Wall Street at record levels after US extends Huawei reprieve; chipmakers rise

• US extends license for businesses to work with Huawei by 90 days
• HP dips after rejecting Xerox's $33.5 bn bid; Coty gains after taking stake in Kylie Jenner's businesses

ICICI Bank plans ₹20,000 cr capital boost via QIP

• Bank looks to expand lending and capture the market vacated by NBFCs
• ICICI Bank has approached at least 10 investment banks on the proposed capital raising

Airtel, Vodafone Idea to hike mobile services rates next month

• The companies are raising prices for the first time in more than a decade, but did not specify the quantum of hikes
• A committee of secretaries under the cabinet secretary is considering demands of telcos for relief

Pawar keeps Shiv Sena guessing on govt formation after talks with Sonia

• Pawar on Monday remained non-committal after his talks with the Congress chief, saying they did not discuss about supporting any party
• Pawar also ruled out any tie-up with the BJP

Donald Trump tweets he might be willing to testify in impeachment inquiry

• The hearings could pave the way for the House to approve articles of impeachment - formal charges - against Trump
• Denying any wrongdoing, the Republican president has railed on Twitter and elsewhere against the inquiry and attacked witnesses by name in recent days

Growth decelerated, but there is no slump: Govt tells lawmakers

• FM Sitharaman said in her written response in Lok Sabha that govt has been engaging with various stakeholders to understand their concerns and taking appropriate measures for economy
• The stimulus by the corporate tax cut is expected to have a multiplier effect, the FM said

PE firm Advent International acquires controlling stake in Bharat Serums

• The transaction indicates the rising interest of private equity funds to undertake control deals in India
• Monday’s deal provides a complete exit to the company’s existing investors — PE firms OrbiMed Advisors Llc and Kotak PE

NITI Aayog proposes mandatory health insurance for all

A NITI Aayog report says the standard benefit package would be in contrast to the current practice of providing relatively shallow coverage for mostly in-patients

SpiceJet in talks with Boeing to buy more Max planes in Dubai

• SpiceJet sees Max commercial flights resuming in Q1 2020
• The carrier is looking to set up a new hub in the Middle East and expand to eastern Europe

Govt readies 15-day action plan as Delhi braces for decline in air quality

• The 15 days will see a massive crackdown on violations by industries and use of sprinklers to let dust settle down
• The announcement was made, following a high-level pollution meeting

Domestic air passenger traffic rises in October after four months of decline

• Domestic carriers carried 12.3 mn passengers last month, an increase of about 4% from the year earlier
• InterGlobe Aviation Ltd’s IndiGo continued its market dominance as it carried nearly one in every two passengers

Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank headed for liquidation

• RBI said that the Bombay High Court has appointed Vijaykumar V Iyer, Senior Director of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP as the liquidator of Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank
• In February 2018, Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank had become the fourth entity to begin payments banking operations

Four Indian soldiers, two civilians killed in Siachen avalanche

• The rescuers managed to extricate all the eight personnel from under the debris
• The two dead civilians were porters employed by the Indian Army

Now, NBFCs with assets worth at least ₹500 cr can go for insolvency resolution

• Govt on Monday issued a notification specifying the categories of financial service providers that can be taken up for resolution under the 'generic framework' of IBC
• Introduction of the 'generic framework' comes against the backdrop of the ongoing liquidity crisis in the NBFCs

'RBI has cut rates by 110 bps since April, but avg lending rates goes up 8 bps'

• The finding was part of a report by economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Economic growth has fallen to a six-year-low of 5% in the June quarter and is widely expected to slip further

Fiscal stimulus need of the hour to revive India's stuttering economy: Analysts

• Economists and analysts say it is time to loosen the purse strings and let the fiscal deficit climb above the targeted 3.3% until the economy is back on its feet
• The Reserve Bank of India has already chopped 135 basis points off its key lending rate, but this has failed to spur demand

Only rich can afford healthy diet

A diet of whole grains and plant-based food that is healthy for humans and the planet is unaffordable for a quarter of the globe, suggests new research

IT companies may shed 30,000-40,000 mid-level staff: TV Mohandas Pai

• The former Chief Financial Officer of IT major Infosys Ltd termed these job losses as once-in-five-years normal phenomenon with maturing of the industry
• Pai said about 80% of those who lose jobs would have employment opportunities in industries in general if they are specialists

