Latest news with #HSBC
Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Zomato CEO flooded with messages for 'jugaad' access to District app: 'My DMs are full'
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal took to social media to share a unique problem he has been facing after receiving messages from customers, all making a similar demand. In a post on X, Goyal claimed that his social media DMs have been full of requests asking him for "jugaad" on District, the platform for "going-out" activities like movies, sports, live performances and holidays. Deepinder Goyal claimed that his social media DMs have been full of requests asking him for "jugaad" on District. "Lately, my DMs are full of 'bro, can you get me in?' for District. Truth is, District doesn't work on jugaad or contacts," Goyal stated in his post, adding that for early access and perks, users should obtain an HSBC credit card. The CEO also hinted at the upcoming Delhi Premier League, saying "August is going to be fun". Zomato's District app was launched in November 2024, marking a bold leap for the foodtech giant into the offline entertainment world. Deepinder Goyal on India's global power Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal recently shared a fiery post urging India to claim its place as a global superpower through technological advances. In a bold statement on X, Goyal spoke of international threats and economic pressures that attempt to bully India. "Global powers will always bully us, unless we take our destiny in our own hands. And the only way to do that is if we collectively decide to become the world's largest most unapologetic superpower in the world. In economy, in technology, in defense, and most importantly, in ambition. There is absolutely no other way," he wrote.
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
'It's crunch time': productivity puzzle must be solved
It's "crunch time" for the Australian economy. Young Australians face the prospect of being the first generation to be worse off than their parents and Treasurer Jim Chalmers' economic roundtable is crucial to ensuring that doesn't happen. The generational bargain is in peril and policymakers need to act, Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood says. Now in their 30s, millennials are struggling to enter the property market, "as policy choices have contributed to house prices growing much faster than incomes for the best part of three decades", Ms Wood told the National Press Club on Monday. That's largely because successive governments have failed to adopt a "growth mindset" and encourage productivity - reaping more from the effort put into work - she said. "Productivity growth is the only way to sustainably lift wages and opportunities over time." The commission has spelled out a long list of recommendations to kickstart anaemic productivity growth in five separate reports released before the roundtable, which begins in Canberra on Tuesday. Suggestions include reforming the corporate tax system and financial incentives for workplace training. If the roundtable fails to revive productivity growth, Australia's GDP could be six per cent lower than it might otherwise be, a loss of about $6000 per person, HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said. "The stakes are high. It's crunch time." Mr Bloxham identified tax reform, competition and regulation as the three key areas the roundtable ought to address. Growth in the regulatory burden was symptomatic of a policy culture failing to prioritise growth, Ms Wood said. Governments have felt a need to "do something" every time an issue emerged, ending up in a system that dampened growth. An example was the Victorian government's plan to legislate at least two days a week of work from home. Ms Wood said the market had naturally found a "sweet spot", as businesses that offer more flexibility find it easier to attract and retain workers, and businesses that want stricter rules around office attendance tend to have to pay a premium. "So I guess if I was to apply a growth mindset to this, I would think what's the problem that we're trying to solve here? It's not clear to me that there needs to be a role for government in that," she said. "Regulatory hairballs" are everywhere, she argued, from 31-step approvals and licensing surveys for would-be Queensland cafe owners to "evermore stringent requirements for energy efficiency in the construction code". The Albanese government has lobbed its fair share of hairballs down Australia's regulatory gullet, contends opposition productivity spokesman Andrew Bragg. In its first term, Labor introduced 5034 new regulations and 400 fresh laws, raising the cost of compliance by $4.8 billion, according to Office of Impact Analysis figures cited by Senator Bragg. "Australia is now one of the most heavily regulated countries in the world," he said. The treasurer rubbished the claims, arguing the coalition introduced more regulations in its last term before its 2022 election loss. "If the coalition had answers on productivity, they wouldn't have presided over the worst decade for productivity growth in the last 60 years," he said. Dr Chalmers acknowledged the government had been getting in its own way with regulation that was slowing down new housing or energy projects. Some regulation, such as tying government procurement to gender equality aims, was serving a useful purpose, he said. "Where regulation is unnecessary, where it's duplicated, where it's not serving a useful purpose, we should seek to wind it