News LIVE: Future Retail to buy HyperCity for Rs 655 crore

23:36 There has been no update on whether the Prime Minister will address the nation, so we can safely say it won't happen today at least. Sorry if you stayed up for it!

21:15 The Prime Minister had earlier in the day held a high-level meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP president Amit Shah.

21:10 Prime Minister Narendra Modi may address the nation shortly.

20:48 Big Bazaar, Future Retail's flagship brand, is India's largest organised store-based retail market, with nearly 20-25 percent market share. The brand’s 253 outlets are spread across 127 cities in 26 states of India (as on June 30, 2017).

20:33 By acquiring Hypercity, Future Retail aims to leverage its retail capabilities by building economies of scale, reducing overall cost of operations, expanding the number of small/convenience outlets (especially in the metros), and pushing the sales of its margin-accretive private label consumer products.

20:24 Future Retail says HyperCity will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company and the acquisition will be completed in three to five months.

20:22 Hypercity, a subsidiary of Shoppers Stop (also co-owned by K Raheja Corp), is one of India’s most renowned supermarket retail brands. Its 19 big-box format stores span marquee locations of Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jaipur, Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Noida.

20:18 After taking over four regional retail brands (Bharat Retail and Big Apple in north India, Heritage Fresh and Nilgiris in south India) to strengthen its store network in the past, Future Group’s agenda to expand its grocery retail footprint pan-India had led to speculation of it eyeing Hypercity, a business that hasn’t done too well under Shoppers Stop. Will it result in a win-win deal? Here's our detailed analysis.

20:14 Future Retail has announced a Rs 655 crore deal with HyperCity through a combination of cash and shares, reports CNBC-TV18.

20:02 We have some more information on what the government is up to with regard to the economy. The Prime Minister is said to be keen on taking measures to provide an impetus to the economy and a big bang announcement may be made before Diwali.

With this in mind, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met Cabinet colleagues including Piyush Goyal and Suresh Prabhu today.

The GST Council will meet on Friday, where sources say it will discuss the possibility of bringing petroleum products under the ambit of GST with a view to reducing prices.

19:43 Some sad news from Pakistan where at least 13 people have been killed following a blast at a shrine in Balochistan. Dozens have been wounded.

19:34 That update comes following a top-level meeting at the Prime Minister's residence this afternoon which was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP President Amit Shah.

19:22 News18, quoting sources, is now reporting that the government is likely to announce a major spending measure before Diwali.

19:00 For the full story on those recommendations made by the Uday Kotak-led panel with regard to corporate governance, click here.

18:45 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is set to speak at the India Economic Summit in 30 minutes from now. Stay tuned for live updates.

18:20 The excise duty cut on petrol & diesel is a case of one man’s meat, another’s poison. The relief to the consumers comes at the expense of government finances that are already struggling, writes Ruchi Agrawal. Read the full story here.

17:50 A spokesperson for the Pakistani army says that the mercy plea of Indian 'spy' Kulbhushan Jadhav is before the country's Army Chief and 'nearing finalisation'. "We will get news soon on this," said Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations.

17:35 The Uday Kotak committee report on corporate governance states that directors must attend at least half of the meetings over a two-year period.

17:24 The committee has also said that there should be mandatory disclosure of consolidated quarterly earnings.

17:16 Succession planning and risk management should be discussed at least once a year, says the Kotak panel's report.

17:11 The committee report on corporate governance says that listed entities should mention the competencies of every director on the board.

17:02 More on those corporate governance recommendations. The committee has suggested that at least half of company boards must be independent directors.

16:48 News18, quoting sources, says that Modi, Jaitley and Amit Shah are discussing the state of the economy at that high-level meeting underway at the PM's residence. and that a major announcement is likely before Diwali.

16:33 British author Kazuo Ishiguro has been awarded the 2017 Nobel prize for literature.

16:29 One of the recommendations is to split the Chairman and Managing Director posts at listed companies.

16:27 SEBI has given time till November 4 for public comments on the report, which is available on the regulator's website.

16:23 The Uday Kotak-led committee has submitted its report on corporate governance to SEBI. The recommendations assume significance in light of corporate governance-related issues at major companies such as Tata Sons and Infosys.

