Pricey Haircuts Seen Messing Up Indias Retail Inflation Outlook

Rising cost of services offered by hair stylists to security guards are a new challenge for Indias monetary policy makers, who stand ready to resume interest-rate cuts as soon as the food-price driven spike in inflation wears off.To get more news about WikiFX, you can visit wikifx official website.
　　Services inflation surged to 4.8% in September from a year ago, compared with 4.4% in February before the coronavirus outbreak, according to estimates by Citigroup Inc. The pickup reflects cost-push factors associated with the pandemic, such as social distancing and screening of customers, as well as fewer workers in urban centers after migrating back home during the nationwide lockdown.
　　“While the increase is not much, directional movement is rather counter intuitive since services inflation is mostly synchronous to the demand cycle,” Samiran Chakraborty, chief India economist at Citi, wrote in a report last week.
　　That complicates the central banks inflation outlook, which forecasts overall consumer-price growth to slow to 5.4% in the three months to December from about 7% last quarter. While the estimate relies largely on food prices coming off the boil and supply chains being restored, latest trends show vegetable prices remained stubbornly high and supply lines are yet to be mended.
　　A spike in inflation was the main reason for the central bank to halt its policy easing after delivering 115 basis points of rate cuts this year. The Monetary Policy Committee, however, decided to look through the current inflation hump as transient and retained an accommodative stance this month to support an economy headed for its worst annual contraction.
　　“Unprecedented inflation fee” is how Sanjiv Mehta, the chairman and managing director of the local unit of Unilever Plc, described the commodities cost for the personal-care products and processed-food maker. “We believe the inflation in select categories is likely to continue in the near-term,” he said Tuesday.
　　Clues for whether sticky price pressures could keep policy makers on pause for longer will be available when the minutes of the MPCs latest meeting are published Friday. Three of the six-member rate panel were appointed this month and are seen by many economists as more dovish than the previous members.
　　“The current growth-inflation assessment seems to suggest that the MPC would like to stay on a long pause,” Citis Chakraborty wrote. “Sluggish growth momentum would force the MPC to keep rates low while fear of inflation might not let them cut any further.”

BlackRock warns of inflation risk portfolio impact

　　The biggest risk to investors right now is an unexpected jump in inflation, but it's still being overlooked, according to multiple leaders at BlackRock. The $6.8 trillion investment firm recently flagged the potential damage this event could do to portfolios, and shared its recommendation for how to hedge the risk.Click here for more BI Prime stories. Various Wall Street firms have flagged similar risks that stock-market investors should have on their radars right now. These include a profit slowdown, the US elections, lack of progress on trade, and a corporate-credit crisis. But one risk that is not being talked about nearly enough is inflation, according to BlackRock, the world's largest money manager with $6.8 trillion in assets.This apparent oversight can be explained by the fact that inflation — defined as a sustained increase in prices across the board — has lived below expectations for a long time. The Federal Reserve's favorite gauge of inflation has averaged 1.5% over the past decade according to Bloomberg data, missing its 2% target.Additionally, a separate measure compiled by BlackRock shows there has yet to be an inflation surprise comparable to the oil-price shock of the 1970s. It is represented in the red area chart below.To get more news about WikiFX, you can visit wikifx official website.
　　Even BlackRock does not consider an inflation shock next year as a likely event. However, multiple leaders worry about the damage such a surprise could do to their clients' portfolios, they are flagging the danger before it's too late.Inflation is “the hidden risk longer-term” given how few investment professionals have experienced it, said Tony DeSpirito, BlackRock's chief investment officer for fundamental US active equities, at a recent media briefing. Marilyn Watson, the head of global fundamental fixed income strategy team, was in agreement along with Mike Pyle, the global chief investment strategist. All three of them had the same response to a question about the most underappreciated risk in the market right now. A 'high-impact event'Pyle elaborated that their concern is about how inflation would impact diversified portfolios of stocks and bonds.When stock prices fall in a fear-filled climate, bond prices typically rise as investors flock to a safer asset. In other words, bonds and stocks normally have a negative correlation with each other. But if inflation rises above prevailing bond yields, bonds would lose their appeal to investors as a safe haven. This could upend the negative correlation and alter the diversification benefit of bonds, Pyle said. “That is a really high-impact event — even if it's really low in probability risk — and one that's very unappreciated by market prices,” Pyle said. Higher inflation could stem from a rebound in economic growth — a prospect that would not be far-fetched if more progress is made on the US-China trade front.On Friday, the US announced it agreed to lower the tariff rate on China to 7.5% from 15% and cancel plans to target virtually all imports from that country. Following this news, the bond market's inflation expectation over the next decade — US 10-year breakevens — rose to 1.75%, the highest since July according to Bloomberg data. The big picture still has not changed. So what's an investor to do in order to protect themselves from a real surprise？ BlackRock recommends buying Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, a category of US government bonds that work as advertised because their yields are indexed to inflation. And if you would rather not buy TIPS directly, BlackRock has an exchange-traded fund for you: the iShares TIPS Bond ETF.

