Top headlines: Rs 4,360 cr capital boost for IoB; good news for pensioners

Govt approves infusion of Rs 4,360 cr in IOB; UCO Bank gets Rs 2,142 cr

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) on Friday said it will get a fresh capital infusion of Rs 4,360 crore from the government in the current financial year for meeting regulatory requirement. In August, the finance ministry had announced a capital infusion of Rs 3,800 crore in the state-owned lender. This has now been increased by Rs 560 crore. Read More

600,000 pensioners to gain as EPFO's commutation come into play on Jan 1

The labour ministry will enforce the retirement fund body EPFO's decision to restore pension commutation, or advance part-withdrawal, under the Employees' Pension Scheme from January 1, 2020, a move which will benefit 630,000 pensioners, a source said. Read More

Banks set for biggest job cull since 2015; Morgan Stanley lets go 1,500

Banks around the world are unveiling the biggest round of job cuts in four years as they slash costs to weather a slowing economy and adapt to digital technology. This year, more than 50 lenders have announced plans to cut a combined 77,780 jobs, the most since 91,448 in 2015, according to filings by the companies and labor unions. Read More
'Cane is king', say sugar traders as India is set to roil the market again

India may roil the global sugar market again as prospects for next year’s cane crop have brightened due to brimming reservoirs. Bountiful monsoon rains this year have led to above average water levels in reservoirs, which will in turn boost the amount of sugar cane that’s planted, according to industry and Indian government officials. Sugar output in the country is expected to bounce back in 2020-21 from an estimated three-year low this year, they said. Read More

Nalco looking to revisit its expansion plans, says CMD Sridhar Patra

State-owned aluminium company Nalco is looking to revisit its expansion plans, Chairman and Managing Director Sridhar Patra said on Friday. He, however, refused to give details as the plans have to be put before the board. "We are revisiting (our expansion plans)...Whatever long-term plans you make, you cannot project for 10 or 15 years... because all the factors do not support in that manner," Patra said on the sidelines of a mining summit organised by CII. Read More

India ranks 47th in house price appreciation during July-September: Report

India ranks 47th in the world in terms of appreciation in housing prices as rates grew by only 0.6 per cent during July-September quarter over the year-ago period on slow demand, global property consultant Knight Frank said. India stood at 11th position in the April-June quarter of 2019 with a 7.7 per cent year-on-year rise in home prices. Read More

Hundreds gather outside Delhi's Jama Masjid to protests against CAA

Braving cold weather, hundreds of people gathered outside the iconic Jama Masjid in Old Delhi on Friday to protest against the amended citizenship law. Congress leader Alka Lamba and former Delhi MLA Shoaib Iqbal were among those who joined the demonstrations. Read More

Pervez Musharraf challenges death sentence in high treason case: Reports

Pakistan's former military dictator Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Friday filed a petition in a court against the special court's verdict convicting him of high treason and sentencing him to death, according to media reports. Last week, the special court in Islamabad sentenced 76-year-old Musharraf to death in absentia for high treason following a six-year legal case. Read More

Bek Air plane with 98 on board crashes in Kazakhstan, 15 killed

A Kazakhstan plane with 98 people aboard has crashed shortly after takeoff early Friday, killing at least 15 people, officials in Almaty said. At least 66 others survived with injuries, 50 of them hospitalized. The Bek Air aircraft hit a concrete fence and a two-story building after takeoff from Almaty International Airport. Read More