16:20 A couple of days ago, sources had told CNBC-TV18 that IDFC and Shriram Transport Finance Corporation are still working on new deal structure and that Ajay Piramal will not hold more than 5 percent stake in IDFC Bank.

16:17 IDFC and Shriram Group have extended the agreement for strategic combination till November 8, reports CNBC-TV18.

15:53 A top-level meeting is currently underway at the Prime Minister's residence, reports News18. BJP President Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are in attendance. The development has triggered buzz of a major announcement, especially since Shah abruptly abandoned the BJP's Jan Raksha Yatra in Kerala to return to Delhi.

15:42 The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has given the Railways 15 days to evict all hawkers from foot-over bridges across Mumbai's suburban rail network. "If the Central and Western Railways don't clear all foot-over-bridges of hawkers, we will do it ourselves," Thackeray threatened.

Raising the pitch against Gujaratis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bullet train project, he said it doesn't serve the needs of thousands of Mumbai's commuters and is just a gift for a handful of Gujaratis.

In a pointed attack on the NDA government, Thackeray said that the Centre is wasting its time on 'trivial issues' like demonetisation, Goods & Services Tax, Swachh Bharat, yoga, etc. “In doing so, it's ignoring real issues. But if it continues doing this, I won't remain peaceful," Thackeray said.

15:07 Working on various areas across the railway ecosystem in India can create 10 lakh jobs within a year, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said. Monetising the real estate assets as well as fast tracking some of the existing investment plans would generate a lot of employment opportunities in the railways and the ecosystem around it, he told PTI.

15:05 The European Union agreed new rules on Tuesday to guard against excessively cheap Chinese imports, ending 18 months of wrangling over trade ties with Beijing, reports Reuters. The European Union and many of China’s other trading partners have debated whether to treat China as a “market economy”, which Beijing says was its right at the end of 2016, some 15 years after it joined the World Trade Organisation.

The European Commission, member states and EU lawmakers finally overcame their differences on Tuesday after a number of failed attempts. In determining whether to impose import tariffs, the EU will now treat all WTO members the same. Their businesses will only be dumping if their export prices are below domestic prices. But the EU will make exceptions for cases of “significant market distortions”, such as excessive state intervention, an exception expected to cover many Chinese firms.

14:53 Godrej Agrovet’s Rs 1,157 crore initial public offering has been fully subscribed on day two of the bidding process on Thursday.

14:49 Australian retailers suffered their worst decline in sales since early 2013 as debt-laden consumers tightened their purse strings, slashing spending on food, furniture and clothing, an outcome that bodes poorly for third-quarter economic growth, reports Reuters. Thursday’s data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed retail sales dropped 0.6% in August, confounding expectations for a 0.3% increase. July was also revised down to show a 0.2% fall. The 0.8% slump in July and August is the biggest back-to-back fall since October 2010.

14:37 Housing sales fell by 35% across eight major cities in the July-September quarter this year as demand slowdown continued in the property market, says research firm PropEquity. Housing sales stood at 22,699 units during third quarter of 2017 in eight major cities as against 34,809 units in the previous quarter. These eight cities are Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.

14:34 Union Minister CR Choudhary said cosmetic and personal care industry has potential to generate more jobs and entrepreneurs should take advantage of schemes like Startup India that promote setting up of new business, reports PTI. He said companies should not befool consumers with cheap products and should sell superior quality products complying with national and international standards.

14:30 As many as seven women have been named in Forbes India's 100 richest persons list, including OP Jindal Group Chairperson Savitri Jindal and biotechnology pioneer Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. Jindal and family ranked the highest at the 16th place on the coveted list with a net worth of $7.5 billion, followed by the Gupta family, which was ranked at the 40th place with a fortune of $3.45 billion. The Gupta family gets its fortune from a 47% stake in pharma major Lupin, founded by Desh Bandhu Gupta, who died in June 2017. Manju Desh Bandhu Gupta, wife of the late patriarch, is Non-Executive Chairman of Lupin.

The coveted list also includes Vinod and Anil Rai Gupta and family, ranked 48th with a net worth of $3.11 billion. Mother and son Vinod and Anil Rai Gupta draw their fortune from a 60% holding in flagship Havells India, founded by Vinod's late husband Qimat Rai Gupta in 1958 as an electricals trading business. At the 51st place is the Jain family with a net worth of $3 billion. The Jain family controls media powerhouse Bennett, Coleman and Co, which is run by brothers Samir and Vineet, sons of matriarch Indu Jain.

