Havells India Ltd registered sharply higher net profit at Rs349cr in Q3FY21 against Rs199cr in Q3FY20, a growth of 75% YoY. The company's revenue climbed 39% to Rs3,166cr from Rs2,270cr yoy. The enormous profit was on the back of strong growth in its top line, led by electrical consumer durables and switchgear business. The company stock touched a new 52-week high of Rs1085.85 on Thursday.

State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday reported the commencement of two inter-bank short term money market deal with pricing linked to SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate). SOFR is an identified replacement for USD LIBOR which is expected to be phased out at the end of 2021. The Inter-Bank money market transaction was executed by SBI through its Hong Kong branch.

Facebook plans to launch aggressive ad campaigns and interactions with users and government stakeholders over the next few months to “allay fears” over its intended privacy policy changes. They would clarify that the updated policy would be applicable to interactions with 19 million business account users of WhatsApp and that these messages can be “leveraged for business purpose”.

Indian stock market benchmark Sensex today scaled new highs, hitting 50,000 for the first time. Sensex was up 0.5% to 50,050. From its March lows of 25638, Sensex has nearly doubled in value in about 10 months. Nifty also rose to a new high and was also firm over 14,700. The rally in stock markets has been triggered by the massive liquidity injection by the central banks.

Google sidelined AI researcher Margaret Mitchell from its corporate systems. She is the second outspoken critic at the company to be sidelined. Mitchell was a vocal supporter of her colleague Timnit Gebru, who departed under acrimonious circumstances last month. Mitchell leads Alphabet Inc.’s Ethical AI unit, which develops company’s technology in a socially responsible manner.

HFFC India will open its Rs 1,154-crore public issue for subscription on Jan 21. The price band for the IPO is fixed at Rs 517-518 per share. The company already raised Rs 346 cr from anchor investors on Jan 20. The public issue comprises a fresh issue of Rs 265 cr and an OFS of Rs 888.71 crore. It will utilise the funds for augmenting its capital base to meet future capital requirements.

Oil prices declined on Thursday after data showed U.S. crude stocks unexpectedly increased last week, reigniting worries about pandemic restrictions cutting into fuel demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 27 cents, or 0.5%, to $53.04 a barrel at 0147 GMT, following two days of gains on hopes of massive COVID-19 relief spending under new U.S. President Joe Biden.

Bajaj Auto is expected to declare over 16% YoY growth in standalone profit, revenue and operating profit for the quarter ended December 2020 led by festive demand. Profit is expected to be supported by revenue and operating performance, while higher volumes and average selling price (ASPs) could boost topline during the quarter.

Stove Craft decided to launch its initial public offering for subscription on January 25. It would be the fourth company to open an IPO in January 2021. The price band for the issue, which will close on January 28, has been fixed at Rs 384-385 per share. Investors can bid for a minimum of 38 equity shares and in multiples of 38 shares thereafter.

IndiGo emerged as one of the world's biggest airlines by capacity, aided by a swift recovery in the domestic aviation market to nearly 80% of pre-pandemic levels and the financial strength to boost market share as rivals struggle. The carrier is also the world's seventh biggest by capacity and the largest outside the United States and China. The airlines took 44 planes from Airbus SE last year.

The Bitcoin fever is fading off as worries about a market bubble discourages investors from investing in it. Prices for the largest cryptocurrency declined as much as 8.4% on Wednesday and traded below $34,000. Ever since the market shot through all-time highs in early January, Bitcoin has been beset by volatility and skepticism that the run-up has been excessive.

Jack Ma appeared for less than a minute and said nothing about the Chinese government clampdown that had left his business empire in crisis. However, for investors, the entrepreneur’s participation in a live-streamed video conference on Wednesday was enough to trigger a $58 billion sigh of relief. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s market value soared after the clip of Ma circulated online.

Asian Paints is likely to announce strong earnings growth on all parameters with record-high EBITDA margin, driven by festive demand-led robust volume growth for the Q3 2020. The company will announce its quarterly earnings on January 21. The profit is likely to grow around 30-40% and revenue growth could be more than 15% compared to the corresponding period, with double-digit growth in volumes.

President Joe Biden's proposes a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package based on an assessment of specific needs. "The package wasn't designed with the $1.9 trillion as a starting point. It was designed with the components that were necessary to give people the relief that they needed," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. Psaki said Biden would closely negotiate with Congress about the package.

SBI Mutual Fund bought 5.22 million shares or 3.6 per cent stake in Kirloskar Oil Engines yesterday at Rs 125 per share through two bulk deals on the National Stock Exchange. In a separate deal, Nalanda India Fund sold 4.14 per cent stake or 6 million shares of Kirloskar Oil at Rs 125 per share. Prior to the bulk deal, Nalanda India Fund held 7.5 per cent stake in the company.