After a two-year bull run, residential real estate activity across top cities stabilised in the third quarter (July-September) this year, reaching more that 1.07 lakh units, a report showed on Thursday, adding that the lull was due to monsoon and perceived inauspiciousness (the ‘shraad’ period).

However, sales continued to outstrip new supply in Q3, reflecting continued health in the market. Share of new luxury homes supply (priced Rs 1.5 crore and above) was highest at 33 per cent in the quarter, as per Anarock Group report.

“Housing sales in the third quarter tapered down amid high prices and the monsoon season. As always in this period, the ‘shraad’ period also suppressed demand to an extent as many Indians defer home buying in this period. Overall, the housing market is stabilising after creating a new peak in Q1 2024,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Group.

Leading professional networking platform LinkedIn on Thursday announced it has added 10 new language options, including four Indian regional languages.

The new language options are Vietnamese, Greek, Persian, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, along with four Indian regional languages — Bengali, Marathi, Telugu and Punjabi.

The new additions bring LinkedIn's support to five Indian languages, including Hindi, it said in a statement.

“We're excited to announce that LinkedIn is now more inclusive and accessible than ever. We've expanded our language support to include 10 new languages, each representing a vibrant part of our global community,” said Chief Product Officer Tomer Cohen.

Global energy demand will grow 24 per cent by 2050, with oil dominating world markets in need of 120.1 million barrels per day, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said.

Coinciding with Rio Oil & Gas, the largest oil and natural gas fair in Latin America, which runs through Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, OPEC released its annual World Oil Outlook, for the first time outside its headquarters in Vienna, reports news agency.

The organisation, which brings together most of the world's largest oil producers, said it sees no signs of a peak in fossil fuel consumption despite a global race for renewable energy. On the contrary, it predicted that by 2050 oil will account for a record share of the world's energy matrix.

Indian tourists are rapidly emerging as a significant growth engine for global tourism, with a 12 per cent growth in the first half of this year, compared with the same period in 2019 before the pandemic, according to a report on Wednesday.

The picture is even brighter when it comes to foreign exchange earnings (FEE), which rose 23 per cent in the first half of 2024 over the same period in 2019, according to Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics.

In the first half of calendar 2024, foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in the country stood at 4.78 million, about 90 per cent of that in the first half of calendar 2019. The rise in forex earnings suggests tourists are spending more during their visits, which can be linked to several factors, including a 20 per cent rise in five-star hotel rates between 2019 and 2024, increasing tourist preference for luxury experiences, and higher disposable incomes with travellers indulging in premium services such as fine dining, high-end accommodations and distinctive cultural experiences.

India clocked record foodgrain production at 3,322.98 LMT (lakh metric tonnes) in the agriculture year 2023-24 -- higher by 26.11 LMT than the production of foodgrains at 3,296.87 LMT achieved during agriculture year 2022-23, the Centre said on Wednesday.

The foodgrain production saw a record increase due to good results with rice, wheat, and millet crops.

Total rice production is estimated at a record 1,378.25 LMT in the year 2023-24 -- up by 20.70 LMT from the previous year’s rice production of 1,357.55 LMT.

Meanwhile, wheat production during 2023-24 is estimated at a record 1,132.92 LMT -- higher by 27.38 LMT than 1,105.54 LMT last year, as per the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare’s final estimates of production.

Petrol and diesel prices may be reduced after October 5, according to CLSA, which has based its report on speculation after comments by Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, suggesting a cut last month.

The prices have not changed since March 2024. Jain had said that the state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) may consider reducing petrol and diesel prices if international crude prices stay low for an extended period, as per media reports.

The CLSA in its note said, "Maharashtra is a crucial battleground, and the BJP-led alliance may consider lowering fuel prices as a populist move."

According to several media reports, Maharashtra's state elections are expected in early November. Final dates for the state election are likely announced by mid-October.

The occupancy levels of flexible office spaces in India has crossed 80 per cent across major locations as IT companies drive the demand, a report said on Wednesday.

Prime office locations such as Mumbai (94 per cent), NCR (92 per cent), Bengaluru (86 per cent) and Hyderabad (84 per cent) continue to attract corporations, driving greater demand for flexible office spaces, according to the report by Knight Frank India.

To meet this demand, flex-space operators have significantly increased their office space take-up, leasing an estimated 52.9 million square feet from 2017 to the first half this year, with a robust CAGR of 22 per cent.

In a pioneering move to curb the country’s spam menace, Bharti Airtel on Wednesday launched India’s first network-based, AI-powered spam detection solution.

The free-of-cost solution -- a first by a telecom service provider in the country -- will alert customers in real time to all suspected spam calls and SMSes.

It will get auto-activated for all Airtel customers without them having to raise a service request or download an app.

“Spam has become a menace for customers. Today marks a milestone as we launch the country’s first AI-powered spam-free network that will shield our customers from the continuous onslaught of intrusive and unwanted communications,” said Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bharti Airtel.

The organised gold loans by banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are set to exceed Rs 10 lakh crore in the current fiscal, with a projection to reach Rs 15 lakh crore by March 2027, a report showed on Wednesday.

Rating agency ICRA said that banks remain dominant driven by their gold jewellery-backed agriculture loans. Public sector banks (PSBs) accounted for about 63 per cent of overall gold loans in March 2024, up from 54 per cent in March 2019, while the NBFC and private banks’ shares moderated by equal measure during this period.

At the same time, NBFCs hold the pole position in retail gold loans and are expected to expand at 17-19 per cent in FY25, the report mentioned.

Over the recent past, NBFC gold loans growth trends were influenced by the trends demonstrated by other loan products, like micro-finance, unsecured business or personal loans, which are also targeted at similar borrowers.

Bhavish Aggarwal-run Ola Electric's stock tanked further to touch its lowest at Rs 103 apiece in the morning trade on Wednesday, amid repeated warnings by trade analysts for retail investors to wait for a more stable entry point.

The share of the electric two-wheeler company nosedived to Rs 103 apiece — a massive 35 per cent drop from its all-time high of 157.40.

Market analysts have already warned individual traders not to go bullish on Ola Electric stock yet, owing to its speculative valuation amid rising competition.

Ola Electric’s market share has been decreasing amid rising competition from rivals like TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto. Ola Electric’s market share dropped further to 31 per cent last month.

Last month, the electric vehicle firm clocked its lowest monthly sales, dropping 34 per cent sequentially to 27,506 units.