COST Financial News

Investing.com-- An investor group consisting of Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital hiked its offer to take department store chain Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) private on late-Sunday, just months after the firm rejected an earlier offer.

TOKYO (Reuters) — Japan's government is considering declaring an end to deflation in the wake of rising prices, Kyodo news agency reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

quick commerce platforms–Zomato-owned Blinkit and Mumbai-based upstart Zepto--are fast entering ecommerce territory and are set to add several categories like fashion, beauty, electronics, toys, home and kitchen among other segments. Meanwhile, Zepto, the first unicorn of 2023, has hit $1 billion in annualised gross sales as of the latest numbers, people aware of the matter said. These platforms will add thousands of new SKUs in the next two months, taking the number to over 10,000 as they see consumers coming for frequent purchases driving commerce through the platform. Going beyond grocery and staples will increase the scale of quick commerce significantly, impacting both established ecommerce rivals Flipkart and Amazon as well as nearby kiranas, people aware of the plans said. These platforms are also adding more muscle to their logistics networks in order to serve a wide range of products and ensure they are connected to dark stores and available for deliveries. From two years ago–when quick commerce was starting to take shape in India–this is a significant expansion in strategy carrying a big number of SKUs for faster delivery timelines.

GMR Highways has raised ₹700 crore debt from foreign portfolio investors Zeal Global Opportunities Fund and Nova Global Opportunities Fund to prepay loans raised from Yes Bank, said two people with knowledge of the matter. Both invested ₹350 crore each in secured, unlisted and unrated bonds of GMR Highways maturing on February 20, 2028. The bonds have been issued at 14% per annum for 48 months. The company has pledged 100% of its equity shares, and the parent company, GMR Power & Urban Infra, has provided a corporate guarantee.

diamond houses in India were alerted over the weekend that missing paper trails and sloppy records would land them in trouble under the new sanctions regime that began on March 1 to block Russian gems from the affluent western markets. The discreet, quaint world of diamonds, where close-knit jewellers and diamantaires cut deals in old-fashioned ways, is scanning a new, unfamiliar compliance mechanism that could change the way they have been doing business for ages. If local firms, which cut and polish eight out of 10 diamonds mined in the world, fail to generate and safekeep documentary evidence that the rough stones and jewellery did not originate in Russia, they could come under serious scrutiny. Cautioning them about the pitfalls, the apex trade body has circulated the various guidelines and formats of self-declarations that diamond firms shipping to the US and EU must share with their buyers to avoid trouble.

Swiss voters backed a plan to raise pensions, the first time in the country's history that social benefits got an increase via plebiscite. The proposal to lift pensions by about 8% was supported by 58% of the electorate, according to a projection from Swiss broadcaster SRG. The plan also looks very likely to get the additionally required majority of cantons. Official results are due later on Sunday.

Episode 8 Act 2 is on the horizon, bringing a fresh Battle Pass filled with enticing rewards, including skins and Radiante Points. As players gear up for the new season, here's a comprehensive look at what to expect from E8A2's Battle Pass, according to a Dexerto report.

India is expected to be fast-tracked now that the major hurdle of mandatory 30 days of Congressional notification is likely to pass without any objection from the lawmakers on Sunday, but for the routine procedural matters posed by the upcoming general elections. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified the US Congress in February about the determination of the State Department of a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of 31 MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 3.99 billion. The 31 MQ9-B SkyGuardian Drones itself cost USD 1.70 billion, while the rest of the services including technology and equipment are estimated to cost USD 2.29 billion. In addition to 31 MQ-9B SkyGuardian Aircraft, the proposed deal includes 161 Embedded Global Positioning & Inertial Navigation Systems (EGIs), 35 L3 Rio Grande Communications Intelligence Sensor Suite. «This sale is necessary in furtherance of the US foreign policy and national security objectives,» the notification said.

₹2 trillion worth of sanctioned projects are fast-tracked. Slow progress on DPRs has been one of the reasons projects worth trillions of rupees have failed to move ahead and get awarded. The situation has become particularly alarming in the current financial year, with highway awards falling way below the targeted 12,000 km -- indicating a thinning of the pipeline for projects that would impact construction over a longer period.

SJVN Ltd on Sunday said its arm SJVN Green Energy has bagged a 200 MW solar project in an e-Reverse Auction conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam. This project is to be developed by SJVN Green Energy on a build-own-and-operate basis at the tentative development cost of Rs 1,100 crore, a company statement said. According to the statement, SJVN bagged the 200 MW capacity in the tariff-based competitive bidding for the development of solar projects in the 1,125 MW Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) Solar Park at Khavda, Gujarat. SJVN through its wholly-owned subsidiary SJVN Green Energy Limited (SGEL) has secured a 200 MW Solar Project at a tariff of Rs 2.66 per unit in an e-Reverse Auction conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL).

Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Mandi and Palakkad have developed a marine robot that can cater to real-time problems and reduce maintenance cost and death risk for underwater operation scenarios. The research which was partially funded by the Naval Research Board (NRB) of Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has been published in two journals-- Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, and Ocean Engineering. The state-of-the-art robot has been developed for meticulous underwater monitoring and inspections, promising heightened efficiency, minimised risks, and potential cost savings, the researchers said.

