Department Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Federal Reserve succession drama now comes down to a decision only Jerome Powell can make.The Justice Department said on Friday it would halt its criminal investigation of the Fed chair. Initial ambiguity about whether the probe was truly over kept the path uncertain through the weekend.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Xi Jinping had just finished a lunch of herbed-ricotta ravioli at a secluded estate outside San Francisco in 2023 when his security agents sprang into action.Their mission: ensuring no trace of the Chinese leader’s DNA fell into foreign hands. The agents—measuring about 6-foot-3, dressed in identical dark suits—were observed grabbing Xi’s utensils and plate and spraying them with an unidentified liquid.Welcome to the unseen theater of great-power diplomacy, where a meeting of the two most powerful leaders on earth can hinge on the slightest missed protocol, an unexpected miscue or even a bit of saliva left on a fork.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.President Donald Trump has named Christopher Phelan as his next chief economist, an increasingly important role as the White House focuses on affordability and employment ahead of the midterm elections.Assuming he is confirmed, Phelan will become chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, counseling the president on economic matters. He will replace acting CEA Chief Pierre Yared.Yared is standing in for Stephen Miran, who left the CEA in September when Trump appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Federal Reserve Board.“Miran was an ideological ally,” says Jacob Bastian, a senior economist at CEA during the Biden administration and an assistant professor of economics at Rutgers University.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Trump administration announced criminal charges, sanctions and multimillion-dollar rewards aimed at combating online scams coming out of Southeast Asia and targeting Americans.The measures—some of which were directed at a Cambodian senator featured in a recent Wall Street Journal investigation into cyber-scam operations in the country—are the latest attempt by the U.S. to stem the fast-growing illicit industry.Americans alone lost $10 billion to online fraud originating from Southeast Asian nations in 2024, according to U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Wall Street’s watchdogs are ramping up their inquiries into how much risk has built up in the $3 trillion private-credit industry, just as investor angst has sparked some backers to head to the exits.The Securities and Exchange Commission in recent months has opened several enforcement investigations of large private-credit managers, according to people familiar with the matter. The Treasury Department has requested information from private fund managers and insurance firms about their business models.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India is looking to strengthen the social security net for informal workers amid rising living costs for retirees. Under the plan, the finance ministry, in consultation with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), is considering doubling the assured pension ceiling under the flagship Atal Pension Yojana (APY) to up to ₹10,000 a month, according to three people aware of the discussions.The proposal aims to boost fresh enrolments as well as retention in a scheme that now has 90 million subscribers but faces high drop-offs.Launched in May 2015, the pension scheme focuses on informal sector workers and currently provides a guaranteed monthly pension of ₹1,000-5,000 after the age of 60 years, depending on the subscriber’s contribution slab.With nearly half the enrolled subscribers discontinuing contributions over time, the government is examining a long pending demand to enhance the pension cap to up to ₹10,000 per month to make the scheme more attractive and aligned with rising living costs, according to the people cited above.The scheme's gross enrolments in FY26 crossed 13.5 million, the highest ever in a single fiscal year since its launch.“The government and the PFRDA are examining options to enhance the upper pension cap to around ₹8,000– ₹10,000 per month, aiming to make the scheme more attractive and aligned with rising living costs,” said one of the people cited above, requesting anonymity.Under the scheme's structure, the government provided a co-contribution in the initial years for subscribers enrolled before 31 March 2016.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Earlier this month, local business leader Tom Harris picked up eyedrops at a drugstore near his office without needing an employee to retrieve them from behind a locked plexiglass barrier. In that seemingly mundane act, he glimpsed evidence of the turnaround for New York City’s shoplifting epidemic.Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, a Manhattan business group with some 2,600 members, said he once fielded several calls a day from retailers about their problems with theft.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—The United Arab Emirates has opened talks with the U.S. about obtaining a financial backstop in case the Iran war plunges the oil-rich Persian Gulf state into a deeper crisis, U.S. officials said.U.A.E.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Centre is planning to roll back a significant number of quality control orders (QCOs) imposed on input materials, aiming to ease compliance burdens and support manufacturing amid US-Iran war-led disruptions.The exercise, being led by the consumer affairs department, will be completed in phases, and all line ministries have been asked to identify products that could benefit from the removal of quality controls, said two government officials familiar with the discussions.“The proposed rollback is expected to focus on input materials where domestic capacity remains limited or where mandatory certification has disrupted supply chains,” said the first government official, on the condition of anonymity.The move follows a NITI Aayog committee recommendation to ease QCOs to augment manufacturing and ensure the availability of raw materials at affordable rates.“As recommended by NITI Aayog, we have asked line ministries to identify all such QCOs that can be withdrawn without impacting quality and domestic industry,” said the second official, also on the condition of anonymity.This official, however, maintained that some important QCOs will be introduced, if needed, to protect against substandard imports of finished goods or raw materials.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In an unusual attempt to get President Trump’s ear, the grandson of Cuban leader Raúl Castro tapped a wealthy Havana entrepreneur to try to personally deliver a letter to the White House last week outside of regular diplomatic channels, said a U.S. official and former U.S.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Trump administration spent months demanding the Federal Reserve cut interest rates. This week, two people with close ties to the White House said waiting to move makes some sense.Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran, speaking at an economic forum in Washington, D.C., said Thursday he is reconsidering his rate cut outlook for the year, trimming his projection from four cuts to potentially three and acknowledging the inflation picture had become more complicated even before war with Iran began.The remarks came just days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also took a slight turn from his earlier stance on monetary policy.Cuts should come eventually, Bessent said at a Washington conference, but waiting for clarity on the Iran situation makes sense.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.An intensifying U.S. naval blockade of Iran is aimed at inflicting such severe economic pain that Tehran will be compelled to quickly submit to Washington’s demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and abandon its nuclear ambitions.With crude exports from Iranian ports effectively stopped up, the country will be deprived of a large chunk of its oil revenues.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Snap is laying off 16% of its staff. Block lopped off 40% of its workforce.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.With a parched monsoon forecast and a fertilizer supply chain disrupted by conflict in West Asia, Indian agriculture is caught between two raging storms. The India Meteorological Department has predicted a below-normal monsoon, while national fertilizer stocks sit at less than half of what’s required for the upcoming Kharif season.As El Niño threatens to dry up the fields and imported urea becomes harder to secure, the resilience of India's food production and the stability of rural demand are facing their toughest test in years.Mint explores whether these twin challenges will spark a spike in food prices or significantly dent farmers’ incomes.The four-month monsoon spanning June-September is critical for two reasons: India receives about 70% of its annual rainfall during these months, and nearly 45% of the country's farmland lacks irrigation, leaving it solely dependent on these rains.The India Meteorological Department has forecast the monsoon to be below normal at 92% of the long-period (50-year) average.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s nearly 80 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)—employing over 328.2 million people and contributing 31.1% to gross domestic product (GDP), 35.4% to manufacturing output, and 48.58% to exports—have been navigating a harsh global environment over the past five years. From the covid-19 pandemic-induced economic standstill to cost shocks triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war, recurring volatility in West Asia, and trade disruptions under the Trump administration, the sector has faced repeated stress.

