DBS Group Holdings on Monday said that the interest rates on savings bank accounts and fixed deposits will remain unchanged for Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) customers till further notice.
US Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai said he’ll leave the agency on January 20, 2021, eliminating the possibility of a holdover Republican majority at the agency that could have temporarily stymied changes sought by the incoming Biden administration.
Bitcoin soared to a record high against the dollar on Monday, as its 2020 rally steamed ahead, boosted by increased demand from both institutional and retail investors that saw the virtual currency as a safe-haven and a hedge against inflation.
In October, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) directed all life insurers to start selling from January 1, 2021 the Saral Jeevan Bima — a cover with standard wording for sum insured ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. Although insurers have been wary of selling lower value term covers, the rise in demand for term cover during the pandemic has shifted focus to protection.
US stocks have gained ground since the November 3 presidential election as investors now expect an uneventful transfer of power at the White House, even though President Donald Trump has not conceded the race to former vice president Joe Biden.
With Jan Dhan accounts and the government’s direct benefit transfers (DBT), ATM usage has gone up in rural areas. This is most clearly seen by the trend of increased usage of ‘white-label operators’ ATMs, which are used only in rural and remote parts of the country. From just 2% of total ATM transactions in India in 2014, white-label ATMs now make up 12% of total transactions.
India Inc has quietly progressed on the gender diversity front in spite of the pandemic. Engineering firm ABB, Hindustan Zinc (HZL), Sun Life Asia Service Center (ASC) and leading direct selling FMCG major Amway have improved upon their gender diversity numbers significantly this year through proactive hiring of women candidates.
Forecasters are revising upwards their projection for the current fiscal’s GDP growth after better-than-expected numbers for the second quarter. Most economists expect India’s GDP to shrink between 6% and 8% in FY21. Until last month, international agencies like the IMF were expecting the economy to shrink by 10%. The RBI is widely expected to continue with its accommodative stance.
Foreign direct inflows went up almost 15% during the first half the current financial year. The period also saw Mauritius slip to the fourth spot as the preferred source to route funds into India with the US and tax haven Cayman Islands overtaking it.
Shareholders of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) drew some consolation on Friday at the Madras high court. The HC refused to stay LVB’s merger with DSB Bank India (DBIL), but directed DBIL not to take any further actions prejudicial to LVB shareholders.
A deadly heat wave could burn the economy. In just another decade, India would be among the first places where extreme heat would make working outdoors dangerous, says a report released by global management consulting firm McKinsey.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited Zydus Biotech Park of pharma major Zydus Cadila in Ahmedabad to review the vaccine development. The visit is the first of PM Modi's three-city tour to personally review the vaccine development and manufacturing process in the country.
The economist listed out a host of factors for his “cautiously optimistic” outlook and said that the sustainability of the recovery process depended on the spread of Covid-19, and added that some sectors, particularly services, will remain impacted till the highly contagious infection does not go away and people observe social-distancing protocols.
Mobility restrictions due to the coronavirus and emergence of trends around home/remote office, education and entertainment have decluttered Indian cities that have seen a sharp reduction in travel in the months since the lockdown.
Demand for new credit cards has fully recovered and monthly applications in October have exceeded levels in the same month of the previous year. According to credit information company TransUnion Cibil, last month saw inquiries that were 106% of the queries in October 2019.
Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday that the Indian economy has exhibited stronger than expected pick-up and the growth outlook has improved but cautioned over the need to be watchful over downside risks of a fresh surge in infections, the sustainability of demand after festivals and a possible reassessment by markets around vaccine expectations.
The National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) on Thursday signed the country’s largest ever government-funded civil contract of Rs 24,000 crore for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project with infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T). The construction company said they have deployed people on ground to start work.
Accenture has rolled out bonuses to a majority of its two lakh employees in India and plans a significant level of promotions in the December cycle. The biannual bonus payout in November was at 75% of the target amount, which sources said is higher than what was paid in May.
Lineless, cashless and cashierless stores are coming close to you. Online grocery BigBasket is planning to roll out unmanned convenience stores in Bengaluru sometime early next year as part of a pilot project that seeks to replicate an Amazon Go-like shopping experience.
The Tata Group is considering a rejig of the business portfolio of Tata Industries, best known for incubating new ventures for the conglomerate. The plan, though in early stages, involves a possible merger of its health services, e-commerce, ready-to-eat food and digital classroom content businesses with sister Tata companies having a play in similar categories.
The government is giving a fresh push to improve India’s ranking in various global indices to reflect the changes taking place in the country. As part of the efforts, being spearheaded by the Cabinet secretary, various ministries have been asked to ensure swift and updated data to help improve rankings.
US-based marquee investors Tiger Global and Dragoneer Investment Group have pumped fresh capital into Unacademy, valuing it at $2 billion. In less than two months, the edtech startup’s valuation has shot up by over 40% as online education companies continue to attract strong investor interest aided by pandemic-induced demand for e-learning.
