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Q.Can real estate be a reliable hedge against inflation? Prableen Bajpai,Founder,FinFix Research and Analytics: Not always. Real estate growth in India varies widely. Returns often overlook CAGR, with a doubling of returns in 10 years reflecting just 7.2% pre-tax CAGR. While it can outpace inflation, high costs and uneven growth make guaranteed returns uncertain. Anuj Puri,Chairman and Founder, ANAROCK Property Consultants: Yes. Real estate offers inflation protection and stability, with less volatility than stocks or gold. Rising demand, scarcity, and costs drive property values and rental income. As per ANAROCK Research rentals in India’s top seven cities rose over 70% from 2021 to September 2024.

Our cover story explores the unique hurdles and opportunities that arise at different stages of planning for life after work. Whether you’re just starting to think about retirement, actively building your nest egg, or already enjoying its rewards, this issue is packed with insights, strategies, and inspiration to help you achieve the financial freedom you deserve.

First, many see money as a private, secretive thing. People do not discuss their incomes or wealth with others. There is his money, her money and our money accounts. Distinct confidentiality is maintained. Many old-school husbands do not let the wife know for fear of overspending or misallocation, among other reasons. Not trusting others with money matters is more common than not. Trust deficits foster money autocracy. Second, ceding control, especially with money, is tough. While many agree that household financial decisions are best made jointly, that might be a theoretical position. The household’s money manager may offer information from time to time—I made so much in this mandate; this is the amount we saved on world trip tickets; this is how much it will cost to renovate, and so on. This sharing may create an illusion of transparency and participation. However, everyone else needs to seek centralised approval for large spending.

Central banks on four continents will make a final flurry of changes to borrowing costs in the coming week, before Donald Trump's return to the White House raises the prospect of global trade turmoil. By the time policymakers from Australia, Canada, Brazil and the euro zone convene for their first scheduled meetings of 2025, the US president-elect will have taken office, and a potential wave of tariffs could be closer to reality. The impending change in America will help cement a particularly unsynchronized phase in monetary policy, as various economies contend with different inflation risks.

Industry experts, however, note that the exercise is also undertaken by automakers every year in December to shore up sales volume in the last month of the year, as customers postpone buyouts to later months to get the new year manufactured units. «We have seen a few cycles of price increase in India. It happens at the beginning of the calendar year and financial year, but few OEMs pick the timing based on their planned launches as well,» Deloitte India partner Rajat Mahajan said.

Citi promoted 344 new managing directors (MDs) this year – one of the biggest promotion rounds in recent history – and there are eyebrows being raised over more than just the list of tech promotions.

revenue and profits due to demand concerns, a handful of companies across sectors reported net profits for the first half of FY25 that exceeded their respective profits for the entire previous fiscal year helped by various factors such as growing revenue, lower input costs, inventory benefit, lower tax outgo, and improved operating cash flows. There were eight such companies among the BSE 200 index components including Bharti Airtel, Zomato, Vedanta, Dixon Technologies (India), PB Fintech, Godrej Properties, Voltas, and Adani Wilmer arranged in the descending order of their current market capitalisations. Among these companies, food delivery provider Zomato, electronics manufacturer Dixon, online insurance solutions provider PB Fintech, Realty developer Godrej Properties, and air conditioning major Voltas reported robust revenue growth year-on-year in the six months to September 2024. For Dixon, revenue rose sharply by 120.5% to Rs8,214.7 crore while net profit jumped by 197.3% to Rs523.5 crore, surpassing the FY24 net profit of Rs367.8 crore.

Myntra posted a net profit in FY24 from a net loss a year ago. This turnaround was driven by increased revenue and a reduction in overall expenses. The Bengaluru-based company reported a net profit of Rs 31 crore for fiscal year 2024, a significant improvement from the net loss of Rs 782 crore in the previous year. Operating revenue grew by 15% to Rs 5,122 crore from Rs 4,465 crore, per regulatory filings. Myntra, which entered quick commerce last week, has been working on reducing the cost of returns which has played a key role in reducing losses. Returns represent a significant expense for fashion businesses, where return rates typically range from 30-40%. The company has been discouraging returns by offering discounts and other benefits.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: Nepal traditionally celebrates Kukur Tihar, a Diwali festival to worship dogs (and lately Biralo, or cats) as loyal and loving friends. Japan has an entire island popular with tourists, where cats outnumber its human residents.

Gina Morello, originally from the USA and now based in Portugal, has achieved the remarkable feat of visiting all 193 United Nations member countries. In about two decades, she embarked on solo journeys, with 90 per cent of her travels undertaken alone. Once an aviation consultant, she transitioned to freelance work after the COVID-19 pandemic. Among her unique adventures, Morello has explored the isolated Wakhan Valley in Tajikistan, accessible only after a five-day horseback ride from Kabul, Afghanistan. She ventured to the Matsés people in the Amazon Rainforest via a two-day boat trip and visited the Bijago tribe in Guinea-Bissau, where women lead families. She’s also been to Sealand, the world’s smallest country, an offshore platform in the North Sea, and braved the extreme cold of Russia's Yamal Peninsula, where temperatures can drop to -50°C. Each destination offered her rare and extraordinary experiences, showcasing the diversity of the world’s most unconventional places.

