President Financial News

By Makini Brice

NEW DELHI : As countries move toward ambitious net zero goals, a leading international non-profit supporting clean energy is likely to launch a global consortium on battery energy storage systems (BESS) at the coming UN climate change conference, to be held in the UAE. Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet , formed in 2021 by the Rockefeller Foundation, IKEA Foundation and Bezos Earth Fund among others, plans to float the Global BESS Consortium at the UN Cop28 meeting, which will held from 30 November to 12 December. Ashvin Dayal, senior vice president, power and climate at Rockefeller said the consortium will look at ways to both drive down the cost and unlock the value proposition for power distribution companies in terms of adoption of battery storage.

What is the genesis of this crisis? It’s an incendiary mix of politics, religion and economics. Modern Palestine was populated with Jews from the global diaspora—a British imperial drive—in 1948. Around 750,000 Palestinians were expelled as Jews captured 78% of the land.

Advisors from two separate firms are joining forces to launch a new office for Totus Wealth Management, which has been affiliated with Cetera since 2021.

Jaishankar on Wednesday called on Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe here and held «extensive discussions» aimed at enhancing the relationship between the two neighbours. The minister, who is here to attend the 23rd Council of Ministers Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), met with President Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat. «Called on President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe today evening in Colombo.

Narendra Modi will inaugurate on Friday the meeting of Presiding Officers of Parliaments of G20 member nations that will deliberate on critical global issues such as gender equality and transforming lives through public digital programmes. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will kick-start the three-day summit on Thursday by chairing a Parliamentary Forum on LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), a movement proposed by Modi to advocate sustainable lifestyles to safeguard the environment.

Christopher Waller on Wednesday said higher market interest rates may help the Fed slow inflation, and let the central bank «watch and see» if its own policy rate needs to rise again or not. Waller, who has been among the most vocal advocates for higher interest rates to fight inflation, said price data seemed to now be moving back towards the Fed's 2% target, with financial markets adding further credit tightening of their own. «We're in this position where we kind of watch and see what happens on rates,» said Waller, who was interviewed by former Republican House Speaker and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan at a high-profile GOP event in Utah. «The financial markets are tightening up and they are going to do some of the work for us...We are just keeping a very close eye on that.

Neeraj Chopra believes the day is not too far when two Indians javelin throwers will join the elite 90m club following his stirring duel with compatriot Kishore Jena at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Exactly a week back, Chopra and Jena had produced season's best and personal best throws of 88.88m and 87.54m respectively to claim the gold and silver after an intense duel. «In future I see two Indian javelin throwers joining the 90m club,» Chopra said on the sidelines of a felicitation ceremony of the Asian Games athletics contingent by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).

Iran on Tuesday claimed that it played no role in the attack launched by Hamas last Saturday that took Israelis by surprise but there is no denying the fact that Tehran over the years has increased its support and appeal across the Arab world that is dominated by people who profess Sunni sect of Islam. The world's biggest non-Sunni country has become a key factor in the West Asian fault lines creating its proxy groups in Lebanon and Yemen and backing Hamas to take on Israel over the last few decades. It is no secret that Tehran has exploited sentiments and presence of the Shia population in some Gulf states. While the USA and Israel have not yet directly blamed Iran for the October 7 carnage, Tehran came out openly in support of Hamas for carrying out the attacks against Israel.

World Bank's new president, Ajay Banga, said Wednesday that the global lender must become «better» and «bigger» to boost its capacity to help developing countries battle climate change, poverty and pandemics. Banga, who was appointed in June, made his plea at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in the southern Moroccan city of Marrakesh where reform of the Washington-based institutions is a major agenda item. The former CEO of Mastercard has previously vowed to «fix the plumbing» at the bank, saying it was «dysfunctional» despite a dedicated staff. Banga said at a press conference on Wednesday that a «deep cultural change» is needed at an «institution that has a proud history and done an amazing job over the last 78 years.» He noted that countries have to deal with various departments and that it can take 27 months between the time a project is discussed and is finally approved. «The idea of a better bank is a bank that works better with itself, is more efficient in its own processes,» Banga said. The Indian-born, naturalised US citizen has vowed to made climate change a top priority after he took over from David Malpass, a former US Treasury official who stepped down early from his five-year term amid questions about his stance on the issue. Banga wants to redefine the vision of the bank towards «eradicating poverty on a liveable planet». He said poverty, pandemics and climate change were «almost like a perfect storm» that can no longer be treated separately. Oscar Soria, campaign director for the non-profit Avaaz, said the IMF and World Bank are not moving fast enough. «While changes are promised, they are too incremental, timid and slow,» Soria told AFP, adding that countries hit by several crises

Gupta rejoined ICANN on October 3 as Vice President, government and intergovernmental organisation (IGO) engagement for the APAC region and Stakeholder Engagement South Asia. The organisation said Gupta will primarily oversee ICANN's engagement and participation in IGO and multilateral forums in the region, including meetings and initiatives of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and engaging with regional governments on the United Nations Global Digital Compact and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 process.

Revenue from operations in the second quarter was flat at Rs 271 crore. The company has posted an EBITDA of Rs 100 crore in the quarter under review, again flat compared with the last year period. EBITDA margins, meanwhile, were down 19 bps to 37%. The board has approved the appointment of Anil Malani as President and Chief Financial Officer and also the appointment of Manoj Jain as Chief Operating Officer of the company.

Trinamool Congress and BJP were involved in a slugfest over MGNREGA dues to West Bengal on Wednesday, two days after TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee along with party leaders and job card holders met the governor and the party withdrew the sit-in near the Raj Bhavan. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, who had in the past blamed TMC leaders of siphoning Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds, in a post on 'X' accused the party of not coming up with «proper expenditure reports» while insisting on the release of funds.

Nintendo is reportedly gearing up to introduce a highly anticipated successor to the Nintendo Switch in the latter half of 2024. Although the current Nintendo Switch has garnered praise for its impressive game library, featuring titles like «The Legend Of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,» it has somewhat lagged behind in terms of console power.

Ismail Haniyeh is a prominent Palestinian political figure who has played a pivotal role in the complex and tumultuous landscape of Palestinian politics. With a career marked by highs and lows, Haniyeh's journey reflects the enduring struggle for Palestinian self-determination and statehood. He is a millionaire, stemming from the 20% tax charged on all items entering through tunnels from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. He ordered the recent attack on Israel over the weekend, which resulted in over 1,500 deaths on both sides. Haniyeh is currently leading a lavish lifestyle in Qatar and reportedly watched the aggressions from the comfort of his office.

 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee provides insight on the state of the U.S. economy on 'Making Money.'

By Iain Withers

Investing.com — European stock markets traded in a mixed fashion Wednesday, with weakness in LVMH hitting the French market ahead of the release of key U.S. inflation data.

The stock market is trading on the up again following the most recent jobs report, which sparked a rebound in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday asked NATO allies for more weapons and air defences to tide his country through another wartime winter as it braces for a barrage of Russian attacks on power stations and other infrastructure. Zelenskiy made his first visit to NATO headquarters since Russia's invasion last year, at a time when turbulence in the U.S.

The Times of Israel cited the Foreign Ministry which said that 84 countries expressed support for Israel. Countries like France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, and the United States also issued a joint statement expressing their joint support and condemned Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism.