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Market Surge Last Week, What’s Next?

Last week’s market highlight was aggressive buying by the FIIs. They were net buyers, injecting Rs 11,517.92 crore into the cash segment…reports Asian Lite News

The stock market witnessed a sharp rally last week driven by the US Fed Reserve’s rate cut. Next week’s market outlook depends upon several factors like foreign institutional investors (FIIs) activities, futures and options (F&O) monthly expiry, crude oil prices and global macroeconomic data.

Last week’s market highlight was aggressive buying by the FIIs. They were net buyers, injecting Rs 11,517.92 crore into the cash segment. Conversely, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) turned net sellers, offloading Rs633.67 crore in the cash segment.

In the last trading session, Nifty and Sensex climbed to all-time highs of 25,849.25 and 84,694.46, respectively, before closing the week at 25,790.95 and 84,544.31. The Bank Nifty index also showed strength, taking 11 weeks to reach a new peak of 54,066.10.

Among sectoral indices, the construction sector emerged as the top performer, followed by banking, while the pharmaceutical sector ended the week in negative territory. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 11 to 1 in favour of lowering the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75 per cent to 5 per cent, marking the first rate cut after more than a year of maintaining rates at a two-decade high.

Interestingly, the usually strong IT index underperformed, ending the week with a 2.75 per cent decline. On the other hand, Nifty Bank, which had lagged, took the lead, gaining 3.5 per cent and finally reaching its all-time high. Midcap and Smallcap indices also underperformed during the week. The market displayed clear signs of sector rotation, as investors shifted focus to sectors with renewed momentum.

Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart said, “Nifty is trading in uncharted territory, with 25,921 and 26,244 as the next target levels. On the downside, 25,350 has emerged as a crucial support level for the NSE benchmark, and the bullish momentum is expected to persist as long as Nifty remains above this level.”

According to Palka Arora Chopra, Director of Master Capital Services, Nifty Bank Index reached a new all-time high of 54,066.10, forming a strong bullish candle on the weekly charts and closing above previous highs.

“This signals fresh momentum, primarily driven by private-sector banks. The index will likely continue its upward trajectory toward 55,000, with minor resistance at 54,300. On the downside, immediate support is at 53,200, and a breakdown below this level could push the index toward 52,500,” Chopra mentioned.

FIIs Pump ₹14,064 Cr, More Buying Ahead

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned aggressive buyers this week with infusing Rs 14,064 crore in the cash market as Indian markets remained resilient amid robust economy performance, data showed on Saturday.

Total FII investment till September 20 stood at Rs 33,699 crore, taking the total FII investment in the country to Rs 76,585 crore this year to date, as per NSDL data.

Market watchers said that the trend of FII buying is likely to continue in the coming days.

Manoj Purohit from BDO India said the US Federal Reserve made the first interest rate cut in the last four years, by a larger than anticipated margin of 50 bps and the foreign portfolio investors (FPI) fraternity has been conscious about this move and reacted passively.

“The Indian markets reflected their resilience on a positive note basis the strong fundamentals and robust economy performance at the expected GDP growth,” said Purohit.

September witnessed the second highest inflows in 2024 so far, the last one being in March.

The flood of FII money has appreciated the rupee by 0.4 per cent for the week ended September 20. This can boost further FII buying, sayd analysts.

Despite global uncertainties, the primary factors, to make emerging markets like India a sweet spot, are balanced fiscal deficits, rate cut impacts on the Indian currency, strong valuations, and RBI’s approach to keep inflation under control without a rate cut.

To add, the IPOs announced this year attracted a large chunk of foreign funds making the Indian capital market buoyant and a lucrative place to shift their positions from other riskier countries, said analysts.

All eyes on the RBI now whether it follows the suit by making a cut in the repo rate in October or wait till December.

There is a strong case to marginally cut rates to manage food inflation, diluted interest from household savings which impact the retail lending business of banks.

India’s monetary policy has been more conservative despite the Fed’s action so far, said Purohit.

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-Top News Business World News

G20 Seeks Fairer Global Tax System

The Group of Twenty (G20) also urged reforms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the strengthening of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), reports Asian Lite News

Finance ministers and central bank presidents of the Group of Twenty (G20) concluded their third meeting in Rio de Janeiro, adopting a joint communique that calls for a more just, stable, and efficient international tax system.

