INDIA
RBI sees India’s current-account deficit staying within 3% of GDP
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has assured the markets several times that the current account gap will be sustainable and the central bank can finance it comfortably.
MARKETS
Four charts show rebound in Indian stocks may run out of steam
The rapid ascent has made some investors uncomfortable, and a number of indicators are flashing warning signs.
BUSINESS
Gautam Adani’s son to oversee newly acquired cement companies
Karan Adani, 35, is currently the chief executive officer of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd.
MARKETS
Dollar is only place to hide this year as risk assets crumble
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the US currency against 10 global peers, has surged more than 11% this year, set for a record annual performance in data compiled by Bloomberg starting in 2004
BUSINESS
Adobe’s Figma deal takes share price to lowest since April 2020
Turns out the price is still high even for some one-time Adobe bulls, while news it’s about shell out $20 billion to buy software company Figma Inc. is not helping either, with analysts opining that the deal seems “extremely expensive.”
BUSINESS
KKR, GIP pursue stake in Vodafone’s $13 billion towers arm
Swedish investment firm EQT AB has also been exploring a potential investment in Frankfurt-listed Vantage Towers AG, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Vodafone has invited suitors to participate in an auction process, according to the people.
BUSINESS
Germany working on historic takeover of three gas companies
State ownership of Uniper, VNG AG and Securing Energy for Europe GmbH, formerly Gazprom Germania GmbH, is the main solution under discussion, the people said.
BUSINESS
Figma’s record-breaking sale to Adobe delivers billions to top VCs
On Thursday, Adobe Inc. said it will buy Figma in a deal valued at about $20 billion — the largest exit of a VC-backed company in at least 20 years, according to PitchBook data. Field, 30, is now of legal drinking age in the US, and both he and Rimer stand to make a lot of money from the sale.
BUSINESS
Argentina to hike interest rates to 75% as inflation nears 100%
The central bank boosted its benchmark Leliq rate by 5.5 percentage points to 75%, according to an emailed statement. The move comes a day after data showed consumer prices jumped nearly 79% a year in August, the fastest pace in 30 years. It was the bank’s ninth rate hike this year.
BUSINESS
Adobe agrees to buy Figma in $20 billion software deal
Figma, which allows customers to collaborate on software as they build it, saw demand jump during the pandemic while more people worked remotely.
BUSINESS
How Japan won its ‘traffic war’
Fewer than 3,000 people died in Japanese crashes in 2021, compared to almost 43,000 in the United States. On a per capita basis, Japan had just 2.24 deaths per 100,000 residents, less than a fifth the US rate of 12.7 per 100,000.
BUSINESS
US 2- to 30-year curve reaches most inverted level this century
The two-year yield was as much as 35 basis points above the 30-year rate on Thursday, sending the inversion of the yield curve past the depths plumbed in August to levels last seen in 2000.
BUSINESS
Billionaire Adani’s unit eyes acquisitions to push food business
“We are looking at acquiring brands in staple foods and distribution companies to boost our consumer goods offering and reach,” Angshu Mallick, chief executive officer and managing director at Adani Wilmar, said in an interview Wednesday. “We are expecting to conclude a couple of acquisitions by March.”
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.
