Latest news with #LMI
Fibre2Fashion
13-07-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
Jun 2025 US logistics managers' index up 1.3 points MoM to 60.7
The June US logistics manager's index (LMI) was 60.7—up by 1.3 points from May's reading of 59.4. The increase in the overall index was driven by an increase in the rate of expansion for inventory levels, which was up by 8.3 points to 59.8. The June US logistics manager's index was 60.7â€'up by 1.3 points from May's 59.4â€'driven by a rise in the rate of expansion for inventory levels. The movement back above 60 marks only the third time since July 2022. As all three of those readings have come in the last six months indicates the heightened, and somewhat unseasonal, level of activity that has been seen in the supply chain in H1 2025. This expansion mostly occurred in the first half of June, when the metric read in at a robust 67.4 as importers scrambled to take advantage of the pause in the most punitive tariffs, an official release said. The movement back above 60 marks only the third time since July 2022. All three of those readings above 60 have come in 2025, which is a marked shift from 2023 and 2024 when that threshold was never breached in the overall index. The fact that all three of those readings have come in the last six months is indicative of the heightened, and somewhat unseasonal, level of activity that has been witnessed in the supply chain through the first half of 2025. While this has been positive in the short-run, it does raise questions on whether the same level of demand will be present in the second half of the year when we would normally see it picking up, the release observed. The uncertainty exists due to both the high levels of inventory already in the U.S., as well as the continued ambiguity regarding future U.S. trade policy. Inventory levels expansion declined to 52.2 in the second half of the month. The influx of inventories led inventory costs to rise by 2.5 points to 80.9, the first time this metric has been above 80 since October 2022, when supply chains were still in the throes of the post-COVID inventory bullwhip, an official release said. The effects of the continued inventory buildup are also evident in warehousing capacity dropping by 2.2 points to 47.8, contracting for the first time since January 2023. Similar to last month, the LMI transportation metrics are relatively stable, although it is worth noting that transportation capacity dropped by 2.3 points to 52.4, which is close to contraction. Transportation capacity has not contracted since March 2022, and therefore, if this trend continues, it would mark a real shift. Transportation utilization (plus 0.3) and transportation prices (minus 1.1) were relatively steady. The swings seen with inventories have kept freight markets humming at a steady, if not spectacular pace, the release noted. The most direct evidence of the strain of the high levels of inventories being held in supply chains can be seen in warehousing capacity, which was down by 2.2 point to 47.8. This is the first time this metric has been in contraction since January 2023. The contraction in available capacity is driven by smaller respondents, who reported steep contraction at 43.3 to the mild expansion of 53.2 reported by their larger counterparts. Due to this, smaller firms also reported warehousing prices expanding faster than larger respondents at a rate of 71.7 to 64.9. Warehousing utilisation expansion was down very slightly (minus 0.3) to 62.2 in June. It was statistically significantly higher upstream, where respondents reported expansion of 65.7 in stark contrast with the 53.8 reported downstream. This is likely reflective of the fact that downstream firms were already utilising much of their available capacity and upstream firms are taking on most of the new inventory that is being imported into the country. Despite this difference, both groups of respondents predicted strong growth for warehousing prices at 69.9 upstream and 65.2 downstream. These figures are fairly consistent with current warehousing pricing, which is expanding at a rate of 68.3—still high but down (minus 3.8) from May's reading. Researchers at Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Florida Atlantic University, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno, and in conjunction with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) issue the LMI report. The LMI score is a combination of eight unique components that make up the logistics industry: inventory levels and costs, warehousing capacity, utilisation, and prices, and transportation capacity, utilisation, and prices. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
7NEWS
10-07-2025
- Business
- 7NEWS
First home buyers: how to save a 5 per cent deposit in six months for a $600k home
The countdown is on for first-time buyers hoping to enter the market with as little as a 5 per cent deposit, thanks to upcoming changes to the federal government's First Home Guarantee Scheme (FHGS). From 1 January 2026, the program will relaunch with expanded eligibility, opening the door to many more would-be homeowners, including scrapping income caps and opening the FHGS to permanent residents and joint applicants who haven't owned property for some time. How is the First Home Guarantee Scheme changing? The revamped FHGS will continue to allow eligible buyers to purchase a property with just a 5 per cent deposit, while the government steps in to guarantee the remaining amount, removing the need for costly Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). This means if you plan to buy a $600,000 home, you'd only need to front a $30,000 deposit. But beyond the low deposit, there's some pretty significant shake ups. The government is scrapping the income cap: buyers