Sebi probes insider trading at Infosys, whistleblower claims

• Regulator takes suo motu action, huge short positions built just before complaint under lens
• On Wednesday, BSE said Infosys failed to disclose the whistleblower complaint to exchanges as per listing norms

DHFL lenders hire real estate consultants to check its loans

• CBRE South Asia is examining large project loans, JLL is looking at mortgage loans and Cushman and Wakefield is scrutinizing the remaining loans
• Lenders have also asked law firm Desai and Diwanji to conduct a legal due diligence of DHFL’s wholesale borrower book

Zero to hero: RIL’s consumer biz drives stock’s valuation upgrade

• At Jio’s launch, the Street was assigning very little value to RIL’s telecom as well as retail businesses
• RIL’s consumer businesses contribute over 50% of the EV estimates of most brokers now

Boeing sees 737 MAX US approval before year-end, shares rise

• Boeing said it was cutting production of its flagship Dreamliner, delaying plans to step up output of its money-spinning 737 line and also the arrival of a successor to its 777 mini-jumbo
• Boeing faces a slew of investigations by regulators, U.S. Congress, and the Department of Justice over its development of the 737 MAX,

BSNL, MTNL to be merged as part of a ₹ 56,000 crore rescue plan

• The strategy would also see the government explore ways to exploit the vast land assets of the two companies
• The BSNL-MTNL revival plan includes raising sovereign bonds, monetising assets and voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for employees

EU could approve Boris Johnson’s Brexit extension request by Friday

• Boris Johnson wrote to EU Council President Donald Tusk asking for a three-month extension to the Brexit negotiations until Jan. 31
• Ambassadors from the EU’s other 27 governments will meet in Brussels at 5:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday to discuss the U.K.’s request

No festive cheer in the economy

• The slowdown shows no sign of letting up with nine of the 16 high-frequency indicators tracked by the Mint Macro Tracker in the red as of September
• The only sector of the economy that saw some relief was the external sector, with the trade balance improving slightly

Celebrating Diwali during a downturn

• A field report from the agriculturally prosperous heartland reveals a lacklustre festival of lights
• Delay in farm loan waivers has worsened farmers’ credit score. So, financiers are unwilling to advance new loans to them for buying farm equipment

Six smart ways to efficiently utilize your festive bonus

• While Diwali bonus can feel like a gift, keep in mind that it’s not a windfall, but a part of your hard-earned salary
• It would be wise to allocate at least a part of the bonus to other goals

WeWork plans to lay off 4,000 staff: Report

The job cut will amount to just under a third of WeWork's global workforce, and about 1,000 of the cuts will hit employees such as janitorial staffSoftBank agreed to spend more than $10 billion to take over WeWork on Tuesday

Put a festival fund in place to truly enjoy the celebrations

• Planning ahead for expenses that are likely to be incurred each year can make celebrations truly enjoyable
• If you are falling short and believe you may need to resort to debt, then have a repayment plan in place

SpiceJet to open 1st international hub in UAE with Boeing 737 Maxs

• Ras Al Khaimah International Airport will be the hub of the new airline, and will be SpiceJet's first overseas hub in the UAE
• SpiceJet says it would use now-grounded Boeing 737 Maxs aircraft in the operation, once regulators approve the planes for flight

Union cabinet allows all companies to enter fuel retail business

• Companies with turnover of about ₹250 crore will be allowed to enter the fuel retail business
• The fuels under consideration include petrol, diesel, LNG and CNG

Bajaj Auto’s higher realizations need to sustain to maintain investor interest

• Management says that it had raised product prices in July, September. Besides, export realizations have also been better
• Bajaj Auto improved its operations in what can be seen as a lacklustre quarter

Axis Bank: investors should forgive the net loss but not forget bad loans

• The bank’s balance sheet is far superior to what it was six quarters ago
• Axis Bank’s slippages have increased, which means fresh stress is piling up

S&P sees rising risk of contagion in India's financial sector

• Many finance companies have lost more than half of their equity value in the past year, and credit markets are charging huge premiums on debt issued by the riskier finance companies
• A recent contagion analysis released by the RBI suggested that the failure of any top-five HFC or NBFC could result in the default of up to two banks

Are class action suits an effective route to justice?

Class action lawsuit is a case brought to the court by a group representing a much larger set of people who have suffered damages

Should smartphone makers consider longer gestation periods?

• Where Google and Samsung seem to be examples of lack of testing because of a ‘hurry’ in the market, others are about the lack of innovation
• A cursory glance at the market reveals that few have been able to really do anything new in the smartphone space

Infosys in damage control mode as stock plunges

• Law firm hired to independently examine claims made by whistleblowers
• Audit committee has begun consultations with internal auditors on terms of reference for an investigation

Johnson cancels appearance before committee of lawmakers on Thursday

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled an appearance before a committee of lawmakers scheduled for Thursday
• I am afraid I must now focus on delivering Brexit in the difficult circumstances in which we now find ourselves, said Johnson

Govt accords 'Maharatna' status to Hindustan Petroleum, Power Grid Corp

• The grant of Maharatna status to the PSUs will impart enhanced powers to their Boards to take financial decisions
• Two separate orders to this effect were issued by the Department of Public Enterprises, under the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises

