US mortgage rates: 30-year home loan rate inches up to 6.16%, stays near 2025 low as housing demand remains cautious

The average interest rate on a 30-year US mortgage edged slightly higher this week but remained close to its lowest level of 2025, offering limited relief to homebuyers amid a still-challenging housing market, according to data released by Freddie Mac.The average long-term mortgage rate rose to 6.16% this week from 6.15% last week, when it…

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Global AI race: DeepSeek gains ground in developing nations; Microsoft flags widening gap

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is seeing rapid adoption across several developing countries, helping broaden access to generative artificial intelligence even as the overall gap between advanced and emerging economies continues to widen, according to a new Microsoft report.The report said global adoption of generative AI tools reached 16.3% of the world’s population in the three…

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Big push for road safety: Govt mulls V2V tech in vehicles to cut accidents; spectrum earmarked

The government is working to introduce vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology to help prevent road accidents by enabling real-time information sharing between vehicles, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday, PTI reported.Addressing a press conference in New Delhi after chairing the annual meeting of transport ministers from states and Union Territories, Gadkari…

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Gas market push: NSE in talks with IGX to launch Indian natural gas futures; aim to deepen price discovery and hedging

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is in discussions with the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) to develop and launch Indian natural gas futures, an initiative aimed at strengthening the country’s natural gas market ecosystem, PTI reported.The proposed futures contract is expected to provide market participants with a transparent, efficient and robust risk management tool aligned with…

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Gratuity calculation & definition of wages: What new labour codes mean for employees & organisations? Salary & benefits rules explained

Organizations should do a comprehensive review across HR, finance, payroll and legal functions. (AI image) New Labour Codes explained: After rolling out our new labour codes in last November 2025, the government has now published the draft rules, inviting public feedback within stipulated timelines up to February 14, 2026, and January 30, 2026 for the…

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Rupee watch: Currency slips to 89.94 against dollar; crude rise, FII outflows and tariff worries weigh

The rupee weakened by 7 paise to close at 89.94 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, pressured by higher crude oil prices, sustained foreign fund outflows and a firmer greenback, PTI reported.Forex traders said the local unit also faced headwinds from renewed concerns over potential US tariff action and weak sentiment in domestic equities….

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SBI projects 7.5% GDP growth! FY26 figures may surpass government estimates after base year revision — Here’s what report says

India’s economic expansion in FY26 may exceed current official projections once the government adopts a revised GDP base year, a report by State Bank of India (SBI) has indicated. At present, the National Statistical Office’s (NSO) first advance estimates place real GDP growth at 7.4% for FY26, marking a rise from 6.5% recorded in FY25….

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