INDIA
Surge in services demand helps steady India’s economy in August
The indicators showed sentiment in the services sector -- which accounts for over 50% of the $3.2 trillion economy -- was upbeat, tax revenue were robust and demand for loans high. A rising jobless rate was the main drag during the month.
BUSINESS
Crypto traders flee Indian exchanges to Binance to escape tax
Downloads of Binance’s app in India jumped to 429,000 in August, the highest this year and almost triple that of runner-up CoinDCX, data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower show. Only Binance among the top exchanges achieved higher downloads in India compared with July.
BUSINESS
‘They should do 100’: Wall Street debates the Fed’s next rate move
The odds for a 100 basis point rate hike jumped more than 20% after the consumer price index showed an increase from July. With hopes of a “Fed pivot” firmly dashed, the S&P 500 Index tumbled as much as 3.2%.
BUSINESS
Inflation surprise puts onus on Fed to hit brakes even harder
What started as a pandemic-driven supply shock has morphed into widespread inflation rooted just as much in resilient demand, underscored by unexpectedly high numbers that dashed hopes price gains were ebbing.
BUSINESS
Soft landing for India means fast, if not fastest, growth
Economists see Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and his monetary policy panel colleagues to begin dialing down the pace of interest-rate hikes this month after data showed a weaker-than-expected recovery last quarter.
BUSINESS
European gas slumps as bloc prepares details for intervention
Benchmark gas futures declined as much as 9.3% to the lowest in a month. Still, prices remain almost eight times higher than normal for the time of year. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expects they will halve from current levels sometime in the first quarter of 2023.
BUSINESS
Goldman plans to cut several hundred jobs starting this month
Like its Wall Street competitors, Goldman has been hurt by the dramatic slowdown in investment banking as the volatility that’s spurred gains for trading also weighed on capital markets and asset management.
BUSINESS
The Lipstick Index returns, and smells better than ever
WORLD
Iron Lady? UK should just hope Liz Truss isn’t a laughing stock
In truth, history shows that most often, instead of a Lincoln, Roosevelt, Churchill, Thatcher, De Gaulle or Nehru stepping up to the plate when disaster strikes, nations are obliged to meet the dark hour with inadequate, if not outright incompetent leaders.
POWER
Government plans Rs 20,000-crore cash jab into oil firms singed by soaring costs
The oil ministry has sought a compensation of 280 billion rupees, but the finance ministry is agreeing to only about a 200 billion cash payout, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private.
BUSINESS
Disney India says planning series on ‘Mahabharata’
A retelling of the “Mahabharata” will be released in 2024, Gaurav Banerjee, head of content at Disney+ Hotstar -- Disney’s Indian digital platform -- said at the media giant’s three-day D23 extravaganza event at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.
BUSINESS
Inventor behind Amazon’s alexa raises funds for AI startup
William Tunstall-Pedoe said his Cambridge- and London-based company, Unlikely AI, needed the money to start hiring developers of a new type of artificial-intelligence software.
BUSINESS
How a Pakistani startup folded a year after raising $85 million
The e-commerce company collapsed less than a week after failing to complete a funding round, underscoring how severely the global rout in tech valuations is affecting fragile startups in emerging markets.
BUSINESS
Tesla supplier’s rival Gauges demand for $2 billion Hong Kong IPO
The Jiangsu-based lithium battery maker, a competitor for bellwethers Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. and BYD Co., will assess demand for its shares from Sept. 12 to Sept. 22, according to terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg.
BUSINESS
AstraZeneca looks to more than double new cancer drugs by 2030
The UK drugmaker has added seven new cancer medicines since 2014, after Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot made a risky bet on an oncology pipeline to revive growth and ward off a hostile takeover from Pfizer Inc.
BUSINESS
Bailout euphoria signals peak of pessimism in emerging markets
Over the past two weeks, the International Monetary Fund has been sewing up or inching toward loan agreements with some of the most vulnerable nations -- namely Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Egypt and Chile -- after months of negotiations.
BUSINESS
Return of pricing power to keep retail prices elevated
That’s because the consumer price index, currently hovering above the central bank’s 2%-6% target band, has shown little correlation with the wholesale measure in the past decade.
ECONOMY
Govt considers new coal imports as energy supply concern grows
Stockpiles of the fossil fuel at power plants have fallen about 11% since mid-August, meaning utilities have an average of 10 days supply, well below required levels of more than three weeks.
BUSINESS
Tata Group in talks to join club of iPhone makers
The discussions with Wistron Corp. are aimed at making Tata a force in technology manufacturing, and the Indian salt-to-software conglomerate wants to tap the Taiwanese company’s expertise in product development, supply chain and assembly, people with knowledge of the matter said.
BUSINESS
Russia’s exclusion may pave way for India into global bond index
Morgan Stanley expects an announcement that India will be included in JPMorgan & Chase Co.’s emerging markets bond index as early as mid-September with the actual entry in the third quarter next year.
BUSINESS
Nomura sees bigger Fed rate hikes in September, November
The Fed is seen to raise the benchmark rate by 75 basis points this month and a half-point at the November meeting, according to a report released Friday by economists led by Aichi Amemiya. That’s an increase of 25 basis points for each of their previous forecasts for those decisions.
BUSINESS
Charles becomes king as the face of a nation changes
Charles, the eldest of Elizabeth’s four children, will be formally proclaimed king in a ceremony dating back hundreds of years. At 73, he is the oldest person to accede to the throne in British history.
BUSINESS
Top rice exporter India curbs sales amid global inflation
The South Asian country prohibited exports of broken rice and imposed a 20% levy on shipments of unmilled and husked brown varieties, according to statements from the government late Thursday. Semi-milled and wholly-milled rice, except parboiled and basmati varieties, will also have a similar duty.
ENVIRONMENT
Australia passes first major climate action reform since 2011
Australia has long been seen as a laggard on the international stage when it came to climate action, with large fossil fuel exports offset by the bare minimum of emission cuts.
