COST Financial News

Bengaluru’s water tariff is set to increase by one paisa per litre, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Wednesday. Defending the Congress government amid the BJP’s protests over rising costs, he accused the opposition party of being «anti-farmer» for opposing the milk price hike, which he said was meant to help farmers. The BJP launched a statewide 'day and night' protest on Wednesday, accusing the Congress government of burdening the public with price hikes. The party highlighted increased milk and diesel prices, higher power tariffs, and rising bus and metro fares as key concerns.

Washington, here’s a piece of news that is getting far too little attention: The US is on course for fiscal breakdown. That’s the unambiguous message from the Congressional Budget Office’s newly updated long-term projections. Unless Congress changes course, there’ll be a reckoning, and it will be grim. As the CBO details, deficit spending is more out of control than ever. Both parties share the blame, as do both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. And all should remember that investors’ appetite for US government debt isn’t limitless. The federal government is currently spending roughly $7 trillion and collecting only $5 trillion in taxes annually. The resulting deficit is a little over 6% of gross domestic product, a disturbingly high number for an economy around full employment. The CBO expects public borrowing to remain at this elevated level or higher for decades. Assuming no recessions, public debt will rise to 100% of GDP this year and 118% by 2035 — and it just keeps rising from there. A responsible Congress would make deficit reduction its overriding priority. Instead, Republicans are discussing ways to borrow more — and not just a little more. New tax cuts are under consideration. And many want to extend provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which would otherwise expire at the end of this year.

GLP-1 drugs gain traction despite cost and safety concerns, Mumbai-based gut health startup The Good Bug has introduced ‘Metabolically Lean’, a GLP-1-based formulation designed to help manage weight naturally. The startup claims that, unlike injectable drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, which can have side effects, its solution is a non-invasive formula that naturally boosts the GLP-1 hormone level to suppress appetite and support metabolism. What is GLP-1?

buying a home in India has been considered an essential life milestone. However, a shift in perspective is emerging, with many questioning whether homeownership is truly necessary. Hardik Joshi, a risk analyst, highlighted this change in a recent post, saying, “At some point, people stop saying ‘I must buy a house.’ And start asking ‘Is buying actually worth it?’”

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Recent monetary policy decisions in both the United States and India indicate a shift towards easing interest rates. The US Fed has been signaling that there is a need to keep the policy rate accommodative and is open to rate cuts if the data supports this.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Winds of change are blowing across Sebi Bhawan, the home of India’s securities market regulator. Expectation levels of market participants have run high, and the hope that there would be meaningful and pragmatic regulations, encouraging honest conduct of business, has been reinforced.

IPL 2025 Mumbai Indians' camp may be longer than expected. The star pacer is yet to bowl at full intensity at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) as his workload is being increased gradually to prevent a potential stress fracture of the back, sources have told The Times of India (TOI). Bumrah, who suffered a lower back injury during the Sydney Test against Australia in January, was initially expected to join Mumbai Indians (MI) by April 1. However, given his fitness concerns and India's upcoming five-Test series in England immediately after the IPL, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is treading cautiously with his return.

«Widespread price hikes and inefficiencies» could be the result of a global trade war and retaliatory tariff spiral, according to a report from economists Jun Du and Oleksandr Shepotylo at Aston University.  The report found that the 2018 US tariffs cost consumers $1.4bn per month in welfare losses; in the event that all countries targeted by Trump's levies retaliate with the same level of tariffs after ‘Independence Day' (2 April), leading to a potential $1.4trn global welfare loss.  Wall Street giants hike recession risk expectations amid impending Trump tariffs In particular, US...

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India is currently on a decisive path to establishing itself as a global manufacturing powerhouse. Moving beyond cost competitiveness, the country is evolving into an innovation-driven industrial hub.

Mayuresh Joshi, Head Equity, Marketsmith India, says Trump’s announcements are on everybody's mind, but if this lingers on with the absolute stance that president Trump has reiterated and that continues in a rhetorical fashion for the next few weeks without any negotiations on the table across a lot of different economies, we are going to see a lot more volatility in the equity markets. Joshi says Trump will bring a lot of countries on the negotiating table over the next few weeks and a few sectors like pharmaceuticals might not get the brunt as the markets are fearing. So, pharma, which has got beaten down as far as US exports are concerned, might have a respite in terms of Indian exports and should show a smart bounce. What is the overriding thought in the Indian markets right now about Liberation Day and what could really be brought in the worst fears that market men are contending with right now? Mayuresh Joshi: Two things, there is huge uncertainty of what will come through and therefore how the rhetoric in terms of the Trump tariff plan gets implemented, which sectors are probably going to get affected, and how are countries going to get taxed is going to be the foremost important facet that the markets will probably look at.

