FM yields to voices by restoring indexation on realty, LS clears Finance Bill: The Lok Sabha on August 7 passed the Finance Bill 2024 after the government relaxed the just-introduced new capital gains tax on real estate, allowing taxpayers an option to switch to a new lower tax rate or stay with the old regime that had higher rate with indexation benefit. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who in her Budget for 2024-25 proposed to lower the long-term capital gains tax on real estate to 12.5% from 20% but without the indexation benefit, moved an amendment to the bill to give the option. Indexation benefit allows taxpayers to arrive at the cost price of the property after adjusting for inflation. (Image: PTI)

2/3rd of members in GST Council are from States retorts FM, on demands for GST cut on insurance: In the August 7 Parliament session, FM Sitharaman responded to the increasing calls for withdrawing the goods and services tax (GST) on health and medical insurance. She emphasised that states’ tax laws have been replicated under GST and urged those advocating for a rollback to first engage with their respective state finance ministers.

India’s creator economy leads in several trends: YouTube CEO: On the sidelines of YouTube Brandcast 2024, CEO Neal Mohan told CNBC-TV18 that India is the fastest-growing market for video-sharing platforms and is leading in many global trends in terms of the creator economy all over the world. (Image: Shutterstock)

US stocks dip led by tech; weak demand for 10-year treasuries in auction stokes concerns: In a sharp reversal from the highs of the day, benchmark indices on Wall Street ended lower after a positive start to the trading day. The Dow Jones fell over 700 points off the day’s high to end 0.6% or 230 points lower, while the S&P 500 shed 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite saw a 1% fall.

Warren Buffett now owns more T-bills than the Federal Reserve: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway now owns more short-term Treasurys than the Federal Reserve. The company held $234.6 billion in short-term US Treasury Bills at the end of the second quarter, according to its latest earnings release. That’s up 81% from the roughly $130 billion it owned at the end of 2023. It also eclipses the Federal Reserve’s T-bill holdings, which stood at $195.3 billion as of last week.

Now JP Morgan raises US recession risk to 35% by year-end from 25% earlier: With US inflation pressures coming down, JPMorgan Chase & Co. sees the Fed cutting rates by half a percentage point in September and November. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now sees a 35% chance that the US economy tips into a recession by the end of this year, up from 25% as of the start of last month. (Image: Reuters)

Harris’ running mate Tim Walz owns no stocks, bonds or realty: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic running mate of Vice President Kamala Harris, owns no stocks, bonds or real estate, according to his most recent financial disclosure. Walz’s salary as governor of Minnesota is $127,629. (Image: Reuters)

Coca Cola could owe $16 bn in taxes, enough to wipe out a year-and-a-half of profits: A decade-long dispute between Coca-Cola and the US tax authorities has escalated to the point that the company could owe $16 billion (€14.7 billion) in back taxes, enough to wipe out a year and a half of profits, with the figure rising by more than $1 billion a year, according to an FT report.

Muhammad Yunus to take oath as interim Bangladesh PM today: The interim government in Bangladesh led by Nobel-laureate Muhammad Yunus will take oath today, the nation’s army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said today. General Waker told reporters the interim government is likely to take oath at 8 pm.

US warns Iran, Israel not to escalate conflict: The United States has communicated to Iran and Israel that conflict in the Middle East must not escalate, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday, even as the Pentagon warned that it would not tolerate attacks against its forces in the region. The Middle East is bracing for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week’s killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. (Image: Reuters)

Intel is sued by shareholders alleging securities fraud: Intel was sued on Wednesday by shareholders who said it fraudulently concealed problems that led to weak second-quarter results, and prompted the Silicon Valley chipmaker to suspend its dividend and to plan cutting its workforce by 15%.The proposed class action filed in San Francisco federal court seeks unspecified damages. Intel Chief Executive Patrick Gelsinger and Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner are also defendants.

Jamie Dimon says he still sees a recession on the horizon: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said he still believes that the odds of a “soft landing” for the economy are around 35% to 40%, making recession the most likely scenario in his mind, CNBC International reported. When asked if he had changed his view from February that markets were too optimistic on recession risks, Dimon said the odds were “about the same” as his earlier call.