Business News

Subscribe to Business News feed Business News
The Economic Times: Breaking news, views, reviews, cricket from across India
Updated: 2 hours 27 min ago

Sudha Murty speaks to ET on RS nomination

March 8, 2024 - 2:28pm
Categories: Business News

MF SIP crosses ₹19,000 crore for first time

March 8, 2024 - 2:16pm
The SIP contribution in February has hit a new record high. The monthly contribution stood at Rs 19,186.58 crore in February, compared to Rs 18,838.33 crore in January.The SIP AUM surged an increase of 2.49% in February and stood at Rs 10.52 lakh crore against Rs 10.26 lakh crore in December. The number of SIP accounts stood at the highest ever 820.17 lakh in February, compared to 791.71 lakh in January The number of new SIPs registered in January has attained a new milestone. The number of new SIPs declined in February. Around 49.79 lakh new SIPs were registered in February against 51.84 lakh in January. Also Read | Equity mutual fund inflows increase by 23% in February to Rs 26,866 crore, smallcaps record declineThe average asset under management (AAUM) for mutual funds in February stood at Rs 54.52 lakh crore compared to Rs 52.89 lakh crore in January.Mutual Fund folios have reached an all-time high of 17,41,95,535 in February compared to 16,95,59,182 in January.The retail MF Folios that includes equity, hybrid, solution oriented schemes has also reached an all-time high at 13,94,91,744 in February. The retail AUM that includes equity, hybrid, solution oriented schemes stood at Rs 30.70 lakh crore for February with an average AUM of 30.72 lakh crore.Also Read | She the shakti! Top 5 women fund managers handling Rs 3.74 lakh crore“As we delve into the Feb 2024 data, we observe that there is a surge in SIP accounts, totalling 8.20 crores with 49.79 lakhs new SIP registrations. This underscores investors' unwavering commitment to disciplined wealth accumulation. The industry's net AUM has also reached Rs 54,54,214.13 crores in February 2024,” said Venkat Chalasani, Chief Executive, AMFI.“Mutual funds are subject to the vagaries of the markets, and it is the industry's virtue to guide and safeguard the investments in the best possible way to eventually help the investor. These trends not only showcase that investors are evolving to being financially savvy but also highlight collaborative efforts shaping a landscape where smart investment practices are valued. With widespread participation from retail investors nationwide, it's clear that the mutual fund industry is on a path of steady growth and lasting significance,” he added.
Categories: Business News

FTA ‘possible' before India polls: UK

March 8, 2024 - 1:28pm
A trade deal being negotiated with India is "possible" to be concluded before a general election in the country but Britain does not want to use that as a deadline, UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch has said.The minister in charge of signing off on the free trade agreement (FTA), now in its 14th round of negotiations, pointed to India's "protectionist economy" in comparison with the UK's liberalised regime as one of the factors behind the long-drawn discussions.Badenoch, who was speaking during a Global Trade conference at the think tank Chatham House on Thursday, stressed that she wanted to ensure a “commercially meaningful” pact as opposed to just a pre-election picture opportunity.“India is still very protectionist where we are very, very liberalised,” claimed Badenoch.“I am not interested in just taking a picture and moving on. It has to be something that is commercially meaningful. People need to be able to say ‘ah now I can do this', like we had with our Australia agreement or with Japan for example,” she said, referring to FTAs with the two major economies.On the timeline for getting to the finishing line with the talks with India, she added: “We can actually sign an agreement before the Indian election. I suspect that that is not necessarily going to be the case because I don't want to use any election as a deadline.“It is possible that that will be done but I am very resistant to deadlines being set on trade negotiations because it runs down the clock. It is very possible that we can sign but I am not using it as a deadline for the work that I am carrying out basically.”India and the UK have been negotiating an FTA since January 2022 to significantly enhance the GBP 36-billion bilateral trading partnership. The 13th round of talks concluded on December 15 last year, with both sides hopeful that the ongoing fourteenth round will end in an agreement.The UK wants India to significantly reduce tariffs on UK exports such as food, cars and whisky that can currently be as high as 150 per cent. India in turn is concerned over the fairness of rules applied to Indian workers temporarily transferred to the UK on business visas who have to pay national insurance, despite not being eligible for UK pensions or social security benefits.In her keynote address at the trade conference, Badenoch noted: “I have to strike the right balance between embracing the import of goods from developing countries to help them grow with the need to maintain the high standards on quality and safety which the British people rightly expect. We make choices.“Our free trade agreements are helping us make the right choices because they are all about diversification and resilience. That is what the Indo-Pacific tilt is about, but we need to make sure that the facts are out there.”With both India and the UK set for a general election this year, signing off on a trade agreement has taken on particular urgency before leaders on both sides get into campaign mode.
Categories: Business News

Fake images show Trump with Black supporters

March 8, 2024 - 12:05pm
Categories: Business News

Are banks closed this Saturday, March 9?

