Friday, August 21
The Reserve Bank of India has flagged structural pressures in the insurance sector, saying premium growth is being increasingly driven by high-cost distribution-led strategies of insurance companies rather than operating efficiency. While posing no near-term systemic risks, the surface-level stability masks emerging structural pressures that could weigh on medium-term sustainability and coverage expansion, RBI said in its latest financial stability report. "A primary pressure is the persistence of a high expense structure, particularly the acquisition costs. Premium growth has been increasingly driven by high-cost distribution-led strategies rather than operating efficiency," the report said. It further said that while in the life insurance sector, frontloaded acquisition costs limited the
Mumbai: The blistering rally in gold and silver that sent prices to record levels last year may be far from over with the momentum expected to spill over to 2026. Investors must, however, brace for sharp swings as the speculative interest could fuel sudden upturns and reversals. All the 10 commodity market participants polled by ET for their 2026 forecast on gold and silver said prices will continue to move up. Silver will outperform its more valuable counterpart during the year, said 80% of those polled. 126280769 "Both metals are entering 2026 with strong fundamentals, though returns may normalise," said Naveen Mathur, director - commodities and currencies, Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers. "Gold should continue to perform steadily while silver, despite higher volatility, may cont
