UPS Financial News

India, France to strengthen defence ties On the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France, Chinese President Xi offered to "break new ground" to give a fillip to bilateral ties between the two countries. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said they have offered to step up French imports to the country.

Adani Power: The Adani Group company saw its consolidated net profit increase more than more than 300-fold to ₹ 2,738 crore in the December quarter from ₹8.8 crore a year ago. Consolidated revenue from operations rose 67.3% year-on-year to ₹12,991.4 crore. SBI Cards and Payment Services: The company clocked 7.8% year-on-year growth in profit to ₹549 crore in the December quarter.

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) maiden report on ‘Finances of Panchayati Raj Institutions,’ released on 24 January 2024, fills a long-felt gap in our understanding of the fiscal health of the third tier of government in India: local institutions of governance. Though it is now more than 30 years since the 73rd amendment to the Constitution institutionalized Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) at three levels in rural India—gram panchayats at the village level, mandal panchayats at the block level and zila parishad at the district level—empowerment of the kind envisaged in 1992 is yet to realized.

₹27,664 crore through 25 January. FPIs were sellers in autos and auto ancillary, media and entertainment and marginally in IT.

Fighter Box Office Collection Day 4: The Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone starrer was released a day before Republic Day, on January 25. The film witnessed a massive jump in collection on day 5 and managed to break its release day records. On its release day the film earned lowest so far that is ₹22.5 crore.

While societal acceptance of such relationships has increased, at least in metros and tier 1 cities, they continue to be beset with several legal and financial issues. Though living together is not considered illegal or a criminal offence, there are no specific laws governing such relationships and the couples do not enjoy the same legal and financial rights as married couples. Over the years, however, several Supreme Court rulings have accorded legal protection to the relationship based on a loose definition of cohabitation. “Live-in relationships have legal validity, though India does not have a dedicated statute for these and it is only governed to a limited extent by judgments of the Supreme Court,” says Rohan Mahajan, Founder and CEO of LawRato.com. Such couples face several challenges because most financial and government institutions recognise only married couples and blood relatives for legal transactions. Inheritance rights, joint tax benefits and health insurance coverage can be tricky, while long-term financial planning for goals like retirement and buying property can be complicated. Overcoming these requires careful financial planning and legal documentation to ensure stability and security in the long run. Joint financial products

There comes a point in our lives when we truly know that we have mastered what we began doing as young beginners. This peaking of knowledge, skill and attitude is also the peak of our incomes in our professional lives. We may not see it very clearly, but years of applying ourselves to something yields great dividends and value to the human asset.

Mutual Fund in the 1998-2000 bull run. Arora had posted a screenshot of the Zee Entertainment stock price chart from 25 years ago, from January 1998 to April 2000. During this period, the Zee stock went up from Rs.4.58 to a peak of about Rs.778 (adjusted for a split) on 24 February 2000, and then collapsed.

equity funds in the country are showing that size is just a number. Far from slacking under their bulging mass, these funds are running faster than most of their peers. The Rs.56,000 crore HDFC Mid Cap Opportunities is the biggest actively managed equity fund in the country. A scheme with a proven track record, its return profile faltered between 2017 and 2021, possibly suggesting that its burgeoning size was inhibiting its performance. However, the fund has made a strong comeback since 2022. It has ranked among the top three performers in the mid-cap category over the past three years. The next big name on the size ladder is Parag Parikh Flexi Cap. This Rs.52,000 crore fund, characterised by its valueconscious investing style and ‘go anywhere’ approach, has been an investor favourite for many years. It has not let its ballooning size dent its performance figures; the fund continues to rank in the top quartile in its category over a three-year horizon. The Rs.48,000 crore ICICI Prudential Bluechip, the biggest large-cap scheme in the country, is another big-ticket offering that has dispelled any concerns over size- led deterioration in its performance. While it went through a lean patch between 2018 and 2020, it has regained its mojo from 2021 onwards. The fund ranks third in its category over a three-year period. It has also comfortably outpaced its index over the past one and three years. HDFC Flexi Cap and Nippon India Small Cap, which boast assets in excess of Rs.40,000 crore, have also starred in their respective categories. Biggest funds have fetched healthy outcomes Large corpus did not impact the fund performance.

