ECONOMIC NEWS Archives - DigitalMedia

WPI inflation rises to 8-month high of 1.48% on pharma, metal prices

17Nov

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ECONOMIC NEWS

WPI inflation rises to 8-month high of 1.48% on pharma, metal prices

By Administrator _India Capital Sands The wholesale price index-based (WPI-based) inflation rate rose for the third straight month to an eight-month high of 1.48 per cent in October from 1.32 per cent in the previous month. Economists said the WPI data enforced the case for the status quo in the Reserve Bank of India’s policy rates. Unlike its consumer price index (CPI) counterpart, pressure did not come from food items in general. These were manufactured products, particularly pharma and metals, that fuelled the WPI inflation rate. Economists attributed it to a rise in demand due to festivals and after unlockdown was announced for more sectors from September onwards. The food inflation rate in the WPI came down to 6.37 per cent in October from 8.17 per cent in the pre...

14Oct

By Administrator_IndiaNo Comments

ECONOMIC NEWS

Pound Falls on Lockdown, Brexit Fears

By Administrator_ India Capital Sands The pound fell sharply Tuesday as concerns about a no-deal Brexit and fears over a looming lockdown hurt sentiment. GBP/USD fell 0.95% to $1.2940. The possibility of the UK leaving the EU without a trade deal is a "credible hypothesis," French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reportedly said Tuesday, according to media reports. The stark warning that a hard Brexit could be in the offing when the transition period ends on Dec. 31 comes as the French government appears reluctant to give in to UK demands over control of its fisheries. The uncertainty over deal comes just days ahead of the Oct. 15-16 European summit, during which EU Brexit negotiator will provide an update on Brexit negotiations. The pound was also hurt by fears t...

India’s services activity contracted for fifth straight month in July – PMI

6Aug

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ECONOMIC NEWS

India’s services activity contracted for fifth straight month in July – PMI

By Administrator_India Capital Sands India’s dominant services industry, a key driver of economic growth, shrank for a fifth straight month in July as restraining measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus hurt business activity and led to record job cuts, a survey showed. India has recorded the third highest number of coronavirus cases globally, behind only the United States and Brazil, with over 1.8 million confirmed infections and more than 38,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally. That has forced state and central governments to impose strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of the virus, keeping people at home and businesses closed, stifling demand and cementing fears of a deep recession. The Nikkei/IHS Services Purchasing Managers’ Index INPMIS=ECI increased...

22Jul

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ECONOMIC NEWS

India, U.S. closing in on trade deal

By Administrator_India Capital Sands India and the United States are closing in on a trade deal, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, after two years of negotiations. India is seeking concessions for generic drugs it exports to the United States in return for opening its dairy markets and slashing tariffs on farm goods as the two sides seek to clinch a new trade accord, sources told. They have been negotiating a limited trade pact aimed also at restoring zero tariffs on a range of Indian exports to the United States under its Generalised System of Preferences , from which the Trump administration withdrew last year, citing lack of reciprocal access to Indian markets. “In the long term, I believe we have a quick trade deal which has some of the pending matters buil...

Indian stocks to lag rivals as stimulus falls short

14Jul

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ECONOMIC NEWS

Indian stocks to lag rivals as stimulus falls short

By Administrator_India Capital Sands Foreign investors have begun to price in a slower rebound for Indian stocks this year on concerns that the relatively meagre stimulus the government has delivered for businesses and consumers will leave the economy trailing its main rivals. Mumbai’s equity indices have bounced about 43% since crashing to a four-year low in March, as the huge flows of cheap capital provided by global central banks when COVID-19 struck made heavily-discounted stocks attractive. Despite pouring about $1.98 billion into Indian stocks since late March, foreign investors are still net sellers this year with outflows of $2.75 billion. In March alone, they pulled out $8.35 billion, according to stock exchange data. At the heart of the problem for any economic rec...

