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oil refiners' green energy projects, four government and industry sources said, as the federal government seeks to curb its fiscal deficit. Asia's third largest economy, facing an over 40% shortfall in collecting revenues from stake sales in state-run companies, is prioritising spending to try to limit its fiscal deficit to 5.9% of GDP for this fiscal year to the end of March. State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp aim to end net carbon emissions from their operations by 2040, and Indian Oil Corp has set a target for 2046. To help the companies reach the goals, 300 billion rupees ($3.61 billion) in equity support was announced in the budget for this fiscal year. But an industry and a government official said the funds will be provided in a staggered manner and the government will give 150-billion-rupee equity support in 2023/24. As the refiners' financial position is sound and they do not require 300 billion rupees for capex this year, the government has lowered the amount, one of the sources said. All the sources with direct knowledge of the matter spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have yet to be approved by the federal cabinet. India's oil ministry, the finance ministry and oil companies did not respond to Reuters' emails seeking comments. Two industry sources said BPCL and IOC will halve the size of their planned rights issues to 90 billion rupees and 110 billion rupees, respectively. The refiners do not need funds immediately for energy transition projects, and their capex will only increase significantly after two-to-three years, one of the two industry sources said. A second government source said Oil and Natural Gas Corp, the parent firm of HPCL, will enhance

growth in the manufacturing and services sectors, the United Nations has said. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2024 report, launched here on Thursday, said that gross domestic product in South Asia is projected to increase by 5.2 per cent in 2024, driven by a robust expansion in India, which remains the fastest-growing large economy in the world.

India paid an average of $85.42 per barrel for Russian oil in November, the highest since the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel to cut Moscow's revenue, preliminary government data shows. India paid 1.4% more for Russian oil in November compared to $84.20 per barrel in October, Reuters calculations based on government data show. The data also showed declining discounts for Russian oil narrowed the price gap with India's second largest oil supplier Iraq in November. India paid an average $85.73 per barrel for supplies from Iraq and $93.32/barrel for Saudi oil, the data showed. Since the imposition of the price cap in December 2022, India has mostly paid above the $60 ceiling for Russian oil that had still proved cheaper than the similar grades from elsewhere. June was an exception when prices were lower. Indian refiners buy Russian oil on delivered basis from from ports in Greece, South Korea and Spain, as well as directly from Russia. Sales from Russian ports at more than $60/barrel led to the U.S.

Investments Authority of the Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Tax Authority are working to provide individual support to entrepreneurs among the evacuees from the war zones who own residential buildings. As such, it has already been approved for a company that owns a residential apartment building, which holds written approval from the administration in the «building for rent» route, to contract with a government company for the occupancy of the apartments in this building by the evacuee population.

New banking rules proposed last year by US regulators were “extremely aggressive” and are likely to be “materially wound back” before being put in place, Morgan Stanley Chairman James Gorman said.

By Ankur Banerjee

India's current account deficit narrows to 1% of GDP in July-Sept On Friday the National Statistical Office will release the first advance GDP estimates. The advance estimates of GDP, which go under six revisions over time, will be released in the evening on 5 January.

By Luis Jaime Acosta and Oliver Griffin

FreedomWorks senior economist Steve Moore provides insight on the state of the economy on 'Making Money.'

Gold price today: Gold rate rises on geopolitical tensions, rate cut hopes; what should be your strategy for MCX Gold? According to a report by ICICI Direct, Gold prices are likely to move towards a new high of ₹70,000. “Gold prices are likely to rise further on the back of weak dollar and decline in US treasury yields. Dollar and Yields nosedive in anticipation that the US Fed will start cutting rates as soon as March 2024," the report said.

₹1.97 trillion (over $26 billion) to enhance manufacturing capabilities. The 14 sectors enjoying the benefits of PLI schemes include telecommunication, white goods, textiles, medical devices manufacturing, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell batteries, drones, and pharma. Since then several other sectors have approached their respective ministries asking to be included under the PLI scheme.

Regardless of your perspective, Harvard looks bad right now—and that’s good for America. The resignation of Claudine Gay as president has brought the university unwanted attention for lacking both academic standards and moral clarity. She made mistakes, but in many ways, Harvard set her up to fail.

In its decision of 3 January on the matter of an Adani Group probe in the wake of Hindenburg’s allegations, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld trust in the regulatory system under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), emphasizing its commitment to financial transparency and market integrity, by endorsing Sebi’s regulations. It dismissed conflict-of-interest concerns and asked the market regulator to conclude its investigation of the remaining parts within three months.

Uncertainty is as thick as ever for diving into what awaits in the year ahead, but there’s still a growing consensus building that the Federal Reserve will soon start cutting interest rates.

The Federal Reserve’s policymakers concluded last month that inflationary pressures were easing and that the job market was cooling

A court in Argentina has delivered a blow to labor rule changes announced by President Javier Milei as part of sweeping deregulation and austerity measures aimed at reviving the country’s struggling economy

Wall Street is drifting following signals the job market remains solid, though it may be a touch too strong

A study shows that carbon dioxide emissions in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, dropped to their lowest level in seven decades

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week as the labor market continues to show resilience despite elevated interest rates

Oil steadied on Thursday, largely unwinding an earlier rally, as concerns over Middle Eastern supply and disruptions at an oilfield in Libya were countered by concern about economic growth and demand. Local protests forced a production shutdown on Wednesday at Libya's Sharara oilfield, which can produce up to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd). The field, one of Libya's largest, has been a frequent target for political protests. Brent crude fell 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $77.95 a barrel by 1450 GMT, after earlier rising over $1.

Bitcoin becoming a reserve currency is an interesting topic of discussion. While it is currently not widely used in everyday transactions to the same extent as traditional currencies, there are potential scenarios in which Bitcoin could become a reserve currency in the future.