China resolutely opposes India's measures to ban more Chinese mobile applications over national security concerns, its embassy said on Wednesday. India banned 43 of the apps on Tuesday, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's e-commerce app Aliexpress, in a new wave of web sanctions amid continued tension at the border.
Janet Yellen became an economist at a time when few women entered the profession and fewer still rose in a male-dominated environment. Her expected nomination would come as rebuilding a US economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic and saddled with high unemployment presents a central challenge for President-elect Joseph Biden’s administration.
Equity indices on Wednesday continued to move upwards with the benchmark BSE sensex rising more than 300 points amid firm global cues. The 30-share BSE index hit an intraday high of 44,825 in early trade; while the broader NSE Nifty moved 90 points higher to scale fresh lifetime peak of 13,146.
Global technology investment firm DST Global, which has backed Indian startups like Swiggy, Udaan, Ola and Byju’s, is leading a $200-million funding in Cars24. This would make the online platform for selling used cars the latest entrant to the much coveted unicorn club — those with a valuation of over $1 billion.
International air travel could come booming back next year but with a new rule: Travellers to certain countries must be vaccinated against the coronavirus before they can fly.
As businesses reopen, the job market is showing recovery and the competition for open vacancies is easing, and the opportunities gap between those with and without digital skills is narrowing.
Wall Street busted through its latest milestone Tuesday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 30,000 for the first time. The Dow rose 454.97 points, or 1.5%, to close at 30,046.24.
Equity indices scaled a record high on Tuesday in broad-based gains, as progress on US President-elect Joe Biden's transition to the White House and optimism around another Covid-19 vaccine helped boost investor sentiment globally. The NSE Nifty index surpassed the psychologically important 13,000 level for the first time ever and was up 0.74% at 13,021 in early trade.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a sharp dig at the Centre on proposal to allow corporate houses to set up banks. This comes just a day after former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan and ex-RBI deputy governor Viral Acharya termed the central bank working group's proposal as "bombshell".
Apple’s Taiwanese manufacturer Wistron has set up a new warehouse in Hoskote. Together with the two assembling facilities it has in Peenya in Bengaluru and Narasapura in Kolar, the company now has a substantial presence in and around Bengaluru.
Around half of the finance companies with assets of over Rs 50,000 crore that meet the RBI’s size criteria to get a bank licence are part of corporate groups, while two are already part of banking groups. Not many standalone non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are likely to qualify for the bank licence norms.
Markets regulator Sebi on Monday proposed to make it easier for promoters of listed entities to re-classify themselves to become public shareholders by hiking the minimum threshold voting rights to 15% from 10% currently.
India’s economy is expected to post a smart recovery in the July-September quarter and the contraction witnessed in the June quarter will narrow significantly due to the impact of the festival demand and lifting of the strict lockdown in June.
The Mumbai bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), in its recent order, has clarified that when a taxpayer sells two residential properties and re-invests in one residential house, he or she is entitled to tax benefit under section 54. This ruling will be very helpful to several individuals. With work from home here to stay for longer than initially anticipated, several families are in search of larger flats.
A tariff hike is needed in the telecom sector as current rates are “unsustainable” and market conditions will be seen before a call is taken, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal said.
The country’s manufacturing sector is expected to post a recovery in the July-September quarter, even as the hiring outlook for the segment remains bleak, according to a survey.
Online education startup Byju’s is in advanced stages of talks to raise $200 million in fresh capital from US-based investors T Rowe Price and BlackRock at a valuation of $12 billion, a person directly aware of the matter said. BlackRock is an existing investor in the firm.
Mumbaikars seem to be beating Delhiites when it comes to buying health insurance amid the Covid pandemic. “States such as Maharashtra, Delhi and Gujarat have always been financially aware and among the top purchasers of health insurance. But Mumbai now is our fastest growing metro in retail health insurance sales. Its growth is far higher than last year’s increase,” ICICI Lombard chief said.
Infosys has emerged as the front-runner for a multi-year, $1.3-billion deal from German automotive major Daimler focused on infrastructure management services, networks and data centres, sources told TOI. The tech outsourcing deal involves 500-600 Daimler employees transferring to the IT firm.
In a unique initiative, tyre manufacturers are pumping money to grow raw material — natural rubber — in the northeast. This is a template that could be repeated in other sectors, including price-sensitive vegetables such as tomatoes, onions and potatoes.
Monthly foreign fund buying in domestic equities in November is on the cusp of breaking the all-time high record set in August this year, if the current trend continues. The surge comes as global liquidity flows from major central banks worldwide continued their easy-money policy to support fragile economies.
B30 (beyond top 30 cities) accounted for 16 per cent of the total industry Average Assets Under Management (AAUM) in October this year, and the balance was contributed by T30 cities, or the top 30 locations in India, the Association of Mutual Fund Industry (Amfi) said.
Petrol price on Sunday was hiked by 8 paise per litre and diesel by 19 paise, the third straight day of increase in rates as the firming international oil rates broke a nearly two-month-long hiatus in price revision.