are no longer restricted by income thresholds. Previously, this was capped at $125,000 for a single and $200,000 for joint applicants. Come January, there will also no longer be a property price cap. Purchase price limits will be removed, subject to lender assessment. And finally, there is now extended eligibility: individuals who have not owned property in the past 10 years, including permanent residents, can apply. A great opportunity, with a caveat Personal finance expert at Finder, Sarah Megginson, says the scheme is a game-changer, but buyers need to act now to get their finances in order. "This plan will give all first-home buyers access to 5 per cent deposits when buying a home, making the prospect of home ownership far more realistic for some who want to enter the market," she said. For example, if a property costs $850,000, a buyer needs to save a deposit of $42,500. "Without this plan, they would also need to fork over a huge sum for Lender's Mortgage Insurance, which could be upwards of $20,000." But Ms Megginson also warns that property competition will heat up even more. "All first-time buyers will have access to this, so it enables a large number of people to buy a home, but does nothing to address supply," she said. "A policy like this creates a lot of demand - which could see property prices in the affordable range increase, as first-time buyers battle each other to get into the market." Your six-month saving window: Strategies to save $30K If you want to hit the ground running when the scheme relaunches in January 2026, the next six months is your window of opportunity. If you're on the average Australian salary of $100,000, your purchasing power sits around the $600,000-mark, meaning you'll require $30,000 for a 5 per cent deposit. Ms Megginson says the key to building a $30,000 deposit quickly is breaking it down into smaller, manageable milestones. "Saving $30,000 sounds like a massive mountain to climb, but smaller financial goals are easier to achieve and as you tick each one off, it gives you the momentum to keep going." You're aiming for $5,000 per month, and to understand your personal financial picture, there's no way around creating a budget. "Tracking where your spending is going is key to plugging those money leaks," says Ms Megginson. "Take a look at your spending and split it into 'nice to have' and 'need to have'. Anything in the 'nice to have' category is a contender to cut back on." Here are some more strategies to get serious about saving. Move back home While it won't be possible for everyone to take advantage of the privilege of moving home, if you have the ability to move back in with your parents or another family member and stop paying rent, you should absolutely take it. Rents skyrocketed over the past few years, with Australia experiencing its longest stretch of continuous rental price growth in history, far outpacing wage growth. No matter which way you slice it, rent takes up the biggest proportion of would-be homeowner salaries, keeping renters in a vicious cycle where they're unable to make headway on a house deposit despite demonstrating the financial ability to pay the equivalent of a mortgage. Removing rent from the picture is undisputedly the way to turbocharge savings. "It's short-term pain for long-term gain. It can help you save a fortune on rent and other bills to fast-track your savings goal," Ms Megginson said. If you're in Sydney, for example, this one move could save you between $1700 and $3250 a month on rent alone, if your rent sits between $400 and $750 per week. House sit or change rentals If that's not an option, and you mostly work from home, consider house sitting as a rent-free alternative. While it can be tricky to line up house sits perfectly, and the extra admin of applying for sits and then caretaking animals can be stressful, it's a creative way to stop paying rent (or even take a break while living with your parents). The other option is to reduce your rental footprint by either sharing with more housemates, or changing rentals to a smaller property or more affordable area. Trim your lifestyle spend No one wants to go without their little luxuries, but remember, it's only for six months. "Really, it's about looking at your overall lifestyle spending," said Ms Megginson. "If you're serious about saving, you need to catch public transport instead of Uber, and stop getting food delivery altogether - it's seriously so expensive and so much cheaper to buy takeaways without the Uber premium. Eliminate any 'buy now pay later' accounts, too." Subscriptions are the other place to look. If you're signed up to three or four different streaming services, for example, it's time to cull it down to one. You can even change that one platform every month or two, rotating through them all and catching up on shows. But Ms Megginson is also quick to point out that this doesn't mean cutting out everything fun. "Make sure you're not living off 2-minute noodles and stripping all the fun from your life! You don't have to sacrifice all the things that bring you joy. "Just be mindful with your spending, so that when you invest in lifestyle extras - like takeaway coffee, a gym membership or Sunday brunch - you're spending on something you really enjoy, not just spending out of habit." Evaluate and renegotiate your bills Take stock of your household bills to ensure you're not overpaying for everyday services, from energy and health insurance to mobile phone plans. "Finder has a Financial Fitness Challenge that runs through this process, where the average person without a home loan can save around $4,000 per year by comparing their household bills and getting a better deal," said Ms Megginson.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Invisible India: How a nation of 350 million was erased from its own growth story
