Compilation Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Banks in India seem to have become more compliant with regulatory norms in FY26, with the quantum of penalties imposed by the central bank declining by about 37% over the previous financial year, data compiled by Mint showed.The Reserve Bank of India imposed monetary penalties of ₹19.8 crore on commercial banks in FY26, as against ₹31.4 crore in FY25, even as the number of penalties remained unchanged at 35. The data is based on fines announced on the RBI website.The most common violations included failure to comply with KYC (know your customer) norms, not categorizing customers on the basis of risk, allotting multiple customer IDs instead of a unique one, and not transferring unclaimed deposits to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund.While the failure to transfer unclaimed deposits and categorize risks point to negligence, other violations—such as sanctioning loans with a director's relative as guarantor and declaring dividends without prior RBI permission—raise more serious concerns.The decline in the RBI’s monetary penalties on commercial banks indicates continuous improvement in regulatory compliance outcomes over the years, said Saurabh Bhalerao, associate director of banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) at CareEdge Ratings.“Over the years, based on feedback and market practices, there is better understanding among the regulated entities of the specific actions to be taken to be able to meet the regulatory requirements.

Effects of the global disruptions resulting from America and Israel’s war on Iran have started to show on India’s economy. On Monday, the final HSBC India services purchasing managers’ index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, showed a fall to 57.5 in March from 58.1 in February, marking the slowest rate of expansion in 14 months. This follows a bigger fall in the manufacturing PMI to 53.9 in March from 56.9, the lowest level in nearly four years.Relatively speaking, the services sector has done better.

Silent compiler: Compile multi-file reports while you're in transit or between meetings.Inbox sentinel: Triage your inbox and flag urgent emails before your day begins.Recurring pilot: Run recurring tasks (like daily status reports) on a schedule, monitored from your phone.- A consultant heading into a client pitch realizes she hasn't fully prepped on a competitor.From her phone: "Check my /research folder and emails from our sector lead. Compile a 1-page snapshot and save to /Pitch-Prep."By the time she walks into the room, it's done.- An HR manager wrapping up back-to-back interviews needs three candidate briefing packs ready for tomorrow's final round.From her phone: "Pull the shortlisted CVs, generate interview questions based on the JD, attach the interview notes, and save one briefing doc per candidate to /Briefing-Packs."She's home by the time they're ready to share.Truly async: You assign the task and leave—Claude doesn't need you hovering.Your files, your machine: Local processing means sensitive data stays with you.One persistent thread: Your phone and desktop stay in sync—no switching apps, no copy-pasting between devices.Mint's ‘AI tool of the week’ is excerpted from Leslie D'Monte's weekly TechTalk newsletter. Subscribe to Mint's newsletters to get them directly in your email inbox.Note: The tools and analysis featured in this section demonstrated clear value based on our internal testing. Our recommendations are entirely independent and not influenced by the tool creators.Jaspreet Bindra is co-founder and CEO, and Anuj Magazine is co-founder, of AI&Beyond.Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint.

India’s manufacturing sector is doing better than we thought, as the Union statistics ministry’s revised GDP estimates showed last week. The purchasing managers index (PMI) could have a told-you-so moment, given how it has been showing robust readings now for an extended period. The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI, compiled by S&P Global, rose to a four-month high of 56.9 in February.

Grade-A office spaces are seeing faster absorption buoyed by favourable demand-supply dynamics, thus pushing vacancies lower. All-India (aggregate of top-seven cities) vacancy levels in the December quarter (Q3FY26) declined further to 12.3% from 12.7% in Q2 and 13.9% in Q3FY25, showed Propstack data compiled by Kotak Institutional Equities.Global capability centres (GCCs) and flexible-space operators continue to dominate demand.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. From foreign portfolio investments (FPI) making a come back to India in February after the trade deal framework with the US, to India already diversifying its crude oil import sources, Niti Aayog flagging the projected gap in investments to achieve the net-zero carbon emission target by 2070, and easing unemployment in India—here’s a compilation of this week’s news in numbers.Inflows return February is turning out to be a positive month for foreign portfolio investments (FPIs) in Indian equities as the country saw ₹18,771 crore worth of inflows until 12 February. This follows a sombre period of consistent outflows, with FPIs pulling out ₹62,000 crore in the previous three months.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. MUMBAI: India’s merchant banking industry may be headed for a sharp contraction as the market regulator's new, tougher regulatory framework threatens to push out a large number of players who have stayed on the rolls but barely participated in the Indian capital markets.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. If you follow Seema Anand, popular sexual health educator, Kama Sutra expert, mythologist and writer on Instagram, you are familiar with her unapologetic, feisty approach –both while talking about sex, pleasure, and intimacy or wielding trolls who cannot fathom a ‘mature woman’ talking about taboo topics.

Private placement of corporate bonds, for the record, scaled a new peak in FY25. By contrast, in the public market dominated by NBFCs, fundraising plunged 60% year-on-year. Companies raised ₹10.7 lakh crore (until March 27) through private placement of corporate bonds, compared with ₹10.2 lakh crore a year ago, data compiled by primedatabase.com showed. But public issuances retreated over 60% to ₹8,200 crore. India's private placement bond market is dominated by financial institutions, such as banks, NBFCs and public sector entities.

