Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sam Altman appears to have responded to concerns that new AI models are hitting a performance wall.</li><li>The OpenAI CEO posted to X on Thursday that "there is no wall."</li></ul>Sam Altman has said, "There is no wall," in an apparent reference to concerns that OpenAI and other companies are facing a slowdown in advancing their AI models.His comment — posted to X Thursday — <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=3c90ade9bd610bd7057d62db139f712a86bd67755e646024f59ff3ed8f6ba40f&amp;postID=6736185ec711dce4fc7d6e05&amp;postSlug=sam-altman-ai-wall-slowdown-openai-2024-11&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinformation.com%2Farticles%2Fopenai-shifts-strategy-as-rate-of-gpt-ai-improvements-slows%3Frc%3Drlufcw">follows a report in The Information</a> that OpenAI's next model has shown only a moderate improvement over ChatGPT-4 and a smaller leap compared to previous versions.It has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-orion-model-scaling-law-silicon-valley-chatgpt-2024-11">sparked concerns</a> in the tech world that the techniques that have historically made AI models smarter — more training data and greater computing power — are resulting in diminishing returns.Altman, who has a history of short, cryptic messages on X, has previously indicated that these so-called scaling laws are preordained. He posted to the site in February that they are "decided by god" and that the "constants are determined by members of the technical staff."Ilya Sutskever, a cofounder of OpenAI and Safe Superintelligence, told Reuters on Monday that results from scaling up pretraining had plateaued. However, others, such as Microsoft's chief technology officer, Kevin Scott, have previously dismissed these concerns. He told Sequoia Capital's "Training Data" podcast in July that "we're not at diminishing marginal returns on scale-up."AI labs are also exploring ways to overcome any slowdowns, such as using synthetic data and refining models after they have been trained, using a technique called inference.The huge sums of money invested in frontier AI companies have created pressure to produce increasingly more powerful models.Last month, OpenAI <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiger-global-openai-latest-funding-round-2024-10">raised $6.6 billion</a> from investors in a record funding round.OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Sam Altman says 'there is no wall' in an apparent response to fears of an AI slowdown

<keyword id="19900795" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="foreign-investors" source="keywords">Foreign investors</keyword> are currently making a beeline for <keyword id="19894886" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="China" source="keywords">China</keyword>, enthused by the gush of <keyword id="23496485" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="financial-stimulus" source="keywords">financial stimulus</keyword> injected by the government into the Chinese economy. While this may have temporarily sent their stock markets soaring, a recent report by the <keyword id="19899824" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Bank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="World Bank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="World Bank">World Bank</keyword> notes that this might not be enough to push back the <keyword id="19904090" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-slowdown" source="keywords">economic slowdown</keyword> that has already set in. China's growth rate is projected to slack further to 4.3% in 2025, down from its present rate of 4.8%. The <keyword id="19916574" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="OECD" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="OECD" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="OECD">OECD</keyword> also expects the country's growth to slow down to 4.5% in 2025 Experts believe that the recent economic push by the government, which includes lowering reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 0.5% to 6.6%, lowering mortgage rates, injecting $142 billion into banks, among others, are too little to sustain long-term recovery. Notably, lowering RRR frees up $140 billion for banks to lend, while reducing mortgages and minimum down payments for housing purchases are directed to spur up the Chinese real estate segment. Per <keyword id="19906485" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Goldman-Sachs" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Goldman Sachs" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Goldman Sachs">Goldman Sachs</keyword>, weak domestic demand, dwindling consumer confidence and spending and an endless real-estate crisis are some of the main reasons for the slowdown.The average Chinese citizen still grapples with job insecurity, stagnant salaries, and depreciating real estate and equity values. For instance, China's last public holiday of the year, the Golden Week, which ended on October 7 and commemorates the nation's founding, saw 2% less spending per domestic trip, as compared to pre-pandemic levels. "Low tourism spending per head and subdued services prices highlight the still weak domestic demand and continued consumption downgrading in the country,” the analysts at GS noted. <h2>Its all temporary</h2>The <keyword id="21360606" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hang-Seng-index" source="keywords">Hang Seng index</keyword>, which is up by 4.22% today, has been seeing a meteoric rise over the past few weeks. Inching up by a little over 24% over the last month, the Chinese markets have been seeing an significant influx of foreign investment, largely at the expense of other emerging markets like India. Foreign investors had offloaded shares worth Rs 27,142 crore between the first and third of this month, after foreign investments reached a staggering record-high of Rs 93,538 crore in September, as per NSDL data. Over the last 10 days, FIIs have constantly been net sellers, while DIIs have been net buyers. As of October 10th, DII (Domestic Institutional Investors) have put in Rs 50,183 crores in Indian markets, almost balancing out Rs 49,305.29 crore withdrawn by foreign investors. But whether this trend of FII inflow in China continues will largely depend on the fundamentals their economy, an area where India has an edge, thanks to strong confidence of domestic investors. Viram Shah, CEO of Vested Finance highlights that while the Hang Seng index's recent 26% surge over the last month has caught investors' attention, and while this bullish trend is expected to continue, driven by low Chinese stock valuations and hopes for economic improvement from government stimulus, there lies a long road ahead. "Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) pulled out $5.4 billion from Indian equities over five consecutive sessions, ending Monday, October 7. While this suggests a possible rotation of funds from India to China, how long this shift will last will depend on the Chinese government’s ability to resolve the structural economic issues. While the market rally is encouraging, more policy steps are needed to boost economic activity and confidence in China", he added.