Hero MotoCorp consolidated PAT down 10% in Q2FY20

• Hero MotoCorp consolidated net PAT stood at ₹884 crore for Q2 against ₹982 crore from the year-ago period
• Hero MotoCorp's total consolidated income reported a decline of 17% YoY at ₹7,825 crore during Q2 on subdued demand for two-wheelers in the domestic market

Investors eye social e-commerce startups to target new users

• Social e-commerce startups have raised $157 mn from venture investors this year
• The e-comm market is expected to reach $84 bn by 2021, driven by growing internet penetration

Traditional insurance plans need to look at Ulips for cost structure

• Policyholders are at the receiving end due to high surrender costs and poor disclosure about returns
• Due to the high surrender penalties, early exit from traditional plans means loss of the principal invested

Diwali sparkle missing from Delhi's markets

Shoppers are relying on zero-cost EMIs, postponing big-ticket purchases, or putting off buying new gadgets so that they can fund a holiday instead

25 DHFL group firms with ₹1 lakh avg profit took ₹14,000  cr loans

• The draft forensic audit report will be presented to the board once it is finalized
• Out of the around ₹27,000 cr worth of loans raised by DHFL from banks for on-lending to home buyers, around ₹10,050 cr was invested in mutual funds, findings of the audit revealed

Investments via P-notes fall for fourth month in a row, stand at ₹76,611 cr

• Investments through P-notes have been continuously declining since June, according to the latest data from markets regulator Sebi
• At the end of July, the Indian capital market saw a total inflow of ₹81,082 crore via P-notes, a fall as compared to ₹81,913 crore till June-end

Five covers to have in your portfolio to welcome goddess Lakshmi

• Experts say you should have a cover equal to at least 12-15 times your annual expenses or 8-10 times your annual income
• Having a personal accident cover will compensate for the loss of income in case you are physically disabled or require complete rest for a certain time period

Will all the gold you are buying on Dhanteras fit into your portfolio?

• Experts suggest you should limit gold exposure in your portfolio to only 7-10% even during volatile times
• You can invest in gold to hedge against inflation, but even then, it should form only a fraction of your total portfolio

Asian Paints gets a boost from aggressive sale of low-end items

• It has introduced new products in the low-end distemper category to improve growth rates
• Asian Paints stock trades at a one-year forward price-to-earnings multiple of around 51 times, making it one of the expensive stocks in the consumer discretionary space

SpiceJet to start new airline in UAE

• SpiceJet will be the sixth airline to operate from the UAE after Emirates, Etihad, Air Arabia, flydubai and the recently-announced Air Arabia Abu Dhabi
• Ras Al Khaimah International Airport will be the hub of the new airline, and will be SpiceJet's first overseas hub in the UAE

IMF sees Indian economic growth rebounding to 7% next fiscal

• IMF's APAC Deputy Director said the recent tax cuts, government's progress in addressing lingering weaknesses in the financial sector and measures to support growth sectors are the factors underpinning growth
• Services are an important source of growth and productivity to enhance investments in the period ahead, he added

This unique feature of Apple Watch saves life after man falls off a cliff

• Apple's 'fall detection feature' detects a sudden fall and calls emergency services when a young couple in New Jersey fell over a steep cliff
• This is not the first time that Apple's 'fall detection feature' saves life

Delhi Metro takes over operations of Gurgaon Rapid Metro

• Services on the 11.6 km corridor will continue to operate as per the normal time table as earlier
• With this move, the operational metro network has now become 389 kilometres with 285 stations in total

ICICI Bank new FD rates from today. How they compare with SBI, HDFC Bank

• ICICI Bank latest FD interest rates are effective today, 23rd October
• SBI, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank also revised FD rates this month

Trump to promote withdrawing U.S. from Paris climate accord: Report

• Trump, a longtime opponent of the Paris agreement, vowed in the 2016 presidential election campaign that he would 'cancel' it
• Withdrawing takes one year, which would mean the United States would leave the agreement one day after the 2020 presidential election

Whistleblower allegations at Infosys—To trust or not?

• On 21 October, the audit committee retained the law firm of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas to conduct an independent investigation
• The whistleblower complaints can be broadly categorized into three buckets

Gold prices surge today but still down ₹2,000 from last month's highs

• Gold prices in India have remained volatile over the past few days
• In India, gold rates have corrected by around ₹2,000 per 10 gram from last month's highs

How much a house costs in Kolkata?

• Our compilation of property prices of prominent localities in Chennai cities and surrounding areas may help you compare and make an informed decision
• Here are prices of some properties in price bands of below Rs50 lakh, Rs50-75 lakh, and above Rs75 lakh

Infy’s shareholder wealth grew 23.5% under Salil Parekh

• During the around 3-year tenure of Vishal Sikka, investor wealth grew 7.61% to ₹2.12 trillion from ₹1.97 trillion
• During this period Parekh earned ₹16.25 crore in cash, made up of a fixed salary of ₹6.5 crore and a variable pay of up to ₹9.75 crore

How afternoon naps can boost earnings

Afternoon naps can improve cognition, psychological well-being and productivity among the poor, suggests a new study