Replacing Pratt engines in IndiGo fleet by end of January a challenge: CEO

• IndiGo is focussed on growing its international routes and the plane order includes a long-range version of the single-aisle A320neo family
• In October IndiGo placed an order for another 300 A320neo-family jets but it has yet to decide the engine provider - P&W or CFM

SC stays SAT order holding that Sebi lacks power to bar auditors

• SC also issues notice on the appeal filed by Sebi against the SAT's September 9 order
• In Jan 2018, Sebi slapped a two-year ban on PwC from auditing any listed company in connection with its role in the Satyam scam

Rajya Sabha is about checks and balances, not a secondary house: PM Modi

• He added that while the lower house is attached to the ground, the upper house can see the future
• 'A combination of both things we get to see through the Parliament houses. The house has played a key role in creating history'

Tax dept can scrutinize gift transaction within HUF, so do proper paperwork

• There should not be any tax implications in the hands of the HUF in providing gifts to individual members
• There should be no tax implications on the drawing of interest-free loans by you from the HUF, provided it can be established as a genuine transaction

Government Panel recommends review of disciplinary rules on directors, auditors

• The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2020 survey released this year showed that India had climbed 14 places from last year’s survey to stand at 63
• Government had earlier this year amended the Companies Act to decriminalize 16 procedural offences into civil wrongs that does not warrant a jail term

The bond trade that went from 0 to $88 bn in 2 years

• Citibank has handled portfolio trades topping $1 bn since debuting the technology this year
• Banks are hoping the strategy will help them grab a bigger slice of a shrinking fixed-income pie even as it bites into the industry’s profit margins

Glenmark Pharma: Decent Q2 may signal a reversal; capital infusion key

• Glenmark’s domestic business grew about 15% year-on-year in Q2FY20
• Ebitda margins is 200 bps more than analysts’ estimate. This is despite higher expenses due to rising staff costs

As markets rally amid a slowing economy, is it time to reallocate?

The market behaviour, in a situation where corporate earnings have been poor and the economic forecast has been weak, raises fears of an asset class bubble. Sunita Abraham spoke to experts to understand how investors should ride out this phase of equity market highs.

Urban  Ladder  swings  to  profit  despite management churn

• The Bengaluru-based firm reported a net profit of ₹49 crore in 2018-19, on a standalone basis
• Urban Ladder reports net profit of ₹49 crore for 2018-19, on a standalone basis

No more daytime flights as Kochi airport work is set to begin

• The airport which started functioning in 1999 underwent first runway re-surfacing work in 2009
• The airport which started functioning in 1999 underwent first runway re-surfacing work in 2009

Samsung Galaxy S11 may offer 8K video recording, 108MP camera

• Samsung Galaxy S11 smartphone will be available in three screen sizes - 6.2-inch, 6.4-inch and 6.7-inch
• As per a recent report, Galaxy S11 would arrive in the third week of February 2020

SBI’s Sunny Deol moment ends with Essar Steel cheque in sight

• After 830 days of entering the insolvency process, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the committee of creditors
• SC asked the promoters to hand over the keys of Essar Steel to winning bidder Arcelor Mittal SA

Sensex edges lower, Bharti Airtel surges for second day; midcaps shine

• The broader markets however showed some traction
• On global front, signs of progress in US-China trade deal has improved overall sentiment

'Is protecting Telugu language responsibility of only the downtrodden?'

Andhra education minister Audimulapu Suresh says the decision to change the medium of instruction to English from the next academic year was not taken in haste

Gold prices today fall for second day, down ₹2,100 per 10 gram in 2 months

• Optimism over US-China trade deal has put pressure on gold rates
• Silver prices have also fallen sharply, tracking gold

Whatsapp debunks claims, says user data not affected from MP4 file bug

• Reports on Sunday claimed that hackers can use the WhatsApp vulnerability to deploy the malware on the user's device to steal sensitive files and snoop on them
• Whatsapp has already issued a security update on this bug

Promises are not meant to be broken, scream Sterling and Wilson Solar investors

• Sterling and Wilson’s shares have fallen 36% in the past two trading sessions, and are now trading nearly 60% lower compared to IPO price of ₹780 per share
• Given that the sharp drop in valuations hurts the promoter group the most, it makes sense to clear the air by quickly clearing the dues owed to SWSL

Indian Railways SMS alert facility for passengers in case of train delay

• With this new SMS alert facility, railway passengers will be benefited
• With this facility, the location of train, estimated time of reaching the station will be sent to passengers' mobile number