Top headlines: Fed hikes rate by 75 bps, Indian iPhone users to get 5G soon

From Fed rate hikes to deadlock over carrier's revival, here are the top headline for the day

Fed hikes rate again by 75 basis points, hints at entering end phase

Federal Reserve officials delivered their fourth straight 75 basis-point interest rate increase while also signaling their aggressive campaign to curb inflation could be approaching its final phase.

The Fed said that “ongoing increases” will likely be needed to bring rates to a level that is “sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2% over time,” according to the Federal Open Market Committee's statement released in Washington Wednesday following a two-day meeting. Read more

Abuse of Liberalised Remittance Scheme for offshore betting under CBIC lens

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has raised the red flag with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) being misused for betting overseas, which is not allowed and is resulting in significant tax evasion.

According to a preliminary probe by the CBIC, several individuals and entities are misusing the LRS route to place bets on offshore betting platforms allegedly operating from tax havens. Read more

Indian iPhone users may get to use 5G services starting next week

The users of 5G-enabled Apple iPhones will be able to try 5G telecom services – wherever available publicly in the country – from next week, both on standalone (Reliance Jio) and non-standalone networks (Bharti Airtel).

Airtel and Jio customers who download the iOS 16 Beta software update as part of its ‘Apple Beta Software Program’ can try the service and send their feedback to the company. The final updated software will become available sometime in December. Read more

As rural demand weakens, FMCG distributors offer more credit to retailers

Rural demand has been a pain point for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies for the last six quarters, but the situation has now worsened with distributors being forced to extend more credit to retailers. Also, the frequency with which distributors procure stocks from companies has reduced.

Distributors that Business Standard spoke to said on the condition of anonymity that credit days had gone up in rural areas, and attributed this to high inflation. They added that they had started procuring stocks from FMCG companies once every 10 days compared with once a week earlier. Read more

Deadlock over carrier's revival: Banks not keen on sharing Jet's liability

Lenders to Jet Airways are not keen to share the additional liability of the carrier as demanded by the Kalrock-Jalan consortium, towards gratuity and provident fund, following last month’s National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order.

The Kalrock-Jalan consortium had won the bid for Jet Airways in October 2020. Read more