14:24 US-based payments company Mastercard said it is open to acquiring companies in India and will invest $800 million over the next 4-5 years, reports PTI.

14:19 Reliance Communications' aborting the plan to merge with Aircel is credit negative for the Anil Ambani-led firm as it was crucial to pare debt, Moody's Investors Service said. RComm and Aircel had in September last year signed a binding agreement to merge their mobile businesses. But, on Sunday, RComm announced that the agreement had lapsed owing to legal and regulatory uncertainties, objections by interested parties and delays in receiving relevant approvals.

14:17 One of Bharat Road Network’s (BRNL) associate firms has won an arbitration award of over Rs 100 crore and is looking forward to the release of money by NHAI soon. "Shree Jagannath Expressways Pvt, one of the associate companies in Odisha, has won an arbitration award of over Rs 100 crore," BRNL said in a BSE filing. Given the stated stand of the government to not get into long-term disputes and settle claims as per award of arbitration, the company said, it is likely that the National Highway Authority of India would soon release the money.

14:08 Indian Air Force chief BS Dhanoa said the possibility of two-front war was low, but was quick to warn that enemy intentions can change overnight. Even then, he said the force was prepared for a two-front war, reports CNN-News18.

In a veiled threat to Pakistan, the air force could destroy the belligerent neighbour’s nuclear arsenal in a surgical strike if the need arose.

He said IAF will achieve its sanctioned strength of 42 fighter squadrons by 2032. Stating that the single engine fighter was a procurement priority, he promised a right to request for information (RFI) soon.

13:46 The National Company Law Tribunal reserved its order on the plea of ousted Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry seeking transfer of his petitions challenging the ouster to the New Delhi bench from the Mumbai one, reports CNBC-TV18. The principal bench of the NCLT, headed by Chairman Justice MM Kumar, will pronounce its verdict on Friday.

13:42 Drug firm Zydus Cadila has received final approval from the US health regulator to market capsules used in treating overactive bladder with symptoms such as urinary frequency. The company received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market the fesoterodine fumarate extended release capsules in strengths of 4 mg and 8 mg. It will manufacture the drug at the group's formulations manufacturing facility in Moraiya, Ahmedabad. Quoting IMS sales data of August 2017, the company said sales of fesoterodine fumarate extended release capsules are estimated at $195.5 million.

13:34 Mylan has launched a generic version of Teva’s multiple sclerosis (MS) drug - Copaxone 40 mg/mL - in the US market. The launch occurred even as analysts were debating whether Mylan should await the outcome on the pending patent ligation or go ahead and launch “at risk”. The company will have to pay millions of dollars in damages to Teva if it fails to invalidate the remaining patents held by the Israeli drug maker. Teva has already warned Mylan of “significant damages” if it goes ahead and launches the generic version of Copaxone 40mg/ml prior to the resolution of the pending patent litigation.

13:26 German luxury carmaker Audi on Thursday launched the A5 in the Indian market in three avatars to take on the Mercedes and BMW from the same segments. The A5 Sportback is priced at Rs 54.02 lakh, the A5 Carbriolet is priced at Rs 67.51 lakh and the S5 is priced at Rs 70.6 lakh. Audi is the third largest luxury car maker in India trailing Mercedes-Benz and BMW in that order. The A5 sports a 2.0 litre engine that generates peak power of 190 bhp with a top speed of 235 kmph. The sedan can achieve 0-100 kmph in 7.9 seconds. The S5 however is bigger and faster. The car has a 3 litre engine producing 354 bhp in peak power and a top speed of 250 kmph. This car can do 0-100 kmph in 4.7 seconds.

13:08 Tackling bad loans will be a priority for India’s largest bank, said the newly appointed chairman of State Bank of India, Rajnish Kumar, addressing his first press conference since the appointment was announced late on Wednesday. SBI, which accounts for more than a fifth of India’s banking assets, has seen bad loans rise after it absorbed five subsidiary banks earlier this year. Kumar said SBI had tackled issues that came as a result of that deal and would see asset quality numbers “looking much better”.