TAX CHANGE: Interest earned on contributions to the Provident Fund beyond Rs.2.5 lakh in a year are now taxable HOW TO GET AROUND IT: Restrict contributions to Rs.2.5 lakh a year. If you need to invest more, open a PPF account, if you don’t already have one, or else, go for debt funds to defer tax. TAX CHANGE: LTCG beyond Rs.1 lakh from stocks and equity-oriented mutual funds are taxed at 10%. HOW TO GET AROUND IT: Harvest gains of up to Rs.1 lakh every year by booking profits, and then buying back the same stocks or mutual funds. TAX CHANGE: Maturity proceeds of Ulips are taxable if the combined premium of policies bought after 1 Feb 2021 exceeds Rs.2.5 lakh.

interim budget, since the exercise comes just ahead of the general elections, an ET poll showed. The government will likely increase the amount of money transferred under its flagship direct benefit transfer scheme — Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi or PM-Kisan — by about 50% to ₹9,000 per year from the current ₹6,000, said some of the economists polled. A new iteration of the housing scheme and a push for jobs is also expected in the upcoming interim budget, the ET poll of economists indicated. Six of the 10 economists polled by ET say higher allocation for PM-Kisan is one of the three social sector interventions expected.

NEW DELHI, MUMBAI : Amidst a recovery in global steel prices and the upcoming general elections, JSW Steel maintains an optimistic outlook for the domestic steel market for the fourth fiscal quarter, expecting a notable uptick in steel volumes, Jayant Acharya, joint managing director of the company, said in an interview. “I expect the volumes will be better, driven by a seasonally strong quarter. The global steel prices in the last month have improved in the US, Europe, and China, as well as in the Asian regions," he said, adding that the buoyant global prices should translate into better pricing even in the domestic market.

NEW DELHI : The department of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation may get 10% more in the interim budget for continuing with marquee projects such as linking the Ken and Betwa rivers, dam rehabilitation and improvement, infrastructure rehabilitation, Namami Gange and Atal Bhujal Yojana, a senior official said. In the FY24 budget, the department received an allocation of ₹20,055 crore, which may be hiked to a little over ₹22,000 crore. “As of now I think the interim budget will be more about carrying on with the current work that is happening unless there are some major SOPs," the official said.

Millions of American workers are paying for early access to their paychecks. In some cases, it can come with a steep price.

By Phil Stewart, Steve Holland and Idrees Ali

₹50 trillion in December 2023. To put the number in context, the comparable figure in December 2013 was only ₹884,631 crore. Category-wise data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India points to another interesting trend: at end-September 2023, household investment (retail plus high net worth individuals) in equity mutual funds was three times the sum of wholesale investments (corporates and banks plus foreign portfolio investors).

Here is your weekly Pro Recap of the past week's biggest headlines in the electric vehicle space: Fisker makes a deal; Tesla hits a sales speed bump; and Polestar shrinks.

I used to be friends with people who had a moral compass, but I lost many of them after they started reading my column. I still know a few, like a young journalist named Nidhi Suresh, even though she has been thinking of getting rid of some friends. It is the times.

ALSO READ: BJP takes ‘mental bankruptcy’ jibe at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on AAP MLA poaching charge: ‘Give proof or resign’ "AAP will contest on all 90 seats and we will form the next government in Haryana and make it the number 1 state in the country," he said. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was also present at the event. He added that Haryana is looking for a 'big change' as the state's people are 'fed up' with all the parties that have ruled here.

₹50 trillion-MF industry can boast of a track record of 20-30 years. While these funds have grown in size over the years, their performances have also seen ups and downs across different time-periods. Here, we look at three such funds; their recent and historical performance and what investors can expect from them.

U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Friday as investors digested the latest batch of earnings and continued to assess the Federal Reserve’s rate plans for the months ahead.