Country Financial News

Years ahead of the financial crisis, David Burt saw trouble brewing in subprime mortgages and started betting on a crisis, winning himself a cameo in The Big Short by Michael Lewis in addition to lots of money. Now Burt runs DeltaTerra Capital, a research firm he founded to warn investors about the next housing crisis. This one will be caused by climate change. In a webinar with journalists last month, Burt argued that US homeowners’ wildfire and flood risks are underinsured by $28.7 billion a year. As a result, more than 17 million homes, representing nearly 19% of total US home value, are at risk of suffering what could total $1.2 trillion in value destruction.

Friendship Day is a special occasion dedicated to honoring the importance of friends in our lives. In 2024, this day will be observed on August 4 in the United States, India, and several other countries. International Friendship Day, recognized by the United Nations, is celebrated on July 30. This day highlights the value of friendships and offers a chance to express gratitude for these important relationships.

BENGALURU : Goa’s appeal is now extending beyond holidaymakers and retirees. Real estate developers from across the country are gearing up to launch projects in the popular holiday destination, led by high demand from wealthy individuals and non-resident Indians. The launches lined up include luxury villas, apartments as well as plotted development projects.

₹32,403.46 crore in integrated GST (IGST) over five years between July 2017 and March 2022 for “supply of services" by its foreign branches. On Thursday, Infosys informed stock exchanges that the Karnataka State GST authorities, a reference to the zonal office of DGGI, had withdrawn the pre-show cause notice and directed it to respond to DGGI's central authority on the matter. The company had received pre-show cause notice on the same matter from both the central and state offices of DGGI.

Real Madrid and Barcelona — will be playing El Clásico on the US soil on Saturday. While Barcelona won the previous match against Manchester City, Real Madrid defeated AC Milan. Real Madrid versus Barcelona is scheduled to be kicked off at 7 pm (ET) on August 3. Real Madrid versus Barcelona soccer match will be shown on ESPN App and ESPN+. Real Madrid is likely to win against Barcelona in the El Clasico.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index has dropped nearly 6% after a broad retreat on Wall Street

Turkey’s communications authority has blocked access to the social media platform Instagram

Pakistan government on Friday decided to provide financial assistance to the families of missing persons as pressure mounted on authorities to address the issue of forced disappearances in the country. The decision was taken in a meeting of the cabinet which discussed reports of two previous committees set up to investigate the issue of missing persons, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said at a press conference. He said that families of missing persons face several economic problems and the cabinet decided to provide urgent support to them after due diligence. «A special committee will be formed to determine which families need an immediate support package, after which each [eligible] family will receive Rs 5 million,» Tarar said. «Keep in mind that this is not compensation of any kind, as there is no compensation for a human life,» the law minister clarified, adding that the assistance aimed to help them meet legal and financial challenges.

electronics industry to share production statistics for policy formulation, a Meity official said on Friday. The government has been sharing electronics production data in the country based on estimates of industry bodies, especially the India Electronics and Cellular Association. «We don't have any kinds of production data. That's very important. When we formulate policy, we need to know how much we are producing and what we are producing. So that we actually know the exact figure. We have DGIS, where we can get import data and export data. Industry has to support the government by sharing the data,» Meity Scientists G and Group Coordinator Asha Nangia said. She was speaking at an event organised by CII in collaboration with ICEA on Building a Resilient Supply Chain for Electronics and Semiconductor Industry.

BJP for «destroying» the Indian economy through «wrong policies», Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday said the saffron party was hell-bent on making the country's condition «worse than neighbouring Pakistan». Addressing the assembly on the concluding day of the monsoon session, he accused the BJP of playing «vote-bank politics» by dividing people in the name of religion. «The country is passing through a difficult phase; the economy is in peril, due to the wrong policies of the BJP-led central government. They are hell-bent on making the country's condition worse than Pakistan,» Soren said. He also said the people of Ayodhya gave a befitting reply to the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls for «dividing the country» on religious lines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved the development of eight national high speed corridor road projects with a length of 936 km at a cost of Rs 50,655 crore, aimed at improving logistics efficiency, reducing congestion and enhancing connectivity across the country. “Implementation of these eight projects will generate an estimated 4.42 crore mandays of direct and indirect employment,” the government said in a statement issued after the meeting. The projects are spread across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Assam.