“We acknowledge the urgency and importance of realignment in quota shares to better reflect members’ relative positions in the world economy, while protecting the quota shares of the poorest members,” the communique states, also addressing the development needs and priorities of low- and middle-income countries.

On top of that, it urges reforms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the strengthening of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), Xinhua news agency reported.

The G20 Ministerial Declaration on International Tax Cooperation was issued at the meeting and calls for strengthening tax transparency, preventing base erosion and profit shifting, as well as applying progressive taxation to ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, the coordinator of the meeting, said that the release of the joint communique is a victory for the international community after several years.

“The G20 needs to take advantage of the Financial Track to strengthen cooperation mechanisms,” Haddad added.

Brazil has held the rotating presidency of the G20 since last December. During its one-year term, the Brazilian government focuses on three priorities: combating hunger, poverty, and inequality; sustainable development; and global governance reform.

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Business Lite Blogs Woman

‘Work Flexibility Key to Women’s Job Retention’

Arundhati Bhattacharya emphasized the significance of comprehending why women exit the workforce and offering them flexible work schedules and locations to retain them…reports Asian Lite News

Former SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya on Friday raised concern over the fact that a very small percentage of women make it to the senior management in different organisations.

She made the comments while delivering her special address during CII’s Rajasthan Women Leadership Summit in Jaipur.

“The reason for this is that women often exit the workforce at various stages, such as during childbearing, when their children are between classes 10 to 12, or when they need to care for the elderly at home. The women workforce should be provided with flexible work schedules and locations,” she said and added that women should make up to 40 to 50 per cent of an organisation’s workforce.

To retain women in the workforce, it is important to understand why they leave and provide them with flexible work schedules and locations, said Bhattacharya.

Bhattacharya, who was the first woman chairperson of SBI, further cited the example of how introducing the concept of a sabbatical for up to two years for women in SBI helped more than 650 women retain their jobs.

Talking about skilling, she said that with the leap in technology, there is a need to keep learning, relearning, and unlearning.

“Skilling is a matter of initiative, as plenty of online courses are now available.”

Sanjay Agarwal, Founder, Managing Director and CEO of AU Small Finance Bank, emphasised the importance of enhancing the visibility of women in the workforce.

He acknowledged that while women are indeed working, their contributions and the time they dedicate to their jobs often go unnoticed or undervalued.

Agarwal stressed that it is crucial for organisations to recognise and appreciate the efforts of female employees, ensuring that their hard work is acknowledged and rewarded.

He also highlighted the need for creating a supportive and secure work environment for women, he said.

Nitin Gupta, Senior Director and Head of CII Rajasthan, said that the primary aim of the summit is to create a platform where women leaders would share their experiences, how they surmounted challenges on their leadership journey and what were the pivotal moments or the events that transformed them as individuals and leaders.

During her welcome remarks, Indian Women Network Chairwoman, Rajasthan, Tanuja Agarwal, said that the objective of the session is to discuss the role of women in nurturing organisational growth.

The Vote of Thanks on the occasion was proposed by Co-Vice Chairwoman, IWN Rajasthan, Nivedita Sarda.

ALSO READ-UAE-Japan forum empowers women in sustainable energy sector

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Business Food Lite Blogs

Passion Meets Business

During the trip, seeing the lengths they were prepared to go to have the best Paella, one of their mates, who’s a social media influencer, suggested that Sid and Shanky should launch their own YouTube channel so that they could keep travelling for food and talking about it, and perhaps, also make some money out of their work…reports Sourish Bhattacharyya

A lot of people like to eat, but Shashank ‘Shanky’ Jayakumar and Sid Mewara, who are more famous as The Big Forkers (sorry, they are not exactly politically correct!), have travelled the world, talking all the way, for their love of food.

Sid, a Florida chef-turned-Wharton-trained-investment-banker living in Goa, was in Italy some years ago, getting hard-nosed over a business deal, when he received a call from Shanky, his first cousin (their parents are brother and sister), who’s also a techpreneur and World Bank consultant, asking for his opinion on where to have the best paella in Spain.

