The Sensex on Friday fell nearly 1,500 points in intraday trade to 35,993.64 from the day's high of 37,489.24. Nifty also fell below the 11,000-mark to a low of 10,866.45 from day's high of 11,346.80. The indices were dragged down by finance stocks after Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) slumped over 50% on reports of defaulting on its commercial paper.

Sri Lanka's 55-year-old scientist Yasantha Rajakarunanayake was world's richest man Jeff Bezos' classmate at Princeton University in 1980s. A PhD from California Institute of Technology, he has received 54 patents in the US and serves as a senior director for MediaTek. Bezos revealed he realised he couldn't be a physicist after Yasantha solved an equation he couldn't, 34 years ago.

Amid the Rafale deal row, French foreign ministry clarified that French companies are at full freedom to choose their Indian partners, subject to Indian government's approval. On Friday, former French President François Hollande was quoted saying that Indian government told Rafale maker Dassault to partner Reliance while India's defence ministry maintained that both governments were not involved.

French aerospace company Dassault Aviation has said it was Dassault that chose Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence as partner for Rafale deal with India. It also said that as part of the contract, it also signed partnerships with other companies like Mahindra and Kinetic. Former French President François Hollande had said that France had no option as India had selected Reliance.

French publication Mediapart quoted former French President Francois Hollande saying that PM Narendra Modi-led government proposed Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence as a partner for Rafale deal. "Dassault negotiated with Ambani. We didn't have a choice," added Hollande. The Defence Ministry said that "neither Indian government nor the French government had any say in the commercial decision."

Chinese phone maker Huawei on Thursday trolled Apple by distributing free power banks to people waiting outside an Apple store in Singapore to buy the company's new iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. The power banks carried a note which read, "Here's a power bank. You'll need it." Apple's devices have earlier faced criticism for poor battery life.

E-commerce major Amazon reportedly loads empty packages with fake labels on trucks to catch drivers who steal. An error is displayed when the fake package is scanned and so drivers could choose to keep it, as it wouldn't show on Amazon's systems if undelivered. However, the "trap is meant to check integrity of the driver", a former logistics manager said.

Alibaba's billionaire Co-founder Jack Ma at the World Economic Forum on Thursday said, "I don’t want to die in my office, I'd rather die on the beach." Ma said he wouldn't return as Alibaba's Executive Chairman after he steps down next year. "At 54, I'm a bit old in the internet industry, but quite young for other sectors," he added.

The Delhi Police has arrested four people including the co-owner of F Bar and Lounge at Connaught Place and a former assistant general manager of Punjab National Bank, for a ₹7.5-crore loan fraud. A ₹7-crore loan was disbursed by PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai that was also allegedly involved in the ₹14,000-crore scam involving jeweller Nirav Modi, police said.

Vat 69 whisky and Smirnoff vodka will not be available in Delhi for two years after the state government blacklisted its manufacturer United Spirits Limited for using "unauthorised and loose barcodes". A three-year ban was imposed in May 2017 for the offence which was challenged, but has now been reinstated. Sales will hence be discontinued for the remaining period.

Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty fell for the fourth straight day on Friday led by losses in Yes Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Bajaj Finance. Sensex fell 280 points to 36,841 and Nifty dropped 91 points to 11,143. Sensex erased most losses after shedding 1,495 points from the day's high in afternoon trade on panic-selling in housing finance stocks.

Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) shares slumped as much as 60% on Friday after rumours that it's defaulting on its commercial paper, triggering a selloff in housing finance stocks. The stock recovered partially after MD Kapil Wadhawan said the company had liquidity of around ₹10,000 crore. Among others, Indiabulls Housing Finance slumped 35%, Gruh Finance 17.7% and LIC Housing Finance 14.8%.

