Month: April 2025

[ad_1] File photo: FBI Director Kash Patel (Picture credit: ANI) FBI Director Kash Patel has been quietly removed as acting director of the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and replaced by US Army secretary Daniel Driscoll, in a leadership shuffle that was not publicly disclosed by the justice department, news agency Reuters reported.Patel, who was controversially holding two top posts in the Justice Department, both FBI director and acting ATF chief, was sworn in to lead the ATF on February 24, just three days after assuming leadership at the FBI. However, his time at ATF appears to have ended in late February, though his name and photo remained on the agency’s website as of Wednesday afternoon and were still featured in an official ATF press release dated April 7, according to Reuters.A justice department official confirmed Patel’s […]

[ad_1] TOI correspondent from Washington: MAGA supremo Donald Trump on Tuesday paused his reciprocal tariff on most countries, including India, for 90 days, while further jacking up taxes on Chinese imports to 125 percent in an effort to isolate Beijing on the issue. In a post on his social media account, the US President said based on the fact that more than 75 Countries had reached out to US to negotiate a solution and these countries have not retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the US, he was authorizing a 90 day PAUSE. Still, the countries would have to pay "a substantially lowered reciprocal tariff of 10 per cent during this period effective immediately," he added. He however hiked tariff on China from 104 to 125 percent "based on the lack of respect that it has shown to […]

[ad_1] File photo: US President Donald Trump (Picture credit: AP) US President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his surprise decision to pause tariffs on most countries for 90 days, attributing the reversal to market reactions and what he described as people getting “a little yippy” and “afraid.”Speaking to reporters outside the White House during an event with NASCAR champions, Trump acknowledged that turmoil in financial markets, especially the bond market, prompted him to rethink his tariff stance. “I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy,” Trump said, adding, “The bond market right now is beautiful”.The president said his decision to ease tariffs came together “fairly early this morning,” and that it was written “from our hearts” in a Truth Social post. “We don’t want to hurt countries that don’t want to be hurt, and they all want […]

[ad_1] MUMBAI: RBI has moved to tighten oversight of gold-backed lending. In draft guidelines released on April 3, the central bank proposed a uniform cap on the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for gold loans, limiting it to 75% of the collateral's worth. For NBFCs, this ceiling will apply uniformly, regardless of whether the loan is for consumption or other purposes. During Covid, RBI had relaxed norms and allowed up to 90% loan-to-value ratio for a year.RBI also called for greater internal accountability among lenders. Banks and NBFCs will be required to set their own LTV limits based on internal risk assessments. A standardised framework for valuing gold collateral is to be introduced, with lenders required to disclose the reference price and adopt a uniform method for assessing purity, as well as calculating gross and net weights. This valuation process must be […]

[ad_1] MUMBAI: RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra said he was more concerned about the impact of tariffs on growth rather than inflation, given the constraining effect of US President Donald Trump's levies on the global economy."First and foremost, uncertainty in itself dampens growth by affecting investment and spending decisions of businesses and households. Second, the dent on global growth due to trade frictions will impede domestic growth. Third, higher tariffs shall have a negative impact on net exports," Malhotra said on Wednesday. "There are, however, several known unknowns - the impact of relative tariffs, the elasticities of our export and import demand; and the policy measures adopted by govt including the proposed foreign trade agreement with the US, to name a few. These make the quantification of the adverse impact difficult," he said.The central bank governor asserted that while global trade […]