New Delhi: Federal finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserted that the Indian economy is ‘doing much better’ compared to the situation prevailing in many developed nations.
Replying to a short-duration debate on inflation in the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Monsoon session, Sitharaman stressed that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong, and ‘nobody is running away from the discussions’.
“Nobody is in denial about the price rise,” the finance minister said, holding ‘global factors’ accountable.
Addressing the opposition’s concerns on inflation, Sitharaman said both – the government and the Reserve Bank of India, are taking steps to bring down inflation below 7 per cent and further under 6 per cent. “The government has tasked the RBI to ensure that the consumer price index (CPI) based inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side,” she said, reported news agency PTI.
Sitharam also slammed the then-UPA government and said Bangladesh was doing better than India in 2013. “There was a time when we were quoted repeatedly that Bangladesh is doing well, you are not…In 2021, Bangladesh’s per capita GDP at PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) is USD 6,613 whereas ours is USD 7,334.”
Wall Street’s confidence in stock market lowest in 5 years
New York: Wall Street is feeling the most downbeat about the stock market in years, according to Bank of America analysts, and investors are getting ready for a recession.
In a note, analysts wrote that the bank’s Sell Side Indicator has plummeted to its lowest mark in over five years. The metric, which tracks the average recommended allocation of stocks by sell-side strategists, slipped 78 basis points in July.
“We have found that Wall Street’s consensus equity allocation has historically been a reliable contrarian indicator,” BofA analysts wrote. “While the SSI does not catch every rally or decline in the stock market, the indicator has historically had some predictive capability with respect to subsequent 12-month S&P 500 total returns.”
In the past, Wall Street’s consensus equity allocation has been able to signal the opposite of what strategists recommend, meaning it’s been a bearish indicator when analysts were bullish, and vice versa.
Now, the Sell Side Indicator has hovered in “neutral” territory through the first half of the year, but is now inching closer to “Buy” after recent declines.
Meanwhile, analysts noted the Equity Risk Premium has been rising, suggesting markets are pricing in an 80% chance of a mild recession, and a 30% chance of a “full-blown” downturn.
The moves of these key indicators align with the bank’s expectations for a mild recession to hit in the second half of 2022, analysts noted.
The US just recorded two consecutive quarters of negative growth — the technical definition of a recession — and analysts added that corporate sentiment during earnings calls has soured while talk of weak demand is growing.
