Latest news with #post-Covid
Local Sweden
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Inside Sweden: Why was Swedish media silent on citizenship freeze?
The Local's reader Patrick Henry Gallen argued convincingly in Dagens Nyheter (and The Local) this week against the unjust way new citizenship rules are being applied. It was a small victory, but why did the Swedish media ignore the citizenship freeze? Advertisement The Local's reader Patrick Henry Gallen argued convincingly in Dagens Nyheter (and The Local) this week against the unjust way new citizenship rules are being applied. It was a small victory, but why did the Swedish media ignore the citizenship freeze? When The Local reported on May 14th that the Migration Agency had been unable to approve citizenship applications in standard cases for a month and a half, we thought it was a fairly big story. When a post-Covid surge in passport applications led to similar delays, after all, there was uproar in the Swedish media. We shared the story with Sweden's main newswire and one of the newspapers. "You are quite right, this needs to be brought to public attention," one reporter wrote back. "I'll look into this and tell you if I get a bite." Ten days later, it looks like she didn't. Her editors, like others before them, apparently didn't see the big deal. Perhaps they judged that Sweden is only bringing its citizenship regime in line with those of its Nordic neighbours, ignoring the point that it's not so much what is being done, but how. Advertisement So it was gratifying to see The Local's reader Patrick Henry Gallen's call for transitional arrangements, which also drew attention to the near two-month citizenship freeze, get published as an opinion piece in Dagens Nyheter (and The Local) this week. He argued that a grace period was needed to ensure that the increase in the residency requirement from five to eight years, and other new rules, did not affect people who had already applied. I hoped the article might generate at least some media reaction, but so far it hasn't and I wonder why. As a journalist with a niche audience, you risk looking a bit ridiculous railing against the national media for ignoring a story that, from your narrow perspective, is earth-shakingly important. But I do think that a near two-month freeze on citizenship approvals should at least have warranted a mention. It's not as if there's no coverage of citizenship reforms in the Swedish media. When the government this week launched a follow-on inquiry on how to strip Swedish citizenship from dual citizens who commit serious crimes, it was widely reported and debated. Is it because this will require a change to the constitution, or because of the populist appeal of stripping gang members of their passports? Or is it, perhaps, that people who already have Swedish citizenship have a greater news value than people who are only trying to get it? Advertisement What else have we been writing about? The first letters were sent out this week inviting citizenship applicants to book a 'personal appearance', which is the last stage in citizenship applications since new security arrangements were brought in on April 1st. A reader shared a copy of the letter they had received with us, so you can know what to expect. We also updated our article on how these new in-person ID checks will work. We interviewed Sasan Kazemian, the Iranian doctor who has been ordered to leave Sweden after a mix-up over his work permit application, despite passing all the language and medical knowledge exams required to practice in Sweden. It's the season of hemmafix or DIY in Sweden, when people in Sweden spend their weekends repairing, renovating and upgrading their houses and summer houses. We looked at why this is such a defining feature of life in Sweden and ran through the vocabulary you'll need to participate. It's the Stockholm Marathon this Saturday. We ran through everything you need to know about how to watch it and how traffic is being affected. More bad news on the employment front, with Volvo announcing its plans to lay off 3,000 people, mainly in Sweden. In this week's Politics in Sweden, I covered plans to realise the Sweden Democrats' plans for an idealised Sverigehus, a brawl in Brussels involving a Swedish MEP, and more besides. Enjoy the rest of the weekend! Richard
India.com
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Made in Rs 15 crore, this 2 hour 30 minute film earned over Rs 83 crore, Rajinikanth calls it...,, lead actors are...
Made in Rs 15 crore, this 2 hour 30 minute film earned over Rs 83 crore, Rajinikanth calls it...,, lead actors are... In today's cinematic world, where films release frequently, there are those extraordinary ones that leave an inedible mark on audiences hearts. Tourist Family is one such film- a heartwarming surprise you didn't know you needed and now you can't get enough of it. Filmmaker Abishan Jeevinth's debut release has been going strong at the box office since its release on May 1. This emotional family drama boasts an ensemble cast including M Sasikumar, Simran, Yogi Babu, Ramesh Tilak, Kamalesh, Mithun Jai Shankar, and Sreeja Ravi, and others. Made in Rs 15 crore, Tourist Family has minted over Rs 83 crore following 27 days of its theatrical run. This Tamil drama has been garnering positive reviews from both masses and critics for its gripping storyline and M Sasikumar's incredible acting. Not just fans, the film has been appreciated by stalwarts of the film industry. Recently, the legendary Rajinikanth took the time out to personally call up director Abishan Jeevinth to praise the film. Elated by the call, Abishan took to his Instagram stories and shared a photo of him, beaming after the conversation. He wrote, 'Superr, superr, superr. Extraordinary! When the Superstar himself reacts like this, you know it's special. Don't miss the Tamil film that's stealing everyone's heart worldwide!' Acclaimed director SS Rajamouli also took to his social media to shower praise on the film. He wrote, 'Saw a fantastic film, Tourist Family. Heartwarming and full of rib-tickling humour. And kept me engaged from beginning to end. Abishan Jeevinth does an excellent job of writing and directing. Thank you for the most memorable cinematic experience in recent years. Do not miss it.' About the plot, Abishan Jeevinth's film explores the journey of a Tamil family who are forced to leave their home in Sri Lanka amid the country's post-Covid economic crisis. However, the family then moves to India to lead a better life and eventually becomes Indian citizens. The film showcases their struggles, along with moments of humour, making it an overall captivating experience to watch. Tourist family will make you cry, laugh and feel immensely connected to its characters all at once. Following its successful theatrical release, makers have announced a fresh date for its OTT release. If you want to experience this emotional ride, you can catch the blockbuster film on JioHotstar from June 2.
Economic Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
At 7.4%, India's growth steps on race pedal in Q4
India's economy surpassed expectations with a 7.4% growth in the March quarter, boosting FY25 growth to 6.5%. Investment recovery and strong construction drove this expansion, despite concerns about tepid urban demand and global uncertainties. While marking a four-year low, India remains the fastest-growing economy, poised to become the fourth largest, with economists projecting continued growth around 6.5%. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Urban Demand an Issue India's economy expanded faster than expected at a four-quarter high of 7.4% in the March quarter from a year earlier, lifting overall growth in FY25 to 6.5%, data released on Friday showed. The high growth belied concerns about a softer print amid risks from higher US tariffs, as a recovery in investment and a stronger construction sector propped up the ET poll conducted earlier this month had pegged growth at a median 6.8% for the quarter and 6.3% for risks to growth include tepid urban consumer demand , muted private investment demand and a volatile global environment. India has held its own in a 'growth-scarce' post-Covid global environment amid rising uncertainties due to political conflicts and trade tensions, said chief economic advisor V Anantha Nageswaran To be sure, the full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.5% marks a four-year low. India's GDP had grown 9.2% in FY24. Despite the slowdown, India was the fastest-growing economy in the year and is on course to become the fourth largest later this year, overtaking nominal GDP growth rate was 9.8% in FY25 against a 12% rise in FY24, indicating a broadbased decline in inflation. The gross value added (GVA) grew 6.8% in the fourth quarter and 6.4% in economy had grown 6.4% in the December quarter and 8.4% in the year-earlier period. Gross fixed capital formation, an indicator of investment, rose 7.1% in FY25 and 9.4% in the March quarter. 'Real GDP was expected to fare strongly, partly due to a boost from net indirect taxes,' said Radhika Rao, senior economist at DBS Bank.'A catch-up in government spending, accompanied by betterperforming construction output, has lifted the headline figure,' Rao grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter, compared with 6.6% in Q3 and 0.9% a year ago. Manufacturing sector growth was 4.8% in the three months ended March, lower than 11.3% in Q4 of the previous year. Construction output surged 10.8% driven by high government capex. The 60 basis point gap between GDP and GVA in the fourth quarter was due to higher net indirect taxes, which rose 12.7%.However, private consumption growth eased to a five-quarter low of 6% while government final consumption expenditure contracted 1.8% in the fourth quarter after a gap of two quarters. 'The unevenness witnessed in the consumption recovery remains a critical monitorable going forward,' said Rajani Sinha, chief economist, CareEdge Ratings. 'The softness in urban demand continues to be an area of concern.'Economists said private sector participation in investment hanot yet taken off on a durable basis across sectors and, going ahead, India's FY26 GDP growth is estimated at 6-6.6%.US President's Donald Trump tariff threats also loom large. 'The reciprocal tariff is casting its shadow over global GDP and trade growth, which may force investors to postpone their investment decisions,' said Paras Jasrai, associate director, India Ratings and Research, adding that the investment outlook is still expects growth to stabilise around the 6.5% level at the start of FY26, supported by farm output, lower inflation and monetary easing, as well as continued public external uncertainties could have an impact through trade and investment channels. 'We believe that the Indian economy is poised to remain the fastest-growing major economy in FY26 (GDP growth expected at 6.3-6.5%) by leveraging its sound macroeconomic fundamentals, robust financial sector and commitment towards sustainable growth,' said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic adviser, State Bank of India
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
At 7.4%, India's growth steps on race pedal in Q4
India's economy surpassed expectations with a 7.4% growth in the March quarter, boosting FY25 growth to 6.5%. Investment recovery and strong construction drove this expansion, despite concerns about tepid urban demand and global uncertainties. While marking a four-year low, India remains the fastest-growing economy, poised to become the fourth largest, with economists projecting continued growth around 6.5%. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Urban Demand an Issue India's economy expanded faster than expected at a four-quarter high of 7.4% in the March quarter from a year earlier, lifting overall growth in FY25 to 6.5%, data released on Friday showed. The high growth belied concerns about a softer print amid risks from higher US tariffs, as a recovery in investment and a stronger construction sector propped up the ET poll conducted earlier this month had pegged growth at a median 6.8% for the quarter and 6.3% for risks to growth include tepid urban consumer demand , muted private investment demand and a volatile global environment. India has held its own in a 'growth-scarce' post-Covid global environment amid rising uncertainties due to political conflicts and trade tensions, said chief economic advisor V Anantha Nageswaran To be sure, the full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.5% marks a four-year low. India's GDP had grown 9.2% in FY24. Despite the slowdown, India was the fastest-growing economy in the year and is on course to become the fourth largest later this year, overtaking nominal GDP growth rate was 9.8% in FY25 against a 12% rise in FY24, indicating a broadbased decline in inflation. The gross value added (GVA) grew 6.8% in the fourth quarter and 6.4% in economy had grown 6.4% in the December quarter and 8.4% in the year-earlier period. Gross fixed capital formation, an indicator of investment, rose 7.1% in FY25 and 9.4% in the March quarter. 'Real GDP was expected to fare strongly, partly due to a boost from net indirect taxes,' said Radhika Rao, senior economist at DBS Bank.'A catch-up in government spending, accompanied by betterperforming construction output, has lifted the headline figure,' Rao grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter, compared with 6.6% in Q3 and 0.9% a year ago. Manufacturing sector growth was 4.8% in the three months ended March, lower than 11.3% in Q4 of the previous year. Construction output surged 10.8% driven by high government capex. The 60 basis point gap between GDP and GVA in the fourth quarter was due to higher net indirect taxes, which rose 12.7%.However, private consumption growth eased to a five-quarter low of 6% while government final consumption expenditure contracted 1.8% in the fourth quarter after a gap of two quarters. 'The unevenness witnessed in the consumption recovery remains a critical monitorable going forward,' said Rajani Sinha, chief economist, CareEdge Ratings. 'The softness in urban demand continues to be an area of concern.'Economists said private sector participation in investment hanot yet taken off on a durable basis across sectors and, going ahead, India's FY26 GDP growth is estimated at 6-6.6%.US President's Donald Trump tariff threats also loom large. 'The reciprocal tariff is casting its shadow over global GDP and trade growth, which may force investors to postpone their investment decisions,' said Paras Jasrai, associate director, India Ratings and Research, adding that the investment outlook is still expects growth to stabilise around the 6.5% level at the start of FY26, supported by farm output, lower inflation and monetary easing, as well as continued public external uncertainties could have an impact through trade and investment channels. 'We believe that the Indian economy is poised to remain the fastest-growing major economy in FY26 (GDP growth expected at 6.3-6.5%) by leveraging its sound macroeconomic fundamentals, robust financial sector and commitment towards sustainable growth,' said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic adviser, State Bank of India
CNBC
a day ago
- Business
- CNBC
May jobs report, tariffs will rise to top of mind next week after comeback rally