back, and that's what we intend to do." It's "crunch time" for the Australian economy. Young Australians face the prospect of being the first generation to be worse off than their parents and Treasurer Jim Chalmers' economic roundtable is crucial to ensuring that doesn't happen. The generational bargain is in peril and policymakers need to act, Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood says. Now in their 30s, millennials are struggling to enter the property market, "as policy choices have contributed to house prices growing much faster than incomes for the best part of three decades", Ms Wood told the National Press Club on Monday. That's largely because successive governments have failed to adopt a "growth mindset" and encourage productivity - reaping more from the effort put into work - she said. "Productivity growth is the only way to sustainably lift wages and opportunities over time." The commission has spelled out a long list of recommendations to kickstart anaemic productivity growth in five separate reports released before the roundtable, which begins in Canberra on Tuesday. Suggestions include reforming the corporate tax system and financial incentives for workplace training. If the roundtable fails to revive productivity growth, Australia's GDP could be six per cent lower than it might otherwise be, a loss of about $6000 per person, HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said. "The stakes are high. It's crunch time." Mr Bloxham identified tax reform, competition and regulation as the three key areas the roundtable ought to address. Growth in the regulatory burden was symptomatic of a policy culture failing to prioritise growth, Ms Wood said. Governments have felt a need to "do something" every time an issue emerged, ending up in a system that dampened growth. An example was the Victorian government's plan to legislate at least two days a week of work from home. Ms Wood said the market had naturally found a "sweet spot", as businesses that offer more flexibility find it easier to attract and retain workers, and businesses that want stricter rules around office attendance tend to have to pay a premium. "So I guess if I was to apply a growth mindset to this, I would think what's the problem that we're trying to solve here? It's not clear to me that there needs to be a role for government in that," she said. "Regulatory hairballs" are everywhere, she argued, from 31-step approvals and licensing surveys for would-be Queensland cafe owners to "evermore stringent requirements for energy efficiency in the construction code". The Albanese government has lobbed its fair share of hairballs down Australia's regulatory gullet, contends opposition productivity spokesman Andrew Bragg. In its first term, Labor introduced 5034 new regulations and 400 fresh laws, raising the cost of compliance by $4.8 billion, according to Office of Impact Analysis figures cited by Senator Bragg. "Australia is now one of the most heavily regulated countries in the world," he said. The treasurer rubbished the claims, arguing the coalition introduced more regulations in its last term before its 2022 election loss. "If the coalition had answers on productivity, they wouldn't have presided over the worst decade for productivity growth in the last 60 years," he said. Dr Chalmers acknowledged the government had been getting in its own way with regulation that was slowing down new housing or energy projects. Some regulation, such as tying government procurement to gender equality aims, was serving a useful purpose, he said. "Where regulation is unnecessary, where it's duplicated, where it's not serving a useful purpose, we should seek to wind it back, and that's what we intend to do." It's "crunch time" for the Australian economy. Young Australians face the prospect of being the first generation to be worse off than their parents and Treasurer Jim Chalmers' economic roundtable is crucial to ensuring that doesn't happen. The generational bargain is in peril and policymakers need to act, Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood says. Now in their 30s, millennials are struggling to enter the property market, "as policy choices have contributed to house prices growing much faster than incomes for the best part of three decades", Ms Wood told the National Press Club on Monday. That's largely because successive governments have failed to adopt a "growth mindset" and encourage productivity - reaping more from the effort put into work - she said. "Productivity growth is the only way to sustainably lift wages and opportunities over time." The commission has spelled out a long list of recommendations to kickstart anaemic productivity growth in five separate reports released before the roundtable, which begins in Canberra on Tuesday. Suggestions include reforming the corporate tax system and financial incentives for workplace training. If the roundtable fails to revive productivity growth, Australia's GDP could be six per cent lower than it might otherwise be, a loss of about $6000 per person, HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said. "The stakes are high. It's crunch time." Mr Bloxham identified tax reform, competition and regulation as the three key areas the roundtable ought to address. Growth in the regulatory burden was symptomatic of a policy culture failing to prioritise growth, Ms Wood said. Governments have felt a need to "do something" every time an issue emerged, ending up in a system that dampened growth. An example was the Victorian government's plan to