COST Financial News

India's textile industry, 26 February was a big day, marking a significant milestone with the inauguration of the Bharat Tex Expo at Bharat Mandapam (IECC) in the national capital by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The expo, celebrated as the world's largest textile event, attracted over 3,000 exhibitors, 3,000 buyers, and 40,000 visitors from more than 100 countries.

₹8.4 /kWh in April 2009 before plummeting, dragging down the entire sector including utilities, equipment providers, and financiers, it noted. The downfall of the last cycle can be attributed to various factors, primarily stemming from the initial phase of privatisation, stated Bernstein. Amidst a landscape dominated by government agencies and influenced by political agendas, the sector was buoyed by easy financing from banks and NBFCs, leading to its eventual collapse.

Opting for a shorter loan tenure: Accelerating the loan repayment results in a lower overall interest payment. This is attributed to the interest being calculated based on the remaining loan balance, which diminishes more rapidly with shorter tenures. Nevertheless, opting for a shorter loan tenure necessitates larger monthly payments for timely repayment.

Electrosteel Castings (ELSC). A year ago, shares of Electrosteel Castings were priced at ₹33.85 each. Today, they are trading at ₹163.25, marking an impressive gain of 382%.

Cost of Living LIVE Updates March 06: The cost of living is the amount of money one needs to survive in a given place – and one's most essential needs such as food, water, housing, taxes, cost of commute, healthcare, etc. The high rate of inflation has pushed up the cost of living across the globe, burning a hole in the common man's pocket.

rural India, Sharmila Yadav always wanted to be a pilot and is now living her dream remotely, flying a heavy-duty drone across the skies to cultivate the country's picturesque farmlands. Yadav, 35, is among hundreds of women trained to fly fertiliser-spraying aircraft under the government-backed «Drone Sister» programme. The scheme aims to help modernise Indian farming by reducing labour costs, as well as saving time and water in an industry hamstrung by its reliance on outdated technology and growing climate change challenges.

By Leika Kihara and Takahiko Wada

By Stella Qiu

Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys are rolling out programmes to hire junior and mid-level talent with a focus on specific technology skills. Industry experts see this as an effort to get a lead with good talent ahead of their peers.

(Reuters) — Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) forecast annual profit and same-store sales below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday as budget-conscious consumers cut back on discretionary spending amid sticky inflation.

By Ananya Mariam Rajesh

(Reuters) — Chile's Cencosud, one of Latin America's largest retailers, on Tuesday reported a 42% fall in fourth-quarter net profit, landing at 83.3 billion pesos ($94 million), while revenues shrunk 16% to 3.30 trillion pesos.

bulk deposit market aggressively in the last few months, resulting in the outstanding certificates of deposit (CDs) in the banking system rising to a decadal high. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data show that outstanding CDs in the banking system rose to ₹3.81 lakh crore — the highest since April 2014. These deposits are also not coming cheap as interest rates on these instruments have risen to a maximum of 8.22% which is also the highest since May 2019. In a report released on Monday, Nomura analysts pointed out that in February 2024, the monthly issuance of CDs for the banking system at ₹1.3 lakh crore was at a five-year high. «While CDs are a very small part of system deposits (2% of system deposits as of February 2024), the sharp rise in issuance is indicative of a continued resource crunch faced by banks. Borrowing costs via CDs are around 50 to 80 basis points more expensive compared to retail term deposits, with current 12-month CD rates being at 7.8% on an average across banks,» the analysts said. One basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

by inflation and high borrowing and credit card costs. The company reported its first annual decline in sales — 1.7% — in seven years. Target delivered a 58% increase in fourth-quarter profits and handily beat Wall Street expectations as the retailer cut costs and maintained a lean inventory during the critical holiday season.

For tax geeks like me, the release of the annual Report on Federal Tax Expenditures is an exciting day, but I’m guessing most people don’t read this data-rich review that “reports on the estimated fiscal cost of federal tax expenditures, sets out the approach used in developing these estimates and projections, and provides detailed information on each tax expenditure.”

More Canadians are beginning to crack under the pressure of increased mortgage payments, new data on consumer credit showed today.

service sector growth momentum eased in February but remained robust despite a slowdown in new orders and output, according to a private survey released on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index fell to 60.6 in February from 61.8 in the previous month. A level of over 50 indicates expansion. «A climbdown from a six-month high in January was largely expected, but at 60+, still indicates a sharp expansion rate,» said Rahul Bajoria, managing director and head of EM Asia (ex-China) Economics, Barclays. Despite the decline, service activity in February was at its second highest level in five months, but milder growth during the month clouded the business outlook. «Due to a slowdown in growth in new orders and output, services companies' outlook for future business activity, while remaining strongly positive, weakened slightly,» said Ines Lam, economist, HSBC. Of the 400 firms surveyed for the period, 26% still expect growth in the year ahead, but 2% predict a decline. Employment suffered with survey members indicating that employment numbers were sufficient.

medical device maker Medtronic, which gave the world the first battery-powered pacemaker seven decades ago, is betting big on India. Geoff Martha, its chairman and CEO, told Viswanath Pilla in an interview that Medtronic's next phase of growth in the country will involve evaluating possibilities of redesigning products to make them more affordable for patients, sourcing components locally, and manufacturing in India. Edited excerpts: How are you planning to achieve Medtronic's goal of reaching 1 billion patients every year? We reach two patients every second and we're very proud of it. But 80 million people is a fraction of the world's population… With these digital technologies coming in, I think that'll allow us to access so many more patients. Because it's going to personalise these therapies, lower the cost. So that's the aspiration that we need to map our strategy to get to 1 billion a year.

anti-profiteering mechanism set up under the GST regime was an initial nudge aimed to ensure that companies passed on the 'benefit' — be it a fall in tax rates, or an enhanced input tax credit — arising from the GST roll-out to the end consumer by way of commensurate reduction in prices. The adjudicating authority, National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) set up in 2017, had a two-year tenure. But this was extended twice, till November 2022, with the mantle passed on to CCI subsequently. This extension contrasts with international precedents, such as Australia's approach, where similar provisions were enforced, following the introduction of GST, although with a sunset clause. In late January, Delhi High Court, responding to many writ petitions filed by India Inc across sectors from FMCG to real estate, upheld the constitutional validity of the anti-profiteering provisions. It noted that the objective of Section 171 of Central GST Act, which mandates the passing on of GST benefits, is grounded in consumer welfare and equity principles.

By David Lawder

Investors have closely monitored electric vehicle (EV) pricing, as recent price cuts by automakers have raised concerns over demand elasticity, profitability, and how these adjustments affect EV affordability and their market share relative to internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid vehicles, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a Monday note to clients.