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Vodafone Idea’s (Vi) ongoing financial struggles have been compounded by a significant delay in its Rs 25,000 crore debt-funding plan, raising concerns about the telco’s ability to achieve a financial turnaround, according to a report by The Economic Times.  

The delay follows a setback over the company’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues after the Supreme Court rejected its curative petition to re-compute the figure. 

As stated in the report, analysts expect the government to intervene and convert part of Vi’s outstanding dues into equity, providing some relief to the cash-strapped carrier. 

Vi owes Rs 70,320 crore in AGR-related dues, a liability that it is struggling to meet, especially after the Supreme Court’s dismissal of its petition in September.

The company is also facing an impending financial burden, with Rs 29,000 crore in government liabilities due by March 2026 and an additional Rs 43,000 crore by March 2027, following the end of the moratorium on its dues in September 2025. 

Vodafone Idea had initially hoped to secure the necessary funding by late November. However, in light of the AGR petition’s dismissal, the debt-raising efforts are now likely to be delayed. This comes as the company grapples with mounting liabilities and a tough competitive landscape, particularly against rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.

The government, which holds a 23.15 per cent stake in the company, remains a key player in Vi’s financial recovery. The Aditya Birla Group (14.76 per cent) and Vodafone Group (22.56 per cent) are also co-owners of Vi.

The debt funding is crucial for the company to execute its Rs 50,000-Rs 55,000 crore capital expenditure (capex) plan over the next three years. This plan aims to expand Vi’s 4G coverage and accelerate the rollout of 5G services in priority markets, which is vital for the telco to remain competitive. However, the delay in securing these funds raises concerns about the feasibility of the plan. 

Vi’s CEO Akshaya Moondra, has stated that banks are now seeking clarity from the government on possible relief for the company’s substantial AGR dues, as well as a potential waiver of bank guarantees (BGs), before they can proceed with lending, the report said.

Vi has also indicated that it intends to bridge any potential cash shortfall through further debt-to-equity conversions with the government. Additionally, the company has been actively lobbying for the removal of the bank guarantee requirement for spectrum it acquired before 2022. This would ease the pressure of securing Rs 24,746 crore in BGs in the coming months.

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Elon Musk has updated his fraud, breach of contract, and racketeering lawsuit against OpenAI, now making antitrust claims against Microsoft, according to a report by The Verge.

He is now accusing both the companies of attempting to “monopolize the generative AI market,” the report quoted the amended complaint filed on Thursday as having said.

The complaint names Microsoft along with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Microsoft VP Dee Templeton, who is a former OpenAI board member. This is apart from OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with Altman and Brockman, before leaving the company in 2018. Then Microsoft in 2019, invested $14 billion into OpenAI and now holds exclusive rights to commercially license its technology along with a 49% stake in its for-profit subsidiary.

The lawyers of Elon Musk argue that Altman “engaged in rampant self-dealing” to create a “de facto merger” between the two companies to promote anticompetitive practices and are “actively trying to eliminate competitors” by exchanging “competitively sensitive information.”

This makes its investors refrain from also funding rival companies like xAI, which is owned by Musk.

Currently, both xAI and OpenAI are competing for funding, with OpenAI securing $6.6 billion in October to build more powerful AI models, while xAI raised $6 billion in its own funding round in March.

All of this also comes with Musk having opened a previous lawsuit in March and also dropping without explanation in June. It accused OpenAI of abandoning its founding agreement to develop AI which will benefit humanity.

OpenAI repeatedly tried to dismiss the complaint, describing it as a “PR stunt” and an “increasingly blusterous campaign to harass OpenAI for his own competitive advantage.”

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Quick commerce startup Zepto is set to secure $300 million from domestic investors, doubling its initial target, reported The Economic Times citing sources. This funding boost comes as the company intensifies its competition with rivals Zomato’s Blinkit and recently listed Swiggy’s Instamart. 

The funding round, oversubscribed by prominent investors, will include top Indian family offices and ultra-high net worth individuals (ultra-HNIs), signalling strong confidence in the sector. The financing follows Zepto’s recent $1 billion fundraising spree and positions the company as a formidable player in the booming quick commerce market. 

Post this round, Indian ownership in Zepto is expected to rise to approximately 35 per cent, including stakes held by its founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra. The founders have been granted an additional 1 per cent equity for meeting key performance targets, sources revealed.

Celebrities like Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar are joining the funding round, further highlighting optimism around Zepto’s growth. Notable investors such as the Ravi Jaipuria-led RJ Corp and Harsh Goenka’s RPG group are also reportedly participating, alongside the Motilal Oswal group, which has increased its commitment from $40 million to over $60 million. 

“The round was oversubscribed, prompting Zepto to increase the total offering,” said a person aware of the development. “The company is selling about 6 per cent stake at a $5 billion valuation.” 

This round will also see investments from Manipal group chief Ranjan Pai and Mankind Pharma brothers Ramesh Juneja and Rajeev Juneja, solidifying Zepto’s backing from diverse domestic heavyweights.

Zepto’s funding pitch, reviewed earlier, highlighted its strategic intent: “We are doing this fundraise to start building Indian ownership in the company and deepen our relationships with high-quality domestic investors before we kick off an IPO process.” 

With its milestone of 1 million daily orders, Zepto remains the only large private player in quick commerce, distinguishing itself from its publicly listed competitors, Swiggy and Blinkit. The company’s move to fortify its Indian investor base is seen as a critical step toward its initial public offering (IPO) ambitions.

