Economy Financial News

Economist Peter Morici criticizes the Biden administration’s economic policies and discusses former President Trump’s campaign push to cut taxes on Social Security benefits. 

BJP for «destroying» the Indian economy through «wrong policies», Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday said the saffron party was hell-bent on making the country's condition «worse than neighbouring Pakistan». Addressing the assembly on the concluding day of the monsoon session, he accused the BJP of playing «vote-bank politics» by dividing people in the name of religion. «The country is passing through a difficult phase; the economy is in peril, due to the wrong policies of the BJP-led central government. They are hell-bent on making the country's condition worse than Pakistan,» Soren said. He also said the people of Ayodhya gave a befitting reply to the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls for «dividing the country» on religious lines.

employment report for July raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 50 basis points in September as the economy sours. Employers added 114,000 jobs, below expectations for an increase of 175,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, above economists expectations that it would be unchanged on the month at 4.1%.

The selloff in stocks intensified and bond yields plunged after a weak jobs report fueled worries the Federal Reserve has been too slow to cut interest rates, risking a more pronounced economic slowdown.

Construction is booming in states like Arizona, California, Florida and Texas.

US economy, corporate world and Federal Reserve. Some stock market watchers believe it is a kind of reset as the Dow slipped more than 600 points, indicating a new phase in the US economy- a slowdown. Besides, the S&P 500 fell 1.5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also tumbled by 2.5%. The downslide was so clear and widespread that Dow futures slipped 400 points or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures fell 1.2% and Nasdaq futures came down 1.8%. As if this is not enough, some experts apprehend further bloodbath on Friday as Amazon and Intel have already reported a fall in their earnings, reports CNN Business. They have also indicated that the transition to AI has proven costly, though its prospects remain uncertain.

Nasdaq Composite index fell 2.2% on Friday, putting it on track to confirm it is in a correction following concerns about pricey Big Tech valuations and a cooling economy. Hit by softer-than-expected job reports and disappointing forecasts from Amazon and Intel, the Nadsaq's latest decline leaves it down 10.2% from its record high close of 18,647.45 points on July 10.

With several months to go before the election, there is ample time for the markets to swing one way or the other.

MUMBAI : In Currency and Finance report for 2023-24, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) points out that digitalization is disrupting the jobs landscape in the financial sector and driving out middle-level banking staff. This comes even as digitalization is expected to constitute a fifth of India's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026, doubling from 10% at present. The central bank also flagged potential challenges related to digital upskilling and the required employee adaptability.

H-1B visa lottery in the United States, held each April, shapes the lives of hundreds of thousands of aspiring skilled workers. However, with only about 85,000 H-1B visas available each year, competition is fierce, and the odds of success have diminished as application numbers soar. Recent data obtained by Bloomberg News has exposed how certain companies have exploited loopholes in the H-1B system, effectively rigging the lottery in their favor.

Asian stocks tumbled as sentiment was hit by a triple whammy of a Japan selloff, a global tech rout and weakness in the US economy. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped as much as 2.8%, the most since June 2022, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Tokyo Electron Ltd. among the biggest drags. Japan’s Topix Index headed for a technical correction, while benchmarks in the tech-heavy markets of South Korea and Taiwan fell about 3%.

Stipulate that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell isn’t trying to throw the Fed behind one candidate or another in November’s presidential election. There’s still political danger for Mr. Powell and the central bank lurking in the September interest-rate cut Fed officials are priming investors to expect.

Japanese stocks plunged for a second day as expectations rose on more rate hikes by the nation’s central bank. Asian equities also declined, tracking losses on Wall Street as data signaled a softening US economy. The broad Topix benchmark index in Japan fell more than 4%, as the yen gained for a fourth day to pressure markets. The selloff in tech-related stocks continued in Asia with AI chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. tumbling more than 6%.

Security forces have fired gunshots and tear gas to quell mass protests across Nigeria as thousands, mostly young people, poured onto the streets to rally against the country’s spiraling economy

RBI) is said to be agreeable to a restructuring plan proposed by Tata Sons seeking a waiver for the mandatory listing of the group’s holding company. The Tata Group holding company has already implemented parts of the plan, including wiping off debt, said people with knowledge of matter. The recast will result in Tata Sons not being classified as a non-bank finance company (NBFC) in the ‘upper layer’ (UL) subject to a few regulatory conditions. This, in turn, will imply that Tata Sons won’t be required to list itself on the stock exchanges. In line with the plan, Tata Sons has restructured its balance sheet to be a zero-debt company to be compliant with RBI rules, said the people cited above. Net debt was at Rs 15,200 crore on September 30, 2023, according to the latest Crisil Ratings report. It had standalone cash and cash equivalents of over Rs 2,500 crore. An RBI circular in October 2021 directed that those companies identified as NBFC-UL should be mandatorily listed within three years. The central bank had classified Tata Sons as an ‘upper layer’ NBFC in 2022, which would have meant a listing by September 2025 if it had not undertaken this restructuring exercise, said the people cited.

Turbulence is knocking a beloved instant noodle offering off Korean Air’s economy menu

The Czech Republic’s central bank has cut its key interest rate for the sixth time in a row as inflation falls and the economy recovers more slowly than expected

The Bank of England is cutting interest rates for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell this week to its lowest level since early February, easing borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers facing record-high home prices

Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda say they plan to share components for electric vehicles like batteries and jointly research software for autonomous driving

U.S. stocks tumbled after weak data raised worries the Federal Reserve may have missed its window to cut interest rates before undercutting the economy’s growth