BQuick On June 13: Top 10 Stories In Under 10 Minutes  

Here is a roundup of the day’s top stories in brief.

1. Modi’s Rs 5.83-Lakh Crore Spectrum Auction Target

The Indian government expects to raise as much as Rs 5.83 lakh crore ($83.8 billion) from its latest round of airwaves auction, even as the carriers battle a brutal tariff war that has eroded their earnings and forced some to exit.

• The Narendra Modi-led government plans to sell 8,600 megahertz of telecom airwaves this year across multiple frequency bands, a telecom ministry official told Bloomberg News, who did not want to be identified as the information is not public.
• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had recommended in August last year that price bands be lowered for some telecom airwaves.

Will telecom companies participate in the auctions?

2. Petition Against Indiabulls Withdrawn

Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. today said that Abhay Yadav, the petitioner who alleged that the company and its Chairman Sameer Gehlaut misappropriated funds, withdrew his writ petition from the Supreme Court.

• According to the company’s statement, Yadav in his affidavit mentioned that he is not aware of the allegations and that the documents signed by him must have been misused to file false petition against the company with malafide intentions.
• BloombergQuint has not corroborated with Yadav or independently verified the company’s statement.

Indiabulls said the “mastermind” behind the complaint will be caught and dealt with according to the law.

3. Adani Gets Green Light For Controversial Mine

Australia has approved Adani Group’s controversial coal project that opens up a new mining region and puts the world’s biggest exporter further at odds with the global movement to phase out the fuel.

• The Carmichael mine, which has faced steady resistance by environmental groups since it was first proposed in 2010, cleared the final regulatory hurdle on Thursday when Queensland state approved its groundwater management plan.
• The decision means Adani can begin work on the first phase, which is expected to cost $1.4 billion.
• The India-based developer also plans a rail line to connect the mine in the Galilee Basin, about the size of the U.K., to an existing network that will carry the coal to the coast for export.

If fully developed, the region has potential to double the nation’s coal exports.

4. What’s Next For The Jet Stock?

Jet Airways (India) Ltd. stares at the suspension of its stock from trading as the carrier is in breach of regulatory norms by delaying earnings and not appointing key committees on its board.

• The company is not in a position to consider the audited financial results for the year ended March.
• Considering that and observations made by auditor that there’s no one to approve the earnings, there are concerns about the continuity of flow of information that is vital to price discovery, the NSE said, adding that the scrip may not reflect the actual status of the carrier.
• It has decided to move the stock from rolling to trade-to-trade segment from June 28, means buyers will have to compulsorily take delivery and can’t square off positions during intra-day trading.

But this could worsen further if the stock fails to comply with SEBI’s norms.

6. Oil Surges On Suspected Attack On Two Oil Tankers

Two oil tankers were damaged on Thursday in a suspected attack near the entrance to the Persian Gulf, stoking fears that high-stakes diplomatic efforts won’t avert a military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran.

• The incidents, including an attack on a Japanese-operated vessel, were the second in a month to hit ships near the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, through which about 40 percent of the world’s seaborne oil travels.
• They come as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a rare ally of both Donald Trump and Iranian leaders, visits Tehran in an effort to ease tensions.
• Oil prices jumped the most since January, with West Texas Intermediate crude rising 2.8 percent to $52.57 a barrel.

Read more on the high-stakes diplomacy and its impact on crude prices.

7. Bond Market Borrowings Get Cheaper

Raising funds through the bond market turned out to be slightly cheaper for central and state governments, as well companies, owing to better liquidity conditions, dropping oil prices and open market operations by the Reserve Bank of India.

• The central government saw its cost of borrowings, or the weighted average yield of auctions, drop to a 15-month low of 7.28 percent in May, about 14 basis points lower than 7.42 percent in April, according to a report by CARE Ratings on Thursday.
• The weighted average yield of auctions for the central government has seen a steady decline since March, the report noted.

The government has raised Rs 1.53 lakh crore in April and May, about Rs 65,091 crore higher than the year-ago period.

9. Ola Sets Up Shop In The U.S.

Ride-hailing startup Ola will hire more than 150 engineers for a technology center it plans to establish in Silicon Valley, setting up shop in the backyard of arch-rival Uber Technologies Inc.

• The proposed center will focus on research into areas from electric cars to autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence, the company said Thursday.
• Ola, which is backed by SoftBank Group Corp., will look to hire talent in fields such as machine learning and data sciences.

The research center is its first incursion into the U.S.