Guidelines Financial News

(Bloomberg) — Circle K operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. made a proposal to take over much larger rival and 7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings Co., in what would be the biggest foreign takeover of a Japanese company. A merger would create the world’s top operator of roughly 100,000 convenience stores.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday barred P2P platforms from offering minimum returns, instant liquidity options and promoting P2P as an investment product. These platforms, which are supposed to bring together lenders and borrowers, are often found acting like deposit-takers and lenders, RBI said, in revised guidelines that take effect immediately. Individuals who lent on these platforms assuming they can get back their money anytime they want may be disappointed on Monday as the P2P firms and their fintech partners rush to comply with the circular, two senior P2P executives said on the condition of anonymity.

Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella has been suspended indefinitely due to an alleged doping violation, the national governing body Sri Lanka Cricket said. Dickwella failed a doping test conducted by the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency under World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines during the Lanka Premier League.

bank tightened norms for non-bank lenders operating as peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, barring them from selling insurance products that are in the form of credit enhancement and prohibiting P2P platform from providing any assurance or guarantee on the recovery of loans. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also directed non-banking finance companies (NBFC) to charge a fixed fee, which should not be linked to the borrower's repayment. The regulator also reiterated that the platform cannot provide credit guarantee. The banking regulator's master direction issued on Friday comes into force with immediate effect. Crowdfunding through the P2P platform connects individual lenders with borrowers to facilitate unsecured loans. There are 26 NBFCs-P2P registered with the RBI as of March 31, 2024.

Android devices after a gap of four years, following legal measures by the EU, developer Epic Games said on Friday. Fortnite, created by Epic, a U.S.-based studio, and backed by China's Tencent, the world's largest game studio, launched in 2017 and its last-player-standing, «battle royale» format became an instant hit, drawing in millions of dedicated players. But in August 2020, Apple and Alphabet's Google removed Fortnite from their app stores for violating their guidelines by launching a payment feature, prompting several lawsuits challenging their rules of charging up to 30% commissions on payments.

In 2022, I was sent on an assignment to a city that did not have an airport and reaching via train was the most viable way. I was eligible to travel in AC first class and a looming deadline meant that I, solo traveller, ended up by paying little attention to my travel plan. It was a mistake that I will never repeat again.

Niti Aayog has proposed that the government formulate guidelines for assessing the creditworthiness and background verification of those availing of loans under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), besides putting in place a reward mechanism to incentivise lending institutions to increase the scale of lending. «A set of guidelines for assessing the creditworthiness and background verification must be enlisted to provide a security net to the banks, considering the loans are collateral free and a proper risk check and assessment has a critical role to play in the sustainability of results and success of the scheme,» the Aayog has said in its report submitted to the finance ministry and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). As per the report, 'Assessment of PMMY', done by professional services firm KPMG on behalf of the Niti Aayog, e-KYC authentication may be encouraged for loan underwriting to ensure proper assessment checks. ET has seen the report. «A proper reward mechanism is needed for different banks based on their scale of operation and performance to help incentivise well-performing member lending institutions to perform better,» the Aayog has suggested.

Dhruv Rathee, a prominent YouTuber, is facing severe criticism after he deleted a social media post regarding the rape-murder case of a Kolkata doctor and later disclosed the victim's identity in a video. His actions on social media have ignited a public backlash, questioning his sensitivity and understanding of the laws surrounding such cases. The controversy began when Rathee shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) with the hashtag “Justice For Nirbhaya 2” in reference to the Kolkata doctor’s case. The post was quickly deleted, leading to speculation and criticism from the public. Many accused Rathee of succumbing to pressure from the ruling TMC government in West Bengal, alleging that he removed the post to avoid potential repercussions. Rathee later clarified his decision to delete the post, explaining that he found the comparison to the Nirbhaya case to be insensitive after receiving feedback from his followers.

The Ecuador Central Bank has warned citizens about the dangers of crypto as Worldcoin (WLD) adoption continues to increase in the Latin American nation.

RBI) is expected to unleash stringent rules, tightening provisioning requirements for project finance, introducing a new expected credit loss (ECL) framework and imposing a higher liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) for deposits to hedge against sharp outflows through digital channels. The central bank is expected to introduce these rules later this year and bankers are worried they will hurt profitability in the medium term. “Banks have given their feedback on all three proposals; we can only hope RBI listens. The project finance norms, particularly, are pretty harsh. If implemented in its current form, it could hurt financing for the sector,” said an executive at a public sector bank. “At a time when India is looking to grow faster and there is no crisis on the horizon, these norms could do more harm than good.” The central bank published a set of draft guidelines in April on project finance.

