COST Financial News

Turns out Perpetual’s decision to part ways with Pendal’s head of global equities Ashley Pittard and tech portfolio manager Thomas Rice was the tip of the iceberg.

One of Whitehaven Coal’s largest investors has accused the company of telling a select number of shareholders that it would delay its share buyback program and was interested in buying two massive coking coal mines, suggesting this left the market “misinformed”.

European Central Bank cuts interest rates in the first half of next year would be a mistake, according to Governing Council member Martins Kazaks. Wage growth in the euro zone hasn't yet peaked and it's unclear how quickly underlying inflation will retreat, the head of Latvia's central bank said. Last week's decision to lift borrowing costs for a 10th straight time puts the ECB more solidly on track to reach its 2% target in 2025, but it's too soon to exclude another hike. “The market shouldn't expect that we would jump too early to cut rates,” Kazaks said in an interview. “We'll start cutting rates when we see that we consistently and significantly start to undershoot our target, and what I can say clearly is that expectations of a rate cut in spring or early summer in my view are not really consistent with the macro scenario that we have.” Traders are starting to price cuts from April of next year and some economists see them as early as June. Projections presented last week show that inflation in the 20-member euro area will take another two years to reach 2%, even as price pressures are set to slow sharply in the coming months. The economy is seen returning to quarterly growth rates of 0.4% in 2024 after stagnating for most of 2023.

fastest-growing economy in the world? Not India. It is Guyana. The country's GDP is expected to grow 38% in 2023, after registering growth of 62% in 2022 and averaging over 30% in the two years before that.

NEW DELHI : India must follow mindful and environmentally conscious consumption and production rather than the single-minded pursuit of growth at any cost, federal policy think tank NITI Aayog vice chairman Suman K. Bery said in an interview. Bery proposed that emerging economic realities, including the potential of services exports, India’s prospects of becoming an agriculture superpower, and the dwindling potential of the manufacturing sector to create jobs due to increased productivity, warrant a review of the traditional notions on which development models are built.

CreditAccess Grameen Ltd is seeking to diversify its asset base by increasing the share of its non-microfinance book through housing, unsecured business and gold loans. After being elevated as chief executive officer in August, Ganesh Narayanan is looking to raise the share of non-microfinance loans from the current 1% to 12-14% in 4-5 years. The lender will also look to increase its share in housing loans by adopting a co-lending model to tie up with banks.

trauma care system which will be woven into the Ayushman Bharat scheme to expand its outreach to people at the lowest levels and reduce cost of emergency services. The move is aimed at providing worldclass emergency services to prevent large numbers of deaths from road accidents and providing trauma care in other emergencies, including disasters. The plan is to develop a national policy for triage (preliminary assessment of patients or casualties) while laying out standardised protocols for care, establishing world-class ambulance services with effective paramedics and significantly enhancing the number of blood banks.Niti Aayog is in talks with stakeholder ministries, including ministries of health and family welfare and road transport and highways, to develop a strong, holistic ambulance-emergency-trauma care system, a senior government official told ET.

Piyush Goyal said Yashobhoomi, a state-of-the-art convention centre that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, will help spur trade, industry, export and employment. The centre in Dwarka in the national capital will also promote small and medium businesses, farmers and artisans, and provide new opportunities and markets to them, he added. Built at a cost of ₹5,400 crore, the first phase of the India International Convention and Expo Centre, named Yashobhoomi, has a total built-up area of over 180,000 square metres. It's among the world's largest MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) facilities.

Signature Global, an NCR-based real estate developer, plans to launch 21 million square feet of projects in the next three-five years, primarily in the mid-income housing sector as it looks to reduce debt, said founder and chairman Pradeep Aggarwal. The company, supported by IFC and HDFC Capital Advisors, intends to generate as much as Rs 730 crore through its upcoming initial public offering, scheduled to launch on September 20. Originally established as an affordable housing-focused firm in 2014, Signature Global has transitioned toward mid-income housing due to rising costs of raw materials and land. «We believe the real estate sector is currently thriving, and this presents the ideal opportunity to enter the market.

NEW DELHI : The government may raise the minimum support price (MSP) of six rabi or winter crops, with increases ranging from 2% to 7%, for the 2024-25 marketing season as it gears up for high-stakes general and state assembly elections, two officials said. The most substantial hikes are expected for wheat and lentil (masur), the officials said, requesting anonymity.

₹3.54 trillion, advance tax collections in this fiscal year’s first half have reportedly been a fifth greater than last year’s, with the final figure likely to rise a bit as it doesn’t include all payments till the second quarter’s 15 September deadline. Corporate tax revenue made up ₹2.8 trillion, while the rest came from personal income tax.

₹699. “We think of ourselves not as a content or an e-commerce venture but a sleep and relaxation company," Jain said. Neend, in a way, stands apart as a unique venture in an emerging market promising to deliver a restful night of sleep to customers.

student visa and visitor or tourist visa effective from 4 October. The British Government has announced that a UK Tourist Visa for under six months will cost ₹1,543 (£ 15) more and UK Student Visas will be ₹13,070 (£127) more expensive for travelers from around the world, including Indians.

The term “Bond Vigilantes” is a nostalgic twist on an old-west theme. In the nineteenth century, the American West formed self-appointed groups, or committees, to seize the duties of law enforcement and judicial authority in situations when citizens found law enforcement lacking or inadequate.

R K Singh on Sunday criticised the West Bengal government for «not implementing» the PM Kusum scheme, which could have helped farmers by way of lower power costs. The scheme envisages installation of solar panels for running irrigation pumps, which are usually operated with diesel. Singh, the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, said under the scheme, the Centre provides 30-per cent assistance as viability gap funding. «With this viability gap funding, solar power generation costs would come down and farmers can benefit from lower electricity tariff… But the Bengal government has not implemented it,» Singh said here. The electricity distribution company of the state government would only have to invite bids from private agencies, which set up solar panels, and then buy power from them, he said. The agency with the lowest bid would be awarded the contract.

industrial workers pursuing higher education will be granted Rs 50,000 to purchase electric two-wheelers, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced on Sunday. Speaking at an event at the Shri Vishwakarma Skill University in Palwal district, Khattar said the move will promote mobility and enable the daughters of industrial workers to be independent. Khattar also made announcements regarding scholarships for the children of industrial workers.

market capitalization in 2023 included four technology companies, one social media platform, and one online marketplace. In 2009, their collective number was one. In 14 years, digital companies, led by data usage, have challenged the neoclassical approach to business.

₹7-10 per kg of cost to the tea sold. Still, it generates large unsold odd-lots. In any case, only about 40% of the tea gets sold through tea auctions.

reality TV stars and NFL running backs are getting into it. But this is not a revival of unions. In fact, unless they reform, it could be their last gasp.

By Nivedita Balu

By Andy Bruce