All eyes on China: Rush of foreign investors can do little to stave off a slowdown, says World Bank

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Payouts to partners at the Big Four consultancies are falling.</li><li>Annual returns are being affected by a slowdown in sales and an increase in the number of partners.</li></ul>Partner payouts at the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/big-four-consultancies-deloitte-ey-cut-staff-pwc-accenture-2024-10">Big Four consultancies</a> are falling as demand for professional services declines and firms increase the number of partners.At EY, partner payouts in the UK, where the global consulting and accountancy firm is headquartered, were down 5% this year. UK partners received an average of £723,000 ($938,000) compared to £761,000 ($987,000) the previous year.The firm said in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ey.com/en_uk/newsroom/2024/10/ey-uk-net-revenues-grew-3-percent-in-a-challenging-market">a press release</a> that the decrease in pay reflected a rise in the number of partners during the 2024 financial year. EY now has 903 partners as of June 2024, up from 866 at the same point in 2023, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/39095b58-5940-46f3-92e5-759a2923334d">the FT</a> reported.Revenue growth at EY fell from 16% in the previous financial year to just 3% in FY2024. The drop in performance was driven by declines in some of EY's key divisions, with its consulting and strategy business decreasing by 4% and transactions decreasing by 13%."With depressed UK and global deal activity and weak levels of corporate confidence during FY24, we have responded to the market to ensure we have the right platform for continued long-term growth and profitability," said Hywel Ball, EY's outgoing UK managing partner.Senior employees at the Big Four consultancies, which are all privately held, can be <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-onto-partner-track-make-millions-management-consulting-mckinsey">promoted to partner status</a>, and some are offered equity ownership in the business. In addition to salary and bonuses, equity partners traditionally receive a share of annual profits.At PwC and Deloitte, partners have also seen their payouts drop this year as growth slows.UK partners at PwC took home an average of £862,000 ($1.11 million) this financial year, 5% less than the same period in 2023. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.pwc.co.uk/who-we-are/annual-report.html">PwC reported</a> that its total revenue growth was down to 9% compared to 16% growth in 2023.At Deloitte, partner payouts were down by 4.5% to around £1 million ($1.3 million), leaving equity partners taking home roughly £50,000 less than the previous year.The fall in pay comes as the Big Four — which consists of Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC — attempt to balance operations following the end of the pandemic-era rush on advisory services.Many <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/consulting-firms-mckinsey-bcg-accenture-workers-leaving-2024-9">consultancies hired rapidly</a> to meet soaring demand in the early 2020s. As the workload slowed, revenues declined. The major firms have been making adjustments in order to balance operations, such as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ey-graduate-hires-start-dates-delayed-slowdown-strategy-consulting-2024-10">delaying start dates</a> for new hires and laying off employees. However, the impact of policies is not expected to be immediate.Despite the current slowdown in growth, many firms believe <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-questions-consulting-firms-are-answering-for-clients-2024-6">AI</a> will provide a necessary boost to business as more companies look to consultants for advice on how best to get started and optimize their operations.

Partner pay at Big 4 firms is dropping, the latest sign of the consulting slowdown

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Investors are awaiting TSMC earnings for signs of what's to come for the chip sector. </li><li>AMSL sparked a panic on Tuesday as it slashed sales guidance for 2025. </li></ul>This week's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-today-chip-stocks-asml-nvidia-morgan-stanley-earnings-2024-10">sell-off in chip stocks</a> and lingering questions about the demand for artificial intelligence tech has raised the stakes for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's coming earnings report.The chipmaker will report its full third-quarter earnings in the early hours on Thursday. The results will serve as a key update for investors eagerly watching for signs of an industry slowdown after <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/chipmakers-tumble-asml-guidance-semiconductor-nvidia-chip-growth-2024-10">downbeat guidance from ASML</a> triggered a sell-off in top semiconductor shares on Tuesday. TSMC, which is one of ASML's largest customers and a top supplier to tech firms like Nvidia and Apple, revealed last week that it pulled in revenue of $759.69 billion New Taiwan dollars, or around $23.57 billion, in the third quarter, beating estimates.TSMC edged 1% lower Wednesday afternoon, with shares trading around $187.82. The stock is up 84% year-to-date, thanks partly to the firm's strong financial results so far in 2024.Chip and semiconductor stocks, meanwhile, traded slightly higher, with the SPDR S&amp;P Semiconductor ETF rising nearly 1% by mid-day.Traders are waiting for guidance from TSMC executives on the firm's earnings call regarding demand in the current quarter as well as the coming year. Fears about demand were ignited recently when Nvidia reported results for the second quarter in August. The chip giant's earnings beat estimates but fell short of the loftiest projections, leading to questions about cooling appetite for AI-enabling technology as firms have yet to report meaningful returns on huge capital expenditures in the space. Since then, Nvidia has once again traded close to all-time highs. Recent comments from CEO J<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nvidia-stock-price-jensen-huang-blackwell-gpu-demand-ai-tech-2024-10">ensen Huang point to extremely high demand</a> for the next-generation Blackwell chip, which Huang has said will be sold out for the next 12 months.