Sid not only had the answer, but also got so excited about his cousin getting to have the best paella in Spain, that he flew off to Valencia to join Shanky and partake of the treat. They then joined a group of friends who were travelling in the footsteps of chef, television star and best-selling author Anthony Bourdain to discover the culinary secrets of Southern Spain.

During the trip, seeing the lengths they were prepared to go to have the best Paella, one of their mates, who’s a social media influencer, suggested that Sid and Shanky should launch their own YouTube channel so that they could keep travelling for food and talking about it, and perhaps, also make some money out of their work.

Shanky may have travelled, eaten well and developed a personality that reflects his passion for all things edible, but he had no media experience. And the closest that Sid ever came to becoming famous was to dash off an email on Yahoo! to Discovery Channel pitching for a programme. That was 23 years ago — and Discovery did not bother to reply.

But they were confident they could talk non-stop, and Shanky, being a techie based out of Mumbai, knew enough people who could do a decent job producing YouTube videos.

Covid and the lockdowns intervened, forcing them to can their plan, but they used the time to seed the idea of ‘The Big Forkers’, a YouTube channel that makes an immediate impression for its superior production values, conversational format and creative use of graphics to convey information that channel hosts tend to meander with (often exposing their rather limited knowledge of the language of food).

On their channel, as the irreverent and voluble Sid and Shanky travel from the Shetty bars of Mumbai to Singapore, where they find out what real Chilli Chicken looks and tastes like, and to the barbecue haunts of ‘brisket country’ Austin, North Texas, they also make sure they do not miss the laphing at Humayunpur in New Delhi or the ‘holige’ at Nalapakkas in Bengaluru.

In between, they take viewers on food journeys that definitely leave them salivating, but if Sid and Shanky find Natraj’s ‘aloo tikki’ to be underwhelming, they won’t hold back their punches and try to be polite. They don’t overload the episodes with ‘gyan’, leaving that job to graphics that have a street art feel to them.

Not that their viewers are allergic to knowledge. We stumbled upon one who explained why the word ‘habashi’ in the name of the popular halwa selling near Delhi’s Jama Masjid isn’t a pejorative reference to its dark colour because of the caramelised sugar, but points to its possible origin in Ethiopia (Al Habash), a country with which India has had old ties.

Their most recent season has brought them to Delhi, where they travel from the bylanes of Chandni Chowk, sampling the chaats and Jung Bahadur’s kachoris, to the Jama Masjid neighbourhood populated by such legends as Kallu (nihari), Aslam (butter chicken), Haji Kallan Bawarchi (dal gosht), and of course, Karim’s and Al Jawahar.

And then they go to Delhi’s North-East hub, Humayunpur, where they take us to on delicious journey across Yo Tibet, Lha Kitchen, Ao Assam and Hornbill — restaurants that stand out for pork with laal shaak, duck curry and meat laphing, apart from the more predictable momos and thukpas.

It is not just their passion for food, and the unscripted nature of their channel, but their head for business that also makes Shanky and Sid stand apart. As Sid put it, most people driving Indian YouTube channels aren’t able to monetise their work even if they have a massive reach because vast audiences don’t necessarily translate into significant ‘wallet power’.

What they have successfully shown to their partners, notably alcohol brands, is that they may have a subscriber base that can be measured in tens of thousands, but they are all people with wallet power, with whom they engage through events and the Forkers Dining Club, a celebratory WhatsApp group, where members from across the country share information about food and also their meal experiences.

Shanky and Sid now plan to set up a media company to advise people like them, who have a passion for food and knowledge to share, about how to maximise returns from their YouTube channels. They wish to put their knowledge of business to good use not just for themselves.

Will their head for business get to bond with what their heart dictates? If they are able to seal the marriage between heart and head, they may just end the eternal existential dilemma of food YouTubers, who are forever torn between extravagant love and elusive money.

ALSO READ-India’s Capex Fuels Capital Goods Surge

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-Top News UK News

Over 100 business leaders back Labour  

The letter, signed by current and former chief executives in retail, advertising, travel and finance, said Labour had shown it had changed and should be given a chance to shape the country’s future…reports Asian Lite News

More than 100 business leaders have given their support to Britain’s opposition Labour Party before a July 4 election, saying the country needs to end the instability and stagnation that has dogged the economy.

