Shock Financial News

finance ministry on Tuesday said the Israel-Hamas war has no impact on the Indian economy through the global crude oil prices, which have receded to the pre-conflict levels after a temporary increase in the immediate aftermath of the tension. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary also said the government has been successfully adopting measures to mitigate global shocks on the domestic economy over the past three-four years. These steps include diversification of the sources of critical imports, increasing the supply of domestic output to restrain inflation and strengthening domestic growth drivers, he said. “Presently, high public capital expenditure, robust private consumption and expanded digital public infrastructure are some of the strong domestic growth drivers, which have made India the fastest growing economy in 2022 and 2023 as per the estimates of IMF (International Monetary Fund),” he said. As for the Indian basket of crude oil, Chaudhary said, the prices hit a post-conflict peak of $93.9 per barrel on October 20 from $85.7 on October 6, a day before the outbreak of the conflict. However, they were down to $78.4 as of December 5. Global brent crude oil futures had posted their sharpest weekly losses since March in the week through October 6 to $84.60.

Carson Group chief market strategist Ryan Detrick discusses whether the stock market will see good returns in an election year on 'Making Money.'

Afghanistan, as per the National Center for Seismology. Earlier in October, a powerful magnitude-6.3 earthquake followed by strong aftershocks killed hundreds of people in western Afghanistan, the country's national disaster authority said as reported by the Associated Press.

A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s capital has destroyed several homes and left more than 100 households without electricity

The growing burden of mortgage payments as homeowners renew under much higher interest rates has roused concern from policy makers to politicians.

Retail inflation is now “stable" and temporary hikes in inflation on a few occasions are due to demand-supply mismatches arising out of global shocks and adverse weather conditions, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. India's retail inflation has declined from an average of 7.1% in April-October 2022 to 5.4% in the corresponding period of 2023, said Sitharaman in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Right-wing economist Javier Milei has been sworn in as Argentina’s president and has immediately moved to prepare the public for a painful shock adjustment with drastic public spending cuts

risk management. Renowned works such as “Fooled by Randomness", “The Black Swan", “Antifragile", and “Skin in the Game" have attained cult status, attracting investors and individuals keen on unravelling the intricacies of randomness and uncertainty. As of November 2023, the net worth of this prolific author, who has also served as a professor in numerous universities, is approximated to be around $2 million.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has maintained the additional capital bufferthe country’s biggest banks must hold at 3.5 per cent, a decision that some analysts say will cheer bank investors as an increase was expected. 

sucker-punched in the face and left in the street while taking his infant grandchild for a walk in a stroller.Angel Sanchez Jr., 29, of Santa Barbara, is suspected of attacking two victims this past Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.Authorities say they received two calls late Tuesday afternoon about separate unprovoked attacks.

OpenAI’s board made the shocking decision to fire Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman on the Friday before Thanksgiving, it offered little detail beyond a statement that the leader of the artificial intelligence startup was not “consistently candid" with its directors. The statement, devoid of any details, was the opening volley in a power struggle that played out almost entirely behind closed doors.

OpenAI’s board made the shocking decision to fire Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman on the Friday before Thanksgiving, it offered little detail beyond a statement that the leader of the artificial intelligence startup was not “consistently candid” with its directors. The statement, devoid of any details, was the opening volley in a power struggle that played out almost entirely behind closed doors. Privately, Altman and the board jockeyed over what to say publicly and when, according to people familiar with the situation. At one point, during the discussions about Altman’s possible return as CEO, he offered to publicly apologise for misrepresenting some board members’ views in conversations when he was lobbying for a director’s removal, the people said.

Bank of India governor’s and MPC’s assessments of the fundamentals of the Indian economy, we remain cautious about the near-term outlook for growth. Our concerns are driven by the agriculture sector, amid the sharp decline in kharif output for major crops, and lag in rabi sowing, in the backdrop of seasonally low reservoir levels. We expect this to manifest into little-to-no growth in agri gross value added (GVA) in H2, with attendant, non-negligeable risks for rural consumption.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has maintained the additional capital bufferthe country’s biggest banks must hold at 3.5 per cent, a decision that some analysts say will cheer bank investors as an increase was expected. 

Talk at the latest climate-change shindig in Dubai has centred around the future of the oil industry and whether countries should pledge to phase out oil and gas production entirely or simply transform the industry in decades to come. Canada always talks a deep-green game at these affairs but are we really ready to nail shut the oil and gas coffin?

As broadly expected, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained status quo on key policy rates in its MPC review meeting on Friday, reaffirming its withdrawal policy stance. The move bodes well for the housing market in India and will reinforce confidence among potential homebuyers.

Canada is threatening to cap the number of foreign student visas if the quality of education and housing doesn’t improve for the newcomers, a move that would limit an important source of revenue for colleges and universities. “We are prepared to take necessary measures, including significantly limiting visas, to ensure that designated learning institutions provide adequate and sufficient student supports,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller told reporters at an Ottawa event Thursday. Think you check all the immigration boxes? Find out The number of foreign students in Canada has nearly tripled in the past decade, reaching more than 800,000 last year. The students pay about five times as much tuition as Canadians and are also grappling with soaring housing costs due to a severe supply shortage. Post-secondary schools, and the provinces and territories that regulate them, have until September to ensure that international students are “set up for success,” Miller said. Canada has a responsibility to support newcomers and protect them from “unscrupulous individuals” who offer inadequate living conditions with inflated prices, he added. “There are in provinces the diploma equivalent of puppy mills that are just churning out diplomas and this is not a legitimate student experience,” he said. “There is fraud and abuse and it needs to end.”

JPMorgan analysts offered fresh comments about the outlook for financial markets for the next year. The famous strategists anticipate “another challenging year for market participants.”

Sometimes, the punishment really does fit the crime.

Bank of India (RBI) kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent and maintained the policy stance of 'withdrawal of accommodation' on Friday, December 8. The standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains at 6.25 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate at 6.75 per cent. Besides, the RBI raised its real GDP growth projection for FY24 to 7 per cent from 6.5 per cent earlier with Q3 GDP at 6.5 per cent (against the estimates of 6 per cent earlier) and Q4 GDP at 6 per cent (against the estimates of 5.7 per cent earlier).

Reserve Bank of India's decision to keep the repo rate unchanged for the fifth successive time at 6.5% is expected to support the housing property market and help sustain a consistent trajectory of growth in home sales. The prevailing momentum in mid-income and premium housing sales is expected to persist, whereas affordable and low-income housing, sensitive to interest rates, may experience a subdued pace. Responding to the inflationary environment, the central bank, through six successive increases since May 2022, had raised policy rates by a cumulative 250 basis points, taking the repo rate to 6.5% before hitting the pause in April. Following this, home loan rates are already hovering around 9% from a record low of 6.6% a year ago. “Both residential and commercial real estate markets may benefit from stable interest rates.