All eyes are on TSMC earnings as the chipmaker industry faces slowdown worries

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Prada Group reported an 18% jump in sales in Q3.</li><li>This was largely due to the success of its sister brand, Miu Miu.</li></ul>Prada Group is defying the luxury slowdown thanks to its Miu Miu brand. While its peers like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lvmh-luxury-louis-vuitton-struggles-china-slowdown-2024">LVMH</a> and Kering reported weak Q3 results, driven in no small part by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whats-behind-china-luxury-goods-slowdown-economy-changing-consumer-tastes-2024-10">slumping demand in China</a>, Prada is joining <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hermes-escapes-luxury-industry-slump-lvmh-kering-struggle-2024-10">Hermès</a> as one of the few luxury houses to be thriving right now. Retail sales across the Italian fashion group grew 18% in the most recent quarter. Sales were up 2% at its namesake brand but it was Miu Miu that stole the show — reporting a 105% increase in sales in Q3 versus the year before. <div type="image" title="A model walks the runway during the Miu Miu Womenswear Spring/Summer 2022 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 5, 2021, in Paris, France." height="1921" width="1280" msid="114816140" hostid="261" sizebytes="86082"></div>The more youthful and affordable sister brand of Prada was founded by Miuccia Prada, the granddaughter of the group's founder, in 1992.Its recent success can be partly credited to its burgeoning Gen Z fan base and the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prada-miu-miu-stock-beating-luxury-slump-lvmh-kering-2024">cult following behind products like its micro-skirt</a>, which went viral after debuting in 2021 and was worn by Emily Ratajkowski, Hunter Schafer, and Hailey Bieber.Blanca Zugaza Escribano, a fashion and luxury consultant at Metyis, told BI that Miu Miu is a prime example of a luxury brand that already has its finger on the pulse of what excites Gen Z — a consumer base that is becoming increasingly important for luxury brands to appeal to. But the brand's success seems to have even taken company execs by surprise. "I would lie if we said that we would have predicted to double our business year on year," Andrea Guerra, CEO of Prada, said during a call with investors on Wednesday.Things are going so well that analysts were told Prada plans to increase the size of Miu Miu stores and open up new ones in some regions where it doesn't have a presence.Prada Group's CFO Andrea Bonini said Miu Miu's performance has benefited Prada, boosting profit margins and enabling the company to invest more in its Prada brand. "Likewise, Miu Miu would probably not be experiencing this type of growth today if it hadn't been part of a larger group," Bonini added.In a note to clients on Wednesday, Bernstein analyst Luca Solca said that the brand's current trajectory "confirms our view that the market is underappreciating the growth that Miu Miu can generate in the next 12 to 18 months.""At the same time, it also confirms our worry that Prada — which is still the very bulk of the business — could be well past its peak growth potential," he added.

Miu Miu is hot right now — and Prada's chic sibling is helping it buck the luxury slowdown

