Oil spike fuels fresh growth worries

• Gulf tensions add to concerns over economy even as Aramco assures India it will honour supply contracts despite production cuts
• India’s CAD and fiscal deficits could worsen if oil prices remain at the elevated level, Shaktikanta Das warned

Arundhati Bhattacharya working on an insurance play in life after SBI

• Former SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya is looking to start a general insurance business, along with Sunil Mehta, Deepak Ishwarbhai Amin
• On 3 September, Bhattacharya and Mehta registered their company, Welmo Fintech

IITs in Delhi, Mumbai churn out most tech entrepreneurs

• IIT-Kharagpur, BITS Pilani also account for most entrepreneurs in past decade: Study
• Since 2015, the top 4 engineering colleges have produced 1,066 startups, compared with 914 in 2000-15

NHPC to monetise 10 projects to help meet disinvestment target

• NHPC will hire a consultant to assess feasibility of monetizing a few hydro assets via the limited tender route
• NHPC posted a net profit of ₹2,631 crore on a revenue of ₹8,161 crore in 2018-19

Bank unions declare two-day strike in September. What to expect?

• Bank unions have announced a 2-day strike, starting at midnight on 25 Sept and continuing till 27 Sept, to protest the merger of 10 major PSBs announced by FM Sitharaman last month.
• The 2-day bank strike, followed by 2 consecutive weekly offs will primarily impact cheque clearances, cash deposits/withdrawals and any other services availed at bank branches and ATMs

What to do if you lose money to a bank fraud

• While you may be able to recover the money, the process takes time
• People should avoid using unsecured WiFi and have the latest anti-virus software on their devices

Air India Assets’ ₹7,000 cr bond issue fully subscribed

• SPV created to park Air India debt set to raise ₹15,000 cr via fresh bond issue in 15 days
• AIAHL receives bids worth ₹20,830 crore, the highest in yield-based bond market in the history of BSE

Slump in steel sector spreads to small, medium companies

• Higher iron ore prices, weak demand have forced many firms to trim output since August
• Steel prices fell below ₹40,000 per tonne in July, the first time since December 2017

States wary of any move to reduce GST rates

• Opposition from some states may make it tough for the Centre to respond to automakers’ pleas for tax cuts
• Some states cited revenue shortfall for opposing a move to cut GST rates

The new iPhone is cheaper. Should you EMI it?

• Easy-to-get EMI options may lure you but opt for them to buy the new iPhone only if you are sure of future revenue streams, given the slowdown
• It is a good idea to understand the full cost of the loan and the phone before you buy the new iPhone

Static wholesale prices offer little succour for RBI

• Wholesale prices of manufactured products in August were at the same level as a year ago, signalling that producers lacked pricing power
• RBI has been focusing only on CPI-based inflation after a 2015 monetary framework pact with the Centre

Ahead of annual sale, Amazon says we don’t see any signs of slump

• The e-retailer is set to roll out better financing offers and back the event with print campaigns in local languages
• The company has lined up 500,000 sellers on its platform in run-up to the festive sale, a sharp rise from the 380,000 sellers it had on-boarded last year

Stocks, rupee slip on Saudi oil slick

• Crude prices rising by a dollar would increase India’s import bill by roughly $1.6 billion a year, according to an estimate
• On Monday, the Indian rupee weakened 0.94% to close at 71.60 a dollar

In major diplomatic coup, Trump set to join Modi at Houston event

• White House’s confirmation comes as major boost for the Prime Minister and the Indian community in US
• This may be the first time a sitting US President attends an event organized by Indians in the US

What Saudi Arabia's options are after unprecedented attack on its oil infra

• While an open war between Saudi Arabia and Iran can never be ruled out, it’s highly unlikely
• Negotiating a peace accord with the Shiite Houthi rebels remains the best long-term option for Prince Mohammed

Our Pune R&D unit caters to India and the world too: Dassault Systèmes’ Charlès

On the sidelines of the event, vice-chairman and CEO, Bernard Charlès, talked about the company’s strategy for India and the latest technologies it is working on.

Spike in oil prices couldn’t come at worse time for a slowing world economy

• While the severity will depend on how long the price spike endures, the development will further erode business and consumer confidence
• The impact from the oil-price spike will vary around the world

NRAI meets with food aggregators amid ongoing discord

• Zomato Gold continued to remain an issue of contention among the association and the food aggregator
• NRAI’s managing committee is slated to meet this week in Mumbai to discuss the next course of action

OnePlus TV may launch on 26 Sept special event

• OnePlus will hold a special event on 26 September where the OnePlus TV might be unveiled
• The company may also launch the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro, although some media reports suggest a later launch date of 5 October for these smartphones

What will be the implications of Trump-Modi's Houston meet

• Christened “Howdy Modi” the event has already garnered 50,000 registrations online with many more on a waiting list
• The Houston meet will be the two leaders' third meeting this year

Why WPI inflation remains low?