Indian shares rise on recovery hopes, Nifty set for best quarter in 11 years

30Jun

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ECONOMIC NEWS

Indian shares rise on recovery hopes, Nifty set for best quarter in 11 years

By Administrator_India Capital Sands Indian shares rose on Tuesday, with the benchmark index set for its best quarter since 2009, as upbeat U.S. and China data renewed economic recovery hopes, while investors awaited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech later in the day. The Nifty rose 0.74% to 10,389.05 by 0351 GMT, while the Sensex was up 0.6% at 35,172.71. The Nifty is set to close the quarter around 20% stronger, its best performance since June quarter of 2009, after a liquidity-driven rally from a four year low hit in March. Tata Steel was the top boost on Nifty, gaining as much as 4.3% in early trade. China’s manufacturing sector grew more than expected in June, lifting Asian shares, while strong U.S. housing data boosted Wall Street. PM Modi will address the na...

India’s election-bound Bihar state records nearly double national jobless rate

16Jun

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ECONOMIC NEWS

India’s election-bound Bihar state records nearly double national jobless rate

By Administrator_India Capital Sands India’s eastern Bihar state, one of the country’s largest and poorest states, posted a steep rise in unemployment in the year ended June 2019 to record nearly double the national jobless rate, only months out from elections. The latest state unemployment data released on Tuesday is a lagging indicator and the current jobless rate was expected to be much higher as millions of unemployed labourers return home due to a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. Unemployment in Bihar rose by 3 percentage points to 10.2% during the year ended June 2019, government data showed, even as the country’s overall unemployment slowed to 5.8%, compared with 6.1% a year earlier. The state, governed by regional party Janata Dal (United) - an ...

Indians pawn gold for loans as borrowing from banks becomes tougher

11Jun

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ECONOMIC NEWS

Indians pawn gold for loans as borrowing from banks becomes tougher

By Administrator_India Capital Sands Umesh Patil, a farmer in western India, pawned 40 grams of gold jewellery to raise 130,000 rupees ($1,723.11) to buy supplies needed to plant his next crop. Many Indians are using gold to secure loans, bankers and industry experts say, as banks are otherwise increasingly unwilling to lend during the coronavirus pandemic due to fear of the loan souring. “State-run banks were seeking lots of documents for crop loans and furnishing them all wasn’t possible quickly,” said Patil, whose farm is in Sangli district, nearly 400 km (250 miles) from Mumbai. “So I decided to pawn jewellery. I got a loan from a local co-operative bank in just an hour.” Using gold as security is not unusual in India, but gold-backed loans are becoming more popular w...

COVID-19 magnifies challenges to business in China -European business group

10Jun

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ECONOMIC NEWS

COVID-19 magnifies challenges to business in China -European business group

By Administrator_India Capital Sands The COVID-19 epidemic has exacerbated already worrisome trends to doing business in China amid slowing revenue growth, regulatory obstacles and the clout of the state-owned sector, a European business group said on Wednesday. Only half of European companies surveyed said that their mainland China revenues last year increased by 5% or more, the lowest proportion in a decade, according to a survey of members of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China conducted in February that involved 626 respondents in all. A slowdown in the world’s second largest economy was seen as the biggest business challenge by respondents. After widespread lockdowns to control the epidemic, China’s economy shrank by 6.8% in the first quarter, and the governmen...

China FDI to Australia more than halved in 2019, to remain subdued this year, study says

9Jun

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ECONOMIC NEWS

China FDI to Australia more than halved in 2019, to remain subdued this year, study says

By Administrator_India Capital Sands Chinese investment to Australia more than halved in 2019 and it would continue to fall this year due to the coronavirus outbreak and negative perceptions around government screenings of such inflows, says a report by KPMG and the University of Sydney. The number of deals fell 43% to 42 for the year ended Dec. 31, while investments fell 62% to $2.4 billion. "Chinese (overseas direct investment) into Australia has fallen at a faster rate in 2019 than Chinese investment into other western countries, including the U.S.," said report author Hans Hendrischke, professor of Chinese business and management at the University of Sydney. Privately-owned Chinese firms accounted for 84% of Chinese investment in Australia by value and 76% of the deals. ...