COST Financial News

Union cabinet has approved a hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of raw jute for the 2024-25 season to Rs 5,335 per quintal, according to Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday. This is up from the current MSP of Rs 5,050 per quintal, a hike of 5.6%. This would ensure a return of 64.8% over the all India weighted average cost of production, the government said in a statement.

Dearness Allowance (DA) for the Central Government employees and and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners by 4 per cent effective from January 1, 2024, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said. Post this hike, dearness allowance and dearness relief (DR) will touch 50 per cent as against the existing rate of 46 per cent. «The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be Rs.12,868.72 crore per annum. This will benefit about 49.18 lakh Central Government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners,» the government said.

Tata Power consumers will have to pay more for electricity. On Thursday, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission approved an average tariff rise of about 24% for Tata Power for the fiscal year 2024-25, effective from 1 April, 2024. In its order, MERC said that the present tariff hike is necessitated mainly because there was under-recovery due to staying on tariff as determined in the MTR Order for FY 2023-24. «Had there been no stay, tariff for FY 2024-25 would have resulted in tariff decrease of 13% than approved by the Commission in MTR Order for FY 2024-25.»

schools are facing the possibility of temporary closures due to the city's escalating water shortage. The lack of water not only affects educational activities but also leaves children vulnerable to the scorching heat, with temperatures already exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. The city is experiencing a severe shortfall, needing 2,600 to 2,800 million litres of water per day but facing a deficit of over 1,500 MLD. More than 3,000 bore wells in the city have dried up, and 223 of the state's 236 talukas are affected by drought. City's Water Crisis The city's water crisis has reached such an acute stage that schools and residents willing to pay for water tankers are struggling to secure supplies. The destruction of lakes in Bengaluru, once known as the 'city of lakes,' has aggravated the situation. To address the crisis, the state government has taken over private water tankers, deploying over 200 on a contract basis to standardize rates.

government has announced the extension of the Rs 300 per LPG cylinder subsidy to poor women under the Ujjwala Yojana for the next fiscal starting April 1. The subsidy was increased from Rs 200 per cylinder last year. Union Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has decided to extend this subsidy until 2024-25. It is expected to benefit nearly 10 crore families and will cost the government Rs 12,000 crore. The announcement comes ahead of the general elections scheduled for April-May. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in May 2016 to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women of poor households.

Former Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoenig reacts to Jerome Powell saying the Fed is not ready to start cutting rates on 'Cavuto: Coast to Coast.'

‘Making Money’ host Charles Payne joins ‘The Big Money Show’ to discuss the cost of GDP growth and market performance amid ongoing economic woes.

Former World Bank President David Malpass claims that there is an ‘opportunity’ for the Federal Reserve to look at rate cuts on ‘Mornings with Maria.’ 

credit card and debit card — Issuance and Conduct directions 2022. The latest amendments will come into force from March 7, 2024 onwards. Among several changes, the new RBI rules stipulate that at least once, the cardholder will be provided option to choose any date as the starting or closing date of the billing cycle.

Investing.com -- The European Central Bank held interest rates at record highs as expected on Thursday, as policymakers search for more evidence that sticky inflationary pressures are sustainably easing.

(Reuters) — American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) topped Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter revenue on Thursday, as consumers purchased the apparel retailer's full-price items during the crucial holiday shopping season in the United States.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The credit rating agency Moody's (NYSE:MCO) said on Thursday that it was downgrading its outlook for the banking sector in a number of European countries as weak economies erode profits.

By Brijesh Patel and Sherin Elizabeth Varghese

HDFC Bank revised its marginal cost of funds-based lending rates, also known as MCLR, on Thursday. The MCLR for overnight duration rose by 5 basis points to 8.95 percent. The one-month MCLR is same at 8.95 percent.

Excluding cost reduction implementation, strategic investment costs and foreign exchange movements, profits sank 27%, from £48m to £35m. Aviva UK Listed Equity Income fund suffers second manager exit Revenues across Aviva Investors dropped 9% over the year to £346m, although the drop was mostly offset by a 6% reduction in baseline controllable costs to £311m. While assets under management closed the year 2% up on 2022's figure at £227bn, average AUM was 8% lower over the course of the year, largely attributed to «adverse market impacts». A recovery in Q4, particularly for the fi...

Goldman Sachs strategists hiked their 2024 buyback forecast and introduced an outlook for 2025.

India boasts a notable presence of women across diverse sectors, including aviation, technology, medicine, and finance. However, despite their significant contributions, there remains a concerning disparity in financial literacy levels among women in the country. Contrary to common perception, financial literacy is not solely a concern for marginalised women; even those with higher education backgrounds require fundamental financial knowledge.

By Linda Pasquini and Marleen Kaesebier

By Joanna Plucinska and Ilona Wissenbach

Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, tight liquidity conditions are creating a challenge for the banks to mobilise deposits. Additionally, a higher credit-deposit ratio is also creating a challenge to sustain loan growth at healthy levels. However, most negatives could be priced in for the banking stocks.

Stock market today: SpiceJet shares have been under bulls' attention since early morning deals. SpiceJet share price today opened upside at ₹62 apiece and went on to touch an intraday high of ₹65.40 apiece on NSE, logging an intraday gain of around 5.50 percent within few hours of stock market opening bell. According to stock market experts, SpiceJet share price is rising today as the aviation company has resolved ₹413 crore dispute with Echelon Ireland Madison One Ltd.