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hiring sentiment for the next three months is one of the highest across the world, with 37 per cent of employers planning to increase their staff strength amid buoyant domestic demand conditions, says a survey. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey of nearly 3,100 employers across sectors and regions, the Net Employment Outlook (NEO) in India is the highest amongst 41 countries. The outlook for January-March 2024, calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers who anticipate reductions to staffing levels from those who plan to hire, stood at 37 per cent, up 5 per cent from the corresponding period of 2023, and same when compared with the last quarter. «Domestic demand remains buoyant, and private investments continue to flow in making India a lucrative economy. With stability in the political arena, progressive India is not a dream but a reality,» Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director of ManpowerGroup India and Middle East, said. As per the survey, India and the Netherlands reported the strongest net employment outlooks at 37 per cent, followed by Costa Rica and the US at 35 per cent in second place, and Mexico at the third position with 34 per cent of the net employment outlook. The global average stood at 26 per cent.

Microsoft has made an announcement on a big investment in the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure of the United Kingdom. The company's objective is to dramatically enhance the capabilities of the nation's AI. The following are some of the important topics that are covered by this all-encompassing investment plan:

Deven Choksey, MD, DRChoksey FinServ Pvt. Ltd, says “having completed the capex programme and having started generating the annuity revenue in a variety of infrastructure assets that the group is holding, one would find an argument for keeping these stocks in the portfolio. And in every dip or every correction, that would mean a meaningful opportunity to add into the portfolio.” Is the zing in your voice because of the stock movement in Adani? I think one is happy at the same time because the dust is getting cleared and at the same time, the fundamentals of the companies are now once again getting recognised. More importantly, when you see Rs 60,000 crore worth of EBITDA, when you see three and a half times to EBITDA as your debt, and the capitalisation which has happened in the last 7-8-9 months, as far as businesses are concerned within the group, these are all some of the fundamental moves which would give us a confidence to stay invested into the company.

Canada continues its work towards net-zero carbon emissions, including through its mandate for at least 20 per cent of car sales to be electric vehicles (EVs) by 2026, a new report showing a declining interest in the products is raising questions whether that goal is doable.On Monday, AutoTrader.ca released its 2023 top search data into some of the most popular vehicles searched on their marketplace this year and while it showed a rise in popularity of trucks, the number showing an intent to purchase an EV has declined from one year prior.In 2022, the data found about 68 per cent of car shoppers who did not own an EV showing an intent to purchase one amid the record high gas prices faced and the growing inflation.

equity market universe of India, mid-caps and small-caps have had a good run-up this year in terms of pricing or share value. This run-up presents both a threat and an opportunity. Mainly, if you can read the economic tea leaves and know your investment priorities, the shoals in the mid-cap and small-cap ocean can be navigated.

Federal Reserve's (US Fed) two-day monetary policy meeting is being held from December 12-13 (Eastern Standard Time - EST). And on Wednesday (EST) Fed Chair Jerome Powell will announce the central bank's rate decision in a press conference. Known as the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting (FOMC Meeting), the rate announcement will be at 2 pm (EST) on December 13 (12.30 am IST on December 14).

The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s crackdown on social-media influencers peddling advice is a losing battle. Although nine out of 10 individual traders are losing money, retail investors can’t get enough of derivatives. A smartphone-led gamification of investing is complete. It wasn’t always like this.

Investors in Chinese stocks next year will be seeking out businesses with global reach or other insulation from an economic downturn, after three straight years of China underperforming world markets. Companies in defensive sectors such as health, medical innovation and exporters in the electric vehicles supply chain and advanced manufacturing, as well as multinationals such as e-commerce firm PDD Holdings, will top the list. That's despite sell-side analysts turning bullish on China's broader market for next year, with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs forecasting Chinese equities to outperform the S&P 500. «Since economic recovery is slower than expected, we lowered exposures which are sensitive to macro cycles,» said Wang Qing, chairman at Shanghai Chongyang Investment Management. Chongyang is instead buying defensive high-dividend stocks, medical innovators with global competitiveness, and advanced manufacturing backed by Beijing, Wang said, declining to list any investments by name. This follows China's blue chip CSI300 index sinking to five-year lows and losing 12% over 2023 against a 15% gain for global stocks as the Chinese economy struggled with a property crunch and a slow recovery from COVID-19. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fared even worse, sliding more than 18% to trade on a forward price-to-earnings ratio below six, against 21 for the S&P 500. Performance over the last 10 months crushed the optimism that infused the beginning of the year, with four straight months of foreign outflows in the second half of the year totalling a net 138 billion yuan ($19 billion) withdrawn from Chinese equities via the Stock Connect scheme. «Investors (have) struggled to think what the next growth driver for China will be,»

