Economy Financial News

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is trying to change the narrative on his five-month-old government

The S&P 500 is on track to close 2024 with a gain of nearly 27%, after setting 50 record highs this year

Chief economic advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday nudged the private corporate sector to hire more and find the “right balance between capital-intensive and labour-intensive growth”, underling that while profits of private listed companies, as a percentage of GDP, hit a 15-year high in March 2024, their wage cost increase dwindled. Without a judicious balance between the share of corporations’ income making up their profits and that going to workers as wages, there won’t be adequate demand in the economy for companies’ own products to be bought, the CEA said. Sustained income growth bolsters both consumption and savings, which eventually spur economic expansion. “In other words, not paying workers well or not hiring workers enough will end up being actually self-destructive or harmful for the corporate sector itself and for small enterprises,” Nageswaran said, stressing that even legendary economist Adam Smith had written The Theory of Moral Sentiments before his seminal work--The Wealth of Nations.

Sake is perhaps even more Japanese than the world-famous sushi

euro rose marginally against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, but came off session highs, after a widely expected collapse of the French government following a no-confidence vote by opposition lawmakers. The greenback, on the other hand, was little changed overall, as the December interest rate cut chances remained on track amid signs that the American economy was slowing.

technology shares rallied after upbeat results from Salesforce and as comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave a late boost to the market. The economy is stronger than it appeared in September when the central bank began cutting interest rates, allowing policymakers to potentially be a little more cautious in reducing rates further, Powell said at a New York Times event.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said the economy is stronger now than the central bank had expected in September when it began reducing interest rates, and appeared to signal his support for a slower pace of interest-rate cuts ahead. «The U.S. economy is in very good shape and there's no reason for that not to continue ...the downside risks appear to be less in the labor market, growth is definitely stronger than we thought, and inflation has come in a little higher,» Powell said at a New York Times event. «So the good news is that we can afford to be a little more cautious as we try to find neutral.» His remarks during a wide-ranging half-hour interview that touched only lightly on monetary policy and the economy are likely his last before the Dec. 17-18 policy meeting, as the quiet period when Fed officials refrain from speaking about monetary policy ahead of a meeting starts on Saturday. In-depth comments by some of Powell's key colleagues this week have pointed in the direction of a third straight interest-rate cut, with Governor Christopher Waller saying on Monday he was «leaning toward» a reduction even as others decline to pre-commit to that outcome.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. With social and development spending rising steadily, government finances have been under pressure. This seems to have put overzealous revenue authorities on a constant lookout for how to squeeze more money out of tax assessees.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: An increase in the goods and services tax (GST) rate on certain readymade garments, currently being discussed by a ministerial panel, could be a dampener for the ongoing wedding season, textile manufacturers said. According to estimates from the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), bridal wear accounts for 10-12% of the total clothing market, underscoring its significance.

global stocks hit a record with Jerome Powell’s bullish comments that supported risk assets. Currency traders remained on alert as the French government fell after a no-confidence vote. Shares in Japan and Australia rose, while equity futures in Hong Kong were slightly lower. US equity futures were little changed after Wednesday advances for the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 nudged a gauge of global stocks to a new high.

China's latest efforts to kickstart growth haven't had a broad impact yet, data and company earnings show, indicating the world's second-largest economy won't be roaring back soon.

NEW YORK — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday he isn't worried that President-elect Donald Trump will try to politicize the central bank once he takes office in January.

US services sector activity slowed in November after posting big gains in recent months, but remained above levels consistent with solid economic growth in the fourth quarter. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Wednesday that its nonmanufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) slipped to 52.1 last month after surging to 56.0 in October, which was the highest level since August 2022. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the services PMI easing to 55.5. A PMI reading above 50 indicates growth in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy. The ISM views PMI readings above 49 over time as generally indicating an expansion of the overall economy.

Similar in size and fuel economy, these two hybrid compact sedans differ from there

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Saudi Arabia’s sway over the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries long meant unquestioned dominance of the global oil market. Those days are over, at least for now.

Bank of America is betting heavily on behalf of the American economy as it has claimed that the US economy is poised for solid growth in the coming year, with chances that the annualized rate of economic growth could surge to 2.4% in 2025, instead of the usual 2% every other year, according to a Bloomberg report. The US economy-related predictions from Bank of America comes in even after there are growing concerns about Donald Trump's economic policies which are reportedly inflationary in nature. The various campaign promises about illegal immigration, imposing tariffs on foreign imports, along with tax cuts for corporations, could all pile up and generate a condition for an epic inflation in the American markets in 2025, according to many market experts. Also Read: This property in the US is the most expensive; here is its whopping cost, is it worth that much? Finding a buyer may be difficult

Swiss Re Institute report «Changing climates: the heat is (still) on», the Philippines and the US are the most economically vulnerable among 36 countries analyzed. This vulnerability is driven by the increasing severity of weather-related catastrophes like floods and tropical cyclones.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The global economy is set to grow at slightly a faster pace next year as inflation continues to cool, but could falter if tariffs rise and governments fail to narrow wide budget deficits, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Wednesday. In a quarterly report, the Paris-based research body said it now expects the world economy to grow by 3.3% next year, a pickup from the 3.2% rate of expansion it estimates for this year.

«I would simply say in conclusion that Donald Trump does not like a strong dollar. When he talks about the dollar, he says he would want it to go down. So, if it does keep going up, I think that he would not like that very much,» says Mark Matthews, Julius Baer. What looks like a buy America, sell emerging market trade looks like it is reversing. In last couple of days, emerging markets and especially India, they have made a comeback. So, do you think the transition what we saw after Donald Trump got elected, that long dollar trade, is that getting over? Is that getting rusty? Mark Matthews: Hard to say. There are so many moving parts to this incoming administration. But on a fair value purchasing power basis, the dollar is slightly overvalued. So, fundamentally, it should not go up anymore. But if this Trump administration really ignites the animal spirits of the US economy, if they remove sanctions, which they may do, which would attract more buying of treasuries, and if they introduce tariffs, all of that would conspire to the dollar going up more.

RBI has largely been following a data-driven and evidence-based approach in its pursuit of a contextually relevant Policy, a Policy stemming from the concerns at the time of formulation and an attempt to arrive at judicious Policy prescriptions. With an uncanny ability to connect the dots and draw meaningful inferences, it is not difficult to predict the shape of things likely to come as I have done repeatedly for the last several years. But this time is different, the choices are not so stark and we are confronted with the cognizable Shakespearean dilemma of “to be or not to be”. No wonder, then, opinion about the Policy move is divided: some believe that a rate cut is necessary to shore up a flagging economy; others maintain that given the ravages of the inflationary spiral, an unchanged rate would best serve the objectives of the central bank.

The HSBC final India Services Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, stayed almost unchanged at 58.4 in November from 58.5 in October, but was lower than a preliminary estimate of 59.2. A sub-index measuring new business — a gauge of demand — fell from October but showed no concerning signs of weakness. It was supported by international demand that rose at its fastest pace since August.