COST Financial News

IIFL Home Finance has raised a $50 million loan from US International Development Finance Corp (DFC) to grow its affordable housing finance portfolio with a special focus on sustainable housing. The fund was raised at a concessional 5.72% rate, which includes the hedging cost, IIFL Home Finance chief executive Monu Ratra told ET. Its average cost of funds is 8.4%.

Florida are grappling with the implications of a new book-challenge law, forcing them to reconsider their approaches to selecting and teaching books. The law, which took effect on July 1 after being signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, requires districts to discontinue the use of any material deemed to contain «sexual conduct» as defined by the state. This has raised concerns among educators, media specialists, and book-access advocates who fear that valuable literature may be removed from classrooms due to the broad interpretation of the law. Media specialists like Kathleen Malloy in Leon County and others around the state are concerned that the new legislation, known as HB 1069, could restrict access to books containing scenes or content considered to be «sexual conduct.» Even books needed for important exams like the College Board's Advanced Placement literature exam and dual-enrollment classes may be affected. Some districts, awaiting guidance from the Florida Department of Education, have put their review processes on hold.

Delhi Jal Board has said it received Rs 1,071.37 crore from the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in the last eight years and spent Rs 1,011.67 crore under the Yamuna Action Plan — III during the period. In response to an RTI query, the DJB said it received another Rs 205 crore in funds from the NMCG in the last five years and spent all of it in expenditure under the Namami Gange Project.

Lenovo Tab M10 5G, the tablet comes with a 10.61-inch LCD screen and houses a 7,700mAh battery. The all-new Lenovo tablet comes with a starting price of ₹22,999. It is offered in two models- 4GB RAM with 128GB internal storage, and 6GB RAM with 128GB storage.

Crown Melbourne is set to be the beneficiary of restrictions on gaming machines in Victoria, with all venues bar the casino forced to close them between 4am and 10am from the middle of next year.

Optus has been on a tear. First, the telecommunications company spoiled Telstra’s plan to boost its coverage in the bush with airspace from TPG Telecom by convincing the Australian Competition Tribunal it would be bad for the marketplace.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Sunday that he will step down from the Cabinet at the next reshuffle, expected in a few months' time, after serving four years in the job. The 53-year-old Conservative Party member of Parliament since 2005 also told 'The Sunday Times' that he will not stand as an MP at the next general election, expected next year. Wallace has served as defence minister under three British prime ministers — Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak — and has played a high-profile role in the UK's response to the Russia-Ukraine war conflict. «I went into politics in the Scottish parliament in 1999. That's 24 years. I've spent well over seven years with three phones by my bed,» Wallace told the newspaper. «While I am proud to have worked with so many amazing people and helped contribute to protecting this great country, the cost of putting that ahead of my family is something I am very sad about,» he said. The minister is believed to have informed Prime Minister Sunak of his decision to stand down from the Cabinet last month.

housing sales, according to Anarock. Real estate consultant Anarock noted that the unfettered demand for housing across the country has enabled the country's leading large and listed developers to reduce their debt. Anarock analysed financial performances of the top eight developers engaged in the development of residential real estate.

Shopify wants to cut down on ‘meeting creep’—the way meetings seem to proliferate on corporate calendars like mushrooms across a shady lawn. Earlier, the company axed recurring meetings of three or more people and went in for no-meet Wednesdays. Now, the Ottawa-based e-tailer has integrated a meeting-cost calculator into its calendar app.

World leaders are all too familiar with the global community’s challenges: loss of progress in our fight against poverty, an existential climate crisis, a fledgling pandemic recovery, and a crippling war on the borders of Europe. But beneath the surface, a deep mistrust is quietly pulling the Global North and South apart at a time when we need to be uniting if we are to have any hope of overcoming these intertwined crises. The Global South’s frustration is understandable.

The rise of ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL) services has revolutionized the way consumers make purchases, offering the allure of immediate gratification without upfront costs. Recent data indicates a significant increase in BNPL’s share of e-commerce transactions globally, rising from 0.4% in 2016 to 1.6% in 2019 and reaching 3% in 2021. This trend has propelled the global BNPL market size, which is now projected to reach an impressive $596.7 billion by 2026. In India, the BNPL sector is moving at 65% YOY growth and is expected to attain a valuation of $40 billion by 2025. 

Mayur Vihar and old Yamuna bridge areas have been sleeping in the open with just a tarpaulin over their heads, defecating in the open and waiting for the water levels to recede. Pointing towards the submerged house under the Yamuna bridge, Seema, a 39-year-old woman, grieved about how her efforts of 20 years went into vain in just three days. «I have been working as a househelp for the last 20 years and spent every penny of my income for my house and my children. The efforts and hard work of 20 years went into vain in just three days,» a tearful Seema said. She claimed that they have received no help from the government except for plastic tarpaulins and a packet of milk and that they were not alerted beforehand about the rising water levels. «Earlier the police used to alert us before floods but this time no one even prompted to move out of our houses and the whole of the slum is submerged in water now. The government says a lot of things but gave us nothing. We only received one tarpaulin and a packet of milk. They came and wrote our names on Saturday, took all details but nothing has been done so far,» Seema told PTI.

France is tackling clothing waste with an innovative new scheme that encourages mending instead of discarding clothes that are on the verge of becoming unusable. Announced by the secretary of state for ecology, Bérangère Couillard, the initiative aims to create a circular economy for shoes and textiles, promoting product longevity and sustainability.

In 1991, when India kicked off its economic liberalisation in the aftermath of a crisis, the government requested a committee headed by former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, M Narasimham, to submit a report on banking reforms. The committee’s report outlined the future trajectory of banking in India while making a strong case for limiting the number of large banks to four.

By Valerie Volcovici

HDFC Bank will release its earnings for the June quarter on Monday, and this will be the first one after its mega-merger with parent Housing Development Finance Corporation. The financials will be released for the merged entity by the lender. The merger came into effect on July 1.

multinationals in India have ramped up their talent search this fiscal year even as recessionary pressures and macroeconomic headwinds keep hiring muted in the West, said top industry officials. The in-house units of global companies in India across sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), pharmaceuticals, retail, energy, automotive and telecom are set to clock half a million gross hires, including attrition refills, this fiscal year, according to data from specialist staffing firm Xpheno.

Taylor Swift's Eras tour has been a massive success, projected to earn a staggering $1.4 billion, which would make it the highest-grossing tour ever, according to Forbes. The first 22 performances of the tour alone brought in over $300 million, as reported by Pollstar. After deducting concert promoters and production costs, Forbes estimates that Swift earned around $100 million from these shows.

 Ganesha says if you have been planning to relocate for some time or are reconsidering before committing to a property. Then you will get success. There will be a good atmosphere in the house if there is any good news from the children as well.

Lithium is the new gold. This soft, silvery white metal is essential for a range of products — from batteries of electric vehicles, mobile phones and laptops to hydrogen fuel storage, air conditioning systems and pharmaceuticals. Even though a vast array of industries hinges on this single metal, India does not produce even a kilogram of it.

Adani Power Jharkhand Ltd (APJL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Power Ltd, will supply 100 per cent of the generated electricity from the plant to another nation. The company informed that it successfully completed the dependable capacity test for the Godda plant on July 12 - a mandatory requirement under the power purchase agreement (PPA) with Bangladesh Power Development Board, executed in November 2017 for a period of 25 years.