Business

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: While sounding upbeat about the economy, finance secretary Ajay Seth on Friday underlined the need to ensure fiscal consolidation and remain agile to deal with challenges facing the economy."India can't remain fixated. We have to be adept and agile, and as things are evolving, we cannot take things for granted. India is close to a $4 trillion economy. We have enough resilience to find whatever the rest of the world is doing, we have to find our way, and I'm hopeful that we can find out," he said at an event organised by Isaac Centre for Public Policy.The comments come amid expectations of a global economic slowdown triggered by US President Donald Trump's tariff hikes. Seth said the Indian economy was projected to expand by 6.3-6.8% this year and the numbers pointed to healthy tax collections during […]

[ad_1] THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The flagship of the Adani Group, Adani Ports & SEZ, is transforming into a transport utility player, with a presence in every aspect of the business and not limited to the traditional ports segment, said managing director Karan Adani."We don't want to be limited to just being a port player. Our focus is on the entire logistics chain for importers and exporters. This includes port logistics, rail, warehousing, trucking, marine services - all of it. The goal is to evolve into a transport utility that can forecast cargo flows not just for the next five years, but for the next 10, 15, or even 20 years," Karan (38) told TOI. He, however, added that there are no plans right now to change the name of the company to match the changing business profile.When asked how the revenue will […]

[ad_1] Govt has appointed PoonamGupta as deputy governor of RBIfor a three-year term beginning May 2. She fills the vacancy left after Michael Patra retired on Jan 15. Her entry has prompted a reallocation of portfolios among RBI's senior leadership.Gupta will takecharge of several key departments, including monetary policy, financial markets operations, economic and policy research, financial stability, international, statistics and information management, corporate strategy and budget, and communication. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Apple shares dropped 5% on Friday after the company reduced its stock buyback program by $10 billion and CEO Tim Cook revealed a $900 million hit to costs this quarter due to escalating US-China trade tensions. According to Reuters, the move comes amid growing uncertainty fuelled by US President Donald Trump's tariff policies, which have disrupted corporate planning even for giants like Apple and Microsoft.As of 10:25 am GMT-4, Apple shares were trading at $206.69, down $6.63 or 3.11% .The iPhone maker reported quarterly revenue of $95.36 billion and earnings of $1.65 per share, narrowly beating expectations. However, it offered a cautious outlook, forecasting low-to-mid single-digit revenue growth. Apple’s reduced buyback authorization—$100 billion this year compared to $110 billion last year—marked an unusual step back in its capital return strategy, which typically sees stable or rising repurchases. Analysts saw […]

[ad_1] The Reserve Bank on Friday said it has imposed penalties on four banks, including ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda, for deficiencies in regulatory compliances. Penalty of Rs 97.80 lakh has been imposed on ICICI Bank for non-compliance with certain directions issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 'Cyber Security Framework in Banks', 'Know Your Customer (KYC)', and 'Credit Card and Debit Card -- Issuance and Conduct'. In another statement, the RBI said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 61.40 lakh on Bank of Baroda for non-compliance with certain directions on 'Financial Services provided by Banks' and 'Customer Service in Banks'. The central bank has imposed a penalty of Rs 31.8 lakh on IDBI Bank Ltd for non-compliance with certain directions on 'lnterest Subvention Scheme for Short Term Loans for Agriculture and Allied Activities availed through […]

[ad_1] Debt-laden Vodafone Idea Ltd (Vi) said on Friday that its board has approved changes to the shareholders' agreement to allow promoters — Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group — to retain governance and management rights, even as the Indian government's stake in the company has risen to 48.99%.The proposed amendment, approved during a board meeting on May 2, seeks to revise the "Qualifying Threshold" from 13% to 10% and, crucially, to exclude the government’s equity from this calculation for governance purposes, news agency PTI reported. "The Board of Directors at its meeting held today i.e. on 2 May 2025 have inter-alia resolved to... amend certain clauses of the Shareholders' Agreement... so as to modify, amongst others, the 'Qualifying Threshold' from 13 per cent to 10 per cent and, solely for this purpose, to disregard the equity shares originally issued […]

[ad_1] Office of Management and Budget Director Russel Vought at White House (AP) US President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget proposal outlines sweeping cuts to non-defence domestic spending, totalling $163 billion, while ramping up expenditures on national security, the White House announced Friday.The proposal targets diversity initiatives and climate change programs, reflecting the administration's political priorities. However, it notably omits detailed projections for income taxes, tariffs, or the federal deficit — a sign of the significant political and financial challenges Trump faces as he pledges tax cuts and debt repayment without harming economic growth, according to news agency AP.While presidential budgets are not binding, they serve as key indicators of an administration’s goals for the upcoming fiscal year. This marks Trump’s first budget since returning to the White House and underscores his second-term agenda alongside Republican efforts in Congress.Trump’s proposal comes […]

[ad_1] US stock marketsopened sharply higher on Friday following the release of stronger-than-expected April jobs data. The report showed that the economy added 177,000 jobs during the month, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2 percent.The data boosted investor confidence and fuelled early gains across major indexes.Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 434.80 points to 41,187.76, gaining 1.07 percent. The S&P 500 advanced 62.88 points, or 1.12 percent to 5,667.02, putting it on track for its ninth consecutive day of gains. If it finishes higher, it will mark the index’s longest winning streak since November 2004. The Nasdaq Composite added 174.43 points, or 0.98 percent, reaching 17,885.17.Gold prices climbed by 1.15 percent to $3,259.40 per ounce, reflecting increased interest in safe-haven assets. Oil prices edged down 0.49 percent to $58.95 per barrel. The […]

[ad_1] The US nonfarm payroll employment rose by 177,000 in April, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2 percent, according to the latest report from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. Employment continued to trend up in health care, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and social assistance, although federal government employment declined as businesses navigated the early months of Donald Trump's second presidency.The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.0 to 4.2 percent since May 2024. In April, the number of unemployed persons was 7.2 million, showing little change over the month. Among major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men was 4.0 percent, for adult women 3.7 percent, for teenagers 12.9 percent, for Whites 3.8 percent, for Blacks 6.3 percent, for Asians 3.0 percent, and for Hispanics 5.2 percent.These rates showed little or no […]

[ad_1] India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.983 billion to $688.129 billion during the week ended April 25, marking the eighth consecutive weekly increase, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. In the previous week, reserves had surged by $8.31 billion to $686.145 billion.The reserves remain below the all-time high of $704.885 billion recorded at the end of September 2024.During the reporting week, foreign currency assets (FCAs), the largest component of the reserves, increased by $2.168 billion to $580.663 billion. FCAs are reported in dollar terms and reflect the valuation impact of non-US currencies like the euro, pound, and yen held in the reserves.Gold reserves declined by $207 million to $84.365 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose by $21 million to $18.589 billion, while India’s reserve position with the IMF increased by […]