legislate at least two days a week of work from home. Ms Wood said the market had naturally found a "sweet spot", as businesses that offer more flexibility find it easier to attract and retain workers, and businesses that want stricter rules around office attendance tend to have to pay a premium. "So I guess if I was to apply a growth mindset to this, I would think what's the problem that we're trying to solve here? It's not clear to me that there needs to be a role for government in that," she said. "Regulatory hairballs" are everywhere, she argued, from 31-step approvals and licensing surveys for would-be Queensland cafe owners to "evermore stringent requirements for energy efficiency in the construction code". The Albanese government has lobbed its fair share of hairballs down Australia's regulatory gullet, contends opposition productivity spokesman Andrew Bragg. In its first term, Labor introduced 5034 new regulations and 400 fresh laws, raising the cost of compliance by $4.8 billion, according to Office of Impact Analysis figures cited by Senator Bragg. "Australia is now one of the most heavily regulated countries in the world," he said. The treasurer rubbished the claims, arguing the coalition introduced more regulations in its last term before its 2022 election loss. "If the coalition had answers on productivity, they wouldn't have presided over the worst decade for productivity growth in the last 60 years," he said. Dr Chalmers acknowledged the government had been getting in its own way with regulation that was slowing down new housing or energy projects. Some regulation, such as tying government procurement to gender equality aims, was serving a useful purpose, he said. "Where regulation is unnecessary, where it's duplicated, where it's not serving a useful purpose, we should seek to wind it back, and that's what we intend to do." It's "crunch time" for the Australian economy. Young Australians face the prospect of being the first generation to be worse off than their parents and Treasurer Jim Chalmers' economic roundtable is crucial to ensuring that doesn't happen. The generational bargain is in peril and policymakers need to act, Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood says. Now in their 30s, millennials are struggling to enter the property market, "as policy choices have contributed to house prices growing much faster than incomes for the best part of three decades", Ms Wood told the National Press Club on Monday. That's largely because successive governments have failed to adopt a "growth mindset" and encourage productivity - reaping more from the effort put into work - she said. "Productivity growth is the only way to sustainably lift wages and opportunities over time." The commission has spelled out a long list of recommendations to kickstart anaemic productivity growth in five separate reports released before the roundtable, which begins in Canberra on Tuesday. Suggestions include reforming the corporate tax system and financial incentives for workplace training. If the roundtable fails to revive productivity growth, Australia's GDP could be six per cent lower than it might otherwise be, a loss of about $6000 per person, HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said. "The stakes are high. It's crunch time." Mr Bloxham identified tax reform, competition and regulation as the three key areas the roundtable ought to address. Growth in the regulatory burden was symptomatic of a policy culture failing to prioritise growth, Ms Wood said. Governments have felt a need to "do something" every time an issue emerged, ending up in a system that dampened growth. An example was the Victorian government's plan to legislate at least two days a week of work from home. Ms Wood said the market had naturally found a "sweet spot", as businesses that offer more flexibility find it easier to attract and retain workers, and businesses that want stricter rules around office attendance tend to have to pay a premium. "So I guess if I was to apply a growth mindset to this, I would think what's the problem that we're trying to solve here? It's not clear to me that there needs to be a role for government in that," she said. "Regulatory hairballs" are everywhere, she argued, from 31-step approvals and licensing surveys for would-be Queensland cafe owners to "evermore stringent requirements for energy efficiency in the construction code". The Albanese government has lobbed its fair share of hairballs down Australia's regulatory gullet, contends opposition productivity spokesman Andrew Bragg. In its first term, Labor introduced 5034 new regulations and 400 fresh laws, raising the cost of compliance by $4.8 billion, according to Office of Impact Analysis figures cited by Senator Bragg. "Australia is now one of the most heavily regulated countries in the world," he said. The treasurer rubbished the claims, arguing the coalition introduced more regulations in its last term before its 2022 election loss. "If the coalition had answers on productivity, they wouldn't have presided over the worst decade for productivity growth in the last 60 years," he said. Dr Chalmers acknowledged the government had been getting in its own way with regulation that was slowing down new housing or energy projects. Some regulation, such as tying government procurement to gender equality aims, was serving a useful purpose, he said. "Where regulation is unnecessary, where it's duplicated, where it's not serving a useful purpose, we should seek to wind it back, and that's what we intend to do."
