These banks are threat to commercial banks and these banks help in financial inclusion

Hassane Kamara of Watford FC looks dejected following their side's defeat in the Premier League match between Manchester City and Watford at Etihad Stadium on April 23, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) Hassane Kamara is a high-octane defender at Watford FC in England. He was the club’s player of the year last season despite only joining in January 2022. He’s also emblematic of the financial engineering available to football clubs through the increasingly popular multi-club ownership model. Watford was relegated from the Premier League last summer and Kamara was sold to Udinese of Italy for a profit of about £12 million ($14.4 million). That looked like a great trade — but even better was that Udinese, which is owned by the same Italian family that owns Watford, immediately loaned the player back. No rules were broken and Watford Chairman Scott Duxbury was upfront about the motives, telling the club’s website that the deal aimed to balance … [Read more...] about It’s not just Manchester City. Financial football is becoming more prevalent

As ESG becomes the core conversation in corporate boardrooms and for the allocation of capital, it is compelling brands and enterprises to improve their sustainability performance. (Source: Shutterstock) In a bid to enable 100,000 MSMEs turn ESG compliant in the next 24 months, Bizongo, a leading vendor digitization platform with embedded financing for brands and enterprises has launched Bizongo Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Scorecard. This will help bolster ESG consciousness among Indian MSMEs and larger enterprises. With this, Bizongo has also become the first B2B marketplace to offer ESG-related intelligence. Aniket Deb, Co-founder and COO, Bizongo, said, "In its essence, ESG is a framework that helps businesses build customer loyalty, attract investors, make operations sustainable, and improve financial performance. In line with this, Bizongo's ESG Scorecard will enable MSMEs on its platform assess their ESG performance and help them integrate it into their … [Read more...] about Bizongo launches ESG scorecard; aims to help one lakh MSMEs turn ESG compliant in the next 24 months

KEY TAKEAWAYS Buying from central banks reached the highest level since 1967. Investment demand also increased; ETF sales declined. The price rebound that began late in the year has continued in 2023. Global gold demand, fed by the largest central bank purchases in more than a half-century, surged to the highest level since 2011 last year despite reduced consumption by the metal's largest buying segment: jewelers. The London-based World Gold Council reported that gold demand in 2022 increased 18% to 4,741 metric tons. The world's central banks accounted for about a quarter of that amount, 1,136 metric tons, 152% more than 450 million metric tons in 2021. The buying binge from central banks reflected their desire to increase exposure to an asset historically viewed as a consistent store of value and a hedge against inflation and financial market turbulence. Global inflation surged last year, with U.S. inflation hitting 40-year highs, causing central banks around … [Read more...] about Central Banks’ Buying Binge Boosted 2022 Global Gold Demand to 11-Year High

PHUKET CITY: A foreign exchange teller questioned in connection with the theft of 1.8 million baht from a Patong bank claims Kathu Police officers threatened to send him home ‘in a black bag’ unless he confessed to the crime. Samarn Pul-ied, who spent around 24 hours in custody at Kathu Police Station on November 8 and 9, also claims officers refused to feed him or allow him to call relatives. Mr Samarn, 38, and his uncle, Thana-satjakorn Chanchuay, have complained to Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop through the Damrongtham Center over the way Mr Samarn was treated. “We’re asking the governor for justice,” Acting Captain Thana-satjakorn said. “And Samarn is going to sue any police involved as an example to the others.” Related news 500k baht stolen from Singaporean family in Phuket villa 4 hours ago PLTO continues crackdown on illegal taxis 7 hours ago The robbery at the center of the squabble took place at Siam City Bank in the … [Read more...] about Phuket man demands justice after cops’ “black bag’ threat

Doosan Bobcat's excavator to be used for disaster relief in Turkey [DOOSAN GROUP] Korean companies are sending donations and equipment to Turkey and Syria as part of emergency relief efforts following a massive earthquake that resulted in more than 7,000 deaths. Doosan Group announced Wednesday that the corporation will send around 1.25 billion won ($1 million) worth of Doosan Bobcat's construction equipment for disaster relief in Turkey. Doosan plans to promptly deliver the equipment, with the support of a local contractor, to be used for rescuing people and restoring basic infrastructure such as roads and buildings. The equipment to be delivered includes skid loaders and excavators to remove debris and portable power generators and lighting equipment to be used at sites with no electricity. "We hope these can provide practical help in disaster relief and damage repair," a spokesperson for Doosan said Wednesday. Doosan Group has provided its equipment and donations to … [Read more...] about Korean companies offer money, donations to earthquake-hit Turkey, Syria