March 8, 2024 - 10:50am
Categories: Business News

US President Biden talks up India alliance

March 8, 2024 - 10:26am
The US is standing up against China's unfair economic practice, standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and revitalising its partnership with nations like India, US President Joe Biden has said. In his last State of the Union address before the November election, Biden said the US wants competition with China, but not conflict. Biden on Thursday told Americans that the country is in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st Century against Beijing. "We are standing up against China's unfair economic practice, standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait but revitalising our partnership with allies and the Pacific, India. Australia, Japan, South and Korea," he said. "For years, all I've heard from my Republican friends and so many others is that China's on the rise and America is falling behind. They've got it backwards. America is rising," he said. The US has the best economy in the world, Biden said in his third State of the Union Address to the Congress which was watched by millions of Americans Thursday night. "Since I've come to office, our GDP is up. And our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest point in over a decade," he said "I've made sure that the most advanced American technologies can't be used in China's weapons. Frankly, for all his tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do that," Biden said. "And we're in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st Century against China or anyone else for that matter," said the president in his speech.
Categories: Business News

Tata MF’s Meeta Shetty tells why consistent investment & financial independence are important for women

March 8, 2024 - 10:15am
MUMBAI - In a special interview with ETMarkets on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Meeta Shetty, a fund manager at Tata Mutual Fund, spoke about how her financial investment journey began. She also dwelled on why women need to be financially independent alongside being able to take care of their monetary requirements. Shetty has more than 16 years of industry experience and she manages assets worth more than Rs 12,400 crore at Tata MF across three strategies – Tata Digital India Fund, Tata India Pharma & Healthcare Fund, and Tata Focused Equity Fund. She has been overseeing Tata Digital India Fund and Tata India Pharma fund since November 2018. A CFA Chartered Holder from CFA Institute, US, Shetty joined Tata Asset Management in March 2017. She has worked with renowned brokerage firms such as Kotak Securities, HDFC Securities, among others in her previous endeavors. Edited excerpts:Q. How did your financial investment journey begin?Meeta Shetty: Despite being a part of the financial industry, I was making smaller investments in the equity markets and higher allocation towards different asset classes in the initial years.But like most investors, when I realised the magic of the power of compounding and how it can lead to meaningful returns over time, the equity allocation kept increasing and accounts for a large share in terms of asset allocation today. One key learning which I would like to share with investors is, start small so you can stay committed, as starting a SIP or any regular investment plan is not so difficult, but continuing it for a longer time can be challenging at times. Hence, it’s better to start small initially but be consistent. This consistency will make a huge difference in the long run. Secondly, with the information flow that we all have today via multiple social media platforms, many times also from our circle of people, it can get us anxious about our investment plans, but the key is to stick to a structured investment plan to achieve our financial goals.Q. Given the need and emergence of financial independence, what will be your investment and savings advice to all the women on the eve of Women's Day?Meeta Shetty: Women have always been better at managing finances, even as homemakers. For decades, we have been managing household finances with an extremely conservative and logical approach.As women's workforce participation in the mainstream is on the rise, it is not surprising to see women breaking the stereotypes by getting into male-dominated industries, taking up the CXO level roles and thriving in this insanely competitive world. All of this comes with an enormous amount of effort, struggles and a never-ending act of balancing between our responsibilities towards family and work. But the brighter side is, the freedom to make choices that are not constrained by economic limitations.While we are ensuring we are not dependent on our male counterparts for financial support, we still don’t see many women making investment decisions themselves. Though it’s gradually changing, we have a long way to go.Women need to understand that while we are increasingly becoming independent for our financial requirements, our financial independence is also very important. Asset allocation plays a vital role in our financial journey as our risk appetite and monetary needs keep changing with time. The right portfolio diversification will also help reduce volatility and the likelihood of achieving more stable returns over time.The basic boxes to be ticked before one begins investing are (1) to get an understanding of the various financial products that are available, (2) to have a defined and realistic financial goal and lastly, and (3) to ensure financial discipline. It is better to start small and incrementally build on it, as it requires a lot of patience at times, especially when one is investing in equities. The most important thing is that one must have a long-term investment horizon as the power of compounding can create a far more meaningful return vs the small quick gains.Q. What’s your investment mantra and how well has it worked for you and your clients?Meeta Shetty: The underlying philosophy is to follow GARP (growth at a reasonable price) wherein I try to capture both growth as well as the potential to re-rate. I try to divide the portfolio into 2 key buckets, the compounder, and the alpha bucket. The ideal split is to have equal weight in both buckets and rebalance the portfolio when there is a skew due to stock performances or any changes in the view of our holdings. The alpha bucket does the heavy weightlifting in terms of delivering returns and the compounder bucket gives stability to the portfolio in volatile times.Q. What’s your overall outlook for equities in 2024? Are we likely to be among the top outperformers this year too?Meeta Shetty: The Indian markets have been one of the best-performing markets globally given the robust economic outlook, infrastructure-led push by the government, and strong credit growth. As the private capex starts picking up and consumption also inches higher, we expect the markets to continue to deliver returns over the medium to long term. The FII holding in the Indian market is at a decadal low and as and when the flows turn, it should further help the momentum. The Indian market valuations versus emerging markets are at a 90% premium currently, and is largely due to the single-digit valuation of the China market. The long-term average for the premium is 65%, but given the robust macro indicators, we believe the Indian market can trade at higher than its long-term average.We don’t rule out near consolidation or short blips of correction in the broader markets -term but remain very constructive from a medium to long-term basis.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
Categories: Business News

Pages

  Udhyog Mitra, Bihar   Trade Mark Registration   Bihar : Facts & Views   Trade Fair  


  Invest Bihar