Foreign investors turned net sellers in October, withdrawing shares worth Rs 58,711 crore in the month so far owing to escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a sharp rise in crude oil prices, and the strong performance of the Chinese market.

The outflow came following a nine-month high investment of Rs 57,724 crore in September.

Since June, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have consistently bought equities, after withdrawing Rs 34,252 crore in April-May. Overall, FPIs have been net buyers in 2024, except for January, April, and May, data with the depositories showed.

Looking ahead, global factors such as geopolitical developments and the future direction of interest rates will play a crucial role in determining the flow of foreign investments into the Indian equity markets, Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director, Manager Research, Morningstar Investment Research India, said.

According to the data, FPIs made a net withdrawal of Rs 58,711 crore from equities between October 1 and 11.

“Escalating conflicts, particularly in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, have increased market uncertainty, leading to risk aversion among global investors. FPIs have become cautious and pulling out money from emerging markets,” Vinit Bolinjkar, Head of research at Ventura Securities, said.

The geopolitical crisis has also led to a sharp rise in Brent crude oil prices from USD 69 per barrel on Sep 10 to USD 79 per barrel on Oct 10, which poses inflationary risks and increases the fiscal burden for India, he added.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, believes that FPIs have been following a strategy of ‘Sell India, Buy China’ after the Chinese authorities announced monetary and fiscal measures to stimulate the slowing Chinese economy. FPI money has been moving to Chinese stocks, which are cheap even now.

Together, these developments have created a temporary barrier in Indian equities, reflected in FPI outflow in both debt and equity segments.

It is anticipated these trends will stabilise around the time of the US polls, Pankaj Singh, smallcase Manager and Founder & Principal Researcher at Smartwealth.ai, said.

In the debt markets, FPIs pulled out Rs 1,635 crore through the General Limit and invested Rs 952 crore via Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) during the period under review.

So far this year, FPIs invested Rs 41,899 crore in equities and Rs 1.09 lakh crore in the debt market.

CADBURY fans are shocked to notice an unexpected product not sold in the UK hanging about on B&M shelves.

The 5 Star Mini Treats are a rare Cadbury product currently selling in the superstore which is usually found only in other parts of the world.

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In fact, the places where you can typically get the treat are India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, South Africa, the Philippines and Egypt.

The “family pack” bags are now appearing in B&Ms for £2 which is a similar price to its other UK Cadbury sharing products.

One shopper took to Facebook to share a photo of their discovery on the New Foods UK Group.

A person commented: “This looks good.”

Another said: “Right B&M are just aiming to take all my money!”

While a third user wrote: “I wonder what these taste like.”

And a fourth added: “Ooh they look like Wispa Golds but with more caramel.”

In other countries the chocolate usually comes in 15g mini-bars, 45g standard bars or the 150g sharing bags available in B&M.

It is described as a “caramel and nougat” mix covered with “smooth chocolate“.

B&M is yet to show the product on it’s website, meaning it may only be available for a limited time.

It’s also not available in any other UK stores as this moment in time.

Those wishing to try the product should run to their local B&M which they can find using the store locator tool on its website.

Bear in mind that it may not be available in all stores, but if it is, you’ll find it with all the other Cadbury products in the chocolate aisle.

Prices may also vary between sites, so be mindful of how much you’re spending for the amount of chocolate you’re getting.

Cadbury has plenty of other exciting ranges which prop up on shelves every once in a while.

For example, this year a Cadbury’s mint-flavoured twirl appeared on shelves in B&M, originally launched in Australia, and only £1 for four.

There’s also loads of classic fan-favourites making a comeback in time for Christmas, such as the Dairy Milk Chocolate Puds.

For individual pud it costs 75p in Sainsbury’s and just 70p in Waitrose.

You can also buy bags of mini puds for £1.65 in Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Poundland.

And the rare 360g Dairy Milk mint crisp bar has returned to some shelves this year – selling cheapest in Asda for £4.

Other Cadbury Christmas bars which are available in supermarkets this year also include the Dairy Milk Classic Wonderland and Mini Snow Balls edition.

Remember to always compare prices when shopping so you know you’re paying the right amount for what you’re getting.

A great way to do this is via the comparison site Trolley which will show the prices for every store.

You can also visit the Cadbury website to browse all their latest products and launches.

How to save money on chocolate

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We all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don’t have to break the bank buying your favourite bar.

Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs…

Go own brand – if you’re not too fussed about flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you’ll save by going for the supermarket’s own brand bars.

Shop around – if you’ve spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it’s cheaper elsewhere.

Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you’re getting the best deal.

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Look out for yellow stickers – supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they’ve been reduced.

They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best-before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.

Buy bigger bars – most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.

So if you’ve got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.

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PARENTS are rushing to Sainsbury’s to get their hands on toys for sale, with a mega-shot rifle with foam bullets scanning at tills with 50 per cent off.