Construction is booming in states like Arizona, California, Florida and Texas.

public comments till August 30 on its proposed amendment to bring uniformity in rules regarding mandatory declaration on packaged commodities sold in the retail market, except for institutional consumers. According to an official statement, the Department of Consumer Affairs has extended the timeline for submission of comments on the proposed amendment in Rule 3 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 until August 30. The last date of submission was July 29. The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 make it mandatory to declare information like name and address of the manufacturer/ packer/ importer, country of origin, common or generic name of the commodity, net quantity, month and year of manufacture, MRP, Unit Sale Price, best before/use by date and consumer care details on all pre-packaged commodities. However, Rule 3 provides that these rules are not applicable for the packaged commodities containing quantity of more than 25 kilogram or 25 litre except cement, fertilizer and agricultural farm produce sold in bags above 50 kilogram. It is presumed that the packaged commodities meant for retail sale are not more than 25 kg, the statement said.

Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday defended the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), which is under the scanner over paper leak cases, saying medical education had become an open business before the NEET was introduced and PG seats were sold for Rs 8 crore-13 crore each. The minister intervened during a discussion on a private member resolution moved by DMK Rajya Sabha member M Mohmed Abdulla on the NEET. The minister said corruption was rife in medical education before the NEET was brought in during his first stint as health minister. «Medical education had become the den of a business. When I was health minister and was bringing NEET, one seat of post graduation was sold for Rs 8 crore each and if you had to opt for a discipline like radiology then it was Rs 12-13 crore,» Nadda said.

Jharkhand Assembly on Friday passed a Bill to impose cess on mined minerals to boost the state's revenue. This move follows the Supreme Court's July 25 ruling, which affirmed that the legislative power to tax mineral rights rests with the states. Mining Minister in-charge Mithilesh Thakur introduced the 'Jharkhand Mineral-Bearing Land Cess Bill 2024', which was approved by voice vote. The Bill proposes varying tax rates for different minerals on a per-metric-tonne basis: Rs 100 for coal and iron ore, Rs 70 for bauxite, and Rs 50 for manganese ore and other minerals.

government has assured to look into the demands of 78 lakh pensioners seeking a minimum monthly pension of Rs 7,500, the EPS-95 National Agitation Committee (NAC) said on Friday. In a statement, the pensioners' body said that Union Minister for Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya met with its representatives and assured them that the government would take necessary steps to address their demand. The meeting took place following a protest organised by members of the EPS-95 National Agitation Committee in the national capital on Wednesday. The members coming from various locations of the country have protested against the government here and demanded a higher pension instead of an average monthly pension of only Rs 1,450, the body said adding that there are around 3.6 million pensioners who are getting even less than Rs 1,000 as pension per month.

₹5,922 crore (about $707 million) through a 57.56% promoter stake acquisition, one of the largest cross-border deals in the communications platform space. That was Gupta’s claim to fame: Having bootstrapped a billion-dollar company and selling it to a global peer. Gupta is also a keen investor.

Cameroon, left the country at the age of just 11 with her family, and went to the UK, where she was granted an asylum status. Meanwhile, she has no country to properly call a home but her skills in boxing is already taking her place and winning hearts, be it the 2023 European Games, or the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics, where she is a part of the Refugee Olympic Team.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday asserted that it is everyone's responsibility to stop infiltration, not just that of the Union government. He also sought to know the «formula from Rahul Gandhi on how to conduct caste survey without disclosing one's own caste». Interacting with reporters here, Sarma, the BJP's Jharkhand election co-incharge, said, «Santhal Pargana region in Jharkhand has been worst affected by infiltration. The population of infiltrators has gone up by 50-60 per cent in various constituencies in the region in the last 20 years and the situation could become like that of Assam.» He claimed that the Muslim population in Assam rose from 12 per cent in 1952 to 40-42 per cent at present, mainly due to infiltration.

Supreme Court said on Friday while wondering why public interest litigations (PILs) are filed when infrastructure projects like highways are launched. The apex court's observation came while dealing with a petition over construction work for doubling of the railway tracks on the Vasco Da Gama-Kulem section of Tinaighat-Vasco Da Gama route in Goa. «We are only wondering why this happens only in this country that when you start constructing a road in Himachal (Pradesh), the PILs come. When you start constructing a highway, national highways, the PILs come,» a bench of Justices Surya Kant and R Mahadevan observed. «You tell us a single internationally famed tourist resort where the railway facility is not there,» the bench told the petitioner's counsel, adding, «Go to the Alps mountains and they take you through the snow in train.»

forex reserves dipped by $3.47 billion to $667.39 billion for the week ending on July 26, data shared by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday. Previously, country's forex reserves jumped by $4.00 billion to hit an all-time high of $670.86 billion as of July 19. According to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI, Foreign currency assets (FCAs) fell by $1. 1 billion to $586.88 billion. Expressed in dollar terms, the FCAs include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.