President Financial News

BJP president JP Nadda, and former prime minister Manmohan Singh are among the 57 Rajya Sabha members retiring in April, just ahead of the next Lok Sabha polls. The BJP may have to take a call on the candidature of these nine ministers and Nadda before deciding its Lok Sabha candidates. In total, 68 Rajya Sabha members are retiring in 2024. BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh will have a maximum of 10 vacancies, followed by Maharashtra and Bihar (six each), Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal (five each), Karnataka and Gujarat (four each), Odisha, Telangana, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh (three each), Jharkhand and Rajasthan (two each), and Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh (one each). On the back of victory in recent assembly polls in three states, the BJP's tally in Rajya Sabha may remain the same as it is likely to lose seats in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha.

Bharatiya Janata Party Bengal unit has created a solid organisational foundation and is likely to field more women candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in a bid to achieve the target of 35 seats set by union home minister Amit Shah, top BJP leaders said. «The party is standing on a solid organisational foundation now and we have our vote base as well. So, with these factors in mind, we have been given a target of 35 seats,» former BJP state president Dilip Ghosh told ET.

A court in Argentina has delivered a blow to labor rule changes announced by President Javier Milei as part of sweeping deregulation and austerity measures aimed at reviving the country’s struggling economy

AICC brass and state Congress leaders on Thursday held a meeting here to showcase the Opposition party gearing up with its plans for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls even as the leadership finalised the route for Rahul Gandhi's Yatra-2 by renaming it as 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' and by including (after its exclusion in the earlier list led to some chatter) the sensitive border state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its 15-state yatra, covering 100 Lok Sabha seats.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's comments regarding seat-sharing in West Bengal, sources from the TMC on Thursday said they will give more time to ally Congress to sort out issues, adding the party is committed to the opposition bloc. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) had pushed for a December 31 deadline for seat sharing talks in the last meeting of the INDIA bloc on December 19.

Lancashire Heeler made its debut in the Herding Group on January 1st, officially recognized by the American Kennel Club as the 201st breed. This little friend is going to have a significant influence in the cutthroat world of dog exhibitions. Features of Lancashire Heeler

The legal proceedings involving former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried took a significant turn recently when U.S. federal judge Lewis Kaplan denied Bankman-Fried's request for an adjournment of his sentencing hearing. This decision has implications for the timeline of the case and highlights the complexities surrounding high-profile legal cases in the cryptocurrency world.

The Bank of China has marked a significant milestone in the realm of digital currency with the completion of the world's first cross-border Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)-powered precious metals deal. On December 20, 2023, the Bank of China's Shanghai branch successfully conducted a 100 million yuan ($14 million) e-CNY CBDC settlement received overseas for gold via the Shanghai Financial Exchange International Board. This historic transaction underlines the growing acceptance and utility of digital currencies in international trade, especially in the precious metals sector.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has unveiled progress in the development of the digital euro, with the publication of a report detailing the advancements made by the digital euro scheme’s Rulebook Development Group (RDG).

INDIA alliance as its two key allies, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, on Thursday clashed over seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal. State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, «The grand old party won't beg for seats from the TMC,» drawing a response from the Mamata Banerjee-led party, which said, «Badmouthing alliance partners and seat sharing can't go hand in hand.» Chowdhury, a staunch critic of the TMC, launched a no-holds-barred attack, accusing Bengal's ruling party of being busy «serving Prime Minister Narendra Modi» rather than strengthening the opposition alliance.

Citi Global Wealth Investments chief economist Steven Wieting discusses the impact of the Fed's inflation strategy on the labor market and overall economy on 'Making Money.'

Ram Temple consecration ceremony: The invitation cards for the consecration ceremony at the Ram mandir in Ayodhya on January 22 is in sync with the grandeur of the temple being built. It has an imposing image of the structure and also of a very young Lord Ram. Besides the large-size aesthetically designed cards, the invitation also includes a booklet carrying brief profiles of some of the key people who were involved in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

Copilot will serve as the gateway to the realm of AI on Windows PCs. The introduction of the Windows key on PC keyboards occurred approximately three decades ago, providing users with the means to engage with the Windows operating system at that time.

Nepal on Thursday signed a long-term agreement that will facilitate the export of 10,000 MW of electricity to India in the next 10 years during the two-day visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to the Himalayan nation. The agreement on power export was inked in the presence of Jaishankar and Nepalese Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet during a bilateral meeting here.

LONDON (Reuters) -BAE Systems said it would restart the production of structures for its M777 lightweight howitzer after it signed an initial deal worth up to $50 million with the U.S. army for the weapon, which has been donated to Ukraine.

Ringing in a new year comes with a lot of planning, preparation – and dread. 

The start of a new year often has a feeling of renewal and optimism about it, but when the challenges of the previous year remain, this can be a hard state to achieve.

By Andrew Chung and John Kruzel

A court in New York decided to expose the names associated with the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The names constitute 170 illustrious individuals from various walks of life. The names include bigwigs from the world of politics, science, and business. Names such as US former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Stephen Hawking have come up during the investigation. Hundreds of court filings linked to the disgraced financier were made accessible to the public on Wednesday. Consisting of 40 documents with almost 1,000 pages of statements, it exposed gory details about Epstein’s network. However, the complete collection of documents is still awaiting release.

Women with exemplary skills and resilience have achieved significant milestones, breaking barriers in various sectors. Droupadi Murmu's historic presidency, Arundhati Bhattacharya's influential role at SBI, and Falguni Nayar's ascent to self-made billionaire status exemplify these achievements. Beyond headlines, women contribute to households, societies, and corporate landscapes every day. Despite their contributions, persistent stereotypes, such as being labelled poor drivers or inefficient investors, persist. Nevertheless, women have shown remarkable progress continually.

Jeffrey Epstein testified the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender once told her Bill Clinton “likes them young, referring to girls,” but said she never met the former U.S. president herself.Clinton’s name appears repeatedly in a trove of new court documents unsealed Wednesday stemming from a 2015 defamation case against Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate and former girlfriend of Epstein.