FDI: With the cabinet okaying 51% FDI in multi-brand retail sector & 100% FDI in single brand, it’s just a matter of months before foreign direct investment comes into play. The $450 billion retail market in India is expected to grow due to this collaboration, as the government expects to generate funds, jobs and stimulus for the economy, along with lowering inflation rates. Farmers are expected to get healthy returns for produce and the consumer is ultimately going to win, as he has more choices and competitive prices. Single brand FDI allowed is 100 percent with a mandatory 30 percent of local sourcing.

Starbucks: Starbucks, the American global coffee chain, that has been brewing amazing coffee for the past three decades, opened its first cafe in Mumbai on October 19 this year. Starbucks India is a joint venture between Starbucks and Tata Global Beverages Limited and opened its store in a tony Mumbai location. This flagship outlet could comfortably hold 100 people. This was widely covered by the media as Starbucks is not only a brilliant retail success story, but also an integral part of popular culture. And if reports are to be believed, home furnishing giants IKEA could also be on their way to set up store in India soon.

Lobbying for Walmart: According to media reports, Walmart spent nearly Rs 125 crore for lobbying with lawmakers to get access to Indian markets. As the controversy blew up in the Indian media, with charges by opposition parties that Walmart spent huge sums in four years in lobbying before the US Congress, the US said that the global retail giant did not violate any American law as far as the matter is concerned.

Facebook IPO: Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, went public this year in May and has been through a rough patch ever since. The 28-year-old Harvard dropout’s stock that debuted on the NASDAQ first quarter has performed poorly, falling below $20 in August after debuting at $38. In July, the company reported a net loss of $157 million for its second quarter, but a jump in revenues to $1.18 billion.

Rajat Gupta controversy: Rajat Gupta, the Indian-American businessman who was the managing McKinsey & Company from 1994 to 2003, was a success story for all to emulate until he was arrested. The former Wall Street titan was convicted on insider trading charges in June this year and sentenced to two years in prison in October, along with an additional year on supervised release and was ordered to pay $5 million in fines. The Harvard school grad had leaked boardroom secrets about Goldman Sachs to hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam in 2008.

Gold prices at all-time high of Rs. 32,950: In October this year, the price of gold touched a whopping Rs 32,920 per 10 grams (tola). The previous record gold price was Rs. 32,900, on September 14 this year. This year, which has seen quite a few up and downs on the Sensex, was particularly bad for gold and gold saw a steep surge in prices due to a weak rupee as compared to the US dollar.

Petrol prices: From petrol price hikes, rollbacks and cutbacks, this year has seen it all! In May this year, petrol prices were increased steeply by Rs 7.50 a litre (Delhi) and there was huge public outrage against the ruling government. But the year will end on a happy note as oil companies reduced petrol prices by Rs 1.85 per litre across India last moth.

Kingfiher Airlines: Vijay Mallya will be one happy man when this year ends as this has been a particularly bad one for the ‘King of Good Times’. A non-bailable warrant was issued against Mallya by a Hyderabad court in October in a case filed by airport builders GMR. The case pertained to bouncing of cheques worth Rs 10 crores issued by KFA to GMR towards the payment of airport charges. Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines owed them more than Rs 40 crore to the Delhi airport, which is run by GMR. KFA staff have also been rebelling against the management because of non-payment of salaries for several months. The airline was also asked to vacate the Mumbai airport premises due to non-payment of dues. Let’s hope the bailout by Abu Dhabi airline Ethihad (who are poised to buy a 48% stake in the airline) will turn out Mallya’s bad fortunes.

According to KPMG's latest Individual Income Tax and Social Security Rate Survey, there are 10 countries worldwide that charge no personal income tax at all! Take a look.