EUR/JPY as Eurozone Economy Suffers from Impact of Brexit

Looking back at the forecasts made a year ago by the DailyFX analysts, I was struck by the fact that four of us were bearish the Euro: two against the Japanese Yen and one against the Canadian Dollar while I predicted a fall against the Swiss Franc.To get more news about WikiFX, you can visit wikifx official website.
　　We were all right: EUR/JPY and EUR/CHF both dropped between late December 2018 and early September 2019 before rallying later in the year; EUR/CAD fell between December and early October before recovering. For me, the major surprise in 2019 was that the Euro did not fall further, as I had expected the Eurozone economy to be hit by Brexit which, of course, did not happen.
Luis Arce, presidential candidate for the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, center, and his supporters celebrate during a news conference at the party's headquarters in La Paz, Bolivia, on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020.
　　Bolivias official vote count confirms that socialist candidate Luis Arce won the presidency in a first-round landslide.
　　With results from 89% of voting stations tallied from the Oct. 18 election, Arce had 54.5%, compared to 29.3% for former President Carlos Mesa, his closest rival. Mesa conceded Monday.

The top 21 startups to watch that are disrupting the energy industry

　　VCs flooded the clean-tech industry with nearly $10 billion in 2019, according to PitchBook. It's the second-highest investment sum in a decade.While investors are betting big on clean tech, only five startups have reached unicorn status, with a valuation of $1 billion or more, according to PitchBook and reporting by Business Insider. Here are the 21 startups with the highest valuations, based on data from PitchBook, Crunchbase, and our reporting. We didn't include startups that focus on electric vehicles (EVs), EV infrastructure, or biofuel production.Click her to subscribe to Power Line, Business Insider's weekly clean-energy newsletter.Click here for more BI Prime stories.Around 2008, clean tech was declared dead. Over the next year, venture investments in the industry tumbled.Now, the industry is bouncing back. According to data from PitchBook, global venture capital (VC) funding in 2019 neared $10 billion, after hitting $14.1 billion in 2018.That's great news for the thousands of startups in the sprawling clean-tech industry, which has fusion energy in one corner and carbon capture and utilization in another.To get more news about WikiFX, you can visit wikifx official website.
VCs flooded the clean tech industry with nearly $10 billion in 2019, according to PitchBook. It's the second-highest investment sum in a decade.
　　Ruobing Su/Business Insider
　　But while investors are betting big on clean tech once again, the industry hasn't produced many unicorns — or startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more.Why aren't there more billion-dollar startups？ One possible explanation is a shortage of funding, relative to other industries like healthcare. Another is that clean tech companies don't generate, as one investor calls it, “a network of users.” “In most cases, these companies are not creating the things that cause a lot of social media and other companies to sizzle, which is new networks,” said Tom Blum, a member of the Clean Energy Ventures Group, which funds clean tech startups. “In most cases, you're actually just replacing commodities that already exist.”There are, however, some noteworthy exceptions.Business Insider compiled a list of the most valuable startups in clean tech, based on data from PitchBook and Crunchbase, and our own reporting. The list reveals five unicorns — three of which make batteries — in addition to several startups with a valuation of greater than $400 million. Startups are listed below by their latest post-money valuations, based on data from PitchBook or company comments, except for where marked with an asterisk. The list doesn't include startups that make electric vehicles (EVs) or scooters, EV infrastructure, fuels from biomass, or those that provide services to highly localized markets. Unless otherwise noted, the data come from PitchBook.

