Pandemic Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A yawning gap has been reported between bad loans on credit cards issued by public-sector and private banks. Given the difficulty with which the dud-loan burden of lenders in India—particularly state-run ones—was brought under control in recent years, this must not escape notice.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Every time a man explains their jobs, their interests or their lives to them—and it happens with the frequency of traffic jams in Bengaluru—female friends will say, “I wish I had that confidence". Overconfidence, or an overestimation of or a misplaced belief in one’s own capabilities and opinions, is an epidemic in the world of work, dating and leisure.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The covid-led stock market crash in March 2020 birthed a spectacular four-year bull run. Five years on, the boom phase and the subsequent, ongoing correction have brought significant lessons for investors—especially new entrants.

Warren Buffett, true to form, remains unmoved — sticking to his decades-old view that gold is an unproductive asset with no place in a value investor’s portfolio. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman has famously dismissed gold as an unproductive asset that generates no cash flows or economic value — unlike businesses that reinvest profits or commodities like silver with extensive industrial utility.

Trump administration. Reflecting on his 16-year journey from intern to CEO, Gardner emphasized his decision was driven by ensuring Amtrak’s alignment with the current administration’s priorities. His departure coincides with Elon Musk’s renewed push to privatize public services like Amtrak and the U.S. Postal Service. Musk, speaking at a March 5 conference, argued privatization could boost efficiency, claiming, “If it can reasonably be privatized, it should be.” Critics, however, point to failures like the U.K.’s recent rail renationalization after decades of private struggles.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Governments in rich countries are set to issue a record $17 trillion in bonds this year as the higher cost of refinancing existing debts continues to push their interest bills higher, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Thursday.

Taxpayers who haven’t filed 2021 tax returns who may be eligible for a COVID stimulus payment must file it by April 15 to claim the credit

Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Vaishnaw said maintenance of railways is different from other infrastructure like highways. He said since the tracks and wheels are made of steel and the trains are travelling at a speed of 70 to 100 km per hour, the tracks often get damaged, resulting in creation of micro fractures «If we don't repair the micro fractures regularly, there is a possibility of increased rail fractures which may lead to train accidents. That is why globally, out of 24 hours in a day, a few hours are kept for maintaining the tracks,» he said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: The market regulator may review its contentious proposal to introduce a gross limit for all clients trading in index options after receiving feedback against such a rule from several market participants, a person aware of the development said. The Securities and Exchange Board of India's planned review comes after brokers, proprietary desks and institutional traders flagged risks of reduced market liquidity and higher trading costs in India's derivatives market if the rule is implemented.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. There are many ways to become a professional chef. A tried-and-tested route is graduating from a culinary school and refining skills at restaurants.

The latest federal data found that the pay gap between employees who remain in their positions and those who switch jobs has fallen to its lowest point in a decade, the Wall Street Journal reported. During the first two months of 2025, workers who remained with their previous employers received a 4.6% bump in pay, while job switchers received about a 4.8% hike, as per the report. While the fall in hike started from 2025, yet the difference was slightly more, job switchers gained an average of 7.7% in salary compared to the job stayers' 5.5% bump, according to Wall Street Journal.

The ministry has also estimated a $4.43 billion trade surplus in goods and services in February, the first surplus after the Covid-19 pandemic. In February, India’s gold imports slipped to $2.3 billion from the past month’s $2.68 billion. Meanwhile, crude oil imports dropped to $11.8 billion from $13.4 billion in January, data showed. Sequentially, goods exports were up 1.31% from January 2025. “This was a difficult year for us for trade. We are positively moving in the direction of above $800 billion exports,” said commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal, adding that services exports are growing above 14%. Live Events E

artificial intelligence (AI) and technology-driven skills are in high demand.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Asset management companies have been major beneficiaries of India’s rising equity penetration since the pandemic years. These stocks have delivered strong returns over the past two years and their assets under management (AUM) have surged more than 200% over the previous five years.

This month, many investors feel dazed and confused. No wonder: as the U.S. government flirts with another shutdown and U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his trade war, indices of economic uncertainty have skyrocketed above even the 2020 pandemic or the global financial crisis of 2008.

Gig workers, or those outside traditional employer-employee relationships, are set to play a key role in the world's fifth-biggest economy, spurred partly by high unemployment after COVID-19 pandemic curbs fuelled growth in the sector. Tamil Nadu is also introducing an insurance scheme for nearly 150,000 gig workers to compensate for accidental deaths and disability, its finance minister, Thangam Thenarasu, said while unveiling the budget.

Hedge funds are making extreme moves that are beginning to look similar to the opening phases of the COVID-19 crisis, as per a report.

Tamil Nadu's progressive social policies, robust infrastructure facilities, and large skilled labour force enabled the state to place itself on an elevated economic development trajectory, making the state contribute 9.21 per cent to national GDP in 2023-24, Tamil Nadu's first economic survey 2024-25 said on Thursday. The survey brought out by the State Planning Commission and handed over to Chief Minister M K Stalin, said the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at current prices reached Rs 27.22 lakh crore in 2023-24, posting a nominal growth rate of 13.71 per cent and a real growth rate of 8.33 per cent. «Tamil Nadu economy in 2024-25 faced global headwinds with its innate economic strength. The pandemic, coupled with geopolitical tensions and extreme weather events, disrupted global supply chains and triggered crises in the energy and food sectors,» it said. The global economy posted a real growth rate of 3.33 percent in 2023. India's economy recorded 7.61 percent growth in 2022-23, 9.19 per cent in 2023-24, and 6.48 per cent in 2024-25. «Building on a strong foundation of inclusive policies, Tamil Nadu has demonstrated remarkable economic resilience, consistently achieving growth rates of 8 per cent or more since 2021-22, and the state is expected to maintain a growth rate above 8 per cent in 2024-25,» it said. In 2022-23, Tamil Nadu's per capita income was Rs 2.78 lakh, 1.6 times the national average of Rs 1.69 lakh. The state consistently outpaced the national average over the years and is the fourth-largest state in per capita income.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s auto industry is booming, with annual vehicle sales surpassing 4 million, making it the world’s third-largest car market. The Nifty Auto Index has surged, delivering a 36% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from pandemic lows, significantly outperforming the broader Nifty 50.

Pension funds that were buoyed by soaring stock markets and growing economies that helped produce double-digit returns last year are now being challenged by the escalating trade war between the United States and Canada that is spilling out globally.