Country Financial News

Cyclone Tej updates: The deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal may intensify into a cyclone by Monday evening, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said in a bulletin. The cyclonic storm, after its formation, will be called 'Hamoon', a name given by Iran. Cyclone Tej was named by India and and features in the list of storm names adopted by the WMO/ESCAP panel in April 2020.

gold or silver, these precious metals are so ubiquitous that they’ve now become a part of our language. However, when it comes to an investment perspective, people have stark views towards gold. For some, gold is a very polarising topic in the investment community while there are some who swear by it.

South Korea’s early exports returned to growth for the first time in more than a year in another indication of recovering external demand that will offer some reassurance to investors and policymakers monitoring the health of global commerce. Daily average shipments for the first 20 days of October increased 8.6% from a year earlier in the first gain since September last year, according to data released Monday from the customs office. The increase is a positive indication that world trade is starting to regain strength after a global slowdown. South Korea releases its data earlier than many economies and due to its key position in global supply chains and the tech sector, its export figures are watched closely to get an early take on the trajectory of world trade.

IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi on Monday arrived in India on an official visit. «A warm welcome to DG @iaeaorg @rafaelmgrossi as he arrives on his first visit to India as Director-General of IAEA. His visit will further strengthen India-IAEA ties across diverse sectors,» Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi wrote on 'X'. The IAEA is a centre for cooperation in the nuclear field and seeks to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies, as per the IAEA's official website. Grossi assumed office as the IAEA's sixth Director General on December 3, 2019.

Foxconn Technology Group, Apple Inc.’s most important partner and one of the largest employers in China. Over the weekend, state media said that regulators are conducting tax audits and reviewing land use by Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that makes the vast majority of iPhones at factories in China. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Foxconn’s public arm, said it will collaborate with authorities. Meanwhile, an executive and two former employees of WPP Plc, one of the world’s biggest advertising companies, have been arrested in China, people familiar with the matter said.

Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran, and they asserted that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities. «This is not what we want, not what we're looking for.

Oil prices eased on Monday as aid convoys started to arrive in the Gaza Strip over the weekend amid diplomatic efforts to contain a conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas from spreading to the wider oil-rich region. Brent crude futures fell 60 cents to $91.56 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 61 cent to trade at $87.47 a barrel at 0038 GMT. For the past week, contracts rose more than 1% for a second consecutive weekly jump, on fear of potential supply disruption if the Israel-Hamas war grows into a wider confrontation in the Middle East, the world's biggest oil-supplying region. «Israel agreed to hold off its attack on Hamas following pressure from the U.S.,» ANZ Research said in a client note.

AAP leaders, like myself Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Atishi, and Saurabh Bharadwaj, don't have political backgrounds. We are the 'aam aadmi'. The leaders of other parties are often found to be involved in hooliganism, skirmishes, and exploitation of people for their personal benefit," the AAP supremo said.

bond market. The disparate positioning of various dynamic bond funds, which are considered a proxy for the fund house’s fixed income stance, indicates that fund managers are not aligned on interest rates. The positioning of dynamic bond funds is best explained by the portfolio duration or average maturity.

futures and options (F&O) trading was a loss-making proposition for investors. The report revealed that 89% investors lost money through these activities, and only 11% made profits. Separately, in an interview with Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath some time ago, I learnt that there are no more than 5 lakh derivatives traders in the entire country.

tax demands for close to ₹11,000 crore on dividend income repatriated from India, following a Supreme Court ruling last week. The Supreme Court said on Thursday that the lower 5% withholding tax on dividend income of companies was not available to all Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries merely on the most favoured nation (MFN) basis. The apex court held that the 5% rate would be available only to companies based in countries with which India had notified a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) allowing it. In the absence of this, companies have to pay 10% tax on dividend income.

By Andrea Shalal and Kanishka Singh

NEW DELHI : Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) based in the Netherlands face tax concerns following a Supreme Court verdict last week pertaining to the interpretation of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs). In its verdict, the Supreme Court clarified that the most favoured nation (MFN) clause in a tax treaty is not automatically triggered and has to be notified separately by the central government. It is common for FPIs based in the Netherlands to believe that their dividends will be subject to a 5% withholding tax in India.

