Top 10 business headlines: RBI cuts repo rate, DHFL default, and more

From RBI repo rate cut to DHFL crisis, Business Standard brings to you stories that made the headlines on Thursday

RBI cuts repo rate by 25 bps to 5.75%; changes stance to 'accommodative'

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday cut the policy rate by 25 basis points (bps), as widely expected, and changed its stance to ‘accommodative’, which Governor Shaktikanta Das said meant rate hikes were off the table. Economists, however, see this as a sign of more rate cuts to come. READ ON...

Fear of contagion looms over financial sector after DHFL's payment default

The latest default on interest payments by Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) can accentuate contagion risk in India's financial sector as banks, pension and mutual funds, and insurance companies together have an exposure of around Rs 1 trillion to the company, warn analysts. It is crucial, they say, the company sell its assets in time and the government steps in to prevent the DHFL contagion from spreading to other financial firms. READ ON...

Banks may slash rates by 20 bps in next 4 months following RBI's rate cut

Following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) 25-basis point repo rate cut, State Bank of India’s cash credit and overdraft rates will become cheaper by 25 bps from next month. The revised rate will be 8 per cent. READ ON...

SFIO probe report lists lapses in 13 loans given by IL&FS to ABG group

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe report on the IL&FS group has listed 13 loan accounts of the beleaguered ABG conglomerate, including a personal loan amounting to Rs 29 crore to Anupama Agarwal, promoter Rishi Agarwal's wife — all given at the behest of the top management of the infrastructure financier without following the due process. READ ON...

Jaypee Infratech homebuyers must be treated as one class, says NCLT

A reference Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has held that homebuyers in the Jaypee Infratech case should be considered a part of the committee of creditors (CoC) and “must be construed as one and cannot be segmented class-wise, particularly for computation of voting share”. READ ON...

How Big Tech armed and prepared itself to push back US antitrust onslaught

Investors were caught off guard by the sudden US assault on tech giants this week, but behind the scenes, the industry’s biggest firms have been preparing for this moment of reckoning for months. READ ON...

Amendment to Competition Act on cards, to rein in digital companies

The Narendra Modi government in its second stint is planning to amend the Competition Act to regulate acquisitions by digital companies that don’t have large assets in India such as Facebook and escape scrutiny by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The de-minimis clause in the Act, which exempts companies without assets in the country from the purview of the CCI, is being examined, officials said. READ ON...

High debt to changing media market: How Eros International lost its way

Stock price of one of the country’s best-known moviemakers Eros International Media (Eros) on Thursday crashed 20 per cent on the BSE over debt repayment concerns. The trigger was a ratings downgrade by CARE on Wednesday, citing a slowdown in collection from debtors, which was leading to cash flow issues. READ ON...

Sebi examines ‘default probability’ framework to keep rating companies on toes

India’s capital market regulator is examining a ‘default probability’ framework to keep credit rating agencies on their toes, reports Economic Times.

Maharashtra’s sugar mills have paid 94% of FRP to farmers this crushing season

Maharashtra sugar mills have, by the end of crushing season, paid 94 per cent Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) to sugarcane farmers, reports Hindu BusinessLine.