Latest news with #SoniKumari
Time of India
18-07-2025
- Time of India
2 minor girls die in suicide bid by family of 5
Patna: Unable to repay a debt of Rs 5 lakh to moneylenders, five members of a family consumed poison, leading to the death of two minor girls in Nalanda district on Friday, said police. Their parents and teen brother are critical and undergoing treatment at Vardhman Institute of Medical Sciences, Pawapuri, they said, adding mounting pressure from the moneylenders forced the family to take the extreme step. Dharmendra Kumar (40), his wife Soni Kumari (38) and their children — Deepa Kumari (16), Anima Kumari (14) and Shivam Kumar (15) — consumed poison at their rented house near Jal Mandir in Pawapuri police station area. Of them, Deepa and Anima succumbed to the poisoning. Rajgir DSP Sunil Kumar said the family, originally from Purnakama Sikkarpur village in Shekhpura, had been living in the rented house for the past six months. "Dharmendra ran a cloth shop that ran into losses, pushing the family into a severe financial crisis with a debt of Rs 5 lakh. The moneylenders harassed and threatened the family. Due to the pressure, the family consumed 'salfas' (pesticide). The police have started a probe into the matter by registering an abetment of suicide case. The moneylenders are being identified," he said.
Business Recorder
28-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Gold set for second weekly loss
NEW YORK: Gold declined on Friday and was headed for a second straight weekly loss, as the Israel-Iran ceasefire deal and progress on a US-China trade agreement dampened safe-haven demand, while investors awaited the US inflation data. Spot gold slipped 1.2% to $3,288.55 per ounce as of 0643 GMT. Bullion has lost 2.3% this week. US gold futures fell 1.4% to $3,300.40. 'The market is looking quite optimistic for the risky assets, so that's weighing on gold prices,' said ANZ Commodity Strategist Soni Kumari. De-escalation in the Middle East after the ceasefire and the progress in US-China trade talks are diminishing uncertainty from the market, sending prices further down, Kumari added. Iranians and Israelis have welcomed a return to normal life after 12 days of the most intense confrontation ever between the countries and a ceasefire that took effect on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the US has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the US, a White House official said on Thursday, amid efforts to end a trade war between the world's two biggest economies. Investors are awaiting the US Core Personal Consumption Expenditure data at 1230 GMT for further insight into the Federal Reserve's policy path, with analysts polled by Reuters forecasting a 0.1% monthly increase and a 2.6% annual rise. Markets are currently pricing in a 63-basis-point rate cut this year, starting September. US President Donald Trump says that tame inflation means the Fed should already be reducing its policy rate, but only two Fed policymakers to date have embraced the possibility of a rate cut at the central bank's July meeting. Spot silver fell 0.5% to $36.44 per ounce and platinum lost 2.8% to $1,378.18, after hitting its highest in nearly 11 years. Palladium gained 0.3% to $1,135.36, the highest since October 2024.
Arab News
27-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Gold set for second weekly loss; US inflation data in focus
BENGALURU: Gold declined on Friday and was headed for a second straight weekly loss, as the Israel-Iran ceasefire deal and progress on a US-China trade agreement dampened safe haven demand, while investors awaited the US inflation data. Spot gold slipped 1.2 percent to $3,288.55 per ounce as of 9:43 a.m. Saudi time. Bullion has lost 2.3 percent this week. US gold futures fell 1.4 percent to $3,300.40. 'The market is looking quite optimistic for the risky assets, so that's weighing on gold prices,' said ANZ Commodity Strategist Soni Kumari. De-escalation in the Middle East after the ceasefire and the progress in US-China trade talks are diminishing uncertainty from the market, sending prices further down, Kumari added. Iranians and Israelis have welcomed a return to normal life after 12 days of the most intense confrontation ever between the countries and a ceasefire that took effect on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the US has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the US, a White House official said on Thursday, amid efforts to end a trade war between the world's two biggest economies. Investors are awaiting the US Core Personal Consumption Expenditure data at 3:30 p.m. Saudi time for further insight into the Federal Reserve's policy path, with analysts polled by Reuters forecasting a 0.1 percent monthly increase and a 2.6 percent annual rise. Markets are currently pricing in a 63-basis-point rate cut this year, starting September. US President Donald Trump says that tame inflation means the Fed should already be reducing its policy rate, but only two Fed policymakers to date have embraced the possibility of a rate cut at the central bank's July meeting. Spot silver fell 0.5 percent to $36.44 per ounce and platinum lost 2.8 percent to $1,378.18, after hitting its highest in nearly 11 years. Palladium gained 0.3 percent to $1,135.36, the highest since October 2024.