13:02 The Centre is considering exemptions sought by Apple for setting up a unit to assemble iPhones, Ramesh Abhishek, the top bureaucrat in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, told Reuters. Apple has asked federal government officials for a range of tax and policy changes to help build out its iPhone assembly work in India. It is seeking permission to open its own retail stores in India where it currently sells iPhones through resellers.

12:49 As many as 4.5 lakh directors may face disqualification for their association with shell companies, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs PP Chaudhary said. Even as the government steps up its fight against the black money menace, the minister asserted that genuine corporates will not face action. As the ministry pushes ahead with the efforts to weed out shell companies -- a term used for entities that have not been carrying out business for long and are allegedly used as conduit for illegal fund flows -- Chaudhary told PTI that the profile of all disqualified directors will be examined.

12:42 The Gujarat High Court rejected Zakia Jafri's plea challenging a lower court order upholding SIT's clean chit to then chief minister Narendra Modi and others on allegations of larger conspiracy in connection with the 2002 post-Godhra riots, reports CNN-News18. The high court, however, allowed Zakia to approach higher forums for further investigation in the case.

Zakia, the wife of slain former MP Ehsan Jafri, and activist Teesta Setalvad's NGO Citizen for Justice and Peace had moved the criminal review petition against a magistrate's order upholding the clean chit given by the special investigation team (SIT) to Modi and others regarding the allegations of a "larger criminal conspiracy" behind the riots. The petition demanded that Modi and 59 others --including senior police officers and bureaucrats -- be made accused for allegedly being part of a conspiracy which facilitated the riots.

12:38 Wipro Digital announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Cooper, an award-winning design and business strategy consultancy. Cooper will become part of Wipro Digital’s strategic design arm Designit, and add to its design and innovation capabilities, expanding its reach in North America and adding capabilities in professional design education.

12:35 Delhi Police has begun an inquiry after a photograph showing controversial godwoman Radhe Maa sitting on the SHO's chair in the Vivek Vihar police station surfaced online, reports PTI. Station house officer Sanjay Sharma, draped in a red and gold shawl worn by Hindu devotees, can be seen standing next to her with his hands folded in the photograph.

12:33 The Supreme Court said it would consider on Friday a plea seeking restoration of its November last year's order banning firecrackers in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), reports PTI. The matter came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan which said that it would consider the plea tomorrow.

12:24 The Japanese utility Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has received approval to operate reactors for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima meltdown, reports ZeroHedge. On Wednesday, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said TEPCO’s two reactors in northern Japan met new and stricter safety standards. The authority unanimously approved the draft certificate for reactors number 6 and 7 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, marking the first step in the process toward restarting them. Portions of the plant’s reactors were damaged in a 2007 earthquake.

12:21 Employees of government-run banks who worked in extended shifts for days, soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of old currency notes, have threatened to launch a strike and take legal actions if their employers don't clear their overtime dues, reports Hindustan Times. At various places, these bank employees had worked for around 14 hours in a day and also their leaves were cancelled to handle the note ban rush in the banks. As many as 4 lakh bank employees who put in extra hours and are yet to get additional pay and overtime.

12:07 Advisory firm Stakeholders Empowerment Services (SES) has alleged that Infosys violated corporate governance norms at the time of Nandan Nilekani's appointment. In August, Nilekani was appointed the Chairman after MD and CEO Vishal Sikka resigned. According to SES, Nikekani was appointed without a proper board meeting, even before the directors met. “Decisions at the board level are taken after due deliberations in the board meetings and this has been given a go-by,” SES said.

12:01 Bloomberg takes a look at the candidates US President Donald Trump is considering over the next few weeks to nominate as chairman of the Federal Reserve and where they stand on monetary policy.

11:58 As US President Donald Trump threatens to destroy North Korea, even some of his closest aides have warned of the potentially disastrous effects of a war, reports Bloomberg. New research published on the 38 North website points to just how catastrophic the impact might be on the regime’s neighbours.

If Kim Jong Un were to launch a nuclear attack on Seoul and Tokyo -- both within striking distance of his weapons -- as many as 2.1 million people could die and another 7.7 million could be injured, according to the 38 North report. The analysis by Michael J Zagurek Jr, a consultant specialising in databases and computer modelling, is based on North Korea’s current estimated weapons technology and bomb strength. Zagurek assumes Kim has a baseline arsenal of 20-25 warheads and the capacity to put them on ballistic missiles.

