RAI Financial News

Kamala Harris has now been accused of donning James Bond-style gear during her latest appearance at the US Presidential Debate 2024, where she was simply outstanding in an open debate against her Republican adversary Donald Trump. It must be interesting to note that she gave Trump the taste of the same medicine that Joe Biden received during his Presidential Debate against Trump.

partial lunar eclipse will occur on September 17, during the Harvest Full Moon. This event will offer a glimpse into the start of eclipse season and precede the annular solar eclipse on October 2.

RBI Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao on Thursday asked the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) to develop a sustainable business model not dependent on government support. Speaking at a NaBFID event here, Rao said such a self-sustainable model has to evolve over the medium term, which also doesn't depend on regulatory dispensations as well. «It is also necessary that over the medium-term, plans for self-sustainable operations, under a business model that is not reliant on continuous government support, or regulatory dispensations would need to be in place,» Rao said, addressing a conference on infrastructure. He added that the dynamic nature of our times necessitates «agile strategies for institutions with a focus on sectors prioritised by the government».

India and China on Thursday agreed to work with «urgency» and «redouble» their efforts to realise complete disengagement in remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh as NSA Ajit Doval held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in St Petersburg with a focus on an early resolution of the lingering border standoff. Doval conveyed to Wang that peace and tranquillity in border areas and respect for the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are essential for normalcy in bilateral ties, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The Doval-Wang meeting took place in the Russian city on the sidelines of a conclave of national security advisors of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) nations. «The meeting gave the two sides an opportunity to review the recent efforts towards finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control, which will create conditions to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations,» the MEA said.

United States will host a meeting of the Quad on September 21, according to a release from the White House. US President Joe Biden will host the fourth in-person meet of the group — consiting of India, Australia and Japan — in Wilmington, Delaware. «The President looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan,» the White House release said. The September meet will be the final Quad meeting for the American President as well as Japan's Kishida, who are due to step down soon.

Realty developer Puravankara has secured the right to redevelop a housing society spread over half an acre in South Mumbai’s Breach Candy locality marking its foray into the country’s super-luxury property market. Residential property rates in the vicinity currently are in the range of Rs 1.25 lakh to rs 1.40 lakh sq ft per sq ft. «Our entry into South Mumbai with the redevelopment of Miami Apartments at Breach Candy marks a significant milestone for Puravankara…We are excited to bring our expertise to South Mumbai and redefine the standards of luxury living in this prestigious neighbourhood, while strengthening our presence in other markets,” said Ashish Puravankara, MD, Puravankara.

PM E-DRIVE Scheme to be rolled out soon, Union Heavy Industries Minister HD Kumaraswamy said on Thursday. Addressing a media briefing, Kumaraswamy said the subsidy under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme for electric two-wheelers has been fixed based on battery power at Rs 5,000 per kilowatt hour but the overall incentive will not exceed Rs 10,000 in the first year. In the second year, it will be halved by Rs 2,500 per kilowatt hour, and the overall benefit will not exceed Rs 5,000. Addressing the media, Kumaraswamy said e-rickshaw buyers can avail of subsidy benefits of Rs 25,000 in the first year and Rs 12,500 in the second year of the PM E-DRIVE scheme.

Donald Trump made about immigration during Tuesday's debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. The union said in a press release that his rhetoric on immigration unfairly targets immigrant communities, particularly Latinos, and misrepresents the facts while also inciting fear and division. During the debate, Trump said that immigrants are eating people's pets in American towns. Also Read: U.S Elections: Kamala Harris shut Trump down on everything, debate was devastating for the ex-President

eviction drive. The deceased have been identified as Haider Ali and Juwahid Ali. They succumbed to injuries from police firing at Sonapur District Hospital. Revenue Circle Officer Nitul Khatoniar and four police officers, including a female constable were injured. Clashes broke out when police, along with district administration officials, attempted to evict alleged illegal settlers from a 100-bigha plot of land in the area. Over 150 people reside in the area.

unemployment benefits increased marginally last week, pointing to a still-low level of layoffs even as the labor market slows. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 230,000 for the week ended Sept. 7, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 claims for the latest week. Last week's data included the Labor Day holiday.

New India Insurance, HDFC Ergo General Insurance, and National Insurance reported growth deceleration. Total industry premiums stood at Rs 22,880 crore, compared to Rs 21,883 crore in August 2023. August saw a dip in auto sales, with passenger vehicle sales falling 4.5% year-on-year during the month, according to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association. Standalone health insurance companies, on the other hand, reported a robust 24.5% growth, driven by Niva Bupa Health Insurance, which is gearing up for its IPO. The health insurer saw premiums soar by 39% to Rs 596 crore from Rs 429 crore.