Rishi Sunak’s governing Conservatives have typically been the party of big business but Labour’s finance policy chief Rachel Reeves has spent years courting business owners in a bid to show her party can be trusted to run the economy.

The letter, signed by current and former chief executives in retail, advertising, travel and finance, said Labour had shown it had changed and should be given a chance to shape the country’s future.

“We, as leaders and investors in British business, believe that it is time for a change,” the letter said.

“We are in urgent need of a new outlook to break free from the stagnation of the last decade and we hope by taking this public stand we might persuade others of that need too.” Labour will hope the endorsement shows that it is no longer the party of Starmer’s predecessor, veteran left-wing lawmaker Jeremy Corbyn, who campaigned at the last election in 2019 to renationalise some key assets and hike taxes on the rich.

Leaders who signed the letter include the boss of retailer Iceland, the chairman of JD Sports, the head of the UK arm of ad giant WPP, the former CEO of Aston Martin and the founder of a children’s company that once included Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty as an investor.

Starmer’s Labour have held an around 20-point lead in polls for almost a year. It has accused the government of 14 years of economic mismanagement, failing to give business the stability it craves and leaving people worse off.

Britain’s economic performance since the coronavirus pandemic has been the weakest among the Group ofSeven economies with the exception of Germany, weighed down by high levels of debt and stuck in a rut of slow growth.

Reeves will say later on Tuesday the endorsement shows that Labour can bring business investment back to Britain. “Our plans for growth are built on partnership with business,” she will say.

Sunak’s Conservatives say they have had to steer the economy through the twin shocks of Covid-19 and the energy spike that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A recent drop in inflation, they say, shows that the economy is back on track.

After an underwhelming start to the election campaign, Sunak has proposed tax cuts for millions of pensioners – the section of the electorate that is most likely to vote Conservative.

The new proposal will cost 2.4 billion pounds ($3.1 billion)a year by 2029/30 and be funded through government efforts to clamp down on tax avoidance and evasion, the party said.

Rayner promises to fight to end Gaza’s suffering

Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the UK’s Labour Party, has promised that her party will do everything in its power to ease the suffering in Gaza as it bids to regain Muslim voters’ support, a leaked video surfacing on social media has revealed.

The footage was first reported by the political blog Guido Fawkes, which claimed to have obtained the leaked tape from a meeting in Ashton-under-Lyne, Rayner’s constituency.

The MP is seen appealing to voters upset with the party’s stance on Israel’s assault on Gaza, The Telegraph reported. Rayner — claiming she worked “day and night” to get three British doctors out of Rafah and is now attempting to secure aid for the enclave — said: “I promise you, the Labour Party, including myself, is doing everything we can, because nobody wants to see what’s happening.”

She acknowledged the party’s current inability to halt the fighting, admitting that Labour’s influence would be “limited,” even if it came to power after July’s general election. Rayner added: “Only last week the Labour Party were supporting the ICC (International Criminal Court). The Conservatives didn’t support the ICC, so with this general election on that issue, we can’t affect anything when we’re not in government.

“And I’ll be honest with you, if Labour gets into government, we are limited. I will be honest. I’m not going to promise you … because (Joe) Biden, who’s the US (president), who has way more influence, has only got limited influence in that. And Qatar, Saudi Arabia, all of these people, we are all working to stop what’s happening at the moment; we want to see that. So I promise you, that’s what we want to see.”

Rayner also promised that, if Labour was elected, the party would recognize Palestinian statehood.

She added: “If Labour gets into power, we will recognize Palestine. I will push not only to recognize … there is nothing to recognize at the moment, sadly. It’s decimated. We have to rebuild Palestine; we have to rebuild Gaza. That takes more than just recognizing it.”

Gaza has been a divisive issue for Labour since Oct. 7, with reports revealing that Muslim voters have abandoned the party as a result of what they perceive as its politicians enabling the war.

