India's top retail trade body said on Sunday that sales during the country's Diwali festive period rose by more than 10 per cent compared to last year, indicating "good business prospects" for small businesses.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which claims to represent tens of millions of firms across the country, said that sales of its members during the one-month festive season that ended on Saturday increased to more than 720 billion rupees ($9.7bn).
"People didn't purchase anything in the last eight months except essentials. Hence people had enough surplus money, and a portion was spent on Diwali festivities," Praveen Khandelwal, CAIT's secretary general told Reuters.
CAIT members include retailers who sell everything from electrical items to furniture and footwear. The trade body said it gathered sales data from 20 cities.
Despite the upbeat report, India's economy, which grew at the slowest pace in over a decade during the year to the end of March, is likely to enter a technical recession for the first time since independence in 1947.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has forecast a contraction of 8.6 per cent in the July-September quarter, on the back of a 23.9 per cent contraction in the April-June quarter.
However, India could return to growth in the ongoing quarter ending December 2020 if the "momentum" gained in September and October is sustained, the RBI said this week.
The central bank said there was "optimism that the revival of economic activity is stronger than the mere satiation of pent-up demand", adding that similar consumption patterns could ensure a return to growth earlier than expected.
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Tomorrow 2021
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
RESULT
Deportivo La Coruna 2 Barcelona 4
Deportivo: Perez (39'), Colak (63')
Barcelona: Coutinho (6'), Messi (37', 81', 84')
MATCH INFO
FA Cup fifth round
Chelsea v Manchester United, Monday, 11.30pm (UAE), BeIN Sports
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0
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The five pillars of Islam
1.
2.
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5.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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