FD options, all promising a seamless, fully digital experience. This shift is not just a convenience — it's a sign of an emerging revolution in embedded finance, and with market conditions shifting in favor of safer, more predictable investments, it’s finally fixed-income’s moment to shine. The Indian fixed-income market, traditionally dominated by Bank FDs, is expanding as non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) and Small Finance Banks bring their offerings to the fingertips of Indian consumers. The growing ubiquity of embedded finance—the integration of financial services into non-financial platforms—is playing a key role. Over the past 18 months, offerings from NBFCs like Bajaj Finance and Shriram Finance, along with a host of Small Finance Banks (SFB) such as Unity, Suryoday, and Utkarsh, have found their way to customers through apps that were once thought of as purely for consumer goods, like Tata Neu, BharatPe, Super.Money and Airtel Money.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), it got even worst for Digvesh Singh Rathi, an emerging player of the IPL 2025 season, all because of his «Kersik Williams-like» celebration. The bowler, playing only his third IPL game, gave his team an early breakthrough in clash against Punjab Kings (PBKS), who were chasing a total of 172 runs. Rathi dismissed Priyansh Arya in his very first over, giving the perfect start to the hosts. However, his celebration is something that caught the eyes of the crowd and of course, the umpires. He gave a send-off to Arya with a notebook-pen celebration, therefore violating IPL code of conduct. Rathi was fined 25 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point for the same. «Digvesh Singh, Bowler, Lucknow Super Giants has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and has also accumulated One Demerit Point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Punjab Kings at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Tuesday,» IPL said in a statement late Tuesday night. As per IPL, Digvesh admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction.

Shares of FMCG major Nestle India fell 4% to their day’s low of Rs 2,148 on the NSE in Wednesday's early trade after global brokerage firm BofA Securities downgraded the stock’s rating to an ‘underperform’ and also lowered its target price to Rs 2,140 from an earlier Rs 2,315.

batteries. Toys sold in slimmed-down boxes or no packaging at all. More household goods that shoppers need to assemble themselves. These are some of the ways consumer product companies are retooling their wares to reduce costs and avoid raising prices as President Donald Trump levies new import taxes on key trading partners as well as some materials used by American manufacturers. The economic environment in which the president has imposed, threatened and occasionally postponed repeated rounds of tariffs is more precarious than during his first term. U.S. consumers are feeling tapped out after several years of inflation. Businesses say tariffs add to their expenses and eat into their profits, but they are wary of losing sales if they try to pass all of the increase on to customers. Instead, some companies are exploring cost-cutting options, both ones that consumers likely would notice in time — remember “shrinkflation?” — and ones that exist too far down the supply chain for them to see. The changes may help minimize price increases yet won't be enough in every case to offset them completely.

It is reported that 97 out of 220 shops have been issued notices for failing to maintain proper storage conditions. And many have been found using detergent powder in creams to create a creamy texture, and phosphoric acid is being used in cool drinks to enhance fizz, according to a media report. As per The New Indian Express report, a fine of Rs 38,000 has been imposed on the market player for following ill practices.

«India has historically had higher tariffs on US goods than the US imposes on Indian goods. This means India is one of the key targets for Trump’s tariff realignment. The impact could be significant across pharmaceuticals, automobiles, agriculture, and textiles, disrupting billions in trade,” said Ross Maxwell, Global Strategy Operations Lead at VT Markets.

property investments. One such individual, who runs a business that can be managed remotely, recently shared a unique strategy—buying property in Dubai and using its rental income to fund a rental home in India. The dilemma arises from the high cost of property in South Delhi, where homes in prime locations cost ₹5-7 crore. Although financially capable of buying a home outright, the buyer feels that the value for money in Delhi’s property market is unappealing. Instead, a relative suggested purchasing real estate in Dubai, which offers better returns and additional benefits like a Golden Visa for investments exceeding AED 2 million (approximately ₹4.6 crore). A ₹5 crore property in Dubai can yield rental returns between 5-8%, generating ₹25-40 lakh annually. After taxes, this translates to ₹1.7-2.56 lakh per month. In contrast, renting a similar property in South Delhi costs only around ₹1-1.2 lakh per month, based on a rental yield of 1.5-2.5%. This means the investor could cover rent in Delhi while still pocketing ₹1-1.5 lakh monthly from the Dubai investment.

Donald Trump’s looming import tariffs ripple through global car manufacturing. Trump had initially taken aim at fully assembled vehicles, with a 25% import duty set to take effect on April 3, but additional levies on car parts such as engines, transmissions and electrical systems are slated to begin by May 3. That’s kicked off frantic lobbying by major carmakers Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV to get certain components excluded, and left Indian suppliers stuck in limbo. The US is the biggest market for India’s auto parts exports, accounting for almost a third of the $21.2 billion industry in the year ended March 31, 2024. The local passenger vehicle market has been tepid with growth expected at just 2% for the year ending March 2026, Partho Banerjee, senior executive director at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. told reporters on Tuesday.

Tata Consumer Products shares will be in focus on Wednesday after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to a 'Buy' rating and raised its target price to Rs 1,200 from Rs 1,040. The brokerage expects strong earnings per share (EPS) growth for the company over FY25-27, driven by a recovery in tea margins through price hikes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Bengaluru: The Big Five of India’s IT services may grow slower in the year ahead as Donald Trump's tariff war threatens to hurt their large clients in the US, multiple analysts said. Inflationary policies, retaliatory tariffs and a slower pace of rate cuts are expected to darken the mood further.

Asian stocks edged lower as traders grapple with how to position themselves in the countdown to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs announcement. A regional gauge declined as indexes in Japan and South Korea dropped at the open. Treasury yields advanced after a multi-day drop as traders weighed the odds of Federal Reserve policy easing.