Indian bonds surged to the highest in nearly a decade this financial year, mitigating the impact of sustained equity outflows barring the last ten days of March, as the country's inclusion in major international sovereign debt indices and North Block's robust fiscal discipline help expand the global market for local debt. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have pumped ₹1.43 lakh crore into Indian debt in FY25 — the highest ever recorded since FY15, showed data compiled by IndiaBonds.

The wage bills of companies with operations in these places have increased by 20-25%, as their expenses on unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers have gone up, said top corporate executives. While this has been sharper than usual, the growing preference of people to work in gig roles and stay back in villages amid an increase in income from the rural employment guarantee scheme and other welfare programmes are compounding the problems for companies as they are finding it difficult to mobilise workers. States like Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Meghalaya, Odisha and Jharkhand have increased minimum wages by up to 38% in the last one year, as per industry executives and data compiled by staffing firm CIEL HR. Manpower cost has been a challenge because minimum wages have grown in certain markets by a very high degree, value fashion retailer V-Mart Retail managing director Lalit Agarwal said. Odisha recently hiked minimum wages by 29% and Jharkhand by 22%, he said. V-Mart reported a 24% increase in manpower cost in the December quarter compared with a year earlier

OpenAI is close to finalizing a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank Group — with investors including Magnetar Capital, Coatue Management, Founders Fund and Altimeter Capital Management in talks to participate, according to people familiar with the matter. Magnetar Capital — an Evanston, Illinois-based hedge fund — could contribute up to $1 billion, according to multiple people, all of whom asked not to be identified because the information is private. Representatives for OpenAI, Magnetar and Founders Fund declined to comment on the funding round. Coatue and Altimeter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Assembly budget session, defying the party whip, and plans to address the issue with «disciplinary action» once CM Mamata Banerjee returns from her London visit later this week, party sources said on Wednesday. According to TMC sources, the TMC's Disciplinary Committee will take further action once they receive a list from the office of Speaker Biman Banerjee regarding lawmakers who had requested leave. During the second phase of the budget session, the TMC had issued a whip directing MLAs to be present in the Assembly on March 19 and 20. The party's disciplinary body is scrutinising the attendance, and it has been found that over 30 MLAs were absent during the last few days of the Budget session. The party is seeking an explanation from these lawmakers about their absence despite the party's directive to be present. According to party sources, TMC leadership considers repeated absenteeism a serious issue.

Global funds returning to India’s stock market amid a world-beating rally are having to set aside one of the biggest gripes expressed by investors like Muddy Waters Capital LLC founder Carson Block — namely the country’s high taxes. While global funds marked their first weekly purchase of local stocks last week, they have been big sellers this year. In addition to an uncertain economic outlook, they point to New Delhi’s tax code, which imposes high capital gains levies on overseas funds. That’s an approach at variance with other countries such as China, which are competing for their money.

manufacturing expansion failed to offset a slowdown in the services sector, a private survey showed on Monday. HSBC's flash India Composite Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, slipped to 58.6 in March from February's final reading of 58.8, lower than a Reuters poll's median prediction of 59.0. The 50-mark divides growth from contraction. The manufacturing PMI index increased to 57.6 from 56.3, remaining in the expansion territory for more than three-and-a-half years. But the dominant-services sector's PMI index fell to 57.7 from 59.0 in February, contributing to the fall in the overall index.

capital formation is expected to be driven by the expanding bond markets, currently valued at $2.69 trillion, according to analysts at IndiaBonds.com. Data compiled by IndiaBonds.com, sourced from the Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), reveals that the Indian Bond Market stood at US$2.69 trillion at the end of December 2024, with the corporate bond market surpassing US$602 billion.

New York Times word puzzles is a daily ritual. Whether it’s Wordle, Connections, or Strands, these challenges have captivated puzzle solvers worldwide. Among them, the NYT Mini Crossword holds a special place as a concise yet engaging alternative to The Crossword, which remains exclusive to paid subscribers. If you are tackling today’s Mini Crossword for Sunday, March 23, 2025, and need a nudge in the right direction, we have compiled hints and solutions for each entry. To maintain the element of challenge, hints are provided first, followed by the complete answers for those who seek a direct resolution.

Unlike the traditional full-size crossword, which demands extensive knowledge and patience, The Mini is a shorter, more accessible test of vocabulary and quick thinking. However, even a compact puzzle can present tricky clues that leave players stumped. If today’s crossword has you searching for answers, we have compiled hints and solutions for The Mini’s March 21 edition, as per a report by Mashable.

Accenture raised the lower end of its annual revenue forecast on Thursday, betting on growing demand for its services to help clients integrate AI-powered tools into their operations. Strong demand for large-scale projects in cloud migration, artificial intelligence-led digital transformation and data security has helped companies such as Accenture.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Several times a day groups of young-professional types gather at 7Breaths, a meditation studio in central London, simply to breathe. The studio offers yoga and meditation sessions but their signature class is focused on “breathwork".

While The Crossword remains the paper's iconic puzzle for subscribers, The Mini appeals to those seeking a fast-paced word game that can be completed in just a few minutes. For many, including seasoned solvers and newcomers, the NYT Mini Crossword March 17 puzzle presents an engaging start to the day, as per a report by USA Today. But if you find yourself stumped on today’s clues, we’ve compiled hints and answers to help you through it — just in case you need a nudge to complete your streak.