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Following a challenging 2022, 2023 proved to be a year of recovery, NIFTY with strong growth of about 20% in CY2023 compared to a meagre 3% in CY2022. Globally, except for a 15% decline in the Chinese and Hong Kong markets, the markets recovered between ~14% and ~25%. Notably, the NASDAQ jumped 45% while the S&P 500 increased by 25%. Healthy returns of CY2023 were on back of negative returns in the range of negative ~8 to ~34% in CY2022 with NASDAQ falling the most at 34% and an exception of Indian markets (positive 3%) being stronger than the world. The year 2023 was not without difficulties, though, as interest rates reached previously unheard-of levels, sparking fears about future economic growth and recessionary expectations in the developed world. Despite challenges, Indian markets and a number of sectors saw outstanding performance, with real estate (up 78%), PSE (up78%), and Autos (up 45%) showing particularly strong returns. The outstanding returns were delivered for the BSE SME IPO index delivering 91%. Abundant liquidity fuelled the IPO markets with astounding oversubscriptions. Moreover, the shift in ownership dynamics, marked by higher domestic ownership and strong inflows, added strength to the market. Global Economic Scenario

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company tanked over 10% on Thursday to the day's low of Rs 463.45 in Thursday's trade on the NSE as the Street was unimpressed by the company's December quarter earnings which saw a 3% increase in net profit to Rs 227 crore versus Rs 220 crore reported in the year-ago period. Net premium income was up 5% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 9,928 crore mainly due to growth in first-year premium. Today's action in the stock of ICICI Prudential takes the declining trend to six sessions in a row while extending the price erosion to over 14% during this period. More than one crore shares changed hands on the NSE around 11 am triggering the selling pressure. For the nine months, the annualised premium equivalent, a measure of life insurance business computed as a sum of annualised first-year premium and 10% of single premiums, grew by 1.7% to Rs 5,430 crore. The company saw an increase in expenses, especially commissions, which resulted in the expense management ratio moving up to 18.3% during the quarter from 14.7% a year ago. Commissions paid including rewards and compensation to agents, brokers and intermediaries increased to Rs 1,000 crore during the quarter from Rs 391 crore in the year-ago period. The company's solvency ratio fell to 196% from 212%. Persistency or the number of policies saw some improvement.

Insurers in India grappled with multiple issues while reviewing motor accident claims and among them stood out damage to cars by stray dogs, falling coconuts and even elephants, TOI reported. According to Go Digit’s year-end roundup, these unique claims showcase the diverse and unexpected challenges faced by vehicle owners in India. Even though they form a comparatively smaller portion of mainstream claims, insurers noted claims arising from collisions with fixed objects or parked vehicles, as well as damages caused by falling branches. Data shows that the most prevalent type of accident claim results from rear-end collisions with another vehicle, closely followed by frontal collisions and hit-and-run cases. Among the peculiar incidents, claims involving animals stand out.

HANOI (Reuters) — Vietnam's legislature on Thursday approved new rules that lower the maximum stake investors can hold in domestic banks, a move aimed at reducing risks of market manipulation, but that could make investment in lenders less attractive.

Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies moved little on Thursday after clocking steep losses in the prior session, while the dollar fell slightly from a one-month high as strong U.S. retail sales data spurred more doubts over early rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks kept to a tight range on Thursday as strong U.S. data further dented bets on early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, while a rout in Chinese shares worsened in the wake of disappointing GDP readings.

Investing.com-- Oil prices rose slightly in Asian trade on Thursday as severe cold weather appeared to have spurred some disruptions in U.S. production, while military action in the Middle East raged on.

Chinese warplanes were detected around Taiwan, with 11 crossing a sensitive median line separating the self-ruled island from China, Taipei's defence ministry said Thursday, the first significant show of force since the weekend's presidential election. The ministry, which releases data daily on the Chinese military presence around Taiwan, said Thursday that 24 warplanes and 5 ships had been detected in the 24 hours leading up to 6 am (2200 GMT). «11 of the detected aircraft had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entered Taiwan's southwest and north (air defence identification zone),» the ministry said in a statement.

Google will tweak online search results to give comparison sites more prominence, the company said in a blogpost on Wednesday, as it outlined efforts to comply with new EU tech rules that could hit revenues for some companies. Under the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which the company will have to comply with by March 7, Google is obligated to treat rival services and products the same way as it treats its own when it ranks them in search results.

Anthropic has asked a Tennessee federal court to reject an early bid by three music publishers to stop it from using and reproducing their song lyrics through its chatbot Claude. Anthropic told the court on Tuesday that Universal Music, ABKCO and Concord Music Group could not prove they were being irreparably harmed. It also argued that the publishers had brought their lawsuit against the company in the wrong court.

Is Pat Sajak ok?

Sacnilk.com, the film raked in an estimated ₹0.2 crore on its 27th day across all languages in India for the Hindi region. Though the film has seen a dip in numbers as compared to its earlier collections, it's a commendable feat considering the film has been in theatres for nearly four weeks now. The film still running in theatres is a testament to the film's strong audience connection and its appeal across various regional markets.

The world’s biggest talk show is on: the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 54th Annual Meeting at Davos began this Monday and ends on Friday. As in the past, this year too, the WEF conclave in the Swiss skiing resort, where they have been held for half a century, is being attended by a veritable who’s-who of business, politics and media.

dollar held close to a one-month peak versus major peers on Thursday after robust U.S. retail sales data overnight added to building expectations the Federal Reserve will not rush to lower interest rates. Australia's dollar weakened after data showed an unexpected decline in employment. The U.S.

China and expectations the global rate easing cycle may not come as early as some had initially thought. U.S.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signalled that he would largely bypass the New Hampshire primary next week and instead would focus on South Carolina where the Republican presidential primary is scheduled for February 24. The move makes it a direct contest between former president Donald Trump and Indian American Nikki Haley for the crucial Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire on January 23. The latest poll released Wednesday showed that Trump and Haley are tied in this State with both polling 40 per cent each.

Colliers International Group Inc., which says prime office values tumbled about 30% from their pre-Covid high in some of the nation’s major cities. “Given how deep prices have corrected, there are lots of bargain-hunting opportunities," said Jimmy Gu, a deputy managing director and co-head of capital markets and investment services at Colliers. “It all depends on buyers’ outlook for the economy." Grade-A offices in Shanghai and Beijing used to be sought after by global real estate funds, making them more attractive than those in New York and London.

Ruchira Kamboj said that she is honoured to share India's development journey at the United Nations Development Programme high-level policy dialogue for the Asia-Pacific. She stated that India is committed to fostering development for all with the support of all. Kamboj noted that India is on track to surpass the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target 1.2 before 2030.

Boeing 737-800 aircraft makes emergency landing due to cockpit window crack In the January 5 incident, a Boeing 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines executed an emergency landing after a panel known as a "door plug" blew out mid-flight. There were no fatalities or serious injuries.

Investing.com-- Australia’s labor market unexpectedly shrank in December with the participation rate falling from record highs, although low unemployment and relatively high participation still pointed to resilience in the sector.

₹3,816 crore in the December quarter amid volatility in the stocks of the ports-to-renewable energy conglomerate, data from stock exchanges showed. Despite this sale, the value of LIC’s investment in Adani group companies has risen almost 54% from ₹36,470 crore on 30 January 2023 to ₹56,073.64 crore on 17 January 2024, as shares gained during the period.