UPS Financial News

India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast “above normal” rain for the June-September monsoon, boosting prospects of a bountiful agricultural harvest that will likely ease inflationary pressure and bolster growth. This follows uneven rain in 2023, mainly due to the El Niño effect, leading to patchy farm output that pushed up food prices and kept the central bank from cutting interest rates. Rain in the country’s southwest is expected to be 106% of the long period average (LPA), with a 5% margin of error. IMD defines average or normal rainfall as ranging between 96% and 104% of a 50- year average of 87 cm for the season. The department announced the monsoon forecast on Monday.

Baashyaam Constructions is in talks with Standard Chartered Bank to buy a 4.6-acre plot in Chennai in a deal estimated at about ₹800 crore. «The land originally belonged to ANZ Grindlays Bank and was part of the takeover by Standard Chartered, with backend support being operated from there. It also has 500,000 sq ft of built area in the Nungambakkam area,» said two people aware of the development. Property consultants say the deal is being negotiated at ₹7.5-₹8 crore per ground which is higher than the prevailing market rate. One acre equals about 18 ground, a measure used primarily in South India. «There is not much land available in central Chennai and whatever is up for sale is getting closed at a higher rate now,» said one of the persons cited above. Baashyaam Constructions is present in luxury residential projects, apart from commercial and hospitality. It is developing an uber-luxury twin-tower project at the site of the erstwhile five-star Crowne Plaza hotel in Chennai's Adyar Park.

Dwayne Johnson, also known by his WWE ring name 'The Rock', has been one of the most legendary fighters the franchise fighting league has ever produced. He is one of the leading figures of WrestleMania through the ages and was also a part of WrestleMania 40, which was the latest edition of the fighting league. WrestleMania 41 will probably be in 2025 and Dwayne Johnson is reportedly getting ready to enter the ring again, improving his fitness and currently on an intensive training regime from the last WrestleMania. According to USA Today, The Rock he spent 12 weeks training for his first match in eight years.

Reserve Bank of India announced new steps for rupee-settled global trades, Russian banking major Sberbank said it has seen an uptick in volumes for rupee-rouble payments for Moscow’s imports, with the lender focusing on drawing more foreign clients to the domestic market. “Sberbank offers its corporate clients a convenient way of carrying out settlements in rupees and roubles. Sberbank has now become the main channel for such payments on Russian import operations, with volumes up by seven times last year compared to 2022. More and more companies are taking advantage of it, recognising the attractions of this means of payment,” Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of the executive board of Sberbank, said exclusively to ET. In July 2022, the RBI said that it would put in place an additional arrangement for invoicing, payment and settlement of exports and imports in rupees. The step, taken in the aftermath of the Ukraine war, was aimed at supporting the increasing interest of global trading in rupees, the central bank said.

Lynx Air says customer refunds are a big expense for the insolvent company thanks to an unco-operative contractor.

Buddha said, 'What you are is what you have been. What you will be is what you do now.' We all face challenges every day in our lives — personal, professional or societal. They test our resilience, strength and determination. However, it helps to remember that challenges are not obstacles, they are stepping stones towards growth and development. It is said that behind every challenge lies an opportunity, waiting to be discovered and embraced. Our immediate reaction on facing a challenge is often full of doubt, uncertainty and fear. But with a calm frame of mind, when we think objectively from an elevated state than the problem state, solutions become visible. It's possible to acquire this state of mind through a cleansing process, by letting go of the previous impressions of the problem or challenge, and developing lateral thinking and an ability of discernment.

The company plans to spend over 70% of its over ₹45,000 crore fundraise via debt and equity into capex for 5G rollout and 4G network expansion, a person familiar with the matter said. Addressing reporters on Monday, chief executive Akshaya Moondra said the ₹18,000-crore follow-on share sale will see the government stake diluted to 24%, which could rise to a comfortable 32-33% if the Centre decides to convert some of the principal dues into more equity.

next-gen upgrade for Fallout 4 is set to launch, bringing a slew of enhancements and new content. Scheduled for release on April 25, the update promises to elevate the gaming experience across all platforms, according to a Dexerto report.

