Strategy Financial News

Alternative for Germany party on Saturday presented its candidate for chancellor in the country's upcoming election. In practice, Alice Weidel has no chance of taking the chancellery as other parties refuse to work with the populist party. But Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which was founded in 2013, has been getting strong approval rates and is currently the second strongest party in the country after the center-right Christian Democrats. It is polling between 18% and 19% in nationwide surveys.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) reversed their selling trend in December, recording net equity inflows of Rs 24,454 crore so far this month. With the latest inflows, FPIs have experienced a total net inflow of Rs 9,435 crore in 2024 so far, versus outflows of Rs 15,019 at the end of November.

Notre Dame Cathedral, the iconic Parisian landmark nearly lost to a devastating fire in April 2019, reopened on Saturday, marking a historic moment of achievement and resilience. The event attracted dignitaries from across the globe, including US President-elect Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince William, and First Lady Jill Biden, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious five-year restoration timeline. The reopening ceremony began with Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich symbolically tapping the cathedral’s grand wooden doors three times with a staff crafted from charred remnants of the original roof. This act, steeped in tradition, officially declared the cathedral open for worship. Hymns, prayers, and the resonating tones of the restored 8,000-pipe organ followed, reawakening a sacred space silenced for years.

Mohammed Shami is set to compete in the last two Tests of the ongoing series against Australia with his playing kit already headed Down Under and the fitness clearance from the NCA's medical team being a «matter of formality». While the Brisbane Test (from December 14) could be touch and go for the Bengal veteran, it is a foregone conclusion that he will be seen in Melbourne on Boxing Day (December 26) in the fourth Test. A source close to the cricketer said that the NCA «fitness certificate» will come very soon. «Shami's India kit has already been dispatched to Australia. He will complete Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 assignment and then leave,» the source told PTI.

TikTok asked followers to subscribe to their channels on rival platforms like Meta-owned Instagram and Alphabet's YouTube after a federal appeals court ruled that the social media app could be banned if it is not sold to a US-based company by January 19. TikTok has become a major US digital force as it has grown to 170 million US users, especially younger people drawn to its short, often irreverent videos. It has sucked away advertisers from some of the largest US players and added commerce platform TikTok Shop, which has become a marketplace for small businesses. The US Congress, fearing TikTok's Chinese owners are gathering information about American consumers, has passed a law requiring its owner, Chinese-backed ByteDance, to divest its TikTok in the US or face a ban. On Friday, a federal appeals court upheld the law.

Speaking to ANI, Kaur said, «All the demands of the farmers are related to the central government, not the state government.» Farmers from Punjab have launched a fresh wave of protests at Sambhu border demanding compensation and a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

The 12th-century Gothic masterpiece has now been masterfully restored after a fire gutted the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It will be reopened to the public on Sunday following a ceremony on Saturday, which will be attended by a lineup of heads of state and top-level delegates from around the world- a rare moment of unity against the backdrop of global divisions and conflicts. ALSO READ:

Delhi Assembly elections, Union Minister Harsh Malhotra said that the people of the national capital have decided to replace the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal with a BJP Chief Minister. Harsh Malhotra said, «The people of Delhi have decided that they will not tolerate Delhi's polluted drinking water, toxic air, lack of principals and teachers in schools, lack of doctors and medicines in government-run hospitals or mohalla clinics turning into garbage dump. They will replace Kejriwal with a BJP CM.» Reacting to allegations of AAP that BJP was removing voter names from voters list ahead of the polls, he said that only the Election Commission has a legitimate process for cutting votes.

NCLAT) has declined to lift the stay on the NCLT order, barring amendment of the Articles of Association of Aakash Educational Services, a subsidiary of the debt-ridden edtech major Byju. Disposing the petitions moved by Manipal Health Systems and Aakash Educational Services, the Chennai bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Friday asked them to file applications before the National Company Law Tribunal for vacating the order passed on November 20, 2024. A two-member bench granted them a week to file it and also directed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to decide it within three weeks thereafter. Moreover, the status quo would continue as directed by the Supreme Court in this matter, a 14-page-long NCLAT order said.

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, citing threats from North Korea and accusing the National Assembly of obstructing government functions. This marked the first such declaration since 1980. Though rescinded within six hours, the move shocked the nation and drew widespread condemnation, both domestically and internationally. The streets surrounding the National Assembly in Seoul became the epicentre of dissent, with an estimated 150,000 protesters demanding Yoon’s impeachment. Banners with messages like «Impeach Yoon» and «Insurrection Criminal» were held high, while chants of «South Korea is a democratic republic» reverberated through the crowd. The protests, which included families with young children and groups singing protest songs, carried a festival-like atmosphere but turned sombre as parliament debated Yoon’s political fate. Protester Jo Ah-gyeong, a 30-year-old Seoul resident, expressed resolve: “I’m neither discouraged nor disappointed because we’ll get it eventually. I’ll keep coming here until we do.”

