BQuick On Jan. 4: Top 10 Stories In Under 5 Minutes

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

1. Marico Says Consumer Sentiment Is Improving Faster Than Expected

Consumer goods maker Marico Ltd. has said that the festive season and the declining trend of Covid-19 cases in the country have spurred better sales across rural and urban markets.

2. Why Vedanta May Desperately Need BPCL

Mining tycoon Anil Agarwal needs state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp. more than ever. The output from Vedanta’s Rajasthan oilfield has been falling. And since it produces waxy crude, that state-run refiners refuse to buy, it ends up selling three-fourths to private firms at a cheaper rate. BPCL’s acquisition could change that.

3. Nifty’s Sharp Recovery; Bitcoin's Rally Halts

Indian equities staged a sharp recovery from the day’s low to end at fresh highs.

Related Coverage

• Here’s why metal stocks are rallying in trade.

• Shares of Federal Bank, CSB Bank, Karur Vysya Bank surge after quarterly update.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin prices fell as much as 17% in the biggest drop since March before recovering.

4. Jefferies’ Top 10 Stock Picks For 2021

Jefferies expects the NSE Nifty 50 index to touch 15,800 by the end of the year aided by an economic revival, improved corporate earnings and recovery in the housing sector. Here are its stock picks.

5. India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Approval Process Faces Flak

Experts have voiced concerns on the approval process, and the lack of publicly-released efficacy data for Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Ltd.

6. Indian Manufacturing Remains In Expansion

A gauge of activity across India’s manufacturing sector remained steady even as employment fell for nine straight months. The IHS Markit Manufacturing PMI stood at 56.4 in December versus 56.3 in November.

7. India’s Incentive Scheme For Drugmakers Faces Hurdles

The government’s scheme that offers incentives to produce pharmaceutical ingredients locally has received decent response in certain categories. But companies and analysts say red tape and high requirement of capital for manufacturing may prove to be barriers.

8. RIL Asks Court To Intervene And Stop Vandalism Of Its Towers

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries has said that it will file a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to help stop vandalism of its telecom tower amid protests by lakhs of farmers who feel the new laws will enrich crony capitalists.

9. Power To Block Credit Mustn’t Be Used To Harass Taxpayers, Gujarat High Court Says

The court expressed the need for the government to issue guidelines and the procedure to be followed by GST authorities while exercising their powers to block utilisation of input tax credit by a registered taxpayer.

10. Google Workers Launch Union

The Alphabet Workers Union said it will be open to all employees and contractors, regardless of their role or classification.