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NEW DELHI : India is expected to sign a much-awaited deal on two more pillars of the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework—clean economy and fair economy—early next year, two officials aware of the matter said. India’s law ministry is currently vetting proposals for IPEF’s clean economy and fair economy pillars, following which the commerce ministry will move for cabinet approval, the officials said. “Both the pillars are very important for the country.

After the Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady in its final three decisions of 2023, the tone of conversations in markets has shifted firmly away from further rate hikes and staunchly into the camp of when cuts could begin.

N Chandrasekaran in his new year message to employees. «Now that we know what we have to do, and our plans have momentum, we need to think hard about how we can execute flawlessly and with speed». «The next decade will belong to companies who excel in giving customers excellent experiences. With our growing footprint in consumer businesses, we have to bring empathy to every interaction—be that in Air India, Tata Motors or Titan. Brand Tata must be recognisable across all companies. And our group’s aim should not be merely to adopt, or adapt to, technology. We need to shape it, and make it. This New Year, I urge each company to appoint an AI champion to proactively pursue the benefits of AI—economically, operationally and socially,» he said.

Strong consumer demand will help India retain its spot as the fastest-growing economy in 2024 despite global headwinds, industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India said Thursday. The chamber noted that consumer demand would likely drive investment in construction, hospitality, and infrastructure, including railways and aviation. “India Inc., led by financials, construction, hotels, aviation, automobile and other manufacturing areas like electronics, are on a strong pitch to further improve performance in the new year,” the body noted in a statement, pointing to low crude oil prices helping drive growth. Construction and infrastructure-related sectors have received a push, with the government capex spending rising so far in FY24. “Sectors like construction have several related industries which too have gained momentum.

Economist Peter Morici reacts to the Fed signaling that it could cut interest rates three times in 2024, on 'Varney & Co.'

Edited excerpts of the interview: This year companies had to align themselves to what works long-term for businesses, and what is good for both the company and the investors, and finally, the LPs (limited partners) of our funds who put their faith in India and who have invested heavily in India. Therefore, I think it was time to readjust many things, and in some cases, correct certain excesses in the ecosystem. The good part is we have emerged from this as, maybe, the hotspot globally.

Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said India is one of the fastest growing major economies in the world with a rising potential growth profile, and stressed that the central bank remains committed to act early and decisively to prevent any build-up of risks. In his foreword to the RBI's 28th issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR), Das said achieving durable price stability, ensuring medium-term debt sustainability, further strengthening financial sector resilience, creating new growth opportunities and promoting inclusive and green growth remain key policy priorities.

private space industry has sought bold and transformative reforms with clarity on the foreign direct investment to propel the nascent sector in the new year. The industry had welcomed the government decision, reflected in the Telecommunications Act approved by Parliament, to adopt the administrative route for allocation of satellite-based spectrum which would help bridge the digital divide by enabling space-based broadband internet access to remote parts of the country.

India's net non-performing assets ratio of banks declined to a multi-year low of 0.8% at the end of September 2023. "The resilience of the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) sector improved with CRAR at 27.6 percent, GNPA ratio at 4.6 percent and return on assets (ROA) at 2.9 percent, respectively, in September 2023," the report said.

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Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani—in an interaction with company employees—shared his views on the legacy of founding chairman Dhirubhai Ambani and outlined a compelling vision for Reliance's future. Highlighting Reliance's core values on the 91st birth anniversary of his father, Mukesh Ambani said, "We will always cherish his timeless family values. These are — integrity, excellence, empathy, the spirit of cooperation, and the commitment to make every tomorrow better than every today for one and all.

America’s economy seems to keep rolling in. In the third quarter gdp expanded by a barnstorming 4.9% in annualised terms. Heading into earnings season, the month or so each quarter when most firms report their latest results, a stream of upbeat economic figures led stockmarket analysts to hold their profit expectations for the quarter steady, rather than trim them as they normally do.

Mint’s macro tracker provides a monthly comprehensive report on the state of the economy, based on trends in 16 high-frequency indicators. For each indicator, the value in each month is assigned a colour-coding (red, amber and green) to denote where it lies relative to the five-year average (worse, in line, or better).

Pensions plans made the political headlines in 2023 like seldom before, from Alberta’s threat to pull out of the Canada Pension Plan with more than half of the fund’s assets to Ottawa’s desire, stated in the fall fiscal update, to have the globetrotting trillion-dollar asset managers invest more at home. The Financial Post spoke to Alberta Investment Management Corp. chief executive Evan Siddall about these issues, geopolitics and how AIMCo is evolving its investment strategy for 2024 and beyond. This interview has been edited and condensed for space.

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Indian economy has been a shining star on the global stage amidst a peer group witnessing a slow to no growth rate. The World Bank, in its latest India Development Update, highlighted the Indian economy’s “resilience" despite challenges in the global environment. The economic outlook is promising on the domestic level in the coming year. TheUS recession is the talk of the town, and so the world is gearing up for the challenges we may encounter in the coming year. 

S Krishnakumar, Founder & Director,Lion Hill Capital, says “a reversal in the interest rate cycle globally means that money is going to be available at a much lower cost and we are going to see more risk-on come through over the next couple of years. Also, the outcome of the state election results in India has removed uncertainties about political continuity following May 2024 elections. These two major factors have removed some uncertainty from markets and a rally that could have happened in the middle of 2024 has already happened in December ‘23 thereby front-ending a lot of the returns of 2024 in a way.” Which side of the argument would you lean on, given that on the one hand, how inherently domestic flows, and now increasingly overseas flows are also good, but on the other hand, the recent rally in the month of December has been pretty sharp? S Krishnakumar: A couple of uncertainties are out of the way. One is, the state elections in north India gave BJP a thumping victory and removed uncertainties about the central elections in May 24 which now seem to be very much in the bag for the BJP-led front.

Congress has always worked towards building an India that is based on parliamentary democracy and equality, its president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday as the party celebrates its 139th foundation day and kickstarts its Lok Sabha poll campaign with a mega rally in Nagpur. In a post on X, Kharge said, «The objective of the Indian National Congress is public welfare and progress of the people of India.» The Congress believes in an India that is based on parliamentary democracy, where there is equality and opportunities for all without any discrimination, and where political, economic and social rights enshrined in the Constitution are followed, he said.

geo-political risks, global slowdowns, quantitative tightening, and high valuations. The RBI has also identified a surge in unsecured loans as a potential risk and has announced policy measures to mitigate the concern. It is essential to closely monitor the credit expansion within the system, given the substantial surge observed this year. A potential default could pose a significant risk to one's portfolio.

By Lewis Krauskopf

commodity that has consistently held its allure is gold. Beyond its aesthetic and cultural significance, gold often plays a pivotal role in the financial realm, especially when it comes to securing loans. The recent surge in gold prices has set off a ripple effect, reshaping the dynamics of gold loans in more ways than one.