The Advertiser
22-06-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Spotlight on inflation as state treasurers come clean
With a July rate cut looking increasingly uncertain, monthly inflation data will shed new light on the likelihood of more mortgage relief. The Reserve Bank of Australia takes greater stock in less volatile quarterly figures but the consumer price index for May will provide a valuable insight into inflation's direction of travel when released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. After inflation came in higher than expected at 2.4 per cent in April, economists at ANZ are expecting the headline figure to ease to 2.3 per cent off the back of falling petrol prices. But conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil soaring in recent days, so a reversal in prices is likely to come in the following months. From $US60 a barrel in May, some analysts have predicted oil could soar past the $US100 a barrel mark if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals, with strikes on oil infrastructure and disruption to supply chains. That would have a widespread impact on Australian prices, given oil flows through to input costs, either directly via production or indirectly via distribution, for pretty much the entire economy. But ANZ commodities analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari think the $US100 a barrel scenario is unlikely. The most likely outcome (they assign about a 50 per cent chance) is for crude prices to reach $US75-85 a barrel, despite an extended conflict. "This would see supplies come under direct threat," the analysts said. "However, the oil market is better equipped to respond to that than it has been in the past. "(Oil exporting organisation) OPEC has over six million barrels per day of spare capacity that can be quickly activated." The Reserve Bank will likely look through the noise of volatile oil prices and focus on the underlying pace in the trimmed mean. On Tuesday, Australia's largest and third-largest regional economies, NSW and Queensland, will unveil the state of their finances. Together, the two account for about 20 per cent of all government expenditure in Australia and are increasingly contributing to mounting public debt. This has real consequences for the macro economy and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy strategy, e61 Institute economists Michael Brennan and Aaron Wong said. "State and territory finances are drifting onto an unsustainable path," they said. "Before the pandemic, state budgets were broadly balanced. This year, the states will run a collective cash deficit close to 2.0 per cent of GDP - bigger than the federal deficit, thus more than half the nation's total government sector deficit." NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has conceded the state's remaining AAA credit ratings with agencies Fitch and Moody's are under threat amid the ongoing deficit. This would make borrowing costs more expensive and further constrain the state's spending capacity. The ACT will also reveal its budget on Tuesday, with its finances expected to remain in deficit. In his February budget update, Treasurer Chris Steel revealed the territory's projected deficit swelled by more than 50 per cent to $970 million from the previous update just seven months earlier. Wall Street investors were meanwhile on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the US considers whether to get involved. Trading was choppy for much of Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 12.53 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 19,451.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Australian share futures fell 20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,812. The S&P/ASX200 fell 18.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,505.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,723.5. With a July rate cut looking increasingly uncertain, monthly inflation data will shed new light on the likelihood of more mortgage relief. The Reserve Bank of Australia takes greater stock in less volatile quarterly figures but the consumer price index for May will provide a valuable insight into inflation's direction of travel when released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. After inflation came in higher than expected at 2.4 per cent in April, economists at ANZ are expecting the headline figure to ease to 2.3 per cent off the back of falling petrol prices. But conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil soaring in recent days, so a reversal in prices is likely to come in the following months. From $US60 a barrel in May, some analysts have predicted oil could soar past the $US100 a barrel mark if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals, with strikes on oil infrastructure and disruption to supply chains. That would have a widespread impact on Australian prices, given oil flows through to input costs, either directly via production or indirectly via distribution, for pretty much the entire economy. But ANZ commodities analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari think the $US100 a barrel scenario is unlikely. The most likely outcome (they assign about a 50 per cent chance) is for crude prices to reach $US75-85 a barrel, despite an extended conflict. "This would see supplies come under direct threat," the analysts said. "However, the oil market is better equipped to respond to that than it has been in the past. "(Oil exporting organisation) OPEC has over six million barrels per day of spare capacity that can be quickly activated." The Reserve Bank will likely look through the noise of volatile oil prices and focus on the underlying pace in the trimmed mean. On Tuesday, Australia's largest and third-largest regional economies, NSW and Queensland, will unveil the state of their finances. Together, the two account for about 20 per cent of all government expenditure in Australia and are increasingly contributing to mounting public debt. This has real consequences for the macro economy and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy strategy, e61 Institute economists Michael Brennan and Aaron Wong said. "State and territory finances are drifting onto an unsustainable path," they said. "Before the pandemic, state budgets were broadly balanced. This year, the states will run a collective cash deficit