News digest: RCom's asset sale, Jeep design, monsoon forecast, and more

From RCom's asset sale, Jeep design to monsoon forecast, BS brings you top stories to keep up with the latest news

SC allows RCom to sell telecom assets worth Rs 181 billion to Reliance Jio

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications (RCom) to sell its telecom assets worth about Rs181 billion to Reliance Jio, controlled by his elder brother Mukesh Ambani. The transaction will help RCom reduce its debt by half while giving crucial infrastructure, including spectrum, to RJio. Read more 

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles accuses M&M of Jeep design infringement

Italian-American automotive major Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has filed a trade complaint seeking to stop Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) from selling an off-road vehicle that it recently launched in the US, alleging that the Indian vehicle had ripped off designs from its iconic Jeep. Read more 

Tata group, Dabur, Cadila among suitors for Kraft Heinz's Complan brand

Kraft Heinz Co. has narrowed the list of bidders for a portfolio of Indian businesses it’s selling that includes the children’s milk drink Complan, people with knowledge of the matter said.
 

The Tata group, the country’s biggest conglomerate, and Dabur India, the $11.3-billion consumer goods company, are among suitors selected for the second round of bidding, according to the people. The sale has also drawn an interest from an arm of Cadila Healthcare and other potential buyers, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Read more 

Worth $1.02 trillion, one Apple equals India's top 50 firms put together

The value of Apple Inc is now nearly the same as the combined value of India's top 50 blue-chip companies. The iPhone maker's market capitalisation at $1.02 trillion is not far behind the Nifty 50 index's $1.18 trillion, and may soon surpass it if the Cupertino-based technology giant continues its stellar run on the bourses. Apple's stock closed at $207.4 on Thursday.
 

The world's top five technology companies — Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook — boast a total market capitalisation of $4.1 trillion, more than thrice that of India's Nifty 50 companies and nearly double that of India's market cap. Read more 

IMD removes cloud of uncertainty over monsoon

Days after private weather forecasting agency Skymet lowered its forecast for the 2018 southwest monsoon season to ‘below normal’, the state-run India Meteorological Department (IMD) said rain in August and September would be ‘normal’ at 95 per cent of the long-period average (LPA).
 

The IMD, however, used a different parameter than what it usually considers for full season forecasts. The latest forecast is with a model error of plus and minus 8 per cent. Read more