Business News

The U.S. fraud case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani appears to be backed by documents that will help prosecutors make a strong case, legal experts said, but the tycoon is unlikely to be extradited to stand trial anytime soon. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn last month unsealed an indictment accusing Adani of bribing Indian officials to convince them to buy electricity produced by Adani Green Energy, a subsidiary of his Adani Group conglomerate, and then misleading U.S. investors by providing reassuring information about the company's anti-corruption practices. Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and another Adani Group executive were charged with securities fraud and conspiracy. Five people affiliated with Azure Power Global, a formerly-U.S.-listed company also allegedly involved, were charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Azure has said it had cooperated with the investigation and that those charged were no longer with the company. Adani Group has called the allegations "baseless" and vowed to seek "all possible legal recourse." Gautam Adani is not in custody. He has made at least two public appearances in India since the indictment, including at a Dec. 9 event also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to the indictment, prosecutors found ledgers of the alleged payments on Sagar Adani's cellular phone, which they called "bribe notes." Prosecutors also said Gautam Adani emailed himself a copy of a search warrant and grand jury subpoena the FBI had served on his nephew on March 17, 2023. Those electronic records could be important pieces of evidence for prosecutors to try to prove that Sagar Adani and Gautam Adani knew they misled investors by failing to disclose the investigation and insisting they had strong anti-corruption practices when in fact they had paid bribes, experts said. "The allegations include references to corroborating material, and that always provides for a stronger case," said Stephen Reynolds, a former federal prosecutor and current partner at law firm Day Pitney. To be sure, prosecutors may face challenges. Gautam Adani could argue that he was not personally involved in crafting the statements the company made to investors about its anti-bribery practices, said Paul Tuchmann, a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn and now a partner at law firm Wiggin & Dana. Prosecutors may also struggle to secure live testimony from witnesses in India because the process could require assistance from New Delhi, and the government may be reluctant to facilitate testimony that could paint Indian officials in an unfavorable light, said Mark Cohen, a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn and current partner at law firm Cohen & Gresser. India's foreign ministry on Friday referred to a Nov. 29 statement in which it said it had not received any request on the case from Washington, and called the case a matter between private firms and the U.S. Justice Department. The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment on whether the United States had asked India to extradite Gautam Adani. 'PLAY BY THE RULES' Both Adani Group and Adani himself have recently made public statements emphasizing that the conglomerate's executives had not been charged with violating the FCPA. Conspiracy to violate the FCPA is punishable by up to five years behind bars. The fraud charges Gautam Adani and the other Adani Group defendants face are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Drew Rolle, the deputy chief of the business and securities fraud section at the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office, said his office had a responsibility to protect the integrity of U.S. capital markets. The office has secured a number of convictions in foreign bribery cases with U.S. connections. In August, jurors found Mozambique's former finance minister guilty on fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges for embezzling loan proceeds he had told banks were destined for economic development projects. Rolle said honest companies are harmed when firms like Adani's allegedly mislead investors. "It's not only a bribery case, it's an important securities enforcement case," he said at a Dec. 6 conference in New York hosted by the Practicing Law Institute. "If you're going to access our capital markets, you're going to play by the rules."

New Delhi: His fingers flew, fluttered and floated in quicksilver changes of raga and rhythm, drumming up music and magic. Zakir Hussain was the maestro of tabla, percussionist, composer and even actor - a legend who was India's very own and yet belonged to the world. Hussain died from 'idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis', a lung disease, in a San Francisco hospital early Monday. He was 73. The artiste, a marquee name in India and abroad, leaves behind more than 60 years of music. He played on the stage alongside some of the greatest Indian and international musicians in a fusion of Indian classical and world music, giving the tabla a whole new identity. The great percussionist created music across genres and styles, including in his repertoire jazz and concertos, naturally developing an "all-inclusive musical creativity" after learning and playing under the tutelage of his father and renowned tabla player, Alla Rakha. "The mindset as I was growing up tuned itself to the idea that music is music, it's