Canadian Dollar Forecast: USD/CAD Risks Catapulting Higher as Reversal Unfolds

While tensions remain high between the US and Iran, they appear to be easing slightly with the US refraining from taking further action. Consequently, oil prices have pared their initial upside, which in turn has weighed on commodity linked currencies, such as the Canadian Dollar. That said, USD/CAD looks attractive for a reversal, having broken back above the 1.3000 handle. The pair now tests 1.3053, which marks the 23.6% fib, whereby a closing break above raises scope for a move towards 1.3100-10.To get more news about WikiFX, you can visit wikifx official website.
　　Aside from geopolitics, eyes will be on BoC Governor Poloz at 19:00GMT (14:00ET) who is scheduled to take part in a fireside chat. There is a risk that the Governor could provide a more cautious outlook from a domestic standpoint following the recent economic growth data, where Canada showed a contraction in growth for the first time in 8 months at -0.1%. Elsewhere, focus will also be on the Canadian jobs report on Jan 10th and Business Outlook Survey on Jan 13th.

New Zealand Dollar Will Extend Upsides in December

　　With the US Dollar Index falling by about 2.4% in November, the prices of the dollar against major currencies went down across the board. Among the non-US currencies against the US dollar, the Norwegian krone was crowned champion in November, increasing nearly 8%. Such a boom is attributed to rising oil prices. In terms of major currencies against the US dollar, however, the New Zealand dollar became the biggest winner in November, climbing nearly 6%. Its performance is even more striking if measured from the March low of 0.5468 to date, which is a sharp rise of 28.65%.To get more news about WikiFX, you can visit wikifx official website.
Among November's best performers, the Australian dollar came second with a 4.91% rise. The rest of the list is composed of the British pound, up 2.65%; the Canadian dollar, up 2.53%; the Chinese yuan, up 2.16%; the euro, up 1.89%; the Swiss franc, up 1.3%; and the Japanese yen, up 0.7%. This list shows that AUD and NZD, as currencies of commodity-exporting countries, have outpaced their peers due to the support from the upcoming vaccination and the dynamic expansion of global stock markets. The AUD's performance was inferior to the NZD's because Australia saw severe outbreaks and continued reduction of China's import dependence on its products.

　　In fact, NZD has been poised to rebound from the low of 0.6553 when New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was re-elected with an overwhelming victory on Oct. 17. At the time of writing, NZD/USD has reached a two-year high of 0.7047. The positive dynamic was attributed to Ardern's landslide victory, which shrugged off political uncertainties. But the most important reason is New Zealand's success in fighting against Covid-19. Led by Ardern, the country outperformed other peers in Europe and the US and even beat neighboring Australia. As of Nov. 30, the country only had a total of 2056 cases confirmed, of which 25 people have died from the virus. Its economy secured prudential stability without any significant lockdown. Although New Zealand's GDP in Q3 has not yet been announced, NZD is expected to embrace an uninterrupted rally as the financial market has braced for a sharp rebound. As a commodity currency, the New Zealand dollar is mostly sensitive to the prices of dairy products. Thus another boost for NZD is the international dairy prices that have been growing since September.
　　The New Zealand dollar had been receiving pressure since mid-August, when the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) announced the expansion of quantitative easing and signaled negative interest rates. But a dramatic shift appeared recently. New Zealand Finance Minister Grant Robertson said on Nov. 24 that the government was reviewing policies relating to the housing market and had sought advice from the central bank. With worries that New Zealand's loose monetary policy would push local property into bubble territory, Robertson advised the RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr to include stabilizing house prices as a factor for consideration in the remit when formulating monetary policy. The New Zealand dollar rocketed in the wake of such news. Everyone believed that New Zealand would not only ignore the negative interest rate, but also no longer increase the money supply., implying a halt to the RBNZ's quantitative easing.
　　Actually, effective vaccines are available for the world in early to mid-December since major pharmaceutical companies in the UK and the US have successively announced successful development. It will help resume economic activities and lift the global economy and stock markets, putting a premium on NZD and AUD. Therefore, from my point of view, the above positive factors will encourage the New Zealand dollar to triumph over other non-US currencies in December.

