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RBI Monetary Policy (MPC) Meet: The Reserve Bank of India's MPC has kept repo rates unchanged at 6.5 percent, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced on December 8. “The RBI MPC has decided unanimously to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50 percent. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains at 6.25 percent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75 percent," Das said.

RBI) continued with its stance of pause in the bi-monthly policy review on Friday. The central bank held the Repo Rate (or the rate at which lends money to banks) at 6.5%, in line with the expectations of money market participants. What does the continued pause mean to mutual fund investors? The Reserve Bank of India has been holding policy rates since February this year. The apex bank had raised policy rates by 2.5% before the pause, starting from May 2022, to contain the inflationary pressure in the economy. Central banks raise interest rates to control inflation by suppressing demand for loans. According to money market analysts, the policy pause is likely to be a long one as the central bank is extremely vigilant about the inflationary pressure in the economy. Most of these analysts rule out a rate cut before June 2024.

Amnish Aggarwal, Head-Research, Prabhudas Lilladher, says “there are some sectors or stocks that represent the multi-year trends; one clearly is capital goods which benefits from the recent state elections results as the uncertainty with regards to the next Lok Sabha elections has got reduced. So the capital goods companies, whether they are on the engineering side, railway side, defence should continue to do well. We like Siemens Hindustan, Aeronautics, and Carborundum looks good. The entire capital goods is one pack which looks very interesting to us. ” What is your view on HUL and the rest of the FMCG players like ITC? Do you think in terms of the sector churn that we are seeing, the FMCG companies will not be in those top three, top four bets that investors would be looking at actively? We have been having an underperformer in our model portfolio.

SK Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Advisor, SBI, says “if you look into the data of the US consumer spending and other data, labour markets are saying house prices are now declining in the US. Taking all these factors into account, I believe that possibly the slowdown in the global economy, specifically the US, at a rate which is larger than anticipated by the market would be the possible source of outside risk for the Indian economy.” What is your view on what is happening to the yield rates globally? 10-year yields are coming down from 5% plus to 4.2-4.3% thereabouts. What is the normalised level world should make do with? Do you think 4.2%, 4.3% is the new normal or is it headed lower? As we have said in our report recently, the outlook on the global economy so far is that the US could be spared a major recession and the growth has been very strong. But beyond these headline growth numbers, the US’ real economy numbers do not look so inspiring at this point of time. The payroll numbers have been revised downwards by eight times in nine months. There have also been some recession indicators showing that the US could be possibly on the verge of a significant slowdown. The only thing which is keeping the US economy headline growth strong is currently the excess savings of $1 trillion the US consumers have built up over the years.

Narendra Modi and President Muizzu recently met in Dubai along the sidelines of CoP-28 and reportedly agreed to set up a “core group" on ties that would also look into the matter of troop withdrawal. The stakes have clearly risen.

Omkar Shetty, Pune, Maharashtra In the realm of investments, diversification is a key mantra, and venturing beyond the familiar shores of the Indian stock market can open up a world of possibilities. Indian international mutual funds, particularly those with a focus on the S&P 500, offer an enticing avenue for Indian investors to tap into the dynamic and growth-oriented US equity market. The US stock market has consistently outperformed its Indian counterpart over the long term.

Many close observers of India’s economy have been concerned that inequality could slow down its rise if a large proportion of the population gets left behind. Could we already be running into speed-breakers in some sectors? Take internet penetration, which till some years ago was seen to be fast bridging our digital divide. No longer.

RBI Monetary Policy (MPC) Meet Live Updates: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will unveil the fifth monetary policy of the financial year 2023-24 today at 10:00 am after a two-day review, amid strong macroeconomic fundamentals and resilient domestic markets. The review by the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) led by Das will likely indicate the course RBI will adopt in the remainder of the financial year as it seeks to bring inflation under the 4 per cent target amid high food prices.

Japan's economy fell faster than initially estimated in the third quarter, revised data showed on Friday, complicating the central bank's efforts to phase out its accommodative monetary policy. Consumer and business spending both shrank, driving down third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP). Separate data showed real wages and household spending kept falling in October, as prolonged inflation discouraged shoppers.

Narendra Modi and said that he cannot be intimidated or forced to take any decisions that are contrary to India's interests. While speaking at the 14th VTB Investment forum Russia Calling, he also spoke of PM Modi's tough posturing and stance when it comes to defending the national interests. "I cannot imagine that Modi could be intimidated, or forced to take any actions, steps and decisions that are contrary to the national interests of India and the Indian people.

Ashutosh Tiwari, Managing Director and Head of Institutional Equities at Equirus believes Budget 2024 may be balanced, along with growth orientation, and it will also include populist measures with a focus on rural and lower strata of society which has been under distress post Covid. In an interview with Mint, he says NDA's win in the 2024 General Election will not trigger any sharp rally in the market.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) listed on domestic stock exchanges have largely been forgettable bets for many investors in 2023 so far as a delay in the pick-up in commercial real estate, a slowdown in the IT sector, and higher interest rates have capped returns. Prices of the listed REITs have mostly fallen so far this year, but investment advisors see better prospects for this asset class in 2024 if the government eases occupancy rules in special economic zones (SEZs). REITs are vehicles that own and operate income-producing properties mainly office spaces and commercial real estate.

India Inc is tapping the low-cost private placement route to raise funds like never before. Fund mobilisation through corporate bonds that are privately placed has hit a record ₹8.97 lakh crore in 2023, with three weeks left in the year.

Japan's economy contracted by 0.7 percent in the third quarter, government figures showed Friday, revising a preliminary estimate that it shrank 0.5 percent. The drop, which followed two straight quarters of growth, came on the back of low consumer spending in the world's number three economy as well as lacklustre exports.

California is facing a $68 billion budget deficit

debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, intensified the question of who can best challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in 2024. Nikki Haley, endorsed by a major conservative activist network, faced criticism from opponents like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. DeSantis, previously seen as a strong challenger, defended his position, emphasizing voters' decisions over polls. The debate, marked by bitter squabbling, delved into Trump's fitness for office, the economy, and the U.S. role in global conflicts, providing candidates a platform before the Iowa caucuses.

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Twenty months after the Bank of Canada launched one of the most intense interest-rate hiking cycles on record, the bond market is indicating that cuts are on the way.

Canada will require its oil and gas industry to cut emissions to 35 per cent to 38 per cent below 2019 levels in six years in what the government is calling a historic first for a major fossil-fuel producing country.

India is the best performing economy in current times because of policy interventions by the government and green shoots of recovery are emerging in the rural economy as inflation is becoming moderate, Sanjiv Puri, chairman and managing director of ITC, said on Thursday. "(The) Q2 GDP numbers are a testament to how well the economy is doing," Puri said at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Global Economic Policy Forum here. And that is a result of the spirit of enterprise, resilience of people, «enabled by a lot of very timely and purposeful policy interventions over several years», he said. While the government has handled inflation — which has been high due to global challenges — well, all sectors, particularly export-oriented ones, are not doing so well, Puri said. Driven by uneven and scanty rain, annual retail inflation had hit a 15-month high of 7.44% in July with food price inflation at 11.5%, its highest in more than three and a half years. The government took several measures to put a lid on food prices such as prohibiting export of wheat, restricting export of sugar, onion and rice, importing pulses, disposing off wheat, rice, and vegetables such as onions from its own stocks, bringing food inflation down to 6.61% in October. The Indian economy grew 7.6% in the second quarter ended September, beating expectations.

prices dropped to six-month low after US inventory data. On Tuesday, both benchmarks settled at their lowest since July 6, a fourth straight session of losses.