US jobs data: Hiring stays sluggish in December with 50,000 additions; unemployment rate dips to 4.4%

Hiring in the United States remained subdued in December, capping a year of weak employment gains, even as the unemployment rate edged lower, according to data released by the US Labor Department on Friday, AP reported.Employers added 50,000 jobs in December, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised 56,000 jobs added in November. The unemployment rate…

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Marriott Bonvoy appointed ICC’s official accommodation partner

NEW DELHI: Marriott Bonvoy — the travel platform of the world’s largest hotel chain — will be International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Official Accommodation Partner through to 2029. The deal, the two say, will give Marriott Bonvoy’s 26 crore members “the opportunity to embrace the excitement of the game across continents and showcases Marriott Bonvoy’s offerings…

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Mamata on streets, FIR against ED, chaos in courtroom: What’s happening in poll bound West Bengal | India News

NEW DELHI: West Bengal’s political temperature spiked on Friday as chief minister Mamata Banerjee led a street protest in Kolkata against the Enforcement Directorate, as she accused the BJP-led Centre of misusing central agencies ahead of the polls.To sum up the incidents in the last two days, ED raided political consultancy firm I-PAC, accused Mamata…

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Trade boost: FTAs to open wider markets for agriculture, food processing sectors; Jitin Prasada flags ease-of-business push

The growing number of free trade agreements (FTAs) signed and implemented by India will provide wider market access to the country’s agriculture and food processing sectors, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said on Friday, PTI reported.“We have navigated a series of free trade agreements. Our produce has access to these markets,”…

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‘Focus on responsibilities’: MEA hits back at Mamdani’s letter to Umar Khalid; terms it ‘prejudice’ | India News

NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Friday reacted sharply to the letter sent by New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani to jailed student activist Umar Khalid, saying “personal prejudices does not behove those in office.” Hitting out at Mamdani, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We expect public representatives to be respectful of the…

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‘Closely monitoring’: MEA expresses concerns over Minneapolis shooting; cites presence large Indian diaspora | India News

NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs (MEA) on Friday said it is “closely monitoring” developments following a shooting in Minneapolis involving an US immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) agent, expressing concern in view of the large Indian community in the United States.“We are closely monitoring the developments in and around Minneapolis shooting. We are…

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BlackRock’s bull case for bitcoin access among retail investors

It could be the year Main Street’s appetite for cryptocurrency exposure meaningfully grows. Although it’s been two years since the first spot bitcoin ETFs began trading on U.S. exchanges, BlackRock’s Jay Jacobs thinks they’re a fairly new concept. “It’s still so early,” the firm’s U.S. head of equity ETFs told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week….

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