Country Financial News

By Corina Pons and Helen Reid

BRASILIA (Reuters) — Brazil's top central bank officials on Friday praised the government's commitment to eliminate the primary deficit in its 2024 budget, saying fiscal improvement is vital for aligning inflation expectations with official targets.

Thailand's king has commuted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's eight-year prison sentence to one year, the royal gazette said on Friday, a day after the billionaire submitted a request for pardon. The country's most famous politician returned to Thailand last week in a dramatic homecoming after 15 years abroad in self-exile to avoid jail time after he was ousted by the military in 2006. He arrived on a private jet and was transferred to prison to serve an eight-year sentence on charges of abuse of power and conflicts of interest from during his time in power. On the first night, he was moved to a police hospital over chest pains and high blood pressure. On Thursday he submitted a request for a royal pardon. Thaksin «was a prime minister, has done good for the country and people and is loyal to the monarchy,» the royal gazette said on Friday. «He respected the process, admitted his guilt, repented, accepted court verdicts.

INDIA bloc grouping that met in Mumbai passed three resolutions that involved seat sharing as well as holding joint rallies and forming a joint social media campaign. The bloc set up a 14-member coordination committee, which will be the top decision-making body of the alliance. It will begin work on seat sharing soon.

diesel dropped 2.9% and that of petrol rose 0.4% in August over last year, according to the state oil companies' data. The demand for aviation turbine fuel (ATF) rose 9.5% year-on-year in August while that for LPG rose 4.4%. Compared to August 2019, the ATF sales are still 3.2% lower while those of petrol and diesel are up 21.2% and 8.4% respectively. Over the last few months, state oil companies' petrol and diesel sales have been under pressure from the rising competition from private fuel retailers who had cut their retail sales last year after government-controlled retailers started selling fuel at below-market rates. Private players have again boosted their presence in the market this year to benefit from the extraordinarily high margins that fuel retailing currently offers.

The British economy was 0.6% larger in the fourth quarter of 2021 than in the final quarter of 2019, compared with an earlier estimate that it was 1.2% smaller, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Friday. This big upward revision brings forward the date at which Britain's economy regained its pre-COVID size by more than a year and a half, and shows at the end of 2021 it had made a faster recovery than Germany, France or Italy, and was level with Japan, although it was behind the United States and Canada. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government has been criticised for a sluggish recovery by the opposition Labour Party ahead of a national election expected next year, and the latest revisions were welcomed by finance minister Jeremy Hunt. «The fact that the UK recovered from the pandemic much faster than thought shows that once again those determined to talk down the British economy have been proved wrong,» he said. The changes also have implications for the Bank of England, which has a subdued growth outlook and has found it harder to tame inflation than the U.S.

Each month Tina Marie Porter pays about $1,000 out of pocket for Mounjaro. To make up for the extra monthly expense, the 49-year-old director of operations takes on more assignments and seeks odd jobs. Porter belongs to a growing population of people taking extra measures to cover the full or almost-full price of popular drugs used for weight loss, after their insurance denied them coverage.

Investing.com — As OPEC, you just have to say it, and worry about doing it later, or not doing it at all. But the market will respond, as you want it to, and that’s all that matters.

NEW DELHI : India remains a “large opportunity" for Amazon.com Inc. globally with the e-commerce firm constantly unleashing investments in the market amid expectations that the nascent e-commerce market is only set to grow, said a top global executive at the Seattle-headquartered firm. “If you look at some of the big markers of opportunity, we certainly feel India is on the shortlist of the largest opportunities we have as a business.

NEW DELHI : The growing ties between India and Tanzania may enter a critical phase with President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s official visit to New Delhi, said government officials. The visit is significant given that it follows a series of diplomatic missions by India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar to Africa, and Tanzania’s strategic position as the entry point for India to the continent, as stated by the minister during his visit to the country in July, one of the officials said on the condition of anonymity.

₹1 lakh per kilolitre mark. In the national capital, jet fuel was priced at ₹1,12,419.33 per kilolitre, 14.12% higher from ₹98,508.26 in August. Similarly, in Kolkata and Chennai, ATF prices rose 12.74% and 13.85% to ₹1,21,063.83 per kilolitre on Friday.

New Delhi: Coal India on Friday reported a 13.2% rise in its coal production last month at 52.3 million tonne (MT) of coal in August on a year-on-year basis. In August 2022, the public sector major produced 46.2 MT. So far in the current financial year (FY24), Coal India has produced 281.5 MT of the mineral, registering a 11% growth compared to the same period last fiscal, said a company statement.

MUMBAI : The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a coalition of 28 opposition parties, shifted into election mode on Friday, initiating urgent talks on seat-sharing arrangements, key panels and a public campaign next month. The alliance is attempting to wrest back political momentum from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, which sparked furious speculation with the surprise declaration of a special session of Parliament in the third week of September.

rail services today, September 1 as the drivers’ union Aslef goes on strike. This is part of a series of strikes that have lasted over a year, involving unions and train companies in disputes over pay, jobs, and working conditions. Here’s what you need to know about industrial action and how it will affect services.

Ukraine conflict and the contentious matter should be removed from the draft of the leaders' communique to pave the way for its release at the bloc's summit next week, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said on Friday. The envoy said Russia has been «very openly» supporting India's priorities under its G20 presidency and hoped that the summit will be a «huge success» for India and the whole world. There have been sharp differences between the Russia-China combite and the Western countries over the text to describe the Ukraine crisis. «Obviously, the situation is complicated.

Delhi hosts the two-day G20 summit. Much preparation has been underway to spruce the city up. This includes many of Delhi's historical monuments undergoing 'facelifts'.

AI likely to play a role in the next general elections? The technology is just about rolling out in local languages and may not acquire the sophistication over the next few months to influence voter behaviour significantly. Distribution channels for information such as social media platforms have put in place internal controls and have established a level of engagement with regulators over disinformation. Two-thirds of the country's population is still not on Facebook or WhatsApp, thereby limiting their broadcast strength.

Lok Sabha elections together as far as possible. Seat-sharing arrangements in different states will be initiated immediately and concluded at the earliest in a collaborative spirit of give and take." “Second, we the INDIA parties hereby resolve to organise public rallies at the earliest in different parts of the country on issues of public concern and importance. Third, we the INDIA parties hereby resolve to coordinate our respective communications and media strategies and campaigns on the theme of 'Judega Bharat, Jeetega India' in different languages," the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said.

Pakistan will field an unchanged playing XI against India in their much-anticipated Asia Cup match here on Saturday, the country's cricket board (PCB) said. Pakistan on Friday decided to name an unchanged team which thrashed Nepal by 238 runs in their opening game on Wednesday. Pakistan made 342 for 6 riding on hundreds by captain Babar Azam (151) and Iftikhar Ahmed (109 not out).

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has asked the people not to use the word "India" and instead use «Bharat». Bhagwat arrived for a three-day visit to Guwahati on Friday. Speaking at a function in Guwahati he said, “ We must stop using the word India and start using Bharat. At times we use India to make those who speak English understand.