It’s one of the biggest pre-Christmas sales around, with loads of parents stocking up on bargain presents for their kids.

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Many savvy savers recently spotted the cheap toys in their local branches and finished festive shopping for the children in their family.

The shoppers posted their find on the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook group after snapping up various toys – with some half price.

One of the members who posted about their finds said that they’d have a “happy grandson at Christmas” after picking up a Zuru Xshot for £20 instead of £40 – a 50 per cent saving.

Another member gushed over their items, saying they “will have two very happy little girls at Christmas” after picking up various Barbie dolls and Bluey toys.

The savvy shoppers found the goods in Sainsbury’s highly-anticipated toy sale.

Other shoppers were quick to comment on the purchases.

One comment said: “That’s a great haul I hope you have good hiding places for them!”

Another said: “Hardly anything left in our local.”

And: “Great find!”

The sale, which is just in stores and not online, is expected to last a week.

It’s also a good idea to check your local store’s opening times, as previous years have seen lengthy queues of shoppers desperate to nab a good deal.

As an added bonus, shoppers can both collect and redeem Nectar points on any purchases made in the toy sale.

“One of the great benefits of shopping at Sainsbury’s is the ability to collect and redeem Nectar points,” the Coupon Queen wrote in a post on her website.

“These points can indeed be used during the Sainsburys toy sale, allowing you to save even more on your purchases.

“So, not only can you find great deals on toys, but you can also use your Nectar points to get additional discounts.”

It’s also a good idea to check the return deadlines for any toys before purchasing them.

And remember to check whether or not the toys need batteries to work – and if they’re included.

The festive season is on and that can mean shopping and buying gifts but that often involves going through a dozen options to choose. With a host of deals available on many categories, including electronics, here’s a curated list of what smartphones, TWS as well as home speakers you can choose from to gift something that’s good value for money while offering a good user experience:

Smartphones:

Poco M6 (6GB + 128GB): For phones under Rs 10,000, the Poco M6 Pro is a really nice option with its large and sharp 6.74-inch LCD display. A decent set of cameras for the price tag, plus you also get a 3.5mm audio jack as well as NFC for contact-less payments if you want to use that feature via payment apps. Five minutes of adjusting and tweaking after the initial setup and you can get rid of unnecessary promotional notifications and apps to get a highly customisable OS in place and get a reliable day long battery life.

CMF Phone 1: With a different looking back panel that’s also interchangeable, the CMF Phone 1 is a well-performing smartphone that stands out from the crowd for not only its looks outside but also a neat and smooth UI inside. IP52 dust and water-resistant device comes with a fingerprint sensor and a nice 6.67-inch AMOLED display, plus a camera setup, including the front camera, that can take sharp photos given the price tag of Rs 14,999 it starts with.

Realme GT 6T: If your budget is more around Rs 30,000, then the Realme GT 6T offers a lot of value that isn’t low on looks, performance as well as software support. Promised to get three Android upgrades and four years of security patches,the device is equipped with a quality higher refresh rate 6.78-inch AMOELD display, a capable set of cameras that are quick to capture and can take vivid shots when outdoors.

TWS

Oppo Enco Air3 Pro: While some of you might say these are over a year old, but the sheer audio quality and even noise cancellation offered by this Oppo pair are still the best for a price of Rs. 3,199. On top of that, these are comfortablo wearfor longer periods — be it while working or commuting. Also, it can be connected to two devices simultaneously so you can have your work and personal music playback sorted.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4: Available at Rs 17,990, these higher-end pair of true wireless earbuds offer clean and clear vocals, decent bass as well as good representation of background instruments. The pair is comfortable wear and does not disappoint in terms of battery life for calls or music. These buds are IP54 water and dust-resistant; in the box you not only get extra pairs of eartips of different sizes (which is standard) but also some silicone rounded stability fins for a betterfit.

Speakers:

GOVO GoSurround 975: This soundbar is among the most bang for bucks in the Indian market today at Rs 8,499. With a host of connectivity options to use, the GoSurround 975 has a 2.1.2 audio system with a 6.5-inch sub-woofer included giving 400watts of output in total. You get clear dialogues, something a lot of TVs would struggle with, while also handling music playback well enough to fill in a medium sized room, plus, it doesn’t lack in giving deep bass for those who prefer that with their TV series and movie watching experience.

Beats Pill: For a price of Rs 16,990, given its size and weight, the Pill is heavy on the loudness and can be used for any music playback outdoors for a very small gathering. You can pair it over Bluetooth as well as with a USB type C cable for lossless playback. Bass output is heavy while having clear vocals alongside smooth background instruments playback.

