Economy Financial News

Mahesh Patil, CIO, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, says the market has a tendency to continue with its inherent trajectory based on fundamentals. “Hence, we would not try to time election outcomes and rather focus on stock picking while reducing risk in the portfolio to navigate the volatility due to election outcomes,” he says. Edited excerpts from a chat:

rebound that has taken the U.S. stock market to record highs this week may have further to run, if history is any guide. Fresh signs of a cooling economy calmed inflation worries in May, helping all three major U.S. stock indexes rise to records this week. The benchmark S&P 500, which fell over 4% in April, is now up 11% year-to-date.

Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, has experienced a remarkable surge, exceeding 120 million pounds in growth over the past year, thus elevating their combined wealth to a substantial 651 million pounds, UK-based broadcasting network iTV reported. The latest annual Sunday Times Rich List revealed their wealth grew substantially despite the wider UK billionaire boom coming «to an end» in the face of tough economic conditions.

monsoon rains will lead to better crop yields and boost rural demand. Motorcycle manufacturers, farm-equipment makers and producers of fast-moving consumer goods have rallied following forecasts of timely and above-normal monsoon rains in 2024, after extreme and unseasonal heat wreaked havoc on Indian agriculture in the last two years. Sales volumes in rural areas are improving and several major consumer goods firms have predicted stronger business ahead.

Nirmala Sitharaman called for a ramp-up in domestic manufacturing to make India self-reliant and boost the country’s participation in global value chains, dismissing suggestions that the government should focus only on services. The government would like to partner India Inc in the country’s development, she said at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) annual business summit in the Capital on Friday. “We see a very big role for private sector and would like to partner with them for (the) development (of India), with the government acting as a facilitator and enabler,” Sitharaman said. She exuded confidence that PM Narendra Modi would come back to power after the general elections with a substantial majority. Elections end on June 1 with counting on June 4. “Soon after government is formed, we look forward to a more pointed engagement with CII to see what best can be done in the July budget, which will be the full year's budget,” she said. “A lot of consultation can begin with CII team as well.”

BlackRock Inc.’s Rick Rieder has some advice that bucks conventional wisdom: The best way for the Federal Reserve to temper inflation will be to lower rates, not hold them higher.

What’s in a number? Especially one like Dow 40,000, which was crossed this week for the first time ever.

Russia and China are interested in increasing their oil and gas trade, President Vladimir Putin told reporters in Harbin on Friday. «Mutual interest in implementation of such projects has been confirmed,» Putin said in the final hours of his state visit to China, as per a briefing broadcast by state-run Rossiya 24 TV. «We have a huge common border and nothing can interfere: neither sanctions against the tanker fleet, nor sanctions against financial institutions. We will buy and sell everything in national currencies.» Russia's relations with western nations, formerly its main energy market, are at the lowest point since the Cold War due to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. That makes Moscow increasingly reliant on oil and gas deliveries to growing Asian economies. China, the word's largest energy importer, is currently a key buyer of Russian barrels and Gazprom PJSC's natural gas.

Donald Trump the edge over Joe Biden on the economy in poll after poll. That's even as the Biden years have been the best time to find work since the 1960s, and the US has bounced back from the pandemic with stronger growth than international peers such as the EU, UK and Japan and stronger growth overall than under President Trump. Instead, voters this year are focused on the steep jump in prices from the post-pandemic surge in inflation.

UBS Wealth Management SVP Brenda O’Connor Juanas and the Lonski Group founder John Lonski discuss the earnings season and share their market outlook for 2024 on 'Mornings with Maria.'

India could become the third largest economy globally by 2027-28 if the country continues the growth momentum witnessed in the last two decades, 16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Friday. He also said that during the last two decades, beginning 2003-4, India has ended extreme poverty. The extreme poverty, currently, is not more than 3 per cent of the total population. «Growth has been across the board because poverty does concentrate in rural areas. With overall poverty falling to low levels, extreme poverty has been conquered largely,» Panagariya said. Speaking at the CII's Annual Business Summit 2024, Panagariya said there is a problem of under-employment in the agriculture sector as a large portion of the workforce is engaged in the segment, and there is a need to move them out of the vertical to industry for faster urbanisation.

JSW Steel Ltd on Friday reported a 64.54% fall in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter to ₹1,299 crore mainly due to higher coking coal prices. The Sajjan Jindal-led company’s consolidated revenue from operations fell 1.5% year-on-year to ₹46,269 crore. A Bloomberg poll of analystshad expected JSW Steel to post a profit of ₹1,661.35 crore for the March quarter on revenue of ₹44,676.34 crore.

domestic manufacturing and investment. Jaishankar highlighted the importance of considering national security in business decisions, particularly in relation to China.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has advocated for a greater emphasis on the manufacturing sector during her speech at the CII Annual Business Summit 2024 held in Delhi on Friday. Sitharaman highlighted the importance of manufacturing alongside services and underscored the need for increased investment and governmental backing to strengthen this sector. “Manufacturing must increase, India must also increase manufacturing with the help of policies, its share in manufacturing in global value chains.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) China President recently shared insights on the challenges and solutions for cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) interoperability.

India’s growth to 6.9% in 2024 from 6.2% projected earlier, the United Nations said in its latest World Economic Situation and Prospects report’s mid-year update. “India’s economy is forecast to expand by 6.9 per cent in 2024 and 6.6 per cent in 2025,29 mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption,” the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs said. It noted that even as the government brings down its fiscal deficit, it will continue to increase capital investment.

China is expected to announce fresh measures to reinvigorate its ailing property industry after the latest data showed housing prices slumped in April

The United Nations is reporting improved economic prospects since its January forecast for the global economy, pointing to a better outlook in the United States and several large emerging economies including Brazil, India and Russia

The Biden administration’s profligate spending—driving unprecedented trillion-dollar deficits during a full-employment, peacetime economy—has naturally required an increase in borrowing. But the size of Treasury issuance is only one aspect of U.S. borrowing.

IT outsourcing firms are facing a reality check, as global investors’ rush into the artificial intelligence theme starts to leave pricey old-economy tech stocks behind. Unlike counterparts in the developed world and China, Indian software makers including leader Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. have yet to make significant advances in generative AI. That combined with a still cloudy outlook for client spending may soon leave them looking like the tech bets of yesterday.

BEIJING — China reported data Friday that pointed to slower growth on the consumer side while industrial activity remained robust.