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Car companies are cutting costs heading into the end of the year.</li><li>A price war in China poses a threat to profitability.</li></ul>It's been a busy few days for auto companies.Ford and Volkswagen each pulled back vehicle production plans this week. After the last shift on Friday, November 15, Ford will <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-pauses-electric-f-150-lightning-production-cuts-manager-bonuses-2024-10">pause F-150 Lightning production</a> until next year, while VW said it is considering historic plant closures in Germany that would lay off hundreds of workers.Meanwhile, Tesla fell behind China's BYD in quarterly revenue for the first time, and GM CEO Mary Barra warned of an unsustainable price war in the Chinese EV market.Amid the flurry of news, two themes stand out: the China threat and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicle-misconceptions-about-the-ev-transition-market-sales-2024-5">EV slowdown</a> loom large for automakers.<h2 id="26021238-9d8a-4010-bec4-f6bfd9ac81e2">Another EV price war threatens profitability</h2>In China, the world's largest auto market, EV leaders <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-byd-is-beating-tesla-ev-rivals-china-2024-11">BYD</a> and Tesla are engaged in a bitter price war that initially weighed heavily on BYD's bottom line.But by August, BYD (which also sells hybrid cars) reported its best-ever passenger car sales, driving up revenue 24% in the third quarter to $28.24 billion, topping Tesla for the first time. It's the latest sign that after nearly two years of deflating the value of its cars, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-sales-miss-ev-slowdown-new-wave-customers-2024-4">Tesla is finally starting to feel the pinch</a> of a slowdown in the EV market.The Chinese EV market is more competitive than ever, according the GM's Barra, who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/general-motors-gm-ceo-mary-barra-ev-china-not-sustainable-2024-10">questioned the sustainability</a> of a broader price war in the region driven by an uptick in Chinese EV startups selling inexpensive vehicles.Inexpensive Chinese EVs have long threatened the US EV market. They aren't just well-priced; many are also good-looking and well-equipped. Ford CEO Mark Ford said last week that he's been driving the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-ev-xiaomi-su7-driven-by-fords-ceo-faster-model-2024-10">Chinese-made Xiaomi SU7</a> for six months and doesn't want to give it up.Some car companies already sell <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cars-imported-from-china-us-ev-tariffs-buick-lincoln-volvo-2024-5">China-built EVs</a> in the US, but Biden Administration bans on Chinese vehicles keep competitors like BYD from entering the market. Europe is also slapping tariffs on Chinese EVs as these cars upend their retail market.<h2 id="8dfa0b70-314e-4d64-b16a-ce59212e9bed">Companies will have to build fewer cars for now</h2>As <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-auto-giants-volkswagen-bmw-mercedes-struggle-sales-china-evs-2024-10">Volkswagen loses ground</a> to BYD in Europe, the automotive giant is considering massive production pull-backs, including closing three German factories for the first time in its history.In the US, Ford announced its own EV production pull-backs this week, stopping assembly of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck until next year in a bid to improve profitability for its money-losing EV segment.Both companies are coupling these production rationalizations with other cost-cutting measures. At Ford, managerial bonuses tied to quality and manufacturing costs will be slashed to 65% of last year's levels. VW has said it plans to lay off workers and may cut wages.Over-production isn't just <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-pile-up-dealer-lots-deals-discounts-leasing-2024-8">a problem for EVs</a>, though. Overall vehicle inventory levels remained elevated at the end of October, driving up manufacturer-funded discounts, according to JD Power. Dealers ended October with about 2 million units in stock, a 4% increase from September and a 25% increase from the previous year.Some companies are more affected by inventory bloat than others. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stellantis-jeep-ceo-falling-sales-shrinking-profit-margins-dealers-strike-2024-10">Stellantis</a>, which is navigating the toughest year in its short history, is specifically focused on reducing inventory levels in the US, and reported some progress on that effort in the third quarter.

The China threat and the EV slowdown— 2 takeaways from a busy few weeks in auto news

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla">Tesla</a> reported third-quarter sales on Wednesday.</li><li>Shares fell in early trading following the release.</li></ul>Tesla <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://ir.tesla.com/press-release/tesla-third-quarter-2024-production-deliveries-and-deployments">reported</a> third-quarter sales of 462,890 on Wednesday morning, its first quarter-over-quarter gains this year.Shares fell about 4% in early trading following the release. The stock has been on a wild ride this year, surging roughly 81% from an April low as CEO Elon Musk hypes <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robotaxi-release-date-elon-musk-stock-price-2024-9">an autonomous Tesla taxi to be revealed on October 10.</a>Analysts <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-q3-deliveries-preview-wall-street-expects-beat-mojo-returns-2024-9">had expected 462,000 vehicle deliveries </a>for the period ending September 30.As is tradition at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Musk's car company</a>, the end of the quarter came with an all-hands-on-deck push to get cars delivered to waiting customers, which included <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-is-a-tesla-model-3">aggressive financing incentives</a> in September. The effort seemed to pay off, delivering Tesla's first sales increase of 2024.Still, Tesla will have to make monumental increases in the final three months of the year to put 2024's figures ahead of the previous year,Reversing the sales slowdown at Tesla is a much-needed win for Musk's car company.Across the industry, automakers are struggling with<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-layoffs"> a slowdown in demand for electric cars</a>. Tesla stayed above the fray last year as legacy car companies scrambled to change their EV plans, but <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-sales-miss-ev-slowdown-new-wave-customers-2024-4">this year has been a different story</a>.Tesla posted two consecutive quarters of falling deliveries in the first half of the year, reversing years of growth for the company. Musk's initial plan to undercut competitors on price isn't working as well as it did a year ago and is also eating into the company's bottom line.And as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.autonews.com/sales/september-q3-us-auto-sales-volume-drops-hyundai-kia?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Newsletter-ANDaily-20241002">new vehicle sales fall regardless of powertrain</a>, Musk has touted autonomy as the latest driver of Tesla's growth story and one that investors should pay more attention to than sales.Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush, a longtime Tesla bull, said the numbers were "a step in the right direction but clearly we and the Street were hoping for 3k-5k upside to this number and we will see some pressure on shares this morning as investors walk away from delivery numbers expecting more.""Overall, this is a clear improvement from 1H and we believe getting in the range of 1.8 million for the year is still the key and important bogey," he told clients.

