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Thousands of giant panda sculptures will greet residents and tourists starting on Saturday in Hong Kong, where enthusiasm for the bears has grown since two cubs were born in a local theme park

The idea of America as an exceptional nation, superior to its rivals and therefore destined to lead the world, seems passé to most observers. In political, diplomatic and military circles, the talk is of a dysfunctional superpower, isolationist abroad and polarized at home. But in the investing world, the term “American exceptionalism” is hotter than ever.

The improvement reported by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Monday tracked similar increases in other sentiment surveys, which have risen on hopes of more business-friendly policies from the incoming Trump administration. Still, manufacturing is not out of the woods yet. ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee Chair Timothy Fiore noted that «production execution eased in November,» consistent with demand sluggishness and weak backlogs, and that suppliers continue to have capacity, with lead times improving but some product shortages reappearing.

As part of his new role, Peel will join the securities team and provide support to the firm's VT Gravis UK Listed Property, VT Gravis Digital Infrastructure Income, VT Gravis UK Infrastructure Income and VT Gravis Clean Energy Income funds. He joins from Titan Wealth, where he worked as an analyst in 2019 before moving into the role of portfolio manager one year later. During his time at Titan Wealth, Peel worked alongside the investment team, contributing to the management of the firm's core investment proposition. Gravis' Norris: Re-rating of REIT sector imminent as UK economy sh...

BJP has flayed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on GDP growth rate decline and said his attempt to paint a picture of economic doom, with selective data and «half-truths», is not just misleading but reeks of a «childish» oversimplification of complex realities. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha had on Sunday expressed concern over India's GDP growth rate declining to its lowest in two years and said the country's economy cannot progress as long as a handful of billionaires accrue its benefits. He stressed that new thinking is required for India's economy and a new deal for businesses should be an important part of it. Reacting sharply, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya wrote on X, «Your attempt to paint a picture of economic doom, with selective data and half-truths is not just misleading but reeks of 'Balak Buddhi' — a childish oversimplification of complex realities». He said crying foul over a 5.4 per cent GDP growth rate by the Congress leader is «laughable when it is one of the highest globally».

The finance ministry had projected inflation would slow to 5.8%-6.8% in November and ease to 5.6%-6.5% in December, in a monthly economic report published last week. The South Asian country slashed interest rates by 250 basis points earlier in November to help revive a sluggish economy amid a big drop in the rate of inflation.

Q2 earnings season, the worst since June 2020, was not enough, stock market investors are now dealing with another headache after the Q2 GDP growth of 5.4% was at its lowest in the last seven quarters. With Sensex and Nifty already down 7-8% from their peaks amid record-breaking pullout by FIIs, brokerages are now lowering the India GDP targets which may eventually start reflecting on the equity market outlook as well.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Poll managers in the BJP must be heaving a sigh of relief: the underwhelming gross domestic product (GDP) data for the July-September 2024 quarter has been released well after the Maharashtra assembly polls were done and dusted. Logging disappointing year-on-year growth of 5.4%, the GDP data print for the second quarter of 2024-25 is not only much below consensus estimates from leading economists and analysts, but also offers a contrast from the economic narrative presented by top bureaucrats and economic administrators.

“While we could see some foreign selling in the next one week or so, the extreme selling should fizzle out as global investors typically have light positions in December,” said Abhilash Pagaria, head of alternative and quantitative research at Nuvama.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Union government plans to set up an agency on the lines of National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to regulate carbon trading, two people said. The new body will also be responsible for green initiatives such as green bonds.

gold loans from banks grew more than 50% over the last one year, while all other major personal loan segments saw moderate increase amid tepid consumer demand, high inflation and tighter regulatory oversight on unsecured lending, according to latest data from Reserve Bank of India. «Consumption moderated with elevated borrowing costs and inflation eating into household budgets,» said Crisil's chief economist Dharmakirti Joshi. Growth in gold loans, or bank loans against gold jewellery--mostly taken at times of distress or during emergencies-- though make good business sense, may not reflect a happy situation from borrowers' perspective, a senior banker said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme—one of the ways in which this government was hoping to increase manufacturing in India—is going through a slowdown, with planned expansions to the programme being put on hold.

The panel led by economist Debapriya Bhattacharya submitted a white paper on the state of Bangladesh’s economy to Yunus in Dhaka on Sunday, according to a government statement. Sheikh Hasina was ousted by student protesters in August after 15 years of increasingly authoritarian rule. The army and protest leaders tapped Nobel laureate Yunus, who pioneered microcredit to the poor, to lead an interim government.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented attempt to diversify from an oil economy to something more sustainable seems to be churning along nicely. The female labour participation rate has nearly doubled to 36% from 2016, the year Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman laid out his Vision 2030.

equity market in November, mainly due to the rising US bond yields, strengthening dollar and expectation of a slowdown in the domestic economy. While the sell-off continues, the quantum of net outflow significantly reduced compared to October, when FPIs recorded a massive withdrawal of Rs 94,017 crore (USD 11.2 billion). With the latest pull out, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have experienced total net outflow of Rs 15,019 crore in 2024 so far.

Donald Trump prepares for his second term as US President, his aggressive trade stance is already creating ripples in the global economy. A key element of his protectionist policies is the threat of imposing 100% tariffs on BRICS countries, including India, if they move away from using the US dollar in international transactions. This bold stance, declared through a scathing social media post, could have severe consequences for India’s exports, particularly in critical sectors such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, and information technology. Trump’s remarks come in response to discussions among BRICS nations, which include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, regarding the possibility of reducing their reliance on the US dollar for trade. A summit held in Russia in October focused on increasing local currency transactions, a move that Trump has now vowed to challenge. “The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump wrote, warning that any country attempting to replace the dollar with another currency would face significant tariff hikes. Also Read: Trump threatens 100% tariff on BRICS countries over currency plans

According to the rating agency Crisil, the growth is weighed down by high interest rates and low fiscal impulse. «Risks are tilted toward the downside given the lacklustre second quarter growth number,» said the Crisil report.

Icelanders are electing a new parliament after disagreements over immigration, energy policy and the economy forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to pull the plug on his coalition government and call early elections

Dr K Sudhakar has urged the Union Government to expand the scope of PM Fasal Bima Yojana and PM-Kisan Yojana by bringing additional agricultural activities within their purview. Chikkaballapur constituency near Bengaluru is home to a range of farming activities including sericulture, livestock, dairying and aquaculture. The two flagship insurance schemes have had a profound impact on the lives of Indian farmers, the BJP MP said participating in a discussion in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The report highlighted that the real GDP growth in the first half (H1 FY25) stood at 6.0 per cent, with a projected growth of 6.5-6.8 per cent in the second half (H2). As per report the manufacturing-led slowdown significantly impacted the overall economic performance. The industry sector's growth declined to a six-quarter low of 3.6 per cent in Q2, contributing to the subdued GDP numbers.