Pandemic Financial News

At a time of high joblessness, stagnant real rural income and slackness in consumption demand, the pensioners are facing the problem of higher rejections in the settlement of their employees’ provident fund (EPF) claims.

gas production, India’s dependency on imported LNG or liquefied natural gas, which stood at 53% of total consumption in FY21, has gradually declined over the last three years and is expected to remain at around 45% by FY26, said CareEdge Ratings in a report on Tuesday. The higher demand for natural gas in the country is also expected to be supported by sizeable growth in domestic gas production wherein nearly 30 MMSCMD (million metric standard cubic meters per day) of new domestic natural gas production has gradually come on stream over the last three years and another around 15 MMSCMD of new domestic natural gas production is expected to come on-stream during FY25. “With greater thrust of the Government for transitioning towards cleaner fuel, there was a steady growth in natural gas consumption till FY20. However, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and sharp increase in imported LNG prices due to the geopolitical situation, there had been a decline in natural gas consumption during FY21 and FY23 respectively," said Hardik Shah, Director at CareEdge Ratings.

China has reported its manufacturing and investment improved in the first two months of the year, while weakness in the property sector weighed on the economy

TikTok creators across the country are expressing frustration over a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would lead to a nationwide ban of the app if its China-based owner doesn't sell its stake

monetarist ideas; the global financial crisis of 2007-09 spurred interest in credit and banking. Sure enough, the recovery from the covid-19 pandemic has given economists another chance to learn from their mistakes. Papers presented at the recent conference of the American Economic Association (AEA) offer clues as to the theories that might eventually become the received wisdom of the next generation.

marriages in China jumped 12.4% in 2023 from a year earlier, reversing a downtrend that has lasted for almost a decade as more youth tied the knot after delaying their nuptials due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of newlyweds rose to 7.68 million last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs last week. This was up 845,000 couples from 2022 but still far below the peak of 13.47 million couples hit in 2013.

made-in-India’ chip from the Micron plant is expected in December 2024. This is significant, as chip shortages during the global pandemic lockdowns heightened realisation of India’s dependency on international supply chains. While the start seems promising, the odds appear to be stacked against India, for now at least.

ICICI Securities. The current unsuccessful auto-debit requests, or bounce rate, is around 50% lower than the peak of 38.1% in June 2020 registered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, in FY24-TD, the average bounce rate in value terms has fallen to 20.8% from 22% YoY.

Canada, one of the favourite destinations of Indian students is not as popular amongst immigrants today as it was 20 years ago, says a recent study. A recent study by Statistics Canada revealed that fewer recent immigrants in Canada are pursuing Canadian citizenship compared to 20-plus years ago, says CIC News. The research, spanning from 1996 to 2021, indicated a nearly 30 per cent decline in citizenship rates among recent immigrants, with the majority of this decrease observed over the past decade.

BEIJING —  China's economic data for the first two months of the year beat analysts' expectations on Monday.

India's exhibition industry. According to the latest Ficci-EY media and entertainment report, footfalls in theatres (single screens and multiplexes) have fallen by 9% to 900 million in 2023 from 994 million in 2022. But, gross box-office collections (before tax) of single screens and multiplexes expanded 15.3% and 13.7%, respectively. To be sure, the base effect plays a role in the quantum of increase.

If offices are in such hot water, where are all the forced sellers? Office-building owners have been under pressure since the Covid-19 pandemic hollowed out their buildings in early 2020. According to data from real-estate consulting firm Colliers, the U.S. vacancy rate has risen from 11% in late 2019 to 17% today, higher than at any point in the 2008 global financial crisis.

By Richard Cowan

Forty per cent of Canadian industries are “highly vulnerable” to external demand and supply shocks, Statistics Canada says.

«This maturity wall is massive, we have not seen anything like it before. Granted, it is quite sizable and there is a lot of refinancing that needs to happen,» he told delegates at the firm's International Media Summit on Thursday (14 March) attended by Investment Week. During the pandemic, companies took advantage of low interest rates to secure favourable funding for an extended period. This resulted in longer maturity profiles and limited new issuance, raising concerns about the credit markets' ability to handle costly refinancing. Deep Dive: 'No clear maturity wall' as companies n...

More homeowners eager to sell their home are lowering their initial asking price in a bid to entice prospective buyers as the spring homebuying season gets going

A U.N. report says many countries are bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the poorest are not and a significant number are seeing their conditions deteriorate

Visa-free travel has witnessed a surge and Visa on arrival options have also increased for people across the world, according to the latest UN Tourism report. The report says, 21 per cent of the world population does not need any form of visa, an increase from 17 per cent in 2008 and 20 per cent in 2018. Moreover, 14 per cent of the world population can apply for visa on arrival, an increase from 6 per cent in 2008 and 15 per cent in 2018.

This year, Indian debt will begin to be included in global bond indexes, starting with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s products in June, followed by the Bloomberg Emerging Market Local Currency Government Index from January 2025. (Disclaimer: Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, offers index products for various asset classes through Bloomberg Index Services Ltd.) And, when last quarter’s growth numbers were announced in the past fortnight, analysts were startled to see that the Indian economy had apparently grown at an annualized rate of 8.4%. There are certainly solid grounds for optimism. India’s macroeconomic stability is impressive compared to many of its peers. Pandemic spending wasn’t excessive. The fiscal deficit has been steadily shrinking as a proportion of gross domestic product. The rupee has been remarkably stable. And “core” inflation, which excludes food and fuel prices, has eased to 3.3% year-on-year, according to data released this week.

JPMorgan analysts remain bearish on Bitcoin’s near-term future, believing the asset’s current rally is attributable to retail and speculative institutions.

The world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, scaled a fresh peak on Monday. It reached $72,234 per token, crossing its pandemic peak of nearly $69,000. Bitcoin may be ‘here to stay,’ but that still does not justify its adoption as a currency.