Tesla reversed its sales slowdown, but not enough to calm investors' nerves 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The International Monetary Fund raised its growth forecast for the US economy to 2.8% this year.</li><li>It expects slower growth of 2.2% next year as the government cuts back and the job market cools.</li></ul>The International Monetary Fund raised its growth forecast for the US, projecting the world's largest economy would expand by 2.8% this year instead of the 2.6% it predicted in July.in its latest <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2024/10/22/world-economic-outlook-october-2024">World Economic Outlook </a>released on Tuesday, IMF staff cited stronger consumption fueled by "robust increases in real wages" and wealth effects, along with non-residential investment, as the two main reasons for the increase. However, they predicted GDP growth would slow to 2.2% in 2025 as the US government curbs its spending and the labor market cools, sapping consumption.The IMF projected global growth of 3.2% in both 2024 and 2025, virtually unchanged from its previous prediction. They underscored their latest forecast for global growth over the next five years of 3.1% was "mediocre" compared with the pre-pandemic average."Persistent structural headwinds — such as population aging and weak productivity — are holding back potential growth in many economies," the agency's staff wrote.They projected only a slight slowdown in China to 4.8% this year due to resilient net exports, and revised their April forecast for 2025 upward by 0.4 percentage points to 4.5%. They noted the Chinese government's stimulus measures "may provide upside risk to near-term growth."The UN financial agency said that growth in the euro area appears to have troughed in 2023, and it anticipates an acceleration to 0.8% expansion in 2024 driven by stronger exports, then 1.2% in 2025 on the back of improved domestic demand.IMF staff made downward revisions to its growth outlook for the Middle East, Central Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, citing disruptions to the production and shipping of oil and other commodities as well as "conflicts, civil unrest, and extreme weather events."In contrast, they upgraded their April forecasts for emerging and developing Asia by 0.3 percentage points for both 2024 and 2025, to 5.4% and 5.0%. They cited "surging demand for semiconductors and electronics, driven by significant investments in artificial intelligence, has bolstered growth."

The IMF just raised its growth forecast for the US economy this year — but expects a slowdown in 2025

In a rather dampened <keyword id="19915531" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="forecast" source="keywords">forecast</keyword> for the Indian economy, <keyword id="19908266" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICRA" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="ICRA" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="ICRA">ICRA</keyword> has forecast a sharp <keyword id="20637625" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="slowdown" source="keywords">slowdown</keyword> in India's <keyword id="19972825" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GDP-growth" source="keywords">GDP growth</keyword>. The credit rating agency has projected a year-on-year expansion of 6.0% in <keyword id="22106354" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Q1-FY2025" source="keywords">Q1 FY2025</keyword> — the lowest in the last six quarters. In Q4 FY2024, India recorded an impressive 7.8%. The Reserve Bank of India had expected the growth momentum to continue this financial year as well. Earlier this month, the RBI governor had projected a 7.1% growth in Q1, while the growth rate for the entire financial year FY2024-25 was projected to be at 7.2%. The central bank had attributed this potential robust growth to improved agricultural activity, sustained buoyancy in services activity, healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates, thrust on capex by the government, visible signs of pick up in private investment, and improving prospects of global trade. However, RBI’s growth projections for this financial year were slightly moderated due to lower-than-anticipated corporate profitability, general government expenditure, and core industries output. As per ICRA, the sharp drop in GDP growth is primarily due to parliamentary elections and a contraction in government capital expenditure weakening urban consumer confidence. Another main cause could be the weakening urban consumer confidence, which reported a surprising downtick in the May and July 2024 rounds of the Central Bank’s Consumer Confidence Survey. “The lingering impact of last year’s unfavourable monsoon and an uneven start to the 2024 monsoon prevented a broader improvement in rural sentiment. Lower volume growth combined with diminishing gains from commodity prices weighed upon the profitability of some of the industrial sectors. The heat wave also affected footfalls in various service sectors, even as it provided a significant boost to electricity demand,” said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA. Despite the Q1 slowdown, ICRA expects economic activity to pick up in the latter half of FY2025, projecting an overall GDP growth of 6.8% for the full year, with a potential to exceed 7% in the second half. The agency expects decelerated growth in Gross Value Added (GVA) as well, easing to 5.7% in Q1 FY2025 from 6.3% in the previous quarter. This slowdown is primarily attributed to a decline in industrial growth, which is predicted to moderate to 6.4% from 8.4%, along with slight reductions in the services sector's growth and a modest improvement in agricultural GVA. The difference between GDP and GVA growth is expected to narrow to around 30 basis points (bps) in Q1 FY2025, down from 148 bps in the previous quarter, due to lower growth in net indirect taxes amid a rise in government subsidies. ICRA's analysis indicates that industrial GVA growth is likely to moderate in Q1 FY2025, with a slowdown in manufacturing and construction offset by growth in electricity, mining, and quarrying. Additionally, a contraction in government and state capital expenditure, along with a significant drop in new project announcements, has contributed to the overall slowdown. Manufacturing profit margins have also been under pressure due to rising global commodity prices and narrowing deflation in input costs, which, combined with slower growth in manufacturing output, suggests a deceleration in manufacturing GVA growth. In the agricultural sector, GVA growth is projected to be modest at 1.0% in Q1 FY2025, amidst declining output from most rabi and summer crops and a deficient rainfall in June 2024. With growing concerns around inflation and unemployment in India and across the world, the latest forecast could further fuel the fears around recession and slowdown in major economies. However, a much clearer picture will emerge with the actual quarterly estimates of GDP for Q1 from the National Statistical Office (NSO) next week. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/digital-initiatives-to-triple-indian-retail-borrowing-to-usd-2-5-trillion-by-2030-sp-global/articleshow/112263945.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Digital initiatives to triple Indian retail borrowing to USD 2.5 trillion by 2030: S&amp;P Global</a>

