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StockGro, discussed the budget and its impact on common man with Ishaan Agarwal, Sandeep Yadav of NIT Allahabad and Devika Deevasan of IIT Madras. Read on to know how he decoded the budget for Young India. Q. Everyone thinks that the budget is all about taxes. How does it affect the common man?Ajay Lakhotia: Unlike the myth that the common man doesn’t get affected by budget, it actually really does affect a common man.

Union Budget and the Economic Survey, to set the tone and pace of the economic path the nation will pursue in the coming years to attain its ambitious growth aspirations with a human face. The allocations and source of funds must be in sync with the vision so laid out.

The overall score grew by one point from -14 in June to -13 in July, according to GfK's Consumer Confidence index. Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said there was only «a subdued one-point improvement in the overall index score in July», mostly as a result of increases in two of the five measures. He noted that the «positive view» on personal finances, in particular, «is encouraging with July's score of -8,» which was two points higher from the month prior and the strongest since January 2022. Cold UK summer dampens consumer spending in June Similarly, the major purc...

European shares fell on Friday and were set for weekly losses, hurt by lower commodity prices and as a rout in global technology shares extended, while investors assessed more earnings updates. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.6% by 0715 GMT, slipping to a more than two-week low, amid a broader selloff across sectors.

«Gross taxes last year were much more stronger than was envisaged in the interim budget. They actually grew at a very healthy pace of 13.5%. So, even if you make conservative assumptions for this year, the government is likely to have more tax revenues than was envisaged back in February and then of course the RBI dividend that the government got was more than double of what had been budgeted back then,» says Sajjid Chinoy, India Chief Economist, JPMorgan. I understand that you have been part of certain meetings also with the finance minister, etc, and the ministry. Talk to me about what are the big focus areas and what they are talking or concerned about right now. Sajjid Chinoy: I think there are two issues to look for in next week's budget. The first is to look closer at the fiscal math and here the government enters next week's budget with significantly increased degrees of fiscal freedom. And what do I mean by that? If you look at compare next week's budget with one in February, I think the government over kind of delivered on fiscal consolidation last year, the budget deficit for last year was 5.8%, the actual number was 5.6 and the target for this year was set at 5.1.

BEIJING — Top Chinese officials on Friday emphasized the country would focus on its own affairs in the face of rising trade tensions.

green energy has become a pivotal area of focus. India, with its vast population and burgeoning economy, stands at a critical juncture as our energy consumption patterns evolve, with a noticeable shift towards renewable sources. Today, India's green energy sector is at a nascent stage but poised for exponential growth. The expectation from the upcoming Budget is high as stakeholders anticipate strategic initiatives from the Indian government to accelerate this transition. India's commitment to green energy sector is evident from its ambitious target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, and the more recent goal of achieving 500 GW by 2030. Renewable energy accounts for over 42% of the country's installed power capacity at present with solar and wind energy with the largest share in the green energy mix. However, to sustain this momentum and meet future requirements, a robust policy framework and financial support are imperative. India is the third-largest energy consumer globally and the fourth-largest in renewable energy installed capacity. Many countries are taking aggressive steps to promote green energy. For instance, the US offers tax credits for renewable energy investments, and China has a comprehensive system of subsidies and quotas. In comparison, India's green energy incentives are modest. However, the country's vast market potential and strategic initiatives like the International Solar Alliance (ISA) position it as a significant player in the global arena.

manufacturing hub providing resilient supply chain options for leading manufacturers across industry sectors. Technology enablement is critical to enable efficient and reliable supply chain operations and it is imperative for the government of India to strengthen nation’s digital backbone.

