Mumbai: The US central bank (Federal Reserve) has cut interest rates for the first time in 2025. This step is expected to support the US economy. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the decision was not due to political pressure, even though President Donald Trump had been demanding a rate cut for a long time.

The Fed has also hinted that it may cut rates two more times this year. This is to help the weak US job market. In the recent two-day meeting, almost all Fed members supported the 25 basis points cut. Only one member, Stephen Miran, voted against it.

Stephen Miran works with the White House and was earlier Trump’s economic advisor. He wanted a bigger cut—50 basis points. Trump had promised rate cuts during his election campaign.

New interest rate: 4 percent to 4.25 percent

Repo operation rate: 4.25 percent

Interest on reserve balance: 4.15 percent

Reverse repo rate: 4 percent

Prime credit rate: 4.25 percent

This US rate cut could help Indian markets. Lower US interest rates may push foreign investors to invest in India for better returns. This could lead to growth in the Indian stock market.

Gold may also get a boost. When interest rates fall, investors often look for safer and better returns—like gold. So gold prices might rise further.

The US job market is still weak. Looking at this and other economic risks, more rate cuts may happen in the coming months.

Mumbai: A 32-year-old woman, identified as Farhana Khan, allegedly died by suicide after hanging herself from a ceiling fan at her residence in the Davri Nagar locality of Vakola, Santacruz East, on Monday afternoon, police said.

According to officials, following the incident, Khan’s live-in partner did not inform the police or seek medical help. Instead, he transported her body to her parents’ home, as reported by news agency PTI. The Vakola police have registered a case and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. Further details are awaited.

In another tragic incident of suicide in the city, a 34-year-old man was found hanging at his residence in Andheri West on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Manish Thombare, who worked with a private company and lived in Sai Baba Society, Gaondevi Dongari.

According to DN Nagar police, the incident occurred between 11:30 pm. on Sunday and 11:30 am on Monday. Thombare lived with his brother and sister-in-law. He had gone to sleep in an upstairs room, and when he failed to come downstairs the next morning, his brother went to check on him and found him hanging from the ceiling fan with a saree.

He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His body was later sent to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle (West) for a post-mortem examination. Preliminary investigations suggest that Thombare was suffering from depression due to family issues. He was married in 2022 but got divorced four months ago. He had no children. An Accidental Death Report (ADR) has been registered, and further investigation is underway.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled the bail of mafia don Rajendra S. Nikalje, alias Chhota Rajan, in the 2001 sensational murder of Mumbai hotelier Jaya Shetty.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta allowed the special leave petition (SLP) filed by CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) challenging a Bombay High Court’s order granting bail to Chhota Rajan and suspended his life sentence.

The Justice Nath-led Bench noted the submission of Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, who appeared on CBI’s behalf, that Chhota Rajan stood convicted in four other cases and remained absconding for around 27 years.

After a Special MCOCA Court convicted Rajan and others in the sensational murder case and handed him his second life sentence in nearly nine years, Rajan filed an appeal before the Bombay High Court.

In October last year, a Bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj K. Chavan suspended the sentence pending disposal of the criminal appeal and ordered his release on bail. However, Rajan could not avail the benefit of bail as he is already serving a life sentence in New Delhi’s Tihar Central Jail for the 2011 daylight murder of crime journalist Jyotirmoy Dey at Powai.

The Shetty murder case was among the dossier of 71 major offences that were handed over by the CBI to the Indonesian government after Rajan was nabbed in the tourist haven of Bali and subsequently deported to India in November 2015.

Shetty, the owner of the Golden Crown Hotel in south Mumbai, was shot dead by two gunmen on May 4, 2001, with the hit ordered by Rajan, a bitter rival of the absconder terrorist don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, triggering a huge sensation in the hospitality and political circles.

After the long trial, the Special MCOCA Court Special Judge A. M. Patil found Rajan guilty and sentenced him to life in jail, along with the other accused, Rahul Pansare, Ajay Mohite, and Pramod Dhonde.

Shetty had become a victim in an alleged extortion case and had been provided with police security, which was withdrawn a couple of months before he was targeted and killed.