COST Financial News

Federal officials have cleared the way for Florida to begin importing cheaper prescription drugs from Canada

government has appointed Chhatradhari Caterers to provide food and beverages at Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's official residence 'Devgiri'. The catering contract is set to run until April 2025, with an annual cost of Rs 1.5 crore. This decision follows similar appointments made ten months ago for chief minister Eknath Shinde's official residence 'Varsha'and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's 'Sagar' at an estimated cost of about Rs 5 crore annually.

By John Kemp

Piyush Goyal on Friday urged the automobile industry to set a target of increasing the share of vehicles being exported to 50% of all passenger vehicles produced in the country by 2030 from 14% in the last fiscal. “With our arbitrage in labour costs and skilled manpower pool, India should have 50% export share in the auto sector. The auto industry should not limit itself to achieving a 25% export share and instead aim for at least a 50% export share,” Goyal said at the curtain raiser of Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2024, which is scheduled to be held from February 1-3 February. India’s contribution to the world is increasing rapidly with share of vehicles being exported from 14% at present, to about 25% of all passenger vehicles produced in India by 2030.

By Balazs Koranyi

NEW YORK (Reuters) — U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in December while raising wages at a solid clip, casting some doubt on financial market expectations that the Federal Reserve would start cutting interest rates in March.

MobiKwik on Friday filed draft papers for its initial public offering (IPO) with the stock markets regulator, proposing to raise Rs 700 crore through a fresh issue of shares. This is the second time One MobiKwik Systems, parent company of the digital payment service provider, has filed its draft papers. MobiKwik had abandoned its initial listing plans in 2021, citing weak market conditions.

Carrefour will stop selling PepsiCo products in it stores in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy over price increases for popular items like Lay's potato chips, Quaker Oats, Lipton tea and its namesake soda. The French grocery chain said it pulled PepsiCo products from shelves in France on Thursday and added small signs in stores that say, «We no longer sell this brand due to unacceptable price increases.» The ban also will extend to Belgium, Spain and Italy, but Carrefour, which has 12,225 stores in more than 30 countries, didn't say when it would take effect in those three countries.

By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd., both under government control, had initially planned rights issues to raise up to 220 billion rupees and 180 billion rupees, respectively, with government backing.

India’s tech sector index, which includes Infosys Ltd. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., rallied 12% in the three months through December, powered by a global rally in the space after a dovish pivot by the Federal Reserve. India’s tech stocks trade at about a 30% premium to the broader market. Improved sentiment aside, IT earnings remain under pressure. “Although sentiment has improved, it has not yet been reflected in actions,” said Mukul Garg and Pritesh Thakkar, analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Analysts at Nomura expect the ongoing slowdown to weigh on discretionary tech spending into the 2025 financial year. Firms in the sector are focused on integrating generative AI into their operations and training employees to use the tool effectively. Earnings at Samsung Electronics Co., which is set to benefit from AI chip demand this year, found support from higher shipments of DRAM chips during the quarter. Highlights to look out for:

Central Government Employees can now open National Pension System (NPS) accounts through eNPS, a digital platform. «It (eNPS) facilitates the effortless opening of NPS accounts for the Government employees, empowering them to do so in a paperless, user-friendly manner,» according to the master circular recently released by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). What is eNPS? Who can open NPS accounts through eNPS? eNPS is a digital platform that will allow Government sector employees — the employees of the Central Government, the employees of the State Government employees, the employees of Central Autonomous Bodies (CABs), the employees of the State Autonomous Bodies (SABs) to open NPS account in an easy paperless mode.

LiveMint, Patel said that gold has a very low correlation with other asset classes hence it is advisable to allocate some of it to your portfolio. The current market environment is quite challenging as investors look to hedge or diversify their portfolios with safer assets. Investors may opt for an asset class that can protect their portfolio from market uncertainty.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be likened to bundles of marketable securities, providing a wide range of exposure by tracking not just conventional benchmarks such as NSE, BSE, or Nifty 50, but also commodities including gold and silver, themes, and sectors. This adaptability renders them exceptionally versatile instruments for constructing comprehensive investment portfolios. Similar to individual stocks, ETFs are actively traded throughout the day at market prices, unlike index funds that are bought and sold at their net asset value (NAV) only at the close of the trading day.

By William Schomberg

Cost of Living LIVE Updates January 05: 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.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) witnessed some consolidation in December last year. However, brokerage house Phillip Capital believes this recent decline is going to last. The brokerage has a ‘sell’ call on the stock with a target price of ₹80, implying a downside of over 23 percent from its current market price of ₹104.40, as of December 4.

Also Read: Q3 result preview: NBFCs likely to see healthy profit growth of 27% YoY amid moderating margins A delayed winter has shrunk demand for seasonal categories during the quarter, falling short of initial expectations across FMCG companies. In terms of categories, food and beverages is anticipated to outperform home and personal care, said Elara Securities.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) representative Saket Gokhale has heightened concerns at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) concerning the persisting flight delays plaguing IndiGo Airlines, primarily stemming from issues with crew availability. Directly addressing DGCA's director-general, Vikram Dev Dutt, Gokhale pressed for immediate action and sought a detailed account of measures undertaken by the airline within a week. Concurrently, IndiGo has unveiled a significant development by abolishing fuel surcharges across its domestic and international flights. Effective immediately from January 4, 2024, this decision follows a decline in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices.

Now-defunct cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network has revealed plans to unstake its Ethereum (ETH) holdings as part of its efforts to distribute assets to creditors. 

Motilal Oswal Financial Services is positive about the stock for the long term as it sees several growth levers at play for the company. The brokerage firm has initiated coverage on IIFL Finance stock with a buy recommendation and target price of ₹800, implying a 26 per cent upside potential.