ET NEWS

Nestle will axe 16,000 jobs as it tries to raise sales volumes, new CEO Philipp Navratil said on Thursday, as the world's largest packaged food company reported better-than-expected sales growth thanks to pricing-led upticks in coffee and confectionery.Navratil, the former head of Nespresso, replaced Laurent Freixe, who was fired in September as chief executive over an undisclosed relationship with a direct report.Nestle has endured an unprecedented period of managerial turmoil, with Chairman Paul Bulcke stepping down early to make way for former Inditex chief Pablo Isla two weeks later.A 1.5% rise in real internal growth (RIG) - a measure of sales volumes - in the third quarter, well above analysts' expectations of a 0.3% rise, may offer Navratil breathing space as he looks to make his mark following his sudden promotion.As Nestle tries to become more efficient, Navratil said there would be 12,000 white collar job cuts, in addition to a further 4,000 headcount reduction as part of ongoing initiatives in manufacturing and supply chain. Nestle employs around 277,000 people worldwide.The Swiss maker of KitKat chocolate bars, Nespresso coffee and Maggi seasoning has been fighting to reignite stalling sales growth and arrest a steep share price slide as costs have risen and debt levels have climbed amid rising investor pressure.Navratil said driving RIG-led growth was Nestle's top priority and that it would raise its costs savings target to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.77 billion) from 2.5 billion francs by the end of 2027."We are fostering a culture that embraces a performance mindset, that does not accept losing market share, and where winning is rewarded," Navratil said in a statement. "The world is changing, and Nestlé needs to change faster."

High-frequency indicators pointed to the likelihood of robust September-quarter growth, central bank governor Sanjay Malhotra had said during the October 1 monetary policy review, although he was more circumspect about the pace of economic expansion in 2H of FY26 due to the impact of punitive US tariffs.“Several indicators suggest that agricultural prospects are bright in the current year; consequently, rural demand is likely to be buoyant," Malhotra was cited as saying in the minutes of the policy review published Wednesday. "Strong services sector growth and steady employment conditions would support growth. “Thereafter, however, it is expected to soften due to the impact of tariffs, although the GST rationalisation would partially cushion the impact.” During the October 1 policy review, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had increased its GDP growth forecast for the second quarter to 7% from 6.7%, and that for FY26 to 6.8% from 6.5%, while indicating that growth would be frontloaded.Malhotra said that policy uncertainty, rapidly evolving developments, and the foggy outlook suggest the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) exercise caution and take a view for each policy as per the then prevailing macroeconomic conditions and outlooOn October 1, the six-member MPC unanimously decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.50%. The MPC also decided to continue with a neutral policy stance.Elbow RoomRBI Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said that slower growth in H2 and a benign inflation rate have potentially opened some space for lowering the policy rates further.Yet, she said it was difficult for her to vote for a rate cut at this juncture for three reasons: Steps taken by the government to boost consumer sentiment are working through, past rate cuts are being transmitted, and the global uncertainties are evolving at a very fast pace.The recent fall in Consumer Price Index-based inflation and expectations the gauge would undershoot RBI’s projections have bolstered the case for rate cut. Data published Monday showed CPI inflation fell to an eight-year low of 1.54% in September.Indranil Bhattacharyya, RBI executive director and one of the three internal members, said that current ultra-low levels of inflation should be seen as a transitory phenomenon.Bhattacharyya said he voted for a pause as a rate cut, amid heightened uncertainty, may not have the intended impact. In addition, given that the market had not expected a rate cut, doing so would surprise the market, which is detrimental in terms of policy credibility over the medium term.External member Ram Singh, who favoured a change in stance to accommodative, said one more rate cut ran the risk of an overdose when transmission of past reductions was yet to play out.“The available scope for rates can be leveraged to sustain the growth momentum for a longer period by extending the easing cycle. A change in stance to accommodative increases the odds of a rate cut in this easing cycle,” he said.Nagesh Kumar, external member of MPC, called for supporting measures via liquidity provision, credit guarantees/ moratorium for MSMEs would be important. He said while the effect of higher tariffs on the economic growth rate may be limited to between 40 and 60 basis points, a larger effect is expected on MSMEs and jobs.One basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point.

September saw a flurry of activity in mutual fund equity portfolios with top managers reshuffling exposures to banks, automobiles, and select consumer and insurance stocks. Auto stocks drew heightened interest following the GST rate cuts, while banks and lenders saw sharp additions and exits, revealing fund managers’ divergent views on their near-term outlook. 124592964

Mumbai: The rupee reversed its retreating trend Wednesday to close at 88.0750 against the US dollar, with market participants attributing the steepest appreciation in nearly four months to unexpectedly heavy Reserve Bank of India (RBI) dollar sales that seemingly underscored Mint Road's discomfort with speculative positions. The rupee had closed at 88.7975 against the dollar Tuesday. The 0.8% rise through the day comes after the rupee consistently closed in 88.51 to 88.80 range in the last three weeks, likely due to RBI's intervention to support the rupee. "While inflows in local equity and debt markets have improved, higher tariffs remain an overhang for the rupee. Market chatter suggests that RBI's move was aimed at curbing speculative long-dollar positions," said Dilip Parmar, research analyst, HDFC Securities.

