Newsmakers: RBI fixes gold bonds issue price, buy home on Snapdeal and more

RBI fixes gold bonds issue price: Reserve Bank of India has fixed the public issue price at Rs 2,684 per gram for the sovereign gold bonds, for which applications will be accepted from November 5 to 20. Aimed at providing an alternative to buying physical gold, the gold bond scheme will offer investors an interest rate of 2.75 per cent and a choice to buy bonds worth 2 grams of gold, up to a maximum of 500 grams.

Volkswagen emissions scandal hits Porsche: Volkswagen is facing fresh questions after US regulators widened their accusations of emissions-test cheating against the German carmaker to include the luxury Porsche brand previously run by its new CEO. The US Environmental Protection Authority said VW used devices to rig air-pollution tests in 3.0-litre diesel engines mostly found in Audis and Porsches - the company's biggest sources of profit.

40% of China's online goods are counterfeit: In a big setback to China's e-commerce giants like Alibaba, an official report submitted to the Chinese lawmakers said only 58.7 per cent of items in online trades were genuine or of good quality last year with the remaining 40 per cent shoddy or counterfeit. According to the report on implementation of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers, Commerce authorities across the country received 77,800 complaints last year concerning online orders, a staggering increase of 356.6 per cent.

Alkem Labs to launch $210 mn IPO: Drug manufacturer Alkem Laboratories Ltd is set to launch an initial public offering worth nearly $210 million by the second week of December, three people involved in the share sale said. Alkem, a producer of generic drugs, filed a draft prospectus with capital markets regulator Sebi in August for an IPO of up to 12.85 million equity shares, constituting 10.75 per cent of paid-up capital.

Now, buy a home on Snapdeal: Online marketplace Snapdeal launched a home shopping festival offering discounts on purchase of flats in over 200 projects across major cities. The online 'Diwali Home Buying Fest' would be organised from November 3-9.