A jackpot-winning Pennsylvania Lottery Cash 5 ticket worth $407,318 was sold at a Lancaster County Turkey Hill store, the Lottery said Tuesday.Get more news about 牛博包网公司,you can vist nb68.com
The ticket for Monday's drawing matched all five balls drawn (06-09-17-19-23) to win the prize, the Lottery said.
The Turkey Hill store, located at 1490 Stony Battery Road, earned a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket, according to the Lottery.
Winners can be identified only after prizes are claimed and tickets validated. Cash 5 prizes expire one year from the drawing date.
Anyone holding a jackpot-winning Cash 5 ticket should contact the nearest Lottery office for further instructions or call 1-800-692-7481.
More than 30,100 other Cash 5 tickets also won prizes in the drawing. Players should check every ticket, every time, and claim lower-tier prizes at a Lottery retailer.
How to play Cash 5: Players pay $1 and select five numbers from 1 to 43. Players may select their own numbers using a Cash 5 playslip or opt for computer-selected quick picks. Players must match all five numbers drawn to win the jackpot. Players also win prizes for matching two, three or four winning numbers. Cash 5 is drawn each evening and tickets can be purchased up to seven draws (one week) in advance. Chances of winning the jackpot prize are 1 in 962,598; the overall chances of winning any prize are about 1 in 10.5.

A winning Pennsylvania Lottery Match 6 Lotto ticket worth $1.4 million was sold in Lancaster County, the Lottery said Tuesday.Get more news about https://www.nb68.com,you can vist nb68.com
The ticket matched all six winning numbers (04-19-24-27-37-47) in Monday night's drawing. It was sold at American Legion Post 329 on 240 N. Hanover Street in Elizabethtown, the Lottery said.
Post 329 earns a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket, according to the Lottery.
Winners can be identified only after prizes are claimed and tickets validated. Match 6 prizes expire one year from the drawing date. Anyone holding a jackpot-winning Match 6 ticket should sign the ticket, call the Lottery at 1-800-692-7481 to find out how to claim the prize.
More than 44,600 other Match 6 Lotto tickets also won prizes in the drawing. Players are reminded to check every ticket, every time.  

How to Select FR4 Thickness

When ordering a laminate board for a PCB project, the designer or electrical engineer must specify the FR4 PCB thickness. This is measured in inch-based units, such as the thousandth of an inch, or thou, or millimeters, depending on which is most appropriate for the setting. The thickness of a sheet of FR4 ranges widely depending on the needs of the project, but it tends to range from ten thou to three inches.
While board thickness may not seem like a significant factor in the design of a PCB, in reality, it is an essential feature. Board thickness affects several aspects of the board’s functionality, which is why several factors are considered in determining the thickness of a board for design. These include the following.To get more news about fr4 board, you can visit pcbmake official website.

Space: Thinner May Be Better
If space concerns the designer, a thinner FR4 board tends to be preferable. This is a predominant factor for the manufacture of smaller devices, like USB connectors and many Bluetooth accessories. Even for larger projects, smaller FR4 PCBs tend to be favored to save space within the device.

Connections: The Wrong One Could Result in Damage
A two-sided PCB design requires an edge connector to join the two sides. This can be a major limiting factor for the final size of the PCB since PCB edge connectors only fit a particular set of PCB thicknesses. The mating portion of a connector has to fit snugly on the side of the PCB, or else risk slippage or damage to the PCB. This is one of the primary reasons why circuit design comes before choosing materials for the circuit.

Impedance Matching: Essential to Maintaining Board Function
Every multi-layered board acts as a capacitor on adjacent layers. This is why the thickness of this board is so important — the thickness of the PCB FR4 determines the thickness of the dielectric, which in turn affects the value of the capacitance.
This is an especially key factor for some high-frequency PCBs, such as RF and microwave designs. High-frequency designs focus on impedance matching as an essential component to maintain optimal board function, so getting the right capacitance for each layer is crucial.

Ericsson wins BT’s 5G radio contract for London

Ericsson ERICb.ST said on Wednesday it had been selected by Britain’s BT BT.L to provide 5G radio equipment in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and other major UK cities, building on the contract it signed earlier this year for core technology.To get more news about BT PCB, you can visit pcbmake official website.

The contract comes after the British government said in July it would ban China’s Huawei Technologies from any presence in the country’s 5G networks by the end of 2027.

Once the deployment is completed, Ericsson will manage around 50% of BT’s 5G traffic, the Swedish company said, adding that it will also modernise the company’s existing 2G and 4G radio networks.

Ericsson President and Chief Executive Borje Ekholm said the win strengthened the company’s relationship with BT.

“By deploying 5G in these key areas, we are yet again demonstrating our technology leadership in population-dense and high-traffic locations,” he said.

BT signed a contract with Ericsson rival Nokia NOKIA.HE last month to provide 5G radio equipment for multiple towns and cities across Britain, as well as rural locations.