₹10,563 crore, while 31 personal guarantors accounting for ₹1,433 crore in defaults by companies approached bankruptcy tribunals on their own for debt resolution, according to data available with Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). Lenders in all seek to recover more than ₹2 trillion from personal guarantors since December 2019, when they were brought under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Of these, 3,134 cases are in bankruptcy tribunals (National Company Law Tribunal) while 50 are pending in Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRT), showed data from the IBBI.

Congress party’s guarantee schemes to make them more targeted and eliminate the creamy layer. The state government may consider the demand after taking up a survey across the state to hear the feedback from beneficiaries, according to sources. Two senior ministers had talks with the AICC leaders in Delhi on Tuesday and argued for the need for tweaking some of the programmes, while conveying similar sentiments from the ruling party MLAs. They urged the AICC leadership to discuss with chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar and align the programme to access only the low-income group families. The concerns of some MLAs stem from the fact that the availability of funds to take up development work in their constituencies has become scarce as the government has committed upwards of Rs 52,000 crore to fund the five guarantee programmes in the fiscal year 2024-25.

NGT) has said that only the Centre can decide whether constructing a «strong» battalion infrastructure in a reserve forest area would impact the issue of conservation of forests. The green panel was hearing a plea alleging that Assam's forest department had illegally diverted 28 hectares of reserve forest for the establishment of the 2nd Assam Commando Battalion in the Assam-Nagaland interstate border area of Geleky Reserve Forest in Sibsagar district. It also alleged that unauthorised permission was granted by the then Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) M K Yadava, who «misused his power and position to divert a large part of the forest area» without taking consent from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). In an order passed on August 9, the eastern bench of the NGT comprising judicial member Justice Sheo Kumar Singh and expert member Arun Kumar Verma noted that an affidavit was filed by the present PCCF, stating the construction of the forest battalion was an «activity for forest conservation and management» and while undertaking it, no trees were felled.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), in a press release, made several announcements after a board meeting was held on Wednesday. These announcements included agreements and approvals of proposed sales. MTNL entered a service agreement with BSNL for a 10-year period. The agreement can be revoked by mutual consent of the two parties by giving a six-month notice.

PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. Under the scheme component, emphasis has been laid on creating one model solar village per district across India, to promote solar energy adoption and enable village communities to become self-reliant in energy needs, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said in a statement. A financial outlay of Rs 800 crore has been allocated for this component, providing Rs 1 crore per selected Model Solar Village, the ministry said. The scheme guidelines for implementation of Model Solar Village were notified by MNRE on August 9, 2024.

Election Commission team led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar arrived here on Monday for a two-day visit to Haryana to review poll preparedness for assembly elections in the state. Elections to the Haryana Assembly are due later this year. Election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu are also part of the team, officials said. Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal welcomed the team on its arrival.

Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday the bail plea of former Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last year in connection with a money laundering case. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih is scheduled to hear Balaji's plea challenging the February 28 order of the Madras High Court dismissing his second bail petition in the case. The high court, while dismissing the bail petition, said that if he is let out on bail in a case of this nature, it will send a wrong signal and it will be against larger public interest. It said the petitioner has suffered incarceration for more than eight months and therefore, it will be more appropriate to direct the special court to dispose of the case within a time frame.

Delhi High Court seeking the re-framing of guidelines for coaching institutes, with a particular focus on criminal liability. The PIL calls for stricter regulations and accountability measures to address issues such as fraud, exploitation, and safety concerns within these institutions. The petition requests the court to mandate that the Centre and Delhi Government establish specific rules and regulations for the operation of paying guest accommodations for students, both in Delhi and nationwide, ensuring that these accommodations are safe, regulated, and suitable for students. The plea also advocates for the development of an education system focused on the holistic development and refinement of students' minds, rather than solely preparing them for entrance examinations. The objective is to shift the emphasis towards broader educational goals and personal growth.

green bonds and also help expand the broader debt market. To enable companies to issue Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) bonds locally, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) chief general manager Dimple Bhandia talked about the need for an enabling framework for such green bonds within the country, at an Assocham event Friday.

domestic accounting firms to merge and acquire scale. The government is of the view this will help create large domestic audit firms akin to the Big Four, people aware of the development said. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) could outline some details as part of the new government's 100-day agenda, one of them said. The LLP law and the Companies Act could be amended in the winter session of Parliament, likely to be held in December, he added. The ministry is also engaged in talks with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), which has decided to relax key provisions in its regulatory framework to facilitate the "aggregation of chartered accountant firms," the person said.

Elon Musk has been accused of exacerbating tensions after a week of far-right rioting in Britain, sparking calls for the government to speed up the rollout of laws policing harmful online content. Misinformation and calls to violence have spread on social media over the past week after far-right and anti-Muslim groups seized on the fatal stabbing of three young girls in the English town of Southport. As rioters clashed with police in some towns and cities, Musk joined the debate on his X platform, posting that civil war was «inevitable» in Britain. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesperson said there was «no justification» for such comments.