Debashis Chakrabarti is a political columnist, Commonwealth Fellow (UK), and internationally recognized academic whose career bridges journalism, policy, and higher education leadership. A former journalist with The Indian Express, he brings the precision of investigative reporting to his political analysis and scholarly work. He has served as Professor and Dean at leading institutions across the UK, India, Africa, and the Middle East, with expertise in media studies, political communication, and governance. LESS ... MORE At a government ration shop in Latehar district, Jharkhand, Meena Devi waits for her number to be called. The monsoon has been irregular this year—too little rain at first, then too much. The rice she receives today will stretch for five days if no guests arrive, if her husband finds work, and if the children don't fall sick. She's learned how to measure food by silence: the groan of an empty stomach before dawn, the clink of the last lentils in the tin. She doesn't know what 'PPP' stands for, or that somewhere in Delhi or Washington, her poverty is debated with the polish of PowerPoint slides. She has never heard of the $4.20 line that might mark her existence on a policy map. All she knows is that last year, she lost her job as a school cleaner, and her husband now digs earth for road work when it comes. They haven't seen a doctor in years—not for lack of illness, but for lack of choice. But according to India's official data, Meena is no longer poor. She has, by metric if not by miracle, escaped. This is not just a failure of arithmetic. It is the quiet, methodical erasure of millions like her—an entire stratum of Indian society written out of the story of national progress. The government claims that just five per cent of Indians live in 'extreme poverty.' It is a comforting figure, used in budget speeches, investment summits, and television debates—often intoned with pride, like a national anthem in data form. But the figure is a fiction. According to the World Bank's own recalibration, when one adopts the Lower-Middle Income (LMI) line of $4.20 per day—an amount that accounts for the barest threshold of human dignity—fully one in four Indians, approximately 350 million people, fall below it. To understand how we got here is to understand not only a statistical distortion, but a philosophical betrayal. For decades, the Indian state has deployed poverty lines not as tools of welfare, but as instruments of illusion—recalibrating thresholds to shrink the visible poor. In 2011, a firestorm erupted when the Planning Commission suggested that anyone earning more than ₹33 a day in cities and ₹27 in villages was no longer poor. The outrage was so immense that the numbers were quietly buried. But the line, in spirit, remained. Unindexed to inflation, outdated in methodology, and politically convenient, India's national poverty benchmarks today are frozen in time, indifferent to the transformations of cost and climate. Meanwhile, new techniques such as the Modified Mixed Recall Period (MMRP) were introduced under the guise of statistical precision. In practice, these methodologies captured sporadic spending while failing to reflect sustained deprivation. Even the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)—which charts improvements in access to toilets, electricity, and clean water—offers a success story that, while real, is partial. A family may now have access to a latrine, but one hospitalization can still push them into destitution. Poverty is not a lack of sanitation alone—it is the daily terror of economic vulnerability. In India today, the poor are not so much lifted as they are masked. This statistical alchemy serves a purpose. It props up the narrative of an India marching forward, a digital superpower rising from the ashes of colonialism, its middle class swelling, its billionaires multiplying, its GDP graph reaching for the sky. But beneath the gilded ascent lies a darker ledger. According to recent studies, the top 1% of Indians control nearly 40% of the nation's wealth, while the bottom 50% shares less than 7%. These aren't simply figures; they're social contracts broken in silence. The spectacle of India's high-growth economy depends on keeping a vast population in low-cost precarity—as gig workers, bonded laborers, informal hawkers, or climate-ravaged farmers whose land no longer yields. It is tempting, in the language of policy, to say India stands at a crossroads. But that framing is generous. The road has been taken, the direction chosen. The dilution of labor protections, the retreat from universal health guarantees, the refusal to enact wealth taxes even during a pandemic—all these signal a deepening commitment to an extractive model, where inequality is not a byproduct of development, but its design. This economic vision is paired with an epistemological one—a belief that perception is policy, that to rename is to reform. And so poverty is not solved; it is statistically disappeared. What might once have qualified as a moral crisis is now repackaged as 'inclusive growth.' Even the language shifts. We no longer speak of the poor; we speak of 'aspirational India.' But the cost of this sleight of hand is borne daily by Meena and millions like her. Not only are they denied state support by virtue of exclusionary metrics—they are erased from public consciousness. When they protest, they are labelled anti-development. When they migrate, they become invisible workers. When they fall, the system calls it 'upliftment.' And still, the elite consensus holds. In boardrooms and newspaper columns, in policy white papers and television debates, India is celebrated as a global success story. Perhaps it is. But success for whom? There are precedents to this