2020 Financial News

green card, due to a combination of per-country limits and low annual quotas. These prolonged waits not only disrupt the lives of individuals and families but also impede America's ability to attract and retain top talent.

Interest rates are an important factor that determine the trajectory of gold prices. When interest rates are high, gold becomes less attractive. When the US Fed hiked interest rates in 2022 and 2023, gold prices dipped (see chart). But in recent months, the US Fed has become less hawkish and more inclined to cut rates. Global gold prices have rallied on these expectations. “Gold prices could remain choppy in the months ahead as the market reacts to geopolitical developments. The medium term outlook for the precious metal is promising, given the imminent turn in the US interest rate cycle,” says Chirag Mehta, CIO, Quantum Mutual Fund. Gold has also rallied due to strong buying by central banks in the past few months. News reports say some countries are trying to reduce their US dollar reserves following the freezing of Russia’s reserves by the US and Europe, and are shifting to gold. “Increased buying of gold by central banks, especially China, in the quest to reduce dollar exposure (also called de-dollarisation), is the key reason for the spike in gold prices,” says Vidya Bala, Co-founder, PrimeInvestor.in.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan said both his and Nitish Kumar's parties have the maturity to realise not to let the Opposition capitalise on any infighting in the NDA to ensure a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At present, all NDA partners in Bihar are united and their only mission is to ensure all 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state for the alliance, he asserted. The son of the late Ram Vilas Paswan, who seeks to claim his father's legacy, however, made it clear that bridges have been burnt with uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, whom he accused of betrayal for «personal ambitions», and cousin Prince Raj, whose «impertinent behaviour» has left him shocked. In an interview with PTI, Paswan also debunked rumours of having explored possibilities with the RJD before the BJP declared him as its ally in Lok Sabha polls, although he said he shared excellent personal relations with Tejashwi Yadav and Lalu Prasad.

Stay up to date with our new daily update, The US in brief, and our presidential poll tracker. Read more of our coverage of the US elections of 2024. Pretty much by definition, presidents are not normal people. But even by their abnormal standard Mr Trump is an unusual character.

MANCHESTER, England—Lego has always been a toy for children, but try telling that to its legion of adult fans. Grown-up builders, often rediscovering Lego after what aficionados refer to as the “dark age"—the void separating childhood fandom and its resumption as an adult—are increasingly helping cement the Danish company’s status as the world’s biggest toy maker by sales. “We don’t buy every new set that comes out," said Jonny Edmondson, a 38-year-old graphic designer at a mass gathering of Lego enthusiasts in Manchester in February.

Momofuku, a food and restaurant brand started by chef David Chang, says it won’t defend its trademark on the name “chile crunch” after it sparked an outcry by sending cease-and-desist letters to other businesses using the term

Kansas will increase what have been among the lowest benefits in the U.S. for workers who are injured or killed on the job

cocoa prices soaring 140 per cent since the start of the year have caused speculations that chocolate might vanish due to climate change or other crises. But we have been here before. Back in November 2014, I wrote in ET about chocolate companies predicting potential shortfalls of a million tonnes of cocoa by 2020. And four years before, in 2010, Anthony Ward, a UK-based commodity trader briefly cornered the market by acquiring 240,000 tonnes of cocoa, driving up prices to a 33-year high. It got him dubbed ‘Chocfinger’, after the James Bond villain Goldfinger who tried to corner gold. Chocolate’s real problem is that it is particularly vulnerable to market manipulation. Cacao beans only grow in a narrow band along the equator. The main producers, like Ivory Coast and Ghana, have had to deal with climate change and diseases, but the biggest issue is that the production is done by thousands of small farmers who lack leverage over the market. Price rises barely benefit them. This is why the production of cocoa has struggled to take off in India. In 1957, The Times of India reported that cacao imports cost the country ₹seven lakh per annum: “Consequently a few enterprising planters are experimenting on introducing the plant to India.”

David Chang, said it won't defend its trademark on the name “chile crunch" after it sparked an outcry by sending cease-and-desist letters to other businesses using the term. Momofuku started selling its Chili Crunch product in 2020, a crunchy spicy oil with dried peppers and other ingredients like sesame seeds and garlic. It's a riff on Chinese condiment chili crisp and other similar products from other countries.

