Core Insights - The episode features an interview with Snehanjana Chatterjee, a third-year international graduate student at Texas Tech, discussing her financial journey and challenges as an international student in the US [4][6] - The conversation covers various aspects of funding, budgeting, and financial resources available to international students, highlighting the importance of financial literacy and support systems [3][4] Funding and Financial Management - Snehanjana is primarily funded through a teaching assistantship, which provides her with a monthly stipend that has increased from $1,800 to $2,300 over the years [12][13] - Initial financial challenges included managing tuition payments and living expenses before receiving her first paycheck, leading her to rely on savings from India and support from her parents [9][10][11] - She has utilized various scholarships and volunteer positions to supplement her income, including a $1,000 scholarship from the Association of Biologists and $500 from the American Society for Microbiologists [14][15] Financial Challenges and Solutions - The financial struggles faced by international students include high tuition costs, living expenses, and the need for a guarantor when renting apartments, which can lead to additional financial burdens [30][31][32] - Snehanjana emphasizes the importance of budgeting and finding resources, such as financial hardship scholarships, to alleviate some of the financial pressures [16][17] Investment and Savings Goals - Snehanjana expresses a desire to learn about investing and to open a savings account, indicating a lack of knowledge about financial investment options available to international students [19][39] - The discussion includes advice on investing in the US stock market, with considerations for international students who may not stay long-term in the US [24][26] Common Concerns Among International Students - Common concerns among new international graduate students include finding housing, understanding the rental process, and managing transportation for grocery shopping [30][36][37] - The episode highlights the need for better preparation and support for international students to navigate these challenges effectively [36][38]

Core Insights - HSBC has launched the 'HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points' service, allowing credit cardholders to earn up to 12x reward points for travel bookings [4][18] - The service is accessible through HSBC India's website and mobile app, facilitated by Hopper Technology Solutions [4][18] - The program includes features such as best price guarantee, price drop protection, and free cancellation [12][13][14] HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points Service - The service enables credit cardholders to earn accelerated reward points for booking flights, hotels, and car rentals [4][5] - Different HSBC credit cards offer varying reward points for travel bookings, with the HSBC Prive and Premier cards providing the highest rates [6] - The maximum cap for accelerated reward points is set at 18,000 points per cardholder per calendar month, while base reward points remain uncapped [6] Redemption and Payment Options - Cardholders can redeem reward points for travel services at a 1:1 ratio for HSBC Prive and Premier cardholders [10] - Payment for travel bookings can be made entirely with reward points, partially with points and a credit card, or fully with a credit card to earn additional points [16] Benefits of the Service - The best price guarantee allows cardholders to receive a refund if they find a lower rate within 24 hours of booking [12] - Price drop protection refunds the difference if flight prices drop within 10 days after booking, up to a maximum of ₹1,500 [13] - Free cancellation is available up to 3 hours before the trip, ensuring flexibility for cardholders [14] Conclusion - The introduction of the 'HSBC Rewards | Travel with Points' platform enhances the value proposition for HSBC credit cardholders by offering significant rewards and flexible redemption options [18]

AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) has officially launched its ‘AU KOSMO Credit Card’, a credit card based on UPI (Unified Payments Interface) in partnership with Kiwi, a leading ‘Credit on UPI’ platform.UPI is fast emerging as the preferred payment option for credit cards now. In August 2025, UPI P2M (Person-to-Merchant) payments saw a 26% year-on-year growth, crossing ₹7.2 lakh crore in value. RuPay’s credit card market share has also grown significantly, rising from 3% in FY23 (2022-23) to nearly 12% in FY25 ...

Best of both partiesCo-branded In India, such partnerships are still relatively rare. The first one was between Jet Airways and Citibank, dating back to 2003. Since then, many other banks and airlines have launched similar programs, offering attractive perks to airline customers to encourage daily engagement and hoping they stay loyal even if another airline approaches them. Most recently, Vistara had co-branded partnerships that encouraged people to fly with the airline frequently. These partnerships are e ...