Mint
10 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Markets recover on GST, rating boost — but risks remain: Should investors shift to cash and gold now?
Indian markets gained nearly 1 per cent on August 18, buoyed by S&P's upgrade of India's sovereign credit rating, GST reform momentum, and easing global tariff concerns. US President Donald Trump's hints at reconsideration of secondary tariffs on India, coupled with positive international cues, also aided sentiment. The uptick comes after a volatile few months. While August has seen a rebound of over half a per cent following July's near 3 per cent decline, Indian equities are up just above 5 per cent in 2025 year-to-date, and barely 1 per cent in the last one year. However, analysts caution that global risks remain, and expect volatility to persist through 2025. Concerns over tariffs, elevated valuations, and uneven corporate earnings are likely to influence investor behaviour. Anirudh Garg, Partner and Fund Manager at INVasset PMS, said that while India's strong macro backdrop—supported by FDI inflows and government-led capex—offers growth opportunities, global risks cannot be ignored. 'Volatility will persist in 2025 given unresolved global risks like China–Taiwan tensions, US fiscal pressures, and debt market fragility. However, India's strong macro backdrop, consistent FDI inflows, and government-led capex cycle offer a supportive growth runway," Garg said. At the same time, safe-haven assets like gold are drawing renewed attention. HSBC recently lifted its gold forecast, raising its 2025 average price projection to $3,215 an ounce from $3,015, and the 2026 forecast to $3,125 from $2,915, citing debt risks and geopolitical uncertainty. Spot gold has rallied to as high as $3,500 an ounce earlier this year, and continues to hover above $3,300. Apura Sheth, Head of Market Perspectives & Research at SAMCO Securities, highlighted that equity returns across categories have been underwhelming. 'Markets will continue to remain volatile and range-bound. The returns from all the major indices that track the top 750 stocks of India have been lacklustre. It wouldn't matter if you were invested in large, mid, small or microcap stocks. The returns of all the indices tracking stocks from these groups have been negative for the last one year," Sheth added. Gold, he said, acts as an excellent hedge in such times. It is up 43% over the last one year. Given the current uncertain and volatile environment we are in, both domestically and internationally, it is prudent to have some investment in gold, Sheth advised. "I would also recommend to add some silver in your portfolio to generate alpha from precious metals.' Now the question remains, whether investors should use these rallies to cash out of equity positions amid volatility and shift to gold and cash. Garg of INVasset PMS believes that in such an environment, investors should maintain a balanced allocation—gold for global risk hedging, and equities for growth, with an overweight bias towards mid and small caps benefiting from domestic momentum. "Excessive cash positions risk missing sharp recoveries, so capital should remain deployed in fundamentally strong names, with liquidity reserved for tactical opportunities during bouts of market weakness,' Garg advised. Trivesh D, COO of Tradejini, also believes shifting fully to cash could be counterproductive despite heightened volatility. 'We believe the equity market volatility is likely to persist amid tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and an uncertain global outlook. Rather than shifting fully to cash, I feel adopting a diversified stance, keeping 10–15% in cash to capitalise on corrections and allocating selectively to gold or gold ETFs as a strategic hedge,' he suggested. Om Ghawalkar, Market Analyst at suggests maintaining a 10 to 15% in liquid assets or short-term debt funds for flexibility. 'RBI's accommodative stance and falling inflation support reasonable risk-adjusted returns in short-duration debt. Allocate 5 to 10% to gold ETFs or sovereign gold bonds as a hedge, without overexposure given India's growth prospects,' he advised. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
The Market Online
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Market Online
Uranium Energy, Almonty Industries, Bayer
