Japan’s central bank on Thursday began its final policy meeting of the year, with markets widely expecting a further increase in benchmark interest rates as officials continue the gradual shift away from years of ultra-loose monetary policy. The decision, scheduled to be announced on Friday, could mark the highest borrowing costs Japan has seen in three decades, underscoring the Bank of Japan’s determination to normalize policy amid persistent inflation pressures. Market pricing

India’s economy recorded a faster pace of expansion in the July–September quarter, with official data showing that gross domestic product rose 8.2% year-on-year. The acceleration reflects a combination of stronger consumer demand, a revival in manufacturing activity, and accelerated production schedules ahead of India’s major festive season. Economists had widely expected the quarter to deliver robust growth, but the latest figure surpassed the projected 7.3% expansion for the period, e

Rice prices in Japan have experienced a dramatic surge, more than doubling in May with a year-over-year increase of 101.7%, marking the steepest rise in over 50 years. This significant increase follows a 98.4% spike in April and a 92.1% year-over-year rise recorded in March, underscoring the growing concerns over staple food affordability in the country. The Japanese government has attempted to curb the rapid price rise by releasing emergency rice stockpiles, aiming to stabiliz

In a landmark economic achievement, India has officially become the world’s 4th largest economy, overtaking Japan, according to recent data shared by government officials and confirmed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The development comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India’s ambitious goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025. Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced the milestone on social media platform X, stati

Japan's economy contracted in the first quarter of 2025 for the first time in a year, and the decline was sharper than expected. This latest data highlights the fragile nature of the country's recovery, now under added pressure from anticipated US trade actions that threaten to weigh further on exports and consumer sentiment. According to newly released government statistics, Japan’s real gross domestic product (GDP) shrank at an annualized rate of 0.7% from January

TikTok, the popular social media platform owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, has come under major regulatory fire in Europe. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), which oversees privacy enforcement for TikTok within the European Union, has imposed a substantial fine of €530 million ($601.3 million) for transferring personal data of European users to China in violation of the EU’s strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This ruling marks on

If Texas were an independent nation, its economy would rank as the eighth-largest in the world, surpassing economic giants like Russia, Canada, and Italy. With a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.7 trillion, Texas sits just behind the overall United States, China, Germany, and Japan when measured against global economies. Among U.S. states, Texas ranks second only to California and accounts for an impressive 9% of the total U.S. GDP. According to recent data compiled by the Internati

The week witnessed crucial political and economic developments that influenced market movements across the world. In India, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced its third-quarter earnings, with a net profit rise of 4.1%, while the Union government predicted India's economy would grow at its slowest pace in four years, with a projected GDP growth rate of 6.4% for fiscal year 2024-25. Meanwhile, India's merchandise trade deficit remained elevated despite a reduction in go

Finance Minister’s View on GDP Growth: In a recent statement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the lower-than-expected growth in India’s GDP for the September quarter, calling it a "temporary blip." She emphasized her confidence that India’s economy will regain strong growth in the upcoming quarters. Despite the slowdown in the second quarter, she highligh

On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced it would keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for the 11th consecutive time. This decision comes despite the GDP growth rate for the July-September quarter falling to a 7-quarter low of 5.4%, which was below the RBI's earlier projection of 7%. The RBI paused its rate hike cycle in April last year after raising rates by 250 basis points since May 2022. In the fifth bi-monthly monetary policy review for the current fiscal year,

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is expected to maintain the status quo on the benchmark repo rate at 6.5% in its upcoming meeting from December 4 to 6. Despite India's GDP growth slowing to 5.4% in the July-September quarter, economists suggest that inflation concerns will likely take precedence, making a rate cut unlikely in December. Retail inflation rose to 6.2% in October, exceeding the RBI’s target range of 2-6%. Though a repo rate cu

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced its GDP growth forecast for India to 6.8% for the second quarter of fiscal 2024-25, a decrease of 20 basis points. In its October bulletin titled "State of the Economy," the RBI attributed this revision to a slackening momentum observed in some high-frequency indicators, which were partially impacted by unusual heavy rainfall in August and September. This latest forecast is lower than the previous projection of 7% made by RBI Gov