ALSO READ-Labour rejects Tory’s National Service plan

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Abu Dhabi Business UAE News

Abu Dhabi Real Estate Market Flourishes in Q1 2024

representative image

In the first quarter of 2024, Abu Dhabi’s real estate market experienced significant activity, totaling AED15.9 billion in transactions with 5,127 sales and mortgage deals. Data from the DARI platform of the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) highlighted 2,919 sales transactions, totaling over AED9.6 billion, with a mix of ready-made and off-plan units…reports Asian Lite News

During the first quarter of 2024, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi saw a robust real estate market, with transactions totaling AED15.9 billion. This figure encompasses 5,127 sales and mortgage transactions involving a variety of property types, indicating significant activity and investment within the sector.

According to data from the DARI platform of the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) in Abu Dhabi, the emirate logged 2,919 sales and purchases transactions in Q1 2024 totalling over AED9.6 billion. This includes 1,167 ready-made real estate units and 1,752 off-plan units.

DARI data showed that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi recorded about 2,208 mortgage deals during Q1, with a total value of AED6.3 billion.
Meanwhile, the top three real estate transactions logged in Abu Dhabi during the past week, with Al Saadiyat Island and Yas Island topping the list of the largest transactions for Aldar Properties projects. The total value of transactions on Yas Island amounted to AED23.5 million, while the one on Al Saadiyat Island totalled AED14.3 million.

ALSO READ : Real Estate Awaits Budget Boost

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Woman

More Women Flock to Mutual Funds

What it takes to run a business while we WFH.

According to the talent management platform foundit (formerly Monster jobs), this exponential increase can be attributed to the convenience that the gig economy or the freelancing industry offers to participants…reports Asian Lite News

With improving ease of access to information and technology, more women investors are investing in mutual funds, the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) said.

The share of women in mutual funds’ assets under management (AUM) has shot up from 15.2 per cent in 2017 to 20.9 per cent in 2023.

This pace of growth is more prominent in the hinterland as compared to the urban centres, with the share of women’s folios and assets in the B-30 cities increasing from 15 per cent to 18 per cent and from 17 per cent to 28 per cent during the period, respectively, the AMFI said.

The age analysis of women investors indicates that almost 50 per cent of women investors fall in the 25-44 years age group, as compared to around 45 per cent for the overall set of individual investors.

Goa boasts the highest share of women in the mutual fund industry at 40 per cent, followed by the northeastern states with high 30s percentage. Chandigarh, Maharashtra, and New Delhi also have over 30 per cent share of women in the industry’s assets under management, as per the AMFI data.

Most women continue to invest through the regular plan route in mutual funds and stay invested for longer when investing through a mutual fund distributor.

The number of women mutual fund distributors has steadily increased, nearing the 42,000 registration mark as of December 2023, managing over Rs 1 lakh crore in AUM.

Meanwhile, the number of women opting for freelancing jobs in India doubled over the past year, jumping from 4 per cent in February 2023 to 8 per cent in February 2024, a new report showed on Monday.

According to the talent management platform foundit (formerly Monster jobs), this exponential increase can be attributed to the convenience that the gig economy or the freelancing industry offers to participants.

There has also been a 56 per cent increase in jobs for women candidates in February this year when compared to February last year.

“Female workers play a major role in the success of a company. They are proven to be hard-working and creative,” said Sekhar Garisa, CEO, foundit, a Quess company.

“Female leaders often demonstrate transformational leadership qualities, and having more women in a team promotes diversity and inclusion in the workplace,” he added.

Moreover, the report revealed that the IT/Computers-Software sector leads in offering opportunities to women, comprising 36 per cent of its workforce.

The Recruitment/Staffing/RPO sector (24 per cent) has the second-highest share of women in the workforce, followed by the Banking, Financial, Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector (23 per cent).

The participation of women in the workforce has been positive and steady across the metro cities of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune.

In addition, the report suggested that there has been a noteworthy increase in leadership opportunities for women, with 9 per cent of job postings specifically targeted towards leadership positions in February this year.

ALSO READ-UBS Hails Indian Economy

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-Top News Europe India News

India, Greece eye doubling trade by 2030

Modi said new opportunities were explored during his meeting ranging from agriculture, pharma, medical devices, technologies, innovation, skill development, and space…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the visit of Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to India reflected the strengthening of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

He stated that the growing cooperation in the defence and security sectors reflects deep mutual trust between the two nations.

