India relaxes rules for FDI in construction
India relaxed rules for foreign direct investment in construction development, aiming to make it easier for overseas capital to invest in building in Asia's third-largest economy. Full Article
India lifts domestic wheat purchase price by 3.6 pct
NEW DELHI - The government has raised the price it will pay to buy new-season wheat from local farmers by 3.57 percent to 1,450 rupees per 100 kg, encouraging the crop even though supply has exceeded demand for eight years.
Dr Reddy's second-qtr profit falls 17 percent
Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, India's second-largest drugmaker by revenue, reported a 17 percent drop in its second-quarter profit due to higher costs, pushing its shares down nearly 3 percent on Wednesday. The company also said it bought the rights to sell the nicotine patch Habitrol in the United States from Novartis Consumer Health Inc, a unit of Swiss firm Novartis. Full Article
Moody's says negative on Indian banks
High leverage in the Indian corporate sector could prevent any meaningful recovery in asset quality at lenders over the next 12-18 months, Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday, maintaining its "negative" outlook on the country's banking sector. Industry data has shown bad loans comprise around 4 percent of banking assets, while stressed loans account for nearly 10 percent. Full Article
IBM, Twitter to partner on biz data analytics
International Business Machines Corp announced on Wednesday a partnership with Twitter to use data collected from tweets published around the world to help shape business decisions. Full Article
Kurdish convoy heads to Syria to take on IS
A convoy of Iraqi peshmerga fighters and weaponry made its way across southeastern Turkey on Wednesday en route for the Syrian town of Kobani to try to help fellow Kurds break an Islamic State siege which has defied U.S.-led air strikes. Full Article | Baiji refinery bid
Drogba proving he is a Special One: Mourinho
Some Chelsea fans thought manager Jose Mourinho had taken leave of his senses when he decided to bring the ageing Didier Drogba back to the club. The Ivorian has silenced them all. Full Article
Latest Headlines
India E-Commerce
Delivery men offer prize investment as billions pour into e-commerce
From Japan's richest man to Jeff Bezos, everyone wants a piece of India's booming online retail sector. For those without billions to pump into the tightly held firms who dominate e-commerce, the best bet may be the delivery men. Full Article
If Europe gets into a debt crisis
With the debt crisis building up in Europe, the rupee could possibly go down to the level reached in 2013 due to repatriation of FII investment. That is enough for the stock market to plunge. While the ECB will use all the tools at its disposal to prevent another debt crisis, one thing is almost certain - weakening of the euro currency, which may help Europe but not India. Read
How the West buys ‘conflict antiquities’ from Iraq and Syria (and funds terror)
“Many antique collectors unwillingly support terrorists like Islamic State, ” Michel van Rijn, one of the most successful smugglers of antique artifacts in the past century, told German broadcaster Das Erste. And smuggling is booming in Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, 4,500 archaeological sites are reportedly controlled by Islamic State. Commentary
India, Indonesia take different, but similar coal paths
India, poised to become the world's largest importer of thermal coal, appears to be opening up its domestic mining sector to foreign competition just as Indonesia, its biggest supplier, is making it harder for exporters. Full Article
Sykes-Picot drew lines in Middle East’s sand that blood is washing away
Iraq, like Syria, was a consequence of World War One and of the infamous, in Arab eyes, agreement between Sir Mark Sykes and Francois-Georges Picot which led to the division of the former Ottoman Turkish domains by Britain and France. That agreement appears in tatters, as both countries are broken, exhausted by years of war and sectarian division. Commentary
Beijing recommends home quarantine for people coming from Ebola regions
China's capital will suggest to people returning from regions affected by Ebola to quarantine themselves at home for 21 days, and to undergo twice daily temperature checks if they have had contact with patients, state media said on Wednesday. Full Article
Chatt Puja
Hindu women worship the Sun god during the festival of Chatt Puja and fast for the whole day for the betterment of their family and the society. Slideshow