11:33 Wind power tariff has dropped sharply to an all-time low of Rs 2.64 per unit during the second auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for 1 GW projects, reports PTI. Renew Power Ventures, has emerged as the lowest bidder by quoting Rs 2.64 per unit for a capacity of 250 MW, followed by Orange Sironj Wind Power at Rs 2.64 for 200 MW.

11:30 A leopard was spotted early this morning in Maruti Suzuki's plant in Manesar here following which police and forest officials cordoned off the premises and launch a search for the wild cat, reports PTI. The leopard was found roaming inside the 'Engine Department' at around 4 am by a security personnel on duty. Thousands of workers, who arrived for the morning shift at around 7 am, have been asked to stand outside the plant due to safety reasons, a senior police officer said.

11:27 Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav was unanimously re-elected as the party's national president for a five-year term, reports PTI. The party's constitution was amended to extend the tenure of the party chief to five years from the existing three years. Now that 44-year-old Akhilesh will remain at the helm for five years, the 2019 Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections in 2022 will be held under his presidentship.

11:20 Activity in India’s services companies limped out of contraction in September as demand recovered and pushed firms to increase hiring at the fastest pace in over six years, reports Reuters. The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.7 in September from 47.5 in August, moving back above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.

10:29 The Mumbai Police has denied Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray permission to lead a march to the headquarters of Western Railway at Churchgate today. The MNS chief is protesting against the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project and demanding better infrastructure for suburban railway commuters in the wake of the Elphinstone stampede. Thackeray had last personally led a march was on August 21, 2012, when he protested the violence against police and media by the Raza Academy in Mumbai. MNS was the only political party which registered a public protest against the violence that did not spare even women police personnel.

10:22 Mukesh Ambani retains his title as India’s richest for the tenth year in a row with $38 billion. Ambani added $15.3 billion to his net worth this year, making him the biggest dollar gainer on the list and one of Asia’s top five richest. Improved refining margins and his telecom unit Reliance Jio’s thundering success in notching up 130 million subscribers since its 2016 launch boosted shares of his Reliance Industries. The list will appear in the October issue of Forbes India which will be available on newsstands from November 3.

10:13 There was no evidence at this point to indicate that the mass shooting in Las Vegas this week was terrorism, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent told Reuters. FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron Rouse also said federal authorities have questioned the girlfriend of the gunman and no one has been taken into custody as a suspected accomplice.

10:07 Prataap Snacks has debut on the exchanges at Rs 1,300 per share as against its issue price of Rs 938 per share. The packaged snack, chips and namkeen food company’s Rs 482-crore IPO was oversubscribed 47.39 times during September 22-26.

09:59 SBI Life Insurance Company scrip has slipped below its issue price of Rs 700 per share. The recently listed stock is trading over a 1% lower. On Tuesday, the stock saw a muted listing on the bourses, settling at Rs 708, a premium of just 1.14% over its issue price.

09:54 Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) scrip gained over 2% as investors cheered a ratings upgrade by CLSA. The global brokerage firm upgraded its rating on the stock to outperform and raised the target to Rs 1,610 per share.

09:52 The Election Commission of India said it would be "logistically equipped" by September next year to hold simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assemblies, reports PTI.

09:43 Many of the infotainment features in most 2017 vehicles are so distracting they should not be enabled while a vehicle is in motion, according to a new study released Thursday by University of Utah researchers. The study, led by psychology professor David Strayer, found in-vehicle information systems — including SatNav, MP3 players, radios, cellphones and messaging devices — take drivers’ attention off the road for too long to be safe, much like texting, reports MarketWatch.

09:39 The Indian freight forwarding and logistics sector is set to lose a major chunk of Rs 20,000-crore international freight forwarding business to international competitors because of a tax parity issue following the roll-out of the goods and services tax (GST) regime, reports The Financial Express.

By virtue of Section 13 (9) in the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017, an Indian freight forwarding company has to levy GST on all shipments to India to an overseas supplier. However, the overseas company is not faced with any incidence of tax on the same transaction if it chooses to work with a foreign freight forwarder. It implies that Indian freight forwarders are losing their edge when competing with foreign freight forwarders for transactions involving imports to India.