kind of data-backed denialism. In the 19th century, the British Raj used grain export figures to insist India was not starving—even as millions died in famines that were as much administrative as agricultural. Today's sedition is statistical, but no less deadly. It is a silence that kills not with bullets, but with budget lines. What is required now is not another policy adjustment or targeted welfare tweak. It is a reckoning. The $4.20/day dignity line must be adopted nationally, alongside a living, inflation-indexed poverty threshold based on actual costs of survival. Income precarity must be tracked alongside infrastructural access. And most importantly, the 350 million must be seen—not as collateral, but as citizens whose survival is not incidental to progress, but central to its legitimacy. India's moral future rests not in its GDP rankings, but in how it treats those it would prefer to forget. Growth built on erasure is not development. It is theft—systemic, sanctioned, and statistical. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
India Today
04-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
One in 4 Indians still below minimum standard of living: World Bank
India has made progress in reducing extreme poverty, but many people still struggle to meet their basic needs. According to the World Bank, one in four Indians—over 35 crore people—live below the minimum level needed for a decent may no longer fall under the traditional 'extreme poor,' but they still lack access to basic needs like nutritious food, safe housing, healthcare, and World Bank spokesperson told that while India's poverty levels have declined, the way poverty is measured has also changed in recent years. 'There is corroborating evidence that household welfare in India has improved since 2011, including declining trends in multidimensional poverty, rising social transfers, and growth in per capita GDP,' the spokesperson said. 'At the same time, the 2022–23 household survey introduced several improvements in questionnaire design and implementation compared to 2011–12, which are likely to have enhanced the measurement of household expenditures.'Official data shows that only 5% of Indians now live in extreme poverty, based on the $3-per-day global benchmark (adjusted for purchasing power parity or PPP). This marks a steep drop from 27% in 2011. Nearly 26.9 crore people moved out of extreme deprivation in just over a the World Bank says the $3/day threshold is no longer appropriate for India's stage of development. '$3/day PPP is not the appropriate threshold for India,' the spokesperson said. 'The relevant international poverty line for India today is the lower-middle-income (LMI) threshold of $4.20 per person per day.'That benchmark is already used to assess poverty in countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is considered a more realistic threshold for what it takes to live with basic dignity in a growing economy. But even by this standard, over 35 crore still fall short of meeting essential has not updated its official national poverty line since 2011–12. While new methods like the Modified Mixed Recall Period (MMRP) have helped capture higher household consumption, experts say this change also makes poverty estimates appear lower. Meanwhile, politically sensitive thresholds like the old Rs 33-a-day urban poverty line have quietly faded from compensate, India increasingly relies on global benchmarks and broader tools like the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which looks at education, sanitation, electricity, housing, and other services. MPI figures show that multidimensional poverty fell from 29% in 2013 to 11.3% in 2022. Over 20 crore people exited deprivation during that time, especially in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. Yet despite these gains, the gap between rich and poor remains wide. India's Gini Index—used to track income inequality—improved only modestly from 28.8 in 2011 to 25.5 in 2022. The top 1% of Indians now control over 40% of national wealth, while the bottom 50% own just 6.4%.In cities, high rents and fragile employment mean that even those above the poverty line live on the edge. In rural areas, land fragmentation and seasonal work keep incomes unstable. One medical emergency, job loss, or missed paycheck can push families back into crisis.'There is a lot of work left to end poverty in India,' the World Bank spokesperson said. 'Using a more relevant benchmark for India's current development status—the lower-middle-income poverty line of $4.20 per day—reveals that nearly one in four Indians still falls below an appropriate standard of living.''Our current estimates suggest that about 5% of India's population lives in extreme poverty—surviving on less than $3 per day. While extreme deprivation has declined, this still amounts to over 7 crore people unable to meet even the most fundamental needs.'advertisementThe World Bank has also cautioned against drawing direct comparisons with older poverty figures due to changes in data collection. Still, the findings suggest a shift in the poverty challenge may no longer be just about lifting people above a basic line, but redefining what that line should mean in the first place.- EndsMust Watch
AU Financial Review
02-07-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
We're in a housing boom, yet mortgage insurer Helia is in trouble
You'd think selling lenders mortgage insurance in the middle of a housing price boom would be the equivalent of selling picks and shovels during a gold rush. But Australia's leading LMI player, the ASX listed Helia, is in trouble. It doesn't have a permanent chief executive. Its biggest customer, Commonwealth Bank, is basically out the door, and now a second big customer looks set to follow.