Israel is panicking over a possible retaliatory response from Iran after a strike in Syria which killed members of its Revolutionary Guards. «It has been a week that the Zionists are in complete panic and are on alert,» Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

Congress on Saturday hit out at the Narendra Modi government on the issue of Chinese transgressions and said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's reported remark that «China has not occupied any of our land» is akin to giving another free pass to the neighbouring country. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the EAM's statement is a «copy-paste» of Modi's clean chit to China after the Galwan skirmish in 2020, when 20 Indian soldiers were killed. Kharge responded to the remark in a post on X, «Wearing '56-inch' long Chinese Blinkers, on the 'Laal Aankh,' Modi Government has given a free pass to the Chinese, twice in a week's time.» He added, «First, @narendramodi ji's interview in foreign press where he failed to put forth India's case strongly at the global stage. Now, his Foreign Minister, handing over another Clean Chit to expansionist China.»

Editor’s note (March 18th 2024): This article has been updated to take in the latest developments. Running for the American presidency is a full-time job. “There was essentially no day or night" from the first presidential debate in September 1976 to election day, griped James Fallows, now a journalist, who worked on Jimmy Carter’s campaign. Donald Trump, now sure of the Republican Party’s nomination for this year’s election, will have to combine that gruelling endeavour with his role as a defendant in four criminal trials.

Shankar Sharma portfolio: Telecom stock Valiant Communications is in the news these days as the ace investor's name has appeared in the shareholding pattern of the small-cap company for the January to March 2024 quarter. As per Shankar Sharma's latest portfolio update, the market magnate has picked Valiant Communications shares during the recently ended March 2024 quarter. After the outbreak of this stock market news, the telecom stock hit a 5 percent upper circuit on Friday.

Peak inflation rates in 2022 cost Canadians a major chunk of their wages, according to a new Statistics Canada report.

Railways has set a new deadline of August 2025 to finish the Sivok-Rangpo Rail Project (SRRP) which will connect Sikkim with the rest of the country through a rail network for the first time, a senior official said on Friday. The project, covering a total length of 44.96 km between Sivok (West Bengal) to Ranpo (Sikkim), has 14 tunnels, 22 bridges (13 major and 9 minor) and five railway stations viz Sivok, Riyang, Teesta Bazar, Melli and Rangpo. At present, trains going towards Guwahati from other parts of the country pass through Sivok railway station which now pave the way for a new rail route to Rangpo in Sikkim via Riyang, Teesta and Melli (all in West Bengal).

is a banned terrorist outfit. Prabhpreet Singh is accused of recruiting and funding a terrorist module in Germany. Punjab Police's State Special Operation Cell arrested the banned Khalistan separatist organisation's operative.

Page Six has stated that King is likely to consider inviting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Balmoral Castle this summer as he is ‘desperate’ to meet his grandkids Archie and Lilibet. Every year, the monarch enjoys retiring to the Scottish countryside with family members, including the Prince and Princess of Wales. This year is likely to be different.

«There used to be the provisions like general anti avoidance rules like GAAR, which required the investors like FPIs who are based in Mauritius need to have substance in Mauritius in order to claim the benefit of India-Mauritius tax treaty,» says Punit Shah, Partner, Dhruva Advisors. Let us talk about this treaty and this change that we are making. What is the impact that one should actually expect from this? Is it too much of a worry for investors from Mauritius? Essentially what it says is that India-Mauritius tax treaty was there for several years now. It provides capital gains tax exemption on the equity shares, on derivatives, on debt instruments. The treaty was amended in 2017 where the capital gains exemption on equity shares was taken away and the capital gains exemption on the derivatives and debt instruments did continue.

The head of the International Monetary Fund says strong economic activity in the United States and emerging markets is projected to help drive global growth by about 3% this year

The ongoing conflict between Israel, the United States, and Iran and its regional allies in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen continues to escalate tensions in the Middle East. The recent Gaza war, triggered by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, resulted in significant civilian casualties and hostage-taking.

Action dates for all family-sponsored Green Card applications from India have shown progress. Noteworthy changes include the Final Action Date for the F2A visa, a Family Based Green Card tailored for spouses and unmarried children of US permanent residents/Green card holders. This date has moved from September 2020 to June 2021, indicating a slight advancement. The F2B visa, reserved for unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age or older) of permanent residents are allotted 23% of the overall second preference limitation. The Final Action Dates for these applicants have moved up from November, 2015 to April, 2016.