COST Financial News

PSU stocks on June 4 when BJP failed to get the absolute majority in the Lok Sabha on its own are now forced to eat the humble pie. After crashing 16% on result day, PSU stocks are once again leading the bull run as if PM Modi actually managed to achieve the ambitious target of '400 paar'. Driven by defence PSU Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, which has seen a 48% return, the combined market capitalisation of 56 PSU stocks, which are part of the BSE PSU index, has surged by Rs 723,823 crore to Rs 68,03,059 crore in just 10 trading sessions (from June 4 closing till 19 June).

Gold prices were flat on Friday but were on track for their second straight weekly gain as weak economic data from the U.S. boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates this year. FUNDAMENTALS

«Coming to private sector banks in particular, the growth is going to be strong in FY24, particularly second half, in terms of the loan book growth,» says Rajesh Kothari, CIO, AlfAccurate Advisors. Let us start off with banks, exactly what our experts were talking about because seems like that is where valuation comfort is. The FIIs clearly making a comeback and their first port of call is private banks. Do you believe this is going to be a sustainable move? Rajesh Kothari: Well, I think entire banking and finance if we divid it into multiple sub-segments, so we have private sector banks, then we have PSU bank, then we have NBFCs, and then there is something called others, which includes insurance, asset management companies, wealth management companies and exchanges.

HDFC Bank is discussing with investors and the regulator a plan through which the country's most-valued lender would buy back some of the bonds issued by the erstwhile HDFC, and replace these instruments with new infrastructure bonds to be sold to the same set of investors holding the securities. This exercise, if approved, would help HDFC Bank cut interest costs as bank infrastructure bonds have the advantage of exemptions from regulatory reserve requirements like Statutory Liquidity Ratio and Cash Reserve Ratio.

₹55,000 crore, have evoked disparate reactions from bankers. While lenders are salivating at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s (BPCL’s) ₹32,000 crore loan proposal, they are circumspect on lending to Vodafone Idea, which is looking to raise ₹23,000 crore through loans to strengthen and expand its network. Combined, the two loans equate to about 2% of the outstanding loans to large industries.

₹50,000 crore, two people aware of the matter said. The central government, which has been steadily increasing the budget for new tracks over the years, may boost allocation by a sharp 39% from the figures in February's interim budget, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.

Student loans have emerged as an important issue ahead of the US Presidential elections, according to the Bankrate survey. 1 in every 5 students revealed that this will have a major influence when they vote in November. The US Federal Reserve notes that more than 40 million borrowers owe a total of $1.77 trillion in loans. The survey found that among those who have borrowed, 29% of the respondents said that it would influence their voting choice in the election. Trump and Biden’s stand on the issue:

retail chain hopes that its reduced prices will get its loyal customers back and increase its sluggish sales. In recent times, due to high inflation, customers are cutting down on eating out and restaurants are experiencing a sluggish growth in sales across the US. Many customers had given feedback after the company had raised the cost of its burgers. McDonalds issued a press note that it has been receptive to consumer feedback and also revealed details regarding the items that will be part of the meal. The company stated that with the introduction of this meal option it is reaffirming its commitment to ensuring affordable menu options. $5 meal: This $5 meal will be available for a limited period of time. What we do know is that this meal will be available from June 25 in participating stores and through its mobile app. The meal comes with the following options: McDouble or McChicken Sandwich, small fries, 4-piece Chicken McNuggets and a small soft drink. Customers can also buy this meal not just through walk ins and mobile apps but also through drive ins.

Amazon river dolphin, also termed as the 'pink dolphins' owing to their shade of body color. Earlier in 2018, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, declared them as an endangered species, who were on the verge of extinction if necessary steps were not taken to protect them. Another type of dolphins that are found in the Amazon river includes the smaller tucuxi, that was also deemed as endangered two years after the same declaration around the pink dolphins, says a CNN report. Both of these dolphin species are of the predator kind and help in keeping the fish population and the marine ecosystem along the Amazon River in check. However, their rapid decline across the years has raised serious concerns around the marine ecosystem in this particular region.

