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☆ India's services growth at 6-month high on robust demand - PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Anant Chandak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Rupak De ChowdhuriBENGALURU, Jan 4 (Reuters) - India's services industry saw activity increase at the fastest pace in six months during the final month of 2022 amid robust demand, fuelling business optimism despite high costs, a private-sector survey showed. The S&P Global India services purchasing managers' index (PMI) (INPMIS=ECI) rose to 58.5 in December from 56.4 in the previous month, confounding expectation in a Reuters poll for a fall to 55.5. The index was above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for the 17th straight month - the longest stretch of growth since June 2013. Hiring hit a five-month low, albeit in expansionary territory, even though the new business sub-index rose to a four-month high due to strong demand. Thanks to the growth in services as well as in manufacturing, the composite index rose to 59.4 in December, the highest since January 2012, from 56.7 in November.

☆ Asia's 2 richest men have multiplied their fortunes since 2020, but they're known to spend them very differently. Here's how the tycoons' wealth, businesses, and properties stack up.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani are both central figures in the rapid growth of India's industries. But it's in the last three years that the pair has seen its fortunes roar to heights unprecedented in Asia. Ambani is currently the world's ninth-richest person, with a net worth of $85 billion as of December 27, per the index. He's still seen a great leap in wealth since 2020, when he was worth around $32 billion. Representatives for Ambani and Adani did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Another Putin critic died after falling out of a window
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A second Vladimir Putin critic has died after falling from a hotel window. Antov was a known critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the BBC reported. Antov is the second Putin critic to die after falling from a window. In September, Russian energy oligarch Ravil Maganov, 67, died after falling from a hospital window, Insider reported at the time. The BBC reported Odisha police Superintendent Vivekananda Sharma said Budanov died of a stroke.

☆ Indians face up to 3-year wait times for U.S. tourist visas
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Sakshi Venkatraman | Sakshi Venkatraman Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Other consulates are only taking appointments for emergency tourist visas, which experts suspect have a shorter backlog of their own. NBC News reached out to the State Department and has not received a response. “The Department of State is successfully lowering visa interview wait times worldwide,” the statement said. The State Department cites staffing issues which it is trying to remedy, but Gelatt says it won't be a quick process. “The State Department says that they’re doubling their hiring and they’re training up staff,” Gelatt said.

☆ Buzzy clothing brand Something Navy owed an Indian supplier $364,000 — and didn't pay the full balance until we started reporting on it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Katie Warren | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It only paid one supplier in full right after Insider started reporting a story about delayed payments. According to Warren's correspondence with the supplier, Something Navy paid the remaining $20,000 it owed on Tuesday, just days before Insider's story was published. Murarka finally received the payment in full around the same time the other supplier received his payment, Insider reported. Former Something Navy told Insider that they've been caught in a flood of emails since the spring from suppliers asking about late payments. A Something Navy representative claimed that all outstanding payments referenced in Insider's story were made before Insider provided the company with fact-checks last week.

☆ Arielle Charnas' company, Something Navy, is floundering amid dwindling sales, an employee exodus, and furious suppliers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Katie Warren | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +36 min

From the outside, it doesn't look as if Charnas' company is in trouble. Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for Beach MagazineSeveral former employees told Insider they cut ties with Something Navy because they saw signs the company was struggling. Several current and former Something Navy employees told Insider they'd been inundated with emails since the spring from suppliers, freelancers, and models asking where their money was. In one email viewed by Insider, Scanlan told a supplier that cash was tight but promised payment was on the way. The current Something Navy employee said that based on data she'd seen, the retail locations most likely don't turn a profit.

☆ World Bank sees India's growth at 6.9% this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/FilesNEW DELHI, Dec 6 (Reuters) - India's economy is expected to grow 6.9% in the current fiscal year, the World Bank said on Tuesday, adding that it is well positioned to tackle global headwinds. The World Bank raised its forecast for India's growth to 6.9% for the current fiscal year from 6.5% earlier. However, the World Bank is confident that the global slowdown has a much lower impact on India, compared to other emerging economies. "We have no concerns about India's debt sustainability at this stage," World Bank economist Dhruv Sharma said, adding that public debt had declined. The report sees average retail inflation at 7.1% this year and warns that the fall in commodity prices could dampen inflationary pressures.

☆ Arun Majumdar's mom cooked over a coal stove on the floor, and now he's the first leader of Stanford's new climate school — here is his story
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Building a successful climate school that both educates people and scales up technological solutions in its accelerator arm requires thinking beyond the bubble of Silicon Valley. Majumdar's understanding of the importance of a global perspective for the climate school is also personally informed. He was also a professor, did research, and worked at Google for a stint before eventually getting the opportunity to lead the launch of the Stanford climate school. The lessons he learned at ARPA-E are helping form the foundation for the accelerator arm at the Stanford climate school. Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Photo courtesy Cat Clifford, CNBCSo far, the sustainability school at Stanford seems to be popular with students.

☆ EXCLUSIVE India mills renegotiate, default on sugar export deals to catch rising prices -dealers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Rajendra Jadhav | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The renegotiations and defaults by mills in India, the world's second biggest sugar exporter, could support global prices . Mills started selling sugar to trade houses in late August and signed deals to supply around 2 million tonnes of sugar for export even before New Delhi approved an export quota of 6 million tonnes earlier this month. They are threatening to default unless buyers are ready to renegotiate at higher prices," said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house. The defaults by mills in Maharashtra are forcing trade houses to make purchases from mills in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, dealers said. Indian mills have so far signed contracts to export 4 million tonnes of sugar during November to February, they said.