Nirmala Sitharaman chaired another pre-Budget meeting, this time with the stakeholders from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, to gather their inputs and suggestions for the upcoming Budget for 2025-26. The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary; Finance Secretary; DIPAM Secretary; Department of Economic Affairs Secretary; Chief Economic Adviser; among others. Members from Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE); Karnataka SC and ST Entrepreneurs Association; Plant-Based Food Industry Association (PBFIA); Ambala Scientific Instruments Manufacturers Association (ASIMA); Rajasthan Footwear Manufacturers Association; The All-India Plastics Manufacturers Association; All India Manufacturers Association; Gujarat Chamber of Small Industries Association; Federation of Associations of Cottage and Small Industries (Based in West Bengal); Federation of Andhra Pradesh Small and Medium Association; and Laghu Udyog Bharati were among the participants at the meeting.

D Gukesh yet again proved equal to the task with defending champion Ding Liren of China as the 10th game of the World Chess Championship between them ended in a draw without much excitement here on Saturday. It was by far the easiest of the game with black pieces for Gukesh as the position played itself out of a London system game wherein Ding Liren took no risks and was also apparently happy with the drawn result. The seventh consecutive draw — and eighth of the match — left both players on an identical tally of 5 points each, still shy of 2.5 points in order to win the championship.

pink ball Test as their formidable pacers scythed through India's top-order after nemesis Travis Head's counterattacking century handed his team a substantial first-innings lead on a riveting second day here on Saturday. The Adelaide Oval was throbbing with life through the three sessions of play as Head dominated India with his wide range of strokes on way to a 140 off 141 balls before the trio of Scott Boland (2/39), Mitchell Starc (1/49) and Pat Cummins (2/33) left the visitors in a spot of bother at 128 for five in their second innings and trailing by 29 runs. At stumps, Rishabh Pant was living dangerously on a 25-ball 28 and Nitish Reddy was batting on 15 off 14. Thanks to Head's eighth Test century, which he reached in 111 balls after toying with the Indian bowling attack, Australia ended with 337 all out, and more importantly, a 157-run first-innings lead.

Quant Small Cap Fund, the largest fund managed by Quant Mutual Fund, added 10 stocks to its portfolio in November. Of these 10, five were PSU stocks including SBI, HUDCO, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, MOIL, and ONGC. Apart from these five PSU stocks, the smallcap fund added Cochin Shipyard, Welspun Corp, Welspun Enterprise, Om Infra, and Punjab Alkalies and Chemicals. Also Read | Explainer: What are different types of SIPs available for mutual fund investors and who should use them

The lawsuit, filed in October, states Mike Tyson Tyson terminated the deal in March – the same day his fight with Paul was announced – because Medier breached their agreement. ALSO READ: Milaf Cola: Saudi Arabia launches world’s first date-based soft drink. Is it a threat to Coca Cola and Pepsi?

Union Minister George Kurian on Saturday said the much-awaited visit of Pope Francis to India is likely to happen after 2025, which has been announced as the «Jubilee Year» by the Catholic Church. He said India had already invited the Pope officially and Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly extended him the invitation. The rest of the matters and procedures were to be decided by the Vatican. The visit would be scheduled as per the convenience of Pope Francis, he told media. Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Kurian was part of the delegation which reached Vatican to take part in the ordination of Monsignor George Jacob Koovakad, hailing from Kerala, as Cardinal by Pope Francis at a function to be held on Saturday.

economic growth rate, the markets maintained a positive bias throughout the week. Further, a positive turnaround from FIIs to India in expectation of a dovish monetary policy by RBI supported the sentiment. During the week, as many as 89 smallcap stocks have delivered double-digit weekly returns with eight of them offering gaining over 25%.

US Congressman Jay Obernolte said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should move speedily in crafting rules that encourage the expansion of AI and its need for large amounts of electricity, including by clearing the way for so-called co-located AI data centers. «As their energy requirements increase, the development of co-located energy production will be instrumental in mitigating grid strain, improving resilience, and reducing carbon emissions,» wrote Obernolte, a Republican from California.

China's trade restrictions on strategic minerals are starting to hit Western companies where it hurts. Blaming Beijing's curbs on antimony exports announced in August, German chemicals and consumer goods heavyweight Henkel told customers last month it had declared force majeure and suspended deliveries of four types of adhesives and lubricants widely used by automakers, according to a Nov. 8 letter to clients reviewed by Reuters. Henkel uses the silvery metal to make its Bonderite and Teroson-branded products, core parts of the company's adhesive technologies division, which brought in 10.79 billion euros ($11.4 billion) in revenue last year.

friendly policing' and said the concept does not mean being friendly towards murderers, economic offenders and land grabbers. «Redefine friendly policing. Criminals should be scared of the police. Land grabbers, drug offenders, those who illegally occupy water bodies, and criminal-minded persons should be fearful of police. Frighten such people and be friendly with victims (seeking justice). Respect for police goes up then,» he said. In an apparent reference to the arrest of BRS MLA P Kaushik Reddy for allegedly obstructing, threatening and abusing a police official here, he said police should act tough with those who behave disrespectfully towards them.

Lululemon Athletica and other companies and as U.S. jobs data fueled expectations the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates this month. The Dow finished lower, as a 5.1% drop in UnitedHealth Group shares weighed on the index.