ICRA forecasts slowdown in India's economy: GDP growth expected to hit six-quarter low in Q1 FY2025

The Indian <keyword id="22196321" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="credit-card-industry" source="keywords">credit card industry</keyword> is struggling to grow, as new issues slow down on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. Not only has the growth i.e. issuance of new credit cards slowed down, but lenders are also becoming increasingly cautious of the asset qualities, a recent report by Nomura showed. From 19% in July 2024, the growth in the <keyword id="6368202" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="credit-card" source="Orion">credit card</keyword> spendings came down to 13% in August 2024. The year-to-date (YTD) growth has also significantly declined in FY25, currently standing at 17%, markedly down from 28% in FY24. For the fifth consecutive month, the number of new credit cards added to the system remained well below the 1-million, or 10 lakh mark. Around 9.2 lakh credit cards were added during the month, a slight uptick from the 7.55 lakh cards that came into the system In July 2024. However, there is growth in this space nevertheless, with about 10.55 crore active credit cards at present, marking a 15.6% YoY increase. Even the annualised spend per card, or the average amount spent via an annual card during an year grew 1% YoY to Rs 1.87 lakh. But this was far less than the 7% growth annual spends via one credit card saw in FY24. Meanwhile, what continues to burgeon consistently is the outstanding amount on these credit cards, which ballooned to Rs 2.7 lakh crore in June 2024, up from Rs 2.6 lakh crore in March 2024, and around Rs 2 lakh crore in the year ago period. To put this in perspective, pre-pandemic, the total outstanding amount stood at Rs 87,686 crore, which marks a 24% CAGR in this amount, in just a span of 5 years. <h2>Large drops, slowdown to sustain</h2>Even the monthly expenditure per card dropped 2% YoY to Rs 16,000 in August, 2024. Subsequently, the transaction volume via credit cards also dipped to 1.6% in August, along with the total amount of <keyword id="21084888" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="credit-card-spending" source="keywords">credit card spending</keyword>, which fell to Rs 1.69 lakh crore in August, from Rs 1.73 lakh crore in July. Also, there has been a hefty cutdown in provisions made for credit card reward points, which reflects in the quantum of credit card benefits that have been mowed out by companies of late, making credit cards far less lucrative than before. <h2>HDFC takes lead </h2>During August 2024, <keyword id="19895995" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HDFC-Bank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="HDFC Bank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="HDFC Bank">HDFC bank</keyword> added a total of 2.41 lakh credit cards, taking its total tally of active credit cards to 2.19 crore. <keyword id="19900482" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICICI-Bank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="ICICI Bank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="ICICI Bank">ICICI Bank</keyword> came a second distant, adding 1.45 lakh credit cards during the month, which means that the second-largest credit card issuer now holds over 1.75 crore active credit cards. Axis Bank and SBI Cards also added 1.27 lakh and 1.1 lakh cards, respectively to their repertoire during the month, while the growth numbers at Kotak Mahindra Bank remained largely flat, stagnating the bank's total card tally at 54.13 lakh. This was due to the ongoing ban on the bank due to its weak IT infrastructural issues imposed by RBI in April 2024. If anything, the bank's number of credit cards declined by 61,191 during the month. Even as the festive season approaches, experts think that it is unlikely to make a major dent in credit card spendings, which are expected to see a further slowdown in the quarters to come.

