Top headlines: Govt reaches out to farmers, US lawsuits seek Facebook split

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Ministers ask farmers to resume talks, say reforms in their interest

Two union ministers on Thursday asked farmers to resume talks on three controversial laws liberalising agriculture markets, but indicated the reforms won't be rolled back—a key demand of protesters. "We sent a proposal to farmers. They wanted that laws be repealed. We are of the stand that the government is ready for open-minded discussions on provisions they have an objection against,” said Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar at a press conference in Delhi. The reforms won't change the minimum support price farmers get for their produce or Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC), he said. Read more...

'Differences fine in democracy': Modi inaugurates work for new Parliament

There could be difference in opinion about "policy and politics" but there can’t be disagreement on national interest, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday after laying the foundation stone for a new Parliament complex. "Differences are fine but there should not be disconnect,” he said a day after farmers rejected his government’s proposal to amend three controversial laws which liberalise India’s agriculture markets and have sparked protests. Read more...

Antitrust lawsuits could force Facebook to sell Instagram and WhatsApp

Facebook Inc could be forced to sell its prized assets WhatsApp and Instagram after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and nearly every U.S. state filed lawsuits against the social media company, saying it used a "buy or bury" strategy to snap up rivals and keep smaller competitors at bay. With the filing of the twin lawsuits on Wednesday, Facebook becomes the second big tech company to face a major legal challenge this year after the U.S. Justice Department sued Alphabet Inc's Google in October, accusing the $1 trillion company of using its market power to fend off rivals. Read more...

Corporate earnings growth, Covid vaccine to drive markets in 2021: Analysts

Markets are mostly pricing in most positives at the current levels, say analysts, who suggest the trajectory in the calendar year 2021 (CY21) will be guided by mostly by growth in corporate earnings. Those at Credit Suisse also caution against the expensive valuation at which the markets are trading at. Read more...

ADB cuts India's FY21 contraction forecast to 8% on back of faster recovery

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday upgraded its forecast for the Indian economy, projecting 8 per cent contraction in 2020-21 as compared to 9 per cent degrowth estimated earlier, on the back of faster than expected recovery. Observing that the economy has begun to normalise, the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) Supplement said the second quarter contraction at 7.5 per cent was better than expected. The economy contracted by 23.9 per cent in June quarter of the current fiscal on account of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Read more...