The peace summit between the US and Russia is already history and yielded few results in terms of ending the war in Ukraine. While the indices remained stable last week, short, sharp setbacks in selected stocks could offer interesting entry opportunities at the start of the week. Uncertainty also continues to prevail with regard to tariffs. Although the tariffs for India and China have been postponed, a final agreement is still a long way off. This article is disseminated in partnership with Apaton Finance GmbH. It is intended to inform investors and should not be taken as a recommendation or financial advice. Bayer – Is a turnaround on the way? After more than 10 years, is the downward spiral at the pharmaceutical and agricultural giant coming to an end, and will the turnaround finally begin? At least Bayer shares have been working on a solid footing since the end of November last year, when they hit a low of EUR 18.37. The stock is currently trading at EUR 27.05, and a jump above the horizontal resistance level at EUR 31.03 would brighten the chart picture even further, with the next price target then at around EUR 40 in the event of a sustained breakthrough. A slight upward trend is also evident from a fundamental perspective. Bayer has raised its forecast for 2025 and now expects revenue of EUR 46 to 48 billion and adjusted EBITDA of EUR 9.7 to 10.2 billion. According to HSBC analyst Rajesh Kumar, the result is mainly supported by special effects. The decisive factor is the prospect that the burdensome US litigation over glyphosate could ease significantly from 2026 onwards. If Bayer succeeds in achieving a breakthrough with its strategy before the Supreme Court, this will open up new scope for action, such as spin-offs or capital measures that would make the group more flexible again. There are also signs of growth momentum in the pharmaceuticals business. The promising active ingredient, asundexian, could hit the market as early as the fourth quarter of 2025 and provide much-needed momentum. Despite the existing risks, analyst Kumar remains optimistic. He is sticking to his 'Buy' recommendation and sees upside potential of around 25% with a price target of EUR 32. After years of legal disputes and balance sheet pressure, declining risks, new growth momentum, and a strategic realignment could lay the foundation for a sustained recovery of the share price. Almonty Industries – Opportunity after the setback Many investors are still unaware of the importance that tungsten producers will play for the Western world in the future. This strategically extremely important metal is essential for industry as well as for high-tech and defense applications. Due to its rarity and heavy dependence on China, which accounts for over 80% of the market, it is considered a critical raw material that Western countries want to secure strategically. As Almonty (TSX:AII) CEO Lewis Black pointed out in his comments on the first quarter, the Company has made significant progress on its strategic projects and is preparing for the next phase of growth. While the Panasqueira mine in Portugal continues to serve as a stable foundation, the flagship Sangdong mine in South Korea is moving into the spotlight. With the completion of plant construction and secured financing from KfW, production is set to start in the second half of the year. Sangdong is considered one of the largest and highest-grade tungsten projects outside China and, at full capacity, is expected to supply over 80% of global non-Chinese production. With significantly higher ore grades compared to Panasqueira, the project promises robust economics and strategic value. Almonty has significantly strengthened its financial position, ending the quarter with approximately USD 25 million in cash and securing an additional USD 90 million through a successful Nasdaq IPO. This provides the Company with a solid capital base to support ongoing and future projects. At the same time, an offtake agreement with the US Department of Defense for the supply of tungsten oxide was signed. In addition, former US Under Secretary of State Alan Estevez has joined Almonty's board, bringing expertise in security policy. CEO Lewis Black emphasizes that Almonty is on the verge of a transformative step with Sangdong. Given the growing global demand for tungsten and the geopolitically important role of critical raw materials, he believes the Company is ideally positioned to create long-term value for shareholders. With a current market capitalization of CAD 1.34 billion, there is still significant potential compared