SpiceJet reduced its workforce significantly, cutting 716 permanent male employees and 618 females, along with 531 male and 30 female non-permanent staff in FY24. Among permanent employees, 74% of men earned above the minimum wage, up from 61%, while women rose from 37% to 56%. For non-permanent employees, the percentage of men earning above the minimum wage increased from 1% to 8%, and women rose from 2% to 16%. However, male employees continue to earn more than female employees, highlighting a persistent gender wage gap. “Employee remuneration and benefits/expenses decreased by 9% to Rs. 7,705.44 million in FY 2023-24 from Rs. 8,438.71 million in FY 2022-23. This reduction is primarily attributed to a decrease in the headcount,” the company stated. Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, earned 211 times the median employee remuneration, with no increase in his pay. To be sure, he received Rs. 54 million as remuneration in FY24, with Rs. 18 million provisioned against the approved Rs. 72 million.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. As demand for hotel rooms in India is expected to outpace supply in the coming years, Lemon Tree Hotels is readying itself to leverage its brand identity and capture a more premium pricing. The company’s chairperson, Patanjali G.

Bombay High Court has ruled that a father must continue to pay for his 19-year-old son’s accommodation in the UK, despite a rise in charges from the previous academic year. The decision came after the man refused to pay the increased costs, claiming his son had chosen a larger bedroom, which led to a higher price. The case stemmed from an ongoing dispute between the divorced parents regarding maintenance payments. The boy’s mother had approached the High Court after the father refused to cover the accommodation charges for the academic year 2024-25. The father, a prominent urologist, had already agreed to pay for the son’s university fees as per an earlier court order but balked at paying the increased accommodation charges.

In Pilibhit, where the initiative first began, the task of turning stray cattle into beacons has proven both bold and challenging, with obstacles as formidable as the animals it aims to protect. On three key highways—Bareilly-Haridwar NH-74, Pilibhit-Basti NH-730, and Bhind-Lipulekh NH-731—teams of workers attached reflective tapes to 450 stray bulls. The project, costing Rs 400 per animal, was designed to increase visibility, especially for those with black coats that tend to blend into the night. The initiative’s success is largely attributed to the active support of local villagers. “It’s an ambitious project,” said Virendra Singh, the assistant regional transport officer leading the effort. Villagers not only backed the initiative but also funded much of its cost.

Industry experts, however, note that the exercise is also undertaken by automakers every year in December to shore up sales volume in the last month of the year, as customers postpone buyouts to later months to get the new year manufactured units. «We have seen a few cycles of price increase in India. It happens at the beginning of the calendar year and financial year, but few OEMs pick the timing based on their planned launches as well,» Deloitte India Partner Rajat Mahajan said.

NASA’s goal is to create «Class III» structures, which means buildings fully constructed using materials sourced from the Moon itself. This approach would save both time and costs compared to transporting materials from Earth. The process involves harvesting lunar regolith (Moon rock) using mining robots, which would then be 3D printed into whatever structures are needed, such as homes, roads, and launch pads. Also Read: What mistakes did King Charles make in his marriage? Here's what he warned Prince William not to do

During his panel discussion at the Doha Forum in Qatar, the Foreign Minister was asked this question, to which he responded, saying, «We've been trying to attract them into the Indian sphere.» Jaishankar was adressing the 22nd edition of the Doha Forum panel on 'Conflict Resolution in a New Era' where Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thand Norway Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide were also present.

participative diplomacy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that the general sort of the needle is moving more towards the reality of a negotiation than the continuation of the Russia-Ukraine war. Jaishankar also highlighted the impact of the conflict situations in the Gulf and the Mediterranean region on countries all over, including India, in terms of cost escalation for oil, fertilisers and shipping etc. Visiting Doha to participate in the Doha Forum at the invitation of Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of State of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdulrahman and was addressing a panel along with him and Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. Answering a question about the situation in the Gulf region and the latest in Syria, the External Affairs Minister highlighted how there is a widening of conflict and gave examples of Israel-Iran firing at each other; said how the situation in Red Sea is impacting shipping for Asia, and then, referred to a previous session of journalists who said even when the job is tough, journalists need to do it.

Anantha Nageswaran has pointed out that listed companies are making higher profits but they are paying less to their employees. Nageswaran nudged the private corporate sector to hire more and find the “right balance between capital-intensive and labour-intensive growth”, underling that while profits of listed companies--as a percentage of GDP--hit a 15-year high in 2023-24, their wage cost increase decelerated. Without a judicious balance between the share of corporations’ income making up their profits and that going to workers as wages, there won’t be adequate demand in the economy for companies’ own products to be bought, the CEA said at an event a few days ago. Sustained income growth bolsters both consumption and savings, eventually spurring economic expansion. “In other words, not paying workers well or not hiring workers enough will end up being actually self-destructive or harmful for the corporate sector itself and for small enterprises,” Nageswaran said, stressing that even legendary economist Adam Smith had written The Theory of Moral Sentiments before his seminal work--The Wealth of Nations. “The most important ingredient of long term growth and consumption is to ensure employment income growth and, thus, spending power growth. Otherwise, it will become a mutually self-destructive cycle,” the CEA said.

The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO has opened the door for many people to vent their frustrations and anger over the insurance industry