PNB fraud accused Mehul Choksi moved a CBI court for cancellation of a Non-Bailable Warrant citing threat to life from callers on a TV debate. Choksi claimed that two callers had argued that a special team consisting of secret agents should be formed to track him down and shoot him. He also claimed the panelists "tacitly" agreed with the suggestion.

Yes Bank's shares tanked over 30% on Friday to hit a one-year low and wiped about $3.1 billion off its market value after RBI denied a three-year extension to CEO Rana Kapoor. Co-founded by Kapoor in 2004, Yes Bank is India's fourth-largest private sector bank with assets of $43.19 billion. RBI asked Kapoor to step down by January 31, 2019.

Isha Ambani, daughter of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, is getting formally engaged to Anand Piramal, son of Piramal Group Chairman Ajay Piramal. Mukesh Ambani is Asia's richest man with a net worth of around $47 billion according to Forbes. Ajay Piramal is the 404th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $4.8 billion.

India's second-largest IT services firm Infosys on Friday said it will open a Technology and Innovation Hub in Arizona and hire 1,000 American workers in the state by 2023. In May 2017, Infosys announced setting up of four such hubs and hiring 10,000 American workers over the next two years. The Bengaluru-based company has hired 5,874 American workers so far.

Private sector lender Yes Bank has paid ₹38 crore in fines to the GST department for alleged violations in domestic remittances. A bank official said the money has been paid "in protest" and the lender believes that it has not violated any norms. However, the tax department is of the view that the bank underpaid GST.

Insurance regulator IRDAI has raised the minimum personal accident cover for owner-drivers to ₹15 lakh and has fixed the premium for the cover at ₹750 per annum. Earlier, the mandatory cover was ₹2 lakh for cars and ₹1 lakh for two-wheelers. The owner-drivers also have the option of a cover over and above ₹15 lakh on payment of additional premium.

The government on Friday said it has struck off around 55,000 shell companies in the second phase of its efforts to curb illicit fund flows. The Corporate Affairs Ministry had deregistered over 2.26 lakh firms last year for failing to comply with regulatory requirements. The ministry in June said it had served notices to 2.25 lakh suspected shell companies.

Ramesh Bawa, the CEO and MD of IL&FS Group's non-banking lending subsidiary IL&FS Financial Services, resigned with immediate effect on Friday. The group, which has a debt of over ₹90,000 crore, is facing a severe cash crunch and downgrades from rating agencies. Earlier this month, IL&FS defaulted on a ₹1,000-crore loan from the Small Industries Development Bank of India.

Global rating agency Fitch revised its forecast for India's economic growth to 7.8% from 7.4% for the current financial year ending in March 2019. India registered a GDP growth of 8.2% in the April-June quarter, the highest in over two years. Fitch, however, flagged higher interest rates, rising oil bill and weak bank balance sheets as hurdles to growth.

Jet Airways on Friday said that income tax officials have been conducting a survey at the company's premises since September 19. "The company is fully cooperating with authorities and responding to queries raised by the income tax authorities," the Mumbai-based carrier said. Shares of the airline, part-owned by UAE's Etihad, fell as much as 8% on Friday.

The rupee may strengthen back to 68 per dollar as crude price peaks out and investors realise the currency has been sold off too heavily, SBI's Vice President (Global Markets) Shantanu Shukla said. "In the short term, the rupee is suffering from the market sentiment," he added. The rupee is Asia's worst-performing currency this year, dropping 11.5% against the dollar.

Traders' body CAIT is reportedly planning to approach the Competition Commission of India to oppose the acquisition of retail chain More by Samara Capital and Amazon. It had earlier protested against Flipkart's acquisition by US retail giant Walmart. CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal reportedly said that foreign direct investment in retail could kill small businesses in India.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has permanently shut down its only oilfield (MA) in the Krishna-Godavari basin after a natural decline in output for months. The MA oilfield is among the three oil and gas fields Reliance has in the basin. It began production in September 2008, while the natural gas producing D1 and D3 fields went onstream in April 2009.