In a joint press statement after holding bilateral and delegation level talks here with his Greek counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that both countries have agreed to take their bilateral trade to two times by the year 2030.

PM Modi said, “I am happy to welcome PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his delegation to India. After my visit to Greece last year, his visit to India is a symbol of the strengthening strategic partnership between the two countries. The visit of the Greek PM to India after 16 years is a historic occasion.”

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra were among others who were present in the delegation level talks.

Terming his discussions with Kyriakos Mitsotakis “meaningful and useful”, Modi said that the two nations are rapidly heading towards doubling bilateral trade by 2030. He expressed happiness that India and Greece are taking steps to implement the agreements reached in this area in 2023.

Modi said new opportunities were explored during his meeting ranging from agriculture, pharma, medical devices, technologies, innovation, skill development, and space.

PM Modi said, “Our discussions today were very meaningful and useful. It is a matter of happiness that we are rapidly heading towards doubling bilateral trade by 2030. We identified several new opportunities to give new energy and direction to our cooperation. There are many possibilities for closer cooperation between the two countries in the field of agriculture.”

He added, “And I am pleased that both sides are taking steps to implement the agreements reached in this area last year. We emphasized on increasing cooperation in many areas like pharma, medical devices, technology, innovation, skill development, and space.”

He said shipping and connectivity are the highest priority areas and discussed increasing cooperation in these areas with the Greek PM. PM Modi noted that India and Greece have common concerns and priorities in the fight against terrorism.

PM Modi said, “We also discussed connecting the start-ups of both countries. Shipping and connectivity are topics of high priority for both the countries. We also discussed increasing cooperation in these areas.”

Announcing the formation of a Working Group between India and Greece for defence and security, he said, “The growing cooperation in defence and security reflects our deep mutual trust. With the formation of a Working Group in this area, we will be able to increase mutual coordination on common challenges like defence, cyber security, counter-terrorism, and maritime security.”

He said, “New opportunities for co-production and co-development are being created in defence manufacturing in India, which can be beneficial for both the countries. We have agreed to connect the defence industries of both the countries. India and Greece have common concerns and priorities in the fight against terrorism. We discussed in detail how to further strengthen our cooperation in this area.”

He noted that India and Greece have a long history of deep cultural and people-to-people ties.

PM Modi stated that people of both nations have been exchanging trade and cultural ties as well as ideas.

He said, “As two ancient and great civilizations, India and Greece have a long history of deep cultural and people-to-people ties. For almost two and a half thousand years, people of both the countries have been exchanging trade and cultural relations as well as ideas.”

“Today we identified several new initiatives to give a modern form to these relations. We discussed concluding the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between the two countries as soon as possible. This will further strengthen our people-to-people relations,” PM Modi said.

This is the first bilateral Head of State or Government level visit from Greece to India after 15 years. The last Prime Ministerial visit from Greece to India took place in 2008. (ANI)

Our ties can serve as anchor, says Jaishankar

Highlighting India’s burgeoning global presence, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasised the nation’s growing interest in the Mediterranean region during his closing remarks at the Raisina Dialogue’s inaugural event on Wednesday.

Jaishankar’s observations underscored the pivotal role the India-Greece partnership plays in shaping the nation’s upward trajectory on the international stage.

“India’s growing interest in the Mediterranean region is an important facet of our steady rise. The India-Greece partnership can surely serve as an anchor,” he said while extending the vote of thanks following Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis remarks at the dialogue.

The Greek PM was the keynote speaker and chief guest of the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue.

Further drawing attention to the unique platform of the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar credited the event’s success to its diverse participants. Describing it as a “Made in India version of a Global Public Square,” he emphasised how the dialogue has evolved into its current stature due to the collective efforts of the participants, transforming it into a hub of global discourse.

EAM Jaishankar thanked the chief guest, PM Mitsotakis of Greece, and his wife for their participation. He commended the Greek PM for delivering an inspirational and thought-provoking address, especially highlighting the resonance of his message on democracies that deliver, which holds particular significance in the current global context.

ALSO READ-UAE, Greece sign pact to advance digital infra

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-Top News Politics USA

Trump Ordered to Pay $83.3M to Jean Carroll

On a Truth Social post, Trump blasted the verdict as “absolutely ridiculous” and said he would appeal the decision.