Sharif has made the right overture by saying he wants to reach out to India. But the fact is, he needs to get permission from the Pakistan Army before making any new initiative with India. Pakistan Army is not comfortable making Nawaz Sharif the next prime minister of the country.

BERN: Right-wing populists looked set to sweep Switzerland’s general election as the votes were being counted Sunday following a campaign fuelled by anti-mass migration rhetoric and pledges to combat “woke madness”. The polling stations closed at noon (1000 GMT), the vast majority of Swiss voters having posted in their ballots over the past four weeks. “It was too late to send it by post but given that it's important, I told myself I would still come today,” voter Melanie Salamin told AFP at a polling station in the capital Bern. “It’s our chance and then we can’t complain, we mustn’t wail: we are asked for our opinion and so we give it.” The wealthy European country of 8.8 million people voted for all 200 seats in the National Council lower house of parliament and all 46 in the Council of States upper chamber. A first results projection, giving percentages only, is expected at around 4 pm (1400 GMT), with a seat projection two hours later.

British rice millers such as Tilda and Veetee Rice have thrived for decades by importing low-tariff unmilled brown rice from the likes of India and Pakistan and «polishing» the grains into the white product loved by UK consumers. But with India pressing for tariffs on white rice to be slashed, and little feedback from British trade officials, concerns are mounting for an industry that employs more than 3,000 people at 16 mills and processing plants scattered from Kent in southern England to Yorkshire in the north. «It is crucial that existing tariffs on milled (white) rice are maintained,» Alex Waugh, outgoing director of The Rice Association, said at a private event in the House of Commons last month attended by rice industry leaders and government officials.

United Breweries, which controls half the country's beer market, said it is trying to regain market share, especially in the premium segment, and fix the company's fundamentals amid intensifying competition and state-specific regulatory issues. «We have a very strong innovation portfolio, but at the same time, there is enough work to be done on fixing our fundamentals and continuing to grow the business,» UB managing director Vivek Gupta said during his first earnings call after he joined the maker of Kingfisher and Heineken last month. «We are humble that we have a lot of ground to cover and put fundamentals in place.» Gupta said company executives are meeting key stakeholders in the government and state governments to understand «how the company can ease some of the barriers in the business...» In the July quarter, most companies in the sector, including UB and Carlsberg, blamed supply-chain issues and route to market changes for their low growth.

Voltas has revived its plans to manufacture air-conditioner compressors in the country with a partner from either Japan or Korea after its earlier such joint venture proposal with China's Highly International was rejected by the government, a top executive has said. The Tata-owned home appliance manufacturer has lined up investments of over Rs 1,300 crore for manufacturing, which include components like compressors, expansion of capacity, and manufacturing of newer home appliances, its managing director and CEO Pradeep Bakshi said. «The compressor project is still on, and we are looking at other partnerships,» he said. «The company is on an investment spree on new factories apart from backward integration.» The compressor project will involve investment of over '350 crore.

Hezbollah announced the deaths of five more militants as clashes along the Lebanon-Israel border intensified and the Israeli prime minister warned Lebanon on Sunday not to let itself get dragged into a new war. The tiny Mediterranean country is home to Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim political party with an armed wing of the same name. Israeli soldiers and militants have traded fire across the border since Israel's war with the Palestinian group Hamas began, but the launches so far have targeted limited areas.

NEW DELHI : The government plans to earmark ₹30,000 crore to expand the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) portal into a comprehensive platform that will extend insurance coverage beyond crops to include assets such as ponds, tractors, livestock, and palm trees, two officials said. This initiative will be driven by the AIDE app, launched in July, to ensure door-to-door enrolment, making crop insurance more accessible and convenient for farmers. Through this app, insurance intermediaries will not only enrol farmers for crop insurance, but also extend coverage to 40 million farmers for non-subsidized schemes.

NEW DELHI : India and the United Arab Emirates are looking to identify and incorporate commodities to diversify trade between the two countries, UAE ambassador to India 8said in an interview. The diversification of traded commodities can broaden the scope of economic cooperation and make local currency transactions even more versatile, Alshaali said in an email interview.