Economy

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 1% on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) in Q3, well below the BoC’s October estimate of 1.5%. The central bank had initially projected growth as high as 2.8% in July.Citi analysts pointed to uneven economic trends given household consumption grew 3.5% in the quarter on robust goods and services spending, with government expenditure also providing a boost.However, business investment fell sharply, with machinery and equipment investment plummeting 27.7%.Analyst said recent fiscal measures, including a sales tax holiday and household rebates, could sustain consumer spending in the coming months “but increased uncertainty around US trade actions could weigh further on investment.”Analyst anticipates BoC to conclude in December that restrictive interest rates are overly suppressing demand, which will likely increase the chances of a 50-basis-point rate cut, bringing rates to the upper range of the neutral rate.The BoC’s next policy announcement is scheduled for December 11. More

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“We reject all of this strongly on behalf of the individuals,” Adani Group CFO Jugeshinder Singh told reporters at an event in Mumbai.”We believe it is not warranted, we know for sure 100% that nothing of this sort happened. If we were paying that amount of cash to someone I would certainly know, so we know nothing happened,” Singh said.U.S. authorities accused Adani, 62, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and managing director of Adani Green, Vneet S. Jaain, of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian solar power supply contracts, and misleading U.S. investors during fund raises there.The ports-to-power conglomerate has previously denied the charges as “baseless” and vowed to seek “all possible legal recourse”.”As a group there will not be any action (on the U.S. indictment) but individuals will be taking steps,” Singh said on Friday.The U.S. indictment has had major ripple effects: Adani shares have plummeted last week, at least one Indian state is reviewing its power deal with Adani, Indian parliament has been disrupted amid political uproar and TotalEnergies (EPA:TTEF) has decided it will not make any more investments in the group.India’s foreign ministry, in the country’s first official reaction to Adani’s indictment, said on Friday that bribery allegations against the billionaire was a legal issue between private companies and the U.S. Department of Justice and that New Delhi has not received any request on this case from Washington. More

Investors bought $12.78 billion worth of U.S. equity funds, a sharp jump in net purchases from the around $3.03 billion worth a week earlier, LSEG Lipper data showed.Trump selected fiscal hawk Scott Bessent for the role of U.S. Treasury Secretary last week, boosting market expectations that debt levels would remain under control in his second term.The large-cap and small-cap funds segments drew inflows totaling $5.27 billion and $3.11 billion, respectively. Multi-cap and mid-cap funds, however, saw net outflows of $419 million and $137 million, respectively.U.S. sectoral funds were in big demand, attracting about a net $4.72 billion, thanks to notable $2.08 billion, $990 million and $962 million net purchases in the financials, consumer discretionary and technology sectors, respectively.U.S. bond funds remained popular for a 26th successive week, securing about $6.92 billion in net weekly inflows during the week.Investors bought $3.01 billion of general domestic taxable fixed income funds for a 15th consecutive weekly net purchase. U.S. short-to-intermediate investment-grade funds and mortgage funds also attracted $1.53 billion and $1.48 billion, respectively, in net inflows.Investors, meanwhile, sold around a net $2.37 billion worth of U.S. money market funds following the $26.82 billion net outflow in the prior week. More

On a monthly basis, inflation was 0.3% compared with 0.2% in October, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.Kenya targets an inflation rate of between 2.5% and 7.5% in the medium term.The central bank is due to announce its latest benchmark lending rate decision on Dec. 5. In October, the bank cut its rate to 12.00% from 12.75%. More

ZURICH (Reuters) -Swiss prosecutors on Friday indicted private bank Lombard Odier and one of the firm’s former employees for “aggravated money laundering”, in a rare charge of such magnitude against one of Switzerland’s biggest and oldest wealth managers.The bank and the ex-employee are suspected of having played a decisive role in enabling the concealment of the proceeds of a criminal enterprise set up by Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the late president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, the Swiss Attorney General’s Office (OAG) said in a statement.Lombard Odier denied wrongdoing and said the investigation in question began after it had itself reported its suspicions to Swiss authorities in 2012.”The allegations are unfounded and without merit and are firmly rejected by the bank,” it said in a statement, adding that it had fully cooperated with authorities throughout.Lombard Odier, which dates back to 1796, reported total client assets of 296 billion Swiss francs ($336 billion) at the end of last year.Karimova, who was indicted by the Swiss OAG last year over alleged participation in a criminal organisation at the centre of the case, could not immediately be reached for comment.She has previously denied those allegations.Banking secrecy was once the cornerstone of Switzerland’s prowess in wealth management, but that stronghold has been gradually eroded under international pressure, making it harder for people to use the country to hide their wealth.The OAG alleged Lombard Odier failed to comply with anti-money laundering standards and its own internal guidelines in opening and managing nine bank accounts under suspicion.Prosecutors filed the charges against Lombard Odier just a few days after Credit Suisse, which is now a part of UBS, was acquitted of failing to prevent money laundering by a Bulgarian cocaine trafficking gang, overturning a 2022 conviction.Dominik Gross, an economic historian at Swiss NGO Alliance Sud, said the indictment was the latest in a growing series of setbacks for the country’s financial sector, even if it alone looked unlikely to do serious damage to Lombard Odier.”A private bank is less exposed to the markets than was the case with Credit Suisse,” he said, noting how scandals gradually sapped confidence in Credit Suisse, which collapsed in 2023.Swiss prosecutors said Karimova and another person are suspected of participating in a criminal organisation known as “The Office”, which operated in several countries, and of laundering proceeds in Switzerland, between 2005 and 2012.Karimova is currently in prison in Uzbekistan, after being jailed in 2019 for violating the terms of her house arrest and receiving a sentence in 2015 on charges of embezzlement and extortion. She was handed a further sentence in 2020.Investigations have led the OAG to believe that part of the money laundered in Switzerland may have been transferred using bank accounts at Lombard Odier in Geneva, the OAG said.The former employee of the bank worked in Lombard Odier’s private clients’ department between 2008 and 2012, and is suspected of having opened or arranged for the opening of the nine bank accounts, it added.($1 = 0.8808 Swiss francs) More