Mint and confirmed by two officials.According to the direction issued as part of the Mediation for Nation 2.0 campaign, state chief secretaries have been asked to actively support efforts to identify and dispose of cases that can be settled through mediation, the government officials cited earlier said, adding that the cases where the state is a complainant can be resolved through settlement.The emphasis is on disputes that are legally compoundable—cases that can be resolved mutually, including cheque bounce cases, land acquisition matters and certain criminal offences, the officials said on the condition of anonymity.The move assumes significance as cheque dishonour cases have been identified as a key focus area due to their sheer volume. As per government data, over 8.007 million cheque bounce cases are pending across high courts.

Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, the textile processing clusters in Surat, Gujarat, and the glass manufacturing cluster in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh.This assumes significance given that the MSME sector contributes about 30.1% to India’s GDP and accounts for 35.4% of its manufacturing output and nearly 45% of the country's export.“The plan is to extend community kitchen services, which are already in operation in several states, to the manufacturing clusters. It may also include setting up new community kitchens with the cooperation of state governments, as well as industry and social groups,” said the second person, adding that it would be initiated with the provision of three meals a day.Queries sent on Wednesday to the spokespersons of the ministries of finance and MSME remained unanswered until press time.To be sure, several states run subsidized community kitchen or low-cost meal schemes for workers and the urban poor.

₹2.5 trillion relief package, including credit guarantees for MSMEs amid feedback from banks indicating potential stress in their MSME portfolios starting Q1 FY27, the persons cited above said, requesting anonymity.The current environment, shaped by the West Asia crisis, is creating conditions similar to the covid-19 period, warranting a closer look at relief measures. This assumes significance given that the MSME sector contributes about 30.1% to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and accounts for 35.4% of manufacturing output and nearly 45% of India’s merchandise exports.MSME borrowers have increasingly approached lenders seeking relief measures, citing business disruptions from the West Asia war.

₹45 lakh to the tax department. Until the last financial year, only property sales, not gifts that did not involve a sale, were reported.“Registrars will now submit a SFT (Statement of Financial Transaction) with details of such transactions and it will reflect in the taxpayer’s AIS (Annual Information Statement).

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has given a clean chit to nine whole-time directors (WTDs) of various public sector banks, saying there were no adverse findings against them, two people aware of the development told Mint.Those cleared include Nidhhu Saxena (MD & CEO, Bank of Maharashtra), Bhavendra Kumar (executive director, Canara Bank), Mahendra Dohare (executive director, Central Bank of India), Bijay Baran Singh (executive director, Indian Bank), Ravi Mehra (executive director, Punjab & Sind Bank), and Vijaykumar Nivruti Kamble (executive director, UCO Bank), one of the people cited above said.A second person added that Rajiv Mishra (executive director, Bank of India), Brajesh Kumar Singh (executive director, Indian Bank), and Dhanraj T (executive director, Indian Overseas Bank) had also received clearance from the CVC.The development is significant as it comes at a time when the government has tightened oversight of board-level appointments in public sector banks following recent lapses and controversies related to vigilance disclosures. The clearances are seen as a critical filtering exercise amid heightened scrutiny of senior appointments.The move also comes against the backdrop of an unusual and high-profile action last year, in which the Centre demoted Union Bank of India Executive Director Pankaj Dwivedi to general manager at Punjab & Sind Bank.

The government is exploring ways to increase domestic production of induction cookers, petrochemicals, and other essential industrial inputs, as the West Asia war shows signs of continuing for some time, according to two people in the know.Officials from the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT), the power ministry and the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) reviewed strategies to boost output in sectors that could face supply disruptions if the war continues for the next few months, said one of the people mentioned above.“Discussions centred on accelerating production of induction cookers and vessel heaters, strengthening the petrochemical value chain, and ensuring adequate availability of gunny (bori) bags—seen as critical for both industrial use and agricultural supply chains,” the other person said.The government has already taken pre-emptive steps by cutting import duties on several key petrochemical products to cushion against potential shortages and price spikes.Officials said the move is part of a broader contingency framework, with ministries preparing for multiple scenarios, including a prolonged conflict that could disrupt shipping routes, inflate logistics costs and tighten availability of critical inputs.The government on Thursday announced a temporary waiver on customs duties for select essential petrochemical imports, which will remain in force until 30 June.