ECONOMY & MARKETS

A key indicator of US inflation cooled in June to the lowest annual rate in over two years, although this remains above the central bank's target, according to government data released Friday.

A stronger-than-expected U.S. GDP report and robust durable goods sales shook off fears of an impending recession, aiding the positive sentiment about corporate earnings.

The U.S. housing market is stabilizing in 2023 after rapid price increases in the post-pandemic years, but the demand for homes still significantly exceeds the supply.

Currently, the Indian economy sits in the fifth position in the world, behind the U.S., China, Japan and Germany.

As one of the world's fastest-growing economies, India offers a trainable and low-cost workforce, a wide array of consumers, and impressive receptiveness to trade and investment in the South Asian neighborhood.

Western nations fear an economic collapse in Tunisia could trigger even greater migrant flows to Europe and have offered financial assistance.

"This year, we are experiencing more than usual rainfall, probably due to global warming... Heavy rains mixed with flash flooding will further delay planting, resulting in lower-than-normal yields. It can threaten food security, not only in the country but globally also," said Mahesh Salgaokar, an independent agricultural consultant.

Australia and New Zealand broke Women's World Cup records in the opening matches, even with a fatal shooting in Auckland prior to the start. This Women's World Cup has potential positive economic impacts in Australia and New Zealand.

The chances for another hike have been rising thanks to a robust labor market, something the Fed monitors closely in determining the direction of the nation's monetary policy.

Energy ministers from the group of 20 nations meeting in India Saturday failed to agree on a roadmap to phase down the use of fossil fuels in the global energy mix.

"A sherpa, in a way guides or shepherds the process of planning, negotiation and implementation of the agenda for a particular member country," a T20 secretariat research coordinator for Think20 said. "Their work begins way ahead of the summit as they organize the agenda and look for political consensus at the highest levels."

There are so many potential uses for AI in the BPO industry such as enhancing the workflow and eliminating repetitive tasks among BPO workers. Will the benefits outweigh fears regarding potential human job losses?

"Implementing an INR-based international trade settlement mechanism can enhance India's trade with dollar-shortage countries, stabilize the INR against the USD and promote its acceptance as a regional/global currency," Kumar told IBT.

The U.S. ranked at 83 with an 11.23% tax-to-GDP ratio, even though the country has one of the highest GDPs per capita.

The labor market's resilience supports expectations for a hawkish Fed, meaning Wall Street is in for higher interest rates for extended periods.

South Africa, which has experienced crippling electricity outages in recent months, will "survive" this winter season thanks to a huge improvement in generation, a cabinet minister said on Saturday.

"Currencies will remain a national issue for a long time to come," India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said amid speculations of Russia, China and other BRICS nations planning an alternative to dollar.

Following two days of trying to regain access to its system, the Port of Nagoya has finally resumed operations. The port suffered a ransomware attack by LockBit 3.0, the same Russia-linked hacking group that claimed to have victimized TSCM late last month.

As President Joe Biden embarks on a trip to South Carolina to tout his economic plan, it looks like he intends to run on his so-called "Bidenomics" platform.

Turkey's annual inflation rate slowed to 38.2 percent in June, official data showed Wednesday, although economists warned that this may be a low point for the year.

The average money spent on healthcare per person was reported to be $6,125 last year, less than half of what the U.S. spends per person annually.

Owing to high-interest rates and the robust U.S. dollar, which is making the bonds less profitable, global demand for Treasuries went down 6% over the past year.

The U.S. ranks 17th on the list in terms of share of nuclear power in the electricity mix, even as it produced more than 30% of the global nuclear electricity last year.

The top 15 countries account for over 90% of the world's total nuclear power production.

In a possible prelude to the 2024 Presidential election, President Joe Biden delivered his economic plan, as he laid out his case for a second term in the White House.

The average foreign exchange reserves in 122 countries in 2022 were $106.09 billion.

According to the 2022 index, countries are flourishing with innovation in different sectors despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic slowdown.

As countries across the world continue to explore the metal, identified lithium resources have increased gradually over the years, totaling about 98 million tons.

The United States produced about 20.21 million barrels of oil on average per day in 2022.