☆ Indian bank stocks' record rally to continue as balance sheets strengthen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A man checks his mobile phones in front of State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Kolkata, India, February 9, 2018. This comes at a time when credit growth is at a multi-year high and bad loans across lenders have reduced significantly. The brokerage said private and state-owned lenders that remained better placed to grow include ICICI Bank Ltd (ICBK.NS), HDFC Bank Ltd (HDBK.NS), Axis Bank Ltd (AXBK.NS), IndusInd Bank Ltd (INBK.NS), Bank of Baroda Ltd (BOB.NS) and State Bank of India (SBI) (SBI.NS). Credit growth is at a multi-year high, with an uptick both in retail and corporate loans. "One key concern going ahead remains how the rising interest rate scenario will impact credit growth."

☆ India's IFB Industries posts 2% drop in profit as costs climb
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Oct 28 (Reuters) - India's IFB Industries Ltd (IFBI.NS) posted a 2% fall in its second-quarter profit on Friday, as expenses soared and took the shine off higher sales of its home appliances. Consumer goods makers globally have seen their bottomline take a knock from higher commodity prices, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war leading to a rise in input costs. For Kolkata, West Bengal-based IFB, which makes several home appliances including washing machines and air conditioners, total expenses rose 13.3% to 10.85 billion rupees. Net profit fell to 241.2 million rupees ($2.93 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, from 245.9 million rupees a year ago. However, analysts have said the recent fall in commodity prices would start helping companies from the December quarter onwards.

☆ Cyclone lashes Bangladesh killing nine, flooding low-lying areas
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DHAKA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A cyclone roared into the Bangladesh coast on Tuesday, killing at least 9 people, destroying houses, uprooting trees and disrupting road, power and communication links, officials said. Mass evacuations before Cyclone Sitrang made landfall on the west coast helped save lives but the full extent of the casualties and damage would only be known after communications are restored, they said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPower and telephone links have been largely cut and coastal areas plunged into darkness, officials said. Environmentalists warn that climate change could lead to more disasters, especially in places like densely populated Bangladesh. "When extreme weather events like Cyclone Sitrang strike, communities are left devastated.

Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty ImagesThe recommendation to free the men was made by an advisory panel appointed by the Gujarat government, led by Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Some lawmakers and activists have petitioned the Supreme Court for the men to be rearrested. Some saw the assailants’ release as a deliberate pitch for votes from BJP supporters ahead of the Gujarat state election. The couple want the decision reversed, as do those who have filed petitions with the Supreme Court. “We strongly believe that what happened with Bilkis was wrong and the convicts should be sent back to jail,” he said.

☆ Indian billionaire Gautam Adani was a college dropout. Now he may be too big to fail
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate had just launched a hostile bid to take over an influential broadcaster in the capital. Rupak De Chowdhuri/ReutersMuch of his fortune is tied up in the sprawling Adani Group, which he founded over 30 years ago. Most of the companies in the Adani empire are held closely by the billionaire, his family and associated firms, including nearly 75% stakes in AEL, Adani Power, and Adani Transmissions. Yet, the Adani Group has continued to raise billions from Indian and foreign banks. CreditSights, a research firm owned by Fitch Group, in August published a report about Adani Group titled “Deeply Overleveraged” in which it expressed strong concerns.

☆ India cenbank likely sells dollars as rupee plumbs record low - traders
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterAn attendant at a fuel station arranges Indian rupee notes in Kolkata, India, August 16, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De ChowdhuriMUMBAI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India likely sold dollars via state-run banks on Friday after the rupee extended losses to hit a record low, three traders told Reuters. The rupee was last trading at 81.0575 per U.S. dollar, compared with the day's low of 81.2250 and the previous session's close of 80.86. Two state-run bank traders also confirmed that the RBI sold dollars. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Nimesh Vora; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

read moreAnd Pakistan's central bank reserves of $8.6 billion are sufficient for just about a month of imports. However, the Bangladesh central bank's executive director, Serajul Islam, told Reuters, "No such decision has been taken yet," in reference to trade in local currencies with India. Last week, the Bangladesh central bank freed up banks to do transactions in Chinese yuan, so as to enable trade with China. "SBI's circular is very alarming, as they have said not to take exposure on Bangladesh exports," the exporter added. "Bangladesh is a major trading partner and if a premier bank like SBI does not take exposure, how will the trade grow?

☆ Mukesh Ambani prepares to hand Reliance Industries to his children
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-30 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New Delhi CNN Business —Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani has laid out plans to hand his sprawling business empire to his children, while insisting he has no intention of retiring any time soon. He launched Reliance Jio as a mobile network in 2016. They sell everything from smartphones to groceries through various eponymous brands, including Reliance Fresh, Reliance Digital and Reliance Trends. The company is also working with Google (GOOGL) to develop “ultra-affordable 5G smartphones for India,” Ambani said. When Ambani launched Jio, India had fewer than 350 million internet users.

☆ Rainwater is no longer safe to drink anywhere on Earth due to 'forever chemicals' linked to cancer, study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-13 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Rainwater around the world contains levels of "forever chemicals" unsafe to drink, a study suggests. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are linked to cancer and pervade homes and environments. That's because rainwater across the planet now contains hazardous chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Both substances' levels in rainwater "often greatly exceed" EPA limits, the study authors concluded. "Although in the industrial world we don't often drink rainwater [directly], many people around the world expect it to be safe to drink, and it supplies many of our drinking water sources," Cousins added.

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