* AUTO: Average prices of imported luxury cars in China fell 3.4% in April, the most in the past five months, due to a government campaign to rein in lavish spending by public servants.
* AVIATION: Air India 's asset monetisation plans may soon kick off, as IDBI BANK, STATE BANK OF INDIA, OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORP, and POWER FINANCE CORP have shown interest in securing the airline's plot of land in central Delhi .
- Etihad Airways, Emirates announce discounts on fares for India-to-overseas routes.
- IndiGo removes charges for pre-booking middle seats.
* ECONOMY: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has said India deserves an upgrade of both its sovereign rating and outlook by credit rating agencies.
* ENERGY: The oil ministry has prepared a Cabinet note on gas pricing, based on a formula suggested by a panel on rate revision, according to which the current price of domestically-produced natural gas works out to $6-7 per mBtu. Welspun Energy to complete Madhya Pradesh solar plant in August, one year ahead of schedule.
* EXCHANGES: BSE and United Stock Exchange, in which the former is the single largest shareholder, are gearing up for a fight over the launch of debt market trading.
* FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT: Through a change in definition of control, the government proposes to plug a loophole it created in 2009 that allows minority foreign investors to use the backdoor to gain control over downstream joint ventures.
* GOLD: The government may, if needed, take more steps to curb gold imports, which have led to a surge in India 's current account deficit.
* MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS: Standard Chartered India to buy Morgan Stanley India 's private wealth management business for an undisclosed amount. Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services eyes acquisitions to grow its merchant banking business, especially for companies in infrastructure and allied areas.
* METALS & MINING: GVK Group aims to complete financing of $11 bln mine, rail, and port development work this year, for exporting coal from Australia 's Galilee basin. Coal ministry hits back at power ministry for raising quality issues with the Cabinet Committee on Investments, saying the issues raised are "completely unjustified". The National Green Tribunal has directed the union environment ministry to decide on the status of environment clearances for suspended iron more mines in Goa within three months.
* REAL ESTATE: Developer Ramprastha Group plans to start a farmhouse township in Gurgaon, Haryana.
* REGULATORY: The SEBI has decided to remain firm on its deadline for companies to achieve the minimum public holding norm, even as it is formulating regulations to make it easier for foreign investors to put money in India and is looking at ways to restore investor confidence in equities.
- RBI has hinted at the possibility of linking inflation bonds to retail inflation in future as against the choice of indexing such bonds, which are to be issued soon, to wholesale inflation.
- RBI said banks could use inflation-indexed bonds to maintain statutory liquidity ratio.
- SEBI asks brokerage firms offering prepaid brokerage schemes to restrict sales of the product in the wake of several cases of mis-selling. Government proposes stronger powers to SEBI to tackle ponzi schemes.
* TELECOM: Comptroller and Auditor General said cartelisation by telecom companies in the last two auctions had resulted in spectrum valued at thousands of crores being wasted and accused the government of aiding and abetting the companies by not acting against them.
- Communications minister Kapil Sibal backs freeing of airwaves in the 1,880-1,900 Mhz band for cordless services.
- Department of Telecommunications has found in an audit that some telecom companies were not using spectrum efficiently, resulting in little or no participation in the recent spectrum auctions.