09:31 The Shoppers Stop stock is up close to 6% on reports that Future Retail is set to acquire HyperCity, a premium chain of 19 hypermarkets from the company, for Rs 700 crore through a combination of cash and shares to further consolidate his footprint in western India.

09:26 Which stocks and sectors are on the wish-list of foreign and domestic brokerages today, click here to find out

09:12 Medicines may soon come labelled with the “landed price” if they are imported, or “ex-factory price” if locally made, along with the maximum retail price, a move that the government claims will bring more transparency in pricing, reports Mint. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has proposed amending Rule 96 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to make such pricing information mandatory for all drug makers. The ministry of health and family welfare will soon come out with a draft notification to this effect, a government official said.

09:04 Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has matched Tata Motor's e-vehicle price for the government's electric vehicle procurement. It will supply 150 electric vehicles in the first phase versus 250 vehicles by Tata Motors. In an exclusive chat with CNBC-TV18, Pawan Goenka alleges that the current pricing of e-cars does not add up.

09:01 Prataap Snacks, whose initial share sale offer received robust investor demand last week, will list its shares on bourses today. The Rs 482-crore IPO was oversubscribed 47.39 times during September 22-26. The packaged snack, chips and namkeen food company has fixed its issue price at Rs 938 per share.

08:49 State Bank of India's Managing Director Rajnish Kumar has been appointed as the next chairman of the bank. Kumar will take over from Arundhati Bhattacharya once her term expires. Kumar has worked with SBI for around three decades and he has been serving as an MD since May 2015. He has been appointed as the chairman of the bank for a period of three years. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Kumar said improving asset quality and digitisation are on top of his mind.

08:39 Prime Minister Narendra Modi tore into critics of the economy, saying the temporary slowdown has been exaggerated by pessimists. He also gave a detailed presentation of how macros are stable and compared his tenure versus UPA-II.

08:28 The Pentagon is injecting $440 million more into missile defence, including yet another expansion of its fleet of missile interceptors, to counter North Korea's accelerating push for a nuclear-armed missile capable of hitting the United States, reports AP. As a reflection of its urgency, the Pentagon asked Congress to let it shift funds from the current budget rather than wait for the next defence budget. The Pentagon already had $8.2 billion in its missile defence budget prior to the add-ons.

The Pentagon spelled out $367 million of the shifted money, with the rest expected to be announced later. The spending has come under increased scrutiny as North Korea's nuclear and missile programs have progressed and critics have questioned whether the Pentagon has developed missile defences that would work in combat. Some of the additional USD 440 million is for projects that are classified secret, including USD 48 million more for development of technology for cyber "operations," according to a breakdown of the spending by the Pentagon's budget office.

08:17 CNBC reports that a dating app with a racist ad and an income filter is now on Apple's App Store. Dating app HighBlood attracted furious criticism for a Facebook post that said "no banglas, no maids, no uglies". The app was originally rejected by Apple's App Store, but that decision was reversed. Founder Herbert Eng said he has not received investor funding, but claimed the app has more than 500 sign-ups.

08:09 Dan Morehead, chairman of digital currency exchange Bitstamp, said bitcoin and other digital currencies will likely become assets serious investors will want in their portfolios, reports CNBC. "Bitcoin's essentially going to revolutionise currency, or money," Morehead said on Wednesday at the Sohn Investment Conference in San Francisco, which was attended by portfolio managers and asset allocators.

"If it does work, the upside is so high, it's a rational, expected thing to have in your portfolio," he said. Bitcoin is "going to disrupt money just like voice-over IP" took away the dominance of giant telecommunications companies on communication, he said. VOIP, or voice over internet protocol, is the technology that allows real-time voice calls over the internet.

08:04 Oil giant Saudi Aramco will open an Indian subsidiary next week as the top global oil exporter looks to tap rising demand and invest in the world’s third-biggest consumer, reports Reuters. The company is investing in refineries in major markets to lock in customers ahead of its initial public offering next year, and the India unit, on top of sales, will look for opportunities to take stakes in refining and petrochemical projects in the country. Saudi Arabia is competing with Iraq to be India’s top oil supplier, with Iraq displacing it for a fifth month in a row in August.

