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PremiumCost of living Updates Oct 30 LIVE: The cost of living is basically the amount of money one needs to survive in a given place - to cover one's most essential needs such as food, water, housing, taxes, cost of commute and healthcare, etc. The high rate of inflation has pushed up the cost of living across the globe, burning a hole in common man's pocket. Since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, the cost of raw materials and commodities have gone up. This has increased India's payments outgo for oil, gold, other commodities.
Onion Prices Soaring
The government on Saturday imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $800 a tonne ( ₹67 a kg) on onion exports between October 29 and December 31 to ensure domestic availability.
The move comes against the backdrop of rising onion prices owing to a delay in the arrival of kharif onions, which are now expected to hit the market from Maharashtra, the top grower, in December.
Onion prices have shot up more than 50 percent in the past two weeks to ₹80 a kg in the retail markets of Delhi. Benchmark prices of the kitchen essential in Maharashtra’s Lasalgaon, India's onion-trade hub, increased 58 percent in two weeks to ₹38 a kg on Tuesday. Average prices in key onion growing districts of Maharashtra are in the range of ₹45 to ₹48 a kg.
Traders said reduced arrivals of onions was the primary reason for the rise in prices. They expect onion prices to rise further until the new kharif crop hits markets in December, nearly two months late.
More than 1.2 lakh job openings were recorded in August and September 2023 across key Indian cities, reflecting a surge in hiring demand ahead of the festive season, showed a report by Apna.co.
Leading companies like Bajaj, Axis Bank, Paytm, Flipkart and Reliance boosted hiring for roles such as Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR and business development.
With the ongoing festive season, the job market in India is witnessing a notable shift. Apna.co, a jobs and professional networking platform in India, witnessed a significant 61% YoY increase in women applicants during July-September 2023 compared to the previous year. The increase in women applicants indicates a growing demand for women professionals across industries, as companies tend to experience heightened activity during the festive season, especially in sectors like e-commerce, retail and hospitality.
Olive oil prices have been rising, thanks to supply concerns. Among other factors, climate change and wildfires have affected the production of olive oil across the globe. In fact, drought conditions in many of the Spain's orchards have caused a 48% drop in agro product, a Washington Post report said.
As a result, olive oil prices have pushed up the cost of Italy and Spain’s top dishes even as headline inflation retreats across Europe, according to a Bloomberg report.
Bloomberg’s monthly Pizza and Paella indexes, which calculate how much Italian and Spanish households need to spend on ingredients to make the signature Mediterranean dishes, increased 8.2% and 20.6% from a year earlier in September.
A majority of apparel retailers and manufacturers expect demand for clothing to shrink by up to 25% this festive season from last year, the Clothing Manufacturing Association of India (CMAI), an industry body, said on Monday.
CMAI surveyed 166 apparel manufactures and brands to gauge consumer demand. “While around 22% of respondents expect the market to pick up over the upcoming festive season, around 78% expect sales in this festive season to dip up to 25% as compared to last year’s sales," it said in a note on Monday.
CMAI said high inflation and a general slowdown have led to sluggish consumer demand. “Around 30% of respondents cited an overall economic slowdown as the main cause behind sales expectations staying lower than last year. Meanwhile, around 16% of respondents feel that lower pricing might aid sales," it said.
The association’s observations come as companies are pin their hopes on demand improving in the remainder of the festive season. Read more here
Before taking a big financial bet, one should first learn the basics. From time to time, some investing wizards open their hearts out and share key investing wisdom with the investors at large.
One of the most famous investing legends in contemporary times is Warren Buffett who often shares his wisdom in the famous annual letters to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway.
We cull out some of the pearls of wisdom from the past three letters and share them here:
Apple is set to unveil MacBook Pro along with a range of other premium products at its Scary Fast event on Monday. The event is so called Scary Fast because it coincides with the eve of Halloween in many countries.
Notably, this year commemorates the 25th anniversary of the iMac, one of the initial products introduced by Steve Jobs upon his return to Apple in the late 1990s. The original Mac, initially named the Macintosh, was unveiled in early 1984.
The Scary Fast event can be watched live on the Apple Events website and YouTube from 5:30 am onwards in India. Apple TV users will also be able to watch the event live on their iPhones, iPads, and Macs by navigating to the section dedicated to Scary Fast. Full details here
India's luxury housing units have witnessed a robust demand in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. According to a report by the Anarock Property Consultant, approximately 84,400 luxury units (priced over ₹1.5 crore) were sold between January and September in seven metropolitan cities in the country in 2023, against 39,300 (Approx) units sold in the same period in 2022.
According to the data, out of the approximately 3.49 lakh units sold in eight cities (Delhi-NCR, Mumbai region, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kolkata) in the first nine months of 2023, about 24% or roughly 84,400 units were luxury homes priced above ₹1.5 crore.
Among the eight Indian cities, luxury housing sales rose by 260% in Hyderabad between January-September in FY 2024. Anarock data showed that 13,630 units were sold during this period as against 3,790 units sold in nine months in 2023. Find your city here
The union government on Saturday imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $800 a tonne ( ₹67 a kg) on onion exports between October 29 and December 31 to ensure domestic availability.
The move comes against the backdrop of rising onion prices owing to a delay in the arrival of kharif onions, which are now expected to hit the market from Maharashtra, the top grower, in December.
Onion prices have shot up more than 50 percent in the past two weeks to ₹80 a kg in the retail markets of Delhi. Benchmark prices of the kitchen essential in Maharashtra’s Lasalgaon, India's onion-trade hub, increased 58 percent in two weeks to ₹38 a kg on Tuesday. Average prices in key onion growing districts of Maharashtra are in the range of ₹45 to ₹48 a kg. Read more here
Fuel rates are revised at 06:00 A.M every day. From June 2017, fuel prices in India are revised daily, and this is called the dynamic fuel price method.
Bangalore
PETROL (Rs/L) - 101.94
DIESEL (Rs/L) - 87.94
Chandigarh
PETROL (Rs/L) - 96.2
DIESEL (Rs/L) - 84.26
Chennai
PETROL (Rs/L) - 102.63
DIESEL (Rs/L) - ₹94.33
Kolkata
PETROL (Rs/L) - 106.03
DIESEL (Rs/L) - ₹92.76
Mumbai City
PETROL (Rs/L) - 106.31
DIESEL (Rs/L) - ₹94.27
New Delhi
PETROL (Rs/L) - 96.72
DIESEL (Rs/L) - ₹89.62
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