Jairam Ramesh on Sunday used the "washing machine" analogy to target the leaders who have quit the Grand Old Party and joined the ruling BJP, a remark coming amid allegations that the turncoats get protection in pending cases. Ramesh also said Rahul Gandhi has talked about five «nyay» guarantees targeting farmers, youth, women, and labourers during the last 50 days of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. «The people who need a washing machine are leaving and going there (joining BJP). You count the Congress leaders who have left the party, be it the chief minister of Assam (Himanta Biswa Sarma)...all are the beneficiaries of this washing machine,» Ramesh told a press conference flanked by other leaders of Congress. Parties of the opposition INDIA bloc often use the «washing machine» analogy to suggest that leaders against whom corruption cases are pending come out «clean» after joining the saffron party.

Multiple fund manager/fund house: When you create a portfolio using four to five MFs, you are exposed to multiple fund managers/ fund houses; however in the case of PMS you stick with a single fund manager or fund house, increasing your fund manager risk considerably, especially while investing higher. Multiple fund managers also help you experience different styles of investment management. Taxation: In both MF & PMS the fund manager engages in buying and selling of securities depending on the market conditions.

Vedanta Resources, the parent firm of Mumbai-based mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd, does not foresee a rollover of its loans and plans to deleverage as much as USD 3 billion debt over the next three years, a senior official said at an analyst meeting. «Deleveraging is our priority. We would be deleveraging the debt of Vedanta Resources by USD 3 billion over the next three years. Vedanta Ltd's cash flow pre-growth capex is estimated to be USD 3.5-4 billion for the financial year 2025, sufficient for secured debt maturities of USD 1.5 billion,» said Navin Agarwal, Vice Chairman, Vedanta Ltd and member of Promoter Group, at a recently concluded analysts' meet, according to analysts who attended the meeting. The financial year 2025 maturities of USD 1,100 million and close to USD 750 million of interest servicing would be managed through brand fees, dividends from operating companies, asset monetisation and other strategic initiatives. «Vedanta is a dynamic organisation that continuously evaluates its capital structure. The parent company has multiple avenues to meet its debt obligation. Hence, we are not considering a stake sale actively in the near term.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the U.S. and the global economy experienced a “China shock," a boom in imports of cheap Chinese-made goods that helped keep inflation low but at the cost of local manufacturing jobs. A sequel might be in the making as Beijing doubles down on exports to revive the country’s growth.

Gold And Silver Prices Today: Gold prices experienced a slight rise on Sunday. The price of 24 carat gold is Rs.6482.6 per gm, up by Rs.942.0. The price of 22 carat gold is Rs.5938.1 per gm, up by Rs.863.0.

Vinay Jaising, MD, JM Financial Services, says “for us, capex and industrials put together, had north of a 50-55% growth. Railways, again, fantastic growth. So that space, in terms of earnings trajectory, did really well. In energy, we are underweight but that did extremely well, courtesy the OMCs. I do not know how long that will sustain or whether we will start seeing either crude prices move up or margins move down, but overall in terms of numbers, a 20 plus percent year-on-year increase in capex made our overall portfolio earnings go up north of 25% and that was exciting for us.” The markets got mighty enthused by the big GDP number. There has been two back-to-back strong readings on the GDP. In the last commentary, the RBI governor already took their own estimate for GDP higher, above 7%. Other rating agencies could follow soon. Is this growth sustainable? The market will start looking for valuations if the growth is not sustainable, but growth appears to be falling in place now? Vinay Jaising: Absolutely.

students, dreaming of Harvard and Yale, with parents in tow, step into a rather unimpressive building nearby. They come from as far as Amritsar, Dhanbad and Delhi. They make their way to the sixth floor where an amiable-looking, grey-haired, bespectacled man waits for them in his three-room office. Viral Doshi, they believe, has the key to their favourite undergraduate destination—the Ivy League. The kids are often just 14 years old. When they are in Class IX, they come to Doshi, one of the most sought-after consultants for US college admissions in India, to entrust their next four years to him. These years will be spent in crafting a student life that will tick all the boxes in an application form to a top American college. Doshi’s four-year package costs anywhere between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 7 lakh. “Applying to universities is not a cookie-cutter process,” says Doshi. “Each application requires a lot of time and attention to detail as a kid’s career is at stake.” He starts by getting to know a student—their favourite subjects and interests. He puts them to a psychometric analysis to crosscheck their strengths and weaknesses. He then sits them down and advises on areas they should focus on and maps out a possible career path.

AI have sought to allay the fears of governments and corporations by selling a future full of hope and assurance. Par for the course. Every political and economic revolution has offered these twin promises in lieu of a change that requires widespread — willing or unwilling — compliance and support to succeed. During the Industrial Revolution, capitalists organised workers in mills and factories to ensure the division of labour could increase output and profitability. The great hope then was that mechanisation would accelerate the pace of trade, while enriching lives of workers, many of whom were skilled craftsmen, through guaranteed employment and regular wages. Some of this came to pass, to the great delight of Utilitarian philosophers, including Thomas Gradgrind in Charles Dickens' 1854 novel, Hard Times. Gradgrind believed that simple mathematical facts were sufficient to overcome the burden of proof. But unreasonably long hours, subsistence wages, and little scope for advancement transformed the worker into a 'cog in the wheel', essential for productivity but utterly lacking in independence. The world was more unequal than before, with wealth being consolidated at an unprecedented rate.

By Foo Yun Chee

Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday inaugurated 40 new facilities across the country to manufacture bulk drugs and medical devices to enhance self-reliance and reduce dependence on imports for such critical materials and equipment. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony here, Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya said the country has taken a big step towards self-reliance, with the commissioning of 27 new bulk drug facilities and 13 medical device manufacturing plants. The facilities, owned by various companies, were commissioned under the PLI Scheme for bulk drugs and medical devices, respectively.