Foreign exchange firm RationalFX, founded by ex-London deputy mayor and current Labour parliamentary candidate for Leicester East Rajesh Agrawal, has entered special administration, prompting a warning from regulators that customer funds are uninsured. Administrators will assess holdings to determine protected client assets versus company capital. RationalFX blocked customer access last week before the appointments of Ed Boyle and Kristina Kicks to handle proceedings. They will manage claims and seek to return funds where possible. Agrawal, who exited RationalFX in 2016 and its board in 2022, expressed regret that market conditions forced lost trading. 

India's retail inflation rose to 5.55% in November from 4.87% in October, official data showed. While lower than economist estimates of 5.8%, inflation has now spent 50 straight months above the RBI's 4% medium-term target. A low base from November 2021, when prices had fallen 0.1% month-on-month, coupled with higher food prices drove the uptick. The sequential rise in Consumer Food Price Index at 1.1% outpaced the broader Consumer Price Index's 0.5% rise, underscoring the pressure from food items. Despite staying within the 2-6% tolerance band for three months, persistent above-target inflation remains a policy concern.

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla has reportedly bought a massive $138 million mansion in London's posh Mayfair area near Hyde Park. The 25,000 sq ft Aberconway House, built in the 1920s, is set to become the UK's most expensive home sale this year. The property will be acquired by Serum Life Sciences, the Poonawalla family's UK subsidiary. While the family has no plans to permanently move to UK, the mansion will serve as a base during their visits. The record deal highlights the resilience of London's luxury real estate market despite economic headwinds. It caps a meteoric rise for Adar Poonawalla who gained immense global prominence for Serum Institute's role in supplying Covid vaccines during the pandemic.

Indian stock indices continued their record-setting run on Monday, with the Sensex breaching the 70,000-mark for the first time ever and the Nifty topping 21,000 in early trade. The Sensex hit an all-time high of 70,048.90 points before trimming gains slightly, while the Nifty also climbed to an intraday peak of 21,019.80. The uptrend comes on the back of strong cues after the RBI raised India's growth forecast last week while keeping rates steady. Experts say positive FII inflows, robust DII investments and enthusiastic retail participation should sustain the rally despite stretched valuations. Among indices, Japan's Nikkei rose while Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged over 2%. Global stocks had closed higher on Friday.

The National Stock Exchange of India is set to overtake Hong Kong in the list of the globe's largest trading venues by market capitalization. The NSE's total market capitalisation of listed firms stood at $3.7 trillion in October, just behind Hong Kong's $3.9 trillion, data showed. But thanks to surging earnings and upbeat Indian growth forecasts, share prices have since rallied further, putting the NSE on course to become the world's 7th biggest exchange after US, China, EU, and Japan markets. In contrast, Hong Kong has fallen victim to China's cooling economy, with real estate liquidity squeeze and frail confidence dragging down its benchmark Hang Seng index. India's Nifty 50 index of large companies hit new peaks this week, having risen over 8% in a month while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 6.7% during the same period.

The Centre announced new measures on Friday to control rising food inflation, including banning onion exports till March 2024, halting sugarcane juice diversion for ethanol production due to lower output fears, and tighter controls on wheat hoarding by traders. The steps come as poor monsoons and drought in some states is expected to reduce yields of several food items. Retail inflation is also seen rebounding in November, driven by surging vegetable prices. Apart from onion export curbs, import duties on yellow peas were removed to boost supplies. The ethanol blending programme will continue using molasses and grain feedstocks despite the sugarcane juice export bar. The directives aim at thwarting overall food inflation especially in essential kitchen staples.

In the RBI Monetary Policy Meet, Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the enhancement of UPI transaction limits, raising payments to hospitals and educational institutions from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh. Additionally, e-Mandates for recurring payments in mutual funds, insurance premiums, and credit card repayments now have a limit of ₹1 lakh. Governor Das emphasized that this move facilitates higher UPI payments for education and healthcare. The MPC, in its decision, kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5%, focusing on withdrawing accommodation to align inflation with the target while supporting growth. Real GDP growth for FY23-24 is projected at 7%.

Britain's top recruiters have alerted the Bank of England that demand for permanent staff has dropped at the second fastest rate since the pandemic. Ahead of the central bank's interest rate decision next week, a jobs snapshot showed economic uncertainty and hesitancy to commit to hiring weighed down activity in November. While availability of candidates rose at the quickest pace since 2020, permanent appointments fell sharply. With inflation still stubbornly high, the bank is expected to keep rates unchanged at 5.25%. But the latest data showed few signs of the labour market fuelling further price pressures. Governor Andrew Bailey is monitoring for evidence of inflation persistence after pausing a round of 14 consecutive interest rate increases in September.

Seattle-based Starbucks Corporation grapples with a staggering $11 billion loss, erasing 9.4% of its total value, as global boycotts intensify due to perceived boycott call over alleged Israel Association. The decline, spanning 19 days post-November 16 Red Cup Day, sees shares plummet by 8.96%, marking the longest 12-session stock downturn since 1992. Boycott roots run deep, ignited by a Starbucks Workers United tweet expressing solidarity with Palestinians. CEO Laxman Narasimhan remains optimistic in the face of challenges, denying wrongdoing amidst a company-wide commitment to brand integrity. The global boycott trend extends to Egypt, where Starbucks reportedly laid off workers due to financial strain, navigating a complex landscape of geopolitical tensions and economic repercussions.

Byju Raveendran, the founder of cash-crunched edtech giant Byju's, pledged his own home and properties of family members as collateral to raise $12 million, which was paid out as salaries to 15,000 employees on Monday. Two homes owned by the former billionaire's family in Bengaluru and his under-construction villa in Epsilon - a plush gated community in the city - were offered as collateral to borrow the $12 million. Raveendran, who also infused proceeds from his past share sales into Byju's, has reportedly raised $400 million in personal debts by mortgaging all his stock in the parent firm. The former billionaire has pulled out the stops to ease financial pressures as Byju's battles creditors amid attempts to sell assets.