A vendor selling vegetables waits for customers along a roadside market in SrinagarAnnual food inflation eased for a ninth straight week to its lowest in nearly six years in mid-December on improved supplies, bolstering hopes of a cooling in overall inflation that will allow the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to shift focus to reviving growth by cutting rates.Food price index rose 0.42% in the week to December 17 from a year ago, its slowest rise at least since April 2006, as prices of vegetables, potatoes and onions fell by up to 11% on new crop arrivals in markets.Annual fuel inflation eased to 14.37% in the latest week from 15.24% a week earlier, government data on Thursday showed.(Pictures by Reuters)

Inflation eases to 6-yr low

Stock brokers trade in a brokerage firm in Kolkata

The BSE Sensex fell 1.17% on Thursday as concerns about growth prospects deepened on the back of a weakening rupee, while Europe&#39;s debt crisis continued to build worries.

Energy major Reliance Industries (RIL) along with Infosys and HDFC Bank led the losses.

The main 30-share BSE index closed down 183.92 points at 15,543.93, with 24 of its components closing in the red.

The 50-share NSE index closed 1.27% lower at 4,646.25.

Sensex falls 1.2%

An employee arranges gold bangles at a jewellery shop in Istanbul

Gold fell to its lowest in three months on Thursday on a stronger dollar, worries over a critical euro zone debt situation and a liquidity crisis which is pushing banks to sell assets such as precious metals to raise cash.

The euro fell to its lowest in nearly a year versus the dollar as Italian bond yields fell from recent record highs at auction.

But cautious investors still demanded a near 7% yield to buy 10-year paper, a level seen unsustainable over time for the euro zone third-largest economy. A stronger US unit makes dollar-priced commodities such as precious metals costlier for holders of other currencies.

Gold was on course for a 11% fall this month, its biggest drop since October 2008 when the credit crunch hit most financial markets.

Spot gold fell 1.18% to $1,536.80 an ounce by 1043 GMT, from $1,555.19 late in New York on Wednesday.

Gold falls to 3-month low

Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil Ambani at a meeting in Mumbai

The spectacle of the long-feuding billionaire Ambani brothers dancing at a celebration of the 80th anniversary of the birth of their late father this week sent Indian media into a frenzy and reignited speculation the two might again do business together.

The show of unity by the country&#39;s richest family came more than a year after Mukesh and Anil Ambani buried the hatchet in a five-year battle that split the business empire inherited from their father, but family watchers were sceptical that the reunion would result in renewed business ties.

"Any deal reached between the two groups will be a hard and ruthless business decision. There is no sentiment involved," said SP Tulsian, a market analyst.

When they ended their feud last year, the brothers also dropped an agreement not to compete on each others&#39; turf. Soon after, Mukesh&#39;s Reliance Industries (RIL) made a

Reunion of Ambanis raises hope of deals

Air India&#39;s newly-acquired Airbus A321 is on display at the tarmac of Mumbai airport

The state-run carrier said on Thursday its board has approved issuing preference shares worth Rs 7,500 crore to lenders as part of a financial restructuring plan.

Loss-making Air India is reeling under a heavy debt pile of $4 billion and is working with the federal government and lenders to restructure the same.