Credit card growth experiencing a slowdown, as borrowers struggle to pay back loans

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Analysts are increasingly recommending defensive stocks to blunt the impact of an economic slowdown.</li><li>Among defensive sectors, consumer staples have risen sharply recently. </li></ul>Amid fears of a recession and increased market volatility, analysts have been pointing to defensive stocks as a safe bet to hedge macro risk.Among defensive sectors — which include things like real estate and financials — investors recently have been pouring into consumer staples in particular.The S&amp;P 500's consumer staples sector has risen roughly 4.1% in the last month, handily outpacing the S&amp;P 500, which is up just over 1% in that time.Retailers like Walmart and Target have skyrocketed 9.2% and 5.7% respectively in the last month, while consumer goods producers like Clorox and Coca-Cola are up 11.2% and 4.5%."The US consumer is reacting to the softer labor market, exhausted pandemic savings, and high interest rates. Signs of this reaction are visible across many angles, including the degree of outperformance in staples versus discretionary stocks," Bank of America strategists said in a note earlier this month.Defensive stocks historically do well in times of economic uncertainty, which has led to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/safe-defensive-stocks-ai-investing-rally-nvidia-semiconductors-selloff-outlook-2024-9">a growing chorus of analysts </a>recommending investors take positions in more "boring" companies, and resist the allure of high-flying bets on things like artificial intelligence."Lately, the market has skewed much more defensively as it has worried more about growth and less about high inflation or rates," Morgan Stanley's chief US equity strategist Mike Wilson said in a Monday note."Since the spring, the relative performance of defensives over cyclicals has been the strongest since the last recession ended," he added.Last week, Wilson said investors should <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/ai-stocks-overcooked-nvidia-seminconductors-morgan-stanley-mike-wilson-2024-9?_gl=1*1uze75i*_ga*MTY3OTgyNjg0MS4xNzIxMDE2MDM2*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcyNjU3MzcyNC4xNDcuMS4xNzI2NTc4MTEzLjUwLjAuMA..">reallocate AI investments</a> toward quality defensive stocks, including staples.That redirection could broaden a market rally that's been largely driven by tech stocks this year. The S&amp;P Global Semiconductor Index is down 6.26% for the month, with the tech sector seeing outflows of $2.97 billion in the last two weeks, according to LSEG Lipper data cite by The Financial Times. Consumer staples, meanwhile, have seen $1.43 billion of inflows in the same time period.This week, Bank of America equity strategy chief Savita Subramanian <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/safe-dividends-bank-america-strategy-chief-savita-subramanian-federal-reserve-2024-9">similarly advocated for defensive stocks</a>."I know this is the most boring call of all time, but sometimes boring is good," Subramanian said in a Bloomberg interview on Monday.With the Federal Reserve likely to finally cut rates at its meeting this week, defensive stocks could be poised for further growth."Defensives tend to outperform cyclicals fairly persistently both before and after the cut," Wilson said.

Investors are pouring into this defensive corner of the stock market amid fears of an economic slowdown

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China's oil demand growth has slowed this year.</li><li>That's due to China's big shift to EVs and natural gas, Goldman Sachs analysts said. </li></ul>Oil demand in China has slowed markedly this year amid the country's shift to electric vehicles and natural gas, Goldman Sachs analysts said.The firm estimates that oil demand growth in the country is down to 200,000 barrels per day for 2024 compared to last year, with overall consumption down by 300,000 barrels a day. The shift from gas-fueled cars to electric and hybrid vehicles alone has reduced demand by 500,000 barrels a day, the analysts said. China's EV sector has expanded rapidly, with three of its biggest electric car makers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-electric-vehicles-byd-selling-record-cars-tesla-competition-deliveries-2024-7">hitting record sales in June</a>. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-ev-makers-outpacing-tesla-in-one-key-area-2024-7">report</a> from last month finds Chinese EV companies are catching up to — and even beating — industry leader Tesla when it comes to innovation.In an earlier report, the analysts predicted the surge in electric and hybrid sales will cause China's road oil consumption to peak in 2025, years ahead of most emerging market economies.The analysts say the oil demand slowdown also indicates broader concerns around China's dependence on manufacturing."While oil data now send a too pessimistic message about China economic activity (fuel switching does not lower GDP), overcapacity highlights the fragility of China's manufacturing bet," the analysts wrote.The oil slowdown comes as China's economy faces a slowdown across the board, with a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-housing-market-real-estate-crash-investors-outlook-construction-2024-3?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets&amp;_gl=1*1i3p3gk*_ga*MTY3OTgyNjg0MS4xNzIxMDE2MDM2*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcyNDE3MTUxMi41My4wLjE3MjQxNzE1MTQuNTguMC4w">struggling property sector</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-weak-domestic-demand-factory-activity-amid-strong-export-2024-7?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">weak consumer sentiment</a>.On Monday, the country's two main stock exchanges <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/chinese-stocks-sentiment-indicator-flows-foreign-investors-china-economy-2024-8#:~:text=China's%20economy%20is%20facing%20headwinds,first%20half%20of%20the%20year.">stopped reporting daily data</a> on flows from foreign investors, part of a greater move away from reporting real-time data as the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-growth-consumer-spending-demand-real-estate-debt-crisis-2024-8">economy remains stuck in a rut</a>.