While the early part of 2024 for Indian markets is set to be influenced by the Union Budget and the general elections, stronger economic growth and improving earnings outlook should bode well for equities over the next one year, says Shreyash Devalkar, Head — Equity, Axis Mutual Fund. “There is a possibility of increased FII flows in 2024, given expectations around political stability and peaking/falling interest rates, especially towards the second half of the year,” Devalkar said in an interview with ETMarkets. Edited excerpts: With 2023 drawing to a close, how does 2024 look up for the Indian equity market? What are the key factors that will drive inflows? Heading into 2024, we must remember that 2023 was good for the market and there could be bouts of consolidation.

Leading discount broking firm Upstox, which is eyeing 10x growth in client base in the next 5 years, says the company's focus will be on profitability as it has now built a respectable size of business. After breaking even in FY23, Upstox Co-Founder Shrini Vishwanath said it is now profitable and will continue to grow profits as the revenues grow. The new-age broker is also open to the idea of getting listed in the next 3 to 5 years. Edited excerpts from a chat: With so many players crowding the broking space, what is going to be the key differentiator for you in the long-run? You are right, the broking space is getting crowded; indicating that the industry is growing and has potential to grow fast enough to attract new players. It is exactly at this stage that established players like ours have a clear advantage.

Global trade will decline in 2023 by about 5% from last year’s record as high borrowing costs weigh on economies, US-China tensions redirect supply chains and more policies restricting cross-border commerce emerge, a UN agency said. The value of goods and services trade will reach $30.7 trillion compared with $32.2 trillion in 2022, according to the Geneva-based United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. A $2 trillion, or 8%, slump in merchandise trade is the main reason.

Federal Reserve's policy announcement, which will strongly influence investor expectations on the path of interest rates. Market watchers increasingly believe the central bank is done with its interest rate hike cycle and could potentially cut rates in the first half of next year. These expectations have helped fuel a rally in equities in recent weeks that sent each of the three major indexes to their highest closing levels of the year. While markets had been pricing in a better than 50 percent chance of a rate cut in March by the Fed last week, data on Friday showed job growth accelerated and the unemployment rate dipped, while a separate report showed consumer inflation expectations had dropped.

India is experiencing a demographic dividend and will continue to do so for a long time, according to Dr Ajit Ranade, Vice Chancellor, Gokhale Institute for Politics and Economics, Pune He was speaking at the 5th CUTS 40th Anniversary Event held in the Symbiosis School of Economics in Pune on Monday. The event was titled ‘What Would it Take India to Realise its Potential Growth?’ As the Chair of the event, Dr Vijay Kelkar emphasised on the idea that India needs to adopt a universal approach and not just a narrow outlook on the economic front.

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With inflation edging closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, its policymakers are facing — and in some cases fueling — hopes that they will make a decisive shift in policy and cut interest rates next year, possibly as soon as spring

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says that hunger remains a chronic problem in Asia

Investing.com — The Dow closed higher on Monday, extending recent gains as investors looked ahead to a crucial week of market-moving events including fresh inflation data and the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting slated for Tuesday.

By Chuck Mikolajczak

-Name withheld on request The markets will now gain a lot of confidence from the state election results, which overwhelmingly confirm the continuity of the government in the 2024 elections as well. India is today one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, as most macro data suggests. Therefore, this win strengthens expectations of the continuity of policy reforms that can drive growth higher.