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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday «the time has come» for the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates as rising risks to the job market left no room for further weakness and inflation was in reach of the Fed's 2% target, offering an explicit endorsement of an imminent policy easing. «The upside risks to inflation have diminished. And the downside risks to employment have increased,» Powell said in a highly anticipated speech to the Kansas City Fed's annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. «The time has come for policy to adjust. The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.» Referencing the two goals that the Fed is tasked by Congress to achieve, Powell said his «confidence has grown that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2%,» after rising to about 7% during the COVID-19 pandemic, while unemployment is increasing.

target for monetary policy rather than switching to core inflation, external members of the central bank's rate panel told Reuters. A suggestion was made in the government's official annual economic report last month to target inflation excluding volatile food prices, which are driven more by supply shortages. The idea has ignited a debate in India over the appropriate target for monetary policy. India adopted the inflation targeting framework in 2016, setting a 4% headline inflation target for the central bank's rate setting panel.

rupee closed stronger on Friday, tracking gains in most Asian currencies, as investors awaited remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, expected to shape market expectations for rate cuts in the world's largest economy. The rupee closed at 83.89 against the U.S. dollar, higher than its close at 83.9525 in the previous session. The currency strengthened marginally week-on-week.

In August, the overall score on GfK's Consumer Confidence index remained unchanged from July at -13. The survey done by GfK was conducted among a sample of 2,003 individuals aged above 16 in the UK. Overall, respondents expressed greater confidence in their personal finances for the next 12 months however, with the index going up from +3 in July to +6 on this measure in August. Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, noted this was «due to a mortgage friendly interest rate cut at the beginning of august, and hopes of more to come.» UK consumer confidence strengthens in July...

Cochin Shipyard andBharat Dynamics. But while most PSU stocks are running out of steam, some big names are bucking the trend. These includeCoal India, NTPC, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and a few others in the power and oil & gas sector.

corporate bond funds in August 2024. These schemes invest at least 80% of their corpus in the papers of the highest-rated companies. This makes them relatively safer than other debt schemes such as credit risk funds. They are also safer than gilt funds and long term debt funds that are highly sensitive to interest rate changes in the economy. You should pay attention to these two factors: safety and interest rates. Safety became a crucial factor for debt fund investors after a series of defaults and downgrades in the debt space almost three years ago. The shutting down of six schemes by Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund shook conservative investors in debt schemes. Though the environment is different now, you should still proceed cautiously.

Ecos Mobility and Hospitality has announced a price band of Rs 318-334 for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), which will raise Rs 601.20 crore. The IPO will open for bidding on August 28 and close on August 30." The IPO size of Rs 601.20 crore is based on the upper end of the price band.

employment opportunities could be the key to winning elections as the recent job crisis, that has seen nearly a million jobs vanishing into thin air over the course of the year, has driven Americans into a recession scare, something that could prove to be detrimental for Kamala Harris' prospects in the US Presidential Elections 2024.

debt market for 14 weeks in a second streak of buying this year, evidence of the country’s appeal amid the ructions of worldwide financial markets. With the prospect of interest rate cuts on the horizon and the rupee treading water near historic lows, offshore investors have bought roughly $7 billion net of the South Asian country’s bonds since May. That’s more than twice the sum of net purchases for Indonesia, to which it is often compared, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

U.S. stocks closed lower as Wall Street counted down to its main event for the week, a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell coming up on Friday

The Canadian government has ordered the country’s two major freight railroads to enter binding arbitration with their labor union to resolve a contract dispute

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose modestly last week, but remains at healthy levels Jobless claims rose by 4,000 to 232,000 for the week of Aug. 17, the Labor Department reported Thursday

Stocks closed lower in the run-up to Wall Street’s main event for the week, a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell coming on Friday

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage eased this week to its lowest level in 15 months

Argentina’s Senate has defied the government to approve an increase to pension spending that would cost at least an estimated 0.4% of the gross domestic product, dealing a blow to President Javier Milei’s harsh austerity program

₹778 crore, solely for electric two- and three-wheelers, with an initial run-time of four months, which was later extended till September. For OEMs, this impending tightening could trigger a significant shift in their operational strategies. The PMP is crucial because only manufacturers that comply with its criteria are eligible for government incentives under schemes like FAME and the EMPS.

₹2 crore ($240,000). While tournaments of this scale are good for gamers, the rising crop of professional esports players have a problem—they’re not being able to monetize their gameplays and social media presence.

₹11.11 trillion for the infrastructure sector. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech last month, said the government will look at a market-based financing framework to address infra funding challenges.

Asian markets opened lower, as investors prepare for comments from Jerome Powell later Friday. Equities in Australia and South Korea fell alongside Hong Kong share futures, echoing Thursday’s selloff in US stocks where both the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 indexes retreated.

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Euro zone business activity showed surprising strength in August despite firms raising prices, a survey showed, potentially weakening expectations for two more rate cuts from the European Central Bank this year. However there were signs the upswing may be temporary, with readings flattered by a sharp rise in French services activity due to the Olympic Games. German business activity contracted for a second consecutive month and by more than expected.