Top headlines: AstraZeneca says vaccine safe, bank strike hits services

Business Standard brings you top news of the day

WPI inflation spikes to a 27-month high in Feb owing to costlier food, fuel

The wholesale price index-based inflation doubled to a 27-month high in February, led by soaring fuel prices and an uptick in food prices. This effectively dims hopes for any policy rate reduction in the near term to spur economic growth amid the pandemic. Wholesale inflation rose to 4.17 per cent in February as against 2.03 per cent in the previous month, data released by the ministry of commerce and industry showed on Monday. Its retail price counterpart, consumer price index released on Friday, also saw inflation surge to a three-month high of 5.03 per cent in February, on the back of sharp rise in petrol and diesel prices. Read more

Nationwide bank strike: Cheques worth Rs 16,500 crore stuck

The two-day nationwide strike called by the United Forum of Bank Union in protest against privatisation of the government banks began on Monday. The leader of a major union claimed total success impacting the clearance of two crore cheques/instruments worth about Rs 16,500 crore. "On an average, about 2 crore cheques/instruments worth about Rs 16,500 crore are held up for clearance. Government treasury operations and all normal banking transactions have been affected," C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) said. Read more

Vedanta's dues, rising interest rates sound trouble for Anil Agarwal

Anil Agarwal supercharged his rise from scrap metals trader to billionaire commodities magnate by embracing bold acquisitions and lots of debt. But that decades-long playbook is now being put to the test as rising borrowing costs complicate Agarwal’s efforts to clinch a buyout of the publicly traded crown jewel of his globe-spanning empire. His battle for control over Vedanta Ltd. is highlighting the risks for indebted tycoons in India and around the world as interest rates climb from historic lows and family businesses grapple with complicated holding structures. Read more

AstraZeneca: No evidence of high blood clot risk from vaccine

In the wake of several European countries suspending the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the company has said that there has been no evidence of increased blood clot risk from its jab. The suspensions have come amid several reports of blood clots following vaccinations with the Covid jab developed by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant and the University of Oxford. "Safety is of paramount importance and the Company is continually monitoring the safety of its vaccine," the company said in a statement on Sunday. Read more

Govt to take care of job loss, other facilities in divestment: Thakur

The government on Monday said that concerns related to job loss and other facilities will be taken care of when a central public sector company, working in a strategic sector, is divested. Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur, during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, said the government has a "clear and transparent" disinvestment policy. Four sectors of atomic energy, space and defence; transport and telecommunications; power, petroleum, coal and other minerals; and banking, insurance and financial services would be strategic sectors. The rest will be non-strategic sectors, he said. Read more