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India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to a two-month high in October, driven by a rise in imports, data released by the commerce ministry on Thursday showed.

A year ago, the deficit stood at $30.43 billion. Economists had expected the October trade deficit to be $22 billion, according to a Reuters poll.

The goods trade deficit—the difference between exports and imports—stood at $27.14 billion in October, up from $20.78 billion in September. The deficit was $29.65 billion in August, $23.5 billion in July, $20.98 billion in June, $23.78 billion in May, and $19.1 billion in April. 

India’s merchandise exports touched $39.2 billion in October, up from $34.58 billion in September and $33.43 billion in October 2023. However, imports surged even more – to $66.34 billion from $55.36 billion in September and $63.86 billion in October 2023. 

The widening deficit underscores persistent challenges in balancing trade despite incremental growth in outbound shipments.

Services exports rose to $34.02 billion in October from $30.61 billion in September and $28.05 billion in the year-ago period. They came in at $30.69 billion in August, $28.43 billion in July, $30.27 billion in June, $30.16 billion in May, and $29.57 billion in April.

Services imports also increased to $17 billion in October from $16.32 billion in September and $13.46 billion a year ago. In August, services imports stood at $15.7 billion, compared with $14.55 billion in July, $17.29 billion in June, $17.28 billion in May, and $16.97 billion in April.

The combined value of merchandise and services exports touched $73.21 billion in October, up from $65.19 billion in September and $61.48 billion in the year-ago period. The overall trade deficit, including both services and merchandise, fell to $10.12 billion in October, down from $15.85 billion in October 2023.

India’s foreign trade has been affected by weak demand in major markets, geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity prices. Sluggish growth in India’s key markets has lowered demand for exports while rising global fuel costs have increased expenses.

In April, the World Trade Organization (WTO) had forecast a recovery in global merchandise trade in 2024 following a weak 2023 that was marked by inflation and high energy prices. The WTO expects trade volumes to grow by 2.6% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025, though geopolitical risks remain.

Engineering goods, petroleum products, electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and readymade garments were key drivers of merchandise exports in April-October period, while major imports included cruel oil, petroleum products, electronic goods and gold. 

India’s major export destinations during this period were the US, UAE, Netherlands, UK and Singapore. China, Russia, the UAE, US and Iraq remained the top suppliers, reflecting the country’s dependence on oil imports.

“The merchandise trade data for October 2024 displayed divergent trends, with a sharp rise in the trade deficit in sequential terms, amidst a size-able moderation relative to October 2023,” said Aditi Nayar, chief economist and head of research and outreach at ICRA Ltd.

“One of the chief reasons underpinning the sequential rise in the trade deficit appears to be a jump in the volume of crude oil imports, as well as a festive season-led uptick in gold imports,” she said adding the current account deficit is expected to ease to 1.2% of GDP in the ongoing quarter (Q3, FY25) from an estimated 1.8% of GDP in Q2 FY2025, and settle around 1% of GDP for the year as a whole.

A current account deficit arises when a country’s imports exceed its exports.

India’s total exports are expected to rise above $800 billion by FY25-end, trade secretary Sunil Barthwal said after the release of the latest monthly trade data.

“Our export progress has been strong. Looking at the period from April to October, this has been the highest ever non-petroleum export performance from this country,” he said.

“Our strategy of focusing on certain sectors and specific countries has yielded positive results. Additionally, our emphasis on improving manufacturing competitiveness is now showing tangible outcomes. Whether through industry policy, trade policy, or foreign policy, they are all delivering results,” he added.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday that economy isn’t signalling a need for speed on rate cuts as the recent strength allows the Fed to take a careful approach to monetary policy decisions. 

“The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates. The strength we are currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully,” Powell said in a speech Thursday. 

The rate sensitive 2-year Treasury yield jumped 6 basis points to 4.34%.

Bets on a December rate cut fell to 60% from 80% a day earlier, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.

Data released earlier Thursday showed that US producer prices increased at a faster annual rate than anticipated in October, rising by 2.4% compared to a year ago, up from 1.9% in September and above economists’ estimates of 2.3%.

For the month, the measure came in at 0.2%, accelerating from an upwardly-adjusted 0.1% in September and in line with projections.

Excluding more volatile items like food and fuel, the reading came in at 0.3% month-on-month, in line with estimates. Year-over-year, the so-called “core” index moved up by 3.1%, compared to expectations of 3.0%.

This follows Wednesday’s consumer prices, as the headline rate rose slightly year-on-year, while core inflation remained pinned above 3%.

“The PPI report broadly backs up CPI in terms of a slowing in progress on underlying inflationary pressures. For now, though, the outlook for core PCE is soft enough to keep the Fed on track for another rate cut in December,” said Kyle Chapman, FX Markets Analyst at Ballinger Group.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) stock jumped 6% after the entertainment giant reported better-than-anticipated income and revenue in the fourth quarter, bolstered in particular by strength at its key streaming business, which helped power a 14% jump in revenue.

Additionally, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) stock slipped 2% after the networking equipment manufacturer unveiled a tepid full-year outlook, while reporting a fourth straight quarter of declining revenue.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) stock closed just below the flatline after the chipmaker said it will lay off 4% of its global staff, or around 1,000 positions.

Elsewhere, Tapestry (NYSE:TPR) stock rose 13% while Capri (NYSE:CPRI) cut losses to rise more than 4% after the two US-based luxury fashion houses called off their merger after the deal was blocked by the Federal Trade Commission.

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