Hotel Leela Venture Limited (HLV) has challenged ITC's claims of shareholder oppression against it in a fresh twist to a five-year-old legal tussle at the centre of which is the 2019 sale of key Leela properties to Canada's investment giant Brookfield for ₹4,250 crore, according to sources aware of the developments. ITC is opposing that sale transaction claiming it was to the detriment of minority shareholders. The cigarettes-to-FMCG conglomerate owns a stake in HLV Limited. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) allowed ITC's petition claiming shareholder oppression and mismanagement at HLV Limited on January 24 this year, though the company doesn't have the requisite shareholding of 10% required to file such lawsuits as per rules laid down in India's Companies Act.

finance ministry has approved the release of funds for six more months through September 2024 under the government's flagship housing scheme, a move that will enable completion of about 3.5 million rural houses, a senior official told ET. The government had set a target of building 29.5 million houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) by March 2024 to realise its «housing for all» goal. Approval was granted to construct nearly all these. About 26 million houses have already been built since November 2016 when the scheme was rolled out revamping the erstwhile Indira Awas Yojana.

BJP candidate for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, Kangana Ranaut met Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama here on Monday morning. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and senior BJP leader Jai Ram Thakur accompanied her during the meeting. «It was a wonderful experience to see the Dalai Lama. It is an experience which I will cherish throughout my life,» Ranaut said. She continued her election campaign after the meeting, travelling to the Bharmour area of the Chamba district.

Churu Lok Sabha election has the makings of a potboiler — friends-turned-foes, caste one-upmanship and political ambition fuelling a family rivalry. The constituency, a BJP stronghold which the party has not lost since 1999, is represented by Rahul Kaswan. The two-term MP was denied the ticket by his party and has now been fielded by Congress. BJP has fielded paralympic javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia. Interestingly, however, it is not Jhajharia who seems to be in contest here but the former leader of Opposition and BJP's seven-term MLA Rajendra Singh Rathore. Despite the best efforts of the Rajput strongman, it has become a Kaswan versus Rathore face-off. ET caught up with Kaswan in Hamusar village near Churu as he campaigned and exhorted the electors to punish his former party for its arrogance. «What is this? Arrogance only when they say 'Ab ki baar, chaar sau paar' (this time 400-plus seats) — who should decide this? The voters, not them,» he said.

Xiaomi is expected to unveil a diverse range of personal technology items and home appliances at the event. Enthusiasts eagerly await the unveiling of the rumored products, which could include a tablet, TWS earphones, a robot vacuum mop, and a hairdryer. However, specific information remains scarce, heightening anticipation among fans.

Private equity (PE) investments in India’s real estate have been falling over the last five years, through a residential boom and recovery in the commercial office segment. While the number of deals has remained constant, the average deal size has shrunk. Mint explains why: The value of PE deals in real estate fell from $5.1 billion in FY20 to $3.7 billion in FY24, says Anarock Capital, the investment banking and advisory arm of Anarock Group.

New York state prosecutors accuse him of falsifying records to cover up a $130,000 payment in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels about a 2006 sexual encounter she has said they had. Trump has denied any such relationship.

Plan now. Die later. Arranging your funeral now could save your family money and ensure you get the services you want.

Companies are cutting staff and focusing on efficiency amid a commitment to do more with less following a year of widespread layoffs. Tesla announced a round of layoffs on Monday, joining Alphabet, Amazon and UPS among major companies to cut jobs in recent months. The layoffs this year suggest that companies are cutting in more targeted areas–even as some of the biggest tech companies have continued to grow, adding more jobs than they’ve cut.

the finance ministry’s estimates, annual payment totals for 2024/25 for a family of four are $1,800 in Alberta, $1,200 in Manitoba, $1,120 in Ontario, $1,504 in Saskatchewan, $760 in New Brunswick, $824 in Nova Scotia, $880 in Prince Edward Island and $1,192 in Newfoundland and Labrador.The top-up for rural residents remains at 10 per cent for now, as the amendment to increase that top-up to 20 per cent has not yet passed the House of Commons.

Charles Schwab Corp.’s first-quarter net revenue topped estimates as the retail brokerage tries to put 2023’s turbulence behind it.

If you were an early crypto investor, you’d know the leading crypto assets before cryptos even became a worldwide exchange were Bitcoin and Ethereum. This was because they showed potential growth and delivered. 

NEW DELHI : In an aggressive move to boost market share and strengthen its financial footing ahead of its initial public offering (IPO), Ola Electric has substantially reduced the price of its new S1X scooter, powered by a 2kWh battery, which it had announced in February. The price cut of ₹10,000, a 12.5% reduction from the original ₹80,000, brings the ex-showroom cost down to ₹70,000.