not Indian music or that music, so when I actually started working with musicians who were non-Indian it seemed like a natural handshake," Hussain told PTI almost a year ago ahead of a performance in Goa. As the son of Alla Rakha, one of the greatest tabla players of all time, Hussain was to the music born. He started early. The child prodigy performed his first concert at the age of seven and began touring at 12. After completing his education in Mumbai, where he was born, he moved to the United States in 1970. The borders melted away when it came to his music. In February, Hussain became the first musician from India to receive three Grammys at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February for Best Global Music Album, Best Global Music Performance and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. "I am overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of love, affection, and blessings for my multiple Grammy wins. It is impossible for me to individually respond to all of you but be assured that you are all in my heart and I'm bowing to each and every one of you in thanks. It was a great day for India at the Grammys and I'm proud to be carrying the national flag," he wrote on Instagram at the time. At the 2024 Grammys, Hussain earned his first honour for best global music album for "This Moment" as part of the fusion music group Shakti, which includes founding member British guitarist John McLaughlin, as well as vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan and percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram. He later won two other awards for the best global music performance for "Pashto" and best contemporary instrumental album for "As We Speak", along with flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, American banjo player Bela Fleck and American bassist Edgar Meyer. In January last year, the Shakti quintet reunited for a world tour in India to much excitement from fans. Other than Shakti, Hussain also contributed to many groundbreaking collaborations, including Masters of Percussion, Planet Drum and Global Drum Project with Mickey Hart, Tabla Beat Science, Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland, CrossCurrents with Dave Holland and Chris Potter, in trio with Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer, and, most recently, with Herbie Hancock. Hussain composed three concertos. His third, the first-ever concerto for tabla and orchestra, was premiered in India in September 2015, by the Symphony Orchestra of India, in Europe and the UK in 2016, and in the US in April, 2017. The composer who travelled and performed all across the globe had reservations against performing at private gatherings and disliked latecomers. He was also very vocal in his views. In a conversation with author Nasreen Munni Kabir as written in her book "Zakir Hussain: A Life in Music", Hussain said a private gathering, corporate events or weddings are not places "where music should be heard". "Those are places where people come to socialize, to drink and perhaps have a meal. That's not the way music should be heard. For me, it's the concert hall or the theatre-people take their seats, the hall darkens and we musicians take our place," he said. Hussain would ask the organisers to close the doors once the performance begins and not allow latecomers. Then there was the man himself. His broad smile, boyish good looks and curly locks keeping rhythm with his fingers gave him a distinctive star persona that sometimes went beyond his music. The percussionist was once voted the "sexiest man" by women readers of the Indian magazine "Gentleman" in 1994 in a competition against the likes of Amitabh Bachchan. "The magazine team came to see me and wanted me to wear all these suits and jackets and Western clothes and feature on their cover. I think they were equally shocked and surprised that I won the greatest number of votes because they had assumed the winner would be Amitabh Bachchan," Hussain is quoted as saying by Kabir. Besides his work as a tabla player, Hussain also composed music for many movies, including "Manto" and "Mr and Mrs Iyer". He also acted in the Merchant Ivory film production "Heat and Dust", "The Perfect Murder" and "Saaz", opposite Shabana Azmi. In 1988, Hussain became a household name as the face of the Taj Mahal Tea brand. In a 33-second TV commercial, the ustad was shown immersed in his tabla riyaaz, only to later sip on a cup of Taj tea. The voiceover, by the famous Harish Bhimani, would then compliment Hussain's skills saying "Wah Ustad, wah!". To which, the percussionist would reply: "Arre huzoor, wah Taj boliye!" That "Wah Taj" became an oft used buzzword for many an occasion, and still remembered all these years later. The same year, Hussain also shared screen space with his father Allah Rakha in the iconic national integration song "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" which premiered on Doordarshan. He is survived by his wife Antonia Minnecola and two daughters, Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi. Apart from four Grammys, Hussain was the recipient of countless awards and honours, including Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the USA's National Heritage Fellowship and Officier in France's Order of Arts and Letters. As his countless fans bid farewell to the artiste who transcended boundaries, of music and of geography, and went too soon, many could only say - "Wah Ustad".