Group 1 - The GST Council approved a significant restructuring of the GST framework, eliminating the 12% and 28% slabs and introducing a special 40% rate for 'sin' goods like tobacco and luxury items [4][7] - GST rates on essential items such as packaged food, shampoo, toothpaste, and shaving cream have been reduced to 5%, while rates for small cars, dishwashers, air conditioners, and televisions have decreased from 28% to 18% [4][7] - Economists anticipate that these changes, effective from the start of the festive season, will enhance domestic consumption amid uncertain global demand [5][7] Group 2 - The new GST rates are expected to benefit 11 of the top 30 consumption items, which account for about one-third of an average consumer's monthly spending [5][7] - The impact of the GST changes will be monitored through price movements, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and GST collections [5][8] - The average GST collection in the first five months of FY26 was ₹2.01 lakh crore, an increase from ₹1.83 lakh crore in the same period last year [6][8]

Group 1: IIT Placements - The placement season at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has commenced with strong recruiter interest, particularly from trading firms like Jane Street and Millennium Management [1][3][16] - IIT Kharagpur and IIT BHU anticipate surpassing last year's placement offers, with IIT BHU expecting to exceed 1,405 offers [5][16] - IITs are enhancing their appeal to recruiters by showcasing cutting-edge research and providing training in soft skills and leadership [6][16] Group 2: SoftBank Vision Fund - SoftBank's Vision Fund is laying off 20% of its global staff as part of a strategic shift towards artificial intelligence investments, particularly the $500 billion Stargate project with OpenAI [8][16] - The Vision Fund has seen its third round of layoffs since 2022, despite reporting a net profit of $2.87 billion in Q1, its best performance since mid-2021 [8][16] - Over the past year, SoftBank has invested $9.7 billion in OpenAI and acquired stakes in Nvidia and Intel to bolster its AI ecosystem [8][16] Group 3: Pepperfry Acquisition - Realty services firm TCC Concept has signed a term sheet to acquire up to 100% of Pepperfry, although the deal value and closure timeline remain undisclosed [9][16] - The acquisition aims to enhance TCC's presence in e-commerce and digital marketplaces, while Pepperfry seeks a new direction after years of declining growth and a failed IPO attempt [9][10][16] - Pepperfry's FY24 operating revenue fell by 30.6% to ₹188.9 crore, but losses decreased by 37.4% to ₹117.4 crore [10][16] Group 4: Digital Payments for Russian Tourists - Sberbank has partnered with Indian digital payments app Cheq to enable QR-code-based UPI payments for Russian tourists in India, circumventing Visa and Mastercard networks [11][16] - This initiative allows foreign tourists without Indian bank accounts to utilize UPI, enhancing payment accessibility in India [11][16] Group 5: Digital Personal Data Privacy (DPDP) Act - India is set to finalize the rules for the Digital Personal Data Privacy (DPDP) Act by September 28, 2025, after a decade of development [14][16] - The DPDP Act aims to establish a legal framework for processing personal data, focusing on privacy and the handling of children's data [15][16]

Core Viewpoint - The Indian government bonds have experienced a decline for the second consecutive week, influenced by hawkish commentary from the U.S. Federal Reserve and ongoing concerns regarding debt supply, which have negatively impacted investor appetite [7]. Group 1: Yield Movements - The yield on the 10-year benchmark ended at 6.4885%, slightly down from 6.5139% on Thursday, marking a marginal increase over the week after a rise of 2 basis points last week [1][7]. - Yields move inversely to prices, indicating a complex relationship between bond prices and interest rates [2][7]. Group 2: Federal Reserve Actions - The Federal Reserve reduced interest rates by 25 basis points and signaled the possibility of an additional 50 basis points of cuts in 2025, although Chair Jerome Powell emphasized a "meeting-by-meeting situation" regarding future rate cuts [2][3][7]. - The current rate cut cycle may not be extensive, as suggested by Gaura Sen Gupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank [3][7]. Group 3: Local Market Dynamics - There are ongoing concerns in the local market regarding constant supply from the central and state governments, which has contributed to rising yields and altered demand-supply dynamics [5][7]. - Traders are anticipating the borrowing calendar from the central government for the second half of the fiscal year, expected to be published before the end of September [6][7]. - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised states to diversify their borrowing across different tenures instead of concentrating on long-term bonds and to communicate their fundraising plans more clearly [6][7]. Group 4: Overnight Index Swaps - India's overnight index swaps (OIS) rates showed mixed results, with the one-year OIS rate at 5.45%, the two-year OIS rate at 5.42%, and the liquid five-year OIS rate ending at 5.71% [7].

