WORLD
China’s economic activity at slowest since 2020 as Covid spreads
The official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 47 this month from November’s 48, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday.
TRENDS
Here’s the secret to truly packing light
If you pack for every eventuality, in a sense you’re signaling you don’t trust where you’re going. But depending on other people, meeting them and asking for help is the whole point of traveling.
WORLD
Donald Trump’s tax returns give first glimpse at data he fought to hide
The returns, which include his personal and business filings from 2015 to 2020, are the first complete look into Trump’s tax records for the years he was running for office and in the White House.
BUSINESS
Ten charts that show world economy’s turbulent course over 2022
The cost of living soared all over the world in 2022. Pandemic price pressures, dismissed as transitory, turned out to be enduring with Russia’s war in Ukraine causing a fresh spike in food and energy costs.
WORLD
China faces deluge of Covid deaths before the Lunar New Year
China suddenly ended its Covid Zero policy about a month ago, abandoning the strict testing and lockdown measures embraced by the world’s second-largest economy since the start of the pandemic almost three years ago.
ECONOMY
India exploring options for banks hit by EU oversight rule
The RBI and European Securities and Markets Authority are clashing over ESMA’s demand to join the RBI in overseeing Indian transactions
MARKETS
Nasdaq back from brink of worst December ever as Fed angst dims
The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 2.6 percent on Thursday, recovering from a selloff that pushed the index down 11 percent for the month
BUSINESS
Brightcom now among worst this year after 2,500% rise in 2021
The ad-tech firm’s stock has declined more than 70% in 2022, making it the worst performer on S&P BSE 500 Index, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.
BUSINESS
Gautam Adani says India will add $1 trillion to GDP every 12-18 months
“This century belongs to India,” Adani said during an interview with local news channel India Today late Wednesday. The first-generation entrepreneur also sees India becoming a green hydrogen exporter, adding that a government production-linked incentive plan makes the business viable and attractive.
BUSINESS
India’s food subsidy rejig is politically deft, Nomura says
The withdrawal of the free food plan was always going to be politically tricky, but the simultaneous reorientation of the food public distribution system makes it an easier political sell, Nomura economists Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi wrote in a report to clients Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Indian fintechs face a tough 2023 as investments cool, Bain says
Investors into the country’s fintech space that has drawn heavyweights from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp., in the past few years, are getting more diligent as global financial conditions tighten. That has intensified the competition for capital, Pozhath said.
BUSINESS
Five scenarios that threaten more strife for global markets
While optimists are betting on central banks pivoting to interest rate cuts, along with China fully emerging from its Covid isolation and conflict in Europe abating, others are on the lookout for risks that may throw markets back into turmoil.
BUSINESS
Bangladesh gets first metro rail to ease Dhaka traffic
A section of the 20-kilometer (12.427 miles) urban rail project, known as Line 6, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Construction boom sets up India as global steel saviour
Poised to overtake China as the world’s most populous country next year, India is in the midst of a building boom. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to modernize roads, rail networks and ports in attempt to vie with China as a manufacturing hub.
BUSINESS
China’s economy is showing increasing strain from the Covid Tsunami
Bloomberg’s aggregate index of eight early indicators showed a contraction in activity in December from an already weak pace in November and the outlook is grim for the new year.
BUSINESS
India beats global markets: What propelled the rally this year
The BSE Sensex Index is up 3 percent so far in 2022, the biggest gain in the world after measures in Singapore and Indonesia. A solid run of earnings buoyed key benchmarks to record levels, making the market larger than the UK
BUSINESS
Excessive RBI hikes a risk to growth, jobs: Jayanth Varma
“What I am worried about is sub-par growth after two lost years,” Jayanth Rama Varma, a member of the Reserve Bank of India’s rate panel, said in an email interview, referring to the time lost to the pandemic.
ECONOMY
China’s economy shows increasing strain from the Covid tsunami
Although there’s no reliable data on the extent of the spread of the virus or the number of sick and dead now, it had reached every province before the end of extensive and regular testing
LUXURY-LIFESTYLE
Raffles London and 12 more exciting European hotels opening in 2023
Modern glamour defined by Bulgari in Rome. An Austrian castle on a lake. An architectural masterpiece that once was Britain’s War Office - the most exciting European hotels, arranged by expected launch date in 2023.
BUSINESS
Elon Musk warns against margin debt on risk of market ‘mass panic’
“I would really advise people not to have margin debt in a volatile stock market and you know, from a cash standpoint, keep powder dry,” Musk said in the All-In podcast released Friday.
BUSINESS
The biggest risk to India's growth story is not the coming recession
India’s $3.18 trillion economy expanded 6.3% from a year ago in the quarter to September, down from 13.5% in the previous three months. The deceleration comes amid fears of slowing global economic growth due to restrictive monetary policy to curb inflation.
BUSINESS
Centre may spend less on fertilizer subsidy to ease fiscal burden
The lower fertilizer allocation will help with India’s goal of cutting its budget deficit. Food and energy costs have jumped after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The government’s spending on food, fertilizer and fuel is set to exceed the budget estimate by almost 70% this year.
BUSINESS
Elon Musk’s frequent Twitter polls are at risk of bot manipulation
With less than $100, one can buy tens of thousands of votes for Twitter polls using bot-for-hire manipulation services, according to the nonprofit digital rights group Accountable Tech.
BUSINESS
Top banks vie for no.1 bond spot as credit demand surges
Indian businesses are hungry for credit, despite rising interest rates, as they borrow to cover higher operational costs and for more investments. Corporate bond sales also got a boost this month from record issuance of riskier debt by banks to buffer their capital and allow more lending.