Citigroup Inc. said artificial intelligence is likely to displace more jobs across the banking industry than in any other sector as the technology is poised to upend consumer finance and makes workers more productive. 

Canadian Real Estate Association said this week, even as some standout markets such as Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon continue to see activity tick up.Even if buyers aren’t showing up in most Canadian cities, sellers certainly are. At the start of this month, there were roughly 175,000 active property listings across Canada, up 28.4 per cent year-over-year, according to CREA.Across the Greater Toronto Area, there are some 24,000 units including condos and detached homes up for sale — a 14-year high, according to an analysis by Hanif Bayat at Wowa.ca.Active listings for condo units in Toronto are at or near record highs right now, notes John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Realty.But that glut of supply comes as buyers remain priced out of the market.

Home loan borrowing costs eased again this week as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage declined to its lowest level since early April

₹72,000, as US participants returned from the Juneteenth holiday with a buying sentiment. This was driven by weak retail sales data and lower inflation figures.

audio platform Pocket FM on Thursday announced a partnership with US-based AI voice software unicorn ElevenLabs to leverage their capabilities to enable writers convert their narratives into compelling audio series, the companies said in a statement. Pocket FM also launched an AI Audio Series. The company said the partnership will make audio series creation more accessible and inclusive as writers can do so at the click of a button.

New York is launching a program offering homeowners up to $14,000 in total rebates for energy-efficiency upgrades to their property, and more states are expected to follow suit by summer's end.

Union Budget as it can act as a pool of employment generation. «India's workforce is predominantly engaged in agriculture and the informal sector. Agriculture growth depends on rural infrastructure, private sector involvement, and waste reduction. Accelerating reforms in agriculture and food processing, coupled with increased public investments in agricultural infrastructure, can spur employment,» PHD Chamber Of Commerce And Industry said in its pre-Budget recommendations. «Increase public investments in agri-infrastructure such as cold chain infrastructure to store and transport agriculture products to strengthen agriculture supply chains,» PHDCCI added.

Tata Communications on Thursday announced that it had secured its first sustainability-linked loan of $250 million from ANZ, DBS Bank and Export Development Canada. The three lenders are set to jointly finance the five-year loan, with ANZ taking point as the lead sustainability coordinator. «The transaction is the first SLL for Tata Communications under the company’s new SLL framework. Through the framework, a first of its kind in the sector in India, Tata Communications intends to link its funding with key objectives such as carbon emission reduction targets (non-financial covenants) that are core and material for the company’s long-term sustainability performance,» the Indian communications company said in a release. Tata's $250 million loan is linked to its progress on its carbon emission reduction, with the interest rate margin of the loan set to be adjusted based on these targets and the company's performance.

Election Commission has received eight applications from aggrieved candidates, including those from the BJP and the Congress, for verification of tampering or modification in micro-controller chips embedded in the EVMs post declaration of Lok Sabha election results on June 4. Terming the suspicion of manipulation of the electronic voting machines «unfounded», the Supreme Court had on April 26 rejected the demand for reverting to the old paper ballot system. But at the same time, the top court had opened a window for the aggrieved unsuccessful candidates securing second and third places in the poll results and allowed them to seek verification of micro-controller chips embedded in five per cent EVMs per assembly constituency on a written request upon the payment of a fee to the poll panel. BJP's Ahmednagar (Maharashtra) candidate Sujay Vikhe-Patil has sought verification of the machines from 40 polling stations.

LSEG director of consumer research Jharonne Martis reacts to U.S. consumer sentiment falling for the third straight month on 'Making Money.'

Accenture projected annual revenue growth largely above estimates on Thursday, as growing adoption of artificial intelligence offsets sluggish growth in enterprise spending, sending its shares up 3% in premarket trading. Generative AI technologies used to automate certain operations are helping companies boost productivity and save costs.

European markets have opened higher after a mixed day of trading in Asia