Several banks have announced reduced interest rates for the month of Baisakh. In comparison to the rates in Chait, many banks have lowered their average interest rates. Currently, among the twenty banks in operation, thirteen have reduced their interest rates.

Banks that have reduced interest rates include Nepal Bank, Laxmi Bank, Machhapuchhre Bank, Prabhu Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Global IME Bank, Siddhartha Bank, Prime Commercial Bank, Kumari Bank, Sanima Bank, SBI Bank, Citizens Bank, and NIC Asia Bank. These banks have reduced their maximum average interest rates to 0.19% to 19% per annum on personal deposits compared to Chait.

In personal deposits, these banks have announced a maximum interest rate of 7.25% per annum for the month of Baisakh, compared to a maximum of 25% per annum in Chait. Agriculture Development Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Nabil Bank, Himalayan Bank, and Nepal Investment Mega Bank have maintained consistency in their interest rates from Chait.

However, Everest Bank and NMB Bank have increased their interest rates for Baisakh compared to Chait.
https://ujyaaloonline.com/story/100546/2024/4/12/in-april-many-banks-reduced-interest-rates

I missed posting an important article earlier in the day : Moody's cuts China's credit outlook to negative on rising debt risks.

So why is this important ? When a country’s credit rating turns negative - it means all state institutions - their credit rating too turns negative. This impacts their borrowing costs internationally. It means these state institutions will have to pay higher interest rate to borrow international funds. This will drive up cost of prodiction etc etc. A whole chain reaction comes into place - all impacting China negatively.

PM Vishwakarma Scheme:-

1. ₹1 lakh first time loan
2. Return ₹1 lakh within 18 months
3. Get another ₹2 lakh loan
4. Interest rate as low as 5%.
5. No Bank Guarantee
6. ₹15,000 to buy tools in GST registered shops
7. ₹500 per day for 5 day training.

Inform to those in need..

Argentina's central bank hikes interest rates to 118% in a drastic policy shift as it runs out of funds to defend its currency — Bloomberg

⚡ 🇳🇿New Zealand slipped into Recession.

New Zealand's economy has fallen into a recession after the country's central bank aggressively raised interest rates to a 14-year high. Its gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1% in the first three months of the year, official figures show.

IMF Upgrades UK Economic Outlook, But Warns of Subdued Growth

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its forecasts for the British economy, no longer anticipating a recession in 2023. The IMF now expects a growth of 0.4% for the year, attributing the improved outlook to factors such as resilient demand, increased government spending, improved business confidence, lower energy costs, and the normalization of global supply chains. However, the IMF cautions that despite the recent improvements, the overall growth outlook remains subdued. The IMF also highlights the challenges of high inflation, partly caused by the Ukraine-Russia conflict and pandemic-related labour supply issues.

It predicts a decline in inflation to around 5% by the end of the year and a return to the 2% target by mid-2025. The IMF's forecast indicates a growth rate of 1% in 2024, followed by 2% in the subsequent two years, before settling at a long-term growth rate of approximately 1.5%. The IMF suggests that addressing long-term illness's impact on the labour force and reducing policy and regulatory uncertainty would enhance Britain's growth potential. It also emphasizes the importance of monitoring inflation and wage increases closely while ensuring appropriate monetary policy adjustments. The IMF's statements come amidst the Bank of England's series of interest rate hikes, which are expected to peak at 5% later this year.

Interest rates are now at 2.25% – the highest rate that the UK has had since the financial crisis – after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) increased rates by 0.5 percentage points.

The rates had previously been speculated to rise by even more, but the Bank of England announced on Thursday that a majority vote of 5-4 had been reached to settle on the figure of 2.25%.

The decision to hike interest rates is a bid to keep inflation under control. It is the best tool that the Bank of England has to steer inflation – currently at 9.9% – back to its 2% target.