts are converted to resident accounts, the interest earned is taxable

Pulwama attack: Kerala offers ₹25 lakh to family of CRPF jawan killed

• V.V. Vasanth Kumar was killed in the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir
• Kerala government will also build a new home for V.V. Vasanth Kumar's family

BSNL's ₹98 recharge gives you Eros Now subscription along with 2GB daily data

• The Eros Now subscription and 2GB daily data is valid for 24 days
• Eros Now subscription can also be availed with ₹298, ₹333, ₹444 plans

Great Indian Family doesn’t help working women

Joint families do not free women to do paid work, mainly through restrictions on their decision-making ability and mobility, new research indicates

Before investing, ensure you have adequate insurance

• If you believe that the real estate you are planning to invest will generate the desired return, then you can go ahead.
• Ensure a well-diversified portfolio across all asset classes

How concentrated is your mutual fund scheme?

• Diversified funds can hold a concentration of their larger holdings and a much more diversified portfolio among the smaller holdings
• Here is a list of funds with the highest concentration of top 10 holdings

Nestlé to launch a couple of dozen new products, says Suresh Narayanan

• Between 2016 and 2018, Nestle India saw 39 new brand launches in the aftermath of the Maggi ban
• The firm recently launched a bittergourd-flavoured yogurt, after it forayed into the breakfast cereals market last year

Now, dial 112 – the single emergency helpline number across India

• '112' will provide immediate assistance to people on various services like police, fire and women safety
• The emergency number is launched under the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS)

Print is still growing in India: Mediacom’s Stephen Allan

• Digital is growing at a very fast pace in India but the base is quite small compared to other markets
• Television is not TV anymore; it has become video. People are consuming video content through multiple screens

General Atlantic may sell Mu Sigma stake to Carlyle, KKR

•  General Atlantic has been looking to sell its stake in Mu Sigma for a while now, discussions have gained momentum in recent months
• General Atlantic's stake is expected to be valued at at least $200 million, given Mu Sigma's unicorn status

Maharashtra to move planned Ratnagiri refinery after farmers protest

• Stare-run oil companies and Saudi Aramco have teamed up to build what would be the country's biggest oil refinery

• The announcement comes as Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is due to arrive in India on Tuesday

KPR to sell chlor-alkali business to Grasim for ₹253 crore

• As part of the deal, Grasim would take over the assets and identified liabilities associated with the business
• KPR Industries’ chlor-alkali business comprises an under-construction project in Andhra Pradesh

Why Rivigo is in angel investor Rajul Garg's anti-portfolio

• Angel investor Rajul Garg saw scale as a roadblock in Rivigo's growth in a operationally heavy business
• Rivigo's angel round was priced nearly 7-8 times the price Rajul Garg did deals at that point of time

‘Make in India’ has not eased manufacturing woes

• Despite its ambitious targets, NDA’s ‘Make in India’ has failed to improve investment, employment, and exports in India’s manufacturing sector
• One area where this government has fared relatively better has been in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country

Indian urges ICJ to declare Jadhav’s trial in Pakistan ‘unlawful’

• Jadhav’s trial by a Pakistani military court failed to satisfy even the minimum standards of due process, says Delhi

• On Monday, India based its case on two broad issues--breach of Vienna Convention on consular access and the resolution process

Top 20 emerging skills that American tech companies are looking for 

• Hadoop tops the list of 20 fastest-growing skills in the Upwork Skills Index
• The index reflects emerging skills and provides real-time validation of current trends in the labour market and tech industry

Sacrifices of CRPF jawans won't go in vain: Narendra Modi

• The Pulwama terror attack is one of the worst terror strikes in Jammu and Kashmir since the Uri attack in 2016
• At least 30 CRPF personnel killed in Pulwama when a JeM terrorist rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into their bus

L&T distances itself from Cognizant's Indian bribery case

• Cognizant allegedly used sham change order requests to conceal the payments it made to reimburse the firm, SEC had said

• Cognizant had agreed to pay$ 25 million to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the SEC said

Q3 results: For Glenmark, slow sales in the US flag debt concern

• Glenmark share prices are down 5% since the pharma firm announced its Q3 results
• While Glenmark's Q3 revenue rose 15.9%, its US revenue grew just 5% in dollar terms

Move on to meditate... on your smartphone

• Millennials are latching on to apps to de-stress, focus and engage with their work
• Guided meditations are a good way to start, people struggle with their thoughts when they meditate on their own initially

Raising a toast to women with a health drink

• For women some of their greatest (health) concerns are fatigue and cramps during menstruation and hair fall
• While the functional drinks market in India is a growing category, it is dominated by energy drinks

RBI may nudge bank chiefs to cut interest rates in Thursday’s meet

• RBI governor said transmission of rates is very important after the central bank announces a rate cut
• 'The RBI knows the real situation. Let’s leave their jurisdiction to them,' Arun Jaitley said 

Government sets up committee for sale of 'enemy shares' worth ₹3,000 crore

• The govt had said the total valuation of immovable enemy property in the country stands at ₹1.04 lakh crore

• The 'enemy property' refers to any property belonging to, held or managed on behalf of an enemy, an enemy subject or an enemy firm

Considering pre-verification process for political ads: FB, Google tell HC

• Online political advertisements came into sharp focus after the 2016 US presidential election
• The Representation of the People's Act prohibits political campaigning 48 hours before polling

Budget for Bengaluru aims to address inadequate infrastructure

• The Bengaluru budget has an outlay of ₹4,945.91 crore for developmental works
• The budget also sets aside ₹1,071.43 crore for the welfare schemes

Jaypee Infra lenders evaluate bids submitted by NBCC, Suraksha group

• Jaiprakash Associates had submitted ₹750 crore in the registry of the Supreme Court for refund to buyers

• The NBCC will also fund the gap of about ₹1,500 crore between estimated construction cost and receivables from customers

Tata Steel sells indirect subsidiary Black Ginger

• Black Ginger has stake in an iron ore mine in South Africa
• The transaction was to complete in a year's time

Future Consumer expands reach in Middle East

• Future Consumer partners with UAE’s T Choithrams & Sons to sell its products in the Middle East
• Choithrams to market, distribute and retail Future Consumer brands to other retail stores also