Top headlines: US to consult India on Ukraine, India Inc faces margin dip

The Centre will wait and watch how the Russia-Ukraine crisis affects the stock markets before taking a call on deferring the IPO of LIC. More on this in our top headlines.

Moscow launched  a full-scale invasion into Ukraine even as the West announced a fresh set of harsher sanctions to punish Russia. Closer home, Indian companies face a dip in profit margins as the crisis in eastern Europe sent crude oil prices above $100/barrel for the first time since 2014.

US to have consultations with India on Ukraine crisis, says Joe Biden

President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the United States will have consultations with India on the crisis in Ukraine following a military operation from Russia. He was responding to a question if India was fully on board with the United States on the Russian aggression. It is understood that India and the United States are not on the same page on the Ukrainian crisis. India has a historic and time-tested friendship with Russia. At the same time, its strategic partnership with the United States has grown at an unprecedented pace over the last decade and half. Read more

Biden unveils new sanctions on Russian businesses after Ukraine attack

President Joe Biden unveiled harsh new sanctions against Russia on Thursday after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine, imposing measures to impede Russia's ability to do business in the world's major currencies along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises. Read more
 

LIC IPO delay? Govt in wait-and-watch mode amid Russia-Ukraine crisis

The Centre will wait and watch the developments impacting stock markets on the back of a Russia-Ukraine offensive before taking a call on deferring the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India. Until now, there is no discussion on delaying LIC's listing. The government is continuing with its roadshows for the public offering, informed a government official. Read more

Ukraine crisis: India Inc faces dip in margins as crude oil prices spike

The recent spike in crude oil prices will lead to a sharp fall in India Inc’s margins and profitability in the forthcoming quarter. Historically there is negative correlation between international crude oil prices and the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation, or the operating margins of listed companies. The biggest impact is expected to be felt by manufacturing companies and those that rely on petroleum-based raw materials. Read more
 

BharatPe investors turn down Grover offer to sell stake for Rs 4k crore

Key investors at BharatPe have turned down an offer made by co-founder Ashneer Grover to sell his 9.5 per cent stake in the fintech start-up for over Rs 4,000 crore if they want him to quit the company, say sources in the know. Grover seems to have valued the payments company at around $6 billion — far higher than its valuation of $2.8 billion after a fundraise last August. However, the company was looking at a fresh raise in January this year at a valuation of around $4 billion. Read more