The fear of flying at Mount 50K

• Flush with liquidity, the stock markets are at a dreamlike high. But the worries are also mounting
• Many feel the gains have come too fast. With scores of new investors entering the bull market late, and with the cream of the rally behind, further gains are not going to be easy

Stocks to Watch: Bajaj Finance, Reliance, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank, Laurus Labs

• Bajaj Auto and Asian Paints are the Nifty companies that will report their earnings on Thursday. Other companies which will also announce their results today include Bandhan Bank, SBI Cards & Payment Services, Biocon, JK Tyre, JSPL and Westlife Development

Sebi grants approval to RIL-Future Group deal

• SEBI, while referring to the complaints registered by Amazon and the plea filed in Delhi HC, has asked the entities involved in the amalgamation to keep their shareholders informed about the legal dispute

What will Biden era mean for the world and India?

With Joe Biden being sworn in as the 46th US President, the theme is now centred around “America United”. Being the largest economy, the American policy playbook under a new president matters to all countries. Mint explores what can be expected from the new regime:

What would make this a budget like no other India has ever had

A wish list of proposals ranging from fiscal management to vaccination that would send out a strong growth-revival signal

A new dawn

US President Biden calls on Americans to overcome divisions, says leaders have an obligation ‘to defend the truth’

Govt plans to sell TCL stake for ₹8,000 cr

Part of the stake will be sold through OFS and on the discovered price, and the rest of the stake will be sold to Tatas

US President Joe Biden's first tweet says...

Joe Biden was sworn in by Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts

Branded sanitizers cool off as buyers go easy on use

With many small-scale industries getting into production of sanitizers, the use of branded ones has fallen

UPI transactions by volume and value hit new high in December

• UPI transaction volumes reached 2,234.16 million in In December. The value of transactions was ₹4,16,176 crore
• UPI had a 17% market share in 2018-19 and is expected to reach 59% by 2024-25

Bajaj Finance Q3 net drops 29%, writes off ₹1,970 crore loans under moratorium

• FY22 onwards, the company expects loan losses and provisions to revert to pre-covid-19 levels of 160-170 bps of average assets

Wall Street soars after smooth Joe Biden inauguration

• The Dow and S&P 500 posted all-time highs, but none gained more than the Nasdaq
• Investors were relieved the new president took office safely after outgoing president Donald Trump's supporters attacked the US Capitol earlier this month

Wellness therapies see demand uptick

Lockdown fatigue, remote working and constant fear of infection have spurred demand for wellness packages and stress-relief therapies as consumers look to unwind and relax

Auto-debit defaults fall in Dec

• Transaction failures were 200 bps lower, at 38% of total auto-debits
• The recovery is being seen at a time when judicial order has barred lenders from classifying certain loans as bad

Refining, petchem biz to be key drivers for RIL

RIL’s consolidated revenue is expected to hit ₹1.21 trillion in Dec quarter

Government mulls amnesty plan to resolve customs issues

The Centre is considering a one-time amnesty plan for the resolution of legacy disputes pertaining to customs duty, after the success of Sabka Vishwas for settlement of excise and service tax cases, and Vivad se Vishwas for income-tax issues, two people aware of the matter said, seeking anonymity

NPS is low-cost but it has some limitations as a retirement tool

Experts expect the new budget to make National Pension System more tax-efficient than it is at present

Oxford working on vaccine versions to fight Covid 19 virus variants

The Telegraph report said: The university has confirmed that the team behind the AstraZeneca jab is undertaking feasibility studies to reconfigure the technology at 48 hours notice. AstraZeneca deferred to Oxford for comment.

Doorstep ration delivery in Andhra Pradesh from today. Details here

• Andhra Pradesh government is set to introduce ration door delivery system
• CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will inaugurate ration door delivery vehicles at a program in Vijayawada today

Flipkart-ABFRL deal gets CCI nod

Flipkart will work with Aditya Birla Fashion, for sales and distribution of its brands

Fireside Ventures raises fund worth $118 million in final close

• Fireside will invest in 15-20 consumer-facing start-ups while continuing to keep its focus on digital-first brands from the second fund.

A-rated health plans for you

• Here is a comparison of top health insurance plans for different sum assured and across different age groups
• Only the A-rated health insurance plans have been shown here

Timing the entry and exit in sector funds is essential

Investing very small amounts in different funds will simply add to your portfolio’s complexity, while not contributing much.

Piramal to delist DHFL, wiping out shareholders post-takeover

The proposed plan is expected to lead to major losses for DHFL stockholders as it does not envisage any offer to buy out the shares held by these investors, unlike a regular delisting process

Govt blinks, offers to defer farm laws

The proposal, representing a major climbdown for the government, came at a meeting between the unions and the Centre

Joe Biden says Donald Trump wrote him 'very generous letter'

• 'The president wrote a very generous letter,' Biden told reporters at the White House
• Trump opted to skip Biden's inauguration and never formally congratulated him on his election win

Don't panic, you'll get Covid-19 vaccine, says WHO

• The WHO's assistant director-general Mariangela Simao said the UN health agency was working towards ensuring access to coronavirus jabs all around the world
• 'No one needs to panic, because you're going to get a vaccine,' said Simao

'No evidence of decline' in Covid-19 rates in England's third lockdown

Prime Minister Boris Johnson put England into a third national lockdown on 5 January, closing bars, restaurants and most schools, and allowing only essential shops to open

Biden signs first executive orders as prez, pledges to join Paris accord

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed first executive actions, hours after he was sworn-in as 46th commander-in-chief. He signed an order requiring masks on federal property, one meant to ensure racial equality and another rejoining the Paris climate accord.

China sanctions Michael Pompeo, other Trump officials as his term ends

The officials listed were instrumental in shaping the Trump administration’s more confrontational stance toward China

How alarming are these covid-19 vaccine scares?

• Any new vaccine could have long-term risks, but most vaccine-related side effects tend to occur within the first two months of an inoculation

New COVID-19 variant defeats plasma treatment, may reduce vaccine efficacy

• Researchers are racing to establish whether the vaccines currently being rolled out across the globe are effective against the so-called 501Y.V2 variant
• The variant is the main driver of South Africa's second wave of COVID-19 infections, which hit a new daily peak above 21,000 cases earlier this month

'My warmest congratulations': PM Modi wishes US President Joe Biden

'Congratulations to Joe Biden on his assumption of office as US Prez, look forward to working with him to strengthen India-US ties,' PM Modi said in a tweet

Procedural deviations in Franklin e-voting, only 38% turnout: report

• Voters in the schemes approved the winding up by a majority of over 96% in all the schemes, the report showed
• The observer further noted that the vote was framed such that approval by simple majority is required rather than the threshold of 75% that is required in case of winding up of a company

Highlights: Joe Biden sworn in, says US democracy has prevailed

Joe Biden Inauguration Live: Biden, 78, took the oath of office from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts at a solemn ceremony at the US Capitol which was snubbed by the outgoing president and took place in the shadow of a raging coronavirus pandemic

Govt blinks, offers to suspend farm laws for up to 18 months

• Farm unions told the government they will respond on Thursday after discussing the proposal
• 'We want the agitation to end and the talks with farm unions to continue,' agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said