Smartwatch:

Redmi Smartwatch 5 Active: Available at a discounted price of Rs 2,599, the watch has reliable tracking for step counting and for pushing notifications from your connected smartphone. It’s fitted with a heart rate monitor, SpO2 as well as has stress monitoring and sleep tracking functions. The smartwatch has generally smooth UI when in use, plus you get over two weeks of battery life (no always-on display) on it.

OnePlus Watch 2: For a bit higher end, available for Rs 19,999 currently, there’s the OnePlus Watch 2 that has a great battery life, good looks (probably more targeted towards men) as well as a responsive WearOS. The 1.43-inch display is bright for outdoors use and it can also connect with a pair of wireless earbuds for music playback on the go. Though there’s no 4G/LTE option, the watch itself has many sensors for fitness conscious such as accelerometer, gyroscope, optical heart rate sensor, optical pulse oximeter, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor, barometer, and PPG.

MILLIONS of workers could end up with less money in retirement under new government plans which are being considered.

Experts have warned that Britain will face a “retirement crisis” and it would “cause havoc” if the Chancellor imposes national insurance on employers’ pension contributions in her budget next week.

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The move is predicted to raise £15.4 billion, which would help to plug a £40 billion funding gap in the public finances.

Meanwhile, experts suggest that public sector businesses such as National Health Service workers, teachers and government employees could be spared the change.

If these workers were included then it could mean that public sector budgets would need to be significantly cut, which could worsen their service.

It would cost the government millions of pounds to implement this change so only businesses and private-sector workers will feel its impact.

The decision to increase national insurance on employers’ pension contributions could leave millions of workers with lower wages and less generous pensions.

Felicia Hjertman, CEO of investment platform TILLIT, said the decision could worsen Britain’s retirement savings.

“Britain is on the brink of a retirement crisis,” she said.

“Increasing employers’ national insurance contributions on private pensions is a step in the wrong direction.”

While Baroness Ros Altman added: “This kind of change would cause havoc for UK pensions and derail the success of auto-enrolment.

“Because of the prevalence of salary sacrifice arrangements in auto enrolment pensions across all employers, and the widespread problems already known in pensions administration due to excessively complex rules, any such sudden significant change in the Budget will create havoc for many employer schemes and would be seriously ill-advised.”

How does national insurance work?

Employers currently pay national insurance for most workers earning more than £9,100 a year.

The amount they pay is equivalent to 13.8% of the employees earnings above this figure.

So for an employee earning £30,000 the employer would pay £2,884.20 in national insurance.

Former pensions minister Steve Webb estimates that putting the national insurance rate up by 1% could raise £8 billion a year.

What could it mean for me?

If employers have to pay more tax then their costs will go up, so they would need to save money elsewhere.

They may do this by increasing the price of their products for customers, giving employees smaller pay rises or reducing the amount that they pay into employees’ pensions.

Employers currently have to pay in at least 3% of an employee’s salary into their pension each month.

The employee then pays 5% of their salary in, bringing the total contribution up to 8%.

But some companies offer much more generous packages and may pay in up to 10% of an employees’ salary.

These packages could be cut if the planned changes come into effect.

Sir Steve Webb said: “Changing national insurance contributions could leave hundreds of thousands of people with a poorer retirement.

“People are not saving enough money for their retirement as it is. This could mean even more people are not saving enough.”

Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, said only taxing private sector workers would be difficult to explain.

“Applying national insurance to private sector companies while giving the public sector a get-out-of-jail-free card would be more difficult to justify,” he said.

“Particularly given public sector pensions are far more generous than their private sector equivalents.”

How would it affect different schemes?

There are concerns that introducing national insurance on pension contributions could undermine salary sacrifice schemes.

At the moment some employers offer schemes where employees can give up part of their salary, which is then paid directly into their pension, avoiding tax.

If national insurance is applied to an employer’s pension contribution then it could remove the incentive  for  companies to offer these schemes.

If these schemes were removed then it could mean that employees have to pay tax on their pension contributions, which would reduce the amount they pay into their nest egg.

What else could be announced in the budget?

The Chancellor is expected to freeze income tax thresholds in the Budget, which could drag 1.5 million pensioners into higher tax bands.

The State Pension is expected to rise by 4.1% in April, equivalent to a boost of £473.

A single pensioner would see their income rise from £221.20 to £230.30 a week.

But with income tax thresholds frozen it could mean that many pensioners have to pay tax on the state pension for the first time.

The Chancellor is also believed to be considering whether to make huge changes to inheritance tax in order to raise billions of pounds.

Only about one in 20 estates now attract inheritance tax but it is still known as Britain’s most hated tax.

Rachel Reeves is considering whether to make changes to the exemptions, allowances and reliefs available at the moment.

For example, the Government could decide to reduce the amount that you can give to a friend or family member before you die.

It could also reduce the seven year rule, which currently allows someone to give away items or money to friends and family tax free so long as they live for seven years afterwards.

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