Pankaj Jain said on Thursday. “Do you think the cracks of zero or one ($/barrel) on gasoline (petrol) are sustainable? Even the cost of refining is not getting recovered on petrol,” Jain told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event. “The entire product market for exports is in complete turmoil.” Crack spreads are the difference between the prices of crude oil and refined products such as petrol and diesel. Globally, a combination of weak fuel demand and higher refinery runs has sharply pulled down margins on diesel and petrol in recent months. This hit domestic refiners’ earnings in the April-June quarter.

Of all the clicks on British job postings from workers abroad, only a fifth were on high-wage jobs, or postings offering the upper third of wages, according to data covering the first six months of the year from job-search website Indeed. Only Spain had a smaller proportion among 10 advanced economies analysed. Foreigners have a strong urge to work in the UK but they are not the kind of workers the government wants. The lowest-paid jobs attracted 40% of clicks from abroad, casting doubt over the Conservatives’ policies to discourage low-skill migration.

junior doctors on Thursday refused to hold talks with the Bengal government to resolve the RG Kar impasse unless their demand for live streaming of the meeting was met. The talks were to be held at 5pm in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as demanded by the protesters. The CM waited for for more than an hour to meet the agitating junior doctors. However, it did not take place as scheduled. The protestors reached the secretariat around 5.25 pm, some 25 minutes past the scheduled time of commencement of the meeting, and stayed put at the venue gate for over an hour and were seen engaged in meetings even as a high-strung battle of nerves ensued between the two sides with both staying firm on their respective stands. Senior police officials at the venue, including DGP Rajeev Kumar, ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar and even state chief secretary Manoj Pant, who were seen engaged in back-to-back discussions with the doctors' delegation and other officials, failed to convince the unrelenting doctors who refused to budge.

road contractors, the ministry of road transport and highways have mandated 100% inspection check of quality tests undertaken by contractors in the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) mode of contract by authority engineer for all highway projects as well as for the request for proposal (RFP) document for consultancy services for such projects. This will apply to all road and bridge construction under EPC mode and will kick in for new projects. The EPC mode of contract gives the entire responsibility of design and construction to the contractor and therefore has a longer defect liability period cum maintenance period of 5-10 years. “Considering the current practices in highway projects and greater emphasis on meeting strength and serviceability requirements in respect of components of a highway project over respective design periods, modifications have been made to the model EPC agreement and RFP for consultancy services for authority’s engineer for supervision of EPC projects,” the ministry said in a notification on Thursday.

NaBFID) plans to raise 530 billion rupees ($6.31 billion) from the debt market this fiscal year, its top executive told Reuters on Thursday. The bank has already raised 90 billion rupees and the rest will be raised depending on the infrastructure lender's disbursement pattern, said Rajkiran Rai, NaBFID's managing director. NaBFID has already sanctioned 200 billion rupees of its target of 1 trillion rupees for the 12 months through March 2025, Rai said.

Yes Bank may end up jeopardising the stake buy, an informed source said on Thursday. When asked on whether the deal will go through by the end of this fiscal, the source, who is not authorised to speak to the media, said the deal itself is in a quandary. As per the source, the talks on any deal «are not going anywhere» because of all the bidders' push on the 51 per cent stake. The source explained that the RBI is uncomfortable with a foreign entity owning a 51 per cent stake in a big entity like Yes Bank.

AUM has hit an all-time high of Rs 66.70 lakh crore, led by net inflows across open-ended categories and mark-to-market (MTM) gains in the equity market. The industry AUM rose by 2.7% or Rs 1.74 lakh crore in absolute terms from Rs 64.97 lakh crore in July, according to a monthly note by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The assets under management of growth/equity oriented schemes closed at an all-time high of Rs 30.09 lakh crore led by strong inflows and MTM gains. This is around 45% of industry AUM.

India, as numerous empty containers have been sent to China to accommodate a surge in exports aimed at circumventing the new duties. The Biden administration's plan to impose higher tariffs on a range of Chinese products— including steel, solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, and medical supplies—will be phased in from this year through 2026. In response, Chinese exporters have been front-loading their shipments to the U.S., even sending empty containers to China to be filled and dispatched before the tariffs take effect. The container shortage is expected to impact India's trade figures for August and September, as exporters struggle to find containers for their goods amid weak global demand. Although container rates have begun to decrease following a recent spike, exporters continue to face challenges due to retaliatory tariffs on Chinese goods and complications arising from the Red Sea crisis. This crisis has led to shipping lines bypassing several Indian ports due to longer voyage times and increased route lengths, which in turn affects container availability.

Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and their adjacent region over the next two to three days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday. According to the latest IMD update issued at 1 pm, the system was located around 50 kilometres south-southeast of Agra and 50 kilometres north-northeast of Gwalior. It is expected to continue moving towards the north-northeast direction and gradually weaken on Friday. The IMD said Uttarakhand is likely to experience light to moderate rainfall from September 12 to 14, with heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in isolated areas. Haryana is expected to see light to moderate rain, with heavy rainfall at times between September 12 and 15.