COST Financial News

By Joseph White and Abhijith Ganapavaram

India’s “military presence” in Maldives is a myth created by incoming President Mohammed Muizzu and former President Abdullah Yameen, as just a handful of Indian military personnel in the Indian Ocean Region state are stationed for training Maldivian armed forces, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Two Indian Dhruv advanced light helicopters are operating in Male and the country has given a Dornier aircraft to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) on condition that while it will operate under the command and control of the MNDF while its running cost will be borne by India, said the people. They said the Dornier aircraft has since been assisting in joint surveillance activities by India and the Maldives of the exclusive economic zone of the Indian Ocean Region nation. However, India meets 70% of the defence training requirements of the MNDF, having trained more than 1,500 of its personnel over the past decade, said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified. In February 2021, India had extended a $50 million line of credit to the Maldives for defence projects. It also signed a deal to construct and maintain a naval facility.

New Delhi: The finance ministry is looking at ways to bring down government debt and is monitoring the debt reduction measures taken by emerging market economies, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday. While India’s public debt is not as high as other major economies’, it needs to be tackled with a sense of responsibility so that the future generations don’t feel its burden, she told the Kautilya Economic Conclave. “Data about some emerging market countries, about how they are managing their debt, is something which is actively in our minds in the ministry," Sitharaman said.

Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC Ltd. The refinancing deal, whose terms are more favourable than the original acquisition loan, has a maturity of up to three years. An Adani group special purpose vehicle called Endeavour Trade and Investment Ltd will avail the refinance amount.

New Delhi: Russia is considering a formal Indian request to expand the list of Indian suppliers for buffalo meat, seafood and other livestock products amid ongoing talks to open mutual access for agricultural products, Russian trade commissioner Alexander Rybas said. The two countries, Rybas said in an email interview, are also discussing the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) to serve as an alternative transportation route for goods to Asian markets. Edited excerpts: Russia and India have been conducting long-term negotiations on the mutual opening of access to crop and animal husbandry products.

Its retail portfolio mix now stands at 88 per cent of the total loan book, even as it continued to reduce the wholesale book by a steep 76 per cent on-year or by Rs 28,740 crore. Its asset quality improved with gross Non Performing Assets (NPAs) falling to 3 per cent from 3.82 per cent and net NPAs to 1 per cent from 1.14 per cent, L&T Finance Holdings managing director and chief executive Dinanath Dubhashi said.

ethnic strife, the affected people belonging to the Meitei community have voiced out their utmost sufferings in eking out their living. Stating that money is the only driving wheel to augment their daily requirements, they categorically demanded the government to provide family allowance money on priority basis.

Private-equity firms are being forced to spend more money to keep the companies they own alive, as rising interest rates disrupt the buyout industry’s debt-heavy playbook. With credit costs at the highest level in years, companies that provide debt for private-equity deals are asking firms to chip in additional equity when they look to refinance, say people who research the leveraged-finance markets and advise private-equity firms on transactions. Private-equity firms typically try to minimize their own equity investment when they buy companies, while maximizing leverage.

A new documentary “Uncharitable,” from “Paris Trout” and “Losing Isaiah” director Stephen Gyllenhaal, puts the long-running debate in the nonprofit sector over the role of overhead back in the spotlight

(Reuters) — U.S. medical device makers do not see a big impact of new weight-loss treatments on the sales of equipment used in procedures such as bariatric surgery due to the prohibitive costs of the drugs as well as reimbursement hurdles.

By Shivansh Tiwary and Raechel Thankam Job

Investing.com — Oil prices rose Friday, on track for a positive week, boosted by the news that the U.S. was looking to refill its strategic reserves as well as heightened fears that the Israel-Gaza crisis may spread in the Middle East, potentially disrupting supply.

Investing.com — Oil prices rose Friday, on track for a positive week, boosted by the news that the U.S. was looking to refill its strategic reserves as well as heightened fears that the Israel-Gaza crisis may spread in the Middle East, potentially disrupting supply.

housing slump going back more than a year, soaring home prices in recent years and a stubborn shortage of properties on the market are helping to drive solid profit gains for sellers. The profit margin on median-priced single-family homes and condos nationally soared to 59% in the July-September quarter, according to a report released Thursday by real estate information provider Attom. The profit margin in a home sale represents the percent difference between the original purchase price and what it was sold for. “Prices and profits around the U.S.

reliance on energy generated from fossil fuels—the main cause of climate change. There is a need to prioritize transforming our energy systems and speeding the shift to renewable energy—because without renewables there is no future. And with this lens, one must view the recently announced Gujarat Government’s Renewable Energy Policy. This policy is nothing short of visionary and is poised to serve as a benchmark for replication in several other windy states across our country.

Siddaramaiah on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to approve the phase-3 of Bangalore Metro covering an additional length of 45-km at an estimated cost of Rs 15,611 crore. The state government has already submitted the detailed project report (DPR) of phase-3 to the centre, the CM said at the virtual launch of the two sections of the Purple Line of Namma Metro by the PM. With Challaghatta-Kengeri and Baiyappanahalli-KR Puram sections open, the metro network’s length has increased to 74-km and about seven lakh people were using it daily, the CM added. The government has commissioned a detailed project report (DPR) for connecting Sarjapur and Hebbal covering a length of 37-km.

Giorgia Meloni said on Friday she has separated from longtime partner Andrea Giambruno, who has drawn criticism in recent weeks for sexist comments made on air. «My relationship with Andrea Giambruno, which lasted almost 10 years, ends here,» Meloni wrote on Facebook. «Our paths have diverged for some time, and the time has come to acknowledge it,» she added.

War in the Middle East could cause the oil price to surge to $140 a barrel and bring the world to the brink of a recession, according to Ana Boata, head of economic research at Allianz Trade.

CSB Bank on Friday reported a 10% rise in net profit at Rs 133 crore for the September quarter against Rs 121 crore in the year ago period. The bank recorded its net interest margin for the quarter 76 basis points lower at at 4.84% because of rise in cost of funds. «I think NIM has bottomed out and will be around 5% for the next few quarters. Cost of fund should sustain at current level,» managing director Pralay Mondal told ET. The bank's average cost of deposits stood at 5.22% for the quarter. «We are now taking strides in strengthening the building blocks that will help us in becoming a truly full service franchise.

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed

Investing.com — U.S. Treasury yields soar to the highest levels since the financial crisis after a speech by Fed chair Jerome Powell, dragging stocks lower. Crude rises as the U.S. looks to refill its strategic reserves, while U.K. retail sales slumped in September.