India's external debt on the rise, IIP contracts

Confused and intimidated by the amount of news hurtling at you everyday? Well, to make your life easier, here’s a quick round-up of the major local and international business and economic news events.

Is Anil Ambani the real owner of the Mauritius-based investment vehicle Pleuri, which invests in Indian stocks? Two UBS bankers created Pleuri in Mauritius to allow Anil Ambani to illegally invest in Indian stocks. Read more .

Petrol prices are likely to be hiked on 15 December because of the continuing fall in the value of the rupee against the greenback, a top official of BPCL told The Economic Times. In the past months or so, oil marketing companies had reduced the price of petrol to reflect moderating international prices. Here is the story .

According to a report by TeamLease Services, only 22 million men found new jobs in the past five years in India. However, the net addition to the job market was only around one million. How did that happen? Well, because 22 million women left the job market over the same period. Read here .

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The drop in Wholesale Prices Index (WPI) from 9.73 percent in October to 9.11 percent in November is the first sign that slowing growth and a good monsoon are finally denting inflation. But keep your fingers crossed. We might be heading for a stagflation. Here is why .

The IIP numbers, a contraction of 5.1 percent, shocked laymen and investors alike. But a 25 percent decline in capital goods - the biggest fall in the last two years - was even more disappointing. And the situation is not going to get better any time soon. Blame it all on China.

ICICI Bank is now spooking investors. The cost of protecting the bonds of Indian banks against default were rising at the fastest pace among Asian lenders, led by ICICI Bank. Credit default swaps jumped 76 basis points in the past month to 471 basis points, the biggest advance in the region. Here is what's happening .

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Low penetration of television in India and digitisation of the cable industry are the two main reasons why Dish TV can have a 35 percent upside from here on. Credit Suisse initiated coverage on the company with a Buy rating with a target price of Rs 82. Here’s the story .

India’s small town demand for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) is seen outpacing cumulative demand from the country, a report by research firm Nielsen showed. Demand for consumer products from four hundred small towns with a population of up to 1 million is seen touching $20 billion by 2018 and $80 billion by 2026. Read about it here .

The government has de-freezed the bank accounts of debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines and Air India after the two air carriers made part-payment of their service tax dues. Read on .

As if the Indian economy did not have enough problems, here is an icing on the cake: the rising level of short-term external debt. According to a recent report by Morgan Stanley, external debt due in the next one year accounts for 43.5 percent of India’s foreign exchange reserves. Here is the story .