Former US President Donald Trump should pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defamatory statements he made against her in 2019, a Manhattan federal jury has determined.

The nine New Yorkers – two women and seven men – ordered Trump on Friday to pay Carroll $11 million for a reputational repair program, $7.3 million in other compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages. The total is more than eight times what Carroll asked for in her initial lawsuit, Xinhua news agency reported.

Trump left the courthouse minutes before the verdict and was not inside the room when the jury returned.

On a Truth Social post, Trump blasted the verdict as “absolutely ridiculous” and said he would appeal the decision.

Friday’s verdict marked the second time Carroll won damages from Trump at trial.

Last May, a separate Manhattan federal jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages, including nearly $3 million for defamation, after they found that Trump sexually abused Carroll and then defamed her in 2022 for public statements he made disparaging her and denying the allegations.

Carroll, a former magazine columnist, alleged that Trump raped her in a department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when he denied her claim.

ALSO READ: GOP set to name Trump as the 2024 nominee

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Lite Blogs Woman

Study: Women Leaders Thrive in Family Businesses

Update your space with a work from home station. (Photo: Unsplash)

This leadership style aligns more closely with Western gender norms that characterize women as more empathetic and cooperative and men as more competitive and aggressive…reports Asian Lite News

Family firms account for more than 70 per cent of the global GDP, and poll statistics reveal that they are significantly more accepting of female leadership: up to 55 per cent have at least one woman on their board, and 70% are considering a woman as their next CEO. Experts attribute the outlier gender parity to a focus on long-term plans or family values.
But a new study, published in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, suggests that women’s success as leaders in family businesses is deeply rooted in how employees interpret their leadership style.

“Family firms tend to focus on being inclusive and supportive of internal stakeholders, extending the sense of ‘family’ and community,” says Remedios Hernandez-Linares of the Universidad de Extremadura in Spain and one of the study’s authors. “This culture creates a moderating effect for women leaders — their leadership is perceived as relationship-building and values dissemination.”

This leadership style aligns more closely with Western gender norms that characterize women as more empathetic and cooperative and men as more competitive and aggressive. The authors note, however, that women leaders at family businesses are not necessarily more impactful because they conform to gender norms. They thrive because their businesses’ strategies emphasize areas where women are traditionally seen as competent.

“CEOs influence employees’ behaviors via modeling, and leaders who are more credible and legitimate are more effective role models,” says Maria Concepcion Lopez-Fernandez of Universidad de Cantabria in Spain, another of the study’s authors. “Perceived incongruity between female gender roles and leadership roles can lead to prejudice and bias against female leaders.”

The authors specifically dug into how CEOs foster entrepreneurship, a highly masculinized business behavior, within their business culture. They conducted regression analysis on survey data from 322 Spanish small businesses, 198 classified as family firms and 133 as nonfamily. Women represented 20 percent of the CEOs. CEOs ranked their business’s performance on five entrepreneurial traits: risk-taking, innovation, proactiveness, competitiveness, and autonomy. The survey also measured key aspects of social learning at each business, including commitment to learning, shared vision, and open-mindedness.

The analysis showed no direct effect of CEO sex on entrepreneurial orientation, and all aspects of social learning were positively related to entrepreneurship. However, there were marked differences based on CEO sex and whether the organization was a family business.
“It is not male or female leadership per se that predicts a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation, but rather, whether the male or female CEO is leading a family or nonfamily business,” says Kimberly A Eddleston of Northeastern, the study’s third author. “Women leaders at family firms better leverage their business’s commitment to learning and open-mindedness to support entrepreneurship than women leaders at nonfamily firms.”

“Our study therefore suggests that while women have an advantage leading family businesses, gender biases hamper female leaders’ ability to transform learning into greater entrepreneurial orientation in nonfamily business,” added Franz Kellermanns of UNC Charlotte, the study’s final author. The study gives greater context to decades of conflicting research that demonstrates a multitude of business benefits associated with female leadership but also slower growth and lower profits. The key may lie in culture — women can create more impact at businesses that emphasize at least some more traditionally feminine values. The authors also advise that couching their leadership styles in empathy and relationship-building can also help make women business leaders more effective. (ANI)

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