Mumbai: High-frequency indicators pointed to the likelihood of robust September-quarter growth, central bank governor Sanjay Malhotra had said during the October 1 monetary policy review, although he was more circumspect about the pace of economic expansion in 2H of FY26 due to the impact of punitive US tariffs."Several indicators suggest that agricultural prospects are bright in the current year; consequently, rural demand is likely to be buoyant," Malhotra was cited as saying in the minutes of the policy review published on Wednesday. "Strong services sector growth and steady employment conditions would support growth. "Thereafter, however, it is expected to soften due to the impact of tariffs, although the GST rationalisation would partially cushion the impact." During the October 1 policy review, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had increased its GDP growth forecast for the second quarter to 7% from 6.7%, and that for FY26 to 6.8% from 6.5%, while indicating that growth would be frontloaded.Malhotra said policy uncertainty, rapidly evolving developments,and the foggy outlook suggest the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) exercise caution and take a view for each policy as per the then prevailing macroeconomic conditions and outlook.On October 1, the six-member MPC unanimously decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.50%. The MPC also decided to continue with a neutral policy stance. 124592747 Elbow RoomRBI Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said slower growth in H2 and a benign inflation rate have potentially opened some space for lowering the policy rates further.Yet, she said it was difficult for her to vote for a rate cut at this juncture for three reasons: Steps taken by the government to boost consumer sentiment are working through, past rate cuts are being transmitted, and the global uncertainties are evolving at a very fast pace.The recent fall in Consumer Price Index-based inflation and expectations the gauge would undershoot RBI’s projections have bolstered the case for rate cut. Data published Monday showed CPI inflation fell to an eight-year low of 1.54% in September.Indranil Bhattacharyya, RBI executive director and one of the three internal members, said current ultra-low levels of inflation should be seen as a transitory phenomenon.Bhattacharyya said he voted for a pause as a rate cut, amid heightened uncertainty, may not have the intended impact. In addition, given that the market had not expected a rate cut, doing so would surprise the market, which is detrimental in terms of policy credibility over the medium term.External member Ram Singh, who favoured a change in stance to accommodative, said one more rate cut ran the risk of an overdose when transmission of past reductions was yet to play out. “The available scope for rates can be leveraged to sustain the growth momentum for a longer period by extending the easing cycle. A change in stance to accommodative increases the odds of a rate cut in this easing cycle,” he said. Nagesh Kumar, external member of MPC, called for supporting measures via liquidity provision, credit guarantees/ moratorium for MSMEs would be important. He said while the effect of higher tariffs on the economic growth rate may be limited to between 40 and 60 basis points, a larger effect is expected on MSMEs and jobs. One basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point.

Mumbai: High-frequency indicators pointed to the likelihood of robust September-quarter growth, central bank governor Sanjay Malhotra had said during the October 1 monetary policy review, although he was more circumspect about the pace of economic expansion in 2H of FY26 due to the impact of punitive US tariffs."Several indicators suggest that agricultural prospects are bright in the current year; consequently, rural demand is likely to be buoyant," Malhotra was cited as saying in the minutes of the policy review published on Wednesday. "Strong services sector growth and steady employment conditions would support growth. "Thereafter, however, it is expected to soften due to the impact of tariffs, although the GST rationalisation would partially cushion the impact." During the October 1 policy review, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had increased its GDP growth forecast for the second quarter to 7% from 6.7%, and that for FY26 to 6.8% from 6.5%, while indicating that growth would be frontloaded.Malhotra said policy uncertainty, rapidly evolving developments,and the foggy outlook suggest the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) exercise caution and take a view for each policy as per the then prevailing macroeconomic conditions and outlook.On October 1, the six-member MPC unanimously decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.50%. The MPC also decided to continue with a neutral policy stance. 124592747 Elbow RoomRBI Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said slower growth in H2 and a benign inflation rate have potentially opened some space for lowering the policy rates further.Yet, she said it was difficult for her to vote for a rate cut at this juncture for three reasons: Steps taken by the government to boost consumer sentiment are working through, past rate cuts are being transmitted, and the global uncertainties are evolving at a very fast pace.The recent fall in Consumer Price Index-based inflation and expectations the gauge would undershoot RBI’s projections have bolstered the case for rate cut. Data published Monday showed CPI inflation fell to an eight-year low of 1.54% in September.Indranil Bhattacharyya, RBI executive director and one of the three internal members, said current ultra-low levels of inflation should be seen as a transitory phenomenon.Bhattacharyya said he voted for a pause as a rate cut, amid heightened uncertainty, may not have the intended impact. In addition, given that the market had not expected a rate cut, doing so would surprise the market, which is detrimental in terms of policy credibility over the medium term.External member Ram Singh, who favoured a change in stance to accommodative, said one more rate cut ran the risk of an overdose when transmission of past reductions was yet to play out. “The available scope for rates can be leveraged to sustain the growth momentum for a longer period by extending the easing cycle. A change in stance to accommodative increases the odds of a rate cut in this easing cycle,” he said. Nagesh Kumar, external member of MPC, called for supporting measures via liquidity provision, credit guarantees/ moratorium for MSMEs would be important. He said while the effect of higher tariffs on the economic growth rate may be limited to between 40 and 60 basis points, a larger effect is expected on MSMEs and jobs. One basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point.