Country Financial News

Cordelia Cruises, said Cordelia has a 100% sold out status for this Mahashivratri long weekend as well as for a cruise starting on Holi. Close to 4,000 guests will be on board for both the cruises. “How Indians used to cruise has changed post the Covid-19 pandemic,” Bailom said. “One of our key strategies has been to ensure we cater to weekend travellers who would like to holiday without taking too much time off work,” he added. The long weekends business has turned out to be a money spinner for hotels and travel companies post the pandemic, and most key properties in the north and west are sold out for the long weekends this month. Some are available at very steep rates.

The Turkish energy minister says Turkey and Somalia have struck an oil and gas cooperation agreement for the Horn of Africa nation

NEW DELHI : India’s mobile phone exports are expected to cross ₹1.2 trillion at the end of this financial year, reaching a major milestone propelled by the government’s thrust on phone makers such as Apple and Samsung to manufacture locally. The exports would account for nearly one-third of the total domestic production of mobile phones, projected at about ₹4.1 trillion in FY24, the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association said on Thursday.

NEW DELHI : India’s foreign minister S. Jaishankar urged Japanese companies to consider “Make in India" initiatives as well as export from India to global markets, during the Raisina Roundtable in Tokyo. Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Japan to meet with his Japanese counterpart Yoko Komikawa.

Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday thanked his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for felicitations on his re-election to the top political position in the country. Taking to microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter) the Pakistan prime minister said," "Thank you @narendramodi for felicitations on my election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan." Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi congratulated Shehbaz on taking oath as the 24th prime minister of Pakistan. "Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan," Modi posted on X.

₹528.97 crore for the next two financial years (to FY26), a senior government official said. The scheme is aimed at supporting the development of improved varieties of tea to increase production and quality. India is the largest producer of black tea and the third-largest tea exporter, but exports dipped by more than 4% to $673 million during April-January this fiscal.

According to its annual results for the year to 31 December 2023, the trust offered a share price return of 20.2% and a NAV total return of 21.6%, compared with its MSCI All Country World index benchmark return of 15.3%.  The trust has also raised its dividend 5% on the previous year's figure, up to 25.2p per share thanks to the addition of a Q4 interim dividend of 6.34p. Spread between ten underlying equity managers, the trust's portfolio is highly concentrated, with 9% allocated to Jupiter Asset Management. Given the pending departure of manager Ben Whitmore, Numis analysts Ash N...

Millions of travelers across Germany are being affected by strikes again after two unions called for two-day walkouts over wages and work conditions

Leading British economic think tanks are warning that whoever wins the country’s general election this year will face some very tough choices on tax and spending if they want to make sure the public finances don’t deteriorate further

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has transferred another 8% of shares in the kingdom’s oil giant Saudi Aramco to the country’s prominent sovereign wealth fund

Brilliant yellow and gold mustard is carpeting Northern California’s wine country

Federal airport security officials have unveiled a passenger self-screening checkpoint at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas that they plan to test this year before beginning to use it around the country

Old Masters, Roman statues, modern furniture, tribal masks and vintage watches are vying for the attention of well-heeled collectors at the annual TEFAF art fair that opened in the southern Netherlands

USD 200 billion this year and huge opportunities exist for the two countries to expand cooperation in defence, space besides critical emerging technologies like semiconductors and artificial intelligence, said American Ambassador Eric Garcetti on Thursday. The US is proud to be India's No. 1 trading partner with two-way trade reaching nearly USD 200 billion last year, Garcetti told reporters in Indore. «I think this year we will break the (previous) record of USD 200 billion in bilateral trade (between India and the US),» he said. The envoy asserted that US President Joe Biden in the past had emphasized that trade between India and America should rise to the level of USD 500 billion given the potential for expansion. Efforts are on achieve this goal, said the Ambassador who took charge of his new diplomatic assignment last year.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday announced a myriad of decisions taken by the Narendra Modi government in its Cabinet meeting, ranging from allowance hikes and minimum support price hikes to new schemes for artificial intelligence. In a presser post the Cabinet meeting, Goyal announced outlays of Rs 10,037 crore for the Uttar Poorva scheme and Rs 10,371.92 crore to fund an ambitious IndiaAI Mission. Thursday's announcements come in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, likely to take place in May, this year. On other fronts, the Central government is currently in a tug-of-war with scores of farmers who are protesting to avail legal support for minimum support prices as well as loan waivers.

Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the 'India AI mission' with an outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore for a period of five years, to give a further push for Artificial Intelligence in India. The announcement was made by Union Minister Piyush Goyal at a cabinet briefing, where he reiterated the need to have a robust environment for promoting the tech in the country. «The IndiaAI mission will establish a comprehensive ecosystem catalyzing AI innovation through strategic programs and partnerships across the public and private sectors. By democratizing computing access, improving data quality, developing indigenous AI capabilities, attracting top AI talent, enabling industry collaboration, providing startup risk capital, ensuring socially impactful AI projects and bolstering ethical AI, it will drive responsible, inclusive growth of India's AI ecosystem,» the government said in a release.

Tax Officials under goods and service tax (GST) has busted a syndicate that fraudulently claimed Input Tax Credit of over Rs 1,000 crore through a network of 232 fake firms. The investigation was initiated by the anti evasion branch of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Commissionerate, Meerut in October 2023 which detected that a large syndicate was fraudulently claiming Input Tax Credit (ITC) by way of fake billing. «The investigation conducted so far has revealed that a total number of 232 fake firms, with 91 firms registered on a single mobile number, are registered at various places across the country and have passed an inadmissible ITC of around Rs. 1,048 crore. Total value of goods shown to be supplied through these firms is around Rs. 5,842 crore,» the finance ministry said in a statement.

DRDO. Under the around Rs 15,000 crore project, Defence Research and Development Organisation's Aeronautical Development Agency would develop the stealth fighter jet and its technologies in partnership with various private and public sector agencies and build around five prototypes in around five years, government sources told ANI. The project would see the prototype manufactured by industry including the public sector unit Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, they said.

Airbus has received approval from aviation regulator DGCA for its new generation H160 helicopter in India. More than 100 helicopters of Airbus, including the single-engine H125, are being operated by various entities in the country. In a release on Thursday, Airbus said its H160 helicopter has been granted the letter of type acceptance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that will pave the way for its entry into the Indian market. A multi-role helicopter, H160 can be used for offshore transportation, emergency medical services, private and business aviation and public services, among others.

Lahore: Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, an influential minority leader, has been sworn in as a provincial minister, making him the first Sikh to occupy a ministerial position in post-partition Punjab. Belonging to the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, Arora has returned to the Lahore provincial assembly for the third term after winning the February 8 polls. Arora, 49, was recently elected Pardhan (president) of the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee and also as the ambassador to the Kartarpur Corridor.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The credit rating agency Moody's (NYSE:MCO) said on Thursday that it was downgrading its outlook for the banking sector in a number of European countries as weak economies erode profits.