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Hamid Farooqui is a serial entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of experience management company Sogolytics , and CTO of K12 Insight. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the long-outdated “customer is king” and “the customer is always right” sentiments are back—and with a vengeance. As a consumer, I’ve come to appreciate the nearly instant delivery, free returns and highly personalized products and services available at my fingertips. As a CEO specializing in experience management, I’ve seen how investing in CX has made a difference for our clients—and how treating it as a nice-to-have can be disastrous. CX Or Bust In the past, revenue was the only metric that businesses measured. Competition wasn’t as fierce, and with limited options, loyalty was more predictable. Now, customer experience software solutions are more affordable, analysis can be conducted without tech or research degrees, and … [Read more...] about Customer Experience Is King

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The cannabis and hemp industries have been evolving more rapidly than almost any other on earth, and countless individuals, corporations and organizations are making significant contributions to its growth and success. But who are the real game-changers in this rapidly expanding sector? Look no further than the 4th annual Cannabis 50 list, compiled by MGO, a CPA and business advisory firm in the U.S., being released exclusively through this publication. The fourth iteration of this annual list recognizes the top companies, organizations and individuals who have made a positive impact on the cannabis and hemp industries in the past year. But, as the firm notes, the Cannabis 50 isn’t a competition. There are no winners or losers, only inspiring stories from the frontlines of this great movement. Diversity At The Helm This year’s list is particularly noteworthy, as it highlights an increased presence of female and … [Read more...] about MGO Names 50 Game-Changers In Cannabis, Including Diddy, Mike Tyson And More

The overall budgetary allocation for the agriculture ministry was increased to an estimated Rs 1.25 lakh crore for FY24 financial year, including Rs 60,000 crore for the government's ambitious PM-KISAN scheme. Small farmers will benefit from the budget, the ministry said, adding that emphasis has been laid on promoting the agriculture sector through technology. A look at what the budget offered: The Hits Technology Push Budget 2023 was largely along the lines expected by industry players. The emphasis on technology adoption in agriculture was announced at the right time, with the creation of Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence. Read More Leading industry players will partner in conducting interdisciplinary research and developing cutting-edge applications and scalable problem solutions in various areas including agriculture. This is a welcome step to leapfrog to the next level with focus on ‘Industry 4.0’. Agri Credit The proposed … [Read more...] about Budget 2023: Hits and misses in the agriculture sector

Finance Secretary TV Somanathan TV Somanathan is one of the key persons behind drafting the budget. In an interaction with Shweta Punj of Moneycontrol, the finance secretary shared the thoughts  that went into drawing up the document, and nuancing between the known unknowns and unknown unknowns. Edited excerpts: Q: The economy has faced several global headwinds yet managed to stay steady. What were your priorities as you were drafting this budget? What were the three key things that you wanted to ensure? There were three key priorities. One, to act as a driver of growth at a time when global growth is slowing down, but when India is poised to recover its growth rate to its potential. That was one of the objectives, which you see reflected in a big increase in capital investment and in several other parts of the budget, which are essentially to propel growth. The second major concern was that in doing that, we wanted to be sure that we were fiscally prudent. In our … [Read more...] about It is a challenging number, the reduction to 4.5, but it is feasible. It’s difficult, but feasible

Budget 2023 proposes to sharply increase the tax collected at source rate on money sent overseas under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme to 20 percent from 5 percent. To understand how this will impact you, let us first understand the concept of LRS and TCS. The Reserve Bank of India introduced the LRS in February 2004 to allow Indians to send money outside the country easily. The maximum amount that can be remitted under the scheme has been revised periodically, based on the prevailing macro- and microeconomic conditions: Under the scheme, currently, one can remit up to $250,000 per family member (including minors) in each financial year. So a family of four can remit up to $1 million in a financial year. Money can be remitted overseas for expenses such as: Travel for tourism, business, or employment Education Medical treatment Maintenance of a relative Gifts or donations Remittances are also allowed for capital account transactions like: Opening … [Read more...] about Tax collected at source on foreign remittances: One step forward, two steps back