
US job openings fell to 7.4 million last month as job market continues to cool
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Washington: Employers posted 7.4 million job vacancies last month, a sign that the American job market continues to cool.The Labour Department reported Tuesday that job openings in June were down from 7.7 million in May.Layoffs were little changed. But the number of people quitting their jobs - a sign of confidence in their prospects elsewhere - dropped last month.The US job market has lost momentum this year, partly because of the lingering effects of 11 interest rate hikes by the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023 and partly because President Donald Trump 's trade wars have created uncertainty that is paralysing managers making hiring decisions.On Friday, the Labour Department will put out unemployment and hiring numbers for July. They are expected to show that the unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% in July from 4.1% in June. Businesses, government agencies and nonprofits are expected to have added 115,000 jobs in July, down from 147,000 in June, according to a survey of economists by the data firm FactSet.The seemingly decent June hiring numbers were weaker than they appeared. Private payrolls rose just 74,000 in June, fewest since last October when hurricanes disrupted job sites. And state and local governments added nearly 64,000 education jobs in June - a total that economists suspect was inflated by seasonal quirks around the end of the school year.So far this year, the economy has been generating 130,000 jobs a month, down from 168,000 last year and an average 400,000 a month from 2021 through 2023 during the recovery from COVID-19 lockdowns.

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First Post
26 minutes ago
- First Post
How Trump's erratic behaviour strained most defining partnership of 21st century
US President Donald Trump announced on July 30, 2025, that a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods—along with additional penalties over India's continued engagement with Russia—would take effect from August 1, 2025. In a striking contradiction, he simultaneously claimed to have concluded a trade and energy deal with Pakistan—India's traditional adversary. While India has no objection to such bilateral engagements between sovereign nations, Trump went a step further by stating, 'Who knows, maybe they'll be selling oil to India some day!' This wasn't merely an offhand comment—it was a calculated provocation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India and Pakistan are archrivals, and the idea of such dependence is not only unrealistic but also strategically unacceptable. By making such statements, Trump is not merely playing geopolitical games—he is striking at the heart of India's national security sensitivities and damaging a relationship that both countries have spent decades nurturing into a consequential partnership for the 21st century. Trump has consistently hyphenated India–Pakistan relations, weakening India's position on cross-border terrorism by boosting Pakistan's strategic confidence through repeated endorsements and by portraying both countries as equals. These actions have granted Pakistan undue strategic legitimacy, disregarding decades of US policy that sought to engage India as an independent and trusted strategic partner. His claim—repeated over 29 times—that he personally brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan has been unequivocally denied by top Indian officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. By drawing false parallels and exaggerating his role, Trump has jeopardised India's core interests and eroded the trust carefully built by successive US administrations. A Diplomatic Liability Recently, India's Parliament witnessed a heated debate in which opposition leaders urged Prime Minister Modi to directly refute Donald Trump's repeated claims that he brokered the recent India–Pakistan ceasefire. But such directness is unlikely to yield results. Trump is not a leader who responds to logic or diplomacy. His erratic, impulsive, and reactive personality makes engagement unpredictable. Even if the Indian prime minister corrects him publicly, Trump may repeat the same claim in the evening—and again the next day. The problem lies in Washington, not New Delhi. This isn't a unique pattern. Trump turned against Elon Musk—a long-time supporter—after a minor disagreement, telling him to 'go back to South Africa' and threatening to revoke federal subsidies supporting Tesla and SpaceX. Notably, Musk was the largest individual donor to Trump's 2024 campaign, contributing between $250 million and $290 million to pro-Trump political action committees. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Despite this staggering support, Trump turned on him without hesitation—highlighting his transactional nature and readiness to discard even his most generous allies over personal slights. Similarly, Indian-American politician Vivek Ramaswamy had the foresight to distance himself from Trump early on—an act of pragmatism that likely spared him from similar treatment. Trump is not a conventional statesman. He governs through impulse-driven outbursts on Truth Social, his personal platform, bypassing standard diplomatic channels and norms. One cannot expect rational behaviour or consistency from someone so clearly erratic. Even when India's prime minister and foreign minister have privately countered his claims, Trump has continued repeating the same falsehoods, showing a complete disregard for diplomatic engagement. Undermining India's Core Sensitivities By equating India and Pakistan, Trump has granted Pakistan undeserved strategic legitimacy and confidence, despite its entrenched history of sponsoring terrorism against India. Recently, Pakistan's army chief, General Asim Munir, was hosted by Trump at a private luncheon at the White House—an extraordinary and rare gesture, especially considering that only a handful of Pakistani generals have ever received such treatment. Trump went on to lavish praise on Munir, calling him 'extremely influential in stopping the conflict from the Pakistan side' and crediting both Munir and Modi for preventing what he claimed could have escalated into a nuclear war. Adding to this, Centcom Commander General Michael Kurilla described Pakistan as 'a phenomenal partner in the counter-terrorism world,' blatantly ignoring its well-documented role in nurturing and exporting terrorist proxies. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This repeated validation—through White House meetings, public praise, and exaggerated claims of Pakistan's counter-terrorism role—undermines India's diplomatic efforts to isolate state-sponsored terrorism. Praising a country that has itself sponsored terrorism against India is not only absurd but also adds insult to injury. Instead of backing India's fight, Trump's gestures have offered moral and strategic encouragement to Pakistan's military and political leadership—eroding the very trust that should define India–US strategic ties. Deliberate Provocation and Strategic Damage Trump's recent suggestion that India might import oil from Pakistan is not only absurd—it appears to be a deliberate attempt to provoke and humiliate. While this may be part of a broader negotiation tactic aimed at pushing India into a trade deal, the damage inflicted on bilateral relations is severe. Trump has thrown the India–US relationship into a Cold War–like deep freeze, eroding trust and mutual respect that had taken decades to build. This shift is not the result of India's foreign policy. The problem lies squarely with Trump. Unlike his predecessors—who operated with a sense of dignity, stability, and strategic foresight—Trump has pursued a chaotic, transactional approach that alienates allies and undermines shared interests. In one of his recent statements, Trump said: STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I don't care if India is buying oil from Russia. I couldn't care less. Let them do whatever they want. They can take their dead economies down together for all I care.' Such a statement is not only undiplomatic—it reflects a complete disregard for the economic realities of global partnerships and disrespects a key strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific. Instead of reinforcing mutual interests, Trump has repeatedly chosen to antagonise, offend, and weaken the very relationship considered vital for regional balance and global stability and widely regarded as the defining partnership of the twenty-first century. Moreover, Trump's ignorance of India's crucial moderating role in Brics reveals his blindness to structural realities. India's presence in Brics has ensured the group remains a non-Western coalition rather than an anti-Western alliance. Without India, BRICS could have adopted an anti-dollar currency or an explicitly adversarial posture. But explaining such nuance to an impulsive and transactional US leadership seems futile. Trump is unable—or unwilling—to grasp the strategic logic of true partnerships. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Rebuilding Trust: A Long Road Ahead The trust deficit between India and the US has widened significantly. Even those in India who once firmly believed in the potential of the bilateral relationship now feel disillusioned. But India has weathered such storms before. After the 1998 nuclear tests, the United States imposed sanctions on India. Back in 1971, it had deployed the Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal in an attempt to intimidate India during the Bangladesh Liberation War. India didn't bow down then—and it won't now. India will adapt and find its path, just as it has done in the past. As India's leadership has repeatedly stated, every step will be taken to secure national interest. However, the damage inflicted by Trump's erratic and impulsive leadership means that restoring faith in the relationship will take years, if not decades. Moving forward, we can expect a greater degree of scepticism and a likely recalibration of India's foreign policy posture—possibly including greater resistance to US alignment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump's presidency has sown the seeds of growing anti-American sentiment in Indian strategic circles. His words and actions—especially repeated endorsements of Pakistan and disregard for India's strategic concerns—have not just weakened the India–US partnership; they have dented the very idea of trust in global diplomacy. As The Economic Times recently noted, doubts over US reliability are once again taking root in Indian foreign policy circles, and that's a serious blow to what was once considered the defining partnership of the twenty-first century. Imran Khurshid is a visiting research fellow at the International Centre for Peace Studies, New Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.