close to 2.0 per cent of GDP - bigger than the federal deficit, thus more than half the nation's total government sector deficit." NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has conceded the state's remaining AAA credit ratings with agencies Fitch and Moody's are under threat amid the ongoing deficit. This would make borrowing costs more expensive and further constrain the state's spending capacity. The ACT will also reveal its budget on Tuesday, with its finances expected to remain in deficit. In his February budget update, Treasurer Chris Steel revealed the territory's projected deficit swelled by more than 50 per cent to $970 million from the previous update just seven months earlier. Wall Street investors were meanwhile on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the US considers whether to get involved. Trading was choppy for much of Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 12.53 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 19,451.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Australian share futures fell 20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,812. The S&P/ASX200 fell 18.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,505.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,723.5. With a July rate cut looking increasingly uncertain, monthly inflation data will shed new light on the likelihood of more mortgage relief. The Reserve Bank of Australia takes greater stock in less volatile quarterly figures but the consumer price index for May will provide a valuable insight into inflation's direction of travel when released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. After inflation came in higher than expected at 2.4 per cent in April, economists at ANZ are expecting the headline figure to ease to 2.3 per cent off the back of falling petrol prices. But conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil soaring in recent days, so a reversal in prices is likely to come in the following months. From $US60 a barrel in May, some analysts have predicted oil could soar past the $US100 a barrel mark if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals, with strikes on oil infrastructure and disruption to supply chains. That would have a widespread impact on Australian prices, given oil flows through to input costs, either directly via production or indirectly via distribution, for pretty much the entire economy. But ANZ commodities analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari think the $US100 a barrel scenario is unlikely. The most likely outcome (they assign about a 50 per cent chance) is for crude prices to reach $US75-85 a barrel, despite an extended conflict. "This would see supplies come under direct threat," the analysts said. "However, the oil market is better equipped to respond to that than it has been in the past. "(Oil exporting organisation) OPEC has over six million barrels per day of spare capacity that can be quickly activated." The Reserve Bank will likely look through the noise of volatile oil prices and focus on the underlying pace in the trimmed mean. On Tuesday, Australia's largest and third-largest regional economies, NSW and Queensland, will unveil the state of their finances. Together, the two account for about 20 per cent of all government expenditure in Australia and are increasingly contributing to mounting public debt. This has real consequences for the macro economy and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy strategy, e61 Institute economists Michael Brennan and Aaron Wong said. "State and territory finances are drifting onto an unsustainable path," they said. "Before the pandemic, state budgets were broadly balanced. This year, the states will run a collective cash deficit close to 2.0 per cent of GDP - bigger than the federal deficit, thus more than half the nation's total government sector deficit." NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has conceded the state's remaining AAA credit ratings with agencies Fitch and Moody's are under threat amid the ongoing deficit. This would make borrowing costs more expensive and further constrain the state's spending capacity. The ACT will also reveal its budget on Tuesday, with its finances expected to remain in deficit. In his February budget update, Treasurer Chris Steel revealed the territory's projected deficit swelled by more than 50 per cent to $970 million from the previous update just seven months earlier. Wall Street investors were meanwhile on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the US considers whether to get involved. Trading was choppy for much of Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 12.53 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 19,451.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Australian share futures fell 20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,812. The S&P/ASX200 fell 18.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,505.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,723.5. With a July rate cut looking increasingly uncertain, monthly inflation data will shed new light on the likelihood of more mortgage relief. The Reserve Bank of Australia takes greater stock in less volatile quarterly figures but the consumer price index for May will provide a valuable insight into inflation's direction of travel when released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. After inflation came in higher than expected at 2.4 per cent in April, economists at ANZ are expecting the headline figure to ease to 2.3 per cent off the back of falling petrol prices. But conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil soaring in recent days, so a reversal in prices is likely to come in the following months. From $US60 a barrel in May, some analysts have predicted oil could soar past the $US100 a barrel mark if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals, with strikes on oil infrastructure and disruption to supply chains. That would have a widespread impact on Australian prices, given oil flows through to input costs, either directly via production or indirectly via distribution, for pretty much the entire economy. But ANZ commodities analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari think the $US100 a barrel scenario is unlikely. The most likely outcome (they assign about a 50 per cent chance) is