Whether the stock market can sustain its big comeback next week will hinge in large part on the employment picture, with investors counting on resilient consumer spending to prop up an economy that's undergoing a massive upheaval from tariffs. Stocks have staged a rapid turnaround this month, with the S & P 500 rallying nearly 6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing almost 9%. Tech stocks stocks tied to artificial intelligence especially benefited. Nvidia 's strong results this week added to renewed confidence in the sector, helping to drive up the chipmaker more than 23% in May alone . Still, there is concern that investors may be starting to get too complacent at a time when the S & P 500 looks priced for perfection. The broad market index is now trading at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of roughly 21, about where it was at the start of the year when investors worried that lofty valuations meant a pullback was in the offing. "While our own view is that recession risks have moderated since April, equities could still be getting complacent here considering EPS estimates are still getting marked down, the May rally likely got an assist from systematic/technical tailwinds, rates remain high, jobless claims are rising, and the tariff picture remains uncertain despite some recent risk-on headlines," Venu Krishna, head of U.S. equity-linked strategies at Barclays, said in a note. Ramped up tensions What's more, trade tensions are also ramping up again. The stock rally this month was driven in large part by the preliminary trade deal between the U.S. and China just two weeks ago, which reassured investors the worst of the tariff conflict may be in the past. On Friday, however, President Donald Trump revived fears of an extended trade war, saying China had reneged on their agreement. Nevertheless, Krishna said the stock market has looked past macroeconomic concerns before. In 2023, U.S. equities continued their upward ascent despite surging interest rates that led to a chorus of recession calls sounding from all corners of Wall Street. It was a demonstration of the stock market's "willingness to continue looking through macro distortions in the post-Covid era," Krishna said. Much of the reason investors appear willing to look past the macroeconomic challenges lies in the strength of the consumer, whose spending accounts for two thirds of the economy and which has powered forward even as sentiment tanked around Trump's tariffs. That has put greater attention on the employment data, with investors fearful that upcoming reports will start to show consumers and businesses crumbling under the weight of tariffs. Economists polled by FactSet expect the May jobs report next week will show the U.S. economy added just 125,000 jobs last month, down from the 177,000 jobs added n April. An in-line or stronger-than-expected result could be taken in stride by the stock market, while a miss on the consensus estimate could spook investors. For the time being, many investors remain optimistic. They expect a recession could be averted, even if a slowdown is inevitable, as both consumers and companies have so far weathered the tariff uncertainty better than was expected. Tight labor market "It's still a pretty tight labor market," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial. "Employers have been unwilling to shed employees, even if they're uncertain about the future, because they lived through the pandemic, and understood how hard it was to hire back and get qualified workers." "And so, the expectation is that, and we'll see this week, our labor market's holding up," Saglimbene added. Still, economists worry tariffs are slowly making their impact felt. EY-Parthenon chief economist Gregory Daco said that durable goods spending fell in the latest April personal income and outlays data, while the personal savings rate rose. "Tariffs had begun to take hold — but their full impact had yet to materialize," Daco wrote. "With employment growth slowing, income gains moderating and the inflationary effects of tariffs building, households are likely to become more cautious in the months ahead." "The Fed and Chair Powell deserve credit for guiding the economy to this point," Daco added. "But any summer celebration may be premature: a tariff-induced inflation storm is on the horizon." Fresh trade aggression Tariffs will continue to be top of mind for investors in the week ahead, especially after a federal court this week halted the majority of the administration's tariffs, only to be reversed by an appeals court granting a stay that allowed the levies to remain in place until next week. Investors worry the legal concerns only inject further uncertainty into tariff policy, especially if the Trump administration finds workarounds to put levies in place that could spur more trade aggression from the U.S. and retaliation abroad. Others worry that investors betting on the TACO trade, a term coined by the Financial Times standing for "Trump Always Chickens Out" on trade deals, could be a dangerous assumption. "We might actually get aggression where the market was anticipating we wouldn't, because [Trump] can't do exactly what he wanted to do with tariffs in the first place," Ameriprise's Saglimbene said. Week ahead calendar All times ET. Monday, June 2 9:45 a.m. S & P PMI Manufacturing final (May) 10 a.m. Construction Spending (May) 10 a.m. ISM Manufacturing (April) Earnings: The Campbell's Co. Tuesday, June 3 10 a.m. Durable Orders final (April) 10 a.m. Factory Orders (April) 10 a.m. JOLTS Job Openings (May) Earnings: Hewlett Packard Enterprise , CrowdStrike Holdings , Dollar General Wednesday, June 4 9:45 a.m. PMI Composite final (May) 9:45 a.m. S & P PMI Services final (May) 10 a.m. ISM Services PMI (May) 2 p.m. Fed Beige Book Earnings: Dollar Tree Thursday, June 5 8:30 a.m. Continuing Jobless Claims (05/24) 8:30 a.m. Initial Claims (05/31) 8:30 a.m. Unit Labor Costs final (Q1) 8:30 a.m. Productivity final (Q1) 8:30 a.m. Trade Balance (April) Earnings: Broadcom , Brown-Forman , Fastenal Friday, June 6 8:30 a.m. Hourly Earnings preliminary (May) 8:30 a.m. Average Workweek preliminary (May) 8:30 a.m. Manufacturing Payrolls (May) 8:30 a.m. Nonfarm Payrolls (May) 8:30 a.m. Participation Rate (May) 8:30 a.m. Private Nonfarm Payrolls (May) 8:30 a.m. Unemployment Rate (May) 3:00 p.m. Consumer Credit (April)