Economic Times
26 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Godrej Properties on track to meet or exceed Rs 32,500 cr pre-sales target for FY26: Pirojsha Godrej
Agencies Godrej Properties Godrej Properties is on track to meet or even exceed Rs 32,500 crore sales bookings target for this fiscal as housing demand continues to be strong, its executive Chairperson Pirojsha Godrej an interview with PTI, he noted that the exuberance seen in the housing market post-COVID has calmed down, but the demand condition is still pretty strong. In the first quarter of this fiscal, Godrej Properties Ltd reported an 18 per cent decline in its pre-sales or sales bookings to Rs 7,082 attributed the decline in pre-sales to high base effect and also a slight delay in launch of couple of he said, "We are very much on track to meet or exceed our booking value target for the current 2025-26 financial year".The company's launch pipeline for this fiscal is quite heavy, which will help in meeting the pre-sales target of Rs 32,500 crore easily, said Pirojsha. Asked about the overall current housing market scenario considering global uncertainties, he said, "I think definitely, the kind of very exuberant market that was there may be a year ago has definitely settled down a little bit. But this is exactly what we would expect to see.". In the first few years of upcycle, Pirojsha mentioned that there is always a huge pent-up demand and sharp price appreciations. "But I would say demand conditions still very strong, but not that kind of frothy looking demand that you see sometimes. So, I would say things have calmed down a little bit, but remain very, very positive," he observed. Many property consultants have reported a decline in the total housing sales across the top seven cities in the last two quarters. Pirojsha highlighted that the company's balance sheet is very strong, enabling it to make investments in land acquisition and development of projects for ensuring targeted growth of the overall business. During the last two financial years, Godrej Properties was the country's largest real estate firm in terms of sales bookings. The company is likely to retain its top rank for the third consecutive fiscal year if it achieves the sales bookings target of Rs 32,500 the 2024-25 fiscal year, the company's sales booking rose 31 per cent to a record Rs 29,444 crore from Rs 22,527 crore in the preceding the financial front, Godrej Properties recently reported a 15 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 598.40 crore for the first quarter of this fiscal as against Rs 518.8 crore in the year-ago income, however, fell to Rs 1,620.34 crore in the April-June period of 2025-26 fiscal against Rs 1,699.48 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding year. Godrej Properties' sales booking or pre-sales declined 18 per cent to Rs 7,082 crores during the April-June quarter from Rs 8,637 crore in the year-ago period. The collection of funds from customers against bookings rose 22 per cent to Rs 3,670 crore during the April-June Properties has a significant presence in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad where it is developing group housing projects. The company is doing residential plotted development projects in many tier II cities, like Indore and Panipat. The Mumbai-based firm posted a net profit of Rs 1,389.23 crore on a total income of Rs 6,967.05 crore during the last financial year.


Time of India
42 minutes ago
- Time of India
Godrej Properties on track to meet or exceed Rs 32,500 cr pre-sales target for FY26: Pirojsha Godrej
Godrej Properties is on track to meet or even exceed Rs 32,500 crore sales bookings target for this fiscal as housing demand continues to be strong, its executive Chairperson Pirojsha Godrej said. In an interview with PTI, he noted that the exuberance seen in the housing market post-COVID has calmed down, but the demand condition is still pretty strong. In the first quarter of this fiscal, Godrej Properties Ltd reported an 18 per cent decline in its pre-sales or sales bookings to Rs 7,082 crore. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Artificial Intelligence Digital Marketing CXO MBA Management Degree Public Policy Data Science Healthcare Operations Management Data Science Cybersecurity Finance MCA Product Management Technology Data Analytics Design Thinking Others Leadership healthcare Project Management PGDM others Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details Pirojsha attributed the decline in pre-sales to high base effect and also a slight delay in launch of couple of projects. Nevertheless, he said, "We are very much on track to meet or exceed our booking value target for the current 2025-26 financial year". The company's launch pipeline for this fiscal is quite heavy, which will help in meeting the pre-sales target of Rs 32,500 crore easily, said Pirojsha. Live Events Asked about the overall current housing market scenario considering global uncertainties, he said, "I think definitely, the kind of very exuberant market that was there may be a year ago has definitely settled down a little bit. But this is exactly what we would expect to see.". In the first few years of upcycle, Pirojsha mentioned that there is always a huge pent-up demand and sharp price appreciations. "But I would say demand conditions still very strong, but not that kind of frothy looking demand that you see sometimes. So, I would say things have calmed down a little bit, but remain very, very positive," he observed. Many property consultants have reported a decline in the total housing sales across the top seven cities in the last two quarters. Pirojsha highlighted that the company's balance sheet is very strong, enabling it to make investments in land acquisition and development of projects for ensuring targeted growth of the overall business. During the last two financial years, Godrej Properties was the country's largest real estate firm in terms of sales bookings. The company is likely to retain its top rank for the third consecutive fiscal year if it achieves the sales bookings target of Rs 32,500 crore. During the 2024-25 fiscal year, the company's sales booking rose 31 per cent to a record Rs 29,444 crore from Rs 22,527 crore in the preceding year. On the financial front, Godrej Properties recently reported a 15 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 598.40 crore for the first quarter of this fiscal as against Rs 518.8 crore in the year-ago period. Total income, however, fell to Rs 1,620.34 crore in the April-June period of 2025-26 fiscal against Rs 1,699.48 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding year. Godrej Properties' sales booking or pre-sales declined 18 per cent to Rs 7,082 crores during the April-June quarter from Rs 8,637 crore in the year-ago period. The collection of funds from customers against bookings rose 22 per cent to Rs 3,670 crore during the April-June quarter. Godrje Properties has a significant presence in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad where it is developing group housing projects. The company is doing residential plotted development projects in many tier II cities, like Indore and Panipat. The Mumbai-based firm posted a net profit of Rs 1,389.23 crore on a total income of Rs 6,967.05 crore during the last financial year. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )