Reuters Financial News

By Ellen Zhang and Joe Cash

(Reuters) — U.S. consumer sentiment edged lower for a second straight month in September but their economic outlook brightened modestly as household expectations for near-term inflation fell to the lowest in more than a year, a survey released on Friday showed.

By Alexander Marrow

foreign exchange (forex) reserves fell to an 11-week low of $593.90 billion as of September 8 - a decrease of $5 billion from the previous week, Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) data showed on Friday, September 15. Forex reserves had risen by $4 billion in the week to September 1. In the previous reporting week, the kitty had jumped $4.039 billion to $598.897 billion.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Production at U.S. factories barely rose in August as motor vehicle output dropped and activity could plunge in the months ahead after the United Auto Workers (UAW) union embarked on strikes at three factories on Friday.

Toyota Motor Corp is on track for record annual sales in India, a senior executive told Reuters, as its partnership with Suzuki Motor, which has a portfolio of affordable cars, attracts a new set of buyers. Toyota sold over 160,000 cars in India last year and had sold close to 150,000 by the end of August this year, Atul Sood, vice president of sales told Reuters. «We are confident of closing this calendar year with our best ever performance and setting a new benchmark,» Sood said. Toyota's India business has been the biggest beneficiary of its global partnership with Suzuki which allows the two Japanese carmakers to share technology and vehicles.

By Lucia Mutikani

WPI inflation print marked a five-month high, according to data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Thursday. It was at -1.36% in July, -4.12% in June, -3.48% in May and -0.92% in April. A year ago, WPI inflation rate stood at 12.41%.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russia's central bank raised its key interest rate by 100 basis points to 13% on Friday, jacking up the cost of borrowing for the third meeting in succession in response to a weak rouble and other persistent inflationary pressures.

By Laurie Chen and Xiaoyu Yin

By Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss

By Ann Saphir

Gucci, Cartier, and Louis Vuitton, among others, have signed leases for retail spaces in a new Mumbai mall developed by Asia's richest Mukesh Ambani, as the brands and Reliance Industries look to tap lucrative prospects presented by India's robust economic growth and the swift increase in the number of millionaires. Jio World Plaza is likely to open this year, Reuters said citing an unnamed source. The new mall is situated within Reliance Industries' extensive $1 billion business and cultural complex in Mumbai's bustling business district. India is turning into a magnate for luxury brands. More than a dozen luxury consumer goods brands are entering the country ahead of the festive season, as they look to attract consumers in a market riding on the growing affluence of Indians with higher incomes, spurring greater discretionary spending even in small towns. The trend is being driven by increased exposure to global trends, younger people buying luxury products, and a post-pandemic boom, all of which are stoking interest from western luxury brands, executives said. While a K-shaped economic recovery in India is also seen to be a strong trend, according to several economists, the Asian economy has beaten almost all countries in terms of rising wealth. Remember India is home for some of the world's richest including Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. For the first time since the global financial crisis of 2008, global household wealth in 2022, measured in US dollars, registered a collective decline both in nominal and real terms, encompassing aggregate and per-adult figures. Significantly, wealth per adult also saw its second-largest reduction since the turn of the century.

BEIJING (Reuters) — China's government land sales revenue fell for the 20th consecutive month in August, data from the finance ministry showed on Friday, signalling more pressure on local governments with deepening debt woes.

By Marie Mannes

border crossing reopened on Friday after being closed for nine days following firing between guards on both sides, a senior Pakistani official told Reuters. Thousands of travellers and hundreds of trucks laden with goods were left stranded last week by the closure the Torkham border crossing, at the western end of the fabled Khyber Pass. «It's opened for pedestrian and vehicular traffic,» Abdul Nasir Khan, Deputy Commissioner of Pakistan's Khyber district, told Reuters. A security official in Torkham said talks between the two sides had resolved the issue that sparked the clashes.

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) released on Thursday, it foresees a reduction in battery costs by half during this decade, declining from $151 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2022 to a range of $60 to $90 per kWh. This cost decrease is expected to make electric vehicles cost-competitive with petrol cars in all markets by 2030, not only in terms of purchase price but also in running costs. Reportedly, batteries constitute a significant expense, making up approximately 40% of the total cost of an electric vehicle (EV).

India Club, a cherished London curry house with deep-rooted connections to India's struggle for independence, will bid farewell to its patrons this Sunday, unable to thwart a hotel redevelopment proposal. Nestled discreetly at the top of a steep staircase along the bustling stretch of The Strand in central London, this restaurant was established merely four years after India achieved independence in 1947. It was founded by members of the India League, a British-based advocacy group fervently supporting India's liberation from British colonial rule. Over the decades, the India Club has attracted a diverse clientele, including regulars yearning for masala dosa or bhuna lamb paired with a pint of Cobra or Kingfisher beer, as well as Londoners of Indian descent. In report by Reuters, Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, whose late father Chandran played a pivotal role in founding the India Club, expressed, «For many students, journalists, and travelers, it was a home away from home, offering simple and good quality Indian food at affordable prices as well as a convivial atmosphere to meet and maintain friendships.»Phiroza Marker, the manager of the India Club, revealed to Reuters that the establishment witnessed an influx of patrons during its final days of operation.

Meta Platforms owned WhatsApp is exploring a new feature that would display advertisements in the app for the first time, the Financial Times reported on Friday. Teams at Meta have been discussing whether to show ads in lists of conversations with contacts on the WhatsApp chat screen, but no final decisions have been made, the report said, citing three people familiar with the matter.