• Food inflation accelerated to 7.67% in August from 6.15% a month ago
• Fuel inflation also fell into negative territory

Kartarpur corridor to be opened for Indian pilgrims on 9 November

• Pakistani official says so far 86% of the work on the Kartarpur corridor has been completed and it will be opened to pilgrims on November 9
• The official also says some 76 immigration counters have been set up to cater to 5,000 Sikh pilgrims from India every day

Former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah booked under Public Safety Act

• Already under house arrest since 5 August, the 81-year-old has been detained for at least three months
• Charges were framed on a day the SC heard Vaiko’s plea against Abdullah’s ‘illegal detention’

Opinion | Common conduct rules can help align financial services with customers

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EMI won’t stop if builder delays delivery

The investors who have taken a home loan or a subvention scheme have been hit the maximum as there is an interest cost to be serviced and if the investor has been staying on rent, it is a double blow for them

State-run banks net receivers in NEFT network

• Payment flows are particularly strong within the public-to-public sector and private-to-private sector banks network, says RBI's economic and policy research department
• During 2018-19, 2.3 billion NEFT transactions worth ₹227.93 trillion were recorded, according to RBI data

Mutual fund investors riding out market volatility through smart moves

• The driving force for mutual fund investments are SIP flows, which have averaged ₹8,000 cr for the 12 months till Aug
• Investors are moving out of the riskier segments of credit risk funds into others such as corporate bond funds

Amid a sharp auto slowdown, small towns drive up sales of used cars

• Sales of used cars are estimated to rise to as many as 4.4 million units this fiscal from 4 million in the previous fiscal
• Car resellers expect the surge in sales of used cars to continue due to new regulations and changing consumer tastes.

Current account under threat if oil surge continues, says Shaktikanta Das

• Das says it was important to see whether alternative sources of oil supply come up and how soon the installations take to resume operation
• A jump in oil prices is a negative for emerging markets such as India, which is the world's third-biggest importer of oil

Anjali Singh becomes India's first military diplomat

• Anjali Singh has joined the Indian Embassy in Russia as the Deputy Air Attache
• Anjali Singh is an AE(L) officer with 17 years of service

Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani Express frequency increased. Check timings here

• The train will have eight stoppages including the originating and terminating stations
• The rake of the Rajdhani Express will consists of one AC First class coach, five AC two tier coaches and eleven AC 3-Tier coaches

Motor Vehicle Act: Fines in different states on traffic rule violation

• The new Motor Vehicles Act has enhanced the penalties for traffic violations and erring drivers
• The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by Parliament during the last session and it came into effect on 1September

Aramco considering delaying IPO: Report

Aramco had planned to debut in November on a local stock market before listing on an international one next year, sources had told AFP last week

Congress, NCP to contest 125 seats each in Maharashtra assembly polls

• NCP chief Sharad Pawar says 38 seats have been left for other allies
• Maharashtra assembly elections will be held later this year

Bajaj Finance crosses ₹2 trillion market cap as shares hit fresh high

• Last week, Bajaj Finance had reported better-than-expected Q4 numbers
• HDFC is India's biggest non-banking finance company in terms of market capitalisation

PE firm KKR acquires 10% stake in CG Power

• KKR India Debt Opportunities Fund II and KKR India Financial Services have acquired 62.6 mn shares in the firm
• In March, CG Power had said creditors had invoked 67.6 million pledged equity shares, constituting 10.8% of the company’s share capital

India to fund 1,000 PhD fellowships for ASEAN students at IITs

• The initiative will fund 250 scholars this year, 300 in 2020 and 450 the year after, higher education secretary R. Subrahmanyam said
• The move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to enhance academic ties with the east Asian nations in 2018

Energy deals, address to UNGA on PM’s agenda during US visit

• Several meetings are lined up on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, before he addresses it on 27 Sep
• PM Modi is scheduled to meet top representatives of the US energy sector in Houston

Jet Airways lenders make presentation to Synergy Group

• The airline owes over ₹8,500 crore, excluding interest, and other penal charges, to a clutch of lenders led by the State Bank
• The lenders consortium, which owns 51%, had on June 17 sent the airline to the NCLT as they could not find a buyer

Apple making phones, parts in India for export, says Ravi Shankar Prasad

• This comes at a time when Apple is looking to shift its manufacturing from China amid trade war with US
• Apple assembles its iPhone SE, iPhone 6S, and iPhone 7 models at a facility in Bengaluru

Piramal Enterprises to raise Rs690 crore via NCDs

• Board approves allotment of 6,900 secured, unrated, unlisted redeemable NCDs each having a face value of Rs10 lakh aggregating to Rs690 crore
• Shares of Piramal Enterprises settles at Rs1,900.80 apiece on the BSE, down 0.10%

Govt to cut insurance premium rates for small exporters: Piyush Goyal

• The commerce and industry minister said the premium rate is 0.72%
• Such exporters will be divided into categories such as non-gold, jewellery and diamond, among others

India adds a twist in the tale as oil stock prices adjust to Saudi shock

• The worries may be overdone, especially since petrol and diesel are no longer subsidised
• Investors are worried whether product prices will keep pace with the increase in the price of feedstock

GM to transfer assets and employees of Bengaluru technical centre to TCS

• This will also be the one of the most significant steps taken by TCS in the space of future mobility
• General Motors decided to stop selling vehicles in the domestic market in May, 2017

Drone attack on Saudi oil facilities to hit India's fuel import bill: DBS

• Saturday’s drone attack on Saudi oil plants leads to the biggest surge in crude oil prices since the Gulf War
• A 10% rise in crude prices widens India's current account deficit by 0.4-0.5% of GDP, says DBS

ED wants arrest only to humiliate me: Chidambaram to Supreme Court

• 'You are trying to paint a person as a kingpin when these alleged offences did not exist at that time,' Chidambaram's lawyer said
• Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for ED, said he would respond to Chidambaram's plea seeking production of transcripts of his questioning on Wednesday

Congress, NCP divide seats equally in Maharashtra

• Maharashtra has 288 assembly seats. NCP and Cong will contest 125 seats each, and leave 38 for other friendly parties
• While the Congress had won 42 seats in the 2014 assembly elections, the NCP had secured 41

Government launches steel import monitoring system

• Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and his junior colleague Hardeep Singh Puri launched the system
• Importers of specified steel products will register in advance on the web portal of SIMS providing the necessary information

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