Asia

Factory business conditions fell to a three-month low in August while the services firms saw a slightly quicker business activity, according to a flash survey by HSBC Holdings Plc. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index dropped to 57.9 in August from 58.1 in July, while the services purchasing managers’ index rose to 60.4 from 60.3 in the previous month. As a result, the composite index fell to 60.5 from 60.7 in July, the lowest reading since May. The latest manufacturing PMI reading was nevertheless above the historical average of 54 and signalled a strong improvement in the health of the sector. “Manufacturing firms reported the first decline in outstanding business volumes for the first time in eleven months, while service providers indicated another monthly ri...

Last week, Fitch Ratings downgraded Israel’s credit score from A+ to A. Fitch cited the continued war in Gaza and heightened geopolitical risks as key drivers. The agency also kept Israel’s outlook as “negative”, meaning a further downgrade is possible. After Hamas’s deadly attack on October 7, Israel’s stock market and currency nosedived. Both have since bounced back. But concerns about the country’s economy persist. Earlier this year, Moody’s and S&P also cut their credit ratings for Israel. So far, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and decimated the economy in the besieged Palestinian enclave. There are signs of a blowback in Israel, too, where consumption, trade and investment have all been curtailed. Separately, Fitch wa...

New Delhi, Aug 22: The Indian economy experienced a notable upswing across various economic indicators in July 2024, signalling strong and resilient business activities with both the manufacturing and services sectors posting a robust performance, according to the Finance Ministry’s monthly review released on Thursday. “The month saw impressive milestones being reached, substantial growth in GST collections, and a significant rise in e-way bill generation, which points to an overall increase in economic activity. The stock market indices also reached record highs in July,” the review states. On balance, India’s economic momentum remains intact. Despite a somewhat erratic monsoon, reservoirs have been replenished. Manufacturing and services sectors are expanding, going by the Pu...

On Wednesday, the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX announced the cancellation of all open orders within its platform. The company emphasized that this is another step in its ongoing efforts to address the fallout from a massive $230 million hack that took place in July. The move comes as WazirX attempts to resolve issues associated with its Indian Rupee (INR) and cryptocurrency balances on the platform. WazirX issued a brief statement about this action on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to inform users. The exchange assured its customers that any INR and crypto assets blocked in these open orders would be added back to their respective balances. The move aims to protect the integrity of the platform and facilitate an equitable outcome for users follo...

WazirX, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in India has made some serious moves after the $230 million hack that transpired on the platform recently. As part of its continual operational recovery, the exchange declared that all open orders on the platform had been deactivated. The decision made will be applicable to address the problems that relate to INR and crypto balances that were impacted by the breach.WazirX has informed users that any INR or crypto assets tied up in these deactivated orders will be returned to their accounts. This action is crucial for rebuilding trust and stabilizing the platform. Investor Sentiment Shifts Reactions from investors have been mixed. Some are hopeful that these steps will lead to a quick fix, while others are frustrated and worried abo...

In the last 15 and a half years, the deposed dictator Sheikh Hasina government has blown the lantern of development with false economic data and statistics. The country has become Singapore, an emerging tiger of South Asia, role model of development in the world etc. Under the cover of these, millions of monies have been smuggled out of the country through looting and corruption. The entire economy has been pushed to the brink. Now the real facts are coming out and it has exposed the skeleton of the economy that silenced the development lanterns of the autocracy. Dictator Sheikh Hasina herself and her family members have stolen Tk 60 thousand crores Taka ($5 billion) from a Rooppur nuclear power plant, according to newspaper reports. More such corruption information may gradually come to ...

The government on Wednesday launched a portal where construction workers can register themselves to avail benefits of various schemes. The portal, named Building and other Construction Workers (BoCW) Management Information System (MIS), was launched during a review meeting chaired by labour secretary Sumita Dawra. The portal will function as the centralised data management system for compilation and analysis of the data obtained from BoCW welfare boards of the states.  The Labour secretary asked the states/UTs to register on the portal and update their details, including fund utilisation, on boarding of data on registration of the workers under various central and state schemes, pertaining to social security benefits, insurance, health benefits and housing schemes among othe...

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday launched a broadside on multinational e-commerce companies—naming Amazon—saying they indulged in predatory pricing to beat down domestic ‘mom and pop’ stores. He was speaking at the launch of a report, titled ‘Assessing the Net Impact of e-Commerce on Employment and Consumer Welfare in India’, published by the Pahle India Foundation, a Delhi-based policy research institute founded by former Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar. Goyal said e-commerce platforms should not be allowed to disrupt the 100 million of brick-and-mortars stores and small retailers in India.  "When Amazon says ‘we are going to invest a billion dollars in India’ and we all celebrate, we forget the underlying story that these billion dollars are not comin...