Anil Agarwal's Vedanta group has emerged the dark horse in the race to buy Essar Steel considering that the acquisition cost of ArcelorMittal has gone up by at least Rs 70 billion when compared to other bidders and that Numetal is now almost out of the competition, say lenders.

Vedanta had offered Rs 350 billion for Essar Steel in the second round of bidding.

Shares of state-owned oil & gas companies, including oil marketing companies (OMCs), are reeling under pressure falling by up to 29% on the BSE in intra-day deals, extending their Thursday’s fall after the government, on Thursday, asked the them to absorb a Re 1 a litre cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel. The government also cut the excise duty on petroleum products by Rs 1.50 a litre with immediate effect. This is the first time in over four years that prices of either petrol or diesel are being controlled.

Global software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Thursday said it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) at University of Tokyo to collaborate on technology research and facilitate inter-personnel exchange.

The MoU opens the prospect of TCS and the IIS working together on fundamental research, technology validation and the real-world applications and commercialisation of technologies in the area of robotics.

ICICI Bank on Thursday informed stock exchanges that it had accepted its managing director and chief executive officer Chanda Kochhar’s request for a retirement from the bank at the earliest.

Kochhar will also quit the boards of directors of the bank and its various subsidiaries.

Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) have dipped 5.4% to Rs 1,140 on the BSE in intra-day trade, recording their sharpest intra-day fall during calendar year 2018. Earlier, on December 18, 2017, RIL had recorded 6.3% decline in intra-day trade and finally settled flat at Rs 919 on the BSE. The stock is the top loser among the S&P BSE Sensex counter.

Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani has emerged as the richest Indian for the 11th consecutive year with a net worth of USD 47.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Ambani is also the year's biggest gainer, adding USD 9.3 billion to his wealth amid the continuing success of his Reliance Jio broadband telco service.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed ArcelorMittal and Numetal to submit revised resolution plans subject to clearance of outstanding dues within two weeks.

The two companies are required to submit their resolution plans eight weeks thereafter.

The BSE benchmark Sensex cracked over 500 points in early session on Thursday as rupee hit another low amid weak global cues and fears of widening current account of deficit.

The international benchmark Brent crude breached the US 86 per barrel level, nearing its four-year high.

Several US groups advocating public and children’s health have urged the federal trade regulators to take action against social media giant Facebook for allegedly violating children’s privacy law.

The 18-member group led by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) on Wednesday said the groups have filed a complaint asserting that Facebook’s Messenger Kids, a controversial messaging application for children as young as five

Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd Wednesday said it earned Rs 787 crore from selling stake in the initial public offer (IPO) of HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd. During the September quarter, the proceeds from the stake sale in the IPO of HDFC Asset Management Company after “net of expenses and tax stood at Rs 787 crore”, it said in a filing to the stock exchanges.

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