for crude prices to reach $US75-85 a barrel, despite an extended conflict. "This would see supplies come under direct threat," the analysts said. "However, the oil market is better equipped to respond to that than it has been in the past. "(Oil exporting organisation) OPEC has over six million barrels per day of spare capacity that can be quickly activated." The Reserve Bank will likely look through the noise of volatile oil prices and focus on the underlying pace in the trimmed mean. On Tuesday, Australia's largest and third-largest regional economies, NSW and Queensland, will unveil the state of their finances. Together, the two account for about 20 per cent of all government expenditure in Australia and are increasingly contributing to mounting public debt. This has real consequences for the macro economy and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy strategy, e61 Institute economists Michael Brennan and Aaron Wong said. "State and territory finances are drifting onto an unsustainable path," they said. "Before the pandemic, state budgets were broadly balanced. This year, the states will run a collective cash deficit close to 2.0 per cent of GDP - bigger than the federal deficit, thus more than half the nation's total government sector deficit." NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has conceded the state's remaining AAA credit ratings with agencies Fitch and Moody's are under threat amid the ongoing deficit. This would make borrowing costs more expensive and further constrain the state's spending capacity. The ACT will also reveal its budget on Tuesday, with its finances expected to remain in deficit. In his February budget update, Treasurer Chris Steel revealed the territory's projected deficit swelled by more than 50 per cent to $970 million from the previous update just seven months earlier. Wall Street investors were meanwhile on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the US considers whether to get involved. Trading was choppy for much of Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 12.53 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 19,451.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Australian share futures fell 20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,812. The S&P/ASX200 fell 18.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,505.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,723.5.
Perth Now
22-06-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Spotlight on inflation as state treasurers come clean
With a July rate cut looking increasingly uncertain, monthly inflation data will shed new light on the likelihood of more mortgage relief. The Reserve Bank of Australia takes greater stock in less volatile quarterly figures but the consumer price index for May will provide a valuable insight into inflation's direction of travel when released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. After inflation came in higher than expected at 2.4 per cent in April, economists at ANZ are expecting the headline figure to ease to 2.3 per cent off the back of falling petrol prices. But conflict in the Middle East has sent crude oil soaring in recent days, so a reversal in prices is likely to come in the following months. From $US60 a barrel in May, some analysts have predicted oil could soar past the $US100 a barrel mark if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals, with strikes on oil infrastructure and disruption to supply chains. That would have a widespread impact on Australian prices, given oil flows through to input costs, either directly via production or indirectly via distribution, for pretty much the entire economy. But ANZ commodities analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari think the $US100 a barrel scenario is unlikely. The most likely outcome (they assign about a 50 per cent chance) is for crude prices to reach $US75-85 a barrel, despite an extended conflict. "This would see supplies come under direct threat," the analysts said. "However, the oil market is better equipped to respond to that than it has been in the past. "(Oil exporting organisation) OPEC has over six million barrels per day of spare capacity that can be quickly activated." The Reserve Bank will likely look through the noise of volatile oil prices and focus on the underlying pace in the trimmed mean. On Tuesday, Australia's largest and third-largest regional economies, NSW and Queensland, will unveil the state of their finances. Together, the two account for about 20 per cent of all government expenditure in Australia and are increasingly contributing to mounting public debt. This has real consequences for the macro economy and the Reserve Bank's monetary policy strategy, e61 Institute economists Michael Brennan and Aaron Wong said. "State and territory finances are drifting onto an unsustainable path," they said. "Before the pandemic, state budgets were broadly balanced. This year, the states will run a collective cash deficit close to 2.0 per cent of GDP - bigger than the federal deficit, thus more than half the nation's total government sector deficit." NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has conceded the state's remaining AAA credit ratings with agencies Fitch and Moody's are under threat amid the ongoing deficit. This would make borrowing costs more expensive and further constrain the state's spending capacity. The ACT will also reveal its budget on Tuesday, with its finances expected to remain in deficit. In his February budget update, Treasurer Chris Steel revealed the territory's projected deficit swelled by more than 50 per cent to $970 million from the previous update just seven months earlier. Wall Street investors were meanwhile on edge over the Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the US considers whether to get involved. Trading was choppy for much of Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 12.53 points, or 0.21 per cent, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 19,451.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 42,210.13. Australian share futures fell 20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,812. The S&P/ASX200 fell 18.2 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 8,505.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 17.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,723.5.