08:00 Alphabet’s Google on Wednesday unveiled the second generation of its Pixel smartphone along with new voice-enabled home speakers, redoubling its commitment to the hardware business as it competes with a surge of devices from Apple and Amazon.com. Google’s new products, including a Pixelbook laptop, wireless earbuds and a small GoPro-like camera, showcase Google-developed operating systems and services, notably the voice assistant. That means usage of those devices should stoke the company’s core ad sales business as buyers of the hardware use Google services like search and maps.

07:39 Britain’s banks need a watertight Brexit transition deal by Christmas to avoid a potentially disorderly shift of people and operations to the European Union, a top Bank of England official told Reuters. BoE Deputy Governor Sam Woods said that while the British government wants a deal to bridge leaving the EU in March 2019 and the start of new trading terms, the EU’s position was still unclear and the clock was ticking.

07:36 Britain’s economy remains stuck in low gear but price pressures are rising again, according to surveys on Wednesday that will probably keep the Bank of England on track to raise interest rates soon, reports Reuters. The IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) also showed businesses were increasingly worried as Britain’s departure from the European Union approaches with little clear sign of its future trading relationships.

The PMI showed growth in services activity unexpectedly sped up a little last month, compensating for weaker readings in manufacturing and construction reported earlier in the week. Even so, growth among British companies lagged behind that of their peers in a resurgent euro zone. Taking the three surveys together, Britain’s economy probably expanded at a quarterly rate of around 0.3% in the third quarter, matching its second-quarter performance, survey compiler IHS Markit said.

07:33 Business across the euro zone grew rapidly in September as firms struggled to keep up with demand, a survey showed on Wednesday, with October looking likely to be lively as well, reports Reuters. IHS Markit’s final composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for the euro zone bounced to 56.7 last month from August’s 55.7, in line with an earlier flash estimate and comfortably above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction. A sub-index measuring new orders jumped, while one for backlogs of work climbed to 54.3 from 53.0, its highest since February 2011, suggesting the increase in the pace of activity was not enough to keep up.

07:30 The US budget deficit is proving to be a major obstacle to the tax reform plan being offered by President Donald Trump and top congressional Republicans, with one leading Senate hawk saying a week after the plan was introduced that any enlarging of the fiscal gap could kill his support, reports Reuters.

From proposed infrastructure enhancements to a military build-up, the deficit long ago put the brakes on major new federal spending programs; now Trump’s tax-cut proposal is threatened. The main problem is that the federal government is swimming in red ink with an annual deficit of $550 billion and a national debt -- the accumulation of past deficits and interest due to lenders to the US Treasury -- exceeding $20 trillion.

07:28 Gold prices were little changed early on Thursday as the dollar held firm on strong US services sector growth, with markets awaiting the key US non-farm payrolls report on Friday.

07:28 Oil prices dipped on Thursday after the United States reported record crude exports, although traders said that efforts led by OPEC and Russia to cut production meant markets remained well supported overall.

07:25 US companies scaled back their hiring to an 11-month low in September after two powerful hurricanes disrupted some business activities, while the vast domestic services sector overcame those snags to expand at its fastest pace in 12 years, reports Reuters. The latest data helped soothe investors who have been worried about Hurricanes Harvey and Irma dragging on US economic growth. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of non-manufacturing activity rose to 59.8, the highest since August 2005.

07:15 US stocks edged up to extend their run of record closing highs on Wednesday as data on the services sector added to signs of strength in the economy and prospects for earnings. It was the third straight session where all three major indexes hit record closing highs, though the small-cap Russell 2000 broke its string of eight all-time high finishes, ending down 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19.97 points, or 0.09%, to end at 22,661.64, the S&P 500 gained 3.16 points, or 0.12%, to 2,537.74 and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.91 points, or 0.04%, to 6,534.63.

07:14 Asian shares were a tad firmer on Thursday, taking their cues from strong US data although holiday-thinned trade and uncertainty about the impact of recent hurricanes on the US economy are likely to keep investors cautious. Japan's Nikkei ticked up 0.1% while the SGX Nifty is trading marginally in the red. Trade is expected to remain subdued in Asia with China, Hong Kong and South Korea closed for public holidays.