Profit top 10: Etisalat takes DB group's Balwa to court for fraud; Citi to sell entire HDFC stake

If you missed our coverage today, here are the top ten stories.

1)   MARKETS: Sensex, Nifty in red; MCX IPO fully subscribed while Bharti, Sterlite shares fall.

Shares closed lower for a second straight day on Thursday. The Sensex ended 0.37 per cent lower at 18,078 while the broader Nifty fell 0.4 per cent to close at 5483.

The trading activity was choppy on account of derivatives expiry though the volatility index (VIX) slumped nearly 10 per cent today. (Read More)

Bharti Airtel shares fell 4 per cent intra-day on Thursday after South Africa-based Econet Wireless said it was seeking at least $3.1 billion in damages in a dispute over ownership of the mobile carrier's Nigerian unit. (Read More)

Sterlite shares fell over 4 per cent due to a lack of clarity about the potential restructuring exercise. (Read: 10 reasons why Sterlite shares have tanked)

Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) IPO was fully subscribed on the second day of opening. (Read More)

2)   Etisalat takes Swan telecom promoter Shahid Balwa to court

The Emirates Telecommunications Corporation - Etisalat on Thursday initiated a civil action in the Bombay High Court against Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa, DB Group chairman Vinod Goenka and Majestic Infracon for alleged fraud and misrepresentation. This comes after the Supreme Court had cancelled 15 licences held by its joint venture Etisalat DB, as part of an investigation into the grant process for 2G licences. (Read More)

Meanwhile, DB Realty shares slumped over 5 per cent as Etisalat looks to pull the plug on telecom operations that will impact about Rs 2,500 crore in bank loans to DB Realty. (Read More)

3)   Not looking to buy ICICI Bank's stake in Firstsource: Infosys

Infosys is not looking to buy ICICI Bank's stake in Firstsource, a listed BPO services company, according to V Balakrishnan, Infosys CFO. Shares of Firstsource Solutions surged 20 per cent on Thursday on the back of speculation of a deal. ICICI Bank holds 18 per cent in Firstsource Solutions. (Read More)

4)    Citigroup to sell entire 9.85% stake in HDFC

Sources told NDTV Profit that Citigroup is looking to exit entire 9.85 per cent stake in HDFC as part of its ongoing capital planning efforts. The company has opened a book for offering 14.5 crore HDFC shares. The price band of the book is set in the range of Rs 630- Rs 703 per share. (Read More)

5)    TDSAT serves notice to Etisalat DB on Reliance Infratel's Rs 12,000 cr dues

Telecom tribunal TDSAT on Thursday issued a notice to Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat DB on Reliance Infratel's plea seeking to recover Rs 1,200 crore from the operator. The company has been asked to file a short reply within two weeks. (Read More)

6)    Microsoft hits Motorola, Google with EU complaint

Microsoft has lodged a formal complaint with the European Union's competition regulator against Motorola Mobility and its soon-to-be owner Google. It said that Motorola's aggressive enforcement of patent rights against rivals breaks competition rules. (Read More)

7)     HPCL to double oil imports from Saudi Arabia next fiscal

State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) will double crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia next fiscal and cut purchases from Iran by over 14 per cent. HPCL in 2012-13 has proposed to buy 3.5 million tonnes of crude oil from Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia against 1.75 million tonnes of oil bought in current year, company sources said. (Read More)

8)    Ranbaxy reports Q4 loss at Rs 2,983 crore on consent decree provisioning

Pharma major Ranbaxy reported a higher than expected loss for the fourth quarter ending December on the back of Rs 2,648 crore provisioning it set aside for the settlement with US Food and Drug Administration. The company had signed a consent decree with the US FDA in December 2011 and had said that it will make a provision of $500 million in connection with the investigation by the US Department of Justice. (Read More)

9)    Don’t understand why our licenses were canceled: Birla

In an exclusive interview to NDTV Profit, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group said he fails to understand why Idea Cellular’s 2G licenses were cancelled by the Supreme Court, maintaining that Idea just happened to get clubbed with other companies who were mentioned in the 2008 press note. (Read More)

10)   Obama proposes tax on forex earnings to discourage outsourcing

Stepping up his tirade against outsourcing in the election-year, US President Barack Obama has proposed to establish a new minimum tax on foreign earnings to discourage large US firms from shipping jobs to countries like India. The proposed move would make it a bit tough for US multinationals to ship jobs overseas and will give incentives to those who bring operations back into the US. (Read More)