Top headlines: Amazon, Future may bury hatchet; Eveready Chairman, MD quit

Business Standard brings you the top headlines on Thursday

Brent soars to $119, highest since May 2012, as US sanctions target Russia

US sanctions targeting Russian refineries, disruptions to shipping and a fall in U.S. crude stocks to multi-year lows kept oil prices racing on Thursday as Brent charged towards $120 a barrel, its highest in almost a decade.

Brent crude futures rose as high as $119.84 a barrel, the highest since May 2012. The contract was at $119.78 a barrel, up $6.85, or 6.1%, by 0752 GMT. Read more

Reliance Nippon Life's Sunil Agrawal named CFO of LIC ahead of mega IPO

Ahead of its public listing, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has appointed Sunil Agrawal as the chief financial officer (CFO) of the corporation.

Prior to Agrawal’s appointment, Shubhangi Sanjay Soman was the executive director in charge of finance and accounting (F&A) at the corporation. The position of Executive director F&A has been changed to CFO as the corporation is preparing to get listed on the bourses. Read more

Eveready Batteries' Chairman, MD resign post open offer from Burman group

Batteries and flashlights maker Eveready Industries India Ltd on Thursday said its Non-Executive Chairman Aditya Khaitan and Managing Director Amritanshu Khaitan have resigned following an open offer from the Burman group.

The Burman group, through various entities had on Monday made a Rs 604.76-crore open offer to acquire around 1.89 crore shares of Eveready Industries, representing 26 per cent of the expanded voting share capital, at a price of Rs 320 per share, payable in cash. Read more

Amazon once again proposes dialogue with Future Group to end legal battles

US e-commerce giant Amazon has once again proposed a dialogue with Future Group to end legal battles and Kishore Biyani-led retailer Future has agreed to arrive at a resolution. The Supreme Court has given both parties until March 15 to explore a settlement through negotiations.

During a hearing on Thursday, the Supreme Court told the three parties--Amazon.com, Future Retail (FRL) and its promoter Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL--to find ways to reach a settlement. Senior lawyers Harish Salve, representing FRL and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for FCPL, agreed to the proposal. Read more