A look at some of the latest stock recommendations by analysts. These stocks are expected to return between 11% and 30% as per analyst price targets.ZOMATO BROKERAGE: BANK OF AMERICA Price Target: Rs 375 CMP: Rs 288.4 Upside: 30% Reiterate buy rating on the back of continued revenue momentum in quick commerce Lower competition and improving margins in food delivery business would largely offset the impact of competition in quick commerce Stock trading at a discount to India internet peers but at a premium to retail and restaurant competitors KALPATARU PROJECTS BROKERAGE: EMKAY GLOBAL Price Target: Rs 1,550 CMP: Rs 1,302 Upside: 19% Stock could be accumulated as company well placed fundamentally Industrial tailwinds and robust order book strongly aid in maintaining the stock’s estimated Price to Earnings (PE) Ratio of 20 times Order inflow of Rs 163 billion and order backlog of over Rs 600 billion provide strong revenue visibilityGODREJ CONSUMER BROKERAGE: JP MORGAN Price Target: Rs 1,368 CMP: Rs 1,111 Upside: 22.9% After sharp share correction over 3 months, risk-reward is more reasonable; stock to outperform peers Progress on execution of strategic initiatives by CEO a key driver of outperformance over 6-12 months Sustained slowdown in domestic demand, further margin weakness and negative trends in overseas business are key risks ENDURANCE TECH BROKERAGE: INVESTEC Price Target: Rs 2,540 CMP: Rs 2,281 Upside: 11.4% Reiterate buy; top pick in the auto ancillary space Acquisition of German company appears to be good with funding entirely likely to be done from internal accruals Stock currently trading at an attractive valuation HINDUSTAN AERONAUTICS BROKERAGE: UBS Price Target: Rs 5,700 CMP: Rs 4,667 Upside: 22% Recent correction offers a good opportunity; stock could outperform most peers over 12 months GE engines delay a key drag on the stock, but it is largely in the price Any clarity on new delivery timelines could be a key trigger for the stock

Strong bullish patterns by technical indicators and potential unwinding of short positions could drive the Nifty toward 25,200 this week, fuelling a broader market rally, according to technical analysts. Key stocks like Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, TCS, Coforge, Titan, Dixon, HPCL, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, and SBI have also shown bullish chart patterns.NAGARAJ SHETTI SENIOR TECHNICAL RESEARCH ANALYST, HDFC SECURITIESWhere is the Nifty heading this week? After showing gradual weakness amidst range movement in last fi ve sessions, Nifty witnessed an excellent upmove from the intraday lows on Friday and closed the day higher. A long bull candle was formed on daily chart with a long lower shadow. Technically, this pattern indicates formation of a huge bullish engulfi ng pattern, that has engulfed the smaller range movements of the previous fi ve sessions on the upside. The swing low of Friday seems to have confi rmed the formation of a new higher bottom of the bullish chart pattern. Friday’s market action has not only shown a false downside breakout of recent range movement but also placed on the verge of witnessing a decisive upside breakout. What should an investor do? The market action of Friday is signalling a strong comeback of bulls after a choppy phase, and we expect more upside in the near term. One may look to create longs in Nifty towards upside targets of around 25,200 this week. Immediate support is at 24,650, which could be a stop for a long. Stocks with positive bias include Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, TCS, Coforge, Titan, Dixon, HPCL, IOC, ITC, HUL, Bharti Airtel and Indian Hotels. 116349273SACCHITANAND UTTEKAR VP- RESEARCH (TECHNICAL & DERIVATIVES), TRADEBULLS SECURITIESWhere is the Nifty headed this week? Nifty is set to advance toward 25,640, the projected target of an inverse head & shoulders pattern on daily chart. Last week’s RSI crossover above 50 on weekly scale highlights improving momentum, despite recent volatility. The index recorded another consecutive weekly close above the key option cluster at 24,500, reinforcing its bullish undertone. A bullish crossover between the 5-week EMA and 20-week EMA further signals the onset of directional momentum. With short positions likely to unwind, Nifty could confi dently swing toward 25,125 this week, fuelling the broader rally. What should investors do? Traders should maintain leveraged long positions as long as 24,260 holds on a closing basis, with opportunities to add further longs upon a decisive breakout above 25,120. Investors are advised to accumulate during consolidation phases or corrections, with a revised weekly stop loss set at 23,600. Robust volumes and supportive technical indicators suggest Nifty’s upward momentum is well supported, offering opportunities for both traders and investors. The rally is expected to be fuelled by large-cap stocks like Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and SBI, alongside existing leaders such as Infosys, ICICI Bank, TCS, and HDFC Bank.ARPAN SHAH SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST, MONARCH NETWORTH CAPITALWhere is the Nifty headed this week? Benchmark index traded volatile in the previous week and closed with a bullish candlestick formation on Friday. The index may witness a short covering rally if it closes above 24,850 level. It has resistance at 25,200 level and support at 24,500. The bank index is likely to perform in line with benchmark index and witness short covering rally. It is likely to touch its previous all-time high once it closes above 53,800 level. What should investors do? ICICI Bank has given a fresh breakout, and it is heading towards Rs 1,420 level in the coming days. Reliance has underperformed vis a vis Nifty in last few weeks. However, it has made higher bottom formation and traders can look to accumulate it at current level. Stock is heading for Rs 1,320-1,380 levels in the coming days. Nifty Metal index is trading in a range, and it is heading for 10,200 levels in coming weeks. JSW Steel, Vedanta and JSW Energy are the top picks from the sector. Nifty FMCG has also made double-bottom formation on daily chart and we may witness short-term pullback in the sector. Radico and ITC are the top picks from the sector. Among mid- and small-caps, investors can look to accumulate GMR Airport, Swiggy, Prestig