Country Financial News

Squeezed by an economic downturn and a rapidly aging population, China took a step toward raising its unusually low benchmarks for when people should retire. China has one of the lowest retirement ages among major economies, letting women retire as early as 50 and men at 60—policies unchanged since the 1950s. Beijing has long said it wants citizens to work longer, but has repeatedly put off any policy changes for fear of social pushback.

OPEC on Tuesday cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024 reflecting data received so far this year and also trimmed its expectation for next year, marking the producer group's second consecutive downward revision. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in a monthly report said world oil demand will rise by 2.03 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, down from growth of 2.11 million bpd it expected last month. There is a wider than usual split between forecasters on the strength of oil demand growth in 2024, partly due to differences over China and more broadly over the pace of the world's transition to cleaner fuels. The reduction still leaves OPEC at the top end of industry estimates.

Ukraine conflict cannot be resolved on the battlefield, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine have to negotiate, and if they want advice, India is always willing to give. Jaishankar made the comments while responding to questions at the Annual Ambassadors' Conference of the German Foreign Office in Berlin, a day after he held a «useful conversation» with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the margins of the India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers' meeting in the Saudi capital. «We don't think this conflict is going to be resolved on the battlefield. At some stage, there's going to be some negotiation. When there is a negotiation, the main parties — Russia and Ukraine — have to be at that negotiation,» he said. Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to Russia and Ukraine, he said that the Indian leader has said in Moscow and Kyiv that this is not an era of war.

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is looking at a significant increase in its overseas shipments by 2030, MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said on Tuesday. Speaking at the 64th annual session of industry body SIAM here, he noted that the automaker's overseas shipments will witness «multiples of growth» in coming years.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager scored two major wins on Tuesday as Europe's top court backed her crackdown against Apple's Irish tax deal and Google's anti-competitive practices in two landmark cases.

Hillier's election went unopposed as she was the sole nomination for the position. She succeeds former chair of the Treasury Committee Harriett Baldwin, and will take on the role once all committee members have been appointed by the House of Commons. Investors show lukewarm confidence in Chancellor Reeves as fiscal challenges mount «It is a privilege to become chair of the Treasury Committee. I look forward to working with my fellow MPs to scrutinise the actions of this country's most prominent financial institutions over the course of the next parliament,» Hillier commented. «D...

Coal India Ltd. is planning to invest about 670 billion rupees ($8 billion) to build coal-fired power plants close to its mines, signaling the fast-growing economy will remain reliant on the fossil fuel for decades to come.

«Various companies are implementing massive projects across the country on green. So far as green is concerned, the discourse has actually changed to 24 by 7 green power, which means the conversations are now about storage,» says Vinayak Chatterjee, The Infravision Foundation. My next question is perhaps based on what you also flagged off right now, which is that new sectors are taking over. Old sectors or traditional sectors are taking a backseat. But the analyst in Bombay also focuses on two big sectors, which is steel and cement. Now, if the new sectors are taking over, old sectors from a private sector capex standpoint, they could take a backseat. So, do you think indirectly, it could have impact on steel and cement demand also, which should grow ideally when the economy is booming, but which may not grow because of new capex? Vinayak Chatterjee: Now, unfortunately, I have to agree with you again.

Poor roads, hazardous air quality, a lack of public infrastructure, and women’s safety issues drove Saurabh Arora and his wife Shubhangi Datta to leave India in 2022. Australia’s relatively lenient permanent residency rules and superior quality of life made it the perfect destination. But after just two years of living in Melbourne, the couple is already thinking about moving back.

Australia are working with international law enforcement agencies to track down a man suspected of pouring hot coffee on a nine-month-old baby and then fleeing the country.The boy, named Luka, was left with severe burns from the attack and has undergone multiple surgeries, according to a GoFundMe page set up by a friend of the family.The incident happened on Aug. 27 in Hanlon Park in Brisbane, when a mother and her baby were approached by a stranger.

SWFs to stabilize their financial systems. The largest SWF, Norway’s Government Pension Fund-Global, was established in 1990 to preserve and grow the country’s oil revenues from the North Sea. Today, the fund manages $1.7 trillion and holds stakes in 9,000 companies across 70 countries.

India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Monday, at their first-ever Foreign Ministers meeting in Riyadh, adopted a Joint Action Plan 2024-2028 for undertaking various joint activities in diverse areas, including health, trade, security, agriculture and food security, transportation, energy, culture, among others.

Oil prices rose about 1% on Monday on concerns that a hurricane forecast to hit Louisiana on Wednesday will disrupt production and refining along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Brent futures were up 78 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $71.84 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.04, or 1.5%, to settle at $68.71.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' China unit, the audit major is likely to tap senior partner from the United Kingdom to run its business in the East Asian country as fallout from collapsed property developer Evergrande continues to mount, reported The Financial Times quoting its souces.

India's new Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish assured the country's commitment to reformed "multilateralism" and «revitalisation» of the UN as he presented his credentials to UN chief Antonio Guterres.

Singapore in September 2024 was his second official visit to Singapore, the first being in 2016. Globally, there have been significant changes between 2016 and 2024, but this visit symbolised an enduring continuity in relations between India and Singapore over the last few decades. This visit was significant for the key reasons.

Team USA has a history of dominating the Olympic Games, its results at the Paralympics have been less spectacular. Even though American Olympians consistently win the most medals, their Paralympic counterparts have encountered more challenging opposition. With 36 gold medals out of a total of 105, the United States placed third in the 2024 Paralympics, behind Great Britain and China. As per the reports of Yahoo sports, the United States hasn't yet recaptured the dominance it had from 1976 to 1996, when Team USA often dominated the Paralympic medal table, although improving from its sixth-place position in 2012.

Myntra, Fractal, Nazara, Policybazaar and Rapido. Playbook’s fund will invest in growth-stage, tech-enabled businesses in large addressable markets that have meaningful scale, healthy operating margins, and high growth. With an average ticket size of $10-20 million, the fund will roughly constitute about 15-20 investments across various sectors including health-tech, SaaS, fintech, ecommerce and supply chain.

Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

Jimmy has nearly 10 years of experience as a journalist and writer in the blockchain industry. He has worked with well-known publications such as Bitcoin Magazine, CCN, Business2Community, and...

European Union countries are buying too much of their defense equipment abroad, much of it U.S.-made, and failing to invest in joint military projects, a landmark report is warning