China's EVs are fueling a big oil demand slowdown

New Delhi: After a wave of initial public offerings (IPOs) in recent weeks, the primary market will experience a brief slowdown, with only two new public issues scheduled for the next week, aiming to raise Rs 365 crore. There were 12 IPOs in the mainboard segment and 40 in the SME (small and medium enterprise) segment in September. IPOs scheduled for next week, beginning October 7, are <keyword id="22922418" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Garuda-Construction" source="keywords">Garuda Construction</keyword> and Engineering on the main board and <keyword id="23436926" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shiv-Texchem" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Shiv Texchem" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Shiv Texchem">Shiv Texchem</keyword> on the SME segment. Garuda Construction is seeking to raise Rs 264 crore, and Shiv Texchem is aiming for over Rs 101 crore through their respective IPOs available for public subscription during October 8-10. The stock market has seen a significant correction in the <keyword id="19911354" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="equity-market" source="keywords">equity market</keyword> since the start of October amid intensifying conflict between Israel and Iran. Despite the temporary slowdown, overall, the outlook for the <keyword id="19926041" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="IPO-market" source="keywords">IPO market</keyword> is promising, with 26 firms proposing to raise Rs 72,000 crore presently holding Sebi's approval while another 55 companies looking to garner about Rs 89,000 crore are awaiting the regulator's clearance, according to the Primedatabase. This month will see <keyword id="19908548" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hyundai-Motor-India" source="keywords">Hyundai Motor India</keyword> Ltd, the Indian arm of South Korean automaker Hyundai, hitting the primary market to raise around Rs 25,000 crore. The company's IPO is likely to be launched on October 14, according to sources. If the offering proceeds as planned, it will surpass Life Insurance Corporation's (LIC) public offering of Rs 21,000 crore, becoming the largest IPO in India's history. Moreover, 63 companies have already mobilised around Rs 64,000 crore via mainboard, marking a 29 per cent increase from Rs 49,436 crore collected by 57 firms through the route in 2023. The strong momentum in IPO markets is being driven by several key macroeconomic, sector-specific factors and the willingness of funds to look at new ideas. In particular, strong inflows into domestic mutual funds and robust capital formation across corporate India are playing key roles, experts said. Garuda Construction and Engineering's IPO is a mix of fresh issue of 1.83 crore equity shares and an offer of sale (OFS) of 95 lakh equity shares by promoter PKH Ventures. The price band has been fixed at Rs 92 to Rs 95 per share. About Rs 100 crore from its fresh issuance proceeds will be utilised for working capital requirements and the balance towards general corporate purposes, including unidentified inorganic acquisitions. Shiv Texchem's IPO is a completely new offering of over 61 lakh shares and is a book-built issue of Rs 101.35 crore. It has set a price band of Rs 158 to Rs 166 per equity share for the IPO. Further, the SME IPO of Khyati Global Ventures, which opened for public subscription on October 4, will close on October 8. Additionally, six companies from the SME segment are set to list in the coming week. HVAX Technologies and Saj Hotels will debut on October 7, followed by Subam Papers and Paramount Dye Tec on October 8. NeoPolitan Pizza and Foods will begin trading on October 9, with Khyati Global Ventures to follow on October 11.

You Searched For "it slowdown" and got 13 results

Sam Altman says 'there is no wall' in an apparent response to fears of an AI slowdown

Robert Scammell

All eyes on China: Rush of foreign investors can do little to stave off a slowdown, says World Bank

Ira Alok Puranik

Partner pay at Big 4 firms is dropping, the latest sign of the consulting slowdown

Polly Thompson

All eyes are on TSMC earnings as the chipmaker industry faces slowdown worries

Jennifer Sor

Miu Miu is hot right now — and Prada's chic sibling is helping it buck the luxury slowdown

Maria Noyen

The China threat and the EV slowdown— 2 takeaways from a busy few weeks in auto news

Nora Naughton

Tesla reversed its sales slowdown, but not enough to calm investors' nerves

Graham Rapier,Nora Naughton

The IMF just raised its growth forecast for the US economy this year — but expects a slowdown in 2025

Theron Mohamed

ICRA forecasts slowdown in India's economy: GDP growth expected to hit six-quarter low in Q1 FY2025

Deekshith Pinto

Credit card growth experiencing a slowdown, as borrowers struggle to pay back loans

BI India Bureau

Investors are pouring into this defensive corner of the stock market amid fears of an economic slowdown

Kelly Cloonan

China's EVs are fueling a big oil demand slowdown

Kelly Cloonan

IPO market braces for brief slowdown, 2 new issues targeting Rs 365 crore next week

PTI

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides