Top 10 biz headlines: Carnage on D-Street, Sun Pharma mulls share buyback

From RBI offering $2-bn swaps to Tata Sons buying group firms' shares, here are the top 10 business headlines for the day

Sun Pharma board to consider buyback of shares next week

The pharma major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Thursday announced that its board will consider the buyback of company's shares next week. Read more.

Coronavirus impact: RBI offers $2-bn swaps to deal with currency swings

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday moved to address the dollar shortage in the market by offering a $2-billion swap for six months — a step that should ease pressure on the rupee, which is marching towards its record low. Read more.

Coronavirus scare cripples markets as indices post biggest single-day drop

The carnage in the stock markets, triggered by the spread of coronavirus, intensified after the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic. The domestic benchmark indices slumped over 8 per cent — the most since October 2008 — as investors fretted over the virus’s economic toll. The extreme risk-aversion wiped out Rs 11.4 trillion worth of investor wealth and sent many stocks and key indices to their multi-year lows. Read more.

Tata Sons buys group firms' shares worth Rs 531 crore amid market sell-off

Tata Sons, the promoter company of the Tata group, on Thursday bought shares worth Rs 531 crore in four group companies in a bulk deal on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Read more.

Drop in demand due to travel curbs may stall airline revenues in Q4

Travel curbs announced by the government on Wednesday night and advisories asking people to avoid non-essential travel are expected to hit the aviation sector the hardest. Further, a profit warning by sector leader InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) further dampened Street sentiment. Read more.

AGR dues: DoT to reassess documents of Airtel, Voda Idea, Tata Teleservices

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said on Thursday it would reassess the documents submitted by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Tata Teleservices, as part of the companies’ self-assessment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. Read more.

Coronavirus impact: Seeking safe harbour under 'force majeure' may not help

The force majeure clause, which some in Corporate India could be looking to invoke in case of a breakdown in contracts because of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), might not work in all cases, say experts. “COVID-19 is unlikely to give rise to a valid force majeure defence under every contract and in every circumstance, as different contracts and governing laws stipulate different requirements for different situations,” said a note prepared by law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas for its clients, assessing the legal impact of the outbreak on India Inc. Read more.

Coronavirus fear: Airlines, travel firms grapple with cancellation requests

Visiting California was on Amrita’s list for 2020. Now, however, she has second thoughts about the earlier much-awaited travel, which was due to start on March 21. “I am worried about being quarantined and stuck when I am there. Also, I don’t want to be 14 days off work after I return,” says the 29-year-old, who works for a multinational fashion outlet. Read more

Indiabulls gave Rs 375 crore loan to Kapoor’s kin to buy property

In order to finance the purchase of a marquee property in Delhi’s prestigious Amrita Shergill Marg that its owner, industrialist Gautam Thapar, had pledged with Yes Bank, the bank's co-founder Rana Kapoor’s family borrowed Rs 375 crore from Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd in 2017, reports LiveMint.

Flipkart seeks govt nod for food biz

Walmart-owned Flipkart has applied to set up a venture focused solely on food retailing of products manufactured and produced in India. The idea is to enter the segment where Amazon already has a presence through online route, reports The Times of India.