With the post-election and pre-Budget rally taking Sensex towards uncharted zone of 81,000 level, Nimesh Chandan, CIO, Bajaj Finserv AMC, says elevated valuation level is forcing him to think contrarian. «Due to high valuations in certain pockets of the market, we may see some sector rotation by investors in the coming months,» says the Dalal Street veteran. In this chat with ETMarkets, he explains what to expect from the Budget, risks for investors and view on retail-favourite PSU stocks. How are you approaching the market ahead of the Budget? Do you think the bias towards capex, infra and PSU related themes will remain intact after July 23? We prefer to be cautious and think contrarian considering the current levels of the market and the valuations. We believe the government is going to come out with a budget that continues to focus on capex and infrastructure development. Additionally, we expect some stimulus to the rural economy and some tax incentives to the low-income groups. This should be favourable for the consumer sector in the country.

investors looking for a single product that has a mix of large, mid and small-cap stocks can consider an allocation to the new fund offer (NFO) of Franklin India Multicap Fund. Investors who already own mid- and small-cap schemes in their portfolio can skip the offer. The NFO is open till July 22. The minimum investment amount is ₹5,000 and in multiples of ₹1,000. The scheme will be benchmarked to Nifty 500 Multicap 50:25:25 index. It will have an exit load of 1% for redemptions for investors who redeem in less than a year. The fund will be managed by R Janakiraman, Akhil Kalluri and Kiran Sebastian. The scheme will invest a minimum of 25% each in large, mid and small-cap stocks with the balance 25% blended optimally in line with an internal framework. The fund manager will apply its bottom-up QGSV stock picking framework emphasising quality, growth, sustainability and valuations to find the right ideas within these themes and sectors.

Mint. “It is tethered to reality. It is tethered to the fundamentals, and that is where the market is deriving its energy from." India’s stock market is finally at a vantage point and will be vastly superior in the coming decade, Shah added.

Oil prices were roughly flat on Thursday as investors wrestled with mixed signals about crude demand, with concerns about an economic slowdown in the U.S. contending with rising expectations the Federal Reserve would soon cut interest rates. Brent futures were up 1 cent to $85.09 a barrel by 11:41 a.m. EDT (1541 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 6 cents at $82.91. Both had registered gains in the previous session.

The African Development Bank says it has approved a $1 billion loan to South Africa’s state-owned rail and ports company, Transnet

China's ruling Communist Party has ended a top-level meeting by endorsing policies aimed at building the country's technological power and fortifying its national security

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum claims President Joe Biden's economic policies are responsible for increasing the cost of everyday essentials like gas, food and clothes

more ‘optimistic’ about job creation than other sources, even those that use similar methodologies, and the criteria of who is employed or unemployed. The ILO estimates the labour force (the number of people employed or looking for jobs) grew by 99.2 million between 2000 and 2019. The workforce over the same period, or the number of people actually employed, grew at a slower rate—79.4 million people.

U.S. filings for unemployment benefits rose again last week and appear to be settling consistently at a slightly higher though still healthy level

revival of rural spending has turned out to be a bright spot in the evolution of demand conditions, the Reserve Bank said in its Bulletin on Thursday. Global economic activity appears to be strengthening across advanced economies (AEs) and emerging market economies (EMEs) and global trade in goods and services is gathering momentum, said an article on 'State of Economy' published in the RBI's Bulletin. It further said monetary policy divergence is setting the tone for global economic developments. «In India, the second quarter of 2024-25 has begun with signs of quickening momentum in the economy,» said the article.

The European Central Bank left its key interest rate benchmark unchanged Thursday as its rate-setting council and President Christine Lagarde take their time to make sure stubborn inflation is firmly under control before lowering rates again

Buoyancy in the equity market is being driven by mega cap stocks, but investors are nervous about that dynamic despite bullish sentiment overall.

The 48% figure marked a significant uptick in optimism compared to the 21% who expressed the same sentiment last year and the meagre 7% who forecasted domestic growth in 2022, as revealed by Lloyds Bank's Financial Institutions Sentiment Survey 2024.  Pessimism about Britain's fiscal prospects also dwindled, with only 8% of respondents anticipating a worsening of economic conditions, a stark contrast to the 36% who shared this view a year ago and the 70% who harboured such concerns in 2022.  Falling UK wage growth boosts chances of August rate cut Lloyds Bank's head of market insig...