Market Overview - The Indian equity market has experienced significant volatility over the past year, with a notable rebound occurring in the last six months, particularly from March 2025, following a steep correction from the late-September 2024 peak [1] - During the six-month period ending September 17, 2025, the Nifty 50 Total Return Index (TRI) increased by 14%, while the Nifty Midcap 150 TRI and Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI rose by 21% and 24%, respectively [1] Mutual Fund Activity - The rebound in the market coincided with steady mutual fund inflows, with managers investing nearly ₹2.5 lakh crore into equities during the same period [2] - This influx of liquidity, combined with market volatility, provided active managers with opportunities to acquire quality stocks at attractive prices [2] Midcap Stock Selection - Active fund managers have consistently added specific midcap stocks to their portfolios over the past six months, focusing on those with significant increases in equity scheme participation from February to August 2025 [4] - The top three midcap stocks identified are Swiggy, One97 Communications, and IDFC First Bank [5] Individual Stock Performance - The number of active equity schemes holding Swiggy increased from 90 in February 2025 to 144 in August 2025, with new investments from HDFC Flexi Cap, Axis Midcap, and Nippon India Multi Cap [5] - One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, saw its active equity scheme count rise from 51 to 103 during the same period, with new entries from Motilal Oswal Large & Midcap, Canara Rob Mid Cap, and UTI Multi Asset Allocation [6] - IDFC First Bank experienced a significant increase in active schemes, rising from 9 in February 2025 to 48 in August 2025, with notable new investors including Sundaram Mid Cap, Franklin India Mid Cap, and Bandhan Value Fund [6]

Currency Market Overview - The Indian rupee closed 32 paise lower at 88.13 per dollar, compared to the previous close of 87.8150 [1] - The rupee had previously gained due to broad weakness in the dollar amid anticipation of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve [2] - The US Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 4.00-4.25%, aligning with market expectations, but provided mixed forward guidance [5] Economic Implications - Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that future decisions would be made "meeting by meeting," leading to a temporary rebound of the dollar after an initial decline [2] - There is an expectation that dollar weakness may persist, with potential for a deeper rate cut cycle in 2026 than currently projected [4] - The impact of tariffs on growth and inflation is anticipated to become more pronounced as companies pass higher costs to consumers, which could negatively affect consumer demand [4] Trade Relations and Tariff Outlook - Investors are focusing on US tariff issues and weak foreign inflows in the equity market, which have negatively impacted the rupee [5] - Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran expressed optimism that the tariff dispute between India and the US may be resolved within two months, with potential withdrawal of penal tariffs [5] - Discussions are ongoing to reduce the reciprocal tariff from 25% to approximately 15%, which could benefit exporters [5]

Credit Cards: South Korean credit card company Lotte Card, controlled by private equity fund MBK, said that the personal data of 2.97 million customers has been leaked as a result of a hacking attack, reported Reuters. Lotte Card was set up in Dec 2002 as a technical and business company licensed by American Express and Lotte Department Store, its Wikipedia page shows.Among the credit card customers who had been affected, some 280,000 had sensitive data leaked that could be abused for card fraud, Lotte Card ...