to similar projects. Uranium Energy – Political tailwind Donald Trump is increasingly focusing on nuclear energy to make the US more energy independent and competitive. The background to this is the rapidly rising demand for electricity, particularly from AI data centers. Nuclear power provides a reliable, low-CO₂ base load here. Trump also wants to put the US at the forefront of future technologies such as small modular reactors, thereby closing the geopolitical gap with China and Russia. At the same time, the expansion will create jobs and strengthen industry. One of the beneficiaries of this development is Uranium Energy, one of the leading uranium producers in the US. After a rally in recent weeks, which saw the share price rise by over 185% to USD 10.73 since the beginning of April, analysts at Goldman Sachs even see further upside potential. The price target has been set at USD 13, and the investment rating is 'Buy.' The reasons for this are that the US government aims to quadruple US nuclear power capacity by 2050 and establish its own uranium supply chain. Given that the US consumes 29% of the world's uranium supply each year but only produced 700,000 pounds itself in 2024, Goldman Sachs sees Uranium Energy (UEC) in a key position. UEC plans to expand its production to several million pounds and establish itself as a leading US producer. Analyst Brian Lee emphasizes the domestic position as a clear advantage, especially as uranium prices are likely to rise: Goldman expects a deficit of 20 million pounds in 2025 and as much as 130 million pounds by 2040. In addition, UEC could benefit from government investment, similar to MP Materials, which rose sharply thanks to a USD 400 million commitment from the Pentagon. Bayer was able to raise its targets and is on the verge of a turnaround. Uranium Energy is benefiting from the US government's program. Almonty Industries plans to start production at its flagship project in the second half of the year. Conflict of interest Pursuant to §85 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), we point out that Apaton Finance GmbH as well as partners, authors or employees of Apaton Finance GmbH (hereinafter referred to as 'Relevant Persons') may hold shares or other financial instruments of the aforementioned companies in the future or may bet on rising or falling prices and thus a conflict of interest may arise in the future. The Relevant Persons reserve the right to buy or sell shares or other financial instruments of the Company at any time (hereinafter each a 'Transaction'). Transactions may, under certain circumstances, influence the respective price of the shares or other financial instruments of the Company. In addition, Apaton Finance GmbH is active in the context of the preparation and publication of the reporting in paid contractual relationships. For this reason, there is a concrete conflict of interest. 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Time of India
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Proposed GST cut may boost auto jobs, benefit small carmakers: HSBC
The government's plan to rationalise goods and services tax (GST) slabs could lift long-term automobile demand and create jobs, according to HSBC Global Investment Research , reports ANI . The government is considering reducing the 28 per cent GST slab to 18 per cent and discontinuing the cess imposed on automobiles. Passenger vehicles generate around $14–15 billion in GST collections annually, while two-wheelers contribute $5 billion. Currently, passenger vehicles attract a GST of 29 to 50 per cent, depending on engine size and length, as a cess is levied on top of the 28 per cent base rate. Under the proposed framework, smaller cars may move to 18 per cent, while bigger cars could be taxed at a 'special rate' of 40 per cent without additional cess. This could reduce small car prices by about 8 per cent and larger vehicles by 3–5 per cent. HSBC said Maruti Suzuki India would benefit the most, given its heavy reliance on small cars, which account for 68 per cent of its volumes. Mahindra & Mahindra would also gain, though to a lesser extent due to its higher exposure to EVs. In an alternate scenario of a flat 28 to 18 per cent cut across categories, all vehicles would see a 6–8 per cent price drop, but the government would face a revenue loss of $5–6 billion. HSBC noted that while a complete cess removal is unlikely, any reduction would support demand revival.
